Week #49

Hello hello! Man what a great week this week! I hope y'all are enjoying your summer break! The weeks keep going by faster and faster, I don't know what to do! We find out on Saturdayabout transfers, this transfer has flown! 

So this week was a pretty solid week! We had some disappointing moments for sure, but the Lord gives us trials to make us stronger and to prepare us for things to come, I firmly believe that. So yea, we had 2 of our super solid investigators drop us this past week which was hard. They were actually progressing really well, but people have their agency, and I guess they haven't been completely prepared by the Lord yet. Their time will come for sure!

On the flip side, we were able to see the Lord's hand in our lives and in the work this past week! We were able to find some super solid new investigators! Two of them are a younger couple that we ran into. We went to go knock on the door of a former investigator's house, and a girl opened the door and turns out the family we tried to contact moved out. So instead there was this sweet lady named Susan and her husband Jason who were excited to see us! We were able to teach them a little bit and get a return appointment set up, it was awesome! 

We got to do exchanges with the Shadow Canyon Elders, and both of them are former companions of mine! Haha so I went with Elder DeMott into their area, and man we went hard! We were able to find two new investigators in the first 30 minutes of the exchange, it was awesome. That night, we got to go meet up with our recent convert from the area we served in together for dinner, and she invited the other missionaries who had taught her as well (and their companions haha) so it was awesome to run into some of them, and see Elder Moen, one of my other former companions! Overall, it was an awesome exchange. We had a lot of fun together just like the good old days! Plus, he's WAY into cars, and so there was talk about him making my car go way faster after I get off of the mission haha. 

This week I want to share a scripture and a quote on grace. This comes from Moroni 7:48 and the quote is from the talk given by Brad Wilcox titled "His Grace is Sufficient".

“A life impacted by grace eventually begins to look like Christ’s life.”

48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

Brothers and Sisters, God's grace is sufficient for everyone. No matter what. You cannot sink lower than the infinite light of Christ's Atonement shines. Because of Christ, we can be forgiven of our sins, we can one day be resurrected, we can become perfect. Because of Christ, we can one day live with our families forever, and live with them in the presence of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. This life is a constant effort to become more like the Savior. As we turn to the Lord for help, for support, and for forgiveness, we will be able to be changed by grace. We will be able to change and be able to be more like Christ. I know that to be true. I hope and pray that y'all will continue to turn to the Lord with any doubt, struggle, pain, sadness, and anything else. He is there to help you. And when we mess up, use the Atonement. If you want to show appreciation and gratitude for what the Lord did for us, then use the Atonement, use what he's freely given to us. I know my Savior lives, and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

I hope this week is a great and fun week for y'all! Until next time! God Speed!

Elder Houssian

Dinner with the recent converts! 

 The door-knocker had "Heaven" engraved on it #knockknockknockingonheavensdoor

Work hard, rest hard

Week #48

Howdy y'all! Man this week flew by! I hope this week has been a great one for y'all! Congrats to all those who have/are about to graduate, and enjoy no school! I've officially been out for 11 months. It's crazy! Time is flying by and I don't know what to do with myself. This week has been a super busy week, but miracles have happened and the work is progressing here in Vegas!

First off, we had the baptism of the Tso family on Saturday! They are such a sweet family, and they have progressed a ton! So Ginger (the mom) has a sister, Carmelita, in one of the other wards we cover. Carmelita and her family were baptized a few months ago. When they were taking the lessons and were baptized, Ginger could see the change that the gospel brought into her sister's family, and she wanted the same for her kids! So she started having the missionaries come over and teach her and her family, and a month and a few weeks later Ginger, Kyler, and Kaleb are now baptized and confirmed as members of the Church! It was a wonderful experience and the Spirit was felt strongly by all who attended the service!

Also on Saturday, we were able to participate in the baptism of a 9 year old named Mike! He has been taught by the sister missionaries, and being new to the ward they are in, they didn't know too many people. So Mike's mom told the sisters that she wanted elders to do all of the Priesthood parts of the service, and she asked me to baptize Mike. It was the first time I had ever baptized anybody. It was such a surreal experience. I wish I could explain how I felt during the ordinance. It was such a testimony-building experience, and something that I will never forget.

We had a really cool experience at church this past Sunday. With it being fast Sunday, it was a testimony meeting. At one point, this one lady named Nicole, who was visiting the Ajayi family, got up and bore her testimony. It was a powerful testimony, and after the meeting was over we went and talked to her and thanked her for her testimony, and came to find out that she wasn't a member of the church and it was her first time attending an LDS service! So crazy! She wanted to start taking the lessons as well, which is awesome!

