glizzy gobbler

 What is up everyone?

Corpus CRISTO

GOOD:

- Last preparation day we went to the USS Lexington. The Lexington is a WWII aircraft carrier that has been converted into a museum. It was super cool! Definitely a good preparation day activity. If you want to see some of the videos I took, send me a message and I will share them with you. 

- My first exchange of the week was with my homie Elder Powell. He is a beast and we had so many lessons to go to. It was good to be teaching the gospel all day. I loved Elder Powell's drive to be his very best. Motivated me to improve!

- My second exchange of the week was with Elder Krause. He is awesome. We had such a good day of missionary work. We had fun and felt the spirit. We knocked on one man's door and he let us in. While we got to know him he was munching on an uncooked hotdog so we nicknamed him the "glizzy gobbler." We also got to teach some lessons to some amazing people! 

BETTER:

- There are some cool miracles from this week that I can't wait to share with you! First, I already mentioned that this week I went on an exchange to Flour Bluff but here is a miracle from that area. Earlier in the week, the elders had decided to stop by the McDonald's in their area real fast. Being consecrated missionaries - they began talking to the lady working there and she invited them to come over the next day and teach her. The day of the lesson was also the day that I was on the Bluff for exchanges so I got to teach this lesson with Elder Krause. When we arrived the lady was there AND she had invited her friend and he is so prepared for the gospel. This guy came to church, is studying in the Book of Mormon and accepted a Baptismal Date. When we finished our first lesson, we casually asked what their plans were for the rest of the night. This friend looked down at his new copy of the Book of Mormon and said "reading this." Amen.

- Another miracle is Pam. She was led by God to come to church with us this week. On Sunday she just showed up to church and one of our members came up to us and said "come meet my friend!" We were super excited so of course we went to meet Pam. Come to find out that the member met Pam at Dillard's a few days earlier while Pam had gone shopping to buy a dress for church. Pam's friend who lives out of state had told her about the church and then while Pam was shopping for something to wear to church the member invited Pam to join us! We will be teaching Pam more about the gospel this coming week.

- About a week ago we went to visit a friend who had expressed interest in our message. When they didn't answer the door I felt like we should knock their neighbor's door. We walked over, knocked and met Becky! Becky invited us back over and this week we had the most amazing lesson with her and one of our members. The spirit was very strong in Becky's home as we taught her about the doctrine of Christ. She was able to recognize the influence of the spirit during our lesson so much that she expressed a desire to be baptized! She is literally so awesome and it is such a blessing to teach her!

- THE TEMPLE IS HERE. WE ARE SO EXCITED! 

BEST:

This week in my studies I came across a video I enjoyed. It is called "The Music of the Gospel." This video spoke on the difference between just dancing and actually hearing the music. Essentially, it was created to help us understand the difference between going through the motions of the gospel and actually feeling the spirit as we attend church, pray or study in the scriptures.

This got me reflecting on my many hours spent in the dance studio. How challenging they would have been if I never could have heard the music. I would even say that if there was no music - there is not a chance I would have kept going back to the studio for more. Even though the dance moves I would do with the music are the same as the ones I would do without music... the addition of music makes such a huge impact on the joy the performer feels. 

This is the same way with the gospel! If we don't learn to hear the music and can't recognize the spirit, then it will be tough and honestly inconvenient to live the principles of the gospel. But once a person can "hear the music" it makes doing the dance a whole lot more enjoyable and worthwhile.

I challenge you to "hear the music" this week. Seek to actually feel God's love for you as you kneel down, open the scriptures or step into a church service. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us. I know that He rejoices when we spend time with Him. I testify that I have heard "the music" and it brings me so much joy.

"Work Hard, Keep the Commandments, Have a Positive Attitude and Show Gratitude."

Be a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

- Elder Stringcheese