Happy conclusions from Cassandra

My mission has been one of the greatest blessings in my life...for some the Lord requires 18 months to 2 years; for me it was 11 months, and within those 11 months in Washington I was able to see the Lord's hand in so many ways. Whether it was helping people experience the power and love that comes from saying a prayer for the first time, entering the waters of baptism, going to the temple, listening and recognizing the Spirit, or trusting what the Lord tells them to do, to so much more.

I know that Heavenly Father has played a huge role in this adventure through the amazing times and the depressing ones, but if there's one thing I know, you will never regret serving the Lord. Although I am home now, that doesn't mean that my mission is over...there are people here, just like there were in Washington, in my case. For you, it's wherever you may be needed. You have gifts and talents that others may not, and you can be an answer to someone else's prayers, like I was so blessed to be. Never be ashamed to let your light shine and to follow the Lord and all that He prompts you to do.

---Cassandra on 4 December 2014

Matthew vs. the cows

Happy Thanksgiving! I am having a blast on my mission. I am loving it more and more every day! This past week I went herding bulls! It was a lot of fun!

---Matthew on 24 November 2014

    Look at how flat the northern Texas plains are!

Cassandra is home!

Cassandra finished her mission early and flew home from Seattle on October 21st. She had been living and working in her third area, in Renton. Ever since Anthony's death in May, she had been dealing with depression. The mission president and his wife were wonderful and made sure Cassandra got all the help she needed, including counseling and medication. But the medication had bad side-effects like headaches, and in the end they decided to give her a chance to recuperate at home.

 

We met her at the St. George Airport, and she was released from her mission by the stake president. She looks good and has been very positive about the whole experience.

Shortly after her arrival at home, Sherrena and Tonya and Cassandra made a trip to Yosemite National Park. They had a very nice time. Then Cassandra took a trip to visit a friend from her mission in Montana.

  

Cassandra was here for Thanksgiving and will be with us for Christmas as well, and then she is planning to move to a place near Billings, Montana.

So although she needed to rest from her missionary labors, Cassandra is feeling good and moving forward in a positive way. We are glad to have her around again.

How to explain these experiences?

I am doing really great! I am going to the temple this next week, so that's really exciting. I am learning so much on my mission! It helps me grow spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally. Really helps me prepare for the future that lays ahead of us! But the work is hard to explain in any part of the world or area that you're in. I think about that every day almost. How can I explain this to my family and friends? It's like being in a complete different world that has no distractions, because there are no girls, no technology, no worldly things, and you are free of any addictions and distractions. So you can really focus on what really "matters most." I am very grateful for the Gospel and the atonement that Jesus Christ performed for me and everyone! I love being a missionary!

---Matthew on 20 October 2014


We had transfers this past week. Here we get an e-mail or a call if you're a district leader or zone leader on Monday and then on Wednesday for me. I did work in my area with another nearby missionary, and Elder Harker and his companion drove to where they were switching and we met up with our new companions a few hours after. I stayed in the same area, which is good. My new companion is Elder Foggin. He is from Canada. He is into hockey and hunting. He has been out for around 10 months, and we get along pretty well. He is Native American and is really awesome.

This week has been good. We were able to do some good finding, and we went through the area book and got a list of names that we are going to stop by this week. We have seen good things happen with a few of the people we met from the area book. Also we have been meeting with Vivian, one of our investigators. She knows that she needs to be baptized, but she is afraid to make that commitment and not be faithful, so there are some things we need to help her with. And we had another good lesson with Melinda, another investigator, which was good. Also we have been helping a less active member family, the Davises. Bro. Davis has 2 kids. He is around 22, and we have been working with him. He got into some bad habits in his past with the Word of Wisdom. He wants to stop, which is good. I have been doing pretty good. I just got a little sick these past few days, but nothing too bad that would stop us from doing the Lord's work.

---David on 20 October 2014

Temple neighbors and progressing investigators

I am loving my new area and my new companion! My companion is Elder Moore. He is the simplest man you will ever meet on this planet! My area is the smallest area in the mission, but there are a lot of people! I see the Lubbock Temple many times a week! In fact, when we have Elders Quorum in the stake center, we are only 30 feet away from the temple! So that's always a great reminder about everything on my mission! I am doing great! I love being a missionary! It's loads of fun and hard work!
---Matthew on 29 September 2014


I have been doing pretty good. The weather is starting to cool off here. This week we had some slower days and some great days. One of the investigators we are teaching has a desire to get baptized, which is great. There are some things we still need to work on, including the Word of Wisdom. He has a little trouble with alcohol. He is working on it. He doesn't want to be pushed into something or feel like he has to do something unless he chooses to himself, so he is progressing a little slower, but he has that desire, which is great. He is engaged to a member in our ward and is from Africa.

We also helped a recent convert and her family move out, the Stevenses. The husband is a member, and the wife and oldest daughter got baptized before I came out. We are going to be doing a lot of moving and yard work this week for one member, and the rest are people we have run into. The ward is great here. They are all nice and have been helpful. We are also working with another investigator, Melinda, who is 37 and has 2 kids. Her husband is from Brazil. I think she is pretty close to making that decision to be baptized, but we still need to help her grow a stronger testimony of the Book of Mormon and help her with the Word of Wisdom. She drinks tea, coffee, and wine a few times a week. She has a hard time giving them up, but if we can help her find out for herself that the Book of Mormon is the true Word of God, then I believe she will have a stronger desire to keep the Word of Wisdom.

---David on 29 September 2014

Matthew transferred to Lubbock, Texas

Matthew was transferred in late September from the small towns of eastern New Mexico to an apartment that is a 15-minute walk from the Lubbock Temple. Our missionary addresses will always be updated in the address link in the right column of this blog.

Service among good people

I have been doing good this week. It has been cloudy and rained quite a bit here. Tuesday Elder Harker got sick. We think it was the flu, so we had to stay at our apartment for most of the day, but he is feeling better than he was, which is good, and I haven't caught it yet, other than a small sore throat. We were able to do more service than we have done. We helped Tony in our ward with his Eagle project. We laid mulch at an elementary school from 8 am to 11 am, than we had lunch and helped someone else in our ward move, and after that we were able to do yard work for one of our investigators, Melinda, which was good. With her husband from Brazil, she has two kids: 2 years old and 4 months old. Also I was able to have African food a few times with one of or other investigators, Melvin who is from Africa. It tasted good, but it's not my favorite, only because when they cook meat, they cook everything: bone, fat, skin, and something else that I think was cartilage. Also today we have a Labor Day picnic with our ward, which will be fun.

The best thing we were able to do this week was probably service. We were able to teach the Restoration to 2 people, which was good.

---David on 1 September 2014