Elder Findlay Under the Sun: Mesa Week #77

Hi!

Yeah I can't believe January is coming to a close, January normally seems really long but not this year. That’s really cool that President sent you a letter about me becoming a trainer, I didn’t know that he did that. It makes me feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to and that’s a blessing. Where do I even start? This week me and Elder Burningham had a BLAST. We were pretty busy and had some really powerful lessons. The Lords hand is continually in the work here in Mesa, even if it’s frustrating sometimes😂

We had Zone Conference all day Wednesday which was super good. The trainers got to introduce their greenies so I was able to introduce Elder Burningham to everyone. The biggest focus of the conference was the Spirit. It was a good reminder about the “why” behind our obedience to mission rules/preach my gospel/scriptures/etc. Everything we do either invites the spirit or pushes away the spirit. Every time we obey, God blesses us with His spirit. The main focus of the meeting was how we can obey with more exactness so we can have the spirit more with us in our missionary work. It was a super long meeting but full of the spirit :)

Jack looks so much older haha, what a guy. I remember when I got my braces off, I think I was in 7th or 8th grade, I was so happy😂 I was sad to hear about another death in the family, I remember uncle Kevin a little bit. I remember him from our Nielsen Christmas parties. It’s been a hard year or so for the Nielsen clan, luckily we are a strong family and have the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation to comfort us.

We met with one of our investigators named Wanda this week. We’ve been trying to contact her for a while and were finally able to. We sat down with her and recently some tragic events have occurred in her life and she feels like she is at an all time low right now. She says she is 100 percent committed to this now, so we hope to meet with her this week and start her off. She wants to be baptized, she will need be fully committed in order to prepare for that day. When it does happen, it will be a miracle for her and for her life :)

We also met with the Carrazcos this week again, we’ve really gotten close with them. The goal that Heavenly Father wants for them is to be sealed in the temple as a family. We sat down and talked about the temple and preparing themselves to go there. We had a great discussion of how they can and will prepare to receive the blessings in the temple. They are very excited and we are too. They have changed so much since we first ran into, even the slightest desire of change can bring enormous change into someones heart.

Saturday night was a treat! We took our investigator Bill to an event that they were doing at the Mesa Arts Center in downtown Mesa. It’s kind of funny, but the event was called BYU Summit Finding Your Strength. It was a big devotional from BYU and it was very cool. President Townsend had 30 tickets to it for those who could bring investigators and we were all over it so we brought Bill! They had several speakers, Cheri Dew(Former general relief society presidency member, CEO of Deseret Book), Robbie Bosco(former quarterback for the Cougars & Packers), and then Mathew O. Richardson(former General Sunday school presidency member). They had some very inspirational words and ideas about courage and strength, something that Bill needs. Oh and not to mention Vocal Point was there😝 They were sooo good, Bill soaked them up haha. He absolutely loved them. The beat boxer dude was way cool, he did like a solo with a bunch of different beats and noises. Crazy stuff. It was a great night and was really one that I wasn’t expecting to have on my mission😂 I felt like I was in Utah surrounded by BYU people, and Cosmo😂

Yeah about the sardines, not my thing😂 I’ve definitely become less picky, but I still can’t handle onions.

(Sister Garner sent us a funny video of Elder Findlay trying sardines for the first time in his life. She's working on helping him become less picky about food. I told her good luck with onions ;)

Well I think that’s about it for the week. I love being a missionary, there is no greater joy. I love helping people find their way back to the Savior. Thanks for all of the support Momma! I love you so much, have a great week!

Love, Elder Findlay