Week 4 Springville Kolob and Hobble Creek West Stake

This week has been a pretty good week! On Tuesday we had all of our
appointments cancel, so we had to do a lot of finding and visiting
people. So for lunch Elder Howard made some wonderful Chicken Alfredo
and it was soooo good! He is a fantastic cook! We then had the
opportunity to do a service project for someone. We picked weeds and
cleaned up their yard. There was a big piece of PVC pipe laying out of
the ground and it was broken and dangerous. So I watched some people
to work on this pipe and struggle for quite some time with it. They
finally gave up and allowed me to give a shot at it. Turns out I had
it solved in 2 minutes. It was an amazing opportunity to see how
sometimes we are people who struggle and struggle in our lives and
refuse to turn to our Father, but as soon as we humble ourselves and
turn to our Father for help, he can help and he will help. That help
will come in a variety of ways and it will come through the will of
the Father. It was an eye opening experience for me. We must turn to
our Father and he will provide a path for us. On Wednesday we then did
exchanges. I was put back with Elder Allen for the day and was put on
a bike. I woke up on Wednesday morning with a super loud, real, old
alarm clock that was very annoying! Haha oh well it got me up. We then
went and played some basketball, planned really well for the day, and
headed out. Elder Allen thought that it was the perfect opportunity to
go to the furthest, highest part of his area! So we did! Now that
wasn't all, it started to rain, snow, and hail! So we started off with
me borrowing Elder Allen's rain poncho. We then headed out and luckily
I had a really nice bike I was borrowing. We got up to the top and it
was very tiring, but well worth it! I mean we didn't get into one
house at the top, but the view and the chance to burn off some fat was
great! Haha we rode around 5 miles that day and taught quite a few
lessons. I was able to see many people and it was a lot of fun!  It
was a great exchange where I learned lots. We also got to eat at a
U.S. armory for lunch! It was a lot of fun talking with the people and
the food was awesome! They made chicken, with cheese covering it, with
bacon on top of that, with more cheese over that! It was soooo good!
It was a great day. On Thursday we then went to a Zone Training
Meeting! I love these meetings where I get to learn and grow and draw
closer to my savior. We also learn how we can help the work of
salvation to progress even more. Later that night I then got to go on
splits with a man who's mom is going through cancer. It was hard to
hear his story, but he is so strong with faith in Christ. He truly was
an example of trusting in the Lord. He is an amazing man. I forgot to
mention that the day before we met an older man who had completely
disillusioned himself out of the Church. He was very confused and you
could see the pride and hatred he had and it was so sad to see. I
truly loved the man and cared about him, but he was to full of hatred
and pride to even listen. It was sad to see. On Friday we did our
weekly planning session, Saturday we worked hard to find people to
work with, and on Sunday we had a lot of meetings as well as church.
We had a hard week in that we didn't teach many people, and we had a
lot of cancellations, but it was good that we were able to reach out
to many. It was a great week and I truly enjoyed everything this week.
I'm truly learning the importance of the Gospel, even in my life. We
must all take that first step and humble ourselves. I am right now
watching Meet the Mormons and it is a great movie! Anyways hope you
all have a wonderful week! Love you all! I promise you there is
blessings that come when we read scriptures. Have a great week!
-Elder Noad

Week 3 Springville Kolob and Hobble Creek west Stakes

Hello! I did get my package! Thank you so much! I love the Easter Season and am so grateful for the family for making it even better :) Conference was so amazing! I love Conference and there is no better treat than to listen to our humble prophet and apostles speak. I did not attend the Conference Center this time, but we will see what next time brings! I am so grateful for my family, extended and everything :) what a blessing to have such a wonderful family. Feel free to share my blog. I try to bear testimony weekly. I want all to know of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I have really revamped my personal study lately, trying to gain true knowledge. I have been studying about the savior recently and will keep studying about him. I truly want to know Christ, not just what he has done. He is my Brother and my Friend. I have struggled recently with the spirit, but I have taken it as the opportunity to work harder to receive him. I have studied harder, been more obedient, turned to Christ more, and have worked on becoming more Christlike. I am feeling his love for me, I have struggled lately with missing home, but I know through me working more diligently, the Savior is there for me. Thank you for you inspire words. You are a wonderful example to me. I want to be like you. Have a wonderful Easter and I love you and the family tons! Have a fantastic week!

