Week 27!!

Hey everyone!!

 

How are you? So a few weeks ago, Elder Nokes (some of you know him, some probably don't) Copied and pasted his president's letter to this email. I liked the idea so I am going to give it a shot! 

 

Dear President Tew,

 

This week was great!! I really love it here with Elder Lund! We are getting our teaching pool up and going, and we are finding some great people! We knocked into a feller named Salvador. He recently moved here from Guatamala. His now ex wife and his daughters all served a mission and stuff but he was never baptized. Not sure why. We talked with him and had a get to know you/how to begin teaching as we were knocking, left with a scripture and set an appointment for the next day. The next day, Thursday I believe, we had a full first and him and his current wife and daughter LOVED it. We gave them a Book of Mormon and the Hermana LOVED it. She read two chapters the first night. We haven't had a lesson since because they had a funeral they had to go to, but we did swing by and drop off another B.o.M. because we only had one last time. the Hermana went off saying how much she loved the reading and she wanted another assignment. Then, they came to church!!! The first investigator I've had in church. My last area was hard. just allot of empty commitments.  Well, after 6 months of trying, I finally convinced someone to come!  Granted I take no credit, but you know what I mean. I was so happy! I really think they will be baptized.  We have a lesson tomorrow with them!!   The daughter wasn't at church though... kinda lame.  Not sure why.

I LOVE this area, sometimes it gets hot, but a little sweat never hurt no one,  and I LOVE elder Lund. He is probably my favorite companion. I definitely get along better with him then my last two here and the one in the MTC. He kinda reminds me of my best friend back at home. We haven't even been in one argument. I think the 5 man apartment helps with that. I honestly would love to have another transfer with Elder Lund. and I firmly believe that the unity we have developed can and will allow us to summon the Spirit firmly and powerfully for the Salvation of Souls.

 

Thanks for all you do! Love Elder Lloyd.

 

So that's about all I've got this week :) I have zone conference on Friday! I'll let you know how that goes! There has been allot of rumours of a ton of changes and stuff happening some form the new mission President, some from Salt Lake. I'm curious to see what I find out! 

 

1 Nephi 3:7 reads "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." I really like this. It is true (like all the Scriptures :) ) that any and every commandment from God is possible. He will not require from us what we cannot handle. Sometimes it may seem so, But HE will ALWAYS help us out. The hard times are the times of growth.  

 

Thanks for all the support!! 

 

Love,

Elder Lloyd

Week 26!!!

Hey everyone!!  

This week was good!!

I hope all of you were able to have a good week as well!!

This week was great! Me and Elder Lund were able to find a few good people to teach. It has been a slow start but we are getting lessons back into our days again. Its great! I love my new area and Elder Lund allot! I love it because we are both equals. We have the same time in the mission, 6 months as of today!  It's crazy that I'm a quarter of the way done! And because we opened a new area, we have the same time here so we are both equals. I like it allot!

I have no time today, We had a trip up to the L.A. temple today which takes most of the day, also it is why Tuesday is P-Day instead of yesterday. I love the temple so much! Its one of those things that you don't realize you miss it until you go back. It is like most things relating to the Gospel, you receive so much happiness from the Gospel it is incredible. Then, when you do something you aren't supposed to be or something like that, your quality of life goes down. It's gradual enough that you don't notice until you get it back then your life is miraculous again as you start recognizing the blessings that come from the Gospel and Jesus Christ. I know this to be true with every fiber in my being. I have helped a few people the past 6 months realize this and come back to Christ. You have heard of them in my emails. One was a even a bishop. I bring him up because it really shows that anyone can stray away so we all need to be careful. But more then that, it shows the Love that God has for each and every one of his children. It shows His hand in our lives, and the power of the Atonement that he was able to realign his life with the teachings of Christ. I wish you all could have heard his solom humble testimony as he thanked me for not giving up and how much his life has improved since he has come back to Christ. I exhort all of you to come back into the fold of Christ. By that I mean that we are all sinners. But Christ loves every single one of us. Pick one thing and fix it.  Whatever just came to your mind, as i know as you read that, the Spirit will recall to you what you need to work on. Improve on that for a better tomorrow. Never stop doing the little things. They are important.

