Been Sick and Transfers

Hey Everyone,

            UGH...It’s been a long week. I've been sick since last Monday and I'm finally getting over it! I threw up on Monday and I've been having really bad congestion in the throat and nose. I wasn't able to get out and work very much this week, besides a few interviews and a couple lessons. We have 3 baptismal dates at the moment. Maria and Joe who have been coming to church the past 2 months and they have a super strong testimony. The just want to make the baptismal service as special as possible inviting all their friends and family, which would be great! Victor also has a date. His aunt is a member and he just got back from a long trip from NYC. He knows the church is true but just needs to learn all the doctrine. Transfers just happened. I'm staying in Maywood with Elder Anglade. Good news. I love this area. I just need to get back to work. I hate being sick. Don't have much time again today. Sorry!

Os amo tanto!

Elder Marrott

Happy Mother's Day from Elder Marrott's End

Hey Everyone!

             I hope you all had a great Mother's Day! This past week was fun because our investigators Maria Noami and Joe were able to come to the Mother's Day dinner on Friday at the stake building. The Spanish ward was in charge of the dinner and the set up.  They did a fantastic job. They cooked a dish called Beidria which is beef post roast cooked in a Latin marinade along with rice and beans. REALLY GOOD! They had a little talent show afterward performed by the primary kids from both the English and Spanish wards. Our investigators loved it! I was a great end to the week especially because the beginning of the week wasn't as great. Elder Anglade's bike broke twice so we spent a lot of time fixing that, so it was pretty frustrating. But it was all worth it in the end. We had the Mother's Day dinner, the next day on Saturday we had dinner with Hermana Flores and her nephew, Victor, who had been traveling the last 2 weeks to NYC. Victor is planning on staying in the area now to look for work so we are excited to be teaching him more. He's super pumped about the church and the missionaries. Also yesterday after we called home we visited a family that we ran into this week. We taught the father, Thomas, a little about our beliefs and what we do a missionaries. He really admires what we do. We said a prayer with them before we left and it was super special to meet them. We hope to teach them this coming week. I love finding FAMILIES! I was so happy! Things are going so well, and I can’t wait for what’s in store this coming week!

Os amo tanto!

   

Elder Marrott

Working with Noami

Hey Everyone!

       After a lot of meetings this week in regards to my new companion and district leader responsibilities, we had a very productive week in regard to our investigators. On Friday I got to go on exchanges with Elder Baich, a friend that came in to LA with me from the MTC the same day, we had been waiting a whole year for it to happen. He's from Argentina, so it was great to teach with him as I have had to work with my new companion who is still working with the language. We had a lesson with Noami and talked about what would be in the way for her to be baptized. She mentioned that she wants her family to be a part of the church with her and doesn't want to be alone. We taught her the importance of following the example of Christ and how as she sets the example for her husband and her family they will want to follow her because of the changes she will be making. We taught her the Word of Wisdom as she has had trouble with smoking most of her life. She really wants to stop smoking and we mentioned to her that she is able to overcome her addiction, her family will notice the change she is making and want to know why. That intrigued her a lot. We gave her a priesthood blessing to give her strength to overcome her addiction, and it was a very spiritual moment for her as she wants to sincerely make a change. Unfortunately she got sick on Sunday and couldn't make it to church. But we were able to see Maria and Joe again on Saturday. They pamper us so much as Maria is convinced that we are angels and wants to do everything for us. She got us Yogurtland after the lesson. SO GOOD! They came to church on Sunday, but left early because Joe had a special conference to attend for school. But it was cool, but he told us that he knows that church, should be a priority before everything else. That's a 14 year old! Super cool. This coming week the ward is holding a Mother’s day dinner on Friday and most of our investigators are getting rides from members to go. Everyone is excited for it! There is so much good happening and I'm looking forward to this week!

Os amo tanto!

Elder Marrott

Trio Becomes a Duo Again and Alicia's Baptism

Hey Everyone,

       Well how I start every week....It’s been crazy! I'm no longer in a trio anymore as Elder Marin got Emergency Transferred on Thursday to train a new missionary in another area. It was a sad day as Elder Marin and I worked super well together and now I'm left with my new trainee all by myself. It was a lot easier as a trio but life moves on. This Sunday was by far one of my favorite days on my mission as Maria and her son Joe and granddaughter came along with Noami to church and they really enjoyed all the classes. In gospel principles they taught about the family of the covenant of God. The class really helped them understand how once they accepted baptism that they would be accepted into the house of Israel and become the children of Christ. It finally clicked with them and they are wanting to continue progressing towards baptism. Maria calls us her angelitos and ninos, so she is in love with us. I great to see their conversion process in motion. But that's not all......I also got to go back to my last area to see Alica's baptism!!! She was one of my former investigators who always came to church, but it took her 6 months to finally make the decision. It was a beautiful service as my last companion Elder Low baptized, and another Elder and I did the missionary moment. It was the best baptism I've seen in a while! I got to see several members in my last ward that I fell in love with. I have great memories of Harbor 3rd ward! The work keeps moving forward here in LA! Many changes are happening soon with more missionaries and a new mission president this coming July. Life is going well! Until next week!

"The kingdom of God is not a democracy. Wickedness and Righteousness are not legislated by majority vote. Right and Wrong are not determined by polls or pundits, though many would have us believe otherwise. Evil never was happiness. Happiness lies in the power and sweet simplicity of virtue" Gordon B Hinckley

Os amo tanto!

