WEEK 96 (CORRECT) *99

The final email I will send out as a missionary!  I can't believe it's finally here: It's pretty hard to believe my mission is coming to an end.  This week was a pretty good week!  For P-day, we went to Top Golf (I seriously need to improve my golf game when I get home, haha).  Afterwards, we got to drive past Levi's stadium which was pretty cool.  We went grocery shopping, we worked out, and we talked with our families!  To end the night, we went and tried to visit a couple of our friends so that we could try and get some work in but none of them were home! 

On Thursday, we shared our outbound testimonies with the mission over Zoom, and I bore my testimony on the importance of loving people for who they are, embracing a growth mindset, and the importance of maintaining a positive attitude!  I also bore my testimony on how the gospel enables us to become the best version of ourselves, both spiritually and physically, and how the times I was the most happy and accomplished as a missionary was when I was striving to be positive and righteous in every single thing I did!  We also had Zone Council that day since the Saratoga Sisters had to help with the transfer roster the following Tuesday!  All the outbound missionaries gave training for the Zone Council!  I trained the Zone on the importance of thinking, saying, and acting as the Savior would and looking for the good in everything (regardless of the scenario or situation you are in.)  I love the quote from President Nelson where he says, "The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our life and everything to do with the focus of our lives," which is so true! After the Zone Council, we weekly planned and then we visited a couple of our friends!  We were able to help get Pascual ready by getting his baptismal form filled out!  We were also able to get him some clothing he could use during and after his baptism! (I bought him a white shirt and a tie which he really appreciates).  

On Friday, I got to go to the mission home for RMTC.  RMTC is basically a whole day training for outbound missionaries where we talk about our future goals and plans!  I was able to write and take a bunch of notes as well!  President Larson gave me really good advice about AI!  Instead of worrying about it, we should use it as an advantage, regardless of what career one goes into, and how most successful people are able to adapt and react to change when certain things occur!  We talked a lot about relationship advice, life skills we have and maintain, the importance of serving and being part of the gospel, etc. It was a really good day, but my favorite part of the day was when we read in the scriptures together and discussed the significance of John Chapter 6!  This is one of my favorite chapters in the New Testament because it teaches us how, at times during our lives and or our journeys in the gospel, certain things may pop up that cause us to question or doubt certain things (In this scripture, Jesus was explaining how the Apostles had to eat of his bread and drink of his blood to obtain eternal life {he was foreshadowing the Atonement and the sacrament but the apostles didn't know that yet}.  Because of this, many fell away after hearing that because they lacked sufficient faith in the Savior.  However, Peter and the rest of the 12 decided to stay since they knew Christ was the only way and person that they could go through to be saved! They knew they had nowhere else to go except Christ!  And of course, later, they were able to understand that Jesus Christ was foreshadowing his Atonement and the Sacrament.  

For us, there will be many times throughout our lives and our discipleship where certain things may arise that cause us to think or question something.  If we have faith in Jesus Christ, stick to what we know to be true, have patience, and diligently seek after resources that help us to find truth, everything will be ok!  There will always be answers to any question you may have!  Sometimes it requires patience, the disciples having to wait to understand what Jesus was teaching them, for example, but answers and knowledge always come!  It was a good day, and it got me thinking about the future and where and who I want to be! 

On Saturday, we had the baptism of Pascual!  It was a really good service, but it took most of the day to prepare!  We made sure to buy the food, clean the chapel, print and create the pamphlets, and set up the chapel!  However, it turns out that the warm water wasn't working that day, so all we had was cold water!  We tried everything to figure out how to fix the heater, but nothing worked!  So eventually, out of desperation, we called up the missionaries around us to bring us pots so that we could boil water in the kitchen and then dump it in the fountain, haha!  The water didn't get much warmer, but Pascual was such a good sport about it!  The service went fantastically!  It genuinely was one of the most spiritual services I've been to in my time as a missionary!  I was able to baptize Pascual, and Hermano Packard was able to confirm him!  One of the youth of our ward was able to give a talk on Baptism (he's going to the same mission as my cousin, Preston, so I was able to show him his Facebook).  He's learning a dialect, though, which will be super cool for him!  I'm so happy for Pascual, and he's going to be such an amazing member of the ward!  He was super grateful for us, and we were able to express gratitude to one another after his baptism! The ward is going to be so blessed to have him!  He has such a strong desire to serve and help everyone around him!  He is genuinely one of the most wholesome souls I have ever met!  I'm so grateful and I feel so blessed that I was able to come to Los Altos and help teach and baptize him!  I know for a fact that I was sent down here for the final six weeks of my mission so that I could help Pascual make a covenant with God! 

On Sunday, he was able to get an interview for the Priesthood, and he will now be ordained to the office of Elder on Sunday and receive the Aaronic Priesthood!  He's also going to go to the temple soon and do baptisms for the dead! I'm so proud of Pascual, and he will forever be one of my good friends!  We were also privileged to be able to teach the Sunday school lesson that day!  We read through Alma 42 with the class, and we taught them about the Fall of Adam, how the fall has blessed us, and why it was necessary, and how the Atonement of Jesus Christ saves us from spiritual and physical death!  We also showed them a video that the church had produced a little while ago that explained to them this scripture!  Come follow Me is good, but for new members and friends investigating the church, they need to read in the Book of Mormon and understand the principles of the gospel beforehand!  I hope the missionaries can continue to teach and help the class!  Not trying to sound prideful but we definitely run the classes better than the members haha! Most of Sunday we had to pack up my things and get the apartment clean!  I also had to plan a couple things for when I got home!  Elder Fuller got a really good companion to serve with him named Elder Garcia!  He's from Columbia and is bilingual!  They'll do really good together! 

