Week 101- the LAST email!

We have had a really good week. We found 2 new investigators that are really awesome and were a reference from a member. We were walking around just contacting and looking for someone to teach, when a member walked up to us and told us that his friends wanted to meet us and talk to us. He took us right to them and we taught them right there. We have since returned and both are really interested in learning more about the church. One has accepted a baptismal date and is really awesome. Members are the key to missionary work, because it makes things so much easier when they already have a friend at church, someone to support and help them when we are not there. I hope to finish strong this week. I dont want to become lazy or give up, I know that I still have work to do and that these people need this message that we have. We have a few activities this week and our ward wants to go to the temple and take everyone including investigators. The Bishop wants a lot of people to go, so that they can know the Temple and feel the spirit there. This ward has been awesome and has helped so much these last few transfers. It's sooooooo crazy that this is my last email. See you all soon!
Love, Elder Monson

Week #100- first time in a sealing!

This week was awesome. We were able to go to the sealing of our ward mission leader. It was my first time in a sealing and it was so awesome. I loved it and I felt the spirit really strong. This is the goal. We want all of our converts to go to the temple and participate in the blessings that we receive there. This is also one of my goals for when I get home, I want to stay worthy to get sealed in the temple so that I can be with my future wife forever. We have been teaching many great investigators and they are progressing really well. One of our investigators is recognizing answers to his prayers and is reading the Book of Mormon a lot. We are planning on inviting him to be baptized on the 6th of February and I know that he can make it. He is a great investigator. Another investigator that we have told us yesterday that he is prepared to get baptized after investigating for about 6 months. He knows a lot and will help the church a lot as long as we make sure that he is a true convert. Our ward is planning to go to temple on February 4th to kind of say goodbye to me and Sister Hansen. We are preparing our recent converts for this date and we believe that they will have a few names for this day. I love this ward. They are so focused on getting people to the Temple. Especially the Bishop. He loves missionary work and works hard to help us.
Love, Elder Monson

Week #99- work to find new investigators!

This week was great, we had the opportunity to go to the temple with some recent converts and they loved it. After we went the father of this family came with us to do visits and he shared his experience with everyone we talked to, even the contacts. He is a great convert and loves sharing his testimony and teaching others. We have had a lot of help from the recent converts in our area, they help us a lot to find new investigators and to help our investigators feel the spirit. Yesterday I was able to be in divisiones with a convert from a month ago, he helped so much with his testimony and his energy to help others know what he knows. I love seeing the change in people as they accept the gospel and live it. My companion and I are having good success as we both work to find new investigators. Sometimes I feel like I have contacted every house in this area but my companion pushes me to keep working and to keep trying. We know that if we do our part that the Lord will provide us with people to teach. All of this comes from the basic things, just working diligently and using our time wisely. If we do these things God will trust us with new investigators. My pensionista is SO AWESOME, she cares for us and is really funny, she helps us relieve the stress from all that we do and her food is SOO good. She is like a 2nd mom to me. I love her and I am so thankful for all that she does for me. She is amazing! 

Love, Elder Monson

Week #98- it was like payday!

This week was awesome, we were really busy, but I got to go to the endowment of one of my first converts. It was so amazing. She was so happy and has grown so strong in the gospel. She told me that now her daughter is going to get married and sealed in a few months. Her daughter wasn’t a member when I left the area. I was so happy to hear that good news. It was like payday. We work hard so that this happens so that these people and their families can receive these blessings and participate in the happiness that this gospel brings us. It all started with her being the example in her family and it has made a huge impact. Even her ex husband has gotten baptized because of her daughter’s example. This gospel has blessed their family so much. Also this week we taught a golden investigator. He accepted a baptismal date and when he asked his parents’ permission to get baptized he found out that his dad is a member that is less active. He prayed to know if the Book of Mormon is true and he said that he knows it is true because his family is more united now and that he feels good when he prays. He is amazing and is going to get baptized very soon. This has been a great week and I hope to keep having more weeks like this.

