Well another change ended yesterday, but not much has changed. No one in the District has changes, so we will all be together again for another 6 weeks. I also completed 13 months in the mission yesterday, which is crazy to thing about. Only 11 months and I leave the field. It makes me want to work hard and take advantage of this time I have to help others come unto Christ.
We had another tough week again. It was one filled with knocking doors and looking for new people to teach. We realized that knocking doors just doesnt seem to cut it here, and that we are going to have to work different in order to find success. So we have a few ideas that we are going to try this week. The first one is an open house that we should have this weekend. Im not too excited about this one, just because it wasnt too planned, but help is help, and we will gladly accept any offers from the wards.
One of the other ideas we have is to set up in the Fayuca. Every Friday they set up a fayuca, where just a bunch of people go and set up tents and try to sell clothing and pretty much everything else. We plan to set up a table and try to just give out as many movies and pamphlets as we can. Hopefully, through just giving away a bunch of material, we can get a few references out of that activity. I think it has possibilities of working well and maybe the interested people will come to us.
The final idea we have, which will start next Sunday, is to teach the members how to invite and make references. Next Sunday, during the second hour, we will teach the members how to do the basics of missionary work. At the end of the class, we will commit each family to invite 2 other families that they know to listen to the missionaries or participate in a family home evening.
We hope that with some more participation of the members, we can get some more going as for the mission work. Its gonna be tough, but that makes it fun at the same time.
Its kinda a boring letter, but right now we are in the ground and pound stage. Just a lot of knocking and contacting, looking for the ones who are ready to accept this message.
Its gotten a lot cooler here, Id say about mid 80s and in the night down to the 60s, so its really nice. Im enjoying the mission a ton and Im greatful to the Lord that I can be a missionary and that i am able to testify to people everyday about the Restoration. I hope you all have a great week!
Con amor, Elder Turley
Saturday, November 14, 2009
11-2-09 "Happy Halloween"
Hey!
Well we have now entered November. The time really does fly. It seems like it goes by faster every day. It sounds like you all had a pretty good Halloween. Next year ill be sure that Taylor and I wear costumes so that we can give Cooper some company. Maybe we will go as the evil witches like we did one year. I can never take the image of Taylor wearing the dress out of my mind.
We had a pretty good week. A lot of finding and not a whole ton of teaching, but someones gotta do it. We found 7 new people this week and are just praying that a few progress. Elsa´s Mom kinda died on us when we taught tithing. We are gonna give her some time and go back in a few weeks. Sister Figueroa is really sick, which definitely sounds like satan making his last stand on her. She hasn’t called us for about 5 days, so we are getting worried about the time gap. Hopefully she gets better soon so that she can progress.
On Halloween, we tried to work hard, but it was a little difficult in the evening when everyone was drinking and stuff, so in the end we went over to the building and sat with one of our recent converts, Hugo. The Stake President here is just a great man and he gives some really powerful talks. I sat there the whole evening just thinking about the family and about what you were all doing.
The next day, we had stake conference and it went pretty well too. Jorge, the boyfriend of one of the members went to the Investigators/Recent Converts meeting with President Clark and his wife, and then stayed for about half of stake conference. I don’t blame him. A lot of the talks felt really dry and that they lacked something. President Jimenez, the stake President, saved the day at the end with a really spiritual talk about the Mission Work and how all the members need to step it up. The goal for this stake is for every ward to have 15 missionaries in the field at all times. It’s a stretch, especially for some of the wards here, but it’s a great goal. The Area President also called 3 fasts for northern mexico. We will do one this next Sunday, another in December, and the last one in January. There is a lot of opposition in Northern Mexico right now. The Modern-day Gadianton Robbers, here known as the Zetas. To attack the opposition, we are going to God. The fasts are for us as members in the church, and so that the Leaders in the Government have the capacity to protect the people here. Ive already seen so many Miracles from fasts. If you want to know some of them, just look at stephs belly. She can tell you all about that one. I know that if the members here fast as a team, united in the cause, that God will bless us. We wont only prosper as members, but the Missionary work will also prosper. These months should be some interesting ones.
The Last, and maybe the most exciting, bit of news that ive got for this week, is what happened yesterday. Brother Pedroza and his son Angel received the Melchisedec Priesthood. Brother Pedroza and I were talking the other night, and we were talking about receiving the priesthood. I told him that I would just love to stand in the circle to have the privelege of giving him the priesthood. So after the meeting, we went together and sat down. President Clark gave the priesthood to another recent convert, but then had to go. They called Brother Pedroza and he asked if I could stand in. I thought I was just going to place my hands, but before I knew it I was the lead man. It was an experience Ill never forget. I never even imagined giving someone the Melchisidec Priesthood. Less to the Head of one of the Families that ive grown to love so much here. It was a beautiful blessing, and it felt great to be worthy to give that blessing. I know the Lord was able to bless one of his children through me, but wouldn’t have been able to had I not been worthy.
