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

WEEK 94 (CORRECT) *97

For P-day, we began the day by working out and going shopping at Costco!  We have a Costco in our area, and Elder Stocking has a Costco card, so he was able to take us since he has a card!  I MISS Costco's much!  It's so much easier to buy in bulk and load up on certain things you need so you're not having to go as often! 

After going to Costco and dropping off our things, we went to the Sunnyvale chapel (our chapel) to have Tri-Zone P-day with the Zones near us!  We had a barbecue, and we played ultimate Frisbee and Four-score!  I was also able to talk to my family and friends!  I can't wait to see them again!  Afterwards, we went to the FHC so I could finish up my email and finish doing a couple things!  After P-day ended, we visited a really strong member of the ward named Juan Medina and his wife Thurdy Medina!  They had been sick for the past couple of weeks, so they haven't been able to come!  While talking with Juan, he shared with us experiences a recent convert had while investigating the church!  He told us how this young lady was baptized without understanding who the Savior was.  She had gotten baptized, but she was never fully converted to the gospel!  While the missionaries were teaching her after her baptism, they had asked her if she had ever fully read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it:  she told them she had not.  The Elders invited her to read the Book of Mormon and then pray about it (Moroni's promise) and then come back to them with her answer. Of course, after reading and praying about the Book of Mormon, she was INSTANTLY converted to the Lord.  A year after, she was endowed and now she's very active in church!  It was a good reminder to us how if we want to be converted to the LORD in his restored gospel, we have to read and pray about the Book of Mormon!  It's the reason it's called the keystone of our religion!  He also talked to us about the Spanish branches and wards needing more Latinos in their leadership (I agree), the importance of retention, and how the temple has blessed him and the lives of those around him!  Afterwards, I felt inspired to share 3 Nephi 17 with him to explain to him how loving the Savior is and how he is always willing to heal us spiritually (physically as well) and how we are all sons and daughters of God!  He loved the message we shared and felt the Spirit very strongly; he started crying and thanking us for what we do as missionaries and how dedicated we are to serving and helping others!  I always love spending time with members!  It's so important we nurture and care for those around us!  We ended the night by trying to visit a couple more people but none of them were home.

On Thursday, we began the day by working out and getting our car washed for Zone Conference!  After getting our car washed, we went and got lunch at Chipotle and then we headed up to Palo Alto for Zone Conference!  The chapel where they have Zone Conferences is actually really cool!  The chapels that the church has here in California are really cool since they are pretty old (still very well kept though) and how the ones near me have very large trees surrounding them!  We had a very good, but interesting Zone Conference! We talked about the blessings and the restored truths that we've been given through the prophet Joseph and the restoration. The story of Joseph Smith is AMAZING and if you think about it logically, there is no way Joseph Smith couldn't be a prophet!  But with that being said, the only way to be CONVERTED to the Gospel and gaining a true witness from the spirit of what we believe in is true, is by reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. That's the reason the Book of Mormon is called the "keystone of our religion!"  We were shown a couple videos given by Elder Oaks to the incoming mission presidents at the MTC!  He shared 10 points that only the restoration gospel of Jesus Christ has (I'll included a picture of my notes) and how The Church of Jesus Christ is the only Church that can explain the plan our Heavenly Father has for us!  I'll include notes I wrote because I was writing a lot!  What Joseph Smith was able to accomplish throughout his life is amazing!  I know Joseph Smith was a prophet! 

After, we had a couple breakout rooms where we practiced driving (I guess too many missionaries have been getting in accidents haha), reviewing emergency preparation, and having a training on how to have successful first contacts!  After, President Larson invited us to not put lids over ourselves and how we can all do so much more when we push ourselves past our limits!  This is definitely a principle I've gained and learned as my time as a missionary!  Faith is SUCH a crucial principle!  It's a principle of action, power and change!  When we have faith and act, we are blessed and changed for the better!  The senior missionaries also shared very powerful outbound testimonies!  Sister Butcher shared her testimony on the restoration and how America is a blessed land because it's where the restoration took place (totally agree!  It is the promised land, and Elder Butcher shared his testimony on how we are all meant to be out here (regardless of if we wanted to be missionaries or not: which really hit because I DID not wanna be a missionary when I first started! The Forbes also gave very sweet testimony on the importance of avoiding sin and staying holy throughout our lives!  In addition to that, President Larson asked the missionaries that were leaving to stand up!  He told us how proud he was of us! He told how a priesthood holder holding proper priesthood keys telling a missionary, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant," meant more, and it really did.  When he said that to us, the Spirit hit me like a TRUCK!  Every single emotion I've ever felt was felt during that moment!  
Knowing that I am almost done is such a sense of relief because of how hard missions are/and how sucky they can be at times.  Knowing that I've actually almost achieved serving a full-time mission and that I soon get to see my family again (who I love so much and who I so desperately miss), that I get to BYU soon and begin studying there again, that I get see my friends again, that I get do things/hobbies that bring me joy again, that I get to be independent again and do the things I want to do with my life, etc. is such an amazing feeling!  At the same, it's such bittersweet feeling because when I look back at who I first was when I started the mission and how far I've come spiritually, physically, emotionally all the experiences I've had, the people I've met, the relationships I've built, the lessons I've learned, the things I've done and accomplished, and so much more!  After President Larson's remarks, signing called to serve, and the closing prayer, I got pretty emotional just thinking about it all!  It was a super special zone conference and a day I'll remember for the rest of my life! 
After Zone Conference, we headed back to our area, ate dinner, and then headed to the church to teach Pascual!  We reviewed the Doctrine of Christ with him again and we helped him better understand the importance of repentance by sharing Helaman 5:10-11 with him!  We also helped create a calendar for him so that he could continue to prepare for his baptism the 20th!  He's super prepared and I'm so excited that I'll get to be there for his baptism!  We ended the night by teaching English Class! 

