September 24th, 2012. Home Is Wherever Im With You.

Oh Home!!! Let me go home!! Home is wherever im with you! :)

Gotta love Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros!

 

Anyways :) So, disreguard at that stuff. Im not homesick, its just a great song that I heard playing in the mall and its been stuck in my head all week. This past week was a pretty crazy one. The end of my 3rd Transfer but we still put in work leading up to the start of my 4th. Had some crazy ups and downs with investigators and my little league football team haha but the work is progressing and our area has slowed down but is slowly Catching Fire (No hunger games reference) Haha Here was my week boiiiiiiiiii

 

Tuesday September 18th: Started the day off at Paul & Beth Austins house. We gave Beth her new member lessons and taught Paul the same thing at the same time. Talked about the plan of salvation and all that good stuff and well...as we started to talk to Paul about baptism, we started to get the hint that he was trying to drop us haha It may sound bad but we kept cutting him off just so he wouldnt haha So instead of him dropping us and not getting baptized, he agreed to meet with us on Thursday. Hes ready to be baptized, honestly, he should've been baptized back in August with his wife but Procrastination is his biggest problem. He thinks that if he waits till after elections, then he'll be ready...yeah..no. haha Anyways, after that meeting we went tracting around for a little while, same ol same ol with nothing to show for it. Its hard to tract in our area because I can honestly say that in the 5 months i've been here...I've knocked on just about every house haha. Dinner was a little early tonight cause my little league team had practice at 5:30. Its the closest thing to football that i can get so i'll take it. haha After practice we headed to our last appointment and taught Isabella and her dad Andy to finish off the day. Pretty good day if you ask me.

 

 

 

Wednesday September 19th: Well, we had some free time during the day so we caught a ride with Matt and hit the mall because my companion need to buy new running shoes. My comps cool and all but hes one stingy, cheap person when it comes to sharing and all that haha i'll get to that later. He got some shoes and we headed back into town and spent most the day with Matt, Laura and this awesome Less-Active family; Pete and Cassie Sinclair-Hall. We taught a couple lessons that night to Sam and our newest investigator Zach Vancamp. He lives with his aunt and uncle and their 2 kids. Hes a really shy dude but loves reading the book of mormon because, in his words "Its kind of like a fiction book...but better. I mean, i know it really happened and all but this is better than The Hobbit.." Haha hes a funny kid. Hes getting baptized on October 20th but if we keep meeting with him as much as we have, he'll get baptized soon than that.

 

Thursday September 20th: Good Ol' Transfer Day :) The 1 day every 6 weeks you get to see other missionaries besides the same one you wake up to every day haha. Transfer days kind of like another mini P-Day. We hang out at transfer loop and wait for all the new people to come in and old people to leave. I met a lot of dudes from back home that knew me but I had no idea who they were. Not trying to sound like Mr. Cool Guy but on the real...low key creepy. They knew more about me than people i do know (.__.) Anyways, we shot over to teach Paul again today and ended up setting a new date for his baptism!! October 20th (same day as Zach's) but Paul said he wants to take things serious and get this done. I think he really wants to go to the temple and be sealed to Beth. Thats always a tender subject for that guy. But hey, im all for it. Just gotta get him to stop smoking. Thank goodness for E-Cigerettes! After out lesson with Paul, Matt took us out golfing with a few Less-Active members and one of our investigators whos dropped us but is still friends with the Less Active member. What better way to get your foot in the door than to just seem normal and hang out with them. He said he hates and I quote "Missionary Robots." Haha he said all Missionaries hes came into contact with have been weird and seem like the same person...all of them "With the exception of you...maybe its because you're brown or something" haha I love that guy. After we golfed we went and met with the Harringtons for the first time in like a month and a half. They had texted us a few days ago and said that they wanted to stop meeting with us cause they're busy so they invited us over to dinner just to drop us. haha Well, as dinner went on we talked and my mouth was going a million miles an hour but honestly I did not know where it was coming from...okay Yes i did (Spirit for days!!) haha It was incredible! By the end of the visit, they changed their mind and decided to meet with us every Friday. :) Yeyyyy Buddy!

 

 

 

Friday September 21st: Well...we had nothing planned for the day so we went tracting all morning from about 10 till 12. Like i said...its not as effective as you think. Haha So, the Investigator, Less-Active member and Matt hit us up and decided to take us golfing again. Can turn down a gentlemens game right?! Im glad we did because the investigator who dropped us said hes been thinking about starting the disccusions again but he said give him more time. I think the more we hang out with the dude, not missionary related, just trying to be friends with the guy, the more he'll be open to taking the discussions again! But...yup, that was my friday...how was yours!? :)

 

Saturday September 22nd: Again, didnt have too much going on today. Headed to my football teams first game of the season...we lost 19-6..bro. Now i know why parents get so crushed when their kids lose )': sadest faces i've ever seen. They got demolished today and I had never seen been so sad before in my life! haha I felt so bad but they learned a lot and are ready for a good week of practice. After the game we visited a few Less-Active families and then headed over to the Alms place for some Din Din and close out the night...Found out later that night that we lost to ASU 37-7...but we still looked swagged out with Black Helmets!! Ayyyy!!!! hahaha Brush it off. USC's coming up. Utes up!

 

Sunday September 23rd: Had another great sabbath day today. After church we didnt have too much going on so we came home, studied and took a nap before dinner and our lesson with Zach. Taught the Word of Wisdom then headed home. Next time we're teaching the Law of Chastity...dun dun dunnnnnn! 0_o super awkward teaching that to young ones haha.

 

 

 

Well...that was my week. Trying to find more people to teach. Most of our teaching pool consists of Less-Active Members and Recent Converts. Im not complaining, i love reactivating Less-Actives. Always a fun thing to see people come back to church. Its weird that I was considered Less-Active for past like what? 5-6 years of my life haha Did not know that till i came on a mish.

Oh, my mom tells me that my Blog is up in running with all my missionary stuff on it. Check It out. Its pretty cool :)

 

 

 

isaac59asiata.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Anyways, I hope you all have a blessed week. Shout out one time to my Lost Boys round the world serving and preaching the good word. Keep holding it down for the 801 hehhh!

 

 

 

Till Next Week

Take Care

-Elder Isaac Asiata

Im Nottt Okay. Im O...KAY!!!!! September 17th, 2012

"But you really need to listen to me! Because I'm telling you the truth! I mean it, I'm okay! Trust Me..."

Yo, Shout out to My Chemical Romance one time d=(.__.)=b

Yes, yes....yes. So this past saturday was probably the best day of my life...

 

Reason (1) Ya Boy had his 5th Baptism and got to see that person overcome so much adversity and hardship all because she knew this church was true and knew that it was much more important than anything else.

 

Reason (2) The Ute Fam beat some kittens 24-21...It aint 54-10 but hey, i'll take that 21-24 different times...hahaha

 

and

 

Reason (3) Im staying in Aurora till November :)

 

Just a barage of great and wonderful news, i know :) Haha this past week was a lot better than the week before. Got a lot done. Taught a lot of lessons and all that fun missionary swag stuff :) Just got back from working on my golf game so i can put all the Lost Boys to shame when we get our first round of golf in in 2014. Haha Nothing like an 8 hour golf day to get the P-Day started.

 

 

Tuesday September 11th: Started today off right and taught both Paul and Beth (Recent Convert) Austin. We taught Beth her new member lessons and Paul kinda sat and listened as well so we ended up teaching him too. We taught the Restoration and pointed out how our church is the only church that comes directly from heaven. It wasnt a branch off of another church, like most churches and i could tell it caught Paul's interest. We talked to him after about his baptism date (Originally set for September 22nd) and he said "Well...i dont think its going to happen. Pauls problem is he knows everything and knows its true BUT hes obbsessed with politics and gets in very heated arguments with people on blogs which either A) Stresses him out or B) Ticks him off haha and that leads to him smoking and drinking coffee. So his reasoning for all this is that he believes that after Elections, he'll be ready then.... o_O yeah....thats what i call procrastination my dude..smh haha He'll come around :) Later on that day i got to relieve some football and i Coached a football team!!! A member is head coach of an 8th grade team and i got to help coach the O and D Line. They scrimmaged right after...now know this...they had never won a game before...they scrimmaged after and went beast mode HAM on the team they played and won 42-0. Yes...i am that good...hahaha oh im just kidding :) It was a good tuesday fosho.

Wednesday September 12th: Today I woke up and felt like Death (-__-) My comp had been sick and a few days ago i caught him drinking from my water bottle the cheeky slag...smh haha so he got me sick. So we went to district meeting and i low key felt like Kid Cudi, The Man on the Moon hahaha I was for sure on a different planet. But we went on exchanges and Elder Macilroy came out here to Aurora with me. We taught a little kid whos 8. So its not a convert baptism, its a child of record but i love teaching so it was all gravy. This was pretty much the extent of our transfer so...

Thursday September 13th: Yeah...I woke up sicker then a dog today and we stayed home all day. Woke up at 6:30 and had some gnarly body aches...it was all bad. Took some day quil and knocked out. Woke up later on in the afternoon and my Comp and Elder Macilroys comp were there. We didnt go much today. I tried to be a champ but my body hated me so in the apartment i sat.

Friday September 14th: Today we had Zone Training so we headed up to Springfield but got there a little earlier than we expected so...we decided to go proselyting at Redneck Headquarters..... BASS PRO SHOPS HQ hahahahaha It didnt go too well. We ran into a few members but for the most part people just started like we were aliens or something...like this was literally their faces -> (o_O) haha Bula Vinaka!!!!!!! :P hahaha After we went to ZOne Training and found out that the Aurora Area led the mission in Baptisms in August and lead the Zone in all numbers in July, August and so far in September. Its crazy how in June, they were going to close the area and now 3 months later its progressed and improved so much. I guess the people here are ready to recieve the word :)

Saturday September 15th: So, today Ashton Gaddy was baptized!!! My 5th one so far! A very spiritual and emotional baptism. Here family told her right after the baptism that she was disowned and could not come back home :( She smiled though and told her family she still loved them and she forgives them and she walked away. :') low key i was gettin teary eyed. She has such an incredible testimony of this gospel and is so strong in her faith its remarkable. GREAT morning. Later that day i called President and got premission to watch the byWho vs Utah game. "Only because you're on the team. You must watch it with a member" YEYYYY BUDDY!!! Haha the only down fall was that we're an hour ahead of you guys in Utah so the game started at 9 and our curfews 9:30. So we had to record the game and finish it today on P-Day. Bummer zonin. But my dude Crizzy Cres (Dres) just caught a bomb from my dude Johnny Hays!!! Go Utes

Sunday September 16th: A very good sunday. Taught a whole lot today and got the work did today!!! :) We taught 6 lessons in a good 4 hours time. The day actually went by a lot faster than i thought now that i think about it...hmm

So...this was my week. Im so happy and blessed to know that i can further the work here for another 6 weeks! Aurora has become a home for me and i love it. We have at least another 5-6 baptisms planned for this next transfer. So wish us luck :) Well...i guess thats it for this week.

