Hey there to everyone!
So to start off, it's amazing the way the spirit can lead you in lessons. So I am going to share a story about how that happened with us this week. So we were teaching a woman named Flor. She has come to church probably 6 times now, but the only thing that is keeping her from getting baptized is not being married but living with a guy. Who is actually a jerk to her. So her 2nd Sunday in church she bore her testimony saying this church is true. She is reading the Book of Mormon, has a testimony. So this past week me and Elder King went over to teach her. We really didn't have a lesson planned, just wanted to see what happened. So we started to talk to her and for some reason I just thought about talking about examples. So we shared about Ammon and how he was an example to the King and the king believed his words and listened to him because of it. Then we shared the story of Aaron and how he taught King Lamonhi's dad. And then King Lamonhi's dad asks after he finishes teaching.... What do I have to give to experince this kind of joy, I will give up everything i have. So after we read this I looked at Flor and asked her what she was willing to give up to be with God. And she knew....It was a really powerful experience. And she said, you're right, I know what I have to do. So two days later we came back and talked to her a little more and about what she had decided....... after about 20 minutes of talking to us, she said, "You can go now. We are done." We didn't see that coming, and then she didn't come to church either. She just isn't willing to leave her "husband" or marry him. So that's a bummer. But hey, we planted a good seed. And we will see what happens. We haven't seen her since, and we probably won't untill she calls us. It's sad, because she is so cool. But oh well.... she knows now... what else can we do right?
So Alma and Eric came to church this Sunday too. They are way awesome. She is 18 and he is 24. They are going to get married soon. And we are going to ask them to be baptized tonight. Hope all goes well there. We had a way powerful spiritual experience with them earlier this week when we watched Finding Faith In Christ. I love the Spirit. It really helps people to know that what we are sharing is true. And then it's up to them to accept or reject what they are feeling.
Before coming on the mission I had this idea in my head that we could baptize everyone. No one would want to say no. But it surprises me how many people have become so content with the lives they are living. And have no desire to change or just don't believe us.
So I had court. It sucked. I have to pay 69 dollars by September 30th. So that's not bad. I got the fine cut by alot. From like 160 to 69. So I'll take it. But I didn't even get to tell what happened. It was lame. Just had to stand in front of a judge and say "No contest" It was lame. But oh well.
So that is awesome that Toni was in town. That family is so awesome!!!! I miss them and I will definitely go and visit them in Canada when I get back. Another Waterton Lakes reunion! Hope all is well with them.
So wow, that surprises me that Tyler got released too! Holiness, the priest quroum will never be the same. Tyler transformed the priests. He made it something totally awesome and did amazing things for every person that was in his class. For all the years he was there. Some of my favorites memories are being on camp outs and hang outs with the priests. Like the Moab trip! That was so awesome!! I love that guy. I owe him a lot for why I am on a mission. He helped me so much. I hope that family is doing well. They deserve it. They have never thought about themselves and have always looked for ways to serve. They are just full of so much love for everyone. Ha I remember when we made chinese food at Tyler's house and brought our dates over.... ha and made our own fortune cookies. That was so much fun. I hope when I "grow up" I am half as cool as that guy.
So Mom, I am so glad you are reading Preach My Gospel. That book was writen on the other side of the veil. It is scripture. It's so awesome! That book is changing missionary work and has made missionaries better teachers now then ever. As L. Tom Perry said in his conference talk. It has been cool I have been reading the New Era's and past conference Ensigns. I have learned so much! Jeffrey R. Holland gave an awesome talk called Broken Things to Mend in ..... April 2006 I think. I would recommend everyone read that. It's amazing.
I love studying and reading the scriptures and the words of our living prophets. They truly are the words of our Heavenly Father. I know that this is the true church. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. And he did truly suffer for each and every person, and this he did because of the love he has for everyone of us. Well family. I love you so much! I love sharing the gospel and being on a mission. The time will come when we are all united again.... but as for now, the Lord has a work for me to do. And I am trying to fulfill my purpose to the best of my ability. The Lord has a work for all of us to do. I hope you are all trying your best to fulfill the work our Heavenly Father has for you as well. We can't make it on our own. Turn to Jesus Christ and he will be there, always. When others dissapear, he doesn't.
I love you.
Love, Elder Moore
Monday, August 3, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
July 27, 2009
Wow, sounds like quite the week you all had! My week was pretty crazy as well! Yes, I have been transferred, after about 6 months in North Omaha, I am now down in South O. I just moved down across the border. Same ward, new investigators. It's crazy. But I love the change. I needed it. So my new companion is Elder King from Idaho. We are going to have an awesome time together.
So speaking of our ward....Saturday night at about 10:35, the Bishop calls and asked if I could speak for 20 minutes on Sunday...so I accepted, and was up till about 2:30 working on a talk to help encourage the members about missionary work. Yeah, that was a joy. The talk actually went pretty good, just would have been nice to have a little more time. Especially because me and Elder King's first 2 days together we didn't leave the apartment. He had a fever of 101, so I spent 2 solid days in the apartment. Ha, yeah, that was hard. But I am easily distracted so I found ways to distract myself.
Also the day before transfers I went on exchanges with Elder King and we had a way awesome experience! We met a guy named David Lopez on his porch and started talking to him about the Book of Mormon. And we explained authority and baptism to him as well and Elder King invited him to be baptized. He was hesitant to accept and said it seems like such a long staircase. I don't know what it was, probably inspiration, but I said to him, "You are right, it is kind of like a staircase, but with only 5 steps." Then I explained to him, Faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. And I told him we would be there helping him prepare for baptism. So he realized it wouldn't be terribly hard and he accepted a baptism date for the 22nd of August. He is out of town in Lincoln now, but we are going to be working with him quite a bit when he gets back. That was a way cool experience!
