Week 93

Another week has gone by so fast!

Man, I can't believe that it is Monday again. Here soon, my P-days will be switched to Thursdays for my last transfer. Hopefully, that'll throw you off a little bit and switch it up for my last 6 weeks haha. I am going to be honest, this week was a little rough! I expected it though. I have had an amazing last 2 months, so God had to throw one in there to humble me and keep me on my toes. We faced a lot of opposition in the regards of sharing the Gospel, but we know that is part of it all!! Haha, I am still learning to cherish the moments of difficulty and hardship so that when I face them later in life too, I can do it with a smile.

I got to go on 3 exchanges this week, which was so much fun. I got to go with my boy Elder Scott, who is the nastiest Ken legend in the Nevada Reno Mission. As much as I wanted to watch him play Ken all day, we went out and got after it all day. We set a goal in the morning to find 2 new people to start teaching. Around mid-day, we found a woman who was willing to hear us out and accepted a time to come back. A few lessons and such later, we ended up having 20 minutes before the night ended and still had this one person to find. We prayed, asking for inspiration of where to go. We tried where we were and had no luck. We then decided to go to a place we wanted to try earlier that day but didn't have time. Before we got out of the car, we said that prayer to help us find that last person. Literally, the first few steps out the door, we found this guy boxing in his front yard and found him. It was so sick! God is so good, and glory goes to Him! I also had an exchange with my boy Elder Hovey, and that was a ton of fun. We saw some crazy Reno things and found this drunk guy trying to argue with us. My last exchange was with an old friend of mine... Elder Loria! Yes. That guy that I was companions with for 3 transfers. We reunited for an epic day of teaching, finding, and baptizing. We set a goal of finding 6 people, and we found 5! It was so cool to be back with him and enjoy our time together.

Our friend Crystal is progressing quite well and will be baptized on the 24th of June. She has such a light to her! When I first met her, I knew that she was not really happy, but now she has a light that shines when we see her. I know that God is the one who has done that. She has accepted Christ into her life and is willing to follow His commandments and enter into the waters of baptism. I would ask you all to keep her in your prayers as she continues to progress.

We pulled up to a motel off of 4th street here in Reno, waiting to visit someone who told us we could come back. Of course, pulling in was our first mistake because right when we parked, we had this gentleman come up to us and goes, "Visitors need I.D. in order to be in here." I am sitting there thinking, "This is a motel off of 4th street here in Reno, Nevada... and you are worried about visitors with I.D.?" So instead of giving him my driver's license or something normal like that, I gave him my ministerial card, which declares I am legally allowed to preach the Gospel. He reads it and looks at me and asks, "Who wrote this?" and I smile and say, "The Prophet of God, Russell M. Nelson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." This guy pauses, gives me back my card, and leaves. It was the coolest thing ever to flex in his face that I have been called by a Prophet of GOD! Haha, it was a good experience in the end, but now he knows who runs this place.

We unfortunately did face a lot of rejection this past week, but that will never stop me. I have pondered a lot on how the missionaries of old must have felt when they were rejected by the people. Even The Savior was rejected by the people he healed and taught. I know that through Him, I can receive strength and nothing can stop me from sharing this life-saving message. I think people see how passionate I am about it, and it worries them that it could possibly be true. I know with all my heart that these things are true, and I will not hesitate to say that it is. I have learned so much about Jesus Christ and my relationship with Him, and I won't ever give it up. I invite all of you to reflect on your relationship with Him and if you are satisfied where it is at right now. Thanks for reading this week! I have enjoyed sending these out to you all. Have a great week, and know that God loves you!

3 Nephi 9:14 - Yea, verily, I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.