Monday, February 24, 2014

Good morning family and friends.  Today in California it is Sunday morning.  Just a little recap of the week. Starting with Monday, we've had some really great lessons with our investigators.  We had one with Sara and with her boyfriend Austin who is a member.  Her only hold up is she wants her boyfriend to baptize her and the boyfriend is not worthy to right now.  So, it's really hard cause she is so ready to get baptized.  So, we're trying to put righteous pressure on the boyfriend but we can't really do to much about that.  One of the things we are also doing is setting up Ultimate Mission Plans with all of our YSA members.  It is basically their plan on how they're going to share the gospel.  It's been going good, we've had about four of them so far, out ward is slowly getting rolling.  We also have been teaching Adrian, he's awesome.  He has a date for March 8th.  I think this is one of the people I was suppose to find while being here in Academy; been working with him a lot.  Also, we're teaching Lacy who's awesome.  She's having a hard time believing in God but she's still reading she's still meeting with us.  She's really cool, she's a friend of a member also.  Then there's Nick.  Nick, he would get baptized any time but he's on probation and so we got to get him interviewed by President Gelwix and our stake president and then send in a letter to the first presidency.  So, that's kind of annoying, but oh well.  We've had six actuals in our zone, so six actual baptisms and so we're just working with them.  Something that was fun that happened - I went on an exchange with one of the members of our zone that has been struggling and we went up and knocked on this door and this Pentecostal guy came out and he was like, "Let me pray with you."  And so we were like alright.  It was super good prayer I've got the utmost  respect for him but he was like screaming and he spoke in tongues supposedly - it was kinda weird, it was hard for me not to laugh.  Our exchange was super good.  We've just been finding new investigators all around the board.  We had FHE which was also good.  It was a really great exchange and we found a new investigator Wednesday night that was from a less active member.  She brought him to church - FHE - Family Home Evening where we played kickball.  Oh no, it was indoor soccer, sorry.   So, yea, that was really good.  He's really cool.  He has a date right now for the 29th of March and he's progressing really well.  I was in the biking area on the exchange and oh my gosh, I love biking.  It is so much fun, you can talk to so many people.  But I like YSA areas better, you know, they're just a lot of fun. Today for church we are expecting 6-8 people to come to church, non-members.  Hopefully a couple of less actives we've been teaching.  It should be really good, a really good day.  Just been seeing miracles all around, being able to, as I've just been teaching I've been really able to tune into the spirit and teach to the person's needs.  Just really cool.  I love my mission, it's the best.  This is my report, Elder Moss, and I love you all and I hope that your last week was amazing.  And I hope everything went great, those things that you had planned.  And this next coming week, I hope that it's even better and that you have a blast and see the hand of the Lord in your lives every single day.  I love you all, all right, bye bye.

Monday, February 17, 2014

So, good morning, this is Elder Moss.  Today is Friday morning.  I have like weekly planning and a lot of stuff going on today.  We got a big meeting with all the zone leaders.  But, I just thought I'd call and kind of check up.  A little bit that happened last week that I forgot to mention to you that I loved was that it rained a ton.  Holy Cow, I just love falling to sleep to like the rain and thunder, but it didn't thunder, but the rain was still good.  And it rained a lot and we went running in the rain in the morning and just a bunch of different stuff and I just love it so much.  This past week we had preparation day and we just played basketball and volleyball.  We had a lesson with a member's friend in his house which, by the way, is the best way to do missionary work - is for missionaries to come over and teach people in your houses.  It's just powerful, it's awesome.  Umm, we've been having a lot of lessons at the institute which is awesome.  We've just been doing a lot of work.  We had FHE Wednesday night and I guess that was indexing and so we just stayed with our family, er our ward - sorry, and we just kinda just mingled with them and helped them all.  But we also had president's interviews this week.  We had ours yesterday.  It was actually my year mark yesterday. That's pretty crazy to think that I've been out a year now.  Yea, we had our president's interviews and it was pretty good, I loved it.  And then president came out with us that evening, so Thursday evening he came out with us and we taught two lessons with him.  One which went super well, the spirit was strong and we discovered a concern that we never thought of.  We also taught a lesson at the Fresno City College Library and the whole time during the lesson we had to whisper and it was the hardest thing I've ever done.  It was just frustrating.  Yea, this week is just going super well.  I'm just really excited, I don't know, it's just going really well.  Yesterday was a great day and we taught a lot.  Today is going to be kind of a longer day because we gotta get some Stake Correlation done and weekly planning and we got an interview we've got to go do for some missionaries.  Other than that it should be really great.  Valentine's day is coming up, oh, I guess that is today, today is Valentine's day, and I guess...happy Valentine's day.  Shoot, but yea.  Love you so much, have a great week.  Bye bye.

Good morning friends and family.  This is Elder Moss and it's about 7:15 in the morning and I just got done eating breakfast.  We had right around 3-4 eggs and a piece of toast, umm it was good.  Today is, I mean it's starting to look like it's gonna be a good day.  We're planning on having, I think, five investigators at church.  So, hopefully that will all turn out and be able to be extremely well.  So that last time I recorded was Friday.  That was, it was, Valentine's day I believe.  Our dinner for Valentine's day was a family, well he was YSA but he was with his family, they took us out to eat at this whole in the wall Mexican Restaurant which was pretty good.  Really unhealthy but really good.  So Saturday we had to do a bunch of weekly and stake correlation, well weekly planning and then stake correlation.  Cause our meeting with President Gelwix and the Stake Presidency is today.  Then we met with a high councilman yesterday, Brother Crowsy, he's the high councilman over missionary work.  So that was good.  It was a really good meeting.  We also went to a baptism, we tried to get some investigators there but no one showed up so hopefully we'll get them next time. We also met with this kid named Brandon.  It was super funny.  We met with like on the side of the road at like a coffee shop.  And we were just talking to him and stuff and a member came rolling up and he was stopped at the stop light and he rolled down his window and he was like yelling, "It's all true, what there telling you is true, believe them."  Oh my gosh, it was just so funny.  It was just...it made my day, but it was really good.  Then we had dinner at the Wadsworth family, it's just a really great family, there just doing awesome.  Ummm, let me think.  I think that's pretty much it since Friday and on.  Just been able to continue to find, teach, and baptize...so yea.  That's it.  Hope you all have a great week.  Hope your Valentine's day was awesome.  Love you so much and I know this church is true.  Allright, God bless you, bye bye.

