a1a13bb7-9afd-4ffd-834d-bb83a5c5b0e7 Elder Braden Taylor Back to Missionary Letters MTC week #4 Hey everybody the past few days have been really great and hard all at the same time. Spanish is coming along but I am still not ready at all. I actually forgot how to say true English for a second the other day so I think Spanish is frying my brain. A few cool things happened this week. We got to go to a devotional from Elder Neil Anderson and it was super cool and ill talk about it more later. My roomates mom sent our room a tiny guitar becasue his comp and I play so its been nice to have a guitar again. And we've been playing church songs on it every night. On Sunday all the guys from mesquite got together and took a photo and it was super cool to see everybody and talk about how wild the MTC can be. I miss all you guys and I love all the responses I get they really do help me to get through the week. Spiritual thoguht: Elder Andersons devotional was definitely the highlight of the week. He talked about how important the missionary work is and about how the adversary will give everything to stop it. And he was taling about how even if we're trying to do good, things can still get in the way. And just a few seconds after he said that the mics went out so none of us could hear him and it was really ironic. But what I noticed was how he responded to the situation he didn't just sit back down or wait for the mics to go back on or even just give up. He had the choir sing their song again and then half way through it had all of us stand up to sing it and it was amazing to see how he responded to opposition. They never got the mics back on and working but he stood up and yelled out some more words for us and then after his talk he went around and shook hands with and talked to a bunch of people. His example was so amazing to see. Even when things go wrong or don't work out the way you think it will you can still make the best out of the situation and your additude decides how things turn out. Previous Letter Next Letter

4920ae9d-9746-4975-af31-323ba8867128 Sister Alley Shaner Back to Missionary Letters Becoming the Lord's Hands So I have some news but first of all I would like to apologize for not writing an email last week. I was sick and so it was a bit of a rough week and we didn't do much. I have major news though and it may come as a shock to some. Some of you know that I've struggled with anxiety and some of you didn't. It's something I have struggled with my whole life and will continue to struggle with. Well, after many tears, prayers, and discussions we've decided it would be best if I was transferred into being a service missionary. This was not an easy decision. I was mad at myself for continuing to struggle so much and feared that if I went home it would mark how the rest of my life would be. Then I read a passage in D&C that changed my thinking: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that when I give a commandment to any of the sons of men to do a work unto my name, and those sons of men go with all their might and with all they have to perform that work, and cease not their diligence, and their enemies come upon them and hinder them from performing that work, behold, it behooveth me to require that work no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their offerings." (D&C 12:49) This was exactly what I needed and I knew it was an answer to my prayers. I then started the conversation with my mission president and we decided that the next right step for me would be a service missionary. I feel so at peace with this decision and know this is the path that Heavenly Father wants me to take. Someone said to me, "Maybe the Lord no longer needed you as His voice but instead His hands." So, what does this mean? Well, I'll be coming home next Monday and immediately start my service. I'm super excited but definitely sad to say goodbye to everyone. I've learned and progressed so much and I'm excited to continue that. I will continue to send out these emails because I will still be a missionary, just in a different way. I'm excited to continue to share my progress and experiences in serving the Lord! Thank you all! Previous Letter Next Letter

