Wednesday, April 26, 2017

420 Miracles :) Mesa Week 37

Hi! So this week was fun! On Tuesday I got super sick and was throwing up all day. That was the worst ha, so I just chilled in the apartment all day with Elder Evans because we were on exchanges. Poor Elder Evans😅 There has been like a 24 hour bug going around so thank goodness I'm through with it. I tried staying at least a little productive while being inside so I decided to watch the 12 step program videos and they are the best! So so good! Most people have some form of addiction or other but even if you don't you should read over the 12 steps. If you are looking for a way to come closer to Christ do the 12 step program. I am actually doing it myself so I can know how to better help my investigators and I LOVE it! 

We had a district meeting on Wednesday and I gave a training on finding. It went pretty well, I wasn't t feeling my best but the spirit helped me out. Then we all wanted to have  a district lunch so we got Backyard Taco and ate at our place. It was a lot of fun, our district is pretty chill unlike some of the districts in our zone😂 

On Thursday I went on exchanges with Elder Austin and it was so fun! Ha that day was just a blast. We were able to go to the temple in the morning with our zone, it was a great time. Plus Elder Bland (MTC companion)  is in my zone again so we were hanging out the whole time. Afterwards we went to Wings Express to eat and they have the best food. Its kind of a tradition going there after the temple. Not the best kind of missionary food because wings are messy and always end up on clothes but I've been in the clear every time I've gone there😅 I'm sure that you knew this but 4/20 was national weed day and so that night everyone was out getting high and doing stupid things. It got us so hyped to talk with all of them haha! So we did, we talked to soooo many people and a lot of them were super high and were talking to us a lot. If people were always this nice to us life would be great, we asked them "we have something for you that will make you feel more happy and excited than anything you've ever done in your life, can we share it to you?" Most of them said yes and so we shared our message and ended up finding 6 new investigators! In one night! It was such a blessing from the Lord, we were determined to talk with everyone and find people to teach and he delivered them to us. A few of them are really solid investigators, we had the first lesson with Jaron already and he is going to read and pray about the Book of Mormon! 

Also that night since Elder Austin was here we needed to do something fun so we decided to have a movie night in Elder Higham's room. We watched finding faith in Christ and it was a party. And I finally figured out how to set up my hammock in the apartment! It's taken me 5 months but it's golden now!😎

So we went to a members house this last week and they have like a bunch of pets, specifically a python and I got to hold it😱 they made me do it, I'm not really a snake person. I like smaller snakes and stuff but this one was to big for my liking! 

Sunday was a pretty good day! It felt longer than usual though. Elder Child caught me sleeping so he took this pic with his tablet😂 I was sitting in 60th ward thinking to myself that I could be gone in a couple of weeks😭 it will be hard to leave this ward, it seems like I've been here my whole mission. Then again I am kind of excited for a change of scenery! I want to be put in Globe! Its super different than out here, there are pine trees everywhere and mountains too! I miss that stuff ha, it's like an old mining town and it looks like out of a movie or something. Plus if you go out there you are guaranteed a car......hallelujah. 

All in all this week was great! We had a lot of good things happen in our area and I am looking forward to next week! It is definitely getting a lot warmer down here, at least it's staying warm all day. I can feel the heat of summer creeping towards us😭 oh and Jack looks like a boss missionary in that pic! Can't wait to see him go out someday! Tell him I love him and think the world of him!
 I hope you have a good week in Utah!❤
Love, Elder Findlay

District lunch

Our investigators new car, she thought we would never find it.
 So we sent this to her😂




Some of the cactuses have blossoms on them,
they are pretty cool looking

They kind of forced me to hold it, snakes aren't my thing

My comp caught me sleeping in church...oops




Monday, April 17, 2017

Easter Pageant Part 2!- Week 36

What up Mom!

Yeah I did get your package and I LOVE the ties and shirt you sent! Everything was just great. It felt just like home! Thank you!!


