Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi!

This week has been a great week.

We had a special speaker come to our Relief Society. Clayton Christensen, the author of the Power of Everyday Missionaries. He is way cool! He told us all about the missionary experiences he and his wife have. They are great missionaries. I took some notes that I will return to when I go home, to help me be the best member missionary. I wanted to share them with you since you are all member missionaries...some of those things he said were:

-People will learn when they're ready to learn, not when we're ready to teach.

-The door into the Book of Mormon isn't the beginning, it's the answers to their questions (he's saying that we should help them find places in the Book of Mormon to read that will answer their questions, not necessarily starting from the beginning, so they can gain a testimony of it).

-If you help them learn, they can teach themselves and us. (For example, he told us how he invited a friend over to meet with the missionaries in their home, and he gave his friend assignments to complete. He gave him reading assignments and had him write essays about what his answers to his questions were. When he returned to their home, they were asking if he was able to do the assignments and he said yes. One of the questions he had was about the age and means of baptism. When they asked what answer he found, he said something profound that taught the Christensen's. He said, "It makes God mad when infants are baptized because it trivializes the Atonement of Jesus Christ." Holy Cow, so cool!)

-follow-up!

Use these things in your missionary work. Invite people over for dinner and ask if you can also invite missionaries to share a brief message with them. You just never know :)

We got to go to Savior of the World again this year! I think it was better than last year. It's really good. The people in charge of it were so nice, they gave us tickets for every night of every performance that we can give to investigators! Such a cool missionary tool to show people about our belief in Jesus Christ.

I don't know if you remember the Recent Convert Cesar, he got baptized last November. Well, he entered the MTC this week! How cool is that? He is serving in Las, Vega Nevada, where the missionary who found him is from. He will be such a great missionary.

We've had some really good missionary experiences this week. We found some new investigators and were able to teach more than we were able to, not really sure how we did that haha but we were so grateful we got to. We talked to some awesome people when we weer at our desk assignments and felt the spirit as we tried to uplift members.

Paul is doing SO good it's crazy. This morning, he texted us and said, "How do I prepare myself for baptism? I believe that I am a sinner, Christ died for my sins, Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet of God that did see Jesus and God the Father, that the Book of Mormon was inspired and is another testament of and to Jesus Christ, and we are the Restored Church of God. Is this sufficient?" Haha we died. All we could say is NO WAY haha. He wasn't able to go to church on Sunday because he was with his wife and daughter at a restaurant and they came in one car but he said that he is going to start riding his motorcycle when they go to lunch so he can go to church after. He also told us that he thinks tithing is really a blessing and a chance to be an example to other people. Yesterday he told us that he went to the gym and was reading the Book of Mormon on the elliptical and some lady walked up and asked if he is LDS and HE SAID YES haha. He is so funny. Turns out she is an inactive member, and he invited her to church and is being a missionary to her. Oh man, he is so cool! We are so excited to see his progression.

This week, I have been focusing on the Book of Mormon. I've been reading it at every chance I have. During studies, meals, after planning, during prep time, etc. and it has been so cool. My love for the Book of Mormon has deepened when I didn't think it was possible! I'm trying to finish before Christmas. I just finished the book of Helaman and it's so cool to read. I love hearing about the war chapters, how they prayerfully do things to protect their freedom and family and religion. It's sad to see how wicked people can become, but how quick Heavenly Father is to forgive them and remember their sins no more if they will just choose to repent. This church is the best!!!

It's been cool as I've been reading to see how I have changed, and how my Gospel knowledge has changed. I really don't know how they let me come on a mission, haha I didn't know anything. Not that I know tons now, but I have grown so much in my understanding and love for the Gospel that it's just been neat to see the way that I understand the Book of Mormon now, and how I can apply it to my life. It's so cool to me that the scriptures apply to each of us as individuals in our personal lives even though there are billions of members of the church. The coolest thing is that learning is an eternal thing in this church. We will learn for the rest of our lives. Good thing we take knowledge with us when we die haha.

We are really excited for Thanksgiving. We get the chance to go to a family's house for dinner up in Bountiful! We are going to get so fat haha. I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving and think about President Uchtdorf's talk on being grateful in every circumstance. Heavenly Father is so good to us.

Last Preparation Day we had a Zone Activity at the Moore's (mission secretaries) house. It was way fun! We got to make turkey hats for hospital kids and eat BBQ (oh man my favorite). It was the best! I'll attach some pictures.

Chenwei (the one I taught in Ohio) is coming this week for Thanksgiving!! I am so excited to see him! Hopefully he will be able to watch Savior of the World. He is doing so good and I can't wait to see him.

Oh, I got to see Sister Malloy this week!! (My companion my first transfer in Ohio, I refuse to call her by her first name haha) It was so good to see her! She is doing so good. I'll send pictures of that too.

Well I think that's about it. The lights come on on Friday, which means our new schedules start then, which means we have to be done by Thursday with the schedules, which means Sister Asay and I should have time this week to not be in our office! We are so excited about that, we are going to tear the square up. Haha and we get to be in West Gate when the lights come on so that will be way fun. Well Happy Thanksgiving! Have the best week ever!

Love