With it being Easter this week I just want to invite you to think about Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for you and maybe think about something you could sacrifice for Him.

Well it’s the end of another transfer. We got transfer calls on Saturday and found out that I will be staying in Kearns another transfer. Elder O’Neal is getting transferred to Taylorsville so I’m getting a new companion, Elder Shermer. I’ve served around him before so I know him a little bit and he has been on his mission for almost as long as me. I’m excited to stay here another transfer and to continue working with some of the people we are teaching right now. We had some pretty awesome lessons this week. We were able to go to Temple Square three times this week which was awesome. We taught a lot of lessons about how important families are and I’m so thankful for the family I have and being raised knowing what I know. I’m so thankful for my parents and all they do and have done for me. I’m so thankful for my sisters and they joy they bring into my life. My family definitely isn’t perfect but I’m so thankful for them and I know I would be lost without them. And I’m so thankful for Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for all of us so we can be with our families after this life. With it being Easter this week I just want to invite you to think about Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for you and maybe think about something you could sacrifice for Him. That’s something that I’ll be thinking about this weekend. I love my Savior and I’m so thankful for the greatest gift we could have, the ability to be forgiven of our sins. I’m excited for this next transfer, only 3 more left and 4 months left! I hope everyone has a great Easter weekend!

I’m so thankful for all the people in my life who have been good role models and have had positive impacts on my life.

Somehow we are already to the last week of another transfer. I can’t believe how fast time seems to be going by. Already halfway through the month of March as well. The weather has been absolutely crazy this last week. Monday and Tuesday it was beautiful and about 65 degrees and then on Wednesday it got cold and rained all day and then while Elder O’Neal were out knocking doors it started to hail really bad and so we decided to try and get inside but we were almost a 20 minute walk away from the closest church building and even farther from our apartment so we got soaked. And then it snowed on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Utah weather is pretty crazy. But it was a great week. We had some really awesome lessons. The one that stood out the most was with a boy named Khoen. He is 9 years old and really wants to get baptized and at first his parents were really friendly but didn’t really want us to teach them. But this past Friday at the end of the lesson his mom asked us to stick behind and she started asking us a ton of questions about what she had been reading in her scriptures. It was so cool. We had no idea that she had started reading her scriptures but it was a really cool experience. There have been countless experiences that I’ve had on my mission where my actions have influenced other people and I haven’t really realized it. Serving my mission has definitely taught me how important it is to be kind to people and to not be afraid to stand up for what you believe in. It makes a big difference in your life as well as in others around you. We never really realize how much impact we can have on other people. I’m so thankful for all the people in my life who have been good role models and have had positive impacts on my life. Again it just testifies to me that God knows us and is aware of us and our needs at all times. Hope everyone has another great week!

He then invited me to pray and ask if God was really there and if He loved me and so I did. The answer came so strong and so powerfully and that moment really changed my life.

This week went by so fast. It seemed like I blinked and it was over but it was again a pretty good week. We had some really good lessons this week but nothing from our lessons really stood out to me to share this week. However, Elder O’Neal and I were asked to speak in church this past Sunday and I wanted to share part of what I spoke on. So I was asked to speak about the importance of teaching the truths of eternity. Kind of a weird thing to speak on but the more I thought about it the more I just kept coming back to a few main things that we believe in and I want to share two of them. The first is that God is real and He loves us and the second is that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and He suffered and died for us. I know without a doubt that both of those statements are true. As I was reflecting on these statements it made me think of the moment where I came to know that God loved me. It was the summer right before we moved up to Goshen and I was really struggling with a lot of things at the time. I was really weak. I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to take on everything I was going through at the time by myself and I needed help. I went to EFY in Texas that summer and my counselor came up to me while I was trying to read the scriptures and we started talking and I opened up to him a little about some of the things I was going through at the time. He asked me if I knew if God loved me and I said I don’t know. He then invited me to pray and ask if God was really there and if He loved me and so I did. The answer came so strong and so powerfully and that moment really changed my life. Knowing that God is there and cares about me and is apart of my life makes me want to be better and helps me to have hope for the future. I know God lives and that He loves us. I know he is a part of our everyday lives. So if you haven’t prayed and asked God if he loves you, I wanna invite you to do that. And even if you have sometimes it is nice to have some reassurance. Hope y’all have a great week! Thanks for your prayers!

I have such a strong testimony about God being a part of our every day lives.

This week was another really successful week. We had some really cool lessons and met some really cool people this past week. I always struggle to find just one cool experience to share because there are so many. The one I wanted to share this week was from contacting a guy named Craig. One of our bishops asked us to stop by and visit a guy named Craig and we weren’t exactly sure why or what he wanted us to talk with him about. So on Saturday night we were trying to figure out who we should go by and see and we remembered Craig and so we thought we should stop by. I have such a strong testimony about God being a part of our every day lives. He knows us and He knows what we need, when we need it. It had turned out that Craig’s dad had just passed away a few days earlier from a stroke. We had actually met Craig a few weeks ago when we went around shoveling driveways and we helped him and he told us his dad had just had a stroke. So apparently the next day his dad passed away. So Craig was obviously struggling and we were able to come into his home and share a message with him about trials. I got to share one of my favorite scriptures from Romans 5:3-5 which I think I’ve shared before. In the verses it talks about how going through trials will help us to have more hope in our life and I love that and know that that is true. I know that God knew that Craig needed someone to talk to that night and he needed to hear how God has a plan and everything will work out in the end. God is aware of each and every single one of us. In other exciting news, we got to go to the temple today which is always amazing. I really felt the spirit so strongly there today. Afterwards we went and just walked around temple square and went and watched some videos and took a couple of tours. It was Elder O’Neal’s first time there so it was pretty cool. I always love going to temple square. I hope everyone has a good week. Thanks for all of your prayers!