So leaving the North was hard. People actually cried. I couldn't believe it. And I found out that 2 little 6 year old girls had a crush on me there, Ana and her friend Tasha. Ha they are the daughters of 2 investigators that live together. Orquedia, the investigator said she found them writing love notes to me. Ah kids.....
So the new area is great! I think I have become a lot more bold with people. And it's actually a good thing. I have begun telling people how it is and not beating around the bush. It seems to be helping. I think it really helps the people we are teaching realize the importance of our message and especially about coming to church.
Sorry I don't have much to talk about. Spent all day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, in the apartment.
So how is the Wilcox family doing? I got some letters from all of them. They are so great!! Dawson's letter started off like this, "Lakers Suck." Haha. And Weston's was..... I know you like guitars, I like them too. Then a picture of me and him. Haha what cool kids! I love that family! Just hearing from all of them was great!
Mmmm so how much weight have I gained? I think like 25 pounds. I look gooooood. My temple/baptism pants are pretty dang tight, but I am living. :) :) Haha! Actually funny story about that. Today we were thrift store shopping for fun. And I went to buy 2 sweet ties and the girl at the cash register was like.... 17, and she turns to her friend at the register next to her and says "He is cute" in Spanish. Haha, little did she know, I understand Spanish. So I just laughed. And then as I was leaving, I said, "By the way, thanks for the compliment." HA!!! It was so funny. I love being white and people thinking I don't speak Spanish.
Thanks for having the Young Women write to the missionaries. That is neat. Missionaries love letters! And that is da truth! Oh yeah, so I did get a new address it is :
5802 S 14th st #5
Omaha, NE 68107
But just have everyone send stuff to the mission home, so that way it always reaches me no matter where I go :) Thanks.
Well sorry this hasn't been totally exciting. Not much went on this week as I mentioned earlier. But Elder King is awesome. We are going to do pretty well together. He is like another me. You'll see from the camera when I send that back. :) We have a lot of fun. Maybe to much.... I'll let ya think on that. :) Actually mom it is all obedience fun! :) But yeah we have these guns made out of PVC pipe and they shoot little kind of like cotton balls but smaller and heavier. And at night when it's dark, we turn off all the lights and play 007 with them and shoot fur balls at each other. It's so much fun!
But anyways.... take care!!! And the the skies in the Midwest are just awesome!!
I love you all! And miss you!!!
Court tomorrow...... yay!
Love always,
Elder Moore
Monday, July 20, 2009
July 20, 2009
Bada Bing! Bada Boom! Elder Moore is in the Room!!Yeah that was a pretty good intro... I will see if I can keep getting better, but that one will be HARD to top.
So first things first.... Transfers are this week. Actually in 2 days!!! I am so excited!! Either me or Elder Arellano will be getting a new companion, we won't be together another one. I cannot wait till Wednesday comes to find out who I am going to be with! I am thinking it will be Elder King, and I will be going down to South O.I hope that is what happens. But whatever happens, for the most part, I will be good with, as long as I get a new companion.
So Alister is already doing missionary work. Yesterday he came to church, and brought some of his wifes family that aren't members. It was so cool! We didn't even pass by his house to wake him up or anything, they just came. He is doing really good and I am so happy to see him progressing and really understanding how important this gospel is. Yesterday we confirmed Arali, Micheal, and Jaden to the church. That was a great experience as well. They were yet to be confirmed becuase they were all out of town for the holidays and all. So yesterday, it was done! Arali is such a sweetheart, she is always trying to do what is right. Reminds me so much of Brooklyn. My companion plays the piano in Sacrament meeting so I sit with Micheal, Jaden, and Arali and translate all of sacramentmeeting for them. It's hard.... trying to work with two languages in my head.
This week has been great. I have completely stopped translating what people say in my head and now I just listen and understand it in Spanish. I think I can finally say, I get it! I am teaching an English class right now to members, less actives, and investigators. Oh man I love it and have so much fun with them!! Tonight at 7:00 we have a class. Georginia an old investigator is in the class. I have become good friends with her, she is like 45. We were teaching her like 5 months ago then everything just stopped. She lives with members and was coming to church EVERY Sunday for like 9 sundays in a row. Then just stopped. But we would still see her every week when we had dinner with the members she lives with. Well last night we went over and had a lesson with her about Faith, the Atonement, Repentance, and Baptism. And we commited her to baptism for the 22nd of August! It was great and quite a suprise that she excepted. I just think the lesson had gone really good and the spirit was really strong there. And she couldn't deny it.
Carlos, well, he is done. He is reading the Book of Mormon like crazy! He is almost threw Alma and he has only had it for a little more then a week. He actually asked us for another to give to a friend. But he said there couldn't be a prophet on the earth. And that he wasn't going to be baptized again. He "knows" the bible really well, so we showed him parts where it talks about Christ's church having prophets, where people were baptized again... etc. But he just doesn't believe it.
Oh well. So we talked about the gift of tongues in Priesthood this week.... and of course, the lesson centered a lot around me. "Take Elder Moore for example when he got here he could only say "Si" and now he can carry on a conversation." So to prove his point he asked me a gospel question, and of course I answered. Haha, it was funny. I didn't mind being picked on. I love our ward members.
So I am glad to hear you had an AWESOME birthday! And that you were able to talk with Melanie and maybe Sister Thompson! They are so great!! They are the coolest people and they are going to move out to Utah.
