Rhode Island & Tennis Hall of Fame Museum

Navy Base for Family Home Evening

Cooking pineapple

The Evans & Kings

Tennis Museum Lawn Courts

Tennis Hall of Fame Museum

The Mendes Family

Tennis Museum

Elder Johnson and Elder Knowlden

Stained Glass at the Tennis Museum

Tennis Musuem

Tennis Hall of Fame Musuem

Week  71  Feb 24th 2020
    Monday was pretty fun! My parents are in Oregon so I didn’t call them in the morning because of the time difference. After we got ready we made our way over to Walmart to do our weekly shopping then on the way home we picked up our laundry from Brother Stabley’s. When we got home I was then able to call and talk to the family, it was pretty fun! After that we made our way to downtown Newport to go look at the "International Tennis Hall of Fame Museum", we had free passes so we had to go. It was lots of fun but a lot of reading. The outside part was cool because we saw all the original grass courts they played on. As we were leaving we saw a store called "Gingys" and Elder Johnson got a picture with it. We then went to the Chapel for a little bit then made our way to the Evans. The Kings were there too, and we played some board/card games for a couple of hours. Afterwards we hit the Chapel for another little bit until P-day was over. We then came home for dinner and after wards we met with Lloyd. We did come follow me teaching with him, and we also brought him his food order from the bishops store house. All in all it was a fun and busy day!
     Tuesday morning after we woke up and got ready we made a call to the front office. They called us yesterday and our blinds had come in for our apt! So we set up a time for them to be installed. After the call we made our way to service at the Salvation Army. The truck already came earlier that day so we didn’t have much to do. We put a lot of cheese into a fridge and put the extra boxes of meat into a back up fridge. That's basically the extent of what we did. During lunch we had a great conversation with a couple of other volunteers on the subject of religion and who has the truth. We hope to start to teach one of them soon! After service we came home and started to have our studies for the day. I listened to the Old Testament and wrote address for an address book. Our dinner appointment had to reschedule so we didn’t end up going to Bristol. On the bright side it helped save our miles. We wanted to go tracting but it was raining all day, so we will do that another time. We then went to the library and did some things on the computer. I edited my friends list with unfriending people I don’t really know and reached out again to people who I've talked to from Facebook finding. We then came home had our dinner then made our way to the Chapel for Book of Mormon Class. When we got there Brother Gallagher showed us a picture of him when he was bald and had no beard, it was crazy! He does not look the same at all. The Class went really well and it was pretty full! After the class we had a lesson with Mike about Temples and he really liked it. We watched the Rome Italy Temple and turns out he will be going to Rome in a couple of years!
     Wednesday morning after we woke up we made our way to the Chapel to work out. And while we were there Brother Daily called us and brought is a pie. When we got back home I took a shower and we got ready for the day. After the shower. We started studies and I read over one of my favorite stories in the Book of Mormon, the story of Ammon. He showed so much “Christ Like Love” and all he wanted to do was to serve! He is definitely one of my role models. After personal studies we then had companion studies. We had some lunch to fuel us for the day. After lunch we made our way to visit a referral, sadly she wasn’t there. We tried later that night and even texted her. We got a call from her and it ended up being her mom, and she threatened to sue us for harassment! It was crazy, we apologized and explained that we got her info from a "Self Referral" ( she went online and put her info in). We are not sure if she did or someone else did to mess with her or even us. Long story short we will no longer be reaching out to her at all. We then hit the Newport Library and returned our free Tennis Hall of Fame passes. We then parked at the Chapel and "put pride aside" and we tracted for a couple of hours. We literally got nowhere, it seems like no one was even home. We did tract into someone a member knew but he wasn’t interested. He is from where my past companion-Elder Leite is from! After tracting we made our way to see James. With him we introduced him to Come Follow Me for the year. We then watched a Book of Mormon video with him and answered a few questions he had. Afterwards we made our way to the Mendes Family for dinner. We had a Brazilian type of stroganoff that is not stroganoff. It was pretty good though! After dinner we shared the video of "Expressions of Love". After dinner we made our way to the Newport Library, that's when we got the call... to see Brother Mottrom and we then had a great lesson with him! He talked about his favorite passage being the story of the Prodigals Son, Such a great story!