Later in the day, we went to eat lunch with the Pedrozas. Angel couldn’t go to conference because he had to show up for a draft pick for the military. The Bishop came over in the afternoon to tell him that he could still receive the Priesthood. Angel was grumpy, but after a little convincing from his good ole friend Elder Turley, him and I went down to the church. Again I was offered the opportunity to give the Melchisidec Priesthood, and it felt great. Those two are going to have a great line of authority with some strong members. Im proud of them and how far they have come as a family. Angel plans to leave on his mission in 3 months. If you would have asked him that 10 weeks ago he would have laughed in your face. Its amazing what the gospel and united parents can do for a family.
Well that’s all my news. Thanks for all the letters. I love you all. Have a great week!
Con amor, Elder Turley
Well we have now entered November. The time really does fly. It seems like it goes by faster every day. It sounds like you all had a pretty good Halloween. Next year ill be sure that Taylor and I wear costumes so that we can give Cooper some company. Maybe we will go as the evil witches like we did one year. I can never take the image of Taylor wearing the dress out of my mind.
We had a pretty good week. A lot of finding and not a whole ton of teaching, but someones gotta do it. We found 7 new people this week and are just praying that a few progress. Elsa´s Mom kinda died on us when we taught tithing. We are gonna give her some time and go back in a few weeks. Sister Figueroa is really sick, which definitely sounds like satan making his last stand on her. She hasn’t called us for about 5 days, so we are getting worried about the time gap. Hopefully she gets better soon so that she can progress.
On Halloween, we tried to work hard, but it was a little difficult in the evening when everyone was drinking and stuff, so in the end we went over to the building and sat with one of our recent converts, Hugo. The Stake President here is just a great man and he gives some really powerful talks. I sat there the whole evening just thinking about the family and about what you were all doing.
The next day, we had stake conference and it went pretty well too. Jorge, the boyfriend of one of the members went to the Investigators/Recent Converts meeting with President Clark and his wife, and then stayed for about half of stake conference. I don’t blame him. A lot of the talks felt really dry and that they lacked something. President Jimenez, the stake President, saved the day at the end with a really spiritual talk about the Mission Work and how all the members need to step it up. The goal for this stake is for every ward to have 15 missionaries in the field at all times. It’s a stretch, especially for some of the wards here, but it’s a great goal. The Area President also called 3 fasts for northern mexico. We will do one this next Sunday, another in December, and the last one in January. There is a lot of opposition in Northern Mexico right now. The Modern-day Gadianton Robbers, here known as the Zetas. To attack the opposition, we are going to God. The fasts are for us as members in the church, and so that the Leaders in the Government have the capacity to protect the people here. Ive already seen so many Miracles from fasts. If you want to know some of them, just look at stephs belly. She can tell you all about that one. I know that if the members here fast as a team, united in the cause, that God will bless us. We wont only prosper as members, but the Missionary work will also prosper. These months should be some interesting ones.
The Last, and maybe the most exciting, bit of news that ive got for this week, is what happened yesterday. Brother Pedroza and his son Angel received the Melchisedec Priesthood. Brother Pedroza and I were talking the other night, and we were talking about receiving the priesthood. I told him that I would just love to stand in the circle to have the privelege of giving him the priesthood. So after the meeting, we went together and sat down. President Clark gave the priesthood to another recent convert, but then had to go. They called Brother Pedroza and he asked if I could stand in. I thought I was just going to place my hands, but before I knew it I was the lead man. It was an experience Ill never forget. I never even imagined giving someone the Melchisidec Priesthood. Less to the Head of one of the Families that ive grown to love so much here. It was a beautiful blessing, and it felt great to be worthy to give that blessing. I know the Lord was able to bless one of his children through me, but wouldn’t have been able to had I not been worthy.
Later in the day, we went to eat lunch with the Pedrozas. Angel couldn’t go to conference because he had to show up for a draft pick for the military. The Bishop came over in the afternoon to tell him that he could still receive the Priesthood. Angel was grumpy, but after a little convincing from his good ole friend Elder Turley, him and I went down to the church. Again I was offered the opportunity to give the Melchisidec Priesthood, and it felt great. Those two are going to have a great line of authority with some strong members. Im proud of them and how far they have come as a family. Angel plans to leave on his mission in 3 months. If you would have asked him that 10 weeks ago he would have laughed in your face. Its amazing what the gospel and united parents can do for a family.
