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. 

STOLEN BIKE

From Elder Potter:
This week was not as good of a week as last week but it was still a great week. My first week I think we had 28 lessons and didn't have a single lesson cancelled so it's hard to beat that but we still had a bunch of lessons this week. School started up again so it messed up schedules a little bit with some of our investigators but hopefully we'll get that figured out. We had our second baptism this past Saturday and it was an awesome baptism. The guy's name is Travis and he is just an awesome guy. He is a baller too so we've started playing basketball at the church on Tuesday nights and it has been pretty fun. 
We got the chance to do a lot of service this week including for a deaf guy. Luckily my companion knows a decent amount of sign language so at least one of us could communicate with him. He is an awesome guy though and still comes to church pretty much every Sunday. We also got to help this family that's moving to Idaho load their trailer which included moving some furniture that didn't really fit through the door super well so that was interesting. We are going back this week to help with the washer and dryer. 
I've been having some pretty severe headaches the past three weeks or so and they aren't really getting better, but I know that the Lord is with me because I say a little prayer before we go into every lesson for the strength to push past my headaches so I can feel the spirit and help teach those who need to hear his word and he has given me the strength to endure them every time. Hopefully I can get them figured out sooner rather than later though.  We have been trying to help him from afar with these and he is supposed to see a doctor about it this week.  We are wondering if it is either an undetected sinus infection or migraines. He could definitely use some specific prayers for those headaches to stop or a resolution to be found. 
And last but not least, Saturday night my companion and I stopped at one of the bishop's of the 5 wards we cover to check up on a referral (someone who has asked for a missionary contact)  and it was supposed to be really quick but it turned into about 40 minutes and when I came out to get my bike it wasn't there. Yes, my bike got stolen. At first I was pretty mad, but sometimes you just gotta roll with the punches and so now I look at it in a comedic way. It really is pretty funny. Luckily we have an extra bike at my apartment we just need to buy a new tube. Again thanks everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and well wishes. I've already finished one month! Can't believe it but time is flying by and I'm truly loving it out here. I can see the way that our loving Heavenly Father uses his people to help the lost sheep come back into the fold. I can truly testify that our God is a loving God and that the power of prayer is real. Prayer is our greatest tool. Pray as often as you can! It only makes life easier. Thanks again! Also shout out to Ty for joining the Utah crew 😜 Provo is getting a great missionary!  (Ty is his good friend from Seymour who will be leaving on his own mission this fall and was just called to the Provo mission.  Ironically this makes the 4th boy from their group to head to Utah- hence the "Utah crew".)

FIRST WEEK IN THE FIELD

My first week in the field is through and it was a pretty great week. Taught probably close to 30 lessons and we had a baptism Saturday so not a bad first week. I'm living in the basement of some members. It's a pretty big place so it's really nice. We have our own kitchen, study area, a bedroom, bathroom, and a washer and dryer so we have plenty. I love the area I'm serving in. It's a biking area because it is literally 1 square mile. But in that square mile is an entire stake with 5 wards and 3 church buildings so we stay pretty busy. We have another baptism on Saturday and 3 others on date. We are working with some pretty amazing people right now. Some are more frustrating than others but we love them all the same. This week should be a pretty good week. Lots of lessons again. Couple new investigators (someone who is learning about the church) and a baptism so that's exciting. I've definitely been placed where I need to be. Having a companion from Indiana has been super fun. It's really fun to talk about home and about what we miss the most and stuff. We have also listened to the same Disney CD's about 10 times this past week so by the end of this transfer I should pretty well know almost every song ever on a Disney movie word for word. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. I feel so blessed. I'm going to start sharing a scripture that really stood out to me each week. This week was Enos 1:12 which pretty much says after we pray and labor God will grant us all of our righteous desires according to his will. I love that scripture. If we all do our part first, God will do the rest. Until next week!

Elder Potter

Here are some pictures he also sent:

At the Provo Temple What is an LDS temple?

Elder Potter and Elder Greer (His MTC companion)

Elder Potter and Elder Holderness (his cousin) at the MTC

Elder Potter Sighting!

I got a text from a man in Utah tonight who had the opportunity to take Colton and his companion, Elder Tyler (who is from Westfield, IN of all places!) to dinner tonight.  He sent me these pictures which are the first pictures I have received.   He shared that Colton loves and misses us all and got a bike from the mission home so is ready to go! It was very kind of him to take the time to share this and it really made my day.  So often it is the small things that take no more than a few minutes that can uplift and change the lives of others.  I am accepting the challenge to use my technology to greater bless others.  How much better the world would be if we could all take the time to take action when someone crosses our mind and reach out in kindness, apologies, encouragement and celebration as prompted.  Life is as rich as we make it!