Hey Everyone!
This week had its ups and downs, but the best part of the week,
without question, was being able to see how the Spirit always "beareth
record" (see 3 Nephi 11) of Christ and always says the same thing. We were
able to witness how revelation received by leaders can be received by
those whom the leaders oversee and how everyone can receive their own,
individual confirmation of revelation. Truly, the Heavens are not
closed, and God does, in fact, speak.
Tuesday, February 10th, 2014:
In preparation for Mission Leadership Council, Elder Corbett and I
studied and prepared a list of questions that we wanted to receive
answers to. I was prompted to study about the parable of the Wheat and
the Tares the morning of MLC, and it became the topic of discussion
during the meeting. We talked about how we can help everyone have a
greater vision of harvesting and reaping the rewards of our labors.
Elder Corbett and I had received revelation about how to better
implement the vision to baptize, and that also became a topic of
discussion amongst all of the members of the council. It was incredible
to see how much confirming revelation that we had received and were
receiving. It strengthened my testimony that our leaders are truly
called by God, and that He will confirm to us that they were called by
inspiration, if we are willing to trust in Him. During the evening, we
went with Joel Cortes to teach Carolina Garcia. We talked about
exercising faith to receive an answer from God. Carolina began to see
the importance of exercising faith with a baptismal date. We are
confident that she will be ready to make that step in the near future.
Wednesday, February 11th, 2014:
Today marks one year that we have had the iPads here in our mission.
It has made me reflect on how much I have learned since acquiring the
iPad as a result of how much better our studies are. During the
afternoon, we took Elder Garcia and Elder Flindt to the bike store in
Monrovia to pick up Elder Garcia's bike. We persuaded him to get a
hybrid bike because it will serve him so much better in the long run.
After the run across the mission, we went to go teach Wendi Martinez
about the principle of grace. She has been struggling a little bit
with staying positive with her resolve to change and become more
patient, so we helped her understand how the Lord can make up the
difference of what we, as humans, are unable to do. Elder Corbett and
I then went to eat dinner with Hermana Estrada. She made a Venezuelan
food called arepas, and they were delicious. We then went to teach a
man named Jesus for the first time. He had a number of excellent
questions, and he appears to have some solid potential. After we left,
we went to go see Otulia Duarte. She informed us that her husband no
longer wants us to come by. It has been hard for us to see so many
people with so much interest become former investigators as a result
of things out of our control.
Thursday, February 12th, 2014:
Elder Corbett and I had studied a lot in preparation for zone meeting,
and I feel like it really paid off. We taught about the importance of
the fundamentals of Preach My Gospel. We did a role play of the first
day in the MTC and presented Preach My Gospel as a manual for how to
do missionary work and help investigators prepare to make covenants
that will help them feel the love of Christ in their lives more often.
It was very cheesy, but everyone felt the Spirit and understood the
idea of always going back to the basics. Several missionaries in the
zone also mentioned that they had received personal revelation about
the topic as they were studying in preparation for zone meeting, too.
That just goes to show that the assistants received revelation for the
mission, which was confirmed by the personal revelation that we, as
the zone leaders, received, which also happened to be confirmed by the
individual missionaries within our zone. It was a really neat
experience to be a part of. During the evening, we went with Joel
Cortes to teach the Vargas family. Unfortunately, the lesson was just
as poor as zone meeting was great. The Spirit was not present, and we
were worried that the family was going to drop us right there on the
spot. We began to testify right before we left, which brought the
Spirit back and reminded them of how happy they feel when they learn
about God. I don't know exactly what caused the lesson to go so awry;
regardless, the Spirit must be present when we teach.
Friday, February 13th, 2014:
Weekly planning was a little difficult to focus because we were trying
to work so hard to discern the key need of the Vargas family.
Investigators often have a variety of needs that prevent them from
gaining the desire to act and progress, and there is usually a
specific need or setback that is the root of the problem. Just like
the root of a tree, only a piece of the problem itself can be seen;
the remainder has to be uncovered as we work to help the individual
change. We have been working very hard to figure out what we can do to
help them feel the Spirit again. I don't know if I have loved a family
quite as much as I love that family and want to help them. We went to
correlation meeting with Hermano Ojeda and planned for the week ahead
with the district. Elder Van Wagenen then came with me to do
exchanges; Elder Corbett went with Elder Carnahan to Arroyo - West. I
have really enjoyed watching Elder Van Wagenen's progress over the
past three transfers since I first met him in Belvedere 2. We both
worked very hard to contact and find some new people to teach. We were
unable to find anyone that had that much interest to our dismay. Elder
Van Wagenen and I went to read with Carolina Garcia in 3 Nephi 11
about the instance when Christ comes down to visit the Americas. Going
off of what we taught in zone meeting, we showed how Christ teaches
his doctrine very simply and how Carolina can begin to exercise faith
in order to know that Christ wants her to be baptized and be clean. As
we follow Christ's example, we become like the Nephites who had a
personal experience with the Savior himself.
