Merry Christmas

Trying out our Christmas Face Masks

Bach Rhode Island

Angelica, John, Aria, Ray Daniels Family in Rhode Island

Fun with the Rhode Island District

Kellie

Noel,Laura, Kellie in Rhode Island

The District Rhode Island

Our District on Rhode Island

Merry Christmas!!!
Week 63, Dec 30 2019


   Well, Monday was honestly really short, and we didn't do all too much. We had a set lesson with a less active member. When we got there we waited 30 minutes and no one answered or came home. We later found out he went to the Doctors.
     Tuesday morning we had a short time for studies, and I finished the book Either, in the Book of Mormon. at10am we had a lesson with James and his mother Miss.Chen, she and her husband flew in from Hong Kong to visit James for the Holidays. We were able to have a lesson with her, because she wants to come closer to Christ. It was for sure a different experience because she only speaks Cantonise/Mandrine-Chinese. We are teaching James and he was our translator for his mom. In a sense we taught him, then he taught her. To start out we watched three videos in Chinese, 1st was Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, 2nd was Christ’s crucifixion, and 3rd was about His resurrection. For her we had to teach really simple because she doesn't come from a Christian background. We were able to teach both her and James more about the story of Christ. We had a lesson on "The Plan of Salvation". She liked it and also had a lot of good questions. We answered all the ones we could, and even set a time to come back for another lesson. We made a few calls and by the end of the week we will be getting a Chinese Book of Mormon for her!!! We had some relaxing time then made our way to the chapel and wait for the District to practice our caroling! We only had time to sing a couple of the first verses then made our way on over to "Royals Nursing Home". We had all 6 of us missionaries and about 7 (In Total) members from all 3 wards to come sing with us! We had a really good time. We planned for 10 songs but it took 30 minutes, we had a whole hour. We then improvised using the Hymn Book and a Christmas piano song book. There were about 10 residents that came in and listened. They were all pretty grateful for us coming and caroling. After the Elders went out to lunch at Taco Bell for a quick bite to eat. We came home and I was able to call my family because they were all together. I was able to talk to my brothers Tyler and Trever. Mikaela (Tyler's wife) their daughter Emma and Olive (my Nieces), I also talked to my sister Tiffanie and her husband Jared and their Daughter Hallie, I talked to my Oldest sister Jessica and little Sister Kaylee. It was really fun to talk to all of them, it doesn't happen very much. Shortly after I hung up we made our drive to Tiverton and hung out with the Daniel family (non-members). Angelica, John, Auria, and Ray. We had a really fun time with them all. We decorated cookies with the kids when we first got there, we had dinner and talked with each other. After dinner we watched "The Christ Child" with them and talked about it. To end the night we played some games and hung out then came home for the night. We were up for a little bit and us four Elders played a couple of card games. After a little bit, we ended up opening some Christmas presents because we would have no time in the morning. We also did some facemasks the Sisters gave to us.
     IT'S CHRISTMAS!!! Also Wednesday, and when we woke up we were all pretty tired, and we had to get ready quick! As soon as we got ready we made our way to the Woods home. Brother Wood had a lot of awesome stories to share with us from his many callings in the church. Bishop, Stake President, a member of the 70 ( General Authority), and the Boston Temple President. In his office he has an amazing photo of Abraham giving Isaac the Melchizedek Priesthood. The family got all four of us elders some presents, some small stuff but still meaningful. After that we went to the Church and had time to call the family. I tried but no one responded, while Elder Johnson and Elder Stokes talked to their family, Elder Burrows and I played some ball In the Cultural Hall. After a little bit we made our way to Noel and Luara’s for a lunch, the first thing we did was watch "The Christ Child" to help us remember the true meaning of Christmas! After, we sat around hung out and talked while we waited for it to finish cooking. It was ham, green bean casserole and stuffing, all in all it was a good lunch! Later we went to Dinner with the Hancocks and had some good ol Ribeye Steak! It was such a good day and I got really full from all of the food. To end the night we hung out with Noel and Luara again and had dessert with them. When I got home I officially finished my reading of the Book of Mormon on the topic of the God Head!
     Thursday morning studies I read along to the Bible, I am still really confused, but the Old Testament has so much of importance to the coming of Christ that I made it a goal to finish it before I get home in October. This morning I also started my next studies on the Book of Mormon and I have a special Book of Mormon with extra content to help me know who is speaking where and when this is taking place and Highlighted headings. I am reading it as If it is my first time, to help me better appreciate it more. This will also help me prepare for April's General Conference! After studies we drove up to the Narragansett Elders Chapel for Elder Johnson to give a Baptismal interview. While he did that we did exchanges and I went with Elder Burrows to pick up a Chinese Book of Mormon for Sister Chen (James mother) we also got a baptismal interview record. Because we were both hungry we went out to Wendy's and came back to the Chapel. When we got there Elder Johnson was still in the Interview.  He finished shortly after. Before we went home we went to Subway because Elder Johnson was hungry as well. We then went to the Chapel to try and copy a couple things but it wasn’t working. Later on we drove up to Tiverton and had dinner with the Vest Family. It was pretty dang good. We had Smoked Ribs and Smoked brisket! So worth the waiting is what Brother Vest said. For our Message we watched a Book of Mormon video of Nephi 3-5. They all really liked it. To end the night we drove home and went to see James and Sister Chen. We helped answer a few of her questions and gave her the Chinese Book of Mormon. She had a lot of great questions and has a desire to be baptized. Due to her leaving back to China (Mainland) next week it wouldn't be possible. She is coming back to visit in July then officially moving to the USA in November. With James help we will help her build her testimony and continue to read the Book of Mormon so that when, she gets here she will be ready! Earlier today Elder Johnson was asked to give a talk on Sunday on Spiritual Goals
     Friday morning after we got ready had time for a short studies then drive up to pick the Elders up for District Council. Elder Stokes had todays training on setting Goals, perfect for the new year. Not only for us, but for who we are teaching and our areas. After we went to lunch at Iggy’s and Sister Tueller bought a tub of New England Clam Chowder for all of us to share. We also had time to sign each others, transfers journals and take some last minute photos before we all went back into our areas. We then went straight to the library for Elder Johnson to work on his talk for a little bit then came home for dinner. After we did some stop byes with less active members.  We stopped by one member who was not happy we came by un-announced. She hasn't been feeling the best but we were able to help give her a blessing of healing. We did couple of stop byes with people close by then went to CVS for Elder Johnson to print a couple photos. We hit a Taco Bell on the way home then filled up the gas tank then came home. To night I did a work out then went to bed.
     Saturday when I woke up, Elder Johnson let me know he wasn’t feeling to well, so I did my own personal studies while he rested up. I also did some cleaning in the Kitchen and made some lunch while I was at it. At around 2 we went to the library for Elder Johnson to work on his talk for tomorrow. I worked on my weekly email. After we had dinner we went to visit brother Mottrom and had a lesson with him on Temples.  We watched the Rome Italy temple walkthrough and invited him to meet with Bishop and work to make it to the Temple. The last lesson of the night was once again with James and his mom Sister Chen. She had read more of the Book of Mormon then what we asked and already is building her testimony of it! We ended up watching the first Book of Mormon video with them in Chinese! It was pretty strange but still a cool experience! She said when she read the Testimonies of the 3, and the 8 Witnesses and Joseph Smith's testimony she knew it had to be true!!! When she comes back to America she will be ready for her baptism!
     Sunday morning I slept passed my alarm and Elder Johnson had to wake me up and I got ready. We shortly after made our way to Church. I sat in the back row with Sister Chen and James. Bishop Crocket (who served in Hong Kong on his mission) talked to them in Cantonese, Sister Chen enjoyed that! Elder Johnson and Sister Jaggi both gave awesome talks on Goal setting for the new year! There was some extra time so Bishop gave a little talk and gave an experience from his mission. Some of it he said in Cantonese and the only other two who understood were James and Sister Chen. I thought that was a very awesome moment in today’s service! Second hour was all together to discuss the programs for the new year, including the Ward Mission Plan!!! We are excited to start implementing it! After church we came home had lunch and then studies. We did some contacting and went to the Church to set up a flyer for our Book of Mormon class we are starting up the first week of the new year! We then had a couple of contacts with less active members and set up times to come back! To end the night I wrote in my journal and Elder Johnson called the members of the District to see how there week went.

