Hola family and Friends
Thank you so much for your letters and your emails this week. It was so great to hear from all of you and I can't wait to hear from you again. It seems like I say the same thing every week to you guys but it is so true. The letters and the love that you send me really does mean the world to me so thank you.
It was great to hear that Trent is doing better and that grandma and grandpa are getting all moved into their new house! What an exciting time. I'm glad that you guys are all doing well.
Punky and Allen, good luck on your missions coming up. You guys are going to do great!
OK, well I don't have much time to write today. But that's OK because of the short week I don't have that much to write about so, yeah hope you enjoy the stories about another week in the life of Elder Oviatt.
Well this week was so good. We had transfer meeting this week and the transfer meeting went well. One of my best friends in the mission who is leaving in November, Elder Scheaffer, got transferred into our district. We are all really excited about that. I am happy to say that easily, hands down, we have the best district in the mission.
But the actual work this week went well. We found a new family this week and I am happy to announce that they are absolutely golden and that they are going to be our next two baptisms in the area of San Sebastian. We taught them the first lesson and they absolutely loved it. Their names are Alexi and Alexandra and they have a great family. Their problem with religion was that they both were going to separate churches. When they started to have a family they realized that this wouldn't be a good atmosphere in which to raise their children so they just stopped going to church altogether.
We taught them the first lesson and the fact that Jesus Christ has establish his gospel once again on the earth. Part of that restoration is restoring the truth that he established the church to seal and strengthen our families. That really touched their hearts and they loved it. They told us that they would be at church Sunday and sure enough, yesterday we had a new family in the church. But what was even more amazing was to see the way that the members reacted to this new family. Usually they are happy when we have a new investigator in the church but I have never seen them act the way that they did with this family.
The Elders Quorum president and the Relief Society president whisked the mom and dad off to class and the Primary president welcomed the little boy with open arms. It was so neat to see the little boy run into sacrament and RUN and sit by one of the primary teachers. The family had to go sit by him because he didn't want to sit by anyone else. I ended up sitting by myself on a lonesome row but I wouldn't have had it any other way. I know that the Lord wanted this family to be found. He needs them in His church because they need to be able to live together forever. I know that God loves us and wants the best for us in our lives. It is great to be able to see His hand in the work everyday. From being led to a house, to seeing Him change the attitudes of members of the church, His hand is in this work and I am so thankful for the opportunity that I have to be a part of it.
In other big news, I got to buy a bike this week and what a screamin' deal! 60 bucks! I was pumped. The thing is that I bought it from a missionary who was going home because he got injured and every missionary who has used the bike has had to go home early because of medical problems. But I don't believe in curses and I know that I am going to be just fine.
We had a lesson on Saturday during our tracting time that was just amazing. I have had the opportunity time and time again to participate in lessons with people who have been looking for the truth and they know not where to find it. Often times I feel frustration for all of the confusion that there is in the world. I know that God's true church is here and He established it through the prophet Joseph Smith. It is a blessing to be able to testify of that everyday. But it is hard to testify of the truth and to see how confused people are. But that's what is so neat! Even though these people don't have the truth their loving Heavenly Father gives them the opportunity to hear it. We taught a young lady this week who had lost her mother and her marriage was struggling. She needed Christ's love in her life and she needed to know that families can be together forever. She loved the message that we shared with her and while she told us she wouldn't be able to come to church, she said that she was going to read the Book of Mormon because she needed to know if our message was true.
The fact is that Heavenly Father truly does love His children and He has provided a way for all of His children to be happy. I can't imagine living in heaven without my family. But to know that through the power and authority of Jesus Christ, our families have the opportunity to be saved and lived together forever is such a blessing. I know that God loves us and I know that through his son Jesus Christ, we can have the opportunity to live with Him and our families forever. I am so thankful for this opportunity to be here and as much as I miss you guys I wouldn't be anywhere else.
I love you so much! I hope that you all have fun at the party on Saturday! Cheer loud for me and Go Cougars!!!!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
3rd Transfer with Elder Blandon & First Baptism
Hola familia y Amigos
FIRST OFF HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!
I LOVE YOU MOM I HOPE THAT YOU HAVE AN AMAZING BIRTHDAY
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!
Thanks to all of you who wrote and emailed this week. It was great to hear from all of you and to feel your love and support. I want you to know that I love you all too and that I know the Lord will bless you for your love and your support.
Well the big news that you are all dying to hear is whether I got transferred this week. When we have transfers here in Puerto Rico, we are notified Saturday night if we are going to be transferred. Then on Wednesday we all go to a meeting in San Juan where we trade companions and have a meeting with the President.