On Monday for P-day, I had to go do my outbound interview with President Larson!  It went really well!  We talked about how my time as a missionary has blessed me and how I've grown so much spiritually, physically, and mentally!  He shared the parable of the talents with me and explained how my offering towards the Lord was sufficient and how I will be blessed become of my time as a missionary and how I was able to bless the lives I served around forever!  We went over the importance of understanding and reflecting on the past and learning from the past mistakes we make and understanding that we can use these experiences to learn, grow, and become better!  We also talked about how as missionaries, we need to look back at the good experiences as well and always remember how we felt and the joy we received through those experiences (the fun times we had with our companions, the people we were able to meet and teach, the members we met and grew relationships with, the baptisms we had, and how we felt and the joy we received when we were able to teach the restored gospel and how GOOD we felt when doing so!  We talked more about the importance of looking back with gratitude (regardless of whether it was good or bad) and looking forward with hope and faith!  It's my favorite training ever given to us from the Larsons and it's forever changed my mind set and perspective of life!  

President also mentioned to me how I was one the best, if not, the best teaching missionary the mission had!  I never enjoyed tracking or finding (even though I was able to do it and find good in it) but I REALLY enjoyed it and I loved it when we had lessons with people where we were able to sit down together and read in the scriptures!  President Larson recommended I go to teach at the MTC, which is something I really want to do!  To end the interview, we talked about the importance of enduring to the end and how logically the church is true, but how true conversion only comes through the Spirit and understanding the restored gospel (which is so true)!  He also explained how one of my spiritual gifts is being able to meet people where they are and how I was always able to get along with my companions and how all of them look back at me as their friend!  That was one of my biggest goals as a missionary: to get along and be friends with every single one of my companions!  I can confidently say that I was able to get along with every single one of them!  I'm so grateful for every single one of my companions and the experiences, success, trials, etc. that I got to go through with every single one of my companions!  I'm so grateful that I can look back at every transfer and enjoy the time I had with all of my companions!  I plan on continuing to talk with all of them after my mission (especially Slade)! One of the many things I've learned during my time as a missionary is that when we look for the good in others, understanding that none of us are perfect, and that positivity ALWAYS outweighs negativity, etc., we always feel better about not only others, but ourselves as well!  I've said it once, but I'll say it again!  When we think, act, and say as the Savior would, we are so much happier with ourselves and others!  I had a really good interview with President Larson and I'm so grateful for him!  He has such a spiritual gift of making sure every single missionary is felt loved equally and I'm so impressed how he is always able to meet a missionary where they are and how he is always able to help every single one of us out with our individual needs (even though there are over 200 of us haha).  He is such an amazing man and I'm so grateful I was able to serve under him! For the rest of P-day, we went and played games with the Zone and then we had to head over to the chapel to help Pascual find some temple names!  We also helped teach English class and I was able to say my goodbyes to Nayuri and Alfredo!  They were sad to see me go but I got their Facebook so I'm going to stay in contact with them!  I told Nayuri that I would come back to her baptism when she was baptized haha!  I'm super proud of Nayuri and how far she has come since giving her a blessing that one day!  She's progressing really well, and she'll get baptized soon:  I'm so convinced!  Alfredo was sad to see me go but he expressed his gratitude towards me and the time I spent with him teaching him the gospel!  I was also able to share a spiritual thought on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how faith is a principle of action, power and how those who have the most faith have done the spiritual work: which requires discipline and building good and faithful habits!  I also bore my testimony on the Doctrine of Christ and how those who follow Christ and his gospel can gain eternal life!  I hope my testimony was able to touch the hearts of those at the class!  One of the friends came up to me after and thanked me for my testimony and what I taught the class!  He had relapsed and he was so grateful that I had reached out to him the day before!  He told me he was still trying to overcome a couple things, so I supported and helped him by pointing him towards the Savior and sharing how the Savior and his gospel allows us to find peace and strength, especially during trial and difficult times! The power behind prayer, reading the scriptures, studying the gospel and being active in church truly is the greatest way we can avoid sin and live a happy and healthy life. 

I'm so grateful for the time I was given here in Los Altos.  While it wasn't much time, I learned some of the biggest lessons of my mission down here and it'll always have a special place in my heart!  The ward was fantastic and while I wasn't able to get to know them too well, I was able to help serve them and support them!  I'm super grateful for Hermano Packard and all the support he offers to the missionaries!  His English classes are amazing, and we were able to get some much work done with him!  He loves missionary work so much and he was able to help teach us new things!  He is an amazing member and an example on how everyone should be a disciple of Christ!  I was also able to help teach and minister to so many of our amazing friends down here!  Nayuri, Cesar, Kevin, Alfredo, Andres, Hermana Engracia, Pascual were all so amazing and I'm so blessed and grateful that I was able to help teach and serve them the Gospel!  Los Altos will always hold a special place in my heart!  Silicon Valley is amazing, and I can't wait to come back and visit! 

On Tuesday, we went to the Mission Office to drop off our companions and I got to say goodbye to a bunch of the Elders I had served with (Elder Astle, Elder Candia, Elder Johns, Elder Paxman, etc.) I'm seriously so grateful for every companion I was given!  I've been able to learn so much through every single one of them.  After lunch, we went to the temple to do Endowments with the Larsons and the outbound missionaries!  It was a super spiritual experience and a moment I'll remember for the rest of my life.

To end my email, I want to share my testimony and what I've learned and experienced during my time as a missionary!

1. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the most important event ever to have occurred! Because he took upon himself our sins, pains, afflictions, and temptations in the Garden of  Gethsemane and on the cross, and how after three days of his spirit leaving his physical body, being given power and authority by the Father, he was resurrected (gaining victory over physical death: granting us all the opportunity to be resurrected and gain immortality).  Through his Atonement as well, we can call overcome spiritual death (the separation of God spiritually) through his doctrine (which consists of faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, Repentance, being Baptized and making a Covenant with God, receiving the Holy Ghost and being sanctified through it and enduring to the end and making further covenants in the temple: with the covenants being renewed through the Sacrament [the sacred ordinance that we need to participate in every single Sunday]) is the way all of God's Children can enter into his presence again and obtain exaltation and eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom!  All of this is possible because of the ATONEMENT of Christ!

