The Lord Is Trusting Us With His Work!

Hello Everyone!

It has been an exciting week with lots of new changes in the mission field. The World Wide Missionary Broadcast was very cool. They held it in Salt Lake City and it made me a little homesick to see Temple Square. Ugh, but it's ok. Elder Bednar, Elder Oaks, and Elder Anderson were there with some other General Authorities.  I took lots of notes! It was a very good meeting! Elder Bednar even opened the meeting with a prayer and it was very cool to hear an Apostle pray. We now have greater flexibility in what we do during the day. The Lord is trusting us with His work and the work is hastening because of it!

We visited William twice this week and he is very prepared! He has a kind heart and is willing to learn more. The Hunters are also doing well and went to the Visitors Center at the D.C. Temple. They had a great experience there and the spirit was strong! Good things are happening here in the Winters Run ward!  Speaking of the temple, we will be going there this Wednesday, so expect some temple pictures next week.

The Lord has been increasing the pace of His work and I'm grateful for this opportunity to witness it! The work that we do may be hard, but there are those who are willing to listen and who are seeking the truth. I know that this gospel has been a blessing in my life and it can bless yours, if you let it. I hope you have a good week!

The Hunter Family Husky!

I love this dog!

The aftermath of petting him.

We ran into a deer!

Text from a ward member states, "Chili cook off judges!!!

He's a great missionary, he's new to our ward, we love him already!"

Bishop Pierce announcing the winners.

Maryland Baltimore Mission

Christmas Conference 2016

The Lord Truly Looks Out For Us!

I hope you have had a great week. Maryland is rainy. It's been raining a ton lately. I just wish it would snow over here! Walking in the snow is a lot easier than rain. Everything is going great with our investigators. The Hunter family is still progressing wonderfully and we even had a lesson with them at the Bishop's house. It was a great lesson!

We have also had some awesome miracles recently! While we were out street contacting and visiting people, we were going to leave a neighborhood when Elder Nielsen thought it would be cool to knock on a door that had a cool looking jeep in front of it.  So, we knocked on the door and it turns that this individual has a girlfriend that is LDS!  HIs grandparents are LDS, as well. William has agreed to meet with us later today, so we are hoping it will be a good lesson with him.

I had another cool thing happen to me this week.  Recently I have been thinking about getting new shoes, since my current shoes are starting to wear out. While at church, there was a table full of things that people were giving away.  On the table were a pair of fairly new dress shoes that actually fit me perfectly! Super awesome blessing! The Lord truly looks out for us! 

Tired after a long day!

New shoes!

A member made us Maryland beanies!

Zone Conference

Text from member in the ward states:

Loving this missionary! He is a fun guy and a diligent missionary!

HE DID NOT GO BACK ON HIS PROMISE!

Hello Everyone!  I hope you have had a great week.  It is still super cold in Maryland.  My companion and I have discovered a great science experiment where we can freeze a bottle of water just by banging it on the ground while we are outside.  It’s that cold!

We had a baptism this past week for Megan.  She was with her boyfriend’s family. So, flirt to convert totally happened here!  The baptism went well. Though I may not have known this investigator as well the others that I have taught, it was still a neat experience!

We are also teaching the Hunter family. They are super awesome and super prepared! They have a husky. I seriously love that dog! The only problem is that I come home with a new fur coat. It sheds a ton! I will have to take a picture the next time we are there and show you. It's pretty great! But the family is awesome! They ask us lots of questions over texts and are loving the ward and the church. They are soooooo getting baptized! They have even been talking to us about temple sealings!

This last week was actually a little rough for me. Last Monday, I went with some other Elders and we hung out at an apartment and played Magic, a card game. Well, it turns out that the mission president had come out with a statement months earlier that had basically banned playing Magic. I hung on to the cards, justifying having them. After playing the game last week, Heavenly Father proceeded to bug me, like REALLY bug me, about having those cards. I had received some revelation that because I was not following mission rules that He was going to withhold some of His Spirit from me. He didn't go back on that promise. This past week, the guilt trips were plentiful and lots of study and prayer was done, to figure out why I was feeling so guilty, until I realized it was the cards.  Sacrament meeting, lessons, and videos that we ended up sharing, kept pounding the law of consecration into my head.

The final blow, so to speak, was a thought that I had this morning. "Do I love Magic more than the Savior?" After talking with Elder Nielsen about it, I will be sending the cards home. The moment that I made  the decision, a HUGE burden felt like it lifted from me and the Spirit poured back into my life. Heavenly Father, through it all, kept reminding me and begging me that if I did this, I would feel an outpouring of His Spirit and that He would anxiously be there to help me. HE DID NOT GO BACK ON HIS PROMISE! I feel His love more strongly today than I have in a while. I'm super grateful for the love that He has not only for me, but for all those that will call upon His name and simply ask Him for help and comfort. I hope you have a great week!

Baptism Day!

Megan with her boyfriend's family.

Photobombed by other missionaries!

My new apartment!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Hello Everyone! I hope you have had a good week! With transfers happening last week, I am adjusting to my new area. Winters Run is awesome! We have an investigator, Megan, who is being baptized this Saturday. We also have the Hunter family, who are super prepared and are willing to also be baptized. It's been great!

The weather here has been crazy and we finally got our first snow a few days ago!  The cold out east is definitely a lot different than the cold back in Utah. So, I have been layering up a lot and trying to stay warm. We have been visiting a lot of people this week and I have been introduced to a lot of the members in this ward. We also helped a lady yesterday to jump start her car, so we will be trying stop by later and see if she is interested.

It's super crazy to think it's 2017! It feels like yesterday that I left the MTC. Time is flying by way too fast! I know that the time I am spending out here on a mission has been worthwhile for me.  I have truly seen the hand of the Lord more, not only in my life, but in the lives of those I am teaching and also with my friends and family back home. I know that Heavenly Father is aware of all of us and He knows how to help us through our trials. All we need to do is ask Him!

I hope you stay warm and have a great week!

Happy New Year! Happy New Area!

**From Mom: Sorry for the delay...there were technical difficulties with the automatic email**

Hello Everyone! This week is transfers week. With the usual anticipation of transfers, I found out that I'm getting transferred! The crazy part is that I'm going to the neighboring ward right next to Susquehanna, Winters Run!!! I have already seen some of the area on exchanges.  I even know my new companion, Elder Neilson, since he has been in the District. Super crazy!

I have learned a lot from my stay here in the Susquehanna Ward. I remember coming into this area with Elder Dyer and now I am leaving it with Elder Coumbs. I will always hold dear to my heart the lessons that I have learned and the friendships that I have made. My testimony has grown so much and the lessons I have learned are near and dear to me. I know that this work is true.  Even though I will be in a new area, I will still go and share this good news with those who are willing to hear it.

I hope you have great week and I will let you know what the new area is like, next week!

There really is a guy named Jack Frost!

Elder Coumbs got a wheel off the ground, while driving!

My new companion on Wednesday, Elder Neilson!

He is from Sandy and has been out 15 months.