Prayer. Answered.

Hello Family and Loved ones!

Another week full of miracles and the Lord placing people in our path and softening the hearts of those who we teach. I'm pretty exhausted though. It seems like everyday when we got home I was just dead. All apart of being a missionary! I love it! 

Well first off with Humberto and Martha. A LOT has happened this week with them. At first, it was just Humberto who was on date for baptism and was progressing. But at the beginning of the week when we saw them, we were following up again on baptism and seeing how they felt about it. And then out of the blue Martha told us, "well, I've been thinking a lot about this church. I've searched around a lot in this area and none of the other churches are like this one. So, I'm pretty sure I want to be baptized." 

Prayer. Answered. 

We were very happy at that moment. We've been praying a lot for this family. Especially that Martha's heart would be softened so that they could be baptized together. So now they are both preparing for this Saturday to be baptized! We're very excited for them. In another lesson we had with them we asked Martha more about how she was feeling and she was telling us about the moment when she decided to she need to be baptized. It was after she had attended church last Sunday she had had a dream where Elder Schaefermeyer and I came and knocked on her door and began teaching her. The feeling she had during that dream lingered as she woke up late in the night and at that moment she knew she needed to be baptized.

Last week we were also able to set up a dinner/lesson at their fellowshippers home. It was a great lesson and everything went perfectly. Everyone please keep Humberto and Martha in your prayers that they will be ready for their baptism for this Saturday!

We had a regional conference yesterday that was super great. It was broadcast in from Salt Lake and Elder Renlund spoke. Really amazing talk and Humberto and Martha really enjoyed it too. 

Here's a scripture I read this morning in my personal study that I've never noticed this week but hit me very hard: Mosiah 4:26

"And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants."

I love King Benjamin's message so much about how if we want to be healed on the inside and be made whole, we need to forget of ourselves and render service unto others. Because that's when we truly become the Lord's tools and be able to teach others' lives. 

Thanks for all that you do for this great work! I love you all! And have a fantastic week! 

Elder Scott 

Living Water, Bread of Life

Well if you remember me saying last week was pretty rough and it seemed like no one was home and we didn't find a whole lot of new people. This week was pretty much the opposite. It seemed like everyone was home and we were able to see a bunch of miracles and find some amazing people! The Lord truly blessed us this week!

I turned out to have a really awesome birthday. We ended up going to IHOP for lunch and as we were eating, some members came in and sat right next to us. They ended up paying for our meal and having the everyone else in the restaurant sing happy birthday to me. Haha it was kind of embarrassing but it was fun.

We were able to see Humberto and Marta almost every single day this last week. His baptismal date for the 20th is coming up fast. But they're both doing really great though. At first Marta wasn't really all that interested. But now she's progressing a lot they BOTH came to church yesterday. We're planning to have a lesson at their fellow-shippers home this week and we're just so excited for both of them. We're really praying that we will be able to set a baptismal date for Marta soon. And she also said that she may have some trouble  giving coffee. So please keep her in your prayers!

We also had another one of our investigators come to church, Noe. He's a part-member family we've been meeting with for a while and he expectedly came to church! Which is super awesome because he's working swing shift right now so he doesn't get home until very late at night, but he still came. And we have an appointment with him and his family tonight that I'm really excited for.   

We were able to see a miracle yesterday at church during sacrament meeting. We had branch conference and the place was packed. I've haven't seen that many people there before, so that was really cool to see. So when Elder Schaefermeyer and I were preparing the sacrament, we usually have two trays with each tray partially filled and a couple slices of bread. We noticed yesterday how many people there were so we put a few extra cups and another piece of bread to make sure there would be enough. As we were sitting at the table waiting to bless the sacrament, the people just kept coming in. And we realized, there was no way that there was going to be enough for everyone. So I just started praying that there would be enough. And if we would have to bless some more water, it wouldn't be a big deal, but I kept praying. As the two young men started to pass the sacrament, I noticed after the first two rows of people, the water appeared to be almost gone. I was thinking that we probably needed double the amount of what we had. But then something interesting happened, the young men kept passing the trays and people kept taking of the water. Once everyone had partaken, the two young men came back to the table and between the two of them there were five cups left. Just enough for the two young men, Elder Schaefermeyer, me, and one left over. I couldn't believe it.

As I looked at that one lone cup sitting in the tray, I thought of the Savior's miracle of feeding the five thousand. Once everyone was fed, there were still 12 whole baskets left over of bread. And during our sacrament meeting, there was still one cup leftover, even after everyone was fed. The miracle that happened yesterday in sacrament is no where near to what the Savior did. But it was a small tender mercy from the Lord. It also helped me to realize how essential and important it is to take the sacrament. I love that sacred time each week to remember Christ and His Atonement. Because he truly is the living water and the bread of life.      

Here's my scripture for this week, I can't remember if I've picked this one before, but it's a good one: 1 Nephi 3:7

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."

I love this great work. There's always ups and downs and always good times and hard times. But when you see those small miracles and tender mercies it's just enough to keep you going.

Love you all! Have a great week!
Elder Scott

Happy Birthday to ME!

D & C 18

Hello Family!

This week was pretty interesting. We had a TON of appointments fall through which wasn't too fun. And it seemed like we could never really get into anyone's homes to teach. But I have the faith that this week is going to be much better! 

Our most progressing investigator right now is Humberto. I think I've talked a little about him in the past. He's doing really well. He's been reading in the Book of Mormon and he's really enjoying it. He wasn't able to make it to church yesterday because he had to do something with his taxes... not really sure. But, we do have another appointment tonight scheduled that I'm really looking forward to. It really is the best experience being able to teach those who are humble and are desperate for anything that will help them. Because that's exactly what Humberto is like. We're still trying with his wife Marta too. She's slowly coming along, but definitely isn't as quick to commit to things as much as her husband. So keep them in your prayers! 

I've been having a pretty good birthday so far. It's kinda nice to have a birthday on a preparation day. So that's been fun! But other than that it's been a pretty normal day! Oh yeah, and the food bank we did service at this last week found out that it was my birthday today and they had three whole freezer-fulls of cakes. So they let me pick one out and take it home! So I was able to have some cake for my birthday. The Lord always provides! Another cool thing, the Eskildsen's, the members we live with, asked me what my favorite food is. And the first thing that came to my mind was fish 'n' chips. So they made fish 'n' chips for us yesterday! That was also really awesome. Members are the best.      

Here's my scripture for this week: D&C 18:13-15

"And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!

Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people.

And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!"

I'm so grateful for this time that I have to be a missionary. Time is moving by way too fast and that's pretty stressful. But something very valuable I learned this week was about how joy and happiness are a choice. It's all about our perspective on things and it's our faith in Christ and in ourselves that determine that happiness. This life is meant to be enjoyed! Especially on the mission! I give thanks every day for the chance that I have to be in service 100% of the time. It's something that I'm going to miss a lot.

I love this gospel and I know that it's true. I love you all and I hope you have a great week! 

Elder Scott