Well Family.... That is all for now.I love you all very much!!! Take care please!
Love Elder Moore
July 13, 2009
Hey there!!I got to come up with a more clever way to start my emails.... like...BAM!!!! HERE I AM! It's a work in progress....
But anyways I have a cool story to tell you. And it's not some big inspirational or spiritual story. So sorry if that is what you were hoping for. But this week Me and Elder Rawlins had exchanges. And we were up late talking and finally decided to go to bed. But this night, was way way way stormy, like the biggest storm I have ever seen. So at 2:30 I look outside and Elder Rawlins says, hey you are awake too, and I said yup I am. So he said, let's go out side and check it out.So we did....And we were standing out side in the entry way to our apartment under something so we wouldn't get wet. And about 200 yards away we see this incredible lightning bolt. Like it was so close we saw sparks flying off it and fire coming off the sides of it. Wow!!! It was incredible, and it was followed by this thunder that made a car alarm go off it was so huge! And it scared us to death, we both jumped and ran inside the building and into the apartment and slammed the door and locked and just sat on the couch..... It was pretty funny afterwards. But not at the moment. That's my cool story. That lightning bolt was one of the coolest things I have seen in my life.
That is so cool that you were able to go to President and Sister Newman's homecoming. I am way jealous. They are 2 of the most amazing people I have ever met. They are just packed with so much spirit and knowledge. Yes please do send me the notes! I do want to hear what they had to say. And that is nice of them to say nice things about me. :) I do love them and miss them a lot. But President Kunz is an incredible guy as well. He is so enthusiastic and excited about the work!And interviews got changed to this Wednesday so I will be having my first one with him Wednesday morning.
I do have to tell him I have a court date on the 28th as well. So I think when transfers come around I will either be staying here in the North, or going down to South O. Because I have to stay close so that I can go to court. And the other areas are 1 hour, 2 hours and 4 hours away. I don't know, but we'll find out in 9 days. Whatever happens, I'm good with.
Wow, that's crazy that Elder Olsen is taking off in 2 days! Wow! I remember those days right before entering the MTC, and the first days in the MTC. He'll do just fine. :) Wow, can you believe it, here I am working on month number 8. Good stuff.
Well this week I don't have many crazy or interesting things to tell you. It was just another week in the mission. Leticia was out of town this entire week so we weren't able to talk with her at all untill yesterday. We will have to re-set her for baptism. But she is still looking really good. Manuel and Roxana came yesterday as well to church and they are doing great. They both want to get baptized, so all we need is to get his divorce. They talked with the bishop yesterday after church, but I don't know what happened or what was said. So hopefully all went well. We have been teaching a guy named Carlos, he is like 55, and we are seeing good progress with him. But I will tell you that the oposition is working so hard against us and Carlos right now. It's pretty incredible actually. It's because if Carlos gets baptized, his family will too. So we would see probably 8 or 9 baptisms from Carlos getting baptized. He is very respected in his house. He understands the bible really well. teaches his family and they all attend a church near the house. But it's funny because Carlos doesn't believe in that church, he just says, he knows he is being blessed for going to church. But he did tell us he knows he needs to be baptized, and in his prayer he asked God if this was where he needed to be. So he is trying really hard. But so is the other side.It's been very challenging. But we are going to continue to work with him and hopefully see a break through. This week we just didn't see a whole lot of success, and many people aren't progressing. But we are still working hard to find those chosen few that are prepared and ready to hear the gospel. But the opposition has worked harder on us this week then just about any other.
So I don't know if I mentioned this in my email last week but I haven't had to deal with eating fish since being here. And two days in a row we eat Shrimp Cocktail......... I tried so hard to eat it. Both times. The first time I had like 6 bites and the second time, I had 3 before I said. Sorry, can't do it. Haha. Oh well... hopefully another 6 or 7 months before I have to deal with that again.
And no the package didn't get here by Friday. We went by the office Friday afternoon to turn in an oil change receipt and it wasn't there. So hopefully it shows up at interviews that I have Wednesday. But the cookout was fun. Me and Elder Rawlins played a song by Jimmy Eat World called For Me This Is Heaven. It was sweet. We had to listen to it and pick it up by ear, and we did AWESOME! It was fun. And the other musical numbers were pretty good as well. That was a good night. Sometimes ya need nights like that, when you can hang out on the porch of a member and play guitar with your other missionary buddies. :)
Well I hope everyone is doing well. I miss you all.I love you very much!
Love, Elder Moore
But anyways I have a cool story to tell you. And it's not some big inspirational or spiritual story. So sorry if that is what you were hoping for. But this week Me and Elder Rawlins had exchanges. And we were up late talking and finally decided to go to bed. But this night, was way way way stormy, like the biggest storm I have ever seen. So at 2:30 I look outside and Elder Rawlins says, hey you are awake too, and I said yup I am. So he said, let's go out side and check it out.So we did....And we were standing out side in the entry way to our apartment under something so we wouldn't get wet. And about 200 yards away we see this incredible lightning bolt. Like it was so close we saw sparks flying off it and fire coming off the sides of it. Wow!!! It was incredible, and it was followed by this thunder that made a car alarm go off it was so huge! And it scared us to death, we both jumped and ran inside the building and into the apartment and slammed the door and locked and just sat on the couch..... It was pretty funny afterwards. But not at the moment. That's my cool story. That lightning bolt was one of the coolest things I have seen in my life.