Well that’s all my news. Thanks for all the letters. I love you all. Have a great week!
Con amor, Elder Turley
10-26-09
Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great week. Our week was a tough one, filled with conferences, and a lot of knocking, with little success. But that’s the Missionary Work. Just gotta keep pushing on, with the hope that someone will open up and decide to progress. We still have a few that are progressing. The ones we are really focusing on are Sister Figueroa, the rich lady, and Elsa, the mom of one of the members. Elsa is the one who has the husband that hates mormons and missionaries. For some reason he likes me, so that’s enabled us to get as far as weve gotten. Last Saturday, we had an appointment with her, and I went really prepared. I shared a couple scriptures with her and then we talked about how she needed to make a stand. That if she really wanted the church in her life, then she needed to tell her husband, and that if he really loved her, then he would listen. She agreed and told me that shed talk to him. She wasn’t able to go yesterday, but told us that next Saturday and Sunday, she would be there with her daughter for stake conference. I think if she can just overcome this one obstacle in her way, then she will be able to be baptised and be a strong member in the church. We are going to keep working with her and help her progress as much as she can.
Sister Figueroa, continues excited about the church. She really enjoyed going with us, but wasn’t able to go yesterday, because shes been really sick. Today, Her, my companion, and I are going to fast so that she can receive her answer. She says she wants to decide for sure if shes going to do it and then stay commited, which is a good thing. Shes taking this whole conversion process very seriously and Im excited for when she recieves her answer, or more realizes her answer.
Well, I hardly have any time today, my companion has an interview with the President today, so ive gotta head out. Have a great week everyone!
Con amor, Elder Turley
Sister Figueroa, continues excited about the church. She really enjoyed going with us, but wasn’t able to go yesterday, because shes been really sick. Today, Her, my companion, and I are going to fast so that she can receive her answer. She says she wants to decide for sure if shes going to do it and then stay commited, which is a good thing. Shes taking this whole conversion process very seriously and Im excited for when she recieves her answer, or more realizes her answer.
Well, I hardly have any time today, my companion has an interview with the President today, so ive gotta head out. Have a great week everyone!
Con amor, Elder Turley
10-12-09 "Hey"
Hey everyone!
All day Friday I was thinking about 24 Hours of Moab and supporting the teams racing from here. I hope you had a great time and get started on training for next year when you ride it with me!
This week we saw the fruits of General Conference, as we received a couple really cool references. This one lady, Francis, prolly knows the Bible better than half the missionaries in the field. We were teaching the Restoration to her the other day, and when we started talking about James 1:5, she just quoted the scripture before we could even pull it out. She likes the fact that the people who give talks don’t just talk about punishments for not obeying commandments, and she also likes that there is only ONE prophet, because in her other churches, practically everyone stands up and says that God talks to them. Kind of confusing that way.
Ive been maintaining my relationship with the Family Pedroza and the two young men that they have. Its fun doing divisions with them and working and teaching them. I can see them growing and changing little by little every day. Àngel is a great friend, and him and I get along really well. The family made me dinner yesterday, to celebrate my year mark. They are really great people and should go to the Temple this Saturday.
Another success is Brother Rivas. Since I got here, Ive been trying to go and visit him 2 or 3 times every week. He and I made an agreement that we would read 15 Chapters in the Book of Mormon every week so that he could finish before the year ends. We will be going into Mosiah this week, so its cool to see the progress with him. And he just might be going and taking out his endowments this Saturday. Im really hoping and praying that he can.
Im trying to be more and more obedient lately. I decided that Id like to enjoy more fully the blessings of the Lord, and use them with my investigators. The area is tough, so its going to require more blessings of the Lord. Through these efforts, Ive been able to feel the spirit more often and keep it with me, and I don’t want to lose that companionship.
It seems like the efforts with some of the young men are showing results. Àngel told me today that hes got 2 more baptisms in line for this change. His sister´s boyfriend and his sister in law. I decided we are going to focus a lot on them and hopefully see some more baptisms in this change.
I hope everyones doing well. I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Con amor, Elder Turley
All day Friday I was thinking about 24 Hours of Moab and supporting the teams racing from here. I hope you had a great time and get started on training for next year when you ride it with me!
This week we saw the fruits of General Conference, as we received a couple really cool references. This one lady, Francis, prolly knows the Bible better than half the missionaries in the field. We were teaching the Restoration to her the other day, and when we started talking about James 1:5, she just quoted the scripture before we could even pull it out. She likes the fact that the people who give talks don’t just talk about punishments for not obeying commandments, and she also likes that there is only ONE prophet, because in her other churches, practically everyone stands up and says that God talks to them. Kind of confusing that way.