What a week, flew by as usual! It was full of exchanges and the Easter Pageant! I just have to say that I am super bummed that it is over now. Even though I saw it 5 times I wish I could see it more! It's just so well done and you really feel the spirit when you watch and listen to it. I know it helped me a lot with my testimony of Christ. There was something a member told me a while back that has stuck with me ever since. He said that a lot of times the sacrifice and Atonement of Jesus Christ gets viewed as a story. People view it as a story all to often. He said that the atonement is not a fable. It is a real thing that happened. The Easter Pageant helped me put that into perspective, that Christ really did go through so much just for me. And for you. And for everyone. That is how REAL it is and how REAL He is.

So on Tuesday I went on exchanges with Elder Higham in his area. We had a good day! Some members took us to Five Guys for lunch and it was just as good as I remembered it. Then we made some visits and stuff and no one answered their doors. It was hot and no one wanted to talk. That's not the best feeling ever but it was made up by the Pageant that night. We went with a recent convert family and they were great. And I see that you got the text from your friend Camille! Yeah I finally met her haha! She came up to me practically screaming and said "there you are!!" Haha it kind and of freaked me out at first. I was like oh man what did I do😂 but then she explained and we had a good talk haha! She seemed pretty awesome. Then after the Pageant we got Bosa donuts which are amazing and walked home. It was a really great night.

Wednesday we went to the Easter Pageant with our investigator David. He has been having a lot of trouble committing to baptism because he is 65 years devote catholic. Its hard for him to consider the change because he's been raised so differently his whole life. As he watched
the Pageant you could see tears going down his face and he was really feeling the spirit. We have a lesson with him this next week and we will see what happens!

On Thursday I went on exchanges with Elder Quist in his area and it was super awesome! We had a really cool lesson that day actually! We taught a young man named Sang-ho. He is from Korea and is super cool. He doesn't speak very good English so we had a returned missionary from Korea help with translation and stuff like that. We taught the gospel of Jesus Christ and we had to teach it in simple simple words. When I was doing that I just felt the spirit a lot stronger. So did Sang-ho. It was really cool. He had such good questions and thoughts and experiences with the spirit. He will get
baptized I'm sure. Oh and that morning we laid grass in someone's back yard practically by ourselves. That was exhausting haha! I was tired he rest of the day😴

Friday we went to the Easter Pageant with Brother Briceno and his family. They are a part member family and his girlfriend bought us pizza and cupcakes and all the goodies you could think of. I feel super fat😂 I've had so much junk food in the last few days ha! Anyways it was pretty awesome.

Saturday night was the last night of the Pageant and we got to go and guess what? Yeah we got front row seats! It was sooooo bomb, the Tapias came with us and we had a great time. Honestly there is just one part in the whole play that get my tears going and that's when all the children are singing and playing with Jesus. Just the sweetest thing you'll see. I don't know if you can get music from the Easter
Pageant but could you see if that is even possible? I love it so much and would love to have the music for it! Thanks Momma!

I had a cool experience last p-day. I ran into a family from my first area at the mall. Carlos, the Dad, was an inactive member so me and Elder G worked with him a lot and got him coming to church. We then started to get to know his family. His wife Cherri and 3 boys, Brandon, Cody, and Anthony. When he started to come to church we began to teach Cherri and she was doing great. Really beginning to open up. They even invited us to their wedding haha, idk if you remember the
pictures😂 It was moving along. Sadly we got transferred during that:/ back to running to them in the mall Cherri told me that she, her sister, Cody, and Brandon are all getting baptized in a couple of weeks. I cannot tell how good of a feeling it is to hear that. Sooo cool!

So for Easter yesterday we had dinner with the Iurato family and they are the best. We had super bowl dinner at their houses too and it was nothing short of amazing. We had a pork roast and turkey and all sorts of stuff! They had all of their kids over with their grandkids and it seriously felt like home. It was kid chaos like our whole family! Sister Iurato shared a message with us which was nice because we normally do the message sharing. Anyways we watched the Prince of Peace video which is super inspirational, and she talked about the resurrection with all the grandkids. Good times!

