Hermana Bloxham - April 23, 2013

Hey Guys,
I feel so bad that I wasn't able to email you today! We just didn't plan our time very well and we got to the library and none of the computers were open:( I am doing great! Don't even worry about me at all! I hope these letters get to you soon! I miss you guys a ton and next week I'll try to send some pictures to you guys of the amazing Bronx, NY! I wish you guys could just spend one day as a "fly on the wall" of my life! It's so amazing! My Spanish has grown so much this week too! Not so much my speaking, but my understanding! There are so many accents and they are so hard to understand!

This week has been amazing! Being in the Bronx has been so great! I'm pretty sure I never want to leave! There are cars honking 24/7, sirens going off 24/7 (even if a cop car just wants to get through an intersection, he turns on his sirens!) sister Cole and I are sleeping in the front room of our apartment and that's our room, so that's great! We have two roommates who are the English side of our zone and it has been fun to get to know them too.
So day 1 in New York was so much fun! We contacted people on the streets and that is mostly in English:( But our lessons are in Spanish. We had a lesson with the Reyes family who are recently re-activated and they are so nice! They fed us some great tortillas with beans and cheese in them. The had a friend there who isn't a  member so we got to teach him about the Book of Mormon and set up another appointment. 1 new investigator! The next day we had planned to go to lunch with the Spanish Elders in our zone to get to know them but we got there early so we tracted/contacted people on the street! I thought it would be a lot scarier than it is! One lady I just said "Hi, how are you?" and she stopped and said, "Why did you say hi so nicely?" I told her that we were missionaries and we just had a great message for her! She seemed so excited and wanted to learn more! She said it was so crazy to just run into us like that, it must have been fate. Then after lunch we had an appointment with Angel, which went so well! He is just struggling with one thing, but he knows it's right so we just need to be patient for him.
After that at the bus stop I just said hi again to a guy waiting with us and he asked why we were so nice. Then  he saw our tags and said that he has had missionaries knock on his door recently. He also said that he has been looking for religion! So perfect! We gave him a Book of Mormon and our numbers if he had any questions.
The next day we had a lot of the same types of miracles, running into the right people who were willing to hear our short message. We got another investigator! Her name is Rosie and hopefully we are teaching her again on Friday! Besides that though it was a pretty hard rest of the day. We had our planned lessons juked (missed) and we had an appointment with the Reyes again but we didn't get in the door so we didn't teach them...
Sunday was pretty good! We had ward counsel and during that meeting we got a call from a former investigator. She said she was awake and wanted to come to church! She came!! So that was both of our first investigators at church! She even stayed for all 3 hours! That day we had at least 4 lessons planned but all of them either got juked or cancelled. So that was not good either. Sunday was just a long day! Monday was such a better day! We started the day in a district meeting that went extra long because we had our first interviews with President Morgan. He had me pray in Spanish and he was blown away by my ability to speak and couldn't believe it! I have gotten a lot of compliments on my Spanish which is so nice! All my hard work was for something!
It has been so amazing to teach real people and see them understand our message. Being a missionary is an amazing experience and I am so thankful for all of your support during my mission I love you all so much!!
Love,
Hermana Bloxham

Hermana Bloxham - April 16, 2013

Hey Family!