Ive been maintaining my relationship with the Family Pedroza and the two young men that they have. Its fun doing divisions with them and working and teaching them. I can see them growing and changing little by little every day. Àngel is a great friend, and him and I get along really well. The family made me dinner yesterday, to celebrate my year mark. They are really great people and should go to the Temple this Saturday.
Another success is Brother Rivas. Since I got here, Ive been trying to go and visit him 2 or 3 times every week. He and I made an agreement that we would read 15 Chapters in the Book of Mormon every week so that he could finish before the year ends. We will be going into Mosiah this week, so its cool to see the progress with him. And he just might be going and taking out his endowments this Saturday. Im really hoping and praying that he can.
Im trying to be more and more obedient lately. I decided that Id like to enjoy more fully the blessings of the Lord, and use them with my investigators. The area is tough, so its going to require more blessings of the Lord. Through these efforts, Ive been able to feel the spirit more often and keep it with me, and I don’t want to lose that companionship.
It seems like the efforts with some of the young men are showing results. Àngel told me today that hes got 2 more baptisms in line for this change. His sister´s boyfriend and his sister in law. I decided we are going to focus a lot on them and hopefully see some more baptisms in this change.
I hope everyones doing well. I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Con amor, Elder Turley
10-5-09 "YEARMARK"
Well, its been another quick week, and Im excited to say that this Thursday is my year mark in the mission.
These past couple of weeks ive been reflecting on how much ive changed and what I lack yet as a child of God, and as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Saints. I have realized that in some areas ive grown a ton, while in others, I still need to work in order to see the growth that Id like, but that’s life. Ive learned more discipline and personal confidence. I learned that a testimony is one of the most sacred things that someone can hold. I also learned that it takes time to change. I still make mistakes in my life even as a missionary, and at times it can be frustrating to see myself fall into one of Satans Pitfalls, but I also realize that God is willing to forgive me, no matter what I do, he is always willing to forgive me. To me that’s comforting. Its something Im trying to help others realize in the field that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can always be forgiven.
This week, we visited Carlos and Lupe a ton to help them feel ready for their baptisms and make that great covenant with the Lord. Lupe, sadly, fell through again. Im thinking that we are going to give her a little time to grow and to feel more ready to make the decision. Carlos came, just like I knew he would. He was one of those chosen people that was just going to accept the gospel when the time came. I thought his cousin, Gustavo was gonna be the one to baptize him, but with a couple last minute problemillas as we say here, I ended up being the one to Baptize him. I felt great about that, because Im really trying to focus more and finding men who want to accept the Gospel. We had the Baptismal service at the end of the Second Session on Saturday. It was cool, because each companionship in the Zone brought a few investigators to watch the service. We are hoping that at least one of them was touched and decided to make the step.
Conference was great, from what I saw. The Stake wasn’t extremely organized so Elder Moynihan and I decided to assign ourselves as greeters and help people figure out where to go. We missed some talks, but got to see a lot. I really loved the last 3 talks in Priesthood Session. President Monson´s helped me put a few things in perspective.
My new companion is Elder Orcillez. People say that HIS name is harder than mine which is pretty funny to hear, as everyone has a lot of trouble saying my name. I managed to bribe one of the Secretaries of the Mission to get me another name tag. Mom will just love it. Its gonna say Elder Turley Lang. All the Mexican missionaries have two last names, so Im gonna have two last names also. My next project is working on the nametag Elder Lang. We will see if that’s possible, but little by little I think I might just get it. Elder Orcillez is from Mexico City. He is by far the strangest missionary ive met in the mission. I just cant predict this guy. We get along fine and laugh a lot, but Im not sure there is anyone stranger here. We have a goal of 3 baptisms for this change, so hopefully we can accomplish that.
Well, after Thursday, its all downhill from here. Have a great time in Moab, Im gonna make sure it’s the last one I ever miss.
Have a great week everyone
Con amor, Elder Turley
These past couple of weeks ive been reflecting on how much ive changed and what I lack yet as a child of God, and as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Saints. I have realized that in some areas ive grown a ton, while in others, I still need to work in order to see the growth that Id like, but that’s life. Ive learned more discipline and personal confidence. I learned that a testimony is one of the most sacred things that someone can hold. I also learned that it takes time to change. I still make mistakes in my life even as a missionary, and at times it can be frustrating to see myself fall into one of Satans Pitfalls, but I also realize that God is willing to forgive me, no matter what I do, he is always willing to forgive me. To me that’s comforting. Its something Im trying to help others realize in the field that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can always be forgiven.
