Hey Hey Hey inhabitants of Utah, and any others who recieve this world wide!
Well this is Elder Moore here reporting from Omaha, Nebraska, yup still here. I wasn't transfered, as we knew this would happen. There is a good chance I could spend up to my first year here in the same area. Elder Arellano is my new companion and he has 3 months left. Estoy serviendo con me Abuelo, means I am serving with my grandpa, he trained my trainer, making him my grandpa in missionary talk. But anyways, there is a good chance I will stay with him 2 and then receive another missionary, we will see what happens though. Elder Arellano is 25 years old. And an AMAZING missionary. I had met him once before, it wasn't great. And no one likes him for some reason. But in the 4 days I have been with him I have learned to love him. And we get a long really well. He told me there hasn't been many he has had a great relationship with but I see us having a great time together. He is a dang hard worker!
So before I get into the really good stuff..... GO LAKERS!!!!! NBA champs!!! Woot woot!!! I just had to throw that in there!
Well this week Alister came to church AGAIN! And Roxana and Manuel came too. They have two kids ages 5 and 3. Oh man they are awesome. All of our members were really nice to them and they invited us over for dinner tonight with them. We are going to set them with a baptismal date. They told us they want to be members and they were so excited to be at church. So good things are happening there. Alister is still looking good for the 27th. His testimony and faith are really growing and Erika loves coming to church. So that family is really progressing great together. We had a lesson with him about faith and the Book of Mormon. We asked him to pray about it to know if it was a true book. We then kneeled and he asked God right there. And told us he had received his answer and that he just felt so peaceful.Haha, we stopped by Sunday morning to see them. Erika was already dressed and ready to go, but she said Alister was still asleep but that she would wake him up. Well it was time for sacrament meeting and I called them and Erika said I couldn't wake him up so we aren't coming. I was so disappointed. But HA! I walked into the chapel and there they were! She said "Ha! I tricked you!" Haha.
We had an AWESOME experience with Veronica this week. We found out what her real concern was. It was that she was talking with the Jehovah's Witnesses and that she liked what they taught too. She just didn't know what religion to choose. So we testified of the Book of Mormon and of our living prophet Thomas S. Monson. And when we were finished we said, Veronica, right now, pray and ask God if Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet and if he leads this church today. She then prayed and offered a simple but very powerful prayer. And during that prayer, the spirit was the strongest I had ever felt it before in my life I think. She said Amen and we looked at her and she sat there with her eyes closed, not moving. After about a minute of silence, she looked up at us with tears in her eyes and said I know he is a prophet.It was one of the most amazing experiences. She didn't come to church though. She was dealing with people for her daughter, who is pretty much paralyzed. But she is set for baptism on the 27th.I know God answers our prayers, I have seen it many times these last few days.
With Manuel and Roxana, I mentioned them earlier. We talked with her on Friday, her husband wasn't there and for this reason we didn't set her for baptism yet.... But we asked what her goals were for life. She said, she wants to be with her family forever. She wants her sons to grow up and be missionaries. She wants to have a good religion. Their family is friends with the Martinez family who is in our ward. They live in the same building, so we have AWESOME member support. I can't wait till our meeting tonight. Also, Dilie Lopez has a baptismal date for July 4th. We have not met her yet, but other missionaries taught her and passed us to us because she understands spanish better. We will be seeing her tomorrow.
This week so many amazing things happened! Well since Thursday. It's amazing how much has changed. This area has completely 180-ed since getting Elder Arellano. He loves to work, and so do I. But man, he is crazy! It's going to be fun.
Well I got an email from Elder Lee. He said he isn't receiving my emails, and I am not receiving his. Come on! Hook us up! Please. :) Thank you! I gotta know what my best friend is up too!
So yes I do know Elder Quintana. He is serving in Lincoln right now as a zone leader with Elder Camacho. Lincoln is such a sweet area. I hope they send me down there eventually. But yeah, he is a stud. A way cool kid. I like him a lot. I haven't really served around him, just met him a few times. So he is doing very good.
So how is Aunt Diane doing? That is one of my goals when I get home to go to New York and meet my Aunt Diane. There were a few people in my zone in the MTC that went to spanish speaking New York.
I will be sending all of your gifts in July ok? I made some cool stuff during Arts and Crafts time.I don't know if I told you about that but me and Elder Herrera decided to spend half of our lunch time eating, and the other half dong arts and crafts. Man I have made some SWEET stuff!
I did receive a wedding invitation to Kelsey's wedding. Unfortanetly I couldn't make an appearance.... I hope they will forgive me. But congrats to them! That's exciting!!!
Welp family. I hope all is well in Utah. Things are great here! I love it!!!President Eyring prophicied in 2005 that many people and many hispanics would flee to Nebraksa as a refuge. I don't know why it's here. But it is happening. We are seeing so many people pile in here. President Newman recently said to us. That we are building Zion right here. We are seeing some amazing things happen in the mission! Over 200 people with set for baptism for this month and in July. It's incredible. The work here is amazing. Elder Arellano and myself have 5 people. And many more to come.I love you all very much!! You are great. Please take care!!!Mom I love you!
Love Elder Moore
Monday, June 15, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
June 8, 2009
Hey there!
Well first off, we did hear that the missionaries would be postponed a week to coming out here (due to precautions because of the swine flu). And with my companion leaving, I was going to go down to the Spanish South for the week it looked like and stay with Elders King and Poccori. But we were told Saturday that they would be sending the missionaries out on time. So they will be here this Thursday for transfers. That is great!!! I didn't want to go be in a 3-some. But I will be finding out who my new companion is on Wednesday. Yay.
I hope those 2 missionaries in the MTC can pull through what they are going through. There are so many great things happening in the mission right now. We are really focused on baptisms right now and we are seeing great things happen! There are 175 people with a baptism date in the mission in June alone. The average is 70. So things are going great. We have Alister set for the 27th of June. He came to church yesterday which was awesome!! Me and Elder King showed him the font and showed him how the baptisms were performed. It was cool. We have Veronica Juarez set for the 27th as well. And Gavino Huerta for the 27th. We are still struggling getting Gavino to church. But right now the work seems to be going good. And I know with the arrival of a new companion who wants to work things will become so much better. I can't wait to see how things start to progress here over the next month and a half or so. We have a lot of potential here and I know there are people just waiting. And for this reason I hope those 2 missionaries who are supposed to be being sent out here can get through the MTC. The MTC was the hardest part for me. But once I got through that and got out to the mission, I began to enjoy it so much more. It doesn't neccesarily get easier, but you begin to see that there are people in need of help here who you are capable of changing. You, your companion, and the most important, the Holy Ghost.
Yeah!!! Go Lakers!! They are tearing it up! Arturo Vega is going to lose this bet! Remember the bet we made with him that I think I mentioned? Yeah, I did mention it. Well it looks like we are going to be shaving his eyebrows! I am excited. I will definately send pictures of this! Lakers are going to be the champions this year! I love it!!!
Ha! So what is going on at the house? It sounds like everything is falling apart! It must be finally noticing I am gone. :) The t.v., air conditioning, and ice maker just can't live with out me so they are starting to fall apart eh? Ok I am lame.......still. No surprise there.
So, me and Elder Herrera have been having Arts and Crafts time and I have been making a lot of cool stuff. I made Justin a birthday present, and you one as well. And dad. And Brooklyn, I haven't made anything yet, but I do have something to send her. So when I get the money at the beginning of July I will send you all your b-day presents. They are sweet!!! And homemade. I also did something cool to my shoulder bag I have. Me and Elder Herrera went to a junk yard last Monday and got in an old cadillac? Is that how you spell it? I don't know. The seat belts that click in and out are silver. Well I cut my bag strap and sewed those on. So it has a click in now with a buckle! Ha I will send ya a picture. And of all the other cool stuff I have made.
So you are really going to get into Sign Language huh? That is so cool!! That would be awesome. And yeah that way you could save a lot of money and make some. I think it is a great idea. You should do it! Did you know that sign language in Spanish is different then in English. I learned that yesterday.