2. We are all sons and daughters of God!  While we are all imperfect, all of us have good qualities and traits!  Instead of focusing on the bad in life, being negative, and striving to cause contention, we should ALWAYS do otherwise!  We need to strive to be peacemakers, to look for the good in others, to be examples of Christ through the things we say, the things we do and think, striving to serve and help others according to their needs and desires, being hopeful and striving to be the best version of ourselves which the gospel provides us.  While there are many times in our lives when we can't control others or certain situations/scenarios, we can always control how WE act and REACT!  The gospel makes us the best versions of ourselves! Gratitude is the best attitude.

3. The Book of Mormon is the most important book ever written!  No other book testifies as powerfully as the Book of Mormon does on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and his doctrine, the Plan of Salvation and over divine purpose as sons and daughters of God, the importance of keeping and making sacred covenants with God, how and why commandments are given to us, and how they bless us both spiritually and physically when we keep them, the gathering of Israel and how we are ALL have a part gathering Israel regardless if you're a missionary or not or if it's on this side of the veil or not (temples).  The Book of Mormon also helps us to understand the need of a restoration and how the Bible can only truly be understood through the Restored Gospel!  The Book of Mormon is one of the greatest blessings given to us and we must read it every single day!  The Book of Mormon also helps us to better understand the importance of enduring to the end and being a lifelong disciple of Christ!  I'm so grateful for the Book of Mormon!

4. When we have faith, we must ALWAYS act upon it! Instead of waiting for something to come to us, we must go to it!  If we want to better understand the Savior, we have to do something about it!  We have to read the scriptures, we have to take notes, we have to pray and study gospel resources given to us, we have to go to church, etc.  This applies to every aspect of our life!  While it can be hard in the moment, if we are able to be diligent, not procrastinate, and do the hard things we don't want to do, we WILL be blessed, and we will be rewarded!  When we set goals, we must act upon our goals and be accountable to them!  When goals are created, they must be measured!  If you want to complete a goal, you must track your progress and be accountable to that goal.  If you want to build muscle, you must work out and diet correctly! You must track, through an app or on a paper, your progress on what exercises you did that day and what you ate that day, so that you can be accountable to those goals!  Goals can only be accomplished through progress, trackability, and accountability! 

5. The truest and most pure source of happiness comes through families!  My family is my greatest source of happiness and one of the greatest blessings I have ever received; I'm so beyond grateful for them and everything they've done for me! My family has taught me the importance of staying on the covenant path and being a disciple of Christ, working hard, and accomplishing goals, finding joy in the moment, living good and meaningful lives, working hard but having fun as well, the importance of being organized and clean, and so much more! My parents and my siblings truly are the most important people I have in my life! They are my best friends and I'm so beyond excited to see and be with them again! The greatest time spent is time spent with your family! I'm so grateful I have such an amazing family I can look up to! My parents taught me so many important life lessons and they showed me how to live a good and meaningful life!  Words and feelings can't describe how much I love my family! Your best friends should be your family: they are for me!

6. The Church of Jesus Christ is the only true and living church here on Earth! We've been blessed with and given a modern day prophet, 12 apostles, the Priesthood Power, the Book of Mormon and additional revelations and doctrines given to us through the Doctrine and Covenants and Peal of Great Price, order and organization within the church, a true and clear understanding of the Plan of Salvation, and how the Savior and his Atonement makes that plan possible, missionary work and temples, and so much more! This is the RESTORED church and Gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ! This is the most important organization on the earth.

7. If we want to act, think and say as the Savior: we must study daily, pray daily, stay worthy, and keep the covenants we've made. By doing the small and little things, every single day, we Endure to the End, and we are blessed spiritually and physically.

8. Being organized and clean in every aspect of your life is so important! When we are organized, clean, and live a balanced healthy lifestyle: our day-to-day lives improve!  Being diligent, avoiding procrastination, and building good habits blesses and strengthen us!

9. The gospel of Jesus Christ allows us to be the most righteous version of ourselves! We are all born with the light of Christ inside of us; as we seek to be an example of the Savior, we are filled with righteousness!

10. The Gospel of Jesus Christ allows us to be family and friends with every single person around us.  Regardless of where we come from, what language we speak, what type of personality we have, what race/ethnicity we are, what type of hobbies we do, etc., we can all be friends and have something in common through the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  I was able to make so many different friends and I was able to grow so many amazing relationships with people COMPLETELY different than me because of the gospel! I'm so grateful for the Gospel and how it has allowed me to meet so many amazing and create lifelong relationships and friendships that have forever changed my life.

Being a missionary was the biggest honor of my life up to this point.  It was so ridiculously hard, and it pushed me way past my limit countless times. My mental health was beyond tested, my stress and anxiety was challenged way more than I thought was possible; countless hours, days, and even weeks were spent where I was challenged and pushed mentally and emotionally to the point where I almost didn't make it. However, I was able to take things one day at a time and I used these experiences to grow, learn, and become not only a better person, but a more devoted, holier disciple of Jesus Christ! I'm so grateful for how hard my mission was and how it made me into the person I am today. I wouldn't be as mature as I am, as wise as I am, I wouldn't understand what true life actually is like and what actually brings happiness in this life and how covenants with God truly bless us in every aspect of our lives.  I'm so grateful for all the amazing moments I had as my time as a missionary as well!  Some of the happiest, most beautiful experiences of my life occurred on my mission as well. I met and made so many relationships with members and friends I taught, I learned the importance of hard work, diligence, creating successful habits, true conversion through the Lord and so much more! I will forever be grateful for my mission and for everything it was.The mission truly has helped prepare me for my future in every single way possible! I'll look back at my mission with gratitude for every single lesson and experience I had. I'll live in the moment, and I'll always look forward towards the future with hope and faith.

Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.  Families can live together forever through the Plan of Redemption of our Heavenly Father.  The Book of Mormon is true. Jospeh Smith was a prophet of the Restoration, and the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was RESTORED through him. I know that the Spirit truly testifies of the truth and that spiritual work allows us to grow closer to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ!  This is only the start of my discipleship and my lifelong journey as a covenant keeping member of the Lord's church. I'll see everyone Wednesday! I'll share Homecoming info. with everyone when I get home!      

