Week #104

Howdy howdy everyone! Another week is in the bag! This week has been another hectic yet awesome week in the work. It’s crazy how fast everything is going, nevertheless, the work is moving forward!

This week we had Zone Conference and it was amazing. I am sad that it is my last Zone Conference. I always love coming together with other missionaries and feeling the Spirit through the trainings and the insights of others. It’s always a wonderful and uplifting experience!

This week we also were able to work some more with Manny and Kelly and prepare them to be baptized on July 14th! They are making huge progress and are soaking in everything that we are teaching. Their mom was also able to get off work, which was huge! They are really looking forward to being baptized.

Also, I don’t really talk about today (the Tuesday that I write this) in my emails, but I wanted to today. I had a really special opportunity today to go and visit my friend Q’s gravesite today. It was a very spiritual and calming experience. His grave is right under a tree, and there is a nice bench under that tree, and I was able to go and sit there for about 15 minutes and just think. The Spirit was definitely present. It was great to sit and think about the memories I had with him, and the joy that comes from the knowledge that I have of the Plan of Salvation, that I will be able to see him again. I know and can testify that there is life beyond the grave. Heavenly Father loves us so much, and because of that, He provided us with the wonderful blessing of having our families forever. I know that that is true, and it brings great comfort into my life.

For my spiritual thought this week I wanted to share a scripture from the Book of Mormon, in Ether 4:18-19, which says;

“18 Therefore, repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be baptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; ...

19 And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world. ...”

I know that as we strive to live the principles of the gospel, we will find great spiritual power more abundantly into our lives. We are promised so many wonderful blessings that are at our disposal, all we are asked to do is to seek after them through prayer, study, and practice. I promise that as we each strive to be a little better, and practice with the help of the Lord, we will be changed over time, and we will be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom of heaven. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a rad week! Until next week! God speed!

Elder Houssian

 Great Elder who had to return home because he needs to get some surgery done. :/

I saw Elder Bannagao today! 

I know my boi was cheesin when we we snapped this pic #QJ3

Week #103

Howdy y’all! Man the time keeps going faster. I can’t believe it! I hope that the week has been full of fun for each of y’all! This week has been great, and it has been heating up! I am definitely not going to miss this heat haha.

First off, I wanted to apologize about not sending weekly emails, I totally forgot about one and then I thought I have sent the next one, so that is why you are getting 3! Haha so here we go!

This week we had a lot of craziness happen again. It seems like the closer it gets to the end of the transfer, the more crazy and busy things get. I’m not complaining though, because I love being busy! It’s better to be busy than to have nothing to do while on a mission! 

We found a super awesome family this past week! They are the Torres family, and they have a mom and dad, and 5 kids! They are such a friendly family! We stopped by to try and contact them, and Juan (the Dad) answered and asked us to come back the next day, so we did and met Candy (the Mom), and 3 of their kids! They have such a strong faith in Christ, they have gone to our church before and loved it, and they all want to grow closer to God! We set up another time to come by and share our message with them, and they are super excited!

We also met someone who is going to play in the NBA (eventually). His name is Mataya (muh-tie-uh)m he is originally from Africa, but recently moved here from Cali. He is working on getting an agent to get into the League as we speak. He is super humble and very spiritual, and he said he really respects us because he lived in the hood in Cali and would see missionaries walking around in there, playing basketball with the kids, and brining hope and a smile to everyone. We talked to him at the bus stop, got on the bus, and missed our stop by two stops to talk to him haha. He said one of his regrets was not being baptized, and he has the desire to. We were stoked! We go back to see him on Wednesday, and we are really looking forward to it.

For my spiritual thought this week I have a verse from the Book of Mormon, Mormon 9:21, which reads;

“21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.”

I know and can testify that God hears and answers our prayers. He will always listen to us. He will answer our prayers, in His way and according to His timing. We have a way to communicate with our Father in Heaven any time, any where. Prayer is one of the best ways that we can build and strengthen our testimonies, and is something so simple to do. Turn to the Lord in prayer, and I promise that He will hear you and answer you. I say those things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a wonderful week this week! Until next week! God speed!

Elder Houssian

Week #102

Howdy howdy! I hope y’all have had a great week! I know I always say this, but this week flew by! I can’t believe how fast time is going. I absolutely LOVE being a missionary!

So first off, our thermostat broke  so we can’t control the temperature! It is either constantly blowing cool or constantly blowing warm. So the past few days we have been icicles while sleeping haha. We got it fixed though, don’t worry!

