6/29/2015 P-Day #34

6/29/2015

Happy almost 4th of July!! 

Thanks Danielle and Maddy for the letters this week!

Omar's baptism was yesterday!! It was super awesome! It was a little bit crazy, though! We had to change the time of the baptism last minute, some people cancelled, and we had to find a ride for a family of 6 an hour before the baptism started! But we pulled through and it all worked out! There was a ton of support there from the ward! Omar looked so happy afterwards. I'm really excited to see him start on this new path now. One of the speakers talked a lot about how baptism is just the first step. It's not the end. It's just the beginning of our journey back to our Heavenly Father!

We have been using the Tatum family to help fellowship the Morales family. On Wednesday, we are going to have a lesson with them at the Tatum's home! I'm super excited! The Tatum's daughter, Sarah, has become really good friends with Antonio and Maggie, so they have been asking her tons and tons of questions that they may not feel comfortable asking us. Which is great! This is why I love member missionary work!!! We invited the Morales family to come, but Antonio was the only one who could make it. Afterwards, he was talking to Sarah and told us that he decided that he wants to be baptized! He said that it feels right, and that it's the step he needs to take to get the answers to his questions. Then he corrected himself and said that he knows it's the right thing for him to do! It's amazing how we can teach someone something over and over again and it may not stick or it won't make a difference until they feel the spirit bearing witness to them of the truth! I know that he felt the spirit at the baptism, and now he has decided to be baptized in two weeks!! I'll keep y'all posted on what's happening!

So Elder Turner got back from Anaheim right after I finished emailing. His paperwork should get to the mission home today, and then they will forward it to Salt Lake City. After that, his visa could come any day. It could be this week, in three weeks, or longer! They may keep him here until the end of a transfer, or he may just bounce and leave as soon as his visa comes. It's up to President Mullen and the mission president in Perth. I think now that he realizes he's leaving, he's starting to go back to his older ways... Which has been really sad. I tried talking to him about it the other day, but he just doesn't really care, and I can't make him care. He told me that the only reason he is serving a mission is because God has commanded us to. I'm kind of at a loss for how to help him. All I can do is be a good example and keep working diligently. 

I love being a district leader! I have been super busy with exchanges, district meetings, nightly calls, etc! But it's been a lot of fun! A little stressful, but it's a good kind of stress! This week was supposed to be our zone meeting, but last night, the APs called and said that zone meeting will be next week, so I get to have another district meeting tomorrow! I haven't even started preparing!! Haha

We had dinner with the Lewis family this week. They said they had been visiting one of their relative's wards when it was stake conference. The stake president asked the missionaries to come up and pull out their planners. He went through the following weeks and asked why it was so empty. Then he turned to congregation and told them it was their job to fill the missionaries planners. So the Lewis' told us that in two weeks, they would find someone for us to teach and invite them into their home to have a lesson! Then they asked us to teach them the first lesson (the Restoration). If any of you have the missionaries in your home, ask them to teach you the message of the restoration!! It was an amazing spiritual experience! Even though they are active members, the spirit was still there teaching the truth!

The 4th of July should be fun! We are volunteering at a parade in the morning. We are supposed to walk around and keep people from walking into the street! We are supposed to go out and work during the day, so we'll try and set up scheduled lessons beforehand so we're not dropping in on people during the holiday. Then, some members invited us to a barbecue at their home. They want us to stay late and watch the fireworks from their porch, but we have to meet with our zone at 8:00 to play basketball, watch a move, etc.. And then we have to be in our apartments by 9:00. Hopefully we can see the fireworks from the zone leaders apartment! Ours is on the first floor and is facing the wrong direction :( It will be kind of sad not setting of fireworks in the street in front of our house! 

Thank you all for the letters, love, and support! I love you all so much! Have an awesome (and safe!) weekend and I'll talk to all y'all next Monday!

Love,

Elder Warren 

6/22/2015 P-Day #33

6/22/2015

This transfer is flying by! I can't believe it's halfway over now! 

Thanks Omie & Papa, Grandpa, and Danielle for the letters! I'm working on responses, so hang in there! Haha :) 

Elder Turner is out doing some visa paperwork in Anaheim right now with Sister Mullen, so our awesome zone leaders are babysitting me! They said his visa should come anytime in these next few weeks! We were talking about it last night, and he was saying that he doesn't really want to leave (which is awesome!)! You can't help but love the people that you serve, whether it's as a missionary, family member, friend, etc.. You just come to love the people as you share the gospel with them and as you see them progress!

