Hey
Everyone!
I hope everyone has had a wonderful week! This past week here in
Lincoln Heights has possibly been the best week of my entire mission
so far. Despite the fact that our time to work in our area was very
limited, we saw a ton of success as we really focused on placing the
Savior and His Atonement at the center of our teaching. Elder
Crosgrove and I have seen a number of miracles over the past week that
have really strengthened my testimony of the power of the Atonement.
Tuesday, January 6th, 2015:
I love Tuesdays because we always have a full day to work in our own
area. We often get tied up doing other things for the zone, so time to
work in our own area is precious to us. We began our day by reading in
Mosiah 2 with Jose Mendez about the Atonement of Christ and how he can
apply it in his life to gain the necessary strength to overcome his
physical ailments. We had a few appointments cancel during the day, so
we talked with Mario Cortes about how he can continue strengthening
his testimony. Mario was baptized about a year ago and helps us out
with a number of different people that we teach. Recent converts are
some of the best member friends because investigators can see that the
changes that God hopes that they will make are possible; plus, recent
converts have rock-solid testimonies of the healing power of the
Atonement. During the evening, we taught the Vargas family. They
recently had a friend pass away, so we taught them about the Plan of
Salvation. It was a powerful lesson. Guadalupe even asked us after the
lesson about how she can serve a mission and defer her college plans.
It was one of the most exciting moments on my mission because we were
able to see the long-term picture being revealed in minds of the whole
family. It is exciting to see someone get baptized, but it is much
more exciting to see someone continue progressing in the Gospel and
coming unto Christ.
Wednesday, January 7th, 2015:
I was fairly nervous going into my first Mission Leadership Council
(MLC) today in Arcadia. Once per month, the mission president, his
wife, the assistants and all of the zone leaders and sister training
leaders from around the mission meet together for the majority of the
day to have a council about the needs of the mission and to prepare
for zone meeting the following day. It was really neat to be a part of
the core leadership of the mission and to discuss about the needs of
the mission as a whole. It wasn't as much instruction as I was
expecting; the MLC consisted of a topic being presented in front of
the group of thirty people and then everyone discussing
collaboratively about how to help each individual zone understand how
to resolve and improve each respective issue. It was a great meeting,
and it helped Elder Crosgrove and I understand that the key need of
our zone and our mission is deep conversion of the missionaries and
investigators. Truly understanding the doctrine of Christ is vital for
both us as missionaries and for our investigators. After MLC, we only
had a little bit of time before the end of the day to prepare for zone
meeting tomorrow morning. Elder Crosgrove and I planned out our
outline of what we wanted to teach, and we decided that the importance
of how our numbers of the key indicators actually reflect the charity
that we have towards those that we teach. Many people -- myself
included -- often think that statistics behind missionary work aren't
that important; however, the only way for anyone to truly access the
Atonement of Christ is through Priesthood ordinances, such as baptism.
If we don't help people progress towards baptism and focus our efforts
on what will help them achieve that goal, the Atonement can never take
effect in their lives, meaning that they will never be fully clean
from their sins and be able to return to live with God again.
Thursday, January 8th, 2015:
Today was the first time on my mission that I have ever taught zone
meeting. It was a lot different than what I was expecting because I
had become so accustomed to teaching district meeting. As a district
leader, it is a much smaller discussion, and there is no companion to
rely on for teaching the meeting. As a zone leader in zone meeting,
there is a companion to help teach, it is a much larger group of
people, and zone meeting has to be much more flexible with the time
that is actually spent teaching. Elder Crosgrove and I focused on the
conversion process and how the key indicators help us remember that
process. An interesting comment was made that the key indicators are
like the Law of Moses because they help point us towards the higher
law of conversion and give us a specific set of steps to focus on.
After zone meeting, we went to teach Wendi Martinez. She has been
going through some difficult times, so we were able to testify of the
power of the Atonement and the healing power that comes through living
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She will be baptized on February 1st.
