Farewell!

Nick and Narashaey were baptized! Terah went to the temple. I couldn't have asked for a better week to end my mission, I was so blessed! This church is true. Miracles happen. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. I have loved my mission more then anything else! I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Temple with Terah!

Baptism of Nick and Narashaey!

Solid Week!

We had such a solid week!!! I loved it. We had a couple new missionary trainings, it was awesome. The Porters took us out to eat this on Friday, that was fun and i also got to play a little football, it was the greatest. But more importantly... Nick and Narashaey are on date to get baptized this weekend!!! I am so excited for them, they are doing so awesome. Especially Nick! He is reading in the Book of Mormon and he is truly wanting a personal relationship with God and its super cool to witness his strong desire and his real intent. His sister Narasheay is 9 years old and she loves church, its so cool to see the family light up when we come over and teach them. We went over last night and had dinner and taught the Plan of Salvation, it was awesome. They are both getting baptized on Saturday and we are also going to the temple with Terah!!! Its going to be her first time. What a way to end my mission, I have been so blessed!!! Its crazy, the Lord has seriously blessed me so much with the opportunity to teach all these amazing people!!! I love them so much and its so cool to see them make covenants with our Heavenly Father. Going to the temple and having 2 baptisms the last Saturday of my mission just makes me so happy. The Lord has truly blessed me. I hope i have time to email next week. I might not because we will be picking up the new missionaries. If not i want you all to know that i do have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, He is the Christ. He stands at the head of this church and at the head of this work. This mission has changed who i am. I love it!!! Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, he in reality saw Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ in the Sacred Grove. The Book of Mormon is the word of God, it is true. 

And thats the truth!

Another amazing week here in Cincinnati. I guess every week is just amazing to be honest. We had zone conference this week which was super fun to see all the missionaries. I also had a chance to visit a recent convert in Kentucky! I saw Edith. We only had 2 days in our own area but we were able to get Nick to church! He is doing super good. We put him tentatively on date for the 16th and we are super excited for him. He is really searching for the truth. We had a good lesson with him and his grandma talking about the Book of Mormon, it was powerful. On Sunday he came to church and enjoyed it! We had dinner with the Porters after church. I love them so much. I am now in Muncie Indiana, where I was first trained! We came to their fun day and it was a blast. I love being out here, this mission has changed my life and its such a blessing everyday to bear my testimony. To tell people how much this gospel really has blessed me and my family. To tell them how much happiness it has brought to my life. And that's the truth of why I am out here. I owe the Lord quite a bit! He has blessed me so much and this is the least I could do for him. So yes anytime you get a chance please share your testimony with others, it will strengthen yours as it has mine. Thank you for all your support and all your prayers!!! Much love from Cincinnati!!

Share your testimony!

Another amazing week here in Cincinnati. I guess every week is just amazing to be honest. We had zone conference this week which was super fun to see all the missionaries. I also had a chance to visit a recent convert in Kentucky! I saw Edith. We only had 2 days in our own area but we were able to get Nick to church! We put him tentatively on date for the 16th and we are super excited for him. He is really searching for the truth. We had a good lesson with him and his grandma talking about the Book of Mormon. On Sunday he came to church and enjoyed it! We had dinner with the Porters after church and that was a ton of fun, they are the best, I love them so much. I am now in Muncie Indiana, where I was first trained! We came to their fun day. I love being out here, this mission has changed my life and its such a blessing everyday to bear my testimony. To tell people how much this gospel really has blessed me and my family. To tell them how much happiness it has brought to my life. And that's the truth of why I am out here. I owe the Lord quite a bit! He has blessed me so much and this is the least I could do for him. So yes anytime you get a chance please share your testimony with others, it will strengthen yours as it has mine. Thank you for all your support and all your prayers!!! Much love from Cincinnati!!

Legends never die!

Things are going great here in Ohio! We had a super awesome week. We had 2 "Legacy Councils" this week and it went really well. We talked about the legacy we would leave as a mission. It fits perfectly with my favorite quote of all time! "Heroes get remembered, but LEGENDS never die." So we as the OCM are living and leaving a legacy. After that I went on an exchange in Indiana, it was a ton of fun! Then last night we played scripture bingo with a new family we are teaching, it was so much fun and we are excited to see them progress, its actually Nick's family. Nick came to church and he is doing well and he will get baptized in May. We have meetings all week this week and we will be traveling a ton. I am excited to see all the missionaries! Life is good and I am doing really well! May is shaping up to be a really good month and the weather is warming up and its been so much fun!!! Thanks for all your prayers and your support!