-Elder Copeland

WEEK 95 (CORRECT) *98

For P-day, we were able to go up to the Temple and do Endowments with the zone and the zones around us!  I always enjoy going to the temple and learning more about the Plan of Salvation!  Going to the temple is the best way anyone can learn about the amazing plan that our Heavenly Father has created for us!  I was able to catch up and talk to some Elders I had served with (Elder Johns and Elder Perschon) which was fun!  We also made a video for the Social Media page which hopefully they'll post soon!  After the temple, we went to this Burrito truck in downtown Oakland that sells like 18-inch burritos 🤣. I didn't get anything, but it was fun watching everyone else eat them!  It's pretty funny watching everyone's reaction after eating them! 

It's pretty sad to see the condition the city of Oakland is in. There is a ton of graffiti, trash, broken/abandoned homes and buildings, etc.  Hopefully, one day they can get the city cleaned up again!  After, we headed back to Sunnyvale to get our haircuts, go shopping, and go to the chapel!  We were able to finish up our emails, play basketball with our Zone, and talk to our families!  

After P-day ended, we went and tried to visit a couple people but none of them were home; a cool little miracle occurred though!  We were looking at our PMG and we saw a dot near us of a man named Alejandro!  The apartment was pretty close to us, so we decided just to go knock it!  After knocking the door, he came out really excited to see us!  He was this super zany guy from El Salvador who moved down to the states to be a mechanic!  He had a Book of Mormon, but it was English, so we gave him one in Spanish.  We explained to him the story of the Book of Mormon and we helped him better understand that it contains the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  He was familiar with the principle of repentance and who Jesus Christ was and his role in the Atonement!  We shared Helaman 5:10-12 with him to help better understand repentance as a principle of faith and action.  He was really liking what we were sharing with him!  He shared with us how he felt about life and how we all need to repent and change! He calls God "the creator" and he believes that we all have energy inside of us (we have to help him understand the doctrine of the soul and the Plan of Salvation).  We set up a time to meet with him on Saturday at the church, so hopefully it goes through!  I'm interested to see if we can meet up with him again!  

At the end of the night, we saw some nice Oaxacan man selling bread and crickets in a parking lot where we usually go and find!  We were able to help him out and we bought some authentic Oaxacan bread and crickets 🤣; it definitely came STRAIGHT from Oaxaca!  It was actually surprisingly pretty good!  I haven't tried the crickets yet.  We took a picture with him to remember the night!

On Thursday (after our weekly zoom where we talked about the importance of asking those we teach if they know anyone who could benefit from our message:  I guess the APs really liked my comments last Zone Conference haha), we began the day by teaching a really cool referral we had been trying to get in contact for a while named Raquel!  She was the lady we had a 20-minute phone call with the other day because she wanted to add her brother in the call with us so that we could pray for him while he was in Mexico haha!  When we arrived, she invited us inside and we were able to sit down and get to know her better.  She wasn't able to talk much since she had just gotten her teeth cleaned but she was very interested in learning more about our church since she grew up in the Catholic faith (she told she isn't very active though).  We explained to her the proper way to pray, the importance/story behind Book of Mormon, the significance of the Apostasy and how Christ's church fell after the death of him and his apostles.  We also explained to her the Priesthood and the necessity of it/what it does!  We shared 1 Nephi 11:27-33 with her to help her better understand the Atonement and Apostasy!  

After, we briefly went over the story of Joseph Smith and the restoration!  We bore our testimonies how reading and praying about the Book of Mormon has allowed us to gain our own personal testimonies!  We explained to her the importance of reading and praying about the Book of Mormon to gain a testimony of the truthfulness for herself!  She was really enjoying what we were teaching her!  She had questions about what kind of "rules" we have in our church, so we explained to her the commandments and gave her a few examples of commandments unique to the church (W.O.W and L.O.C). She really enjoyed the lesson, and she told us she was interested in learning more!  We are going to try and pass by again this week so we can explain to her a little more! 
After, we weekly planned which took up most of the day!  We were able to get our week planned and get our PMG really organized!  After, we went and visited Jessica, and we helped teach her roommates with the other Elders!  Jessica is SO awesome!  She explained to us her desire to serve and help others and how her faith has allowed her to be an agent of action instead of being acted upon!  She helped her roommates understand the importance of dedicating time to God by doing the basic spiritual necessities that all of us need to do!  Jessica is such a cool convert and it's a miracle that we were able to run into her! 