We had some crazy miracles happen this week. One of which happened Wednesday. So we have these two kids in our Area Book who are not members of the Church and were being taught by the missionaries a few months back (their mom is a member). They were set to be baptized and were coming up on their baptism day, and they were super eager to be baptized. Some things happened with another family in the ward, and both of the missionaries were transferred out, and the new missionaries lost contact with them, and so the baptism didn’t happen. The missionaries that came into the area tried and tried to contact them, but nothing happened. Then I was transferred in, and Elder Gardner and I couldn’t get in contact with them either. So Wednesday (June 13th) Elder Hernandez and I stop by to try and visit them. As we do so, the family pulls into their complex, parks, and comes and talks to us. They were super excited to see us, and we were super excited to see them. We went in, sat down, and immediately Joyce (the Mom) says “My kids need to be baptized”, and we about fell over with excitement. So we set up a time to come back and start teaching them some more, and helping them get on track to being baptized! We are very excited for them!

Another exciting thing happened this week! We had our lesson with Shannon (our neighbor). We made some cookies (Mom you would be proud!) and brought them over to them, and had a lesson. The Spirit was so strong. Shannon asked a lot of questions, and she said she wants to come to Church and wants her and her family to grow closer to God. It was. An amazing lesson! She also said she wanted to feed us, so we set up a day next week to go over and have dinner and a lesson with the family. We hope to get them on track for baptism soon!

This week for my spiritual thought I wanted to share with you something I came across in my studies. It comes from the Book of Mormon, in Mormon 7:5, which reads;

“5 ... ye must ... repent of all your sins and iniquities, and believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he was slain by the Jews, and by the power of the Father he hath risen again, whereby he hath gained the victory over the grave; and also in him is the sting of death swallowed up.”

I love this verse. It is something so significant. Here, Mormon is giving his last words, his final plea. And in that final plea, the thing he chooses to write is to believe in Christ. He sees his people completely destroyed, gone, and he urges us today to learn what his people had forgotten, that Jesus Christ is our Savior, He loves us, He knows us individually, and because of Him we can repent and be forgiven of our mistakes, we can be resurrected, and we can return to live in the presence of God, and be with our families there, forever. That is the entire purpose of the Book of Mormon, to help everyone learn of Him. There is so much power that comes from this book. It is the keystone of our religion. It testifies of Jesus Christ and His ministry, and helps us learn about Him and what we can do to be more like Him. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that through Him, we are all able to return to live with Him and our Heavenly Father again. I invite each of you to read this book sincerely, and then ask God if it is true. I promise, as a representative of Jesus Christ, that you will receive an answer, this book will change your life, and you will find answers to your questions, and know true joy and happiness. I say those things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a spectacular week! Until next week! God speed!

Elder Houssian

Week #101

Hey y’all! Another week is in the bag and the work is going very well. I love being a missionary! This week has been a lot of fun and we found out about some big things happening in the mission!

This week we found out that we are a pilot mission for the whole Church in using some of the features we have on our Area Book apps on our devices, and we are the only mission in the world doing it. We are almost being watched by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency. So there is a lot of pressure I guess you could say haha. We also found out that all of the District Leaders are going to share a car with another District Leader and their companion, so that will be nice! We rotate every week. The down side is, we can only use it for leadership purposes — going on exchanges, doing interviews, and to meetings. Despite all of that, having a car with limits is still better than no car!

This week we also were able to go on exchanges with our Zone Leaders, and some crazy things happened! One of which was we saw someone who had broken into some lady’s car and overdosed, so that was interesting. And a cool miracle happened when we were being dropped off by the Zone Leaders. We ran into our neighbor, Shannon, while she was walking her dog. We talked to her for a bit, (we met her a little bit ago) and started talking about the gospel. She said she really wanted us to come by and teach her and her kids! We are super stoked to go by this weekend and teach her!

Art is doing well and is on track for the 23rd! He is doing great and is continuing to grow and progress every day! 

For my spiritual thought this week I wanted to share an awesome verse I read in my studies. It comes from the Book of Mormon, in 3 Nephi Chapter 5:1-3, which reads;

“1 And now behold, there was not a living soul among all the people of the Nephites who did doubt in the least the words of all the holy prophets who had spoken; for they knew that it must needs be that they must be fulfilled.

2 And they knew that it must be expedient that Christ had come, because of the many signs which had been given, according to the words of the prophets; and because of the things which had come to pass already they knew that it must needs be that all things should come to pass according to that which had been spoken.