Oh! And speaking of Yesterday!!! NO one, and I mean no one feeds us on Sundays. It's very rare. But yesterday was different. After church Karina asked us to come over at 2:30 to eat. So we said sure. Of course. And so we were driving back to the apartment and we got a call from the Midaveta family and they said come over we are having a bbq. So we did. So we ate at 1:00, 2:30, and then.... We were bringing dinner over the the Valensueala family. One of the members gave us a whole lasgna. So we decided we would feed the Valensuela family. So we ate again at 5:30. Ah man, I was full! It was nuts!! But I am not complaining. Anytime someone wants to feed us I am up for it. :)
Oh yeah another funny thing about yesterday. Alister asked me if we wanted to go fishing with him. Haha. So I think next p-day we are going to go fishing with Alister. That guy is so cool. I am going to hate leaving this area when my time comes. I have made some of the best of friends that I will never forget. And I have become friends with some great families.
So me and Elder Herrera went with the Valensuela family Friday night to a fair. It was HUGE!!! I don't know what Nebraska was celebrating but there were fireworks all across Omaha. So we went to the fair and there was 100's and 100's of booths. And there were bands playing. And then a huge fountain in the middle of the Missouri river that was shooting water like 100 feet in the air. It was so cool! That was a cool night.
The work here is starting to pick up again as I mentioned earlier. I am really trying hard to push Elder Herrera through these last couple of days. But I am excited to get a new companion and really get things going here.
It looks like I am going to lose my driving privileges over this accident. I had a meeting with President and he said he read the police report and doesn't think that there is any way I can win this court battle. I guess we will see though. But yeah more than likely they will be gone after this month. Oh well. What makes me most mad though is that I know the light was green. I do. I know it. And I have no reason to lie about this. Plus after she hit us she drove off. So it's just ridiculous in my opinion. But hey what can ya do.... Just take it like a man I guess. :) Ha and that is what I will do.
Thank you for your prayers for the people we have been teaching. I know they are helping. I know that God does hear and answer our prayers when we pray with faith. I love my mission. Nebraska was definately the place I needed to be called too. And I love it. I really do. I wouldn't want to serve anywhere else.
The spanish is coming as well. I have been studying that really hard still. I still can't say everything I want (that will come), but for the most part I can understand everything. Which is very good.
Well I love you all!! Take care! I miss you. Enjoy your summer! And congrats on graduating Home Boy!!! J-Mo!
Love always,
Elder Moore
Well first off, we did hear that the missionaries would be postponed a week to coming out here (due to precautions because of the swine flu). And with my companion leaving, I was going to go down to the Spanish South for the week it looked like and stay with Elders King and Poccori. But we were told Saturday that they would be sending the missionaries out on time. So they will be here this Thursday for transfers. That is great!!! I didn't want to go be in a 3-some. But I will be finding out who my new companion is on Wednesday. Yay.
I hope those 2 missionaries in the MTC can pull through what they are going through. There are so many great things happening in the mission right now. We are really focused on baptisms right now and we are seeing great things happen! There are 175 people with a baptism date in the mission in June alone. The average is 70. So things are going great. We have Alister set for the 27th of June. He came to church yesterday which was awesome!! Me and Elder King showed him the font and showed him how the baptisms were performed. It was cool. We have Veronica Juarez set for the 27th as well. And Gavino Huerta for the 27th. We are still struggling getting Gavino to church. But right now the work seems to be going good. And I know with the arrival of a new companion who wants to work things will become so much better. I can't wait to see how things start to progress here over the next month and a half or so. We have a lot of potential here and I know there are people just waiting. And for this reason I hope those 2 missionaries who are supposed to be being sent out here can get through the MTC. The MTC was the hardest part for me. But once I got through that and got out to the mission, I began to enjoy it so much more. It doesn't neccesarily get easier, but you begin to see that there are people in need of help here who you are capable of changing. You, your companion, and the most important, the Holy Ghost.
Yeah!!! Go Lakers!! They are tearing it up! Arturo Vega is going to lose this bet! Remember the bet we made with him that I think I mentioned? Yeah, I did mention it. Well it looks like we are going to be shaving his eyebrows! I am excited. I will definately send pictures of this! Lakers are going to be the champions this year! I love it!!!
Ha! So what is going on at the house? It sounds like everything is falling apart! It must be finally noticing I am gone. :) The t.v., air conditioning, and ice maker just can't live with out me so they are starting to fall apart eh? Ok I am lame.......still. No surprise there.
So, me and Elder Herrera have been having Arts and Crafts time and I have been making a lot of cool stuff. I made Justin a birthday present, and you one as well. And dad. And Brooklyn, I haven't made anything yet, but I do have something to send her. So when I get the money at the beginning of July I will send you all your b-day presents. They are sweet!!! And homemade. I also did something cool to my shoulder bag I have. Me and Elder Herrera went to a junk yard last Monday and got in an old cadillac? Is that how you spell it? I don't know. The seat belts that click in and out are silver. Well I cut my bag strap and sewed those on. So it has a click in now with a buckle! Ha I will send ya a picture. And of all the other cool stuff I have made.
So you are really going to get into Sign Language huh? That is so cool!! That would be awesome. And yeah that way you could save a lot of money and make some. I think it is a great idea. You should do it! Did you know that sign language in Spanish is different then in English. I learned that yesterday.
Oh! And speaking of Yesterday!!! NO one, and I mean no one feeds us on Sundays. It's very rare. But yesterday was different. After church Karina asked us to come over at 2:30 to eat. So we said sure. Of course. And so we were driving back to the apartment and we got a call from the Midaveta family and they said come over we are having a bbq. So we did. So we ate at 1:00, 2:30, and then.... We were bringing dinner over the the Valensueala family. One of the members gave us a whole lasgna. So we decided we would feed the Valensuela family. So we ate again at 5:30. Ah man, I was full! It was nuts!! But I am not complaining. Anytime someone wants to feed us I am up for it. :)
Oh yeah another funny thing about yesterday. Alister asked me if we wanted to go fishing with him. Haha. So I think next p-day we are going to go fishing with Alister. That guy is so cool. I am going to hate leaving this area when my time comes. I have made some of the best of friends that I will never forget. And I have become friends with some great families.
So me and Elder Herrera went with the Valensuela family Friday night to a fair. It was HUGE!!! I don't know what Nebraska was celebrating but there were fireworks all across Omaha. So we went to the fair and there was 100's and 100's of booths. And there were bands playing. And then a huge fountain in the middle of the Missouri river that was shooting water like 100 feet in the air. It was so cool! That was a cool night.
The work here is starting to pick up again as I mentioned earlier. I am really trying hard to push Elder Herrera through these last couple of days. But I am excited to get a new companion and really get things going here.
It looks like I am going to lose my driving privileges over this accident. I had a meeting with President and he said he read the police report and doesn't think that there is any way I can win this court battle. I guess we will see though. But yeah more than likely they will be gone after this month. Oh well. What makes me most mad though is that I know the light was green. I do. I know it. And I have no reason to lie about this. Plus after she hit us she drove off. So it's just ridiculous in my opinion. But hey what can ya do.... Just take it like a man I guess. :) Ha and that is what I will do.
Thank you for your prayers for the people we have been teaching. I know they are helping. I know that God does hear and answer our prayers when we pray with faith. I love my mission. Nebraska was definately the place I needed to be called too. And I love it. I really do. I wouldn't want to serve anywhere else.
The spanish is coming as well. I have been studying that really hard still. I still can't say everything I want (that will come), but for the most part I can understand everything. Which is very good.
Well I love you all!! Take care! I miss you. Enjoy your summer! And congrats on graduating Home Boy!!! J-Mo!
Love always,
Elder Moore
Monday, June 1, 2009
June 1, 2009
Ok.... let's see if I can top your amazing week.....
