As you know, I am training a new missionary for the last transfer of my mission. I was really excited when I found out about this opportunity and felt pretty prepared for the transition. About a day after my companion, Elder Allman, arrived in Altus, our area just kind of fell apart. One of the constants of missionary work is that things are always changing. Unfortunately, some of these changes are totally unexpected. Here I was, trying to be an example for my brand new companion in showing him how missionary work is done, and I probably felt “greener” than he did those first couple of days:) During this past week, I have learned the truth of a scripture found in Helaman 3:35. It reads: 

35: Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God. 

I decided I needed to fast this week to understand better what I could do to help my companion and to find new investigators in Altus who are ready to hear our message. I think I fasted and prayed with more sincerity than ever before in my life. As I did this, and yielded my heart to God, I truly felt the joy and purification promised in the above scripture. I know that the words of this scripture are true. I am so thankful for a Savior who extends his mercy to all of us. I have not only been given the courage and strength to continue on, but I feel I have been shown the path and the direction to go. I won''t go into details, but something is starting here in the Altus ward that is going to change missionary work in this area. There is always a way. We just have to be willing to open our eyes and see as God sees, and then follow the path He has laid before us. I know that Heavenly Father answers prayers because I have been a personal recipient of those answers in the past couple of days. I am grateful for the knowledge and power that truly comes into our lives as we remember that God is in charge and we just need to trust Him and move forward in faith. 

As I mentioned above, my new companion’s name is Elder Allman. Elder Allman is from North Ogden, Utah but guess where he grew up?…. LAYTON! Elder Allman is a very driven and dedicated elder. He has a desire to serve and wants to do and be his best. It is fun to feel that “greenie fire” again. I am inspired by his faith and enthusiasm. 

As I mentioned earlier in my e-mail, our area did a little bit of a nose dive this past week, but that doesn’t mean we didn''t see any success. I have time to tell of two experiences we had before I need to get going: 

Experience #1 - We were walking around our area, and as we passed by a door, I felt an overwhelming prompting to go back and knock on it. At first I ignored the feeling, but after a few seconds, I knew we needed to turn around and go back. As we did, a security systems'' salesman came out of a house across the street and yelled out, "Hey Elders, how is it going?" This man was from Arizona, and his wife is a member of the Church, so he is pretty familiar with who missionaries are. We got to talking a little bit and he told us that when he returned home, at the end of the summer, he was going to meet up with the missionaries and be baptized. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to bear our testimonies to this man and assure him that he was making the right decision. After we finished our conversation with him, we knocked on the door I mentioned, and the people who answered were not interested at all. As we walked away, the sweet feeling of the Spirit filled my heart, and in that instant, I knew the reason we had felt prompted to turn around and go back. It was because of the man across the street who we had had a 3 minute conversation with. We didn''t talk very long, but we were able to encourage him to discover the truths of the restored gospel for himself, by reading the Book of Mormon. It was a powerful experience. 

Experience #2 - Something we work on a lot as missionaries is retention. There are a lot of people who are baptized, and then fall away for one reason or another. Lately, we have been working with a recent convert named “B.” He is a 19 year old who was baptized in December. Since then he has been pretty active, but lately he has not been to church because of work and other things that have come up. This past week, we had two of the most powerful lessons ever with “B” and they were both in a member’s home. The one I wanted to mention happened last night with a family in the ward - the Box family. Some of the greatest fruits found within the Church are the families who truly live what we believe. The Box family is a family of 7 who are super incredible. We started off the night by playing a couple short games with “B” and their kids. That really set the tone for the entire evening. After the kids had gone to bed, we were able to help “B” by answering his questions and re-teaching some of the principles he didn’t understand. It was wonderful to listen to the hopes and desires he has, not only for himself, but for his family. As we had a discussion with him about how and why we live the gospel, I felt the Spirit testify to me of the importance of what we were doing. Every soul is great in the eyes of God, especially those who are new in the gospel. It is a difficult transition for some and we all need to extend the hand of fellowship to those around us. The gospel is all about establishing relationships and reaching out to others. That is why we have stakes and wards and individual families. As we work together and serve those around us, I know we can each be strengthened, uplifted, and edified. I know this because I felt it last night as my own testimony was strengthened by the discussion we had. 

This next week is going to be a great week. I can just feel it. Please keep us in your prayers. We are going to be doing a lot of searching for those who are ready and prepared to receive our message, and I am excited to see what God has in store for us. I love this work and the change that can come into each of our lives as we apply the principles of the gospel.   

P.S. Check out the following incredible Mormon Message: http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/lift-the-power-of-service?cid=HP_WE_5-13-2015_dPTH_fMM_xLIDyL1-A_