So, I'm just sitting on the airplane on my way to NYC with nothing to do so I figure, why not write an awesome letter to the people I love?!
This week we had to finish teaching Ricarda and Juan. Our last lesson with Juan was good and we told him we were leaving because our Heavenly Father needed us somewhere else but that other missionaries would be coming to take our place. It was pretty sad and a crazy experience that I really hope I don't have to do very often on my mission! It was so sad! Our last lesson with Ricarda was much worse! After our lesson we told her that we were leaving and she got so sad! She said, "How am I going to open up to any other missionaries like I have to you and why don't they  just send the other missionaries to where you are going and let you stay here?" It was so hard because we were so emotionally attached to teaching her that leaving was very hard!
It's so cool to me that even though our investigators were really our teachers, we could still receive revelation about how to help them. Sometimes we even taught something that our teacher really needed to hear, more than the investigator! Hermana Collier told me that because of the revelations we received for Ricarda, she knows that there are some things that she could do to help her brother, Rich. Even though she was really difficult to open up, once we finally did, it was so amazing to see how much she changed and how much joy I got from helping her change her life!
Enough about her.... ha ha!
Yesterday we watched a talk given by Brad Wilcox at a BYU Devotional called "His Grace is Sufficient". He talked about the atonement of Christ and how there is not just the saving power of the atonement, but also the enabling power of the atonement. That enabling power if referred to in the scriptures as grace. He used an object lesson about a piano player. As a child your mom wants you to learn to play the piano so she puts you into lessons to help you learn. She pays for it but does your practicing of the piano repay your mom her money back? No. But as you practice and learn the piano your mother is happy and excited for you when you say "Thank You". By using her payment to make yourself better. Es la misma cosa por medio de la expiacion de Jesu Cristo. (It's the same thing through the atonement of Jesus Christ.) We are eternally indebted to our Savior for everything He has done for us but we can "say thank you" by practicing the special gift that he has given us. There are so many people who think that they are not perfect enough to ask God or Jesus Christ for help. But, as Brother Brad Wilcox says, Do we expect every piano player to play at Carnegie Hall or quit? No, there is that middle ground and God's grace is sufficient to help us pull our trials through life and He is in every detail of our lives.
I testify that through the infinite atonement of Jesus Christ, all things are possible. We don't need to be perfect to have His grace, we just have to ask for it. I know that if you go to the Lord in your weaknesses, He will be able to make those desaftos (challenges) your strengths. (Ether 12:27)
I love you all so much!
Love from NYC!!
Hermana Bloxham

Elder Bloxham Week 7 :)

     Hello family!! I am so happy to be writing you this fine Monday morning!! The weather is getting warmer, but also more humid, but the birds are chirpin' and the trees are getting greener!! That is what is so great is everything is so green! The trees are huge and green, all the yards are nice and green, and the birds are just so awesome to listen to! They have Cardinals here, and they are the coolest birds. They are the most beautiful song bird, they have the coolest little chirp!
     Anyways, this week has been fabulous! We are getting more investigators and they are all pretty solid! Connie came to Mutual on Wednesday and she loved it! We are also teaching the Badger family which was a referral from the senior couple here, and they are an awesome family! They have 2 sons and they are pretty cool! Darron and Ashley really want to come to church but there is a lot going on because he is switching jobs and stuff, but once he gets his new job he will be able to come to church because he will no longer work on sundays. They are a very fun family and we are really excited to teach them more and more as they start coming to church and everything.

            The town is starting to love the missionaries walking the streets. We get honked and waved to about 5 or 6 times a day and some of them pull over just to say hi! Now that it's getting warmer people are starting to get happier and that just opens avenues for teaching! We are getting pretty close to the members and i love that. I love that i can talk to them personally and joke around with them! Brother Robbins, he's about 31 and his wife Sister Robbins is about the same age, and they have the cutest little daughter names Eliza! Brother Robbins invites us over for lunch all the time and he makes us some pretty good food, well for Indiana it's pretty good.. It's funny because people in Indiana think it's fine just to cook everything with salt only.. It's pretty good, and it keeps me from being picky! 

             My testimony just keeps on growing! There are just so many things that happen that i don't understand how you couldn't KNOW that it is the spirit. I love it. Absolutely love Winchester. Love Indiana. Love being a missionary. Love the Book of Mormon and I know, without a shadow of a doubt that it is the word of god, translated by the prophet Joseph Smith. It testifies to me every time i read it and it feels like i'm sitting on a cloud while i'm reading. Who would have thought i liked reading so much?... 

              If you ever need guidance in anything, prayer and reading the Book of Mormon is the answer. You will know that the Holy Ghost is there comforting you. And that alone will make your day that much better!

             

            Love,

-Elder Bloxham

That is my pedometer and how many miles we walked in one day.. nice huh?? haha 

I thought it was so funny taking pictures of us driving to Union City cuz it was so dang windy outside!!

We made our own dinner, spaghetti and meatballs!! The meatballs were from scratch too!! it was a wayy good meal!!!

