April 22, 2013

So this week has been busy!!! and snowed a lot!! It is suppose to be spring. Extreme bipolar weather haha

 

So Monday it snowed and I bought a grey suit for 7 bucks at salvation army!!! I love it!! But ya nothing really happened on Monday but I was excited about my suit!

 

 On Tuesday it was pretty slow. All of our plans fell through and all the snow melted by noon. But we prayed about it and we found someone new to teach. We went to a members house and he has only lived there for 2 weeks and he already has a referral for us!!! So awesome! We have a lesson with him this week!! We met with a couple people and introduced them to the Book of Mormon!! And now we have a couple more lesson with them!! But ya a bad day ended being a good day!!!!

 

Wednesday was Interviews with President Anderson!! It also was workshops so it was way good and the workshops focused on chapter 4 and 9 in preach my gospel which was way good!!! That lasted 5 hours but all went well and there are a lot of changes happening!!! Our ward is getting an additional set of Elders and we are now the Grandview District!!! Pretty cool! So a lot more work will get done hopefully. Then while interviews went on it snowed 2 inches by the time we were done!! Ya then we went and worked and no one answered there doors. But the suit I got on Monday  the pants were a little big and we took the to a member who is a tailor and she fixed them for me but while we were there someone asked her to do a suit for them like 3 years ago and they never came back for it so she gave it to me haha So I got 2  suit in one week. Pretty awesome! But ya it was a great day!!!

 

Thursday we did weekly planning and that took forever because we had to split our area book into 2 parts because of the missionaries coming in!! That filled up our morning and then we went out and worked. We had our typical Thursday lesson with Frank and we taught him the importance of baptism and I got to teach most of that lesson and I loved it!!! He had a concern that really wasn't a concern but he was nervous so we had to put a hold on a for sure of him coming to church but ya good lesson.

 

Friday was our last district meeting together because of transfers. It was really good! We role played a really hard situation and it was pretty funny!!! But we met with a lot of members through out the day and a lot of people that told us to come back and visit them. We also visited a investigating family that talked to missionaries a few months ago and told us to come back in a couple weeks.We were so excited!! This week has been super exciting I can say the least. Also Elder Lemon gets to keep his driving privileges  We have a member in our ward who owns a autobody shop and lowered the price for him haha Pretty lucky I can say!!! Also we had to move out of our house because the members went away on vacation. We couldn't stay there because their house keeper is staying there.. So we moved out until they come back. So we have been house hopping haha

 

Saturday morning was full of soccer, service, and rugby. We had investigators there so that is why it was okay haha but it was a good day and we met with a lot of members all day getting to know them better. But it just felt like a really long day!!!

 

Sunday was really good!!! We got to see a few less actives and then dinner haha not much happened because it was Sunday but it was really good talking to the less actives and helping them come back to church.

 

Well a lot is changing and I can't wait to see how it turns out!!!! I love it here and I didn't get transferred because I am still being trained!!! Well Love and miss everyone!!!

 

Love,

Elder Escudero

 

April 15th Letter (sorry a little behind )

This week was half good!!! It started to get good on Wednesday when I actually was not sick!!! I am good now thankfully and the weather is about to get crappy... Its suppose to snow today until Wednesday  Snow sucks here because its hard to work.

 

Well Monday was good until I got really sick and I am pretty sure I had the Flu. Don't want to get into details but it was a bad day!!! It snowed over night and it was in the teens all day Tuesday.

 

Tuesday I felt a lil better but not much and we went out at like 11:30 in the morning and I was outside for like 15 minutes and I got even sicker... It sucked! So we went home for lunch and afterwards I fell asleep for a couple hours, it was well needed sleep to get better!! But we did stay in most of the day because I didnt want to risk getting sick again...

 

Wednesday was a stacked day!!! We had 5 lessons planned for the day and only one fell through!! It was way good! We worked a lot with less actives in this ward but we are very successful at it!!! Its not a big investigator area but there is a lot of less active work to do!! We worked with the Woodbury's again with a lady they are home teaching and we are just giving her the missionary discussions!! They are going really good!!! But ya really busy day!

 

Thursday was a slow day! We were suppose to go on a church tour with our investigator Frank and he rescheduled for Friday  So we were glad at least he rescheduled instead of flat our cancelling like normal!! But we work a lot with the auxiliaries in the ward which is really good. This ward works really good together!!! But ya we help them as much as we can and they help us in return!!!