Well Saturday was an amazing day because we had our 1st baptism since I have been here in San Sebastian. But it was also really nice because that night we got a call from the zone leaders and they told us that we would both be staying in San Sebastian for a 3rd transfer together. It was great news to hear because we have done a lot of great work together and we have a bunch of investigators who are progressing greatly. Neither one of us wanted to leave and we were blessed with the opportunity to stay here and work together.
So . . . to answer all of your questions, no I am not going to be transferred this transfer. I get to stay in San Sebastian and serve the Lord's children here! I can't wait. This transfer is going to be amazing. So yeah . . . same address just in case any of you want to write ;)
OK, so now onto the good stuff. Saturday we had the opportunity to see our two favorite little investigators enter the waters of baptism and be baptized in the same manner, and with the same authority, that our Savior was baptized with. It was such a special day and I am not even sure that the description that I will attempt to give will even come close to giving it justice. I had the opportunity to baptize Wilton but the most amazing part of that day was to see those kids dressed in white. To see the light in their eyes and to think about the huge step that they were taking in their eternal progression and their journey back to our Heavenly Father. I had the privilege to baptize Wilton and, like I said in my other emails, these kids are so shy! But Wilton was really excited to be baptized. He walked into the font and as I started the ordinance, he started to go down. It was funny and it was really neat.
It was amazing though to see the smiles on their faces that day. I know that this is the is the Church of Jesus Christ and it was amazing to be taken on the journey with these kids to the waters of baptism. Every thing that happened along the journey, the way we found them, all the deadlines we had to meet, and the baptism and confirmation, everything was a miracle and I could see the hand of the Lord in every step of the way. It was such a blessing to be apart of the baptism, but it was also a really humbling experience to know that we did nothing to make this baptism happen. But in fact it was the hand of the Lord the whole time. What a blessing it was to be apart of this experience it is something that I will never forget.
The confirmation went well. As you know for convert baptisms we hold the confirmation on Sunday during Sacrament Meeting and it was a little scary for us when they showed up half an hour late to church. But again we had another miracle and they were able to make the journey from the home to the church and later in the day the kids were able to be confirmed, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. What a blessing it was to participate in this! I know that my description did not do justice to the feelings of the day and I hope that you will forgive me. I will send you the pictures and it will all make sense!
So other then that we actually had a really eventful week. This week we had the opportunity to teach an amazing family. The mom's name is Mary and I am not sure what the other names of the family are, but our experience with them has been amazing. We contacted them earlier in the week and the mom said missionaries helped her paint like 20 years ago. She said she wanted to learn more so she invited us back later in the week. We came back and she was kind of hesitant to listen to our messages. She said that she was already meeting with missionaries from another church and she didn't want to get confused. We told her that we respect that but somehow we ended up teaching her the first lesson. I honestly don't know how we did it. But all of the sudden they brought out chairs for us and we sat there and gave her the first lesson.
From the minute we ended the hymn the spirit was way strong and her countenance changed. She wasn't hesitant anymore but in fact she was really interested. The lesson went well and it was one of the best lessons that we have taught together. Not because we are great teachers, but because the spirit was so strong. And because the spirit was directing the lesson, we talked about the Book of Mormon and her husband loved it. She took a copy and wouldn't let go. We were both really excited and couldn't wait to go back. But what was really neat about this experience is that the spirit changed everything. We asked what she thought about the lesson and she said that she loved it. That she has never felt that warmth before in a religious setting. I know for a fact that isn't an accident or a coincidence. The influence of the spirit is real. I know it is.
But as the scriptures say, there is opposition in all things. This week we went to the house of one of our most promising investigators and she opened the door and came out to talk to us. We asked if she was reading the Book of Mormon and she said "a little, but I am reading this book about religions too." Sure enough, she pulled out an anti-Mormon book and my companion started to read it to make sure it was what we thought it was. I read along too and as soon as I started to read I could just feel darkness and anger. A totally different feeling from when I read the Book of Mormon in the morning. It's sad that there are people in the world that have to go out of their way to destroy the faith of others. But how great it is to know that Jesus Christ has restored His gospel once again on the earth and His power and authority is here.
It was a great week this week and I look forward to another great week of work in the Lord's service this week. Thanks again for all that you do for me. Grandma and grandpa the pictures and the books were amazing. Thank you so much. Wilton and Myra absolutely loved the book. I told them that they had grandparents in Utah now too, and they loved that. Thank you for all that you two do for me. You are amazing.
