Week 25

Good day everyone!

This past week has been a great week! I mean great. We had transfers last week and I got a new companion. His name is Elder Read. And he is a Georgia boy. I guess they only send southern people to southern Utah. Maybe. 

But we hit the ground running as soon as he got in the area. We met with Pam again on Wednesday night and she told us that she wants to be baptized on the 22nd of Feb. So that was exciting. She has been working towards that for the last 7 years and she has decided that now is the time to really do it. So we have gotten the ball rolling on that. Then yesterday we met with Cobe, and we felt prompted to ask him to be baptized so we did. He accepted and we are planning on the 23rd with him. So I am super excited about that as well. We have been working hard here and things are really starting to pick up. I have a feeling that this transfer has to potential to be great. We are just going to have to work harder and keep our eye on the prize. 

It is really amazing to me how the Lord prompts us to act and when we are filled with love for those people that he is asking us to help, we are not fearful of that prompting, but rather we do it because we want what is best for that individual. I can think of 2 very specific examples of being prompted this weekend where because we acted in accordance with what the Lord asked, peoples lives were blessed. But the big thing about it was that love preceded the promptings. We have been meeting with a man here in Orderville that has been struggling for decades with alcohol and going to church. We stopped by his house on Saturday and he didn't answer. We knocked more then normal and then left. Driving by later in the day I felt prompted to go there again. So we went and knocked on the door again. He immediately answered. We sat down and talked for an hour and a half. He was feeling very low and depressed. We built up a relationship with him over the previous 3 months. And when I felt the prompting to go over the only thing I really cared about was making sure he was ok. When we love we put those people who need our love above our worries or our cares. I am not saying any of this to toot my own horn, but rather to stress the importance of love. Love everyone. From love miracles happen. I have seen that this past week. It is something that I definitely need to apply more in my own life. 

But I Love you all!

I hope you all have a great week.

-Elder Valentine

P.S. While waiting for my companion I went out for the day with Elder Lewis, while tracting we came upon this, so naturally I had to have a picture....

Week 24

So another transfer has come and gone! It is hard to believe that I have already been out for 4 transfers. But on Sunday we received our transfer calls. I am once again staying in the Kanab 2 area. So I did not get transferred. Elder Greene, my companion, go transferred to the Enoch west area. He is going to be right next to Cedar City. If anyone knows where that is. It is a little bit north of St. George on I-15. So overall he really won't end up too far away from where I am. It is about 45 minutes northwest of my area. So not too bad. But that is where he is going. My new companions name is Elder Read. Right now it is about 10:30 and I dropped Elder Greene off at the St. George East stake center at 9:00. Elder Read is supposed to be down here in St. George at 5:00 this evening. So we will see if that is right. But I won't be getting back to my area until like 7-8 this evening. But anywho that is going to be this evening. So I am going to be here in St. George for the day with one of the Zone leaders. 

Anyways, this past week has been another good week. We have been improving in our area a lot. We have found a couple of new investigators over the last few weeks. So that is super awesome. We are teaching a 14 year old boy named Cobe. And we have just started teaching a 9 year old girl named Mercedes. And then we have a couple of other kids that we might start teaching. It is really remarkable how many kids we teach. And I use the term kids for anyone under the age of 18. They usually are the most easily taught of anyone. They aren't hardened like some adults are. So it is really interesting. I thought I would teach more adults then anything else. But not true. But we are also meeting with a woman named Pam. She has the goal of being baptized this coming February. So we are going to work with her towards that. She has a thing or two holding her back. But nothing super serious. But we have slowly been increasing our teaching pool. It takes a lot of prayers and hard work to get out there and find people and work with them. We have had amazing help from the members in the area though. They have been the main reason that we are able to teach as much as we have. I really appreciate all the work that they do. 

So that has been our past week. It was quite the adventure. But I hope everyone back home is doing well. I have heard that there is a lot of cold weather and possibly some snow back there. I hope everyone is staying warm and safe. I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week.

-Elder Valentine

Week 23

Once more another week has come and gone. And I don't even know what happened to it. I don't have a clue. Time just seems to be slipping away. 

I feel like recently there have been a lot of people slipping away from this life. Whether that be back home or out here in the area that I am serving. They have completed their probation in this mortal existence and moving on to a greater place. I feel like this might be a time of grief for many. My mind is turned to a talk given by Heber Q. Hale in 1920. He talks about his experience about what happens after this life

http://www.richmondancestry.org/pdf_files/Manifestation.pdf

I encourage you all to read it. I feel like those things that he speaks about are true. They bring a greater understanding and a much better perspective on the subject we all refer to as death. It really adds to our understanding of those things that are taught in the Plan of Salvation. What a blessing it is to know about the Plan of Happiness. 

Anywho this past week was good. We have been getting a better teaching pool established and have been able to set up a very regular teaching schedule. We have been able to do that over the last 3 weeks. So that is good. What is crazy is that this is the last week of this transfer. So next Sunday we will find out if we are both staying or if one of us is getting transferred. We have spent the last 2 transfers building this area. Establishing relationships with members and just the people in the towns in general. We are finally having some success. So I am happy about that. I feel like this area will have a good bit of work over the coming months and this next year. So I am happy about that. 

But I love you all and will email more next week.

-Elder Valentine

Week 22

I do not even know why I bother trying to remember what week it is. I think it was week 22 but oh well, that is what I put. But anywho!

This past week was a good week. We had new years and had some super fun district activities. We hiked a slot canyon here in my area. It was super intense. I will put a photo of that in here if I can. But we got to watch a movie new years eve and then on news years night as well. So we watched Despicable Me and Toy story 2. We actually had a pretty decent sized list of movies we could watch. But those are the 2 that we picked. So that was pretty exciting to get to watch a movie. 

But more importantly we were able to find a couple of new investigators this week. Which is a miracle. Considering almost no one was home because of the holidays, the fact that we found some new investigators can only be a miracle. It is amazing though the miracles you see when you are paying attention. Miracles happen all the time. I think too often we just look at it as coincidence or happenstance. But everything happens for a reason. So I say miracles. But it seems to me like things here are going to start picking up here with the start of the New Year. Which is super exciting. 

But I love you all! See miracles! 

-Elder Valentine

P.S. Looking out of the Slot towards the sky