This week has been a very humbling and great week! We had some hard times this past week when we had most of our appointments all week cancel on us. It was hard as we wanted to reach our goals, but sometimes we need to be humbled as well as built up to reach our full potential. We had to do a lot of finding this last week and had to work hard to do the things we had set out to do. We are so very blessed to have the Lord on our side, taking care of us and watching over his brothers and sisters. I know Jesus Christ's love is the most powerful love we can ever have and experience. He gave his life for us, so that we could live! "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13 Christ does love us, we are his friends, and he went through so much to lay down his life for us. He went through all the pains and afflictions and sins that we all endure in our life. Not only did he do this, but he did it willingly. Willingly he sacrificed himself for our Salvation. We must all come to know Christ if we are to live with our Father again. Christ is or Savior and Redeemer, and it is only through him that we can be perfected, and one day live with our Father, as eternal families. I was so grateful for this General Conference. I had the wonderful opportunity to watch all sessions. Every talk that was given helped me to see who I need to be and who I can become. We all need to strive to be better than we are. We all have weaknesses, we all have struggles. With Christ all things can be made strong. "If they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." Ether 12:27 I know Christ is there for us always, and we just need to humble ourselves and reach out to him. He is my Savior, my Redeemer, the Great Jehovah, the Messiah, my advocate with the Father, my Brother, and my Friend. I invite all of you to come to know Christ. It is not enough to just know what Christ did for us, we must truly know Christ. How do we do this? We must do this through following his teachings, through reading of him in the Holy Scriptures we have been given and blessed with, by becoming like Christ, and by having Faith in him and his merciful Atonement. We must come to know Christ. The Kingdom is prepared for us, but are we prepared for the Kingdom? I thank all of you for the wonderful support you give me. I am enjoying it here. Sure it is hard, but I know the blessings that I, my family, my future family, and the people I help are worth the work of salvation. Our Father is waiting to give us the cookie, will we do what we need to to receive the cookie after our obedience and righteousness? Thank you for the wonderful support and I hope you all have a fantastic week! Love you all and I desire that you all gain a testimony of Christ. Know him. He lives.

-Elder Noad

Sent from my iPad

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Week 2 Springville Kolob and Hobble Creek Stake

Hey! Things are just going so great because of the efforts of the Church, the members, and us. I know it is the Lord blessing our efforts. We are truly being blessed an it is such a wonderful opportunity to be serving in this area! We are working with so many Non Members and Less actives and this week we had a ton go to Church! I love my Saviour and he truly did soften the hearts of the people! Sounds like it is good to have Hockey over and done with, but also it's probably pretty exciting to be getting into baseball! I'm super excited for General Conference! I invited Mom to watch it with Nanny and Poppa and I invite you to do the same! Also visit the HeLives.mormon.org website and check it out closely as a family! And share it! Haha it is a new initiative and tool we are using to help people come unto Christ :) we have been inviting people to watch conference and we will keep on doing it! Thanks for your testimony Dad. It was your help that got me to where I am today with the testimony I have. I love you Dad and I hope you have a fantastic week! Keep doing what your doing! Love ya!

This week has been a fantastic week! We are working with a lot of people and many of them are really starting to progress and make the changes they are needed to make. We are truly seeing hearts turn to the Lord and it is amazing to see. Lives are changing for eternity and families are being brought together forever. I know there's more than just this life. I know that it is through obedience and humility and living Christ's restored Gospel that we can live in the eternities with our families, our Father, and our Savior Jesus Christ. I love this Gospel, and I want to live with my family for eternity and to make Celestial Glory. I want the same for all that I know as well. I want all to come unto Christ and to use this life we have been given to prepare to meet God. Come unto Christ and be perfected in him. Read the Book of Mormon and you will know the truthfulness of my words and the words of Christ. This is the path back to our Saviour, our Redeemer, the Son of the living God. I know that Christ lives. I invite all who read this to find that path to Christ, make the sacrifices necessary for eternal life, know that it is worth the effort.

This week we were able to reach all but one of our weekly goals, and I know that the Lord truly does provide a way for us to reach our potential and he does give us things according to his will. As we do as we know we should, he will provide for us in this life, and the life to come. We are so lucky to have Conference this next week. What a perfect opportunity to receive modern day scripture from the living prophets. I know as we listen to their council we will see that they are men inspired by God. I invite you to take this council, to watch Conference and to listen to the words of the prophet. As you come to know the truthfulness of their words you will know that Christ does live and that this is his restored Gospel on the earth today.

We were able to keep teaching the family who is excited to be baptised. They are such a wonderful family and you can see the Spirit building inside of them. The light that they have is growing and they are doing amazing. They are coming into Christ. The last lesson we had with them was so spiritual. Questions arose and concerns came up, but I know that as we gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon and know it's truthfulness, those questions and concerns are answered. Their testimonies have grown so very much and I am so thankful to have the Lord with me as I share the message of the restored Gospel. The Lord is my light and I know that it is through him that we can live again. We have been so blessed to help so many people come unto Christ. I hope to be able to help many more as people find the importance of the Gospel. I am so thankful for the many blessings my Saviour has given me, and I know he can bless all who follow his council. So what I leave with you today is to read the Book of Mormon, to watch Conference, and to visit and explore HeLives.mormon.org website it is a wonderful site that we are using and want everyone to use and share. PLEASE DO THOSE 3 THINGS! It will bless your lives :) well this week was great :) hope you all have a fantastic week and things go well! We are having a lot of success and we hope to get many to the temple :) thanks for all the support! Love you all!