                Jeremiah 31:31
 
     "31 ¶ Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah"

     With it being the new year and cool enough a new decade as well, I have been pondering the past year and all I have done. As the new year approaches as "the days come" we should do what we can to set goals for ourselves but even greater do what we can to come closer to the Lord. Let's make and or keep the covenants we have made with our Savior Jesus Christ! I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Happy Holidays 2019

Elder K

playing with Ferret

Santa, I've been good !

Christmas Zone Conference

We got some snow

The beach

FHE with the Military Families

Elder Johnson's Birthday

Elder Johnson and Elder Knowlden

Fall River where my Uncle Jeremy Served his mission

Fun to see Elder Leite Again

Love the Ocean

Happy Holidays to Everyone

Week 61 Dec 16th 2019 
  Monday, nothing really happened just the usual, that night we did a couple stop byes with less active members. We saw a family was close to where we were working. We had never met them so we assumed they were less active. They let us right in and we were not expecting that at all, but we had a good time getting to know them. We even set up a time to come back for dinner and a message!
     Tuesday morning was an early one, we had Zone Conference today, and a few of the members of the District had to practice for a song they were doing together. We were the first ones there, and the other Elders who should have been there at 8:30 didn’t get there until 9:15ish. We eventually started our Christmas Zone Conference. It was pretty dang awesome and all focused on the Savior. Before lunch we had split into 3 groups and had a "Scavenger Hunt". We had 3 challenges and puzzles to find the prize. The prize was Christ because we should always be looking for Him. At lunch President and Sister Mavromaitis sat by us and it was fun to talk to them both. After lunch we had a special FHE activity, and we redid the words to the 12 days of Christmas and put it to a Christ’s Gospel version.  The last little bit President talked and then the District did their song of Silent Night. After Zone Conference we were still there for a little longer because Elder Johnson did 3 interviews for Baptisms for the Scituate Sisters. When we got back to our area we went straight to the Chapel for a lesson with Tionna. We are starting to talk about Preach my Gospel with her to help her prepare for a mission! To end the night we had a lesson with Mike, a man who lives in our complex. The lesson went really well and we watched the Christ Child. While at Zone Conference I got my package from home and it was cool to see what my parents sent me. My dad sent me his Book of Mormon he used on his mission, and as I am reading through his highlights, I can just fill a stronger connection to who he is.
     Wednesday morning we had our studies, and I read one of my favorite Chapters in the Book of Mormon. I read 3 Nephi 11. This is the Chapter when Christ comes down and talks to all of the Nephites in the Americas. After studies we wrapped up more presents and then had a lesson with James. We were able to watch a Book of Mormon Video and talk about it. After his lesson we did Facebook finding up until we left for dinner. We had dinner with the Roneys Family the new couple in the ward. They made Zupas Tucanos soup, and it was sooooo good! My mom and Sister made it all the time back home and I miss it so much! We then watched "The Christ Child" and had a really good discussion about it! For the rest of the night we did stop byes to visit less active members and drop off our presents to former people taught in the past.  During our last visit to a less active member, we talked to a night guard from the building. His name is Washington and he is from Paraguay! It was super cool to talk to him and found out his mother is a devout member back home, so we think he is a member as well! We will be going back soon to talk to him more.
     Thursday morning right after studies we made out way to a Nursing Home to drop off a Bible to a lady who wanted one. We also gave her a few more to hand out to co-workers and residents! After that we were right by the Newport Library so we did an hour of Facebook finding there. We got a text from the Narragansett Elders asking where we were. The reason being we started exchanges today. This was around 1:30, they told us they would be there closer to 5pm... so after we finished we came home then went to eat at Wendy's because Elder Johnson and I hadn’t had any food yet. We then officially started our exchanges. I was with Elder Stokes and Elder Johnson was with Elder Burrows. We had a stop bye to visit a lady in Middletown and we were able to meet her. Turns out she has a new number so that's why she hadn't  responded to us. We will be in touch and hopefully teach her again soon! We then went over into Tiverton and on the way we saw a "Hawaii" license plate, and at lunch we saw a "Alaska" license plate. It was pretty crazy to see those let alone on the same day! We didn't have much luck while in Tiverton, it wasn’t the best time either. With one guy we tried to visit, he was at the very top of our area and we evidently left the zone by like 100 ft. We entered into Fall River, which is an area my uncle Jeremy served in 20 years ago! Sadly, the man didn’t live there anymore. The Daniel's Family (they just love the missionaries, not members) invited all 4 of us over for dinner. We had a pumpkin Chili, and had a fun time getting to know them even more. We were there for the rest of the night then went home. With Zone Conference earlier this week we didn’t expect to have District Council tomorrow so we already made plans. We got a text from the Zone Leaders at 10:15 saying we would be having District Council tomorrow. It was pretty last minute but Elder Burrows volunteered to give the lesson, we then went to bed.