     Thursday morning came quick but it was super easy to get up today from the blinds. Before we got them we had curtains that just covered the windows so it was super dark in the mornings. After we both got ready for the day we made our to way to the Elders apt then they drove to the Warwick Chapel for interviews. When we got there the Chapel was being deep cleaned so a lot of the doors were open so it was pretty cold. We had to use a different room than what president usually uses. The Narragansett Elders went first then us. He said after this transfer because we've been together for three, we will no longer be together (we knew that already). I love president to death and he is a funny guy but sometimes it is a little hard because of the language barrier (he’s from Brazil). After our interviews we got a call from the Zone Leaders and they mainly talked to Elder Johnson (District Leader) about an area who needs extra help in his District.  After the call we went with the Elders to Wendy's for lunch. It was funny the cashier basically sees us weekly so she knows our names. Her coworker messed with her and told her to stop flirting. It threw us off but it was pretty funny. After lunch we got back to the apt then drove home. After we changed we did some contacting up until we left to dinner at the Chidesters. Three of the Gallagher kids were there because the parents are in the hospital for baby seven. We had burgers and hotdogs. For dessert we had brown sugar glazed pineapple! I even got to cut 2 of the pineapples myself, and yeah I still got it! (I did that at work back home). It was pretty hectic there but still lots of fun.  After we did a couple of things then made our way to our Chapel for a lesson with Dante. So we weren't planning on meeting today because he’s in the middle of moving but he reached out to us to meet today! When we had our lesson he said the opening prayer and he talked about how he is thankful to prepare for baptism!!! It was so cool to hear that, you have no idea! We reset a date with him and then talked about Temples for our lesson, he really liked that. Afterwards we hit Taco Bell to report a few things and I got some desserts I ended up getting a free drink, I don’t know why. We then came home for the night.
     Friday, once again it was pretty easy to wake up, and it has helped me to get ready on time! After we were both ready, we drove once again to Narragansett. Today we drove for District Council. Surprisingly we were there first and we even started on time. I had the training on "Working with members" with a focus on unity. I've had a lot of missionaries say I am really good at connecting with members. It helps that I was a server and I am a social person in general. After the training I had two of the members of the District tell me I did a really good job! We then went out to lunch, at Wendy's (it's cheap). It was pretty fun. After lunch we dropped the Elders off at the apt then came home. We changed then went to the Library to reach out to a few people and update area notes. After a little bit, the Library was closing so we came home for dinner, I made bratwursts. After dinner we made our way to the Navy Base for FHE. Tonight they had a pizza party, so the beginning was pretty loud but we had lots of fun. We once again played "7 wonders" with "Allen and Schroder" along with a couple of members from Narragansett.  It was honestly a really fun game this time around! We got talking and "Schroder" played football with Jimmy Garoppolo (San Francisco 49ers QB). So that was pretty cool to hear! After FHE we hit dollar tree for a couple things them came home for the night.
     Saturday morning was a rough one for both of us. After we got up and ready we had studies. I continued to read in Alma about King Lamonis father. After studies we had lunch then we made our way to Barnes and Nobel for weekly planning.  It went really well, and afterwards I bought a Sudoku book. I didn’t realize until later it was an advanced puzzle one, lucky I know how to do it. After we went to the Library and I updated area notes and sent it out to the members of Ward Council. We then came home for dinner. Afterwards we hit Noel and Luara’s and so much happened. We went in and we talked a lot about families, and working to support each other. Luara expresses a great desire to be baptized. I followed the promptings of the spirit and asked her if this was what she truly wants, would she be willing to give up Coffee. That is a huge thing for them. We didn’t know what was going to happen. She was taken back from it but to our surprise she said she will work on it, she said "It will be a challenge but I like a challenge ". We then talked more about the Word of Wisdom. It will be hard for sure but with the Lord on our side she can and will over come this to be baptized!
     Sunday, morning after we got ready we made our way to the Chapel for Missionary Coordination meeting with Brother Raposa and Brother Jones. It went really well and we covered a lot! After the meeting we were able to give Brother Raposa a blessing of healing and comfort because he has surgery this coming week. We then greeted membership until Sacrament started. We had three good talks all by the Chidester Family. They were all focused on Joseph Smith and the Restoration, it's to help prepare us for the coming General Conference this coming April. In Elders Quorum today we talked about helping each other build our testimonies in the Book of Mormon. After Church we had a short meeting with Brother Daily and missionary work!  We then came home for a quick lunch then made our way to Brother Stableys house for board games. Brother Daily was also there, and we played Terra forming Mars, it’s actually a really fun game! We then went to dinner with the Hancocks and we had some delicious Shepard’s Pie, they are always a hoot to go over to see. They have so many animals (mainly reptiles) so I love it! After dinner we came home and dropped off the laundry then made our way over to see the Raposas. When we got there they were eating dinner, they got a late start but we just talked and waited for them to finish. It was fun to get to know them a little more. After they finished we were able to share a message with them on "Expressions of Love" they all really liked it, even the mom who isn’t a member! After the message we then looked at how to videos for dance moves and then attempted to do them. To say the least I CAN NOT DANCE! I'll just stick to wrestling, that's what works for me! We then came home for the night, but we had a pretty fun day!