Elder Marrott

Elder Anglade and More Golden Investigators!

Hey Everyone,

 What a crazy week! So Elder Marin got our new companion from the MTC on Wednesday, Elder Anglade. He's from South Jordan Utah and he is waiting to get his visa to go to Argentina Buenos Aires North Mission. He’s a big guy with a big heart. This week has been great as we had some fantastic lessons with Joe, Maria's son who we've been teaching the last couple weeks. We went to his birthday a couple weeks ago. I wasn't there as I was doing a baptismal interview for one of the companionships in my district, Antonio, which was amazing. A month ago I did the interview with his nephew Junior and now he got the missionaries to teach his family. It’s great to see things like that happen. Anyway, Joe from what I hear was very receptive to everything and accepted a baptismal date for next month. The next day we taught Maria and Noami again about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We used an object lesson that uses water, pepper and soap that really helped them understand how the Gift of the Holy Ghost works. It finally helped Noami understand why she needs to be baptized again. We are finally making progress with her. AND I can finally say I have found a GOLDEN INVESTIGATOR. Last Sunday, Hna Flores a member in our area brought her nephew Victor to church. We had gospel principles class and he just loved it! On Friday we had Dinner at Hna Flores house and Victor heard we were coming over, so he came over from next door to talk to us. He explained to us how much he loved church and how there is a lot of love there. He said that his best friend is a member of the church and how he has taught him a lot and invited him to church, but has never had time to come. Now he's on break from work in NYC and has time to investigate. He mentioned that how his friend invited him got his attention. "Hey come to my church and if you don't like it you don't have to come again." He told us that is "a celestial invitation." After dinner we invited him to have a lesson. We sat down he asked of if we had a Book of Mormon? YES WE DO.  Even before we started teaching he told us that "ok I'm going to read as much as I can and I will let you know when I want to be baptized." WHAT! Amazing. We set a date for May 19th with him. Tender Mercies! So great!

Os amo tanto

Elder Marrott

Still in Maywood and Trio Companions

Hey Everyone,

Sorry I don't have much time. Transfers have come again and its doosey this time. Elder Marin and I are both staying still here in Maywood, but we will be training a new missionary together straight from the MTC. Yeah TRIO POWER! I think he will be a missionary that is waiting to get his visa for Argentina, but we will see tomorrow. We are excited but it will be a challenge for sure. As for this past week we had a great experience with our investigators Maria and her grandson Joe! It was Joe's birthday on Tuesday and Maria invite us to come because he doesn't have many friends of his own. Elder Marin and I had the idea of inviting some of the young men in the ward to come to the party too. Hermano Reyna the young men’s leader was able to bring 4 young men over to the party. It was so great to see both of Maria and Joe's faces because of kindness that the young men showed to Joe. The next day Maria and Joe were able to come to the activities at church like Boy Scouts and we were able to give Maria a tour of the church. It was a little over whelming at first but it worked out. It was a evidence of ministering of angels those young men. Brother Beck gave a great talk at priesthood about ministering and how it goes beyond than Sunday. Things are going great!

Os amo tanto

Elder Marrott     

Conference Was Great and Amazing Maria

Hey everyone!

General Conference this week was amazing! There were so many talks that we can use to help my investigators! President Monson's funny story on starting a forest fire was awesome! Elder Perry gave another great talk on obedience. "Obedience to Law is Liberty" It’s plain and simple. I would invite everyone to read and watch conference over and over again! This past Friday we had a great lesson with Noami and her friend Maria who came to our Easter Sacrament Service last week. Maria is so prepared to receive the gospel. We taught them the plan of salvation and they seem to understand it extremely well. Maria even expressed to us even before we started the lesson that she is considering baptism because she knows that it is how she can accept God's plan for her. So as I was inviting her to be baptized there is a phrase we always use to invite people to baptism. "Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone who holds the priesthood of God" Before I could finish asking the question" She cut me off and said yes like 5 times! So prepared!

I hope you all have a great week!

Os amo tanto!

Elder Marrott

Bike Accident! (But Got To Do Some Singing)

Hey Everyone!

            It’s been another eventual week full of successes and.....some funny moments. Ahh, well yesterday was a tiring day and Elder Marin and I went to stop by a 7 Eleven to get a quick snack because we were starving. On our way there, I turned a corner on my bike and there was a bus stop area followed by a fire hydrant. I was going a little fast and I was a little tired. I was able to avoid the bus stop, but I hit the fire hydrant dead on and I flew and had at least 2 seconds of air time before I fell. I ended up okay. My knee is just a little banged up a bit but I should be getting better soon. The bike is fine too. Only my self-esteem got majorly damage, but hey it happens. We had a great Easter Weekend with great lessons and a great Sunday service. We had our first lesson with Paola and Omar a young couple on Saturday Afternoon and Victor Garcia our ward mission leader came over with us. Paola is originally from Mexico and Omar is from Washington State. They got married about 4 years ago and they have gone through a lot together, and they were super ready to accept the gospel. They opened up a lot with us telling us about their wedding how they lost 100 lbs. of weight together, several things. We taught them the Restoration and they accepted it really well. They felt the Spirit really strong and Omar is really wanting to make a change. They wanted me to sing to them because we told them for the Easter that I would be giving a musical number. I sang Grand Eres Tu or How Great Thou Art. It was a touching experience. Unfortunately they got sick and weren't able to make to church. BUT...we had Noami and church again and she brought a friend Maria with her son and granddaughter. The whole ward was able to befriend them, even Aaron a 6 year old boy in our area, invited the little granddaughter to primary. So cute!

