Find the Blessings

Dear Family & Friends:

At Stake Conference on Sunday, a man said, "Elders where are you from?" We replied and he commented "both great places but there is nowhere better than Las Vegas because that is where God has called you to be...” Wow, that took me by surprise, but oh how true it is that there is no better place than Las Vegas, Nevada, because there is no other place where God has called me to be!

1/2 Monday
Tonight we had a lesson with a part member family where the father has Jewish beliefs. We had decided to teach the Plan of Salvation and the lesson went quite well. It was then brought up that this man’s mom had passed a few months previously. The wife told us that after his mom had passed they had a conversation where she testified to him that he would see his mother again. After she had said that in their conversations he said to her "I hope you are right, I hope that I will see my mother again."  Wow! It is true that the times we are closest to heaven are when loved ones come into or leave this life.  I am so happy that I can bring the knowledge and comfort of the Plan of Salvation to those here in Las Vegas.

1/3 Tuesday
Not much happened today but we started exchanges tonight and I will be with Elder Sorensen for the next 24 hours! He is from Evanston Wyoming so it is cool.

1/4 Wednesday
Today was a great day for missionary work because it seemed like every door we knocked on, someone was home. We had a lesson with a man from Guam, who is like a Fourth Knight in his Catholic Church. I don't know what that is, but he is a nice guy. We invited them to pray to ask if what we taught was true and he said that we believed the same things Catholics do so he didn't need to pray because he already knew... haha not sure if he was following what we had to say haha. Today we got super exciting news. Elder Bednar is coming to our mission on the 21st of this month! Along with him is the Presiding Bishop of the Church and a member of the Presidency of the Seventy and an Area Seventy! It is going to be amazing to receive counsel from them!

1/5 Thursday
Today was another lesson that didn't quite go the way we wanted it to. We were teaching the Herlean boys and we were teaching the Plan of Salvation. For the plan we drew one of those diagrams on paper. For the celestial kingdom we drew it yellow, for the terrestrial kingdom we drew it brown, and for the telestial kingdom we drew it pink... that was the problem, haha, the youngest boy when he heard he would be going to one of those said that he wanted to go to the pink one... not quite what we were shooting for haha. We may have to redraw them a diagram and switch the colors up a little bit!

1/6 Friday
Today we had interviews with President so that is always the best! We had dinner tonight with a single guy that had asked us what we wanted to eat a few days before. We mentioned that we liked steak and oh did he make us steak! The steaks were almost as big as the plate and a good 1"-1 1\2" thick. Along with that there was salad, a pasta dish, vegetables, and brownies and ice cream. The steak was super good but was still moooing a little as I ate it! It was rare! Haha, I finished everything so I was a little disappointed in how much I ate. Also, today I gave up drinking soda. I am tired of gaining weight so I am giving up pop... I have done this 5 times now on the mission but I think this time is for good haha!

1/7 Saturday
Today we able to go to the baptism of a lady (Brianna) I was able to teach a few time on exchanges with Elder Townsend and Elder Sorensen. This lady got married to this guy who served a mission in Florida, but fell away shortly after. When he met Brianna, he was not active at the slightest, but when he asked her to marry him she said she would as long as they found religion. The man’s parents were promised if they went to the temple each week all their children would be faithful in the gospel and for years they went faithfully and now their prayers and faith had paid off. The answer to their prayer wasn't even a member! They got to hear their daughter in law bare testimony of the truth that has come into her life! She has such a powerful testimony it was amazing!

1/8 Sunday
Today was stake conference and we got our stake split. We aren't sure exactly what is going to happen with the district/zone so it will be interesting. There was a talk today that was really good! He talked that the first principle that the missionaries teach is that God is a loving Father in Heaven and why that is important.  It is important because as we truly understand that principle, we receive a higher vision and we can live according to that higher vision. In a lesson today with Tom, it is apparent that he is very worried about what others think of him. He does not understand the blessings that await him.

One of President Walker’s favorite sayings is "claim your blessings." We as children of God and as members of the church, we have blessings that we are holding ourselves back from. This week, may we find the blessings that we are holding ourselves back from and live in accordance to receive those blessings. God loves each of us and he blesses us daily. Please look for His love and His hand!

I love you all!
Elder Call