Wednesday, April 25, 2018

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




Tuesday, April 17, 2018

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

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

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!



Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Week #91

Hey y’all!! I hope you’ve had a wonderful week! We’ve had yet another
busy and eventful week, and hope y’all’s weeks were eventful as well!

For starters, General Conference was amazing! There were so many
wonderful insights given, and I was able to receive a lot of personal
direction and inspiration.

We have been seeing a lot of wonderful miracles this week! One of
which happened this week while we were walking around. Elder Fuhriman
felt the prompting to go visit this investigator that we haven’t been
able to see this whole transfer. He was home! We went in, had an
impromptu lesson, and set him with a baptismal date! It was a very
spiritual lesson, and Brayden.

My spiritual thought this week comes from Alma 37:45, and it reads

“45 ... For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by
following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ,
if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a
far better land of promise.”

This was talking about the Liahona, an instrument that God provided
for Lehi and his family to travel in the right direction. The
scriptures can be a guide for us in our lives, and as we study the
principles and ponder them, then apply them into our lives, we will be
able to learn more about our Heavenly Father’s plan for us, our Savior
and His Atonement, and the joy that can come from this gospel. I know
these things are true, and I say these things in the name of Jesus
Christ, amen.

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

Elder Houssian