That is so cool that you were able to go to President and Sister Newman's homecoming. I am way jealous. They are 2 of the most amazing people I have ever met. They are just packed with so much spirit and knowledge. Yes please do send me the notes! I do want to hear what they had to say. And that is nice of them to say nice things about me. :) I do love them and miss them a lot. But President Kunz is an incredible guy as well. He is so enthusiastic and excited about the work!And interviews got changed to this Wednesday so I will be having my first one with him Wednesday morning.
I do have to tell him I have a court date on the 28th as well. So I think when transfers come around I will either be staying here in the North, or going down to South O. Because I have to stay close so that I can go to court. And the other areas are 1 hour, 2 hours and 4 hours away. I don't know, but we'll find out in 9 days. Whatever happens, I'm good with.
Wow, that's crazy that Elder Olsen is taking off in 2 days! Wow! I remember those days right before entering the MTC, and the first days in the MTC. He'll do just fine. :) Wow, can you believe it, here I am working on month number 8. Good stuff.
Well this week I don't have many crazy or interesting things to tell you. It was just another week in the mission. Leticia was out of town this entire week so we weren't able to talk with her at all untill yesterday. We will have to re-set her for baptism. But she is still looking really good. Manuel and Roxana came yesterday as well to church and they are doing great. They both want to get baptized, so all we need is to get his divorce. They talked with the bishop yesterday after church, but I don't know what happened or what was said. So hopefully all went well. We have been teaching a guy named Carlos, he is like 55, and we are seeing good progress with him. But I will tell you that the oposition is working so hard against us and Carlos right now. It's pretty incredible actually. It's because if Carlos gets baptized, his family will too. So we would see probably 8 or 9 baptisms from Carlos getting baptized. He is very respected in his house. He understands the bible really well. teaches his family and they all attend a church near the house. But it's funny because Carlos doesn't believe in that church, he just says, he knows he is being blessed for going to church. But he did tell us he knows he needs to be baptized, and in his prayer he asked God if this was where he needed to be. So he is trying really hard. But so is the other side.It's been very challenging. But we are going to continue to work with him and hopefully see a break through. This week we just didn't see a whole lot of success, and many people aren't progressing. But we are still working hard to find those chosen few that are prepared and ready to hear the gospel. But the opposition has worked harder on us this week then just about any other.
So I don't know if I mentioned this in my email last week but I haven't had to deal with eating fish since being here. And two days in a row we eat Shrimp Cocktail......... I tried so hard to eat it. Both times. The first time I had like 6 bites and the second time, I had 3 before I said. Sorry, can't do it. Haha. Oh well... hopefully another 6 or 7 months before I have to deal with that again.
And no the package didn't get here by Friday. We went by the office Friday afternoon to turn in an oil change receipt and it wasn't there. So hopefully it shows up at interviews that I have Wednesday. But the cookout was fun. Me and Elder Rawlins played a song by Jimmy Eat World called For Me This Is Heaven. It was sweet. We had to listen to it and pick it up by ear, and we did AWESOME! It was fun. And the other musical numbers were pretty good as well. That was a good night. Sometimes ya need nights like that, when you can hang out on the porch of a member and play guitar with your other missionary buddies. :)
Well I hope everyone is doing well. I miss you all.I love you very much!
Love, Elder Moore
Monday, July 6, 2009
July 6, 2009
Hello Family! And others.... But you others are like family too so I will just leave it at...Hello Family!!
So this week wasn't too bad. I have to say I really don't like Holidays, I don't care what holiday it is, Holidays in the mission are no fun. Actually they are border line depressing. And you can't get any work done either on those days because no one wants to see you. It seems like all missionaries are just depressed on Holidays. We really aren't perfect, as many people seem to think we are. This is tough. But I do love it.
And I can't believe it, come August 3rd I am a 1/3 of the way done with my mission. This transfer is going by so fast. But I do love it here. Missions are so great!
But we did find a woman name Liticia a.k.a. Catwoman. Why do we call her Catwoman you ask? Because she has like 9 cats and every thing in her walls is cats and yeah.... but she is the nicest woman with the nicest apartment. It's like being in the temple when you are in there. That's how peaceful it is. So we began to talk with her to get to know her better. And she said she doesn't let anyone in her house, but we were different. She felt prompted to let us in. So we taught her the first lesson. And when we finished she looked at us and said, I believe it. That was kind of a shock. She said, I believe that actually happened. So we asked her to pray about Thomas S. Monson after and we kneeled down and she offered this small simple prayer, but didn't close it.... she just sat there in silence. And it was about 3 minutes of silence before she just looked up and said, wow. He is a prophet. It was so awesome! So we figure if they pray about Thomas Monson it connects everything. And he is living now! That is why we have them pray about him. His name brings so much power into a home and into a prayer. We set her for baptism on the 25th of July but may have to push it back a week. She is working Sundays right now and covering for a woman who is out of town. So she can't come to church till like the 19th. So we may push it to August 1st. But she will be baptized!
We also went and saw Manuel and Roxana. They are so cool! I love them. He is so funny. I called him and he picks up the phone and he pretened to be an answering machine like our phone has. ya know we say You've reached the missionaries Elder Moore and Elder Arellano of the church of..... yeah you get it. Well he goes Hi you have reached Manuel and Roxana from the church of Jesus Christ of the angels, then he started laughing becuase he messed up. Haha it was way funny! He is jsut a goof. But a way cool guy. He said his wife has the divorce papers ready in Mexico, we just have to find a way for him to sign them so they can get divorced, then he can marry Roxana and they can be baptized!!!! Woohoo!!! I am way excited! So that was about the highlights of the week.