     This next part will be a longer read than normal, so I hope you enjoy!
               
                  Daniel 3:15-18

     "15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
     16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
     17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
     18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."

     I love the faith that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego display in these verses! After the King Nebuchadnezzar tells them they need to worship his ideals or he will cast them into a furnace of fire (that was seven times hotter then any other). They tell him, they will not do so, because of that King Nebuchadnezzar tells them and says "who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands". They had much faith to say that he will deliver us out of thine hands. Okay now here is where I truly want to touch on, is there next response.
     "But If Not" we still will not worship the gods or idols the king has made for others to worship. This is so powerful and such a test of faith. At times our faith will be tested by those around us by trying to prove that we are correct and doing the right thing. Let is continue to have faith in God, and his Son Jesus Christ that they are there for us. But if not, if they don’t help us through a trial or two let us not lose our faith in them. They have given us agency and free choice to learn and grow for our self in this life.
     I love that so much as we are in a for ever growing world and wickedness let us not give into temptation and worship those other "gods" around us have faith in God and his Son at all times, but if not you will learn of all the blessings that you ha e missed out on. I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

16 Month Mark

Elder Johnson and Me at the Car Museum

Car Museum with Elder Johnson

Relaxing at the Car Museum

Car Museum

Car Museum

Rhode Island-The Gallagers

Rhode Island Youth at Ward

Rhode Island Sign

Ross Cole-A Blind Member

Elder Porter

a gift from Sister Tueller because we are airheads

Rhode Island District

16 months!  Feb 18th 2019 Week 70

     Monday this week wasn’t P-day due to transfers and I was anxious all day while waiting for T-texts to happen. So on Mondays my alarms don't go off because I like sleeping in on P-day. After we woke up and got ready for the day we made our way to Brother Stableys house. While we were there we put our bedding in the washer and dryer, because we both like doing them at least once a transfer. While we were there we did an extra long personal study. For comp studies we watched a couple church films on Joseph Smith, and we then did our Weekly planning. When our laundry was finished we took our bedding and our laundry home.  I folded and put away the laundry, then of course made our beds. Afterwards we went to Dollar Tree to get some items for messages to share with members. We then made our way to Newport Hospital to see a member who had the Flu (not the Corona Virus, just the flu). We were there to help give her a blessing, she was truly grateful for it. In order for us to enter the room we had to where gloves and a facemask, and it wasn’t just a mouth cover mask there was some plastic thing that covered the top half of the face. After giving a blessing to her we hit the Library to reach out to a couple people then we made our way to see the Evan's for dinner. They invited us and James over for tacos. It was really fun and we really enjoyed having James there as well! Later we made our way over to see Brother and Sister Jones, so that we can share a message with them. We watched a video "Expressions of Love". It was to celebrate Valentine's Day but to promote showing acts of love/kindness to all. While we were there we got T-texts and...(drum roll please). Elder Johnson and I are staying together in Newport!
     Tuesday this week was our P-day and after I woke up, I called and talked to the family. It's one if my favorite times of the week, especially talking to my little Sister Kaylee! Afterwards we got ready then made our way over to Walmart to shop for the week. I didn’t have too much in my card (because I bought cleaning supplies) so I got two cans of ravioli and two cans of spaghettio’s. Don’t worry I have a lot more things back at the apt. When we got home we ate lunch then made our way to go check out the "Newport Car Museum", they have about 90 different and amazing cars! We were expecting to pay $18 but because we live in Newport it was only $10! We had a lot of fun, the best part was probably the simulators. We were able to race using the cars that were on display and many more. After that we went to the Chapel for the remainder of our P-day. When it got closer to 6 a couple people started to show up for the youth activities that night. I also shot hoops with Elder Johnson and called to talk to my mom and my niece Hallie, along with Kaylee when she got home from school. We then came home changed and made our way back to the Chapel for Book of Mormon class. It was a smaller class this week, but it was pretty fun! After the class we talked to some members and then made our way to the final lesson of the night. We met with Mike and we talked about “Expressions of Love”, showing others that we care. It all goes back to the two great commandments, Love God and Love thy Neighbors. Before we went to bed our toilet handle broke off and we had to go the next day to ask to get it fixed, and earlier today we talked to the office and we will be getting new blinds soon because we only have 1 in our apartment.