We had another super busy, really crazy week! It makes the time fly by super fast! I had my first District Meeting on Tuesday! And the APs were there! So I was a little bit nervous about  it! But it went pretty well. Most of the companionships in my district are doing super good! I gave a training on our purpose as missionaries. And then we watched a video! I tried making a brownie recipie Mom sent with me, where you mix a pudding mix into the brownies, but they didn't turn out right... They were basically brownies with the texture of a gummy bear... So I will be having the Sisters bring treats this week :) Haha 

Omar is getting baptized!!! He's doing amazing now! He really has opened up and started progressing this past week, and he's going to be baptized June 28th! He had his baptism interview on Saturday, and came to another baptism with us yesterday! It's so cool to see how the gospel has changed him. And it's so much more than just living the commandments and making good decisions, but you can actually see and feel the change in him. He looks a thousand times happier than when I first met him. He laughs with us, tells jokes, he'll say prayers in lessons, and read scriptures. He's improved a lot. 

The Morales family gave us a bit of a scare this week. They texted us Tuesday night at about midnight and said that we wouldn't be able to meetWednesday night and they would need to give us a call and talk to us.. So we went by Wednesday night anyways! The daughter was the only one home, and she told us that they were going to try the Catholic church for a little while, because they haven't done it before.. BUT we called Sis Morales Saturdaynight to get the scoop from her, and she told us that they were originally planning on going to the Catholic church on Sunday. Right before we called, the kids decided that they wanted to come to our church. They like the way that they feel and the Spirit we bring into their home! We were a little excited after we heard that! There have been a few other complications pop up with them recently, so it may be another month or so until they can be baptized, but at least they know that the message we share is true, and they have felt the spirit at church and in their home.

I went on another exchange this Friday! I went with Elder Dall. He's a new missionary (from Sandy!!) and has only been here for about three weeks. We had a lot of fun! It was a little bit of a weird exchange, because he was sick and then the brakes on their truck went out, so we were stuck in their house most of the day. I was a little bummed because I didn't get to see him work, but it was a good chance to talk and get to know him better! He's super cool and has a strong testimony of the gospel! I'll probably go on another exchange with him just to see how he teaches and stuff, but it was a fun Friday! They live in a homeshare up on this hill kinda of out in the middle of nowhere. The house is a freaking mansion! They're so spoiled there! The guy who owns the home designed it himself. And he's super rich, so he buys everything for the missionaries! Haha they're pretty spoiled!

The work here is really starting to pick up! We have a lot of new people we're starting to work with and a lot of potential, too. I hope I get to stay in this area a little while longer! The ward is awesome, the people here are super nice and receptive, and it's a lot of fun! We've gotten really close to a lot of the families here, so it will be really hard if I have to leave! The only downside is biking in 90-100 degree weather! It's not that bad, but it's still no fun! 

I love you all and miss you! Thanks so much for the prayers, letters, support, and love you send! I have the best family and friends! Go out and end each day with no regrets!

Love,

Elder Warren

6/15/2015 P-Day #32

6/15/2015 

This has been another crazy crazy week! Super busy!  

Thanks Danielle and Brad for the letters this week! Missionaries like to give me a hard time because I get so much mail! Haha but I can't complain :) 

Like I mentioned last Tuesday, we had Elder Neilson of the Seventy come and visit our mission. He was the one the gave the talk at conference about his sister falling away from the church and then coming back after 12 years! We feel like there is going to be a big push for us to start working with less active members. Not only to help them come back into the church, but also because they are an amazing source of people that are not members. Active members don't know too many people outside the church, and the ones they do aren't the best investigators. So I'll keep you posted on how the mission starts changing!  

Tuesday was our P-Day! We played soccer with our whole zone and it was a lot of fun! We had dinner with one of our ward missionaries, Brother Palmer, and his family! Elder Turner left right after dinner to go teach the Young Men how to fish, because no one else knows how to do that in our ward! I went out with Brother Palmer to go try and visit people, but nobody was home! We tried knocking on a ton of doors and I eventually went over and helped Elder Turner with the fishing activity! It was a lot of fun. There's a man-made lake in the middle of one of the nicer neighborhoods in our ward. We went to Bishops house and sat out on their little shoreline. Nobody caught anything, but apparently there are fish in the lake! 

