Hey Everyone!
I hope that everyone enjoyed their New Year! It is crazy to think
about how quickly the time flies by. This past year of 2014 is the
only calendar year of my entire life that has been or likely will be
fully dedicated to missionary service, and I'm really sad that it
ended so quickly. Regardless, 2015 will hold many new surprises and
adventures, and the missionary work this week is just a precursor to
the many exciting times ahead!
Tuesday, December 30th, 2014:
Elder Perez came to our area today to do an exchange. He is now he
district leader in El Molino, so it feels very odd being in reversed
roles after having him as my zone leader for so long on my mission. It
was his first time returning to Arroyo since he left the area before I
left El Molino. Elder Perez is a great contactar, and we talked to
every person that we saw on the street today, which led to a number of
different appointments that we set up with various potential
investigators. We went with Mario Cortes during the afternoon to teach
an investigator named Jorge Perez about the Restoration. He didn't
remember that much from it, so we had to review a lot; however, he is
almost done reading 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon. Elder Perez and I
later went to teach Jose Mendez, who was actually baptized by Elder
Perez. We reviewed baptisms for the dead wih him and committed him to
begin working on his family history. To conclude the day, we taught
the Padilla family. They are a big, less-active family who are very
kind and welcoming. We shared a message about receiving revelation
through attending church, and they committed to giving us a ride to
church this Sunday. I find that assignments are the secret to success
in missionary work.
Wednesday, December 31st, 2014:
Today was the final day of the only full year of missionary service
during my entire life. I was reflecting a lot on how much I have grown
and how much I have changed in just the past calendar year. It is
incredible to see how fast the time goes as a missionary, too; the
past year has felt like only two or three months. During the morning,
we took all of the district leaders in our zone to the mission office
for a district leader training meeting while we got supplies and
talked to some of the other zone leaders. There is a much different
feel to being a zone leader and being a district leader because the
responsibilities related to each calling are very different. Elder
Crosgrove and I also finished making a list of all of the members in
our area, including all of the members that we do not know. We later
went with Mario Cortes to visit the Vargas family. They are all
progressing extremely well, and we began teaching the Gospel of Jesus
Christ with a focus on baptism. They were reluctant to accept a date,
but they did say that they will gladly be baptized when they feel
ready.
Thursday, January 1st, 2015:
Holidays feel like a regular day as missionaries because they are just
regular days to work. Elder Garry, one of the Spanish Assistants came
to my area to do exchanges with me, and I was kind of nervous, seeing
that it was my first exchange with an AP. We went to Elder Meisman's
district meeting, where he taught about following through with
commitments. It was a great district meeting because he involved
everyone in the teaching process to make it more collaborative. Elder
Garry and I then got to work and began talking to everyone we saw. We
didn't really have anything set the entire day, so it was really slow
and hard during the majority of the day. We taught Hermano Giron
during the afternoon about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and discovered
that his wife recently passed away. It was a powerful lesson. During
the evening, Elder Garry and I went to contact a former investigator
named Gloria Ortega. We found out that the missionaries had not been
by in nearly five years, but she let us right in. She seemed really
interested and prepared. Gloria has an uncle who was recently baptized
into our church, and she attended the baptismal service. Elder Garry
and I were both really surprised and excited. We taught the
Restoration, and Gloria prayed at the end of the lesson. We were
unsure whether we should then extend the baptismal invitation because
we both felt like it wasn't the right time; Elder Garry went for it,
and we could then see the gears clicking in Gloria's mind. She
committed to pray to know if she should be baptized.
Friday, January 2nd, 2015:
We began the day by doing weekly planning. Elder Crosgrove and I both
have a hard time focusing in our apartment for that long, so we
decided to eat some food in the middle to give our minds a break. I
have come to realize that working when I am tired and not focused
actually proves to be counterproductive, and that taking a short break
to refocus is actually more time-efficient and healthy. We then went
down to the church to have our correlation meeting with Hermano Ojeda.
Everyone seems to be doing quite well at the moment. It is also a
different feeling as a zone leader because we don't focus on the
missionary-member relationship with the ward like the district leader
does. During the evening, Elder Crosgrove and I went to teach Carolina
Garcia again. She ended up not being there, so we decided to focus our
attention on teaching Liz. We shared a video about New Year's, and Liz
really opened up to us. She began telling us about her life story,
especially about how she came to trust in God so much. It was a
powerful lesson, and she committed to be baptized if she receives an
answer from God that this is the path that Hs wants her to follow.
Saturday, January 3rd, 2015:
During the morning, Elder Crosgrove and I went to go do studies in El
Molino - South. Elder Elm was there with Elder Lane on exchanges. It
was purely to motivate them and inspire them, and we had an awesome
study session with them. At the end of studies, Elder Crosgrove and I
both bore our testimonies of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. It
was very powerful. Once we got back, Elder Crosgrove had to lay down
for a bit, seeing that he was really under the weather. I studied a
number of different talks, and I can see my Gospel knowledge
continuing to grow and strengthen my testimony. During the evening, we
went to teach Jose Mendez about family history work and to follow up
with him about how it is coming along. He is a very sincere man and
loves learning more about the Gospel. We then went to teach Liz,
Carolina and Lalo about how eg can meet all of their New Year's
resolutions as they live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a very
powerful spiritual lesson again where both Lalo and Carolina really
opened up about their religious background and their desires to
change. We have been really seeing the fruits of getting to know our
investigators as people and addressing their needs, rather than
teaching a rote lesson plan.
Sunday, January 4th, 2015:
We had committed seven different investigators to come to church and
confirmed with each one of them last night; however, not a single one
of our investigators showed up to church today, which was a huge
letdown for Elder Crosgrove and I. It was a great day at church, but
we were both really disappointed that none of our investigators were
able to enjoy the blessings that come from attending church every
week. We had church from 11 AM to 2 PM, so it felt a little different
than normal. The majority of our work day was spent trying to find
less-active members and former investigators. We didn't have much
success, but we anticipate that we will see the blessings in the near
future as a result of our efforts. During the evening, we taught David
and Ivette about forgiveness. It was a great lesson, and we left the
talk "Remember Lot's Wife" by Jeffrey R. Holland for them to read. We
concluded the evening by eating with the Jurado family. They are a
really nice family who attend the Fletcher Ward but allow us to update
all of our records on Sunday nights.
Today for P-Day, Elder Crosgrove and I are going to the church to have
a two-district wide P-Day activity. We are having a big Arroyo vs.
Fletcher tournament of volleyball and basketball at the church. There
will be about 14 or 16 missionaries who will come play, so I am really
excited to spend the day with most of the zone. It's hard to take
sides as a zone leader because I feel like everyone is on my time, but
we will still do our best to win, regardless of whose team that we end
up playing for! It will be a fun day, and it should be a great start
to the week! I hope that everyone has a fantastic week! Thank you for
all of your love and support!
Love,
Elder Gabriel Valley
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