Friday, February 28, 2014

"I'm Back Baby!"

Hey Everyone!

It's great to be back in Sunny California again. The weather has been nice and cool. Just the way I like it. It did rain on Tuesday but it was very much needed as it's been very dry in Cali. Anyway, the first day back, I stayed at the mission home with the assistants helping out the new missionaries that came in this transfer with their stuff. Man the mission has changed a lot! President Weidman has done a great job making things more efficient. The next day was transfers. We now have a transfer meeting where all the missionaries that are being moved meet up at one the stake centers in L.A. and we have a little testimony meeting and President spoke, too. Lots of miracles are happening in the mission. In December, the mission hit the monthly record of getting 60 baptisms. They had 50 in January. I was so excited to hear it! I have been placed in the first area I served in back 2 years ago in Lawndale. I was so excited! Elder Summerhays is my companion. He's from Salt Lake and we get along really well. Tuesday was great because I got to see all the missionaries at transfers and get updated from everyone I've served with. Everyone was really happy to see me, so it made me feel really good. I got to see my mission father, Hermano Romero, who is the ward mission leader in Hermosa Liahona ward where I am serving. I cried out "Mi hijo perdido regresado!" It's really nice to serve around him again. It's been weird to bike around because I already know the area pretty well. The work is different, however, for the better. The mission has developed an amazing English Class Program called L.A. English that has been implemented in every stake where we get to advertise and teach a really simple and effective English class. There are three levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Elder Summerhays and I teach the advanced class and it was super fun! At the end of class, we share a spiritual thought to introduce people to the gospel. We offer church tours and the missionary lessons. I am just very surprised because people actually come. It is nice because during the week we can focus on advertising English class instead of tracting. It's an amazing finding tool! Currently, we are teaching a student that goes to the class named Mario. He has absolutely no Christian background and believed that there is no afterlife. He is very interested in learning our doctrine and has lots of potential. The investigator that is progressing through is Julio. He came to church and a baptism this Sunday and enjoys everything we've shared with him. We had the bishop come with us to a lesson with him and taught the Book of Mormon and the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was effective as he committed to a baptismal date on March 9th. He is the very definition of humble. On Sunday, I got to see all the members again, including Violeta who was baptised when I was here 2 years ago. Now she teaches the gospel principles class to the investigators and recent converts in our ward. I am so happy for her. Her husband was baptized recently and are working toward going to the temple this year. Life is just great and I couldn't be happier.


Os amo tanto!


Elder Marrott

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