One of my close missionary friends leaves today. I will get to see him at the mission home though. His name is Elder Hall and if there are any ladies looking for a good man to marry in Las Vegas send me a letter and I will give you his info. :) Anyways I am going to miss him. He knows a lot about the gospel and we have had some really great conversations with each other and he was a great district leader back in PASADENA.
This week went well. We have a lot to do and a lot of people to follow up with. Our stake had a trek this week in east Texas. They all dressed up like pioneers and pulled handcarts. Elders Stevenette, Harris, Bellomy, Peterson, Moreno and I all put on a skit for the trek. We were asked to do it by President Saylin. He read a story about a group of kids that would scare people out of town as mobbers or people up to no good would wander into Nauvoo. Then we acted it out. I have to say that it was one of the most embarrassing experiences of my life that I know I can look back on and get a good laugh. Sadly there were pictures taken. Which means there is evidence of this for other missionaries to see. I know that the picture is going to wind up being framed in the mission office or something. So funny.
Anyways, we taught a lot of people this past week and have a lot of things coming up. We are teaching a lot of great people. We have grown really close to some of those in this ward and also to our investigators.
This week is transfer week and for the first real time in my mission our entire district of 6 missionaries is staying the same. Elder Breeze and Elder Thomson, our zone leaders, told us that they have never seen this happen before. Especially with a district of 6. Most of my districts have been 4. Anyways, I am really excited for this coming transfer. 6 more weeks of greatness. There is a lot that I want to accomplish and do. There are a lot of people that I can still help and lead closer to the Savior. Including me. Thank you all for everything that you do and remember to share the gospel with your friends and family. Help someone come back to church or read the Book of Mormon or meet with the missionaries. I love you all and have a great week. Sorry this is so short. Keep doing well.
love,
ELDER MARR
P.S. I have another challenge for yall. It is not as important or spiritual as my past challenge about reading the whole Book of Mormon beofre I get home. BUt I challenge everyone even though I am goign to be home in one transfer to send me a letter. Every single one of you. This way i can have at least one final letter on my mission from all of you. BUt I have one requirement. No mentioning how soon I will be coming home or how little time is left until you can see me. If you are someone who has been reading these emials and have never met me. Send me a letter anyways.
4010 Indian Point dr.
Missouri City, TX
77459
:)
:)
Monday, March 21, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Huo Ji Junglou
This week I went on exchanges with our district leader Elder Tsui. His English is alright. He had to learn it for the mission. He speaks just fine but sometimes he has a hard time understanding others. So when he talks to people on the street he is very straight forward and to the point. I love it. He is not scared to say anything and gets right to his purpose. I love him. He is a strong member of the church and he is going to continue to be a great missionary.
This week was a little bit sad by the end of the week. We had a few people not make it to church. We really thought that some of them said that they would be there but they did not show up. It was a little disheartening. I wish people would just come to church. But besides that it was a good week. We have some investigators who read the Book of Mormon like they found it in buried treasure. The book has such a power in it that people who do not normally feel the spirit or even those that do. Can feel the spirit and love to feel it. I love the scriptures. It is like eating food. It just nourishes you.
This email will be a short one just to let you know. We are trying to find more investigators to teach. We have been doing a lot of finding lately. We have found some success from just riding around on our bikes and talking with whoever we see. I am not a huge fan of knocking doors. In some places it is the best way to find but in my past few areas it has been very ineffective. We are finding more people to teach. The members of the ward are more than willing to come out with us to teach but I have not been able to teach a members friend. We are doing our best to find people to teach but referrals from the members are the best. Member's friends who are not already members of the church have a drastically better chance of both joining the church and staying active in the church than people that the missionaries find and teach. Our mission president has shown us statistics on it. I have not had a baptism on my mission that is not a member referral or a part member family. I have taught many that are not but they have never come to baptism. I invite each of you who read this to pray to know who you can share the gospel with and invite to be taught by the missionaries with you. It will change your life and the life of those you share the gospel with.