During the evening, Joel Cortes came with us to teach the Duarte
family. As we were bearing testimony to them for the first time,
Otulia and Kimberly both began to cry and accepted the invitation to
be baptized. We then went to teach Carolina, Liz and Lalo again. We
centered our teaching on helping them see how their testimonies of
Christ have grown as they have applied what we teach.
Friday, January 9th, 2015:
In the morning, Elder Crosgrove and I went to go teach Jose Perez
about the importance of being baptized by the proper authority. We
read from Moroni 8 with him about how baptism is for the remission of
sins and that it should be done when we have reached the age of
accountability. We then ate lunch with Wendi Martinez before weekly
planning. Hermano Ojeda wanted to have correlation meeting earlier in
the day, so we had to rush through weekly planning. I have come to
learn how important efficient and thorough planning are as I have gone
about doing missionary work. Elder Crosgrove and I went to teach four
new investigators during the evening about the Restoration. We were
looking for a former investigator and ran into Evaristo, Amalia, Maria
and Norma. We began teaching them about the importance of prophets and
then testified of Christ's love for us and how He called another
prophet in these days. As we testified of Christ's love, Amalia began
to cry. It has been such a blessing to be able to see people touched
by the love of God as they come to understand the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Saturday, January 10th, 2015:
Wendi Martinez told us that she wanted to go with us to the Los
Angeles Temple Visitors' Center today, so we made the arrangements to
be able to go with her to the temple in Santa Monica. Mario Cortes
came with us to the tour at the visitors' center, and it was a great
trip. The Sister missionaries at the temple were really good with
Wendi and helped her feel the Spirit there. Wendi particularly enjoyed
the video about the family and how the Gospel helps bring families
together. Overall, I believe that the trip helped strengthen Wendi's
resolve to be baptized. After we got back, Elder Crosgrove and I
taught the Vargas family about leaving behind their weapons of
rebellion as we read Alma 23. Guadalupe and Norma both enjoyed the
lesson and committed to be baptized on January 25th. They are
progressing extremely well, and I am really excited to help them reach
the waters of baptism later this month. We concluded our day by going
to read in Mosiah 3 with Jose Mendez.
Sunday, January 11th, 2015:
I was assigned to speak in Sacrament Meeting by Obispo Diaz last
night, so I had to prepare my talk this morning about fasting. Elder
Crosgrove and I were really stressed during the morning with trying to
help all of our investigators get to church. Arranging transportation
is always stressful, but with church at 11 AM it becomes much easier
to organize everything. We were very fortunate to help five different
investigators come to church today. My talk also went flawlessly, and
I was able to connect fasting with putting off the natural man to have
access to the Atonement of Christ. We, as missionaries, have been
making a concerted effort to focus everything that we do more on the
Atonement of Christ. I received a witness by the Spirit as I bore
testimony of Christ as the Son of God that Christ knows each and every
one of us personally. As we sacrifice our will and seek to follow His
will, we will be blessed. Elder Crosgrove and I had a slow day, as far
as missionary work is concerned, but we did teach the Garcia family
during the evening about preparing to go to the temple. We shared the
"Heavenly Father, Earthly Father" video with them to help them see how
the temple enlightens our understanding about the Plan of Salvation.
It is very exciting to see members preparing to make more covenants
with our Heavenly Father.
For our P-Day today, we went running with Elder Rowley and Elder
Nelson, and we went to Pasadena with Joel Cortes to buy some clothes
for Elder Crosgrove when he goes home. It is interesting to be the
last companion of a missionary because it makes one see how short two
years really is. I love being able to serve the Lord with all of my
heart, might, mind and strength, and I wouldn't trade the opportunity
to give of myself for anything else. Truly, as we lose ourselves in
the service of others, we are able to find who we really are. I hope
everyone has a wonderful week! Thank you for all of your love and
support!