"Never worry about the numbers.  Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you."

Chicken, football, family History!

Another crazy week in Cincinnati! I am having so much fun. We picked up the new missionaries on Monday and Tuesday was transfers and it was super fun. I am staying in Western Hills with the same companions, they are the best and we are doing awesome. We are teaching Rashad and Tim. They are doing great. Tim came to church and will be getting baptized shortly. I also went on exchanges this week to Hamilton Ohio. We walked all day long because the cars were grounded! I got a pretty sweet sunburn, we found a ton of new people to teach. Then we went to the Briggs later that night. They are doing great and we are going to start doing family history with them so they can feel the spirit of Elijah and have the desire to attend the temple.  We had dinner with them and played with their chickens, they live out in the country and we let the chickens out and were having a fun time with the kids. This week we found a sweet part member family that we are going to start teaching. Nick is his name he is 15 and he invited us to play some football. We went over to his place and played a game of street football in the middle of the hood! it was the best time ever, I loved it! Things in Western Hills are going amazing. We have a bunch of meetings these next couple weeks and we will be super busy as always. Life is good though and I am as happy as ever.

Powerful moment!

Life is going good here in Ohio!!! We have seen so many miracles. We have been traveling and training all week this week. Its been so much fun being with all the missionaries. Then on Wednesday we went over to Rashad's a new investigator we found about a week ago. His whole family was home even extended family for his uncles funeral. There were around 20 of them there just mourning over his death. It was super sad. We went in and talked to them and then we sang Families Can Be Together Forever! It was so powerful, I love to sing. We didnt sing that well but the spirit was there and it was a powerful moment!!  Then the mother of the family prayed and she gave a super heartfelt prayer they weren't able to come to conference but they will come to church next week!  Thanks for all your prayers and all your support.

Life is good!

This week has been awesome!!! Sorry for the late email. The servers were down yesterday. I was not able to email. We have been traveling like crazy and we have been training like crazy.  We had an excellent month in March and we were able to see a ton of miracles! On Sunday when we were preparing people to come to church we ran into a homie outside that actually came out and talked to us! He told us one of his best friends died and that he used to meet with Mormon missionaries and he wants to meet with us again! He is super awesome and we are excited to see him progress. We went to a Spanish baptism on Saturday with my Spanish companion, it was fun! My Spanish is coming a long great! Life is good here in OHIO! 

"Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities.  Seize common occasions and make them great."

Staying Busy!

This week was so awesome!!! We saw so many miracles and we have been staying busy as ever!  We found a bunch of new investigators this week and we are building up our teaching pool! We had a miracle this week! We have been working with a lady named Shirley and we haven't seen her all week because we have been out of town.  We stopped by on Sunday before church and invited her to come and she was so happy to see us and she came to church and loved it! We also saw the Briggs and they are doing awesome! I also found out the other day that one of my recent converts in Montgomery is getting endowed and sealed on the 11th!! I get to go and I am super excited. I am also excited for General Conference, its the best and its just around the corner. Life is good in Cincinnati and the weather is warming up!  I loving serving the Lord!! Thanks for all your prayers and all your support!!!

Mission call!

What am amazing week! It flew by so fast I can hardly remember what happened haha. We traveled a bunch, saw a lot of new missionaries and had a good time. We also had the opportunity to go to the temple this week with our zone, it was so much fun. I love going to the temple and I was able to receive a lot of answers! We also met with Terah and she is doing super awesome and she is going to the temple to do baptisms for the dead at the beginning of April! We were able to see a couple families this week and we are building up our teaching pool. The weather is warming up and its been such a blessing! We saw a less active yesterday named Alonzo! He is the best, he weighs like 300 pounds! Also me and my two companions all got a sweet haircut from Cuba! We all look the same, its super funny. So yeah life is good and I am doing awesome! Thanks for all your prayers and all your support!

PS. Congrats Heber on your mission call to Texas!!! You will do amazing and you will love it!!

Stayed busy!

This week was AMAZING!!! I got 2 new companions on Tuesday, Elder Prach and Elder Beckman! They are so amazing, we are going to have so much fun! We stayed busy all week and we had a marriage and baptism on Saturday! Terah got baptized!!! It was the coolest thing ever!  We are traveling quite a bit this coming week! Life is good and I am happy to be in Cincinnati. Love you all, thanks for all your prayers and all your support.

Terra's baptism!

Elder Prach& Elder Beckman
"Tri Tip"

Snow!