This week, we visited Carlos and Lupe a ton to help them feel ready for their baptisms and make that great covenant with the Lord. Lupe, sadly, fell through again. Im thinking that we are going to give her a little time to grow and to feel more ready to make the decision. Carlos came, just like I knew he would. He was one of those chosen people that was just going to accept the gospel when the time came. I thought his cousin, Gustavo was gonna be the one to baptize him, but with a couple last minute problemillas as we say here, I ended up being the one to Baptize him. I felt great about that, because Im really trying to focus more and finding men who want to accept the Gospel. We had the Baptismal service at the end of the Second Session on Saturday. It was cool, because each companionship in the Zone brought a few investigators to watch the service. We are hoping that at least one of them was touched and decided to make the step.
Conference was great, from what I saw. The Stake wasn’t extremely organized so Elder Moynihan and I decided to assign ourselves as greeters and help people figure out where to go. We missed some talks, but got to see a lot. I really loved the last 3 talks in Priesthood Session. President Monson´s helped me put a few things in perspective.
My new companion is Elder Orcillez. People say that HIS name is harder than mine which is pretty funny to hear, as everyone has a lot of trouble saying my name. I managed to bribe one of the Secretaries of the Mission to get me another name tag. Mom will just love it. Its gonna say Elder Turley Lang. All the Mexican missionaries have two last names, so Im gonna have two last names also. My next project is working on the nametag Elder Lang. We will see if that’s possible, but little by little I think I might just get it. Elder Orcillez is from Mexico City. He is by far the strangest missionary ive met in the mission. I just cant predict this guy. We get along fine and laugh a lot, but Im not sure there is anyone stranger here. We have a goal of 3 baptisms for this change, so hopefully we can accomplish that.
Well, after Thursday, its all downhill from here. Have a great time in Moab, Im gonna make sure it’s the last one I ever miss.
Have a great week everyone
Con amor, Elder Turley
9-28-09 "Hello"
Hey, well I dont have a ton of time, because we got changes today. My companion is getting changed, so I gotta go and pick up my new one.
We almost had a baptism yesterday. Worked really hard to get it, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. We seem to be looking good for this next change. Weve got a baptismal service on Saturday, and its also gonna be conference, so that just makes it a double plus. Im talking with some of the stake leaders, and its possible that we get to watch it in English, so that would just put the icing on the cake!
The guy that I won over with my piano song keeps wanting to show me all the music he has in english, so ive got some really classic songs stuck in my head right now. Like Dawn´s Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree. And than I got this other guy who just puts on Classic 70 mexican love songs, so when I come back ill be a Mexican Romance Singer from the 70s. it actually helps me gain a lot of trust from older people here, if I walk around singing really classic songs.
This week we found an old Investigator who really seems like she will progress. Her husband just recently passed away from Cancer, so we are teaching her what she needs to do to be sealed with him and live with him forever. Shes really receptive, and wants to do it, but shes also super busy so that’s our only problem.
Other than that, we are gonna keep working with our progressing investigators and work harder on referrals to see if we cant get some more success here.
Sorry I couldn’t write more, but im short on time. Have a great week everyone!
Con mucho amor, Elder Turley
We almost had a baptism yesterday. Worked really hard to get it, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. We seem to be looking good for this next change. Weve got a baptismal service on Saturday, and its also gonna be conference, so that just makes it a double plus. Im talking with some of the stake leaders, and its possible that we get to watch it in English, so that would just put the icing on the cake!
The guy that I won over with my piano song keeps wanting to show me all the music he has in english, so ive got some really classic songs stuck in my head right now. Like Dawn´s Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree. And than I got this other guy who just puts on Classic 70 mexican love songs, so when I come back ill be a Mexican Romance Singer from the 70s. it actually helps me gain a lot of trust from older people here, if I walk around singing really classic songs.
This week we found an old Investigator who really seems like she will progress. Her husband just recently passed away from Cancer, so we are teaching her what she needs to do to be sealed with him and live with him forever. Shes really receptive, and wants to do it, but shes also super busy so that’s our only problem.
Other than that, we are gonna keep working with our progressing investigators and work harder on referrals to see if we cant get some more success here.
Sorry I couldn’t write more, but im short on time. Have a great week everyone!
