Week 93 – Milagros de los cielos!! (Miracles from Heaven!)

Elder Naegle and I went on exchanges
this week and started the day with a hike

June 27, 2016

Hola from Reno!

Well the heat is here in full force, but so are the miracles, so we can't complain!! This week has been a ton of fun.

We have certainly been blessed this week. It seems like as of lately it has been hard to find new investigators for us, but this past week we had 4!!  Heavenly Father has certainly placed people in our path…we have been praying like crazy to find new people to teach, and our prayers have been answered!

One of them was a super cool miracle:

About a month ago, we were driving down the street, and we had to slow down to find a parking spot.  I happened to have my window down (because I am still part dog – haha!), and when we slowed down, I looked to the left and I noticed this Hispanic guy who was looking at us curiously. I thought that I recognized him because I called out to him and he ran over, and when I asked how he had been he said, "I've never talked with you guys before!" But then he asked, "Are you Mormons?"  And of course we said, "Yes!"  We found out his name was Mario – and then he told us that he had met with missionaries before in Mexico and they were helping his family, but then for some reason they stopped meeting.  So he asked us to come over – and of course we got his info while we were sitting there in the car, and set up a return appointment.

This happened about a month ago, but since that occasion in the car, he went incognito!  We couldn't find him again. We talked a few times over the phone, but nothing ever came of it. We had kinda given up hope with him, but then on Friday, Mario texted us and asked to meet up with him! So we set up an appointment, and went over on Saturday and had a really great lesson together. He is super humble now in his life and he knew that he needed to turn to God, so he called the missionaries. We are excited to keep working with him. He committed to give us some of his time, and in return that he can find that true happiness that he is looking for.

Beautiful Washoe Valley

I got to spend a day in Washoe Valley this week on exchanges, with Elder Naegle. He is a good Elder and we had a fun day together. Their area is at the southern tip of Reno, between Reno and Carson City, and in the middle of the valley is a big lake. The area is really spread out as far as missionary work goes, a lot different than downtown Reno, but we had a good day together. For our morning exercise we went on a hike and it was beautiful! Parts of the hike reminded me of the Cabin.

So yesterday Mileishka showed up to church with her Mom, but her Dad didn't come! We asked them where he was, and they told us that he had been missing since Friday night...he just never came home from work. This had happened once before, but he went missing because he was fighting with his wife, and wanted to leave and made it very clear that he was leaving. But this time, they had no clue where he went. Obviously, the whole family was freaking out and they had no idea what to do. Sister Luciano wasn't going to come to Church on Sunday because she was so worried about him.  But she woke up and felt the strong impression to go to church, so she came with her daughter. She came to church and immediately went and talked with the branch president about the situation.  They were confused and baffled as well, but then one of the members had an impression to call all the hospitals in the area and ask if he was in one of them. So they called around, and sure enough he was in one of the hospitals. They went directly to the hospital from church and found him. We went over a few hours after church to see them and they were happy to have found him. Even Brother Luciano has no idea what happened...all he remembers is walking home from work on Friday, and then waking up in the hospital Saturday morning. It was reported that he was found on the side of the road passed out, and someone called an ambulance. He doesn't remember any of it, and the doctors still don't know what happened. 

As crazy as this story is, it was proof to me that the faith of the Luciano Family is increasing. They were in need, and where did they go to get help? Church. Sister Luciano exercised her faith by coming to church instead of staying at home. Who did they turn to when they didn't know what to do? The Lord's servants. (The branch president and other church members). And what happened when they exercised their faith? They were able to find their Dad! As weird and as crazy as all this is, it was neat to see them turn to the Lord. A month ago I don't think they would've come to church if the same thing happened. I know that Heavenly Father blessed them as a result of exercising their faith, and we all know that faith is like a muscle…it gets stronger when we exercise it. 

Two other exciting bits of news with the Luciano Family: Mileishka brought one of her friends to church yesterday! He is an 18-year old kid, but he came and loved it! And we are going to start teaching him later this week. Also, she got a calling! She was called as the branch librarian. It might be a simple calling, but it is perfect for her to have a little responsibility. Her mom was super excited for her, too. 

It has been really neat for me to see the Luciano Family increase their faith. They are slowly, but surely, learning to rely on the Lord. And what happens when you rely on the Lord? You are blessed:

"O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh."

No where ever in the scriptures does it say that when we rely on the Lord life will be easy, or pains will go away, or we will never have a hard day ever again.  We are promised that he will help us through the hard times. BUT, we have to do our part. We have to exercise our faith, and it is not until after we exercise our faith, that we are blessed with that "witness" or that "help" or that "confirmation".

In the book of Ether we learn that we should, "dispute not because we see not" and that "ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."