This is me and Elder Elquist half in Ohia and Half in Indiana!

That is pizza king... there are billions of them, and they SUCK.. the pizza is way gross hahaha!!!

Elder Bloxham - The end of my first transfer!!

Heyy!!! I made it through my first transfer! Awesome right? Haha it was a great way to end it as well and i will love to share this experience with you!!

          So as you know, we have been talking with Connie Owens, and we were talking a little bit to her son but that was it. We saw her  daughter coming through the house and we talked to her a little bit as well but that was all we have talked with her. Her daughter's name is Connie as well.. confusing to us.. ahh but we say Monnie, as in mom connie, and then little Connie!

       But one day we were at their house and little Connie came up to us (she is 17) and said how is your church? And we said, uhh haha we love it and it's awesome? i mean of course we'll say that because, i mean it's the true church!.. Ha-ha but she was like i really want to come to your church on Sunday .. and we were like uhh YES please come to church!! So we found her a ride and she came to church on Sunday  It is crazy the tender mercies you receive while being completely obedient and giving yourself up to Heavenly Father! She loved church and she is coming to the young women's activity this Wednesday  it's this iron chef thing where they are making food with a secret ingredient and me and Elder Elquist get to be the judges, it's going to be really fun :)

      The other crazy thing that happend this week is we went over the Chris Young's house, a member, and he lives with his grandparents, his mom and step dad, and sister in this tiny house. it's kinda chaotic, but we were teaching him and we asked him if his grandma was a member or went to a different church? and he said no she doesn't go to any church and doesn't really have a belief in anything? So i asked her, i said Mary, would you be interested in us coming over on sundays and sharing a short message with you? (because she is home ridden because of her husband is sick and she cant leave him) and she said yeah i'd love that! So we went over and had a lesson plan which was teaching her the restoration. But when we got there we got to talking to her and we realized that she had no education in the gospel, or even her purpose of life! So we just made a new appointment with her on thursday and we gave her a plan of salvation pamphlet and told her to read it and write down any questions she had! and she really wanted a bible so we are going to bring it to her then too!! She is such a sweet old lady and she really is interested and wants to learn more!! 

     This was all because of our obedience and our hard work. We feel like if we are going to work this hard and be completely obedient that god will trust us with his children and will soften their hearts! Amazing things can happen!!!!

Love, 

-Elder Bloxham

Hermana Bloxham - First Day in the Field!

Hola from NYC!

Well I just Got to NY and found out that I'm serving in the Bronx! Last night we stayed in a hotel with my travel group and then this morning we drove into the Bronx for our transfer meeting where I met my new companion! Sister Cole!  She's from Boise ID and I'm loving it here already! We got to talk to a lady who was working at a cross walk as we were on our way to email today and she was so nice! We gave her a Folleto(pamphlet) and asked her to read it and that we would come back by sometime to see how she's doing!

I don't know if anything is going to come of that but it was a fun experience!

Tonight hopefully we have a lesson with two 12 year old twins! I'll let you know how that goes next week!

So my new companion is obviously my trainer! She has only been here for 6 weeks! So when I went into the MTC she left! So this is like super fast for her to already be a trainer but I am so excited to finally be here and get to actually do this work to real people! I am so blessed to be able to be working for the Lord for these 18 months. Thank you guys so much for supporting me in this and for helping me through it!

I love you guys so much!

Hermana Bloxham :) 

Hermana Bloxham getting ready to leave the MTC!

Hey, not really doing anything today and I'm super sad, yeah its no bueno! Like I'm on the verge of tears all day today! It's like when you guys said I get weird when something is coming up.... I totally feel the exact same as i did when i was coming here!

I don't know how I'm going to leave my mission ever! Its going to be the saddest thing ever!!! One of the Elders in my district gave me a blessing last night and after it he said that he felt so strongly that i am going to have an amazing mission and that I'm going to make a difference in so many peoples lives. 

There is such an amazing spirit that goes along with this work and i am so excited to be able to partake of these blessings! Even if i only bring one soul unto Christ, how great will be my joy! (D&C 18:15)? And we have been blessed with the ability to have angels working with us at all times. I was reading a scripture... I cant remember what it was right now but it said that there will be angels ministering to the people all around the earth and I know that we as missionaries are going to be that angel for someone special. I am so excited to get out there and go to work!