     Friday morning the Elders left so they could get ready for District Council. Later on we made our way up to Warwick for District Council. The Narragansett Elders were 40 minutes late, but Elder Burrows prepared his lesson in that time. We had a great lesson on building a spiritual Snowman aka teaching for understanding. It was a pretty fun lesson with a Christmas twist. After we finished, Elder Johnson and I dropped off the car at Firestone for an oil change and while we waited all of us ate lunch at Wendy’s. We were expecting a 2-hour wait but it was done with in an hour in half! It was basically finished when we got back to Firestone. We went home, changed and did our last Facebook findings for the 15-day pilot program. For the rest of the night we went to the Navy Base and had the last FHE for the year. FHE was put on by a member of the Narragansett Ward. He did it for his Eagle Scout Project. He had a lot of other youth help him out. It was a Christmas Devotional with singing and stories. It was actually pretty well done!
     Saturday morning while I waited for daily planning I listened to the Old Testament to try and catch up a little bit. When it came time for personal studies I came upon a scripture that really made me ponder upon. (It will be at the end of my letter). After studies we visited Rose Cole a member who is blind. We picked up a lasagna dish she made for the Christmas party later that night. While we were there we helped hang something on the wall and her cat scratched me, but that's okay it happens. We brought the dish to the Church and put it in the fridge. On the way to our next lesson, we did a lot of stop byes. Our lesson was with a less active member and we watched "The Christ Child " video and talked about it. I was able to hold one of their ferrets, oh boy was it active, he just wouldn't stay still. On the way home we did more stop byes. For most of the night we were at the Ward Christmas party. We had fun and ate good food. Every primary class went up on a little stage and sang a song. The Elders Quorum sang "Frosty the Snowman". The whole time I was in my "Christmas Story Pj’s. I even got pictures with Santa. The last thing we did that night was share a lesson with Lloyd and we watched "The Christ Child" video.
     Sunday morning we woke up to a text from Brother Grindstaff, he is in the Bishopric and asked if we could give talks today. Elder Johnson somehow got out of it, but I started to prepare a talk. I did it on Spiritual Gifts. I was the first talk up and I was glad so I could just get it done with. After the talk I had a couple members say I did a really good job, one of those was from Brother Wood, a former 70. Hearing that from him really made me feel better because I didn’t think it was the best talk. Brother Wood is the Sunday School teacher and it was so cool to hear a lot more about the Book of Revelations! It truly is an intriguing book of the Bible. After Church we had a special missionary coordination with President Everett, he is in the Mission Presidency. It was focused on how we can better make these meetings more successful. We made our way near the bottom of our area to meet a guy to give him a free Bible. We even got his contact info to hopefully start teaching soon! On the way home we stopped by the Ocean and got a few really good pictures! When we got home we did studies and I took a nap on the couch. When I woke up we made our way to the Hancock’s for dinner. After dinner we drove to the Raposa family. We had a lesson with Dylan and his Mom Gretchen, Brother Raposa’s Nephew and Sister in Law. Even Allison Raposa was there and she isn’t a member. We shared a powerful lesson on the Plan of Salvation. It wasn’t until after we left, we found out that before we came they lost a family member. I am truly grateful for the promptings of the spirit that led us to deciding to share that lesson that night! Nothing much happened that night besides stop byes and call ins.

                   3 Nephi 18:31
   "31 But if he repent not he shall not be numbered among my people, that he may not destroy my people, for behold I know my sheep, and they are numbered"

     This right here is the Lord speaking to the 12 disciples he called. I love this, though we are all children on God, very few of us claim to be so. As we repent and try to show the love we have for Christ and Follow his Teachings we will not be destroyed for we are "His people". As the world gets worse His sheep will continue to be numbered. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Ward Christmas Party in Rhode Island

