PARENT NOTE: LAST WEEK WE DID NOT RECEIVE A LETTER FROM ELDER CHAD. HE RE-SENT HIS JUNE 18TH LETTER -- AND WE ARE GRATEFUL HE DID.  THIS LETTER IS ONE OF THE MOST INSPIRING WE HAVE RECEIVED.  ALSO INCLUDED IS THE JUNE 25 LETTER.  TWO FOR THE WEEK!!

Hola a todos!                     18 June 2012

 Another week has come and go and here we are again for the weekly email from Elder Davis. This week turned out to be pretty solid. We were able to accomplish a lot and to see quite a few miracles. The worst part about this week was that I have had a cold almost the whole week. I woke up on Tuesday morning with a really sore throat, and then it just went through all the cycles. I got a runny nose, then a cough, then everything all at once. But I had Elder Linville give me a blessing and it has been getting better and I just have some congestion still, but I should be better by the end of the week.

   Blessings really seemed to be a theme for this week. I think we ended up giving like 4 or 5 blessings this week. We gave one to a guy that is headed out to Afghanistan for 9 months. We gave one to one of the Sister's investigators. Elder Linville gave me one for sickness. Each time, my testimony of Priesthood blessings just grows. I think being the voice for a Priesthood blessing is such a great experience. I have really grown to know that when you give a blessing, you try your best to get out of the way and say what the Spirit indicates. I think this is one of the greatest feelings I have had on my mission, to know that the Spirit of the Lord was completely working through me to give a blessing to someone else. I have heard many times people say, "Oh that was a wonderful blessing Elder Davis." At that moment I just have to remind them that it wasn't me who gave it, but it was the Spirit. It was the things that our Heavenly Father wanted that person to know at that specific moment.
      A miracle that we did have this week was being able to invite a few more people to be baptized. We met with this Hispanic guy earlier in the week named Enrique. We were talking about the Book of Mormon, and I felt the impression to invite him to be baptized. So I invited him and testified of the blessings that will enter into his life, and he said that he will get baptized if he receives his answer from the Lord. So it is a good thing to know that Heavenly Father has our back and He wants Enrique to receive his answer as well.
       We also were able to meet with a 15 year old kid named Bret, that we found last week. His family is basically all members, but his parents haven't really been active for awhile. We asked him if baptism was something that he wanted to do, and he said he wasn't quite sure. So we taught him what baptism was and what it meant. We then were able to set the goal for him to be baptized on July 21st.
        Another blessing came in the form of a returned missionary. This is the same missionary that we heard speak a week ago. He actually was able to come with us to some of our Spanish lessons and help me teach. It was such a nice feeling to know that someone else could help me teach and someone else spoke the language. He was able to really set the tone and testify to our investigators about the blessings that can come into their life. By the mouth of two or three witnesses, right?
       The biggest miracle that we had this week was the BAPTISM of Kemmer. Kemmer is the deaf kid that we have been teaching for the last month. He was so excited to finally get baptized. The day of the baptism was definitely a crazy one. His grandfather was supposed to baptize him and had come down from Salt Lake area to do so, but the problem was that he is such a big guy, that we couldn't find a white jumpsuit that would fit him. So we were racking our brains to find a solution, but it came through Kemmer's mother. I was originally supposed to confirm him, but since we couldn't find clothes for his grandfather, we just swapped him and me around. I was called upon to baptize him about 45 minutes before the baptism. After that the whole baptism went very smooth. Kemmer actually did very well in the font and after I brought him up out of the water, he just said, "WOAH!" It was quite funny, but very fitting for him. The thing that was amazing after the baptism was when I talked with Kemmer's grandfather, the one that was supposed to baptize him. Some background is that Kemmer's father died when he was just a baby, so he never knew him. But his grandfather said that while we were in the font, that he knew that Kemmer's dad was there too. It was a pretty good feeling to know that his father was in attendance to his son's baptism.
       I also was able to have this huge epiphany about the Priesthood that I hold. I know that the Priesthood that I hold is something very sacred from our Heavenly Father and we always need to be clean and worthy to hold it. I know that even though I was asked only 45 minutes before the baptism to baptize Kemmer, I didn't have to worry or think about if I really was worthy to baptize him. That was just one of the biggest epiphanies I have ever had, to know that I need to live my life in such a manner, that in no matter what situation or what moment, that if I am called upon to use the Priesthood authority that I have been given, that I can do so without any doubt in my mind. The Lord instructs us to be worthy and clean of that power that we hold, but our personal obedience is what qualifies us to use that power we have been given.
     This week was also transfer week, but nothing is happening because of the training program. The only thing different is that one of the 2 stakes that we were covering is now being covered by another set of missionaries. It will tough to just do our work with one stake, but we will strive to gain the trust of the members and to work as hard as we can to find those who have been prepared for us here.
     NEWS FROM HOME: Well it was great to hear about the graduations of all of the cousins. I wish them the best in their futures! (Cousins Skyler and Kelse graduated from high school and Caitlin graduated from Oregon State!)  Well I need to be on my way, but I still love this work with all my heart and soul! I know that this is where I am supposed to be at this moment in my life. I wish you all the best this week! I love you all!
Live it, Love it, Preach it!    de la viña del Gran Rey Jesus,  ELDER D