Miracles are happening everywhere! We have seen so many, its awesome. This week was crazy! We had so much snow! It snowed like 7 inches. We were sliding everywhere. We were actually teaching the Briggs the other day and we were waiting for the dad to get home and we went sledding with the kids for like 15 minutes it was so much fun. Then we had a solid lesson with the Briggs, I love that family. We went on a couple exchanges and we are still working with Terrah, she is getting baptized on March 7th, we are stoked!  We had a great lesson with her and at the end we gave her a blessing and the spirit was strong, it was a powerful moment. We are still working with Christina and a kid named Tony. He is awesome! Tony is 21 and his mother is a member! Life is so good and I am so happy! You probably won't hear from me next week, we have transfers so I'll get a new companion soon! I am sending another one home, its crazy! That's 4 missionaries I have sent home! ha ha I hope all is well. I love you, thanks for all the prayers and all the support!

"In the long run, people hit only what they are aiming at. Therefore... they had better aim for something high. 

                                       Henry David Thoreau

Because of the Gospel!

This week we went on a couple really awesome exchanges! We found some new people to teach and we found a couple less actives the other day that are not on the church records that we are going to be bringing back to church. Alonzo and Cameron. Alonzo wears size 18 shoes, he is big! He is so awesome though, I love him. Terrah is planning on getting married and baptized on March 7th! We are super excited for her. We are also working with a lady named Christina and her kids. They are solid and we are excited to see them progress. Its amazing to see people change because of the gospel! Its been such a blessing. Not only does the gospel change the lives of our investigators, it changes our own lives in the process. I have seen it time and time again! I love Cincinnati and life is good! Thanks for all your prayers and all your support!!

"I have found that the questions of life are far more important than the answers.  We can be satisfied with different answers at different points in our life.  But it is the questions which keep us searching and growing."               R. Dale Jeffery

Temple Trip!

What an amazing week! We have been super busy and have not stopped. We got done with zone conference this week. These past couple weeks have been the craziest weeks on my mission but we were able to accomplish everything we needed to, it was a miracle. Then on Saturday we had the blessing of going to the Louisville temple with our recent convert Heather, it was awesome! It was a mission recent convert temple trip. I was able to see a lot of missionaries and recent converts from my past areas, it was the coolest. President Porter was baptizing all the recent converts and Heather was able to get baptized for her mother, it was the coolest thing ever! Elder Carter and I were able to do confirmations.  Sunday we had a great day at church and then we went out and found a lot of new people to teach. We found a new family to teach and I cant wait to see them progress! Terrah is doing good, we fasted for her on Sunday and she is working on quitting smoking! We have another lesson with her tonight, I am excited! Life is good here in Cincinnati, I am loving it! Its a blessing to be a representative of Jesus Christ at this time. I am learning and growing so much everyday.

Louisville Temple!

Powerful!

What an amazing week here in the Great Ohio! I am loving it and things are going great. We have had zone conference all week long and we are finishing them up this week. We are super excited! They have been going well and they have been powerful! It has been a blessing being with all the missionaries. We also had Stake Conference this week! That went super well. We taught Terrah right before the Sunday afternoon session and we had a great lesson with her. We also were able to find a couple families to teach. Its been a crazy busy week but I have definitely seen the Lord's hand in His work and it is such a blessing to be here at this time. We will be going to the temple this week with some recent converts Heather and Randall. That should be a super awesome experience. President Porter gives a talk to all the recent converts before they do baptisms for the dead, I am sure it is going to be powerful and I can't wait. I also had the opportunity to see some members from the West Chester ward the other day (my second area). I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, it has changed my life and it has changed many others that I have been working with. I love you all thanks for all the prayers and support.

JoJo Baptism!

Tony a recent convert in Montgomery!

Privilege!

This week has been crazy! We had transfers on Tuesday! I got a new companion! Elder Carter! He is from Morgan Utah and he is the coolest. After transfers we had two specialized trainings which was a lot of fun. We are still teaching Terrah and we had a super good lesson with her at the church, it was awesome and the spirit was strong. Craig and Mariah are doing great and we are going to go to the temple with them soon. Same thing with Randall and Heather! Raegan is getting baptized tonight! JoJo an 8 year old that I taught in West Chester about a year ago got baptized last week, she asked me to baptize her and that was a privelage! We are seeing the hand of the Lord in our work everyday and it is such a blessing. We have zone conference all week this week and we are preparing for the greatest 6 months in the history of Cincinnati! We are setting a baptism goal till June and we are letting all the missionaries know tomorrow what it is! I love you, thanks for all the help and support. This week is going to be the greatest!