The whole district along with two teachers.

Roommates going to all different places!

There's New York!

My district.

Hermana Bloxham with Soni Hawker at the airport

At the airport getting ready to leave

Tickets in hand...

Off she goes!!

Elder Bloxham reporting from Winchester!!!!

Oh man, this week has been such a testimony builder. It has been really tough... The Book of Mormon has kept me positive and pushing through all the hard times! We have been walking a lot, trying to find as many people as we can! We still haven't had any other Investigators but we really are trying hard!! The branch is working with us as well. They are starting to see how important it is for us to get this work progressing. Brother Robbins has been such a huge help. He has been giving everybody in Farmland pass-along cards and he has the vision that we see to progress the work. He is full teel and working his butt off! Ha-ha!!

       We taught Randy for the second time, and guess what....? I committed him to baptism! And he said yes!! ahh, it was my first time committing someone to be baptized and he accepted! It was amazing! We are going to keep teaching him and get him ready! We don't have the baptismal date for him, but next time we go, we'll commit him again and set a date!

       We are also teaching a less active in Union City, and her name is Connie Owens. She was baptized like 20 years ago and she doesn't even remember why she was or who her missionaries were! Ha-ha so we are kinda re-activating, but again it's kinda like we're re teaching her everything again! She has a lot of kids that are interested as well, and maybe we could get 4 baptisms out of it. I mean, it's not about numbers, but it would be awesome bringing all of them to church and closer to Christ!! Keep her in your prayers, she is having a tough time with her divorce and things like that... But she is a really strong lady and she holds the house down!! haha!!

       I don't really have any cool stories to tell this week because, like i said, it's been rough!! It just builds your faith and it's God letting us know that it's not just going to get handed to us!! We are working, and i know it will all fall into place soon!!

        So I've really been thinking about family home evening. I don't know why, but it comes to mind a lot!! I think that you 3 should start having FHE on monday nights :) have a short spiritual message and maybe go out for ice cream. Having that spiritual message will allow you to think about it while you are out and you'll have invited the spirit to "ride along" with you :) We talk about how when we knock on someones door, there are three of us standing there. Me, Elder Elquist, and the Holy Ghost. When they let us in, me and Elder Elquist walk in. And the Holy Ghost just stands there, waiting for us to invite him in. The way we do that is by saying a kneeling prayer with the family, or just the one person. And that allows the Holy Ghost to enter the home and teach the lesson for us :) Prayer is the best way to have the spirit with you! So when in doubt, pray!! The motto me and Elder Elquist have is, "Doubt not, Fear not" take it how you want, i don't want to tell you what it means for us. Use that in everything you do and you'll find the meaning of it for yourself :)

          I love you so much!!

           

-Elder Bloxham

These pictures are of the crazy storm we had. It started to hail big ole' ice pieces!

This is my first progress record i'm filling out!! haha it was for Randy!

This bridge was by a cemetery that i though was pretty cool!

Elder Elquist studying.

Me studying.

This is me wearing the Utah tie! I'm going to find a cool place to take a picture with it on!
(All the friends are taking turns taking a picture in this tie and they'll pass it on to the next missionary!)

Hermana Bloxham Last Week in the MTC!

Hey guys!

So it's my last week here in the MTC and our teachers and telling us that we need to make sure that were leaving our investigators with something that they will be able to keep doing once were gone and it makes me way sad to be leaving! I have been learning about myself that I don't like change. I didn't want to come here once it came down to the point and now I don't want to leave! I do know that once I get out there it will be perfect and everything I expected but it's crazy! I got my travel plans on Thursday and I leave on Tuesday at 4AM! I fly into Michigan and then to New York! I have a group of 27 Missionaries in my travel group so at least I won't be going all alone!! I'm soo excited to be able to share my experiences with the "real world"!!!