Lakers are going to the NBA Finals, The Dodgers have the best record in baseball, and we set Veronica Juarez for baptism on the 27th.... Did I do it?
Ok maybe not quite. :) But wow sounds like your week was packed! But that you had a great time and really enjoyed it. Sounds the the temple celebration was a HUGE success! That is great to hear.
Well this week wasn't so bad. A little more was accomplished and the Spanish is starting to improve rapidly. Even though my companion still won't speak Spanish to me I am handling it alright on my own without Rosetta Stone.
Ok I have a funny story for ya... So this week the Elders of the south had a baptism. And after the baptism we had cookies and soda and ice cream. And I was playing around with Sebastian Rivera, he is 5 years old. And I was showing him some cool magic tricks with a penny that I have learned on the mission. He was so amazed!!! It was funny!! But anyways... his mom told me Sunday after church that Sebastian had mentioned me in the family prayer and that on Thursday night he said.... "Thank you for sending Elder Moore to this mission. He is such a great magician!! He shows me really cool stuff." Haha!! I thought it was pretty funny. I also showed him a trick where you push the penny into the back of your neck and pull it out of your mouth.... Haha, well his mom also told me that while trying to do that trick he swallowed the penny... oops. :) Maybe I should show him how they are done.
So Yesterday was a great Sunday, well for the most part. No investigators at church for us.... But during Sacrament meeting, I don't know why, but kids just like us. Me and Elder Herrera were sitting on a bench. And then everyone's kids started joining us, from different families. And before we knew it it was me, Elder Herrera and 7 kids on our small bench. haha I thought it was funny. I like little hispanic kids, they are so great.
So I am really excited about Veronica! She is really cool. She is almost 30 and has a 5 year old daughter that is pretty much paralyzed, cute little girl though. I have been teaching with her since probably my 3rd week here. And she is an on again off again investigator. She shows up randomly at church, then disappears. then we teach her and then she is gone... I don't know. But anyways we got a call from her this week and she asked us to come over. So we did. And we read from the Book of Mormon and asked her to be baptized......again. And this time, she pretty much accepted. She said ok, but that she would have to pray about her date. Which we totally respected. but I am going to do everything in my power to get her there and feeling ready for the 27th.
So yesterday we had a pretty sweet day. We went to the Valensuela's house and had a bbq with Alister and Erika and their kids. And then Cinthia's dad Jose, his "wife" and their kids. It was so sweet!! They had a blow up pool that the kids swam in and played in. There was like 7 of them in there. It was sweet. And we just sat outside and hung out and talked and had a great time with them. I really like that family. They are going to come to Utah in December of 2010 when I get home to check out temple square. I told them they could stay with us. Hope ya don't mind. :) So it was an overall success, well 98% successful. Because..... Joele, there little daughter that is 2, she is a rebel. haha. And she falls down at least 3 times a day. It is nuts. But anyways she was riding a tricycle and And Alister told her no. And she didn't listen and fell down the cement stairs and hit her head. She immediately had a bump the size of......... Texas?... on her head. Well you get the point. It was huge. She cried for about 20 minutes. Then that was that and she was fine again. But it was a good day yesterday.
So Alister and Gabriel are fine. Gavino still needs some work to get him to his baptism date of the 27th. So still so much work to be done.
So guess what.... This seems very crazy. But I hit 6 months in 2 days. Nuts huh?! I am enjoying it though. To some it may seem like time is passing slow. But I think it's actually going pretty fast for the most part. I have learned a lot and am starting to feel like a man.... Kinda.
You can tell Ginger that there is definitely more than one hair in my arm pit now! And that I can cut my own hair. That is something the mission has taught me, it's taught me HOW to cut my hair. And HOW NOT to cut it. I do the dishes, but mostly I try to eat off one bowl and use one spoon throughout the week, don't know if that is healthy, but I seem to be doing alright. :) I do my own laundry. I can flip an egg without cracking the yellow. I buy my own food and toilet paper (a necessity,) oh and my own toothpaste. I still can't tie a tie on the first try, but that will come I am sure. I can impress kids with magic, that is manly. And I look for sales :) like today, me and Elder Herrera went to Old Navy, they were having a HUGE sale there. So I got a few COOL shirts. I may send them home though because it's not like I really get to wear them that much. but we will see. So I am learning a lot of good stuff. And definitely learning a lot more about the Gospel. I love it. There is so much cool stuff that is found in the scriptures and it's great knowing how to help people with their problems using the scriptures. The Book of Mormon really does have answers to every question. All is well.
So let's see, answer a few questions here....Transfers are on the 11th. So Wednesday I will find out who my new companion is and Thursday I will be with him. Woohoo! The black spot on my gums.... well the Dentist said it's nothing. So I am good with that answer. She explained some dental term I didn't understand but I shook my head and nodded anyways like I did. But I am fine. And yes there are Allegeries in Nebraska. I had it for about 12 hours. And that was that! Awesome huh? Speaking of stuff in Nebraska. Last night we had an AWESOME lighting storm. It was so sweet! Am I suffering emotionally from the car wreck? Mom I am a man, we don't suffer emotionally. :) Haha, ok, maybe not true, but no I am doing good. I still don't like driving and I go through intersections a little slower now. If I lose my driving privileges I will be completely fine. Because, yeah.... I don't know. I just don't want to drive anymore. But I am doing better. It did freak the crap out of me when it happened. But yeah as you said, it'll make for a good story. And if I have to experience a car accident somewhere, why not on the mission.
Oh yeah speaking of the Lakers going to the finals.... did I ever tell you about the bet one of our investigators made with us? Ha it's Arturo Vega, he is one of the coolest guys! Well he said about 2 weeks ago, if the Lakers win the NBA finals we can shave his eyebrows, but if not, he gets to shave our heads. So I accepted, I couldn't back down and hear about it the rest of the time I was here, so I said yes. And things are looking pretty good for that! haha. I told him we would have to wait to shave my head because you can't have shaved heads in the mission. But I am not too worried. It should be a good series.
Well I love you all very much!! Hope all is well. I miss you! Take care!!
Be obedient and do what is right. Living the gospel brings blessings, and blessings bring happiness and the continued desire to do what is right. A mission is a great experience and I love sharing the gospel. Even though most don't accept it at that time. It still brings me great joy.
I have come to realize as a small white spanish speaking kid I am one of the most feared people. We get out of the car and hispanics avoid us or go into their houses. I have found myself saying "hello" to the air a lot. We are becoming good friends. By that I mean, you say hi and you get completely ignored. Oh well. :)
And oh yeah... So we were having dinner with the Goff family. They are from Utah and both served spanish speaking missions so they come to our ward. they are a white family. Well anyways..... Me and Hermano Goff got to talking at dinner and he said he ran cross country and track. So we talked about that. Then he said he went to Davis High School. Then I decided to ask his age. He said 30. Like the same as Darrell Phippen. So I asked, Do you know Darrell Phippen, and he was like yeah I do, I know the Phippen brothers. haha it was crazy that he knows Brad and Darrell. Thought I would share that with ya. Sweet stuff eh? I think so!
Love,
Elder Moore
Lakers are going to the NBA Finals, The Dodgers have the best record in baseball, and we set Veronica Juarez for baptism on the 27th.... Did I do it?
Ok maybe not quite. :) But wow sounds like your week was packed! But that you had a great time and really enjoyed it. Sounds the the temple celebration was a HUGE success! That is great to hear.
Well this week wasn't so bad. A little more was accomplished and the Spanish is starting to improve rapidly. Even though my companion still won't speak Spanish to me I am handling it alright on my own without Rosetta Stone.
