Week 12: Happy Halloween

October 31, 2016

This was a real amazing week! I saw many miracles and really learned a lot. I know I say this just about every time but man the weeks go by too fast. It feels like I just emailed yesterday.

There were a lot of tender mercies this week. One day we had all of our appointments fall through and just decided to do a ton of tracting. So we were tracting along and after like 3 hours of zero success, I started to get a little tired but since one of my goals is to stay optimistic, I started giving myself a little pep talk, got myself excited to be on the Lord's errand and said a little prayer. Then the next 2-3 people we talked to sat down with us and offered us some water and we just had some great conversations. I know the Lord was looking out for me and we were able to invite others to come unto Christ. 

Our District is also really tight. We got to do some service and had some dinners together this week and I love all the missionaries that I am serving with. We also finally took a took a couple district pictures (Elder McCleve didn't want to be in them so that's why he is hiding). Our District leader, Elder Soller is great and really helped me to become a better missionary this week while talking with him. He reminded me that as missionaries, our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ  and that "others" means members, companions, less actives and investigators. 

The truly miraculous part of this week was just realizing how much I have changed since being out here. It feels like I grow a year's worth every month. The Lord is really helping me to be able to apply what I am teaching to myself as well as with others. 

I have a testimony that the gospel of Jesus Christ really is the best way to happiness and peace. I know that the Atonement can change you, if you let it.

Anyways I hope everyone has a wonderful week and stays safe. Happy Halloween!

    

Love,

Elder Morgan

Week 11: Grandmas and Spirit Animals

October 24, 2016

This week was so great! I love being a missionary! We had a lot of fun being out and working hard to preach the gospel. We saw a lot of miracles and I gain a stronger testimony each week that this is the Lord's gospel and church. 

It has also been a very humbling week. I have been praying to learn how I can be a better missionary and man the Lord helped me realize a lot of things I could be doing more effectively. It is amazing that the Lord can work with such imperfect people. 

One miracle we saw that made me so happy to see was the transformation that Nathan has gone through. He got a suit and he let me cut his hair and he looks like a new person! I forgot to get a picture but it is amazing what the gospel can do to people. The ward is now helping him on the job search. 

We have a lot of people that are committed to baptism right now but are struggling to make it to church and to keep their commitments. I have a lot of fun teaching them though and am praying for them to be converted to the Lord. 

We had the opportunity to do a lot of service this week for members and less actives. I love serving the people of Colorado and have felt so much charity for them as I have served them. I am grateful to be here and that I have the opportunity to serve.

My testimony of Christ and this gospel has grown so much. This really is the Lord's work and I have a strong testimony that when you are trying your hardest, the Lord can use you as an instrument in His hands. 

The spirit is so real. We were out with a member and had a lesson fall through so we decided to stop by an investigators house that is struggling to know if the gospel is right for her. When we got there she said that that day she had prayed the God would help her and uplift her and said she knew we would be over that day. She has also been struggling to read the Book of Mormon so we read a chapter with her and all of us really felt the spirit. She committed to read a chapter a day. It is so cool to see the Lord work!

Anyways I hope everyone is having as much fun back home as I am having here! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Morgan

This a picture of me trying to sneak up on a bald eagle we saw so I could pet him. I then realized he was a statue....haha just kidding. But the picture of me and that lady is Sister Firedancer. she is this super Native American woman who has visited like 400 reservations. She gave me my spirit animal a couple weeks ago and I'm a beaver... haha, did not expect that but she is one of my favorite ladies here. its like I am collecting grandmas.

Sister Firedancer

Feeling like he's back at home

Week 10: On Our Own...

October 17, 2016

This week has been awesome! It was great to be with just Elder McCleve, though I do miss Elder Rogers. It was a pretty easy transition to being on our own from having a trainer to help out. The Lord has definitely lifted us up. 

We were able to do a lot of service this week and teach a lot of lessons, it was a great week. It is a lot easier to teach with just two people as well so our lessons have gone a lot smoother. It's definitely a lot quieter without a third though. We have a lot of new people in our district as well, Elder Soller is our new district leader and we got new sisters, they are all awesome! 

District Peeps

One of the highlights of this week was being able to watch the Fort Collins Temple Dedication on Sunday. Instead of regular church service we were able to watch the dedication. There were three sessions and we were able to make it to all three of them. President Uchtdorf dedicated it and it was a really uplifting experience. 