They loved all the classes especially the sacrament services that us missionaries were in charge of. I was Elder Marin and I, 2 other Elders, Elder Pollard and Elder Roberts and 2 sisters, Sister Bateman and Sister Foster (who is from Springfield Missouri, she is super cool). We all gave talks on the importance of Easter and our testimonies and we had two musical numbers, one all of us sang Senor yo te seguire and then Elder Roberts and I did a A Capella duet of Tan Solo con Pensar en Ti (Jesus the Very Thought of Thee) It went great and several people congratulated us! Maria, the friend that Noami, brought told us how much she admires the missionaries. Apparently the parents of her granddaughter aren't around anymore as the father left them we she was born and the mother committed suicide a while back. Just before she died she was meeting with the missionaries and she enjoyed listening to them. At the funeral, except her mother and the missionaries were there at the funeral. This was the first conversation I had with her and it just blew me away. I'm glad the Lord has prepared a way so that people can more easily accept the gospel through simple acts of kindness. We will be meeting with them on Friday and hope that we can commit the family to baptism. It’s so great!

"There are only two kinds of people in this world: those who you love and those you don't know yet"

Os amo tanto

Elder Marrott   

Golden Investigators: Luis and Noami

Hey Everyone,

 It's been another crazy week. But the best part was the lesson we had with Luis and that Noami came to church yesterday. The lesson this week with Luis was great. He's a young single adult and lives with his roommate, and he's a super intelligent guy that works on computers and delivers seafood. It was super easy to teach him because...I don't know... he just understood. We taught the plan of salvation and the Atonement and we brought a member Ricardo a young man the same age as him. We were able to read a lot of scriptures from the Book of Mormon and the Bible with him because we knew that he would understand what they meant. Ricardo was able to read him the Alma the younger conversion story to help him understand the purpose of the atonement and bore a marvelous testimony. I really touched Luis's heart. We invited him to baptism and he accepted a date for the 28th of April. Church attendance for him may be difficult because he works in the early mornings, but I think he will make an effort to prepare and learn. It was one of the most spiritual lesson I've been a part of so far in my mission. But on Sunday, Noami came to church, we weren't able to teach her, but she committed to come to church as a member when to pick her up. She enjoyed the Gospel Principles class as they taught about Christ and his purpose as our Savior and what it means to us specifically. She made a lot of friends and the Relief Society President was able to give her a ride home. Just perfect! Things are looking up and we are counting all the tender mercies we've seen so far.

"Prayer is not the substitute for work; it is a sometimes desperate effort to work further and to be efficient beyond the range of one's own powers. It is not the lazy who are most inclined to prayer ; those who pray most, who care most, and who have worked hard, find it intolerable to be defeated"

             George Santayana

Os amo tano

Elder Marrott

An Investigator From Who Learned About Church from Jail

Hey Everyone

      It’s been another awesome week as I'm still adjusting to my new area and responsibilities as district leader. This past Tuesday, I went on splits with Elder Beecher an elder in my district so I could do the baptismal interview for their GOLDEN investigators Junior. He has an amazing conversion story. A couple years back he made plans to have his first lesson with the missionaries one night but he ended up getting arrested due to possession of drugs and never got to meet with the missionaries. One day when he was in jail he ran into some missionaries that were teaching in the jail there and he basically learned everything of the gospel there and built his testimony. The missionaries gave him a pass along card to call as soon as he got out of jail so he could find a church and get baptized and that's exactly what he did! During the interview he constantly was bearing his testimony and I knew without a doubt that he was ready to make this step. This Sunday was his baptism and he had all his kids from Arizona come up for the service. Unfortunately he had a family member of his die on the freeway minutes before the baptism and it almost seemed like it wasn't going to happen. But it happened, and it was super powerful and his testimony was super strong! I'm looking again to teach a person like him again. That is what motivates me to work hard so I can be ready to find these kind of people!

The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. the world would take the people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of the people and then they take the slums out of themselves. The world would mold men by changing environment. Christ changes man, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior bur Christ can change human nature.

Ezra Taft Benson

Os amo tanto

Elder Marrott

With Elder Marin in Downey

Hey Everyone!

      It’s been crazy with all the changes here in the mission with areas being split and half the missionaries here being transferred to different areas because of the influx of 33 new missionaries here to Los Angeles. I was transferred to Maywood as a new district leader and senior companion to Elder Marin. He is from Florida and Texas and his parents are Colombian and Dominican, so his Spanish is pretty good. He has 3 transfers in the mission. My district is pretty cool. I look over the missionaries that are in the Santa Fe Springs Ward even though I go to the Bell Gardens Ward with 2 other companionships that aren't in my district. It’s different but fun. I directed my first district meeting on Saturday, so I was a little nervous but I enjoyed it.  I love the Maywood area and the people seem to like me because my last district leader Elder Behnke served a long time here and also a friend from home in St. Louis served in this area too. I'm able to click with members here really well. It's been a crazy week with transfers but we expect work with the investigators here will get better. Elder Marin and I had a great lesson with a new investigator Noami. Only had time to explain our purpose as missionaries and promise that she will be blessed for accepting our message. She felt the spirit strongly especially when the member we brought Hermano Naranjo bore his testimony she really has the desire to continue learning. I'm excited to work with her. Lastly, on Sunday we had stake conference for the Huntington Park Stake and it was the first one since they combined the both Spanish and English wards into one stake. They had to adjust to the language differences but I felt the spirit very strongly. Elder Ellis from the Quorum of the Seventy came to visit and gave a fantastic talk. I loved it when he said that "No one in the world can survive spiritually unless they learn how to receive revelation" So true! I'm still adjusting to life here but I love the mission and hope to help the mission grow here in Downey!