Shout out to the Uso Cameron Laumatia for his birthday last week. Happy Birthday Uce. I miss you. _\,,/

Till Next Week
-Elder Isaac Asiata

Free and Easy Down The Road I Go. September 10th, 2012

Unlike last week, the subject line pretty much describes my past week....

I swear, by far the slowest and longest week of my mission haha. We had 5-6 appointments scheduled BUT, everyone REscheduled for next week so ended up teaching no lessons at all :( If you want a week to go by super long, dont teach any lessons. The only highlight of the week is we had mission tour and Elder Yoon Hwan Choi of the Quorum of 70 spoke to us! Spirit for days. Made me realize a lot of things and understand even more. I'll get into that more later though. Here was me week, you should be able to read it in about 30 seconds...

 

Tuesday: Nothing

Wednesday: Nothing

Thursday: Nothing

Friday: Nothing

Saturday: Nothing

Sunday: Nothing

 

...Nah Im Just kidding :) Here it is...

 

Wednesday September 5th: Today we had Mission Tour, probably more known as Zone Conference. But It was still dope! Elder Choi (Pronounced 'Che') spoke to us all day. From about 9 in the am till 4 in the pm. He talked about Music, classical music to be exact and how it is "The bridge between one soul and another." He gave the scripture reference D&C 25:12 and applied to missionary work in a sense that we have to forge a bridge between our spirit and the spirit of our investigators in order to allow the Holy Ghost to enter their lives. Also, we talked about reasons why missionaries come out on missions. I've found that a majority of kids are here just because A) Their Parents Made Them. B) They came because they didnt want to let their parents down; expected of them. or C) They came just to say they came. According to Elder Choi, "If you came on a mission because of your family and friends, because of any other reason than your own; its time to correct that. You have to develop YOUR OWN SELF DESIRE." ....Yup, stuffs gospel to folk. Haha myself personally, i would not have stayed out as long as i have if i came out because my parents made me. (No offence Mom, i love you ^_^) I was happy to know that i have my own reasons to come out here and serve. So, just some food for thought to everything at home thinking about serving a mission. Come because YOU want to, not because everyone else does. There was a lot more instruction given by Elder Choi and President Shumway but those were the main 2 that kinda stood out. So...

 

Thursday September 6th: Today was a long day (Just like the next 3 days) and we didnt do too much. Tried to visit our 2 appointments that were scheduled but ended up rescheduling like i said. So, we spent the whole day studying and then helped a member out at and empolyees home. We moved this pool table into his basement, my knee is so jacked up haha But yup...sadly, that was the jist of our day today.

 

Friday September 7th: Had another 2 appointments cancel and rescheduled on us today. So we tried contacting some less active families, all of which slam their doors in my companions face. Haha not mine, i wasnt all up in their grill. Haha sad story :( ...haha But i heard that we lost to Utah State :( bro...thats an even sader story. Its all good...just gotta stomp out those Zoobs on the 15th boiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!

 

Saturday September 8th: Another appointment cancelled and rescheduled...yeah it wasnt a good week, like i said. Haha So we studied all day and hung out at the Alms with a In-Active family for a little bit before i went on the longest car drive of my life. Since my companion is our District Leader, we had to drive, let me rephrase that, I had to drive 2 and half miles so he could do a baptismal interview for some Elders in Boliver. Now, if i had some tunes to listen too, it would be great. But since MoTab is kinda starting to drive me crazy, there was nothing but silence the whole way there hahahaha. but i handled it like a champ and got it done. That pretty much took up our whole day so we came home caught the last of the Mizzou game at Matts. They lost 41-20 to Georgia but from what i heard they made a statement. (The SEC sucks anyways...) PAC 12^ :)

 

Sunday September 9th: A Great Sabbath day. Didnt have too much going on. Had a great time at church and Thats about it. Took a sunday nap and spent the whole day studying. Haha

 

 

 

So, like i said, compared to the past 5 months, this week was by far the longest and most unproductive. But by all means, it wasnt on our account. This upcoming week should be a lot better! Oh, Transfers are next week (September 20th) and Transfer calls are this Satursday (September 15th) So, im hoping to stay for at least one more transfer (November 1st) I dont feel like im done working with the people here. So, pray that i stay again :) If i do, i should end up with 11 baptisms in my first area!!! That would be so G.O.O.D :) Haha

 

In closing, I wanted to leave you with a quick spiritual thought about the Atonement. After all my studies, I still do not fully understand it perfectly and i Dont believe that i ever will. But after recieveing some instruction from Elder Choi at mission tour, i've gotten a whole new out look on the whole thing. If you break down the word Atonement, You get AT-ONE-ment. And it is exactly that. "Being at ONE with GOD. Changing Ones Self For The Better" It goes beyond repenting for our sins, although, I dont say that to take away from it. Repentence is huge but using the Atonement in our lives is what we need to take advantage. Brothers and Sister, as we continue to repent, strive to be AT ONE with our Savior, Jesus Christ, we draw closer and closer to becoming AT ONE with our Heavenly Father. The closer we draw to our Savior, the closer we come to being like our Heavenly Father and returning to live in his presence. I have seen the Atonement at work throughout my life, time and time again. Even when I didnt believe this gospel to be true. Our Savior will always be by our side. Going through our ups and downs. Every moment joy and every moment of sorrow and heartache. He knows us personal, our stengths and our weaknesses. Everything we go through, he is AT ONE with us all. He loves us, and will always have his hand our to lead us back to our heavenly father, no matter how far we have gone astray. I leave this with you in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

Till Next Week

Take Care

-Elder Isaac Asiata

Cute Without The E (Cut From The Team) September 4th, 2012

Well Hello :)

Disregard my subject...it has nothing to do with my email this week haha. I just think im creative..(Just kidding, its a Taking Back Sunday song ^_^) Anyways, this past week was another great and successful week. Had another baptism and it was a great one. I think only a missionary can tell you about the different spirit that you can feel at a convert baptism, apposed to a regular one. Its something thats hard to describe but man is it a beautiful thing :) Well, heres my past week, it was not too busy teaching wise but we're still doing what we can to find people to teach. Thats what happens when everyone you teach gets baptized haha. Leggo!

 

 

Tuesday August 28th: We met with Paul Austin today. His wife beth was baptized August 25th. He was feeling kinda down because he wasnt able to be baptized the same day as his wife like they had planned, he just has a smoking problem so thats what we met with him today to discuss. We talked about helping him quit smoking and how heavnly father would never give us an obstacle less he provide a way for us to over come it. He has gotten a fresh motivation and start to progressing to the new date that we set with im (September 22nd) which it after transfers so, hopefully i stick around for it. Later we met with Isabella and planned her baptism. It was hilarious! She kept naming famous people to talk at her baptism; Channing Tatum, Taylor Lautner, Justin Bieber, etc. Haha She said "Is it possible for Justin Bieber to speak at his future wifes baptism hahahaha. It was awesome.

 

Wednesday August 29th: Today I went on exchange with Elder Zackary Beckstead in the (John) Stockton area. I told him I'll only refer to the the area as (John) Stockton haha. It was a looooonnng day. But, i love service so thats what we did. There are these non-member super rich cowboy guy who owns this $5 million farm/barn estate and we went to work from noon till about 9 that night haha. The crazy thing is, is we werent going to go there but Elder Beckstead has a feeling that we should just go by and and say Hi. Well when we got there, we found out that they we trying to get things ready for a Horse show that following sunday and only had 2 people to help get things done. Basically, impossible haha. So we stayed and helped out. I got to ride a few horseys and load em up. No, they Did Not collapse and die from me riding them if thats what you were thinking... (-__-)=p haha but at the end of the day they asked if we could come back tomorrow because, in Waylon, the owners, words "That lil boy that you have as a real companion could shovel horse *beep* without throwing up. I dont like little girls on my farm, and you (me) you aint no little girl...might be a big girl, i mean look atcha', but you can get the job done" HAHAHAHA So, we called my comp, our district leader and ask for the go and head and i ended up staying an extra day.

 

Thursday August 30th: Today was the longest day of my life hahah We woke up at 5am and got right to work. We baled 200+ bales of hay, i stopped counting after we filled the 12th trailer haha. We got everything for their horse show packed and then headed to the site in Ava to help unload it. While we were there unloading, i noticed this real good looking blonde riding a horse staring at me...I thought it was because im a pretty decent looking guy...wrong. Haha i was wearing my Utah shirt and she came up and asked if I was from there. Well when she found out I was from Spanish Fork, GUESS WHAT?!!? She's from SF too!!!! Her names Camille and she knew Big Rich Wilson cause he used to go work on their farm. Everyone knows that sexy chocolate man at the Y (no homo though...) Hahaha but that was cool. Anyways, we got done and back into (John) Stockton around 10 that night. It was a rough 2 days but hey, it was worth it.

 

Friday August 31st: Today we met with a a members son who has turned 8 but hasnt been baptized yet. His mom wanted him to recieve the lessons before hes baptized so we went over and ended up teaching his cousin as well and setting a date for him on teh 29th of September!!! Lucky Lucky right??? Well, after all this we went to Springfield and played some dodgeball with some members and other missionaries from around the area. I thought that all this time away from football would heal up my knee...I was ill informed...i feel like an old man.

