October 30th, 2018

Murklz


Hey friends and family, how is it going?

I named this email "murklz" because it means miracles. We had an awesome thing happen to us yesterday...

But first let me tell you about the Baptism we had. I added a picture. It's funny because those kids are actually super cool and super funny but they look quiet and reserved in the picture. Anyways, they are Harlyquin (yes, like the comic book character) and Julian. They are super good kids. Their dad is a member of the church and they were a lot of fun to teach. One of the reasons I like these kids is because they requested that only their family a few close friends show up for their baptism, so not too many people. I appreciate that. Less people=less phone calls for us.

My companion also decided to crash on some grass. Grass is hard to find over here in the desert. He didn't notice that I took the picture, but I showed him later...

I will be attending an ARP (Addiction Recovery Program) meeting today with someone we are teaching. That will be fun.

Tomorrow for Halloween, the Temple President and Mission President coordinated so that most of our Mission will be in the Las Vegas Temple tomorrow evening. It's mostly because we don't proselyte on Halloween after 6, and nobody goes to the Temple on Halloween. So it worked out perfectly so that most of the mission will be going to the temple tomorrow night! I'm excited. I love going to the Temple.

A few days ago we got a referral from somebody who recently moved to Las Vegas. A husband and wife came here for work, but they ended up not getting any and are homeless for a time. We met them at the chapel because the wife's friend requested that they meet with us. We had a lesson in the chapel after showing them around. We shared the story of Joseph Smith and the Restoration of the Gospel. They were saying phrases like "I just want to learn the truth of what God wants for me" and "This is answering questions I have had for years. It's answering questions that I didn't even know I had". It was amazing. They were brought to tears by the end and they wanted to come to church and be Baptized, only after the first lesson. They said they were going to read the Book of Mormon immediately. We learned about their backgrounds and what churches they grew up in and all the questions they had were answered in a span of 20 minutes. The spirit was strong and they are truly one of the coolest miracles I have had on the mission. I feel like Alma...
Alma 32:6
...he beheld that their afflictions had truly humbled them, and that they were in a preparation to hear the word.

It was humbling for me. They are an amazing little family. The Lord is working His work on His people too. I know that the Lord still works mighty miracles today. Because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Thanks for everything

Love you bye
-Elder Moore

October 23rd, 2018

Fun fun fun

Dear Friends and Family

It has been a good week!
We have had some super solid lessons with some really cool people. We have been working hard. I go to bed early now, for the most part. We had a lot of random difficulties emerge this week, but the whole time I could only think that it was just minor things that will help us gain experience.

I also fixed our dryer that broke. I had to take the back off and get the knob fixed that gets the dryer moving... It was fun.
I also had to fix a few flat tires, and also fix dinner a few times. We made cranberry chicken, pasta, and rice with chicken. I actually cooked the chicken for that one. We pretty much feed ourselves anymore, but I like it. I also got my hands on some venison from a member.

I have recently been re-reading the general conference talks. They are super good! I definitely sustain the church leaders. The Lord is hastening His work and is preparing us for His return some day.

I sat in a chair and it had some weird sticky stuff on it that stained one of my shirts. It was gross.

We are having another Baptism today. More kids. They are in the other ward we cover, but their story is similar to the last Baptism. Single parent member with some awesome kids. I'll get pictures for my next email.

My companion lost his wallet. That was a bummer. But we got everything figured out I believe. Based on where we lost it... It is gone. Some homeless person or someone probably took it wherever it was dropped at.

I was asked recently if I could ever see myself living in Las Vegas. At first I thought definitely no, but if it was just me and I was just working or something, I could actually see it. I am big and chillax and so nobody would really mess with me in the ghetto parts. They tend to just leave us be as missionaries. Maybe it would be different without the nametags... but I think I'd be okay. I don't mind the craziness.

I weighed myself the other day, and unless the scale is wrong, I think I have lost weight since we started feeding ourselves. Not a whole lot, maybe just a few pounds, but enough for me to notice. We get enough to eat, but we also aren't obligated to stuff ourselves to please the members. It's... nice. Portion control is more likely when we have only so much to eat.

