Week 92 – Happy Father’s Day!

Our District

June 20, 2016

Buenas tardes a todos!!

Aqui estoy en Reno muy feliz con todo. Y feliz dia de los padres por todos que son padres!!! Happy Fathers Day to all of the Fathers out there!! You guys are my heroes, really!

Today I want to give a special shout-out to my own father, who truly is a great role model for me in every sense of the word. I am so grateful for him and all that he has done for me. He has been a teacher, a mentor, a counselor, and a friend to me. I look up to him more than anybody else that I know, and that is because of his great example.  I have always been proud to claim my dad as my father. I remember on one occasion in high school, I was with some friends and their parents, and one of the parents referred to my dad as a "a spiritual stalwart." I can echo the words of Elder Christofferson when he said in his most recent talk, "My young boy heart swelled with pride in my father. It gave me confidence and a desire to follow in his footsteps. He was not perfect—no one is—but he was upright and good and an aspirational example for a son." I love you, Dad.

In other news, this week has been a lot of fun. We had transfers, but like I mentioned last week, Elder Torres and I will be remaining together here in Downtown Reno. I am looking forward to this next transfer.

Our investigators are doing well. BOTH of the Luciano parents came to church this week for the first time with their daughter, and it was awesome! They seemed to enjoy it and are slowly warming up to the church. They both have openly admitted that they want to be baptized, but there are a few things that need to happen before they are baptized, including getting married! So we will continue to work with them.

Francisco also came to church yesterday and loved it. A member in the branch has lined him up with a new job at the place where he works, but if he gets the job then that will mean that he will have to work on Sundays for a while until the other shift frees up. So it is more of a long-term investment for Francisco. We hope that it works out good for him in the long run, because right now he is progressing well, we are just waiting for his fiancé. 

Two of our investigators are on the "Wall of Fathers"
for Father's Day!

One miracle that happened this week was on Saturday morning. We had a branch Fathers Day activity put on by the Relief Society, and we invited a handful of people, trying to get some of our investigators to come, but it seemed like nobody was going to come. Friday evening we had run into this family named the Hernandez Family, (they have 6 kids also!! the only difference is that they are all living in a two-bedroom apartment...!) and we really had never taught them before. We had one short lesson in the parking lot for 30 minutes one day, but they didn't seem too terribly interested. However, we ran into them on Friday, so we stopped and talked with them like we do with everyone. We invited them to the activity, and they gave us a hesitant yes. We didn't think much of it, but then Saturday morning we felt prompted to stop by their house on the way to the activity, so we did. They had just started cooking breakfast for themselves when we showed up, but when we asked if they were going to come to the activity they said, 'Sure!" The father was kinda hesitant, but the mom was like, "No, lets go, we will just turn off the stove and finish when we get home!" So the parents and 4 of the kids jumped in their van and followed us to the activity. They had a fun time getting to know a few of the members and we had a delicious lunch. The kids literally ran wild during the activity haha. After everyone ate, the relief society put on a little program talking about the importance of fathers, and it turns out that it was exactly what Bro. Hernandez needed. Apparently they had been going through some struggles, and coming to the party and hearing the message was perfect for him. After the program, we gave them a tour of our church building and they loved it. They committed to come to church the next day and everything, but of course the next day the wife woke up sick and so they didn't end up coming. But nevertheless, we were able to build a good relationship with this family and now they invited us back to them home to teach more. We are pumped about them. 

I love being a missionary, because I KNOW that this gospel can help anyone and everyone. I am gaining a testimony day by day out here, and the stronger my testimony grows, the stronger my desire grows to share it. I know that the Book of Mormon is the truest book on the face of this earth. It helps us grow closer to God because it teaches us about the nature and atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is also "Satan's playbook" and we can learn from this book how the adversary has attacked people in the past, so that we can avoid those same deceiving ways. I am so grateful for the knowledge that we have of the Book of Mormon. I know that it is true. It can and will bless anyone who is willing to crack it open and read it with an open heart.

As it says in the last chapter of the book, we can know if it is true by reading it and then praying about it, to ask God himself if it is true. Moroni 10:3-5 "I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things...hat ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

I have done exactly as this prophet asked us to do, and I have received an answer. I know that the Book of Mormon is true by the power of God. And because the book is true, so is everything else.

I love you guys! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Todd