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