4c831eaa-c8e9-4692-8c3a-8d452840fd8b Elder Decker Lee Back to Missionary Letters Brujería GF- https://photos.app.goo.gl/7mJigZzeRBWigU9h9 ST- Alma 4:19 "And this he did that he himself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them" -BEARING DOWN IN PURE TESTIMONY- Find time this week to share your testimony with sombody, ive seen the miracles of me sharing my testimony and others sharing theres to! It makes the difference! Asu this week was a pretty crazy one but super fun and fast! Il keep it short! But check put the Google photos!! -We had a lesson with a family and they basically told us that there son who passed recently (in a really weird way) had been doing whichcraft in the house.. And told us about all the crazy stuff happening inside, so we dedicated the house. That was pretty cool. Power and authority of god bro (Also shoutout mr.mitchell for teaching me the word "wich" in spanish) I gave a talk yesterday in Sacrament, bishop literally texted us the night before to let is know, so we didn't really prepare. Took my note card with 3 scriptures I wanted to share and the spirit just led me. Jajajaj, but it was pretty cool to see how like now people actually understand what im saying and all of it. (I used to pray for times like this to shine like this) all my buddies should know those lyrics..jajaja We went to the temple this week with so many comverts and all the JAS of our ward, and man it was the coolest. Me and my comp got to witness a famiky do all the work for her mom who had recently passed. And for some reason when her son was confirming his mom's mom a member of the church the spirt just went BOOM. Man everybody in that tiny little room was bawling. Ive always know we could do work for out famiky who have passed on (thanks Gma chloe) but that was the first time i can say ive really gained a recognition of how awesome it is we can do stuff like that. A lot more happened in this experience little room, but man never will forget that! Go to the temple! Zone conferance- got to see all my boys at zone conferance, it was a pretty fun one to say the least. At the end we played a game of soccer kinda, I dotm really know how to explain it but it was fun. Man the world cup is so fun😂 Who knew soccer could be fun to watch. Jajaj and the bishop in pur ward is the husband of our pensanista so he'll walk in and turn on the games while were eating lunch and just leave😂 hell say " I put it on, not you guys" jajajaja Today at church we were blessed up and have so many of pur friends act on the faith and come to church! And because of that Sunday was packed with fun. We invited 4 people to get baptized Sunday night, and all said no. Jk all of them said yes!!! So thats was super awesome! Super pumped to teach them, and one of them told us there gunna make us cuyi "ginni pig" the next time we meet. So that would be fun. But im doing good honestly, me and my comp get along pretty good. The work is working. Some days are so long holy, but the weeks are flying by. Grateful for Peru and the people here! But hope your all doing good!!!! And Would love to hear from you guys! Send me and email!!! Chow! Èlder Lee Previous Letter Next Letter

b6ccc235-5a6b-431d-9d91-999cd9831061 Sister Jordan Memmott Back to Missionary Letters Forever grateful🤍🤍 Hi y'all! This is it! My last email on my mission! I can hardly even believe how fast these last 18 months have gone! Some of the best times of my life and I wouldn't change it for the world!💌🫶🏼 I had the best last week and we saw so many miracles every single day!! - had my departing interview with President John and it was so so good! He has been the best of the best and I've learned so much from him! #blessed - we got stuck at this apartment complex because of a little fiasco with this guy! There were about 15 cops cars surrounding the building and we couldn't leave. Everyone was out watching and trying to figure out what was happening! But hey during all of it we talked to so many people and even found a member who hasn't been to church in a couple of years! - I got to see a lot of my old comps and had to say goodbye for now😢 love them so much - we had 5 of our friends come to church!!! What a miracle. They all loved it and will hopefully come back again:) - everytime we went to visit someone yesterday they were either not home or busy but everytime we found another person who wanted to learn more and meet with us! So it all worked out and we were definitely led where we needed to be for a reason! I just love my Savior! There aren't enough words to express how grateful I am for Him!! I'll forever be grateful for my mission! I love all the people I've met in Texas and they've changed my life in so many ways! There's so much joy that comes from living the gospel! Just know that God is good all of the time and that he loves you💟 I'll see you guys soon! My homecoming will be this Sunday! Let me know if you want the info;) Sister Memmott🩷🩷 Previous Letter Next Letter