"This life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors."
                                                                                    Alma 34:32

Teaching and Testifying!

This week was amazing!!! It started off Monday with a super powerful baptism of Craig and Marriah! They are the coolest family ever, I love them to death. Their daughter Raegan will be getting baptized this Saturday! I was also asked by a 8 year old if i could baptize her this Saturday, she is the coolest and we are really good friends, I am excited. This week will just be a blast. The Lord has really been blessing us and I have been seeing His hand in His work now more then ever! It has been raining quite a bit here in Cincinnati and we are getting what they call freezing rain... it touches the ground and turns to ice, its pretty crazy! This past week we went around with President and did role plays with all the missionaries. We are finishing the rest of the mission this week. We will be in Fort Wayne and Muncie this week! Both my companions go home next week and I'll be getting a new companion which I am excited for. Time has been flying by. We are super busy and we are having the time of our lives. Life is good! We taught a lady yesterday... she has very little but she is happy with what she has. It was so awesome to be with her. She has no furniture and so we all sat on the kids little chairs. I was just thinking about it yesterday. I am teaching a lady in Cincinnati about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and asked her as a representative of Jesus Christ to change her life, so that she can be happier. I am with a member of the church that I have met maybe once before and we are teaching and testifying. What is better then that! I just love it, it really hit me how awesome this really is... to be serving the Lord and doing His work at this time in Ohio. Church is true, read your scriptures, say your prayers, you will be blessed! Thanks for all you do!

I have changed!

Life is good here in CINCY!! We had a week full of miracles. We have been teaching Craig and Marriah. A totally awesome solid family. They have been investigating the church for about 4 years now. The second day I came to this area we went over and had a sweet lesson. It had been a couple months since the missionaries had stopped by because of conflicting schedules and things like that, anyways, we stopped by had a great lesson and invited him to be baptized, in December. We went over a couple more times and he told us he wants to be baptized on January 18th and his wife will do the same. SO that was the plan. We have been having really good lessons with them and one day we got a text from him informing us that he wants to be baptized on the 5th of January at 6:30!!!!! Thats TODAY!!! We have a baptism today and we are super excited. Their family is so awesome and I cannot wait to see them enter into the waters of baptism. After 4 years of the Lord preparing them, they are now making that life changing decision to be baptized! What a blessing! I am so blessed to be here at this time with the people that I am with. I know that God has put me here to effect lives through the teaching of the Gospel and also so others can bless my life and in the process change who I am. I have been doing a lot of reflecting this past week and it was such a blessing to look back on the year. I have seen the hand of the Lord in His work and I have changed because of Him. That is what the gospel is all about, its about change. It has not happened in an instant or in a day but I have changed as a person all around and its because of the Lord Jesus Christ. A recent convert in our ward had a very powerful testimony yesterday in which he said... you want proof. I have lived it, i have felt it. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen. That is the truth. I know that these things are true because of I have lived it, I have seen the blessings. I have felt it and I know its true. I love sharing it with others! I would advise you to do the same, you will be happier. Love you all, thanks for all your prayers and support.

Ping Pong!

This week was amazing! Christmas eve we spent with our Bishop and then Christmas Day we visited a lot of families and we had a ton of fun. It was so good to talk to my family, I miss and love you! Saturday was one of the best days ever. It started off in the morning. We were invited to the classic Ohio Cincinnati Mission Ping Pong tournament in the morning, single elimination match. We played at the Porters and my first match up was against Westly Porter. Took him down. The next match up was against Nathan Porter. The first game I slid by beating him only by 2 points. The second game I took control and beat him. The next match was the championship game and I was playing against the defending champion Kevin (recent convert in the Western Hills Ward). And he was super good... he beat me... but it was still fun. I took second place and had a great time. So it was good to get back on the tables, it has been a while. The rest of the day was even better though. Sembiana and Mechel got baptized!!!! It was awesome and it was so good to see those kids enter into a covenant with our Heavenly Father. The baptism was awesome and the next day the confirmation went great. At sacrament meeting our recent convert Heather gave the opening prayer. She was super nervous but she did a great job, she has only been a member for 2 weeks and she is doing so awesome. It amazing how the Lord is preparing people and it is amazing how the Lord is blessing us. We are working with the Briggs family now and they are doing well and should be baptized soon! Miracles are happening every single day and it is such a blessing to be a part of this work at this time. Thanks again for all your prayers and all your support!!!