Monday January 29th, 2018

Hello, this week were transfers and I am staying in Olney, but I got a new companion, Elder George. He is a super cool guy. He plays football for the United States Air Force Academy, so yes, he is significantly larger than me, even more so than my last companion.  I have been having Elder George help me with my workouts, so that is pretty cool. 
Speaking of military football teams, our Mission President called a 2nd councilor in the Mission Presidency, and it is Coach/President Niumatalolo. He is the Head Coach of the United States Naval Academy.  He is in the movie, Meet the Mormons. He will be a very busy man. 

Elder George is the District Leader, and so that gives me the title of "The District Monkey". At church, me and Elder George were asked to give a brief 5 minute talk about being a Child of God to the primary children, and half way through our lesson, a little girl raises her hand and turns to Elder George and says,

 "You look like you are in the Army". It was so funny. 

I am excited to work hard, and see miracles this next transfer. Applying these scriptures will help me to see miracles.

2nd Nephi 32 

9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.

Moroni 7

37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain.

I know applying these scriptures to anyone's life will bless them, and it will help them to see miracles in their life and will help them to grow their faith. 

It is great out here, and I am learning so much.
Love you all,

Elder Spurgeon 

Monday, January 22nd 2018

Hello Everyone. Let me just start off by saying that I know that President Nelson is a Prophet called by God, and is receiving revelation for the church. If you were not able to see the broadcast of him giving his first talk to the church, I would invite you to go back and watch it. 

We had zone conference this week and we had the wonderful opportunity to have a General Authority Seventy there, Elder Randall K Bennett. I loved everything he said. I have had a goal to be a more bold missionary and the council Elder Bennett gave us will help to be a more Bold missionary. The coolest thing to hear was his testimony of a modern day prophet because he works so closely with him. He talked a lot about loving God with all of our heart, mind, might, and strength, and what that includes. There are two scriptures he shared with us. The first one is...

Moroni 8

16 Wo be unto them that shall pervert the ways of the Lord after this manner, for they shall perish except they repent. Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear.

The second one is...

Moroni 7

48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen

Both these scriptures help us realize that if we love God, we will love his children and share the gospel with them, and we can pray to feel that love for God's children, and if we love them, we will have no fear of sharing the gospel. That is just one thing I learned from Elder Bennett. 

We were at church and we were waiting for an investigator to show up and I was in the bathroom, and my companion ran in and said, he showed up. We both ran out to greet him. It was so cool because my companion was speaking in Sacrament Meeting that day. It made me incredibly happy to see him at church. We went to a devotional with a less active man this week at the temple visitors center, and a lady that was in Divine Comedy spoke to us. He really enjoyed the program, and we talked afterwards, and he wants to work towards getting his temple recommend again. 

Today we had our district activity and we played sand volleyball at a park by a lake. It was so much fun and it was a super nice day. The sisters had to leave early, and they called us a couple of minutes later and told us that one of them had lost their earing and if we could find it, it would be a miracle. Well, after a prayer and 2 minutes of searching, we found it in the sand. I love those testimony building experiences, and it just proves God loves us and he is watching over us and cares about thinks we care about. "Pray he is there, speak he is listening, you are his child, his love now surrounds you."

Love you all.

Elder Spurgeon 

Monday, January 15th 2018

This was a fun week. I have a cool story to tell about a member. We went over to this man's house for dinner. He is from Barbados and almost 80 years old and a super kind guy. He told us "I hope you like fish because that is what we are having tonight." I was imagining like salmon or tilapia, but no, he pulls out this whole fish out of the oven, and it is huge. I thought it was delicious. He told us, he used to spearfish these fish back in his country. He said he would dive 30 feet under the water to get them. This one time he was out spearfishing and there was a shark swimming towards him, and it kept on coming. He was trying to avoid it, but it kept on coming after him. When it got close enough he through his spear through its head, and dragged it to shore. It was a 90 pound shark, and it fed a lot of people. I thought that was just a really cool story. 