My thought this week isn't a spiritual thought but a challenge! So we had dinner with this awesome family, the Colledge's. They're like 25 and 22 and are here for the summer for an internship. While we were eating and talking with them, Brother Colledge told us about this challenge he was given on his mission. It's call 30 minutes for 30 days. He told us that his Mission President's wife gave him this challenge, and then told us what it was. So, for 30 days in a row, when you say your prayers you pray for 30 minutes. WHAT. I was blown away haha and he said it was definitely tough, but it changed his world. And starting today, I am going to take that challenge on, and I want to challenge y'all to do the same. I know the power of prayer is real. I know God hears our prayers and answers them in His time and according to His will. I know that if we pray with faith and then act on the answers we receive, we will be blessed and will continue to grow closer to our Father in Heaven. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Let the games begin! Haha I hope y'all join me in this challenge. It will be hard, but I firmly believe it will change your life. If y'all end up taking it on, send me an email about how it goes throughout the 30 days. I want to hear about your experiences and thoughts! Until next week y'all! God speed!

Elder Houssian

 Mike's baptism

 Tso family Baptism

Summer is here . . . .

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

 Pogorzelski baptism

 Audi R8!!

A member has this old school football card of Ty Detmer back in the day!

Week #45 & 46

Hello everyone! This week has been an awesome week here in the desert, and I hope it has been great for y'all wherever you are!

So first off, I got transferred to be a DL in the Carnegie, St. Rose, and Paseo Verde wards in the Carnegie Stake! We are covering 3 wards, and one of them is actually my aunt's ward! I'm super excited to serve in this area! This is my 5th zone that I've served in out of 7 in our mission (fyi they split up the mission into zones, and each zone has 2-3 stakes in it)! There are missionaries who don't serve in all 7 their entire mission! I'm excited, and I get to have one of my good friends from the MTC, Elder Stucki, be another DL with me in this zone, and another Elder from our MTC district, Elder Smith, is one of our Zone Leaders!

My new companion is Elder Fowkes. He's from Colorado, he has 2 siblings, and like the outdoors. He's been out for about 22 months, but (thankfully) still works very hard! He's a great guy and we are really enjoying being together!

This week has been a blast! We saw many miracles and have seen some great progression in our investigators! We have 4 people set to be baptized this Saturday, the Pogorzelski family, and Melissa Hopkins. Melissa and the Pogorzelski's are progressing very well. Melissa is living the Word of Wisdom, which is a struggle for her,  but she is doing well and knows it is what she needs to do! Chris and Desiree are living the Word of Wisdom as well, Chris even said we could throw away his beer! Then we have the Tso family, Ginger, Kyler, and Kaleb. Ginger's sister was baptized a few weeks ago in the Paseo Verde ward, and Ginger saw the change that the gospel brought into the life of her sister and her family, and she wanted that same thing for her own family. They are doing very well also. We also have this wonderful couple, Randall and Kelly Morris who are progressing so fast and are looking forward to their baptismal date next month!

This past Saturday I had the wonderful opportunity of attending the baptism of the sweetest little girl Alexa. In one of my previous areas we baptized her and her mom, and I was asked to give a talk on the Holy Ghost after she was baptized! So she was baptized and we move into the next room where I would give my talk and then she would be confirmed, and one of the counselors in the bishopric comes over and asks me what I'm doing in the program and I said "I'm giving a talk on the Holy Ghost" and he said ok and then walked over to Bishop, then came back and said "Ok you're also confirming her" and I was floored haha. I had no idea I was confirming Alexa until about 5 minutes before! But I did it and it was a wonderful and spiritual experience. I enjoyed every moment of it and it definitely strengthened my testimony of the power of the Spirit and the Priesthood.

My spiritual thought this week comes from the April 2017 Ensign, a talk given by Larry R. Lawrence titled The War Goes On. In this talk, Elder Lawrence identifies four of Satan's strategies used to try and bring us down, and how we can defend ourselves against them. The four strategies are Temptation, Lies and Deception, Contention, and Discouragement. These are all four very common tactics Satan uses, but there is a common theme between the ways we can resist these four different strategies. The common theme is doing the things the Lord asks us to do. Follow the commandments, read our scriptures, pray, and do things to invite the Spirit in our lives. The Spirit only teaches truth and can help us better understand the commandments of the Lord. The Spirit can give us light to dispel darkness. The Spirit can help us and aid us in resisting temptation and the influence of Satan. When temptations come, when the devil tries to bring you down, don't be afraid. Respond with confidence. We have the right to tell Satan to leave when confronted with temptation. The Lord will stand with us and help us through those trials, all we have to do is ask for His help, and then act on it. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I hope y'all have a wonderful week! Stay strong! God speed!

Elder Houssian

This lambo is one of MANY nice cars in my new area. 

Alexa's baptism

Week #44

Sorry this is late, I had some technology problems!

Hey hey everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful week and enjoyed Star Wars Day and Cinco De Mayo! This week has been an awesome week!

