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| Look who arrived in the Reno Mission!!! My homie from Tuscarora High School...Elder Noah Anderson |
August 1, 2016
Hey everyone!
It sounds like across the country it was pretty hot last week,
and it was no different here in Reno. But honestly we have kind of gotten used
to it, we just throw on the sunscreen and take tons of water and hope for the
best!
But as I always say, it seems the heat is proportional to the
miracles! There has been no shortage of good things happening this week.
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| The Three Spanish-Speaking Musketeers!! Elder Gonzalez, Elder Torres and me |
So Elder Torres and I are now in a trio with Elder Gonzalez! He
is fresh from the MTC and he comes from Dallas, Texas. His parents are from
Mexico, and he has lots of family from Mexico, and so he considers himself
Mexican. My two native companions and I have been ballin' out here in the Holy
Deserts, and being in a trio is a total blast...until we all have to use the
bathroom at once. But other than that it is really a lot of fun.
It has been fun to take Elder Gonzalez to all of our
investigators and have them get to know each other. There is something so fun
about seeing other people get excited about the gospel for the first time, and
Elder Gonzalez has loved seeing our investigators make and keep commitments and
progress!!
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| With Hermana Puentes - a HILARIOUS member of the ward |
The Coto family is doing well. We taught them a few times this
past week and the daughters and the mother are still 100% on board for the 13th
of August for baptism. The 15-year old shared with us her testimony about how
she came to know that the church was true and it was really powerful. I love
hearing converts talk about what they felt because that is really
how one gains a testimony. She told us that she just felt so good at church and
she wanted to have that feeling more and then when she went to girls’ camp she
felt the spirit even more. She came back from girls’ camp a convert to the church.
The whole family read a chapter of the Book of Mormon together this past week –
which we were super pumped to hear. Having served for almost 2 years as a
missionary, it is not very often that a family of investigators sits down and
reads a chapter of the Book of Mormon together. We were ecstatic. The father is
still moving forward for baptism and he still wants to do it with his family,
but he has yet to receive a spiritual confirmation. He asks us tons of
questions and 90% of them have to do with after baptism or the actual
ordinance. Please keep them in your prayers…I know that Satan is working hard
on them so that things fall apart before the 13th.
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| My boy HALIM (President Castiblanco's son) |
Another miracle: Do you guys remember Jesus (pronounced “Hey-sus”)
from a few weeks ago? He came to church and Presidente Castiblanco got up and
spoke to him personally from the pulpit. He went incognito for a week and a
half and we didn't hear much from him, but then yesterday morning he walked
into church!! We were thrilled and we found out that he had been sent to Elko
to work for the week, but was back and wanted to meet with us again. That was a
fun surprise for us.
My boy Francisco is doing well. He is a total homie now. He
stills works Sundays with the new job he got with Hermano Scott, but we have a
lot of fun teaching him, and a few weeks ago he asked if we knew a mechanic who
could come help him with his car. He has a car in the garage that doesn't work
and he wanted to fix it and sell it. We asked in Elders Quorum if anyone could
come help us, and Hermano Coto volunteered, so we had an investigator come and
help an investigator this past week and we got to sit there and watch the
fellowship happen! That was a neat experience.
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| Going to lunch with Elder Han and his family at the end of his mission! |
So, in 1 Nephi 2:16 he says, "And it came to pass that
I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and
also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry
unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did
believe all the words which had been spoken by my father."
Nephi received his answer from God. Once he received it, he was
willing to act on it and so he didn't fight his father like his older brothers
did. We all can do the same. Sometimes Heavenly Father asks us to do really
hard things that at first glance don't make any sense. But when we pray and
receive an answer from God through the Holy Ghost, then it makes perfect sense,
and we are willing to do whatever it takes to follow that answer, even leave
everything behind and go walk in the desert.
I love this Gospel. I know it is true. It brings families closer
together and makes individuals stronger. I love to share it with others.
Have a great week. I love you all!!
Love,
Elder Todd
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| Saying goodbye to Elder Han!! |
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| Saying hello to Elder Anderson!! |
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