September 22nd, 29th & October 6th, 2014

September 22nd, 2014

Dear family,

Well, this week followed a similar as of late. 

Monday we had a lot of lessons which was a good last night for Elder B. We had a really good lesson with the G family and a great lesson with the Ws. We were going to watch part of Elder Holland's talk from last conference, but when we paused it, he asked us if we could watch the whole thing so we did. He asked us if we could text him in the morning so they would be up on time for church, and we did and they drove all the way to the church and then one of the kids threw up all over the car, so they drove back and he had to clean that. Such a bummer, but we were pleased he wanted to come.

Tuesday morning we dropped off Elder B at the stake center with the other departing missionaries. It was weird. We went to the mission office to take care of some things and it was fun to see Elder T, S, and the office couples. Me and Elder W mowed a lawn for a family and helped Sister A move. We had a couple other lessons with some new people that we are still trying to determine their interest.

Wednesday we hit the pavement hard and didn't have any success and didn't have any lessons, but we worked hard, so that was all we could do.

Thursday was transfer meeting and I found out I am senior companion again and Elder H would be my new zone leader companion. Elder H is a newly assigned zone leader and he is from Spanish Fork and lived there his whole life. He has been out about 18 months and is a solid missionary. He is really easy to work with. Our zone is awesome, I am way excited. Lots of missionaries from Round Rock and other ones I'm friends with. Elder W(Round Rock), Elder O (Round Rock), Elder J (Round Rock), Elder S (Round Rock), and Elder L. As well as Elder T, Elder H, and Elder L is my district leader (MTC district). I do feel pretty inadequate that I am in charge of this huge zone (29 missionaries) and it has been a humbling experience to realize that I need to improve a lot of things. We had an awesome first evening together. Brother C called us and said he had someone for us to teach at 6, so of course we went there. It is a co-worker they have been working with and she had had a spiritual experience the night before reading an Ensign they gave her. We planned to teach the Restoration, but she had a lot of questions about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so we switched to that. It was awesome to teach a friend in a member's home like that. She didn't come to church though, so that's too bad. We had a lesson with Sister S too. She had some more good questions. I told her I think she knows the church is true. I really like teaching her a lot and I think she likes the way I teach too. We have just clicked really well because she loves well thought out lessons and responses and I love coming up with well thought out lessons and responses.

Friday and Saturday were both really slow but we worked hard and talked to a lot of people. Basically my only goal for the zone is to silence the saying that zone leaders are "all talk." Says who? We are probably going to go on a lot more exchanges. 

Sunday was pretty good. Sister M came to church and we have another lesson tonight. We also taught R, her brother who was finally home. I really like him too he is hilarious. I would LOVE to be a part of his baptism. We had a lesson with K. The young women will play a HUGE role in her conversion. We are still kinda working with a couple other people, but we are trying to get some new people in as well. 

I know this work is true, it's amazing and I know there are people prepared for the gospel everywhere. Thanks for the support and love!

Love,

Elder Pew

September 29^th, 2014

Dear family,

This was a pretty good week that definitely climaxed with zone conference on Friday about Christlike attributes and we got to watch Meet the Mormons which is probably the best movie I've ever seen. It is SUPER powerful. I'm sure everyone in Utah knows about it already, but the stories are really amazing. The church always does such a good job of portraying ourselves. Definitely a must-see. Other than that, it was pretty much like the last few weeks, we have been working really hard and talking with everyone but have yet to see a lot of visible results. We have faith that it will turn around though if we keep working hard. This has definitely been the most challenging time of my mission and it's really made me stretch and grow to try different things to stay effective. I'm becoming more grateful for trials. I figure as a leader, you can't help others through tough stretches if you haven't been in them yourself. 

Monday we had a pretty good lesson with Sister M and Brother L came. She seems to be progressing.

Tuesday we have to do all the administrative stuff as a zone leader and our zone had 6 baptisms this last week, 4 that were Elder T and H. The zone is still the highest in the mission so far this year. We had a cool experience where Bro T called us (he's the new WML and he's awesome) and said there was a family Bishop wanted us to stop by, so we did and it was perfect timing and the mom needed a blessing. We think there are other non-members living in their home, but we tried to gather them all up for the lesson, but they didn't come, but we will follow-up there. 

Wednesday had a lesson with N at the Valentines. It went pretty well. We also taught K and brought Sister P and her kids because she is friends with Sister M. We had an awesome lesson and the Ps invited her to the Women's broadcast. We also had to do a baptism interview for Highland Hills which is the Spanish Branch, and two of the people only spoke Spanish. The other Elders were worried that I couldn't do it and wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting into, but it was easy. I pretty much understood everything they said, I just couldn't really add my thoughts since I can understand better than I can speak. They were both really ready, so it wasn't hard to tell since that isn't a language thing, you can just see it.

Thursday we had another lesson with Sister M and Bro A came. We were able to get a Women's Conference invite in and she went with her mom, but didn't come to church. We were suppose to teach R, but she went out of town. 

Friday was zone conference which was a blast. It was combined with North Zone, so basically all of my friends in the mission were there. It's weird to know basically everyone that was there. I forgot to tell you guys, but Elder W replaced Elder R as the new moving Elder, so that's a hoot. We had lunch with the Moving Elders and the Assistants and it was fun to be with Elder W and T. I am really good friends with both. Zone Conference was life-changing as it usually is when President speaks. We went on an exchange right after zone conference and Elder L came with me. It was pouring rain which was awesome. Sister S canceled our lesson because a close friend died. We worked hard but again didn't find anyone receptive. Elder L almost smoked out our apartment trying to cook a pizza for dinner because of crumbs on the bottom. He's just a funny guy. 

Saturday we exchanged back. The Ps and YW are doing a great job with K. We had coordination with the Ts and it went really well. He is going to be such a good ward mission leader. His wife shared a quote that said something to the effect that when you are going through trials not due to unrighteousness, it is a sign that God trusts you more and is giving you experiences that will help you grow and develop more and you are ready for it. That was exactly what we needed to hear. We had a really awesome experience at night too. We stopped by the L family. The dad came out and joined our conversation and so I jumped on that and asked him why he's never liked religion. He explained people just use it as a way to control others. I explained that is true, and that is why God needs an organization with people in authority to keep the teachings pure. He really agreed with that and said it made sense. He said it's still not really his "cup of tea" but when Elder H went to the bathroom he asked me what the odds are for the Cowboys game on Sunday. He is a huge football fan and pretty funny, so he basically asked me to prophesy. I told him Cowboys win by 10 if he comes to church, and they lose by 3 if he doesn't. The deal was if they win he comes to church again, and if they lose we have to mow his lawn. We shook on it. They came to church and his daughter and wife stayed for all three hours! He left after sacrament, but I invited him to the rest. Hopefully the Cowboys won by ten, I haven't heard yet. That was a sweet miracle and I really think God is opening his heart to the gospel. It's amazing to see how God prepares HIS people for HIS gospel. We are stopping by tonight, and hopefully we can start seriously teaching him. That was definitely the highlight of the week and I fasted to yesterday to find the next prepared family. I just want it to come to light or to see someone really catch fire. I know through faith anything is possible and that this is God's work. It's the best thing we could ever be a part of. I'm so thankful to be doing it here in this area, despite the trials we are facing. The church is true! Thanks for everything!

Love,

Elder Pew

October 6^th, 2014

Dear family,

I don't have a lot of time, but Conference was incredible! I went in more prepared than ever before and I got so much out of it. This has definitely been a trying time in my mission so it was good to get some extra help from the Brethren. Of course Elder Bednar's talk stuck out and it was so cool that he had already told our mission back in January that he was going to speak on that. We watched all sessions at the church except for one with Brother A and S. We were suppose to watch Sunday afternoon with R, but he canceled. Luckily we had time to make it over to the church. Elder Hamula who spoke in Conference is coming to the mission at the end of the month which is sweet!

We had a lot of exchanges and an eventful week. Elder H went on double exchanges on Tuesday and Wednesday and I worked with Elder O from Eden and then Elder L who was my MTC District Leader and I was his zone leader so that's kinda funny. They are both really good missionaries. Neither days we taught much, but we did teach R one of the days. He is so funny and we are really good friends. 

We had a good lesson with Brother W, but he just has really lost his fire but he still really likes us. We brought Brother W but he just didn't respond much us and him. They move to Round Rock at the beginning of November.