Something a bit more spiritual I have been thinking about is how I pray. I have been trying to ask Heavenly Father to strengthen me and change me to be able to face my own challenges and burdens rather than asking Him to make my problems go away. It has made me feel... good. I'm actually happier since I have started doing that. This is mortality so obviously we have problems and challenges, and quite frankly, they don't really just go away. However I firmly believe we can be changed and be strengthened to overcome them. I know that this is part of the plan. Repentance is change. Trials and tribulations require us to be tested and strained, but this leads to being strengthened. And of course this strength comes from Faith in Jesus Christ. This is one of the most central points of Doctrine. Almost everything is predicated on our Faith. Before we repent, we must have Faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ as well as His ability to strengthen and heal us. We take the Sacrament every weekend because of our Faith in Jesus Christ and in remembrance of that sacrifice. We make covenants in the waters of Baptism and onwards in the House of The Lord because of our Faith in Jesus Christ and His Gospel. There is a scripture or two I wanted to share that goes along with this...
Alma and his brethren are strengthened in the Lord
Mosiah 24
15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.

Alma had a lot of Faith!

And of course Philippians 4
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

I think I shared that one recently in a previous email, but it is worth sharing again.

I can definitely testify of the power of Christ and His atoning sacrifice. I have been strengthened to do certain things as a missionary that over a year again I would never have thought I could do. The Lord is Real and He will strengthen you in your trials and struggles. I know this to be true.

Well, that is all for now. Thanks for all the love and support!
-Elder Moore

October 16th, 2018

Chicken and Potatoes

Hey Friends and Family

This week was good. Elder Spataro is super chill and he is a hard worker. We get along great because of how laid back we are.

Since the dinner change happened I have learned how to make Cranberry Chicken and Barbeque chicken in the crockpot. Both are super good. Cranberry Chicken plus potatoes that have soaked up the cranberry and French dressing mix are also super duper good together. I enjoy cooking with a crockpot. It is so easy. We mostly just have chicken and potatoes but hopefully we will get something new to try. We also made and ate Adobo chicken, which is also good.

We have been busy. We had one day that was full of scheduled appointments. Most of them fell through, but it was almost fun to bike around and just jump from appointment to appointment. We met a lot of nice people too.

I went on exchanges with my district leader Elder Draper again. That was good. He interviewed someone in our area so they can get Baptized. Well, it was actually 2 people. More kids. I'll send more details next week when it happens.

It has actually been getting chilly. The weather is ranging from about 60 degrees to the late 70s. Until today. The High is supposed to only be 73 and the low is 48. I may have to break out my sweater.

Sorry for no pictures. We have been busy all week. Next time I may have a picture or 2 to send....

The more and more I serve on the mission the more I realize how amazing the Gospel is. I have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of my favorite lines from General Conference was from the talk by Neil L Andersen. In it he said "This is mortality".  Life is tough. Life is hard. But the Gospel changes us to be able to overcome our problems and challenges. I remember growing up how I used to view the Gospel as a way to make the burdens go away or make the challenges disappear. I have found in my missionary experience that more often than not, our problems and burdens do not just magically disappear or evaporate like they were never there. Rather I see myself changing and being strengthened and lifted up in order to more easily bare the burdens of life. I truly believe that we are strengthened by Christ and made stronger than our foes and our challenges. It is true like this scripture says...
Philippians 4
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

That is all for now. I hope y'all have a good week!

-Elder Moore

October 9th, 2018

Wait... How long is church?

Hello friends and family!

What a wonderful week it has been...
I got a new companion, Elder Spataro, from Seattle Washington, we had General Conference, which is always good, and we recently had a nice mission change.
Well last week I mentioned that I don't know anything about my new companion. Well... now I do. He just came from the Peach Springs and Havasupai area, which is the most coveted area in our mission. It is two native American reservations. Peach Springs is off of route 66. Radiator springs from cars was actually loosely based off of it (to give you an idea of its seclusion). The Havasupai reservation is in the Grand Canyon. So they hike every week to switch off where they go. But because of the dangers at night time, the missionaries go in at 6 o clock every night. He was telling me a lot of crazy cool stuff from there. It sounds like a lot of fun. The one part that was kind of flattering was that roughly 4 or 5 missionaries who served in that area all thought I was going there or am going there soon. I would love to go there, obviously. Fry bread and hiking... sounds good to me.

Elder Spataro loves this area already though. We went knocking doors in a weekly apartment complex. We met... an apostle, a psychic, and a Satanist all in a row. It was... hilarious. We had a great laugh afterwards. Weekly places are full of interesting people.

Elder Spataro and I are both super duper chill so we get along just fine. He has had experience as a Zone Leader and a District Leader, but for some reason he is now a grunt missionary with me. He has been out a month and a half longer than me. He luckily knows how to cook a few things.