Os amo tanto!

Elder Marrott

Elder Marrott as District Leader!

Hey Everyone,

Not much time to write, things are going crazy here with transfers tomorrow. Last Wednesday I was informed that I am going to be serving as a district leader and I received training on Thursday. I'm a little nervous but I was positive that I was going to stay as a district leader here in my area now. Well I was wrong.....I'm being transferred AGAIN I'm going to serve in Maywood in the City of Downey with Elder Marin on BIKE finally! I was upset that they are moving me again so soon. It’s going to be my 5th area in less than a year! But I know I will be help the mission as the big changes start this month with 34 new missionaries coming in. President and the Lord trust me that I will be loyal to the mission no matter the circumstances. Everyone pray for the missionaries it’s a very stressful time for every missionary here and around the world. I'm so excited!

Os amo tanto!

Elder Marrott

More News from North Lomita

Hey Everyone,

       Another super busy week in North Lomita. I swear that right now that people our having to wait in line because we have so many people we are working with that it’s overwhelming to keep up with them all. I really hoping that they split our area this next transfer so we can help this area live up to its potential. The highlights from this week included several lessons with our investigators. We had a lesson with Alicia and her father again where we deeply covered the plan of salvation and how God has provided us answers to the life’s greatest questions. Where did I come from? Why am I here? And where am I going after this life? After we passed through it all, they both agreed that its God's plan. Unfortunately, Alicia’s father is an older man and he's promised to stick with the religion he has even though he completely agreed with everything we taught. It’s so easy to have a testimony in the restored gospel but super difficult for people to make the change necessary to live according to it. It's very frustrating but that's how it is sometimes. Afterward Alicia cooked up some amazing Mole con Pollo for Dinner. SO DIVINE! She's an awesome cook. Also this week we finally were able to have a lesson with Maria Garcia. She's been so busy with work she hasn't had time these past weeks. She already knows the church is true but we just have to be patient with her busy life. We ended up teaching the Plan of Salvation, the Word of Wisdom and the Sabbath Day in one class, and she understood perfectly. She’s golden but just busy. Another fun lesson we had was a Bible Class we were invited to on Thursday by family of 6 or so people. We taught the Restoration and testified that the church of Jesus Christ is back on the earth in its fullness and by reading the Book of Mormon they can know too. However one lady appreciated what we taught and what we do, she didn't feel inclined to read the Book of Mormon as she only reads the Bible. Unfortunately everyone followed the bandwagon with her. No problem because we are going by tomorrow to do a Family Home Evening to spark up some more interest with them. This Sunday also, we attended church and taught both Gospel Principles Class and Priesthood. I could have never done that before the mission. We had a good turnout of investigators and the classes went well. In the evening, the sisters in the Young Women asked my companion to play the piano for the New Beginnings meeting so we went. It was weird because I never went to a Young Women meeting before and I feel out of place. They talked about the importance of marriage, so I felt even more out of place. They had all the young women stand behind a wedding dress in front of a mirror to envision themselves in their Wedding dress. One of the counselors in the bishopric Hno Cardoso and I were making jokes about seeing the Bishop in the ward in a wedding dress. The Bishopric here is awesome. So that was last week, but on Monday we had service for the mission as we drove up to the mission home to help President Baker set up furniture for the new missionaries coming in this next transfer. There's 37 missionaries coming in on next Wednesday! Wow! I'm so excited to see what’s going to happen. Also on Saturday I'm going back to Hollywood for another baptism for a man that I tracted into and taught as well. So Good!!!!

Quote of the Week

While we must practice tolerance and respect for others and their beliefs including their right to explain and advocated their positions, we are not required to respect and tolerate wrong behavior

                               Dallin H Oaks

Isn't that the truth!

Os amos tanto!

Elder Marrott

Sis. Monzon and a Really Nice Mansion

Hey Everyone!

