Hola mi amigos y familia! ¿Cómo está? This last week has been short and amazing! I am so excited for this opportunity to serve the Lord! I feel His love constantly around me and I feel the love He has for all of you! I love being able to tell you all every week about the experiences out here on a mission. So sorry, not sorry, my emails are long. I am about to do a temple session here in the Mexico City Temple so I will try my best to reply to everyone. Anywho, enough rambling, onto the week! ¡Vámonos! ...

Ah, here we are. Week 2 P-day came a little early this time but it’s good (está bien). These last few days have been absolutely amazing and I’ve loved it! Also, I found out right after my last email that I can read any email that comes in during the week, but I can’t respond until my P-Day. Anyhow, onto the letter! Sunday was epic. I barely understood the talks that were given but the Spirit was there testifying about the truth of whatever they were saying. We started of the day with a presentation about the importance of chastity. The adversary was very determined to be there and made everyone feel guilty, even though we were all just fine. If we weren’t, we wouldn’t be able to be here. Then we watched an MTC exclusive video from Elder Holland. I’ll admit, he gets right up in your face about it. He said some awesome quotes but one in particular hit all of us like a brick wall. He said the following in reference to leaving the church after serving a mission, “You can never go back, it will never be the same. If you do, you will… break the heart of God himself.” Wow. That is powerful. Just taking that in, in that moment, was heartbreaking to think about. ...

Hola! ¿Cómo le va? Yo soy fantástico! (Hello! How are you doing? I am fantastic!) There’s been so much happen this week and it’s all starting to melt together into a blob. But I’m completely fine with it! Normally I won’t email on Saturdays, it will be Wednesdays here in the MTC (CCM). The schedule is a little messed up this week. There’s lots to say so let’s start with the adventures. ...

Good morning brothers and sisters. It’s so great to have the opportunity to be able to speak here in my home ward before I go out into the mission field. For one last time, those who are unaware, I report to the Mexico MTC on Tuesday where I will then proceed to my mission area, in Texas Houston East. This includes Lake Charles and Beaumont for those who are familiar with the geography. It is such a privilege to speak with my little brother and an actual missionary so I believe the Lord’s hand was involved with this. ...

Hello everyone! I just wanted to write something before I head off onto the plane and the MTC. I’m certainly going to miss everyone and once again, thank you all for helping me get to this point in my life. I keep getting asked how I feel about this and honestly, I’m just excited. I’ve been excited ever since I opened my call back in July but I know that I was supposed to enter this mission field at this time in my life, both for my own good and for the good of those that I am going to go serve. I’ve learned many lessons to this point and most have been good. Some have been bad, but I’ve learned from those and they’ve helped me get here. ...

As this is my last time speaking with the fine men of our stake high council, they certainly decided to assign me a great topic and some great people to speak alongside with. This General Conference last week was certainly a fantastic one, one that personally fed my Spirit in ways that I hadn’t noticed before. I certainly hope it fed yours as well. The topic I was assigned was Elder L. Todd Budge’s talk from the Saturday Afternoon Session titled “Consistent and Resilient Trust”. Before I start with his talk, I have a personal experience I would love to share. An entry to a journal I keep reads: “Experience with doing my own Endowments (and afterward)”. I’d like to focus on the “and afterward” part of that title. For some context, I had done my endowments and was asked if I’d like to be a temple worker until I left for my mission, which I joyfully accepted. ...

Good morning brothers and sisters. I’m grateful to be speaking with you today with these fine men behind me. They have been such a positive influence in my life. I was asked to speak today on Elder Bednar’s talk from the October 2008 conference, “Pray Always”. He outlines his talk with three principles. #1, Prayer becomes more meaningful as we counsel with the Lord in all our doings. #2, Prayer becomes more meaningful as we express heartfelt gratitude. #3, Prayer becomes more meaningful as we pray for others with real intent and a sincere heart. Notice how with all these principles, they start with ‘prayer becomes more meaningful as we…’ then continues to the principle itself. This was intriguing to me. ...

Hello everybody. I’m grateful to be here speaking to you. I was given the topic of Preparing to Teach the Gospel. This first part comes from the Preach My Gospel Manual, Section 2. The Lord has said, “Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men” (D&C 11:21). To teach effectively, you need to obtain spiritual knowledge. For you to grow in the gospel and stay on the path that leads to eternal life, you need to develop a habit of daily gospel study. ...

Satan can seem like a very powerful being in this day and age. With so many resources that he has to tempt us, it may seem impossible to escape his grasp. But it is not so. We have been saved for these last days specifically because we would be able to withstand the temptations that we face in today’s world. I recently rewatched a film that I haven’t seen in many years and I can say again that we are not alone! In this fight with Satan, we are anything but alone. With the Holy Ghost, Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ by our sides at all times, we are never alone! So many times, I, myself, have felt completely and utterly alone. These times have been very moving, giving me a feeling of what it is like to be without the guiding presence of the Holy Ghost. Some, like myself, experience this period for longer than is necessary. I did it out of stubbornness. Others do it out of spite, hatred, or many other reasons. But I’ve recently come to accept a challenge that was extended to me a year or two ago. ...