Sister S had a heart stent put in and she has been recovering from that, which is really sad. They said they were watching General Conference and we gave them cookies. We had a good lesson with Sister M on the five characteristics of baptism, it went well. We had a lesson with D again, and he really liked the chapter we read with him. We worked hard again to find new families, and we had one glimmer of hope late last night I felt prompted to visit a family I saw in the area book and we visited them at like 8:40 and they seemed like an awesome family. A mother and two teenage sons. They seemed happy to see us and wanted us to come back, so we have a lesson set with them this week. We keep talking with everyone and working hard. MLC (mission leadership conference)

was also this week and it was really intense. The night before we got a message saying that we all needed to be prepared to give a on-the-spot training at MLC, so I was nervous about that because of my friendship with the APs. But luckily I didn't. Our zone is still the highest in baptisms so far this year, and hopefully we can keep that going.

Thanks for all that you do, I know that we truly have living prophets and Apostles on the earth. They speak the will of the Lord and if we follow their counsel we can safely maneuver through the challenges we face. I love you all!

Love,

Elder Pew 

August 25th, September 1st, 8th & 15th Photos and some fun stories

August 25^th, 2014

Dear family,

This was a really awesome week, so many great things happened! I can't believe I hadn't told you, but Elder T and Elder H are companions, and I went on an exchange with both of them, since Elder W is with us now. It was a blast! I will tell more later, but at dinner we were talking about family history with the family, and then the dad started passing out bacon and the we started talking about bacon, and then suddenly Elder H says, "I tell you, it's the Spirit of Elijah." And the mom was so confused, she was like, "what? Getting more bacon?" It was hilarious and he did switch subjects back suddenly. We were all dying about that one. Anyways, the highlights of the week:

We picked up Elder W on Monday and he is cool and us three have a lot of fun together. He is a lot like Elder N and it turns out they were both companions with Elder E. He is from Provo and is 21. We think they will keep a trio here until the transfer, and then I'm not sure. Also, I keep forgetting to tell, but Elder B is from Everett, Washington, pretty close to Seattle. We all get along great.

Tuesday morning I left for a back-to-back exchange since it would save us miles and Elder B and Elder W could stay and work our area. Tuesday I went with Elder W and Elder O in E. Elder W is the same one that was up in Round Rock. We are really good friends. I feel like exchanges don't allow me to use my strengths, so I don't know if anyone is learning anything from me, but I've learned to be patient until I figure out what exactly I want to do. We had a lot of lessons fall through, but when we were knocking this one door I turned around and saw two people walking that I felt strongly to talk to, so I left those two at the door and went and talked with them. They were super nice and they were pretty interested so the other two joined me and we taught them the Restoration in like 15 minutes. It was a good lesson and they really liked it. I guess they taught them again Saturday, but they didn't come to church, so I'm not sure what will happen with them.

Wednesday morning Elder W and Elder O drove me to the church to exchange with Elder T and H. I got to go to their district meeting and give a training on obedience. It was pretty cool as I studied for it how obvious it was that the commandments are really given to us so we can be happy (2 Ne. 2:13, Mos. 2:41, 4 Ne. 1:15-16, Alma 50:22-23, and my favorite Alma 44:5). Elder T did a great job and he has a good district. It was strange being the authority figure though, when no one knew the answer and they expect me to come up with something. We came back and ate and then headed out for the day. They are on bikes, so that was kinda fun to be on a bike again, I don't think it's bad in the heat. We had a slow afternoon, but a great evening. We taught three lessons, one to a family of 5 that only speak Spanish, so I was basically a statue for that lesson. I understood what was being said mostly, but I didn't think it was worth ruining the lesson just so I could practice my Spanish. They have 4 investigators with a date which is cool. Elder H is just hilarious, and I think he was really nervous to be with me, but I hated it when I went on exchanges and it felt like they were peering down at me, so I was just myself. We had a lot of fun talking at night and in the morning. Elder T works really well with Elder H and I actually remembered to get a picture with them! We exchanged back on Thursday.

Friday Elder B went with H, so it was me and Elder W and we had a great day. We stopped by some less-actives that moved from the R ward that Elders W and W worked with a lot.  They are pretty cool, but unfortunately are too use to missionaries hang out with them, but their friend H is living with them and she is actually pretty interested. We are going by tomorrow to teach her again. We had another lesson with a new guy that is married to a member named R. He's pretty cool and an older guy, but he couldn't come to church. We had a lesson with the Ss. Sister S is really smart and just an awesome lady and her 16ish year old daughter N has been coming to church with the V family for awhile. Elder B really talked up the importance of the lesson, especially since Sister S owns her own business and is really busy, so she can't meet much until she gives it away (happening this week or next). They have tons of questions and I felt like we should start with N's. We brought the As, a nice couple in the ward. We answered all of her questions and it's really hard to describe how it went, but we were really guided in answering their questions. Sister S is very reasonable, and if you just are honest and thorough, she accepts everything, she just believes a "true church" should have answers to every question. We pointed her back to reading and praying about the Book of Mormon and she didn't really know how to get much out of it, and she showed us an example by flipping to a random spot in Nephi and then since I have my scriptures marked up, I just pulled every applicable thing out of it and she it really opened her eyes to what she can get out of it. They will be INCREDIBLE members once they join. We emphasized acting as part of prayer, and she said she already plans to come to church every week once she stops working 15 hour days on Sunday. It was just amazing and I really really like teaching her. The As were perfect too. We also stopped by the Ws who we hadn't seen much of that week and watched the Power of God mormon message which was powerful and talked about Brother W being able to hold the priesthood. He really liked the idea and Sister W did too. He finally opened up and said he doesn't feel like he knows enough and he's worried he will mess up when he's baptized. We talked him through his concerns and eased his fears. It was a really good lesson and his whole countenance changed back to the fun, laid-back way he usually is. Their neighbors that are members (the Ws) came over on Saturday to give A a blessing and the two boys blessings for school. It was a cool experience and a good follow up to our lesson. They came to church and loved it, and they are doing awesome. We went on a bike ride with Brother W this morning and Sister W made us breakfast, and we used their computer to put in our zone's numbers. So we are really close with that whole family. Brother W did tell us on the bike ride that his wife isn't too sure about church and feels like this non-denominational church "fits their lifestyle better" basically because it doesn't teach against alcohol which she doesn't see a need to give up because she only does it occasionally. Brother W doesn't know what to do because he is sold and wants an eternal family. We talked about reading the Book of Mormon together and I'm confident that she will change. 

Sister M was out of town, so her date won't work now, but she's still doing pretty well. 

We had another lesson with the G family and Brother G seems really interested, especially with the idea of holding the priesthood (that's been working a lot lately). Sister G came to church but he had to work.

T is doing really well and seems sincere. He's kept all his commitments and we set him with the 13th for baptism. 

L is still being taught but couldn't make it to church

K and the Ms didn't meet with us this week.

V did too.

We had a couple good lessons with C, D, and the As, but there is slow progression there. 

As you can see we have a lot of people to work with and things are going great. Just pray that the Ws continue to progress and that everyone else will be more firm in their commitment, especially that they will read the Book of Mormon.

Thanks for all that you do, I hope school continues to go well! I know this work is the work of our Savior and it is true.

Love,

Elder Pew

September 1^st, 2014

Dear family,

That is what this letter is going to have to be, because we are at a member's house since the libraries are closed. (btw the member is head of cyber warfare for the whole US Air Force, it's sweet). We are having a lot of fun and also some frustrating times, but it's all good.

We had zone meeting on Friday combined with interviews with President. It was my first time giving a training in front of the zone, plus the Sister Training Leader Leaders were there and we have 28 missionaries in the zone, so I was a little nervous. I gave a training on being more family-focused as we strive to find new people to teach. My interview with President was really short. He said he would ask everyone if they were "all-in" and why and their evidence, but I sat down and he asked if I am "all-in" and I said "yes." and he said "I know, why ask." and smiled. That was comforting. He then asked about Elder W and wanted to know if he could be senior companion. I like that he really trusts my analysis on other missionaries, so hopefully he can continue to trust me with that. He asked when I go home which was a strange question and that was it. He gave a really awesome training on misdirected worship, and that we know who we worship. He pointed out that the rest of the Christian world is great, but they are really worshiping the Light of Christ. They are all about the good-feeling, warm, joy that everyone feels, rather than becoming like our Heavenly Father. It was really cool.