Saturday, February 14th, 2014:
Elder Van Wagenen and I made brownies in the morning for the Vargas
family. We decided that love is the essence of the Gospel, so we
thought that we should find an easy way to show our love for their
family. Elder Van Wagenen and I went to read Mosiah 5 with Jose
Mendez. He has been progressing very well and always looks forward to
learning more. Converts always amaze me with how humble they are; it
is truly inspiring and humbling to see how much they emulate the
Savior through the way that they live. We went to the church for
the wedding of Marvin and Olivia Quintanilla. Today marked the 30th
anniversary of when they first started dating, which made the day even
more special when they decided to be married to one another. They will
be baptized tomorrow and will begin preparing to be married for the
rest of eternity when they enter into the temple in the future. I
loved seeing them be able to make this Valentine's Day the most
memorable one yet. We all finished the exchange, and Elder Corbett and
I got right back to work. I saw Hector and Erika from El Sereno on the
street in Lincoln Heights and began to talk to them. They mentioned
that they are planning to get married in May, which made me more
excited than I have been in a while. Seeing their progress has also
been extremely humbling for me. The friendships and relationships that
I have built on my mission are some of the most cherished memories
that I will ever have in my entire life. Elder Corbett and I delivered
the brownies to the Vargas family. It proved to be a great idea
because the Spirit instantly returned. As we read a few short verses
with them in the Book of Mormon in 1 Nephi 4, Guadalupe, Norma and
Mario all began to connect the dots. Guadalupe began seeing all of the
double meanings about how all of the prophets are types and shadows of
Jesus Christ and how the "dwelling in a tent" refers to the temple,
while Norma finally realized that the Book of Mormon is the evidence
that this church wasn't just founded like every other one. It was such
a neat experience to see revelation flowing through them in that very
instant. The Lord truly does make up the difference with his grace,
especially when we, as imperfect humans, mess up. His plan never
fails.
Sunday, February 15th, 2014:
It has been rather tough to get investigators to come to church
lately, and I'm not entirely sure why. We have been working harder
than ever, and our success seems to be waning at an accelerating pace.
Despite the rough patch with the missionary work, we are exercising
more faith that the Lord will bless us with miracles. Church was a
typical day with nothing noteworthy to report. The funny thing was
listening to everyone trying to sing the closing Hymn in Sacrament
Meeting, though. The Hermano leading the music was singing a different
song than everyone else, the tune was way off, and everyone messed up
with the number of verses that were being sung. I think the Hymn was
restarted about three different times. All of us were laughing because
it appears that no one here has been gifted with musical talents.
Elder Corbett and I visited a number of different houses during the
day, but it was one of those days in which not a single person let us
in. Days like today are a way that we show the Lord that we have the
drive and the faith necessary to keep enduring so that we can be
witnesses of miracles right before our eyes. I used to think that
miracles were just a coincidence. I am here as a witness that there
are no coincidences; God is involved in the details of our lives.
During the evening, we ate dinner at the Jurado family's home. The
assistants, Elder Ramos and Elder Fellows, needed our car, so they
came over to eat with them, too, before they took our car to run a few
errands. It was great to see them and spend the time with the Jurado
family. They are the most active family in our area, and they actually
attend a different ward.
We ate at Joel Cortes' house. He made us chilaquiles, which is one of
my favorite foods in the world. The best part is that Joel is the best
chef on the planet. We went to tour Forest Lawns, the cemetery where
Michael Jackson is buried and Elysian Park, the park where Dodger
Stadium is located. It was a really fun day with Joel, and we were
able to see some breathtaking views of downtown Los Angeles from the
hill on which it all sits. We plan on going hiking at the waterfall
next week. I hope that everyone has a wonderful week! Thank you for
all of your love and support! Always remember that what God says
matters, and anytime we place greater priority on something that
someone else says, we are risking the blessings that matter most for
blessings that are only temporary.
Love,
Elder Gabriel Valley
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Monday, February 9, 2015
There Are No Coincidences in Life - February 9, 2015
Hey Everyone!
This first full week with Elder Corbett has been really fun and
incredibly busy. We have been able to witness some very scary,
exciting, and spiritual things all packed into one crazy week. Lincoln
Heights has proven to be my favorite area that I have worked in so
far, and I am looking forward to more adventures in the short-term
future!