Christmas PJ's Rhode Island

Decorating for Christmas Party

Rhode Island District P-Day

Rhode Island District P-Day Bowling

Pretty Christmas Lights

Elder Johnson and Me

Ward Christmas Party

Noel, Laura, Kellie in Rhode Island

Week 60 Rhode Island Dec 9th 2019
     Monday was a pretty fun day. It was our District P- day. Elder Johnson and I got what we needed to do done for the day earlier than usual. By 11am we made our way over to the Narragansett Elders apt. After they finished and got ready we all went to Kingston Bowling.  We had a pretty fun time there and played 2 full games and half of the 3rd (we only had 2 hours). My first score was 59, then I got a 60. I wish we could have played a full 3rd game because on frame seven, I was already at 66 points! After we finished bowling we went out to Wendy's for lunch then went to the Warwick Chapel for games. We all had a lot of fun.  We didn't get home until about 6:30ish we then had a quick dinner then had a lesson with Mike. He is a guy we are teaching who lives in the same apt complex as us. It went really well and we hope to see him at church within the next couple weeks! To end the night we came home and started to wrap copies of The Book of Mormon and the Bible. We plan on handing them out as gifts this month!
     Tuesday, we woke up to a few inches of snow on the ground! We went to the Salvation Army and provided service.  Right when we got there, it was pretty slow and the truck wasn’t there yet. We then shoveled snow in the parking lot and Elder Johnson tried to throw some snowballs at me. We also played a little bit of baseball, and I had fun hitting the balls of snow. The first order came in and it was a load of bread, we loaded it up in the shopping carts and brought it all inside.  When the truck came we loaded up the carts and brought everything inside. Our job was to fit all the frozen stuff into the freezers. There was so much stuff this week we couldn't do it, but lucky we were able to get a lot of it in! Even the extra freezers were full! We had some lunch made by Brother Jones and it was better then it looked. We finished up and made our way to Walmart so I could swap my slippers in for the correct size. We came home changed and had an hour of studies. My studies today were pretty good, I read about Samson in the Bible (Judges) and the faith he had was incredible! After studies we made our way to visit a less active member with Brother and Sister Wood, unfortunately she canceled last minute. We then made our way to the Library to do our 1 hour of Facebook finding, but when we got to the Middletown Library it was closed. Before we left to Newport we talked to a man outside the Middletown Library and even gave him a Book of Mormon and he wants to even read it! We then made our way to the Newport Library; we did a lot of good work. After dinner we made our way to the Chapel to meet with Brother Raposa. While we waited we played volleyball with the young men. With Brother Raposa we had a lesson with a couple of Jackie's friend's.  They both are on hard times and needed some spiritual uplifts. We talked about the Book of Mormon and the power of Prayer.
     Wednesday right after we got ready we made our way to the Narragansett Elders apt to carpool up to interviews my Mission President. They went really well and as a Mission we have a goal for 44 Baptisms this month! It will be the most baptisms one month in a while! We as a companionship talked about how we can better see and help our area grow! After we finished we waited for the Narragansett Elders to do their interviews then went out to lunch. We also went with a couple other Elders. We first went to McDonalds then after went to the better place of Wendy's. We finished up and made our way back to our area. We went to the Library for our one hour session of Facebook and it was pretty successful! We then came home to wrap copies of the Book of Mormon and Bible so we can hand them out as gifts. We have a lot of great ideas for the season! We then went up to Portsmouth for a lesson with Dylan, he is the nephew of Brother Raposa. We watched the Christ Child video with him and it went really well! We did stop byes to people in the area for the rest of the night.
     Thursday in studies I read the famous scripture in Helaman 5:12 talk about how Christ is the rock of our Foundation, if we make Him our Foundation he will help us withstand the storms of doubt and sins of the world. I also was able to read and ponder the words in my Patriarchal Blessing and I am continually striving to understand it more each and every time I read it. After studies we highlighted some scriptures and wrapped them up. After our lunch we went to visit James and have a lesson with him. We watched another Book of Mormon video and talked to him about what we watched. Next time we plan on going over the Plan of Salvation! We then made our way to the Library to do more of our Facebook finding and I made a couple free Bible posts! We will see how it goes! We then came home and had an early dinner so we could make it to a less active members home to have a lesson, but when we got there they weren't home. In missionary work that happens a lot. We then made our way to a couple people in the area for stop byes and we were able to talk with them! We then went to the Chapel and we met with Tionna and her friend Dante, we were able to watch the Christ Child video with them to help bring the Holiday Spirit! For our final lesson of the night we met with the Hyde family again. And this time we watched the Christ Child video, it truly is a powerful film depicting the Nativity and the coming of Christ!
