Transferred.. Again

Hey everybody!

This week we got transfer calls again and I'm going to Brewster to finish someone's training and to be a district leader. We got a phone call at 7:30 in the morning from President but we missed it because the phone didn't have a ringtone and we didn't hear it vibrating. He called a little later and extended the call for me to finish training someone and for Elder Gleed to train a new missionary. We are both excited for our new assignments as it is time for growth and learning.

I'm getting transferred to a little town called Brewster Washington. Transfers will probably be about an 8 hour ordeal all over again since I'm going from one of the most southern areas to one of the most northern in the Mission. I'll be finishing training someone and being a district leader. Just looking on the map it seems like it is going to be a very pretty area and especially since I will be there in the winter. I've been in the valley for my whole mission and now I'll be going to the mountains. I'm excited!

This week was pretty good for teaching as well. Unfortunately we were unable to get any of the members out with us this week but we talked with our ward mission leader to start making a schedule again for having people come with us on a regular basis. We had some good lesson with our investigators and we are really excited about the desire and progress that they are making. One of the people the sisters were teaching has made some leaps and bounds in progress. When we had stopped by a couple of weeks ago she was about to tell us that she wasn't really interested but this week she told us that when she was about to do that she felt like she shouldn't and should give it a try. As we met with her she started to feel the spirit and ask questions and then she felt the spirit when we taught and testified. The spirit really does work miracles when we listen by the spirit and teach by the spirit simply and clearly.

Hope you all have a great week!

--Elder Young--

The time just keeps getting faster!

Hello everybody!

The time is going so fast! It is already the end of transfers at the end of this week! We will get our transfer calls on saturday night. This transfer has to be one of the fastest transfers I've had on my mission because I feel like I still just got here.

This week was good for teaching. It always seems that when we bring a member with us, the people never want to answer the door but when we are by ourselves the same people always answer but that is ok because it gives the members a chance to find out where some of our investigators live and to experience a little bit of the mission life. It's been pretty hard to find new investigators the last couple of weeks but we do have a couple of potentials that we found this past week that we have high hopes for and hope to see some of them become new investigators this week.

Something that I have recently started is a questions journal. I bought a little notebook and on each page I write a different question, maybe something that an investigator has brought up or something that I want more knowledge on. I've noticed as I've searched the scriptures that more often than not I find the answers I'm looking for plus more which adds to the questions that I have. I find that the more we question the more we find and then the more questions we have. My advice, ask questions so you get answers because if you don't then the very miracle of personal revelation can't exist.

Hope you all have a great week and see lots of miracles!

--Elder Young--

Time keeps rolling on

Hey everybody!

This week was pretty fast but we struggled a little more to get members to lessons with us. It was fair week so whenever we would try by someone with a member, they would be gone but we were able to get to know some of the less-actives that the members felt like visiting. We are still working with our investigators to come to Christ through the waters of baptism, especially Jorge and Dominique (two different families).

On Sunday my companion and I were both asked to speak about being grateful in all circumstances. It was kind of interesting to think about how gratitude made a big difference for the people in the scriptures when they were going through trials. The people that didn't have gratitude during their trials often were hard-hearted and bitter while those that bore their afflictions with patience and gratitude were able to overcome whatever trial they had faced. I hope we can all be like Nephi and bear up our afflictions with patience and praise to God. 

Something interesting that happened this week was we were knocking on doors in this sketchy trailer park and dogs had been barking at us the whole time. Not small dogs either. BIG rottweilers with stumpy tails that looked like they wanted to kill us. When we knocked one door we heard a dog barking behind it and the door opened and my companion about pooped ourselves as the dog came out of the house but the guy told us not to worry. The guy ended up telling us we could come back and that he was trying to change his life around because he had been to prison 5 times but he seemed like a pretty nice guy. The Lord will put us exactly where he needs us to be at the right time.

--Elder Young--

Long but fast week. How does that work?

Hello everybody!

This week was kind of slow but really fast at the same time. I'm still not sure how that works but thats ok because we just keep going anyway. We weren't as busy as we were last week but we did still teach a few lessons and we talked with a lot of people. We were able to find some of the people the previous missionaries had been teaching to set up appointments to keep teaching them. Hopefully this week we are a little more busy and be able to see some progress.

Sunday was a fun day because we had to translate for sacrament meeting as well as teach the 2 gospel essentials classes and spanish priesthood. I'm always grateful to be able to use the skills that I've learned as a missionary in situations that I might have to do at home. I know what I learn here is going to benefit me for the rest of my life. I love being a missionary!

Something interesting that happened this week was we stopped by one of our investigators and his Pastor was sitting there on his couch. We started talking and it ended up being completely a waste of time because he didn't want to listen to anything we had to say because he thought he already knew what we believed instead of asking a listening to feel the spirit. Something else that came out of that conversation was that they said the heart was deceiving so we can't listen to it. How sad a world that would be if we couldn't listen to our hearts because that is how the Holy Ghost speaks with us. I took a little time to see what the scriptures said about the heart and I found way more references to individuals listening to their hearts because the Spirit had touched them. When it refers to the Heart often times it can be connected with our spirits as well. Our hearts are a good indication of the condition of our spirits. I love the scriptures because they teach truth rather than the doctrines of men.

Hope you have a great week and see lots of miracles.

--Elder Young--