Ok I have a funny story for ya... So this week the Elders of the south had a baptism. And after the baptism we had cookies and soda and ice cream. And I was playing around with Sebastian Rivera, he is 5 years old. And I was showing him some cool magic tricks with a penny that I have learned on the mission. He was so amazed!!! It was funny!! But anyways... his mom told me Sunday after church that Sebastian had mentioned me in the family prayer and that on Thursday night he said.... "Thank you for sending Elder Moore to this mission. He is such a great magician!! He shows me really cool stuff." Haha!! I thought it was pretty funny. I also showed him a trick where you push the penny into the back of your neck and pull it out of your mouth.... Haha, well his mom also told me that while trying to do that trick he swallowed the penny... oops. :) Maybe I should show him how they are done.
So Yesterday was a great Sunday, well for the most part. No investigators at church for us.... But during Sacrament meeting, I don't know why, but kids just like us. Me and Elder Herrera were sitting on a bench. And then everyone's kids started joining us, from different families. And before we knew it it was me, Elder Herrera and 7 kids on our small bench. haha I thought it was funny. I like little hispanic kids, they are so great.
So I am really excited about Veronica! She is really cool. She is almost 30 and has a 5 year old daughter that is pretty much paralyzed, cute little girl though. I have been teaching with her since probably my 3rd week here. And she is an on again off again investigator. She shows up randomly at church, then disappears. then we teach her and then she is gone... I don't know. But anyways we got a call from her this week and she asked us to come over. So we did. And we read from the Book of Mormon and asked her to be baptized......again. And this time, she pretty much accepted. She said ok, but that she would have to pray about her date. Which we totally respected. but I am going to do everything in my power to get her there and feeling ready for the 27th.
So yesterday we had a pretty sweet day. We went to the Valensuela's house and had a bbq with Alister and Erika and their kids. And then Cinthia's dad Jose, his "wife" and their kids. It was so sweet!! They had a blow up pool that the kids swam in and played in. There was like 7 of them in there. It was sweet. And we just sat outside and hung out and talked and had a great time with them. I really like that family. They are going to come to Utah in December of 2010 when I get home to check out temple square. I told them they could stay with us. Hope ya don't mind. :) So it was an overall success, well 98% successful. Because..... Joele, there little daughter that is 2, she is a rebel. haha. And she falls down at least 3 times a day. It is nuts. But anyways she was riding a tricycle and And Alister told her no. And she didn't listen and fell down the cement stairs and hit her head. She immediately had a bump the size of......... Texas?... on her head. Well you get the point. It was huge. She cried for about 20 minutes. Then that was that and she was fine again. But it was a good day yesterday.
So Alister and Gabriel are fine. Gavino still needs some work to get him to his baptism date of the 27th. So still so much work to be done.
So guess what.... This seems very crazy. But I hit 6 months in 2 days. Nuts huh?! I am enjoying it though. To some it may seem like time is passing slow. But I think it's actually going pretty fast for the most part. I have learned a lot and am starting to feel like a man.... Kinda.
You can tell Ginger that there is definitely more than one hair in my arm pit now! And that I can cut my own hair. That is something the mission has taught me, it's taught me HOW to cut my hair. And HOW NOT to cut it. I do the dishes, but mostly I try to eat off one bowl and use one spoon throughout the week, don't know if that is healthy, but I seem to be doing alright. :) I do my own laundry. I can flip an egg without cracking the yellow. I buy my own food and toilet paper (a necessity,) oh and my own toothpaste. I still can't tie a tie on the first try, but that will come I am sure. I can impress kids with magic, that is manly. And I look for sales :) like today, me and Elder Herrera went to Old Navy, they were having a HUGE sale there. So I got a few COOL shirts. I may send them home though because it's not like I really get to wear them that much. but we will see. So I am learning a lot of good stuff. And definitely learning a lot more about the Gospel. I love it. There is so much cool stuff that is found in the scriptures and it's great knowing how to help people with their problems using the scriptures. The Book of Mormon really does have answers to every question. All is well.
So let's see, answer a few questions here....Transfers are on the 11th. So Wednesday I will find out who my new companion is and Thursday I will be with him. Woohoo! The black spot on my gums.... well the Dentist said it's nothing. So I am good with that answer. She explained some dental term I didn't understand but I shook my head and nodded anyways like I did. But I am fine. And yes there are Allegeries in Nebraska. I had it for about 12 hours. And that was that! Awesome huh? Speaking of stuff in Nebraska. Last night we had an AWESOME lighting storm. It was so sweet! Am I suffering emotionally from the car wreck? Mom I am a man, we don't suffer emotionally. :) Haha, ok, maybe not true, but no I am doing good. I still don't like driving and I go through intersections a little slower now. If I lose my driving privileges I will be completely fine. Because, yeah.... I don't know. I just don't want to drive anymore. But I am doing better. It did freak the crap out of me when it happened. But yeah as you said, it'll make for a good story. And if I have to experience a car accident somewhere, why not on the mission.
Oh yeah speaking of the Lakers going to the finals.... did I ever tell you about the bet one of our investigators made with us? Ha it's Arturo Vega, he is one of the coolest guys! Well he said about 2 weeks ago, if the Lakers win the NBA finals we can shave his eyebrows, but if not, he gets to shave our heads. So I accepted, I couldn't back down and hear about it the rest of the time I was here, so I said yes. And things are looking pretty good for that! haha. I told him we would have to wait to shave my head because you can't have shaved heads in the mission. But I am not too worried. It should be a good series.
Well I love you all very much!! Hope all is well. I miss you! Take care!!
Be obedient and do what is right. Living the gospel brings blessings, and blessings bring happiness and the continued desire to do what is right. A mission is a great experience and I love sharing the gospel. Even though most don't accept it at that time. It still brings me great joy.
I have come to realize as a small white spanish speaking kid I am one of the most feared people. We get out of the car and hispanics avoid us or go into their houses. I have found myself saying "hello" to the air a lot. We are becoming good friends. By that I mean, you say hi and you get completely ignored. Oh well. :)
And oh yeah... So we were having dinner with the Goff family. They are from Utah and both served spanish speaking missions so they come to our ward. they are a white family. Well anyways..... Me and Hermano Goff got to talking at dinner and he said he ran cross country and track. So we talked about that. Then he said he went to Davis High School. Then I decided to ask his age. He said 30. Like the same as Darrell Phippen. So I asked, Do you know Darrell Phippen, and he was like yeah I do, I know the Phippen brothers. haha it was crazy that he knows Brad and Darrell. Thought I would share that with ya. Sweet stuff eh? I think so!
Love,
Elder Moore
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
May 26, 2009
Well hello there!! It's me!
Well I will warn you now.... this email isn't going to be too interesting. It was a week full of basically... nothing. Nothing real exciting or great happened this week. I did drop my pride and go back and see Alister for the first time in 10 days. He is doing good. I really like him and we are going to continue to work with him. Maybe he'll come around. Maybe not. I don't know.
We did stop by Gavino's house this week to make sure he was coming to church so that he could be baptized on the 6th. Carlos, another person who we are kind of teaching that lives With Gavino told us they were planning on coming and that they would see us there. They never showed up. Just another disappiontment. But it's ok.... after enough of them you learn to get used to it.Once again it's that lack of commitment. They have a testimony but no commitment.
So this week one of our investiagtors invited us to go play soccer with him. So we accepted. And showed up at the place and there was like 40 hispanics there! It was nuts! So we played in a tennis court and it was 5 on 5. So there was like 7 or 8 teams. And if you scored first you stayed and the other team left the court and a new team came on. I was the only white kid there. So I adopted the nickname Gamacho or Wedo, both slang for white kid. Haha. So that was cool. I scored 4 goals. It was sweet! Scoring on mexicans. :) Our team won 9 games in a row before finally losing. It was a lot of fun. But I was so dang tired! And they play pretty rough, shoving you into the fences and stuff. Ah it was great!
We went and saw Arturo Vega. One of my favorite people. He is so cool and so honest with us. We talked with him some and he is still content with his Baptist church. He says he has had some bad examples of members in his church with the people he works with. Ya never know who is watching you I guess and that is why it is important to always be a good example. But we are going to continue to teach him. I love that guy.