      It's been another fantastic week again, and I'm even happier than last week!!!! Yay!!!!! Yesterday was the best overall because I got to return to Hollywood to participate in the baptisms of an investigator that I found and taught 4 months ago, Ana Monzon. I saw former missionary friends and members and it was awesome to be there with everyone from before. I gave a talk on the importance of baptism at the service and I focused on taking upon the name of Christ, part of the baptismal covenant that she made. Later both Ana and Elder Walker, my companion at the time when we found her, gave fantastic testimonies of story of how we found her and how she herself came to know that the church was true. Ana was so confident and proud of the decision that she made at baptism and she is going to be a great blessing to the LA 4th ward for years to come. I couldn't be happier for her! Afterward we traveled to the temple where the visitor’s center was going to have a missionary fireside and we were hoping that some of our investigators were going to be there, but no came unfortunately. Its a long drive up to Hollywood and then to Santa Monica to the temple from our area in Torrance, so we were a little disappointed about that but it was fun catching up with some old missionary companions and friends there that can up to visit. Because we had no investigators there we couldn't stay for the fireside, but as we were leaving I saw a girl walking inside that looked super familiar. Somehow Elder Low and I stalled outside the VC for some reason and she came up and greeted me. She recognized me too. Apparently she was in my singles ward with me at BYU and is good friends with my roommates and other friends at school. I remembered her, Nicol, as she came over to our apartment a couple times to hang out. She gave me updates from every one of my roommates and other friends and how they are doing on their missions. Super awesome! It took me back, and It helped me see how far I've come and changed since I was at school. Craziness! Anyway, the funniest part of last week was that on Monday, the zone went to President Chen's mansion. He is the branch president of the Chinese branch in Palos Verdes and he's a multi-billionaire. It's the biggest house that I've ever been inside. He was a basement with ping pong, pool, weight room, and.... a BOWLING ALLEY! It was like as if I was at the White House. It was so much fun! We missionaries get so pampered sometimes! Relating to Missionary work in my area, we have so much work and so many people we are teaching that its almost overwhelming to keep tract of all of them. The best lesson we had this week was with Eduardo who is just coming back to church (super humble guy) and he's wife Allison who is a not a member and we taught them the Plan of Salvation. It just seemed to click so easy with them that she knows that it’s the plan that God has for us. She's a little hesitant about being baptized but with more spiritual experiences she will commit to it. Eduardo is so awesome and will be a great example to Allison and their little kids. One 1 year old and one on the way. An update on Bishop Madrid and his health, he's basically superman, as he survived 3 mini strokes and is perfectly fine. He's now in Utah visiting family. Crazy awesome. God has him still for a reason.

Quote of the week

Rationalizing is bringing one's ideals to the level of one's conduct

Repentance is the bringing of one's conduct to the level of one's ideals

We should always strive to repent and do what’s right and not try to justify are wrong actions no matter what!

Os amo tanto

Elder Marrott

Successful Week!

Hey Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

        I"M SOOOOOOOOOO HAAPPYY!!!!!! This week was so great because so many good things are happening in my area and on my mission. I've never been happier in my life. But I guess I have to share the sad news first. My Ward Mission Leader Bishop Madrid has been struggling with health problems as of late and during sacrament meeting, he felt uneasy and had to go to the hospital. He's been such a fireball for missionary work since I've been in this area and he's such a great mentor to me. I would ask everyone who reads this to pray for him. He's the greatest spiritual giant you will ever meet. On Saturday, I when on exchanges with him, just he and I to a less actives home. He had no obligation to visit him but he just wanted to, it shows what a great man he is. It so happened that this man was baptized a couple years back by an elder from St Louis Elder Clark (don't know him) and also happens to be a crazy St Louis Cardinals fan. We got off really well. Hopefully we can get him activated again. He's suffered effects from a car wreck a couple months ago. Anyway there were several things this week that made it one of the best. 1) We had a lesson with Frank and Alicia again and had their member friends from Long Beach over to help us teach the Carmonas. Hna Carmona is super nice to the missionary as she feeds 12 missionaries every Saturday in the ward she attends. She told us of how grateful she is for the gospel. Frank and Alicia have great respect for this lady, so it was easy to share the message with them. It was funny we were talking about music and how we as missionaries don't listen to the radio. Hna Carmona mentioned that us members of the church try to listen to clean music, but told us that she a big fan of Pitbull. :) We also got a referral from a member visiting from Mexico and has brought her nephew and his wife to church. The nephew Eduardo is a less active of 8 years and he's wanted to return so he can raise his young family in the gospel. We watched Together Forever at his apartment with all his family and they knew that it was true. We are excited for all of his family and their decision to come back. Also we had a mini missionary come with us for this weekend a 17 year young man named Jhorrdy from Huntington Park, and he recently got baptized in October. We had fun teaching him about missionary life and having him help us teach some of our investigators. He has a strong testimony and he helped us out a lot. When we went to drop him back off in Downey, the missionaries that were serving in one of my prior areas Silverlake up in Hollywood came up and told me that one of the investigators that I found there in October Ana Monzon is going to be baptized this next Sunday and she wanted me to give a talk at here baptismal service. I was so excited as it will be my first investigator that will be baptized that my companion Elder Walker and I found. I'm ecstatic! Things are so good!

Quote of the week!

Many blessing come soon, some come much later in life, and others don't even come in this life, perhaps they come in the next, but for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, they come.

           Jeffery R Holland

Os amo tanto!

Elder Marrott

One Year Mark!