 

Saturday September 1st: So long August, Hello September. Wow...its September...19 more months boiiiii!!!!! :) Oh, Isabella's baptism was today haha Her Grandpa did the baptism  and it was great and all but if you saw her dads face :( Man, you could just tell that he wished he could have been able to be the one baptizing her but things didnt pan out that. But, the important thing is, she was baptized and all is gravy :) Like i said, theres a different feeling of spirit at convert baptisms. I love it. Shout out to them Lost Boy Elders who have felt this same spirit and those who will soon come to feel it. Trust me, you havent felt anything like this before in your life.

 

Sunday September 2nd: Another great sabbath day. Fast sunday. If it were fast sunday for me a year ago, i think i might have died of starvation...i guess thats what happens when you're fat (.___.) haha but, i love fast sundays. Especially testimony meeting. Its incredible to hear the testimonies of everyone in our ward. A vast majority of them are converts and its always great to hear them speak. Didnt have too much going on today after church though. We went to the Maynes house that night and helped their dad Denny try and talk to his friend that hes trying to get to learn abou the gospel. I think hes close.

 

Well...that was my week. Things are starting to slow down a lot because our teaching pool is shrinking. We have 5 investigors as of now and they are all set for baptism. Our next one is September 15th. Oh, i also noticed on my last email, i made every day September instead of August...sorry about that. Haha.

 

I just wanted to give a shout out to my uso Elder Latch Boy Jex, I heard what you did for that kid who didnt have much in the MTC...Im proud of you uce. You've always been that kind of kid. Keep on soaking up as much as you can in there, pray for the gift of tounges and study hard. You dont even realize yet, the impact you will have on all the people in Mexico City. Love you uce. Keep your eyes on that mail box next monday. I sent you a little early Christmas/Birthday Present. You better like it too....haha

 

To the rest of them Lost Boys, Keep doing what you do. I heard T-Still got some playing time on special teams when them Utes dropped a 41-0 goose egg on Northern Colorado. Good job uce! Proud of you. Elder Pockets Inoke, heard you werent doing too good, with health issues and all that. You're always in my prays toko, as in everyone elses. You aint gettin sent home for that, your mission out there isnt even close to being over. Elder Adams, Russell and Leif Doggy Dog, keep preaching the word usos. You preach and the spirit teaches, remember that. So live and pray always for it. Continue to be a blessing in those peoples lives out there. Love you all. Lost Boys Up.

 

Oh yeah! Happy Birthday Alisha Jane Boyack :) Hope it was a great one!!!

 

Alright well, thank you all for doing what you do. Its such a blessing to have so much support from so many people. I love you all. To the Jex's, Inoke's, Russell's, Leifson's, Still's and Adams', thank you all. I love you more than you could know. Im out here because of your families influences in and throughout my life.

 

Till Next Week

Take Care

-Elder Isaac Asiata

Weekly Letter #15. August 28th, 2012

Sorry For The Wait. (No Lil Wayne Reference)


Ciao Ciao Mi Amicos

Whoa...will you look at the time. Goes by faster than you think. Sorry that i've been M.I.A these past few weeks. I spent my whole P-Day yesterday gettin me Lumber Jack Steeze on, cuttin down trees. With Axes and Chainsaws. Needless to say, there are currently 22 chopped trees cut up into pieces in the backyard of Brother Moss' house ready for the winter time. If that wasnt the longest day of my life, i dont know what was haha. So, yeah let me catch you up to speed on Elder Asiata's Mission Life these past few weeks..Since the last time i wrote (When was the last time i wrote? .__. ) I've had 2 baptisms and set 3 more from this upcoming saturday (September 1st) till the end of September and another 2 in October. So...If i dont get transfered on September 19th, I could leave this area with 8 baptisms!! Boiiiii!!! I DO IT!!! Well...me and my comp but hes new and I already dont like him so...haha Anyways...heres my past few weeks. HereWiiKoo!!!

August 14th-August 19th

The biggest and main thing about this week was that Rocky Bain was baptized on the 18th. I was blessed with the chance to confirm him a new member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was great. Its been such an incredible blessing to see him go from not even believing in a god to having one of the greatest testimonies I've ever heard. Its sad to see him and his family move out of the ward but i will always keep in contact with him. His story of conversion lead to something even more incredible in the upcoming week. I'll get to that later. CONGRATS ROCKY!!

Monday August 20th: Today we had a Zone Training Meeting and found out that Aurora is leading our Zone In Numbers and Baptisms for the month of July (Numbers) and August (Numbers & Baptisms) So that was pretty awesome news! During this meeting, President Shumway was doing interviews and I got to spend some time with him. He's a a pretty solid dude (Can you call your mission president a dude? haha) But it was a very spiritual meeting. Kind of a spiritual renewal. After this meeting we met with Isabella and our Zone Leaders and she got the green light for her baptism September 1st (This Saturday) She will be baptized by her Grandpa. We're still working with her dad to get him back to being an Active member. It was sad to see his face when he told her he couldnt baptize her. Tears for days (Killed the mood haha) But hes came a long ways since i first got here and met him back in May. Of course, dinner with the Alms family followed.

Tuesday August 21st: Our P-Day was moved to today because of zone training yesterday but we really just bummed around at Matts all day haha Didnt do much. I took and nap and wrote a few letters to some people but thats about it haha. I was being lazy and didnt write my weekly email so...sorry everyone. haha

Wednesday August 22nd: Today we planned Beth Austin's baptism and tried to set a new date for Paul Austin to be baptized. He started smoking again so we had to pick a new day for him to be baptized. He wasnt home when we got their house so we just planned Beths baptism. After we tried to meet with Cynthia but were unsuccessful so we had decided that we need to drop her momentarily. We found that she only wanted to meet with us to get a spiritual feeling which is fine but if it goes no where, we gotta drop them for a little bit in hopes that they realize the absence of the spirit. So, hopefully when the next set of missionaries pick her up, she'll be ready to go.

Thursday August 23rd: Did some service for Matt today. Started work on the beautiful 73' Challenger hes got. Im trying to learn what i can about being a machanic and working on cars while im out here. Gotta learn sometime haha

Friday August 24th: Today we did a whole lot of nothing. We had to go to Willard which is like an hour from here to interview someone for a baptism and Matt was our only ride so, we had to ride up to Springfield with him and wait while he was in class for him to take us haha. So we went to the singles ward building and played pool and talked with a lot of the members that were there. It was a good time. Tracted around Springfield for a bit and then went to our interview in Willard. After that, we visited Matts best friend Josh who had pretty much gone off the deep end. He went on a mission and his fiancee to be got married and today him while he was still out in the field. So, its a sad story but now hes mentally insane...smh. The things females can do to people...hahaha just kidding. I still love you ;) All of you haha

Saturday August 25th: Today was Beth's baptism!!! Yey Buddy! I was blessed with the chance to be the one who baptized her and wow. The difference of spirt at the baptism when you baptize and when you watch it is very apparent. It was a great expierence for sure! After her baptism we had lunch some member and went home and studied the whole afternoon. There was a huge down pour with lightning warnings so we had to stay inside. Still, it was a good day. Oh! How did i forget. So, earliar, when i was talking about Rocky, during his lessons, all the disscussions we had with him, the member family whos house we taught at, their daughter had a friend over every time. She was fundamental methodist and she sat in a listened to all of his lessons. They were never directed directly towards her but we found out today that she wants to be baptized. Her family is tremendously Anti-Mormon and she stood up to them and bore an amazing testimony of this gospel and how false the worlds speculations about the LDS faith is. Such a great expierence to hear that. She will be baptized September 15th.

Sunday August 26th: Today was a great sabbath day. Sister Beth Ann Austin was confirmed a member of the church! So great. I also recieved some very uplifting comments from our bishop. So every month, as missionaries, we have to talk to the Bishop about the Success of our ward as well as the Concerns. The success was "Great Missionaries and Baptisms" and the concern and i quote "Whether or not we'll be keeping you as a missionary in our ward Elder Asiata. Dont get transfered yet. Your work here isnt done yet" -Bishop Sherwood. :) Haha Thats always a great thing to hear right? Great to know that our ward appreciates the work that my companion and I are doing.

So, that was my past few weeks...kinda haha. Its great having some many people be baptized but the only downfall is that now our teaching pool is getting smaller haha Its hard to find people to teach in our area so we rely a lot on referrals from members, the church website and non members. Thats what I wanted this weeks spiritual thought to be on. President Spencer W. Kimball said "Every Member a Missionary" So i challenge all of you to pray for missionary opurtunities. Pray that you will be able to see the same work I do every day here in your every day lives. Think of friends and family who you think could recieve this gospel. Get in contact with the missionaries in your ward and give them referrals to those who the lord has prepared to recieve his word. I promise you that as you do so, the lord will bless you and your family for your efforts.

Just one more thing on a non-spiritual sense...shout out to all my Ute Family in the 801 who bout to hold it down against Northern Colorado on Thursday!!! Utes Up!!! Good luck. F.O.E!

Till Next Week (Hopefully haha)

-Elder Isaac Asiata

Weekly Letter #14. August 13th, 2012

 Rest In Love Mama Still


Well, this past week went great. Besides a few ups and down, it was a good week. I found that one of the biggest blessings I've gotten from this mission is hands down Patience and Humility haha We'll get to that later. Here was my week...

Tuesday August 7th: Since this week was Elder Decker's last week in Aurora, we went and visited all of our investigators, well the ones who wanted to meet with us at least ha. We went and taught Isabella around noon and finished up the last of her lessons. Next time wee meet with her we're just going to go over over the baptismal interview questions. Her dad, being a less active member, asked us if we wanted to hang out with them for the day and eat some meatloaf. We did that :) But before we went to see the Harringtons so Decker could say bye. Then we came back and played monopoly and board games for a few hours with him. We're working on getting him active again. We had dinner with the Sweet family and then taught Rocky. We were skeptical about whether he would be ready to be baptized or not because we werent sure if he had a solid testimony or not; he surprised us with one of the best testimonies i've ever heard haha. When we met with him that night, he told us how he started to invite people to his baptism and his brother was saying all this stuff about how lds religion is wrong and all this. Then he dropped the mother load of testimonies haha It was amazing. Without a doubt...hes ready :)

Wednesday August 8th: Started the day off with Paul and Beth. Paul caught us off guard and said that he didnt want to be baptized till after elections haha When we asked why he told us that he had a very strong political stance and didnt want his political voiced opinion to reflect on the church. After we explained that you have the right to have freedom of speech, he agreed to go a head and be baptized on the 25th with his wife haha. I love that guy. He's hilarious. He asked if i would baptize him because "I want to see you on TV on Sundays playing some Pro Ball. That way i can tell everyone that a Pro Football Player Baptized me...that and because i like you. No offense Elder Decker" haha I will NEVER forget that. I guess i better go Pro!

