A happy story of conversion from Japan

Just heard from メッサー姉妹 (Madysen Messer) in Okinawa City in Japan that her investigator Minami-san enthusiastically accepted baptism in the Lord's Church recently. They are also preparing a 7-year-old little girl for baptism, and another investigator is planning to be baptized in Hawaii in October.

Sis. Messer and her companion with

newly baptized Minami-shimai

Madysen says they were also able to attend a beautiful interdenominational sunrise Easter service on the beach. They went walking on the beach today at low tide and were able to explore some caves and even saw an octopus!

Madysen will be home from her mission at the end of next month.

General Conference blessings for everyone

This past week has been great. There were some great things we were able to see this past week. We were able to have a great lesson with Monte and Donna about knowing how to know what is truth. They also came to the first session of General Conference, which was great. I am with Elder Youngberg. He is a great missionary and great example of going out and doing the Lord's work. He and I came out the same time on our missions. It has truly been a great blessing to hear the prophet, apostles, and Church leaders. My testimony has been able to be strengthened by listening to the prophet and the apostles. What was one thing that stuck out you at General Conference? There was a lot that stuck out to me, but I really liked the story about the plane crash, where the little girl had hope and kept moving towards the light she saw in the distance. Also the story that Elder Holland told about the two brothers who were rock climbing at Snow Canyon without any equipment.
I am glad that I am serving the Lord. It may be hard at times, but it is sure worth it. Also I just found out that Josh Ferish, who ran with me in high school, just got his mission call to the same mission as me, which is really cool.

The Mississippi River has already melted and all of the snow that we had, too. It has been in the 40s to 60s this past week.
---David on 6 April 2015

I am doing great! I loved General Conference, and I was very blessed to here all 4 sessions plus the Priesthood session, as well! I really loved the story Elder Holland told about the two bothers in southern Utah hiking at Snow Canyon. And how one waited for the other till he jumped, and then he saved him. And that's how Jesus Christ is with us!
---Matthew on 6 April 2015

Preparing to commemorate Easter

This week has been great. We have been able to teach a few more people about the Restoration. We also had a district P-Day this past Monday, which was fun. We played some card games. We also played soccer. Then on Friday, we had zone training, which was really good. We were able to watch the #becausehelives video, which was really amazing. It is about 3 minutes long, but it won't be out on the Church's website until this Friday. It is a great video to help people remember the true meaning behind Easter, and I would encourage you to share it with family and friends. It would also be a great way to share your testimony about Jesus Christ with others.

Because He Lives

This transfer has really flew by fast; it feels like I have only been with Elder Winder for a week or two. Serena was able to come to church this last Sunday, which was really great. She seems to be doing a lot better than she has been in the past few weeks.
---David on 23 March 2015

I am now in Abilene, serving in the 3rd Ward here [on the eastern edge of the Lubbock Mission]. They have a really nice chapel here! It's a little older one, but it's all made out of wood in the actual chapel with some upgrades! But it's pretty sweet!

Abilene 3rd Ward chapel
[There are three other churches just down the street, as well.]

The people here are pretty open with the Gospel. We have been picking up a lot of new investigators as we continue to find and teach the Gospel. I am still getting used to my area. But I am all unpacked and made my apartment "mine."

I had an interesting laundry session this morning. I dumped the soap on top of my clothes instead of on the bottom, and my clothes got super soapy, and I had to hand wash them, it was a good experience, but a mistake I will not make again!
---Matthew on 23 March 2015

Cassandra's new mission

On March 21, 2015, Cassandra Swapp began a new mission together with her eternal companion Dylan Harding in the sealing room just off of the Celestial Room in the St. George Temple. We are all so very happy for them.

Their contact information has been updated in the right column.