Good luck this week and never forget who you are and what you stand for.
This is the Church of Jesus Christ! He is at the head and He directs His church through His servants the prophets in our days. How blessed we are to have been given the gift of the gospel and what a blessing it is to be able to serve him! I love you and I miss you all, but there is no where in the world that I would rather be. Have a fantastic week!
FIRST OFF HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!
I LOVE YOU MOM I HOPE THAT YOU HAVE AN AMAZING BIRTHDAY
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!
Thanks to all of you who wrote and emailed this week. It was great to hear from all of you and to feel your love and support. I want you to know that I love you all too and that I know the Lord will bless you for your love and your support.
Well the big news that you are all dying to hear is whether I got transferred this week. When we have transfers here in Puerto Rico, we are notified Saturday night if we are going to be transferred. Then on Wednesday we all go to a meeting in San Juan where we trade companions and have a meeting with the President.
Well Saturday was an amazing day because we had our 1st baptism since I have been here in San Sebastian. But it was also really nice because that night we got a call from the zone leaders and they told us that we would both be staying in San Sebastian for a 3rd transfer together. It was great news to hear because we have done a lot of great work together and we have a bunch of investigators who are progressing greatly. Neither one of us wanted to leave and we were blessed with the opportunity to stay here and work together.
So . . . to answer all of your questions, no I am not going to be transferred this transfer. I get to stay in San Sebastian and serve the Lord's children here! I can't wait. This transfer is going to be amazing. So yeah . . . same address just in case any of you want to write ;)
OK, so now onto the good stuff. Saturday we had the opportunity to see our two favorite little investigators enter the waters of baptism and be baptized in the same manner, and with the same authority, that our Savior was baptized with. It was such a special day and I am not even sure that the description that I will attempt to give will even come close to giving it justice. I had the opportunity to baptize Wilton but the most amazing part of that day was to see those kids dressed in white. To see the light in their eyes and to think about the huge step that they were taking in their eternal progression and their journey back to our Heavenly Father. I had the privilege to baptize Wilton and, like I said in my other emails, these kids are so shy! But Wilton was really excited to be baptized. He walked into the font and as I started the ordinance, he started to go down. It was funny and it was really neat.
It was amazing though to see the smiles on their faces that day. I know that this is the is the Church of Jesus Christ and it was amazing to be taken on the journey with these kids to the waters of baptism. Every thing that happened along the journey, the way we found them, all the deadlines we had to meet, and the baptism and confirmation, everything was a miracle and I could see the hand of the Lord in every step of the way. It was such a blessing to be apart of the baptism, but it was also a really humbling experience to know that we did nothing to make this baptism happen. But in fact it was the hand of the Lord the whole time. What a blessing it was to be apart of this experience it is something that I will never forget.
The confirmation went well. As you know for convert baptisms we hold the confirmation on Sunday during Sacrament Meeting and it was a little scary for us when they showed up half an hour late to church. But again we had another miracle and they were able to make the journey from the home to the church and later in the day the kids were able to be confirmed, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. What a blessing it was to participate in this! I know that my description did not do justice to the feelings of the day and I hope that you will forgive me. I will send you the pictures and it will all make sense!
So other then that we actually had a really eventful week. This week we had the opportunity to teach an amazing family. The mom's name is Mary and I am not sure what the other names of the family are, but our experience with them has been amazing. We contacted them earlier in the week and the mom said missionaries helped her paint like 20 years ago. She said she wanted to learn more so she invited us back later in the week. We came back and she was kind of hesitant to listen to our messages. She said that she was already meeting with missionaries from another church and she didn't want to get confused. We told her that we respect that but somehow we ended up teaching her the first lesson. I honestly don't know how we did it. But all of the sudden they brought out chairs for us and we sat there and gave her the first lesson.
From the minute we ended the hymn the spirit was way strong and her countenance changed. She wasn't hesitant anymore but in fact she was really interested. The lesson went well and it was one of the best lessons that we have taught together. Not because we are great teachers, but because the spirit was so strong. And because the spirit was directing the lesson, we talked about the Book of Mormon and her husband loved it. She took a copy and wouldn't let go. We were both really excited and couldn't wait to go back. But what was really neat about this experience is that the spirit changed everything. We asked what she thought about the lesson and she said that she loved it. That she has never felt that warmth before in a religious setting. I know for a fact that isn't an accident or a coincidence. The influence of the spirit is real. I know it is.