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2015:
Elder Corbett and I began our day by going to visit Jose Mendez. Elder
Corbett's mother is from El Salvador, so he and Jose were able to
break the ice very easily. Elder Corbett's grandfather was also a
member of the El Salvador national soccer team when they went to the
World Cup, so Jose was really interested in talking to him. We taught
Jose about the vision that we have of helping him reach the temple. We
then went with Joel Cortes to go visit Wendi Martinez. There was a
different spirit in her home today; everything felt peaceful and
happy, and it made me very grateful to see how much her life has
improved as she has decided to follow Christ more fully, especially by
being baptized. During the evening, Joel came with us again. We had a
number of appointments fall through, but we ended up knocking into a
former investigator family that we didn't even know of. The Hernandez
family had been investigating in the past but was unable to get
married. They informed us that they now have everything ready to get
married and then be baptized. It was a miracle of being in the right
place at the right time.
Wednesday, February 4th, 2015:
Elder Corbett and I went to do studies with Elder Carnahan and Elder
Meisman. We have been trying to help everyone catch the vision of how
to effectively work with our members, especially the less-active
members in order to find the prepared people who will accept the
Gospel. It was very revelatory, and we all took something very
meaningful out of it. Elder Corbett and I then went to the mission
office to pick up supplies. During the afternoon, we taught Juan
Jaimes for the first time. We shared the Plan of Salvation with him
and talked about how his family can be together forever as he lives
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He seems like he has a lot of potential,
and I am really excited to begin working with him. During the evening,
we taught the Vargas family about how to study the Book of Mormon
effectively. The Spirit was really strong during the lesson. They all
commented about how they have seen a number of miracles lately of
other people helping them unexpectedly, Mahican testified to them that
the Book of Mormon is true. It was one of the happiest moments of my
mission.
Thursday, February 5th, 2015:
Elder Corbett and I went to the Fletcher district meeting. Elder
Meisman taught about revelation through church attendance and how
church tours are the key for helping people see how much closer they
can come to Christ as they attend church regularly. It was a great
meeting in which I learned a lot of really applicable doctrine. We
went to fill out Wendi Martinez's baptismal paperwork with her when we
received a phone call from the Fletcher - South Elders. They informed
us that they needed to go to the bike store. We picked them up and
took them all the way over to Monrovia so that Elder Garcia could
purchase a new bike. Elder Flindt is training him, and they are one of
the best companionships that I have ever seen. The traffic was
horrendous (even worse than the usual California traffic), causing us
to arrive fifteen minutes late for Maria Manriquez's baptism in
Belvedere 2. It was a very spiritual baptismal service. It was such a
relief from the stress of driving, and the Spirit was so powerful. It
was great to be able to see a lot of the members that I worked with
while I was serving in Belvedere 2. We then had our monthly stake
correlation meeting with President Esquerra, the stake president of
the East Los Angeles Stake, and with President Nelson, the First
Counselor in the Mission Presidency. They are both very spiritual men
with huge testimonies. We talked a lot about how we can work more
effectively with our ward clerks to continue updating the ward lists
and work more efficiently with the active members in each ward.
Friday, February 6th, 2015:
Elder Corbett and I went with Mario Cortes to visit Wendi Martinez in
the morning. We shared 1 Nephi 8 and talked about how she can continue
holding onto the Iron Rod. Wendi is doing extremely well and is
improving her studies with the Book of Mormon. Elder Corbett and I
then had our first weekly planning session together. He asks a lot of
inspired questions, which is conducive to receiving revelation. I
loved working with him because I felt like we were able to see past the
surface-level needs of each investigator and really delve into their
core needs and desires, which allowed us to effectively plan what to
teach each one of them. We then went to correlation meeting with
Hermano Ojeda. His meetings are becoming more and more productive,
which is helping out the missionary work immensely. All of our
appointments fell through at night again. We decided to go teach the
Garcia family about how then can share their testimonies more during
lessons and what they can share when we go to teach the Vargas family.
As members become friends with those who are investigating, the Spirit
is able to be present more often than it would have been otherwise. On
our way back to the apartment, we saw a high-speed car chase with
eight police cars following an apparent criminal. It reminded me of
just how protected we are in the rough areas that we work in on a
daily basis.
Saturday, February 7th, 2015:
Elder Corbett and I went to study with Elder Stuart and Elder Perez in
El Molino to go over the vision with them, too. It was a great study
session. Elder Stuart is going to be a great district leader, and
Elder Perez looks much happier, now that he has a break from
leadership responsibilities for the first time in his entire mission.