Spiritual guidance and a new location

I hope everyone is having a great week. This past week was really great; it was full of a lot of small miracles. Wednesday I went on exchanges with Elder Vang. We stayed in Winona, which was great. He spoke to this one Hmong lady in the area I am in, and I didn't understand anything of what they talked about, but he was able to set up a time for us to come by and share a message with them today. She has 11 kids and doesn't speak English, but her kids do, and she said it would be fine that her kids went to church, if they are interested. Then we passed by this potential investigator. I was kind of scared to go stop by, because last time her boyfriend and his friend told us that they weren't interested and were a little mad, but the Spirit prompted me to stop by, so we turned around and prayed, and then we stopped by and we were able to get ahold of Karen, the potential investigator, and we were able to schedule a time to meet with her this week. She told us that her boyfriend and she are having a hard time together. I am grateful that I listened to that prompting I got. I know that we can see great things happen as we listen to the promptings of the Spirit, even if they are small.
---David on 16 March 2015

I have been transferred to Abilene, Texas [address updated in the right column].
---Matthew on 16 March 2015

Led by the Spirit in helping people

This past week was great; it was full of small miracles, which I am grateful for. We went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders in our area, which was great. I went with Elder Stiles, who is a great. Then we had District Meeting that next day on Thursday, and after that we went on exchanges with the Sparta Elders. I stayed in Winona with Elder Jenson. It was a good experience. We were able to have a great lesson with Kyle about missionary work, and we were able to teach according to the Spirit and were able to get him thinking of stuff he can do now to reach his spiritual goal of being baptized before he turns 18. I was able to share the experience I had about praying that night when Anthony passed away and how the Lord helps us in times of need, just like He helped me at that hard time I went through. Kyle's grandpa isn't doing too great; he has dementia. We were also able to do better at finding with the Lord's help. I am grateful to be serving a mission. Also the mission that I am in is going to be getting iPads around May 28th, which will be really nice. I am excited.
---David on 9 March 2015

Finding and teaching in the frozen North

The Mississippi River has been frozen over for the past few weeks now. The zone I am in is the Rochester Zone, which covers Rochester, La Crosse, Sparta, Winona, and a few other places around Rochester. We do visit Wisconsin at least once a week for district meeting which is in Onalaska, Wisconsin. We have a car that we drive and we get 1,500 miles a month, because the area we cover is big. Matthew and I have been e-mailing pretty regularly.

Photos of Onalaska

This past week was great; it was full of small miracles. One was when we were doing some contacting on the campus of Winona State University. I prayed and asked for help with finding someone with whom we can share the Gospel, and a few seconds later this guy walks past and I was prompted to talk to him. We were able to teach part of the Restoration to him. He wasn't too interested in us coming back to teach him more, but it was cool that God answered my prayer that fast, because this man was willing to listen to us for a while.

Faith is a really smart girl for being 8 years old. We talked about temples and family history with her, and she was sad that she has to wait 4 years before she can go to the temple. She is really amazing, and her mom, Serena, is also. I am glad that we get to teach them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Her mom can't wait to get baptized. We are just waiting on some things. She is a amazing lady, and she wants to do what is right.

---David on 2 March 2015

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.

Testifying at the temple and witnessing conversion

I am doing really well! I was able to teach a recent convert in my ward on the temple grounds, and our lesson was about the temple. So that was a super cool, and humbling experience. I learned a lot about how I can better use the temple in my area to tell people about it, because most people don't know anything about temples. Especially in Texas. Life is good! I am still in Lubbock. I have now been out for 8 months, which is 1/3 of my mission. Time is really flying by fast! Love ya tons!
---Matthew on 16 February 2015

This week is transfer week. I am staying in the same area, and I am with one of the zone leaders, Elder Styles for the next day, because my companion and a few others that are finishing their missions headed up to the mission home. Then I will be with Elder Winder, my new companion, tomorrow, who is a great Elder. I met him a few times before. I was able to meet him yesterday at zone conference, which was really great. I was able to learn some great things, and the Spirit was strong there. This past week was really amazing. Faith got baptized on Sunday and the baptism program was great. The spirit was strong there, and Serena, her mom, got up and shared her testimony, which was amazing. I am grateful for this opportunity we had to see Faith get baptized, and she will be confirmed a member of the Church this coming Sunday. I will have to send a picture next time, because I forgot my camera. Then we were able to see some less actives and a few of our other investigators this past week. I am grateful to be a missionary. It has been a great blessing in my life just in the few months I have been out. I hope everyone is doing great back at home.
---David on 17 February 2015

