Very Hard Week

Hey everyone,

Its been a while since I have hear from a lot of you. Hope things are going well for you!

So this week was pretty rough for us. We tried so many people and no one was answering their doors. We were only able to teach 6 lessons in total but we did have a few people at church and we just keep getting a bunch of referrals from other missionaries. Even though it was a hard week and we didn't teach very many lessons, the lessons that we did have were pretty good. A less-active family that we are working with came to church after years of inactivity. The mom of the family had been kind of cold to the church for a while but something touched her and we were able to talk with her and she expressed a desire to come to church. Unfortunately she works on sunday at the same time church is. Hopefully now that she has a desire to come to church, something can get worked out so she can come to church as well. We are hoping and praying that this week will be better and that more people will be available to talk this week.

So funny thing happened on Friday. We had zone conference with the Richland zone and when we walked into the chapel there was a cardboard cut out of President Ware with a thumbs up standing behind the pulpit. One of the missionaries had gotten as kind of a joke but it was pretty funny to all of us. It surprised President Ware pretty good when he walked in.

I just want to say how grateful I am to be a missionary and to be able to share the everlasting gospel with the people here in washington. I know that what we share is true because I know the book of mormon is true. Joseph Smith was a prophet and was called to restore the gospel in these latter days. I know that the mysteries of God are still being revealed and there is more to be revealed. Our Heavenly Father has not ceased talking to his children and especially to his prophets. The scriptures contain the revelations to the prophets of old and apply to our lives today. We have a prophet on the earth right now that receives revelation for us now and when he speaks as a prophet, he is speaking the words of the Lord. I am grateful for that and for the confirmation the spirit speaks to my heart that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet today.

Have a great week and I hope to see some letters soon!

Elder Young

Miracles in Pasco

Hey everyone!

Hope you all had a great week and that you have seen many miracles.

This week was pretty good. Wasn't quite as busy this week as last week but some miracles did happen. A family that we are teaching came to church and stayed for all 3 hours. Hopefully they continue to come and really start progressing. There are 7 people in that family but only 6 have really any interest but we have hope that the whole family will make the decision to be baptized. We have also been getting quite a few referrals which has been nice. We haven't had much time to tract because we are spending so much of our time contacting the referrals and the investigators we already have. We have also found a few new investigators that seem to have good potential. This next week is looking like it will be a good one.

So something that I have been doing as part of my studies in the morning is marking scriptures according to the missionary lessons. I'm beginning to realize just how extensive the footnotes really are. There are scriptures that I have found that I have read several times and never really thought about how they apply to the missionary lessons. I love seeing chains that take you from the old testament clear through doctrine and covenants and the pearl of great price and really expound the principles of the gospel.

Found this while we were trying a member. Thought it was a good one to share.

Hope you have a great day and hope to hear from you all!

Elder Young

Snow in Pasco

Hey everyone!

Hope everyone has had a good week!

We got a few inches of snow this week. It snowed at least a little bit the last 3 or 4 days and little by little it adds up.

So this week was really good despite all the snow. The first couple of days were a little slower but it then as the week went on the work started picking up. We found a couple new investigators and some potential families. The work is going really well and we are seeing some miracles.

One of the families that we are teaching used to attend the local baptist church here but something happened and they no longer attend there. 3 of the kids have come to church a bunch of times and the parents were planning to come yesterday but he ended up having to work all night and they weren't able to come. They have a lot of potential and desire to learn and understand.

Thank you for the support and hope you all have a great week.

Elder Young

First Few Days in Pasco West!

Hello everyone!

I hope you all have had a great week!

It snowed the morning of transfers in Moses Lake and then there was nothing here in Pasco. I have been wanting to see some snow for a long time and I did for a few hours but I guess I'm not allowed to enjoy the snow for very long.

So my new companions name is Elder Ribeiro. He is from Brazil and is learning english and spanish at the same time. He speaks both pretty good but there are times when we don't understand each other. I'm no longer the district leader. My former companion Elder Hall is now the district leader for the spanish missionaries in Pasco. So our area covers a part of east pasco, all of west pasco and then Richland. There isn't much spanish work in Richland so we just go there if we get referrals. We also share our area with a set of sister missionaries.

So teaching this week was pretty good. We found a couple new investigators and taught several lessons. Pasco is a good area but its big and going to take a little time to get to know the area. I know there are lots of people out there that have been prepared to receive the gospel. We just have to go out there and find them.

One of the lessons that we had with a potential investigator taught me about the importance of just listening to the people. When we first walked up to him (he was outside playing with his kid) he just told us that he was catholic and wasn't really interested but as we just talked with him, he opened up to us and was telling us about how he is trying to be a better father and spend more time with his kids and then as we were about to leave he told us that he would talk to his wife about learning more about the gospel and that he would read the pamphlets we left with him. We are hoping we will be able to teach him and his family later on this week.

Hope you all have a great week and I hope to hear from all of you!