We then went to teach Jose Mendez about receiving his patriarchal
blessing. We then had a really hard day of work. There are those days
where nothing seems to happen, and we show the Lord how willing we are
to work. Rosie Boquilla invited us to come eat pozole, so we talked to
her about the importance of coming to church. We had a number of
appointments cancel during the evening when Joel Cortes was going to
come with us to visit a number of different investigators. They
canceled, so we decided to teach Joel. He broke down crying
when we began to teach him. He shared a dream that he recently had of
a little baby holding onto his leg and guiding him to a pool and away
from an intimidating man of large stature. I interpreted the dream for
him, and the Spirit flooded into the room as we talked about how the
baby is his guardian angel leading him to the sanctifying living water
of Christ. It was no coincidence that those appointments canceled
because we were exactly where the Lord wanted us to be in that
instant. We then went to teach Carolina, Hilario and Liz. I had prayed
to know exactly what to share with them during my personal study in
the morning, and Mormon 8 immediately popped into my mind. It was no
coincidence that Liz made the connection of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. The Spirit was
really strong again, and we were able to help them see how effective
their studies of the Book of Mormon can be.
Sunday, February 8th, 2015:
I was privileged to have the opportunity to perform Wendi Martinez's
confirmation today during Sacrament Meeting. I had been fasting to be
able to say the words exactly as the Lord would want me to say them,
and the Spirit directed me to say exactly what she needed to hear. The
power of God is real. During the evening, Elder Corbett and I went to
teach Otulia Duarte about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We invited her
to be baptized and then extended a baptismal date for March 15th. She
was really excited to accept the invitation to be baptized and said
that she wants to be baptized so that she can be cleansed of all of
her sins. That is the true purpose of baptism: be purified through the
Atonement of Christ so that sanctification can then take place as one
prepares to meet God. We then went to teach the Moreno family again.
Evaristo, Amalia and Fatima are the perfect family and have so much
potential. Every time that we talk with them in their home, we are all
able to be edified by the Spirit of the Lord. The Lord teaches each
and every one of us according to our understanding.
We are going to play ping pong with some other missionaries at the
church today. We ate lunch with Wendi Martinez and Mario Cortes and
have enjoyed having a relaxing P-Day. We are planning to go to Tujunga
Falls next weekend, just like we did last year with the zone. A nice
breather and a break is always necessary so that we can begin to work
even harder in the coming week. I hope everyone has a wonderful week
and remembers to always continue improving! I appreciate all of your
support!
Love,
Elder Gabriel Valley
This first full week with Elder Corbett has been really fun and
incredibly busy. We have been able to witness some very scary,
exciting, and spiritual things all packed into one crazy week. Lincoln
Heights has proven to be my favorite area that I have worked in so
far, and I am looking forward to more adventures in the short-term
future!
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2015:
Elder Corbett and I began our day by going to visit Jose Mendez. Elder
Corbett's mother is from El Salvador, so he and Jose were able to
break the ice very easily. Elder Corbett's grandfather was also a
member of the El Salvador national soccer team when they went to the
World Cup, so Jose was really interested in talking to him. We taught
Jose about the vision that we have of helping him reach the temple. We
then went with Joel Cortes to go visit Wendi Martinez. There was a
different spirit in her home today; everything felt peaceful and
happy, and it made me very grateful to see how much her life has
improved as she has decided to follow Christ more fully, especially by
being baptized. During the evening, Joel came with us again. We had a
number of appointments fall through, but we ended up knocking into a
former investigator family that we didn't even know of. The Hernandez
family had been investigating in the past but was unable to get
married. They informed us that they now have everything ready to get
married and then be baptized. It was a miracle of being in the right
place at the right time.
Wednesday, February 4th, 2015:
Elder Corbett and I went to do studies with Elder Carnahan and Elder
Meisman. We have been trying to help everyone catch the vision of how
to effectively work with our members, especially the less-active
members in order to find the prepared people who will accept the
Gospel. It was very revelatory, and we all took something very
meaningful out of it. Elder Corbett and I then went to the mission
office to pick up supplies. During the afternoon, we taught Juan
Jaimes for the first time. We shared the Plan of Salvation with him
and talked about how his family can be together forever as he lives
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He seems like he has a lot of potential,
and I am really excited to begin working with him. During the evening,
we taught the Vargas family about how to study the Book of Mormon
effectively. The Spirit was really strong during the lesson. They all
commented about how they have seen a number of miracles lately of
other people helping them unexpectedly, Mahican testified to them that
the Book of Mormon is true. It was one of the happiest moments of my
mission.
Thursday, February 5th, 2015:
Elder Corbett and I went to the Fletcher district meeting. Elder
Meisman taught about revelation through church attendance and how
church tours are the key for helping people see how much closer they
can come to Christ as they attend church regularly. It was a great
meeting in which I learned a lot of really applicable doctrine. We
went to fill out Wendi Martinez's baptismal paperwork with her when we
received a phone call from the Fletcher - South Elders. They informed
us that they needed to go to the bike store. We picked them up and
took them all the way over to Monrovia so that Elder Garcia could
purchase a new bike. Elder Flindt is training him, and they are one of
the best companionships that I have ever seen. The traffic was
horrendous (even worse than the usual California traffic), causing us
to arrive fifteen minutes late for Maria Manriquez's baptism in
Belvedere 2. It was a very spiritual baptismal service. It was such a
relief from the stress of driving, and the Spirit was so powerful. It
was great to be able to see a lot of the members that I worked with
while I was serving in Belvedere 2. We then had our monthly stake
correlation meeting with President Esquerra, the stake president of
the East Los Angeles Stake, and with President Nelson, the First
Counselor in the Mission Presidency. They are both very spiritual men
with huge testimonies. We talked a lot about how we can work more
effectively with our ward clerks to continue updating the ward lists
and work more efficiently with the active members in each ward.