3 Therefore they did forsake all their sins, and their abominations, and their whoredoms, and did serve God with all diligence day and night.”

I love these verses. The Nephites had developed faith that the prophecies that the prophets had spoken of were fulfilled, and they knew that the fulfillment of those prophecies meant that Christ had come. They had such strong faith in and knew that Christ had come, that “they did forsake all their sins, and their abominations, and their whoredoms, and did serve God with all diligence...”. True faith leads to action. Faith is the principle that underlies all else; that is, it takes faith in Christ to repent, or be baptized, or perform any other saving ordinance. That means that repentance, baptism, and all other principles and ordinances are not entirely separate, but are actually extensions of our faith in Christ. With faith in Christ, our lives become focused on doing things of eternal value. I invite each of us to do the things necessary to build our faith, our faith in Jesus Christ, and then to put that faith to action through repentance, baptism, and other ordinances in the gospel. I promise that your life will be blessed tremendously if you do so. I know that to be true, and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a super duper week! Until next week! God speed!

Elder Houssian

Week #100!

Hey y’all! Holy moly 100 weeks... that’s crazy! Another week is in the bag! This week has been great and the work is progressing quickly! I hope y’all have had a great week! It has started warming up, and it’s warming up quick. We hit 108-109 the other day, and I am not looking forward to the heat to come 

We have been able to see many tender mercies from the Lord this week, one of which came last week! We were walking to go visit a former investigator, Diego, and as we were walking up he opened his garage to get ready to leave. We talked with him and he was super cool! We were able to get to know him, and he has been attending church occasionally with his friends in another ward. He is super awesome, and we had a lesson later in the week and he accepted an invitation to be baptized!

We have to push back Art’s baptism due to scheduling conflicts, but he is still going strong! We found out that Curtis and his “wife” aren’t married, so we have to push his date back. Pauline is doing well and is still on track for June 23rd!

My spiritual thought this week comes from the Book of Mormon, in Alma 38:2, which says;

“2 And now, my son, I trust that I shall have great joy in you, because of your steadiness and your faithfulness unto God; for as you have commenced in your youth to look to the Lord your God, even so I hope that you will continue in keeping his commandments; for blessed is he that endureth to the end.”

Enduring faithfully to the end brings so many blessings to us! As we strive to emulate the Savior and do as He would do, we will be blessed with happiness, joy, and small incremental changes that will draw us closer to our Heavenly Father. This gospel is a gospel of action, and if we act and LIVE the gospel, we will ultimately be changed and become a true disciple of Jesus Christ. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I hope y’all have a wonderful week! Until next time, God speed!

Week #99

Howdy everyone! This week has been a great week! But it will be short and sweet this week!

We have been working with our investigators Art, Curtis, and Pauline who are scheduled to be baptized June 9th, June 16th, and June 23rd! They are all doing great and progressing very well!

Transfer calls happened this week, and...... I will be staying, getting a new companion, and I am the District Leader again! I am very excited and looking forward to it all. I will definitely miss Elder Gardner, he has been a great companion and will do very well in his mission!

For my thought today I wanted to share a quote that I heard at Church in our Sunday School class from a visiting member of the Church. She said "There is no comfort in the growth zone, and no growth in the comfort zone". I really loved that quote from her! We were discussing the Christ-like attribute "Faith" and she brought this up. In order for us to grow, God pulls us out of our comfort zone. We cannot have our "weak things become strong" and "[become] a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord" without being pulled out of our comfort zone. It is when we step outside of those bounds that the Lord works wonders in our lives. I know that to be true. I know God lives, Jesus is the Christ. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a wonderful week! Until next week! God speed!

Elder Houssian 

Week #98

Hey hey everyone! I hope this week has been a great week for y’all! This week has been another one for the books, we had a lot happen!

So we received a call on Pday last week from a member who had stopped attending Church. She was wondering if we could come by and visit her, so we did! She lives with her sister who is not a member of the Church and wants to be baptized! Her name is Pauline. We have been teaching her and she came to Church this week! She is set to be baptizedJune 23rd, and she is progressing very well!

We also were able to find another new person to teach! His name is Josh. He has a ton of health problems and is only in his 30s. He has had some experiences in his life that have helped him grow closer to God and strengthen his relationship with Him. We were able to meet him and share a message about God’s plan for us and eternal families, and he was very touched. I will keep y’all posted on that!