Hey Everyone,

    This past week has been great, but it’s going to be quite monumental this coming week. On Friday Feb 8th I hit my one year mark on my mission. WHAT! Some days I can't believe it’s been a year already, other days not as much. But nonetheless it’s been a fantastic year, by far one of the best years of my life.  Looking back and see the changes I've made in my life to grow and the experiences that have refined to get at the point where I am. I give thanks to all my family, friends here in LA and at home who have helped me and prayed for me. I'm excited to know that I still have another year left to make an impact on the great people here in Los Angeles. The highlights of this past week is on Tuesday we had a zone activity here some missionaries got together to play sport and a little obstacle course game that the Zone Leaders set up. I was nice to do as many Elders in the zone were going to move to different areas the next day. Our zone did great work this past month, and thing seem to keep looking better. On Wednesday we had a great lesson with a couple Frank and Alicia again. We attempted to teach the Restoration to them but something prompted us to focus more on their understanding of the gospel. Frank shared with his life experiences that has helped him to God especially after being in Jail for 15 years. Alicia talked about her brother who was a drug addict who overdosed was dead for a week but stayed on life-support, came back to life, fully recovered and now is a Christian pastor. They had so many stories to share and I felt like we have gotten closer to us and trust us by sharing those stories with us. It was a cool story how the Elders found them. Well first, Alicia has a friend who is a member in Long Beach and for Christmas, she invited Alicia and her husband to a Ward dinner. They enjoyed it their time there, but no arrangements were made to send the missionaries to teach them. Then on New Year’s Day, Elder Low and his companion before me, Elder Harper, we driving up to the mission home to drop off Elder Harper, because he was being sent home because of his health. Before heading up, he told Elder Low he needed to tract one more street before he went home. They so happened to knock on Frank and Alicia's door. They were stunned because they thought someone from Long Beach sent the missionaries to them. We told this story to them and they know that we are teaching them for a reason. Tomorrow we have an appointment with them and their friends from Long Beach are going to accompany us to the lesson. I'm so excited and I hope it breaks the ice for them to progress towards accepting the gospel. Also we taught Jose again this week and he for certain he needs to be baptized but he's not fixed on a day yet. He's coming along he's just been stressed out with his health and working on selling the house. We did service for him on Friday to clean his back porch and help him assemble some screen for his windows. Super fun. Then on Saturday we when to a ward baptism for a young girl in our ward, Elder Low baptized her. Alicia one of our solid investigators come to support as they are close family friends. Afterwards we tried to set a baptismal date with her but she still doesn't want to commit to a date. Grrr. but she will be baptized soon. Anyway , Things are just going great here. I'm loving the mission right now. Great new things to come! I can't wait!

Missionary Quote of the week: If you treat a man as he is he will remain as he is, but if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought and should be. –Goethe

It's the truth we must see everyone as sons and daughters of God and they must be treated as such. If we want to help our friends to become more Christ-like, we must act Christ-like to them and be an example of the believers.

Well, I will see you all in a year!

Os amo tanto

Elder Marrott

Influx of Missionaries and Senorita Merida

Hey Everyone!

    

        I hope you've all had a great week! Sorry I didn't email yesterday, there's been some changes in the transfer system in the mission. Because of the influx of new missionaries, the Mondays before transfers become normal work days and we receive the transfer call that evening. Elder Low and I will staying together for another transfer. Then the Tuesdays before transfers will be p days, so that is why I'm emailing today. The mission is starting to figure out how to do things more smoothly so things are starting to get less hectic. I'm excited to work with Elder Low more because we have a lot of good things coming our way. But I really loved last week because we were able to go sightseeing again but this time in Palos Verdes. I swear its paradise over there with beautiful views, mansions, and the weather was absolutely perfect! I sent some pictures home. There's one view that I was able to view the whole city of LA. It was funny to look over the past area I've served in. It was a start to a great week. Later that night we held a Family Home Evening with Cynthia and her family. She has 5 young daughter so we had to make it interesting. We ended out singing some primary songs like Snowman and it got everyone excited. We played a fun game called the Spirit game where someone hides a piece of candy in the room and some has to look for it blindfolded. Everyone in the room yells at them to tell them where to go but most are telling in the wrong direction. There's only one person who actually tells them the right place to go. Sometimes the people know who it is and sometimes they don't. But it really helped Cynthia help her family learn how to listen to God telling them the right things to do. They are an awesome family, but unfortunately they couldn't come to church because their whole family is down with the flu. I hope you can send out a prayer for them. Then on Wednesday we got a surprise breakfast given to us from a referral we received. Her name is Senorita Merida and she's from Mexico, but she learned about the missionaries by watching the PBS documentary about Mormons. She said she cried when it told about the missionaries that serve and she's wanted to find some of us so she could feed us. She cooked us some mean pancakes and sausage. I was to die for. Apparently she's an seventh day Adventist, but has admired the work that we do. She's quite the knowledgeable lady with a wonderful family. She was a teacher in Mexico and she's quite the reader especially about European history. She chewed our ears of about the Vatican and the Spanish Inquisition, it was quite entertaining. I'm not sure how receptive she would be to us teaching her, but she's quite the opinionated woman. We hope to stop by again soon. But missionary work is going great with investigators coming to church. Things seem to be running smoothly. I'm loving it. I love my Ward Mission Leader because of how missionary oriented he is. He's given us a referral every time we come over. Unfortunately he's not been feeling well and work is super stressful. Send a prayer out to him as well. Well until next week!

Os amo tanto!

