July 31st, 2018

Righteous Indignation

Hello friends and family

How are you?

So, following the trend of last p-day, I will start off with a scripture and something spiritual first.
Here is my favorite scripture.

Ether 12
27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness.  I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

I have probably shared this scripture over email before, but it still stands as a great motivating scripture.  We all have weaknesses.  I have many.  If we humble ourselves and allow Heavenly Father to help us, we will be made strong.  It is a simple, but True Principle.  I know that if we humble ourselves, we will be made stronger, no matter the challenge or the difficulty.

This past week was good.  We talked to a lot of people.  In fact, our mission president has asked us to keep track of all the people we contact.  He did some math equations and he said if I talked to 10 people every day, that if multiplied, I would talk to...A lot of people over the course of my mission.  It was mind boggling to think of how many people we can share the gospel with, even if they deny or are disinterested.  It is amazing to think that little things done every day, make a difference in the long run.  It just goes to show us that the simple and small things (prayer, scripture study, church attendance, etc) actually do make a big difference.  It all adds up.  Like a gold miner gathering flecks of gold, to make a fortune (there is a Mormon message on that too).

It has been jumping from cloudy to sunny back to cloudy every day.  We see lightning in the distance all the time.

Story time.  So one night, nobody in the wards signed up to feed us, so we decided to work through dinner and eat when we got home that night.  I decided I wanted Little Caesars, so a few minutes before 9 we stopped by the Little Caesars down the street from where we live.  Ghetto Little Caesars are fun.  There are police cameras stationed around this particular shopping market.  There were some sketchy people outside doing some questionable activities, but they ignored us, so we just waited patiently for our turn.

Well, a tatted up dude and a woman walk in a they start talking.  Listening in for a moment, the words and slang they were using made it very clear what they were doing that night.

I finally saw my first prostitute and her pimp!  It was...hilarious.  He had a golden grill in his teeth and she was tatted up as well.  I knew they were around here, but man oh man, my first encounter made me chuckle afterwards.

I'm definitely not in Idaho anymore.

I saw a record amount of cops this week too.  Sooo many drug busts and car wrecks.

I've had a ton of fun here.  My companion and I have our work cut out for us, not only because of the demographic, but frankly because of previous companionship simply not working at all in this area.  We are busy, tired, and having lots of fun.

My companion cut my hair last night.   I picked a number on the clippers and he cut all my hair down to that size.  It looks pretty good, actually.

Thanks to my family members who sent me food, toiletries, and other tidbits that help me.  You were definitely inspired, because I happened to need some of those things, and I didn't even ask....

That's all for now.  Here are some pictures!  Me and my comp, Elder Picinich on Bikes, a street called Boomtown, our dinner calendar and an impromptu picture of me drawn in, a needle, and an upside down cross and a pentagram carved into the cement outside the church (for some reason).

Thanks Pals!

-Elder Moore

July 24th, 2018

Even More Area

Hello Friends and Family

This time I will being my email with something spiritual.  Just to change it up a bit...

I was reading in 3 Nephi the other day, and after there were great disasters and natural upheavals of nature following the crucifixion of Christ, on the other side of the world, the surviving more righteous people started to hear a voice from heaven.  Here is one of the things they heard:

3 Nephi 10
6 O ye house of Israel whom I have spared how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart.

The line "as a hen gathereth her chickens" is repeated a few times.  It is first heard that  they have been gathered many times, and the Lord has gathered and protected them numerous other times, and in this line it is stated that He will continue to do so.  He will continue to gather and protect his people, on conditions of Repentance.

Applying this to ourselves, well.... The Lord will always gather His people who repent.  There is no  limit. He has protected us and helped us return to Him many times, but even if we fall away again, we can return.  So remember, little chicks, to return and find safety and peace in the Gospel, and in our Savior.

This week was a good one.  One of our wards picked up another chunk of area.  We picked up a monthly-payment apartment complex, called 'Sportsman's Manor". This place was once redzoned.  We were next to it once, and had several people tell us that "this is a bad neighborhood. You should probably leave. There is a reason they call this place 'Murder Manor'." Which is funny because we have already had a lesson inside, and most people I have talked to here seem nice enough.  Well, at least not likely to pull a gun out on me or something.  Our Mission President said "well, just be smart and follow the Spirit.  Don't try to prove something by going in there, just be smart." 
So that's what we will do. Be smart.

This new part of the ward boundaries just means we have a lot more people to talk to.  This is my biggest area so far.  If we walked it would take us a few hours to get from one side to another.  We have some people we are teaching.  Right now it's mostly old people or teenagers.  I'm still figuring out this new are as far as members and people being taught go...there is a lot of people here.

One of those "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" signs is in our area too.  Maybe I'll get a picture with it.  But we're not supposed to look like tourists, and it is on a busy highway...we'll see.