Afterwards, we went and taught Alfredo outside of his house. We were able to talk to him about his experience at the temple and we also thanked him for giving his testimony the other day!  For our spiritual thought, we went over the Fall of Adam  and Eve with him, and we went into depth on the Doctrine of the Soul and how the Savior and his Atonement allow us to overcome physical death through the Resurrection, while the Doctrine of Christ allows us to overcome spiritual death!  We drew it out in our Book of Mormon so that he could better visualize it!  We went over the doctrine of Christ, and we emphasized the importance of repentance and faith in specific!  We shared that covenants strengthen us and allow us to be blessed in innumerable ways!  We explained to him the Kingdoms of Glory and the difference between immortality and Eternal Life!  We shared Alma 32:33-34 with him to help him better understand that we can't procrastinate the day of our repentance!  He's still having a hard time with smoking, so he's worried about committing to being baptized!  We bore our testimonies and expressed the love and care we had for him! It's super hard for me to see him continuing to reject the idea of baptism but I have complete confidence that one day down the line, he'll be spiritually prepared to make this decision that will completely change his life!  He's going through a lot right now and he's had a really hard life. The Church will, and is already, help him out with every single aspect of his life!  We'll keep nurturing and praying for him! 
Afterwards, we went and found a couple more people and then we taught Cesar!  He has been doing good!  He's still been extremely busy with work which is unfortunate.  We talked to him about service and the importance of sharing the Gospel!  We read Mosiah 2:17 with him to help him better understand how when we are serving others, we are also serving God!  He shared how service has blessed him and how he tries and goes about doing good as well!  We also shared that one of the ones we can service others is by sharing the gospel!  We shared with him Mosiah 28:3 to explain how the sons of Mosiah had the desire to share the gospel so that those around them could be blessed as well! He is so cool, and he has such a strong testimony of the gospel!  He studies and prays on his own and he has such a strong desire to follow the Savior!  He told us he'll keep trying to get work off and that he'll keep looking for ways he can keep the Sabbath day holy!  As soon as he can, he will be baptized and confirmed so quickly!  I trust that with time, he will receive the blessing of a covenant relationship with God! He also let us know that he'd let us know if any of his family or friends would be interested in our message!  We were able to get a contact from a friend of his living in Brazil! 
Afterwards, we went and talked with Hermano Packard about strategies we could use as missionaries to be more effective! He explained how we should go around letting those we teach know that we are "disciples of Jesus Christ" so that they are more interested in our message; and not going to lie, it actually works 🤣!  He also explained to us how we should help people understand that anything "good" they feel comes from the Holy Ghost instead of us which is a really good point! 
Afterwards, we had a good lesson with Pascual and Nayuri! Nayuri came early so we just invited her to join us!  We went over the Law of Tithing and the importance of President Nelson as a modern-day living prophet and how his prophetic calling as an authorized servant of the Lord blesses us. They both understood and accepted the importance of the Law of Tithing!  They also really loved the idea of a modern-day prophet!  We listened to his most recent talk, "Confidence in the Presence of God," and we were all able to learn and feel the Spirit together!  We are going to have Pascual's interview this Saturday and then his baptism the following Sunday!  I'm so proud of Pascual and the decision he's made!  He's going to be so blessed!  Nayuri is going to be baptized soon as well! We ended the night by helping teach English Class!

On Friday, we began the day by working out and doing our studies!  We tried visiting our friend Levi, but he wasn't home. After a couple more contacts and trying to visit a couple more people, we came back, ate some lunch, and then daily contacted our friends!  Afterwards, we went and knocked on a bunch of apartments trying to find some new friends we could teach!  We taught a nice man named Micheal from Nicaragua about the Doctrine of Christ and how the Savior's Gospel allows our lives to be built on a "sure and firm foundation."  We shared Helaman 5:12" with him and we further explained the importance of the Book of Mormon!  Afterwards, we continued to go out and try to find some more people!  We talked to a bunch of people (a lot of them were not interested or straight up ignored us) but we had a funny contact with a lady from Russia named Mary and her friend.  She had apparently had a pretty bad experience with the church, and she really wanted nothing to do with us 🤣; she was laughing and pointing at us pretty weirdly the whole time.  While trying to talk to her friend about the church (she was interested in actually coming: she was preparing for a backpacking trip so we were talking about some fun hikes that we had done in the past as well).   She basically told her not to go since it would be a terrible experience!  Me and Elder Fuller had to step in and stop her 🤣 (lovingly of course).  We testified that God loved her and that he had a loving and perfect plan for her!  We shared the reasons that we go to church (to partake of the Sacrament, to serve and help others, to learn and grow, etc.) and that we all have a purpose here on Earth as sons and daughters of God! I also shared 2 Nephi 26:33 with her to help her understand that we are all equal before God!  She wasn't interested in learning again, but she definitely softened her opinion of us afterwards!  I'm glad I was able to turn it into a positive contact to end. 
After walking around the complex for a couple more hours (we found a couple more people:  We taught a funny man drinking in his car named Gerado; he wasn't too interested but we shared the Book of Mormon and how God has a special plan for all of us!  We testified that the Doctrine of Christ, which is made possible by the Savior's atonement, is the way all of God's children can live again with him!  While at 7/11 afterwards, we talked to a nice guy named Kevin!  He's talked with the missionaries before, but we explained to him that as disciples of Christ we share the "good news" which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  We explained to him that God loves us and that he has a plan for us!  We explained that the doctrine of Christ allows us to have eternal life!  We shared 2 Nephi 31:20 with him and we bore our testimonies that the gospel blesses our lives and changes us for the better!  We also testified that going to church helps us!  He seemed pretty interested, so hopefully he's able to come! 

After dinner, we had to begin exchanges with Elder Mariner earlier so that Elder Crisp could begin a baptismal interview for the sisters in his District!  Me and Elder Mariner received special permission from President Larson since we've served around each other for a lot of our missions, but we've never gotten to serve together!  Elder Mariner is an absolutely amazing missionary, and we had a good time to end the night! They had a friend named Veronica, who didn't speak much English, so I was able to go and talk to her for them!  I taught her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how the restored gospel blesses our lives!  I shared that the Gospel of Jesus Christ allows us to obtain eternal life!  We shared 2 Nephi 31:20 with her to explain to her that the Doctrine/Gospel of Christ allows us to obtain eternal life!  Afterwards, I explained the Book of Mormon to her and explained to her what it is and what it teaches us!  I shared 3 Nephi 11:9-10 to explain that it testifies of Christ and his Gospel!  Afterwards, we explained the importance of praying and asking God to confirm the truth of all things!  She asked how the Spirit talks to us so we shared Moroni 8:33 to explain what the Spirit can feel like.  She was a pretty hardcore Christian, but she really enjoyed what we were teaching her!  I really testified of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and the power it can have in our lives when we read and pray about it!  We are going to try and meet up with her again so hopefully me and Elder Fuller now can begin teaching her!  
We also had a really powerful contact with a man we found outside of his apartment!  He was very familiar with the church, and he had even attended a couple baptisms at church before. He was super nice but regardless of what we said or testified about the Book of Mormon, he wouldn't accept it.  All he would tell us is that he had "his Bible."  I love everyone, but it blows my MIND how people can learn and read from the Book of Mormon and still end up rejecting it; it's the most powerful witness of Christ and yet our fellow Christians can't accept it for some reason.  I'll never judge or think differently of those not of our faith, but the church is so undeniably true and I wish people could understand the Restored Gospel the way we do; this truly is the TRUE church of Christ and I'm so thankful I'm able to be a part of it; that's why I made the choice to be a missionary and serve a full time mission.  We ended the night by going to 7/11 to get drinks and chat!  The Elders have a SUPER old apartment that's pretty worn down 🤣; while going to bed, me and Elder Mariner talked a while about the lessons we've learned as missionaries (there's too many to put in this email), our times as missionaries, funny experiences we've had, how diligence has allowed us to build good habits, the importance of keeping our covenants after our missions end, the importance of doing hard things so that we can learn and grow and become better, how to find Joy in the working (understanding the blessings and happiness we are able to provide people), girls 🤣, our plans for after the mission down in Provo, etc.  We were up for a while, but we had a really good conversation!  It was good getting to know Elder Mariner better and learning from what he had to say! 

