Estoy Moviéndome otra vez.

So originally I was not going to be transferred out of Seymour. But then I got a call late last night from one of the assistants saying that president had changed his mind, and that I was now going to be leaving Seymour. I am really sad about that. 1. Because I love the people down here 2. It’s the farthest south in the mission, and therefore the warmest. 3. I love Elder Baird and still want to be his companion.  But como sea, I will go where the Lord wants me to go.

Speaking of weather this week has been really cold! Funny line of the week: Saturday it was just dumping snow, and Elder Baird and I were just looking out the window and thinking, "We don’t want to go out there." But then I said, "Come on, our wives will be hotter if we go out there." and he goes, "Every hard thing on a mission makes my wife hotter. I think I can do with a one-day-less hot wife and still be ok." I just busted up laughing! It was great! We went out and just pretty much helped people get their cars unstuck. I was surprised how many trucks don’t have four-wheel drive.

So I learned something really cool this week while teaching Carlos and Elizabeth. We were talking about where we come from and how we get to the earth. And then I started thinking about the role and power that women have in our eternal progression. We cannot start our journey on the path to live with our Father in Heaven without women. Without their sacrifice we would be stuck as spirits, without the opportunity to come to this earth. What a great power and responsibility that women hold, to give someone else the chance to come to this earth and progress. I never realized before the power that women have, and now I am forever in the debt of my mother, and countless others in the past. Gained a lot of respect for you women out there!

So we taught Gisela, Xavier, Deseree, and Andres again. We taught the restoration. Super good lesson! Everyone said that it made sense and that if they came to know that it was true, they would be baptized! Super exciting!

We also have been teaching Carlos and Elizabeth a lot this week. We talked a lot about our potential as sons and daughters of Heavenly Father. They are learning a lot I think. They also got a washer and dryer that someone on the branch donated to them. So that is a huge blessing!!

Hope everyone’s week goes great!!

Love

Elder Porter

Do you want to build a snowman?

Ya tenemos nieve!!! Mucho nieve!!!

So yesterday was President’s Day, so we couldn’t email then. But it dumped snow! Literally snowed for over 14 hours! Made our p-day a little boring cuz it wasn’t smart to drive up to Columbus to hang out with the other missionaries. So we went to a lot of stores, and walked through every isle in them. Interesting things can be found this way!

But this last week was actually pretty good. We had another zone conference and we learned a lot about family history again, and about having the righteous desires to serve and stuff. Learned a lot about my outlook on the work and my attitude.

So if you remember Luis who we used to teach, but then started going to a church with his Uncle. Well he moved and we lost him. We have been trying for the last few weeks to find him again with no avail. But then on Saturday it was freezing and we decided to leave the trailer park to go warm up and tract in some apartments. The very last apartment we knocked on let us right it. There was an older man and a younger man. The older one said that it was a miracle that we were here. I was a little confused but happy he was so nice. Then all of a sudden literally running though the door, comes Luis!!! This was the uncle who he was now going to church with and he moved in with him. So we stayed and talked for a while. The uncle really likes to talk, especially about God, so we didn’t get much of a lesson in. But it was just such a blessing to find Luis again!

We had a lesson with Gisela set up and when we showed up her daughter Deseree answered and said that we could come in and teach her, but her mom and Xavier were asleep. So we go in and then she tells us her boyfriend is in her room at that time. So we told her to go get him and bring him out. His name is Andres. He is Hispanic and his mom is from Mexico. He is in High School. We then taught the restoration. They seemed really interested and when we asked if they would be baptized if they knew it was true, they both said yes! so that’s super awesome!

Had some lessons with Carlos and Elizabeth about the family proclamation. We haven’t finished reading it. But some of the lessons have gotten into some really deep questions that are hard to answer. So that is always fun

This is the last week before transfers, and I hope we can get more things moving here in Seymour!

Love

Elder Porter

Our adventure into the forest.

Tenemos una buena familia para ensenar!

This week has been slow lesson wise, but the lessons we did have were really good!

We knocked into a lady names Gisela (Hisela) and she was kind of iffy, but her son really wanted us to come back. So we set an appointment. We went and couldn’t find the house cuz I wrote the number down wrong. But then we found it and Gisela and her Son (Xavier) were sitting on the couch waiting for us. Started getting to know them, the son had seen a movie with a bit about the second coming and he was scared. He wanted us to come back cuz he didn’t want to burn at the second coming. Then Gisela told us she had a miscarriage about 10 years ago. Xavier says sometimes he wants to die to go see his brother (the miscarriage) so we went right into the plan of salvation. It was super cool and they completely understood it. Come to find out the dad used to go to our church in Texas. But then they moved here and didn’t do it anymore. Her daughter, Deseree (Z) also sat in. They all committed to pray about the plan of salvation and we have an appointment for this week.

Also had a really good lesson with Carlos and Elizabeth. We have transitioned into having them teach themselves by asking good questions. It’s really cool to see them learn. Carlos sometimes still has trouble with the Godhead, but we are working on it.

Sad news. We knocked on Bertin’s door and when they opened it there was a whole bunch of Hispanics sitting on the couch. Some guy leans around the door and kind of ornery says, "We are having a bible study right now." Bertin comes outside and tells us thanks for everything we have done for him, but he is with this church now and so he doesn’t need us anymore. SO that is sad. But he’s super friendly and we told him we would stop by to see how he is doing occasionally.

It was a pretty good week. I love teaching lessons when the people just understand it, so cool!

Love

Elder Porter

Tengo 6 meses en mi misión! 18 mas :)

This week was a good week, kind of slow, but good.

On Wednesday we had a Zone Conference where we talked a lot about setting goals and achieving what we know we can achieve. It was a really good Zone Conference. We also talked a lot about doing family history work, and using it as a proselyting tool. I’m really excited for this, because on my mission we have had the chance to do 2 hours of family history work a week. I really enjoy doing it, and it is super cool to find the people you are related to! We have also been helping Elizabeth with her family history, trying to get her tree started for her, and that is a neat opportunity we have had to help her.

On Saturday we had our most productive day. We went and gave a blessing to one of the sister’s investigators who has a growth in his lung. I always cherish the opportunity to give blessings, even though it scares me to death every time. But after that we headed out to try and contact some people again. We were walking down and I thought we should stop by Bertin again, and right as we got to his house he pulled up. Started talking to him and his mom has just passed away from cancer. Super sad day for him. And also his work schedule has changed, so we will probably be able to meet with him in the afternoons again and resolve some of his concerns. Then we went by Issac. He let us in and we talked about the Book of Mormon a little. He wasn’t super interested and then we brought up the part about Christ coming to the Americas and he was like, "I never knew that! I will read that part." so that was super cool. Then we went by a couple Giovana y Tino and taught them the restoration. They seemed pretty interested, which was good. It was also cool because they said they usually go out, but that night they decided not too because their son was sick, God works in mysterious ways.

Tengan una buena semana!

(Have a great week!!!)

Love

Elder Porter

(Make sure and check out more photos on today's date link to the right - this boy cracks me up)

Burning a really ugly tie for my 6 months.