I have seen so much happiness on my mission when a part member gets baptized or a member referral gets baptized. It brings families and friends closer together. At the end of April I will be going to a sealing for one of those part member families. I believe that if the member who was already friends with the family would have asked his friend in the part member family to come over for a lesson with the missionaries and dinner that the family would have been reactivated much sooner and the wife would have been baptized much much sooner. But the active member did not act. The missionaries were going to visit a less active member and ran into his brother who is the husband of the part member family. Then they asked if they could come over and have a lesson. So they did and the remainder of the family was baptized and reactivated. It happens. How I wish that the active Brother would have acted and tried to have them over before to meet with us. I am sure that he was the last person that he thought would be reactivated. But it happened. I just wish he could have been the foundation of the coming back to church and to have participated in their baptism and reactivation in a larger way.
I invite all of you to pray sincerely to know who of your friends should be invited to be taught by the missionaries, with you there. Fear is opposed to faith. Exercise your faith and try. I know that the Lord will guide you in the right way and you will know what to do. Even though I only have until May 3rd send me a letter and let me know how it goes. I love you all and I thank you for your support and for your love have a great week and be strong. If you need any help with sharing the gospel with your friends then call the missionaries. They can give you tips and pointers. And if you are not a member than call the missionaries and have them come over and explain all the crazy stuff i talk about every week and why I love it so much. I love you all and have a great week.
love,
ELDER MARR
This week was a little bit sad by the end of the week. We had a few people not make it to church. We really thought that some of them said that they would be there but they did not show up. It was a little disheartening. I wish people would just come to church. But besides that it was a good week. We have some investigators who read the Book of Mormon like they found it in buried treasure. The book has such a power in it that people who do not normally feel the spirit or even those that do. Can feel the spirit and love to feel it. I love the scriptures. It is like eating food. It just nourishes you.
This email will be a short one just to let you know. We are trying to find more investigators to teach. We have been doing a lot of finding lately. We have found some success from just riding around on our bikes and talking with whoever we see. I am not a huge fan of knocking doors. In some places it is the best way to find but in my past few areas it has been very ineffective. We are finding more people to teach. The members of the ward are more than willing to come out with us to teach but I have not been able to teach a members friend. We are doing our best to find people to teach but referrals from the members are the best. Member's friends who are not already members of the church have a drastically better chance of both joining the church and staying active in the church than people that the missionaries find and teach. Our mission president has shown us statistics on it. I have not had a baptism on my mission that is not a member referral or a part member family. I have taught many that are not but they have never come to baptism. I invite each of you who read this to pray to know who you can share the gospel with and invite to be taught by the missionaries with you. It will change your life and the life of those you share the gospel with.
I have seen so much happiness on my mission when a part member gets baptized or a member referral gets baptized. It brings families and friends closer together. At the end of April I will be going to a sealing for one of those part member families. I believe that if the member who was already friends with the family would have asked his friend in the part member family to come over for a lesson with the missionaries and dinner that the family would have been reactivated much sooner and the wife would have been baptized much much sooner. But the active member did not act. The missionaries were going to visit a less active member and ran into his brother who is the husband of the part member family. Then they asked if they could come over and have a lesson. So they did and the remainder of the family was baptized and reactivated. It happens. How I wish that the active Brother would have acted and tried to have them over before to meet with us. I am sure that he was the last person that he thought would be reactivated. But it happened. I just wish he could have been the foundation of the coming back to church and to have participated in their baptism and reactivation in a larger way.
I invite all of you to pray sincerely to know who of your friends should be invited to be taught by the missionaries, with you there. Fear is opposed to faith. Exercise your faith and try. I know that the Lord will guide you in the right way and you will know what to do. Even though I only have until May 3rd send me a letter and let me know how it goes. I love you all and I thank you for your support and for your love have a great week and be strong. If you need any help with sharing the gospel with your friends then call the missionaries. They can give you tips and pointers. And if you are not a member than call the missionaries and have them come over and explain all the crazy stuff i talk about every week and why I love it so much. I love you all and have a great week.
love,
ELDER MARR
Monday, March 7, 2011
Weekly Update
So life is good. This will be a short one. We had our last mission conference this past week. It was a great way for my last conference to be like. We only have zone conference every other transfer so these were my last. But O how great they were. I am so lucky to be able to have 3 weeks of all day all mission conference for my final conference. It was wonderful. I will miss these meetings. Zone conferences are my favorite meetings on a mission. Maybe besides the temple. I love the temple. But mission and zone conferences are awesome.
