LOVING CEDAR CITY!!!

Hola mis queridos Padres!      October 17, 2011

This was just an absolutely crazy week! I guess that is to be expected with all the changes that came this week. My new area is awesome! I love it so much! We are busy all the time, but that is a really good thing. I actually gave you incomplete information about the area.  It really isn’t an all Spanish area, just mostly Spanish. We cover two branches; one is the Spanish branch for all of the Cedar City area, and the other one is a Native American branch for all of the Cedar City area. We just call ourselves the "Lamanite Missionaries".

I have been pretty lost the last few days, but I am starting to get it all down. I am the official driver, so I was just thrown under the bus and have been trying to learn the streets and all of that. It is a pretty tough thing to do when you cover the whole city and surrounding areas.  I found out that I didn’t really lose my Spanish, but that my mind just works in Spanish a little slower then it did when I was in St. George. I have definitely been trying to work on getting my mind working in Spanish again and it seems to be going pretty well.

I guess it is on to the companion. His name is Bernardo Castro. He is from Salt Lake. Well I guess he technically claims Kearns, but it is all the same right? He was born in Mexico, but has lived most of his life in Utah; mainly the Logan area. He is so awesome! We were in the same zone when we were in St. George, so we know each other pretty well. It is such a big difference to go from having a rough time with a companion, to being with a companion that I get along with. It is pretty awesome. We actually both have the exact same time in the mission. We went into the MTC on the same day.

I am learning so much here in this area. Elder Castro is bringing out the good side of me and I feel that I am continually progressing and becoming the best missionary I can be. There are so many little things that you pass over as a missionary, but those little things can make a huge difference. I have been learning about how we need to properly set our goals and plans, and that we are accountable for these goals and plans and if we reach them or not. Just a lot of learning is going on.

This week was full of amazing teaching experiences.  President Leonard has really been stressing that we create lesson plans for each investigator that we have and that these plans are specifically for them. I can truly testify that a lesson plan really helps us bring the Spirit so we can help our investigators. We had an awesome lesson with this couple named Erica and Julio. They have only been taught for a little while, and we put a baptismal date to them, but they declined. So we decided to go and teach the doctrine of baptism and really help them understand it. We read from the Book of Mormon and taught the covenant and the blessings of baptism. Then we re-extended the commitment to be baptized, and this time they accepted! It is such an exciting thing when an investigator really accepts a baptismal date.

The next experience comes from a less active lady. We are teaching her family, and they are getting baptized next week. We have taught them a bunch, but they always seem kind of shut off towards us and their feelings. This weekend they got married, and we had a lesson with them afterwards. We asked her how she felt, and she just started to break down and cry. We were just like "wow, what is going to happen?" She then talked about how great of a blessing it was to have her whole family getting baptized. She had been less active for quite a while and had moved around a lot.  She had always secretly wanted to go back to Church, but she could never find it within herself to go back or to take those steps. Then one day the missionaries came and knocked on her door. She thanked us for coming to her door and that we have taught them and helped them be able to enter into the Church again and that now her family can share the blessings of the gospel with her. It really is just a true testimony on how Heavenly Father truly prepares people for us to find, teach, and baptize. He is doing His part in the missionary work; we just have to do ours.

 It doesn’t matter if we are members or full time missionaries, we can all be part of the great work of bringing souls to Christ. That is my little challenge for you this week; to go and find a missionary opportunity!  I am so grateful for this chance I have to serve a full time mission and I am grateful for all of your support! Dios les bendiga!

Live it, Love it, Preach it!    les amo!        ELDER D