So we must first exercise our faith by doing the things we know we are supposed to do, read the scriptures, pray, go to church, keep the commandments, etc, and then afterwards, we will be blessed with whatever it is that we need. This principle is so true I can't put it into words, and truly there is no greater joy that I have ever experienced, than seeing other people's faith increased. It is even better than driving a ski boat across a glass lake. 

The church is true, folks. There are "milagros de los cielos" (miracles from heaven) all around us everyday. I know it.

Have a great week! I love you!

Elder Todd

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

Week 91 – One More Transfer in Reno!

With three of my closest friends in the mission...
Elder Krey, Elder Ash, and Elder Nieves

June 13, 2016

Well transfer calls came last night, and I get to stay here in the Sierra Branch for at least one more transfer. I also get to stay with Elder Torres. We are pumped! We are going to see tons of miracles, speak lots of Spanish, and eat a bunch of tacos. I can't ask for a better way to end the mission.

This week the weather chilled out a little bit...literally. The past 4 days have been perfect, 70s and sunny. Elder Torres and I have seen TONS of miracles this past week in finding new people to teach. We had a dry spell for two weeks without really finding many new investigators, but this past week we found 7! Which is exactly what we needed. 

The Luciano family is doing OK. We didn't teach them as much as we usually do in a week (we usually teach them 2 or 3 times, while this week we only taught them once.)  However, one of the biggest miracles of the week came yesterday, when Sister Luciano surprised us and walked around the corner into the CHAPEL!  She finally came to church!!  On Sunday morning, we talked to Mileishka and she told us that only she would be attending church from her family. We were kinda bummed, but at that point it was too late to try and get the parents and brother to come. So we were just standing at the doorway of the chapel greeting the members as they came in, and then she walked in!  After I picked up my jaw from off of the floor, we greeted her with BIG ole smiles and she was happy to be there, too.

The six of us serving in the Sierra Branch

After Sacrament meeting, a few of the young women's leaders came up to her and told her about what girls camp is, and she gave Mileishka permission to go with the stake this summer!! That was a huge miracle also because up until yesterday she didn't want her to go, but once she heard more about it from the leaders, she felt comfortable enough to say yes. She herself might even come for a day or two.

Francisco is still good old Francisco. It might be another month or so before he is baptized because his fiancé is going to be in Fiji for a while longer. But he is ready and excited. He loves the idea of the temple and he loves talking about it. It is truly exciting to see someone get so excited about the gospel. There is no doubt that before my mission I took the gospel for granted, and it is a great reminder to me when I see people get so excited about it that it really is a huge blessing.

In other news, Elder Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came to town this weekend, and the Sparks stake was split into two new stakes.  They also created a few new wards. So the Prater ward now no longer exists, because it was divided into three different wards. I wasn't there for any of the meetings, I just heard about it all. It is cool to see the Church grow, but at the same time it is sad, because the Prater ward is gone!  But it is more cool than sad because I know that this is a huge step for the church in this town.  There are now 5 stakes here in Washoe County!

Elder Torres and I at the Reno temple

This week I had the chance to attend the temple twice…once for a session with the whole Reno Zone, and another time we went with Mileishka around the temple grounds. Both times were lots of fun, and both times the Spirit was so strong – both inside and outside the temple.

I am so grateful that we have a temple close here in Reno, and I am also grateful to have a temple not too far from home in Virginia. One of the missionaries in the branch that serves here with us, Hermana Martinez, is from Puerto Rico, and they don't have a temple in Puerto Rico! Just being on the temple grounds you can feel of the power. I know that there is truly no place holier on this earth than in the temples of God.

I was reading this week in Doctrine and Covenants 127, which talks about temples and I really liked verse 4. "And again, verily thus saith the Lord: Let the work of my temple, and all the works which I have appointed unto you, be continued on and not cease; and let your diligence, and your perseverance, and patience, and your works be redoubled, and you shall in nowise lose your reward, saith the Lord of Hosts. And if they persecute you, so persecuted they the prophets and righteous men that were before you. For all this there is a reward in heaven." (you can also replace the word "temple" at the beginning with the word "missionary work" and it is still a great scripture!)

Even though we are not asked to go and build a temple like the early saints were, we still need to go and perform temple work in those temples that have already been built. Having temples here on earth is such a great blessing, but they don't do a lot of good if we don't use them! When President Hermansen left last summer, he gave us some advice. One of his words of advice was to regularly attend the temple. This is wise advice.

There is great power that I have felt as I have attended the temple, and I know that the same power can come to all who attend. I know that this church is the only church that has the priesthood authority to seal things on earth and in heaven. This is the same power that Christ gave to Peter (Matthew 16:19), and that Peter gave to Joseph Smith. I know that being married in a temple is the only place on earth that ensures us that we can live with our families forever. 

