Elder Kyle Houssian: Week #47

Hey y'all! Happy Memorial Day! I hope y'all had a fun and safe weekend this holiday weekend, and had an awesome week this week as well!

Alright first the funny part of the email. So we went on exchanges with the ZLs and I went into their area with Elder Smith. Him and I came out into the mission together and were in the same district in the MTC, so bonus! Anyways we went into this apartment complex to go talk to a few investigators, and while we were walking away from this door this guy comes up and starts yelling at us saying we were soliciting and we were "forcing religion on people" and what not. He had also brought the manager of the complex with him! So he's blowing up on us and then the manager asks us to come into her office, so we follow her and this guy is still mouthing off, and then ends up calling me Elder Smith's boyfriend. That's a new one. Needless to say it was an entertaining exchange haha Elder Smith is a great guy and I got to learn lots from him!

This week has been crazy busy! The Lord has blessed us with many tender mercies, and lots of spiritual growth!

This week we had the baptism of the Pogorzelski family! It was an amazing event to witness, and there was a great turnout. The Spirit was felt so strong there which made that much more memorable of an experience for everyone, but especially them! They have come such a long way after investigating the church for years! It was a great day! Then on Sunday we got to confirm each one of them and give them the Gift of the Holy Ghost. It was a tremendous blessing to stand in the circle and participate in that ordinance.

We have the Tso family and Melissa Hopkins getting baptized this Saturday, and we are so excited for them! They have all progressed very well this past week and are super eager to enter the waters of baptism!

My thought this week comes from a quote I heard from one of the members of a ward I cover. He said "God is never more than an arms length away, because that's as far as we can push Him away". This quote really stuck out to me. Often times when we go through trials, we feel like we can do it on our own. It's human nature to say that we don't need any help, that we got this. When we do that, we put God at arms length. He doesn't leave, but He respects our agency. He stands and waits for the moment when we will turn to Him again. This is something we can always improve on while going through this life, letting God come in and take on our trials head on side by side with us. I testify that God is ALWAYS there for us, waiting for us to finally humble ourselves and reach out to Him for help. I know our Savior Jesus Christ lives. He is Risen! I know He suffered died for our sins so that we could be forgiven and live with our families forever in the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I hope y'all have a wonderful week! Until next week! God speed!

Elder Houssian