On Saturday, we began the day by playing pickleball with the Zone at the park!  After getting ready for the day, we taught a friend of theirs over Zoom!  We explained to her the principle of faith and what faith is!  She's from China and she has been investigating the church for a little while!  She can really feel the Spirit and she can feel the truthfulness of the gospel!  She has had a pretty hard life with some traumatic experiences in her past with her husband being abusive. We pointed her to the Savior and shared how his Atonement and Gospel can help her strengthen!  We explained to her that while we can't change the way people use their agency, we testified that we can influence the ways people act and respond to certain things by the way we act, the things we do, and the things we say!  We also had a member of the Elder Mariner's ward join us and she shared her testimony with her that praying and reading the Book of Mormon is one of the greatest and most influential ways one can feel the Spirit!  She also kinda went on a spill about how the temple healed her, how no other church in the world allows people to feel the Spirit like our church 🤣 (which I guess is true), how baptism is the most important decision she'll make in her life, and a bunch other stuff that were very off topic. The lesson went over an HOUR but it was good 🤣; I have so much faith that she'll eventually get baptized and confirmed one day!  Once she overcomes a couple obstacles in her life, she'll get there! 
After, we taught another one of the Elder's friends at the church (I forgot his name) and we introduced him to the chapel, showed him around, read a little in the 3 Nephi 18 to help him better understand the sacrament and the importance of coming to Church, how to pray and the importance of following the Gospel of Jesus and how it allows us to be blessed in every aspect of our lives!  We shared with him our purpose as missionaries and we boldy testified of the truthfulness behind the message we teach as missionaries! He's had hard times in life with his dad being put in jail for gang activity and such, so I hope the Elders are able to help him find the peace that the gospel provides! 
After, we went back to the apartment, ate lunch, and finished our studies since we were so busy during the morning.  Afterwards, we went back to work and taught another one of their friends (another lady from China; such a SWEET lady but I couldn't understand her name) about faith and the Atonement of Jesus Christ!  She spoke really good English, but we called a member of their ward to talk to her in Chinese as well.  They had like a 30-minute conversation over the phone and me and Elder Mariner had no idea what they were talking about 🤣; after, we went and talked to a couple more people (we had some guy ask us if we were Mormons and how Joseph Smith somehow was able to obtain magical golden tablets and how he "somehow" lost them).  Whenever people call us "Mormons" or ask us if we are Mormons" (I usually don't have to deal with this when teaching the Latinos), I always pull the card, "We aren't Mormons, we are missionaries and disciples from The Church of Jesus Christ!  You must be referring to the prophet Mormon who compiled the Book of Mormon!  Another testament of our Savior Jesus that contains the fullness of his Gospel"!  I also like to tell people, "Do you believe God is the same yesterday, today and forever," and they always of course tell us, "Yes."  To respond, I always explain to people that God has always spoken to us through his prophets (and I explain to them the Book of Mormon and the Bible and how it contains the teachings of prophets of old) and how God still continues to speak to us through a modern-day prophet:  President Nelson!  It's a method I've found to be better, super effective, spiritual, and it doesn't cause contention.  We also talked to a funny guy about the church, the Plan of Salvation, the Fall and the necessity of the Fall, the restoration and the Book of Mormon, and the manner we worship God!  He was a Buddhist, but he was interested in learning more!  He had heard of Polygamy before, we explained it to him, so we were joking around with him that having "one girl" is more than enough.  We also explained to him how missions work/how they are organized, and he was shocked!  He told us, "You're telling me you don't get to choose where you go, what you speak, where you live, where you go, what you do, you don't get to see your family or have a normal "life" for two years, you spend time out of your day knocking doors and talking to people who aren't interested, and you pay for it all!  You couldn't pay me to do what you guys do. 🤣" We were laughing with him, but we testified of the truthfulness of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and how the Gospel has blessed our lives and how true it is!  It was a really fun contact! 
After, we visited a man a member of the English Ward had referred to us, to go and see if he needed some help with a service project, and I guess something had happened where he was not wanting help anymore. He was in pretty rough shape, and you could tell that he had been smoking pretty badly.  You could tell he was down in the dumps, and I tried my best to help him by testifying and explaining to him the Atonement of Christ and how we are blessed when we repent and change!  I promised him that he was a beloved son of God and that regardless of what has happened in his past, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ can provide him hope and peace for the future.  He wasn't willing to listen to us, and he rejected the Book of Mormon.  It was pretty disheartening for me since I knew I was offering the very best thing that he could ever have in this life, and the next, and yet he still chose to reject it.  I pray and hope that one day he, and people who are in this scenario, can either accept or receive the gospel! The gospel truly does have the power to change and better ALL of our lives. 
After, I had another pretty humbling/spiritual experience with a lady named Cynthia.  I saw her and her husband "I think" in their car!  I went up to them and I introduced myself to them and I got to know their situation a little better. They were homeless and they had been living in their car for the past three months.  I saw Cynthia's arm was cut up pretty badly and scarred, and I could really tell she was going through a hard time.  I testified that God loves her and how the Savior understands her situation!  I explained to them who Christ was, and how he loves them beyond their understanding!  I shared God's plan for us and how he has a perfect plan for us! I shared Alma 7:10-14 to help them better understand the Atonement and how the Savior understands all that we go through!  I also gave them a Book of Mormon, and we testified of the peace and strength it provides us.  She was brought to tears, and she was thankful for the message I shared!  I hope I'm able to get in contact with her again and help her out!  We had some super humbling experiences today that made me reflect on how blessed and privileged I've been throughout my life!  There are so many blessings and things (both big and small) that I have received in my life that others haven't received. The best thing I can do is continue to serve and help others in any way possible!  If I'm able to help someone by helping them receive the gospel, serving them according to their needs/wants, being an example to others, or just testifying and helping people better understand who they are and how they matter, etc., I know I've done a good job as a missionary and as a disciple of Christ!   Always meet people where they are and serve and help them in any way possible! We need to always strive our best to be the best possible person (which the gospel allows us to do).  I've been looking back with so much gratitude, and I truly have it a big part of my everyday life! 