Which reminds me. We had a new announcement in our mission. From now on Member meals are only allowed if the members have someone for us to teach present at the meal. Weekends are the only exception. So everybody in the mission was given a crockpot and some simple meal plans. I am stoked, I want to learn how to cook some stuff. In peach springs/Havasupai, they do not have member meals, so Elder Spataro knows how to cook a few things. I know how to turn on the crockpot, so that is good.

General Conference was good. The new church times will be cool. I'm pretty sure I could see my parents shouting for joy over that announcement. I like it a lot. When President Nelson spoke about the name of the church it made a lot of sense to me. This is Christs Church. I felt the spirit strongly confirm that this was the will of the Lord. I am not a Mormon. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ.

I also just remembered that I have not taken any pictures again. Whoops.

It is finally down in the 80s and 70s. Fall finally came. It has been a little cloudy too. It feels nice.

At transfers I saw Elder Ficklin, one of my previous companions. I learned that many of the people I helped to teach in my last area got Baptized. That was good to hear. Sometimes we don't see the end result of our actions, but trust in the Lord that all things will work out through the Savior. They will.

Keeping General Conference in mind, here is a scripture...

Jacob 4
10 Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works.
11 Wherefore, beloved brethren, be reconciled unto him through the atonement of Christ, his Only Begotten Son, and ye may obtain a resurrection, according to the power of the resurrection which is in Christ, and be presented as the first-fruits of Christ unto God, having faith, and obtained a good hope of glory in him before he manifesteth himself in the flesh.

Christ has died and risen again so that we can return to the Father with our families. Families truly can be together forever, and it is through Jesus Christ, the Lord, The Master, The Great Mediator, and the Savior of the World that these things are made possible. The more I work and the more experience I gain the more I know this grand truth. I know that My Redeemer Lives.

I hope you all have a great week!

-Elder Moore

October 2nd, 2018

Transfers Happened Again

Transfers are happening

Elder Picinich is outa here. He is off to Henderson. I will be here with an Elder Spataro. He is coming from Peach Springs and the Havasupai reservation in the Grand Canyon. So... from the wilds to the wilds hahaha
I don't know anything about him.

We took district pictures. I also got the picture at the Baptism. That is Manny and Kelly. They are funny kids, but spiritual. I had the opportunity to Confirm them on Sunday.
Actually we had a 3rd Baptism technically, but that... was strange. Apparently some Sister Missionaries got permission to teach a young married women in our ward for some reason. Which was weird because they were the Young Single Adult sister missionaries... and the woman was married. We were confused. I didn't have pictures from that because we did not know who she was. Oh well.

We also saw a nasty spider.

So as you can see from the district pictures we took, I made a face in the last serious one. Plus my Companion and I are wearing our funeral ties. It is my favorite tie. The sisters in our district wanted to stand and make us sit down, because apparently the opposite is usually what people do. I don't really remember.

One picture is of the sun casting a shadow across the sky behind a nasty thunderhead that was rolling in. It was supposed to rain but... It has not.

I also got a low quality picture of the strip and the ghetto bird flying overhead.

My companion Elder Picinich gave me a nice compliment. He told me that he wouldn't mind being companions with me again, and that I showed him to how to work hard and still have fun. I still stand by the motto "work hard and Play hard". Honestly it is best to give everything your all, You will have better memories, and will be more satisfied. That includes work, play, relationships, and eating food. (I have No shame on that last one.)

I am going to be spending Halloween in this Area too. That will be fun. People... do not go trick or treating here I guess. Understandably so.

We have some good things lined up for this next six weeks. My hope is to Baptize a few more people before I leave. Well... It is already planned out for a few weeks into October. I believe the third week, but we shall see.

I was reading in Mosiah this morning in chapter 4 and 5. They are good chapters. A couple of verses stuck out to me.
Mosiah 5
12 I say unto you, I would that ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts, that ye are not found on the left hand of God, but that ye hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, and also, the name by which he shall call you.
13 For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?

I was thinking about that this morning. When we keep God's commandments and do His will, we become His servants. We are doing His will according to His desires (which requires us to be meek and humble before the Lord). By doing so, we become more like Him and at the last day it will be seen and known that we indeed are His servants simply because we do His will. If a servant does not do the will of his master, then he is not really a servant, and must follow some other master. I Do know that if we follow the Lord and Keep His commandments we will not only be counted as His servants, but also counted as a good and righteous person. I know also that we will be Happy and shall receive a great abundance of lasting Joy that will continue with us into the eternities.

Have a great week y'all!
- Elder Moore