I love you guys!

Love,

Elder Todd

Week 90 – The Heat is Here…for Reals Now

The Elders in my district

 June 6, 2016

Well when I said that the heat was here last week...it REALLY got here this week...it was HOT this past week, like high 90s and even 100s on Saturday. The heat is a good conversation starter however – we can all agree on how much we don't like it.

Exchanges with Elder Handley

But aside from the heat, things are doing well!  This past week we had lots of appointments fall through – which is never fun, but that’s what missionary work is all about! We had a few great lessons this week with the Luciano family, and it looks like we are going to be planning a wedding!! I never thought that I would plan a wedding on my mission, but here goes nothing! We found out a few weeks ago that the Lucianos weren't married, even though they have been together for 7+ years.  We had a great lesson on Friday night with the family, and we took a super solid member with us. We put our bold pants on – haha! and told them that they need to get married, and that they are living in sin when they aren't married. We focused the lesson on the atonement of Jesus Christ and how much he loves us, and that is why he gives us commandments such as the law of chastity. It was really a great lesson, and it was cool to see the spirit work on them. They committed to get married, and so now we are going to move forward with those plans. They were pretty excited when they found out that the branch can basically do the wedding for them, so now we just need to sit down with them and the Branch President and choose a date and time and everything. So the Luciano family is progressing, slowly but surely.

One of the young men in the branch.
His hair is the coolest thing ever...
this is what I wanted back in the day!

Francisco is doing well, also. He made it to church again yesterday, and enjoyed it like usual. This week we taught him about temples and he was ecstatic about it! He literally started clapping his hands when we taught him about eternal marriage. I've really been looking forward to teaching him about temples because I knew that he likes church and everything, but he also loves his fiancée a lot, and so what better way to put the two together than a temple marriage!  He said that his fiancée had mentioned temples to him before, but he didn't know what they were so he just ignored it. (It is actually really funny because his fiancée doesn't speak much Spanish at all, and he doesn't speak much English, so we don't know how they communicate…but they love each other and I guess that's all that matters!)  Francisco is ready to be baptized; he is just waiting for Emily to come back from her trip to Fiji. She is on business over there and was supposed to be back by now, but the project is taking twice as long and she has also been sick, so she hasn't been able to work. So it might be a few more weeks before Francisco is able to get baptized. 

A BEAUTIFUL ski boat we found...
we went up and knocked on the guy's door
and although he likes his boat,
he didn't like the gospel - haha!

Our lesson in Elders Quorum yesterday was about conversion and what true conversion really means. It was a great discussion and I am grateful for the things that were discussed. A story was shared about how a man went to church every week and was "active" in the church, but still wasn't converted. This conversation led me to ponder this topic, and I think that the difference is in the heart. Every one of us can go through the motions and attend church each week, but until we let it get into hearts, we will never change.

I love the scripture in Mosiah 5:2, "And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually."

The people of King Benjamin were converted because the Spirit of God touched and changed their hearts. So how can we get that change in our hearts??  I honestly don't know the quick and easy answer, and I think that the answer is different for every person. For me I think it is a process that includes a few different things:

1) Steady Scripture Study. There is absolutely no substitute for daily nourishment from the scriptures. I LOVE reading the scriptures. I love talking about them and digging into them and having discussions about what we can learn. I know what it means in Alma 32 when it says "and it begins to be delicious." The scriptures are delicious to me now. I haven't always had a desire to study the scriptures, before my mission and even at the beginning I didn't enjoy reading them, I did it because I knew it could only help.

2) Sincere personal prayer. I think that out of all the prayers I’ve ever said in my life, 90% were just cuz thats what we do before we eat, start class, or go to bed. But if we really take time to think about what we need Heavenly Father's help with, and then ask for that in prayer, it is 100x more powerful. We can even ask for a stronger desire, or a stronger conversion in our heart, and he can bless us with those things.

3) A humble realization in your heart of the good things that the gospel brings. I have never been so grateful in my life for the gospel until this point in my life. Looking back, I can't imagine where I’d be without it, and I can't even imagine losing it. When we all think of the mountain of blessings that the gospel gives us, this strengthens our testimonies. Like can you imagine living life without the Word of Wisdom? I can't! If we have a hard time thinking of the blessings, then we need to go back to step 2 and pray and ask to recognize the blessings more. When we come to realize that truly every good thing comes from God, then our humility and gratitude in our hearts increase.

I know that this church is true, and that the things it teaches are true. I know that Jesus Christ stands at the head of it.

Have a great week! I love you guys!

Love,

Elder Todd