This coming week we have a lot to do. Our area is wonderful but sadly many people have chosen not to meet with us anymore and we have stopped visiting some others. There is a lot of true potential. Just as with my past two areas. This area is a great one and the members are more than willing to do missionary work. We have an exchange 4x times a week for two hours each and this next month we will still have that but one of us will be with a member in their home teaching one of their friends or home teaching families that they have invited over. The member work here is wonderful. The best that I have seen in my mission. They want to share the gospel and love coming out with us. We are just in the process of continually building our area and bringing more and more people closer to the Lord.
It has been a busy week. We have a lot that we are trying to accomplish. Several of our progressing investigators are doing very well. Bro. John Adams is getting very close to baptism. He has been meeting with us for a while and because of medical reasons has not been able to get out to church very often. But his heart is right. He wants to do what the Lord wants him to do. He is a humble man and is easy to love. I love teaching him. He wants to follow Christ in all things. We just hope that his medical issues will be able to be taken care of soon or at least more bearable.
Elder Moreno is a good missionary. I don’t think that I talk about him enough. He is a far better missionary than I was at his age in the mission. He knows how to talk with people and remembers things. He is still learning some things but he wants to do what is right and already is able to handle a lot of responsibility. His trainer taught him well. He is number 7 in a family of 10. As opposed to me not having such a big family. So it has been a transition for him to not be living with a ton of people. He is a people person and likes being around a lot of people. I am the same way. I don’t like doing stuff alone. I never have.
I love you all and i am sorry that this is so short. I love you and have a great week. The gospel is true, and go to the temple. It is the house of the Lord and no matter how many times we have been there before it will bring further happiness into your life. I can barely live without the temple and the spirit that I feel there. I think of it often and quite frequently go through the things that take place there in my mind. The temple is so important. Just as important as the chapel is for the sacrament so is the temple for its ordinances. I love the temple.
love,
ELDER MARR
This coming week we have a lot to do. Our area is wonderful but sadly many people have chosen not to meet with us anymore and we have stopped visiting some others. There is a lot of true potential. Just as with my past two areas. This area is a great one and the members are more than willing to do missionary work. We have an exchange 4x times a week for two hours each and this next month we will still have that but one of us will be with a member in their home teaching one of their friends or home teaching families that they have invited over. The member work here is wonderful. The best that I have seen in my mission. They want to share the gospel and love coming out with us. We are just in the process of continually building our area and bringing more and more people closer to the Lord.
It has been a busy week. We have a lot that we are trying to accomplish. Several of our progressing investigators are doing very well. Bro. John Adams is getting very close to baptism. He has been meeting with us for a while and because of medical reasons has not been able to get out to church very often. But his heart is right. He wants to do what the Lord wants him to do. He is a humble man and is easy to love. I love teaching him. He wants to follow Christ in all things. We just hope that his medical issues will be able to be taken care of soon or at least more bearable.
Elder Moreno is a good missionary. I don’t think that I talk about him enough. He is a far better missionary than I was at his age in the mission. He knows how to talk with people and remembers things. He is still learning some things but he wants to do what is right and already is able to handle a lot of responsibility. His trainer taught him well. He is number 7 in a family of 10. As opposed to me not having such a big family. So it has been a transition for him to not be living with a ton of people. He is a people person and likes being around a lot of people. I am the same way. I don’t like doing stuff alone. I never have.
