Mafia, Weddings, and Forgiving Yourself

Colton didn't take any photos to send this week but I was really missing him so I was looking at some pictures from past Februarys and found this favorite from when I took him to visit SuperBowl Village in Indianapolis in 2012.  I am proud of him, wouldn't want him to be anywhere else right now and am uplifted by his emails and stories of how he is blessing the lives of others every week. But as so many people ask me - Do I miss him?  Of course, like crazy! 

 This week was a crazy week. Crazy but also good. Elder Ledbetter was up most of the night throwing up and so Tuesday we were stuck inside all day again. He still didn't feel good at all on Wednesday but good enough we could get out and teach our lessons which was good. But by Thursday, everything was back to normal. So because of that it seemed like this week just flew by. 
     But I had some really cool experiences this week. On Friday, I got to run my first district meeting which went really well. My favorite role as a district leader is getting to do baptismal interviews. So when the missionaries in my district have finished teaching someone who desires to be baptized, as their district leader I get the opportunity to interview them to see if they are ready to make that commitment and it is really cool. On Friday I had my first chances to get to do that and I interviewed two completely different people. The first lady was 68 and her story is amazing. She was born into the mafia and has had to experience terrible things through that. And when she was younger her husband cheated on her so she hired a hitman to kill him and so she went to prison for 25 years but that is where she started to learn about Jesus Christ and his teachings and so she decided she wanted to change her life and turn it around. And so however many years later she was able to be baptized and it was such an amazing event to witness on Saturday. The other interview I got to do was with a 9 year old girl. She was literally the sweetest thing in the world. She was adorable. She was super intelligent and understood almost all the questions I asked her right away and the ones she didn't she understood once I gave her a hint. Her baptism was a beautiful event to witness as well. 
     Also on Friday, was Jennie and Jose's wedding and so it was really cool to be able to go to that as well. I love Jennie and Jose so much and it was awesome to be able to see them again. Jose has finally quit smoking and is going to be baptized this Saturday and I am so pumped for him and to be able to go that as well. That family is just amazing. 
     One last story. So Saturday night we were leaving a lesson and got a text from a guy we are teaching, who is trying to overcome alcoholism. We went over and visited with him and wow what an amazing experience. He was really struggling and feeling down. He isn't happy with who he has become and it was really sad to see him so upset because he is such a great guy. One of the things we talked to him about was how basically we are sometimes our biggest critic. We beat ourselves up so much about how we aren't perfect and all it does is make things worse. We should never just stop trying to become better but when we fail don't let that destroy us but inspire us to be better. It's definitely something I really struggle with and it was cool to share that with him and see how quickly his outlook changed. That goes along perfectly with a scripture that really jumped out at me this week. The scripture says, "I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men." I've read this scripture so many times but never thought about it in the way I did this week when I read it. I am pretty good about forgiving others. I always have been. I get over things pretty quickly most of the time. But I am terrible at forgiving myself. God has commanded us to forgive everyone and that includes ourselves. So let go of the pride that keeps us from getting over our shortcomings and ultimately becoming better and more like our Savior. When we learn how to do that, we will become so much happier in our lives. I hope you all have a great week this week! Thanks for all your prayers and support! Y'all are the best!

Elder Potter

"All we have to do is follow the example of Jesus Christ. If we do that, God will take care of the rest."

    

 My week had its ups and downs. I like the new area a lot. A big portion of the area is pretty low income and subsidized housing so we definitely meet some interesting people. We are teaching the S family, who are trying to get active in their church attendance again and she also wants to quit smoking. One day we were contacting some referrals in the same apartment complex she lives in and we were walking around outside and we saw her smoking a cigarette. Elder Ledbetter yelled at her, "Sister S, what the heck are you doing?" She tried to hide it and told us she "wasn't doing nothing." It was really funny and just perfect timing. 

     We put two kids, Andres and Ahna, on date for baptism. They are really sweet kids. Andres tries to act like a punk because he is 11 but he is far from one. We had an awesome lesson with them talking about what the Plan of Salvation. It is my favorite lesson because it explains God's plan for us so that we can be happy and it just makes so much sense to me. We also had an awesome lesson with a lady named Tammy. Her husband committed suicide in March but instead of letting that destroy her faith it has actually strengthened it so much. She has turned to God to help her overcome it, and it has strengthened her relationship with Him so much. She has been a great example to her family and to me as well. She is really an awesome lady. 