After ending exchanges, we ended the night by reviewing the baptismal interview questions with Pascual and then having his interview!  Elder Perschon was able to come down and do his interview for him!  We briefly explained to him the Atonement and the importance of a modern prophet and how President Nelson is a prophet (we also went over the priesthood keys/restoration), but he already knew everything and was/is so prepared to be baptized!  It was also great to see Elder Perschon again and he did a great job with Pascual's interview!  Pascual passed and he is going to get baptized and confirmed this following Saturday!  I'm so proud and so excited for Pascual!  Pascual asked me if I could baptize him since it's my last week!  I felt super blessed and grateful he asked me!  It'll be an amazing experience!  We ended the night by trying to visit a couple people but none of them were home.  Some crazy homeless guy came up to us cussing about a bunch of random things that really threw me and Elder Fuller off while trying to contact this one guy.  It was pretty distracting but funny 🤣.

On Sunday, we got a call from Flore (the lady that me and Elder Fontanne found on exchanges) that she was at the chapel waiting for us!  I guess she had gotten there early and was waiting for us to show her where to go 🤣; we quickly ran over to the church and got her situated with the Relief Society! We introduced her to some of the members of the ward, and she really enjoyed it!  It was such a cool miracle from this week!  We were able to get someone to church simply by knocking on her door!  I'm so excited to teach her again! Pascual, Nayuri, Luis, and Alfredo were all able to come, which was good!  The sisters also had a really good Sunday! They had like eight friends there as well!  The ward was super impressed with how many friends we had at church as a district!  All of our converts were able to come as well! Hermana Engracia is seriously the best!  She always puts a smile on my face! 
After missionary correlation meeting, we headed back to our apartment to eat lunch, finish our studies, and plan out the rest of the day!  Afterwards, we went back to the chapel to go see a baptism of the Tongan Sisters' friend named Saeid!  She's been taught for a while and she's super cool!  She's from Iran though so she doesn't speak any English; so every single lesson they had to either bring a convert who speaks her language, or use google translate 🤣!  On top of that, her husband (named Soodabeh) apparently has been familiar with the church!  He had a brother who apparently SERVED a mission for our church, I'm not sure where though, but I guess after serving his mission he was apparently killed by the Taliban since he left being a Muslim!  Pretty crazy story!  I guess he was supposed to get baptized, too, but he backed out last minute since he didn't feel ready yet; apparently, they had gotten in a fight the morning, so he wanted to wait when he felt spiritually better 🤣. ON TOP of that, I guess the Sisters had found out only a couple days ago that they didn't even live in the Sisters' area; apparently they lived in Morgan Hill and had been driving 30 minutes up to Sunnyvale for the past 3 weeks 🤣; so the Elders who cover their area had to come up with their ward so that the ward she'd be part off knew her; it was a whole MESS but she got baptized and confirmed so all is well 🤣! It'll be interesting to see how the Elders help continue to teach her husband and reteach her, since they don't speak English, but the Elders will do great! 

Afterwards, I had to run to the library to finish MyPlan and then we went to an activity that the Samoan ward was having!  They sang and had musical numbers for about an hour, and it was actually surprisingly good!  After talking to the Elders and the members afterwards, we ended the night by trying to visit Andres, but he wasn't home.  We taught his sister though about the Plan of Salvation and the importance of the Doctrine of Christ!  We got a return appointment on Friday so hopefully the Elders are able to teach her on Friday while I'm at RMTC! We ended the night by beginning exchanges with Elder Stocking!  I've never had the chance to serve with Elder Stocking, so I was excited to get to know him better!

On Monday for exchanges, we got a call from Cynthia (the lady me and Elder Mariner had found on exchanges who was homeless) that they were in desperate need of food, water, and necessities.  We were supposed to meet up to teach them, but they were going through a rough, rough, time.  They were pretty desperate, and they didn't know what to do; I felt inspired to do something!  Me and Elder Stocking decided to drive down to the local food bank to see if there was anything we could do there for them!  We went inside the foodbank, and we were able to talk to one of the workers there!  We explained to her our situation with our friends that we had found and she was able to share information with us!  She gave us some pamphlets and papers with information, and we were able to meet up with them at a park and give it to them.  I also got them some water and some snacks so that they could take care of themselves.  They were super grateful for us, and I was glad I was able to help them out!  They let us know later on that day that through our help, they were able to get food and a case manager to help them with their situation!  Me and Elder Stocking were able to help them out a lot!  Hopefully they can get back on their feet and find the help they need; we are going to stay in contact with them!  While in the park, we had a funny contact with a lady from Iran!  She came up to us and asked us what we were selling! We explained to her who we were and what we teach, and she was so fascinated by everything we were telling her!  We explained to her the Book of Mormon, the priesthood, and the importance of a modern-day prophet, the Plan of Salvation, the role Jesus Christ has as our Savior, and the importance of going to reliable resources to get the truth!  We explained to her how missions are organized and structured and she was shocked 🤣. She couldn't believe that we pay to be out here, that we don't get to choose where we go or who we go with, what language we speak, how long missions are, etc.  She wasn't willing to give us her number or a return date, but it was a funny interaction.  Right as we left, she began to instantly read in the Book of Mormon so maybe someday she'll reach back out to us!  After lunch and daily contact, we went down California street and found some new people to teach!  We said hi to Jessica really quick since I had to use the bathroom! Afterwards, we had a really good lesson with Kevin!  We went over the first half of the Plan of Salvation with him and explained to him the premortal life and God's plan for us, the creation, and how the Lord created the earth for us!  We re-explained to him the Fall of Adam and Eve so that he could better understand it!  We explained to him the importance of the Atonement and how it saves us from the Fall of spiritually (through the doctrine) and physically (through the Resurrection).  We explained to him the purpose of life and we drew it out for him!  We bore our testimonies, and we expressed our gratitude towards him once again because he really is an amazing guy!  He loves learning and he has the desire to grow closer to the Savior and Heavenly Father!  He's just so busy with work since he's having to send money back home while also providing for himself here!  If he could come to church consistently, he'd get baptized so fast!  We are going to continue visiting him and trying our best to help him out in any possible way!  We had a really good conversation and I'm so grateful for the time I've gotten to spend with Kevin teaching him the restored Gospel! 

