Missionary Moments

by Elder Kyle Carlson

6 months on my mission next week! woo hoo. =]

Well this week for me was really good. We have many good members in this area that feed us well and always have good spiritual conversations with. We got to meet with a Sister freshly released from the New Hampshire mission and hear some of her ideas and opportunities. There are many members who work for oil companies around this area and it is very wealthy. They all seem to move around a lot and most have lived in foreign countries as well. It's very interesting and cool. I love to be able to be around the young men and encourage them in all that they do, but especially scouting and schooling.

We have been very blessed after our 40-day fast with many opportunities to teach. The members have begun to show trust in us and have courage to refer us to their friends so they can have the blessings of the gospel in their lives. We have enjoyed meeting many different types of people and helping them come closer to Christ by understanding his Atonement and the Restoration of His gospel on the Earth for our benefit. One of the most rewarding ones so far would definitely be the Junge family. They are a great little family, the husband was baptized as a kid and was inactive before the end of his teenage years. His wife grew up with an anti-eye for the Mormons due to many lies that had been told to her in her youth. We have been teaching them both together and as we teach principles he is able to recall information and helps to explain it to her and then turns and asks us to make sure that it is right. It usually is and it is great to see this family come to church and unify around their faith. Well this last Saturday I was able to extend a baptismal commitment to her and she accepted. It is going to be on April 3. Conference weekend, day before Easter, 3 days before Christ's Birthday and also the weekend they will be moving we've come to find out! They plan on going to Colorado this summer but will be in an apartment in this area from that weekend until June or so. Satan thought he could foil the plan but the way we presented the beauty of baptism to her there was no way she could say no. It was an awesome feeling and I am glad I have been able to be here all the way since they began. Hopefully as transfers come up within the next couple weeks I will be able to stay and partake of the fruits of my labors!

Biking has been a very fun experience around here too since we have sidewalks along most streets and even a master plan community bike path along Buffalo Bayou. It's exciting to have people notice you as you bike and give a honk or shout out. Even when it comes to the ignorant people that try to make us angry. It still shows that they understand who we are and what we're doing. They're just opposed to being righteous or something. My bike was given to me by a very generous member back in my home stake and it is great. I have been able to get many things fixed on it at little or no cost to me thanks to many good members in the areas I've served. It is in top condition now and should last me the length of my mission. So far I have biked 840 miles on it, with many more to go.

Morning studies seemed like a lot of time to spend reading the scriptures before the mission, but now it seems like I don't ever have enough time to read all that I want. The 2 hours just fly by and then just can't wait for the next day. The Book of Mormon has been such a blessing and a strength to me out here. It has the fullness of the gospel in its pages and it helps so much in the conversion process.

It is so fun being a missionary, being able to see so many different areas of Houston, the 4th largest city in the U.S. Having the black name badge really just puts you at a different perspective of things and it is definitely the best thing a young man can do at this stage of his life. The spiritual, mental, physical and all around growth and knowledge you gain is certainly something that everyone could want for their child. You find yourself, when you lose yourself.

I'd like to bear my testimony that I know that this church is the only true and living church with the fullness of the gospel in these, the latter-days. I know that it is all in God, our Heavenly Father's Plan for us to surely obtain happiness if we make choices accordingly. I know that central to that plan was Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice to pay for our sins, so that we may return to God's presence. I am so thankful for the faith and willingness of Joseph Smith so that through him Christ's authority and true gospel could be once again established. I go out everyday teaching of this Restoration of the Truth so that others may come to a greater knowledge of how to obtain true happiness. I know without a doubt that these things are true and that we have a living prophet on the Earth today, who is Thomas S. Monson. I love this church and know that as we all experience the blessings from following its teachings that we can share this gift with others by our example and by simply offering. I say this in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.

Peace n Love,

Elder Carlson