     As well as the beginning of the week went, it sorta ended on a sour note. I got the flu Friday night and was up a lot of the night throwing up so that wasn't fun. We had to stay inside all day Saturday which was extremely boring but it was also kind of nice to get to relax and catch up on sleep. But it was definitely really nice to get out of the house on Sunday. That's all I got for this week. 

     The scripture of the week this week is Moses 1:39 which says, "For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." This scripture is one of my favorites and explains God's purpose. His purpose is to basically bring us happiness. Immortality means to live forever. Jesus dying on the cross, suffering for our sins, and being resurrected makes it possible for everyone, no matter who they are, to have immortality. But eternal life is living in the presence of God forever. I can't imagine anything that can be happier than that. All we have to do is follow the example of Jesus Christ. If we do that, God will take care of the rest. I hope everyone has a good week! 

I also included the happiest picture of Jesus I've ever found. It honestly made me laugh when I saw it but it definitely made my day. Can't wait to hear back from you!

My new companion's name is Elder Ledbetter and he is actually from Muncie!

   

 So we got transfer calls this week. After 6 great months of serving in the Hunter South Stake, I will be heading to the Granger Stake for at least the next six weeks. My new companion's name is Elder Ledbetter and he is actually from Muncie! I'm really excited for this new opportunity and chance to serve with him. 
     I also have been asked to be a district leader so that will be a new challenge. Basically I will be in charge of a small group of missionaries and will provide trainings for them and conduct interviews for people who are ready to be baptized. I'm excited for this chance to serve. 
    But it was a really good last week in Hunter South. We had some really good lessons with people. Elder Muse and I have been teaching the Cabadas family for the last six weeks. We had an awesome lesson with them this week. The mother, M, is the only member in the family and the rest have interest in being baptized like her. Especially the father, J. He has a lot of super different questions involving aliens and other weird stuff but I think we finally found the main concern that has been getting in the way of his faith progressing. We invited him to be baptized and he said he wants to pray about it a little more but he is super close. It was really exciting. 
     We had an amazing baptism in Saturday for Devin. There were so many people who came to support him we actually had to move rooms so we could all fit. It was pretty cool. The Spirit was so strong there and it was really cool. 
    Also, Jennie and Jose went and got their marriage license so they are going to be getting married here pretty soon which is awesome. I'm going to miss that family so much. It's been an exciting and eventful 6 months here and this place will always hold a special place in my heart. 
     The scripture of the week this week is from Proverbs 29:23. It says, "A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit." We must humble ourselves and let go of our pride. We must turn our life over to the Lord. When we figure out how to do that, that is when we get the honor of God, which is so much better then honor or accolades of the world. We must not be afraid to stand as witnesses of God at all times, in all things, and at all places. When we are afraid of doing that, that means we need to stop being prideful. That's something I'm not very good at right now but am really trying to work on. Have pride in the glory of our God and His plan, not in ourselves. It's easier said then done but our lives will be blessed if we live our lives this way. 
     Also, on Sunday night there was an amazing musical devotional put on by some missionaries and they actually asked me to sing a duet in it. It was a really cool experience and one of the most spiritual events I've been too. There was this Polynesian choir there and they sang a song about serving a mission and it was awesome. I got pretty emotional and teared up a little bit but it was a really cool event. Thanks again for all your prayers. Hope everyone has a great week! 

When we turn our focus towards offering a prayer of thanksgiving I really think God will pour out his blessings upon us.

I got this picture from my brother Zane who was able to stop in Utah and take Colton out for a quick dinner.  He reports he is looking well and loves being a missionary.

   

From Elder Potter:
As for my week, it went by so fast. Time is just flying by. We taught quite a few lessons this week which is always good. We got to go to the Bountiful temple on Wednesday and I just love going there and feeling of the peace in that sacred building and being able to take questions I have and get answers. It's truly amazing. 

     But probably the highlight of the week for me was on Saturday. We were lucky enough to have two baptisms, for Dallas and Tiffany. Dallas asked me to be the one to baptize him and it was one of the coolest things I've ever been able to do. Extremely special moment. Tiffany's baptism was beautiful as well and it was so cool to see all her friends there supporting her. It was a PACKED house. Very special day.    