There is a man who we were teaching who was on date, and we told him he needs to ask his wife if he can be baptized. He asked her and she said no. It was a really sad experience for us, but one of the members of our ward decided to go over to meet with the man we were teaching. The member was let in their house by the man's wife, without the husband there, and they talked for an hour. He told us it went well and they had a great conversation about the church. That gave us a lot of hope, and we are hoping that her heart will be softened, and he will be able to be baptized. 

This Sunday we had our Ward Conference. It was very missionary focused. The Stake President encouraged the members to read chapters 3 and 11 of Preach my Gospel. Chapter 3 is the lessons that missionaries teach, and chapter 11 is on helping people to make and keep commitments. I don't think preach my gospel is meant just for full-time missionaries, but also for members. The reason we commit people to do things is because someone's conversion will come after action, like reading the Book Of Mormon, Praying, Going to church, or going to the visitors center. It is important to bear testimony and promise blessings while committing people. It is just as important to follow up with the person on their commitment as it is to make a commitment. 

I can't even stress the importance of members in missionary work. While it is a missionaries responsibility to teach people, it is a member's responsibility to find people. If you know someone who could use the gospel in their lives, get in contact with the missionaries. 

Love you all,

Elder Spurgeon 

Monday, January 8th 2018

Hello Everyone. First off I would like to say how greatful I am for the life that Thomas s
s. Monson lived, and his example of love, service, and dedication to the Lord. I will always remember him as a great man. I know he was called by God, and he has literally changed my life. 

This week has been so cold. We also had interviews with the Mission President this week. We had a combined interview as companions with him. The one take away I would take from interviews are that the ward council and the ward are so important in missionary work. It is a promise we make in our covenants that we will help to build the kingdom of God. It is honestly the most effective work, having members find people for the missionaries to teach. 

At church this week, my companion went up to bear his testimony, but I thought he was going to the bathroom, so I followed him, and once he turned the corner to go to the stand, I was like oh, well there’s
no stopping now. It is always nice to have the opportunity to bear a brief, simple testimony of the savior. 

I would now like to bear my testimony about the Savior. He is aware of us, He knows us perfectly, He is perfect, He loves us perfectly, even in our short comings. He is the head of this church, and He is coming again. I would like to share the lyrics of a song that I have been thinking about lately. 

How could the Father tell the world of love and tenderness? He sent his Son, a newborn babe, with peace and holiness. How could the Father show the world the pathway we should go? He sent his Son to walk with men on earth, that we may know. How could the Father tell the world of sacrifice, of death? He sent his Son to die for us and rise with living breath. What does the Father ask of us? What do the scriptures say? Have faith, have hope, live like his Son, help others on their way. What does he ask? Live like his Son.

Let us all try to live more like the savior. Love you.

Elder Spurgeon

Monday, January 1st 2018

Happy New Year! 

This week we ran into a man who wanted to bash, and that's never fun, but I was able to testify of the restoration, and I felt the spirit testifying to me that what I was saying was true. It was a great experience. 

There was a girl in our ward who was baptized this week, and we invited some of our investigators to go with us. No one showed up, but I am still glad I went. It was very nice to see a baptism, and it was a great reminder of my purpose and grew my desire to find people. 

With the addition of Facebook, it has expanded our opportunities to spread the gospel. Something we have been doing is having video chat lessons. The lessons would not have been able to happen if it weren't for video chatting. It is a little different, but the spirit is still.

There is a man who moved into our area a while ago who was baptized years ago but went inactive. He wanted to come back to church, so he went on mormon.org, and chatted with some sisters at the visitor center. They gave us his information and told us he will need a ride. We got in contact with him and got him a ride and he came to church. We introduced him to the ward, and he has met a lot of people and enjoyed church and wants to regularly come. I loved that experience so, so much. 

With the new year, comes new goals. I encourage you all to make goals.  

President Monson said, "Without goals, there can be no real success". I think a wonderful goal to make would be to Pray and read The Book of Mormon every day. It may seem simple and insignificant, but you will see a dramatic and exponential change in your life. 

Elder Spurgeon