Hello and good morning! This week was beautiful. Many times I have been able to witness the hand of the Lord in this His great work. This past week Elder Smith and I had a touching and powerful experience. We drove to an apt. about 8 miles out who was not home. Elder Smith felt we should walk so we began to walk. Not even 500 feet out, we saw a lady mowing her lawn. We figured she must have been struggling as this lawn was full of big weeds and grass 1-3 feet tall as if it had not been mowed all year. We walked up and offered to help as the mower died on her. She came to us and asked, "What for?" We related to her that we are missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Her countenance changed. She began to shake and tears began to roll down her face. She said to us, "I have been crying and praying for help. I have been so sick and I need a break." Her mother came over and asked what happened and we told her we were there to serve. They gladly allowed us to mow the lawn/field. We mowed, what my guess would be, 1-2 acres of 1-3 ft tall grass and weeds. It took us a good 1 1/2 hours. We were grateful for the opportunity to be put on what President Thomas S. Monson would call, "The Lords Errand." I know that our Heavenly Father watches us and is aware of our wants and our needs.

I hope you all look and pray for opportunities to serve others. They are the greatest opportunities. 

We began teaching 3 new people this week. All of whom have great potential and light ahead of them as they follow the gospel.

Our sacrament meeting talks were excellent yesterday. I thoroughly enjoyed both of them. The first lady who spoke is a convert of about three years, with her husband, who is already in the branch presidency at 3 years. She compared the game of Monopoly to our life on earth. How in Monopoly we can acquire the greatest wealth, or be completely broke, but as soon as the game ends it all goes back in the box. She compared this to how in life we can acquire great worldly possessions or be completely broke but as soon as this life ends it all disappears and has no meaning. She focused on how we must spend time and effort on things of eternal worth. It was powerful the way she presented it. 

The second talk was on love and a part touched me. This lady taught us that Love in Hebrew means "I give". When we love the Lord or others we are giving of ourselves something. This made the word love to me much more deep and meaningful.

There is not a whole ton I can think of to speak about this week but I'll do what I can. The other Elders were doubled out of New Castle so it is just Elder Smith and I now. So we chose to move to their house since it is more central. So our new address is 1202 Webster, New Castle, IN   47362. If you have sent a letter already, no worries, we can still check our other apt. for mail.

Larry came to church this week!!! We were so excited. He is progressing well and is trying his best and is putting a lot of trust and faith in God. Thank you everybody for your prayers on Larry's behalf. I know each prayer makes a difference. 

I hope you all have a great week. Love you all!

Good morning everybody. It's good to write to all of you. Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there and other wonderful women. Hope yesterday was great for each of you and that all of you received the love, respect and praise you each deserve. In sacrament there was a talk focused on the divinity of women and their righteous roles in God's plan. I am so grateful for all of the women out there and the great work that they do and for their love and support. Keep it up. :D

This week we got to see one of our investigators, Ann, who is doing great! It has been a little while since we have met with her due to schedule complications. As we reviewed and spoke about the restoration of the gospel she expressed that she feels that this is the right path. She feels that this is where God is leading her and that she was meant to meet the missionaries when she did. She has expressed how she has been praying and pondering the message we share and reading the Book of Mormon and is going to continue to do so unless told otherwise. I am grateful for those who try their best to put forth their effort and show Christ and Heavenly Father they are trying. Ann, to me, is a great example of a diligent seeker of truth.

I hope you all have a great week. I love you all. :D

Before I forget Sister Welch wanted me to let you know that I am great and that she is so proud of me and that I am doing a great job. :) Also the other day our apartment was inspected and the Elderly couple said, "Wow! We should call your parents this is so good." He said it was the best and most clean apartment they had seen out of 8 and that we made the Sisters look bad. Haha. Thank you Mother for teaching me the importance of cleanliness. Then our investigator, Larry, also said that we are amazing and he is proud of who we are. That we give him hope of a brighter future generation and that you and Father should be proud of the boy you raised. (Said it for me and Elder Smith). I want you to always remember Mom, that you are an exceedingly great Mother.  I would not be who I am today without you. I love you.

Good afternoon everybody!

This week was a good one. We had a cool finding/teaching experience. We met a lady named Alisha a couple of weeks ago, who lives about 17 miles out of town. We finally got a time set up to teach her and had a ride over there. As we shared the restoration, she was leaning forward in her chair and was engaged. It sparked in her and she was excited! After we shared the message, she says to us, "Do y'all ever work after 3? I want to you to come teach my kids!" So, of course, we set something up. So we will be going there this Tuesday which we are excited for. :D

This area is great and the branch is real supportive and loving. Elder Smith is a great companion. We get along well. :) This could be my last area... I will find out Wednesday or Saturday I guess. This week we have interviews with President and Sister Welch, which I am excited for. They are always nice to have. The Welches are great and so kind.

Other than that nothing real big happened. Hope you all have a great week!

Good morning. This week has been a good one and I hope that is the same for all of you. This past week my testimony of the power of sharing testimony has grown. ;) During a dinner, after sharing a message, I felt prompted to ask if all 4 of us Elders may bear our testimonies and they said yes. As we bore our testimonies it turned to a specific Elder, who when he bore his testimony, everyone was full attention on him. The sincerity and power of his genuine testimony filled the room with a great spirit which all of recognized.   My second experience; testimony meeting was incredible! So many great testimonies, but one in particular touched my heart. A little girl about, 9 years old, gets up to bear her testimony (parents aren't even in chapel) and says, "I got up because I feel like I should." Then shares about how someone asked her how she knew God was real and her Mom invited to her to watch the restoration video so she said, "I watched the video and I felt the spirit so strong. I knew that God was real." Then closed her testimony. A minute or two later her Mother walked back in. This next generation of children has power!  Then a scripture I read this morning just topped it off which is Alma 4:19.   I personally know that the power of testimony is incredible. It is difficult for somebody to deny a sincere testimony, or to refute it, because that personal witness is so strong!

We also got to go and do service for a lady whose husband is out serving on military leave and that was a great experience. Elder Smith got to ride a big mans toy. He couldn't stop smiling. ;)
This week we got to meet so many new wonderful people and had some good opportunities to teach the gospel and serve. Some of our investigators have really been reading the Book of Mormon and progressing well. It is so nice to see. Often people will not read the Book of Mormon. It's like pulling teeth getting them to read even a few pages. Sometimes it's the same even for members. I can understand why the brethren focus on it so much. But we also get to see the side of things where you go into homes where they read the Book of Mormon nightly and have a powerful spirit in their home. It's really neat. :)