     Wednesday was a long day, we didn’t have anything planned because if one of us was transferred we would have been busy all day. After we woke up we waited for maintenance to come in because they are changing all the old smoke detectors out for the new ones. We then had studies for a little bit and all this morning I was cleaning and rearranging lots of things in the apt to make it look more clean. Elder Johnson said I should scratch my Zoology career and do interior design. After studies, we went to the front office and let them know about the handle, they got it fixed within the hour. We then went to the Chapel to work on a bulletin board to start to prepare the Ward for General Conference. We got some ideas and pictures printed out then made our way to Dollar tree for wrapping paper for the back grounds. I also got a couple things to help organize my things in my drawers. We then went back to the Chapel to fix things up then made out way to dinner. We had dinner with the Roney Family, and they are really fun to hang around with, super kind and funny. For our message we watched the "Expressions of Love" and Sister Roney shared with us their ways they share their Love (scrapbooks). After dinner we had a small break until we made our way to visit with Emilce and Marivel. With them the Roney’s came to help us out, Brother Roney helped us Translate for Marivel. They really liked the concept of Temples and the “Plan of Salvation”. To end the night we made a couple calls and then came home.
     Thursday morning we got up on time and we went to the Chapel to work out for a little bit. We mainly play shoot hoops and run around for exercise. On the way home we hit horrible traffic, aka going like two miles to our house from the Chapel, it took nearly a whole hour! When we got back I hopped in the shower and started to listen to a talk for my studies. After I officially got ready, I read in the Book of Mormon. I ended up passing out on the couch because I was pretty dang tired. When I woke up we got ready and made our way to the Library to meet Brother Card for a lesson. With him we did our monthly member visit, and afterwards he took us our to lunch at Taco Bell. After we had lunch we made our way down into Newport and did a couple stop byes with people of interest. The first one is currently out of town so we will try again next week. The second one said he was pretty busy but he said he would reach out to us. We then went and helped out a member Rose Cole, she is a sweet blind lady. We helped her by putting up water into her "Bublah"  (Water Jug dispenser). After we finished up, we made our way over to dinner with the Chidesters. After dinner we made our way to see Brother Mottrom, with him we went over the commandments including the Word of Wisdom, Law of Chastity, Tithing and Fast Offerings along with the 10 Commandments, and Obeying the Law. It was pretty cool because he had a friend give him some little bottles of beer, and we dumped them down the sink so it wasn’t a temptation for him. He was the one that wanted to do it! To end the night we stopped by a less active member and he ended up letting us into his home. We had a really good conversation with him. He has a high respect for missionaries because he has grandkids that are serving as well.
     Friday was a long day! And we used a lot of miles. We crossed the two bridges expecting to carpool with the Providence YSA Elders, then that morning we found out they needed to carpool the Spanish Elders to DLC. We then made our long trip to the West Bridgewater Chapel in Massachusetts. We had a leadership training for things we want to implement this transfer. We then had a quick lunch because the meeting went over by an hour. We then had the same training given at District Council. The only new member in the Cistrict was Elder Porter, he was in my MTC District ! He also is in my Aunt and Uncles ward in Canby, Oregon.  Afterwards we had another quick meal at Wendy's. To end the night we came to the Navy Base and we were in charge of the activity. Luckily we had bishop there to help share the message and cleanup as well!  Later we went to the Church for some wifi, and I called home to talk to family (holidays we can). It was fun because my parents were visiting family in Oregon. When we got home I read my Patriarchal Blessing, because I got it on Valentine's day 2016
     Saturday morning was a late start but after we got ready, we then had our studies and then had some lunch. After lunch we did comp studies then after we went to East Bay (apt complex, owned by same owners of Harbor Village). While we were there we did weekly planning. Afterwards we went to the Library for a little bit then we went to dinner with Brother Stabley. He took us out to IHop, it was pretty fun! To end the night we did a couple stop byes then went with Brother Stabley to the Church for a ward activity. We played Family Feud and had lots of fun. While there Bradie Barnes, who is extremely shy finally gave me a high five and knuckles. It took 12 weeks to get there, but I am the first missionary she has done it to! I feel very accomplished!
     Sunday, morning when we got to the Chapel we had Coordination meeting with just Brother Raposa, the others were sick. It went pretty well and we covered all that was needed. Sacrament went well, we heard Jackie's conversion story and another good talk on learning from the spirit. Sunday School we had a great lesson led by Brother Wood! It was on using our afflictions for our good. Afterwards we came home had lunch and then went over to Brother Stableys for games. With him this week, we played "Terraforming Mars" most games we play with him are more advanced then the average game most play. It was pretty fun and I would for sure play again! After the game, it was pretty long! We made our way to the Hancocks for Dinner, we had chili dogs with them. Afterwards we came home to report a couple things then made our way up to Portsmouth. We did a contact attempt with someone taught in the past, but sadly no one was home. For the remainder of the night we went to visit the Gallaghers. We did our monthly message. We also shared some other little messages to keep the kids engaged. We ended up help assisting Brother Gallagher in giving his wife a blessing of comfort. She will be going into the hospital to deliver their 7th baby. They are such a fun family. Afterwards we played a couple of games then made our way home for the night!

