Newport Kentucky!

This week was awesome! Its been super hot and humid and I love it. I went on an exchange on Friday, I went to Newport Kentucky... it was so fun! Newport is right on the Ohio River and there are so many people there! We went on the river side and there is a sweet food place that we stopped at and got a grilled cheese donut it was delicious. We walked everywhere that day and met some awesome people! In our area things are looking great, we are still working with Orra and her family and we have been finding a lot of people to teach. Another super exciting thing that's happening... our church building is under construction so we will now be meeting in a Presbyterian church! Starting this Sunday, its going to be interesting inviting people to church and explaining but it will be cool. My comp got bit by a dog yesterday that was no good, it was a pit bull too! but he is good. Life in Kentucky is awesome, I love serving here. I have really learned to enjoy the simple things in life on my mission. Count your blessings and be happy, that is why we came to earth... to find joy and to prepare to meet God. Thanks for all that you do, thanks for the prayers and the support. Much love!

"Kindness  means doing a lot of little things kindly and always, not just a big thing now and then."

Privilege to teach!

We just got transfer calls and I am staying another 6 weeks in the Promised Land! I love it and I am so excited! This week was awesome. Zach and Valerie got baptized, it was such a blessing and a privilege to teach them, they were prepared by the Lord! It has been hot and humid here in Kentucky but I am enjoying it! We are working hard and we are seeing the hand of the Lord in our lives everyday. We had a cool experience the other day... we were visiting Marcus and he had a friend over at his house. We told his friend what we do as missionaries and told him a brief explanation about what we believe... then Marcus bore a strong testimony about how the church and how Book of Mormon has blessed his life. His friend wanted to learn more and so we taught him and he came to church. Marcus is awesome, he is always so excited to bear his new testimony. He is reading the Book of Mormon with his friend and things are going good. We also have been teaching Orra and her family. They came to church this Sunday and are doing really well! I am loving the work here in Kentucky, its the greatest. I love being an instrument in the Lord's hand. Thanks for all the prayers and all the support you have given me!

The spirit is a real thing!

This week was awesome. It went by super quick, we have been super busy and have had so much fun. Marcus got baptized this Saturday and it was super awesome.  We had one of the priests baptize him and he loved it. His name is Richie and he is a convert of 3 years, he is so solid. The baptism was one of the most spiritual ones I have been to. He got confirmed a member of the church right after because we had stake conference the next day. The confirmation was powerful. We had a couple investigators attend the baptism and afterwards they were telling us how amazing they felt and how they now have the desire to be baptized, it was awesome. The spirit is a real thing, they Holy Ghost testifies of truth! It was awesome, Marcus is doing great and he is so happy. Valerie and Zach are doing super well but we found out the other day that they live right outside our ward boundaries! We have been teaching her and they both have been doing so amazing. She was a referral from one of the members and we just passed her off to the missionaries in the other ward. They are getting baptized this Saturday which is awesome and we are super excited! I have seen the Lord's hand in His work and we have been so blessed lately. I know that Jesus Christ is at the head of this Church and that he is at the head of this work. I am doing so good and I am so happy. The Lord has truly been blessing us and we have seen his grace on a daily basis.

Eating dinner overlooking Cincinnati

James Smith and the crew!

Marcus

Me and my boy from Guatemala

Spiritual experiences!

This week was awesome! It went by so fast. Last p day we went to a little town called Rabbit Hash.... it is tiny and 23 people live there. The mayor is a dog! That was super fun, today we are going on a hike. So this past week we had leadership council and then zone meeting. They both went very well and I felt the spirit strongly in both of those meetings. We are still teaching Marcus and he is getting baptized this Saturday. He is such a funny guy and he is loving the gospel. He has actually already finished the Book of Mormon which is super exciting, we have only been teaching him for a little less then a month. We are also still working with Valerie and her son Zach, they are both doing great! It has been such a blessing to teach them and have spiritual experiences with them. The Lord has really blessed us. The work is going great and I love Kentucky! Thanks for all your prayers and all your support!

Serving the Lord!

This week was awesome! Some crazy things have happened but its been super fun! We have found a lot of new people to teach. One dude we found let us come back the next day and teach his sister-in-law... it went very well at the beginning but then we brought out a pamphlet with Jesus on it and she got super mad because Jesus "was not white" haha. We told her the more important thing is what Jesus did for us. She didn't really listen but our investigator did, so that was cool. We also had the opportunity to give an investigator a church tour on Saturday! It was awesome and very spiritual. She has two kids and they loved it as well. After the church tour we taught the Restoration. I bore my testimony that I know that the church that Jesus Christ originally set up is now back on the earth today with the same blessings and gifts that were once on the earth. Then the little 9 year old boy cut me off and said... and we are sitting in that church right now. It was a super powerful experience and the spirit was so strong. They came to church the next day and enjoyed it! I love serving here in Kentucky, it is the best! I love serving the Lord and I am excited for another week!

"Walk with the Lord, and you'll always be going in the right direction."