God Bless Texas, Amen

OK, guys, welcome to this podcast because I hate typing. Do you hear this keyboard? I ain't going to use it because I hate typing. You know, I'm actually really behind in my journal because I have not been able to do anything. I'm too busy to write in a journal. Somehow, I caught up, though, but that took like all day. That's beside the point. Here's a rundown of my week. On Monday, I went to Eric's house, a recent convert, and he referred two people, which was super cool. We started teaching them in English, how do I say, his wife's nieces' boyfriend. What even is that? I don’t even know what the relation is. It's kind of like a relative, but not really 'cause they aren't married. But she already has two kids with this dude, and he's 15, and she's 18. We're just trying to bring him the gospel so that they can be happy. The dude said he doesn't want to get married, though, so we'll have to wait three years for them to get married and get baptized. Anyway, at least we're going to try and get them to church. That's the first step, right? As long as they start living the gospel principles, everything will be okay in the end.

Anyway, on Tuesday, we did a devotional with President Skinner, and then we had a meeting with him where we talked about the island's Facebook page. I’m in charge of the Facebook page, for those of you who don't know. Me and Morley and Elder Donaldson, we ran the Facebook page and our area. We spent a lot of time trying to get ads out for the islands, but they weren't working because the page wasn't connecting. We spent time thinking about whether we should delete it or not.

Anyway, that's what we did on Tuesday. What else do we have on Tuesday? Oh yeah, we started exchanges, so I went with Elder Gorski. The kid is really awesome. He has such a good heart. He just wants to be the best missionary ever, and I really love the fact that he's in the district. Elder Gorski was working hard. He has good goals. Oh yeah, by the way, anyone that doesn't know, Elder Gorski is going to be my future companion. We already decided that. Somehow, we just decided we're going to live together with a few others inside Elder Jager's house. So, we're all just going to live like six of us inside this house that Elder Jager has somewhere. Wherever Elder Jager decides to buy a house. We’re all just going to live like, it won’t be like a frat boy, because we will all be righteous, and it won’t be nearly like that. It will just be like the dogs. The dogs are just going to live in this house. Any of the dogs that want to come, you are all invited. We're just all going to vibe. All of us, like Josh, Keller, shout out to you, Koman. Who else is invited? It's going to be like a mansion. There's going to be like 30 rooms. Because Elder Jager is already rich. He's like a millionaire, so he can buy a mansion, and we're all going to rent one room. It will cost us like, I don’t know, probably not that cheap because it will be a mansion, but we could all fit because it will be a mansion. There will be like 30 of us. If you want to come, just hit up Elder Jager. I don’t know why I am talking about this. Oh yeah, Elder Gorski. What a goat. Me and Elder Gorski on our exchange, we decided to go walking before we switched back, and we went to this neighborhood where we only had like 30 minutes to walk. I remember saying a prayer in my heart, like, please, we decided we're going to find four people today. We really just want to help four people come unto Christ. We just want to bring four souls unto you, God. Please help us. We knocked on three doors and found four people. I guess we knocked on three doors and found three people. Then we went to the member's lesson that we had and found his granddaughter. These people are pretty solid people. I don't really know what's up with them because I called and invited them to church, and none of them answered. But they're really nice, so we're going to go by again on Wednesday.