Bad news.... Alina, the woman with her family we have been teaching. The one we commited to baptism for June 13th. She is a great woman that was so interested in our church and loves what we teach! But she said she would talk to her husband about being baptized. He said that he doesn't want her to meet with us anymore and that she couldn't get baptized in our church. So that was sad.... Hopefully his heart will soften and all will be ok. But I don't know.... he is a strong catholic. So that was sad and a bummer. But oh well. We'll keep praying for her and hoping that one day she calls and says we can come back and see her. But as for now she has to be "dropped."
So yes we did get another car. We need a car! Our area is so huge and without one we would almost be useless. But yeah I am feeling better from the accident. Still little bruises and aches. But nothing too serious. But I did find out that if I do lose these 2 court cases I lose my driving privelages for the rest of my mission. Haha, oh well.... But yeah I would lose them for the next 18 months. Which actually I wouldn't mind. I don't like driving anymore anyways.
So yeah from the emails and letters I get it sounds like everyone has companionship issues for some reason. I don't know why. It's a bummer. But oh well... it happens. Elder Herrera goes home in 2 1/2 weeks and is getting more and more trunkier as time goes on. But oh well what can ya do about that. I do know that I will continue to stay in this area after he is gone though. Who knows for how long though. At least until this whole stupid car accident situation is over. So probably up through August. It's horrible. just like Jana said, You can't have bad feelings in your companionship because then the spirit isn't there to testify to those you teach. And the spirit is the most important tool we have. It's what really converts.
That quote you shared with me from Brigham Young is so true. Salvation is not a cheap experience. We have to experience things to earn living with Heavenly Father forever. He isn't going to just give it to us. He tests us to find out if we are really worthy of being in his presence for eternity. It was never the plan for this life to be easy. And as you said, sometimes I don't know either why it's called The Plan of Happiness. But sometimes we need to look back on our struggles to really enjoy those happy moments we have. And we do experience so much joy in this life, but sometimes it's overlooked because we focus on the bad that has happened. Sometimes we just need to stop and take a look at all we have been given. Because really we can find something that brings us joy every day. Not in every moment. But in every day. We have something that we are grateful for. Sometimes it's not always the most obvious thing. Sometimes we have to search really hard to find that one thing that brought us joy that day. But I do know that the Lord does bless us every day. Sometimes we just don't recognize it.
I love you all very much and miss you. Take care! Sorry this email didn't have a lot in it. But this week just didn't contain a whole lot for us. But this next week is looking pretty good. :)
Love you all!
Love, Elder Moore
Well I will warn you now.... this email isn't going to be too interesting. It was a week full of basically... nothing. Nothing real exciting or great happened this week. I did drop my pride and go back and see Alister for the first time in 10 days. He is doing good. I really like him and we are going to continue to work with him. Maybe he'll come around. Maybe not. I don't know.
We did stop by Gavino's house this week to make sure he was coming to church so that he could be baptized on the 6th. Carlos, another person who we are kind of teaching that lives With Gavino told us they were planning on coming and that they would see us there. They never showed up. Just another disappiontment. But it's ok.... after enough of them you learn to get used to it.Once again it's that lack of commitment. They have a testimony but no commitment.
So this week one of our investiagtors invited us to go play soccer with him. So we accepted. And showed up at the place and there was like 40 hispanics there! It was nuts! So we played in a tennis court and it was 5 on 5. So there was like 7 or 8 teams. And if you scored first you stayed and the other team left the court and a new team came on. I was the only white kid there. So I adopted the nickname Gamacho or Wedo, both slang for white kid. Haha. So that was cool. I scored 4 goals. It was sweet! Scoring on mexicans. :) Our team won 9 games in a row before finally losing. It was a lot of fun. But I was so dang tired! And they play pretty rough, shoving you into the fences and stuff. Ah it was great!
We went and saw Arturo Vega. One of my favorite people. He is so cool and so honest with us. We talked with him some and he is still content with his Baptist church. He says he has had some bad examples of members in his church with the people he works with. Ya never know who is watching you I guess and that is why it is important to always be a good example. But we are going to continue to teach him. I love that guy.
Bad news.... Alina, the woman with her family we have been teaching. The one we commited to baptism for June 13th. She is a great woman that was so interested in our church and loves what we teach! But she said she would talk to her husband about being baptized. He said that he doesn't want her to meet with us anymore and that she couldn't get baptized in our church. So that was sad.... Hopefully his heart will soften and all will be ok. But I don't know.... he is a strong catholic. So that was sad and a bummer. But oh well. We'll keep praying for her and hoping that one day she calls and says we can come back and see her. But as for now she has to be "dropped."
So yes we did get another car. We need a car! Our area is so huge and without one we would almost be useless. But yeah I am feeling better from the accident. Still little bruises and aches. But nothing too serious. But I did find out that if I do lose these 2 court cases I lose my driving privelages for the rest of my mission. Haha, oh well.... But yeah I would lose them for the next 18 months. Which actually I wouldn't mind. I don't like driving anymore anyways.
So yeah from the emails and letters I get it sounds like everyone has companionship issues for some reason. I don't know why. It's a bummer. But oh well... it happens. Elder Herrera goes home in 2 1/2 weeks and is getting more and more trunkier as time goes on. But oh well what can ya do about that. I do know that I will continue to stay in this area after he is gone though. Who knows for how long though. At least until this whole stupid car accident situation is over. So probably up through August. It's horrible. just like Jana said, You can't have bad feelings in your companionship because then the spirit isn't there to testify to those you teach. And the spirit is the most important tool we have. It's what really converts.
That quote you shared with me from Brigham Young is so true. Salvation is not a cheap experience. We have to experience things to earn living with Heavenly Father forever. He isn't going to just give it to us. He tests us to find out if we are really worthy of being in his presence for eternity. It was never the plan for this life to be easy. And as you said, sometimes I don't know either why it's called The Plan of Happiness. But sometimes we need to look back on our struggles to really enjoy those happy moments we have. And we do experience so much joy in this life, but sometimes it's overlooked because we focus on the bad that has happened. Sometimes we just need to stop and take a look at all we have been given. Because really we can find something that brings us joy every day. Not in every moment. But in every day. We have something that we are grateful for. Sometimes it's not always the most obvious thing. Sometimes we have to search really hard to find that one thing that brought us joy that day. But I do know that the Lord does bless us every day. Sometimes we just don't recognize it.
I love you all very much and miss you. Take care! Sorry this email didn't have a lot in it. But this week just didn't contain a whole lot for us. But this next week is looking pretty good. :)
Love you all!
Love, Elder Moore
Monday, May 18, 2009
Prayers are answered...May 18, 2009
Every morning we gather (me, Justin and Brooklyn) and pray for the safety of Brandon...as I know many of you do. Well, it looks like this week especially our prayers were answered.
Hey there!
Well I will put it this way.... this week had some of the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows, As you will see from the pictures I have attached.Sunday was probably the worste day of my entire mission. We went to go see Alister to get him to come to church and Gabriel. We got there and found out they had gone to a party the night before and were both drunk and passed out. So we are done seeing Alister. Hopefully later on down the road someone will find him and teach him. But as for now.... I just don't know. But we need to be spending more time with people that have more of a desire and as of now he doesn't.
So we left Alister's house to go see Gavino and remind him of church.... well we never got there.We were driving down to his house and got to the intersection of 24th and Leavenworth and we got in a car acident and totalled our car. A Toyota FJ Cruiser ran the red light and smashed right into us. It was deffinately one of the scariest moments of my life. She dragged us across the intersection and we spun, our airbags went off, and she drove away. She didn't get far though before she stopped, proably 400 meters. The good news is that we weren't hurt to bad. My hand is bruised as well as my forearm from the airbag exploding, my ankle back and neck hurt too. Elder Herrera has a black eye from his airbag and his leg and back hurt as well. Cops and paramedics came. It was a big mess.We have witnesses that said we had the green and she was going about 45 and ran the red light. But the other woman also says she has witnesses, which how could she? She is down the road..... I don't know. But anyways we have a court date on the 23rd of June. This is just crap. I was so mad. And I don't know.... The mom of this girl showed up and saw we were Mormons and started giving us crap about that then started swearing at me. I just didn't say anything. The cop lady was there and told her to shut up and not to talk to me anymore. That was cool.But yeah.... that was Sunday morning.
