September 2013

Hola Familia,

When we go to church it is normal. Just like our ward, we have sacrament, Sunday school, then priesthood(Or whatever all the other classes are). Speaking of church, yesterday I had the opportunity to bless the sacrament. It was completely natural, considering I did that every week for 2 and a half years, but it was all in Spanish. It wasn't hard, it was just really cool :)

 We teach a little bit. I don't know exactly what you are asking. We teach members more than investigators because we have almost no investigators. However, we did get a new one yesterday. We found Kimberly while knocking, before that was taken away, and we went back and taught her and her brother. They speak absolutely no English, but it went well. We will go back this week :)

When we have dinner it is whoever signed up. It is usually in our area, but not always. For stuff like that the area isn't a big deal. The church building isn't even in our area so it is okay. We pass around a piece of paper each Sunday and people sign up. This week we are completely booked every night so that will be nice :)
I have seen a couple sights I guess. I don't know what you mean by "sights." There is nothing big or famous around here, but our apartment complex is right on the coast and so when we do sprints in the morning we usually do it on the pier and the sunrise is gorgeous. That is about it.
Okay, I finally got my bike. Things got seriously messed up and Elder James sent it to the wrong persons house so we thought it was going to one member's house and it went to an investigators. We found it though so now I have my bike! I love it :) Thank you Dad!
Thank you for the letters!!
Okay, so first off, this week we had exchanges. I went with Elder Vanderpool and Elder Buck (the District Leader) came and stayed with Elder James. It was different. Things in "English land" are very different. The investigators actually keep commitments and it was the first time I have seen a real house in a long time.  It was really fun, but I feel more comfortable back here. Haha
Thank you guys for the package! I did get it. Thank you so much. It was very nice to get those treats and now I can wear my Levis for service without having to pull them up every 5 minutes :P
We received a media referral on Saturday, but the guy was in the Sisters area. So we sent them over there. He is golden. He quit drinking and stopped working on Sundays 3 weeks ago and he is looking for the correct church. He even came to church yesterday. It was awesome!! I am happy for the sisters because they haven't been having much success either.
And last, but certainly not least... HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love you guys!! Thank you for being such amazing parents and thank you for everything you have given me!! I love you guys and am so glad that you are my parents! You are the best parents you I could ever have hoped for!!!  Thank you for everything!!!
Love,
Elder Moyes

We usually ride kind of far. We try to map out our day so that it isn't a lot of back and forth all day. Our days in Palmetto are the longest. Our record is probably 30-50 miles a day. It depends on who answers the door and how long we teach. But it really isn't a big deal. It just gets hot. 
I don't know what we eat for dinner. It changes. I have had a lot of beans, rice, noodles, pork chops, etc. It is usually really good food. When we don't have members cooking for us we just eat at home. Usually just cereal. Sometimes I make a sandwich but that is the extent of our "cooking" right now. :) 


Okay, so yesterday in church the missionaries had to get up and sing in front of everyone in sacrament. It was not very fun because there are only 7 of us and me and Elder James are the only elders. But it went well. In the Himno book we sang 187 which is Oh, Mi Padre. But we sang it to the tune of Come Thou Fount. It was cool. Hopefully other people thought it was good. I just know that the Hermanas can sing and we can't. But it was fun.

Next is the apartment change. We didn't move. The elders who used to live here, before elder James got here, lived in 3111. The apartment got black mold and they had to move out. So they moved next door. But nobody was living in 3111 so the complex just gave them the same mail box. So we have been using that. But now someone moved in and so we have to get a key to 3112. I have lived in 3112 the entire time. But there is the story pretty much. Not too exciting, but oh well.
Now, the scripture. The scripture for this week is D&C 61:3. I chose this scripture because even though I am on a mission, we don't need to leave our homes for two years to be missionaries. That is what Hastening the Work is all about. As missionaries we are here to HELP the members with their missionary work. They aren't helping us. As missionaries we need the members. And why should we think, "Oh, I'm not on a mission so I can't do anything." How often do we move through life just wishing we could help or looking for the next thing. That was my problem is that I was always wishing away the present. Yes I am super excited to be here, but I wish I had done more while at home. Why should we move fast through life while our brothers and sisters are perishing in unbelief? Why should we focus on our schedule while the people we have daily contact with don't have the knowledge of the plan of happiness. The Plan of HAPPINESS. This gospel really does bring happiness and who are we to be selfish and not share that happiness with other people.
We had a training about this yesterday. It was just our stake. It was really good. We talked about the new To The Rescue plan and how focusing on members is going to get us where we need to be. It was really good. We really do need the members. Would you rather have to random guys all dressed up and sweaty knocking on your door, or would you rather have a friend invite you somewhere? That is what we need. The members to bring their friends so that these people's first impression is their friend, not us.
That is all. I will update you about the Thursday conference next week. Elder Teh from the 70 is going to be speaking so it will be awesome!!