My spiritual thought this week comes from Alma 17:2-3, which reads;

“2 Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.

3 But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God.”

Here, Alma is speaking about the reunion he had with the Sons of Mosiah after they went on their missions to preach the gospel. Upon returning, Alma was glad to see that his brothers were still strong in their faith and belief in God. This was the case because the Sons of Mosiah had studied the scriptures, and fasted and prayed DILIGENTLY. It is one thing to go through the motions, but when we actually are diligent and faithful in those things, great strength is brought to our faith and our testimonies. I know that to be true, and it is my prayer that we all seek to be diligent in the simple things, for those simple things will make all the difference! I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a wonderful week! Until next week! God speed!!

Elder Houssian

Week #97

Howdy howdy everyone! Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful Mothers out there! I hope your day was as special and amazing as each of you are! Man, where would we be without our Moms? They’re the best!

So this week was super busy, and because of that we sadly were not able to proselyting as much as we hoped. Needless to say, we still had an awesome week!

Zone Conference took place this past Thursday and it was stellar! President Youngblood is a remarkable man. He had some very powerful things to say, and it was super motivating! 

This week we also were able to find some really cool people, one of whom was a referral named Tamala. She met another companionship of missionaries on the bus, and those missionaries invited her to be baptized. She accepted! So we met with her and she wants her and her daughter to be baptized! We are super stoked about that!

This week for my studies I wanted to share one of my favorite verses in the Book of Mormon. It is Ether 12:27, and it reads;

“27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”

I love this verse. As mortals, we have flaws and weaknesses, especially me haha. Anyways, as we rely on Jesus Christ and His Atonement, we can be changed and over time our weaknesses can be turned to strengths. But we cannot just hand our problems over to the Savior and forget about them, we have to be doing our part by studying the scriptures, praying, going to church, keeping the commandments, all the little things that we have been asked to do. We are promised great blessings as we do so. I know that to be true. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Have a stellar week! Until next week! God speed!

Elder Houssian

 Snozin'

 Part 1

 Part 2

This truck reminds me of Texas

Week #96

Sorry I thought I had sent this email out last week!

Hey hey everyone! Another week and another month has gone. I can’t believe another month has already come and gone! Summer is approaching, which means it has been heating up, and it is coming FAST! I hope y’all have had a wonderful week. This week has been one for the books for many reasons! 

So the meat of our highlights happened this weekend! The first one happened Saturday. We were helping a lady move out of her apartment in our ward into a house in another ward. So we show up to the pleasant surprise that she lives on the third floor of the apartment building, AND the stairs were facing the sun. All is well though! We had Elders Rigby, Neve, Perez, and Moore show up to help us because the lady was moving into one of their wards! We had a lot of fun just grinding and getting stuff done! We started about 10:30 and finished at 4 pm, so it was a long day to saw the least. But a crazy and funny thing happened! This lady who we were helping has a 14 year old son who doesn’t like sports very much. So apparently one of the lady’s friends gave them a snowboard for the 14 year old, but like I said he doesn’t do sports. So it just sat in their closet and collected dust. Anyways, the lady started talking about it and asked if me or Elder Rigby snowboarded (we were helping her grab stuff to move). I said I did and she said she was trying to get rid of it, so I told her I would buy it from her. She said she wanted me to have it, but I felt bad so I again offered to at least pay something for it. She again said no and told me to just take it! So I got a brand new snowboard for free from this ladyit was super nice of her and I’m definitely grateful for her generosity! We got her all moved into her new house, and it is a beautiful house!

We were also able to meet with one of our progressing investigators, Art. He has been going through a lot of stuff and so we haven’t been able to meet with him for a while. We just got back in contact with him and he really wants to come into the fold of God and be baptized. He comes to church all the time, he reads the Book of Mormon and prays about it, he does everything he needs to. We were able to have a great impromptu lesson and we set him with a date to be baptized! He is super excited and is really looking forward to being baptized. AND on top of that, the date he is working towards is his birthday! It’s awesome!

This week for my spiritual thought I wanted to share a verse that I really loved when I came across it in my studies this week. It is 2 Nephi 9:41, which reads;

“41 O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.”

