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--

BAPTISM!!!!

Hey everybody!

Hope you all had a great week like we did!

This week was really good. We stayed pretty busy even though we had a baptism on Saturday. The baptism went great. She was as giddy as a little kid and the members loved the baptism as well. We watched Because of Him as part of the time that we were waiting for them to get back and the members loved it. That video always brings the spirit really strongly and at a baptism it was even more so. After the baptism though the weekend seemed to be a very humbling time as we met a few members that had fallen away and met people whose lives were not going very well. There is plenty of work here in Umatilla and it makes me excited to be serving here.

So part of my studies I restarted the Book of Mormon with a fresh copy and I've been marking everything that stands out to me and something that I noticed as I was reading about Nephi being told to kill Laban was that the Spirit will slowly reveal the why behind the commandments as we continually ponder them. Each time the spirit spoke, Nephi was told a little more after he had pondered about the things the Spirit had told him. I love the Book of Mormon because it teaches truth so clearly and so simply.

Hope you all have a great one!

Elder Young

UMATILLA!!

So about the area, we got some good news and some greater news. We got doubled into 2 areas so we cover the english and the spanish work here in umatilla. There were 4 missionaries here before, 1 set of sisters that spoke spanish and a set of english elders and they took both of them out and replaced them with us. I didn't find this out until I was in the transfer van on the way to the tri-cities. The ward here is super welcoming and really missionary minded. It reminds me a lot of the ward at home, as well as the size and some of the people. The bishop reminds me of my dad and some of the counselors as other members of the bishopric. My companion is super good. He has only been out on the mission for a few months but already can speak spanish really well. He just has a hard time understanding everything because a lot of the people speak so fast. With time he will be able to hear and speak just fine.

The work here is amazing and the Lord is pouring out so many blessings upon us here. On saturday we met a referral from the ward and she has a baptismal date for saturday! She had been taught by missionaries in Nevada and just moved here a couple weeks ago to live with her sister (who the referral came from) and she said she wanted to be baptized. We are super excited for it and they are and the ward is as well. It's impressive to see someone that has been prepared for gospel but just didn't know where to find it. She said she had attended a lot of churches but never really felt comfortable but when she came found out about our church and attended she felt right at home and got the "little fuzzy feeling." Again we are super excited about it and we feel super blessed. That was just one of the many miracles that we have been seeing here in Umatilla and we are excited to keep working hard to find the elect and help them come to Christ!

Hope you all are seeing the miracles that the Lord has poured out for you!

Elder Young

Transfer calls already

Hey everybody!!

Saturday we got our transfer calls and guess what, I'm getting transferred again. However, this time I'm getting doubled into Umatilla Oregon. Sisters have been in that area for about a year and for some reason they decided to put Elders back in there. My new companion's name is Elder Gleed. He is from Federal Way Washington which is around Seattle area. I'm excited to serve with him and to go back to Oregon for a while. About this time last year I was in Hermiston which is in the same stake. We had interviews just before they did transfer planning and President asked if there was work enough for me to stay and I said yes but then in transfer calls I find out I'm leaving but thats ok. It'll be an adventure, or a lot of adventures as we try to figure out what to do.

This week was really good for teaching. As we followed up with our investigators about their reading the Book of Mormon we found out that a good number of our investigators have been reading and understanding what they read. It's always a miracle when we find out that someone has been reading understanding the restoration a little better on their own just by reading from the Book of Mormon. The Lord has been pouring out miracles on this area even though we didn't have a baptism this transfer. There has been real progress as we have been finding new investigators and really trying to help them to keep their commitments to read from the Book of Mormon and to come to Christ. We just have to be diligent in doing the things the Lord needs us to do.

So this week I've finished the Book of Mormon a couple of times (1 in english and 1 in spanish, i have been working on it for a couple of months) and I just love to imagine how the prophets felt as they were writing their last words and dealing with different challenges. We have also been listening to talks from John Bytheway and other speakers and it helps to shed light on things that I haven't really thought of before. I love the scriptures and I know that they are the road map to life and we are happiest when we are studying diligently because we are acting in faith that we will get answers and we have the spirit. I LOVE the gospel!

Have a great week! Love you all!

Elder Young