For the fourth of July, we began the day by playing pickleball and working out!  After, we went to the English Elders' ward activity!  They were having a breakfast, so we went to celebrate with them!  It was a pretty good time!  The kids had a little bike parade which was pretty wholesome!  Afterwards, we went back to the apartment to finish our studies and talked to our families!  I was pretty bummed not to be there celebrating with them but its ok!  We are going to all celebrate on the 24th when I'm back!  I can't wait to see everybody again!  Afterwards, we went to the chapel to Weekly Plan and prepare ourselves for the upcoming week!  We set our key indicators and called and texted a bunch of people!  You'd be surprised how much you use your phone as a missionary 🤣; after, we went to the 7/11 to find and to visit a couple people!  I found a pretty nice guy from Guatemala named Beto!  I explained to him our purpose as missionaries and how the Doctrine of Christ allows us to live with God again!  I always love sharing Alma 34:32 with people!  Hopefully he's able to come to church! 

Afterwards, we had a really good lesson with Cesar at the church!  For work, he moves people (because a lot of people are moving out of California) and he was just recently in Utah! He was in Provo and Salt Lake!  He told us how beautiful it was but how hot it was haha!  I forget it's summer at times because the weather in Silicon Valley doesn't get above 80 a lot of the days!  For our lesson, we explained to him the Sabbath Day and the importance of keeping it holy!  We helped to better understand the necessity of coming to church, partaking of the Sacrament and doing the best to our ability to try and keep the day a holy and special day!  He understands the gospel and the principles of the gospel so well, but he has such a hard time coming to church because of his work schedule.  He doesn't get to choose his days or his schedule since there are those above him who get to choose first. Essentially, he's always given the worst times (Sundays) so he has no choice but to go!  He told us he's going to try and ask again to get work off, but it's been super difficult for him lately! We invited him to pray and ask God for help so that he'd be able to make time for church!  We also invited him to continue asking his boss and try and look for a new job that allows him time off.  He's not going to be able to be baptized on the 13th because of his schedule sadly; he's SO PREPARED!  He just has to find a way to come to church!  Once he can figure out a schedule that allows him to come to church constantly, he will be baptized, and he will become such an amazing member!  It's just going to take him a little time!  He's such a good guy and the gospel will be such a blessing for him!  We will all keep praying for Cesar so that he can find time to come to church! 

Afterwards, we taught Johnny and his family really quick about the premortal life and our purpose here on Earth!  He didn't have much time since they were leaving for a 4th of July Activity!  We were able to help him better understand the Plan of Salvation!  Since it was the 4th, we couldn't be out late, so we had an early curfew!  During that time, we cleaned up our whole apartment and got it perfectly clean!  The bathtub was super gross, but I got it super clean!  What a great way to celebrate the 4th of July 🤣!  I was up until midnight scrubbing our bathtub because the missionaries in the past had not taken care of it!  I got the apartment sparkly clean!  I've gained such a strong testimony on being organized and clean!  Being organized and clean has helped me out so much throughout my mission! 

Saturday was a really special day!  I woke up really early to work out and then we drove up to Oakland to go to the temple with Gabino!  It was his first time going inside the temple and doing baptisms for the dead!  He was able to bring his parents' names and do their ordinances for them!  It was a really special experience and I'm so glad I got to be there for it! Gabino was looking so sharp as well!  I was able to do ordinances in the temple as well!  The Las Colinas Ward was there so I was able to say hi to some of the members that I knew and served with while serving down there!  I saw Gabby, Bishop Garcia, Hermano Leon, ANDY (who's now a missionary!  Since he's older [24] and is already bilingual, he's just doing home MTC, but he heads out to the mission field in one week!  He's going to serve in the Reno Nevada Mission! He's going to be amazing missionary and I'm so proud of him and the decision he has made to serve a mission!  I'm so grateful for the friendship and connection I have made with him!  He's going to crush it) Hermano Parejo, Carlos (the short little man from Oaxaca who is the absolute best) and a couple other members/recent of the ward!  It was really nice catching up with them!  After, me and Gabino talked for a while!  He was so happy to see me, and he expressed his gratitude and love he had for me!  He always calls me his "teacher of the gospel" and that I've made one the biggest impacts on his life (which is equally as true for him to me).  He told me after being baptized in December (with me and Elder Perschon), he's been called to serve as a ward mission leader and is currently blessing the Sacrament every single week!  He told me that is going to be given permission early to receive the Melchizedek so that he can further help the ward!  I'm so proud of Gabino and the progress and change he has made in his life.  The Gospel and the church have literally changed his life and it's such a special feeling knowing that I was able to help him!  Being able to meet and help Gabino has be one of greatest (if not the greatest) blessings I've been able to see as my time as a missionary!  If all I did was help Gabino as my time (and I've done A LOT more), my mission has been a success! 

After taking pictures and saying goodbye to Gabino (he loves giving hugs haha), we drove back to Sunnyvale to begin the day!  While leaving the temple, we saw members of Los Altos up there as well!  One of the friends we are teaching named Alfredo got to go up to their temple as well!  The ward invited him and he was able to go up for the first time!  He really enjoyed his experience, and he was able to go to the visitor center as well!  We said hi to him and talked to him for a minute!  He is really cool, and he is so close to being baptized! He just has to overcome a couple things still!  

