The Greatest Gifts

Dear Family & Friends:

This week was pretty good. As far as the work it is good it is crazy frustrating though because we will teach someone and then they just out of the blue completely ignore us and avoid us. They love us and we are always welcome and they like what we teach and then I don't know what happens but they will just be done. Some of the members are way good at sharing the gospel but most are pretty quiet! We are having a friend’s day at church this Sunday and the members are excited to invite their friends to come hear messages about Christ!

Next week is transfers.

11/29 Tuesday

Cheryl & Elder Call

We had a great lesson with Kitos tonight! We started talking about the Plan of Salvation and then we shared this video that does a great job explaining the great plan! We were almost through the video and we could tell that it was hitting home for Kitos. He stopped us towards the end of the video and asked us if we could watch it again because he wanted his kids to see it. He went and woke them up and had them watch the video again with him! We all felt the Spirit and it was great.

11/30 Wednesday
What a roller coaster! Today was a pretty nerve wracking day. We had Cheryl's baptismal interview and we did not think about the standard in the church where two unmarried people of the opposite sex may live together in the same household. We didn't think about it because the man that lives there doesn't have any relationship with Cheryl. The Zone Leader told us that she wasn't going to be able to get baptized. We talked to him and Cheryl and concluded we needed to talk to President because all four people in the house are on disability and cannot support themselves. President approved the baptism so we are still set for Saturday! Thank goodness!!

12/2 Friday
We met with Lilly tonight and taught the Plan of Salvation for like the twentieth time haha. She struggles remembering so we repeat everything we do a lot. She signed up to feed us dinner towards the end of December and she is so excited! She already has it planned out what she is going to cook and the whole works. She told us that she was talking to a friend (who is a member) about it and asked her friend what kind of wine she should get for this special occasion. She told us that the member pretty much got mad at her for even thinking about it! She had forgot that Mormons don't drink even on really special occasions!

12/3 Saturday
Today was the baptism! Except for several last minute problems, it was great! One of the talks didn't come and we had to get another witness and our pianist forgot and was a little late but once we got everything worked out is was great! It is a powerful thing to say, “Having Been commissioned of Jesus Christ.” I think everyone at the baptism felt the Spirit because it was obvious that God has lots of love for Cheryl and that He was a proud Heavenly Father. What a blessing it is to be able to know that we have the opportunity to make covenants with God that gives us promised blessings as long as we are worthy. Tonight was the Ward Christmas Party. In Vegas the Christmas parties are a big deal. They put ours to shame. They have a live band, catered in food, fancy desserts and little performance/comedy skits by the different groups in the ward. Elder Barton and I had to help the Elder’s Quorum out. It was a way fun evening to be able to interact with the ward and to see ward members befriend the investigators that we had there!

12/4 Sunday
Cheryl was confirmed today! Another reminder of the things we take for granted! The Gift of the Holy Ghost is a big gift that gets forgotten about and often times, mocked by us as members, as we sin and make mistakes. I loved the talk tonight in the First Presidency Christmas Devotional about the gifts we have been given! The one that I have been thinking about a lot is the Atonement. There is a kid that we see on occasion that we talk to. He is like 21 and he is a member but not active anymore. His dad is a seminary teacher and both of his parents are returned missionaries. He was really active until he left the house. He lives on the streets and he is a tagger so he goes around and writes and paints on stuff. I asked him the other day what pushed him away from the church. I was surprised by his response. He said that he was active but inactive. So he believes and I think he realizes that the life he is living is not going to get him anywhere. He feels guilt and it saddens me because I think he is not sure that God still loves him and he is probably a little lost on to what to do. I can testify that the Atonement covers all sin and is a Gift from God because God loves us and He knows that we will be lost sheep at times so He gave us a way back to Him. As I apply the Atonement in my life every day I feel more love for Him and his sacrifice.

Family and friends may we all look into our lives and notice the things that we need to fix and may we never take the gifts we have been given for granted! I love you all and hope that you all have a great week!

-Elder Call