Thursday August 9th: Today Elder Decker caught the Deuces and a swift kick Goodbye...We didnt end on good terms haha. And i met my new Companion Elder Ostler. Hes pretty tight i guess. Nothing wrong with him yet but Its early in the transfer haha. Spent the day getting him settled then we hung out with the Alms for din din.

Friday August 10th: Well...both of our appointments cancelled on us so we tracted around for a bit. Its starting to cool down a lot so im not a sweat hot mess all day. Rocky had his Baptismal Interview today and all is well. He is good to go for his baptism on the 18th. That was our oh so fun day though.. :D haha

Saturday August 11th: A great day full of working on good ol' Taura Ranch. Baled some hay, drove some fence post and took care of some horse. Theres a black stallion here named Giorgio who pretty much loves me...I wanna ride him .__. Samoan Horse Rider.

Sunday August 12th: So...today was the day i found out that the lord has Blessed me with Patience and Humility. So...theres this ONE MEMBER. Levi Shirley. Pretty much, from every member in the ward we've talked too, they all have said hes a piece of crap and thinks hes better than everyone else in the ward cause hes rich and all that. Hes...yeah haha. So, during sacrament, I'll admit it, i was nodding off during it, should i be, no, but im sorry, it happens sometimes. So...while im nodding off, this guy comes and sits next to me DURING SACRAMENT MEETING and pretty much chews me out about it. Wasnt polite. was rude and he got in my face. Like...he wanted me to do something...but since im a missionary and im blessed with Patience i said sorry and he left. I told Matt about it and he was ticked haha He told bishop and bishop said hes going to talk to him. So...yeah. This wasnt my first run in with the guy. I've only talked to him twice in my whole life..im over it haha


So, on a better non confrontational note, I learned something very important this past week. There's a kid in our ward who is 20 and doesnt really feel like hes ready to serve a mission. I've talked to him about it many times and have given him a lot of adive about it. He's kind of in the same boat as i was when deciding to go. Just in a sense that he doesnt want to go unless he wants to go. The more his family and people in the ward try to push him towards it, the more he rebels. So, anyways, i got a call from his aunt and she told me that she has never felt so blessed to have a missionary in the area. She told me that i was such an amazing example for Aaron and that he talks about me all the time. She said that she knew for a fact that i was sent here for Aaron.
After i got to thinking about that, i realized that yes, as missionaries, the lord sends us to certain areas for investigators and people we teach but as well and just as importantly, we are sent to certains areas to help members as well. May not seem new to some but to me it struck me pretty hard. So for all of my Lost Boys and many friends serving around the world, remember always that theres a reason for you to be in EVERY AREA you are sent to. Whether that be for investigators, to plant the seed, to harvest the crops or for the ward members. Find that reason.

I wanna give a shout out to my Lost Boy faithful Elder Tyson Jex. Holdin it down one time in the Mexico City West Mission. I hope your farewell went well. I love and miss you uce. August 2014 will come by faster than you think so go headstrong and steadfast in the lords work and he will bless you. I know the kind of person you are and you will heard this a million times but the people of your mission are lucky and fortunate to have you and to hear your testimony. You will be the biggest change so many peoples lives. Take it easy my dude. I'll see you at the Airport in 2014.

Lastly i wanted to send my condolences to my usos Travis, Ryan and Tyler, my big sister Sherry and Papa Still. I love all of you so much and I hope and pray for you always. Your mom has been such an instrumental tool in shaping me and raising me to be the man I am today. She is watching over all of us and will be there to comfort you in your time of need. Heavenly Father and our Savior will take care of her till she can see your guys again. Thank for you being my family and taking care of me my whole life. Stay strong.

I hope and wish the best for all of  you in all of your daily lives. Trust in the Plan of Salvation. Trust in the Lord. Let go and Let god and he will take care of all of us in anything we face.

Till Next Time
-Elder Isaac Asiata

Rest In Love Mama Still

To the incredible woman who raised me for the past 8 years of my life. I will never forget you and everything you've ever taught me. Im sorry I wasnt there when you passed away but Im glad I was able to call and say goodbye. I know you're forever with your family and The Lost Boys serving around the world. Till we meet again. Rest in Love Shelly Still.

Weekly Letter #13. August 6th, 2012

FIRST BAPTISM. STAYING IN AURORA. WELCOME TO THE G.O.O.D LIFE.

Yessirrrrrr! You already know though! You only serve once, thats motto so baptize them to follow! AYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!! GET IT!!! Haha
Yup, this past week was a great week! Had my first baptism saturday and found out that im staying in Aurora for another transfer. We also set another baptism yesterday and are currently leading our zone in numbers! BOIIIIIIII!!!! I DO IT!!!!!! ...well, we do it. Elder Decker helps, a lot. But Still... Heres my week :)

Tuesday July 31st: Taught Isabella the hardest and most awkward lesson you ever teach to kids...The Law of Chastity.... .__. Awkward city man. Haha We got lucky though we had talked to her dad Andy the sunday before that we were teaching her and asked him to help us out...he did :) Haha So, we taught a low key version that had enough knowledge for a 9 year old. Thank you Brother Moss for making it a lot less awkward haha. After we hung out with them because Brother Moss is a less active member and Matt came over cause hes his home teacher and we just talked and hung out for a little bit till dinner. Good Tuesday.

Wednesday August 1st: YAY!!!! HAPPY FIRST OF AUGUST! Suckas gotta go back to school ;) Anyways...we had a district meeting with another District in a different zone because we dont have a district to meet with. It was a pretty good time. Had some spiritual uplifting and then headed over to the Chesterfield Elders apartment and had a TACO PARTY!!! AHHHHHHHHRIBAH!!!....or something like that... :D Shout out to all my Spanish Speaking Lost Boys haha. After that we headed over to Matt and Lauras for some din din and some quality family bonding time.

Thursday August 2nd: Woke up and got some weekly planning did then we were supposed to meet with Paul and Beth at noon but out ride bailed on us, 20 minutes before our appointment with them. It takes a good 35 minutes to get to they're place so....yeah no big deal. -__- so we ended up getting there an hour and a half late cause we walked...LIKE A BOSSSSS SON :) no, it was 105 degrees out that day but hey, for they're eternal salvation, im willing to make that sacrifice...haha :) The lesson went very well. We went over The Law of Chastity....A lot less awkward when you teach it to a  50 year old married couple haha. After we came home and did some personal and companionship study and dinner to end the night.

Friday August 3rd: So, i woke up this morning with a very odd feeling to go out and tract but not knock on any doors. So...how do you do that? We went out around our neighborhood for about 2 and a half hours and put Pass Along Cards, Restoration, Plan of Salvation and The Gospel of Jesus Christ Pamphlets, and Family Proclamation pamphlets on everyones doors. They all had our numbers on it and we'll see how ends up...nothing has resulted because of it yet but hey, the prophet said, "No effort wasted" :) Later that day we taught the Harringtons. It was a great lesson. We're working with them to see and recognize the spirit through the book of mormon and following the prophet. They are being baptized on October 27th.

Saturday August 4th: We had Sam's baptism today! It was sooooo dope. Such an emotional and spiritual day. He was baptized by one our members. His mom and sister spoke on the Holy Ghost and Baptism. The crazy thing is this kid is the biggest spaz and off the wall but the reverence he showed after he was baptized was...wow. It felt like i was sitting next to a brand new person. It was amazing. After his baptism, we cleaned the church with The Sharpe's, a member family from our ward. Then we had dinner with the Alms while we waited for transfer calls. As i said, im not getting transferred. :) Decker was pretty ticked off...GET OVER IT.. haha
 



Sunday August 5th:We confirmed Sam one the newest member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was awesome! Sacrament went well and after church we began the new member or "Recent Convert" lessons with Sam. Went over the restoration. Then we went to Matt and Laura's and hung out till we had dinner at the Sharpe's. After that dinner we taught Rocky Bain. He was having a problem with "If Heavenly Father loved us so much, his 'Children' why would he want to damn us?" Yeah...we answered that for him and he committed to baptism on the spot :) August 18th boiiiii!

So, that was my week. Im going to be here in Aurora till at least the end of September so im going to be able to see 4-5 more baptisms before i leave :) Theres only been 3 baptisms in Aurora History. I cant wait :)

I learned some very unfortunate news this last week. My prayers are with all of you; Travis, Brian, Tyler, Ryan and Sherry. I love all of you so much. Shelly, i love you more than you could ever know. You have been such a close friend that I've always seen you as my own mother. I am forever grateful for all that you've done for me.