I absolutely love this verse. The Lord Jesus Christ is the keeper of the gate, and when we all one day stand before Him, we will give an accounting to Him of our lives and what we do here on the earth, as well as who we become. Jesus Christ is the only one who can do that for us, because He was the one who made it possible for us to return to heaven again some day. I know He lives. I know He wants to extend His loving mercy to each and every one of us individually, but we need to do our part by asking and then acting. This gospel is a gospel of action. We can’t just hang out and hope our progression happens. We need to make sure we do our part and constantly strive to improve ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ. As we do so, He will help us! He wants to help us and wants to see us progress and grow. He wants us to be happy. I know this gospel brings a feeling of happiness and joy that cannot be found anywhere else. This gospel is one of the greatest blessings in my life. I know it is true. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I hope y’all have a fabulous week this week! Until next time, God speed!

Elder Houssian

Week #95

Howdy y’all! This week has been a great week! The work is coming along and the wards are getting better and better! I can’t believe it is already May! Things have been heating up here which is definitely an interesting factor in missionary work, but I love it!

First off, happy birthday to my beautiful Mother and my stud of a brother Sam! I love y’all!

This week we had some cool things happen. We were walking in an apartment complex and saw a lady outside sitting at a table that evening. So we walked over and literally just sat down at the table and started talking to her. She is such a sweetheart and was really excited to see us. She just moved here from Colorado and wants to find a church home, so we invited her and met her son and invited him too! We introduced them to some members who live in their complex and they are going to give Chadron and Delfino a ride to church next week!

Also this week, I was bit by a dog... hahaha so we walk up to this house and the gate was open, so we walk in and walk up to the front door and it’s open. We wave and the guy and he waves and stands up, and then 8 little wiener dogs come flying out barking, mowing over everything in their path, and circle me and my comp. I spun in a slow circle and kicked my foot out to keep them away, and as I was doing that one of them came up and bit my leg that I wasn’t swinging. He got me good, I’m still bruised and swollen above my ankle. As soon as the dog bit me I kicked my heel back and hit it right in the throat and it ran away. Serves it right! Then the owner came out and was super mad and told us to leave. So yea, fun experience for the week!

My thought this week comes from the Book of Mormon, in Mosiah chapter 2, verse 41, and it reads;

“41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.”

Tremendous blessings come from living the gospel. I know that to be true! I have experienced it numerous times in my life. Our Heavenly Father loves us and wants to bless us, and He has promised that he will if we keep the commandments and do what we know to be right. Of course we will make mistakes and slip, but that is one of reasons why Jesus Christ did what He did, so that we could get back up, keep moving forward, and keep gaining access to the divine blessings that are in store for us from on high. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Thanks y’all for your love and prayers! I love y’all! Until next week, God speed!

Elder Houssian

Week #94

Howdy y’all! This week has been one for the books, and we’ve got a lot of things going on!

So my new companion is Elder Gardner. He’s from Portland Oregon, loves sports and cars, and loves to laugh. We have a great time, and I am training him for his second six weeks in the mission! I am super excited to work with him!

This week we had a lot happen. We found 14 new people to teach this week which was needed in this area! Elder Gardner’s first trainer didn’t work as hard as he should’ve, so we went hard this week, and the Lord blessed us! They are all very solid and are sincerely interested in the gospel!

We also are working with a new part-member family that we just found, and we invited the kids to be baptized! They are super excited and really looking forward to their baptism!

All is well over here. There will be lots more updates this transfer!

For my spiritual thought this week, I wanted to share with y’all a wonderful passage from the Book of Mormon I read this week. It comes from the Book of Mormon, in Alma chapter 40, verses 11-12, and it reads;

11 Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection--Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.

12 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.

The Book of Mormon is a witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon really is the word of God. It draws us nearer to Him, and as we apply the principles contained within, we can receive more happiness and joy in this life than from anything else. I know that to be true. I know that God lives. Jesus is the Christ. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a fantastic week! I love y’all! Until next week, God speed!

Elder Houssian

Week #93

Hey y’all! Another week is down and another transfer in the bag! This honestly has been the fastest transfer I’ve had on my mission. I can’t believe it’s already over! We have been seeing a lot of progress in the people we are working with, and we have been finding more and more people to teach, which is always a plus!

So for starters, we received transfer calls and..... I’m being transferred! I know right? I was in my last area for 5 transfers, and then I come here for one, and I’m shipped out! Elder Fuhriman is also leaving, so this area w will have two new missionaries, one of them is our now former Assistant to the President. And he will be training so this area is in good hands. Elder Fuhriman will be headed back to his first area and he will be training! I will be headed back to Vegas to serve in the Paradise Stake, and I will be a trainer to finish the second half of my companion’s training period. His name is Elder Gardner. He has been out for 6 weeks and that’s all I know haha I’ll tell y’all about him more next week! After 12 transfers in a row, I’m going back into the “hood” and I’m super stoked! Oh also, I will no longer be a District Leader. I’m pretty bummed because I love working with other missionaries, but I know the Lord needs me in the assignments I have been asked to take on, and it is His will that I am where I am.

