June 18 2012

Hey everyone!

This week went really well. My companion and I really buckled down, and we saw some really cool blessings because of it. We made a commitment that we would work as hard as we could. We talked to everyone we could, and we asked for referrals from everybody. Even if people weren't interested in hearing from us, almost all of them had suggestions about who we could go see. At the end of the week, we had taught twice as many lessons as we had set a goal for, and we had a few new investigators to teach. It's amazing what can happen when you work. It's just like what it says in Alma 26:27. If you work, even if you are tired, the Lord will give you success. I know that as we continue to work as hard as we can, we will continue to see those blessings. Thanks for everything!

Sincerely,
Elder Day

June 11, 2012

Hey everyone!

This week has been great! A lot of cool stuff has happened. This week, my companion and I needed to do a lot of finding activities, because we didn't have very many investigators. The members in our wards aren't very good at giving us referrals, so we did a lot of tracting. I only have time to share one story, but it's pretty cool.

We had been tracting for a while, and we had some success. A couple people were interested, and we had two return appointments so far. We were getting to the end of the street, and it was almost lunch time, so my companion and I were both pretty tired. We knocked on a door, and this huge guy answered. We talk to him for a few seconds, then he interrupted us to say, "I'm Mormon." It turns out that he was an inactive member who hadn't been to church in almost 40 years. For the past week, he had been feeling like he needed to go back to church. That morning, he woke up super sick, so he had to stay home from work. If he hadn't been sick, he wouldn't have been home when we stopped by. Because he was home though, he met us, and now he's agreed to meet with us this week, and to start going back to church.

Everything is still going really well, and I'm having a great time in Colorado!

Sincerely,
Elder Day

June 4, 2012

Hey everyone!

The Colorado Springs Mission is awesome! I got here last Monday, and I've been having a great time! On Monday and Tuesday, I stayed at the Mission Home, and did some orientation stuff with the Mission President, and the AP's. I also had the chance to go out with missionaries from the surrounding area and tract. On Monday I went with Elder Ault to a trailer park by the Stake Center. The first door I ever knocked on was a members trailer, so that was cool. No one else opened their door, and there were huge dogs everywhere. It was cool. On Tuesday, I went with Elder Jensen to the neighborhoods around the Stake Center. We talked to a lot of people, and found that area a few potential investigators.

I met my companion, and found out my area on Wednesday! My companion is Elder Talbot. He's really cool. He's from Atlanta, Georgia, and he knows Connor, and the rest of the Day's down there really well, so that's cool. I'm serving in the North Eastern zone of Colorado Springs right now, and its great. I can see the Air Force Academy, and the mountain NORAD is in from my area. The area is great. My companion and I have already reactivated a less active family, and their three kids are scheduled to be baptized on June 30th! Their names are Ashley, Daniel, and Brittney Penley. They are really awesome. Brittney is only 11 years old, but she has so much faith. It's so cool to see. Daniel is 12, and he loves to be outside. He loves camping and riding bikes, and playing basket ball. He is a ton of fun. The whole family is great. I've been having a ton of fun here in the past week The people here are so awesome! The members are great too! We serve two wards in my area, so we get fed by the members almost every day. I almost never have to cook for myself, which is a huge blessing. I don't know what I would do if I had to cook dinner for myself every night.

My address here is:

Elder Samuel Day
4090 Center Park Drive, Suite 4
Colorado Springs, CO 80916

That is the Mission Office address, so anything sent to me needs to have my full name on it. Thanks for being so great everybody!

Sincerely,
Elder Day

May 25, 2012

Hey everyone!

 

This week has been pretty normal, except that I got temporarily reassigned on Wednesday! On Monday, I will be leaving to serve in the Colorado, Colorado Springs mission untill my visa arrives. I'm really excited. I can't wait to get to Colorado.

 

Other than that, this week has been pretty normal. On Sunday, the Provo Temple President spoke at the Fireside. He talked about temples, and how special and sacred they are. He also talked a little about why all missionaries need to go throught the temple before their mission. I think it was one of my favorite talks that i've seen so far.

 

On Tuesday, Elder Rasband, of the Presidency of the 70 gave the devotional. His talk was about how important it is that missionaries ahve the Spirit with them, and how we can make sure that we do. I really enjoyed that one also.

 

Wednesday was awesome. I was assigned to be a host for the new missionaries that arrived. That was really fun. I helped them through the check-in process, and took them to their residences and classrooms. I was actually the host for an Elder Day from Calfornia. He is serving in one of the Salt Lake missions. Now I've met two other Elder Day's, but I have no idea if we're related in any way. Just a couple hours after I hosted, I got my reassignment from the Travel Office, so that was really cool too.

 

That's about everything exciting that's happened this week. I can't wait until Monday, when I finally get into the field. Colorado is going to be a lot of fun!