    Doctrine and Covenants 34:11

     "11 And if you are faithful, behold, I am with you until I come"

     The Lord is with each and every one of us. He will be there no matter what because he loves us. At times we may feel that he is not with us but as we remain Faithful we will be able to feel his presence. He will be with us until his second coming. I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

I'm staying in Newport Rhode Island

Rhode Island Zone Conference

Rhode Island Zone Conference

Rhode Island Navy Base

Rhode Island Navy Base

Elder Liete

Rhode Island Moon

Rhode Island Zone Conference

Rhode Island Navy Base

week 69  2-11-20
Round 3 in Newport
     Monday was really just like any other P-day. When I woke up I called the family to talk for a little bit. My sister had a two hour delay on school, because of a big snow storm that hit them in Salt Lake City. They got 8-10 inches of snow at Home. Down where I am at in Newport Rohde Island,  when it snows it is a couple of inches then it rains and all of it disappears. I was able to watch my little sister run out in the snow in shorts and a t-shirt and do a snow angel. I did that every year in just my shorts, so she is keeping up the tradition. After the call I got ready then we went shopping for the week. When we got back we had lunch then made our way to the Library. Luckily I had my email already written up so all I did was send it. After the Library we went to the Chapel for the remainder of the P-Day. I was on my phone for most if it. I did shoot some hoops with the basketball but not too much. I also called home again and talked to my mom and then Kaylee when she got home. from school.  Our appointment got canceled so when we got home we called a couple of people to see if we could meet with them.  Luckily Brother Mottrom said we could come over! We came home changed and had dinner. While trying to heat up the oven the lights went out, not all of them just in the Kitchen and the Bathroom. The rest of the apartment lights were just a lot dimmer from it. Turns out that the whole building had the same problem. As we were leaving to see Brother Mottrom, there was already someone there to get it fixed. With Brother Mottrom we went over the Priesthood, along with Prophets and Apostles, It all went well!
     Tuesday morning we got ready to go do service and I called the Orthodontist again to see if they could squeeze me in the fix my retainer again... luckily they got me in for 11, and we then had to call Brother Jones and let him know we couldn't make it to service. We then got changed out of service cloths then after a little we made out way up to Ferry Orthodontics in South Kingstown (out of our area). I basically got in and out with in 30 minutes then we made our way back to the area. We came home for lunch and then to the Library.  While there I listened to Genisis 37-50 (the story of Jacob) to prepare for Zone Conference.  While I did that, Elder Johnson prepared a talk about "the Power and Authority of your calling". That is another thing we need to do before Zone Conference. I got a big chunk of it done already. After we finished we came home for dinner. After dinner. We got ready and came to Book Of Mormon class. It was a pretty good turn out and we had lots of fun. We finished 1 Nephi! After the class we played a game of Lighting with the youth, it's always fun to build that relationship with them, just as a missionaries that served around my family had done. After that we talked to the Gallaghers out side and they ended up giving us half a pizza, it was kind of them. To end the night we met with Mike and we talked about President Nelson and what he has done in his life and what he does as a prophet.
     Wednesday morning after we got up and ready we had time to have our studies!  I was able to finish up the Book of Mosiah and I am about to start Alma! After we finished studies we made our way back up to South Kingstown to drop our car off at the Chevy dealership. After about 30 min we got picked up by the Narragansett Elders and we went to Newport Creamery for lunch. We then got dropped back off at the dealership. Shortly after the car was fixed so we then made our way to the Library.  I worked on a talk from Zone Conference and we then did a little bit of Facebook Finding. I had a few people say that they were interested! We will start to teach them soon! After Facebook Finding we made our way up to the Sykes home for dinner. We had Taco Salad with them and we were able to share the family mission plan with them. After visiting them we made our way to see Emilce Moralles. The Roney family came as well to help translate for Marivel (Emilces sister in law, only speaks Spanish). When we got there Marivel was sleeping so we got to get to know Emilce more with the Roneys. We then shared a message on preparing for General Conference for April, We then came home for the night.
     Thursday was a long day! After we got ready we made our way up to Narragansett to pickup the Elders and then made our way to Warwick for Zone Conference! When we got there we socialized with other missionaries until we went into the Chapel to start. We had a hymn and a Prayer and a special musical number by Elder Leite! It was awesome he sang "I need the Every Hour in both English and Portuguese. It was beautiful! After that President went over the story from Genesis 37-50 (Story of Joseph). For the most part I was pretty familiar with the story but it was a pretty cool reminder of keeping faith in any situation and never forget the Lords Hand in all things. The rest of Zone Conference was basically a reminder of the stuff we do in the mission or want to be better at implementing. We went over Facebook Finding, The Book of Mormon experience, Safeguards for Using Technology, cleaning our apartments and staying Healthy. Of course we had lunch in the midst of all that. Before Zone Conference ended we split into two groups, the Providence Stake, and the Hingham Stake. I was asked a couple of weeks ago to lead a discussion on "Adjusting to Missionary Life". So