Friday, February 6th, 2015:
Elder Corbett and I went with Mario Cortes to visit Wendi Martinez in
the morning. We shared 1 Nephi 8 and talked about how she can continue
holding onto the Iron Rod. Wendi is doing extremely well and is
improving her studies with the Book of Mormon. Elder Corbett and I
then had our first weekly planning session together. He asks a lot of
inspired questions, which is conducive to receiving revelation. I
loved working with him because I felt like we were able to see past the
surface-level needs of each investigator and really delve into their
core needs and desires, which allowed us to effectively plan what to
teach each one of them. We then went to correlation meeting with
Hermano Ojeda. His meetings are becoming more and more productive,
which is helping out the missionary work immensely. All of our
appointments fell through at night again. We decided to go teach the
Garcia family about how then can share their testimonies more during
lessons and what they can share when we go to teach the Vargas family.
As members become friends with those who are investigating, the Spirit
is able to be present more often than it would have been otherwise. On
our way back to the apartment, we saw a high-speed car chase with
eight police cars following an apparent criminal. It reminded me of
just how protected we are in the rough areas that we work in on a
daily basis.
Saturday, February 7th, 2015:
Elder Corbett and I went to study with Elder Stuart and Elder Perez in
El Molino to go over the vision with them, too. It was a great study
session. Elder Stuart is going to be a great district leader, and
Elder Perez looks much happier, now that he has a break from
leadership responsibilities for the first time in his entire mission.
We then went to teach Jose Mendez about receiving his patriarchal
blessing. We then had a really hard day of work. There are those days
where nothing seems to happen, and we show the Lord how willing we are
to work. Rosie Boquilla invited us to come eat pozole, so we talked to
her about the importance of coming to church. We had a number of
appointments cancel during the evening when Joel Cortes was going to
come with us to visit a number of different investigators. They
canceled, so we decided to teach Joel. He broke down crying
when we began to teach him. He shared a dream that he recently had of
a little baby holding onto his leg and guiding him to a pool and away
from an intimidating man of large stature. I interpreted the dream for
him, and the Spirit flooded into the room as we talked about how the
baby is his guardian angel leading him to the sanctifying living water
of Christ. It was no coincidence that those appointments canceled
because we were exactly where the Lord wanted us to be in that
instant. We then went to teach Carolina, Hilario and Liz. I had prayed
to know exactly what to share with them during my personal study in
the morning, and Mormon 8 immediately popped into my mind. It was no
coincidence that Liz made the connection of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. The Spirit was
really strong again, and we were able to help them see how effective
their studies of the Book of Mormon can be.
Sunday, February 8th, 2015:
I was privileged to have the opportunity to perform Wendi Martinez's
confirmation today during Sacrament Meeting. I had been fasting to be
able to say the words exactly as the Lord would want me to say them,
and the Spirit directed me to say exactly what she needed to hear. The
power of God is real. During the evening, Elder Corbett and I went to
teach Otulia Duarte about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We invited her
to be baptized and then extended a baptismal date for March 15th. She
was really excited to accept the invitation to be baptized and said
that she wants to be baptized so that she can be cleansed of all of
her sins. That is the true purpose of baptism: be purified through the
Atonement of Christ so that sanctification can then take place as one
prepares to meet God. We then went to teach the Moreno family again.
Evaristo, Amalia and Fatima are the perfect family and have so much
potential. Every time that we talk with them in their home, we are all
able to be edified by the Spirit of the Lord. The Lord teaches each
and every one of us according to our understanding.
We are going to play ping pong with some other missionaries at the
church today. We ate lunch with Wendi Martinez and Mario Cortes and
have enjoyed having a relaxing P-Day. We are planning to go to Tujunga
Falls next weekend, just like we did last year with the zone. A nice
breather and a break is always necessary so that we can begin to work
even harder in the coming week. I hope everyone has a wonderful week
and remembers to always continue improving! I appreciate all of your
support!
Love,
Elder Gabriel Valley
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
The Baptism of Wendi Lisseth Martinez Ramos - February 2, 2015
Hey Everyone!