Brother W is doing pretty well, but he is really stressed because his wife is gone for two weeks and it's a lot to take care of A and the other two kids, and trying to change his life for his baptism. But, he's excited, he is just frustrated how hard it is to change quickly. I know the feeling.

The Gs are doing really well although they didn't come to church either because Brother Gs works on Sundays. He read Alma 7 and took notes and he understands things really well. We taught the Plan of Salvation, and he asked "what's next? What more can I do?" So we left him another chapter and we are going to teach the Sabbath day today so he can get baptized as soon as possible. He's ready.

T is still really hard to read. He seems sincere but he's really quiet. We aren't sure what to do.

We had a great lesson with N, but Sister S couldn't join us which was too bad. She said next week things will clear up. I sure hope.

V and D still have the desire, but aren't really acting on it.

K said she wants to get baptized, but is afraid what her deployed mom will say, and then she didn't come to church, which is tough because she is living with "active" members that haven't been coming and it's been keeping K from coming.

H is the lady who is friends with K and J and she is doing really well. We took her on a church tour and she said she really likes being taught.

We had a pretty funny moment when a companionship in our zone called and somehow we all had the same idea to have each one of us say something to everything the other companionship said, kinda like this: them- "hello." Elder B- "how is it going?" me "what's up?" Elder W- "good to hear from you" them- "what are you doing for P-day?" Elder B "we aren't sure yet." me "we don't know what we are going to do." Elder W- "we are undecided." It was really obnoxious but pretty funny especially when they didn't realize we were doing it on purpose.

Anyways, this work is true, it's real, and it's amazing. There is nothing more rewarding than helping people see the joy that comes from the restored gospel. Thank you all for your examples and your testimonies. They help me incredibly. I love you all!

Elder Pew

p.s. sorry it had to be so short

September 8^th, 2014

Dear family,

Sorry for writing so late, but we were with Brother W because he is really good at detailing cars, so we had him teach us and it gave us 3 hours with him. The car looks SUPER nice and is really smooth, "like a baby's bum" as Brother W says. Also, I've been telling Elders B and W Jack Handy quotes and they have been loving them. A couple of other quick notes about things over all. 1. We end up spending a lot longer doing administrative stuff than I realized as a zone leader, but it's been all good. 2. Going to MLC is easily the best part of being a zone leader 3. Our area isn't that big, but we cover parts of 4 different cities, and it's still the biggest area I've had, but the smallest Elder B has had. It's really similar to the other areas being just normal suburbs. 4. I am still trying to figure out exactly what my role is as junior companion, because I teach way better and really just do everything better when I know what the vision is but it will just take time. Anyways, a little bit of an up and down week with our investigators. 

inside the engine spotless

Tuesday we had district meeting, and right after we had a lesson with V at Sister G's house. It went really well and the Spirit was really strong. We talked about the power of fasting and committed her to fast on Sunday for her addiction and she really wants to change, but then we didn't see her the rest of the week, so maybe she is isn't serious about it. We had a lesson with K and she is still doing well and reading, but something has come up every Sunday. We also had a lesson with R, Sister M's brother. He also has a problem with addiction, but he's hilarious. He uses this really high voice and is always like "Come on man, just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride." He also really wants to quit, so hopefully he makes progress.

Wednesday we had a lesson with H and she is doing really well and loves being taught and loves the Plan of Salvation. We did find out there is a Singles' Ward that covers our stake that is pretty far away, but we are going to ask her about it. She didn't come to church and we aren't sure what happened. We had a lesson with S and brought the Ts since they were Baptists before they converted and they gave great testimonies. We talked about baptism and priesthood authority, but he's still pretty firm where he's at but he's been reading the Book of Mormon and came to church.

Thursday we had a lesson with a new girl named K, a friend of the V family (they have 5 teenagers from two previous marriages all within like 3 years of each other, it's a party). We went on splits and I taught her with all of the youth in the ward basically, so they brought up a lot of things and we probably overloaded her with information since we covered all of the first two lessons and most of lesson 4 all in 35 minutes, but she's a nice girl and has good questions.

Friday was MLC, the conference for the mission leadership. It was incredible.  The whole mission was freaking out thinking we were getting iPads, bu I was certain we weren't and sure enough, we don't know when we are getting them. They really emphasized Preach My Gospel and President gave a great training on how to build unity by seeing "eye to eye" through councils. He does it by sharing a scripture and leading a discussion until everyone sees things the same way. That is how he started presidency meetings, ward council, etc. and he said it took about 6 months and everyone was seeing eye to eye, where he even delegated tasks to his secretary because he knew he would make the same decision. It is a great idea and something I have always felt, but never had explained to me. After MLC we went on exchanges with the Assistants and I went with Elder T in D. It was a party! We had SO much fun together again. He is awesome, and we are closer friends than just about anyone. Him, Elder T, and Elder V are the ones that I really feel close to in the mission. We talked a ton, probably too much, but we got a lot done and worked hard, just like we were in B again. He told me a bunch of cool stuff about President. Overall it was just a great experience to be with Elder T again for a day and I can't even really express it in words. 

Saturday we had to do stewardships for our zone, which is basically getting reports from all the DLs and Sister Training Leaders and writing reports for our whole zone. It took awhile, but we got it done. We also taught these two ladies that heard the church provides financial assistance and they happened to be in our area, but we taught them and they were pretty receptive and came to church, so hopefully they are also interested in the gospel. L is doing well, although couldn't come to church. We had a lesson with Bro W and went over the interview questions and he basically said he's not ready and hasn't been living the Word of Wisdom and hasn't really read. He still wants to be baptized, but he's doing nothing to maintain his testimony and it's starting to decline because his wife isn't all in and his parents haven't been too supportive. He's still really awesome and the key is going to be for him to read the Book of Mormon. 

Sunday was great to be able to fast, and by the way, praying out loud for personal prayers can be really cool, I highly recommend it. Sister M called us after church and is back on the map and wanted us to come over. We read a chapter from the Book of Mormon with her and hopefully this time she is here to stay. The Ss are still doing really well, and she hands the company off for sure this next week, it was going to be this week, but the person's mom or something died so she had to keep it for another week.

Finally a photo of the 3some!

Overall, I know this gospel is true, and that it is here to make us happy. I LOVE studying the gospel, especially Preach My Gospel and the Book of Mormon. Those two books are amazing. I learn new things every day (p.s. I'm curious what people's thoughts are on Alma 41:5, it seems like it could be a verse about the three kingdoms if you ask me). It's amazing how it all connects and how real it is. I know this is the Lord's work. Thanks for all the support!

Love,

Elder Pew

September 15^th, 2014

A sign a family in Elder Pew's last area sent him with some other missionaries!

Dear family,

Post detailing a bird fixed that perfectly cleaned car!

This was easily the least stressful pre-transfer week ever because I was 100% of what was happening. Elder B is leaving (duh)-he is finishing his mission, Elder W is leaving and being senior companion (President and Elder T already asked my advice on that one), and I'm staying. We are pretty certain it will be a zone leader companion, but the mission has several split zone leaders, so we will see. I wouldn't care either way. Well all of our investigators are struggling so I'll just go right in.

1. Brother G- He is actually doing really well. We had two lessons this week. We taught him the Sabbath day and he asked his boss for work off on Sundays and starting in two weeks he will have it. He has been LOVING the Book of Mormon and he pulls so much out of it, I love teaching him. We left him 2 Nephi 2 and he picked up on everything including the necessity of the Fall-he really liked that, and verse 13 which I've been obsessed with lately so I was super happy to see an investigator see how cool that verse is about God giving us commandments so we can be happy. He moves this week, so he will get baptized wherever he goes.

2. K- She is actually doing alright, but the family she is living with, the Ms, who are really struggling. She met a couple young men and really liked them, she is really interested.

3. S- We taught him the Word of Wisdom and we thought it would be really hard for him, but he easily accepted the commitment, but we went by later and he was smoking and then he just didn't feel like coming to church, so we aren't sure if he's actually committed. 

4. H- She is still really interested but her boyfriend is keeping her from being taught. We will pass her off to the Singles' Ward. 

5. K- The friend of the V family. She is doing well and likes being taught, but her family isn't into it too much, and she is technically in C ward. 

