Week #10

October 25, 2020

Hey hey hey!! Alright I'll get straight into it! This week has been one the best weeks of my life! Why you might ask?  Because I have become closer to my Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ! I have been able to see my own progression and potential! 

While studying this week, I studied a lot in Ether 3! Ether 3 is all about faith and progression!  The brother of Jared sees the Lord's hand (his literal hand) and is shocked and scared so much that fell from fear! 

This week I was able to see the Lord's hand in my life! (Not his literal hand haha) but as I was saying before, I was able to see his love for me! I was able to see this through my own faith and the Holy Ghost! I was able to feel comforted in times of need! This mission thing has been one of the hardest things I have ever done in my entire life, but it has been so rewarding and good for me! It has allowed me to strengthen my own testimony, to where no one will be able to break it! It has allowed me to become closer to my Heavenly Father and develop a better relationship with Him and because of this, I am so grateful! 

I also studied out of Alma 39-42! These scriptures are all about restoration and repentance! The word restoration means to bring back to its proper frame! Ladies and gentlemen, if you repent of your sins, by the power of Christ's atonement, you will be able to change back to your normal self! Your best self! And after that, begin to share the gospel and bring others unto repentance, that we may all be together in the celestial kingdom! I love all y'all! Keep working hard in whatever you are doing!

Our new comp and us

Carolina Panther's Stadium

Week #9

 October 19, 2020

Hey everyone I have already been a missionary for 2 months! How crazy is that? 

This past week we have been doing a lot of service! It has been a huge blessing in my life because it has allowed me to learn how to love the people of North Carolina! It has also helped me realize how much I love service and helping other people! In these last couple of weeks, my testimony/faith in our Savior Jesus Christ has grown immensely! I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve and become closer to our Savior! Becoming closer to Jesus Christ has allowed me to see blessings in my life! It has allowed me to see miracles in every single day! Whether the day is a good day or a hard day, I have seen miracles in every single day! Being out here has helped me to grow spiritually! It has been such a big blessing! Also, with service, it allows me to meet new people and that has been exciting! As a lot of you know, before my mission and growing up I didn't really like socializing with people that I didn't know! While doing service out here, I have been able to socialize more and learn to like talking to random people! 

I have been studying the book of Ether! The book of Ether is all about faith! Faith is something that is very important in any religion! As I have studied this scripture I have also been able to kind of talk about it with my dad! While my dad and I were talking about Ether, the topic of Abraham and Isaac came up! Both of these people had amazing faith! But that's not really what my dad and I talked about! We talked about why God gave Abraham this task! At first, when my dad asked me this  question, I was like "so he could be tested." Well yes and no! One of the talks that I really loved in General Conference was Elder Bednar's talk! In Elder Bednar's talk, it talks about the importance of tests in our lives! It later goes on to talk about how tests allow us to reflect on what we have learned! About the topic that my dad and I were talking about... yes Abraham and Isaac were tested but in a different perspective, they were tested so they could see there own faith!  

1. Elder Holyoak being a weirdo

2. Beautiful sunset

3. Me in front of a water fountain 

4. Me and my little friend 

5. Me and my medium sized friend 

 Week #8

October 12, 2020

What's up everyone!?

This week has been a great week!  This week we had the opportunity to do a lot of service! This has helped me grow as a person so much! On Thursday, we did service again at Pilgrims Inn.  Pilgrims Inn is a shelter, it is a really cool place because they help a lot of people in need! We helped them clean up a play ground by picking up sticks and leaves that were everywhere. I am happy that we have started to have more opportunities to do service, I've realized that I am really happy when I'm helping someone. We had another opportunity to do service  on Saturday.  We were able to go to a part-member's home and clean up the yard a little. This house was trashed but the people were so nice! Kind people come from all walks of life...rich or poor.   I am thankful for my parents for always working hard to help us have fun.  They were always there to support us and they have benefited me immensely! Without them in my life, I probably would not be on a mission right now! We always went to church, they worked hard to fulfill their callings, and they made sure that we never went without. 

Recently I have been studying in D&C 45,  this chapter has helped me a lot because it talks about how important serving the Lord is! For the first couple weeks of my mission, I was very homesick! I started readding the D&C when I was feeling homesick. It helped me become not as homesick.  It also helped me understand how important the scriptures are, how important the Gospel is and the love that Jesus Chris has for each one of us.  I have felt the spirit and I have received answers.

 Pictures below...

