Hey Everyone!

So, I want to apologize for not making a blog for last week. There were some problems with the loan I took out for school that I had to get resolved and I didn't NEARLY have the time to write a post up. All in all, that week was pretty slow. My comp. had his toenail taken care of and we had an amazing zone conference but, really, that was about it.

This week on the other hand was fantastic! Last Friday, we took a bunch of our Recent Converts and some of our Investigators to the Mesa Temple Visitor's Center and watched the Joseph Smith movie (in Spanish of course). It was the sweetest thing ever! All of the people we took just loved it and I believe that some of the investigators the other Elders have are now really thinking about a baptismal date. All in all, it was one of the coolest experiences of my mission so far.

Saturday was a normal working day but with awesome results. Elder Bingham and I tracted into this guy named Juan and shared a scripture with him from the Book of Mormon. To fill those in who don't know, our Zone recently started a new type of tracting that has just shown a lot of success. When ever we go tocar a las puertas all we take is a copy of the Book of Mormon and some Book of Mormon pass along cards. Whenever we talk to someone, we turn to the first scripture that comes to our mind, share it, talk about it, and invite them to learn more. So far it has shown incredible results! It really has a way of sifting through those who are ready to hear and those who aren't. Alright, so back to Juan. After we shared the scripture we set up a return appointment for Monday. Not a few doors down, we did the same thing with this little black lady. She was English speaking so we referred the English elders over there and I'm not really sure how it turned out but she showed a lot of promise. That afternoon the other elders had a baptism that we went to and that night we had a dinner for El dia de accion de gracias at the church. We didn't really have any new investigators there but we did have one of our formers attend. All in all, Saturday was a very good day.

This past Sunday was by far one of the best I've had while on my mission (or at least in the mission field). We had 2 of our investigators at church, I visited with a new potential investigator for the other elders that is showing a lot of interest, and all of the classes were just really good. One of the coolest things of the day though was PEC. I took Elder Holden (he's been in the field for about a month now) to the church for him to do his first PEC. I could tell he was a bit nervous. Anyway, being the senior companion for the time I knew that I really didn't have anyone else to rely on for help if I got into a Spanish jam. When we went in for the meeting, everything just came out smoothly. It was a complete turnaround from the week before. I spoke smoothly, clearly, and I could understand virtually everything that the members of the council asked me. After myself Elder Holden gave his report and he did really well for his first time. He was a little frustrated coming out but I just simply told him not to worry about it, keep working hard, keep praying for help, and to stay confident. He is coming along really well.

Monday was a fantastic day. Elder Bingham and I did some tracting in the morning and went on splits with the Spanish AP's in the afternoon (around 4 or so). We knocked for a little bit longer and went and had dinner with Obispo and his family. After dinner, we ran over to Juan's for our lesson. I can honestly say I have never had a lesson as good as that one. Both he and his wife (and their 3 year old "jamelas") were just into the lesson. They asked questions, were excited for the Book of Mormon, and are very much set on coming to church this week (if they get back from their vacation on time). The spirit was so powerful in that living room and when we left, I felt so....indescribably happy! :) Lots of promise with them that is for sure. The rest of the night we visited with a couple of recent converts and called it good for the day.

Yesterday was also a very good day. We had a very good district meeting where we talked about diligence and our tracting techniques. We came to find out from Elder Bingham (he heard this from President) that the area that we serve in is "One area in the mission, Arizona, and in the whole United States with the most people ready to hear the gospel." This statement just pumped us up like nothing else. Right after the meeting we went a had a lesson with one of our recent converts, had lunch, then went out and tracted most of the afternoon. In the evening we met with Melissa (a fifteen year old whose mom has been kind of less active in the past but has been coming to church pretty consistently now) and taught her some of the commandments. She actually has a baptismal date next week. Her mom made us Mole, which is like a chocolate chicken stew type dish (it's pretty delicious honestly :)) After which we ran over to the ward building and had a couple of baptismal interviews for the English Elders. Needless to say, things have been going really well!

Well all, that's about it for this week. If there is one piece of advice I can give is to persevere through the rough and slow times. Don't get frustrated. Things will work out in the best way it is for us. We are promised that if we endure hard times well, Heavenly Father will bless us with innumerable blessings. I know this to be true! But, I hope that you all have a safe and fun Thanksgiving. Know that you all are always in my prayers and are loved! Hasta proximo semana, Adios!



"Fivel went west...": But didn't make it. We waged more on the mice in the Shack. We are winning to say the least. We named this little guy Fivel and buried him by Jim the Squirrel. :D



"And it came to pass..": Elder Bingham has some serious art skills so, one P-day, he decided to decorate his chair. Pretty amazing huh? I love the coming of Christ to the Nephites he drew on the side. :)