So first off, my bff Elder Cook is serving in part of our mission out in Arizona, and his companion had a doctor's appointment here in Vegas at 7:30 pm Monday night. Sister Snow told them that she didn't want them driving back in the middle of the night because it's quite the drive, so the solution was to stay the night at another missionary's apartment and then drive home that morning. And guess who's apartment he chose? Haha so I got to see him for the first time in like 3 or 4 months! It was awesome, the reunion was great and it was good to see him!

We have seen some wonderful progress with our investigators this week! The Gutierrez kids are doing great and are still on for getting baptized June 10th! Aaron is progressing as well and is still working towards July 1st! We've had lots of fellowship for all of these people, especially for the kids. It is so awesome to see the members getting so involved with the work! They are so vital in this great work!

On Thursday I had my second in grown toenail taken out, but this one I didn't have any anesthetics! They sprayed this stuff on my toe to make it feel like I had just iced it, and then the doc just went to town! Haha I didn't feel it until he was about 70% done, then I felt it, and I felt it a LOT. Buts it's alright, all is well!

This week has been full of tender mercies from the Lord for everyone. On Friday we were walking to go visit a potential investigator, and we saw this father and his 22 year old daughter sitting out on an upstairs balcony. When we walked by they said hi and were really nice, so we asked how there day was and everything. We found out the girl was an inactive member and the dad wasn't a member. Then I asked them if we could do anything for them, and the daughter asked if we could give her a blessing. This girl hadn't gone to church in years. So we went in and met her roommate and her mom, and they had ordered pizza so we ate some of course, and just got to know them! We also came to find out that her roommate, Shelby, and Marylin's mom were inactive members as well! The girl, Marylin, was having a rough time and was struggling a lot, and just needed some comfort, and she asked me to give the blessing. That was a really humbling experience, and the Spirit was very strong during the blessing. They are some wonderful people.

My spiritual thought this week comes from Alma 11:40, which says 

40 And he shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else.

Brothers and Sisters, I know that it is ONLY through Jesus Christ that we can be forgiven of our sins. He showed us the way to return back to our Father in Heaven. It is because of Him that we can live with our families forever. I know we have a loving Father in Heaven who has a plan for each and every one of us. I know this gospel is true. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and was brought to us by the power of God. I say these things in the name of our loving Brother and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.

I love y'all so much and I hope y'all have a wonderful week! Until next time! God speed!

Elder Houssian

 The Reunion

 #futurecomps

Bannagao and his banana cream pie😂

He likes dogs

Week #42 & #43

Howdy y'all! What a wonderful week it has been here in this part of the Lord's vineyard! I hope y'all have been able to have an awesome and exciting week this week!

Before I say anything, I want to shout out my sister Amber who had a birthday on the 19th! And of course, shout out to my beautiful mother who last Sunday had a birthday, and what a wonderful woman and mother she is!!

So this week has been crazy! We went on exchanges (where a missionary from 2 companionships switches areas for 24 hours) 3 times this week! Elder Bannagao and I did not have one full day together this week until yesterday! It was crazy busy! But blessings came of it. Poor Elder Bannagao left our area all 3 times this week, so he's barely been able to sleep in his own bed! I stayed in my area with Elder Ryder from Tuesday to Wednesday. ThenWednesday to Thursday I was in my area with Elder Young, and then Friday to Saturday I was in my area with Elder Shiffler, one of my Zone Leaders! It was a lot of fun being able to be with some other missionaries who we don't get to see as often! 

This week we found a family with 3 kids, who's mother told us she wanted her kids to have Jesus in their lives, so we've been teaching them a lot! The mother is on bed rest while goi through the first trimester of pregnancy with twins, and one of the twins' heart rate is 20% lower than the other twin, so please keep her in your prayers! Her name is Carla. The kids are progressing very well! On Friday night, while with Elder Shiffler, we were planning on teaching them a lesson about Faith and Repentance, but while walking in Elder Shiffler had this impression to show a video of Christ being baptized. At the end of it, we explained how Christ was baptized even though He was perfect, and then asked why this was important. Before any of them answered, the oldest kid, Kayla who is 17, said "I want to be baptized like that!" and immediately after that the other two kids (15 and 11) agreed with her. So right then and there we were able to set them to be baptized on June 10th, and they were ecstatic! The Spirit was so strong during that lesson and really touched the hearts of all of us there!

Following that lesson we went to a Part-Member Family's house to teach the fiancé of a member. We taught the Plan of Salvation, and at the end tied it into baptism and how it is one of the first things we do to work towards living with our Heavenly Father for eternity. After that we invited Aaron to be baptized and he accepted! We set a goal for him to be baptized onJuly 1st! He is progressing very well and attending church regularly!