1. Us street contacting

2. My dope picture i drew

3. Catching a frog:)

Week #7

October 5, 2020

Hey everyone! This week has been amazing! There is not a lot to talk about this week but it was pretty good! This week we were given the opportunity to do some service. The place that we did service for was called Pilgrims Inn. Pilgrims Inn is a shelter for people that can't live on there own! While serving out here in the North Carolina Charlotte mission, I have learned that there are a lot of people in full survival mode and that makes me sad when I think about it.  Being a missionary, you just want to help as many people as you can, stay busy and serve!  I also believe that service is the fastest way to start a lesson with an interested investigator hahaha! Plus, why not do as much service as you can because it will ultimately bring you more joy and blessings in your life. I know this for a fact! 

In these last couple weeks, I have hurt my knee some how.  I have wondered why my knee is bothering me and I a little doubt has come into my mind. These doubts have been super frustrating because they are taking away from my missionary purpose. I do know that whatever happens with my knee, I will be okay. An elder told me last week that whatever happens with my knee, it willl happen for a reason. 

I would like to share my testimony on the love of Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ was sent to the earth to teach his gospel and more importantly to atone for our sins, pains, and afflictions. If anyone is ever searching for love in their life, look to your Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ  and I promise you that you will feel loved! I challenge y'all to read Alma 7: 11 and 12. When we search with real intent and with faith, the Lord with bless us and we will be impacted with the spirit! I leave my testimony with you in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, amen!

  

 Week #6

September 28, 2020

I know that I keep saying "wow its crazy how fast this week has gone by" but I am gonna say it again! "Wow its crazy that I have already been out for 3 weeks!" A part of me feels like I just got out here yesterday and the other part of me feels like I have already been our here for a year... hahaha! This week has been a great one! This week I have gotten even closer to my companion! We are literally like the same person so its really easy to get along with him! This week I have also gotten closer to my district and they are totally awesome! Throughout this week we have played a lot of pickle ball, which has been really fun! Pickle ball, like all sports, requires effort! If you are playing pickle ball with no effort, you will lose! This applies to the gospel as well, because our Heavenly Father loves effort! I have learned that a mission is not about coming out here and seeing how many people you can baptize.  Instead, it is about inviting others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through 1- faith in Christ 2- repentance 3- baptism 4- receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and 5- enduring to the end! If you are putting forth effort in doing missionary work, the Lord will bless you in ways that you wouldn't even have imagined! I know this to be true because I can see it in my own life right now!

                             Week #5                                

September 21, 2020

Yooooo!! Its already been 2 weeks?? What! Time is flying by so fast, especially when you are having fun! This week has been a whole better then last week! last week, was literally terrible because I was homesick the whole week! But, as I said, this week has been so much better! We have been able to teach a lot of people! We started teaching this lady named Bobbie! Bobbie is the nicest lady in the whole world! She is about 70 years old! But guess what, We committed her to a baptism this Saturday!!!! We are definitely so excited for her and we know that having the gospel in her life, will bless her immensely! We know this because of our own personal experiences! I know that the church is true! Growing up, I didn't really have the greatest testimony! I believed that these things were true but I didn't know for sure if they were true! The reason I ultimately chose to go on a mission was because of my sister, Sydnie! Sydnie was an awesome person before her mission, but seeing her after her mission, was like watching a whole new person! I remember seeing how much her testimony grew! I also remember thinking "holy crap, I want to have this in my own life!" That is when I 100% decided that I was going to serve a mission too! I am so happy and grateful that I made this decision to serve because the North Carolina, Charlotte mission has already impacted my life for the better! I know that having the gospel in your life will impact you so much and I promise that you will see so many blessings if you strive to keep the commandments and the sabbath day holy! Anyway, I love y'all! Thank you for supporting me in this decision!!:)

    

It was so good to talk with Sam today.  He seems to be doing  good.  He seems happy, positive, and definitely getting into the groove.

Happy Day, I love his smile!

Week #4

September 14, 2020

Wow! Its already been a week? That is crazy! Time really does fly by when you are a missionary! Anyways, I am going to be honest, missions are really hard! Especially when you are super homesick! This week I have thought about coming home probably everyday! But there is always something that tells me to stay out here! I know that is the spirit talking to me and saying "come on you can do this!" Or "college is going to stink pretty bad anyways!" This has been the biggest blessing because I don't know what I would do if I came home right now! I have learned one thing about myself...one way to make sure that I am not homesick is that I need to always stay engaged in something and never have any free time! This has helped me so much because it is easier to have joy when you are learning or teaching about the Gospel rather than thinking about home and becoming overwhelmed! I know that the Charlotte, North Carolina mission needs me here and not at home! My dad told me about an awesome quote that he learned on his mission and that is "a ship in a harbor is safe, but that is not what a ship is meant for. You are meant to sail!!" This helped me out so much and I am so grateful for his love for me.  I am thankful for everyone's love for me, it has helped me out here and also helped me to prepare to serve a mission! I love you all, stay safe in Utah:)