Buenos dias!              June 25, 2012

    I am sorry to hear that you didn't get the letter that I had sent last week. I know that I did send one, but maybe because of the pictures that were attached to it, it didn't go through. So I resent it with and without the pictures, so hopefully you will get that all figured out.

     This week was a week of ups and downs. We had some good moments, and some low moments, but that is all part of a mission, right? We had a really good lesson with one of our investigators that we had been visiting since I got here. His name is David. He is married to a semi active member of the Church. He has been around the Church for so long, but he just hasn't been able to be baptized yet. He almost got baptized about a year ago, but had some problems arise with the missionaries. This week we were able to visit with him. We watched "The Restoration" DVD. It talks about Joseph Smith and his story on how he sought out the truth. Afterwards, we talked about David's belief in Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. It was so awesome, because he bore his testimony to us saying that he knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon was true. We then were able to invite him to be baptized on the 21st of July. The biggest obstacle we will have with him is to get him to church. He works A LOT! He has spent probably the last month going back and forth from here and Moab for work and we have only seen him maybe 4 times. Hopefully we can get him to come to church and to be able to teach him enough so he can get baptized on that date. He is probably the most solid investigator that we have at this time.
    This week I had a really big learning experience once again. I learned how precious the time the Lord has given me to serve him really is. This week we made some choices that reflected what we wanted to do, rather then what the Lord wanted us to do. Let's just say that the day didn't turn out very well. I learned that we need to continually mold our mission into what the Lord wants it to be; rather then what we want our mission to be. There is so much weighing on the time that I have been given to serve the Lord and my fellowman, that I need to use to the fullest. I am helping my brothers and sisters to come unto the knowledge of the Savior, Jesus Christ, and to gain eternal salvation. If I choose to use my remaining time in the mission to do what I want to do, those people that I am supposed to find, teach, and baptize will go unfound. I definitely do not want to have those stains upon my garments in the last days. It was definitely a very big eye opening experience.
      With the loss of one of our stakes, we have taken to the streets - we have tracted more this week then I have in the last year of my mission. I don't think I have tracted this much since I left St. George. It has brought some good blessings and some funny experiences. Another one of our investigators that is making a lot of progress in a guy named Jason. He is such a character, but loves having us over. He is also married to a less active member of the Church. He has always told us that it would be a long time before he would go to church, stop smoking, or join the church. Well he went to church for the first time last week, and he was there for his second time yesterday! We were also talking to him during the week and he said that his quitting smoking, and that his official religion is LDS. It is so crazy to see how people can change in a matter of time. I am excited for him, so hopefully we can help him to quit smoking and to invite him to be baptized.
       This week we also had a big training with President Leonard here in Huntington. It was really good. It was another thing that really helped me this week. It just helped me realize the importance of "the basics". After the training I actually had to get my temple recommend renewed. It is weird to think that my recommend is that old and that I have been out that long!
        At the end of the week we did a lot of things with the community. On Saturday, we did a bunch of service with one of the wards here. We just pulled weeds, cut down trees, leveled out some ground, and a bunch of other stuff. Later that night we went to a big community BBQ at the park. It was a good chance to meet with members and nonmembers. After the BBQ, we got roped into help announce some of the events afterwards. They had some pig chases, chicken chases, stick horse races, steer riding, and a cash cow event. It was pretty funny to see all the community and little kids do these events. We even got talked into being part of the chicken chase. Basically they make you all line up on one side of the rodeo arena and you run towards a chicken that is on the other side of the arena, and if you catch the chicken, you get to keep it. Well we didn't win the chicken, mainly because we were in white shirts and ties, so we didn't dive onto the ground like everyone else did. But it was a fun thing to do! We had a bunch of people come up to us on Sunday in church and say how good it was to see us there. Hopefully it will produce some referrals or investigators for us.
       My BYU (Provo) application still isn't finished. I need to still write my essays, and get President Leonard to sign off on it. But that is the only other thing I need to do. You are correct, the Manti Pageant is this week and we will be going to it. We actually will be there tomorrow night. I will send some pictures and tell you more about it next week!
       I wish you all the best this week! I love you all so much and am so grateful for your support!
Live it, Love it, Preach it!   tu hijito!   ELDER D