I am excited to hear you will be going to the Newman's homecoming! That is going to be so so cool!!! I can promise you that the hour drive will be totally worth it! I love them. And yes I did meet President Kunz! He is really cool! And very excited about the work. So it used to be when we set someone for baptism we would call President Newman and he would sing us a song. Well President Kunz said he doesn't sing, so we have to sing to him when we set someone for baptism. I think he is getting a lot of calls. We have like 157 people set for baptism in the mission right now. It's incredible. We have decided to focus everything on baptism and church attendance as a mission. To put those two things into every section we teach. It is difficult in some ways, but it really helps the people we are teaching know our purpose. Know that we are here to batpize. And it is paying off. It helps us know the people that are serious, and those that aren't.
So I have my first interview with President Kunz on Wednesday. I am looking forward to it. He is great. He is going to help the mission do great things.
I think a huge reason in why we baptized Alister is because when he started coming to church people were talking to him and inviting him over for dinner and just being so nice to there family. That is what a good ward should do.Ha, funny story, We told Alister to be there at church last sunday before his baptism at 6:30 so he could get dressed and prepared and all. Well 6:45 rolled around and he still wasn't there and I was freaking out! then he walks in at 6:50 and says hey sorry I am late, we were eating dinner at one of the members houses. I was just like WHAT!? I couldn't believe it. It was so cool, Sister Robles had invited them over for dinner. She is way awesome. So see, ward members play the biggest roll in a recent convert and a convert baptism. Preach My Gospel says that after batpizing the person our job as missionaries is DONE. It is now the wards responsibility. And that is very true.
A mission is so worth it. It definately is not easy. But it is a great experience!
We didn't get to see any fireworks. Just hear them. We did get invited over to the Thompson's to watch fireworks with them..... But Elder Arellano didn't want to go. So we didn't..... We just tried to visit people and ended up seeing no one in the 3 hours we were visiting. Oh well. It's all good. That happens.
So this is how transfers work.... we have transfers every 6 weeks. And you get a call on Wedensday at 12:00 that tells you to pack your bags you leave tomorrow morning at 6:00. Or you are staying and this is your companion. So I think there is a good chance I will stay or go to South Omaha. I have to stay close because I have court on the 28th and transfers are the 25th. So if they sent me to Grand Island it's a 4 hour drive and Denison is a 2 hour drive. And if I don't show up at court I get arrested. So I kind of want to be there. So I don't know what will happen still but odds are I at least stay in Omaha.
Well I think that is the jist of what I have to say this week. I love you all very much! I hope everyone is doing great. I miss you all. But this is where I am needed. I know this church is true. I don't believe it anymore, I know it.
Take care
Love always, Elder Moore
So this week wasn't too bad. I have to say I really don't like Holidays, I don't care what holiday it is, Holidays in the mission are no fun. Actually they are border line depressing. And you can't get any work done either on those days because no one wants to see you. It seems like all missionaries are just depressed on Holidays. We really aren't perfect, as many people seem to think we are. This is tough. But I do love it.
And I can't believe it, come August 3rd I am a 1/3 of the way done with my mission. This transfer is going by so fast. But I do love it here. Missions are so great!
But we did find a woman name Liticia a.k.a. Catwoman. Why do we call her Catwoman you ask? Because she has like 9 cats and every thing in her walls is cats and yeah.... but she is the nicest woman with the nicest apartment. It's like being in the temple when you are in there. That's how peaceful it is. So we began to talk with her to get to know her better. And she said she doesn't let anyone in her house, but we were different. She felt prompted to let us in. So we taught her the first lesson. And when we finished she looked at us and said, I believe it. That was kind of a shock. She said, I believe that actually happened. So we asked her to pray about Thomas S. Monson after and we kneeled down and she offered this small simple prayer, but didn't close it.... she just sat there in silence. And it was about 3 minutes of silence before she just looked up and said, wow. He is a prophet. It was so awesome! So we figure if they pray about Thomas Monson it connects everything. And he is living now! That is why we have them pray about him. His name brings so much power into a home and into a prayer. We set her for baptism on the 25th of July but may have to push it back a week. She is working Sundays right now and covering for a woman who is out of town. So she can't come to church till like the 19th. So we may push it to August 1st. But she will be baptized!
We also went and saw Manuel and Roxana. They are so cool! I love them. He is so funny. I called him and he picks up the phone and he pretened to be an answering machine like our phone has. ya know we say You've reached the missionaries Elder Moore and Elder Arellano of the church of..... yeah you get it. Well he goes Hi you have reached Manuel and Roxana from the church of Jesus Christ of the angels, then he started laughing becuase he messed up. Haha it was way funny! He is jsut a goof. But a way cool guy. He said his wife has the divorce papers ready in Mexico, we just have to find a way for him to sign them so they can get divorced, then he can marry Roxana and they can be baptized!!!! Woohoo!!! I am way excited! So that was about the highlights of the week.
I am excited to hear you will be going to the Newman's homecoming! That is going to be so so cool!!! I can promise you that the hour drive will be totally worth it! I love them. And yes I did meet President Kunz! He is really cool! And very excited about the work. So it used to be when we set someone for baptism we would call President Newman and he would sing us a song. Well President Kunz said he doesn't sing, so we have to sing to him when we set someone for baptism. I think he is getting a lot of calls. We have like 157 people set for baptism in the mission right now. It's incredible. We have decided to focus everything on baptism and church attendance as a mission. To put those two things into every section we teach. It is difficult in some ways, but it really helps the people we are teaching know our purpose. Know that we are here to batpize. And it is paying off. It helps us know the people that are serious, and those that aren't.