     Friday morning after we had a short studies we made our way to the Narragansett Elders apt then carpooled to have District Council. We had a pretty awesome training by the Scituate sisters on leaving commitments and following up. They even made it Christmas themed! It was pretty dang awesome! We had some cheese cake and some of the District practiced a song for Zone Conference this next week. When they finished us elders went to McDonalds for lunch because we had a coupon. Sadly it wasn’t as good as Wendy's, but hey we had a coupon so its okay. After lunch we made our way home and changed out of our suits. We then made our way downtown to go see Lloyd for a lesson and it took like 20 minutes to park! After we parked and we started to walk to his apt we called him and he let us know he had to reschedule. We decided to take the long way back to the car and we did some street contacting. When we got into the car we made our way to the Newport Library and we did an hour of Facebook Finding. Once again it was pretty successful! After a short dinner we made our way onto the Navy Base to have our Weekly FHE (Family Home Evening) activity.  Once again it was pretty successful, There were about 100 or more Navy men and women. We shared a Christmas message and we invited all of them to do what they can to #LighttheWorld! While at FHE night we played a few games with a few of the Navy guys! We had a lot of fun with it all!
     Saturday by 8 am we were already at the chapel for our weekly coordination meeting with Sister Harker and Brother Raposa. It went really well and the ward leaders are so willing to help! We came home and stopped by the club house at our apt complex and got some hot apple cider, it's always so good! When we got home we started our personal studies. We had an appointment cancel so we had to redo our plans for the day, to help save our miles. We went to do Facebook Finding one more time for the week and it went really well! We had a few more follows and friend requests accepted and we will be sending Christmas messages to them weekly up until Christmas. We then came home wrapped the last of our special Bibles and Book of Mormons and then had dinner. For the rest of the night we did stop byes and handed out the presents to former people being taught. With them being wrapped and us giving them as presents we were able to get inside a couple of homes and invite them to the special Christmas service on December 22nd!
     Sunday was also a pretty good day! In the first hour I helped pass the Sacrament, and Elder Johnson said the Opening Prayer and Yes I did say the Closing Prayer. We had two really good talks today both on faith. The second talk the speaker brought up the scene in "The Polar Express" when the main Character has Santa’s bell in his hand but he cant hear it or even see Santa, Every once around him can. It's not until he says " I believe " he can then hear the Bell and also see Santa (who is right behind him). Same goes for us, we can’t see the blessing in our lives until we too say I believe. Second hour was Elders Quorum and we discussed the talk from the past General Conference "Be Faithful not Faithless". We need to feed ourselves spiritually with things that will nourish us, or we could die or hunger with a full stomach. When we got home we had our time for studies and then weekly planning. It was pretty good and we have lots of good plans to come! We then had dinner with the Hancock family and we had Shepards pie. The coolest thing about there home is all of the reptiles they own and I held almost all of them. They have one really aggressive Tegu who actually Bit Brother Hancock and he now needs stitches!!! It is crazy how fast it was. To end the night we went to see James and we watched the wonderful Christmas Devotional with him. I loved how it was so centered on Christ!
                               Luke 2:11
     "11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."
     Something so simple, yet so powerful. With the Christmas season at hand this is a great way to start out the month with this passage. Christ is the true meaning of Christmas. Sure it's fun and all to get gifts and give gifts, but the greatest gift of all came from our Father in Heaven, and that was his beloved son Jesus Christ!  I have been able to watch "The Christ Child" movie a few times now, and each time it truly brings the spirit to me, to see how the Wise Men and the Shepherds went immediately to go see Christ. I invite all of you to do the same! You can watch it on thechurchofjesuschrist.org I promise you that it will bring the Christmas Spirit to your life! I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving
Week 59 Dec 2nd 2019
  Happy Holidays, it's now December! Time to get ready for Christmas! Monday was a pretty bland day, we did the usual stuff and after a little bit we went to the Chapel so we could use the wifi. We were able to call home and talk to family and friends. We also played some B-ball. It was pretty fun. We then came home for dinner and then we were off for the night. First thing we did was go visit Noel and Laura, a couple people we are teaching. When we got there it turns out they were up in Boston. While on the phone talking to Noel, he thought I was his son, because I must have sounded just like him. After we hung up we picked up our laundry from a members home that does it for us. We then came home to fold it all and we had forgotten our White Shirts so we went back to pick them up. We also went to CVS for a couple of items then came home. For the night, I listened to an awesome Member missionary fireside talk and it was truly amazing. Tears came to my eyes and it made me ponder and think on how I can be a more effective missionary and help members share the Gospel!
     Tuesday after we got up and ready, we had a short study session then made our way to "Salvation Army" we help out with service there with organizing food and unloading it from the truck when it comes in. After we finished, we were able to have some lunch they made. For the last hour we helped take people who came in around and pack up what they needed. When we finished, we made our way to the Navy Pass Office so I could get my pass to get on the Navy Base. (We have FHE there on most Friday nights). We then came home and changed for the rest of the day. After we changed we had a little more studies left to do. We then went to the Library to print out a few things for #LighttheWorld . Later we went to the Church and copied 50 sheets of the daily #LighttheWorld calendar. The last thing we did for the night was stop by a less active members home and we shared a message of "Lehi’s Vision" it went really well! We had one last lesson with a less active member and we focused it all on prayer.  It was pretty awesome to see his faith grow!