After driving back and eating, we got a call from one of our friends named Nayuri, who came to English Class, in tears!  She was pretty distressed since the day before (she told us this) that she had gotten beaten pretty badly and she needed someone to talk to since she doesn't have any family or friends here!  We, of course, wanted to help her so we ran over to the chapel to talk with her!  We were pretty surprised/shocked to see how badly her boyfriend had hit her. Apparently, he even hit her with a glass bottle.  Her face was extremely swollen and bruised but luckily, the police have been able to help her, and she was able to go to the hospital. The doctors prescribed her with medicine and there is a restraining order in place now!  We were able to help and support her!  We explained to her the Atonement of Jesus Christ and explained how he can be source of peace and strength and how he understands all the pain and sufferings we go through since he's already gone through it for us.  We pointed to her the "Abuse" Gospel topic link and helped her understand and know what happened to her was not her fault and that she was a victim of a terrible crime.  We gave her a blessing of comfort which helped her significantly.  She was super emotional and very grateful for the help and support we were offering her!  We got her in contact with church leaders, and we are going to stay in contact with her as well!  We are going to help her find a new place to live so that she doesn't have to go back to her abusive partner's houses.  Please pray for Nayuri!  She's such an amazing lady with such a sincere heart!  We are going to help her out through this difficult time in her life! 

After daily contact and inviting all of friends to church, we went and found a couple cool people!  We had some people at one of the doors we knocked thinking we were the "migra," so they were freaking out 🤣.  We explained to them who we were and how we weren't ICE, and they were a lot more willing to talk after that; they weren't interested in our message, but they liked my tie 😂.  After dinner, we drove to the chapel to teach Jorge for the final time.  While driving to the chapel, we had a funny phone call from a referral living in Bolivia!  He wanted to learn more and find the church near him in Bolivia, but he was not willing to give us his address!  We tried for 10 minutes straight but he would not budge!  It really tested my patience haha!  After, we had a pretty sad, but spiritual lesson with Jorge!  We met at the chapel and talked to Jorge about discipline, faith, and action, and the importance of making correct decisions!  He told us how he hasn't been able to pray, read the scriptures, or go to church since it's "too hard" and that it makes him uncomfortable.  We explained to him the importance of learning, growing, and pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zones and how we are blessed and strengthened when we do things that are hard or things that we don't wanna do!  We explained that to him that's what we do EVERY, SINGLE, DAY as missionaries and how at times it sucks, but how it has truly strengthened us and helped us learn, grow, gain experiences, overcome trials, and become better people!  I feel really bad for Jorge and have sympathy for him and the trials and challenges he has gone through, and that he still continues to go through, but I get SO frustrated because I'm offering him the thing (the Gospel) that would HELP him out immensely and yet, he still rejects what we are offering him!  I bore honestly probably one of the strongest testimonies of my whole mission (to the point where I was in tears) and he basically just told me off.  He said he wasn't going to accept my invitations that would better his life since he doesn't wanna feel obligated to do anything for anyone.  He told us he wasn't going to meet with us anymore because he didn't want to try and do things that make him uncomfortable, and he doesn't want to work to try and do things that better his life.  It broke my heart to hear these, but I still bore my testimony towards him how much we cared for him and the blessings that we receive when we are a part of the restored gospel.  I did my very best to point him to the Savior, the resources the church provides, and the influence of the Spirit, etc. but at the end of the day, he still has his agency, and he chose what he chose to do!  I seriously believe that I was sent to serve down here and be with Jorge so that not I could only try and help him, but that so he could teach me valuable life lessons.  Here are the life lessons he's taught me.

1. Do things that are HARD, or that you don't want to do or that challenge you/make you feel uncomfortable. The times during my mission where I wasn't doing these things were the times where I was the least happy.  By doing these things, you are blessed both spiritually and physically and you also grow, learn, and experience and obtain experiences that will make you a better, happier, more successful person!
2. The gospel is only true source of happiness!  If we keep and renew our covenants throughout our lives, we WILL be happier, more successful, and have overall better lives! 
3. Set goals and achieve them!  Setting goals is easy but achieving them is so difficult!  When we look into the future and the blessings and things we will receive if we just set our foot down and do the hard things that our goals require of us, we WILL be able to accomplish those goals!  Discipline requires faith and faith requires ACTION
4. Motivation follows actions!  Be a DISCIPLE of Christ and follow his gospel, keep and honor the covenants you've made with God; read and study in the scriptures and become a Disciple of Christ by doing, thinking, and saying the things he would do, think, or say.  This is how we will be the BEST VERSIONS OF OURSELVES."  Use the spirit of Christ to discern and choose correctly!
To end the night, we tried visiting David, but he wasn't home. We talked to his daughter, and she acted super weird around us 🤣; she walked into the apartment complex with us, and it looked like she had just gotten off a date because she had flowers in her hand and she was dressed very nicely.  She was acting super flirty and was staring at me and Elder Fuller super strangely 🤣; it was super uncomfortable and awkward. We got out of there quick. 