Love,
Elder Gabriel Valley
I hope everyone has had a wonderful week! This past week here in
Lincoln Heights has possibly been the best week of my entire mission
so far. Despite the fact that our time to work in our area was very
limited, we saw a ton of success as we really focused on placing the
Savior and His Atonement at the center of our teaching. Elder
Crosgrove and I have seen a number of miracles over the past week that
have really strengthened my testimony of the power of the Atonement.
Tuesday, January 6th, 2015:
I love Tuesdays because we always have a full day to work in our own
area. We often get tied up doing other things for the zone, so time to
work in our own area is precious to us. We began our day by reading in
Mosiah 2 with Jose Mendez about the Atonement of Christ and how he can
apply it in his life to gain the necessary strength to overcome his
physical ailments. We had a few appointments cancel during the day, so
we talked with Mario Cortes about how he can continue strengthening
his testimony. Mario was baptized about a year ago and helps us out
with a number of different people that we teach. Recent converts are
some of the best member friends because investigators can see that the
changes that God hopes that they will make are possible; plus, recent
converts have rock-solid testimonies of the healing power of the
Atonement. During the evening, we taught the Vargas family. They
recently had a friend pass away, so we taught them about the Plan of
Salvation. It was a powerful lesson. Guadalupe even asked us after the
lesson about how she can serve a mission and defer her college plans.
It was one of the most exciting moments on my mission because we were
able to see the long-term picture being revealed in minds of the whole
family. It is exciting to see someone get baptized, but it is much
more exciting to see someone continue progressing in the Gospel and
coming unto Christ.
Wednesday, January 7th, 2015:
I was fairly nervous going into my first Mission Leadership Council
(MLC) today in Arcadia. Once per month, the mission president, his
wife, the assistants and all of the zone leaders and sister training
leaders from around the mission meet together for the majority of the
day to have a council about the needs of the mission and to prepare
for zone meeting the following day. It was really neat to be a part of
the core leadership of the mission and to discuss about the needs of
the mission as a whole. It wasn't as much instruction as I was
expecting; the MLC consisted of a topic being presented in front of
the group of thirty people and then everyone discussing
collaboratively about how to help each individual zone understand how
to resolve and improve each respective issue. It was a great meeting,
and it helped Elder Crosgrove and I understand that the key need of
our zone and our mission is deep conversion of the missionaries and
investigators. Truly understanding the doctrine of Christ is vital for
both us as missionaries and for our investigators. After MLC, we only
had a little bit of time before the end of the day to prepare for zone
meeting tomorrow morning. Elder Crosgrove and I planned out our
outline of what we wanted to teach, and we decided that the importance
of how our numbers of the key indicators actually reflect the charity
that we have towards those that we teach. Many people -- myself
included -- often think that statistics behind missionary work aren't
that important; however, the only way for anyone to truly access the
Atonement of Christ is through Priesthood ordinances, such as baptism.
If we don't help people progress towards baptism and focus our efforts
on what will help them achieve that goal, the Atonement can never take
effect in their lives, meaning that they will never be fully clean
from their sins and be able to return to live with God again.
Thursday, January 8th, 2015:
Today was the first time on my mission that I have ever taught zone
meeting. It was a lot different than what I was expecting because I
had become so accustomed to teaching district meeting. As a district
leader, it is a much smaller discussion, and there is no companion to
rely on for teaching the meeting. As a zone leader in zone meeting,
there is a companion to help teach, it is a much larger group of
people, and zone meeting has to be much more flexible with the time
that is actually spent teaching. Elder Crosgrove and I focused on the
conversion process and how the key indicators help us remember that
process. An interesting comment was made that the key indicators are
like the Law of Moses because they help point us towards the higher
law of conversion and give us a specific set of steps to focus on.
After zone meeting, we went to teach Wendi Martinez. She has been
going through some difficult times, so we were able to testify of the
power of the Atonement and the healing power that comes through living
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She will be baptized on February 1st.