     One last thought that I came across in my personal studies this week that I felt like I should share. In Luke 21:36 it says, "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." I love this scripture. It says we should pray always but how is that possible? Sometimes I find myself praying only when something bad has happened. For example, someone loses their job so we tell them we will keep them in our prayers. But is that really praying always? God doesn't want us to only pray for people when things aren't going well for them. We should always pray for them. That goes for ourselves too. Sometimes we tend to only pray to ask for things and mainly to ask for help when something unexpected goes our way. In Colossians 4:2 it says, "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving." Something I've tried doing lately is just focusing on thanking the Lord in my prayers because we have been blessed with so much. I have been blessed with so much. When we turn our focus towards offering a prayer of thanksgiving I really think God will pour out his blessings upon us. He doesn't want to just hear from us when we need something but he wants to hear about everything. That's why he commands us to pray always. It is a commandment of God. I love that. That's something I'm trying to get better at and I would like to invite each of you to try it too. I promise you it will change your life. I'm really excited for this next week. We have another baptism this Saturday for Devin and it is the last week of the transfer so I'll be getting transfer calls again on Saturday! It will definitely be interesting to see what happens. I love serving here and love the people so much but I wouldn't be surprised if I get shipped out. Just have to see. But thanks for all the prayers. I can feel them lift me up so thank you again! I hope you all have a great week.

"Life's an open book test but sometimes we close the book and make it way harder than it needs to be."

This week has been a super long week. Especially since P day wasn't until Wednesday this week so it seemed extra long but it was a great week. A lot of good things have happened lately, especially the last couple of days. On Saturday, we got to go temple square again with the S Family. 

I have been teaching this family forever. I taught Dallas, their 9 year old son, my very first day in the mission field and it has been awesome just to see how far he has come the past six months. He is getting baptized this Saturday and he asked me to be the one to baptize him which is really cool. I'm super excited to be able to do that. On Sunday, I got to speak in one of the wards (or congregations) we cover. They asked me to speak on fasting and so it was really cool to prepare a talk on that. In our church, the first Sunday of every month we go 24 hours, or two meals, without eating or drinking anything. I never really got the concept until my mission. In the Bible, it talks about how Jesus fasted for 40 days before he started his ministry so that he could get closer to God. So if Jesus fasted to get closer to God, think about how much more we need to fast to get closer to God. It really put it in perspective for me and I was able to talk about that and I thought it went really well. More About Fasting   And then I got sick on Sunday and had to spend most of the day sleeping. I felt awful but luckily I woke up on Monday feeling way better. 

     Another thing that I kind of learned this week was about how important it is to read the scriptures. We teach a lesson that is called CPR and just like regular CPR brings you back to life physically, the CPR we teach is what brings you back to live spiritually. CPR stands for church, prayer, and read as in the scriptures. And what I realized is that just like signing up for a class in school, we signed for this class of Life on Earth. And just like any other class God has given us a textbook with all the answers to help us pass the class but sometimes I feel like I am waiting for Him to give me all the answers to my problems and He already has. All we have to do is turn to the scriptures and trust in His word. Life's an open book test but sometimes we close the book and make it way harder than it needs to be. It doesn't mean our problems will go away when we read the scriptures but that we can learn how to either deal with them or overcome them. I love the scriptures so much. The more I read them the more I learn about God and his plan for me and the more peace it brings into my life. 

     But the reason I had P day today is because we got to go to the temple. I love getting to go inside the temple and feel of the Spirit of the Lord. I'm super excited to go! I'll include pictures of it later. What are Temples?

The scripture of the week this week is from James chapter 2 verse 17-18. It says, 

"17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works."

The most important part of faith that is sometimes left out is action. Anyone can claim to believe in something but that doesn't really show God you believe in Him. Until we put our faith into action it doesn't mean a thing. So that's something I'm going to work on is having perfect faith. Acting on my faith no matter the consequences. I'd much rather be judged by the world and be accepted by God then judged by God and be accepted by the World. Just some food for thought. I hope everyone has a good week this week! Thanks for all your prayers!

Even the bad days and the doors slammed in my face and the death threats and everything else bad that happens. It's all worth it.

