Monday, March 28, 2016

This was one amazing week and it started with a pretty big miracle. On Monday we went to go see Julia. She has been praying a lot about baptism and if that is what the Lord wants her to do. Well the week before she was praying about it and randomly turned to 3 Nephi 19 and started reading out loud to herself. It is the savior talking about the importance of baptism and she texted us letting us know the awesome experience she had. We asked her how she was feeling about baptism and she said she knows the commitment it is and she wants to make the right choice. We testified that God answers prayers and that he would answer hers if she was willing to act on that answer. She said that was exactly what she needed to hear! Well when we went to see her Monday we talked to her about it again and she told us how she was feeling. She said that she has been feeling kind of greedy because she has been asking to know if the church is true, but she had already received her answer that it was. She said that every time she went to pray and ask, she already knew what the answer was. She then told us she wanted to be baptized and is ready for it! It was so awesome. She is going to be baptized on April 16 and she is so excited for it! Her Grandpa is even going to fly out from Utah to baptize her. The rest of the week was great as well. We have either dropped or been dropped by all of our investigators so we have spent a lot of time talking with people. On Saturday we prayed specifically that while we were out that night, we would be able to find someone to teach. Well as we were out walking there was a lady on her porch and as we talked to her she let us right into her home and we were able to teach her and her husband. It was so amazing to see that prayer answered. I have had so many powerful experiences with prayer and I truly know that God hears our prayers and he does answer them. Easter Sunday was amazing. Julia's whole family came to church! It was so cool to see them all there as a family. We went over to their house for dinner afterwards and got to play some games with them. It was a great Easter and one of the best I have ever had. I love this time of the year as we have the opportunity to remember the life of the Savior. The thing I am most grateful for in my mission has been the opportunity to know Him better. It has changed my life and I can't describe my gratitude for Him. I know with all of my heart he lives and one day we will stand before him again. I know this is his church and we have the opportunity to be a part of it. Thank you all for the support!
Elder May

Spring is here

Julia's family. Julia is the one in the middle by her dad.

Monday, March 21, 2016

Hey everyone! We had a great week. On Monday we went downtown to the church building. It is also the institute building so they had ping pong tables! So we got to play some pretty intense ping pong games. It was so fun, we were all sweating pretty good by the end. I'm not sure if it was because the matches were super intense or because we are all out of shape. We went on exchanges this week and Elder Ord and I were able to go together. He is an awesome guy and a great missionary. We were able to see a lady named Sister Carty. She is an older African American lady from Atlanta Georgia. She is so funny! When we went to see her, she needed help with a couple of things, opening two cans of tuna and moving her fish from one tank to a little bowl. Well I took the initiative to get the fish. I went in to scoop up the fish with my hand and she didn't think that I could get the fish with my hand so she said to hold on while she got a cup. I decided to try anyway and I scooped he little fish right up and plopped it right in the bowl. I guess I did it pretty gracefully because when Sister Carty saw me do it she started going crazy saying, "Oh my goodness, it's like he's an angel! Did you see the way he scooped that fish?" Haha I guess she liked the way I treated her little beta fish. She told us the next day that the fish doesn't like her anymore... I guess it got attached.
We were able to see Jiquelill this week as well. He had been praying for direction in his life and that he was willing to act on that as well. After that we showed up. He is a less active member and is a senior in high school. We stopped by his house and he wasn't home so we talked to his mom for a little bit. Just as we were about to leave he showed up. He said he had been out with his friends and he had felt like he needed to be home, so he ran all the way home and when he got home, we were there. This Sunday he was there for stake   conference and he said that he would be coming to young men's and church again this upcoming week. It has been a miracle. With stake conference I was also able to see a lot of people from the wheeling ward. It was awesome. I love those guys so much and I was so happy seeing all of them there. Maybe since I came back to this area president Johnson will let me go back there as well. Julia is doing great and has found answers to her prayers through the Book of Mormon. Her and her dad are awesome and it has been amazing to see what the gospel has done for them. Thank you for all of the support, have a great week!





Monday, March 14, 2016

Hey Everyone! Well this has been another great week! The weather has been phenomenal and there has actually been people out and about to talk to. We have been working a lot with a less active member named brother Rumpf. He hasn't been to church in years and we set him with a date to come to church of March 20, but he was determined to come this week. We had dinner with him on Wednesday and on Sunday he came to church! It was awesome to see him going around shaking hands with everyone there, even the ones he didn't know. He was so happy to be there and it was great to see. He has changed so much and is so much happier. It is amazing to see what living the gospel can do. On Tuesday we had zone conference. It was great to see President and Sister Johnson and to have trainings throughout the day. I am grateful for all of the missionaries out here. It is crazy how close you grow to all of them in the short time you have known them. We also have been working with a less active member from Jamaica. He has come to church the last two weeks now! Every time we go over he wants to have a sleep over and a pizza party. We have to remind him that even though we like pizza, after our missions haha. On Sunday we went over to teach Julia with brother and sister Kusuma who are both converts from India. We taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Kusuma's bore some of the most powerful testimonies I have heard. It was one of Those lessons where the spirit is just so powerful. We invited her to be baptized on April 16 and she said that she would pray about it. She talked about how she plans on being baptized, she is just a little nervous to take the next step right now. You can't deny the spirit that was in that lesson though and it had a really powerful effect on her and her dad. It was awesome. Well I just want everyone to know how grateful I am for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It has brought me so much happiness and I know it is lead by Jesus Christ. It is our choice to follow him. Thank you for all of the support.

Family friendly graffiti (once it was photoshopped)




Our new pet