Thursday, we did service for Miguel because Miguel was like, "Guys, I am moving. I need your help moving things from the bottom of my house." Armada Toro is bringing his truck, and you guys have to be here to help. So, we're like, "Miguel, we have District Council on Thursday," and then he's like, "Okay." We decided to do District Council Friday because President Skinner was going to do interviews and come to our District Council. We were like, "Miguel, we can come." He's like, "Alright, be there at nine." So, we woke up and we drove down the trail all the way to Corozal, Puerto Rico, which is like the creepy crawlies of all Puerto Rico, but also one of the most beautiful Pueblos ever because that's where Eric lives. Eric is just elect and full of referrals. He just wants all his family to get baptized, so we're like, "Sick, let's go." Anyway, we helped Miguel for like an hour. Actually, it was like 35 minutes, and he's like, "I got to go to the bank. You guys sit here." And we sat and were still waiting for Hermana Toro, but we had a meeting at like 10:30 or 11, so we had to go at 10:30. We were just sitting there from like 9:30 to 10:30 on his porch just waiting, and we're like, "Well, what do we do? He told us he's coming back, but it's been like an hour, and Hermana Toro still isn't even here." So, it’s like, "We got to leave at 10:30." And then it's like 10:10, and they all show up at the same time. It was like, "Alright, it's a good thing we helped him for 30 minutes, move everything from under his house, but then we only had like three things get lifted into the truck, and then we had to leave. And from what I was told, it was a disaster, so I feel a little bad. But we also got our stuff to do, so it's not like we could've stayed there all day. As much as I wish we could've stayed there all day, we were not permitted to stay there all day because we already had planned things with people. So, we were just too busy to stay there and help Miguel for like 12 hours. Then we did our meeting, went to the office, worked on the Facebook page, then we went walking. Found some people, taught Mali. This lady is so cool, but she's also so annoying because her husband died like six months ago, and her two little kids don't really understand that. So we taught her the plan of salvation. She kind of liked it but she’s like, "Yeah, I'm Catholic, so I don't know." Then we were like, we came in with a member present and told her the restoration, she was like, "Yeah, we baptize kids when they're born because they're born with sin." I was like, "Bruh, I don't hate Catholic people, but I freaking hate the Catholic Church's doctrine. What kind of baby is born with sin? That doesn't make any sense to anybody at all. Why would a child be born with the sins of their parents? I just don't understand their logic. I'm not saying anything; it just doesn't make any sense in my brain. So, we just kind of gave her Moroni 8 to read and told her that we would call her the rest of the week, but she never answered, so that was a little awkward. But I mean, she was cool. We also gave her a few other chapters to read because she doesn’t understand agency either. Also, she was a little bit curious. We gave her three. We marked 3 chapters. 2nd Nephi 2 and 3rd Nephi 11, Moroni 8. We told her to read those and then tell us if she's still Catholic. That's what I'm saying. I just want to shout out the Book of Mormon. I was studying it today. This book has helped me so much in my life. When you're feeling nervous... This ad was brought to you by the LDS missionaries. The Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ. This book really helps when you are feeling down. You can read this book and feel great peace every day. That's actually true. That's what you'll feel like. I testify that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I've never seen a book that helps people so much in their life. Think about José, the guy we just baptized. This dude was an atheist. He reads the Book of Mormon, and now he's a member of the church, has the priesthood, and he's going so strong. That's the power of the Holy Ghost in the Book of Mormon. There’s nothing else to it. You just can’t deny it. If you read its pages, though, we met a guy who was like, "Do you want to recap this dude?" Ya, one time I got the Book of Mormon and I read it. It repeated itself way too much. That Book of Mormon talked way too much about that Jesus guy too much. Yeah, I can’t believe your church talks about Jesus way too much. Like this Jesus guy, this book really repeats itself. He didn’t get past the 3 witnesses. He definitely only read the witnesses and was like this book repeats itself. He definitely did not read it. He read the introduction and the witnesses, and that's it. He was like, this book is false. Like, come on, man. I have no idea what he's saying. They just keep repeating the same thing about these gold plates. I don’t know what’s going on, baptism, and Jesus. It can bring me peace. It said that like six times. All these people are telling me it's true, but it just repeats itself, so maybe I'm biased, I couldn’t read it, I got bored. On a real note, the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I cannot deny that. This book changes people’s lives. You have to read this book. If you don’t read this book, what are you doing with your life? I’m not going to lie. I might become a little biased lately, this book has definitely helped me in more times of need than any other thing on earth. Whenever I am feeling down, whenever I am feeling stressed, I just read this book. I feel so good inside. I don’t know how one tiny book can make you feel so, so good. I really just know it’s true. Being a missionary is awesome because you just get to bear testimony about this thing every single day. The more I bear testimony about it, the more you know it’s true. I remember one time I was with Elder Fukes on exchanges, and he put the Joseph Smith video on, and I just felt the spirit so strong. I was like, wow, I am so blessed to be in the truth and not the Catholic church. I’m not saying anything about the Catholic people. I am just saying the church. The church itself, the doctrine. The Catholic people are so awesome. Almost everyone here is Catholic and the nicest people I have ever met. I’m sorry, Americans, but these Puerto Ricans are the GOAT. But the church's doctrine, OH MY GOSH. Not the people, but the church. I’ve never seen apostasy besides pastor Jerry. Ain't nobody understands except for Elder Donaldson. He’s the only one that knows, and my companion Elder Morley. Freaking Pastor Jerry, bro. Oh my gosh, this apostasy. I ain’t never seen, not the people, the church, the doctrine that the church holds. What kind of baby is born with sin? Oh my gosh! These babies are innocent. How could they possibly have the sins of their parents? That makes no sense. How could God and Jesus be the same person? How can I send my son and also be my son at the same time? That just doesn't make any sense. I have no idea what I am saying, but all I am saying is, I love Catholic people, but I hate their church.