Let me tell ya... the mission is anything but easy and full of surprises. But I am having a really hard time with it right now. Hopefully things start to turn around.
Well we had a sweet lesson with Alina Savalla and her family and asked her to be baptized on the 13th of June. She said she would have to talk to her husband who is a strong catholic. But she knows it's true and wants to be with her family forever and we have said that she can be. I have had some amazing lessons with her. We are going over there tonight to have family home evening with her and her family. I am very excited! She said she was going to talk to her husband too. We haven't had much of a chance to talk to him yet. But hopefully he will be there tonight.From what she told us, he is a strong catholic, but doesn't attend there church anymore because he had some questions that he didn't think the catholic church gave great answers too. I am very positive that we could give him the answers he is looking for. So I am looking forward to tonights appointment.
So yes I am still cutting my own hair. And it's getting a little better everytime. I just do a 3 on top and a 2 on the sides and taper with a 1. Haha. So I am pretty much pro. I just don't like how long it takes to do it yourself. But oh well, whatever I can do to save money right? Plus I am learning a new skill.
So I have a trip to the dentist tomorrow morning. I was flossing my teeth like a week ago, and found a black spot on my gums. Underneath one of my teeth. So I am going to get that checked out tomorrow. Yay. Everyone knows how much I love the dentist..... ok not really.
I want to let you all know that Satan does everything he can to get us down. To make us seem worthless. To make living just hard. I have felt him so much recently. Even to the point where I have just wanted to leave. Like yesterday after that horrible day. But also, the Lord fights for us as well. He is there every step of the way. There is sacrafice in living the gospel of Jesus Christ. It isn't easy, and that wasn't the plan for it to be easy. Christ sacfriced it all for us. We have been asked to sacrfice just a little bit. To take one step towards the Garden of Gethsamine. The love he has for us is infinite. I have felt it. I know that he is watching out for me as my older brother as well as my friend. I love sharing this gospel. Come what may I am going to take it, learn from it, and enjoy it. This has been very challenging. Especially with the accident. But I know that this is what I need to be doing. I know the Lord has a plan for me and this is part of it. I read my patriarchal blessing last night when I was just thinking about everything, and my mission is talked about so much in it. This is a big part of my life. Thank you all for your support.I love you all! Live the gospel, and be obedient and I know the Lord will bless you.
Take care.
Love always,
Elder Moore
Hey there!
Well I will put it this way.... this week had some of the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows, As you will see from the pictures I have attached.Sunday was probably the worste day of my entire mission. We went to go see Alister to get him to come to church and Gabriel. We got there and found out they had gone to a party the night before and were both drunk and passed out. So we are done seeing Alister. Hopefully later on down the road someone will find him and teach him. But as for now.... I just don't know. But we need to be spending more time with people that have more of a desire and as of now he doesn't.
So we left Alister's house to go see Gavino and remind him of church.... well we never got there.We were driving down to his house and got to the intersection of 24th and Leavenworth and we got in a car acident and totalled our car. A Toyota FJ Cruiser ran the red light and smashed right into us. It was deffinately one of the scariest moments of my life. She dragged us across the intersection and we spun, our airbags went off, and she drove away. She didn't get far though before she stopped, proably 400 meters. The good news is that we weren't hurt to bad. My hand is bruised as well as my forearm from the airbag exploding, my ankle back and neck hurt too. Elder Herrera has a black eye from his airbag and his leg and back hurt as well. Cops and paramedics came. It was a big mess.We have witnesses that said we had the green and she was going about 45 and ran the red light. But the other woman also says she has witnesses, which how could she? She is down the road..... I don't know. But anyways we have a court date on the 23rd of June. This is just crap. I was so mad. And I don't know.... The mom of this girl showed up and saw we were Mormons and started giving us crap about that then started swearing at me. I just didn't say anything. The cop lady was there and told her to shut up and not to talk to me anymore. That was cool.But yeah.... that was Sunday morning.
Let me tell ya... the mission is anything but easy and full of surprises. But I am having a really hard time with it right now. Hopefully things start to turn around.
Well we had a sweet lesson with Alina Savalla and her family and asked her to be baptized on the 13th of June. She said she would have to talk to her husband who is a strong catholic. But she knows it's true and wants to be with her family forever and we have said that she can be. I have had some amazing lessons with her. We are going over there tonight to have family home evening with her and her family. I am very excited! She said she was going to talk to her husband too. We haven't had much of a chance to talk to him yet. But hopefully he will be there tonight.From what she told us, he is a strong catholic, but doesn't attend there church anymore because he had some questions that he didn't think the catholic church gave great answers too. I am very positive that we could give him the answers he is looking for. So I am looking forward to tonights appointment.
So yes I am still cutting my own hair. And it's getting a little better everytime. I just do a 3 on top and a 2 on the sides and taper with a 1. Haha. So I am pretty much pro. I just don't like how long it takes to do it yourself. But oh well, whatever I can do to save money right? Plus I am learning a new skill.
So I have a trip to the dentist tomorrow morning. I was flossing my teeth like a week ago, and found a black spot on my gums. Underneath one of my teeth. So I am going to get that checked out tomorrow. Yay. Everyone knows how much I love the dentist..... ok not really.
I want to let you all know that Satan does everything he can to get us down. To make us seem worthless. To make living just hard. I have felt him so much recently. Even to the point where I have just wanted to leave. Like yesterday after that horrible day. But also, the Lord fights for us as well. He is there every step of the way. There is sacrafice in living the gospel of Jesus Christ. It isn't easy, and that wasn't the plan for it to be easy. Christ sacfriced it all for us. We have been asked to sacrfice just a little bit. To take one step towards the Garden of Gethsamine. The love he has for us is infinite. I have felt it. I know that he is watching out for me as my older brother as well as my friend. I love sharing this gospel. Come what may I am going to take it, learn from it, and enjoy it. This has been very challenging. Especially with the accident. But I know that this is what I need to be doing. I know the Lord has a plan for me and this is part of it. I read my patriarchal blessing last night when I was just thinking about everything, and my mission is talked about so much in it. This is a big part of my life. Thank you all for your support.I love you all! Live the gospel, and be obedient and I know the Lord will bless you.
Take care.
Love always,
Elder Moore
Monday, May 11, 2009
Mother's Day Phone Call
It was wonderful to talk to Elder Moore on Mother's Day. He is doing so well. He loves his mission. We heard so many stories that this email is shorter than usual. It is so wonderful having a child on a mission. I was in heaven hearing his voice, listening to his Spanglish, and just enjoying the man he is becoming.
So, here is his post from today!
HEY!!! Yes, yesterday was a great treat being able to talk with you all. I really enjoyed it! Like really really enjoyed it. :) ha it was great hearing all your voices.
So first off, about the redbox videos. I returned 2 videos for one of our investigators named Juan. You are required here to swipe your card to start. So did it charge me? Or did it just say they were returned? As you know.... we have no tv's or anywhere to watch movies. So ha I definately didn't rent them. But if it did charge me, let me know. Thanks!!!
So I don't really know what to write since we talked about it all yesterday. Things are going alright here. Last night we went and saw Alister. As you know I was really upset with him for not coming to church yesterday after we had gone in the morning and talked to him and invited him. He now can't get baptized this Saturday. He is just being lazy. He says he wants to get baptized, but if he can't keep the commitments, that isn't going to happen. As you also know, yesterday I was ready to drop him as an investigators since he isn't progressing right now, but after seeing him last night I realized I couldn't. I just love that guy too much.