6. V- She fasted on Saturday without us telling her too, but then she ended up not coming to church.

7. Brother W- Decided to try a different church, so they are really struggling and we have a lesson with them tonight.

8. Everyone else- struggling to really commit.

So we have a lot of work to do here, but it's just like B and S when I came into those areas, so I'm sure me and my new companion will get things going again soon. I really think we have been shooting ourselves in the foot by focusing on people who aren't really ready with misguided hope that something we do will somehow change them. It's made me really think a lot about the line between realistic and faith. Because obviously we need faith that people can change, but we need to be realistic that people who aren't really ready need some time, so that's where we are at right now. We did have zone meeting on Wednesday which went really well. It's strange that just two months ago I would have struggled to give a training to a zone, but now it feels right and I don't get nervous at all, in fact, I get really excited to do it. I gave a training on having more meaningful studies. I used the quote "show me your morning, I'll show you your mission, show me your mission, I'll show you your life." I was really guided for that training and the other training I gave on relying on the promises of the Lord from Preach my Gospel. I had everyone discuss it with their districts and having the district leaders lead those discussions on what we need to rely on more. I have made a big emphasis to build up the District Leaders for the rest of the missionaries, because we have great District Leaders. One of my other goals is to destroy the perception that zone leaders are "all talk." We are probably going to go on a lot of exchanges this transfer. We have an awesome zone. We are leading the mission currently in baptisms, not that it's a competition, but we have great missionaries. I know that things will always work out when we have faith. God is preparing people for this gospel. It is His work. Thanks for all the support, it is much appreciated!

Love,

Elder Pew

3 Weeks of Letters August 4, 11 & 18th, 2014 Photos too!

August 4, 2014

Dear family,

This was a super crazy week filled with many good experiences. But, I'm also nervous right now, so prayers will be good.

Monday we taught P and M. I don't remember if I told you about them, but we taught them the Restoration and answered questions. They are mostly interested intellectually, but we have tried to focus on experiencing everything we teach. P was excited to come to T's baptism and church, but she ended up getting called into work. We had a lesson with N (we are more confident of this pronunciation) and she finally told us her real concern. She is really worried that her family will reject her. Turns out she was going to get baptized like 5 years ago, but she told her family and they freaked out. We talked her through it and she said she was going to talk to them again. Hopefully that goes well.

Tuesday was super busy. I don't even think I'm going to remember everything we needed to get done this week for Moving Elder stuff, but we were running around crazy until dinner. We had to prepare for the moves we had this weekend and bought over 100 items from Wal-Mart and over $1000. I also found out that I maxed out my allotment card for missionaries because of how many times I've had to be reimbursed which is the first time in history of the mission. Of course, the $1000 was on the mission's card. We had a lesson with T and B and B finally told us her real concerns. She has a problem with humans being involved in religion, women in the church, and exclusion (including temples), so that was awesome to get those out. We addressed them on Friday. We got a text from Sister O because they had to emergency move and she was freaking out stressed so we had to go there at like 10:00 pm to give her a blessing. We didn't get back until right after 10:30 but she's doing well and the ward was thankful we helped. 

Wednesday we had district meeting which went well. I had Sister C give a final training before she goes home and it was powerful. She talked about true conversion not just on our missions but forever. It was a great meeting, I really loved this district. We spent most of the rest of the day building the bunk-beds we picked up for the Stone Oak apartment and we had the sisters help so we could finish faster. We only got about half-way done by 6, and we proselyted the rest of the evening. We had a good lesson with P on the Word of Wisdom and she is the nicest lady. She is a much better "candidate for being a Mormon" than she thinks. We had a lesson with Brother H and he took us to dinner since we didn't have time to eat anything. He's awesome. That night I also got a call from Elder T inviting me to MLC (mission leadership conference) on Friday. I'll explain that more later.

Thursday we spent all day finishing everything with the sisters moving into the new apartment, building the bunk-beds, etc. It was quite the project. The company built one of the beds wrong and to make a really long story short, we had to go buy a saw and fix it ourselves. Needless to say, we had a long, challenging day. We had to work all day and night except a lesson we had with N. We had Sister S come too and she brought N a bunch of dresses for church. Sister S and Sister W are amazing! It was a good lesson and N really loves Sister S. They stayed and talked for like 30 minutes after our lesson. We went back and finished the last bunk-bed for the Sisters.

Friday was MLC. MLC stands for missionary leadership conference and it happens once a month. It is for all the zone leaders and Sister Training Leaders. By getting invited I knew that meant I was going to be a zone leader for this upcoming transfer. The meeting was incredible! Sister Slaughter gave an awesome training on all this cool doctrine from the story of Noah, showing us how she studies the scriptures. I was super impressed with her gospel knowledge and her ability to teach. A lot of the assistants and sister training leader leaders gave trainings that were great, and of course, President Slaughter's trainings were life-changing. One thing he said that has really stuck out to me is, "every call or assignment in the church, is a call to repentance." That is so true! I love looking at it that way. They also have all departing missionaries give a final testimony. It was really powerful. It was also really cool to hear Elder V's final testimony at MLC. I ate lunch with him and we talked a lot. I told him to visit you guys and he said he wanted to, so if he just walks in, that's who it is. It was fun to talk to a lot of the people there and they were excited to see me there. President actually called me out and thanked me for all of the things I've moved over the past few months, and that he was keeping me in San Antonio so he "could use me if they ever needed help." There were 8 new zone leaders and they told everyone where they were going. I am going to Randolph in East Zone. I'm pretty excited, but also pretty nervous. I'm one of the youngest missionaries of the current East Zone and it's going to be hard to transition back into going out and proselyting so early in the day, but I'm sure it will be fine. I will be with Elder B. He's only got one transfer left and he's been a zone leader for one transfer. I've heard some really good things about him which is exciting. We talked a little bit, but I figured we will have plenty of time to talk more later. Meanwhile Elder R took another missionary to do a move up in San Marcos. I had to wait with Elder T and Elder F for them to get back. I found out a lot of interesting transfer information, and one that I found really funny, was that when Elder N left San Pedro, they nearly had Elder W replace him, but ultimately since we had just been companions, they decided to put him somewhere else. That would have been crazy to be with him again. I also found out Elder T is going to my future zone, so that's going to be awesome! Sister J is going to replace Sister C as the new Sister Training Leader Leader, which is crazy since she was in our MTC district. She will do great though. We had a really busy, but great night. We had a lesson with T and B and both were super excited for the baptism. We addressed B concerns, and she seemed to be more content with them afterwards. We also had a lesson with P and L and we taught them how to fill out a tithing slip and the importance of the sacrament. 

Saturday morning was T's baptism. It was a great baptism. Unfortunately all their family and friends we invited didn't show and neither did any of our investigators except B of course. The ward came out in pretty good support. We asked T and the ward if Brother D could baptize T since he will stay and neither of us will be here forever and Brother D was super humbled and almost didn't accept, but luckily he did. It all ran smoothly and while T was changing we had everyone write a congratulations on a 3x5 card and we hole-punched the corner and put a little ring through it and gave it to T to remember his baptism. It was pretty cool. I made the mistake of telling Brother C that I was leaving, and then suddenly everyone knew. Straight from the baptism we had to go and move Pflugerville. It was a fast move and we had Old Settlers help so I talked to Elder W for a long time. It was fun. We had a few other deliveries we had to make and we had to bring back the spare car which was pretty intense to drive separate again. We had to go to Marble Falls which is in the middle of no-where but the drive was peaceful. It was a straight-shot 80 miles south to our area so we got back around 9 at night.

Sunday was great. T's confirmation was really good and Brother S gave a great blessing. He talked a lot about B which I thought was really cool. T liked it too and B stayed for all three hours even though it was hard for her. The women in the ward were awesome to her. Brother C blessed S (P and L's baby) and it was a beautiful blessing. It hit me half-way through how amazing it was to be there for it. As I stood there with my hand under S, I realized that everything we did to help P and L really is for S. Yes, it's great we helped P and L, but where it is all going to pay-off is in their posterity, and S was the first of who knows how many people P's baptism will bless. In gospel principles P, stuttering and all, went up and congratulated T, one of the sweetest moments of my mission to watch. T announced after class that I was leaving and then P and L, Brother H, and T and B wanted to set up a "final dinner" with them. We didn't have a dinner Wednesday so we are having a final lesson and dinner with the Ks, and then we are having breakfast Wednesday with the Bs and Lunch with Brother H on Tuesday. P came up and gave me a hug and said he would miss me and Brother W and Sister S gave me really sincere good-byes too. Brother H called this morning and really thanked me too. I am really grateful for the awesome people in this area and I was so impressed with the members in this ward and their willingness to help with the missionary efforts. I feel like I did a much better job directing people back to the gospel here, but it was still nice to hear that I made an impact on a few people here. We weren't able to get much done in the evening, but I had to call in numbers for the last time. We got our official transfer call and of course I'm leaving and being a zone leader and Elder R is staying. This upcoming week is going to be absolutely mad since we have to work with the Assistants to make sure 28 missionaries get to the airport, 32 get picked up, 3 vans go where they need to along with 3 trailers, 18 air mattresses, probably like 50 bikes, and tons more. It's quite the head-ache, but I think we have it mostly figured out. I'm thankful for the experiences I've had here and everything thing I've learned, and it all points back to the gospel being true. A gospel of change, and the source of all of our joy. We have prophets on the earth today. The Book of Mormon is true. Jesus Christ is our Savior. This is His work and His glory, and it will continue to roll forth until it fills the whole earth. Thank you for all the support!