For Elder Crosgrove's final Sunday as a missionary and for our final
week together, we were blessed with the opportunity to help Lisseth
enter the waters of baptism and make her first covenant with our
Heavenly Father. Our concerted efforts to find and teach by the Spirit
have brought about a host of miracles and have helped us be the
instruments in helping Lisseth reach this monumental step in her life.
I am now working with Elder Corbett, who came out to the mission field
the same day that I did. He is from Orem, Utah, but he is
half-Salvadorean. I am really excited to work with him because we have
been good friends for the majority of our mission.
Tuesday, January 26th, 2014:
Elder Crosgrove and I began our day by going to teach Jorge Perez
about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He has been reading a large amount
out of the Book of Mormon, but he is not connecting all of the dots
with the implications of the Book of Mormon. We decided to stop
teaching him for a few weeks to let him read more, and we will return
to teach him in a few weeks. Lisseth called us to tell us that she was
no longer interested in being baptized. Elder Crosgrove and I prayed
that we would know what to say to help her see God's perspective of
her life. As we taught her about the Plan of Salvation, she broke down
crying and expressed the loneliness that she feels in life. We
testified of Christ's love for her. She instantly understood the need
to be baptized and now wants to continue through with her decision to
follow Christ's example and be baptized this Sunday. During the
afternoon, Elder Crosgrove and I contacted what may have been one of
the most prepared people that I have ever met on the street during my
mission. His name is Richard Asias, and he lives in Boyle Heights. It
will be really exciting to hear how his progress goes in Boyle
Heights. The only other teaching appointment of our day was with the
Garcia family and Jose Mendez. We talked about the difference between
testimony and conversion. A testimony is knowledge of the Gospel, but
conversion is acting upon the testimony that one receives.
Wednesday, January 27th, 2014:
We went to go pick up supplies at the office today. Elder Hamilton
needed us to take the car into the shop for a moment. While getting
ready to go to the shop, we saw Elder Merrill and Elder Ramos at the
mission office. We immediately knew that they are the new assistants
to Presidente Villanueva. I have really enjoyed working around them
during my mission, so it will be really fun to be able to continue
working with them during the upcoming transfer. During the evening, we
went to eat dinner with Rosie at a pupuseria. The unfortunate thing
was that the pupuseria was really slow and caused us to miss an
appointment that we had right afterwards. Fortunately, however, we had
a great lesson with the Vargas family during the evening about the
Book of Mormon. We shared John 14 with them and talked about how the
Book of Mormon helps us to be able to feel the Holy Spirit.
Thursday, January 28th, 2014:
Elder Crosgrove and I went to the Arroyo district meeting where Elder
Carnahan taught about finding through less-active members. It was a
really creative lesson because he did a role play that demonstrated
the importance of working with ward leadership to be able to find the
prepared less-active members. After district meeting, we went to teach
Lisseth Martinez about the repentance process. We answered a lot of
her questions about what sin is and how it can be washed clean through
go the atoning blood of Christ. We then went to do service at a local
church in Lincoln Heights. We moved a lot of canned food and bagged it
to give out to those who need it. It was a really fun service project
and was a great way to get our name out in the community. We don't
look to proselyte while we do service at community or religious
places, but we have the opportunity to answer questions if people
approach us and ask about what we do. More important than anything,
however, is being able to help those who are in need of food. During
the evening, we went to eat with Lorena Garcia and her family. She
taught us how to make pupusas and invited some friends over. The
really neat thing was that the friends that she invited over were from
El Sereno; I had taught them on exchanges last week. I was able to
teach Martin about the Plan of Salvation and answer a lot of his
questions relating to the Restoration, too. It just goes to show that
this work is all one work; even though we cover an individual area, we
are all working together to help individual people progress in the
Gospel.
Friday, January 30th, 2014:
For the second morning in a row, Elder Crosgrove and I went running
with Joel Cortes. We have been trying to stay in shape, physically, to
hold up with all of the labors of missionary work. Elder Crosgrove and
I have been working more and more tirelessly to try to continue to
find and teach, but we have been struggling, despite the fact that we
continue to work more and more efficiently. We had a great weekly
planning session in which we talked about how we can continue our
success and work ethic into the upcoming transfer, even though Elder
Crosgrove will be going home. After weekly planning, we went up to eat
with the Gonzalez family. As we were sitting down and eating, a
lightning storm passed through. It was the first time that I had seen
lightning on my mission. It was foreshadowing the remainder of our
day. We had a number of appointments cancel on us during the evening.
We concluded the day by helping Carolina Garcia with her calculus
homework. It is wonderful to be able to use our talents and abilities
to bless the lives of others, and the Lord calls on us to use all of
our previous life experiences from the past to be able to do so.