On Sunday, we had a pretty good Sunday!  Luis, Alfredo, and Nayuri came!  Before the service, Hermano Packard was able to help Nayuri get her things from her boyfriend's house and pack them in her car!  Hermano Packard is seriously the best! During testimony meeting, one of the members went up and bore her testimony on how "Trump" doesn't have more power than God, and how no one is illegal to God and how it's God's plan for us to all be here in the States!  Bishop was shaking his head the whole time and me and Elder Fuller were just sitting there laughing the whole time!  Also, Alfredo went up and bore his testimony on how he knew the church was true and how the church and the community has blessed and changed his life for the better!  He's trying his best to change and overcome some challenges, which he still faces, but he's trying his best!  He has the desire, and we are going to keep working with him!  
Also, during church, we had a really cool contact with a new member of the church named Jessica!  We got a call from the ZLs saying that they had a friend come to their chapel who spoke Spanish!  I was able to share the information of our services (since we have our services in another chapel) and she was able to come down to ours!  While talking to her, she told me that she was actually just recently baptized a little over a year!  She's even been to the temple, and she showed me her temple recommend!  She shared with us her conversion story with us and how she used to investigate many churches beforehand and how she had talked with missionaries before in the past. She told us how one day she was praying and asking God to help her find the right church and how afterwards, the missionaries knocked her door, and she let them teach her!  She got baptized a couple weeks later and is now working towards receiving her endowment!  She's only going to be down here temporarily, but she's super cool!  She's going to come Noche de Hogar as well! 
After, we had another really good lesson with Nayuri! Hermano Cruz was able to join us and help us out!  He gave her great life advice about how life is difficult and how the Savior knows what we go through because of his Atonement! He explained to her how the church focuses on service and how we are all here to help and support one another.  We explained to her becoming part of the Lord's family blesses in every way possible!  She was super grateful for everything that we have done so far.  I was able to share Moroni 7:10-16 with her, and I explained to her how good, happy, and joyful things come from God while bad things come from the Devil. (We explained the importance of opportunities as well) and that the good she has felt (the Spirit) has come directly from God.  Dennis testified very powerfully of how the church has changed his life and how the Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses us!  It was a super powerful lesson, and she is going to progress!  The gospel will bless her so much and I'm so excited to continue meeting with her!  I'm so excited to see how much her life will be blessed and changed through the gospel and the church! 
After church, we went home to finish planning and our studies! We also did daily contact!  After, I had to run over to the church to finish some of my plan!  I learned about the importance of self-efficiency (which I'm already really good at) and dating (which I'm not good at 🤣).  While leaving the chapel, I ran into Connor Schriever (previously Elder Schriever) and his family outside of the chapel!  He was visiting the mission with his family, and he wanted to show his family where the temple was going to be!  It caught me off guard to see him since it was so random, but it was fun to catch up with him (we took a picture as well).  After, we went and tried and contacting some people, but no one was wanting to talk!  We had some lady straight up lie to us on how she didn't send us a referral and how her "daughter" did it for her.  We also tried teaching some lady from Colombia that our church DOES exist in her country 🤣. I even showed her a map of the chapels we have over the world, and she still didn't believe us.  Ooh well, it always feels good to testify and teach people the gospel regardless of if they are interested or not! 
We did teach a cool guy name Victor. Funny enough he had actually been taught by Elder Schriever while he was serving down here, and he seemed interested in learning again!  We set up a time to visit with him, so we'll see how it goes!  To end the night, we tried visiting a couple inactive members (set up a return date with one of them named Maria) and we went street contacting!  The street where we walk has a lot of Indians since they have one their temples on it.  They are the nicest people, but they aren't interested at all what we have to offer (which I can understand).

On Monday, we had Interviews at the Mission Office! Beforehand, we had District Council where we talked about our friends, our key indicators, and how we can further help our friends who are progressing get baptized!  We also talked about the importance of helping our friends continuing to endure after their baptism and how helping them understand the covenant of baptism, the principle of enduring to the end, and the Priesthood/Temple can help them stay active after their baptism!  After lunch, we had one of MY favorite trainings I've had my whole mission!  President Larson drew a graph (I am going send a picture of the one I drew on my notebook here).  We talked about the secret of finding joy in our life, regardless of where we are at, looking back at the past with gratitude and appreciation (and understanding the good, the bad, the happiness, the sadness, etc.) was given to us to help us learn and gain experiences that shape us into the people we are today!  We also talked about how we need to look towards the future with hope and faith and understanding, that if we keep our covenants, strive to keep our discipleship, use our agency correctly etc., it will allow us to be successful! While we can't predict the future, we can do our best to prepare ourselves by anchoring ourselves to the Gospel of Jesus and the firm foundation it provides for us!  
Gratitude is such a powerful attribute of Christ and it's an attribute I've gained throughout my mission!  I'm still not perfect at it, and I still have a long way to go, but I've realized how blessed I am!  The gospel helps us so much better to understand the importance of gratitude!  I'm going to start writing down something I'm grateful for every single day as a reminder of everything I've been blessed and given!  With gratitude as well, you are able to help serve and help others around you as well!  My favorite saying of all time is, "We should all think, act, and do what the Savior would. If not, we shouldn't do it."  Elder Sabens talk, "Hallmarks of Happiness" is such a great talk and it's one I'm going to be studying more! 
After the Zone Training, I had my interview with President Larson!  He explained to me what my final couple of weeks would like (with RMTC and outbound interviews) and how grateful he was that I made the decision to stay and serve a full-time mission!  We talked about a lot of different things, but he mentioned to me how I was able to minister to the one throughout my mission (regardless of what companion I had or who I was teaching) and how I was always able to meet people where they are at!  He was grateful I was able to be a peacemaker to those around me and how I truly cared about the friends we're teaching!  It was definitely super nice of him to say that about him and I definitely feel the same about President Larson!  He also told me I'd be good at computer science since I'm very organized, clean, and how my desire for being a perfectionist would help me a lot haha!  He said that most of the employees he hired had OCD of some sorts, so maybe it really is the right path for me haha!  I shared the many things I've shared throughout my mission, which I'll include in my final email, and how much the mission has changed my life and shaped me into the person I am today! 
After interviews, which took up most of the day, we went over to teach Johnny outside of his apartment!  He was working on his bike, so he showed us around his garage haha! Afterwards, we taught him the first half of the Plan of Salvation and how we used to live with God as his spirit children and how he created his plan to help us progress and become like him one day!  We explained the doctrine of the soul and how the Lord created the earth for our souls to live on!  We clearly explained to him the Fall of Adam and Eve, the reason and the necessity of the Fall, and how Jesus Christ and his Atonement save us from the Fall physically and how his doctrine allows us to overcome spiritual death (which allows us to enter/with God again)!  Johnny is SO cool and he's going to progress super quick if he is able to meet with us and come to church regularly!  To end the lesson, we bore our testimonies on how the Plan of Salvation has changed and blessed our lives, and he could most defiantly feel the sincerity behind our testimony! 
After dinner, we taught Pascual at church about the Word of Wisdom, Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy, and the importance of the law of chasity!  We shared scriptures verses with him, and we bore personal testimonies to him how these commandments have blessed our lives!  He had no problem with any of these commandments and was super happy to know that he had already been keeping the commandments! He's so solid and I'm so excited for his baptism on July 20th! To end the night, we taught English Class!  We showed the class President Hinkley's "Lessons I've learned as a Kid" video and we helped the class listen to the video in English and understand and learn new words!  After English Class, we headed back to our apartment to start exchanges with the Zone Leaders!  I was going to stay in our Area with Elder Fontaine! 