Con mucho amor, Elder Turley
9-21-09 "Oh happy day"
Dad will remember something ive said to him over a million times, that I used to hate sitting down for more than 20 minutes when we were eating as a family or at some other restaurant. I can happily say that that has changed. Its got something to do with the culture, but now I can sit back and just relax and really talk to people. Its something I really like about the Mexican people. They arent in such a rush to do stuff.
We had a great week. Not a ton of work, but some successes. The first one is just a kind of funny success, which we will see more and more of the fruits later and later. The other week I wrote about the guy who hates our church. Has kicked sister missioneries out of his house with shouting and screaming bad words. Hes also done that to the Elders. Well, he heard my song that I made on the piano, and I guess he likes me. So we decided to take advantage of that and went to his house. Our goal right now is to teach his wife, and when we got there, he just left the room and didn’t want to talk to us. So me being the “innocent” American who “doesn´t understand anything because hes American”, well I decided to invite him in to talk. He came in and sat down next to me and I could tell he was about to say some ugly words, so I threw him a curveball and caught him off guard. I asked “Le gusta la musica no?” You like music right? And he gave me a classic surprised face but it opened up an hour of just talking and him putting in classic music. He had a ton of Eagles and Queen DVDs that he was just dying to show me. Well we talked for him about music. Sang a little. And before you knew it he gave us a good ole smile and said we could come back anytime. Now that for me is progress. Im not sure if that man will ever get baptised, but now at least I know hes not gonna yell and scream at missionaries anymore.
Next success, which to me is something more important than a baptism. We have been working with a less active family, who decided they were going to come back to church and be active again. The father had just returned from the US and started taking his whole family again with the goal of being sealed in the Temple. Two of his sons, one 14, and the other 18, werent really into the church. Actually, they didn’t want anything to do with the church, but went because their dad made them. We have been working with them, and have seen some really amazing changes. They havent missed a day of seminary in 2 weeks and this last Sunday they both got ordained into their offices. Daniel, the 14 year old, to a teacher, and his brother, Angel, to a priest. Elder Pacheco and I were sitting on the stand to bless the sacrament. Elder Pacheco hasn’t had a baptism yet in the mission, but when they called the two brothers to stand and announced that they were going to be set apart, I leaned over and told him that what was happening in that moment, even though it appeared so simple, was way more important and beautiful than a baptism. Its something Ive been learning over these past few months. Of course, the Lord loves us, so he gave us another blessing. After the church services, the same Angel, who got set apart in the 3rd hour, had the opportunity to baptize his dad. It was a great service, and we had 7 investigatores and a ton of members.
So those are some really great successes/blessings we had in this week. With whatever time I have left in this area. A lot of it will be focusing on getting that family prepared to go to the temple. Theres still one son who hasn’t been baptized, so we are also going to start the work with him. They are a really great family and a great example to everyone here in the Ward. If you really want something in the Church or in the family, the Lord is going to make it happen for you. All you have to do is have the faith to do your part, and the trust that the Lord will do his.
It seems like I hardly bear my testimony to everyone, so I should do it right now. But im not gonna do it. Just kidding, I`ll do it.
I know that Jesus Christ is the savior of every single person on this earth. I know that while he suffered in Gethsemane, he thought about each and every one of us. We can ALWAYS rely on him.Even if we feel completely alone.
I know that the Book of Mormon is true. It takes the Bible and expands its teachings in a more simple way, so that anyone who truly studies it can understand the teachings and the gospel of Christ. I know that it can help us fulfil everything we need to do here on this earth, in order to return to our Heavenly Father.
Joseph Smith did see God and Jesus in the Spring of 1820. He conversed with them and received guidance. He later became a prophet and restaured the true church of God to the earth. I know that with all my heart. Joseph Smith restaured all the vital ordinances that we need in order to live in the Celestial Kingdom.
I know that I am a child of God and that he loves me with all his heart. He loves every single one of us. When we choose not to pray, that hurts him, because he wants to listen to our problems, our doubts, our fears, our hopes, our successes. He wants us to turn to him and love him with all our hearts. Why? Because he loves us with all his heart.
The ONLY way to return to him again is through the Atonement. Without it, we are all lost.
There are a lot of other truths ive received here in the mission, but I think what ive written covers them all. Because if we believe in the basics, we believe in the rest.
Have a great week everyone. I love you all. Keep strong and do your part!
Con amor, Elder Turley
PS. Im so strong and cute! Remember?