b3c1741b-0090-4165-abb0-10128d99adde Elder Gavin Hughes Back to Missionary Letters Whats up everyone this last week has been kind of crazy, and I dont even remember what was going on in the MTC. But it came time to say goodbye to everyone, which was sad but I was ready to get out of there. Had to wake up nice and early to leave which was crazy, but after some traveling got to billings which is my new reassignment because I am still waiting on the visa, but the mission president and his wife are so awesome so I’m excited. The next day on wednesday is when I found out who my new comp/s are and where I was going. So I got two comps who are Elder Blackburn and Hollberg, and both of them are so chill. So I am now in a place in Wyoming I have never heard of called Worland. So far it has been awesome and I am loving all of it. As soon as we got here the first couple days we were buysy with cleaning because the last elders kind of left it a mess so that was great. But then we had a little service and have mostly just been trying to meet the people herer this last week becuase we are all new to the area. But I am so excited to be here and get to learn from my companions. The people are already so awesome here and I am loving the small town vibes. It reminds me a lot of home. But yeah things are great and now that we are all settled in we can get going a little more and I am super excited. So I guess that is all for now. 1~my new companions 2&3~last picture with my district and teacher’s 4~my last roommates Previous Letter Next Letter

716062cc-86e5-4706-b80e-6ac388a173f4 Elder Dylan Wilson Back to Missionary Letters This is the End Hey y'all, this week was definitely one for the books! Or the weekly emails I guess you could say. Anyways, I don't have much time because we're going to have a district P-day so I'll cut to the chase! We went to Kansas on Tuesday morning so my companion could go to a doctor's appointment. We only went to Coffeyville which isn't too far from the Oklahoma border, but now I can officially say that I've been to all three states in my mission boundaries. Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas! Later that day we prayed to know where to go for street contacting and we both felt very strongly that we should go to a park that was a little far away. That wouldn't have been a problem any other week, but this week was bike week where we only rode bikes to save miles on our cars. Anyways, we start biking and I saw this 17 year old kid running down the street doing some exercise so we stopped and talked to him and he ended up being interested in learning more! His name is Gavin. When we finished sharing with him, we started heading towards the park again, but got stopped again when we taught and older man named Mike and turned him into a new friend! For the third time, we set out to go to that park we felt prompted to go to, but we stopped and talked to a lady that was sitting on a bench on the trail we were riding. This lady, Jennifer, ended up being interested as well so we set up a return appointment with her! At that point we didn't have any more street contacting time so we didn't even make it to the park, but we wouldn't have found those people if we didn't keep trying to go to the park! On Wednesday we had two lessons, one with our friend Nicki and one with Jordan. They both went pretty well! Thursday was quite the busy day! We had my last district council in the morning and it was a good training, but a sad day. I'm going to miss my district and going to district council! We had a lesson with Gavin later and it went pretty well! Nothing much happened on Friday, just biking in the heat and checking on interested people in our Area Book. Saturday though! Everything happened on that day! We ate breakfast with the Leavitt family then we had six lessons! All on bikes it was quite glorious, we were so busy that day and it literally flew by, we also put our friend Nicki on baptismal date! It was such a miraculous day being on the Lord's errand! Spiritual thought: 2 Nephi 31:20 I've been thinking a lot about my mission experience and it's crazy to think it's been over. I think a good representation of my mission is the experience we had riding to the park. If we had focused solely on making it to the park, we would've missed the people that actually needed a message about Christ. If you're serving a mission and only focusing on making it to the end, then you won't be able to find those that need a message about Christ and you won't be able to change or experience the things you need to. A lot of missionaries say at the end of their missions, "I've truly come to know my Savior." And I was asking myself if I really had come to know Christ better. Then I remembered all the things that have happened and all the changes I've gone through and I can say the same. I've loved my mission and I love you all. In the words of my man Jacob, "Brethren, adieu."❤❤❤ ~Elder Wilson Previous Letter Next Letter