I hope you guys all got to watch Conference!! It was such an amazing experience to be able to watch it here with all of the missionaries that they were talking about the whole time! Every time they talked about us everyone would cheer or point at themselves saying "thats us!!". Everything about conference was so amazing! I learned so much about myself and my work and how to help my investigators as well! On Saturday night after we got done with our district meeting/ testimony meeting about what we learned from conference, Hermana Claspell was having a hard time but didn't want to ask one of the Elder's for a blessing. After our meeting, Elder Segura said, Hermana Claspell, if you need any of us to give you a blessing, we would all be willing and able to do it. So once we ended with a prayer Elder Segura gave Hermana Claspell a BEAUTIFUL blessing. All of the Elders stood in the circle around her and it was completely amazing and such a powerful spirit was in the room as this was all happening. By the time the blessing was over we were all crying and couldn't even imagine how tomorrow could be any better than that day.

I am so thankful for all of the tender mercies of this work. As it says in the scriptures many times, this is a plain and simple gospel. If you follow the commandments of God worthily and strive to be the best you can, you will recieve blessings! Just for making the right, better, and easier choice you will be blessed by a God who we are Eternally Indebted to. I can't even explain how amazing this is to me! Sorry if you don't understand any of that hahaha.

I love you guys so much! Thank you for all of your support and prayers for me every day! You're the BEST!!

Love,  Hermana Bloxham :)

Elder Bloxham Conference Weekend and Ball State

Oh my gosh, I can't believe that this week is already over! There have been countless experiences in only these 7 days that have just been Miraculous to be apart of!

               This week i went on exchanges with one of the Zone Leaders to Ball State University. I spent Friday and Saturday with Elder Burt and i bet you'd never guess what we talked about the whole time..? Fishing!!! He grew up in Idaho and is as obsessed with fishing as much as i am! We talked about fly fishing and what to use with what, yada yada yada... haha!! But the best part of being on exchanges with him is feeling of his spirit and watching and learning by his example of how to be a "solid" missionary. The goal that I've been working on this past week is 'how i can let the people that i talk to on the street, feel the spirit within 30 seconds of me talking to them'. Being at Ball State, let me figure that out. There were so many people to talk to, and i figured out how to invite the spirit into every conversation. One of the people we stopped and talked to was a girl, and we were teaching her for about 1 or 2 minutes when this other guy walked up and said "Oh don't worry about me, i'm just listening in" So we were teaching 2 people at once! Then the guy that walked up started asking a million questions about everything, and started 'justifying' his statements and answers to the things we were saying. The conversation started to get kinda heated at first, and we kept trying to calm it down by saying things that would re-invite the spirit. He kept justifying and saying his church is better, so i said to him "We aren't here to take you from your church and say that it is wrong. The reason we are here speaking to you right now is because we are representatives of Jesus Christ. We want you to feel the spirit as we do, and bring you closer to him." At that moment he looked away and got quiet and then said " i'm sorry i was being mean earlier, but i respect what you two are doing and inviting me to come a little closer to Christ." At that moment, the spirit was so strong and he humbled himself instantly at the overwhelming feeling he had of the spirit.

               Simple words work the best. All i said was, " We are representatives of Jesus Christ, and we are just trying to bring you closer to him" and it invited the spirit instantly! As i walk up and down the street, seeing hardly anybody here in Winchester, i remember why i am here. I am here to bring people closer to our savior Jesus Christ. I'm not here to persuade, i'm not here to say that our church is right and yours is wrong. We are just trying to invite them to open up and soften their hearts and invite the spirit into their lives. Once they feel the spirit there is no doubting that they will know that this is the true church, and that Jesus Christ is our Savior!

             Watching conference this weekend was the greatest blessing for me! I was able to take notes, receive inspiration, feel of the spirit, and receive revelation of how to better the work in Indiana. Every single talk i felt was directed right to me! I can't remember off the top of my head who said this, but they quoted Joseph's first vision. "I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun! Which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light fell upon me, i saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name saying, pointing to the other, "This is my Beloved Son, hear him" "  I have been trying to learn that so I know it by heart because when you are talking to investigators about Joseph Smith, and you say that. It is an instant capture of their attention and at that time, the spirit testifies to them so they know what they have heard is true! When i was watching conference and he said that, i felt like i was an investigator. I was captured. I felt the spirit. I knew that what he had said, was true! Being out here i'm not only bringing other people closer to Christ. I am bringing myself closer to him!! I am my own missionary! As i teach people, i teach myself! I am now converted to the Gospel! 

