New areas, new food, and newly baptized disciple of Christ

On Monday, we had zone conference, which was really great. I was able to learn a lot of things, and the Spirit was strong there. I am grateful that I was able to serve with Elder Justensen. After zone conference, the district that I was in went to an Asian restaurant and got pho, which was really good. It was a noodle dish, and the one I got had cow stomach in it. It wasn't too bad; it was just really chewy. I also tried this smoothy thing, which wasn't the best. It had coconut milk, ice, sweet beans, and rice, I think, and these long green things, which I think might have been tapioca.

Then after that, Elder Justensen and I stayed with the zone leaders until Tuesday morning, then one of the zone leaders who just finished his mission left with Elder Justensen, and I stayed in Rochester with Elder Stiles until Wednesday.

Then with the Lord's help we were able to help Faith get baptized and confirmed. Serena is a really amazing person, and she is the one next to Elder Justensen (in the photo below), then there is her mom Joan and her friend Tom. Then the two younger girls are Serena's second cousins. It was a really amazing experience when Faith got baptized and confirmed this last Sunday. The Spirit was strong there, and it has helped strengthen my testimony about wanting this for everyone. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to see Faith get baptized and confirmed.

I am in the same area with Elder Winder, who is a great Elder. I am glad to be able to serve with him. He is from Orem, Utah and has been out on his mission for almost a year. There have been many times that have been hard, whether it be appointments falling through, doors shut in our faces, or when investigators go through a hard time, but every single time, as I have prayed for help or strength, the Lord has always been there to lift me up. I know that He is there for us, and as we put our trust in Him, He will help us through anything that we go through. I know that He loves us all, and I also know that He lives. I wouldn't have been able to achieve the growth and stretching I have done so far without the Lord's help and also without your help.

---David on 23 February 2015

I am doing great! We are in an English-speaking area big time. Not very many Spanish-speaking people here. About 1/3 of the TLM (Texas Lubbock Mission) is Spanish-speaking with 260 missionaries total. We are the second biggest mission in the U.S. But other than that, missionary life is just awesome!

---Matthew on 23 February 2015

    Elder Matthew Young on an exchange with the Zone Leader

Note from Steve:

The Lubbock and Minneapolis Missions are so big, they are surrounded by many other missions.

The Texas Lubbock Mission is surrounded by missions in Albuquerque, Colorado Springs, Wichita, Oklahoma City, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Saltillo, Chihuahua, and Cd. Juárez. It takes about 8.5 hours to drive from one extreme to the other.

The Minnesota Minneapolis Mission is surrounded by missions in Milwaukee, Des Moines, Omaha, Rapid City, Winnipeg, and Toronto. It takes about 10 hours to drive from one extreme to the other.

By contrast, the Washington Federal Way Mission is so small, you can drive across the more populated area in about 45 minutes. It is surrounded by missions in Tacoma, Seattle, and Kennewick, all in western Washington.