So I have my first interview with President Kunz on Wednesday. I am looking forward to it. He is great. He is going to help the mission do great things.
I think a huge reason in why we baptized Alister is because when he started coming to church people were talking to him and inviting him over for dinner and just being so nice to there family. That is what a good ward should do.Ha, funny story, We told Alister to be there at church last sunday before his baptism at 6:30 so he could get dressed and prepared and all. Well 6:45 rolled around and he still wasn't there and I was freaking out! then he walks in at 6:50 and says hey sorry I am late, we were eating dinner at one of the members houses. I was just like WHAT!? I couldn't believe it. It was so cool, Sister Robles had invited them over for dinner. She is way awesome. So see, ward members play the biggest roll in a recent convert and a convert baptism. Preach My Gospel says that after batpizing the person our job as missionaries is DONE. It is now the wards responsibility. And that is very true.
A mission is so worth it. It definately is not easy. But it is a great experience!
We didn't get to see any fireworks. Just hear them. We did get invited over to the Thompson's to watch fireworks with them..... But Elder Arellano didn't want to go. So we didn't..... We just tried to visit people and ended up seeing no one in the 3 hours we were visiting. Oh well. It's all good. That happens.
So this is how transfers work.... we have transfers every 6 weeks. And you get a call on Wedensday at 12:00 that tells you to pack your bags you leave tomorrow morning at 6:00. Or you are staying and this is your companion. So I think there is a good chance I will stay or go to South Omaha. I have to stay close because I have court on the 28th and transfers are the 25th. So if they sent me to Grand Island it's a 4 hour drive and Denison is a 2 hour drive. And if I don't show up at court I get arrested. So I kind of want to be there. So I don't know what will happen still but odds are I at least stay in Omaha.
Well I think that is the jist of what I have to say this week. I love you all very much! I hope everyone is doing great. I miss you all. But this is where I am needed. I know this church is true. I don't believe it anymore, I know it.
Take care
Love always, Elder Moore
Monday, June 29, 2009
June 29, 2009
Hey Hey Hey! So yes it's true..... Yesterday we had 4 baptisms!!!!
It was definitely a very memorable day in the mission. Micheal, Jaden, and Arali were baptized. It was so cool, Nancy, their mom was crying and it was just an amazing experience for all to see. It was great helping this family start their path in coming unto Christ. And number 4....... ALISTER!!!! Woohoo!! We finally got Alister baptized. I met him my 3rd week in the mission. And have worked with him ever since. I think he will be a stronger member for taking this much time to finally be baptized. He was so happy yesterday and so was his wife, Erika. In the picture, Elder Arellano is wearing a tie like me. And Mauricio Valensuela, a recent convert, he was baptized in December, baptized Alister, so he is in the picture too. So yesterday was an incredible experience. And we had so much support from the ward for all of them. We had in between 50 and 60 people there at the baptism. And at sacrament meeting we had a little over 100 for the first time since I have been here. The ward is growing and people are wanting to be baptized. It is so great!
So Manuel and Roxana are having problems getting there divorce figured out. We are going to get the bishop involved and hopefully get some good help from him. He works part time as translator for the court systems, so he has a good in there and will be able to help us out. They are awesome. They have gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon and love reading it. And they come to church and participate. It's so awesome!
Court stunk. They just gave me another date to come back. So I go back on the 28th of July for the actual thing. Haha read D & C 24:17, I think it is. It talks about that if anyone takes you to law, they will be cursed. Ha something like that. It's funny! But yeah, the Bishop is hooking me up too, with a lawyer to help us out. He is the 1st counselor in the stake presidency. So we are getting everything squared away.We'll see how everything goes.
I forgot to mention the TORNADO!! I don't know how I forgot about that. It didn't touch ground in Omaha, but it was like it had. Trees were snapped, powerlines down, cars smashed by trees, it was so crazy!! It was 104 degrees that afternoon and at around 4:30 it got really dark really fast and then the storm started!!! we got out of our car and ran, to shelter like they asked us to do. And we ran for about 20 seconds and I was drenched from head to toe in rain. Like it was really as if I had taked a shower. So we ran into an apartment complex and just sat on the stairs and watched. Wow!!! It was bad! It was cool though watching this tree snap and fall. It was a way crazy storm!! So we had tornado winds but it didn't come all the way down. It was quite a crazy experience!
Things are going really good here. It's been a lot of hard work, but we are really starting to see things pay off. So this week we met Lester. He is 23. He has a drug problem that his parents don't know about. He was living in Council Bluffs Iowa for a while and got into a bad group of friends and he got addicted to drugs. So he moved back to his parents home and is trying to get rid of it. He really wants to be baptized and he knows it is going to help him so much! I am very excited to be working with him. I have never come across a person this humble before in my mission! It's crazy! He is a great person.And guess what?! With Lester I called him to set up an appointment before we met him, since he was a referral from another set of missionaries. So we went to his house, and he asked me if I spoke spanish, and I said, ya know the person you talked to on the phone yesterday and the day before, he said yeah... I said, that was me. Haha! So that was kinda cool. :) I guess my spanish is getting a little better. Still takes time though.
That is way cool Eric Olsen got called spanish speaking! He is going to love it so much! I love speaking spanish, and the spanish people are so amazing and just way nice!