            I challenge you guys to become converted. Read the scriptures, pray often, and while your at church, realize the reason you are taking the sacrament. Think of Jesus Christ and what he has done for us!! I know that the more and more i become converted, the better i can convert and testify to the 'Hoosiers' here in Indiana!! I know that as you pray with a sincere heart, having faith in Christ, with real intent to get converted, you will!! ( Moroni 10:3-5 ) It's amazing what you can conquer once you set your mind to it. Once you give your heart and mind to God, and have complete faith that he will guide you in everything, that you will see the miracles happen. I always ask myself, "Why can't way crazy miracles happen to me like it did to Lehi, or Nephi. Ether 12:12 says "If there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore he showed not himself until after their faith" (and then also through vs 19) Faith without works is dead. As long as we have faith and act on it, we will be able to do anything in the hands of God!!

             I love you so very much, and just know that my testimony will grow as well as yours as you get converted to the gospel yourself!

                                        Love,

                                                 Elder Bloxham

 

This is a little pond by our house.

This is the TINY fire station in Winchester. It reminded me of Tyler!

Railroad tracks in Farmland. These tracks go on forever in both directions!

A cool sunset when we were walking across the tracks.

 Elder Elquist while we were doing our planning.

 



This is our HUGE gym that we do pull-ups and push-ups in!

 

Hermana Bloxham - Week 5

Hola Familia y amigos! Este semana fue muy bien!!

The first week counted as a week so were now starting our 5th week! Next week is my last full week here! So crazy!!!

This past week has been a pretty good week! Our investigator Ricarda, during our lesson last week my companion and I both thought that we needed to be more blunt with her to really help her understand how important it is to change. So in our last lesson with her we taught her about why she needs to pray and to gain faith in Jesus Christ. She isn't keeping her commitments so we asked her why she won't pray. She said that she is angry and God and doesn't believe that He can help her or will help her with anything. So I said, there are only two paths. The one you're on, which doesn't make you happy, and doesn't help your son because you are not happy. If you want to be happy you need to really exercise a small amount of Faith and try to pray. I testified that I know that prayer is our pathway to God and that I know that He can and will help us with anything but only if we ask Him for His help. We also invited her to be baptized.  She said that she still has doubts and is still mad at God but that she will try to find her answers through prayer. At the end of the lesson we asked her to pray, not thinking that she would pray for us, but she said yes I will try......... We were sooo surprised. But she said an amazing prayer asking God to help her have more happiness in her life and to have Him help her through her struggles.

I testify that this Gospel is true. I know that even though "Ricarda" isn't an actual investigator, we can know how powerful our words and promises can be to our investigators in the field. I am so blessed to be able to see a change in myself and in those that I'm teaching. During our TRC(lesson to a member volunteer) the man we taught went to Uruguay on his mission and spoke Spanish very well. At the end of our lesson he told us that our Spanish is soo good for the amount of time we have been here. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father helped me to find a love for this language and that I can now use it much better than I could have if I never studied it. There are always hard days with Spanish especially but I know that everything I'm doing here is for my future investigators and I am learning to help them.

I love you guys so much and miss you all a ton!

Yo se que este evangelio es verdadero. El libro de mormon fue traducido para nosotros en este tiempo. Jose Smith es una profeta y recib´io los llaves de la autoridad de el sacerdocio en este dispensacion. Yo se que Jesucristo murio para todas personas en el mundo. La expiacion es el mejor cosa en este evangelio y por medio de esto, podemos cambiar para el mejor. Yo se que el libro de mormon con el espiritu santo es el unico paso para conversion. Le amo mucho y hasta luego!

PS- sorry my accent marks weren't working right so all of that didn't get accents in it =)

It's so cool to hear about Nate and his experiences. It's kinda funny. In my last little email to him I told him that as a missionary we are able to have the spirit with us 100% of the time. and you know how he said that he was having a hard time knowing if it was a thought or a prompting? I told him last week that as a missionary, no matter what your thoughts are, act on them and even if it was just a thought, the spirit will guide you where you need to be. It's so amazing! I love this Gospel so much!