Monday, February 10, 2014

“When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.” - Ezra Taft Benson

hey all ya'll sorry i am not sending a voicemail i totally forgot this week it has been different but great so this past week we have been struggling finding people well we find a lot of people but we are not finding solid ones that progress we have some sweet ones that are doing really great so far which is awesome but ya no worries everything will be great! we had 3 people at sacrament this past sunday which was sweet. we also had leadership training which was great we received a lot of revelation and had fun. then that same night we had FHE and we had some investigators come to that also. we had a dinner with a member and she invited one of her agnostic friends and he was so skewed with different ideas and things that different make any sense so it just boosted my testimony but didn't help him cuz he wouldn't listen to anything we had to say haha but oh well. we also had a zone meeting and i started it off by talking about our true potential and shared a mormon message "our true identity" and it was powerful! then we had awesome trainings by our district leaders and it just was really great. then we had friday forum and met a lot of non members there and had one lesson at the institute and it was just a lot of fun. my companion is so prideful he was a college basketball player and personal trainer and weight lifter and it is so annoying we don't fight but i just am being tried with this companion haha so hopefully it will be great i will make it good and work my hardest! well valentines day is this week and i wish you all a great valentines day! i love you and hope you have a great week! 

love elder moss

Monday, February 3, 2014

“I find that when I get casual with my relationship with divinity and when it seems no divine ear is listening and no divine voice is speaking, that I am far, far away. If I immerse myself in the scriptures, the distance narrows and the spirituality returns. I find myself loving more intimately those I should love with all my heart, mind, and strength.” - President Spencer W. Kimball 

It is so crazy i am coming up on a year! and my birthday haha it is crazy but it is also awesome i love it so much! 

Hey Davey, I'm glad you are finally on :)  How are you doing?  We are doing so good!  Did you get our crazy voicemail

i am doing great! and i haven't listened to it yet haha but i am right now! i heard your super bowl was great and no we don't get to watch the super bowl haha 

Oh, Chase said that is something you might get to watch today for your pday. I guess I will tell you that my team won, haha. The Seahawks won, I decided to rout for the underdogs and that was the Seahawks. The Broncos got creamed!  It was a lot of fun! Dad had made an amazing spread of food, full of chicken wings, 4 different kinds of dips, pizza, and chocolate cake. (I'm sure I am missing something.

What have you been up to today.

i have just gone shopping played some sports and did laundry and cleaned haha and studied

I thought you had someone that does your laundry? When did you start doing your laundry?
I too can't believe that you have been out for almost a year. So what tie will you cut up on your your mark?

ya we do have someone do our laundry we just have to drive awhile to get there and haha no we don't do that in this mission thats not very representative of Jesus Christ ha how are you doing i am just loving it our here! 

Do they do anything fun to represent you being out a year?  Just remember it is important to finish strong - to the end.

ha ya i know i will finish super strong or i will just stay out for a year! and no we don't really do anything to signify we are out for a year haha so i don't know

You are absolutely right we are on this earth to learn and grow, sometimes it is really hard! You don't need to send us anything to ease our stress, this is just another thing we can experience in our life to help us grow.  I know I look forward to hear from you each week they always brighten my week! That is all I need! Thank you for thinking of us! 

Weekly Letter:

Hey family and friends, this is Elder Moss.  So, I had my other reporting all done and everything but it wouldn't upload so I am here at the church now.  We just got done playing basketball and I don't have my other planner to tell you about my last week.  I'll try to go off memory but no promises.  Last week we had a big meeting Thursday, MLC - Mission Leadership Council, and that went really good.  We just always receive super, a lot of, spiritual impressions.  Wednesday was transfers as we know.  I got my new companion, Elder Gains, he's awesome, he's huge.  We haven't taken any pictures yet...so, I don't know if I can help with that or not.  He's from, I think, Wisconsin.  He played college basketball.  He's awesome.  He's also 25 years old so he's older than me by a lot.  We also helped out...we gave a training to the new missionaries, all of them that came in, that was a lot of fun.  And then we also transported them to go to their new areas, like up to Modesto and down to Porterville.  We were gone all night.  So that was extremely long.  It was just a blast this week.  We also had FHE as always.  We are getting a lot more members out to come to the activities and different things.  We played basketball that night.  That was just a blast.  Of course it was superbowl week and we went to teach the hmong family, these two hmong YSA kids, and we went there and their whole family's drunk.  Oh my gosh, it was so funny.  We tried to teach them but it didn't really work out and once they started offering us vodka we thought we should get out of there, so we left.  We have just been teaching a lot of spiritual lessons.  We had one investigator come to church.  His name is Miguel and he's still preparing for baptism, so that's awesome.  Other than that we just keep working hard, seeing a lot of miracles, teaching small lessons all over the place, and ya, our zones awesome, we're doing a lot of work so it's going to be great.  Alright, have a great week, I love you all, bye bye.