Love, Elder Monson

Week #97- This gospel will change their lives!

This week was really great, we were able to teach many lessons and find new investigators that can really progress. This area is progressing daily and we should have a lot of success this transfer. We talked this week with my companion of what we want to do this transfer and we are going to focus on just always being busy. We always want to be doing something so that we can use our time wisely. One thing I want to do this transfer is to talk with everyone, just try inviting as many people as possible to listen to us, so we can have more people to teach. We have tried asking for references in church during the Priesthood class and we hope to see the fruits of our efforts and the efforts of the members. We need their help to be able to have success. The members are really helping us, especially the young men, the ward mission leader and the bishop. They are so awesome and really focused on missionary work. I want them to see the blessings that they are going to receive for helping us. This gospel will change their lives and will bless them so much. I remember when I started I just kind of did what my companion said to do, but now I want to do things right and in the best way so that these people can receive the blessings. I love these people and want to help them the best I can.
Love, Elder Monson

Week #96- ready for my last transfer!

This week was awesome. We had a really good Christmas and we ate a ton! I was surprised of how good of a week we had. I thought that many people were going to be gone and that we wouldn’t have very many lesson. I am glad that I was wrong. We were able to teach many good lessons, and really help them feel the spirit of Christmas. I loved this year, because I wasn’t focused on what I was going to get. I feel like I am still working hard and my companion is helping me a lot with that. I am ready for my last transfer and I promise that I will work hard until the end. I don’t want to go home with any regrets and I know that God expects me to work hard. I really don’t want to leave this area, but I will accept where ever God sends me. I still have a lot to learn so I hope to learn a lot this transfer, especially enduring to the end. I want to create habits that I can carry home so that I can stay close to God and to always be obedient. I love the mission and it has helped me so much. I have gone through some rough patches, but I have learned from them and I continue to learn new things each day. My goal this transfer is to learn to be more humble and accept counseling from others.
Love, Elder Monson

Week #95- we just need to do our part and we will be okay!

This week was pretty good, and we were able to find a few really cool new investigators. We have been trying to look for new ways to find new investigators and this week we were able to receive a few references from the members, by asking them at church to bring us references. We are going to start asking them every week to bring more references and we know that we will be able to find great people to teach. We were able to do divisions twice this week and I learned a lot from it. I learned to just be friends with the people that we contact and I learned to teach better. I feel like we need to gain the confidence of the people that we teach and the people that we talk to, so that they can trust in us and so they can feel our love for them. I have learned to love these people so much and I want to help them. Another thing that I learned with my companion this week is that there are many people that are going down really bad paths. It took me more than 20 months to realize it and see it like I saw it this week. It impacted me and I really want to help these people. I know that I can’t help everyone and that not everyone wants our help, but we just need to do our part and we will be okay. I am excited for Christmas this year, because I can really see the difference and changes that I have made from last year. This week was a week of learning. I love it! Transfers are on the 29th! Yesterday we taught a family that is getting ready to get sealed and we taught them about families and how they can be forever. I love my family and I am so happy that I can be with you forever.
Love, Elder Monson

Week #94- We all are children of God!

This week was a good week, we were able to progress with many investigators and we feel like they have a lot of potential and that they will get baptized really soon. The members of this ward help a lot and make friends really fast with our investigators. We are getting ready for Christmas and using that as an excuse to talk to many people. I feel like people are going to be more accepting now that we are close to Christmas and people are thinking more about Christ. My companion and I have been teaching a lot about the plan of salvation and we have been talking about it and we have been able to realize how perfect Gods plan really is. It is amazing and we are so blessed to know this plan. We know the importance of our savior in this plan and we really want to help others come to know these things. We all are children of God and have the privilege to receive all of his blessings. Everything has happened and will happen according to Gods plan so we can trust in him and his plan and have the hope that everything will be okay if we do our part and do our best to be like Him. My companion is helping me a lot and I know that I needed to be with him this transfer and hopefully one more. I have started a new thing at night that I have to read at least one chapter of The Book of Mormon before going to bed. I want to gain the habit of reading the scriptures because I really want to and not just because we have one hour of personal study in the mornings. I love it and I am going to finish the Book of Mormon in Spanish before I go home.
Love, Elder Monson

Week #93- sent us to her house in the right moment!