Elder Marrott

Cynthia's Family and Introducing Elder Benkhe

Hey Everyone,

       It's been quite another eventful week again here in North Lomita. Probably one of the most successful weeks I've had in the mission. On church on Sunday, we had about 8 investigators at church which is the most I've had at church before. The members in the ward have been great in befriending everyone and having great lessons at church. We had a break through with Cynthia's family as she and all her 5 kids came again plus Nicole and their mother! Which I was super surprised to see her mom there. We had a lesson at Cynthia's house and her mom was visiting. As we were reading 1 Nephi 10 with Cynthia, she came in and started listening. She's quite an interesting lady who has had, I guess you could say, an "exciting" lifestyle. Cynthia would always say "she needs God more than I do, and that's saying something." She had a lot of questions about the church, so we gave her a summary of what we believe and she seemed very stunned as we said it. She said that she was coming to church, but Cynthia didn't believe her. They ended up coming to Gospel Principles and Nicole and the mom said the prayers. It was very surprising. It was an inspired lesson at church because our ward mission leader Bishop Madrid taught about eternal marriage, because Cynthia, Nicole and their mom need to get married. I finally think it's gotten them to understand. Hopefully we can make wedding plans this week. Maria Garcia also came to church, the referral we received from mormon.org, and we didn't know if she would be able to ask off work, but she did. Hermano Rodriguez got her a ride to sacrament and the relief society president gave her a ride to work afterwards, she's being befriended very well. I had 2 really good lessons this week. One with Jose Morales who is the old man with one leg. This week he was concerned about his health because he went to the doctors to test if he had cancer in his esophagus. While we were reading the Book of Mormon, the doctors called and said he didn't have it. He looked so relieved, and he felts grateful for the chance to talk with us. He feels God is blessing him for listening. He would have come to church if he didn't have an open house because he's selling his house. Lastly, we had a lesson with the Castillo Family. The mom and their 2 kids are members, but not the father Miguel. We had splits and Elder Benhke came in to my area. He has an awesome story as he's a convert as of 2 years ago. He's from Minnesota, but the missionaries taught him when he was in Utah for school. He has the strongest testimony I've ever heard in my life of Christ and the Book of Mormon. Anyway we had a family home evening with them, but at first Miguel didn't come out of the room for the lesson. I was praying at the beginning that he would come out because the goal was to initially teach him. While we were playing a game, Miguel came out of his room and starting listening. Their came a point in the lesson when Elder Benhke taught the atonement super powerfully and Miguel really felt the spirit testify to him that it was true. Elder Benkhe then invited him to be baptized, and he accepted. His wife got a little emotional because she's been working on him to be baptized for a while. It was cool too because he invited him to be baptized on Feb 17 which happened to be his birthday. WHAT! He says he will try because he's got some bad habits he needs to get rid of. It was by far the best lesson I've been a part of. I have a testimony that people can change when we strive to help them and invite them to do so.

Os amo tanto

Elder Marrott

Awesome Bishop with Awesome House!

Hey Everyone,

       It has been another fun week here in SoCal, where it’s been a little chilly but it’s always sunny and breezy. It’s weird living by the beach again. After we emailed last week, Elder Low and I went to see the Redondo Beach in our area. Oh man it was amazing. After living in the inner most part of the city of Los Angeles with of the hustle and bustle and crazy people and drivers, it felt super relaxing to sit by the beach. It is quite therapeutic and it's helped take off the stress of the work. But right now it couldn't be better. Elder Low and I had a very successful week with most of our investigators. After a long time Cynthia and her 5 daughters plus her sister Nicole came to church. They all have missing coming to church and especially with Cynthia and the stress she goes through raising her daughters. She seemed very at peace and uplifted after all the classes. She's been committed to be baptized for a while and her sister too but they both aren't married to their boyfriends, but it seems like they are making progress to getting it done soon hopefully both my next month. I'm super excited for them. One of the funniest parts about serving in this area is working with our ward mission leader Bishop Carlos Madrid! I would have to say he's the richest and most spiritual person I've ever met! I met him before in my first area because he gave us the referrals of Freddy and Martiza who live in one of hundreds of buildings he owns in Los Angeles. He and I have clicked really well because we both understand how insane the people are that live in that apartment and they have given us both grief spiritually and with him financially by not paying their rent. Anyway he's got quite the life story. He started out dirt poor as a kid living in Redondo Beach area, but grew up all his life faithful in the church. He served his mission in Mexico came back to go to college and now he owns several properties in LA. His house is quite the mansion. We go over to his house for coordination and he had painted in the entrance of his door inside, a mural of the waters of Mormon. Also in his dining room, he has a on the top of the wall a painting of the last supper personally and professionally painted just for him. I will have to send photos. Anyway, he's served as a branch president, 3x as bishop, and was a mission president in the Dominican Republic. A couple years ago as well, he survived a major stoke, so now he walks around with a really cool cane everywhere. He's bald as well and he makes jokes about it all the time. He has quite a strong testimony of the gospel and is quite the missionary. On Tuesday we brought him over to a lesson with us with a referral we received from Mormon.org. Her name is Maria Garcia and she referred herself to the missionaries after one of her friends told her about the church. She mentioned to us that she always felt good driving past the church building. Anyway, we had a lesson with her and her sister, even before we started the lesson, Bishop Madrid already committed both of them to baptism! Super strong testimony! We are looking forward to working with them more. Well, have a good week and I talk to you next Monday!

Os amo tanto!