 

Love,

Elder Day

May 18, 2012

Hey everyone!

 

Everything is still going great here. I'm starting to understand Portuguese really well. Speaking it can still be a little difficult sometimes, but I'm making a ton of progress, and I'm having a lot of fun. I've only got a week and a half until I should be leaving the MTC, either for a reassignment or for Brazil, so I need to learn as much as I can, as fast as I can. I'm not worried about it though, and I'm really excited to get out of the MTC, and into the field.

 

L. Tom Perry spoke at devotional on Tuesday! I had no  idea that he was so tall, or that he was 92 years old. He definitely doesn't look that old. He doesn't sound like it either. He gave a really great talk on the Priesthood, and how powerful it is. For most the talk, he was pretty quiet, but at the end he said really loudly, "I know the power of the priesthood!" When that happened, I saw a few people in front of me jump awake. It was pretty funny. That was the beginning of his testimony, and the rest of it was just as powerful. Now that Elder Perry has spoken, I have had the privilege of hearing five Apostles in the seven weeks that I've been here. I've been trying to remember each talk as well as I can, because I don't think I'll have an opportunity to hear from Apostles so frequently again.

 

I was finally able to submit my final visa application on Wednesday, so it shouldn't be very much longer until I get my visa. There's still a chance that I will get reassigned, but I'm confident that I will be able to go straight to Brazil.

 

Other than those two things, this week has been a lot like the other six that I've been here. I love you guys!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Day

 

P.S. My new mailbox is 129. Anything sent to me should be addressed to that mailbox number. Thanks!

May 11 2012

Hey everybody!

I think that this has been one of the best weeks here so far! Fast Sunday was really good. It was really cool to hear all the members of my branch bear testimony in Portuguese. It was even cooler to be able to understand what they were saying. For the Sunday night fireside, the head of the Missionary Public Programs department spoke. He gave an awesome talk about charity, and why it's important to love the people you serve.

On Tuesday, Elder Hinkley visited the MTC. I was walking out of my classroom to go to lunch, when a security officer asked my companion and I to hold the door for some people that were coming through. When they walked through, one of the men that walked through said, "Thank you!" Another man started talking to us about where we are serving. When we said Brazil, the first man turned around and said, "Well in that case, obrigado!" When he turned around, I realized that it was Elder Hinkley. He walked with us all the way to the cafeteria, and I got to shake his hand! Elder Christopherson gave the devotional that night, and he spoke about the nature, and relationship between the God Head. I've seen four Apostles here now, and they have all given awesome talks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will get to see Elder Holland, or Elder Bednar while I'm here.

On Thursday, I met a few people who are going to the Raleigh mission. They're really cool, and I've been able to spend some time with them and tell them what it will be like. I also ran into someone who knows the Tuckfield's. His name is Elder Lucas, and he's going to a mission in Mexico.

I finished the Book of Mormon last week! I started in first Nephi when I arrived here, and now I'm done! I started over a few days ago, and I'm going to try and finish again before I get to the field.

Hopefully next week will be as good as this last one was! I miss you guys!

Love,

Elder Day

May 4, 2012

Hey everyone!

 

I'm now almost two thirds of the way finished at the MTC! Time really flies here. It really doesn't feel like I've been here for over five weeks now. Everything is going really well, including Portuguese. I'm learning it a lot faster than I expected. I can speak better Portuguese after less than three weeks of study than I could speak German after a whole school year! I've taught a little less than ten lessons in Portuguese now, and they've all gone really well. Tomorrow, I have my first TRC (Teaching Resource Center.) I'm really excited for that. I will get to teach members from the community who come to the MTC to be "investigators." They are all really good at it, and it creates a really authentic feeling.

 

On Sundays, after the fireside, they screen Church movies, and old talks from General Authorities for the missionaries to watch. Last Sunday, I watched a talk that David A. Bednar gave during a Christmas devotional at the MTC a few years ago. I think it was one of my favorite talks that I've ever seen. It's called, "the Character of Christ." I don't know if it is available to the general public, but if you can, I really suggest listening to, or reading it. It is all about, as the name suggests, the Character of Christ. Elder Bednar said that what makes Christ so special, is that in situations where all of us would turn inward, and be selfish, Christ turns outward. He mentioned examples from the prayer in Gethsemane, and also from when He was on the cross. Even while Christ was hanging from the cross, He was ministering to the criminals next to him. He was always more concerned with the well-being of others, than he was for himself. There are other great examples of this that he mentioned, but I don't have time to type them all now.

 

Everything is still going really well here, and I am really enjoying myself. I love being able to spend sixteen hours a day studying, learning, and teaching about the gospel of Christ, and there is nowhere else that I would rather be right now. I love and miss you guys!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Day