This week was kind of hard, because many of our appointments fell through and we have been really busy with activities and service projects, and other stuff like that, but we were able to have a pretty good week. We were going to visit one of our investigators to teach him and finish the lessons that he needed to get baptized, but his dad told us that he couldn’t at that time because he was sleeping. So we left and we went to visit a contact that we had done that same day and she let us in her house. We started teaching her and she opened up to us and started telling us about the problems that she has been having. She told us that she had been praying for help and that she knows that God sent us to her house in the right moment. She accepted a baptismal date on the first visit and she is amazing. She is ready to accept this gospel and it is going to bless her a lot. We were also able to have a baptism this week. He is a young man that was involved with bad friends and went down a bad road that lead him to bad things. He really wants to change and he has, he is amazing and a true convert. He is ready to help his family live the gospel as well. His family is less active and he is going to set the example for his whole family. He was able to receive the priesthood yesterday. He wants to come with us to do visits and we are going to leave with him on Friday to do visits. This ward is great and really helps us in the Lords work.
Love, Elder Monson

Week #92- working hard to find new people to teach!

This week was good but hard. Almost all of our appointments fell through so we had to work really hard to find people in their houses to teach them. We have really good investigators and we are working hard to find new people to teach. We really progressed with one of our investigators this week as he really opened up to us. He told us about what his life style was in the past and that he really wants to change. He really surprised me because he is only 16. He really wants to do things right. He came to the church on his own, looking for help and he wants to get baptized. He has many friends in church and is going to be a great convert. His family is less active, and I know that he is going to help his family a lot. Today I was reading in The Book of Mormon about the King Lamoni. Today when I read it, I saw the real power of a recent convert. In this story it said that as King Lamoni shared his testimony with everyone that everyone in his house was converted. It was really cool to understand that after reading that story many times. Recent converts are a great help in missionary work, and I want to bring more recent converts with us to visit our investigators. They went through the same process so they understand how they feel and they know what they need. The Book of Mormon helps us in so many ways!
Love, Elder Monson

Week #91- new companion: Elder Murcia!

This week was great. My companion had transfers, so now I am with Elder Murcia. He has 13 months in the mission and he is the district leader now. He was born in Colombia, but lives in Portland, Oregon, so he knows Spanish and English. It’s really fun being able to talk in English all day. I feel really good guiding the area and I feel like we are having a lot of success. My new companion is really great. He helps me a lot and is just a really good missionary. He works really hard, and has shown me how to serve others. We were able to focus a lot more on the investigators this week and we have invited many of them to get baptized. We have a family of four that wants to do everything as a family. The dad wants more peace in his family and we taught him that is what the gospel will bring his family. He accepted a baptismal date for the 26th of December so we are really excited. He is really humble and ready to listen. We promised him many blessings as he listens to this message and applies it in his life. This area has a lot of potential. We have been trying to find new investigators, but it has been hard, the people here do not want to listen to our message and many reject us. This has been my hardest area for contacts. We will continue to work hard and find some way to get new investigators. We should be having a baptism pretty soon and we want to keep adding on to the investigators. This week has been awesome and I have learned so much from my companion. I want to finish my mission strong, and I am really glad that I am with him so that he can push me, when I am not pushing myself.
Love, Elder Monson

Week #90- God puts us in the path to help!

