April 6, 2009

Family and friends- - -This weekend was really amazing! I gained a new love for conference this week and for our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson. When I saw him for the first time on the t.v. I was like WOW!!! He is who I am out telling the world about. It was so cool! I watched conference at the Stake Center, which is like 30 minutes away. And watched it all in Spanish with a few investigators. I caught most of it. But I am excited to get the ensign with all the talks in it so I can pick up on what I missed.L. Tom Perry threw it down! We really needed that talk. It's true, knocking doors is a complete waste of time. Most baptisms come from member referalls so we really needed that talk. I was so excited he addressed that. Every member a missionary! Just like David A. Bednar said.Henry B. Eyrings talk in the Saturday morning session was absolutely amazing! About the atonement and about Christ. Jeffrey R. Holland always gives great words of advice and the talks he gives are always incredible! He is definately one of my favorite speakers. Yes! Henry B. Eyring's talk about "Man Down" in priesthood was really good! They truly are inspired men of God. It was really neat to be able to hear them all speak. As if God himself was speaking. "As by my mouth, or the mouths of my servants it is the same." I totally saw that. It was like being taught from on high.I really enjoyed conference and hope you all did too. Probably the 2 most powerful words from Conference I thought were "CEASE NOW!"- Thomas S. Monson. Wow!I thought the genereal theme seemed to be focused so much around temples and strengthing families. As well as prayer. Just an amazing conference!

Well this week was... well another week. Elisa moved to California which was a bummer. She is going to be baptized out there. She left to go out there for her mom's surgery. So the missionaries out there are going to be baptizing her. I am just glad she is going to be baptized. We are all on the same team. Alister, well.... he found a job the day of his wedding and we weren't able to marry them. We showed up with the Bishop at the scheduled time and Erika said he had found a job that day. They will be married this week. And then we can finally baptize Alister. He is an awesome investigator.Georginia came to Conference yesterday. That was great. I was able to talk with her a little afterwards about what she felt and thought of the conference. She has been to church 10 times now. We are just waiting for her to receive an answer to her prayer. We are going to go over there tonight and talk with her. She is living with La Familia Ramirez, a recent convert family who is VERY strong in the church. So, I have high hopes for her and she has great member support.Veronica also came to Conference and really enjoyed it. I have a strong feeling that she is going to be baptized. I just wish she wasn't living with her brother who doesn't want us over there.Her Dad, Jose, he had a baptismal date when I got here. But stopped talking to the missionaries. We weren't able to talk to him for a little over a month. But one day this past week I felt the impression to go over there. So we did. He let us in and we talked for about 45 minutes. We are going to go to the trail center with him this week and watch either the Joseph Smith movie or the Testaments. We'll see. He just said, when he feels something he will be baptized. He just hasn't felt anything yet.We had another very powerful lesson with Maria. When we left Elder Herrera said that was one of the most powerful lessons he has ever been apart of. I agreed. My two most powerful lessons have been with Maria. She has had a very hard life and gets pretty emotional when we teach her. Her daughters are members and she has good member support from them and from Sister Bailey. She moved to Elkhorn though which is like 45 minutes away. So it's hard getting out to see her all the time. Especailly with the miles limitation on the car. I really don't like that much. We have people that need our help but we can't see them as much as they need. Oh well.... Things are going really good with her.It's been an alright week.

Conference was definately the highlight. Still having a hard time getting Elder Herrera motivated. But It's forcing me to speak a lot more since he won't talk to people on the streets. So that's good in a way. I do all the street contacts.

So the last Monday of the transfer. I believe it's the last Monday of this month. The trail center is hosting a 5k race. President Newman will be running in it. He heard I was a runner and called up and said if I beat him he will have us over for his wife's home cooking. Ha! Well I haven't run since the hot dog night with my Wasatch friends. So 4 1/2 months and 18 pounds later here I am. Haha. By the way my Wasatch friends, Glen, Darrell, Eager, Brad, and Madison, I ate 8 tostadas on Thursday. I think I can handle 6 hot dogs and a few orders of fries when I get back. :) I wish I would have brought a Wasatch shirt out with me to represent! But yeah I am going to go run it. And try not to die. Elder Herrera is anit-running. So I won't be able to get much training in. But I'll find ways to get in shape.LIke running in place at the apartment or somethin. Ha ok just kidding. But actually I have been working out every day. And I benched 155 lbs. 2 days ago! I've never done that much before. So I am not too out of shape.

So that's about the news from Nebraska. The Spanish still continues to creep along. I think by June I will be pretty good.

This week here we had some horrible thunder and lighting storms. Thunder and lighting storms in the midwest are nothing like anything I have experienced before. We had hail and rain, and a snow storm too! Crazy weather week! but it's supposed to be 70's this week.

That is so awesome that brooklyn is teaching a sign language class after school!! That girl never ceases to amaze me with all the things she is capable of! Maybe she can teach me a little when I get back. That way I could be trilingual. Ha kinda :) I loved the letter she sent me too. She is so cute! I miss that little girl. Tell her I'll be writing her back. And how was her April Fools Joke? With her bandages and everything? Ah I was laughing so hard! The things she comes up with. Did ya take a picture of it?

So Amber came over for a little while huh? That's great! She really does have some amazing goals in life and can do anything she sets her mind too. She definately is an amazing girl like you said and very special. Ha yeah Alejandra told me she requested to be my friend on Facebook. She is one of our less active members we are working with.


I have heard a little about the new mission president. But I do look forward to reading that article. President and Sister Newman are incredible people though! From everything I have heard and seen they have changed this mission so much. He has really up the standard on us too these next 3 weeks. He has set some high numbers. But he truly is an inspired man. So we've got some hard work in head of us the next three weeks. I am looking forward to it!

Sounds like the temple thing is going to be crazy awesome!!! You'll have to give me all the details on it!Once again we were very blessed to hear the words of our church leaders. Live by them. They are what protect us. I love this work and I have such a strong and growing testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ. I love you all. Take care.

Love Always,
Elder Moore