I wasn't feeling to good on Wednesday, but we had a ton of appointments, so we went out and worked! We did service for the Salvation Army in the morning. We moved some furniture, and sorted some boxes of donated goodies for a few hours. Then we went home, watched Legacy, took a nap, and went to do some more service for a lady in our ward! She has tons of trees growing in her yard that aren't supposed to be there. We helped chop them down, trim some other trees, and cut up the huge piles of branches we left behind! It was super hot and we got a little sun on us! But it was a lot of fun and I was feeling a lot better afterwards! We had dinner with one of our favorite families in the ward, the Tatums. It was a ton of fun! It was their daughters birthday, so we had to sing Happy Birthday"Tatum style". Which means you sing it as bad as you possibly can! So much fun! Then we went to the Morales family. We brought a return missionary, Jessica Garcia and her sister Makayla, with us! It was a super good lesson. We taught about the Plan of Salvation and they had a ton of great questions for us. They were working towards June 27 for baptism, but I don't know if that will happen.. The daughter isn't ready yet, and we found out that the parents actually aren't married, and the wife is working on her divorce from her ex-husband from about 10 years ago.. We are going back this Wednesday to figure out all the bumps and such, so hopefully they will be able to be baptized in July!  

On Thursday, we got to go to the temple again! I love love love going to the temple! It's such an amazing spiritual experience. I learn more and more each time I go! We also got to go to Cafe Rio!! Which only happens every three months, because the nearest on is in Redlands by the temple! 

Friday AND Saturday I was on exchanges! Friday I went with the elders in my district, Elder Glathar, and Elder Calvert. I went with Elder Glathar to the Hidden Springs ward (where they have a car!!!). We had a lot of fun. They have both been struggling with missionary work, so the zone leaders and I have been trying to help them a lot. It was a good experience for me to see how he works and what he is like. This way, I know more of how to help him and his companion! While I was with Elder Glathar, the zone leaders called and asked if we would exchange with them on Saturday! So I went with Elder Aguilar to the Nuevo ward in Spanishland (and also in a car again). I learned a lot from being with him! So I wasn't in my apartment or ward for two days! It was crazy! When I finally got back, Saturday night, I crashed! I was so exhausted! It takes a LOT of hard work to be a district leader! But it's very worth it. I love being able to serve the missionaries in my district and help them improve and use the enabling power of the Atonement!  

Sunday was pretty normal. The Morales family came to church! After church and dinner, we were supposed to weekly plan... Normally we do it on Thursdays, but we had the temple trip, and exchanges on Friday and Saturday.. and then we had lessons on Sunday... Whoops! Haha we saw Serena (one of the recent converts) because she hasn't come to church in two weeks now. She told us that she doesn't feel like she is fitting in. She doesn't fit that perfect cookie-cutter shape of a Mormon woman. But we told her that it doesn't matter if she feels like she's "different". Nobody is the same. It takes all sorts of people to help our Heavenly Father's work along. If we were all the same, we wouldn't be able to learn from each other and progress. Like with Elder Turner and I. We are COMPLETE opposites! And somehow, we work great together. We teach and learn from each other. So hopefully Serena will feel better now and keep progressing towards the temple! 

Speaking of Elder Turner, I was able to have a really good conversation with him last night! I've noticed that he is very laid back, and just doesn't really care. Which isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes I get wound up and upset over something that really doesn't matter, so it's good to have him there to help balance me out. But at the same time, he doesn't really care about the rules, being obedient, etc. He'll do it, but his heart isn't in it. I've been wondering what is the best way to go about talking to him about it. I didn't want to just call him out and ruin the friendship we've built, but I do want to help him. But last night somehow it just all worked out. I can't tell what I said or what he said, because I can't remember. But I DO know that the Spirit was there, putting the words in my mouth. I don't know if he will change, but I have this feeling that I at least helped him a little bit last night. It was a really neat experience! 

Well, thanks for all the love, prayers, letters, packages, and support you send my way! It really means a lot to me! I love you all and miss you so much!! 