     Wednesday morning I got up and got ready for the day. While I waited for our studies to start I listened to the talk "Bill Carpenter's Conversion Story", and oh boy is that powerful. I invite you all to go look it up and listen to it for yourself! We were going to go to the Library after studies but as we left the apt I unfortunately forgot the keys inside. We had to wait at the leasing office until someone got back to help open up our door. When we got our keys it was time to go to our lesson with James and it went really well. He said he has prayed and he knows that the Book of Mormon is true! After his lesson we went to the library and I officially got a library card! It will be so much easier to use the computers now. While we were there we looked through the Facebook Finding guidelines and oh boy is there a lot! That's okay though it's there to keep us safe. We ended up going to Wendy's for dinner and then went to the Chapel to see what we could do for a “Light the World” set up. Later on Tionna came and we had a great lesson with her.  We watched the Time Italy Temple walkthrough to help prepare her to enter into the Temple then serve her mission!!! To end the night we had a lesson with Brother Motrrom a less active member. We watched a Book of Mormon video with him and invited him to start to pray daily, it went really well!
     Thursday, Happy Thanksgiving! Today was honestly such a fun day. We left to the Chapel after a little but of studies and we had a training.  Us and 14 other Companionships were in this. We are going to be doing "Facebook finding". It’s a way we can use Facebook to better reach out and find people to teach. It starts soon and all of us will be testing it out to see if we should train everyone to do it.  We had time to call family and talk to them. Shortly after members came to the Church and had a potluck dinner, there were about 30 of us and it was a lot of fun! I was able to call home again and talk to my extended family to see how all of them were doing as well! Later we played some card games with some of the members. We then left to visit Noel and Laura for our second dinner... we were already pretty full. We hung out with them and enjoyed their company of friendship. We then had the Narragansett Elders come over- Elder Burrows and Elder Stokes. Last transfer Elder Stokes was here in Newport so Noel invited them over. We had a really good time. To end the night we shared a message on Trusting in the Lord and it was pretty awesome! All four of us then came back to the apt and got ready for the night.
     Friday morning after we woke up the Elders went home so they could get ready. About an hour later we went up to see them and head to District Council. We had a good lesson on following the spirit to help discern the needs of our friends. We had some Sparkling Apple Cider and talked about what we will do for District P-day. We are all excited for this upcoming Monday! On the way home we stopped by Wendy's for some lunch then officially made it back to the apt. We changed out of our Suits then went to the Library to get ready and set up our Facebook Pages for Facebook finding starting next week. That took a while. When we got home we relaxed and then had Dinner. For the rest of the nIght, we did stop byes to see less active members . We didn’t have much success in that but we did have the opportunity to do some service.  We saw some people moving so we helped out. We brought some boxes and furniture in and turns out that one of them is a less active member! I handed out a couple Book of Mormon cards and invited them all to the 22nd for the Special Christmas Service! It was a great way to end the night!
     Saturday while in studies today I finished up the Book of Alma, and the awesome story of the 2,000 Stripling Warriors. It amazes me to see the Faith they all had, that in the midst of war none of them died. Sure they may have been injured but no deaths from the faithful servants of God! After lunch we went to the Library to finish up and getting ready for Facebook finding. We then went out to the Chapel and set up one of the bulletin Boards to be #LighttheWorld. It was pretty awesome. While we were setting up we listened to a few really good talks by John Bytheway, definitely a great speaker! After dinner we made a few stop byes in Newport area and didn’t get any luck. To end the night we had a lesson with Lloyd a recent convert and we watched one of the Book of Mormon Videos.
     Sunday was a pretty good day. It was Fast and Testimony meeting, and once again I bore my testimony. There were so many awesome Testimonies given especially by Primary Kids! They were all on prayer, and I can definitely say I truly felt the Spirit. We had a Friend there at Church, who brought his friend and it was her first time, her name is Zoey. While in Sacrament there was a boy who bore his testimony that made Zoey feel the spirit and she was truly moved. Second hour was Sunday School and our lesson was given by Brother Robert  Wood, he is a retired area 70 from the Church. He gave a pretty awesome lesson from the Epistle of James along with 1st and 2nd Peter.  After Church we came home and had our studies along with weekly planning. After we finished up with that, we had dinner because we were both pretty hungry from our fasting. To end the night we did a few stop byes but not any luck. It was snowing pretty bad and we were in the area so we made our way to see Noel and Laura. We pulled up at the same time they did, and it couldn't have been any better. We were there for the rest of the night. We helped build our friendship with them. While we were there Noel said if we didn’t come over on Thanksgiving it wouldn't have been the same, we are like family to them and he was beyond grateful that we made it there. When we were getting ready to leave we talked about the power of prayer and invited them both to read Alma 34. It was an awesome night!