"A day in the life" 9-14-09
We had a really busy week, preparing for this Missionary Talent show that we put on in the stake. The goal was to get members to invite investigators and just relax, laugh, and feel the spirit. It turned out really well. In my area we had 5 investigators show up and one of them was the husband of this lady we were teaching. Everyone had told me that this guy was just a huge problem and he hates missionaries, but I didn’t have any problems with him. I played the song that I composed and after the show he was really excited to talk to me and about music. So look at that. The composition helped me out in my mission! The real highlight though, was a song that Elder Moynihan, my district leader, Elder Robb, another Elder in the District, and I sang together. Stand by me. We practiced really hard and it just turned out perfect. Some other acts that other Elders put on were a David and Goliath skit and some hymns. Overall it turned out really well, and everyone really enjoyed themselves. We also put some spiritual moments into it, like at the end we sang a song called Faith in every Step. It opened a few new doors for us, so we will see what happens in this next week.
Other than that, we just keep moving forward, working with our progressing investigators, and we may just see a few baptisms this Sunday and the next. Ill keep you all posted.
Have a great week everyone. The video of Stand by Me MIGHT just show up on facebook….
Con amor, Elder Turley
9-7-09 "Almost"
Hello everybody. Im pleased to announce that tomorrow i will complete 11 months in the mission. Almost a year!
Well what happened this week. We were priveliged to listen to the new Area Seventy, Elder Johnson, on Thursday. It was really spiritual and i came out of the meeting a lot more excited to do the missionary work. For a while it seemed like the leaders were just pushing baptisms, not converts. But Elder Johnson came and gave us some really good instructions on how we can get more converts. Ill write down what i liked most.
He told us that our mission as missionaries here is to look for the chosen people. That people go through life and have experiences that lead them to the line of the chosen people. We cant help them rise up towards the line, its something they have to cross on their own. What we do is we find those people who are chosen. We contact them and we contact them really quick. Like less than a minute. One of us testifies, the other one testifies, and then we give an invitation to listen to our message. If the person starts giving and excuse, they arent chosen. If we have to convince them, they arent chosen. But, if the person says yes right away and gives us their dirrection, they have a chance to be chosen. If we look for the chosen people, the possibility of baptising increases substantially. He also told us that we all can tell whos chosen and who isnt and that the investigators that we have that arent chosen, we should drop them and not waste time. Kind of a different kind of instruction, but i liked it a lot.
We dropped a lot of people this week, because they werent chosen, so it feels like we are starting over again, but we do have a couple people that might just be the chosen ones. Jessica is one of the smartest 13 year olds ive seen here in the mission, in one of our lessons, we usually ask a question refering to the atonement, and she was the first person ive seen in my mission to answer that question. We would really prefer to baptise her with her mom and brother though, because we are here to help familias come to Christ, so we are focusing a lot on them.
Our other is Jorge. Hes 23 and his girlfriend is a member. His best friends are also members and we think he might just be able to decide. The only problem is his family. We will give him a few more appointments and see where that leads.
Well thats my update on the area. The heat came back again and in force, so we are sweating like pigs, but i still like it. I wish i could go out and race. Only 13 months and i can get back on my bike. Im excited for that.
Have a great week everyone.
Con amor, Elder Turley
Well what happened this week. We were priveliged to listen to the new Area Seventy, Elder Johnson, on Thursday. It was really spiritual and i came out of the meeting a lot more excited to do the missionary work. For a while it seemed like the leaders were just pushing baptisms, not converts. But Elder Johnson came and gave us some really good instructions on how we can get more converts. Ill write down what i liked most.
He told us that our mission as missionaries here is to look for the chosen people. That people go through life and have experiences that lead them to the line of the chosen people. We cant help them rise up towards the line, its something they have to cross on their own. What we do is we find those people who are chosen. We contact them and we contact them really quick. Like less than a minute. One of us testifies, the other one testifies, and then we give an invitation to listen to our message. If the person starts giving and excuse, they arent chosen. If we have to convince them, they arent chosen. But, if the person says yes right away and gives us their dirrection, they have a chance to be chosen. If we look for the chosen people, the possibility of baptising increases substantially. He also told us that we all can tell whos chosen and who isnt and that the investigators that we have that arent chosen, we should drop them and not waste time. Kind of a different kind of instruction, but i liked it a lot.
We dropped a lot of people this week, because they werent chosen, so it feels like we are starting over again, but we do have a couple people that might just be the chosen ones. Jessica is one of the smartest 13 year olds ive seen here in the mission, in one of our lessons, we usually ask a question refering to the atonement, and she was the first person ive seen in my mission to answer that question. We would really prefer to baptise her with her mom and brother though, because we are here to help familias come to Christ, so we are focusing a lot on them.
Our other is Jorge. Hes 23 and his girlfriend is a member. His best friends are also members and we think he might just be able to decide. The only problem is his family. We will give him a few more appointments and see where that leads.