Love, 

Elder Warren 

6/9/2015 P-Day #31

**Cole had P-Day on Tuesday this week and I was at Girl’s Camp until 10:30 Thursday night so that’s why this is so late!”

6/9/2015

Hi everyone!!!

Thanks Tenley, Mom, Omie and Papa, and Myra for the letters! And thanks to the Deatons for the birthday package!! It was fun to spread out the birthday cheer for an extra couple weeks!

This week has been a lot of fun! Elder Turner and I get along really well! We've had a lot of fun and have been working really hard. He has improved a lot since he got to Riverside. He's come to realize that he is supposed to be here for a reason. Which is awesome! He still has some disobedience issues, but I'm going to work the hardest that I can! 

I had a District Leader Training meeting this past week. We drove down to Riverside and  listened to President and Sister Mullen teach us how to be district leaders! Basically, I have to call the missionaries in my district every night and see how they are doing, who they're teaching, and see if there is anything I can do to help them! I also get to interview investigators before they are baptized to see if they are prepared to be baptized! I got to interview two 9 year old kids last week! It was an amazing spiritual experience! I also go on exchanges with all the elders in my district. I'll have my first one on Friday! My district is killing it! There is only one companionship that I'm a little worried about. So I'm working with the zone leaders to help them become better missionaries. It's been a lot of fun being a district leader. It's a lot of work, though! I remember being able to go home, plan for my next day, and then relax until it was time for bed... Not anymore! We get in, plan, then I call three companionships and talk to them for a few minutes, then I have to call the zone leaders! I barely have time to get ready for bed before 10:30!!! Haha it's a lot of fun, though! So I apologize if it takes me a little longer to write letters back, now! I have literally no "free time"!!!

Yesterday, we met with Elder Nielson of the Seventy! It was an amazing experience!! He talked a lot about the Atonement and the redeeming and enabling powers of it! Sister Nielson also talked about relationships with companions and related it to our families and when in-laws come into the family. Even though they come from a different family background, she said, "you don't have to be a Nielson to be loved by the Nielsons." 

Well I'm sorry this is super super short! We are emailing in the family history center, and the guy in charge is kicking us out now.... Even though he was late coming to open it up for us. I love you all so much! You are in my prayers every day!

Lots of love!

Elder Warren

6/1/2015 P-Day #30

This is the Moreno Valley Zone

6/1/2015

Hola a todos!!

Sorry for such a short email last week! We had some memorial day activities planned (which I will talk more about later!). 

Thanks Hermana Leatherman, Maddy, and Danielle for the letters! And also, thanks to everyone who has sent stamps to me! That's been a huge blessing!

For Memorial Day, the Jenson family took us to the March Air Force Base Museum! It's kind of like the Hill Air Base Museum but smaller. It was a ton of fun! We spent a few hours there! It was a fun, different thing to do on a P-Day. It's nice to get out of the routine of basketball, clean, email, then shop. I really enjoyed it! 

We also had dinner with the Lewis family! They barbecued hamburgers and had pasta salad and watermelon! It reminded me of barbecues back home! They live in the farthest corner of our ward, and we don't get to go down there very often because there aren't any former or potential investigators (yet). When they heard that there weren't a lot of people for us to plan to go see, the started making plans of who they could befriend, invite to church, etc.. It was so awesome! I love the members in this ward! They are pretty new to our ward, so they don't know a lot of the people. There's a recent convert family that just got baptized that has disappeared. I don't think the Lewis' know them at all, but they were also making plans to go invite them to dinner and visit them!!! I want to be like the Lewis family when I grow up!!