Till Next Time
Elder Isaac Asiata

Weekly Letter #12. July 23rd, 2012

Hello Hello. Ciao Ciao. Talofa Talofa....Hi :) Yup, its been 3 months already! May not seem that long to you outside world people BUT to a missionary...thats quite sometime haha. I hope all of you had an awesome week like I did! But, unless you had 2 people commit to baptism and then asked you to baptize you, I DOUBT IT ;) Haha Yes, It was a very very great past week. HereWiiKoo!!! Tuesday July 17th: Started the day off right and taught a lesson to little Isabella. Went really quick but thats because shes been taught and knows everything. We read from the Book of Mormon and she decided to set a goal to read 1 Nephi-Jacob before her baptism on September 1st. After that we headed to our meeting with President Shumway and all the other missionaries being trained in our zone. A really spiritually uplifting meeting. He's like a spiritual football coach...he coached at Pleasant Grove High. I would best describe his personality close to Coach Whitt...but theres only one Coach Whittingham haha But it was still a great meeting. One of the key things he told us to remember was "We Preach The Gospel. But The Spirit TEACHES." Kind of obvious but when you think about it, that is why the spirit is such a crucial role in an investigators conversion. Deep stuff man...haha Wednesday July 18th: Had a district meeting with the only other Elders in our district who are our zone leaders ha. After we went on exchanges and i stayed in Aurora with Elder Erickson. He goes home at the end of this transfer. We went and saw the Harringtons and committed Brother Harrington to read the book of mormon. After that we went to dinner then headed to skate park to teach the kids who like me down there. Haha They are all great kids. My companion is afraid to go down there but really, they're all great kids. They just need something in this life. Can you guess what that is? Haha After that we went to the Mayne's house and thats how we ended our night. Thursday July 19th: Today we met with Cynthia and found out she is sober and wants to start going to see groups. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and she is very interested in being sealed to her daughter. It was a great lesson and the spirit was so strong. Shes just afraid of baptism because she had a rough expierece with a past interview for it. She'll come around. Friday July 20th: We spent the whole day helping the Alms out at their place and all that good stuff. That night had a zone dodgeball deal. It was a pretty dece friday. Saturday July 21st: We met with Paul and Beth today. Beth has been ready to be baptized for the past few weeks but wouldnt do it because she wanted to wait till her husband Paul was ready. Well, Today, He Was Ready!!! :) He agreed to be baptized, the both of them, on August 25th! They also told me that they have been thinking about it a lot and they really want me to be the one to baptize them. Which was sad and good. Sad cause Elder Decker invited them and then when they said yes, he said "Well, you can choose who you want to baptize you" and Paul Said "Well, no offense Elder Decker but we really want Elder Asiata to baptize us" ...Yo...like i said haha Sad but Happy for me :) Sunday July 22nd: A wonderful sabbath day, like always. Talked to Sam Maples about his baptism and he will be getting baptized on August 4th! :) My First Baptism!!!! We are having a member in our ward baptize him so that is even better. He also wanted me to baptize him but we decided that it would be better because hes so young to have one of the youth leaders baptize him, who is also his families home teacher. Later that night we taught Rocky. His wife is from Spanish Fork by the way! Anyways, he was VERY resentful about baptism. Didnt want it at all. But this past week he has been praying and reading a lot and said he has thought about baptism. We are going to reinvite him next time we see him! He said that he's been praying to find a new house for him and his family cause their old one burnt down. And hes been praying for a perfect house for his family and he said when he walked in a house they were looking at, he said he felt weird. But like "Good Weird" Different he said. He recognized the spirit and said it was a great expierence. So, thats how awesome my week has been. Lessons wise, Elder Decker and I are leading the zone in Lessons taught on a monthly average..I've only been here 2 Months...SWAGGGGGGGGGGGG! Haha I hope all is well with everyone. Thank you for your prayers and all that you sacrifice for my family and me. Elder Tyson Jex- 3 More Weeks my dude!!!! I am so proud of you! You're going to be such a great missionary. I promise you will touch the lives of soooo many people out in Mexico City. I got some pictures from your endowment session! OKAY!!! I see you with that RAY BAN Swag! Mad Faux Hawk! Just so you know, you dont have to get rid of the hair man. Just gotta trim it down a little bit :) Continue to prepare yourself mentally and spiritually for it. 2 years will fly by and the Lost Boys will be at the airport in 2014 to pick you up. I love you uce. Good Luck Till Next Time Be Easy -Elder Isaac Asiata

Weekly Letter #11. July 16th, 2012

Hello Hello! Wow, what a...well, BETTER, week haha. Taught a lot more lessons than the previous week but ran into a few snags in Baptisms and almost dropped my companion. Hahaha Well, like the subject says, tomorrow, the 17th, will be my 2 month mark in Aurora ! It may not seem like a very long time to you...but man it already feels like 2 years haha. Anyways, heres my past week: Tuesday July 10th- We taught Isabella today. We had August 4th scheduled for her baptism but today her today asked to reschedule it to September 1st so her Mom and Grandma could come. I think another reason is because her dad wants some time to get ready to baptize her. Keep him in your prayers, hes a really good dude. That was about all we really did today. Isabella, her brother, and her dad came over that night to The Alms place for dinner. It was a good time. Wednesday July 11th- Had a District meeting with some other District today because we dont have a District to meet with. One of the Elders in that District is from Payson and he knows a lot of people i knew but hes what we call an "Apostate" missionary haha He goes home at the end of this transfer on the 10th of August. We also picked up our beds! Oh my goodness...We have the greatest beds in the mission! I've never slept so good before in my life!!! Haha We taught Caleb that night and found out he and his aunt and uncle felt that he wasnt ready for baptism. So we decided to start all the lessons over again and decide a new date later. Thursday July 12th- Today was a very, very, very, slow day haha We only met with one of our investigators, Cynthia and she told us that she has quit drinking! Which was awesome! Shes found strength from Praying. We told her that if she reads her scriptures, it only helps as well as church so we invited her to do those things and she said she will try. She didnt show up at church so, hopefully shes reading. We spent the rest of the day reading scriptures, taking naps and visiting members. Just so you know, Tracting is NOT effective in our area. Friday July 13th- Helped Matt up at his place for the first part of the day. Then headed to the Harringtons and taught with them. It turned into a visit and Sister Harrington bore her testimony of how Missionaries saved her marriage. It was such an incredible moment. When i told her to recognize that she now has that testimony of Missionaires she was kinda taken aback haha Such a spiritual experience. After that we headed to our Zone Leaders area so Decker could interview one of their investigators for baptism. Sounds like a wonderful Friday the 13th, I Know :) haha Saturday July 14th- Well...Today was the day where me and my comp got in a little....tiff...so to speak. People really get brave on their missions haha But You dont have to worry, cause i wont touch him, Not worth it. Haha after that we went to a ward pioneer party for breakfast. It was a good time. After, we taught Paul and Beth and Beth committed to baptism but she wont get baptized without her husband and him without her. They also asked if I would be the one to baptize them :) Whaaaaa???? Haha You Know!!! Taught another lesson that night to our investigator Rocky, who we found out, doesnt believe in god ha. We just had the member family that we were doing the lesson at bare their testimony of the Holy Ghost cause thats what Rocky had a lot of questions about. He thinks its just common sense ha WRONG haha It went very well though. And he said hes going to start takin things more seriously. Sunday July 15th- A great sabbath day. We broke our areas record for investigators present at sacrament, 8. Haha Doesnt sound like a lot but its pretty hard to get people to commit to that so i was happy :) Met with Sam Maples after and finished up all the lessons so now he just has to be interviewed and will be baptized 3 weeks from saturday on August 4th. Finished the day off with the beautiful Mayne family :) Love them That was my week. Sounds lame but hey, I love what im doing :) Today we've been workin at the farm at Matts. Bailing Hay for a good 3 hours straight...Yuppp, that was a work out. Now we're just hanging out. Something I heard from my mission President that really struck me was when he said "The Topic that you talked about at your farewell is the main reason you were able to come out here. At one point in your life, whatever it was that you spoke on, influenced you to the point of wanting to serve the lord." -President Shumway. What I talked on, if you can remember was "Friends & Family." And thats why it struck me so hard. Every person that has ever came close to me, family and friends, were such a support in getting me out here. I thank all of you and love you beyond words could ever imagine. The examples and influences that you have had in my life has shaped me and given me experience to better serve the lord and be a fine tool in his hands. Friends, both close and just people i saw every once and again Especially my Lost Boy Faithfuls who are out serving right now, thank you. Family, you mean more to me than anything in this world. I couldnt be more thankful for your sacrifice and help over so many years. The lord is aware of all the help you've given me. He will "Open up the windows of Heaven and pour out blessings so big that you will not have room enough to receive it" I Love You All and Thank You So Much For Everything. Elder Isaac Asiata

Weekly Letter #10. July 9th, 2012

Hello All :)

 

Well...first off i hope evey ones 4th of July was cooler than mine, because if it wasnt then you're a loser... :) haha. This past week wasnt as great as we wished. Had a lot of lessons planned but only 2 were taught. The rest were rescheduled or cancelled because of the holiday. Bummer zone but its all good cause those 2 lessons were better than nothing. We were also supposed to be having a baptism this Saturday, July 14th, but our investigator missed his baptismal interview this past Thursday so we had to moved it to the 21st of July so he can be interviewed this weekend. Thats pretty much the latest and greatest with The A-Town Area. But here was my week:

 

Tuesday July 3rd: We met with Isabella again today. She is doing just great. Honestly the cutest little girl in the world, besides you of course Destinee :) haha We read 1 Nephi 3 with her and she is understanding the Book of Mormon very well for a 9 year old. Her dad is slowly coming around as well. He was "Keep to myself" kind of guy at first but now hes starting to open up a lot more. We took Matt Alms with us to teach because hes his home teacher and their now friends. Pretty dope. We had 2 other appointments today but they both rescheduled so we ended our night with dinner at the Mayne's home.

 

Wednesday July 4th: HAPPY 4TH! :) Today we spent the day with the Alms and Mayne families at Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri. Its kind of like a mini Las Vegas downtown but the lake where we were at was amazing. We watched everyone swim because we cant and sat on the beach in the 104 degree weather! :D So fun! Haha Kidding. But we fished and relaxed so that was good. That night we watched a super good firework show but honestly, Spanish Fork's Fiesta Day Fireworks would put this one to shame haha

 

Thursday July 5th: Another day of service at the Alms Ranch. Spent the whole day working in Matt's parents Horse Barn. Shoveling Horse Crap and getting Hay that weighs about 75 lbs a bell. Handled it like a champ though :) haha Later that night my boy Elder Park and his comp came over and spent the night for our Zone Conference the next morning! By far, the funnest night I've had on my mission haha Love you homie!

 

Friday July 6th: Today we had our Zone Conference/Meet the New President day; President Shumway. Their whole family was there and they are die hard cougar fans and the first thing they did when they opened was had me stand and told the rest of the missionaries there that I was Ute and he wasnt going to hold that against me. Haha UTES ALL DAY BOIIII!!! No, but it was a very spiritually uplifting day. He reminds me a lot of Coach Whitt, but for sure Coach Whitt is cooler haha. He told us the 3 things that as missionaries, we could control:

 

I Can Control My Work Habits.