                          Alma 36:3
    "3 And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day."

     Where it says "son Helaman" change that to (Daughter if applicable) your own name. And read it as if our Heavenly Father is talking to you personally.  I have done this many times throughout my mission as I have had hard times and it has given me so much peace to Know that I have a Savior who has sacrificed himself to be able to give us comfort in the trails of our lives. Christ truly does know how each and everyone of us feel, he didn’t just atone for our sins, but for our pains and afflictions of every kind. That is the greatest gift I have ever received and that is what I am grateful for! I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

My new area of Newport, Rhode Island

Rhode Island District

saying good bye to Ollie, Larry, Myana, Peyton

Saying goodbye to Ollie, Larry, Myana, Peyton

Saying goodbye to Ollie, Larry, Myana, Peyton

My New Companion Elder Johnson from So. Jordan Utah

Saying Bye to Pam

Saying bye to Elders Leite & Elder White is going home

Cannon on the Plymouth Plantation

Plymouth Plantation

Hey, I'm flying Harry Potter

Harry Potter ready to crash land

Plymouth Plantation

My Awesome Companions Elder White and Leite

 Week 58 November 25-2019
New Area- Newport, Rhode Island 

Monday ended up not being P-day for this week because of transfers being Wednesday. Tuesday will be the P-day of this week. We went over to the Calas  Family to help them out and also get our laundry done. It took forever but it would have took forever back at our place anyway. We were able to fellowship them even more and talk to Jimmy (Sister Calas brother). He really is a cool guy and sometime in the near future I can tell he will be baptized. He has grown a lot from when I first met him. He even comes to church every week with the Calas! When we were there brother Berry came over and we were able to help assist in the blessing. It was by far the most powerful blessing I have been apart of! Some things were said that I cannot deny were from Christ himself! While waiting for our clothes to finish we played some chess and Brother Cala got to know me some more. He asked about my family and I have him the short story of my crazy family history. Not too much happened this night but we said good bye to Brother Gould and our friend Al Sears. At night we finally got transfer texts and it turns out I will be getting transferred.  My next area will be Newport Rhode Island, and I was honestly really okay with it. I can say I served in all three states that my mission covers!
     Tuesday was now P-day and after we finished up our needed to do stuff we made our way to the Plymouth Plantation. It is a step back in history and takes you to how Plymouth was when the Pilgrims landed. We went through different places there and learned about it all. First stop was the Wompanogs tribe of Indians area. They talked about how they lived off the land and how the kids helped catch the food and watched over the crops it was pretty cool. There was some arts and crafts area where there were artifacts from that time and showed how life was like for dining and what they were. The final area was the pilgrim village.  We stopped by each of the homes and even practiced how to spear someone. (No one was harmed). We talked to a lot of the workers (actors) and it was as if they were a certain pilgrims that came on the Mayflower.  Also while we were there we saw the Fort on the hill with a bunch of cannons. It was pretty cool! The Plymouth Plantation is a living museum and honestly so worth it! That night we had one last lesson with Pam and said our goodbyes to her. It is hard to leave before I can see her Baptism but she is still going so strong! She gave us each a Bicentennial 50 cent coin for the road and for us to remember her. Our last stop of the night was to say goodbye to Larry, Ollie, Peyton and Myana. I will for sure miss them all but they are still wanting to learn more! For the rest of the night we spent it packing up and getting ready for transfers.
     Wednesday was a busy day, first thing we did as all woke up to finalize our packing and cleaning up the apartment.  We cleaned up the car and we waited for the Brewster Elders to come meet with us. I took one last video of my apt to help me remember and said my goodbyes. We packed up the cars with our bags and celebrated Elder Whites 2 years of service with sparklers. We first made a stop by at Chick-fil-a in Plymouth because we were all pretty hungry. We then made our drive all the way up to Weston and met with a lot of missionaries who were there. It was fun to see them all and talk to a lot of them. I got some last pictures with my companions (Elder White and Elder Leite) and said my good byes to them. Elder White will be going home this week back to the real world. I met with my new companion Elder Johnson and we got the car packed with my stuff. Before we left I had a small interview with President then we made our way down to Newport Rhode Island.  The drive was pretty long but our first stop was with a less active member and his family.  We were able to get to know them more and have dinner with them.  We came home and I unpacked and settled in a little bit, we then went to bed for the night
     Thursday was pretty good, we were able to have a really good study session. After lunch we had a lesson with James. He is someone being taught and is interested in baptism.  We watched the Book of Mormon video with him and I got to know a little bit more about him. We made stop byes and contact attempts for most of the day, because we had a couple appointments cancel due to not feeling well.  We had dinner with some people taught in the past who have a bunch a friends who are members on Arizona. We had a Shrimp Alfredo with Salad, Potatoes and Asparagus. It was by far the best home cooked meal I have had on my mission! They have two cute kids who are very active. We had a good time being there and getting to know them more. They both have a strong faith in Christ and we hope to teach them more about Christ’s Gospel. We then came home for the night because we were there later at night.
     Friday was a long day of driving and destroyed the miles we have for the month. We drove back to West Bridgewater and had DLC. We talked about what are the focuses for this transfer. There was a funny quote given by President  "Be committed as a pork". We were given the example of a chicken laying an egg is pretty easy. To get butter from a cow is a little harder but still fairly easy. We were then given the example of getting bacon from a pig, and how the pig has to give everything for us to get bacon.  That is how President wants us in the work he wants us to give it our all and be focused in our areas! For lunch we went out to lunch at “Little Sammies” and it took them for ever to get my meal out, they lost the meal ticket but eventually I got it. Shortly after that we had to leave to make it to District Council in Warwick. We then did the same thing over again. We went out to dinner with the Narragansett Elders and then made our way back into our area. The cool thing about this area is we go over a lot of really cool bridges! We then went to the chapel to get a 5-gallon bucket of water and met up with Brother Dailey. He then took us onto the Navy Base and for the rest of the night we had a FHE event with the Navy School Members. We had a spiritual thought and lots of fun games. We talked to a lot of them and they are all pretty cool.
     Saturday came quick and in the morning we helped out the Barbosa Family get a lot of there heavy stuff into there garage because they are moving out soon. When we got home we had some studies and some lunch. Then we went to meet Brother Stephens and Brother Jones came with us. We got to hear about his story and about how he found the church as well. It was really cool to get to know him more. We then came back and met with Jackie and her daughter Seana and had dinner with them and shared a message about making the Sacrament more personal to you.  We went to the Church and met up with Tionna a new member who has been less active. We watched one of the Book of Mormon videos with her and she really liked it. She has a desire to serve a mission so we invited her to read the whole book of Mormon before she turns her papers in. She gladly accepted the challenge. We then came home for the night to prepare for tomorrow.
     Sunday morning we got ready and made our way to Church. I was able to meet a lot of the members, and James came as well! It was all about being Thankful and being full of gratitude. The first half of Sacrament was filled with songs. The last half was a talk about Temples. It answered the who can go into temples, what are temples, when can we go into temples, where are temples, and why should we enter into them, also how can we do so, it was pretty cool to hear! Second hour we talked about the Spirit and Personal Revelation. After Church we had Missionary Coordination with Brother Raposa. It went pretty well and we got a lot done. When we got home we had lunch and studies. After most of my studies I ended up taking a nap in my chair, I was pretty tired! We then had weekly planning. It went really well and we planned on how we can help out our friends this coming week! After dinner we dropped off our cloths with a member who helps out and does laundry for us. After that we met with Lloyd and watched a Book of Mormon video with him about the Lehi’s Vision. He really liked and had a lot of good insights. We then made a few more stop byes and came home for the night.


                        Proverbs 19:20
    "20 Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end"

     These truly are the latter days, and every time we read the scriptures or listen to a prophet we hear the council and instructions that the Lord is giving us. Be wise as this scripture says. I too am acting on the words I hear and I have faith to act upon it, because I know even though I may not know why we have these commandments or these instructions as we act on them we will be blessed. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Last week in Plymouth MA