Well this week has been super crazy!! Since there are about 18 missionaries going home, and only six coming in (this has happened the past two transfers), a LOT of stuff happened with transfers! So Saturday is when we get our calls of where we will be going, who our new companion will be, etc.. In the morning, President Mullen calls people who will be in leadership positions. So I always wake up early Saturday morning, just in case one of us gets a call. No call came, so I just started getting ready, and started studying. Then President called and asked if I would serve as a district leader! It was a little scary.. I have a meeting on Thursday for new district leaders, where they will train us on what exactly we need to do. But basically I watch over three other companionships, have a district meeting every Tuesday, and go on exchanges will all the missionaries in my district. I'm excited! That night is when we got our transfer calls. Our entire zone was completely moved around! A lot of missionaries got doubled out (both companions were transferred), and we will have two new zone leaders! My new companion is Elder Turner. I've never met him before. He's been in the mission for about 4 1/2 months and is waiting for a visa to go to Australia. The only things that I heard about him the other night is that he doesn't want to be here. He doesn't care about this mission because he's going to Australia. So Saturday night, I was very overwhelmed. I had been hoping and praying for a companion that is motivated to work, and will work hard, because my last two have not! It was a pretty humbling experience. Sometimes, well most of the time, what we want is not in our Heavenly Father's plan for us. He knows what is best for us. It's not our job to tell what to do! So that night, feeling very humble, I knelt down and poured out my whole soul to God. This transfer will probably be difficult, but I can make it through with my Heavenly Father!

Last night, we went to a youth fireside with Maggie and Antonio Morales. The youth had submitted questions for the bishop to answer. It was really cool! It was an actual "fire"side, so we made s'mores, sat around a campfire, and had a lot of fun! The youth in this ward are awesome! They were great at fellow shipping Maggie and Antonio! The whole ward is very missionary-minded! It's amazing! Everyone is always willing to help, and they are pretty good at inviting their friends to learn about the gospel! 

We taught Eric and Jayme Johnson this week! We talked about the Plan of Salvation and they both had really good questions! It was a neat experience to see that even members don't have all the answers. None of us do! I've found that one of my favorite ways to teach is with parables! I noticed in the New Testament, Christ would teach people through a story that they would then have to relate to the gospel. Not only does it help the learner relate to the gospel, but it forces them to think and discover on their own. Not just listening to us rattle off some bullet points from a lesson. For example, Jayme asked why Christ had to pay for our sins. Why couldn't it be one of us. So we asked her to imagine that she wanted a really nice, brand new car. She didn't have the money to buy it, but she had a car she could trade for it. If she had a beat up, rusty old junker, is that going to be a fair trade? Not really. But if she has a brand new car that's just as nice as the one she wants? That's a fair trade! Then we let her figure the example out on her own! 

We saw Hijinio this week, but he has been pretty busy. We talked to him more about the Book of Mormon and how it will help him. We read 3 Nephi 11 with him, which is one of my favorite chapters! The spirit was so strong there! I just hope that he will continue progressing towards baptism! He understands that it's a life-changing decision and doesn't want to take it lightly, which could be good or bad!

Well I'll keep you all updated next week with all my district leader stuff and my new companion! I love you all so much! And miss you tons!

Love,

Elder Warren

5/25/2015 P-Day #29

5/25/2015

Hola familia!!! Como estas!? I have been doing really great!

Thanks Noel for the birthday package! And thanks Alison for the letter! Also, thanks so much Sister Ward for bringing a package down to Riverside! It was too bad that I didn't get to say hi! 

Well this week has gone really well! Even though it's been hard, I've been super happy!

To start off, Elder Justice goes back home to Virginia in one week! I think he's ready to go home. Which is good! But it's kind of sad, because he's starting to give up on the work. He's not really motivated anymore. So there have been times when he just doesn't want to go out and proselyte. At first, I was really angry/annoyed with him. But now I have decided that no matter what my companion does, I will be as obedient as I can! That's helped me a lot!

We started teaching our Bishop's son, Eric, this week. He's a member, but has had a really rocky past. His wife joined the church after they were married and is really active! He is going through rehab right now, but wants to be sealed to his family. So we are going through the lessons with him and it is an amazing experience! He is very humble, and even though he fell away from the church, he never lost his faith. He's even shared the gospel with people as he's gone in and out of prison! I'll keep you updated as we continue teaching him!

We had a Multi-Zone Conference this past week. We combined with a zone from the Jurupa stake (not my old zone :( ) and had really good trainings! We were there from 7:00 am to 5:30 pm! It was a long day! One thing that was really stressed was how important members are in missionary work. The conception most members (including missionaries) have about missionary work, is that it's only for missionaries. THAT'S FALSE! Missionaries are there to help the members with their missionary efforts. Not the other way around. It makes sense to me, because I don't stay in an area very long. The members of the ward will be there for new members/investigators even after missionaries leave! 

