Week #12

Howdy y'all! Week 12 is in the bag! We had a pretty average week this week as missionaries in the Las Vegas Mission! Saw some success and had lots of adventures here in Sin City!

First, we had 6 investigators at church yesterday, and 3 of those 6 are getting baptized on the 8th. We were expecting only 4 to be there, and 1 of them having a date, but 1 minute before church started, the other two investigators being baptized on the 8th, Tia and Patrick, randomly walked in. Elder Webb and I were shocked because we weren't planning on them being there. They were In LA for Tia's birthday the night before. They were there until 3 am and then came back and got to church at 11. That's some dedication haha. They were both excited to be there and stayed awake the whole time!

Second, I got food poisoning all day yesterday. It was horrible. I got it from Panda Express (shocker). I left church early with one of the priests and went and took a short nap. Then we went out with that priest to teach. He's on a mini mission with us!! It's a lot of fun. We went and taught 2 lessons and then went to dinner. At dinner all I could eat was toast and apple sauce haha so that was interesting. After dinner Elder Webb told me to stay at the member's house we are at, so I did. Him and the mini missionary went out and taught, and I slept for 3 hours on one of our member's couches! Haha so that was nice, I'm feeling a lot better now and I can actually eat!

Funny story of the week. We were going to teach a lesson and we hear this really loud bang. It's dark and we look around and see this guy on top of the grocery store next to the apartment complex. Elder Webb and I thought it was a fun shot (which is pretty regular in our area) but then when Elder Webb saw the guy on top of the store he thought it was a sniper  so he runs to the door of our lesson and I'm laughing cause the guy was doing maintenance. I thought I was a gun shot too, but not that guy on the roof haha. Later we come to find out it was just a bunch of fireworks, so false alarm! No worries here!!

My spiritual thought for the week is the talk The Candle of the Lord. It's a talk from the January 1983 Ensign, given by Boyd K. Packer. I invite all of you to read it. It is available in Gospel Library. It focuses a lot on the Spirit, and is really helpful to everyone to read. 

I love you all so much! Thank you for your support and prayers, I feel them all the time, especially when the Lord wants to give me a little boost. Till next week!!

Elder Houssian

 It was so windy one day this week that all the dirt got tossed up in the valley and it was hard to see!

 This is Jeremiah, one of our Part Member Family's kids. I'm his favorite 

Elder Webb on the Barbi at our apartment (we do this multiple times a week) haha

Week #11

Howdy y'all! Hope everyone is having a good time doing whatever it is that they're doing, and that everyone had an awesome week! We had a great week, Elder Webb and I. A lot of things happened and it was very eventful! 

I went on exchanges with our district leader this week, Elder Day, and I went with him in his area. We taught a lot of people and it was great. I sadly had to give up my car for a day, but no worries cause I got to ride a bike fit for a 10 year old (Elder Day's companion has short legs) so when we'd stop I'd extend my legs and have like a foot of space between me and the bike. But all is well haha.

We had 9 investigators at church this week. It was super fun but really stressful! They all needed rides so we had to make tons of calls to get everything set up, but low and behold, we had everyone there, and it was a great experience for everyone! 

On Saturday we went with the recent converts of our ward to the temple to do baptisms and confirmations. We as missionaries cannot participate in baptisms sadly, but we did do the confirmations. And what an experience that was. I enjoyed every second of it. The spirit was very strong there and it was a humbling and peaceful experience. After that, we went to the cafeteria they have there for some food (the temple food is AMAZING) and while I was there I saw my dad's cousin (I just call her my aunt) Susan! It was so cool to see her, it had been quite some time and I didn't even recognize her at first! It was a super neat experience! She lives about 20 minutes away from me!

Miracle of the week. Elder Webb and I set a goal to find 7 new investigators this week. We had 5 as of yesterday at 8:30 pm, so we decided to go street contact and find some people. So we did. And with 7 minutes before 9 when we need to be back in our apartment, we found a really solid couple who wanted to hear our message, AND they have 5 kids with the 6th on the way. Our prayers were answered and we reached our goal. We found some of the Lord's sheep and are bringing them back to the fold. It was such an awesome experience.

My scripture comes from 1 Nephi 4:6. It talks about being spirit led. As Nephi went to go into the house of Laban, he knew not what he was to do except that he was obeying God. As we go through this life, we need to rely on and trust the will of God, whether we know what is goi to happen or not. As we do so, the Lord will bless us, we will strengthen our bond with Him, and we will continue to be shown the way to live, to stay on the strait and narrow path, and ultimately return to live with our Father in Heaven forever with our families, and receive eternal happiness. My challenge to each of you is to trust the will of God, turn yourself towards Him, and humble yourself to His will, and He will bless you. God bless all of you! I love you all! Until next week.

Elder Houssian

 My Dad's cousin Susanne

 Old School Lamborghini Diablo! 

Tia and Patrick at the temple!