Luke 23:34. reads " Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." In this scripture Jesus Christ is hanging on the cross for all to see. Everyone was mocking and scorning Him. He prays to our Father in Heaven and pleads for Him to forgive His murderers. Right before He dies 13 verses later. 

If Jesus Christ will forgive his murderers, He will lovingly accept you back into his flock and forgive you of whatever you may need.

He loves you more then you can comprehend and wants the best for you. That's why he has established His church again on the Earth. That is why he called me and 80,000 other missionaries to go to all places and "invite all to come unto [Him]" (missionary purpose PMG PG 1)

Thanks for all your support!

I love you all!

Elder Lloyd

Week 25!!

Hey guys!

This week was pretty good! White washing with Elder Lund! It was a slower week. We did a few thousand doors (literally) and street contacted when we could. There's not near as many people here on the streets as there is in Long Beach. We only taught 4 lessons this week. It was a really slow one. We have found allot of potentials and some really cool people for this week though!  I will let you know how it goes! I love it here! Its super quiet all the time! I havent even heard gun shots once! lol.

Elder Lund is super cool! We get along great! he is more quiet then most other missionaries but I like it allot. We get along great!

I dont have a whole lot of stuff to reprt on this week. Next week will be more exciting!

Mosiah 2:17 states "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." So serve others because serving God is good :) as you serve, I promise more happiness then you can imagine will come into your life.

I love you all!!
Elder Lloyd

Leaving the MTC... First day in the Field

Well, my first day was kinda… rough… I got up at 3:00 AM after going to bed at 12:30 AM. The bus ride to the airport was interesting. To drive by “home” again, to see all the things of my “past life” that I finally got used to the idea that it is going to be two years before I see them again. It was odd. Driving by the exits to my families houses, to school, to work… almost 20 years of memories that I almost got “put away” all come flooding back.

Finally, we get to the airport. I get all ready to go; checked in and such, and it’s time to find a payphone. I have been looking forward to this for the past six weeks of the MTC. But, now that I am here, why is it so hard to dial the numbers? Finally Mom answers. Luckily she was in a talking mood. I had no idea what to say. It was bitter sweet moment getting to talk to them (Mom, Dad and Brandon). I enjoyed it a lot, but it was kind of hard. At least I got to tell them “I love you” a lot more than a piece of paper can say.

The flight was good. It made me sick though. For three days I was dizzy. We had a big meeting with all the 32 elders and one sister on my plane. They made the assignments for our “temporary trainers”. Turns out President Bubert can’t get us all interviewed today. They set me up with Elder Kasen. He seems like a cool dude. He is going home in three months. He is very ready, and he will be the first to tell you. We had no lessons today. We went over a few things then went to dinner with two Elders in a Samoan ward. We waited around for an hour in their apartment until the member finally dropped off two subway sandwiches for the four of us. The Elders were ticked, but I didn’t mind. I was still sick from the plane. We sat around for another 30-40 minutes, which is really annoying. I didn’t come on a mission to sit around. Plus, the white handbook clearly states dinner is an hour max. Dad said that if you feel home sick, the best medicine is work it off. It’s weird, when the last thing you want to do is work, do it anyways and you will feel better. So, let’s stop sitting around and go try! Well, long story short, I didn’t talk to a single person positively! Everyone I talked to just wanted to hate the church and hate God and hate me for representing it. I have never felt so disliked by random strangers.

We walked and walked for 3 hours. Knocking a few doors on the way, but mainly talking to people. I thought my shoes were broken in; I guess not. By the end of the night, my feet had huge blisters all over. I literally walked till I bled, then walked some more.

Finally we get home. We planned for tomorrow, but I didn’t have a planner yet so I mainly just sat around while Elder Kasen did it; then went to bed. I was quite homesick. It has been four months since then and life is much better now and I understand why a lot of things happened that way!

Love you all!

Elder Lloyd

Week 24!!!

Hey everyone!!   

How are you?

This week was pretty good! I did a whole lot of exchanges again. I spent a lot of time in Samoan wards. I hope one day I get to serve in one for a little while! Their culture is AWESOME.