We also had apartment inspections this week! There is a senior couple in charge of the housing in the mission, so they inspect apartments once a transfer. We passed! I'd like to take a moment to thank my mom and grandmother for teaching me how to be a clean-freak. If it weren't for your efforts, we most likely would not have passed! Haha but that also means that when a general authority comes in June, he will want to inspect our apartment because it got a good rating :P 

We picked up a new investigator this week! His name is Hijinio! (pronounced hen-yo). He's awesome! He's in his 50s and is super humble and willing to learn. We taught the Restoration, and the Spirit was so strong! He committed to read the Book of Mormon and to be baptized when he comes to know that it's true! It was an amazing experience! 

Well I've got to go now! Thanks for all the love and prayers! I really appreciate it!

Love you all!

Elder Warren 

5/18/2015 P-Day #28

**I just want to say THANK YOU!! to everyone who supports Cole...he always says the other missionaries get a little jealous of all the letters and packages he get!  We are truly grateful.**

5/18/2015

Well, first I need to say thanks to lots of people! Thanks Omie and Papa, Kam and Brandy, the Leathermans, and Alison and Madelyn for the birthday presents! They rocked! I'm pretty sure the apartment managers are getting a little tired of me walking in and asking to pick up another package! Haha! Now when I walk in, they don't even have to ask me which apartment number I live in! It's pretty funny!

Well, anyways... this week has been super good! 

We went on exchanges with the zone leaders this week! I stayed in the Lasselle ward with Elder Catchatoorian! We had a ton of fun! He's super funny! I love Elder Justice, but he is SUPER quiet! Haha it was good to have a day with someone that it's not a huge effort to hold a conversation with! It was supposed to be super cold and rainy all day, so we set up members to give us rides. And then it ended up being sunny and really nice outside! Haha but we got a lot of lessons that day!

We also had stake conference this weekend! There were a lot of really good talks! The bishop of the Samoan ward spoke about how we act in holy places, especially our homes. He shared the story of when Moses saw the burning bush, the Lord told him to take off his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. He challenged us to always leave our "shoes" outside when we enter a holy place, where it be our homes, a church building, a temple, etc... Don't bring in the cares of the world to a place where the spirit is.

On Sunday, we had dinner with a family whose daughter just got back from the Utah Ogden Mission, and she invited her nonmember friend to dinner with us! It was super cool! She was very interested in learning about the church, but at least they invited her to learn! 

So you asked how we would respond to an investigator who feels like they've been doing all the right things (reading, praying, going to church..), but hasn't got an answer. There are a lot of ways to respond. I may talk about real intent. Are they scared of the answer being "yes"? I really like using Moroni 10:3-5. Moroni gives us a pattern on how to ask God the questions of our souls. First, we need to do something about it. Read, pray, attend church, meet with the missionaries, etc.. It's not enough to merely ask. Second, we have to ask God with a sincere heart. Why are we asking the question? Because we're supposed to? Or maybe because someone wants us to? We need to ask out of a desire to know for ourselves. Also when we ask, we need to have real intent. Regardless of what the answer may be, we must be ready to act upon it as soon as the answer comes. If I'm asking if the Book of Mormon is true, but have absolutely no intentions of being baptized, then why will God answer my prayer? If I'm asking God if this is the right church for me, but don't plan on being active, then I shouldn't expect God to answer me. We also must have faith in Christ when we ask. We need to believe that it is possible for God to answer our prayers. Sometimes people do all those things and still don't recognize their answer. I didn't say that they don't receive an answer, just that it's hard to recognize it sometimes. I even have a hard time recognizing answers to my own prayers! I really love the advice that our Heavenly Father gives to Oliver Cowdery in D&C 6:23- "Did not I speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?". So many people want a huge display of God's power as their answer. But that's not always the case. Like the story of Naaman. He wanted Elisha to give him some grand task in order to be healed, and was offended when it was something as simple as bathing seven times in the river. Sometimes we will receive those simple answers. Calm, peaceful, positive feelings. That's how the Holy Ghost works!

Thanks again for all the birthday cards, presents, letters, etc.. It was a great first mission birthday!

I love you all and miss you lots!

Love,

Elder Warren

 Birthday Festivities - We forgot the hats!

 There are humming birds everywhere in SoCal

Adventures or Exchanges with Elder Catchatoorian.