for ten minutes that's what I did, and it went really well, there were lots of wonderful insights shared. After so while walking back to my seat, President stopped me and said I did a really good job and after Zone Conference he said the same thing! So who knows what that means for me in the coming transfer. We then drove and dropped the Elders off then went straight to our dinner appointment with the Chidesters. They were kind, because of Zone Conference we had to push it back an hour later than expected, but we made it. We had Cafe Rio sweet pork burritos and it was pretty dang good. After dinner we had a lesson with Dantex and Tionna came as well! We talked about the Word of Wisdom with them, and as always it's a little awkward, but we pushed through! To end the night we went to Barnes and Nobel walked around and we tried to look for books by members of the Church but we couldn't find any. All in all it was a great day! When we got home I did my final "Whiting strips"on my teeth and after I took a picture for the "Before and After" shot. There is definitely improvement but I still got work to do!
     Friday morning after we got ready we left a little early to get up to the Narragansett Elders Apt, hoping we could leave to be on time for District Council. We got there at 10:20 and didn’t leave for another 20 minutes, so we ended up being late again. The training went really well, it was from Elder Stokes on asking inspired questions and recognizing the spirit.  After our training we took some District photos then went out to lunch before heading home. After lunch we dropped off the Elders back at there apt then came home. We were able to change out of our suits then we had a lesson with James. We went over the Baptismal Questions with him and he is so ready! All that he is waiting on is some legal things to go through! (Nothing bad though) After our lesson with him, we made our way to see Brother Mottrom for dinner. We had some Shepherds Pie with Brownies for dessert. After dinner we made our way to the Navy Base for FHE. We were there the longest because Brother Dailey left early, luckily we got a lot of help from the Navy personnel. After we finished cleaning up we made our way back to Brother Mottroms to pick up some left overs. Today there was some High winds and whole driving over the bridges it was pretty scary, we also saw a couple of large trees fallen over!
     Saturday we had a late start to the day. I listened to the Old Testament while I got ready for the day. I need to catch up because I was a few days behind. After my shower I sat on the couch while I waited for Elder Johnson to get ready. As we went to do studies, I continued to listen to the Old Testament, at the same time I did a deep clean of the Bathroom. Afterwards we had lunch then made our way to the Chapel. We waited for someone with interest there, who we set up a time earlier in the week to meet up with him. Unfortunately he never ended up coming. We then printed out a meal calendar for the next 6 weeks. Afterwards we went to do a stop by with a referral we got some Temple Square sisters. Unfortunately the girl wasn’t home so we will need to try again later on. After that, we dropped off our Laundry at Brother Stabley’s house. We went to Walmart and we picked up some cleaning supplies, we also bought a new shower curtain because our old one was nasty, but now it looks so much better!  We then came home and got it set up then went out to Tiverton to have dinner with the Williams family. It was pretty fun, for dinner we had steak, it was pretty dang good! Afterwards we shared the message on the Rome Italy Temple walkthrough. Afterwards we made our way back to see Brother Stabley and he took us to "Stop and Shop" to have us pick out dinner for tomorrow, we ended up getting shrimp with peas and carrots. Afterwards we came home for the rest of the night.
     Sunday morning, I took a shower, got ready then we made our way to the Chapel for Missionary Coordination meeting. The meeting went well, and it was pretty quick and effective! Afterwards we greeted people as they came in, until church started. We had two great talks, one from Bishop and one from a new member Brother Blackmon. Bishop talked about Doctrine Covenants section 20, and how it was a commandment to organize "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ". That date was April 6th 1830. After his talk we heard a great talk on "Being Grateful is only a matter of Perspective" by Brother Blackmon. All in all, I truly enjoyed sacrament meeting today. After sacrament we has Elders Quorum and we talked about the General Conference talk "The Two Great Commandments" by Dallin H. Oaks, Love God, and Love your neighbor as thyself. After Church we came home, I read my Patriarchal Blessing; I read it every Sunday. It always gives me added peace and understanding that the Lord does know who I am and He does love me! We also got a call from the Providence YSA Elders who were coming down to our area to pick up a couple bikes for other missionaries. After that we made our way to Brother Stabley’s. When we got to his house, Brother Daily, and EJ (Brother Stabley’s Friend) was there again and we started our board game. It always pretty fun getting to know them even better each week. After a little bit, the Elders met us and we gave them the Keys to the Bike Locks. They then went to our apartment complex to get the bikes. They also broke into our apt, through the Kitchen window to get the bike Helmets. We played the game until 5 o'clock. At five Brother Daily and EJ left, and Brother Stanley started to make dinner. We had a delicious shrimp dinner, while he was cooking/while we ate, we watched a Fireside by "John Bytheway, he is such a great speaker! After we left his house we went to the Chapel and we called a few people and messaged others as well, to set up appointments to come over and share a message with members and people with interest. To end the night we had a lesson with Lloyd and we went over Come Follow me for the Week, he is slowly getting to understand it better and better!

