"Repentance is a gift from God so don't waste it, use it."

This Photo Colton sent us - I assume someone made them these fabulous Halloween pillowcases. How fun!

This picture came a surprise text from a family who was feeding them.  They said they love to have them over.  We are grateful to all those who are willing to welcome them into their homes!

This picture he included must be of a wedding they attended.  

This week was a little bit of a different week. We had an extra meeting on Wednesday on top of our 3 hour planning session on Thursday and hour and a half district meeting on Friday. The mission presidents have been advised to start having zone conferences every transfer instead of every other transfer so this was actually my first one but it was an amazing meeting.  It was super long but I felt like I learned so much in that meeting. Zone conferences are meetings held for a larger area of the mission under the direction of the Mission President.  They are typically held every 3 months and can cover a variety of topics.  In this case they will be holding them every 6 weeks. On Tuesday our zone leaders asked if we could help them in a role play in front of all the other missionaries and so we got to teach one of our zone leaders about repentance and about how to repent. And as I was studying for this Wednesday morning, I felt like I knew all about repentance but I was wrong. Maybe I knew this and hadn't thought about it but if we aren't living up to how Jesus Christ lived his life 100% of the time we NEED to repent. It's not an option. We are commanded to read from our scriptures every day and to pray often every day and if we aren't doing that we need to repent. Sin is sin and we need to repent from it. But repentance isn't something that should be scary. It is a gift from God. He loves us so much He sent His son down to earth to suffer and die for each and every one of us individually. Because of that we can repent and receive mercy from our Heavenly Father and be forgiven of our sins through Jesus Christ. But we will not be forgiven in our sins. We will be forgiven from our sins. There is a big difference. When we repent we must have a change of heart and desire to truly change. We must do the very best we can. God loves us unconditionally but that does not give us a free pass to live our lives whichever way we want and then expect to reap all the rewards in the end. That's just not the way it works. So humble yourself, repent and change. I'm going to do the same thing. We should never justify sin and we should be repenting daily because we are all sinners. Repentance is a gift from God so don't waste it, use it. I really liked the training we were given about repentance and felt like I should put it in my email so there ya have it.

But in other highlights this week, we have a boy that we have been teaching who got baptized my first week in the field named George. We have been trying and trying to get his younger sisters to join us in lessons but it wasn't until this week that we actually did so that was really exciting. We are hoping for them to join us as we get to go down to Temple Square with George later tonight. Temple square is an amazing, beautiful place. Every time we get to take someone there I feel the spirit so strongly. We went out to lunch with the zone leaders on Tuesday to a place called Pizza Rev and they need this place in Goshen SO bad. It is like a subway except with pizza. Oh man was it good. Unlimited toppings and a pizza big enough that I finished it but was hurting a little bit after that and it only cost me $6. Can't beat that. We found out for Halloween we aren't allowed to be outside so we get a full-day P-day which is super exciting. We aren't allowed outside mainly because some people apparently dress up as missionaries and cause trouble so we don't want to get mixed up in that. But I also think it is partly because of the creepy killer clowns. I really hope I never see any of those guys walking around. But our zone is going to do a companionship costume contest so that is going to be super fun. My companion and I ordered them Thursday so we are hoping to get them in time but it'll be cutting it close. That will be super fun. Pictures will come with that shortly. Friday night, one of our wards put on a talent show and some ladies in the ward signed us up so we tried to throw a musical number together and it went a lot better than expected. Elder Tyler played the ukulele and I sang. I woke up sick on Friday so I wasn't feeling great but I did the best I could. We sang Wagon Wheel by Darius Rucker. All in all a successful event. This weekend was general conference so we had a bunch of other meetings to go to. Saturday was the priesthood leadership session at 4 and then the adult session was at 7. Sunday was the regular session at 10. We had some great council from the stake leaders here as well as from Elder Bryant Larson of the 70 who presided at the meetings. My favorite thing from the weekend meetings was shared in the adult session by Elder Larson. He talked about how if we want to avoid being deceived from Satan, we MUST gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon and of Joseph Smith. I can testify to you all the Joseph Smith is a prophet called of God and the Book of Mormon is truly the word of God. Together with the Bible, the Book of Mormon is the greatest tool we have to return and live with our Heavenly Father after this life. It's true. I know it's true with all my heart. There is no way that Joseph Smith could have written that book except he was inspired by God and given the power to translate it by God. There is no way an evil man could write the Book of Mormon, and a righteous man wouldn't write it unless he was commanded to by God. That's all for this week. Thanks so much for all of the prayers and support you all give me. I truly feel them every day.

"God will work miracles into your life if you do your part and show Him you have faith in Him."