Fort Collins, CO Temple

Another great part of this week was teaching Ethan. We found him tracting and he has been so prepared for this gospel. He is 18 years old and we gave him a Book of Mormon when we first met him. When we met with him again he said it was hard to put it down at night! He reads everyday when he wakes up and when he goes to bed, it's so awesome! And he totally believes it all and has been praying about it everyday! I'm so excited for him and it's really a privilege to teach him. 

My faith and testimony of this work have grown in leaps and bounds this week and I'm just thankful that the Lord has given my the opportunity to serve here, I've loved everyday. Well I hope everyone is having fun and being safe!

Love,

Elder Morgan

Fake Grass - Fake Flowers

Week 9: 2nd Transfer

October 10, 2016

Oh snap this has been a fantastic week. I had so much fun preaching and teaching this week and the Lord blessed us with a lot of success. It was the last week of our 1st transfer and I can't believe it happened so fast. 

The definite highlight of the week was the baptism of both Nathan and Jeff! We had a service for them both and it was amazing to see them enter into that covenant with God and start on the path to Eternal Life. I had the privilege of being able to baptize Nathan and that just made it all the more awesome. There really is nothing like being a missionary. 

Nathan's Baptism

Every week I understand a little bit more about how blessed I am to be a member of the Lord's church. While reading Alma, I've found that the theme in my eyes really is that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings joy like nothing else and as I have been serving a mission, I have felt that joy more fully and want to share it with everyone. 

One of the most spiritual experiences this week for me was being able to read the Book of Mormon with an investigator we have who wasn't really understanding it. We read out loud a chapter and the spirit was so strong and helped her to understand it so well. the power of the Book of Mormon is so real.

Elder McCleve and I were able to teach a couple lessons on our own this week and they were some of the most spiritual and effective lessons I have taught while out here. Apparently the Lord also thought we did OK without our trainer because we found out that Elder Rogers is getting transferred tomorrow! Elder McCleve and I will be finishing up our training on our own and are co-senior companions. I'm not too worried about it though because we have the Lord to make up for any of our short comings as new missionaries. Hopefully I don't mess it up though haha. 

Anyways I hope everyone is doing great and I love you all.

     

Love,

Elder Morgan

Elder Rogers - Jonah's Trainer

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Week 8: Crazy Kids & Beautiful Hikes

October 3, 2016

What a wonderful week! I've had a lot of fun this week being in the service of the Lord. It's amazing how fast the weeks go by though, weeks feel like days. It's weird to think that I will have been our for a transfer by the end of this week, it flew by! I have had a lot of missionaries tell me that the second transfer goes by even faster though, which is hard to believe.

Conference weekend was so awesome! I noticed a lot of themes about the Book of Mormon, restoration and missionary work but maybe that's only because I'm on a mission. My favorite talks was probably President Nelson's talk on joy, but there were so many good ones, it's hard to pick a favorite. We got to watch it at members houses for the most part but watched in the church as well. It was a strengthening experience to hear from God's chosen servants.

We had a fun p-day last week where we got to go on a hike that included these awesome tunnels we went through. It followed the Arkansas River and it was really pretty. I'll be getting some winter clothes today because it normally snows before Halloween here.

Arkansas River

We started teaching two families that I really love this week as well. One is a single mom with these three crazy kids and the other is this family with 2 even crazier kids, it reminds me of home, haha. All the kids that we teach are in love with me which makes it really fun. This little girl had to have her Dad hold her back  from hugging me and then when he let her go after she "calmed down", she bolted  over and tackle-hugged me, haha.


I'm really excited because we should be having 2 baptisms this Saturday if all goes as planned! So we will be preparing Jeff and Nathan to enter into that covenant with God this week. 

It has been a great week though, and I am thankful that the Lord has blessed me to be able to serve. I definitely miss my family, but I should be back in not time if it keeps going by this fast.

Love, 
Elder Morgan


Some additional back-and-forth emails:

Ya that was from a cool couple in the ward that we watched conference with yesterday! I definitely miss being with the family on conference weekend. I loved conference though. Ya I heard Black Angus doesn't sit too well with Isaac haha! Man I hate it too but that's cool about Eli, make sure he send me some pictures! Keep me updated though on everything, no ones divorced or anything right? Ya We got that cookies and they were awesome! thank you so  much, that made my week for sure and the other guys also appreciated it. I've gained like 7 pounds since the MTC though so I might come back with diabetes haha. And I have to shave like every 3 days now, I'm becoming a real man. But anyways I love and miss you Mom!

Love,

Elder Morgan

Billy and Conny, two recent converts that we see every week, they're hilarious.