After talking a little more about the difficulty of learning new languages and working out, we headed out to find more people!  While knocking on an apartment complex, a kid with a water gun came up to me and shot me with it which was pretty funny!   After teaching a couple solid lessons, we had dinner and then met up with Pascual at the church!  We didn't have much time with him since we had to leave a little early to end exchanges, but we quickly read from parts of Alma 32 to help him better understand the principle of faith and how our faith needs to be nurtured and tried through action!  We testified that doing basic things (such as reading the scriptures, praying, going to church, etc.) constantly will be the way he will be able to continue to grow, learn, and strengthen his faith! He's such a dawg and I'm so excited for his baptism on Saturday! 
I had a really fun day with Elder Stocking and I'm super grateful for the day I had with him!  I learned a lot from him, and we had really good conversations throughout the day! He's a super diligent, hardworking missionary who is still able to have fun at the same time!  He has a really cool conversion story, and he's made a ton of changes in his life to be where he is now!  Hopefully, I'll continue to keep talking with him!

We had a great day on Tuesday!  We began the day having District Council!  We talked about the importance of using PMG properly and keeping track of our records properly! Using PMG is one of the greatest strengths I had as a missionary!  I was always able to properly fill out lessons, keep track of our progressing friends, plan out our days, and keep daily contact with those throughout the day!  I was able to teach and help the District since I go home soon!  After eating, we talked to some RM who served his mission in New Mexico, we daily planned and contacted, and then we got to work! 
We had a really good lesson with Luis outside of the library! For this lesson, we helped him better understand his relationship with God and who God was!  We explained to him the importance of prophets and who they are!  We went over the Priesthood with him again and helped him better understand what a dispensation is and how apostasies occur after a dispensation ends.  We also explained to him the things a church or Christ needs to have!  Afterwards, we explained to him Jesus Christ's moral ministry and how he organized and established his church through the Priesthood, his teachings, and the calling and authorization of his 12 apostles!  We explained to him the Atonement and the death of the 12 and how the church of Christ fell and how the power and authority of the Priesthood was lost as well!  We explained to him the story of Joseph Smith once again and helped him better understand the restoration of the Priesthood and how it occurred through Heavenly Messengers! We bore our testimonies on the Book of Mormon and truthfulness of the Restoration!  I also showed him Elder Bednar's video in the Gospel Library where he explains the restoration of the Priesthood keys, which he really enjoyed!  He really appreciated what we were teaching him, and he seemed to better comprehend what we were teaching!  He's really good at reading and studying on his own so he's progressing nicely! I have faith he'll be baptized on August 3rd which I'm really excited about!  A covenant relationship with God will bless him so much! 

After a couple lessons fell through, as always, we had a really good lesson with Cesar (who's the absolute best!)  We went over the spirit world with him, the importance of temples and temple work, the Resurrection and the Final Judgement and how the Doctrine of Christ is the way God's children can enter into the Celestial Kingdom and obtain eternal life!  We also read Alma 41 with him, which I love, to help him better understand the Resurrection through the Atonement of Christ! I drew it out for him in his Book of Mormon so that he could better visualize it!  He loves learning from us, and he's continuing to study and pray on his own which is awesome! We snagged a picture with him before leaving since it'd probably be one of my last times seeing him!  I also let him know that we'd meet up in Utah if he ever came back out for work!  He told me I'd have to come back for his baptism; I'd definitely love to!  As soon as he can get a car and time off work he'll be baptized!  He's going to be an amazing member of the church!  One of the many things I've learned during the mission is that God's timing is perfect: the day he gets baptized will be an amazing day!  
After a couple contacts, we had a really good lesson with Flores (the lady me and Elder Fontane found and who came to church on Sunday)!  She invited us in, and we were able to get to know her better and teach her!  After teaching her how we pray, we explained to her the Atonement and what the Savior did for us in the Garden of Gethsemane, his crucifixion and how three days after the death of his physical body, he was resurrected completing his Atonement for Us!  We read from Mosiah 3:5-14 to help her better understand the Atonement!  We also went through the story of the Book of Mormon and the importance the Book has as another testament of Jesus Christ that explains the Plan of Salvation, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and more!  Afterwards, she explained to us her past experiences with church and how she felt like God was telling us something significant through dreams, etc.  She mentioned how she knocked doors and how she was drawn to what we were doing when we knocked on her door!  We testified that the Gospel had been restored (briefly) and that God has a perfect plan for us!  We testified that eternal happiness and life is given through the Atonement and Gospel of Christ! We ended our lesson by showing her "For God So Loved the World" video that the church has created!  She was definitely feeling the Spirit during the lesson and so were we!  It definitely feels like God put her in our path for her to find the restored gospel!  It definitely seems like we are answers to one another's prayers!  
After dinner, we went and said hi to one of the Sisters' converts named Kevin (we had a funny talk about my plans for after the mission, marriage, and what I want in life)!  We ended the night by trying to visit a couple people.  We ran into the same dude like three times and we acted like it was our first time running into him every single time 🤣; we just invited him to teach every single time, and he kept telling us, "You already told me this."  He definitely wasn't interested but, hey, we tried.                  

-Elder Copeland