Another week in the books and again a lot of really cool experiences this week. Tuesday morning we got a text that there was a girl in the hospital who needed a blessing and so we drove with one of our mission leaders about 45 minutes to get to the hospital and I got to give her a blessing.  What is a Priesthood Blessing?  It was cool to be able to do that for her. This was this poor little girl's 5th open heart surgery and she is probably 10-11 years old. As I gave her the blessing it honestly felt like the words coming out of my mouth weren't coming from me and were coming straight from God. It was really cool. It was the first time that I gave a blessing where I had no idea what the blessing was for. Obviously she was in the hospital but I didn't know what she was in there for until after the blessing, but I said things that definitely directly applied to her that I didn't know so it was a cool experience. 

And then Tuesday night we went on exchanges for Wednesday and so I was companions with Elder Trout for the day. Elder Trout came to my area and he entered the mission field the same transfer I did so we are both still "greenies." But it was a great day. We had a really powerful lesson with a guy we started teaching recently, Christopher. We talked about what faith truly is. Faith isn't just believing in things you can't see which is what a lot of people think. Faith is proving to our Heavenly Father you believe in Him and His word by showing Him through your actions. That's giving up things that will help you strengthen your relationship with Christ. Faith is extremely hard. Christopher showed a lot of faith this week and I'd like to share it with you all. He lost his job and was basically out of money and had to pay his house payment and all this other stuff and he just didn't have the money. In our last lesson we talked about the word of wisdom (What is the Word of Wisdom? ) and how in our religion we don't smoke any type of tobacco including vaping and he likes to vape. We told him if he shows his faith to God and quits vaping that he will be blessed and be able to make all of his payments. So Christopher had a garage sale and sold a bunch of stuff online and the first thing that sold was all of his vaping stuff and he was able to make all of his payments and then Wednesday morning he got hired for a completely new job that makes triple the amount of money he has been making. God will work miracles into your life if you do your part and show Him you have faith in Him. 

If we have a positive attitude and are joyful in all we do we can consider whatever it is we are doing a success.

This week started out as a tough week for me but it ended really well. We had a bunch of appointments cancel and things just didn't seem to be going that well and those are the times where it gets really hard not to be homesick so I was struggling and I prayed and asked Heavenly Father to pick me up and so we went to eat at bdubs and when we asked for our checks our waiter came up to us and said that half of the restaurant had asked to pay for our meal. I don't know why but that was exactly what I needed to pick me up but what's amazing is that it didn't stop there. We went to In-N-Out Friday and then Olive Garden Saturday and we got paid for again. It's truly amazing to see how many people are looking out for and praying for missionaries. It really strengthens my love for those I'm teaching. It makes me want to do my best to help them with their conversion to Jesus Christ. Friday (A side note here he said he has been gaining weight which I am pretty sure is from all of those complimentary meals!!:))
We had a zone training and we talked about how when we are joyful as missionaries we WILL be successful and I just love that. I think that is true for anything in life. If we have a positive attitude and are joyful in all we do we can consider whatever it is we are doing a success. That is what my goal is for this next transfer is to just be more positive. And then this weekend was General Conference weekend where all the members of our church around the world get to listen to our prophet and church leaders and their counsel. It was an amazing conference. Oddly enough it seemed the themes in the talks were missionary work and being happy. Which is exactly what I needed so it was awesome. 
Elder Tyler and I got to take an investigator and his friend to the priesthood session and then another investigator and a recent baptized member to the afternoon session and it was amazing to be able to witness these great men of God sharing their words of wisdom in person. Extremely humbling experience. 
One last cool experience I want to share. So we had a couple extra tickets to conference and couldn't find anyone to give them to and I felt like we should really give them to this family that just moved into one of our wards and so we asked them and they said sure they would take them. So we stopped by later that night to drop the 4 tickets off and they said they had called a friend and asked if she wanted to go and she broke down crying because she had been praying to somehow find tickets so she could go. She lives about 3 hours from Salt Lake but said she wanted to go and her pray was answered. 
Everyone, God hears and answers all of our prayers. He knows what it is we need. All we have to do is be willing to show the faith and ask. Prayer is real. God won't do anything that isn't for our benefit. So trust Him. Thank you all for your prayers. I really can feel them lift me up every day. Until next week!
Elder Potter

THEIR FAITH HAS STRENGTHENED MINE

So this week was the last week of the transfer and we had a great week. One of our excommunicated investigators we have been teaching got the okay to get baptized again so that was super exciting. He asked me if I'd be willing to confirm him when that time comes so that is pretty exciting. What is confirmation in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints?

We got to go to temple square again and it was super special. We took a Polynesian family that is doing super well right now. They loved it and it was super exciting. We found two new investigators who came to us asking if they can be baptized so that was really awesome. They are two amazing guys whose faith has strengthened mine. Then Saturday night we got transfer calls and found out that both elder Tyler and I staying in this area so that's pretty exciting. We have a lot of work going right now so we were hoping to both stay. Thanks again for all your prayers and support. It means so much to me. God really does answer prayers. Until next week!