Watching lives transform

This past week was really good; it was full of miracles. We have been helping one of our investigators, Donna, with reading and understanding, and she has improved quite a bit in just the few weeks since we started helping her. Monte and she are great; they really want to do what is right. Then it is cool to see the changes that Serena and Faith have been making to come closer to our Savior. Faith set a baptismal date for this Sunday, so hopefully everything will go great. It was cool to hear Serena bare her testimony in Gospel Principals class this past Sunday. I know we wouldn't have all of these miracles without the help of the Lord. Elder Justensen has been a great missionary; he has helped me a lot with confidence and becoming a better missionary. I am grateful that I was able to serve with him. Transfers are in a week and a half, so I won't know who my companion is until next Monday.
---David on 9 February 2015

Blessing and helping people (and David's first mission birthday)

On Wednesday we had district meeting, and Elder Austad found out that it was my birthday tomorrow, so he and Elder Vang made brownies and the district sang to me. Then Elder Justensen got a cake at WalMart and made it for me on Friday, because we were busy on Thursday. This past week has been a little challenging with finding and thinking about taking over the area. When Elder Justensen leaves on February 18th, he ends his mission, but that is also good. The Lord is always there when I ask for help, which I am grateful for. This past week, we were able to get back into contact with Serena, which was really great, and I am grateful for that. She is doing better; she just struggles with some things she has gotten into with Word of Wisdom issues in the past. She seemed happy to see us. Then we were able to give a blessing to a former investigator, Mary who is in her 80s, I think, and her LDS daughter at the hospital. Mary isn't doing good, and they think she is going to pass away this week. It was good that we were able to give them both a priesthood blessing. Than we were able to meet with Donna and Monte. We have been helping Donna with reading and understanding, because she struggles with reading and trying to understand. That is going good.
---David on 2 February 2015

No fear, new companions, and new experiences

This past week was a little challenging, but good. We were able to have some good lessons with most of our investigators: Monte and Donna, Kyle, and Mary. They all came to church yesterday, which was really amazing. I am grateful for that. Mary we met a week or two ago. We were trying to find a less-active, but ran into her. She told us she is looking for a church to go to. She has been through a lot the past two years with health problems. There is a scripture that I really like which I came across this morning: 2 Nephi 22:2, and I know it is true that, if we put our trust in God, we shall not fear. Sometimes I can be scared to speak or do something, sometimes I might be afraid of what some one might say or do, but as we put our trust in God, we shall not fear. As we do our best, we can overcome our weaknesses with the Lord's help. This Wednesday after district meeting, I went on exchanges with our district leader, Elder Austed. He is a great missionary. I went to his area South La Crosse [about 30 miles down the river in Wisconsin], and it was a good exchange. He and Elder Vang know how to speak Hmong, so he would speak that language sometimes. We were able to stop by and visit one of their investigators who is probably in his 50s, and we found out that his brother just passed away and he was going through a hard time. I felt prompted to share about Anthony and the things that have helped me to get through that, and it was a good experience.
---David on 26 January 2015

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation. (2 Nephi 22:2)

Here are some photos of La Crosse, to give the readers an idea about what the area is like.

I am staying in Lubbock, TX another transfer. I'm still in the same area and at the same address. I am getting a new companion. His name is Elder Christensen. I am developing new skills in my life that I never knew would start to come into my life.
---Matthew on 26 January 2015

Apostles, Hawaiian companions, weather above freezing, and investigators' testimonies

Elder Bednar came this past Friday. He talked during stake conference and at my mission conference. So I got to hear from him twice. And I am doing great! My companion is going home this next week. He has served his time for now and is at the end of his mission. He is short and really tough. Like muscles. He likes to surf, sing, and dance. He is from Oahu in Hawaii. I get to visit the temple once a transfer in my mission, every six weeks. So pretty often!
---Matthew on 19 January 2015