It's slightly cooler here in Vegas.  But it's also more humid, believe it or not.  In Henderson it would jump to 115 degrees, but we super clear.  Here, it's more like 101, but it'll jump to 50 percent humidity and then back to 2 percent in a matter of hours.  It is more muggy here...

Oh, also it's monsoon season.  It floods here a wee bit.  There was water up to my knees during a thunderstorm here.  My companion and I helped a car that got water in its engine, get out of the flood-zone.  There were waves coming up to a gas station.  It was cray!  We had lightning right above us.  Flash-boom style lightning.  It was super fun!  My shoes and socks were soaked, but the work moves on!

I have a few pictures.
A few are of the flooding.  One is of a hidden needle we found on a fire extinguisher case.  Another is a gridlocked checkers game my companion and I got last p-day.  Another is Elder Picinich and I riding.  He let me have a bike he got, that is working much better than the one I brought, so that is why that bike looks different...
And a picture of one of the typical Vegas vehicles.

-Elder Moore

July 17th, 2018

Another Day in Paradise

Aaaaaahhhhh snap
I'm actually over in Vegas now

Well, technically it's paradise, but I could bike to the strip from where I'm at and come back before lunchtime if I wanted to.  (But the strip is red-zoned, so that means I'd get sent home if I went there)

Wow this place is way different than Henderson.  In a few days I have learned of three different types of helicopters.  One is a grand canyon tour helicopter that flies high over our heads and goes up and down the grand canyon and also tours Vegas sometimes.  The second is my personal favorite.... It's the Ghetto Bird.  It is a police helicopter that patrols in the sky and spotlights terrible criminal acts and helps direct the cops when something is going down.  The other one I learned about was the Ghetto Hawk.  This is a raiding helicopter.  It fits a squad of officers and can get to locations fast and they kick doors down and wreck people who are of ill intent.  I hear the sirens every day out here.

Although I am actually in the least ghetto area of the zone, it is still way more... "low income" than Henderson.  When we were working in an apartment complex I saw a woman climb out of a dumpster, pick up a bag from the other side, and walk off like nothing happened.  I saw a guy sitting on a rock on the side of the road who was drinking something, and then when we went back that way 4 hours later, he was passed out, totally wasted.  We have a bunch of restaurants here, and the Little Caesars is super sketchy and always seems to have homeless people peddling for money outside.  There is a little shopping center with a "99 cent store" as the main shopping place and the whole parking lot has permanent police cameras set up as 24 hour ministers.  Apparently a ton of stuff happens in that parking lot.  I met a drunk homeless lady on the side of the street one night who had a plastic toy gun stuffed in her pants like it was real, and she drunkenly asked us to say a prayer with her.  Everyone has tattoos. I love it here.  It is so much fun!  I'll be biking down the busiest road I've been on my mission and then everyone will stop, and then a police car or two will zoom on by and then sometimes the Ghetto Bird will start circling an area. 

When me and my companion have asked for referrals from members, I legit got the reply once: don't go to these few houses on the street, they are full of squatters!

This is a whole new world for me.  I love it.

My new companion is Elder Picinich.  He is 26.  He has been a fun companion already.  He has a similar taste in music, he loves guns, and he has had a lot of interesting life experiences that are fun to listen to.

It was bittersweet to leave my last area.  I had a lot of fun, good, and uplifting experiences.  I won't have any pictures of the people I taught dressed in white, but I told all of them that they better message me on Facebook or something when they get Baptized and whatnot.  I taught a good handful of people on my last area, and I won't be able to see them actually partake of Baptism...but it was all worth it, because I saw some lives change.  It was awesome.  I'll honestly probably come back here someday.  It was a good area, and a good few months.

I had a cool experience on Sunday.  A man walked in and he sat down in the chapel between meetings because some other missionaries invited him to church.  The man was going through a tough time with his family, and we were the only missionaries in the chapel.  So we sat with him until his session of sacrament started.  As we talked, I shared Ether 12:27 with him.  I have yet to actually have someone cry over a scripture.  It made me cry too.  It was a cool experience.

A few people in my new wards actually know where St. Anthony is, so that's kinda cool!

Well... Here's to a new area in Vegas!

The Church is True.  The Book is Blue.  (Even in sin city)

-Elder Moore

The two pictures I have are of the strip behind some Palm trees, and me in front of an abandoned apartment.  It was boarded up and the top window had something thrown through it....

***A note from the blog-poster: Elder Moore has a new mailing address and is able to receive his mail directly on a daily basis.  He would love a letter from you!***

Elder S. Porter Moore
NEVADA LAS VEGAS MISSION
4800 E Tropicana Ave
Apt 1107
Las Vegas, NV 89121-6763

July 10th, 2018

Paradise

Hello Friends and Family!

We got transfer calls yesterday.  Elder Ficklin is staying here, and he is taking over the district as the district leader.  Apparently...this area is now the ensign area for our district, so now it is the district leader area.  I can happily say me and Elder Perez basically helped make it one, and Elder Ficklin gets to lead it now.  Oh and our district is now a sistrict.  All sisters except for the DL.