 

Friday we had zone training and I had to lead a 5 minute discussion on our mission vision, doctrine of Christ and our purpose. It went really good apparently haha Well that's what the other missionaries told me!! It was a really good training and helped out me and Elder Lemon with some investigators/ less actives!!!  But we are really excited for our church tour with Frank but he cancelled on us again... Didn't reschedule this time... But it was all good. We found a family who has been living in this apartment for a year and didn't know what ward they were in or what building to go to and they were just waiting for someone to tell them. It was also rare that they were home so that was super cool!! We had a lesson with a less active that night who was a return missionary and hasn't been to church in a long time!! So we taught him to increase his faith and it went pretty good!!! He said he would come to church this Sunday!!

 

Saturday we went and saw Frank to see what was really going on. He let us in and we talked. He was about to drop his baptism date!!! He said he had some personal problems and some bills to pay and was to worried about that!! Elder Lemon has been working with him for a long time now and wanted to drop him also. I didn't  I still saw the faith he had and the potential that he could have. I didn't want to give up. But Elder Lemon wouldn't let me talk until he pretty much gave up. Then I started asking him questions and asked if he still wanted to baptized on May 11th and he said yes. So I explained the requirements that he has to do to be baptized by then. He understood and I told him that if he trusts in the Lord everything will be taken care of and he will be ready to be baptized  Also that his problems will be taken care of also. The Elder Lemon asked him right then to pray and ask for help. So he did and that was the strongest I have ever felt the spirit. It was such a awesome prayer and we walked out knowing everything would be okay!! The rest of the day no one answered the doors but it was all good because of Frank's lesson, we were happy all day!!!

 

Sunday!! Had to wake up super early for a stake meeting at 6 and it was really good!!! I love church and we were expecting a lot of families to come and some did and some didn't but thats how it is!!! But good sunday. We went to visit Frank to see how the bills went and his prayer was answered and all the bills were taken care of!!! We went around just visiting families and met them and helped them to share the gospel with others. All went good all day!!

 

Solid week and we got a couple member refferals to teach their friends so super awesome. excited for this week and to see what miracles happen. Love and miss everyone!! Thanks for all the support!!

 

-Elder Escudero

Well this week started off pretty stinky... Well at least for me because I got sick... But I wasn't going to keep a sickness from us getting work done. Tuesday I had a sore throat and couldn't really talk so Elder Lemon did most of the work. I felt way bad but he loves talking haha We had a lesson with a less active and he couldn't really see blessing in life so we explained that every little thing in life is a blessing. That was way good! Then we saw another less active that day and she said I could take the day off and she gave me some medicine haha I almost fell asleep while we were talking!!! The members here are so good to missionaries. They will give us anything that we need but we are always good! 

 Wednesday I felt conjested and worse... and we didn't have very much success! But that night we went to the Woodburys house, who will be the new mission presidents in Chicago, Illinois, and we taught a less active at there house. It is part of their training to sit in on missionary lessons to get the hang of what we do!! I was actually able to teach! It was weird, it was like my cold went away for that lesson.

Thursday! still sick... But in the morning Elder Lemon and I took some chalk and wrote on a really busy biking/running trail and wrote inspired questions there and at the end said visit mormon.org!! Super cool to see people actually reading it! Then after lunch I went on exchanges with our district leader! Elder Taylor and we had our lesson with Frank!!! We taught him the gospel of Jesus Christ and emphasized on Forgiveness! At the end of the lesson he set up the baptismal date!!! He said may 11th I will be baptized !! I was so pumped that he said that! Then all day Elder Taylor and I talked to everyone we saw haha I met a Bulgarion named Jimmy didn't speak English but we stilled talked to him haha Then we fixed a popped tire and talked to the lady as we fixed it but overall the day was way good!!!

Friday wasn't a very busy day but we did a district move. A family was moving from one apartment to the next and they had like no help... So 6 elders showed up and we moved them in a hour haha But ya we didn't have much success with our appointments!

Saturday! General Conference!!! So excited and it was soooo good! I watched the first 2 sessions with the Maughans. I took so many notes haha First time ever!!! I loved it and especially all the missionary work they have talked about. I looked and November 30th there was 55,000 missionaries. December 31st 2012 there was 58,000 missionaries. Now there is 65,000 missionaries... So 7,000 in 4 months haha and 20,000 more will enter the MTC in the upcoming months!! So awesome! Watch out world, the gospel is coming.