This week was good, we were able to progress pretty good with the investigators that we have. We should be having a baptism this week. The members are helping a lot with our investigators and they help them feel welcome in the church activities. We have a great ward mission leader who does his job well and really cares about the people that we are teaching. He does his best with the little time that he has. The Bishop helps a lot as well. The ward has 3 families that are going to get sealed this month and the bishop has played a large role in helping them. We have been doing many service projects lately and the members really trust in us to help them with everything. We were able to get to a members house right in time as she really needed help with her son who is pretty sick. We got there right in the hour of need. She called us angels, I know that God loves all of his children and will send others to help them. I love the documentary of Thomas S. Monson and that he is always ready to do errands for Heavenly Father. It makes me feel so good to help others, especially when God puts us in the path to help them.
Love, Elder Monson

Week #89- how big of a blessing the priesthood is!

This week was good, we were able to find a new family that is really awesome. We got to know them on Thursday and they came to church this week. It’s a family of 4 and they are all really awesome, and want to listen. We have been able to focus more on investigators this week so we have improved a lot in what we are doing in our area. Me and my companion have made some plans to be able to focus on finding new investigators, which means we will have to contact a lot more this week. We hope to finish the transfer strong with the best week that we have ever had. This week we have given many blessings, and it’s made me think of how big of a blessing the priesthood is in our lives and all of the miracles that it can bring in our lives. We gave blessings to a family whose little baby who was born a week ago had to have heart surgery. Everything turned out okay and the father wants to get baptized. His mom is a member and she invited us to help them. He lives in another area, but I know that the priesthood has blessed this family.
Love, Elder Monson

Week #88- recognized the spirit testify!

This week was awesome. I was able to go back to Carapongo for a few baptisms. I was finally able to baptize Belen. It was amazing, after she was baptized, she stood in the water for a few minutes crying as she recognized the spirit testify to her that this is true. She later told us that after I had left her husband didn’t want to receive the missionaries anymore and he actually threw them out of the house. He did not want to give her permission to get baptized, but she told us that she had a lot of faith that he would change. And he did. She talked to him and the whole family talked him in to it. This family is amazing and I am so happy that I was able to go to her baptism. I could see and feel her happiness and her testimony in her baptism. I was also able to baptize another investigator that was there. They had 3 baptisms that day so it was even better. I know that they are strong converts to the gospel and that this will help them forever. They have strong testimonies and will help their families to do the same.
Love, Elder Monson

Week #87- maintain a good attitude and to focus!

This week was pretty good, I’ve been more focused on helping the people here, now that I am getting used to it. My companion has helped me a lot to maintain a good attitude and to focus. I am getting to know my area little by little. Yesterday we did divisions and we were able to have a successful day. I was contacting with a member and when I told my companion where we were contacting, he told me that I should never go there again because it’s dangerous, so I still need to figure out where I shouldn’t go, but everything has gone good so far. I have seen that we need to focus more on investigators; many of our lessons are for less active members and recent converts. I want to concentrate on our investigators and finding new investigators. This should help us have more success and we will be able to help more people.
Love, Elder Monson

Week #86- Emergency transfer to San Luis & New Companion: Elder Alvarado!

This week has been a little hard, with Emergency transfers on Friday and everything, but our area had 2 baptisms on Saturday and I am getting used to the area now. My area is named Canada in the zone San Luis. The area is more city and there are a lot of people that know English here. It really surprised me. The members are really nice and help a lot. The area is a little bit more dangerous, but I’m not too worried. My new companion is Elder Alvarado from Peru and is really funny. He is from my group. It has been a little hard leaving Carapongo, but I know that with time I will get used to my new area and my new companion. This area has a lot more people to contact so it gives me more energy to contact everyone so that we can help them come unto Christ.
Love, Elder Monson

Week #85- know their purpose in life!

This week was pretty good, we were able to make a few adjustments to be able to work harder and more efficiently. Our investigator that was going to get baptized is still going strong and she has a lot of faith that things are going to work out fast and in her favor. From the first day we taught her I could tell that she is one of Gods special children that will accept the gospel. She has accepted everything that we have taught her and has made many sacrifices to do so. It is amazing the change that this gospel can make in the lives of these people! I love visiting her and her family. We have seen a big change in them. They are a lot happier and they know their purpose in life. We are still struggling with her husband, but everything will come in time. Their oldest daughter skipped school this week, because she wanted to go to church with us. I love seeing people make sacrifices for the gospel, because I know they will be blessed. I was able to give a talk about sacrifices on Sunday and I hope that I could help at least one person understand what God requires from us. We had a good week and I am really excited to go to the Temple today, I know that it will motivate me even more to keep working hard. This week is the primary program of our branch, but there are not very many children here, so we will see how it goes.
Love, Elder Monson

Week #84- God knows better than I do!