Really all he has to do is come to church. As I mentioned, he was married. One of the most awkward moments of my life. I just wanted to disappear. But obviously I couldn't. Haha.
(This is Sheri speaking for a moment. Yesterday when talking to Elder Moore on the phone he told us of Alister's wedding. He said ten minutes after they were pronounced husband and wife, his wife decided she didn't want to married. These were her issues:
1) They were married at their house. She decided she wanted a church wedding instead.
2) She wanted her family there. Alister reminded her that her family was in the basement and wouldn't come up for the wedding.
3) She wanted his family there. Alister reminded her he hadn't talked to his family in five years, so why would he invite them to the wedding.
4) She wanted a mariachi band. Alister reminded her they didn't have money for a mariachi band.
Brandon said the wife asked him to find the bishop and have him tear up the marriage license. Of course this was not an option. As uncomfortable as the situation was, Elder Moore said, "Well at least they aren't breaking the law of chastity anymore!")
We set a 68 year old man, Gavino for baptism on June 6th. He has some word of wisdom problems we have to work through, but he really wants to stop drinking for his family. So we are going to continue to work hard with him. He is a cool old guy.
Carmen, our baptism that was set for May 23rd, couldn't pay the rent and was kicked out of her little spot, and we can't find her. So that's sad.... Hopefully she'll pop up somewhere or give us a call. We were having good success with her.
Gabriel, still drinking. Didn't come to church. We have to move him back as well. I think the hardest thing to do in the mission is to get people to come to church. I don't know why.... but they just don't come.
Same with Mario, we called him Saturday night and he said he would be at church..... Didn't show up. And he is the one that looks most promising right now. Well we are going to see him tomorrow and find out what happened. And also, set him for baptism on the 6th. He believes the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. So we are excited for him.
I think every month I have been out here, one of my friends has come home early from their mission. That's so frustrating to hear. Of course it's not going to be easy. It's the hardest thing I have ever done. It makes me mad how people can just give up. Why do they go home? Sometimes it is because of a girlfriend. Girlfriends can be so lame! I got pretty lucky! :) Amber told me if I came home she'd leave me. haha. Good girl. It's awesome having her support. But I would never leave this. It's so great. I love it.
I can't believe I am about to hit 6 months. It's beginning to go by very fast. This is the best thing that I could be doing at this point in my life and I am growing so much and it is just making me a better person.
I am glad my spanish is getting good. I have been working my tail off for over 5 months to try and get it. It's coming a long.
So sorry this email isn't quite as long. We talked a bit yesterday so you know everything that is up with me. Have fun hanging out with Brooklyn and doing arts and crafts. :) Haha, sounds like a blast! Today we played football as a zone and had a bbq at a nice park with a sweet little pond-ish lake. It was cool.
Well I love you all very much!!! Thank you so much for your support and it was so great being able to talk to you yesterday! Mom, I hope you enjoyed Mothers Day. I know I did! I know this gospel is true and that we receive blessings when we LIVE it. And live it every day. Not just on Sundays. I love it! I know it has been a blessing in my life.
Take care!!!
Love always
Elder Moore
So, here is his post from today!
HEY!!! Yes, yesterday was a great treat being able to talk with you all. I really enjoyed it! Like really really enjoyed it. :) ha it was great hearing all your voices.
So first off, about the redbox videos. I returned 2 videos for one of our investigators named Juan. You are required here to swipe your card to start. So did it charge me? Or did it just say they were returned? As you know.... we have no tv's or anywhere to watch movies. So ha I definately didn't rent them. But if it did charge me, let me know. Thanks!!!
So I don't really know what to write since we talked about it all yesterday. Things are going alright here. Last night we went and saw Alister. As you know I was really upset with him for not coming to church yesterday after we had gone in the morning and talked to him and invited him. He now can't get baptized this Saturday. He is just being lazy. He says he wants to get baptized, but if he can't keep the commitments, that isn't going to happen. As you also know, yesterday I was ready to drop him as an investigators since he isn't progressing right now, but after seeing him last night I realized I couldn't. I just love that guy too much.
Really all he has to do is come to church. As I mentioned, he was married. One of the most awkward moments of my life. I just wanted to disappear. But obviously I couldn't. Haha.
(This is Sheri speaking for a moment. Yesterday when talking to Elder Moore on the phone he told us of Alister's wedding. He said ten minutes after they were pronounced husband and wife, his wife decided she didn't want to married. These were her issues:
1) They were married at their house. She decided she wanted a church wedding instead.
2) She wanted her family there. Alister reminded her that her family was in the basement and wouldn't come up for the wedding.
3) She wanted his family there. Alister reminded her he hadn't talked to his family in five years, so why would he invite them to the wedding.
4) She wanted a mariachi band. Alister reminded her they didn't have money for a mariachi band.
Brandon said the wife asked him to find the bishop and have him tear up the marriage license. Of course this was not an option. As uncomfortable as the situation was, Elder Moore said, "Well at least they aren't breaking the law of chastity anymore!")
We set a 68 year old man, Gavino for baptism on June 6th. He has some word of wisdom problems we have to work through, but he really wants to stop drinking for his family. So we are going to continue to work hard with him. He is a cool old guy.
Carmen, our baptism that was set for May 23rd, couldn't pay the rent and was kicked out of her little spot, and we can't find her. So that's sad.... Hopefully she'll pop up somewhere or give us a call. We were having good success with her.
Gabriel, still drinking. Didn't come to church. We have to move him back as well. I think the hardest thing to do in the mission is to get people to come to church. I don't know why.... but they just don't come.
Same with Mario, we called him Saturday night and he said he would be at church..... Didn't show up. And he is the one that looks most promising right now. Well we are going to see him tomorrow and find out what happened. And also, set him for baptism on the 6th. He believes the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. So we are excited for him.
I think every month I have been out here, one of my friends has come home early from their mission. That's so frustrating to hear. Of course it's not going to be easy. It's the hardest thing I have ever done. It makes me mad how people can just give up. Why do they go home? Sometimes it is because of a girlfriend. Girlfriends can be so lame! I got pretty lucky! :) Amber told me if I came home she'd leave me. haha. Good girl. It's awesome having her support. But I would never leave this. It's so great. I love it.
I can't believe I am about to hit 6 months. It's beginning to go by very fast. This is the best thing that I could be doing at this point in my life and I am growing so much and it is just making me a better person.
I am glad my spanish is getting good. I have been working my tail off for over 5 months to try and get it. It's coming a long.
So sorry this email isn't quite as long. We talked a bit yesterday so you know everything that is up with me. Have fun hanging out with Brooklyn and doing arts and crafts. :) Haha, sounds like a blast! Today we played football as a zone and had a bbq at a nice park with a sweet little pond-ish lake. It was cool.
Well I love you all very much!!! Thank you so much for your support and it was so great being able to talk to you yesterday! Mom, I hope you enjoyed Mothers Day. I know I did! I know this gospel is true and that we receive blessings when we LIVE it. And live it every day. Not just on Sundays. I love it! I know it has been a blessing in my life.
Take care!!!
Love always
Elder Moore
Monday, May 4, 2009
May 4, 2009
Hey there!How goes it all in Utah? Hopefully good!
Things are going really good out this way too.... for the most part. If there could be a really good day in the mission without a baptism, I would have to say that it came on Tuesday. Tuesday we taught a total of 8 lessons! 4 with a member, and 4 others. Plus that day we contacted Mario. He was a referral to us from President and Sister Oaks, he is the president of the Nebraska temple. We went and saw him and he agreed with everything we taught him. And he said it would make so much sense to have another testament of Jesus Christ a.k.a. The Book of Mormon. We are going to have dinner with the Oaks family tomorrow and they are going to teach with us. He speaks better spanish, but is really good at english as well. It is going to be a great lesson. Also Sister Oaks called and said because it is Cinco de Mayo tomorrow that she would be preparing a lot of mexican food and it would be like a fiesta. I am looking forward to it. We are going to set Mario for baptism tomorrow. He is so cool!! He called Saturday night and was begging for our forgiveness that he couldn't come to church Sunday because he volunteered to help someone and he forgot about it. But he is a really cool guy and I look forward to being able to work with him.