I Can Control My Attitude.

I Can Control My Obiedience.

 

If those 3 things are in check, we will be the greatest missionaries and selves we can be.

 

Saturday July 7th: Another day spent with Matt at his place. Built us a nice little kids bench and Toy box for his kids. Im becoming quite the handy man if i dont say so myself. Haha Who would've thought? Later that night we met with one of our investigator's wife who lives next door to us. Shes not investigating our church but she is a really nice lady and gives us food and takes care of us as much as she can. We found out that her and her husband are having marital problems and they havent spoken in the past 3 weeks. We left her house with a word of prayer, hopefully things between them get better.

 

Sunday July 8th: Another blessed Sabbath day. Today in church we had 6 investigators show up!! Paul and Beth, The Harringtons, Caleb and Rocky. Good sunday for sure. After church we walked about 35 minutes to an investigators for a lesson and they werent home...smh. Oh well, Its all good. When we walked back, we stopped by the skate park and talked to some of the skaters. They told us that we were crazy for walking around in this heat with our church clothes on haha They were nice kids, one of them was actually a member and another was our next door neighbor. Later that night we taught Rocky The Plan of Salvation at a members house and invitied him to be baptized on teh 18th of August. He only gave us a soft commitment but I can already tell, from the conformation of the spirit that he will be baptized on that day.

 

That was my week. Wasnt as productive as we planned but we got done what we could and Im Happy with it and im looking forward to another great week serving our heavenly father :) I hope all my Lost Boys that are out serving the lord are having great success in your respected areas. I love you all and you are always in my prayers.

 

As for everyone else, I love you as well. I hope our heavenly father blesses you with whatever you stand in need of. I know at times, we seem inadequite to speak with our father above but always remember that he loves each and every one of you. And though you may be facing many trials in your lives, going through hardship and things may not be going the way you wish they would. I promise you that whatever it may be, if you put the lord first, EVERYTHING that follows with be taken care of. Stay true to yourselves and to your faith in this restored gospel.

 

I know that Christ Lives. That this is his gospel, Restored once again on the earth. I know he loves me and you. I barely solem testimony that this work is true, I wouldnt have left my family, football, friends and my life behind if there was even the slightest chance that it was false. I know that every prophet from Joseph Smith all the way down to Thomas S. Monson and back were called of God. I know the Book of Mormon to be the true word of God. I leave this with you in the holy and sacred name of thy son, Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

Till Next Time, Be Easy and Take Care

Elder Asiata

Weekly Letter #9. July 3rd, 2012

Hello Hello Everyone :)

Sorry this E-mail is a Day late, I had a busy day yesterday...riding Roller coasters on P-Day :) Haha Lagoon aint got nothing on Silver Dollar City Boiiii! Haha Anyways, this past week had been good but very slow at the same time. I guess we can get to it.

Tuesday June 26th- We met with Isabella first today, shes been taught everything that we need to teach her so we just read the Book of Mormon with her. Her baptismal date is set for the 4th of August, she could be baptized a lot sooner but we wanted her dad to baptize her and hes a less active member. So we set the date that far off just so he can ready himself to do so. He most likely will. After he we taught another lady named Cynthia. She is struggling with addiction problems and has had a baptismal date in the past but her addictions got the best of her and she hasnt been the easiest person to get a hold of to teach. So we had met with her for the first time since we met her last in May and found out she had been sober since and that she wanted to take things serious again. So we started from square on; The Restoration. She knew it fairly well already so it was great to see that she was so familiar with it. Lastly we met with Caleb. He's being baptized on the 14th and will have his baptismal interview this weekend. He will most likely be my first baptism and i will be baptizing him :) Stooooooked! Ended off the day watching one of the members in the wards championship little league baseball game. If that wasnt the most suspenseful game i've ever watched, i dont know what is haha. They ended up losing 7-8 :( Sad story.

Wednesday June 27th-  We met with a couple today who comes to church every sunday and really want to be members but they cant decide if they should be baptized. For him, he was in the navy and was in the war so he feels he shouldnt be forgiven for what he did in his past, i.e. baptized. For her, she wont unless he does. So we invited them to be baptized on August 11th and they were receptive of it, but asked if we would give them 2 weeks to think and discuss about it and then they would let us know. They are pretty solid investigators though and really enjoy the teachings of our gospel so im not too worried. This was the extent of today, we had a few other appointments but they got rescheduled to another day.

Thursday June 28th- Another Service day with the wonderful Alms Family. The highlight of today was that...well heres the background story, our beds are...crap. Probably not as bad as all my Lost Boys out in their awesome foreign areas but for being in the states...they are terrrible haha. Matt knew about this and we were just talking about how we sleep like crap and how the ward was supposed to get beds for us but hadnt yet..so he said "We're going to get you guys some beds." So thats exactly what we did. He spent 800$ a piece for both Elder Decker and I's bed! Just straight out of pocket and asked for nothing in return :) Such a blessing this family is in our life. For me personally, i couldnt be more thankful for them. They do so much for me just out of the kindness of their hearts.

Friday June 29th- We only had One lesson today because the other one cancelled on us but we met with Tom, who is single guy who has been having terrible back and body problems since a car accident he got into last year. We cant set a baptismal date with him because of certain things but he still loves talking to us about the gospel. We gave him a blessing because he was in pain and he said almost instantly when we said Amen, he felt chills go down his spine and didnt hurt at all. The power of the priesthood is such a wonderful gift from our father above.

Saturday June 30th- We spent today with the Alms Family again today. Not much to report except for I made an amazing BACON WEAVE! Bacon Strips and Bacon Strips and Bacon Strips and Bacon Strips...Yeah im done. Thats all we did today Ha

Sunday JULY 1st- Another wonderful Sabbath day; Fast Sunday. I bore my testimony in sacrament and was overwhelmed by the spirit. I held it in like champ though :') haha We finally met with Sam Maples again and found out hes not moving out of our Area and he will be getting baptized on August 4th :) We received a new investigator as a refferal from his wife and taught him that night. Hes more into the political and "Actuality" of things but really enjoys the teachings of our church. We plan on inviting him to baptism on August 25th this upcoming sunday.

Thats been my week in a pretty dece average summary :) Hope it wasnt too boring, trust me, its never boring experiencing all of it. Time is flying by and I am enjoying it more and more as the days pass by. It still surprises me sometimes that Im actually here because a year ago, i thought i would for sure be getting ready for Fall Camp. ( I miss football...haha) To all my LOSY BOYS, I Wish you all the Best. I know that the work we are doing is worth every minute of our time out here and that we as well as our families and others will be blessed, especially those who you are teaching.

I hope all of you have a great week. Pray always and "Counsel with the lord is all thy doings..." (Alma 37:37) He will never steer us wrong. There is nothing in this life that our heavenly father would put us through, lest there be a way that we might overcome it.

I love you all and hope the best for you. Have a great week :) Thank you for all that you do for me as well as my family.
Till Next Time
-Elder Isaac Andrew Asiata

Weekly Letter #8. June 25th, 2012

Hello Everyone!!
Its been a pretty intense week...but at the same time its been a very...slow week haha. Got some bad news and some good news. Its been a very on and off week. We taught a bunch of lessons but found out one of our investigators, Sam Maples, is moving out of our area so we wont be able to teach or baptize him anymore :( Its upsetting but hey, he'll still get baptized where ever he ends up. Well, heres my past week:

Tuesday June 19th-Today we taught Isabella, Cynthia, Caleb and Maricella; one of our new investigators. We taught Isabella about the Plan of Salvation and her prayers are getting a lot better. She has a baptismal date on August 4th. Cynthia is someone who we havent met with since last month. She has had a past with addictions and we gave her a blessing last month and had not seen her since today. We found out that since the blessing, she has been sober! Its incredible how powerful prayer and a blessing is! She doesnt have a baptismal date set yet but will set it soon. Caleb is one of our best progressing investigators, he has a baptism coming up on July 14th and yours truely will be baptizing him :) BALLIN!! Haha. Maricella is a new investigator whos engaged to a member. She has cancer and is really sick. Her fiancee wants to marry her and be sealed before she passes :'( Talk about true love my dude.

Wednesday June 20th- We taught another 3 lessons today to Tom, Paul, Beth and Maricella. Tom isnt progressing as much as we wish he could, has a few things standing in his way so we cant set a baptismal date. Paul and Beth are progressing very well. We will set a date for August with them soon. Paul is huge in philosophy and really thinks things out. He loves the churches teaching and said he and his wife would make wonderful members of our church but he doesnt feel becasue of his past that he should be forgiven for what hes done. He'll get there. We taught Maricella again as well. Her finacee has taught her all the lessons already so we are just breezing through that as quick as possible.

Thursday June 21st-Friday June 22nd:  This is where our week got off. Haha we had taught all of the investigators we could for the week so we ended up doing more service for the wonderful Alms family. That is honestly all we ended up doing for these 2 days.

Saturday June 23rd-We got our cooking mom steeze on with Laura Alms and cook a pineapple upside down cake for our investigators birthday! We taught the Harringtons, whos birthday it was. So besides that...thats all we did today haha

Sunday June 24th- A beautiful sabbath day. Caleb, Paul and Beth showed up for church today and we had dinner with some members.

Well..thats my week :) Sorry that as the weeks go on, the emails get boringer and boringer haha. But today is my 2 month mark! Haha i need to stop counting though...its getting sad haha But hey, i am loving every last minute of it :) We found out that  disney cartoon movies are approved so we get to watch them on P Days :) Its a wonderful lifesaver.