Well thats my update on the area. The heat came back again and in force, so we are sweating like pigs, but i still like it. I wish i could go out and race. Only 13 months and i can get back on my bike. Im excited for that.
Have a great week everyone.
Con amor, Elder Turley
"20 years old" 8-24-09
Hey family and Friends.
An older, 20 year old Elder Turley writes to you today. For my birthday prestent, the Lord sent us the sun, to heat up our day a little. It prolly just peaked over 100 degrees towards the late afternoon, but he got it to us in the end.
The ward is one of the oldest wards in Torreon. We are in the south part of the city in a tiny area called the rosa. The toughest part is that every door has been knocked and people know the missionaries, so we have to take a different approach. We have decided to start supporting the members more with activities and have at least 2 ward activities every month. We hope that more movement in the Church will give the members more opportunities to invite their friends or neighboors that “think” they know what we do. What ive seen in my mission is that when you get someone into the chaple. The chances of getting that same person in the water, increase dramatically. We are going to focus a lot on that and see where it leads us.
Elder Pacheco is my companion. Hes got 3 months in the mission and seems like a hard working elder. The only problem with im gonna help him with is that he wants to do everything on his own. He needs to learn to work as a team make. We will see how this change goes. Its funny that ive got 10 months and its starting to feel like im a lot older.
So Jonny and Thomas go in the MTC. Im really excited for them. That place is just a dream. Someone will have to send me the emails quick, so i can write them and support them in their early moments.
I know im boring. This week we should see some progress with a couple investigators we found, and hopefully ill get you a good story.
The members are great. They love me, they feed me a ton, and I love them. My goal is just to gain their confidence and love them back.
Con amor, Elder Turley
P.S. I started a choir so that should be really fun.
An older, 20 year old Elder Turley writes to you today. For my birthday prestent, the Lord sent us the sun, to heat up our day a little. It prolly just peaked over 100 degrees towards the late afternoon, but he got it to us in the end.
The ward is one of the oldest wards in Torreon. We are in the south part of the city in a tiny area called the rosa. The toughest part is that every door has been knocked and people know the missionaries, so we have to take a different approach. We have decided to start supporting the members more with activities and have at least 2 ward activities every month. We hope that more movement in the Church will give the members more opportunities to invite their friends or neighboors that “think” they know what we do. What ive seen in my mission is that when you get someone into the chaple. The chances of getting that same person in the water, increase dramatically. We are going to focus a lot on that and see where it leads us.
Elder Pacheco is my companion. Hes got 3 months in the mission and seems like a hard working elder. The only problem with im gonna help him with is that he wants to do everything on his own. He needs to learn to work as a team make. We will see how this change goes. Its funny that ive got 10 months and its starting to feel like im a lot older.
So Jonny and Thomas go in the MTC. Im really excited for them. That place is just a dream. Someone will have to send me the emails quick, so i can write them and support them in their early moments.
I know im boring. This week we should see some progress with a couple investigators we found, and hopefully ill get you a good story.
The members are great. They love me, they feed me a ton, and I love them. My goal is just to gain their confidence and love them back.
Con amor, Elder Turley
P.S. I started a choir so that should be really fun.
Ya me cambiaron
Well they got me out of there. And i think it was good timing. Im actually going to miss it a lot. Its funny how the work does that to you. There are a lot of great people there and its sad to leave them.
Ive been sent to Torreon. The heat! My area is La Rosa... i think. I still dont really know where i am. I live with 3 other missionaries here and we did a nice cleaning of the house to make it feel more comfortable today. Its hot. Its also kinda a bummer that I wont really be able to celebrate my birthday with anyone but i really appreciate the letters sent today.
As for my week, i cant say too much. We had interviews and that was when i was pretty much told that i was gonna get changed. Other than that the same old grind there. I think Elder Hernandez might get 2 more baptisms before he leaves so im excited to hear from him.
20 years. Wow im old. What do i do now?
Have a great week everyone
Con amor, Elder Turley
Ive been sent to Torreon. The heat! My area is La Rosa... i think. I still dont really know where i am. I live with 3 other missionaries here and we did a nice cleaning of the house to make it feel more comfortable today. Its hot. Its also kinda a bummer that I wont really be able to celebrate my birthday with anyone but i really appreciate the letters sent today.
As for my week, i cant say too much. We had interviews and that was when i was pretty much told that i was gonna get changed. Other than that the same old grind there. I think Elder Hernandez might get 2 more baptisms before he leaves so im excited to hear from him.
20 years. Wow im old. What do i do now?
Have a great week everyone
Con amor, Elder Turley
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