10f10710-11de-4b3f-9fd8-c8453d36612b Elder Emmanuel Navarro-Gonzalez Back to Missionary Letters Week 15 Hola Amigos y Familia! Wow and just like that I'm getting the screwdriver to take off my training wheels! This is 15 weeks since I left for the MTC and 12 weeks in Tennessee! Last transfer I was being follow up trained by Elder Dent. He's an Arizona guy so we bond over the desert. We're staying together and in the same area for another transfer! I realize that I haven't been sending out emails the last 6 weeks. Yeah sorry about that but my mom is telling me that I probably should so here I am listening to her. Moms know best! Shout out to Ana! There is so much that has happened this last transfer that I can mention in future emails. But I just wanted to leave you all with my testimony. I know that this work and this church is true. There is nothing more miraculous than seeing people accept Jesus Christ and his Restored Gospel in their lives. This has by far been the best time of my life. Sometimes it's hard and people reject you mostly here in the south but it's worth every second. This Gospel has brought me so much joy and I know it can help each and everyone who receives this email! I love you all and I promise I will write next week! Elder Queso Navarro-Gonzalez Previous Letter Next Letter

c8357f8b-5497-44fb-9759-cbc21a5952bd Elder Andrew Maxfield Back to Missionary Letters Last Week In Lebanon? I'm just gonna put that out there, even though I won't know what's happening with transfers until tomorrow. I've never stayed in an area for 4 transfers and it would be my turn to leave. But crazier has happened🤷♂️ It was another great week! We worked hard and saw results even in the freezing cold! We're working with the Joyners! They're a family in Watertown who were interested in changing their lives for the better! That's always good right? We had a great Plan of Salvation lesson with Teresa and she seemed to really enjoy what we had to say and we could all feel the Spirit present. Pray for us please! We really want, I REALLY WANT to find many wonderful people this week and I can't do it without the Lord's backing. We've found 9 in the last 2 weeks which has been amazing and we only want to go up from there! - We helped with FAM Essentials again this week and moved a lot of furniture into the home of 2 Hispanic families living together.(It was a lot of beds) - We had Interviews with President and Sister Barlow! They were great interviews for me, I learned a lot, I was told a lot, and I still don't know if I'm staying or going😅 I loved being able to learn from them and was able to ask all manner of questions! - BIG DISCOVERY!¡!¡ I have been watching all the church history movies recently and I watched a movie called Treasure in Heaven: The John Tanner Story It's an amazing short example of one of the many courageous pioneers. Go watch it. Especially because it turns out he's my 7th great grandfather! So stinkin cool to figure out! Family history is actually super cool whek you read about the stories of people you don't know who have impacted others and make you proud to be part of the family you are! So go read family history for an hour sometime next week! It won't disappoint I promise. That's about it from me! I hope you all have a great week! Before I go I'll share a quote I loved this week! This is from Brother Wilcox's talk given at this last General Conference, titled, "O Youth of the Noble Birthright" The quote I'd like to share is this: "It would be easy for Heavenly Father to simply give you all that He has. His desire is to help you become all that He is. Thus, your commitments demand more of you because that is how God is making more of you." We get to decide if we want and seek the blessings the Lord has in store. He will never force us to take the blessings He has, nor will he give them to us without our effort to receive them! Think about that this week. What will you do to receive blessings. Blessings are not a burden. They just require work. LOVE YOU ALL!! - Elder Maxfield🔸️🔸️🔸️ Previous Letter Next Letter