Love,

Elder Pew

August 11, 2014

Dear family,

This was a crazy crazy week, just you wait, but things are going well in the TSAM. Here we go!

Monday we had a lesson with T and B and taught about "truth". B seemed to like the lesson. We helped this cool family we saw moving in and they really appreciated it and hopefully are being taught now. 

Tuesday was crazy. We had to pick up the outgoing missionaries bikes and luggage and pick up the incoming missionaries bikes. We delivered 25 bikes and picked up 30. We put them away and then started getting air mattresses where they needed to go for transfer day. We spent all day getting stuff ready for transfers. That night some of the departing missionaries stayed with us. They stayed up pretty late and I was nervous about the upcoming transfer, so it was a rough night.

Wednesday we woke up at 5 and went with the Assistants to take the departing missionaries to the airport. I got to have a good talk with Elder R ( he was an AP), I'm going to miss him. We had to get the apartments set up for new areas, and trios, and we hit 6 of the 11 zones, driving who-knows how many miles. We picked up 3 mattresses, delivered 10 bed sets, and built about 10 desks. We somehow finished by about 5  and I was able to pack almost all of my stuff. We had a lesson with Brother H and I gave him my email and had a good lesson. He read 5 hours of the Book of Mormon the day before. He's awesome, I'm sad to leave him. We had dinner and a final lesson with T and B. B made me chocolate pancakes that she made earlier that she knew I loved. We basically had a testimony meeting and the Spirit was strong. It was cool to hear T and B's testimonies. When we were leaving B cried quite a bit, but I had a really good and sacred conversation with her, so that was cool. I will really miss both of them a lot, but T is already planning a trip to Salt Lake to go through the temple when we are both back which I don't think I could be any more excited for. I gave them, Brother H, the Ws, Bs, and Ss notes with my contact info, so hopefully I hear from them all. We got home in time to hear that the van and trailer we were suppose to pick up from the church from the border and take to the mission home to take the incoming missionaries to the apartment was about 4 hours late, so we were panicking and trying to call the Assistants but they weren't answering, so we decided to drive to the mission home and see if they needed the extra seats. Turns out they needed three more seats, so we helped take some of the new missionaries to the apartment. It was really fun to work with Elder T, Elder S, Sister J, and Sister C (Elder T left me a really nice note in my scriptures). We got them home around 10:30, but we still needed to get the van and trailer to the apartment for the morning, so me and Elder R had to leave at 1:15 AM to go pick it up. I guess everything went wrong on the border. I had a bizarre night. I tried going to sleep but I started getting really hot, and then my stomach started killing me, and my knees got super itchy, and my nose was running like crazy. I had no idea what was happening and it was almost like an allergic reaction or something. I went to the bathroom and that made my stomach better, but I still couldn't get to sleep from the itchiness and nose, so I was worried that it was bed bugs, so I tried sleeping on the floor, but then I decided to take a shower. After that I sat in my chair trying to sleep there and we got the call to go pick up the van. I had to throw on some random clothes because I already packed my clothes. We got back around 2 and we slept for three hours and then we had to pick up three sisters that were going home and take them to the airport at 5:30. Us and the Sister Training Leader Leaders had a really late night. After we dropped them off we went ahead and picked up the bikes for transfer meeting. I had to go to the bathroom like 4 more times and my stomach felt awful. Then we took them to the church and we were able to relax for about an hour before the meeting started. I am with Elder B of course in East Zone. We have the biggest zone in the mission and it is a great group. Elder T is one of our district leaders, as well as Elder W and Elder H if you remember those names. After the meeting we went to the apartment and dropped off my stuff and then started to work. This area has a lot to work with. I am really grateful for that because it makes transitioning from being a moving Elder much easier. Elder B is about 6'1 or 6'2 and he is in his last transfer. This is his second transfer as a zone leader. He is really positive and pretty diligent. He reminds me of Elder T in some ways. We had about 25 names of people they are working with and that is mostly what we did for the rest of the week was contact them and whoever else we found, but the more I meet some of them I think it really comes down to about 6 people. 

1. Brother W- He is married to a less-active member that they found talking to him on the street. He is super funny and was in the army. He is really dynamic and they found him last week. This week at church was his second week. He's reading from the Book of Mormon and we had a lesson with him that went really well. He really liked the Book of Mormon and he really likes the idea of eternal families. His wife was out of town in ROTC training, but he still brought his 7, 5, and 3 year-old kids that are SUPER cute. The 3 year-old is autistic, and the 7 year-old is really cute with her. We talked about August 30th for baptism but he is unsure, mostly doesn't think he can quit smoking and drinking by then.

2. Sister M- She is the 30ish year-old daughter of a recent convert and mother of two other recent converts. She just moved in and they just started teaching her. Really charismatic family. They have a lot of soul. She has also been to church twice and is reading the Book of Mormon and is pretty firm with a baptismal date we just set her with for September 6. 

3. L- she seems really interested but her husband hasn't been, but we heard he likes brownies, so we took him some and he really liked that. She was going to come and he was possibly going to come to church, but their baby daughter got really sick, so we have a lesson this week

4. V- Nice lady with 11 year old son and both are interested and want to be baptized. They have been taught in the past. I think we need to get her son Justin more involved with scouts and stuff, but they seem to want to join.

5. D family- Had a baptismal date, are good friends with members in the ward. Met them on Saturday and they let us right in but were really busy, so we set up another lesson. Really nice people, already seem like members. 

6. We have a TON of part-member and active non-members int he area. I think we can get a couple of them to investigate seriously. 

The ward is pretty cool and our area covers the Randolph Air Force base. We only go on it for meals with members that live on it, but that has already happened twice. It is a cool base, I really like the main building, it looks cool. So there is a lot of military in the area and the members seem really sweet. I'm excited to work here and I know it is the Lord's work. I am so thankful for everything He has done for me. I know this is His gospel and it has been restored in its fullness. Thank you for the prayer, I always appreciate it!

Love,

Elder Pew

August 18, 2014

Dear family,

This might be a short letter, because we have a lesson at noon and need to pick up a third companion! We know his name is Elder W, and if I remember from being a moving Elder, he went home for medical reasons, and I guess is coming back out now. Pretty exciting, although a little bummed we don't get to play basketball, but that's okay. I'm going to go through by investigator because I can't remember what happened when, it's all a blur.

1. Sister Ml is doing well. We had two lessons with her and helped her understand the importance the of the Book of Mormon and the Word of Wisdom. She has a minor smoking problem, and coffee and tea, but she committed to live it. She was out of town on the weekend and couldn't come to church. Still fairly set for September 6 baptism. 

2. Brother W- He is the coolest person ever! I absolutely love him and his family. He is hilarious and really outgoing. He reminds me of an army, version of Brother S, and I think those two would get along really well. We were suppose to have FHE with them, but they got news on Monday that their daughter A has a condition worse than they expected and her life expectancy dropped quite a bit. They were really bummed about that, so we didn't come back until Friday. We watched "Mountains to Climb" with them and his parents (they live across the street) and it seemed to really help them. I almost cried watching the video and thinking about their situation. We found several people willing to help with A at church so they can enjoy the second and third hour with a break from her. Unfortunately, something happened Sunday morning and they couldn't come. We had another lesson on Saturday about the importance of the Sacrament and read from Moroni 6 to get them into the Book of Mormon more. We left the story of Alma and his people from Mosiah 23 and 24. They gave us chocolate ice cream and Elder B accidentally spilled it on his white shirt. We walked out and their neighbors are members and they were fixing a leak in their yard, and we ran home and changed and came back to help. It was pretty fun and we got super muddy. Plus, I actually knew what to do since it was the exact thing T helped us with a couple weeks ago. Brother W also saw us out there and he has a bad back so he couldn't help, but we got to talk to him longer. He's wanting to get baptized on the 13th of September. Awesome family.