I love you all and i am sorry that this is so short. I love you and have a great week. The gospel is true, and go to the temple. It is the house of the Lord and no matter how many times we have been there before it will bring further happiness into your life. I can barely live without the temple and the spirit that I feel there. I think of it often and quite frequently go through the things that take place there in my mind. The temple is so important. Just as important as the chapel is for the sacrament so is the temple for its ordinances. I love the temple.
love,
ELDER MARR
Monday, February 28, 2011
MISSION CONFERENCE 2
The second week of the mission conference. It was great. There were a lot of great trainings on lesson plans and teaching people not lessons. That one is my favorite. Some people think that we are just here to share a certain number of messages and then you are supposed to get baptized. That is not the way it works. I love this training and I have tried to follow the guidelines in it for most of my mission. I love teaching to people's needs and following the spirit to know what to share with those I teach. Sure you have to still teach the lessons but you do it in such a different way. I love that we are able to have the Holy Ghost to be with us to guide us because when I try to teach by my ability it never goes as well and the spirit is not as strong.
We were told to get to know our investigators more and to teach to their needs. Asking inspired questions to find out what they already believe and what they are looking for. Sometimes people don’t join the church because they don’t have a spiritual witness others it is because they dont understand why we have baptisms for the dead. People also have questions that seem never to be answered because it is not in one of the missionary lessons. We have been advised to always teach from the lessons but for a foundation. We are here to answer questions and to help people understand that this gospel is for them and not just some church.
On to another topic. President Saylin shocked the mission when behind the pulpit during our meeting this past Thursday. He was standing and giving a few closing remarks. You can always tell if he is about to share something that he knows he is going to get a reaction out of people because he gets this grin on his face and just seems gitty. As he spoke he said; "I haven't been feeling good to lately as you and neither has most of the mission. Sister Saylin also hasn't been feeling too good this past week. But she hasn't been feeling too good because there is going to be another addition to the Saylin family..............................." A long pause. The whole mission instantly went silent and started talking quietly amongst themselves. The first thought that went through my mind was; "AWESOME!!!! That is so cool. They are both 42 and they are having another child!" They still have a year and 3 months left on their mission. They will be on their mission when she delivers. That will be so cool. Nobody knew about it and they are so excited for #7.
Also another cool thing to mention. You may have seen him in the news a little bit. But the man who found the cure for AIDS is in our ward. He actually gave us a really great referral that we are going to teach tomorrow. Brother Packered is a nice guy. Elder Born who I replaced here has a picture of Brother Packard roping an alligator with an extension cord. WELCOME TO TEXAS!!!
Last P-day we had a zone activity. We just had fun at the church and went to a field and played rugby. I love that sport. it is so much fun. Especially when you are around people who at least kinda know how to play.
President Saylin came to church on Sunday and totally scared us. He knew he shocked us too.
We went to a Chinese baptism this week. It was really cool. The young man who was baptized is from mainland China. He just moved over here over a month ago I believe and was only taught for 3 weeks before he was baptized. From what was translated to me from Elder Williams he was in China and before he left his teacher gave him a ring. On the ring it has a few letters on it and she told him it stands for Choose the Right. Then when he came here to the U.S. it helped him in his conversion. What are the chances! There are so few members in China. I believe only about 1,000. And they have the most population of any country in the world and the teacher just happened to be a member who just happened to give him a CTR ring and then he just happened to join the church and to be in a place where there was a Chinese branch close by with Mandarin Chinese speaking missionaries. To many coincidences. I love the gospel!!
I hope that you all have a great week. I wish that I had time to send you all a personal email or letter and talk to you one on one. I hope that you all have a great week and for those in Washington I hope that it snows again. I miss snow. I wish I could see more of i but it has been since I was in Friendswood 1.
I love yall and have a great week.
ELDER MARR
We were told to get to know our investigators more and to teach to their needs. Asking inspired questions to find out what they already believe and what they are looking for. Sometimes people don’t join the church because they don’t have a spiritual witness others it is because they dont understand why we have baptisms for the dead. People also have questions that seem never to be answered because it is not in one of the missionary lessons. We have been advised to always teach from the lessons but for a foundation. We are here to answer questions and to help people understand that this gospel is for them and not just some church.