It is really sad that President Newman is leaving. Very hard on the mission. But we know President Kunz will be great! We had our last zone conference with President Newman, that is just an amazing man with an amazing family. You should definitely go to their homecoming. Just seeing him, you can know and tell that he is a man called of God, with so much power. And I know his homecoming talk will change your life forever. He has changed my life so much. Even up to the last words he said to me. I gave him a hug and he just whispered something so powerful to me and about my mission and responsibility. I love him and will miss him. Let me know how his talk is, and his wife's talk as well. Thank you!
Well I love you all very much. This week was a really good one! And this one should be good as well. This could be my last transfer in the Omaha North. We will see what happens..... Crazy eh? I have been here a while. But I do love it. Take care!!! I miss you all very much. But as you said mom, it is starting to go by fast.
I love you!
Love Elder Moore
Monday, June 22, 2009
June 22, 2009
Hey there Family!!!
So let's start off with the best news first. This Sunday we will be having 3, yes I said 3, baptisms!! Micheal, Jaden, and Arali Montonez. They are the sweetest kids in the world. They are 11, 10, and 9. They are kids of a less active member. We went and saw them on Thursday this past week and they are so ready to be baptized. They told us they went to their friends baptism and wanted it so bad. I am loving teaching them! Kids are so much fun to teach. And they have such funny questions like.... Do animals need to be baptized too? Ha, we answered no, because they are innocent, to which Arali, the sweetest 9 year old girl said, "Sharks aren't innocent, they eat people, there is nothing innocent about that." haha!! It was so funny. We gave them each their own Book of Mormon to read and we left a chapter for them to read. They came to church yesterday and Arali said that her and her 2 brothers all read it together. We also taught them how to pray, and hearing them say their first prayers was such an amazing experience. They are amazing kids who really love learning and try so hard to understand everything. :) Their Mom, who is less active, came to church yesterday and loved it. This family is going to be great! So they are going to be baptized this upcoming Sunday!
We saw Alister on Friday, he told us.... "I want to be baptized after church Sunday." I couldn't believe it!!! We of course said, "yes you can!" We came back Saturday night to go over the baptismal interview questions with him and..... I can't really say what happened.... But, he wasn't baptized. And there is a slight chance that may never happen. It was very sad and so disappointing. His wife, Erika, wants him to be baptized so bad! We will have to wait and see what happens with everything, but as of now, there is that chance it could never happen.
Manuel and Roxana are set for baptism on July 3rd. They have come to church the last 2 Sundays and have such a strong testimony. The thing that is holding them back is.... Manuel is married to a woman that lives in Mexico and we have to find a way to get them divorced. He said he wants to marry Roxana and be a member of the church. But this divorce may take some time. We watched the Testaments with them on Saturday and it was such an awesome experience! They are so cool! And they feed us EVERY time we go see them. They will make great members as soon as he gets divorced. We keep praying for that to happen, so right now they are working it out.
Also we have been teaching Max and Anna. Anna is very interested, Max, not so much. We taught them about prophets and taught them that they can know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet through prayer. Max wasn't interested in finding out but Anna was. She prayed and asked, and well the best way I can describe how she got her answer was like this.....It's like when you are just sitting there and like a water balloon hits you in the face. It kinda of throws you back and you blink a few times cause you are stunned. Maybe you are shakin up. That's how it was for her. She received her answer. She knew he was a true prophet.
So this week I saw something way cool! An eye surgery!!! It was crazy. One of our members Ana Klien, different Ana, asked us to come and translate for her. And then to drive her and her car back after her surgery because she wouldn't have been able to drive. We told her we can't drive other peoples cars, so she brought Antonio to drive us back, a 76 year old man..... Yeah we'll get to that in a second.
So while Elder Arellano translated I talked to Antonio, for 2 and a half straight hours, in spanish. It was so cool!!! He is not a member, but has read the Book of Mormon 5 times and The Gospel Principles book twice. haha! He is so funny. So we talked a lot about life and the gospel, and just whatever in those 2 and a half hours. So then Ana had her eye surgery and I got to watch the whole thing. It was so cool!!! So she doesn't need glasses anymore. But wow, it was an experience like any other. And it looks like it hurts! Glad it wasn't me. Then Antonio drove us back. All I have to say is that God has more in store for me. Because if he didn't. I would have died on Tuesday. Antonio can't drive worth nothing! It was so scary!!! Wow.... That's all I can say.
So yes I do have my court tomorrow at 9:00. In all honesty I am not nervous. I may have been before my mission but now it's just like.... ah whatever. I talk to people I don't know ALL day. I go into people's houses I don't know. I get yelled at or told our church is of the devil. Just you name it, it happens. So I think tomorrow talking to a judge won't be too bad. :) We'll see what happens though. I definitely don't want to pay the 150 dollar ticket. And as of now my driving privilages have been taken away by the church for the past 2 weeks. I like not driving though. It's cool! But yeah, tomorrow is the big day and we'll see what happens.
Sounds like the Trek was so much fun! I never did one of those.... maybe one day I'll have my chance to be a Ma or Pa. Ha actually just a Pa. Ma's are for girls. Which I am not.
So things are good with Elder Arellano. He did scold me today. Elder Rawlins, he has become probably my best friend in the mission, calledtoday and said we were playing basketball at this time. We play ball every Monday. I told Elder Arellano and he said that we can't do this all the time. We can't always play and hang out with other missionaries. That was a bummer. So he said we can play basketball 2 times a transfer and that is it. Which sucks. He only has 10 p days left, he says they aren't fun anymore. So I am thinking, well if they aren't fun for you at least let me enjoy mine. :) Haha. But yeah... what can ya do.