3. V and J- taught them once, but they don't seem like they are really that committed. Didn't come to church

4. L- Also doesn't seem super interested, but did come to sacrament meeting and then left really quickly but they seem to have good potential.

5. We started teaching a convert's sister K who is 15. Her parents are deployed so she's kinda on her own. She's a good young women, but also seems pretty content with the church she currently attends. We invited her to read the Book of Mormon of course, so that will be key.

6. A family- part-members. Wife is willing to learn, but they also aren't too interested in changing, but we'll see.

7. G family- part-members too. Wife supposedly was baptized, daughter of an active member. Can't find the daughter's records, so she might not be baptized. Had a good lesson and committed them to baptism, but we have had a hard time meeting again and they didn't come to church.

8. T- Boyfriend of a teenager in the ward. He's graduated and not working or going to school, so that's kinda concerning. He was at dinner, we taught the Restoration and invited him to learn more. He says he wants to learn, but I'm not sure how sincere he is.

9. Ton of other people who are nice, but I don't think are really interested in us teaching them right now. 

Church was pretty good other than the fact that only T (because he got to spend more time with his girlfriend) and L came. I think we need to move on with faith on some of these people if we don't see any progression soon. 

We also went on exchanges on Wednesday, and I went with Elder S in Universal City. He is a really good missionary. I really liked him. Super solid junior companion. It is a biking area, so that was kinda fun being on a bike again for the day. We taught this part-member family that has 4 unbaptized kids that are super awesome, but unfortunately the divorced mother is totally against them getting baptized, so it's just a matter of time with them. I still feel like there is no reason for me to be over these missionaries that are older than me. It's also hard because I'm starting to think I have been doing missionary work much different than a lot of missionaries. I'd rather focus on the few investigators we have progressing and staying in contact with these others, but focusing more on finding those that are ready. I'm just trying to be patient and hang in there until everything works out. It's still the start of the transfer and we are still figuring things out in the area and what we want to do. I'm still really pleased with the few solid people we have, especially Sister M and Brother W, they are incredible! I know that the Lord knows us and watches over us, and he gives us experiences to help us learn. I know that is true and that when we have faith, everything works out in the end. It's amazing to see how the gospel truly blesses families that are willing to live its teachings. I'm thankful to have grown up in such a family and to have the testimony that I do, it's one of the most precious things to me. Thanks for all the love and support!
Elder Pew

Moving mattresses

Taking care of missionary bikes

His Texas bathroom

All of Elder Pew's July letters and a photo of him at the bottom of the post

July 7^th, 2014

Dear family,

I just want to start by congratulating mom and dad on their anniversary! Both of you are great examples of both husband and wife, as well as father and mother. I'm grateful for the lives you have lived that led you to the temple so our family will live together in the Celestial Kingdom as long as we keep our covenants. Thank you for that and for your living testimonies of the importance of eternal families! This was an incredible week!

Monday we taught the Ks. They still hadn't watched that talk we gave them, so we decided to just watch it with them. B really liked it and she's really on to the idea that we have a modern-day prophet. T is just awesome. We invited them to the 4th of July breakfast and handed out a bunch more invitations for the breakfast. We finally had a lesson with D. Her husband just ran off and she is feeling alone. She has a great attitude and has been praying that God's will will be done. We taught her the Restoration, and she knows the Bible well. She committed to read the Book of Mormon and pray, return appointment, and we told her we would help in the yard. 

Tuesday we had to go out to Kerrville and Fredericksburg which was a fairly long drive but we were back before 3 and had a lesson with P. We taught them the Restoration again and he likes his new job. We also talked about people they know who would be receptive, but they basically said no one, so we went through the list of people invited to the baptism and got a few people to keep an eye on that aren't in the area but seem decent like K. We did a bit of tracting and stopped by some people but didn't get much else.

Wednesday was awesome. We had district meeting and our district is awesome! Soo big. We practiced teaching lesson 5 from chapter 3 because the church came out with a statement that investigators should be taught it before and after baptism now and missionaries will lead the new member lessons. It was fun and it's just a lively group of sisters and us and the Assistants. We had some errands to run, but we finished by dinner. My stomach was giving me grief, but I really wanted to visit Brother H. We stopped by and he was able to answer the door. He was doing really well and he said he felt normal. He re-read all of Moroni and has just been eating up the Book of Mormon. I love it! We had a really good discussion and I asked him if he believed the Book of Mormon was true and he said, "I surely do" (that is such a thing he would say if you knew him). A couple minutes later after the Spirit was really strong he said he has been reading this sticky-note in his Book of Mormon that says "pray to know if you should be baptized by the priesthood." He said, "I found my answer. It's yes." We were surprised but super happy. We asked him if he wanted to set a goal and he said probably the end of July or the beginning of August. We are SO excited! We walked out of there happier than ever and I was so thankful for that! He has really grown to love us. We talked with bishop and PEC and Bishop wants to go ahead and baptize him. Brother H went out of town, so he missed the breakfast and church, but we are visiting him tomorrow.

Thursday was kinda crummy. We spent a lot of time figuring out our truck because Elder P wanted us to. The estimate for the hood and the windshield came out to about $1400 and the bed-liner will be about $500. It's pretty crazy. It was really hot and we had three lessons that all fell through. It was definitely Satan attacking us after a great day with Brother H, but we got through it okay.

Friday was the breakfast. My stomach was feeling terrible again, so I didn't even eat which was sad because there was more breakfast food than I've ever seen before. Sister O made a barrel, literally a huge barrel of beans with tons of eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, pancakes, syrups, muffins, etc. Lots of members brought their friends. T and B really liked it. Tons of women were really good to B and Sister W sat with her the whole time. We just need a solid friend for T who will do the same. We had planned to go to Austin since there were a couple things that are pretty urgent up there, we felt like we should work since the white handbook says to maximize holidays since families are home. I don't really agree with that since no one wants to talk to missionaries on their one day off, but we did it anyways, and as I knew would happen, we had a lousy day where no one was home and the people who were didn't really want to talk to us. We came up with some pretty cool ideas to tie the 4th of July to the Restoration, but no one was interested. We did get to visit N. She really loves us a ton. We listened to a talk we left her and she said she had a Book of Mormon in Swahili. She has a testimony of the Book of Mormon. We tried talking about baptism, but she's wanting her eyes to get better before she does anything and she wants to learn more first, so we told her we would need to come by more often, she was totally okay with that! We went in at 8 to be safe. 

Saturday was awesome. We ended up helping the Rs clear their storage unit for the whole morning. That was tiring, but a good workout and we were able to proselyte the evening. We had a lesson with P. We had an awesome lesson with T and B and we brought Brother D. We taught fasting and tithing and they really liked the idea of fasting. They both wanted to do it, but only T  did it. T finished 1 Nephi, and I've never had such a good investigator, he has just brought us a lot of joy.

Sunday was pretty great too. T came to church and stayed for all three hours and liked it a lot. He told everyone that we were "God-sent" and he loves changes he's made. He's getting more fellowship and members are starting to get excited about who we are teaching. We had a lesson with a new guy named S, who is about 20 and really nice. I don't know how interested he is, but he was really curious about the Book of Mormon and he committed to read and we have an appointment Tuesday. 

So it was a really incredible week and we are hoping to cement Brother H's date and set T with one too this week, which will be awesome! I am so thankful for all that God has blessed us with. Sometimes I really don't feel like I am worthy to have such great things happen, but it has brought me a lot of happiness to see how much Brother H and T have changed from the first time I met them. This gospel is a gospel of change, and happiness, two things very evident in each of them. I know it can do the same for anyone who will live it. Thanks for all the support, it helps a bunch!

Love,

Elder Pew

July 14^th, 2014

Dear family,

Thursday I finally went to the temple again! It was incredible! The new movie I saw (no idea which one) was awesome. It was like going through for the first time again since I have forgotten everything and it was a new movie. It felt good to be in the House of the Lord again and to feel the Spirit that was present. Really sweet to reflect on the past year and ponder and pray in the Celestial Room. The San Antonio temple is really beautiful.