Sunday Conference again! I love Elder Holland and Elder Oaks talks they were so good and spoke so simply it was amazing! But Ya a lot happened haha We had a lot of accidents with dogs that day though haha They got to excited and peed on things and only got us once but barely on me haha Mostly on my companion haha It was pretty funny. You just have to laugh about these things.

Overall my cold is pretty much gone. Weather has been good. But its suppose to snow again this week.... High of 32 tomorrow haha But oh well we will keep working!!! I am in week 5 of 12 of training this week. Crazy how fast time is flying by. I am already a month and a half out into my mission. I miss everyone and love you guys for your support you have given me.

Love,

Elder Escudero

Dillon's District

MTC companion

 

Letter 4/1/13  APRIL FOOLS!!

HELLO,

Well today we got off to a late start but there was a reason and the reason was car accident... haha It was a minor clip but it was our fault... Normally when making right turns at a intersection they give you a lane then you have to merge over but this one didn't and we didn't see the car. I was not driving!!!!! I don't get to drive because I am not senior companion so if something bad driving related happens, it wasn't my fault!!!

Besides that this week has been a lot better than last week. We had a specialized training on Tuesday which was really really good. Talked a lot about the atonement! Which has been something I have been studying a lot in the past couple weeks!! Also I have been reading Jesus the Christ which is a huge book but I am determined to read it!! Its soo good so far, I am 100 pages in and its sooo good.

We have been focusing still a lot of lost sheep which is a list of members of the church but they haven't been going for awhile. A lot of our list is people that have moved but we did end up teaching a couple of people that we not members and gave them a Book of Mormon. Pretty awesome!!

On Thursday we had a lesson with this guy frank and we went in the lesson thinking that he would bring up a whole bunch excuses!! Also we thought about dropping him as an investigator because he was not progressing and making up excuses! But when we first went into the lesson he was like you guys are probably going to be mad but I am not ready, give me a couple months and i will give you my answer. Then we starting asking him why? and he started making excuses like I don't want to go with out my wife or doesn't want people smelling smoke on him or God told me not to through scriptures!! So we started getting real with him and asked him where would god want him or his wife not matter if he smelt like smoke or not. He said at church. Then we asked him what is really stopping him then he said himself. So at that point he was like give me a month and i will tell you my answer. So we started asking him why and he told us why and we addressed it. Then we had to leave so we ended with a prayer and then he looked at us and said give me 2 weeks!!! The spirit was so strong in that room it was incredible ! But from getting him from a couple of months to 2 weeks! so awesome. The spirit can work on people in so many ways!!

Friday we went around meeting members and giving the spiritual thoughts and giving service!! Then had a lesson with a family getting them ready for the temple!!! They are way excited and so are we because they are recent converts which means Elder Lemon and I get to go to the temple too!!!

Saturday we had a lesson with a less active and getting her back to church and we talked about the importance of the sacrament! It was such a good lesson and she has stopped smoking and stopped drinking and is coming back to church. She has to kids and he son is 8 and is really getting into cub scouts which is really good!!

Easter!!! Been waiting all week for this day! Woke up and got ready and then Elder Lemon and I were studying until the family we live with called us up and said someone let baskets on our car. (IT WAS THEM) the basket was empty and they were like hey I think they hid eggs all over the yard...So we went on a Easter egg hunt and there was money in it!!!! So awesome. They must of known we were fasting or something like that. We were doing a mission wide fast for thanks of our success in the mission for the month of march because this past month out mission baptised over 50 people and that hasn't happened in 18 months. Super cool! but anyways church was super good!!! Then we went tracting and ran into a couple of people and placed a Book of Mormon. Then had a lesson with a recent convert and she is getting ready for the temple too!!! Then we went to dinner at the Hilliers house. Elder Hillier is the area seventy and is a really awesome guy!!! He showed us a lot of pictures of him and apostles and where they stayed in the house when they came over but after fasting all day dinner couldn't come faster when it did we sat down and it was like a thanksgiving dinner!!! I ate soooo much food haha Members in my ward are so awesome!!!

Well overall good week! The snow is gone, it melts really fast and it is starting to get warmer. Super pumped for this week because hopefully we are committing a few people to baptism and General Conference is this weekend. Tad R. Callister who is the presidency of the quorum of the seventy is speaking in the priesthood session and his son is in our ward so pretty awesome!!! Besides that all is good in Colorado!! Super dry and windy haha Well until next week!

Love you all,

Elder Escudero