On to another topic. President Saylin shocked the mission when behind the pulpit during our meeting this past Thursday. He was standing and giving a few closing remarks. You can always tell if he is about to share something that he knows he is going to get a reaction out of people because he gets this grin on his face and just seems gitty. As he spoke he said; "I haven't been feeling good to lately as you and neither has most of the mission. Sister Saylin also hasn't been feeling too good this past week. But she hasn't been feeling too good because there is going to be another addition to the Saylin family..............................." A long pause. The whole mission instantly went silent and started talking quietly amongst themselves. The first thought that went through my mind was; "AWESOME!!!! That is so cool. They are both 42 and they are having another child!" They still have a year and 3 months left on their mission. They will be on their mission when she delivers. That will be so cool. Nobody knew about it and they are so excited for #7.
Also another cool thing to mention. You may have seen him in the news a little bit. But the man who found the cure for AIDS is in our ward. He actually gave us a really great referral that we are going to teach tomorrow. Brother Packered is a nice guy. Elder Born who I replaced here has a picture of Brother Packard roping an alligator with an extension cord. WELCOME TO TEXAS!!!
Last P-day we had a zone activity. We just had fun at the church and went to a field and played rugby. I love that sport. it is so much fun. Especially when you are around people who at least kinda know how to play.
President Saylin came to church on Sunday and totally scared us. He knew he shocked us too.
We went to a Chinese baptism this week. It was really cool. The young man who was baptized is from mainland China. He just moved over here over a month ago I believe and was only taught for 3 weeks before he was baptized. From what was translated to me from Elder Williams he was in China and before he left his teacher gave him a ring. On the ring it has a few letters on it and she told him it stands for Choose the Right. Then when he came here to the U.S. it helped him in his conversion. What are the chances! There are so few members in China. I believe only about 1,000. And they have the most population of any country in the world and the teacher just happened to be a member who just happened to give him a CTR ring and then he just happened to join the church and to be in a place where there was a Chinese branch close by with Mandarin Chinese speaking missionaries. To many coincidences. I love the gospel!!
I hope that you all have a great week. I wish that I had time to send you all a personal email or letter and talk to you one on one. I hope that you all have a great week and for those in Washington I hope that it snows again. I miss snow. I wish I could see more of i but it has been since I was in Friendswood 1.
I love yall and have a great week.
ELDER MARR
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Mission Conference 1
It was so cool. So great to see so many missionaries that I have not seen it what seems to be ages. And it will happen three weeks in a row. The meeting this last Thursday was from 7:30am to 6:00pm. With several quick breaks and a lunch. It was a long but great day. I learned so much and gained a lot from the meeting. President Saylin talked about the sacrament again and how important it is for all of us. He also spoke on the reverence we should have during the sacrament within ourselves. I had a great day on Sunday because of the things which he spoke on.
During the mission conference was a focus on several points. Teaching investigators some simple yet profound things that can help them progress in the gospel. The teachings were on. Revelation through prayer, revelation through church attendance, and revelation through the Book of Mormon. It was a focus on helping our investigators to receive revelation in each of these categories. That is why we are told to do each of them as members of the church because it is when we do these things that we receive personal revelation. Sometimes thinking about personal revelation frustrates me in the sense that so many people don’t have faith that it can happen.
This week just about every person who I talked to i asked if they would meet with us and pray to know if what we have told them is true. If there is a prophet today, if the Book of Mormon is true, or if the church made by Christ is back on the earth, or if God even exists. Hardly anyone understands what we say to them. We are telling them that they can receive personal revelation and have a direct answer on a specific question right from the Lord. Why would you not want an experience like that? I cannot understand why a good person who believes in the Lord would not want to do that or play it off like it is just something that the Mormons say. It is serious and it is amazing. There is no other organization on the earth that tells you that you can and should pray and ask the Lord if what we tell and preach is the truth. I love it! I have prayed and I know that these things are true. I know that Christ lives and that he does today the same that he has always done in sending his messengers to the earth. Like the prophets and apostles and that he loves us enough to let us know form him which messengers are from Him and which ones are not from Him. I know that whoever asks with a sincere heart and with real intent to act upon the answer received ,whatever that answer may be, they will receive a witness and an answer from God. I have received an answer that Joseph Smith was a prophet chosen by the Lord to be his mouthpiece. I also know that Brigham Young and every prophet since has been chosen by the Lord. If you have not received an answer if these things are true I would ask you to think about what i have said and to pray and ask if these things are true with a willingness to leave your comfort zone and do what will bring you the most happiness. Even if it is hard. I know that God knows what will make us happy better than we do.