On Tuesday, we had a really busy day for exchanges!  We woke up, played pickleball, exercised, and studied!   Most of our lessons were canceled so we spent most of the day finding them!  We went to Latham Street and the 7/11 and found a BUNCH of people!  We found six people in under an hour!  We talked to a bunch of Guatemalans!  All the Guatemalans down here work in restaurants!  I had to talk the whole entire time since Elder Fountain doesn't speak any Spanish 🤣.  Afterwards, we went over to Jessica's apartment to teach her, her brother and her roommates!  Well, it turns out our Elder Fuller and Elder Stocking had also gotten invited to come over to teach them too!  They had gotten there earlier than us so when we showed up, they had already finished teaching them 🤣! They taught a couple Indians that Jessica lived with who were actually really cool!  Her brother also really was!  He's been taught almost everything by the Elders where he used to live but had just recently moved down here! We are going to help him get in contact with the Elders up there! 
After that funny experience, we went and knocked on her apartment complex and found more people!  One thing I've been telling people is that we are "disciples of Jesus Christ and that we share the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others"!  I've found that people are way more interested in hearing from us when we say that!  We of course always tie back to the Restored gospel and the Book of Mormon! Afterwards, we went and visited a couple more people before a really cool miracle occurred!  

We were looking through our PMG app and saw a member of the ward named Anarda Escamilla!  Her timeline showed that no missionaries in the past had visited her before, so we felt inspired to go visit her and see if she even lived there anymore!  Well, we knocked her door, and some nice old lady opened the door and invited us in!  She was from El Salvador, and she shared with us her story on her she became a part of the church!  A while ago, I guess her sister met a returned missionary and they started dating and after, they got married! He was able to introduce her and her sister to the missionaries, and they were both later taught and baptized! Hermana Escamilla told us how she still remembers that day and how much she's been blessed since!  She still has a testimony of the gospel, and she told us she still reads in the scriptures and prays every single day!  She told us she isn't able to go to church because she's usually busy with her daughter, who's only available on Sundays, and how her health problems affect her from leaving the house very often! During our time together, I was feeling super inspired to offer her a blessing.  I asked her if she had ever received a blessing before and she told us that she had but that it had been years! I was able to give her a blessing in Spanish, and she was super appreciative of the blessing!  It was a super spiritual experience for me and honestly one of the coolest experiences of my mission!  It's pretty amazing how the Spirit can lead us to certain places and people as we are worthy of it!  After, me and Elder Fountain went to Chipotle to get some food and then we headed back to our apartment to grab his stuff!  It was his dad's birthday, so he called him and said Happy Birthday to him!  Elder Fountain and his family knew some of the kids I knew from Skyridge since he went there! We ended the night by finding a couple more people and playing volleyball with the Tongans at their volleyball night! They are the nicest people ever!  They make you feel like family regardless of what you look like!  Elder Fountain is a fantastic missionary and I'm so glad I've been able to have some exchanges with him!  It was fun to once again talk about our time in high school, girls, our friends and just how much we've grown up spiritually, physically, and emotionally while being missionaries!           

-Elder Copeland

WEEK 93 (CORRECT) *96

 For P-day today, we worked out and cleaned up the apartment!  It was already pretty clean, so it didn't take too long!  Afterwards, we went and bowled at the local bowling alley next to where we live!  It reminded me so much of Jack and Jill's (the bowling alley that we have in Utah), so it felt like I was back at home; I'm a terrible bowler, but it was fun regardless.  After, we went to Savers to go thrifting.  I was actually able to find a pretty cool tie and an ironer for my shirts!  One of the many things that I've learned on my mission is how you don't NEED that many things to survive and how you can always be stylish/good looking no matter what time of clothes you are wearing.  After, we got some lunch and then I got a haircut at a little Vietnamese barber shop down the street.  I was skeptical about it at first, but the lady there actually did a pretty good job!  It was relatively cheap as well! After, we went shopping, did our laundry, and played some basketball at the church!  We also talked with our families!  After P-day ended, we tried going to our lessons, but they all canceled on us, sadly.  We tried to get stuff done, but everyone was either not home or not interested: ooh well!

On Thursday, we had our weekly zoom call where we talked about Atonement of Jesus Christ and how the Book of Mormon helps us to better understand his Atonement and his role as our Savior and Redeemer in the Plan of Salvation!  I would NOT have the testimony or the knowledge I have of the Savior without the Book of Mormon!  It truly is an amazing book that has changed my life, and it has truly helped me through the hardest times of my mission!  There are dozens (if not hundreds) of verses in the Book of Mormon that testify of Christ and his Atonement!  After contacting our referrals, studying, and eating lunch, we headed to the chapel to Weekly Plan!  Weekly planning has been one of my strengths as a missionary because I am able to be so organized throughout the week!  I always make sure to have plans/contacts for all of our friends throughout the week!  We really have been blessed as missionaries to have "Preach my Gospel"!   Afterwards, we went and taught Kevin at his house! Before teaching him, we had a LONG chat about how he entered the United States from Columbia; apparently, he flew all the way to Mexico and then crossed the border through the river!  He got caught by the border patrol, but they let him through for some reason haha (he didn't tell us the specifics on how he got out).  It was a pretty crazy story!  For our lesson, we taught him about the Sacrament and the importance of making covenants!  After, we went through the five principles of the Doctrine of Christ and how covenants with God allow us to obtain eternal life!  We read from 3 Nephi 27:8-22 with him and explained to him how the Savior taught his people here in the Ancient Americas and how his doctrine still applies to our lives today!  I've really gained a testimony of the simplicity of the doctrine and of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! If we have faith, repent, make/keep/and renew covenants with God and endure to the end, we will obtain the highest kingdom of Glory in the Celestial Kingdom!  It's super important that we understand the Plan of Salvation and how the Savior's Atonement and his doctrine go hand and hand!  I'm so grateful for the knowledge and testimony I've gained during my time as a missionary!  I will continue to study and learn more every single day!  Kevin really liked the scriptures we read with him, and he has the desire to keep learning and growing!   We also explained to him the difference between the Holy Ghost and the Gift of the Holy Ghost!  We used Acts 19:1-6 to explain to him the difference between the two!  We ended our lesson by bearing our testimonies on the gospel and how it brings blessings and happiness in our lives!  Kevin and Betsy are so cool, but they are just so busy with work!  Kevin works two jobs (one at Target and one as a janitor at a hospital) so he isn't able to come to church very often!  We are going to keep visiting and nurturing him; he will get there one day! 