The weather has been warm these past few days, in the 30s to high 40s. We had a great lesson with one of our investigators, Kyle. It was great. Before we left, Elder Justensen asked him if he knows the Book of Mormon to be true, and he said he believes the Book of Mormon is true, which is really great. We are also having him set a date for his baptism after he turns 18, which is in October.
---David on 19 January 2015

Miracles, blessings, and special experiences

This past week was great. This past week was full of miracles. We haven't been able to get ahold of Serena for a while. She is someone we have been teaching, and we were able to get back in contact with her and Faith on Tuesday. She relapsed into smoking and was depressed, so that is why we haven't been able to get ahold of her until now. We were able to have a great lesson with her and were able to give her a priesthood blessing, which was a great experience. After the lesson, she said she was feeling a lot better. Then we were able to see her again on Thursday with Sis. Leonhardt and Bro. Melton, which was good, too. Bro. Melton shared a really powerful testimony that seemed to help her, and we were also able to leave a blessing on her home.

Then while we were weekly planning, we got a call from a former investigator's daughter who is a member in a different area, and she felt prompted to call us and ask if we could give her non-member mom and sister priesthood blessings, because they were going through a harder time. The mom is in her 80s, I want to say, and the older sister is in her 50s or 60s. It was a really great experience to be there and to play a part in giving them both a priesthood blessing. We felt the Spirit, and I am sure they did, too. Then we were able to have a good lesson with Monty and Donna, some investigators we are teaching. We talked about the last 3 or 4 points in the Plan of Salvation, and I shared my testimony about it and how it has helped me with Anthony passing away, and I was able to feel the Spirit as I shared my testimony. I am grateful to be holding the Priesthood, and I know it is the power of God.
---David on 12 January 2015

I am doing great! Some exciting news that is going to happen and that has happened... I went to the Lubbock Temple with my companion, Elder Pahulu (from Hawaii), for a endowment session, and then I gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting. I talked about enduring to the end. My talk was based off the talk that was given in the October 2013 General Conference by Richard J. Maynes, and called "The Strength to Endure." I have the talk in my journal, so I will have to share that when I return home. But in the meantime, the big, exciting news is that Elder Bednar is coming to my mission and will be instructing us about certain things regarding our mission. So it's exciting that I will be able to meet a living Apostle! It's a humbling experience that I will have, and I will be grateful for it.
---Matthew on 12 January 2015

Touching people's lives

My mission has been a growing experience thus far. And I hope 2015 continues to make me grow and shapes me into what Heavenly Father wants me to be! I am grateful for your support and love! Thanks for all you do! This past week we have been working really hard with a less-active getting back into activity and quitting smoking, and we taught her the necessary steps to do so. So that's amazing to see someone quit smoking, and get back to the temple where ALL of God's children belong!
---Matthew on 5 January 2015

I really love the area I am in. I am in Winona, Minnesota, a college town. We take in small towns around Winona, too. My companion is Elder Justensen. I get along with him great. He is from northern Utah. Right now, we are working with Kyle. He is 17 years old, living with his grandma who is a member. Molly who is a friend to a less active family who is around 19. Monty and Dona who are around 50, and Serena and Faith who we are trying to get ahold of again. They are all great people. Here we have a branch, and about half of the branch is converts. I really love the branch and the people here. The weather has been getting cold here, and it is going to get colder from what I have heard. This picture is a picture of the zone that I am in. I am on the left side, and the one on the left of me is Elder Johnson who was my companion, and Elder Justensen is on my right side. Right now, I am just with Elder Justensen, and I am going to be with him for another transfer. Being on a mission has been a great blessing to me. I have seen a change in myself with just the few months that I have been out.
---David on 5 January 2015

Winona is a pleasant town on the banks of the Mississippi River on the border with Wisconsin about 3 hours southeast of Minneapolis. Here's a map showing the Winona Branch boundaries:

And this is Elder Swapp's current home (on the right side of the photo):

MN and NM

So did anybody else notice that our missionaries until recently were serving in MN and NM?