This week we had many activities. We were able to go to the Temple with a family of recent converts and they were able to be baptized for 7 of their ancestors. It was their first time visiting the Temple and I could tell that they were really excited to go and that they had a good experience. I feel like I never really valued the temple as I should have at home. I have many temples close to my home and I didn’t really go that often. It strengthens my testimony to see the sacrifices of the people to be able to go to the temple even when it is really far away and it requires a sacrifice to get there. I hope to go to the temple often when I get home to always remind myself of the covenants that I have made. I love the Temple and this week has really strengthened my testimony of the sealing power of the priesthood. I know that families can be together forever. I am so grateful for the blessings of the priesthood. I am getting ready for transfers and I really want to stay, but I feel like I am going to leave. Whatever happens I know that I will just have to trust that God knows better than I do. One of my favorite scriptures is 2 Nephi 2:24 that explains that everything has happened and will happen by God´s wisdom. I know that I can trust in him. Next week we will be having a baptism and I have felt that she is ready to make this covenant with God and that she will help her family to take the same step in the future. We were able to watch both Sunday sessions in a member’s house. and I was able to learn a lot. I received many answers to my questions, especially in Elder Hales talk. I learned that I am the Pilot of my decisions and that because of that I will receive the blessings and consequences of my actions. I was able to Saturday in our branch. I got to see the priesthood session in English.
Love, Elder Monson

Week #83- share our testimonies of the truth!

This week was pretty good. We found a really awesome family that is actually married and is willing to get baptized if they receive an answer to their prayers. They are extremely friendly and want to learn more and get closer to God. The family that we have been working on to get baptized has slowed down on their progress. The dad of the family doesn’t want to accept the Book of Mormon even though we have explained it many times. He feels like the Bible has everything that we need. He says that he has prayed, but I don’t feel like he is actually looking for an answer. This week I was reading a Liahona and it talked about missionaries that had problems with contending with investigators, they learned to just shared their testimonies and to not teach as much with just evidence or scriptures. I feel like we can do the same thing. We just need to share our testimonies of the truth of The Book of Mormon and things will start to get better. His wife is ready to get baptized and has a testimony of the church, but she wants to get baptized with her family. We feel like it is going to be better to do them separately, so that she can have the Holy Ghost in her life and set the example for her family.
Love, Elder Monson

Week #82- families that are ready and waiting to accept this gospel!

This week was hard, there weren’t very many people in their houses when we went to visit them, but we were able to have an awesome experience with the Baca Family. We have been progressing slowly with them for weeks, with many doubts that they have had, mainly about baptisms for the dead and the Book of Mormon. But this week we had a lesson with them and the Mom of the family told us that she has decided that this is where she belongs, she wants to get baptized and her kids support her and want to follow her. The father of the family wants to wait a little bit longer before deciding, but I believe that we are progressing with him. He has started to attend the activities that we have and has found a few answers to some of his doubts. We are debating if we should wait to baptize the whole family together or just do it as they are ready one by one. The mom of this family is amazing, she told us about all of the changes that she has seen in her family as we have been visiting them. I love seeing the changes that this gospel makes in these people and their families. She told us that one of her daughters was striving off of the path and didn’t want much to do with God anymore, but that she has found this desire again as we have visited and taught them. I love this family and want to help them so much, and I know that this gospel will help them immensely. I have seen over and over again the impact that we make on these people and their lives. It gives me more and more desires to work hard to find more of these families that are ready and waiting to accept this gospel in their lives. I got the package this week so thank you very much. Next transfers are October 6th right after conference.
Love, Elder Monson