So this week we had a lot of crazy things happen! For starters, we found these two twin girls and their Mom this week and started teaching them! They are very close family friends with the Robbins (who lost their son in the shooting) and so we hit it off really well since I also know the family pretty well. The mom, Blair, attended church for 9 years when she was a kid, but was never baptized. Then a bad experience with another church kind of pushed them away from organized religion. But she was super open, and when we asked her if throughout those 9 years, and even now, if she believed the church was true as well as what was taught, she said she did! She wanted us to come back and teach the girls who have had some struggles with their faith. As we were talking, the twins drove up from school, and so we talked to them. Their names are Madison and Morgan, and they are both so sweet! We all just talked for a minute and started talking about eternal families and how not only will we be with our families fore ever, but with our friends as well. The Spirit was there and they really want us to come back! It was super cool!

All of our investigators are doing great! They are keeping their commitments and really allowing the Holy Ghost to enter into their hearts and truly help them become converted. I love this work!

Also, story for the week, last night we went by one of our investigator families that we have grown really close with, and just checking up on them! Last time we went over there Chris, the husband, gave us a really nice watch. It’s a knockoff Rolex, but it looks way nice. It fits Elder Fuhriman better, so we agreed that he could have it. Plus I have a few nice watches and Elder Fuhriman doesn’t have any with him on the mission, so it’s all good! Then we went over last night and told Chris while we were talking to him, and he says “cool, I have another one for you”. He goes into another room, comes back, and hands me a Rolex, the exact Rolex that Elder Fuhriman’s new watch is a knockoff of. He said “Don’t sell this, I paid a lot of money for it” and started laughing! He says he doesn’t wear it anymore and so he wants me to have it so that it gets worn. But now with transfers and me being moved to a more ghetto part of town, I probably won’t wear it haha. That’s the story for the week!

This week for my spiritual thought I wanted to share one of my favorite verses from the Book of Mormon. It’s 2 Nephi 28:30 which reads;

“30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more...”

I love this. Sometimes as humans, we want answers to our prayers right in the moment, we want everything to be fixed right in the moment, etc. Often times we forget that the heavenly virtue of patience is required. The Lord will feed us spiritual knowledge over time, here a little and there a little. As we diligently search the scriptures, we ponder/think about what is being taught, and apply those principles into our lives by going and acting on the things we learn, we will be put into a position to receive even more spiritual light and knowledge and be uplifted by the presence of the Holy Ghost. This constant, lifetime process helps us to experience true conversion over and over again as we go through this life. As we go through this process, we will continue to be changed and ultimately become the man/woman that our Heavenly Father wants and needs us to be. I know that our Heavenly Father lives. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He is risen! There is great power in the Book of Mormon, and the principles contained within will bring us closer to God than anything else. I know that to be true, and I say these things in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a phenomenal week this week! I love y’all! Until next week! God speed!

Elder Houssian

Sent from my iPad

Week #92

Howdy y'all! I hope you had a wonderful week! We will get right to it!

This week we had a super busy week, with a lot of ups and downs! We had 2 of our investigators who are set to be baptized come to us and say they were having second thoughts on being baptized, which came by surprise. So that was hard. We are still working with them though!

On the flip side, we had went over and taught 2 daughters of a recently returning member and set them both to be baptized in May, and they are super excited! The older one is telling all of her friends at school that she is getting baptized! The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways.

The highlight of the week was being able to attend Tommy's baptism. Tommy was a kid I became very close with last summer, and he had decided to be baptized last Friday, and I was able to go and baptize him. He is such a remarkable young man and one of my best friends I've met on my mission.

My thought this week is a personal thought. Over the last 6 months I have really taken the time to read the Book of Mormon more in depth. I have seen the power that has come from reading it every day, and the blessings have unfolded in my life that our Prophet and Apostles have so testified of. There is power in the Book of Mormon, and I invite everyone to read the contents contained within. They will bless your life more than you know, and you will grow closer to your Heavenly Father through the principles in the Book of Mormon than by anything else. I promise. I know our Heavenly Father lives. Jesus is the Christ. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a fantastic week y'all! Until next week, God speed!