But as the scriptures say, there is opposition in all things. This week we went to the house of one of our most promising investigators and she opened the door and came out to talk to us. We asked if she was reading the Book of Mormon and she said "a little, but I am reading this book about religions too." Sure enough, she pulled out an anti-Mormon book and my companion started to read it to make sure it was what we thought it was. I read along too and as soon as I started to read I could just feel darkness and anger. A totally different feeling from when I read the Book of Mormon in the morning. It's sad that there are people in the world that have to go out of their way to destroy the faith of others. But how great it is to know that Jesus Christ has restored His gospel once again on the earth and His power and authority is here.
It was a great week this week and I look forward to another great week of work in the Lord's service this week. Thanks again for all that you do for me. Grandma and grandpa the pictures and the books were amazing. Thank you so much. Wilton and Myra absolutely loved the book. I told them that they had grandparents in Utah now too, and they loved that. Thank you for all that you two do for me. You are amazing.
Good luck this week and never forget who you are and what you stand for.
This is the Church of Jesus Christ! He is at the head and He directs His church through His servants the prophets in our days. How blessed we are to have been given the gift of the gospel and what a blessing it is to be able to serve him! I love you and I miss you all, but there is no where in the world that I would rather be. Have a fantastic week!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
SNOW?!?!?! AND CONFERENCE WAS AMAZING!!!!
Hola my family and my friends
This weekend was an amazing spiritual weekend and I can't get over the amount of spiritual feast that we had to partake of. I absolutely loved conference and I hope that you did too!
At the start of my email I would like to apologize. This email is not going to be very good. I have like no time to write because it is almost 6 o'clock here which means it's time to go work again. But I will try to do the best I can at filling you in on my activities and learning experiences during the past week.
Well thank you so much mom, dad, and Jenny for your emails and for your love and support. It was great to hear from you all and it was great to hear that you loved conference. I actually didn't have time to read your emails as well as I would have liked. Would it be possible for you guys to mail your emails to me?! I know that's ridiculous but we can't print them and though I read every word, I didn't have time to be nourished by every word.
Conference was so amazing! I loved all of the sessions. Each one was special in it's own way but I especially loved the feelings and messages that were shared. It seems that God wants us to know that He loves us and He really is there! I can't believe how amazing this conference was. It seemed so different from the last one and I don't know why. As hard as it was to be away from home this weekend I still felt your love during conference.
We watched conference at the Stake Center in Mayaguez. They had a TV for the missionaries in English so we could understand. The sessions were all amazing. I can't get over how good the talks were! I wanted to be home during Elder Bednar's talk so I could try out his new advice. And holy cow! President Monson's talk in priesthood session pretty much changed my life (along with his talk Sunday morning). I loved conference so much and I am glad that we all had the chance to be spiritually nourished this week.
I know that you all have about as much time as me -- that is no time, But it would be great if you wanted to talk about your favorite talk. Write me and tell me why you liked it! I promise I will write you back. One of my favorite parts about conference is sharing my feelings with those close to me. So yeah and holy cow, can you believe Elder Holland!. Yeah, he blew us all away too!
Just so you know, they don't change the times for the sessions here. We just watch them live with you guys. Which means we watched them during the times that we usually don't have the sessions in Utah. That was a little weird but it was cool too. Priesthood session got out at 10:00. Can you believe that!!!!
Anyways conference was amazing. I wish that I could talk about it more but alas I have no time to write. So a quick update on my area and then I'm out of here. I am so sorry this email is so short. I love you so much and I actually feel sad for not being able to write you more. Just know that I love you OK?
Anywho this week was awesome. Wilton and Myra are going to be baptized on Saturday and it is going to be absolutely amazing. I cannot wait. The experience that we have had with them has been amazing. The Lord has truly been instrumental in leading us to His children who need to enter the waters of baptism. That is going to be great!
A cool story from this week was that I had a companionship exchange with the Elders in the area closest to ours. I was in charge of all the lessons that day because I was the one who stayed in our area. I was so scared and so nervous that I wouldn't be able to talk right or communicate the things which we needed to, but the Lord blessed me so much and my Spanish was actually pretty darn good. I feel stupid for not having more faith but I want you to know that God lives! He is our Father in Heaven and He knows us and He loves us. I love you all so much and I hope that you feel His love too!
I'm glad that BYU won. I hope that they do well this week.
Like I said, my email was going to be brief today and I am so sorry. But I want to leave you all with a quick scripture reference before I go. It's in D&C 25 verse 10. It's a good scripture to have in mind, especially after the things that we have heard this past week in conference. I hope that we can all seek faith and not the world. I hope that we can all become a little better because of this conference like President Monson said.