After dinner, we hung out with Adrianna and Mariela, two young girls who are actually converts to the church!  They shared their conversion stories with us and how they came to know the gospel!  One of them told us how the missionaries had found her while she was sitting in her car!  They knocked on her door and began talking to her through the car window!  She had some opposition with her family since they were devout Catholics, but she eventually overcame that and was baptized a couple months later!  One thing she mentioned to us that really stood out was how the Elders would have genuine conversations with her before trying to teach!  They got to know her as a person, what makes her happy, etc. before trying to teach her anything!  I've gained such a strong  testimony of this principle throughout my mission!  It's so crucial we show these people that we are real, genuine human beings, as well!  Building relationships allows trust to be built as well!  I always love hearing stories of recent converts and their experiences with the missionaries and the church as a whole!  It gives me so much hope and it shows me that what we are doing as missionaries truly does mean something important!  It also allows me to learn how I can be a more effective missionary! 

After dinner, we went to the park to teach Andres!  We didn't have much time, but we taught him about the Priesthood and how God is our Father in Heaven!  We had to help him understand the difference between Priesthood keys, authority and offices, and how the Priesthood differentiates our church from any other church!  We also explained to him the significance of having a modern-day living prophet!  He has a pretty Catholic background so we're helping him better understand the restored gospel!  He's really cool, he just works a lot! 

Afterwards, we went to the church and taught Pascual and Alberto about the Book of Mormon and the story of Lehi and his family! They now understand the Book of Mormon and the story of it! I made sure to include and testify how the Book of Mormon clearly testifies of the Plan of Salvation, the Atonement and Gospel of Jesus Christ, the restoration and the other principles of the Gospel!  It truly is an amazing book!  We ended the night by helping teach English class and starting exchanges with Elder Fontane!  Elder Fontane is a really cool guy!  He's been out for around a year and actually went to Skyridge!  He knew a couple of the people I knew over there, and we talked a lot about our time in high school and the experiences we had!  Right before going to bed, one of the English Elder's friends named Jimmy called us up and talked to us for like 45 minutes haha!  His wife is a member, and his daughter actually works for the church!  He's been taught by the missionaries for a while now but just hasn't had the desire to be baptized yet!  I guess a lot of the Elders in the past have really tried to push baptism on him which has frustrated him. There are times when missionaries are a little too pushy and we must learn to be bold but not overbearing!  I shared my testimony on the Book of Mormon and how the Plan of Salvation has changed my life!  I told him he'll know when he's ready to be baptized and that if he can do the spiritual work required of him, the Spirit will testify to him that it's the right thing to do!  He really liked what I was telling him, and he appreciated what I was telling him!  He's like the Elders' best friend, so hopefully I get to meet him before heading home!  He loves the missionaries and what we do/dedicate our lives to do!  Funny guy!

On Friday for exchanges with Elder Fontane, we began the day by playing pickleball with the Zone and then studying!  We began the day by trying to visit some people but none of them were home; we had some white lady get really mad at us 🤣! I was able to find some nice Spanish friends for us!  I talked to some guy who had an ankle monitor with a blunt in his hand (I couldn't tell if he was there all the way) but he liked what I was teaching him!  After, we had lunch with a recent convert of the Elders who had recently hit a year named Pat!  She was a super interesting (but nice) lady!  She was found by a couple Elders while collecting recycling and she has loved the gospel ever since!  She's getting endowed on July 5 which is awesome!  For a spiritual thought, we taught her about the importance of finding the good in others and being a peacemaker!  She has a deep hatred for the current President of the United States and claims he's "Satan" 🤣.  Nice lady though!  

After Pat, we had our companionship study and then we went and visited a couple recent converts the Elders had!  We taught a new member named David about the doctrine of the Soul and how we are blessed both spiritually and physically when we keep the commandments!  He still struggles with smoking, so we pointed him to the Savior and his Atonement and how he always allows us to heal both spiritually and physically!  He's trying to go to the temple so hopefully the Elders are able to keep helping him!  We also shared a video with him that also talked about how we can be a "light" to others by the things we do and the things we say!  He was a really sweet man!  We took a picture with him as well!  While leaving, we talked to some guy who claimed he wasn't Christian (he told us he was Catholic) and how he didn't believe in Christ (even though he had a tattoo of Jesus on his forearm) so me and Elder Fontane were definitely a little confused 🤣. 

After, we went and taught another convert of theirs named Ashley!  She is really cool, and she's only been baptized for over a little a month now!  She has pretty bad social anxiety, but the gospel has been able to help her out!  We taught her about temples, baptisms for the dead, and the Plan of Salvation!  She already knows a lot, so it was a good discussion!  I'm super happy for her and I can't wait to see her go to the temple!  While leaving, I ran into a man from El Salvador!  While talking to him, I found out his family was actually members and that his cousin had actually just recently gotten back from a mission!  I got his information and set up a time to try and plan something with him!  After, we knocked a bunch of apartments up and either no one was there or/not interested!  It was pretty miserable haha; me and Elder Fontane did have a pretty crazy experience though! 