Well I hope you have a week full of happiness! Thank you for your love and prayers! I love you! 



Me and my boy Elder Higham


Zone Swag

Stage view at the pageant


District pic

My mom's BYU roommate Camille found me at the pageant!

Monday, April 10, 2017

Easter Pageant! Mesa Week #35

Heyo Mom!

Thanks for sending a package! I will probably go and get it today sometime. We are going golfing again today so I'm stoked about that. This morning we got our hair cut and got some other things done. Right now we are at Walmart shopping, Elder Child is buying a bike here so we are trying to get that done. Not sure how Walmart bikes are but I guess we'll see😂

What a week! With the Easter Pageant going on, things have been really busy and fun! I know your wanting to know about the Pageant and it was sooooo good! Such a great environment for everyone to be there. It is seriously really well put together, so we will have to come down to it as a
family when I get back for sure😊 It's great because the people who are in it are called and set apart as cast members and it takes a lot of time with practices and set up. I saw a lot of people from my last area in it dressed as like Shepards and other biblical people and it was fun to see them! Plus they use real animals in it. Brother McMillan has his miniature horse in it and a bunch of baby lambs. It was so cool, even Jesus rode a donkey😂 I attached some pictures and stuff...

We had a mission conference all day Friday which is super unusual. Normally only a few zones meet but this time the whole mission was there. It was unplanned because Brent H. Nielsen of the missionary department kind of made a surprise visit😂 He is the one who headed the new missionary schedule change and he and his wife were awesome! His wife talked a lot about getting along with your companion and doing all you can to help them feel successful. Elder Nielsen talked a lot about the enabling and redeeming power of the Atonement and it was awesome! He also focused a lot on member missionary work. Really we should be working with members a lot because that's how the work gets
done down here. It really changed my perspective on the missionary work that goes on in Mesa. He said that we should be having at least 3 member lessons every night so we need to do a better job at that one😂

This next week we are going to the Pageant every night with some investigators and less active members. I love it so much I'm going to soak it up as much as I can until next year! I'm also going on a bunch of exchanges as well this week so it will go by super fast like this last week. Seriously I felt like I was going to bed every few hours, it's weird how the mish does that to you.

With Easter coming up this next week I've been thinking a lot about the Atonement. How great it is and how blessed we are to have it in our lives. When I think about Christ praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, while his apostles were asleep and God had to withdraw his spirit from Christ for some time I can only imagine just how alone He must have felt.   I know that Christ has felt my pain, my guilt, my emotions, and even things that I haven't yet felt in my life. How did he do it? A lot of people ask us that question. He did it out of love, that's how he did it. He loves us all so much and doesn't want us to suffer through this life. He paved the path for us and asks us to follow Him and be happy. I love this gospel. I love the patience that Christ has for me and I know that through him I can be healed. The Book of Mormon is true! Read from it as much as you can!😁 I love you Mom, I can always feel your love wherever I go and it's awesome! Hope you have an amazing week!

Love Elder Findlay

Silhouette of Mesa's palm trees

Missionaries get reserved seating at the Pageant if we bring investigators.  We are just special like that ;)

VIP haha




Random flower pic

This is what happens when you go to church
from 6:30-4:30 every Sunday.  Wears you out! :)

Arizona Mesa Missionaries!
Elder Findlay is in the middle on the 3rd row from the top.

I tried biking the whole street in my lowest gear...haha!

  Best part of the Pageant!

Monday, April 3, 2017

Week 34- Baptism + General Conference = Awesome Week!

Hey Mom!!