    This past week had its ups and downs but the ups definitely outweigh the downs. We taught quite a few lessons which was awesome. 
     We got a decent amount of snow.  We got a ton on Christmas Day - 13 inches in one night, but haven't gotten a ton since then.  Yesterday it got to be almost 50 so everything started melting but in the morning it was snowing ice balls so the roads are terrible.
    We did lots of service this week.  We helped a guy move and we shoveled driveways.  
     Elder Muse had never seen snow until his mission and loves it but wants to play in it a little too much sometimes!  He had only driven a car twice before his mission so I basically do all the driving which is fine by me.  I did get high centered in the car leaving a lesson but they hadn't shoveled their driveway yet so there was really nothing I could do about that. I was annoyed but we got it out pretty easily.  We did get the lost phone taken care of but never found it.  It's in a field the size of Emerson's (Colton's elementary school) in roughly 15 inches of snow.  (He and Elder Muse were playing in the snow last week and it fell out of Elder Muse's pocket somewhere in the snow.).  
     Since I've been in the same area for so long I really am starting to get to know the people really well and have built some great friendships. Jennie and Jose are two of those people for sure. Jose is definitely at a stand still for when it comes to quitting smoking but he is really trying. He has so much faith and I love that family so much. Jennie is still trying to find her faith but she is awesome too. On Friday, we had a lesson with them and we talked about how sometimes we have to make what may seem like a sacrifice but in all reality the blessings we will receive as a result will make it so worth it. And I've definitely found that to be true on a mission. Ever since I was a little kid I've wanted to serve the Lord for two years but last summer as it was getting closer to leaving I really didn't want to. I didn't know what to expect or what the future held for me. I felt like I was sacrificing so much to come serve a mission but the blessings I've received have easily made it worth it already. I love the people here so much and as I get to help them come closer to Jesus Christ, I myself get closer and closer. I know that God lives and he sent His Son to suffer for our sins. For my sins. I know that only through Him can I be forgiven and saved from physical and spiritual death. I know He loves me and that He loves you too. I know that as you put your faith in Him he will deliver you. He will help you overcome your trial. Maybe not right away but at the right moment. I love the people of Utah that I get to serve on a daily basis. I love that through my efforts families can be brought to the knowledge of how they can be together for eternity. I love everything about serving a mission. Even the bad days and the doors slammed in my face and the death threats and everything else bad that happens. It's all worth it. Like always I thank you all for your prayers for me. Have a great week! (As a mom I did follow up on the death threats comment - he said twice in the last month he was told if he came back to two separate places they would shoot him.  He said they wrote down their address and made sure they will respect that and not go back!). 

Christ is standing there with His arms outstretched waiting for us to come unto Him because He loves us.

As for my week, it was pretty slow. A lot of people we usually teach cancelled because of the holidays so that kinda sucked. But even during slow weeks I have found that they are still good weeks because I am helping others come closer to Christ. One lesson in particular this week that stood out to me was with a girl named Tiffany. She is 17 and she has so much faith. She has been meeting with missionaries for two years without telling her dad and wanting to get baptized. Her dad is basically an atheist and hates all religion but she is not. She finally got permission two weeks ago from him to be baptized which was really exciting. For our lesson with her we read a chapter out of the Book of Mormon about when Jesus Christ comes to the people in America after he has been resurrected. It is one of my favorite chapters ever and some of my favorite verses are from this chapter as well and I'd like to share them. So it is from 3 Nephi 11:14-17 and it says, "14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.

15 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.

16 And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying:

17 Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him." We talked about how cool these verses are. Earlier in the chapter it talks about how there were tens of thousands of people there to witness the coming of Christ and He let each and every single one of them come witness Him for themselves. He didn't just let the prophet or apostles come and feel the prints. He didn't just let the closest hundred, thousand, or even ten thousand. He let everyone. Although none of us have ever seen Christ in this life that same thing is still true for us. Christ is standing there with His arms outstretched waiting for us to come unto Him because He loves us. He wants us to reap the blessings we can get because of all He has done for us. And after we have witnessed him for ourselves and felt the love He has for us personally, we must fall down and worship Him just like the people in the scripture do. And the way we worship Him is being loving others and following God's commandments. Try to follow Jesus's perfect example. Do everything that He did. And when we try our best to love everyone and put others before ourselves, that is when we become the most happy. I've seen that over the last 5-6 months. Everything we do from 9:00 in the morning-9:00 at night is for other people and I've never had so much happiness in my life. I definitely miss home and miss the comforts of my old life. I miss my music, movies, sports, but I would not trade these past few months for anything in the world. It is easily the hardest thing I've ever had to do but easily the most beneficial as well. I love my Savior and brother Jesus Christ. I love His gospel. And I love serving Him. That's all I got for this week. I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Years! I know I did. Hope you all have a good week!