We knocked on this door and some man (I can't spell or pronounce) from China opens the door and is ecstatic to see us!  His English wasn't the best, but he rambled on to us about a bunch of things!  It turns out that he was actually a member of the church and that he had been baptized in Salt Lake City while living there!  He wasn't currently active, but he wanted to start coming back so that he could help serve others!  He also told us that he has sons who have not been taught or baptized before, so he wants the missionaries to teach and baptize them!  Me and Elder Fontane were definitely caught off guard but also excited at the same time!  We set up a time for the Elders to meet with them the following day, so hopefully it all goes well!  After that and dinner, we went knocking and had no success!  We went to this really modern apartment complex that was extremely difficult to navigate!  We couldn't find anyone!  I'm very grateful I get to work with the Latinos because they are so much easier to talk to about the gospel! Overall, I had a really good day with Elder Fontane, but I definitely prefer my area! 

On Saturday, we began the day by working out and helping a member of the English Ward with a huge service project!  He lives up in the mountains, so it was a bit of a drive!  When we got there, we had to load up a bunch of boxes, shelves, frames, etc. that we had to load up in his Uhaul!  We were pretty tight on space, so I had to get in there and organize the truck for them since I'm pretty organized 🤣; after, we had to help sweep the floors of the home and clean up the kitchen! Brother Johnson (the member moving) got a late notice that he had to move out of the house he was renting since a pipeline below the home had broken and they had to gut the foundation of the place; he was pretty stressed, but he was super grateful for our help!  I can't imagine what he would have done without us! 

After our service project, we came home and showered and planned out the day!  After daily contact and visiting a couple people, we had a really good lesson at the chapel with Jorge and Alfredo!  Brother Estrada was able to come and join us as well!  We emphasized this lesson on the importance of faith and how faith requires us to take action and do things that are hard, and how it ultimately ends up blessing us!  We read Alma 32 with them, and we explained to them how our faith needs to be nurtured through action!  We explained to them the importance of reading in the scriptures, praying, coming to Church and doing the necessary spiritual work to grow spiritually!  We also testified that faith leads to action and that action is what allows us to grow and be blessed!  Jorge told us he lacks discipline and refuses to act even though he knows what he needs to!  We pointed him to pray and invited him to keep some commitments (such as coming to church) that may be hard for him to do, but that will bless him!  One thing I've learned during my time as a missionary is that action leads to motivation!  There have been times in my life, and mission, when I did not want to do something! (A lot of the time actually) But through faith in the Lord and thinking about the future and the blessings that will come if I DO just act, I've been able to build discipline and do the hard things I don't want to do!  Every time we do things that seem too hard/things we don't want to do but do them anyways, we are always blessed, and we always feel so much better about ourselves!  I hope I was able to help Jorge (and Alfredo) understand this! If they could just choose to act and do the hard things that require them to act, their lives would be so much better and happier!  The Gospel teaches us so many things, but it really does teach us the importance of acting and not waiting to be acted upon! 

I've learned so many valuable life lessons that have forever changed my life!  I'm so grateful for everything the mission has taught me!  I pray that both of them can be blessed and receive the help they need!  We can do everything we can do to help them and point them to the Savior/sources that give them the help they need, they still ultimately have to do their job!  Overall, it was a really good lesson about faith, what faith is, how we obtain it and how it MUST be acted upon!  We ended the night by inviting the rest of the friends we had to church and by trying to visit a couple of inactive members!

For Sunday, we had a pretty decent Sunday!  I was able to watch my cousins' Farewell (Preston) on Zoom and he did a fantastic job!  He's going to be an amazing missionary in Guatemala!  I love how he taught us to look for things to be grateful for every single day and how the gospel allows us to obtain true happiness! 

At church, we had four friends come!  Alberto, Alfredo, Johnny, and Johnston came!  This was Johnny's first time coming and he really enjoyed it!  Pascual wasn't able to come, due to a family emergency, but he was doing good!  Luis was working which was a bit of a bummer but we're going to meet up with him later this week!  Cesar was out of town AGAIN so we're probably going to have to push back his baptism 😪; the biggest heartbreak of the whole morning was Jorge telling us he wasn't going to come.  He had pulled up to the parking lot, but he backed out at the last second and left.  It seriously breaks my heart seeing him do this to himself!  I've tried so hard to help him, but he's not doing the things that he needs to do for himself!  I'll keep praying for him and trying with him because the gospel would be such a blessing in his life!  I just wish he'd make better choices!  I can love him, guide him, and show him where he can go for help and what WILL help him, but he ultimately still has his agency, and he still has to make choices for himself; I really am learning early on how to be a parent 😂. 

After Sunday school, we had Sacrament meeting and during the sacrament meeting, I was asked to introduce myself and bare my testimony!  After church, we had a pretty funny lesson with Johnston!  He wanted to read the Bible with us so that's what we did!  He brought up some random scripture in Psalms that explains how there has to be "loud music" when worshipping God during church!  We explained to him the importance of reverence and how the Holy Ghost only communicates to us in a "small, still voice"!  We shared 1 Kings 19:11-12 with him to help him better understand this principle!  We also explained to him a little more on how our missions work, how members of the church can be married to those outside of the faith (just not sealed) and how families can be sealed together!  Johnston is a super funny guy, and I always enjoy our conversations with him!  He knows a lot about the scriptures, so we always are learning something new together!  He interprets the scriptures in interesting ways at times, but we have been able to better help him understand restored doctrine!  Hopefully, one day he can be converted to the Restored Gospel; it might take him awhile, but I believe he can get there one day! 