Saturday, January 31st, 2014:
Hermano Ojeda's car broke down on the way to correlation meeting, so
we met with Obispo Diaz for the meeting. It was much more efficient
and productive because Obispo knows all of the needs and strengths of
the ward. It sounds like we are struggling as a district and as a zone
with maintaining the solid, progressing baptismal candidates. One easy
trap to fall into as a missionary to fake success with numbers and not
worry about true, lasting conversion. That is a need that I believe
our zone needs to focus on. Elder Crosgrove and I met with Lisseth
Martinez to finalize all of the plans and the program for her baptism Sunday.
It is a privilege to be with her to make this step in her
life. We were really unlucky, once again, with contacting people. We
have been contacting nearly double or triple the amount of people that
we had been contacting before, and we have been finding about half or
one-third of the amount of interested people. It has been a little
difficult to maintain the enthusiasm, but we are continuing to
persevere. We taught Jose Mendez about Mosiah 4 and the atoning
sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He has huge desires to continue learning
and growing as he studies the Gospel. We were teaching Carolina Garcia
when we got the call from Presidente Villanueva about transfers. As
zone leaders, we receive calls from President, instead of the
assistants, and he tells us what will happen. Elder Corbett will be my
new companion, and there will be a few minor changes in the zone.
Sunday, February 1st, 2014:
Baptisms are usually very stressful, but our planning in advance made
the day quite enjoyable. We left church early to begin filling up the
baptismal font at the Wilson building. On the way there, we had to
pick up Elder Ramos so that he could have a ride for the baptism.
Lisseth has been investigating for quite some time, so there were
about six or seven missionaries that all came back for the baptism to
show their support during this special day. It was an extremely
spiritual service that left Lisseth extremely happy. She had invited
her friend to come, and her friend seemed very interested in learning
more about our church, too. Baptisms are one of the very best ways to
share the Gospel because they are one of the most important ordinances
that are performed in the Church. After the baptism, we went with Joel
Cortes to eat at his house before leaving to go to the despedida. I
was surprised to see how many departing missionaries there were and
how many members and investigators were there. The restored Gospel of
Jesus Christ changes us and unites us together.
We are having another movie day at the church with a number of
missionaries from the zone. I believe that we will have a very unified
zone with a lot of upside and progress this transfer. We were united
last transfer, but I believe that this transfer will lead to even more
progress and success with both missionary work and with the progress
of each individual missionary. I am grateful for all of your love and
support, and I hope that everyone has a wonderful week!
Love,
Elder Gabriel Valley
For Elder Crosgrove's final Sunday as a missionary and for our final
week together, we were blessed with the opportunity to help Lisseth
enter the waters of baptism and make her first covenant with our
Heavenly Father. Our concerted efforts to find and teach by the Spirit
have brought about a host of miracles and have helped us be the
instruments in helping Lisseth reach this monumental step in her life.
I am now working with Elder Corbett, who came out to the mission field
the same day that I did. He is from Orem, Utah, but he is
half-Salvadorean. I am really excited to work with him because we have
been good friends for the majority of our mission.
Tuesday, January 26th, 2014:
Elder Crosgrove and I began our day by going to teach Jorge Perez
about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He has been reading a large amount
out of the Book of Mormon, but he is not connecting all of the dots
with the implications of the Book of Mormon. We decided to stop
teaching him for a few weeks to let him read more, and we will return
to teach him in a few weeks. Lisseth called us to tell us that she was
no longer interested in being baptized. Elder Crosgrove and I prayed
that we would know what to say to help her see God's perspective of
her life. As we taught her about the Plan of Salvation, she broke down
crying and expressed the loneliness that she feels in life. We
testified of Christ's love for her. She instantly understood the need
to be baptized and now wants to continue through with her decision to
follow Christ's example and be baptized this Sunday. During the
afternoon, Elder Crosgrove and I contacted what may have been one of
the most prepared people that I have ever met on the street during my
mission. His name is Richard Asias, and he lives in Boyle Heights. It
will be really exciting to hear how his progress goes in Boyle
Heights. The only other teaching appointment of our day was with the
Garcia family and Jose Mendez. We talked about the difference between
testimony and conversion. A testimony is knowledge of the Gospel, but
conversion is acting upon the testimony that one receives.
Wednesday, January 27th, 2014:
We went to go pick up supplies at the office today. Elder Hamilton
needed us to take the car into the shop for a moment. While getting
ready to go to the shop, we saw Elder Merrill and Elder Ramos at the
mission office. We immediately knew that they are the new assistants
to Presidente Villanueva. I have really enjoyed working around them
during my mission, so it will be really fun to be able to continue
working with them during the upcoming transfer. During the evening, we
went to eat dinner with Rosie at a pupuseria. The unfortunate thing
was that the pupuseria was really slow and caused us to miss an
appointment that we had right afterwards. Fortunately, however, we had
a great lesson with the Vargas family during the evening about the
Book of Mormon. We shared John 14 with them and talked about how the
Book of Mormon helps us to be able to feel the Holy Spirit.