Elder Potter

Colton also told us that he will be able to attend the Priesthood Session and Sunday Afternoon Session of General Conference this weekend.  Kyrie is attending the Saturday afternoon session with her Uncle Kyle.  What is General Conference?  We will be watching from Indiana and it is a really unifying feeling to know we are learning and being spiritually fed together at the same time.  These messages are always timely, uplifting counsel that makes me a better mother, wife, neighbor and follower of Jesus Christ. 

Tender Mercies

Short week this week with my P Day  being moved to Tuesday last week but still a great week. I've been doing really well and have really gotten to the point where I feel comfortable taking the lead with anything including how to get places. Our area is tiny. It is actually the smallest geographical stake in the entire church which is pretty crazy but it makes it interesting. 

We had some really powerful, amazing lessons this week and it was cool to see how the spirit led us to know exactly what they needed us to teach them. I got to share some really personal experiences with one guy we are teaching and it was cool to see how much they touched him and helped him relate them to his own life. 

We had this thing called a mini mission where we had a couple of high schoolers follow us around all day. Unfortunately we had no lessons set up that day so it was not the most exciting day but hopefully they enjoyed it. One of the kids who was with us is about to serve a mission in Finland which was cool.

And then Saturday night we had an amazing baptism. The lady who was baptized had been working towards this for a very long time and had some big challenges to overcome so that was really cool. 

Sunday, I got to speak in church about what it means to be a disciple of Christ and it was a nice refresher of my purpose as a missionary. I think it was probably a bigger help to me than the congregation but that's okay. 

Luckily I got a new bike from the mission office so I didn't have to buy a whole new one which would have sucked. We also bought a bike lock so this one shouldn't get stolen. 

Another great blessing has been my headaches. I have only had one in the last two weeks which has been such an amazing tender mercy from God. He's pretty great. Thanks for all your prayers. Missing everyone so much! Until next week!

-Elder Potter

"I can't describe how much I've learned about myself, about loving everyone, and about Jesus Christ."

This week was a little bit of a slower week. We had a lot more contacting than usual so that is never as effective or as fun as having our time filled up with lessons. We have a couple of awesome investigators right now though. We have one who decided on his own that it was more important to follow the commandments of God than it was to act on his attractions towards other men and wants to get baptized and it is super cool to see how much people are willing to give up in their life to follow Jesus Christ. We also started teaching a guy who wants to give up drinking and smoking so he can be a better example to his kids and so he moved from San Diego to Utah to get away from all of that and is homeless and doesn't have a job. It's so cool to see the change it has made in his life and how religion is now becoming very important in his life. The people here are amazing and I love everyone I meet. I can't describe how much I've learned about myself, about loving everyone, and about Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ's atonement reaches everyone and you are never alone. When you feel completely alone just know that Jesus Christ is there holding you up. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. Miss you all!

"I HAVE GROWN TO TRULY LOVE SERVING OTHERS."

      This week was a good week. Taught a lot of lessons and did a lot of service. Just this week alone I helped people move a steel plated refrigerator, a washer, a dryer, two trailer loads of boxes and stuff, and a couple couches. We also helped a guy with some painting. Those were on multiple occasions and with multiple people but they feed us most of the time so it's worth it. Saturday I got to take a lady and her two sons we are teaching to temple square and it was an amazing experience.   It was really cool to go through all the cool historical stuff and videos. They loved it. What is Temple Square?

Elder Potter and Elder Tyler

This is an 11 foot amazing statue of Jesus Christ with outstretched arms that is one of our favorite places to visit at Temple Square. 

I've noticed there are ton of Polynesians in this area and they love the missionaries so
we get invited to all their social events and feed us so much food. We have already been to a Luau and a wedding and all we do is eat the whole time. They just keep bringing us more plates and it's pretty
awesome but it sucks once I'm full. In other news, a member gave us a tandem bike and my companion and I have been riding one all week. We get some really weird looks but it's pretty fun.

Today (Monday) is a full P day (day to work on their preparations)and so my zone went on a 6 mile hike up to some lakes up in the mountains and that was super cool. It was a long hike but it was worth it. It was so beautiful.

This is a moose they saw today.

They actually saw two moose!

And then tonight we are going to have a zone barbecue and football game so I'm really excited. Should be a good time. Thanks so much for everyone's prayers. It means a lot to
me. I can really feel them. My headaches have gotten better so I'm thankful. I feel so blessed to have the people in my life that I do. It's an amazing feeling to have so much support from so many people, some of which I've never met. It's great so thanks so much. If there is ever anything I can do for anyone just let me know! I have grown to
truly love serving others. It is awesome to see the joy it brings into their lives. Until next week! 

He also sent a note that he may be having his  P-day moved to Tuesday next week since he will be going to the temple that day so you may not hear from him Monday next week.