So there is a 50 50 chance I will stay in this area after this transfer. If I do stay I will be here at least ANOTHER 3 months. Which is fine with me. I don't mind. I do like the Omaha North a lot. And good things are starting to happen here. If I stay much longer though I will need a U-haul to come and take all my stuff to my next area. :) Haha.
I love you all very much! I love getting the emails every week. It's something I look forward too! Take care!
Love always Elder Moore
So let's start off with the best news first. This Sunday we will be having 3, yes I said 3, baptisms!! Micheal, Jaden, and Arali Montonez. They are the sweetest kids in the world. They are 11, 10, and 9. They are kids of a less active member. We went and saw them on Thursday this past week and they are so ready to be baptized. They told us they went to their friends baptism and wanted it so bad. I am loving teaching them! Kids are so much fun to teach. And they have such funny questions like.... Do animals need to be baptized too? Ha, we answered no, because they are innocent, to which Arali, the sweetest 9 year old girl said, "Sharks aren't innocent, they eat people, there is nothing innocent about that." haha!! It was so funny. We gave them each their own Book of Mormon to read and we left a chapter for them to read. They came to church yesterday and Arali said that her and her 2 brothers all read it together. We also taught them how to pray, and hearing them say their first prayers was such an amazing experience. They are amazing kids who really love learning and try so hard to understand everything. :) Their Mom, who is less active, came to church yesterday and loved it. This family is going to be great! So they are going to be baptized this upcoming Sunday!
We saw Alister on Friday, he told us.... "I want to be baptized after church Sunday." I couldn't believe it!!! We of course said, "yes you can!" We came back Saturday night to go over the baptismal interview questions with him and..... I can't really say what happened.... But, he wasn't baptized. And there is a slight chance that may never happen. It was very sad and so disappointing. His wife, Erika, wants him to be baptized so bad! We will have to wait and see what happens with everything, but as of now, there is that chance it could never happen.
Manuel and Roxana are set for baptism on July 3rd. They have come to church the last 2 Sundays and have such a strong testimony. The thing that is holding them back is.... Manuel is married to a woman that lives in Mexico and we have to find a way to get them divorced. He said he wants to marry Roxana and be a member of the church. But this divorce may take some time. We watched the Testaments with them on Saturday and it was such an awesome experience! They are so cool! And they feed us EVERY time we go see them. They will make great members as soon as he gets divorced. We keep praying for that to happen, so right now they are working it out.
Also we have been teaching Max and Anna. Anna is very interested, Max, not so much. We taught them about prophets and taught them that they can know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet through prayer. Max wasn't interested in finding out but Anna was. She prayed and asked, and well the best way I can describe how she got her answer was like this.....It's like when you are just sitting there and like a water balloon hits you in the face. It kinda of throws you back and you blink a few times cause you are stunned. Maybe you are shakin up. That's how it was for her. She received her answer. She knew he was a true prophet.
So this week I saw something way cool! An eye surgery!!! It was crazy. One of our members Ana Klien, different Ana, asked us to come and translate for her. And then to drive her and her car back after her surgery because she wouldn't have been able to drive. We told her we can't drive other peoples cars, so she brought Antonio to drive us back, a 76 year old man..... Yeah we'll get to that in a second.
So while Elder Arellano translated I talked to Antonio, for 2 and a half straight hours, in spanish. It was so cool!!! He is not a member, but has read the Book of Mormon 5 times and The Gospel Principles book twice. haha! He is so funny. So we talked a lot about life and the gospel, and just whatever in those 2 and a half hours. So then Ana had her eye surgery and I got to watch the whole thing. It was so cool!!! So she doesn't need glasses anymore. But wow, it was an experience like any other. And it looks like it hurts! Glad it wasn't me. Then Antonio drove us back. All I have to say is that God has more in store for me. Because if he didn't. I would have died on Tuesday. Antonio can't drive worth nothing! It was so scary!!! Wow.... That's all I can say.
So yes I do have my court tomorrow at 9:00. In all honesty I am not nervous. I may have been before my mission but now it's just like.... ah whatever. I talk to people I don't know ALL day. I go into people's houses I don't know. I get yelled at or told our church is of the devil. Just you name it, it happens. So I think tomorrow talking to a judge won't be too bad. :) We'll see what happens though. I definitely don't want to pay the 150 dollar ticket. And as of now my driving privilages have been taken away by the church for the past 2 weeks. I like not driving though. It's cool! But yeah, tomorrow is the big day and we'll see what happens.
Sounds like the Trek was so much fun! I never did one of those.... maybe one day I'll have my chance to be a Ma or Pa. Ha actually just a Pa. Ma's are for girls. Which I am not.
So things are good with Elder Arellano. He did scold me today. Elder Rawlins, he has become probably my best friend in the mission, calledtoday and said we were playing basketball at this time. We play ball every Monday. I told Elder Arellano and he said that we can't do this all the time. We can't always play and hang out with other missionaries. That was a bummer. So he said we can play basketball 2 times a transfer and that is it. Which sucks. He only has 10 p days left, he says they aren't fun anymore. So I am thinking, well if they aren't fun for you at least let me enjoy mine. :) Haha. But yeah... what can ya do.
So there is a 50 50 chance I will stay in this area after this transfer. If I do stay I will be here at least ANOTHER 3 months. Which is fine with me. I don't mind. I do like the Omaha North a lot. And good things are starting to happen here. If I stay much longer though I will need a U-haul to come and take all my stuff to my next area. :) Haha.
I love you all very much! I love getting the emails every week. It's something I look forward too! Take care!
Love always Elder Moore
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