I love you all and I am praying for you so much. I am sorry again that this letter is short. I promise that next week will be amazing. Speaking of next week, we have transfers so my pday will be on Tuesday not Monday next week. But more importantly, I am pretty sure that I am going to be transferred. So if you are planning to send me a letter, you might want to send it before Saturday or I will never get it.
I love you all. I know that the Lord will bless you for your love and support! Don't forget the feelings that you felt this past week in conference because that's exactly what satan wants you too do!!!!
Work hard and pray hard! I love you all forever.
Your son, brother, friend and missionary,
Elder Oviatt!
Thanks and sorry again! I love you guys!
This weekend was an amazing spiritual weekend and I can't get over the amount of spiritual feast that we had to partake of. I absolutely loved conference and I hope that you did too!
At the start of my email I would like to apologize. This email is not going to be very good. I have like no time to write because it is almost 6 o'clock here which means it's time to go work again. But I will try to do the best I can at filling you in on my activities and learning experiences during the past week.
Well thank you so much mom, dad, and Jenny for your emails and for your love and support. It was great to hear from you all and it was great to hear that you loved conference. I actually didn't have time to read your emails as well as I would have liked. Would it be possible for you guys to mail your emails to me?! I know that's ridiculous but we can't print them and though I read every word, I didn't have time to be nourished by every word.
Conference was so amazing! I loved all of the sessions. Each one was special in it's own way but I especially loved the feelings and messages that were shared. It seems that God wants us to know that He loves us and He really is there! I can't believe how amazing this conference was. It seemed so different from the last one and I don't know why. As hard as it was to be away from home this weekend I still felt your love during conference.
We watched conference at the Stake Center in Mayaguez. They had a TV for the missionaries in English so we could understand. The sessions were all amazing. I can't get over how good the talks were! I wanted to be home during Elder Bednar's talk so I could try out his new advice. And holy cow! President Monson's talk in priesthood session pretty much changed my life (along with his talk Sunday morning). I loved conference so much and I am glad that we all had the chance to be spiritually nourished this week.
I know that you all have about as much time as me -- that is no time, But it would be great if you wanted to talk about your favorite talk. Write me and tell me why you liked it! I promise I will write you back. One of my favorite parts about conference is sharing my feelings with those close to me. So yeah and holy cow, can you believe Elder Holland!. Yeah, he blew us all away too!
Just so you know, they don't change the times for the sessions here. We just watch them live with you guys. Which means we watched them during the times that we usually don't have the sessions in Utah. That was a little weird but it was cool too. Priesthood session got out at 10:00. Can you believe that!!!!
Anyways conference was amazing. I wish that I could talk about it more but alas I have no time to write. So a quick update on my area and then I'm out of here. I am so sorry this email is so short. I love you so much and I actually feel sad for not being able to write you more. Just know that I love you OK?
Anywho this week was awesome. Wilton and Myra are going to be baptized on Saturday and it is going to be absolutely amazing. I cannot wait. The experience that we have had with them has been amazing. The Lord has truly been instrumental in leading us to His children who need to enter the waters of baptism. That is going to be great!
A cool story from this week was that I had a companionship exchange with the Elders in the area closest to ours. I was in charge of all the lessons that day because I was the one who stayed in our area. I was so scared and so nervous that I wouldn't be able to talk right or communicate the things which we needed to, but the Lord blessed me so much and my Spanish was actually pretty darn good. I feel stupid for not having more faith but I want you to know that God lives! He is our Father in Heaven and He knows us and He loves us. I love you all so much and I hope that you feel His love too!
I'm glad that BYU won. I hope that they do well this week.
Like I said, my email was going to be brief today and I am so sorry. But I want to leave you all with a quick scripture reference before I go. It's in D&C 25 verse 10. It's a good scripture to have in mind, especially after the things that we have heard this past week in conference. I hope that we can all seek faith and not the world. I hope that we can all become a little better because of this conference like President Monson said.
I love you all and I am praying for you so much. I am sorry again that this letter is short. I promise that next week will be amazing. Speaking of next week, we have transfers so my pday will be on Tuesday not Monday next week. But more importantly, I am pretty sure that I am going to be transferred. So if you are planning to send me a letter, you might want to send it before Saturday or I will never get it.
I love you all. I know that the Lord will bless you for your love and support! Don't forget the feelings that you felt this past week in conference because that's exactly what satan wants you too do!!!!
Work hard and pray hard! I love you all forever.
Your son, brother, friend and missionary,
Elder Oviatt!
Thanks and sorry again! I love you guys!
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