Anyways, I just had the impression to leave with a spiritual though, hopefully for someone who is in need of it that will read this. If not, happy spiritual thought :)
Faith is such an avid and crucial part in this wonderful restored gospel. And when that is tied in with prayer, it is just as powerful. But if you take faith out of that equation, your prayers may seem like they fall on false ears. Heavenly father loves hearing from us through our prayers and is always willing to help us in our time of need. So when you do pray and ask for specific things to be helped with, always remember to have faith that you will recieve an answer from our father in heaven. I know at times we feel like he doenst answer our prayers all the time so we ask, already knowing in our mind that we will probably not get an answer. That small thought of doubt, hinders our faith. In the book of Enos, in verse 12 and 15 it talks about "and whatsoever thing you shall ask in faith...it shall be given to you" (something like that...im not a pro scriptorian yet :) ) but always remember, that when you prayer with faith that you WILL receive help and answers to whatsoever thing ye shall ask, our heavenly fathers arms are always extended to help you. I promise you this is the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I love you all :) Take Care
Till next week,
Elder Isaac Andrew Asiata

Weekly Letter #7. June 18th, 2012

Hello Everyone :)

Well...Work wasnt as productive as thought it was going to be this past week but we still progressed in the Kingdom of our heavenly father on earth :) Haha This  e mail is just as lame as last week but thats okay :) Herewiikooo!!!

Monday June 11th-Today was a pretty bomb P-Day. Played Flour ball with the Joplin zone. I got to see my boy Elder Justin Park though! He came out on the mission with me. He was my district leader in the MTC. Love you bro! But yeah. Super long long day but great P-Day

Tuesday June 12th-We met with a few of our investigators today. Isabella prayed again today :) But her prayer consisted of 1 thing, thanking heavenly father for her new puppy. haha she such a cutie. But hey, baby steps! Her baptismal date is still set for August 4th. Her father is a less-active member so we are really trying to get him to baptize her. He will :) Then we met with the Harringtons. Brother Harrington has decided to stop smoking!!! :) But they changed their baptismal dates to a currently unknown date. A bit sad but i realized that its totally fine because they will be ready, when they are ready :) After that we met with Paul and Beth Austin. We finally progressing with them and plan on setting a baptismal date with them this week. We then had dinner with the Mayne family and watched their sons baseball game later that night.

Wednesday June 13th- I went exchanges today with Elder Nixon, our district leader, in Willard. I also met with our mission President, President Merkley. He is a great man, im going to miss him. He finishes his mission as a president June 30th. Anyways, it was a slow day in Willard but we did meet with Missy again, the lady who had cancer, and she has set a baptismal date of July 21st. :) Settin dates like its nothing son!!! Haha

Thursday June 14th- A very disappointing day :( Our 2 appointments we had set up for today fell through. Like, literal depression set in i was so sad. Only cause 1 of them was progressing so fast but he bailed because of reasons disclosed :( Its true when they tell you that you honestly develop such great love and care for your investigators. They'll be alright.

Friday June 15th- We did some service for my good ol pal Matt Alms. Helped him and his mom up at his moms property.

Saturday June 16th- We met with the Harringtons again today and they still hadnt decided on a date. We promised them that they can be baptized on the original date (July 21st) if they prayed and really worked towards it but again, they're ready when they're ready :)

Sunday June 17th- 4 of our investigators attended church. Caleb, Isabella, Paul and Beth. Again, we hung out and spent sunday with the Alms family. Very good sabbath. Happy Fathers Day.

Thats my week in a nut shell. Facing some adversity from the adversary so please, keep my companion and I as well as our investigators in your prayers.
Elder Adams, i hope your farewell talk went well! Im so stoked for you! 2 days and you've made it! You will be such an amazing missionary! Im so proud of you!
Happy Fathers Day out there to all you wonderful fathers. Blaine, sorry i didnt send you a card like i did all the moms but yeah, we're guys, so you know i love you :) haha Thanks for everything.

Thank you especially to all of you wonderful various people who continue to help my mom and family out while on my mission. I am so thankful for all of you i cant even begin to express my gratitude.

Of Course, shout out to all my Lost Boys. Elder Leifson, i hope you're feelin and gettin better my dude. Elder Inoke, i know you're already puttin in work for the lord in that one place you're serving (still dont know how to spell it. still not trying haha) Elder Russell....wow! District Leader!!! Haha congrats my dude! I know im already super late on the news but im proud of you! You and leif are creepin up on a year mark!!! dope! Elder Jex, i hope all is well with you and your wife, the only lost girl in the history of the legacy. Keep on feasting on the word of our lord and savior. Elder Still, you're the only one i i havent heard from...smh. I see how it is. Haha You are ALL in my prayers every day and every night. I love and miss you all.

Oh, another thing, Transfer Calls are this Saturday, so i find out if i stay in Aurora till August or if I get transferred to another area on June 26th. Please...pray that i stay in Aurora. I feel like there is so much more work for me to do here. Thank you.

I love you and pray for all of you always.
Be safe and Take Care.

Elder Isaac Asiata

Weekly Letter #6. June 11th, 2012

Oh Hello Everyone :)

Been a crazy week! Lots of things have been going on and I dont think i've ever been busier! Honestly...Im exhausted :( haha But Im loving every minute of it. As of today we now have 5 Baptismal Dates! And by the end of the week we will have 9!! By the end of the month, we should be up to 14! Thats why we've been so busy! Its so amazing how heavenly father will leave and guide us to those who are in need of this gospel! I've only been here a month and the work has almost trippled in numbers! I have no idea why but its honestly the greatest blessing ever! We have our first transfers coming up on the 26th, im hoping I dont get transfered because i seriously love this Area so much! It grows on you :) But heres the over view of my week.

Tuesday June 5th- Today we committed 2 people to baptism; Isabella Moss (9) and Caleb (15). It was a very emotional and spiritual day. We invited Isabella's dad to baptize her again but he still doesnt have an answer. He will though :)

Wednesday June 6th- I went on exchanges with another Elder in our district; Elder Prestwich in Willard. There wasnt too much going on there till that night so we just Tracted all day but that lesson we taught that night...amazing! We met this lady, her name is Missy and she is Methodist but 6 years ago she found out from her doctors that she had terminal cancer and was given 4 days to live. She told us how everyone from her church had forgotten about her and that no one came and visited but her friend who is LDS and she brought the missionaries with her to give her a blessing. She said "Well, what could it hurt?" She had been alive and well for 6 years! She told us how she gained the biggest testimony of our church and she wasnt even a member. Shes been out of contact of the missionaries until today. She wants to become and member and be baptized but she needs to get the lessons still. Its amazing how powerful the Priesthood of our church is. I honestly got to thinking and sometimes we dont really know how powerful it is. To all my friends on a mission or going on one...it is your most powerful tool.

Thursday Junes 7th- We exchanged back and spent the whole day working on Brother Matt Alms' property. Fixed up his garden, put in a compose compound, put up a tool wall and pulled up some apple trees. Always a good time chillin with the Alms' family!

Friday June 8th- Today was the best day by far. We met with one of our new investigators, Josh Vermont. Hes a 21 year kid who is in love with our gospel and its teachings. We met with him and during his lesson, His girlfriend, his cousin and his cousins girlfriend came in and sat in during our lesson. During the lesson his cousin made the comment that hes been waiting for the truth his whole life, its sad cause he goes to jail today (Monday June 11th) :( But he begged us for a book of mormon to read while hes in there. We are now teaching his wife and son and Josh and his girlfriend. We will be inviting them to baptism this week :)

Saturday June 9th- Another day that i got my cowboy steeze on helping a member at his ranch. Spent some time branding cattle, riding horses, driving in fence posts and carrying bells of hay. Exhausting day.

Sunday June 10th- Another great sabbath day. We only had 3 investigators attend church today but it was still great :) Didnt do much though throughout the day.

Again, its been an amazing and very spiritual week. I cant believe how fast time is going by! This work is so amazing and so true. I am so blessed to be serving the lord right now. Thank you all for the support and for all that you do to help out my family. I love and miss you all so much!

Elder Adams, good luck at your farewell this sunday! Sorry i cant be there but i will be at the homecoming! You will bless the lives of all those in Michigan.

Be easy loved ones :)

Take Care

-Elder Isaac Asiata

Weekly Letter #5. June 4th, 2012

Hello Everyone from the West Coast!

 

Man Its been a fast week! And im sorry in advance for a short and super lame E-Mail but aint too much been going on so :) Here it goes

 

Tuesday May 29th- Well, after my last e mail I sent, we went and taught Isabella again! Sad story though, we asked her to pray and she said should would for the closing prayer...and when that came around she honestly broke down in tears cause she didnt want to :'( Sadest thing i've ever seen. But then i followed a prompting (Added benefit of being a missionary ;) ) and said we'll leave the room and you can pray with your dad and brother. She did :) SWAGGGG Hahaha. After that i got my Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter on and chopped down some trees while helping at a boys home. A first for sure but, i love to help :) That night we taught The Harrington's and answered some questions they had (they are getting baptized this summer) but some lady at their work said that after they get baptized then the mormons come in and take their t.v's and computers...? Yeah...not true haha. Good Tuesday.

 

Wednesday May 30th-Today was a pretty dece day. Had my 3rd District metting and taught no lessons because everyones out of town :( But its cool. We had dinner with the Alm's Family.

 

Thursday  May 31st- Today we helped Matt Alms do some land scaping in his backyard. Yeah...Im turning into a man finally...who would've thought? Haha

 

Friday June 1st-Saturday June 2nd- Haha We helped Matt Alms finish up his backyard. It was honestly all we did because everyone was out of town and yeah. When all else fails with teaching appointments and Tracting falls through, service for the members is always great :)

 

Sunday June 3rd-Craziest sunday of my life. Heres the background story. Theres this guy we ran into while teaching one of our other investigators, his names Josh. And its been super hard to see him and meet with him cause he flakes. We saw him Saturday and invited him to church. So during sacrament meeting i was praying so good for him to show...sacrament meeting ended and he wasnt there :( BUT when we walked out of the chapel, he walked in with his daughter and girlfriend!!! THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!! Haha it was so awesome to see that he came. He said he only came cause he "Needed to find Jesus" haha He told me he doesnt like Elder Decker because he "Thinks Hes a Fruit" Hahahahahahha

 

Which brings us to today. See, told you this weeks e mail was going to be lame :( Sorry about it. But I guess some good news is Elder Inoke is finally in Nicaraguaasdfqwae?! Yup..still dont know how to spell it haha. Good luck uso! Stay safe! Also we got another confirmed baptism for this summer so we're up to 5!!!! :) Thats about all the news i have for the past 6 days or so.