Afterwards, we had our missionary correlation meeting and then I worked on some of my plan!  I set goals for my future and I'm preparing myself spiritually, physically, and mentally to end my mission!  After dinner, we went and talked to Blanca and German really quickly, but they were pretty busy!  We said hi to Joel before he had to head out to work!  He was once again grateful for all of his blessings he had received and for what we do as missionaries!  I love how positive and grateful Joel is!  He inspires me to become better and look for the good in this life!  Afterwards, we visited with one of our friends named Luis!  He had been taught by the Elders in the past but had to be dropped because he wasn't progressing.  While visiting him, he told us that he had been going through some tough times with him and his wife.  We talked about his past experiences with the missionaries and how he had been blessed by listening to the missionaries.  We talked about faith and the power of repentance!  We read Alma 34:32 with him to help him better understand that we are all preparing to meet God right now!  We explained to him how the Doctrine of Christ allows us to live with God again!  He said he really wants to go to church and that he has a huge desire to repent and become better!  We are going to start visiting with him again so hopefully he can progress this time around!

For Monday, we began the day by working out and having District Council!  We talked about the importance of avoiding contention while others are contentious with us!  Applying Christlike attributes in our life and striving to live like the Savior blesses us so much!  It allows us to not only be happy/feel better about ourselves, but the lives of those around us are blessed as well!  After district lunch at In-n Out, we came back to the apartment to do daily contact!  Afterwards, we went and found a couple people!  We always go up and down one street we have in our area since that's where most of the Latinos are haha!  I had a guy named Antonio who didn't want to talk to us, but I was pretty bold with him!  I told him to give us just two minutes and he eventually folded!  We testified that God is our loving Heavenly Father and that Jesus Christ is our Savior, Redeemer, and the Son of God!  We explained to him the Book of Mormon and read 3 Nephi 11:8-11 with him to explain Jesus Christ and his Atonement and how he can be a light to all of us.  I testified that God loves us and that the message we teach blesses lives!  He seemed pretty interested afterwards, so I think my boldness might have worked! 

After dinner, we had a really good lesson with Pascual! Hermano Packard was able to join us and help us out!  We showed him the, "For God So Loved the World," video and then we taught him the covenant of baptism!  We went over the four things we covenant with God when we are baptized and the blessings we receive in return!  We bore our testimonies on how covenants with God have blessed our lives and how the gift of the Holy Ghost allows us to feel happiness, peace, joy, etc. and how it also teaches us as well! We shared Galatians 5:22-23 to explain the "fruits" of the Spirit and afterwards we shared John 14:26!  We bore our testimonies on the Doctrine of Christ and how following Jesus Christ and having the desire to be his disciple is all he asks of us!  We invited Pascual to be baptized on the 20th of July, and he accepted!  We helped him understand that every time he is with us, he is feeling the Spirit and how the Spirit testifies of truth!  We also explained eternal families and how we are a family/community of followers of Christ!  He is so prepared, and I'm so excited/blessed that I'll be able to be here for his baptism!  We are going to keep helping him and we are going to make sure he is 100% ready to be baptized in three weeks! We ended the night by teaching English Class and helping them understand the importance of the principle of enduring to the end!

On Tuesday, we began the day by playing pickleball and working out!  After finishing our studies, finishing daily contact and contacting our referrals, we went to the library to teach our friend Luis!  He was going through a bit of a hard time, so we helped him out by hearing him!  A lot of times people just need to be heard and understood!  After hearing what he was going through, we felt inspired to teach him about the Resurrection and the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  We went over what the Celestial Kingdom was again and what the doctrine of Christ was and how it allows us to obtain the Celestial Kingdom!  We explained to him about faith in Jesus Christ, how we obtain it, and how it is a principle of action where we are required to do things! (Such as reading the scriptures, praying, etc.) We also explained to him repentance and the steps that are needed to take to repent properly!  Afterwards, we explained to him the symbolism used during baptism and the significance of the Gift of the Holy Ghost!  We used a wristband to explain to him the difference between the Holy Ghost and the Gift of the Holy Ghost!  After, we read Act 2:38 and explained to him how baptism has two parts!  We explained to him the principle of enduring to the end and the importance of the Sacrament/keeping the Sabbath day holy! We bore our testimonies on the Atonement, the Gospel, and the Plan of Salvation!  He definitely is starting to comprehend and understand better what we are teaching him!  We helped him set a goal to read and pray every single day so that he can prepare himself for his baptismal date for August 3rd! 

After, a bunch of our lessons fell through (as always), we spent a lot of the day finding!  We were able to find a couple cool people so hopefully they can progress!  I talked to a cool guy from Niger who had just recently gotten here from Paris! He wasn't interested but we talked about our times there since we've both been over there!  Afterwards, we continued to find a lot since all of our lessons had been canceled!  We taught a nice guy named Jessie about the Plan of Salvation and our purpose here on earth!  We also taught him about the Book of Mormon and its witness of Christ!  Afterwards, we found another really cool lady named Rosario!  She wasn't really interested at first, but she definitely opened up after sharing the Book of Mormon with her!  I love sharing 2 Nephi 25:26 with people to help them understand the Book of Mormon! She had a really good understanding of repentance, so she loved the principles of the gospel as well!  

Afterwards, we had dinner with Brother Martinez!  He's the Stake Patriarch (Spanish speaking) so I was able to talk to him about his experiences he's had as a patriarch and how he prepares to give blessings!  He told me he prepares by reading, praying, and avoiding things that draw away the Spirit!  Very similar to how my Grandpa George prepares!  To end the night, we taught Andres at the park about the restoration and the story of Joseph Smith!  He's a really cool guy!  I bore my witness on how the restoration has blessed my life and how through the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith, we have received the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and all the blessings that are associated with it!  As we study and try to learn more about the restoration, we truly do understand how important it was, the necessity behind it, and the truthfulness of it!  I love studying and trying to understand more every day!  His dog was going crazy during the whole lesson, but we were able to help him stay focused 🤣: We ended the night by stopping at the gas station and saying, "What up?" to our guy who works there!  We've built a pretty good relationship with the guy since we go to the gas station so often!  He's a super nice guy from India (I can't spell his name out) and he's always giving us good deals!  

-Elder Copeland