Anyway, back to Friday. We had interviews, and then we opened up the church for President Skinner because we had interviews on Friday, so my companion and I had personal study, and I was reading the glorious book called the Book of Mormon again, specifically the story of Alma. How many times Alma felt the spirit while he was doing his work. I realized how much Alma was in tune with the spirit. He just decides to serve this man instead of preach the gospel or bash him or do any of these things. Alma served King Lamoni before anything because he just knew that would open his heart. Sometimes we just need to realize to think about people. Okay, how can we help these people come unto Christ? Did I say Alma this whole time? I'm talking about Ammon. I ain't talking about Alma. I don't know my own doctrine. Wow, I need to restart this whole podcast. This is embarrassing. My brain. I'm thinking of Ammon but I am saying Alma because I was reading Alma 17 and 18, so I was thinking of the chapter and not the person. Ammon, I am so sorry. It says it here, you can't serve God and mammon. You can't serve God and Mormon. That's it. The Mormon church, it's fake. I agree. If Mormon had a church, it would not be the true church. Good thing I am from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Amen and God bless Texas. Back to what I was saying. Ammon, no Alma, he really, everything he did, he was such a good missionary. He was such a good example of a missionary. He just served, and he knew he could go in with the priests. I guarantee it, but instead he decides to go and feed the horses. So, when Lamoni was talking to his servants, he was like, "Where is the Ammon guy, the great spirit?" He's feeding the horses. Now I surely know that this dude loved me with all his heart. So, then he is willing to listen to what he has to say. That is the thing, sometimes, I was talking to President Skinner about, sometimes I am worried about being this perfect missionary that does this, this, this from Preach My Gospel, which is good. Preach My Gospel is definitely our tool. Sometimes I forget to let God use me as an instrument. I was talking about this with Elder Gorski this week. Like being an instrument in God's hands is more important than anything. Looking back and what we did with Jose Marie versus every other single person I have found in the street. When I found Jose Marie in the street, the first thing we did was just be curious. We were just ourselves. We honestly weren't even planning on talking to them or sharing with them. Obviously, we did because we are missionaries, and that's what we went up and were just like, "What are you guys doing?" And he's like, "I'm cleaning my car." And she's like, "You guys are from America?" I learned English here, and she started talking to us in English. And then it was just a really good conversation. It was just being curious and her, God using us as instruments in his hands. I really think that me and Elder Donaldson and obviously Elder Morley too, we're here to help Jose Marie, personalities that needed to be there to help them. Which is kind of cool because you look at how many were here before us. And I guarantee it was millions of times. And I know they have passed by their house. And they could have totally had the opportunity to talk to them. But God put us in their path at the moment, came at the time and put the missionaries that they needed exactly at the time they needed. And it's pretty cool to see that, use you as an instrument in his hands. That we are kind of like guitars. Sometimes we mess up. And fail, and sometimes that is just as out of tune. God needs to tune us again, and then along with being an instrument in the Lord's hands. I've been thinking about this a lot. And something Elder Korski said really stood out to me. He said when you are an instrument in the Lord's hands, you really just have to be an instrument. A guitar is not going to try and play itself. It's going to let the guitarist play itself. Same with the trumpet. The trumpet is not going to work unless God or the trumpet list is going to play the trumpet. The musician. My companion and I are really dying. We went on a hike this morning, and he drank no water. Now he is just sitting here about to die. On a scale of 1-thirteen... Elder Roster. Elder roster. I love Elder Rosser. Elder Rosser, if you are listening to this, I miss you so much. It was such a pleasure to kill you. But anyway... What I was saying about being an instrument in the Lord's hands is that you've just got to be a trumpet. Let God play through you. So I've been thinking about how I can be a better instrument in the Lord's hands. And how I can just forget myself and be that instrument. And I was thinking about it, and it really just doesn't matter. God's plan is perfect. I'm just going to stop and help all the people that he wants me to see. If I am living righteously, he will put me in the path and put me, and put the words in my mouth of what he wants me to say when he wants me to say it and how he wants me to say it. With who he wants me to say it. So that was pretty cool. And then President Skinner came to our district council, that was pretty weird. That was probably one of the most spiritually powerful district councils I have ever had. I don't even think he really said anything. It was just a really good district council. That was pretty cool. And then we had interviews. And then we did stuff Saturday. We had Chris Leon's baptism. That was awesome. It was pretty cool to see her dad baptize her, like see where her family came from. My companion and I helped her dad get reactivated and get the priesthood and helped her mom get baptized. We had her dad baptize her mom. And then we helped her sister get baptized. And then it was just her. She was just waiting to turn 8. So technically it counts as a member baptism. Personally, I feel like God used us as instruments more than he used the ward. I'm going to put her in my Preach My Gospel. I counted it. I taught that little girl how to pray with Elder Donaldson. She gave the cutest prayers I have ever seen. That may sound weird, but she's like this little 7-year-old saying a perfect prayer. It just really warms my heart to see the work pay off. Sunday was pretty good. We made some spicy chicken nuggets that Elder Donaldson used to make. We made it so many times that we had to buy more chicken. I don't know if I got anything else to say about the week. It was a pretty good week. There was lots of rejection in the streets which sometimes I get rejected, and I haven't eaten, and then I become angry. Dang. Not hangry, just so negative. Like, everything I say is negative. I feel so bad for my companion. All I am saying is I don't get angry, I just get negative. I don't know what happens, but my faith just goes. What the heck. Somebody please message me. I'm dying out here. I am saying God bless Texas. I've never even been to Texas.