                       Job 19:25
     "25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth"

     For those of you who don’t know the story of Job, here is a quick review. He was a very faithful man with full trust in God. One day the devil made a deal with God that he could destroy his faith. God said you can do anything to him except take his life. So with that being said, Satan took everything from him. His family, his friends, his home, his job, literally everything! Satan did everything he could to diminish his faith. Job questioned why it was all happening to him because he was a righteous man, but he never lost his Faith. He then Bore testimony "25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth". Even when we was tested to the max he Knew that Christ Lives! He was rewarded after all those trials ten fold. He got his family and friends back. A nicer home more money.
     At times we go through many trying things in life, we should remember that Christ Lives, and that He loves us, He is there for us. Let us not lose faith in the challenges of life, for when we get through them we will be greatly blessed. I testify of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Week 68 Feb 6th 2020

Rhode Island Funny faces with Kellie

Rhode Island Funny faces with Kellie

 

Elder  Johnson giving me a trim

Right after I woke up I was able to call home and talk to the family for a little bit. That is always fun for me to do. After that call I got ready for the day then we went to do our weekly shopping at Walmart. We then came home ate lunch then hit the Library. After that we went to go check out the "Save the Bay" aquarium in Downtown Newport but its closed until after Valentines day for renovations. We then went to the Chapel for the remainder of the day. While we were there I called home again and I was able to talk to my big brother Trever. It was really fun to do so. On the way home we went to Walmart and I got "Crest Teeth Whitening Strips". I'm excited to see how it goes! To end the night we had a good lesson with Brother Mottrom on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  When we did get home I started my first day of the whitening strips!
     Tuesday we stayed pretty busy. After we got ready we made our way to the Salvation Army and they already had the food there! We got right to work and started to put all the meats in the multiple freezers. Eventually we got it all done. After we helped out around where they needed then had lunch. Shortly after we made our way back home. We had our personal studies and then got changed. We then went to meet up with a Bible referral. He only speaks Spanish so we were able to get him a "Santa Bíblia".  We went to the Library to Facebook find. After we finished we made our way to the Roneys for dinner.  With them we had burgers and we were also able to share a family mission plan with them. Sister Roney talked about a less active member we teach, and how she brought her to a Relief Society Activity. (Both the Roneys served Spanish speaking missions) This less active member is Emilce, her Sister in Law who lives with her and wants to learn but only speaks Spanish. We are going to teach them tomorrow and the Roneys agreed to help out!!! After dinner we made our way to the Chapel for Book of Mormon Class. It was our best turn out, we even had a non-member and a few less actives! There was another member that came who was a little rude and irreverent so we might need to ask him to refrain from his comments or if it gets worse even coming to class. After that we played a little bit of basketball with the youth then came home. To end the night we had a lesson with Mike on the Plan of Salvation, it all seemed to make sense to him.
     Wednesday morning, we got ready we made our way up to East Greenwich (Gren-itch). The names around here are spelled not how they sound haha. We met up with the Zone Leaders for exchanges and I came back to Newport with Elder Brollo. He is a pretty fun missionary to serve with. On the drive back he loved looking around, especially when crossing the bridges. When we got back to the apt, we had daily planning and personal/companion studies. It all went well, and I am reading in the Book of Mosiah currently. After we had studies and then lunch we made our way to a near by park. While there we made a lot of calls to people taught in the past. After we made all those calls we tried to do a stop bye and we couldn't find the address due to it being CCRI (a college campus). We ended up tracting by a neighborhood close by the college. We traveled into two NAVSTA (Navy housing) neighborhoods. We really didn’t have any luck at all, a few people did recognize who we were, but still weren't interested. We called a member and they said we could come right over.  We went over to see the Mendes family, they are from Brazil and so is Elder Brollo, so they had a really fun time talking with each other! We were there for only a little bit because we had a dinner appointment with a new member. Brother Blackman took us out to "99 Restaurant" and we had a fun time getting to know him more. He is a "Nuke" in the Navy, basically a nuclear engineer, He is crazy smart! After dinner we made our way to the Barns family room share the family mission plan with them! We then made our way to Emilces home, she is a less active member and her sister in law wanted to know more! The Roneys came with us to help out and translate for mainly me. We had a great Restoration Lesson from Elder Brollo and Brother Roney. They Roneys helped out so much in the lesson and they said they would help out anytime! When we got back to the apt complex we went to go knock into people taught in the past but turns out they have moved. On our walk home we met a girl outside walking her dog and turns out she is a member! It was cool to talk to her and we tried to set up a time to come and visit but she will need to talk to her husband (not a member) first. All in all it was a pretty good day!