Carla Germinero, Elder Knowlden, Meghan & Leadro Lecerda

Brother Volpetti

Brother Wood in Plymouth

Sister Wood in Plymouth

Plymouth Rock sign

Dressed in Mayflower Attire

Plymouth District P-day

Plymouth District P-day

Plymouth Statue

Plymouth Statue

Plymouth Plaque

Don, Diana, Jimmy Maynard-Plymouth

Hovey Family-Plymouth

Plymouth Rock

Beautiful Plymouth Sunset

Plymouth Church

Plymouth District

Plymouth District

Dinner Lesson

Elder White, Knowlden, Leite

Tim Ballard

Jimmy Maynard

Thompson Boy

Saying goodbye to the ladies Food Pantry

Saying Goodbye to ladies Food Pantry

Saying goodbye to the ladies Food Pantry

Week 5  Nov 19th 2019
13 Months
     Monday was a pretty fun day, it was our District P-day! We hurried up and got the things we needed done. (shopping, cleaning the apt, and laundry). We then met everyone for lunch at Chick-fil-a.  It was a long line! One of the companionships were late so they went to Chipotle instead. With the long line it took longer for our food to come out so the management got us some complimentary fries. I got a side of mac and cheese instead, it was so good! We then came back to the apt then made our way to the Jenny Museum.  We then started our tour. Leo the tour guide took us on a wonderful guided 2 hour tour of downtown Plymouth.  He let us know a lot of the history.  We learned it wasn’t ever at the beginning Indians vs Pilgrims. They actually had a treaty and they helped each other out !  I will add it at the end but my Companion Elder White took a lot of notes that you can look over. One of my favorite things I learned was that the first Thanksgiving was a three-day celebration, and before they ate they all shared one thing they were grateful for! After the tour finished we came home and got ready for dinner with the Hendrerson family. We had a fun time and at the end we shared a message about the First Vision. After dinner we drove to North Plymouth area and did a few stop byes then came home for the night.
     Tuesday as soon as I woke up I took the first shower so I could get the hottest water. I spent most of the morning listening and reading the Book of Numbers to catch up, because I was a couple days behind. I ended up finishing it and I am now in Deuteronomy!! Elder Leite wasn’t feeling to well, so most the day we were inside. I then had my appointment with my doctor and all is well! After we did some more studies we got outside and it was raining. We took the car to the gas station to vacuum it out and fill up the car with gas. We then had to run to the store for a couple things. After we got out of the store it started to snow!!! This was Elder Leites first time ever seeing snow and he was in awe! We came home to drop a couple things off then made our way to see the Hovey’s for dinner. Now at this time there was a lot of snow on the ground and Elder Leite made his first snowball, he didn’t have gloves and he quickly realized snow is very cold Haha. After dinner with the Hovey’s we did some tracting in North Plymouth and met Paulo, he let us right in and we had a Restoration lesson with him!!! When we got home we then did a deep clean to prepare for apartment inspections tomorrow morning.
     First thing after we were all ready for the day, Elder and Sister Lott came over. They made sure that everything at the apt was working along with if we had everything we needed and it was a safe place to live. They even made sure that the car was the same way. Right after they finished we made our way to the Food Bank and did our service there. Most of the time we were in the front just organizing everything around and making sure it went to the correct spots. We were moving the whole time and were kept busy. When we got back we all had lunch and I took a needed nap it was so nice! Shortly after we were back on the road and we helped rake leaves at Leo and Nancy's home (owners of Jenny Museum) they have a huge yard but we didn’t get it all done, so we will return to finish up. We then drove to the Chapel to meet with Brother Volpetti for Missionary Coordination, it went really well.  We then made our way to Lobster Hut for dinner and I had fried Lobster tail and Shrimp with Clam Chowder. After dinner we made some stop byes and brought Brother Gould the Sacrament. He was so grateful!
     Thursday morning after we got ready and had studies we made our way to visit with the Thompson Family. While we were there we helped out with flooring in his attic. I was able to hop in a body suit to avoid the insulation. I helped pat it all down and even screwed in some boards! After we finished, we had Mamamias Pizza for dinner with them. We then went to go pick up Elder Whites Suits from the dry cleaners. We had a lesson with Ollie, Peyton and Myana. It went really well. We went over the Gospel of Jesus Christ and few of the commandments!  Then we did a few stop byes and made some calls then came home for the night.
     Friday went really well, it was the last District Council of the transfer, and we had a guest speaker Phill come and give the lesson. Phill is not a member but he loves the missionaries, he gave an awesome lesson on being happy! He took two sides of it. The first was 10 ways scientifically we can be more happy. The second part was using 4 scriptures from the Book of Mormon to be spiritually happy. It was very well done. A little bit before and after District Council we said our goodbyes and signed each other’s journals. We then went out to Chik -fil -a for lunch with the Brewster Elders. It was really good, and we had a good time. We went to the projects to visit a couple people, but no one was home. With met with Eric and set up a time to visit him the next day. We came back home after that to have some studies then made our way to visit the Calas and Jimmy.  We were going to help with some service but it got to dark outside. We ended up sitting down and getting to know them even more and we had dinner with them as well. We watched a Book of Mormon video with them. And shared a powerful message on the importance of the Sacrament, It was a day well spent .
     Saturday morning the first thing we did after studies was meet up with a member to help get some stuff out of her storage unit. Right after we went to Cumberland Farms to visit Sister Hovey. She hooked us up with some food, and it was really delicious. We then had a good lesson with Eric, we watched the first episode of the Book of Mormon videos, and he really liked it. The rest of the day didn’t go as well as we hoped, all 4 of our appointments canceled, we ended up doing a lot of stop byes. We even helped take the Sacrament to Sister Conway. She was so grateful for it. We talked to a few others while on the street and all in all we got through it.
     Sunday we were running a little late after we all got ready. We barely made it to Church on time to partake of the sacrament. It is hard to be ready on time with 3 elders and only 1 bathroom. Church went really well, we had three friends there and 2 amazing talks. Both were on the power and importance of the Book of Mormon, and the truths we can learn from it. I feel like it was what our friend Pam needed at the time. Second hour was also really cool, it was a lot about faith. We ended up having two surprise visitors Tim Ballard (founder of the "Underground Railroad Project") and Glenn Beck. After Church they made an announcement because they are trying to have a big project for next year with the 400 year anniversary for Plymouth. They want to help others know that the Pilgrims truly came for religious freedom. It was really cool to hear from both of them. After Church we said some of our goodbyes because transfers are this week and we still don’t know who is leaving. With some things going on in my life some anxiety has peaked and I was able to get a beautiful blessing from Brother Volpetti and my companions. We came home had a quick study session and made our way to our first appointment. Sadly when we got there no one was home. We ended up leaving a copy of the Book of Mormon by their door. We made our way back to the car and talked to Elder Leite about what he needs to know as he takes over the area. We also made a few calls to our friend's. Then we drove over to the Lacerda family. They also invited the Germaneros, and the Calas. The house was full! For our lunch/dinner we had a Brazilian Thanksgiving. By the end of it I was so full! It was so worth it though. We had a lot of fun and a lot of food! We then were able to share the Paper Cross message about the Book of Mormon.  It was pretty cool, all the kids were amazed. We came home for a nap because all of us were really tired. After we woke up we had a lesson with Al and just caught up with him and asked how he was doing. We them met with Brother Gould and checked in on him as well. To end the night I was able to talk to and meet with my Therapist again, it really did help! One cool thing about today is, it is my 13 month mark as a missionary!

     This week I want to share a question that was asked by Tim Ballard in Sunday School. "What is your Mayflower?"

     I have been pondering on this question myself the past little bit, and I thought to myself what does that mean. Well I thought of what the purpose of the Mayflower was, and it was to bring the Pilgrims to a better future. They knew the risks involved but they still chose to go so they could have religious freedom and believe what they wanted! As a missionary we try to teach this principle to everyone we come across.  The closer we get to a better future the more temptations are put before us. Satan does not want us to be happy, nor does he want us to come closer to Christ. I invite you all to find your “Mayflower” and leave for a better tomorrow. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.