So I am getting transferred. I move tomorrow up into the Whittier West Zone. I am going to the Rio Ondo ward. Me and an Elder named Elder Lund are opening a new area and both of us have no idea what to expect. It is a Spanish area and he has been out as long as me. He was in the district next to mine in the MTC. I hope his Spanish is better then mine! haha. SO my new address is

9128 Burke street apt 120

Pico Rivera, Ca 90660

So feel free to send me all sorts of letters and such :)

So, my new area is in the hottest part of the mission, just in time for the hottest part of the year. Not exactly looking forward to that... I am excited for the transfer though. I am confident it will be a great way to grow for myself and that the Lord has prepared people for me and Elder Lund to go find and show them how to find the up most happiness in their lives.

Helaman 14:13 reads " and if ye believe on His name ye will repent of all your sins, that thereby ye may have a remission of them through his merits" basically, through your faith and conviction to Christ, you can repent of all your sins and be made happy :)

I love you all!

Elder Lloyd

Week 23- TRANSFERS!!!

Hey Everyone!

I cannot believe that it is already transfers again!! Time goes so fast! So because it is transfers again, I have a chance to be moving, so don't send mail to my apartment. Or at least do it soon. It has to get here before this Saturday, or I can't promise it will make it to me.

This week was good! We went on allot of exchanges again this week, so I don't have allot of stuff to report on from my area. The Alvarez family made it to church again. They missed two weeks or so and I was getting nervous that they went inactive again! But, things are still good with them :)

I did two exchanges in two different Samoan wards. It was AWESOME. I LOVE the people here. The Samoan people I shared a message with love the missionaries. They have ridiculous amounts of charity for us. It was really humbling. I have never eaten so much in my life. Thursday night for dinner was more than thanksgiving. For just me, they gave me a big ole steak, two giant turkey legs, two fried bananas, a turkey tail, two hot dogs, a big ole mango smoothie, two sodas, a ton of stir fry, a ton of rice and a ton of salad. I ate constantly literally from 5:00 to 5:55 non stop. Then they brought out dessert. By the time I was done, I took my last swallow and literally felt it hit the bottom of my throat. So, I figured I should probably stop now my stomach is literally full to capacity. So, I go and bike it off. That one meal kept me full from 5:30 on Thursday till lunch time on Friday. It was nuts. I want to serve in a Samoan ward. I'd be huge though... haha!

Alma 11:40 reads "And he shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else." That is about Jesus Christ. He suffered for each and every one of our transgressions, and he alone knows what you are going through. Reach out to him. Repent of your sins and inherit eternal happiness.

Love,
Elder Lloyd

Week 22!!!

Hey guys,

 

So I took to long on my other emails today so I don't have a whole lot of time today. But, life is good :) The weather is great here in Southern California!  Really, If you want my honest opinion, I don't like it when its sunny all the time. I get bored lol. I know I'm a freak :)

 

This week we did a lot of exchanges, Elder Huesca is the district leader so he needs to work with all the Elders in our district. and, there are 12 of us. So, I don't have a lot to report on from my area because I wasn't there for most of it... We did have a super cool lesson with a dude named Chris. He is 14, his dad wants us to teach him. its weird because our beliefs go well against his dad's beliefs but he liked them for Chris?  Anyways, Chris wants to be baptized, but, he stiffed us at church this week. I have been out for 5 months as of yesterday and I have yet to have an investigator at church. Its hard because allot of the people don't have cars and the members already carpool. You wouldn't know that because cars line every street you look at. I don't know who owns them all...

 

So, I lost my camera on Thursday I think. I was heart broken. I wanted to cry! I may not be able to send pictures home, but that doesn't mean I don't take them... I looked everywhere for an entire day, retracing footsteps and all. I prayed many times, and finally I found it :) I left it at a members house. I thought I put it in my back pack but I guess not. I'll have to be more careful next time!!

 

1 Nephi 15:24 reads " And I said unto them that it was the word of God: and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish: neither could the temptations of the adversary overpower them unto blindness and lead them away to destruction." Remember to always read your scriptures and go to church. The nourishment of the work of God really will always allow us to be kept safe from the temptations.

 

I love you all

 

Thanks for the support

Elder Lloyd