-Elder Noad

Sent from my iPad

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Week 1 Springville Kolob and Hobble Creek West Stake

Hey Dad! So I am in the same Area that I started last transfer in. We got split up as a trio again so I am now back with Elder Howard. This is his last transfer so we are doing all we can before he goes. From that I am guessing that I will be here at least another two transfers. We are seeing some great work ahead of us! It's amazing! Sound like the sports are still going great and that is great Nate got to speak and that he did a great job! So I still haven't missed a day in my journal! Hopefully I am writing enough. That is great you are going to a Flames game! Let me know how it goes! Thanks for all the updates Dad! My old companion has been frustrated with us and he won't let it go that we left dishes in the sink after he had done no cleaning, so they are holding a grudge against us and doing all they can to not help us, but oh well I am trying to be like Christ and allowed them to come with us to Spanish Fork. I hope they start to have a change of heart. I am so very thankful for all that I am learning on my mission. I am so thankful for all you do Dad! I had the chance to do some service this week! So that was fun! I have to start working out more, I am still in good shape, but I got to build some strength. You're the best Dad! I love you tons and care about all that you do and have done for me! Thanks Dad! I love you tons! Have a fantastic week!

So turns out I am not in a trio anymore. On Monday they send out a transfer list of people being transferred. So we looked at it and didn't see any of our names on it, so automatically we thought ok, I guess we are staying in a trio. Later last Monday we received a phone call from President, telling us that me and Elder Howard will be covering the Kolob and Hobble Creek West stakes again and that Elder Allen and his new companion (Elder Shields) would cover the Springville stake. So we got this news after PDay, so me and Elder Howard had to speed pack and get everything figured out while we still did our missionary work. All in all it is all figured out and we are excited for the Area we are covering. At this moment we have 5 people on date for baptism and we are hopefully going to put two more on this week. The Lord has truly been blessing us as we have received so much help and support in the work from our Wards and Ward Mission Leaders. Never underestimate your influence as a Member, the one family we have is so pleased with the friendships they've built and are so excited about the principles they are learning. They are Especially touched by the Plan of Salvation. They have had so many experiences in their life that have brought them to think of the life after this one. When they read of the Plan of Salvation they knew they had found their answer and the truth. They know and have great comfort brought to them as they think about how death is not the end and that it truly is a beginning. I am so blessed for the people who have stepped up and truly been there for this family, as well as for the Lord who has blessed us immensely. I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father and for my Savior and Redeemer. I know that my Redeemer lives and that he truly has saved me and all who show their willingness to partake of the atonement and to come unto him. I know that as we come unto him we find the joy and peace we long for. I know that blessings come both in this life and the life to come. As we do the things we know we need to, and even those things we show our faith in, I know that the Savior will be there for us. It might get hard, no one said Satan would give up on you, but with the help of the Savior and the Armour of God, we can all defeat Satan and strike the Serpent from our lives. It is done through obedience to his commandments. I know how important it is to keep the commandments. I know sometimes it's not easy to do, but I also know that Heavenly Father has a plan, and he's given us the game plan of keeping he commandments. Sure sometimes we may not score the goal, but we sure do have the upper hand. As we keep to the plan we can be sure to win the game. I know that Heavenly Father wants us all to win, but he gave us Agency as well so we could choose for ourselves if we wanted 1st or last place. There is no in between. We have the control to win! We are a chosen people who as we keep the commandments have been promised the win. It is such a blessing to me to have that knowledge that I chose to come here and to experience life and the many joys and sorrows that come with it. I know that this life is my time and everyone's time to prepare to meet God. Let us all stand steadfast and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord. God will always keep his side of the promise we make. 

So this week needless to say was a pretty good week. We have had many successes, but also we've had our rough times. We had the chance to invite some people to church who we received commitments from, but bailed on the day of. It was sad to see that they were not able to keep to their commitment and put their Father in Heaven first, but they can always repent and come the next week. This next week that is a focus of mine, to get as many people as possible to church. We should always desire to show our appreciation to our Savior, Jesus Christ, by partaking of the Sacrament. I love Sunday's, they are always so spiritually uplifting and such a wonderful day to renew those covenants made at baptism. 

This week we had a lot of fun. We have grown to love many of the people we work with and have seen some changes in the lives of many of the people we are working with. The Wards truly our an amazing help. They have done so much for us missionaries and these people truly feel loved by their wards. We had a funny thing happen this week. As we drove up to this apartment complex, we saw two ladies outside who were smoking. They started looking at our car wondering who it was. You could tell they knew who it was when they instantly started running to their apartments wanting nothing to do with the Gospel. It was kind of funny to see how fast they reacted and took off for their apartments. It was a good way to keep them from smoking I must say. It was an amazing week and we had a lot of fun and a lot of spiritual moments. I'm thankful for all he support we as missionaries get and the people we work with get. I'm thankful to all you who have been so supportive. Keep up all you do and keep finding way that you can bring someone to the restored Gospel of our Heavenly Father. Love you all! Have a fantastic week!

-Elder Noad