Thursday, January 28th, 2014:
Elder Crosgrove and I went to the Arroyo district meeting where Elder
Carnahan taught about finding through less-active members. It was a
really creative lesson because he did a role play that demonstrated
the importance of working with ward leadership to be able to find the
prepared less-active members. After district meeting, we went to teach
Lisseth Martinez about the repentance process. We answered a lot of
her questions about what sin is and how it can be washed clean through
go the atoning blood of Christ. We then went to do service at a local
church in Lincoln Heights. We moved a lot of canned food and bagged it
to give out to those who need it. It was a really fun service project
and was a great way to get our name out in the community. We don't
look to proselyte while we do service at community or religious
places, but we have the opportunity to answer questions if people
approach us and ask about what we do. More important than anything,
however, is being able to help those who are in need of food. During
the evening, we went to eat with Lorena Garcia and her family. She
taught us how to make pupusas and invited some friends over. The
really neat thing was that the friends that she invited over were from
El Sereno; I had taught them on exchanges last week. I was able to
teach Martin about the Plan of Salvation and answer a lot of his
questions relating to the Restoration, too. It just goes to show that
this work is all one work; even though we cover an individual area, we
are all working together to help individual people progress in the
Gospel.
Friday, January 30th, 2014:
For the second morning in a row, Elder Crosgrove and I went running
with Joel Cortes. We have been trying to stay in shape, physically, to
hold up with all of the labors of missionary work. Elder Crosgrove and
I have been working more and more tirelessly to try to continue to
find and teach, but we have been struggling, despite the fact that we
continue to work more and more efficiently. We had a great weekly
planning session in which we talked about how we can continue our
success and work ethic into the upcoming transfer, even though Elder
Crosgrove will be going home. After weekly planning, we went up to eat
with the Gonzalez family. As we were sitting down and eating, a
lightning storm passed through. It was the first time that I had seen
lightning on my mission. It was foreshadowing the remainder of our
day. We had a number of appointments cancel on us during the evening.
We concluded the day by helping Carolina Garcia with her calculus
homework. It is wonderful to be able to use our talents and abilities
to bless the lives of others, and the Lord calls on us to use all of
our previous life experiences from the past to be able to do so.
Saturday, January 31st, 2014:
Hermano Ojeda's car broke down on the way to correlation meeting, so
we met with Obispo Diaz for the meeting. It was much more efficient
and productive because Obispo knows all of the needs and strengths of
the ward. It sounds like we are struggling as a district and as a zone
with maintaining the solid, progressing baptismal candidates. One easy
trap to fall into as a missionary to fake success with numbers and not
worry about true, lasting conversion. That is a need that I believe
our zone needs to focus on. Elder Crosgrove and I met with Lisseth
Martinez to finalize all of the plans and the program for her baptism Sunday.
It is a privilege to be with her to make this step in her
life. We were really unlucky, once again, with contacting people. We
have been contacting nearly double or triple the amount of people that
we had been contacting before, and we have been finding about half or
one-third of the amount of interested people. It has been a little
difficult to maintain the enthusiasm, but we are continuing to
persevere. We taught Jose Mendez about Mosiah 4 and the atoning
sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He has huge desires to continue learning
and growing as he studies the Gospel. We were teaching Carolina Garcia
when we got the call from Presidente Villanueva about transfers. As
zone leaders, we receive calls from President, instead of the
assistants, and he tells us what will happen. Elder Corbett will be my
new companion, and there will be a few minor changes in the zone.
Sunday, February 1st, 2014:
Baptisms are usually very stressful, but our planning in advance made
the day quite enjoyable. We left church early to begin filling up the
baptismal font at the Wilson building. On the way there, we had to
pick up Elder Ramos so that he could have a ride for the baptism.
Lisseth has been investigating for quite some time, so there were
about six or seven missionaries that all came back for the baptism to
show their support during this special day. It was an extremely
spiritual service that left Lisseth extremely happy. She had invited
her friend to come, and her friend seemed very interested in learning
more about our church, too. Baptisms are one of the very best ways to
share the Gospel because they are one of the most important ordinances
that are performed in the Church. After the baptism, we went with Joel
Cortes to eat at his house before leaving to go to the despedida. I
was surprised to see how many departing missionaries there were and
how many members and investigators were there. The restored Gospel of
Jesus Christ changes us and unites us together.
We are having another movie day at the church with a number of
missionaries from the zone. I believe that we will have a very unified
zone with a lot of upside and progress this transfer. We were united
last transfer, but I believe that this transfer will lead to even more
progress and success with both missionary work and with the progress
of each individual missionary. I am grateful for all of your love and
support, and I hope that everyone has a wonderful week!
Love,
Elder Gabriel Valley
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