Monday we had an awesome lesson with H and his wife. We taught them the Restoration again so his wife J could be in on the Book of Mormon. H had read quite a bit and she was pretty receptive. H was just like, "man, there is a lot more I could be doing to be a better dad and husband and leader of this family." He is just super cool. He doesn't do anything out of the ordinary, but he's just really cool. We are having a hard time meeting regularly though, and church at 1 is hard for their crazy 2 year old son, plus J is like 8 months pregnant. I think in time they will be baptized. 

Tuesday was awesome. We had to go to Austin and we made a bunch of deliveries up there including one to Elder W, so I got to talk with him for awhile. Strange that he's been out more than 8 months already. We had a lesson with Brother H and taught the Word of Wisdom. He thought it was strange that we can't have coffee or tea and he drinks both, but he said he'd give it up and he's on like day 6 now without coffee or tea. We had a lesson with the Ks and we brought both Brother and Sister W. It was an amazing lesson. T easily accepted August 2 for a baptism date and B said she's not ready but then gave this whole speech on how we have made her re-think things and question herself. She said the fact that we actually walk the walk is incredible and rare, especially in youth and it makes her want what we have. I told her I would tell her the secret, and then I just wanted her to know the church was true sooo badly I ended up bearing one of the most sincere testimonies I have on my mission. I almost cried and I told her it was nothing we do, but that God leads the church, the priesthood is on the earth, and we have the Holy Ghost to guide us to help others and become better people. We were really pleased with the results of the lesson. It was awesome for the Ks to have the ward support like that. 

Wednesday we had to start clearing out an apartment that no one is living in that the STLLs are going to move into with a ton of bunk-beds so they don't have to stay in our apartment every transfer. We thought it was going to be an easy project, but it turns out the last missionaries left TONS of stuff there and we have been chipping away at it the rest of the week. It's going to be quite the process. We had a lesson with N and tried explaining the importance of the Book of Mormon and we aren't sure what to do with her. She really likes us, the Book of Mormon, and supposedly the church, but hasn't come to church yet. At this point, I just want to be persistent with her and see if we can see a change, otherwise, we will move on.

Thursday we went to the temple and I got a couple pairs of garments since some of mine are getting wrecked now (sorry I've been using my debit card a lot lately, that's just been the life of a Moving Elder). We had another lesson with Brother H and taught him tithing and callings. We brought Brother D. Man he's awesome. Anyways, we had to run a few errands in the evening because we are over-loaded on Moving Elder jobs. 

Friday we had zone meeting which was really awesome and our zone is sweet. Again it was exactly what I needed to work on. We had another lesson with the Ks and Sister W. The lesson went really well and we went over the baptism interview questions for T and he's totally ready, and B asked a bunch of questions about each one that we answered and she brought up her main concern being that it seems like a man-made church to her, so we explained the roles of prophets and Apostles in revealing the truths about God and keeping things pure and organized. I think she's making a ton of ground. We also had a lesson with P and prepared him to receive the Aaron Priesthood. 

Saturday we had to do some urgent things like take a bed to where Elder D is coming back to, which I'm really excited about. We had another lesson with Brother H to review the baptism interview questions and fill out a form that President Slaughter needed for the interview set up for after church Sunday. We also stopped by H and J with Brother and Sister C who live just down the street to invite them to church. It was incredible! They got along super well and when we were talking on their porch H came home from work carrying his phone, laptop, and Book of Mormon. His bookmark was like 1/10 of the way in. They were happy to meet someone and we didn't even really have to do anything. Unfortunately they didn't come to church, but it was a super productive stop-by. 

Sunday was crazy and awesome. T and Brother H came to church, and T really liked it again. The talks were super good. All on Joseph Smith and I was really impressed with all of them. Brother H had his interview during Gospel Principles, and then right when they finished, priesthood was starting and we took part in P getting the Aaronic Priesthood. It was really cool to see. We had dinner with Brother and Sister S, a couple in their early 50s and they invited the Ks. It was awesome! It was just amazing to see members being proactive in member-missionary work. They were super helpful for T and B and they really enjoyed it. B said Sister S made her excited to read the Book of Mormon. I really hope she does! Things just go SO much better when members are involved. I'm not worried about them once we are transferred, the ward loves them. We went to their house early this morning and mowed their lawn and trimmed some bushes since T hasn't been able to do much. It was fun and we really love the Ks. Well again, it was an incredible week and we are really excited for T, B, Brother H, H, and J. Even if there are only five solid people, it's amazing to see how they have been prepared and how the gospel is changing them. I know that this church is led by Christ, not man. I know the priesthood is real, and the Gift of the Holy Ghost is the greatest gift we could have in this life. Thanks for the love and support!

Love,

Elder Pew

July 21^st 2014

Dear family,

This was a great week, although the past few have been very similar. Great things with the Ks and Brother H, but little success elsewhere, but we keep trying.

Monday we had a lesson with Brother H and we read Mosiah 5 with him to keep him in the Book of Mormon and he enjoyed it.

Tuesday we had zone conference. It was super sweet! President Slaughter is just incredible. Lately I've been studying the scattering and gathering of Israel and what does he give a 2 hour training on? The scattering and gathering of Israel. He dropped so much knowledge on us and he answered all of my questions. He said that possibly the most important answer to who we are is Israel, the Lord's chosen people. He explained that it is a huge misconception in the church that we are adopted into the House of Israel when we get our Patriarchal Blessings. He explained that we are literal descendants of our tribes and not adopted. Rarely do people come into the church that are not descendants of Israel, and that is fulfillment of prophecy as is the fact that most people are from Joseph. God knew they would be those ready for the gospel in this dispensation and one reason the House of Israel was scattered was to strategically place His people where He needed them to build His kingdom. He talked about the "four systems of salvation" that shows how our church believe more people will be saved than anyone else. First is children who die before the age of accountability (close to 50% of all people who have lived) Also included is those who are not accountable- those with mental disabilities. Second is the would-haves, those who will accept the gospel in the Spirit World and never had the chance here (he referenced 2 Nephi 10:4 ). Third is those in the Millennium, a time when children will grow up with out sin unto salvation (don't remember what the scripture was for that). And fourth, the scattering and gathering of Israel. Pretty cool stuff. We had a lesson with the Ks and we brought Brother C. We read 3 Nephi 27 and it went well. T continues to fly through the Book of Mormon, and B actually read the testimony of Joseph Smith. We explained the importance of a prophet, which is what she's having a hard time with, she still thinks it's a man-made church. We also had a lesson with T and he is still going through some rough stuff, but we talked about putting God first (basically what we always talk about with him) and this time he finally got it. He said he realized he needs to not worry about this other stuff and make sure he's putting God first no matter what. The Spirit was strong and it felt so good to hear someone finally understand for themselves what they need to do. He wants to be fully active in church again. He's cool and it's cute how he's our little buddy. He will randomly text us and ask us how we are doing and will just call to talk to us. He's awesome. 

Wednesday we finished clearing out the Stone Oak apartment so now it's ready for the 5 bunk-beds or whatever we decide to put in it. We also found someone for the Las Lomas sisters to teach in their apartment while we were throwing stuff away. We had another lesson with Brother H and Brother N came. We watched the Restoration DVD with him and he really liked it. He is just doing so well. He also managed to get his wife to watch it, and she liked it fine, although he told her yesterday he's getting baptized and she was pretty upset with that, so we aren't going over there until he can clear some things up with her. He doesn't flinch though, he's super determined to get baptized.

Thursday we went up to Austin in separate cars to take one to Pflugarville. It's a really long story, but we solved a huge problem they have had that the Assistants, President, and the office couples hadn't figured out yet. That was pretty intense driving separate, but since I know Austin and Round Rock so well I didn't have the GPS and just got around fine. We stopped at the Zone Conference up in Round Rock to drop a few things off including mail that the Assistants were suppose to bring but forgot. I saw Sister B from Brushy Creek and she was wondering what we were doing in normal clothes, so I explained to her what we do, but it was fun to see someone from Brushy Creek. We went in the gym to talk to some of the missionaries during lunch. We got back in time to proselyte but we had no success finding new families.

Friday was a little frustrating. We had the hardest time getting anyone to our lesson with Brother H and the Ks, and then P and L cancelled on us, and then B was in a bad mood and wouldn't join us in the lesson, so it was a little awkward. T is still doing well and excited for his baptism. The lesson with Brother H was a great ending to the night and he has been reading a ton from the Book of Mormon again and has a couple friends from his old church he wants to be taught. 