I love you all and this week was a little rougher but this coming week look promising. I love Elder Morenpo and his willingness to serve and to work in this area. There is a lot to do and a lot of people that we are going to be visiting. I also look forward to the second meeting of our mission conference this week. I love you all and thank you for all of the help which you have given to me.
love,
ELDER MARR
During the mission conference was a focus on several points. Teaching investigators some simple yet profound things that can help them progress in the gospel. The teachings were on. Revelation through prayer, revelation through church attendance, and revelation through the Book of Mormon. It was a focus on helping our investigators to receive revelation in each of these categories. That is why we are told to do each of them as members of the church because it is when we do these things that we receive personal revelation. Sometimes thinking about personal revelation frustrates me in the sense that so many people don’t have faith that it can happen.
This week just about every person who I talked to i asked if they would meet with us and pray to know if what we have told them is true. If there is a prophet today, if the Book of Mormon is true, or if the church made by Christ is back on the earth, or if God even exists. Hardly anyone understands what we say to them. We are telling them that they can receive personal revelation and have a direct answer on a specific question right from the Lord. Why would you not want an experience like that? I cannot understand why a good person who believes in the Lord would not want to do that or play it off like it is just something that the Mormons say. It is serious and it is amazing. There is no other organization on the earth that tells you that you can and should pray and ask the Lord if what we tell and preach is the truth. I love it! I have prayed and I know that these things are true. I know that Christ lives and that he does today the same that he has always done in sending his messengers to the earth. Like the prophets and apostles and that he loves us enough to let us know form him which messengers are from Him and which ones are not from Him. I know that whoever asks with a sincere heart and with real intent to act upon the answer received ,whatever that answer may be, they will receive a witness and an answer from God. I have received an answer that Joseph Smith was a prophet chosen by the Lord to be his mouthpiece. I also know that Brigham Young and every prophet since has been chosen by the Lord. If you have not received an answer if these things are true I would ask you to think about what i have said and to pray and ask if these things are true with a willingness to leave your comfort zone and do what will bring you the most happiness. Even if it is hard. I know that God knows what will make us happy better than we do.
I love you all and this week was a little rougher but this coming week look promising. I love Elder Morenpo and his willingness to serve and to work in this area. There is a lot to do and a lot of people that we are going to be visiting. I also look forward to the second meeting of our mission conference this week. I love you all and thank you for all of the help which you have given to me.
love,
ELDER MARR
Monday, February 14, 2011
Sienna Plantation
New Address
010 Indian point
Missouri City, TX
77459
We live with members here in the ward. The Stone family. It is a nice place. We live just south of Sugar Land so the area is a lot more fancy than any of my past areas. Even Friendswood. There are some huge houses here and a lot of more rich communities. It is not largely developed for how large our area is but there are many people. we have a large teaching pool and a lot of great recent converts in the ward. The missionary before me trained Elder Moreno. So this is his second transfer in the field. He is a great missionary and will go far on his mission. He is already very obedient and hard working. He loves the people and does his best. He has been a little stressed with taking over the area but that passes with time. We are already great friends and work very well together. I love Elder Walker but we had a challenge in teaching with each other. Sometimes it just wouldn't match up as well as we would hope. I miss him though. And the whole area of Broadway South.
We went back to Broadway this past Saturday for a baptism. Isaac Chavez and his daughter Aleisha were baptized in the Broadway 1st ward. I taught them almost the whole time that I was in the ward and I was so happy to see a part member family become an all member family. My whole mission has been part member families and member referrals. We found them by street contacting and started teaching the family. They are so strong in their testimonies and I am so happy for them.
This are is great. I haven't been able to work here for too long. I went on exchanges with Elder Breeze, now the zone leader, and planned another day and had church another day. So I have not had a straight day of work.
Our district leader is awesome. I have known him for a while. His name is Elder Cui. He is from mainland China and is 24 years old. He is a Chinese speaking missionary and is so hardworking. His family and he are converts to the church in China. i find that sooo cool. There is no proselytizing in China and I forget how his family found the gospel.