40b03d07-7094-47b5-bf87-9471944607b2 Eder Stetson Ludvigson Back to Missionary Letters Wow what a week!! I know I say that at the beginning of every email, but that is because it is always true!! And it flew by!! so the week started off kind of crummy on Monday night, basically what happened, what the lady we met at hot chocolate, the one we showed the picture of Christ coming to the Americas and she started crying and the spirit was booming, yeah so that lady, she was golden and so ready for the gospel and to get baptized! but her husband got extremely mad at her and us for contacting her, and he told us we need to stop reaching out to her, so we had to respect his wishes and drop her which was so sad because she was so awesome!! and to make the night even better our lesson that we had that night with Rayhane, the Bangladesh guy that feeds us, he canceled!! So we ended up just contacting a bunch of people that night which was actually very successful!! So the next day we had an amazing lesson with Amber and Tim! We were just helping her get prepared for her baptism that was on Saturday! It was a super cool lesson, and at the end her and Tim asked us for a priesthood blessing! I was able to give the blessing to Tim, which was super amazing! On the outside he looks like a big tuff guy, but he really is just a big softy haha, he is a stud! So the next day we had a mission wide zoom meeting which was pretty neat! and then after that we went and had a lesson with Zarah and Bro Thorsen! We had one of the most spirit filled lessons I have had on my mission so far! and Brother Thorsens testimony was so strong it was awesome! We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ and at the end of the lesson we put her on a baptismal date for Jan 30th!! how crazy is that!! and she was super pumped about it!! Right after that lesson we had to hustle over to a lesson with Pearline!! She is so awesome! and her house just feels like your grandma's house haha there's always a bunch of people there and usually food cooking! So before we started the lesson one of her Grandkids, who is about 20 comes walking in and grabs the fly swatter and starts swatting her little dog snowball, and pearline got all mad, it was hilarious and me and Elder Carter were dying, we were able to teach her and some of her family the plan of salvation which was really cool and they seemed to love it!! So the next day we had a lesson with David,and it was a super willed lesson, like crazy! I don't even know how to explain it!! so just know it was crazy, and if you want to know more about it you can email and ask me haha! Anyway, after that we headed over to Zac's who is a stud and has been progressing really well! he would be on date but he has some legal issues which is a bummer, but the lesson was super awesome and super spiritual! and his little nephew who was about 6 joined us and he had some super cute comments about Jesus!! Then the next day on friday we had a super cool miracle!! so we were calling people at subway and they closed at 9;00, so we were getting ready to head out but they had already locked the door, so we were locked in, but we went and got the worker to come let us out. When she was letting us out she was telling us how she always sees us studying and praying over there in the corner, and she told us to pray for her! And we get a lot of prayer requests so we didn't think too much of it! but after we walked out I had the prompting to go back in, and so we did and like Nephi, not knowing beforehand we trusted the spirit would guide us, and it did! we asked her if we could say a prayer with her right then, so we did. And I was the one praying and when we finished we looked up and her eyes were full of tears! she told us she really needed that! and so we shared our testimonies about the love Christ has for her! it was awesome! and we set up another lesson with her!! So I hope you guys are still entertained because the best part of the week has yet to come!! Saturday was the day Amber got Baptized!! It was such an amazing baptism!! and probably one of the times I have felt the spirit the strongest let alone in my mission but my whole life!! So we started filling the font a little late because the person that was supposed to bring the keys was running behind, and so the water heater only can keep up if it is half way, but we didn't have the time so we had to full blast it. The font usually takes about an hour and a half to fill, and there was about 20min until it started and it was less than half way, and super cold, so we went to boil water in hopes of warming the water a little. We went into the kitchen and filled the huge pots and started boiling them, when they were done we took them over to the font, and miracle! The font was all the way full and somehow decided to get warm again!! Heavenly Father really wanted her to get baptized!! So anyway after that Amber and Tim went to get changed, and Tim realized he didn't bring an extra long sleeve, well we thought okay we will just get him a jumpsuit, but he was hoping for a long sleeve because he had tattoos and wanted to cover them up. I swear we had looked through everyone of those jumpsuits before and there were no long sleeved ones, but we thought we would go check again just in case! so we went sifting through the jumpsuits and just as we thought nothing! Right before we were about to give up our bishop pulled out this long sleeve jumpsuit, and we thought there is no way that should fit him because he is a pretty big guy, but when he pulled it all the way out and checked the size, boom, perfect fit! another miracle!! so we had the baptism and it was amazing! most people were crying and it was just so spiritual!! Anyway apologizes again for the long email just a lot happens in one week as a missionary! it is amazing and I love and wouldn't trade these experiences for the world!! You guys are awesome! love you all!! Previous Letter Next Letter