Yeah I'm super excited for the Easter Pageant at the Mesa Temple! We are allowed to go only if we bring our investigators, and lucky us we have a lot of investigators that can go with us!!😁 And that's super funny that the Cederlofs got to see those missionaries! I love them! They are in my zone, it was Elder Bird and Fitisemanu and then Sister Talbot and Csolity! Fitisemanu is the bast haha! And Sister Csolity is from Hungary and she is the first Hungarian missionary to ever go out the country for a mission. Pretty cool. It was good to see some familiar faces!


Well this week was a little bit slower but it was great! So many good things happened and I was on a spiritual high for a long time! The start of the week was pretty slow but it picked up a little bit after transfer stuff was over. We found a new investigator named Jordan. He is pretty awesome, he grew up in Utah and then moved down here to AZ. In all of his time in Utah he never sat down and talked with the missionaries, and that's about to change! We are going to meet with him this week and we are super excited for it! The guy is really open to our message.

On Wednesday night we got to go to the Visitors center with Sister
Arrington, a recent convert, and watch the new Joseph Smith films.
They are soooo good. They were just released to the Visitors center.
It's funny because they only showed them in Palmyra at the Visitors
center there and I actually got to watch them at the MTC with special permission😝 Anyways they are about the translation of The Book of Mormon told from the views of Oliver Cowdry and David Whitmer. It strengthened my testimony so much seeing how much faith these two menhad. Their dedication was full and to the Lord. I'm not sure if the videos are released anywhere else but if they are check them out! I think it's called Days of Harmony!

Friday was a really special day. Our investigator Theresa got baptized and it was the most spiritual baptism I've ever been to. Seeing someone you've taught for 3 months enter the waters of baptism is one of the greatest joys I've ever felt. Leading up to it she was super super nervous because she isn't a people person (kinda shy, like me😂) Nonetheless her testimony is super strong and especially her testimony of Joseph Smith. I've never met someone so willing and open to hear the true message of Jesus Christ. During the baptismal service ma boy Elder Eaton came and he played a simple piano piece of I am a Child of God and holy frijoles...the spirit filled the room and that set the tone for the remainder of the baptism! And I am so grateful because I had the wonderful privilege of baptizing her. It's something I will never forget. I know that these are the kind of people that I am supposed to be meeting. I know and felt that the Lord was rejoicing during that baptism!😇

Saturday was bomb! It was actually really tiring but really spiritual.
As a missionary conference is 100x different than watching it back
home. It flies by. We watched it at a bunch of members houses which was a lot of fun! ! I loved Elder Eyrings talk on Saturday morning. He said that we are all gatherers, gatherers of Gods family. It is so true. This work is for the members and missionaries. It is glorious and amazing. Man there are so many of the talks that I could just talk about forever. This conference was soooo good, every word spoken was inspired from God and touched the hearts of millions including mine. I'm not sure if it's okay to pick a favorite talk but S. Mark Palmers talk was my absolute favorite. Every word he spoke was as if  he was talking directly to me. He talked a lot about becoming the person the Lord wants you to be. Its taken me a while to realize that when you are a missionary you don't have to change who you are. Yeah you change your thoughts and actions for the better but need to keep your personality the same. There are specific people who will only relate to you and
your personality. This ties in with what Elder Holland was saying "The Lord desires you to sing in your own voice, not someone else's. Believe in yourself."

Today we have a pretty good p-day planned out, we are going golfing again and it's gonna be sweet. The weather has been REALLY nice these last few days, I'm loving it! But in a few weeks the heat will be here. So I'm preparing myself for that and another awesome week! I love you so much Momma! You're the best! Hope you have an awesome week! love you!😁

Love, Elder Findlay
The highlight of the week...Theresa's baptism day.  I love them!

Yeah, we golf in our apartment ;)

First gen Dodge pic for dad

So many blossoms! My allergies are going insane!

You heard it from the man!


#hammocking

Me and Jedi watching conference together


(Mom note) And here is proof that Elder Findlay's personality hasn't changed much...still a goofball... haha