We have a lot to do here. There are some less-active members that we are trying to help re-activate and some new approaches to our meals. We are trying to have a non-member or at least a less-active to all of our meal appointments. It has been interesting trying to get the members on board but it is a great tool. We did it a lot in Broadway and had some really great experiences come form it.
One last quick note. We will be having a mission conference for the next three weeks every Thursday to train the mission as a whole on the fundamentals of Preach My gospel that the brethren have put out. It is going to be soooo great to see so many missionaries that I have not seen in what seems to be ages. I will get to see them for three weeks and see them all one last time.
I look forward to what this next week brings. I have been changing alot these past few months. I might have already said that. I have a lot that I love and my heart just doesn't let me go back on some things. i have been experiencing somewhat a change of heart. At least a potion. I love it. This mission is so great. The greatest gift that I have ever been given besides my family. I am just so happy all of the time. A mission is so much fun and so edifying. I still have a lot of time left to bring more people to Christ. Because that is what we do. i am not out here to baptize people. i am here to help all to have a spiritual conversion to the Lord and to his gospel.
I love you all and have a great week. Send me mail. :)
love,
ELDER MARR
P.S.
HAPPY VELENTINES DAY!!!!!!!!!
010 Indian point
Missouri City, TX
77459
We live with members here in the ward. The Stone family. It is a nice place. We live just south of Sugar Land so the area is a lot more fancy than any of my past areas. Even Friendswood. There are some huge houses here and a lot of more rich communities. It is not largely developed for how large our area is but there are many people. we have a large teaching pool and a lot of great recent converts in the ward. The missionary before me trained Elder Moreno. So this is his second transfer in the field. He is a great missionary and will go far on his mission. He is already very obedient and hard working. He loves the people and does his best. He has been a little stressed with taking over the area but that passes with time. We are already great friends and work very well together. I love Elder Walker but we had a challenge in teaching with each other. Sometimes it just wouldn't match up as well as we would hope. I miss him though. And the whole area of Broadway South.
We went back to Broadway this past Saturday for a baptism. Isaac Chavez and his daughter Aleisha were baptized in the Broadway 1st ward. I taught them almost the whole time that I was in the ward and I was so happy to see a part member family become an all member family. My whole mission has been part member families and member referrals. We found them by street contacting and started teaching the family. They are so strong in their testimonies and I am so happy for them.
This are is great. I haven't been able to work here for too long. I went on exchanges with Elder Breeze, now the zone leader, and planned another day and had church another day. So I have not had a straight day of work.
Our district leader is awesome. I have known him for a while. His name is Elder Cui. He is from mainland China and is 24 years old. He is a Chinese speaking missionary and is so hardworking. His family and he are converts to the church in China. i find that sooo cool. There is no proselytizing in China and I forget how his family found the gospel.
We have a lot to do here. There are some less-active members that we are trying to help re-activate and some new approaches to our meals. We are trying to have a non-member or at least a less-active to all of our meal appointments. It has been interesting trying to get the members on board but it is a great tool. We did it a lot in Broadway and had some really great experiences come form it.
One last quick note. We will be having a mission conference for the next three weeks every Thursday to train the mission as a whole on the fundamentals of Preach My gospel that the brethren have put out. It is going to be soooo great to see so many missionaries that I have not seen in what seems to be ages. I will get to see them for three weeks and see them all one last time.
I look forward to what this next week brings. I have been changing alot these past few months. I might have already said that. I have a lot that I love and my heart just doesn't let me go back on some things. i have been experiencing somewhat a change of heart. At least a potion. I love it. This mission is so great. The greatest gift that I have ever been given besides my family. I am just so happy all of the time. A mission is so much fun and so edifying. I still have a lot of time left to bring more people to Christ. Because that is what we do. i am not out here to baptize people. i am here to help all to have a spiritual conversion to the Lord and to his gospel.
I love you all and have a great week. Send me mail. :)
love,
ELDER MARR
P.S.