During the evening, Joel Cortes came with us to teach the Duarte
family. As we were bearing testimony to them for the first time,
Otulia and Kimberly both began to cry and accepted the invitation to
be baptized. We then went to teach Carolina, Liz and Lalo again. We
centered our teaching on helping them see how their testimonies of
Christ have grown as they have applied what we teach.
Friday, January 9th, 2015:
In the morning, Elder Crosgrove and I went to go teach Jose Perez
about the importance of being baptized by the proper authority. We
read from Moroni 8 with him about how baptism is for the remission of
sins and that it should be done when we have reached the age of
accountability. We then ate lunch with Wendi Martinez before weekly
planning. Hermano Ojeda wanted to have correlation meeting earlier in
the day, so we had to rush through weekly planning. I have come to
learn how important efficient and thorough planning are as I have gone
about doing missionary work. Elder Crosgrove and I went to teach four
new investigators during the evening about the Restoration. We were
looking for a former investigator and ran into Evaristo, Amalia, Maria
and Norma. We began teaching them about the importance of prophets and
then testified of Christ's love for us and how He called another
prophet in these days. As we testified of Christ's love, Amalia began
to cry. It has been such a blessing to be able to see people touched
by the love of God as they come to understand the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Saturday, January 10th, 2015:
Wendi Martinez told us that she wanted to go with us to the Los
Angeles Temple Visitors' Center today, so we made the arrangements to
be able to go with her to the temple in Santa Monica. Mario Cortes
came with us to the tour at the visitors' center, and it was a great
trip. The Sister missionaries at the temple were really good with
Wendi and helped her feel the Spirit there. Wendi particularly enjoyed
the video about the family and how the Gospel helps bring families
together. Overall, I believe that the trip helped strengthen Wendi's
resolve to be baptized. After we got back, Elder Crosgrove and I
taught the Vargas family about leaving behind their weapons of
rebellion as we read Alma 23. Guadalupe and Norma both enjoyed the
lesson and committed to be baptized on January 25th. They are
progressing extremely well, and I am really excited to help them reach
the waters of baptism later this month. We concluded our day by going
to read in Mosiah 3 with Jose Mendez.
Sunday, January 11th, 2015:
I was assigned to speak in Sacrament Meeting by Obispo Diaz last
night, so I had to prepare my talk this morning about fasting. Elder
Crosgrove and I were really stressed during the morning with trying to
help all of our investigators get to church. Arranging transportation
is always stressful, but with church at 11 AM it becomes much easier
to organize everything. We were very fortunate to help five different
investigators come to church today. My talk also went flawlessly, and
I was able to connect fasting with putting off the natural man to have
access to the Atonement of Christ. We, as missionaries, have been
making a concerted effort to focus everything that we do more on the
Atonement of Christ. I received a witness by the Spirit as I bore
testimony of Christ as the Son of God that Christ knows each and every
one of us personally. As we sacrifice our will and seek to follow His
will, we will be blessed. Elder Crosgrove and I had a slow day, as far
as missionary work is concerned, but we did teach the Garcia family
during the evening about preparing to go to the temple. We shared the
"Heavenly Father, Earthly Father" video with them to help them see how
the temple enlightens our understanding about the Plan of Salvation.
It is very exciting to see members preparing to make more covenants
with our Heavenly Father.
For our P-Day today, we went running with Elder Rowley and Elder
Nelson, and we went to Pasadena with Joel Cortes to buy some clothes
for Elder Crosgrove when he goes home. It is interesting to be the
last companion of a missionary because it makes one see how short two
years really is. I love being able to serve the Lord with all of my
heart, might, mind and strength, and I wouldn't trade the opportunity
to give of myself for anything else. Truly, as we lose ourselves in
the service of others, we are able to find who we really are. I hope
everyone has a wonderful week! Thank you for all of your love and
support!
Love,
Elder Gabriel Valley
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