Saturday we had to deliver a dryer to Bastrop since theirs broke and Elder W wanted them to have a new one by Monday, so we drove the 1.5 hours to their place, but it was fun to see Elder L again. We did a lot of contacting, but still not much success. We did meet this one lady that I think we really got interested. Elder R didn't think she was receptive so he just asked for referrals before we really taught anything, and she said her husband needed a message about Jesus Christ. She was outside watching her little kids play in a pool, so I swooped in and talked about how our message is aimed at blessing families and read the paragraph from the Family: A Proclamation to the World about happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of Jesus Christ... By divine design fathers are to lead in their home in righteousness. She was like, "wow that sounds awesome!" We got her info and set up a lesson Wednesday when her husband would be home, but she's not sure if he will be at all receptive.

Church was awesome on Sunday. T and Brother H came, but T left after sacrament meeting to check on B. Brother H was fellowshipped very well and he really liked the talks in sacrament meeting. We had a lesson with P and L about baptisms for the dead and P seemed to like the idea and hopefully we can get him to the temple soon. Him and L are so cute and I love how much faith they have that things will work out despite their rough situation. They are awesome! We contacted a lot more and still didn't have any success. I've really been trying to think how we can get the ward more involved in actually finding people. I've thought about trying to teach a Preach my Gospel class, because I feel like members don't know how to study from it and they could apply those things into their member-missionary work. Well, either way, I know there are families here in this area ready for the gospel, and if we are diligent we will find them. Miracles still happen, and God knows each of us and has a plan for us to return to live with him. The Book of Mormon is true, and Christ is our Savior and this is His church and His work. Thanks for all the support!

Love,

Elder Pew

July 28^th, 2014

Dear family,

This was absolutely the busiest week of our lives, and it's not going to stop until after transfers (unless I stay, then it will probably continue). We have been incredibly blessed though and it has reaffirmed that this is the LORD'S work, not ours, which is an awesome and humbling experience. Hopefully I can remember everything...

Monday like right after I finished emailing you Elder W called and told us he forgot that the lease some missionaries' apartment up in Austin ended that day, and so we needed to miss our P-day and help them. We didn't have our truck because we took it in the morning to get fixed finally, but Elder P happened to have an extra truck that we were able to use, so I've driven in about 10 different cars since I've been in this area. We had set up a lesson with H for 1:30 even though it was P-day, so we went to that first. It was INCREDIBLE. He is such an amazing guy. His wife wasn't there and he explained that she is pretty hesitant about the church and feels more comfortable in the Catholic church. But he said he is LOVING the Book of Mormon. He said he feels like a better person every time he reads it. He says he never reads but something told him to read it and he is hooked on it and can't stop. He said he feels like he's such a better father and husband because of it, and he knows it's from God. He really loves meeting with us and he says we have helped him a lot and he feels like he's known us longer than the actual month it's probably been. As he was talking it reminded me of Moroni 7: 16-17, so I shared it with him and he said it is exactly what he has been feeling. So, he knows the Book of Mormon is true and so is the church. He really wants to come to our church, but he doesn't want to upset his wife. he said he's going to support her, but he would love to continue learning and hopefully she would join us for those and if not, he wants to see this through. I love that so much, you have no idea. He was really excited to come on a church tour on Saturday with the O family, but his wife had their baby girl on Friday or Saturday, so he couldn't make it but the Cs and us are going to bring them something. The lesson made it a lot easier to just give up the rest of our P-day, because I thought that this is really why I'm here and if that's going well, then who cares about the rest. Since we didn't have our truck, we didn't have any CDs or flash drive, so it was pretty boring, but whatever. We got the sisters there moved out by about 6:30 and by the time we finished everything and got home it was 8:55.

Tuesday we had to go down to the Border to Uvalde. It was really hot down there, but we got back in good time and we had a lesson with the Ks about the Gift of the Holy Ghost. B is really struggling. She isn't even listening to us. 

Wednesday we helped D in her yard and her lawn was like 3.5 feet tall and it didn't have a shield on the side so I got CAKED with grass. We brought T since he knows how to fix pipes and we started fixing her leak in her yard. We had to stop so we could run home, shower, and get to District Meeting. We had a great meeting and it's awesome to have so many sisters. They gave some good suggestions for working with female investigators. They are all really hard workers and I'm impressed with all of them. We went back with T and finished fixing the leak and then we had to pick up like 100 things from the furniture store for the incoming Sister's apartment (which by the way Elder W found that the original lease was signed by grandpa Pew when he was here). We had to unload it all into the storage unit which was really tiring because bunk-beds aren't light. We also carried like 6 mattresses and a couple wooden boards at a time to save time. We were exhausted and got home at 9, so didn't even proselyte. 

Thursday we were on an exchange with Elder T, our zone leader. He is really cool, and a really good singer. He's on scholarship at Utah State for his voice. He is a great teacher and just a solid guy. We had to take care of some bike issues and we were able to be out by 5. We had a lesson with Brother H and taught him about family history and temples. He likes the idea a lot and wants to take his dad to the temple. He's awesome. We had a lesson with N and we just emphasized the importance of church and Elder T did a great job of resolving her concern, validating her trails, and building her up in like three sentences and she said she would come. We had a lesson with the Ks as well and taught the importance of baptism by priesthood. Sister W has really helped Barbara, but she's still just floating along. We basically taught all night which was awesome. 

Friday we we had to go to Seguin and Lockhart which are very similar and they have some awesome houses out there. Look like big, southern plantation houses. We made it back for dinner and we dropped a present off for B's birthday. We drew a card that she really liked. We forgot to take pictures. We dropped off a bunch of invitations to the Pioneer Day celebration for Saturday morning. 

Saturday morning was the stake Pioneer Day celebration and it was pretty awesome. They had a ton of activities. Brother H and T came, but B was up partying with her friend too late and they didn't come. Brother S talked with Brother H like the whole time which was awesome. P and L went too. Our ward was defending their three straight tug-of-war titles and we watched them march their way to the championship. We went against Sonterra for the championship and Sonterra looked pretty good and big, and the ward finally convinced me and Elder R to help, but we ended up winning really easily. It was fun and T and Brother H had a great time. After we had to run to San Marcos to do a preliminary move because they are moving into DeZavala's apartment and DeZavala is moving into a new apartment. We moved San Marcos big stuff out and looked at the DeZavala apartment to see what we have to take to the new apartment and what we need to get for the final move this weekend. We made it back for dinner and T had his interview with President Slaughter. He also got a haircut and he looks sharp. It was a really short interview, so I think President could tell he was ready pretty quickly. 

Sunday was awesome. Brother H, T, N, and N all came to church. T, Brother H, and N really liked church and T invited everyone in Gospel Principles to his baptism. We had like 16 people in Gospel Principles. P, L, Sister S, the O family, S, Brother H, T, N, and us of course. P passed the sacrament for the first time which was awesome to watch. Sister S led the little army of women to relief society. We also met this kid named T and his mom who just moved into the area and she wants to come back to church and he's 12 and hasn't been baptized. So we set up a lesson for Tuesday night to start teaching him. He's a nice kid and it will be good review for his mom, she doesn't remember anything. We also had another member say their grandson is visiting for summer and they want us to teach him since he's 15 and not a member. So we have that this week too. We were super-blessed and those are the experiences that really reminded me this is the Lord's work. We can work as hard as we can, but ultimately, He's in control. We had dinner with the Fs who are pretty sweet. Brother F cooks some ridiculously good steaks and he's a huge Jazz fan. We had a lesson with T since he had the house to himself. We explained the Aaronic priesthood and he seems excited to participate. I also felt like we should stop by this older couple that we met like 2 months ago that wanted us to pray for them before their trip (I think I told you about them when we first met them) and they said they were getting back in July which was forever away, but I felt prompted to go back, even though Elder R was certain they weren't interested, and they let us right in and were so impressed with remembered them and were checking up on them. We got talking about T getting baptized and they started asking questions and we ended up teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them and answered a lot of questions. They seem more intellectually interested, but P (the wife) said she felt "so good!" after talking with us, and that she loves Mormons. We have another lesson tonight so we can see more where they are at. I know this is God's work we are in. Working to restore His people (Israel) to the truths of the gospel. The Book of Mormon is the tool to gather the elect (Moses 6:62 I think) and it is so powerful, as we've seen with T, Brother H, and H. It's amazing. Christ is our Savior and loves each of us. Thanks for all of the support!

Love,

Elder Pew

moving Elder extraordinaire