Well...I'm out of here.
I am going to Paradise.
No really, that's what it is called.  This zone has the Strip in it.  So...I'm out of Henderson.  I'm going to be in Vegas for reals this time. 
So my new area, from what I gathered from other missionaries and Google maps, is that this area is not "ghetto" but... "low income". 
Also this zone has a super high baptismal rate...So I will probably be busy for the next six weeks.  But I'm finally going to Vegas!  Goodbye Hendertucky!
(Hendertucky is one of Henderson's nicknames...because of all the semi-redneck culture that is sometimes around here.  "God, Guns and Guts made America great" kind of culture)

On the 4th of July, I had roughly 5 dinners. So much food....

We had to go in early, but luckily our neighborhood had all of the illegal fireworks, so they were going off for a while.  Big ol' mortars.  Reminds me of Dad.

I don't have many photos today.  Too busy this time around...

We had a ton of lessons this past week. There are a few families that I am going to say goodbye to.  They better tell me when they get baptized...I've been working with them for 4 and a half months now, and they are getting close to their dates and some are even trying to figure out when they can get married...

I had to give talks in both of the wards last Sunday.  It was an odd foreshadowing of me leaving.  Famous last words I guess...

We met this guy the other day who let us into his garage.  He had some couches and a TV in there, and a ton of booze.  I sat on the couch and noticed a bong on the table.  I've never been so close to a bong before.  Suffice it to say, the guy was super friendly, but also super drunk.  People are funny.  He also was making a shovel into a one string guitar.  He was a metal-head, so when he talked about music and guitar stuff...I knew what he was talking about.  It smelled weird in his garage.  Tobacco-alcohol-weed-puppy-dog smell.

Here is one of my favorite scriptures

Enos 1
3 Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.
4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.
5 And there came a voice unto me, saying Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.
6 And, I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.
7 And I said: Lord, how is it done?
8 And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou has never before heard nor seen.  And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole.

Have some Faith.  Because everything will be okay.

-Elder Moore

P.S. Elder Ficklin is allergic to peanuts, so that is why that picture is funny.

July 3rd, 2018

SNARF

Hello Friends and Family

I have pictures this time

Oh boy this week was interesting.  One of the pictures I have is a selfie of me and Elder Ficklin.  You can't really tell, but the two cars in the back are cop cars.
Story time

Elder Ficklin and I were tracting up a street and stopping by members we don't know and basically just finding out if they are active or not.  We go to this one house that says they are Members and we knock.  The door flies open as soon as we do, and this dude covered in piercings opens the door and looks wide eyed straight at us like we just committed a felony.  We ask him "How is it going?" And he looked shocked and said "TERRIBLE!" Really loudly.  We told him that is unfortunate and we asked if we could do anything.  He was shocked again and this time with a hint of annoyance shouted "NO".  We then asked if one of the members was around, and he said "Nobody here is members!" Even though I can see a picture of the general authorities on the wall behind him.  Well, we see this guys mom.  She like peeks her head out and then sort of...runs away back down the hall.  Well, we finish up the conversation and head out because he was not happy and she ran away.  We kept knocking and then we hear a garage door open.  And then a car pulls out.  And then we hear the guy yelling "MOM! MOM WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" And he starts banging his fists on her window.  Well, she drives away and he runs back inside, and the next thing we know the cops showed up.  So we took a selfie with them in the back.

We went on a hike this morning.  Well, a bike ride and then a hike.  There were some cave things and that was fun. We took some pictures.

The other day a lizard go in our house.  It was on my desk and I took a picture of it.  We set it outside.  And it ran off.  We have been seeing a ton of lizards lately.

I have one picture of a half burnt notebook from some poor sods English class.  He forgot to burn it all the way.  I was reading some of it.

We have met a lot of cool people lately.  People have been prepared for some Gospel Goodness.

Elder Ficklin is a military brat, so for doctor visits and such he goes to an air force base.  So yesterday, we went to Nellis Air Force Base.  It was fun.  I got to see the real Las Vegas.  Everything is super ghetto.  Actual ghetto.  I saw a Little Caesars next to a liquor store and the walls looked like they were about to fall own and they were grimy.  It was fun!

So here is a cool scripture

Alma 13
13 And now, my brethren, I would that he should humble yourselves before God, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance, that ye may also enter into that rest.

I have had to remember sometimes that humility is key to doing the will of God, as well as meekness.  Meekness is different from humility in the sense that a meek person is teachable and willing to learn from someone else, while a humble submits to our Father's will, because He knows it is better than his own.

That is something I have been reminded of lately.

Anyways...Love Y'all, this as a shorter email but I have more pictures.  It's been fun.  Love you bye

-Elder Moore

One of the families we are working with have a lizard and so they asked us to feed them today while they are out of town.  I also got myself a little chess set for about 5 bucks.  Worth it.