     Thursday morning we exchanged back and then we had a pretty busy day! We got back we had our studies and after I ended up passing out on the couch for a little bit. When I woke up we went to Roseanne for our appointment but when we got there she wasn’t home. We then went to go see Noel and Luara but they weren't home either. We ended up going to the Library to Facebook find until we went to the Chapel at 4 for an appointment with Dante. It went really well, we talked about The Prophet and Apostles along with the Priesthood. After our lesson with him we made our way over to the Chidesters for dinner. While there we had home made pizza, and it honestly was pretty good! With them we shared the family mission plan with them, and they made great goals to work on this year! After visiting them we drove all the way up to Tiverton and met with the Grindtaff family to share the family mission plan with them as well. To end the night we went to see Brother Winson and to a personal mission plan for him. He came up with a great idea to "set a date". Basically what that means is he told us a date, and on that day he will have a friend over so we can share a message with him! I thought that was a pretty cool idea! When we got back to the apt, I felt something loose on my teeth and the cement came off my tooth so I need to go back and get it fixed.
     Friday morning after we got ready we made our way up to the Narragansett Elders apt and they then drove us up to Warwick for District Council. Once again we made it on time! We had a great training on teaching for understanding by Elder Johnson. After we made our way to Wendy's for lunch then back to the Elders apt. On the way back my glasses broke. I think I can just super glue it from the way it broke. When we made it there I got a quick trim up on my sides. Elder Burrows hooked it up and trimmed my sides and back. After I got cleaned up we drove home and changed out of our suits and then made our way to James for a lesson on Prophets and Priesthood. Brother Evan's was able to help us out once again! We then made it to dinner with the Yaggis. It was pretty fun and the kids were pretty crazy. After them we made our way to the Navy Base for FHE. We played a couple games of "7 Wonders" and I won both of them!
     Saturday was a busy day even though we had our first appointment never show up. After studies I took a nap on the couch and when we woke up we had lunch and then comp studies. We made our way to the Chapel but our appointment never came. We made out way to the Library and we found a table to sit at and we had weekly planning up until dinner with Brother Stabley. We took us out to Beckeys BBQ, I had a shredded pork sandwich, and it was pretty dang good. We then went back to his house for a message. After we drove to Brother Raposa’s house and then he drove us to the furthest part of our area "Little Compton" to meet the Barbazo family. They moved the weekend I got to this area and they haven’t come to Church since the move. We checked in on them to see how they were doing and shared a message. We then got back to the Raposa’s home and we shared the family mission plan with them.
     Sunday morning we made our way over to the Chapel for Missionary Coordination and we had all three members there! It was very successful and we kept it under an hour! We then greeted up until Church started and we then sat down. Elder Johnson helped pass and I sat with James. With it being Fast and Testimony meeting I was able to bare my testimony. Second hour was cool, Brother wood went over the Apostasy and all of 1st Nephi. After Church we came home changed out of our suits and made our way to Brother Stableys home for FHE. When we got there Brother Daily and his girlfriend were there along with EJ. (Who we played with last week). We finished up the game we were on and we played two more and we won all 3! (It’s a team vs 1 player, in this case EJ). To end the night we had dinner and built our relationship with Noel, Luara and there daughter Kellie. It was a good week, unfortunately though my Niners lost the Superbowl but hey I couldn't watch it anyway.

                    Proverbs 16:3
    "3 Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established."

     In Gods timing 1 day to him is 1,000 years to us. If we make it to age 84 we are gone from Gods presence for 2 hours in his time. This really makes me want to do better in my life to better "Commit my works to him". I am serving a mission for 2 years but what can I do after to better help him in his work? As I strive to do my best each and every day my thoughts will be established and they will become works to have Christ closer to me in my life. I do so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.