This was a great week with General conference of course being a highlight! I loved the spirit felt and how encouraging all of the speakers were. We had the opportunity to see a lot of less actives and investigators this week with the help of a lot of the members. The work is going great here and we are seeing great things and miracles truly happening. Man it is awesome to be a part of. Have a great week!

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.

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!

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

Great week! The weather is starting to warm up and I am definitely getting some spring fever! I can't wait for the warm weather to return. This week had some great things happen! We had a lesson with a recent convert named Marilyn. While we were there we met her brother David. He came and sat in on the lesson. He didn't really say anything but at the end of the lesson he had a couple of questions. We talked a little bit about the restoration and the Book of Mormon. After he looked at his sister and said, "I guess I'll come to church with you tomorrow." You should have seen how happy Marilyn was! She testified that this church was "the truth" and that were the ones with "the plan" haha. He came to church the next day! We had a pretty interesting experience with our friend Billy Bob. He was telling us about his stomach problems and how he was going to have to have surgery. I think part of the problem is that he likes to eat out at a pizza restaurant every day. He started patting his belly to demonstrate that there was a problem with it. Then he offered us the opportunity to rub his belly so we could feel how weird it was. Elder Griffin declined the offer so I decided to give it a little poke just so he would feel good haha. The people you meet out here are awesome! We had a lesson with Julia and it was great. She is trying to recognize her answer from the Holy Ghost. We asked her why she comes to church every week and why she allows us to come and teach her. She said that she has never met nicer people before then the ones she has met in the church. She told us how every time she goes she feels the Holy Ghost and the whole thing just feels good. She then said that she has never felt closer to God before then she does right now! It was very powerful when she said that. She knows this is all true, it won't be long before she is ready.
Well thank you for all of the support. Have a great week!

This has been a wonderful week! We had the memorial service for sister Wells this week and it was a very spiritual meeting. We talked about the plan of salvation and were able to celebrate the life that Sister Wells had and to also remember the amazing missionary she was. At the end the missionaries were able to all sing together. I felt the spirit so strongly singing with all the missionaries around me. It was one those moments where you just feel so strongly that this church is true.

The rest of the week was great. We asked Julia to be baptized on Monday and she said it is something that she sees herself doing for sure. She just wants to know for herself that the Book of Mormon is true and that his church was restored through Joseph Smith. She has such a strong desire to know for herself independent from anyone else, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And the best part is that she is doing all she can to find out. She comes to church every week, reads and prays daily, comes to young women's. So pretty much everything she can do. I know for sure she will receive the answer she is looking for, and it is going to be so powerful for her when she does! We had a lesson with her on the Holy Ghost last night. She said that the reason she has come to church every week is because she feels the Holy Ghost whenever she is there. She said if she didn't feel the holy ghost, she would not be coming. It has been so cool to be able to work with her whole family. They are so prepared and it is humbling to think out of all the places in the whole world I could be, I am here in Pittsburgh and an able to be a part of this. I am very grateful for my mission and I know Pennsylvania is where I need to be. Something cool that happened is our ward took in half of the Pittsburgh 5th ward. So we are a lot bigger and we are now the Greentree ward. That was pretty exciting. I am grateful to be a missionary. It is an indescribable experience. The Savior lives and this is his work. Have a great week everyone!

What a great week! And the best part is transfers have come and I am going to stay here! The crazy thing is the Elder Wilkins is getting transferred. This is his first area and he has only been here for a couple of months so him leaving was definitely unexpected. I am going to miss him for sure. I have loved learning from and serving with him.

We were able to get new investigator this week named Al. We talked to his sister while she was sitting outside and she said we could come back. When we came back she wasn't too interested but her brother who is living with her was. He had actually been taught by missionaries a couple of years ago. He said that they would always bring him donuts though.... So we can't compete with that!! Hopefully being spiritually fed will be good enough for him. He said he was going to make it to church but when the ride called him he said he was sick. Thats alright we will keep working with him.

On Sunday Julia and her dad came to church today. We taught her about Lehi’s dream and showed her the picture that goes with it; the one with the iron rod and the tree and the building. Well after the lesson she pulled that picture up online and drew it, she put it on social media and a lot of her friends were asking her about it. So she told them what it was and explained it! She is awesome! A couple of her friends want to know more so hopefully this week we can meet with them.

Life out here is great and I am happy to be staying in the 6th ward. I love the people here. They are missionary minded and really help us feel like family. I love being a missionary. What a blessing! I have changed in so many ways that I could never thank my Heavenly Father enough. I know if we do the things he asks us to, we will be happy and we will be able to fulfill our potential. It's interesting isn't it, once we decide we actually don't know better than God and do what he asks, we receive so many blessings and are truly happy. He loves all of us so much, I know that to be true. All he asks is that we follow him. Have a great week!