We set a women named Carmen for baptism for the 23rd this week as well. I think she is going to end up needing more time. She is having a hard life right now and this is what she needs. But she is not keeping her commitments. It's so hard getting people to come to church. Probably THE HARDEST THING!
We found a new family, la familia Cordova. So awesome!!! There is 6 people in this family. 4 of baptismal age. And her mom, who lives across the street was at the lesson too. Wow! It was such a good lesson! They asked us so many questions, and we answered them all and they loved it! Before we could even offer Ana a Book of Mormon, she asked for one. She said she loves to read and looks forward to reading it. She also asked when we could come back. So hopefully we will get to baptize the whole family tree. haha. Because her parents live across the street. Her brother lives about 5 blocks away with his family. And her sister is getting married in 2 months and lives right there too. She loves how much our gospel focuses on families and how we can be together with them FOREVER! She also said she loves how we pray to God and not the virgin Mary. I am looking forward to our next appointment with them on Wednesday.
Alister is still doing really good and so is Gabriel. Alister and Erika took us to Golden Corral Tuesday night for dinner. That was fun. I was studying one morning and just reading the conference Liahona from 2007 and in there James E Faust gave a talk called El Poder Para Cambiar, or The Power to Change. I read the article and it talked about overcoming addictions, and families and just a whole lot of great stuff I felt that Alister and especially Gabriel with his drinking problem needed. So we are going to go over there tonight and talk with them about the article. I left it there for both of them to read.
So last night me and my companion got in a huge fight. We had just come out of a really really good lesson, and he gets on the phone and started swearing with another missionary. And I told him not to do that. So without going into too much detail.... We yelled and argued with eachother for like 20 minutes, because he said he'll do whatever he wants. And I just hate how before we go into a lesson or when we come out of one he starts swearing and it just really takes away that spirit we need to teach. So yeah.... that went really well. Oh well, I only have like 46 more days with him. I can handle that. I have to say that my mission has really tested my patience and my tolerance. But I feel like I'm getting better. :)
So I am going to send a box to Amber tomorrow and in there will be some pictures for you. :) Ok? Alright!!! Sorry it's been so long since I sent pictures, but they are a-comin.
So on Mother's Day...Well Cinthia said we can hang out at their house and talk and use the phone! So we can talk for as long as you all want. :) Sound good? We don't have a time limit on how long we talk as long as we don't use our own cell phone. So I will call sometime after ya finish church. And I can call back if someone else wants to talk later, ya know.... whatever. :) But it should be a lot of fun.
So speaking of missionary moms. I am good friends with Elder Winter, he is writing Kelsey Ludwig. We went to high school together. And I play basketball with him every Monday. So I was with him this morning. He is a cool guy.
So yeah Skip is definately the man! He is the definition of a true home teacher and friend. I love that guy. He had a really big influence on me and I am glad he is helping Justin so much to focus on him mission. I wouldn't want Justin to miss this experience for the world. It is a lot of fun and I am having some really cool experiences.
So Justin has got to be happy, as am I, about the Lakers taking down the Jazz like they were nothin! That's how they do it! Now on to Houston! And they will blow right by them too. Kobe is the man!!!I am sorry to any Jazz fans who read this..... Maybe it's time to pick a new team.... Something to think about. :)
Well I look forward to talking to you soon! Woo Hoo, only six more days! I love you and and miss you!!! Take care!!!
Love Always,
Elder Moore
Things are going really good out this way too.... for the most part. If there could be a really good day in the mission without a baptism, I would have to say that it came on Tuesday. Tuesday we taught a total of 8 lessons! 4 with a member, and 4 others. Plus that day we contacted Mario. He was a referral to us from President and Sister Oaks, he is the president of the Nebraska temple. We went and saw him and he agreed with everything we taught him. And he said it would make so much sense to have another testament of Jesus Christ a.k.a. The Book of Mormon. We are going to have dinner with the Oaks family tomorrow and they are going to teach with us. He speaks better spanish, but is really good at english as well. It is going to be a great lesson. Also Sister Oaks called and said because it is Cinco de Mayo tomorrow that she would be preparing a lot of mexican food and it would be like a fiesta. I am looking forward to it. We are going to set Mario for baptism tomorrow. He is so cool!! He called Saturday night and was begging for our forgiveness that he couldn't come to church Sunday because he volunteered to help someone and he forgot about it. But he is a really cool guy and I look forward to being able to work with him.
We set a women named Carmen for baptism for the 23rd this week as well. I think she is going to end up needing more time. She is having a hard life right now and this is what she needs. But she is not keeping her commitments. It's so hard getting people to come to church. Probably THE HARDEST THING!
We found a new family, la familia Cordova. So awesome!!! There is 6 people in this family. 4 of baptismal age. And her mom, who lives across the street was at the lesson too. Wow! It was such a good lesson! They asked us so many questions, and we answered them all and they loved it! Before we could even offer Ana a Book of Mormon, she asked for one. She said she loves to read and looks forward to reading it. She also asked when we could come back. So hopefully we will get to baptize the whole family tree. haha. Because her parents live across the street. Her brother lives about 5 blocks away with his family. And her sister is getting married in 2 months and lives right there too. She loves how much our gospel focuses on families and how we can be together with them FOREVER! She also said she loves how we pray to God and not the virgin Mary. I am looking forward to our next appointment with them on Wednesday.
Alister is still doing really good and so is Gabriel. Alister and Erika took us to Golden Corral Tuesday night for dinner. That was fun. I was studying one morning and just reading the conference Liahona from 2007 and in there James E Faust gave a talk called El Poder Para Cambiar, or The Power to Change. I read the article and it talked about overcoming addictions, and families and just a whole lot of great stuff I felt that Alister and especially Gabriel with his drinking problem needed. So we are going to go over there tonight and talk with them about the article. I left it there for both of them to read.
So last night me and my companion got in a huge fight. We had just come out of a really really good lesson, and he gets on the phone and started swearing with another missionary. And I told him not to do that. So without going into too much detail.... We yelled and argued with eachother for like 20 minutes, because he said he'll do whatever he wants. And I just hate how before we go into a lesson or when we come out of one he starts swearing and it just really takes away that spirit we need to teach. So yeah.... that went really well. Oh well, I only have like 46 more days with him. I can handle that. I have to say that my mission has really tested my patience and my tolerance. But I feel like I'm getting better. :)
So I am going to send a box to Amber tomorrow and in there will be some pictures for you. :) Ok? Alright!!! Sorry it's been so long since I sent pictures, but they are a-comin.
So on Mother's Day...Well Cinthia said we can hang out at their house and talk and use the phone! So we can talk for as long as you all want. :) Sound good? We don't have a time limit on how long we talk as long as we don't use our own cell phone. So I will call sometime after ya finish church. And I can call back if someone else wants to talk later, ya know.... whatever. :) But it should be a lot of fun.
So speaking of missionary moms. I am good friends with Elder Winter, he is writing Kelsey Ludwig. We went to high school together. And I play basketball with him every Monday. So I was with him this morning. He is a cool guy.
So yeah Skip is definately the man! He is the definition of a true home teacher and friend. I love that guy. He had a really big influence on me and I am glad he is helping Justin so much to focus on him mission. I wouldn't want Justin to miss this experience for the world. It is a lot of fun and I am having some really cool experiences.
So Justin has got to be happy, as am I, about the Lakers taking down the Jazz like they were nothin! That's how they do it! Now on to Houston! And they will blow right by them too. Kobe is the man!!!I am sorry to any Jazz fans who read this..... Maybe it's time to pick a new team.... Something to think about. :)
Well I look forward to talking to you soon! Woo Hoo, only six more days! I love you and and miss you!!! Take care!!!
Love Always,
Elder Moore
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