This Saturday I had the privilege of going to my 2nd area in the mission to watch the sweetest little girl that I've ever taught, get baptized. Three of her siblings had been baptized before and she made the decision to follow their example, and of course the example of Jesus Christ, and baptized as well. The Spirit was very strong and present during the service, and it was so great to see her and her family and reconnect with them!

My spiritual thought this week comes from the Book of Mormon, chapter 3 verse 17. It reads;

17 And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.

In this chapter, King Benjamin is addressing his people and teaching them about the Lord. Here he says that we as God's children can only receive the eternal blessings that are in store for us through Jesus Christ. He was appointed before this life to be our Savior and Redeemer. Brothers and sisters, I know that Jesus Christ lives. He came to Earth and established His church, and that same church was restored by Jesus Christ through the prophet Joseph Smith. With the Priesthood power Joseph Smith received, he translated the Book of Mormon with the help of God. I know this church is true. The foundation of this church and the principles taught will bring individuals and families more joy and happiness than they can imagine. I have seen it bless the lives of so many people, including my family. I know families are eternal, and I'm so grateful for that wonderful blessing it is to have my beautiful family forever. I know Heavenly Father knows each one of us individually and knows what we feel, our desires, our pains, and everything else. He loves us. May we all strive to grow closer to the Lord is my humble prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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

Elder Houssian

 Lifted a 2 story metal staircase into this UHaul with our awesome Hawaiian Friend Valen

One of the kids made this while we were eating dinner 

 The gang (minus one) at Dominica's baptism

Week #41

Hello everyone! Hoppy Easter! I hope y'all had a wonderful Easter Sunday! This week has been another awesome week, and it went by so fast!

Before I start off, I would first like to make a shout out a wonderful young man who I love so much, my brother Tyler. I had the privilege of skyping my family on Saturday to watch him open his mission call, which I am so grateful for that opportunity. My brother will be serving in the...... California, Fresno Mission!! He will be speaking Spanish and reports to the Mexico City MTC July 18th, 12 days after my year mark! I watched him open it and cried like a baby haha. I'm so proud of my little brother and for the big things he's going to go do in Fresno. Cali isn't ready!! I love you bud, you'll kill it out there!

I had my first District Meeting as a DL and it was awesome! Not much to report on other than our district motto is #BeastMode. For those of you who don't know who Beast Mode is, it's Marshawn Lynch, the recently retired NFL running back. There was an E:60 documentary on him that I watched before the mission and he had some inspirational things to say, so I pulled a couple quotes from him and used them to get my district hyped haha it was fun!

So this week was full of miracles, one of which happened on Tuesday! We have a trailer park in out area, and in the area book we have a ton of potential investigators who live there, so we set out to make contact with them! We went thru the list with little success, and realized we had one more trailer left to visit on our list. We were walking to it, and right next door was a woman named Elizabeth sitting in her driveway. We went and talked to her, and came to find out that her and her family were looking for a church to join, and haven't found one yet. She was really interested in our message and asked us if we had any study material before we even brought it up! Haha so we have her a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet on the Restoration and she told us she wanted us to come back on Thursday and that she'd read the whole Book of Mormon by then! We've had 3 appointments since and her and her family are progressing very well!

Another came this past Friday when I was on exchanges in the Zone Leader's area. I wasn't there for this miracle, but it was still awesome! Elder Pitcher and my comp Elder Bannagao were in our area and were talking to people all day and not getting anything out of them. Then that night they went to go talk to a few potentials in the town houses we have in our area. They came to this potential's house, and the people who they were trying to contact weren't living there anymore, but the family of 4 that was in there listened to the two Elders testify and teach about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon, and set a return appointment! They were one of the last houses on the list that night as well! It was great!

Easter was awesome! We had some wonderful programs, and then that night went to the Robbins' for dinner! Now the Robbins have about 50-60 family members living within 20 minutes of them, plus they had some family from out of town over as well, so the house was packed! But we had a feast which was awesome haha and then the kids 12 and up (I was still considered a kid) got to hunt for Easter eggs inside, and let me tell you, that was hard! Haha but it was fun and we had a lot of fun! This family is wonderful haha.

My thought this week comes from D&C 18:10 and it reads:

10 Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God

Short and sweet. The worth of EVERY soul is great in the sight of God. No matter what we have done, where we have gone, or how many times we've messed up, God STILL loves us with all of His heart. And despite what we do, there is always a way back. That way is through Jesus Christ. Because of Him and His atoning sacrifice, we can be cleansed from sin. In celebration of Easter, we celebrate Christ's resurrection and continued ministry on the Earth. May we all recognize and reflect on our Savior and His hand in our lives, as well as what blessings have personally come to us because of the Atonement. I know this church is true. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God preserved until these Latter Days for us! I know we have a loving Father in Heaven. I say these things in the name of my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, amen.

I hope y'all have a blessed week this week! I look forward to hearing about it next week! Until then! God speed!

Elder Houssian