Week #10

Hey y'all! Great week this week for us out in Sin City! Lots of things
are happening around here and we're definitely staying busy!

First off, we finally got moved into our new apartment. It's super
nice, one of the nicest in the mission actually. It overlooks the
whole valley and has a massage chair, punching bag, and some weights.
Super fun! We also got a car so that's a huge bonus. I'm with Elder
Webb again for another transfer! He's down to 2 transfers left! I
won't if I'm going to kill him off (meaning be his last companion)
haha.

Second, we found a family of 5 this week! They are really excited to
hear our message, and are super willing to make commitments. It's been
a blessing for sure. We've been finding a lot this week and it's
helped us tremendously.

We have 5 new missionaries from the MTC this transfer in our zone.
They are all very well prepared to be out in the field and are ready
to work. They definitely bring a lot to the area and strengthen all of
us.

We have an investigator, his name is Darrel. He is a wonderful man who
has been through a lot. He had a heart attack and a stroke at the same
time while driving down I-40 at 80 mph. He survived and said he then
knew God had a purpose for him. So we've been teaching him and last
week took him to church. At the end of sacrament he leaned over to me
and told me he had made his decision and wanted to be baptized. Elder
Webb and I were so stoked! He came to church yesterday as well and is
really progressing. He is set to be baptized on the 24th!

Funny story of the week! Elder Webb and I went to go hang out with
some new Elders in the zone, Elders Romero and Howald. They love right
down the street from us. While we were waiting for them at their
place, we saw a tarantula crawling up the wall! It was huge. Then the
Elders got back and Elder Howald freaked out because apparently at the
beginning of his mission he was bit by one! So that was funny haha we
ended up catching it in a jar, pictures will follow.

That's all for this week! My scripture for this week is short and
sweet. D&C 18:10. God loves us so much and we are everything to Him.
Don't get discouraged, keep moving forward and know that your Father
in Heaven loves you all so much.

I love y'all. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers, I feel them
every day. God bless you all. Till next week!

Elder Houssian

New Zone (Austin Represent)!

 Our little buddy!

 Candle lit view of the valley

 Our view

The Temple!

Week #9

First transfer in the bag! It was a great first, and we were blessed
with great success. I got my transfer doc, and I'm staying in my same
area with Elder Webb, I'm so stoked. We get along really well and that
helps the work so much. We are moving apartments though, definitely to
an upgrade. It's on the hill right by the temple, and it's a loft over
the garage of a member's home. It has a view of the whole valley, full
kitchen and living room, bathroom, and two bedrooms. Definitely
blessed. We ended the transfer with 2 baptisms, but have 9 scheduled
in the first 3 weeks of this transfer, and most of them are still
going strong. It's all because of the Spirit and its influence.

This week was actually pretty rough. Tuesday I was really sick, I
slept all day. Wednesday my bike ride blew out. Thursday we had a 6
hour meeting, Friday Elder Webb got sick with the same sickness I had,
and Saturday my new bike tire blew out. So it was a rough week with a
lot of setbacks, but we still saw tender mercies from the Lord and
still saw success. We had 2 of our investigators with a date at church
and both expressed their feelings of feeling that church was right and
feeling at home, and neither of them have attended a Mormon church
before, ever. The power of the Holy Ghost is real.

I had a very spiritual experience yesterday that really strengthened
my testimony. I was saying the closing prayer for one of our lessons,
and in the prayer I prayed for the 3 people by name, and after I
closed, all 3 asked if someone else was praying with me, and someone
was, it was the spirit. I felt it so strongly when they asked that
question, but I didn't hear what they heard. It really stood out to me
that the Spirit is always there and I saw how its influence works in
the conversion of investigators. Definitely something I'll always
remember.

My funny story for the week goes a little like this. Elder Webb and I
were with the Spanish elders in our district, and we decided to walk
to the gas station and street contact for a bit. We went down to the
Circle K, and on our way back we heard this clicking noise, and Elder
Miller (one of the Spanish elders) said "I think I hear a horse" and
turns around and sees a horse walking behind us with someone on it,
then proceeds to say "oh yea it is a horse" then turns back, walks for
a second, and then it registers and we all turn around and react like
"wait what?!?" A horse was actually walking behind us haha too funny!
Pics will follow.

My scripture this week is D&C 121:45. Talks about Charity and how we
should always have it, and it applies to everyone, but especially out
in the mission field. Develop that Christ like attribute, and you will
see blessing come. I love all of you. Thank you for your thoughts and
prayers.

Much love,
Elder Houssian

Aaron Anderson, this guy is in my ward and is from my hometown (Eagle, ID).  My Dad was one of his young men's leaders when he was younger.  I know his little brother and sister well!

 Mid Twelve Week with all the missionaries who came out with me and their trainers

 Here is the random horse haha

Ive been out for 6 weeks and in total have 40 ties now . . .  I came out with 12