HAPPY VELENTINES DAY!!!!!!!!!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Transfered
I love this area and I don’t want to leave. Part of me felt it coming though. For some reason I knew that I was going to be transferred. This area was a great one. There are so many people that I am going to miss and that I have to stay in contact with the best that I can. I will miss this place. I feel like my next area though is going to be awesome. I have no idea where i am going but I know I will love it. It will most likely be my final area. That is scary to think. I really don’t realize how long I have been out. I feel like I just got out in the field and that I have years left to serve and to work. But it is coming to a close and I don’t want it to. There is still so much I need to do and so much that I can do. Elder Walker has been a good companion. He is a hard worker and we were able to get a lot accomplished. This area has such a bright future and is already going strong in the missionary work. And in the reactivation work.
Besides getting transferred this week was a little odd. They thought that it was going to snow. But it didn't. It just stayed in the mid 20's to mid 30's not counting the strong wind chill for two days. Elder Walker and I both got sick because we were not allowed to drive because of the ice and our bikes would have slipped too so we walked everywhere. We did talk with a lot of great people though. But it was not the best week for the work. We had a zone meeting as well and Elder Hougard was sick so one of us had to stay with him while Elder Schaat and Elder Walker or I would go out and work their area. We had some really good lessons this week. One to an investigator named Fitzroy. We have been working with him for a long time and he finally came to church. And church was awesome. We had a stake conference broadcast from Salt Lake. The speakers were Ann Dibb of the relief society presidency, Elder Martin of the 70, Elder M. Russel Ballard, and President Thomas S. Monson. It went for 2 hours and was magnificent. The spirit was strong and the talks were great. It was a broadcast to Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. I really enjoyed it. It is not a usual thing to be able to hear from the general authorities of the church every Sunday. Fitzroy enjoyed it and I believe is now going to start keeping more commitments.
This week I was also able to see some great missionary friends at zone meeting. It is odd to think that I met Elder Oliver and Elder Manoa 6 months ago. Time just flies. There is no other way to describe it. It just shocks me that everything travels so fast that it seems like you never have time to think about everything you have to take care of. It is a rush. I love it though. A busy mission is a lot better than a slow mission.
P.P.S. Next week will be long with information on my new area. I love you all and I hope that this week goes well for all of you. I am so grateful for all of your prayers and help which you have given to me. I wish that I could give back more. I love you all and have a great week.
love,
ELDER MARR
P.S. Keep reading from the Book of Mormon
Besides getting transferred this week was a little odd. They thought that it was going to snow. But it didn't. It just stayed in the mid 20's to mid 30's not counting the strong wind chill for two days. Elder Walker and I both got sick because we were not allowed to drive because of the ice and our bikes would have slipped too so we walked everywhere. We did talk with a lot of great people though. But it was not the best week for the work. We had a zone meeting as well and Elder Hougard was sick so one of us had to stay with him while Elder Schaat and Elder Walker or I would go out and work their area. We had some really good lessons this week. One to an investigator named Fitzroy. We have been working with him for a long time and he finally came to church. And church was awesome. We had a stake conference broadcast from Salt Lake. The speakers were Ann Dibb of the relief society presidency, Elder Martin of the 70, Elder M. Russel Ballard, and President Thomas S. Monson. It went for 2 hours and was magnificent. The spirit was strong and the talks were great. It was a broadcast to Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. I really enjoyed it. It is not a usual thing to be able to hear from the general authorities of the church every Sunday. Fitzroy enjoyed it and I believe is now going to start keeping more commitments.
This week I was also able to see some great missionary friends at zone meeting. It is odd to think that I met Elder Oliver and Elder Manoa 6 months ago. Time just flies. There is no other way to describe it. It just shocks me that everything travels so fast that it seems like you never have time to think about everything you have to take care of. It is a rush. I love it though. A busy mission is a lot better than a slow mission.
P.P.S. Next week will be long with information on my new area. I love you all and I hope that this week goes well for all of you. I am so grateful for all of your prayers and help which you have given to me. I wish that I could give back more. I love you all and have a great week.
love,
ELDER MARR
P.S. Keep reading from the Book of Mormon
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