Elder Bloxham

Hey how's everything going!? Spring break, everything? Mesquite? Ahh i'm jealous! haha

               This week has been such a blessing! There have been so many things that have just proved this gospel, over and over again! Between revelation, inspiration, and feeling the Holy Ghost, it's all happened this week! We had the opportunity to go on exchanges this week. Exchanges are when you trade companions for a day, with the other companionship in our district. I was paired up with Elder Mitchell! He is awesome!!!! Such a spiritual missionary in so many aspects! He has been out for 22 months.. He has about the same amount of months as i do years! haha he kept teasing me about that the whole time! But he asked me the night before we made the exchanges, what can I do to make you a better missionary or are there things that you want me to help you out with? I couldn't think of anything because i'm just such a great missionary already..... NOT! haha so i told him that i wanted to Personal Contact people a lot so i could get down sharing quick messages with people and letting them feel the spirit with only a few minutes of talking to them! We have a goal of 10 Personal Contacts a day. We count the Personal Contact as someone that you talk to, and invite them to do something, or give them a spiritual thought. But Elder Mitchell and I made 20 Personal Contacts in the day that we had together! It was so awesome conversing with that many people! Elder Elquist and i only get about 4 or 5 in a day, but me and Elder Mitchell were just having the best luck!! 

              So another thing that i told Elder Mitchell to help me out with is knowing the difference between revelation, or if it's just a thought. So while we were walking down the street i got a prompting to go talk to this less-active member which she lived in this apartment complex, but i was like i'm just thinking this because we are walking past her.. So i spoke up and told him about her in the complex, and he asked me if that was a revelation or just a thought. So i asked him, Elder Mitchell, which one was it!?? He was like well lets go over and see if she's home and after that i'll tell you if it was a revelation or if it was a thought. So we walked over and knocked on her door. But nobody was home.. I was like ahh come on, i still can't tell the difference!! So we start walking back to the main street, and we come across another guy who was walking through the complex. We contacted him, because we were talking to everyone!! He didn't seem too interested, but i shared a spiritual thought with him and asked if there was a better time where we could sit down and we could share more and answer any questions he had! He was kinda quiet and didn't answer for a bit. So me and Elder Mitchell just stood there and let him think! In about 3 minutes of just standing there he said, you know what? You two are pretty nice guys, you could come over tomorrow at around noon.. I was like ahh that's to bad, wait what!?? haha we never get invited back!! So we're like yeah give us your number and we will come back tomorrow!! So me and Elder Mitchell go back the next day at noon, and he is sitting in his house waiting for us! We talked to him for about an hour and gave him a Book or Mormon to read! He committed to read it and pray to know if it were true! WE GOT OUR FIRST INVESTIGATOR!!!!!!! It was such a blessing to know that i was prompted to go into that complex not only for the less active, but to meet Randy! Ahh it was so amazing to finally have a lesson with a non-member!! Prayers really are answered, and i now know, if i'm prompted to do something, DO IT!!! Randy is our first investigator and we are going over to his house this Wednesday to share some more with him and ask him if he wants to be baptized! It's actually happening! 

               I now know the reason i was called to Indiana, and especially, Winchester!! It may be only one person here that i convert, but that one person will have the truth in his life and be blessed for that! Heavenly Father works in such mysterious ways, and if we trust him and have faith that he'll guide us, we will be so much more successful! I love being out here and acting as a servant of our loving Heavenly Father, and being a representative of Jesus Christ to bring people unto the truth!

So i am in the Muncie stake right now, and come July 1st, the Muncie stake will be in the Cincinnati, Ohio mission... if i get extended in Winchester or stay in the Muncie stake after the 2nd transfer, i'll be in the Cincinnati mission instead of Indiana, Indianapolis... 

I love you so much and i want you to know that you are in my every prayer!! byee!!!

Sunset

More sunset

This was on a door, we still knocked... No success....

This is the wall by my desk. I want to fill it up with pictures!!