Elder Marrott    

Great Success in the New Area

Hey Everyone,

          This week........Wow! Let's just say its been an answer to my prayers. Last Monday I was emergency transferred from Crenshaw to North Lomita in Peninsula Zone serving in the Habor 3rd Ward, the only Spanish ward in the California Torrance Stake. My area is one the biggest Spanish proselyting areas in the mission as it covers parts of counties Torrance, Carson, Lomita, Willmington, Redondo Beach, and Harbor City! It's huge and super beautiful. All the houses and streets are insanely nice especially compared to my last area in Crenshaw. The reason I was transferred was an elder serving here, Elder Harper was sent home because of his health. Elder Harper has served before in most of my past areas and he's very well known and loved. Unfortunately he's had a condition that prevents him from sleeping, so he went back home. He basically finished his mission as he had only 2 months more. Our prayers go out to him. My new companion is Elder Low and he's super cool He's from Tennessee. Funny story, on our night drive home from switching companions at the mission home, we were talking and we found out that we lived in the same apartment building out at BYU. He lived on the bottom floor to the left and I was in the 2nd floor on the right. We attend the same ward and we know the same people! SUPER WEIRD!! Our first night was just talking about memories from school, so we are getting along really well. He also ran XC in high school as well. I actually when I was on the XC squad, my team traveled to a meet in Tennessee in the same place where the XC state meet takes place. Super cool connections! The first morning together was the New Year and the mission held a mission conference to present the mission goals for the year of 2013. Apparently there will be a lot of changes in the mission to accommodate the influx of 18 year old missionaries that will be coming in. The next transfer will be different as it will be reduce to a 5 week transfer, so this means all the missionaries and me in the field now will be leaving a week earlier. (Instead of Feb 12 2014, I will come home Feb 5 2014....oh well) Also in March there will be 35 new missionaries coming in March. That’s 3x the average that usually comes in. and there will be more coming in after that. Craziness! There's a lot to look forward to this coming year. After President announced all the changes, we held a testimony meeting. I bore my testimony about how President was inspired to make the change I was involved in and how the Book of Mormon truly is a source of comfort to those in need of consolation. After that Elder Low and I went off to work our area. Man, the people here in this area are insanely awesome and all of the investigators and member here super cool. It's also been so special this week because the first member family that I first met in the field now live my area, the familia sanchez! I spent many nights over at their house, I celebrated my birthday with them, and my first Saturday in the mission was one of their little daughter’s baptisms. They were a less active family before I came but they became super active when i came in. Now the daughters and Hermana Sanchez are active but Hermano is working Sundays and is apparently drinking again. There's a reason I'm here! Anyway here's a quick summary of my investigators.

Alicia: has a testimony and knows the church is true but won't commit to a date. Will be baptized soon.

Cynthia: has 5 little girls all under the age of 12 and a little boy on the way. Super busy but loves the missionaries. Isn't married but has the marriage license for this month

Nicole: Cynthia’s sister, isn't married either but doesn't want to get the marriage license because she lost her ID and is afraid to go to the DMV to get a new one because she has a warrant

Jose Morales: referral from English missionaries, 73 years old, has traveled the world, has been married 4 times and is now married to a 30 year old lady from the Philippines. Has a 12 year old son, who was just baptized. Before his son was born doctors thought that he wasn't going to live, but Jose prayed to God that if he would save his son he would give up his son to live dedicated to serve God like the stories in the bible. They found the church and the son attends the Samoan ward and is a deacon, and Jose plans for him to serve a mission like us. He's super excited to learn from the book of Mormon and support his son. Also, he has one leg. I have to say he's the most interesting man I've ever ever ever met!

So much more to say but so little time. I'll let you all more next time. This week has been a testimony to me that God answers prayers and he loves me. Take Care!

Os amo tanto!

Elder Marrott       

Emergency Transfer!

Hey Everyone,

         Today's been a great week with Christmas and Teaching and Church and everything. I spent Christmas visiting members, calling home and a big group of us missionaries went to a Nursing Home and went caroling. There was one feisty lady who offered all the elders if they would like to "make some [interestingly inappropriate term omitted]" with her (whatever that means :) ) It's been super fun, the best time in my life. But you know the phrase "It’s all fun and games until you get sick ( I started to get the flu and lost my voice the day after Christmas, but I'm fine now).......AND ........transfers...... My whole world has been turned upside down this morning. President Baker called me this morning and told me that I was being emergency transferred........................tonight.................I've never felt so disappointed..........What's happening is I'm being moved to an Area called North Lomita near the city of Torrance (close to the area where I started my mission) serving in a small Spanish branch. I will be made senior companion over Elder Low who has about 3 or 4 transfers in the mission. My companion is combining into a trio with other elders in our district so they will be working two areas. It's put such a big damper on my life. Everything was going well. We were teaching well, finding a lot more people to teach and now it feels like it’s all gone (at least to me).........I'm sorry that I sound sad, but I would be lying if I didn't say so. It's hard to write about all the things that happened this week because I know I probably won't see those people again. This Sunday I got to confirm Federico a member of the church and he also gave a talk at church. I've never seen a more spiritual man than him. I felt so strange leaving all the people I've met....But I trust that it’s where the Lord needs me now. I have no clue why it’s all going down, but I find out soon enough. I'm starting the New Year out with a bang!  The only thing that's keeping me going is Proverbs...Trust in the Lord with all thy heart.....and Lean not to thy own understanding. It wouldn't be right to blame anyone for what's happening but I really am hoping for the best. I usually don't ask this but keep me and the mission in your prayers. We all need to stay strong. Don't worry, I'll be happy because I know I'm serving the Lord. Good Bye Jungle I will miss you!

Love you all

Elder Marrott