932545e9-0e97-40c9-b632-d00db28b49a1 Elder Cameron Wright Back to Missionary Letters The Last Dance🐂🏀 Transfer News: I am staying in Weslaco and I got Elder Wurtz. He is a chilla. We have had a good time so far. The 2 man turned into a 4 man and some cool missionaries came into the zone. There's a good amount of change, but thats not bad. Weird to think how there still needs to be some adjusting after doing this for a hot sec. This past week was fun though! We went to transfers Wednesday and started off the new transfer. Me and my comp have been working hard and had a pretty good week. It went by quick, so thats always a good sign. Later in the week we had a meeting in McAllen with a ton of Elders. It was actually super fun. We had a good time. There was a lot of the homies there and it was nice to see them and hang for a sec. The meeting was good too. Presidente Pineda is an awesome guy. He has super good insights on the Gospel. He was over institute in a part of Mexico so it makes sense. He is a very good teacher. Sunday was alright. Went through some mixed emotions. Just gotta control what we can control. We had our friend Nano pull up to church. He is a fun guy. Kinda crazy, but super repentance and wants to be better so hopefully we can help him do that. Good week though! Spiritual thought: A parable used a lot and referenced a lot in my mission has been the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-19. I am sure I have already shared a few thoughts on the parable, but I just want to share it again because everytime I read it, it hits different. I get something new out of it. A new motivation to do better and multiply my talents. I invite you all to do the same and think about how you can multiply the many talents and gifts God has given you. Have a good week🤘 Here's the photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/AJPDFZiAPHs2sDfeA Previous Letter Next Letter

6e5470a9-c0cc-4f7b-aeb0-45344ccae1aa Sister Resha Bunker Back to Missionary Letters This is the most bittersweet email I will ever send. For the past 18 months, I have spent every hour, day and night, laboring in the vineyard of the Lord. I've devoted all of my time, energy, might, and soul to my Savior and my God. To say that I've seen miracles would be an understatement. No words will ever adequately describe the love I have for my mission, for this Gospel, for my brother, Christ, and for my Father in Heaven. I want to bear pure testimony of a few of the things I have come to learn to be absolutely true throughout my mission. First of all, I know that The Book of Mormon is true, and I LOVE this Book. I only know that The Book of Mormon is true because I took the time to study it, and then I asked God to know if it was true. I receive a reconfirmation of this every single time I read it because when I do, I feel GOOD, and good things come from Christ. I know that in the Spring of 1820, a boy named Joseph Smith knelt in prayer, and he saw God the Father, and the Son. Joseph Smith restored the Gospel to the Earth. This leads to my next point. I know that the Gospel truly is the good news of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is the way to have true peace and joy not only in this life, but also in the life to come. Living the Gospel better helps us feel of the love that our Heavenly Father and our brother, Christ, have for us. Love is the essence of the gospel, that's what it is all about. Thirdly, the scriptures use the phrase, "There never was a happier people". This phrase occurs periodically when the people are being obedient, and heeding the words of the prophet, who was teaching of Christ. I know that there never has been a happier time in my own life as this time which I have had to serve the Lord. This happiness has been because of my obedience to the Gospel, and because I have been trying my best to exemplify and embody Christ. With that being said, none of us are, or can be perfect. BUT.... we can ALL try to be BETTER. I know it is challenging at times, but you can't grow without getting out of your comfort zone. Push yourself a little bit harder, and God will strengthen your efforts, and turn your weaknesses into strengths. I know that Heavenly Father LOVES us, and that's why He stretches us. Lastly, I testify that Jesus is the Christ, the true Messiah, the Redeemer of the World. He is the Son of our living and loving Heavenly Father. I truly know that with faith in Christ, there is absolutely nothing we cannot accomplish. Let Christ heal you and strengthen you. He will help you become the person God knows you can become. I am eternally grateful for this name tag that I have gotten to wear, and I'm grateful for who Ive been able to represent. I love my God, and I love my Christ. These have been very sacred days that I have spent on holy ground. I say all of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, our healer and our advocate, amen. Love, Sister Bunker Picture: The Bayview District, plus the Zone Leaders, plus the assistants. Previous Letter Next Letter

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