To all my Lost Boys, keep praying, keep preparing and god bless. Hes looking out for all of us and i Pray for you on the daily. Study Study Study is all i can say! I love you all!

 

Till Next Time (Hopefully is better than this one)

 

-Elder Asiata

Weekley Letter #4. May 29th, 2012

Oh Hello Various Receivers of my weekly E-Mails :)

 

Hi! How is everyone?! Im doing just grand :) Finally hit my 1 month mark and with only 2 weeks in the field in good ol' Aurora, Missouri, Elder Decker and I are putting in so much work! Its amazing how fast time goes by when you "Lose yourself in the work"...Haha Who would have thought!? ;) Just kidding. Well, Let me try and put into perpective the past week or so since my last Email :)

 

Tuesday May 22nd: Today i met with the sweetest little girl in the world! Isabella Moss. She is 9 and is so close to Baptism its not even funny. Its a sad story but i guess like 3 or 4 weeks ago she was supporsed to be baptized but she wasnt coming to church..so when the week came for her baptism and all her family was in town, they had to tell she couldnt get baptized cause she wasnt coming to church :'( Sad story. They didnt meet with her since. But i got to meet with her with Elder Decker today and she is recommitted to going to church and working towards her baptism date, now set for the the end of July :) We also taught another man by the name of Tom. Hes slowly starting to find the gospel, but hes interested, progressing to get him a baptismal date :)

 

Wednesday May 23rd: Not much happened today. Kind of a slow day but we had dinner with a member family in our ward. Matt and Laura Alms, The coolest people in the whole ward by far! But...that was the only excitement for the day...haha Oh and the great 1 month mark!!!

 

Thursday May 24th: Another slow day but we met with Tom again. Before our last visit, he wasnt very particular on reading and praying but this meeting was amazing. He had been studying the additional study in the Plan of Salvation pamphlet and it was great to hear his thoughts on what he read. He told us to not give up on him cause hes slowly coming around. We never would. Later that night we had dinner with the Mayne's and met with another one of our investigators, Cynthia. She has her own personal struggles but we talked to her about Finding Faith in Christ to overcome all of them. She was bawling! When we asked why she said "I havent felt this way (the Spirit) in years. I never thought i could ever feel this way ever again" It was a huge testimony of the second witness of the Holy Ghost. A very good night.

 

Friday May 25th: Today i went on exchanges with our Zone Leaders. I was with Elder Frei in Springfeild, Missouri. Springfield is wayyyy tight. We taught a lesson to this guy who had his baptismal interview that night. And just did the usual tracting and all that fun stuff :) Not too much went on though. It was good to get out of Aurora for a little while. But i love my area!

 

Saturday May 26th: Well  after we exchanged back and i headed back to Aurora, I got my Spanish Fork Cowboy on and did some service for a member at his ranch!! Lets just say, I can rope and Heard Cattle fairly well :) Im an average day cowboy, who would've known!? Haha That took up the whole day so it was no big deal :)

 

Sunday May 27th: Okay...so last night (Saturday) we were cleaning out our fridge and found this cookies we had gotten the day before. We decided to keep them and give them to our neighbor Albert who is huge into Scriptural Doctrine and we've only met with him once. So we thought, maybe if we give these to him and his family, it'll soften his heart ;) Well, that night i had a dream that we went over to his house and gave his wife the cookies and we taught someone. But i didnt see who it was! But we taught for sure. So sunday afternoon, we almost didnt go. We forgot haha then we saw the cookies and we headed over there and met his Mother in law. We but mere chance was "Church Shopping" and was looking for somewhere to go! Talk about a Revelation through a dream! haha oh and I Went to church, hopefully ALL OF YOU DID AS WELL!!! And to ALL 3 MEETINGS??! ;) haha

 

Monday May 28: P-Day!!!! I wasnt able to E-mail cause it was memorial day, thats why i am today (Tuesday May 29th) but we hung out with the Alms all day long and had a BBQ. It was good time. Got to kinda relax for a bit.

 

Well...That was my week in a nutshell. I hope all of  you are doing fantastic. Thanks to all those who continually help my mom with supporting my mission. I cant even begin to explain the blessings you all are in my life. Shout out to all my LOST BOYS serving the lord right now and who are preparing to do so. ALMA 16:16. Good Luck Elder Inoke, be safe and take care of yourself out in Nicar..? Yeah i dont know how to spell it :) haha Good Luck Toko. Elder Russell and Elder Leifson, continue to do the lords work. You are beyond great example to me. You have been for the past 8 years. I love you and miss you. Soon to be Elder Adams, Elder Still and Elder Jex, Alex! the times creepin up fast! 22 days! Make em count!!! T, keep praying and feasting on the words of Christ. August will come sooner than you know it. Trav, I love you and am so proud for the decision you've made. Never once think twice about. continue to grow closer to your heavenly father, and he will take care of everything, I promise. I love you all more than you could ever imagine. You are the greatest examples in my life. Looking forward to the day when we can all sit down and hang out in Nates room a few years from now :) But for now, take care of yourselves and continue to do the lords work. It will bless you and your families immensely.

 

Take care everyone and stay blessed.Your letters and kind words relayed through my mother and others mean the world to me. I pray for you all every day and night. Till Next Time :)

 

-Elder Asiata

Weekly Letter #3 May 21, 2012

Caio Bello Mi Amicos :)

 

Well. What an amazing Week it has been since my last E Mail. So much has happened and Im loving every moment of it. I've since left the MTC and last Wednesday when we flew out here was probably one of the longest days of my life. Haha I went to bed at 1 in the morning, woke up at 2 and headed to salt lake at 3 haha Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6 so we had some time to call home and all that good stuff. But when 6 came around, our flight was delayed...to 2:45 that afternoon -__- Haha so we waited at the airport and I called a few of you lucky ones who heard from me ;) But we flew from Salt Lake to Dallas and from Dallas to Tulsa. We go in at about 9:30 that night. My mission President and his wife are the most darling people I've ever met Haha The mission home is a masion, the ones you see in those gated off rich neighborhoods. You know whats ugly..? JEALOUSY!! :( Haha

Anyways...I went through all that, the entire day to get to Tulsa, Oklahoma, being called to TULSA, OKLAHOMA, the OKLAHOMA TULSA MISSION just to find out...I am currently as of right now, serving in the AURORA, MISSOURI  area hahahahahaha Random for dayyyyys haha I got my first transfer to this area  the day after I got to the mission home. Haha No lie, this area is a EXACTLY like Spanish Fork, theres just a bit more land...and more hicks...that dont take to kindly to color folk...haha

But even with all that, I was so blessed to have the most amazing first few days of my stay here. I got here and found out we have 12 Investigators. 3 of which had a baptismal date set but were still not 100% sure if they wanted to go through with it. My first day, teaching my first lesson, I met this family named the Harringtons. They had been getting taught for a good 2 years now and only the Dad was sure he wanted to get baptized, but his wife up until then, did not. So we met and talked with them and she said she had good news, she wanted to be baptized :) How great is that?! My first day, first lesson ever, we were able to finally commit a woman to baptism, who for the past 2 years didnt want to get baptized! It was an emense blessing from the lord. The following day we met with a 12 year old boy, Sam Maples, who in the way he acts, down to a T, reminds me of Kyle... :)  hahaha Stubborn little child who fell asleep during our lesson and didnt pay attention at all. He also had a baptimal date set but was shaky about it. I kept praying to myself, heavenly father, please let this kid listen to what we have to say, i know you sent me here for a reason. As the lesson went on, he became more and more attentative, more so to the point that he set a solid baptismal date on June 30th :) But the greatest blessing of all was when he said "I just met you, and you're about 10 million times my size, but I like you man. Will you baptize me?" :') Tender hahahaha No but really, this kid is so amazing in his courage to want to make such a huge commitment being as young as he is, I know heavenly father is gudeing him by the spirit. He wants to baptized in Nixa at the Nixa river that is outside of our area but we talk to the mission president today to get the go ahead. :) One of the last investigators we taught yesterday, is a super old man (85) his name is Marion Falmer. He accepts everything about the gospel, all of our teachings but he cant accept the Book of Mormon nor Joseph Smith. He said he cant accept it because he knows hes not and even though he been invited by all the previous missionaries over the last 3 years to pray to know that they are true, he doesnt have faith that there is even a slight possibility that he could be. But i told him to read D&C 8:9-10. It says that if you ask heavenly father for something, but already knowing that you dont have faith that you'll recieve an answer, you wont. If he didnt pray with the faith to know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of god, heavenly father wouldnt have answered. His mindset was that Joseph Smith wasnt a prophet of god, but with that mind set, not having faith that maybe he could be, thats why he wasnt getting an answer. I told him this and he said that for the past 3 years, through numorous missionaries, that none of them one said that to him. He still says he cant do it but I know he will, and heavenly father will answer that prayer, he always does.

 

Anyways :) Thats just whats been going on here. My new Companions name is Elder Joseph Decker from Idaho Falls. Hes chill....but every time I talk to him about things, he busts out the rule book on me...hes one of those missionaries ;) haha Hes cool though. And we've already in just 4 days taught more lessons in the area then every before (26) Im pretty much ganna be dunkin people for days ;) Anyways, I got to get going, But just a note, dont send stuff to my Oklahoma address cause it takes a while to get to me. Send it to my Missouri address:

 

19 Colonial Village

Aurora, Missouri

65605

 

I love you all so much and miss and think about you every day. Keep the letters coming...Im on a good 5 day drought haha Congrats again Tyson on being #CALLEDTOSERVE in the Mexico City mission. You will change peoples lives. I promise you that. Shout out one time to all my LOST BOYS reppin the 801 hehhhh!! Haha Not you Alex because you're still a "LBIT"...No Respect ;) haha anyways.  Keep a steadfast faith in our heavenly father and in his son Jesus Christ. Let go and let god. when you put your life into their hands, they will NEVER lead you astray. Im praying for all of you always. Keep your eyes open for miracles. They happpen around us every day. You just have to look :)

 

Stay Blessed. I love you all.

 

-Elder Isaac Andrew Asiata