Last Email

This week has been good we were able so get in contact with some of the people who we used to talk to. 

We also had our ward Christmas party which was fun we had a ton of people show up. We had our christmas devotional with the missionaries in our zone and another zone and it was really cool to center on Christ and read from the scriptures. There were alot of really good musical numbers as well. It honestly has been a great last week as a missionary.

 Friday western Kentucky was hit by a huge tornado as I'm sure many of you have already heard. I'm fine it didn't come up this far north but there were a few members in our stake that were affected and lost their homes. 

We spent most of the day Sunday helping at the national guard center here in Henderson. People would pull up drop off donations and we would sort it, put those items into boxes and load trailers full of supplies that the different cities needed. It was awesome to see how people were coming together to help those in need. 

It's a great example of why I serve as a missionary because I want to help people know Christ. He is the bread of life and there are times when we don't know we are spiritualy starving. 

For those of you who actually read these thank you for being with me on my journey these past two years. 

 This week was good we were able to eat Thanksgiving dinner with one of the people who we are teaching and he made some really good food.

 We also were able to go over and have a lesson with our Spanish fraind that I talked about last week. We taught him about the restored gospel and how God still speaks to us and how the scriptures can help him through his problems that he was having. 

I also got to go on exchanges down to Greenville and help do some service for some people who have alot of different animals. 

It's sad to think that I only have 2 more full weeks of missionary work but it's an experience that I will never forget and that I'm so thankful for. 

Sorry the pictures of the animals are the best but it's all I have lol 

Out of Subject ideas

 This week as been good. It's getting cold here (cold for me) but we have had some cool experiences this week.

 We were having a lesson with one of our friends on his porch and his roommate came out and he was not having a good day. He came out and started asking us questions about the purpose of life. He said he believes in God but he has one flaw or problem. He said he's an alcoholic... He was obviously intoxicated but he really wanted to change, so we are going back over today to try to show him that there's a better way to deal with the problems that we encounter in life and that with God's help we can overcome anything. 

Its moments like this that really make what we do as missionaries worth it. Now we have no idea how things will go but to see a child of God reaching out for help and being able to show him a better way through Christ is something I'm grateful for.

I didn't have much time today but I just wanted to share this experience.

Here are some pictures from the zoo last monday. It was cold so I don't have many pictures of the animals cuz they were hiding.

                                            

Home stretch

 It's been a little bit since I've sent an email things are going good it's been a little tough in this area but we have been having a lot more interaction with the members. 

Last week we had a member who only speaks Spanish move to our area from Texas and when we had our fast and testimony meeting I went up with him so that he could give his testimony and I translated it to English it was pretty cool.

 It's starting to get cold here and all the leaves are changing colors. Kentucky in the fall is beautiful (but not so nice in the winter). It's really not too bad as far as the cold but when it's like 35 degrees and 85% humidity it cuts through your layers lol.

 Sorry this email wasn't longer but I'm coming to the end I have one more month so Im trying to make the most of it and keep working hard.

Henderson KY

 It's been a while since I've been able to get an email out. Things have been going good here in Henderson. We got invited to help translate for a local elementary school that wants to have a fall festival for their families that don't speak English. 

In the last couple of weeks we were able to help our friend Aaron be baptized. Aaron is super cool he recently was hospitalized due to covid and almost died. We met with him and he said that he knows God kept him around for a reason and he decided to come closer to his savior.

 We have also been teaching an English class to a whole family in Mexico over video call through a super cool friend that we made.

 One thing that I've realized recently is that all of us have the ability to choose. Heavenly Father has given us the path we should follow through the scriptures and through modern day profets. God gives us so many opportunities to choose the right path but one thing that he will not take away is our agency or the ability to make choices. 

In life as we seek for truth and as we seek to come closer to God we will be given little by little the knowedge that he wants us to have. We may want to share this with others so that they can enjoy the same knowledge that we have. However, every person has to choose to seek truth and to put to the test the promises that God has given us. 

This applies to all aspects of life so I would encourage anyone reading this to make the choice to act and ask God what he would have them learn. I hope everyone has a great week. 

                                        

     So I got transferred out of Owensboro to Henderson, it was such a short time in Owensboro so I was really sad to leave.

     But the work goes on. 

    We had someone who we stopped by and knocked on their door that had said that they had been wanting to talk to someone about God because they were looking for a church. So that was super cool they were a couple who had alot of faith in God. 

    I still get to use my Spanish here and we teach English class at the church on Friday's and we have some Spanish speaking people here in Henderson. 

    In this last couple weeks I have been reflecting a lot about my life and the choices that I have made and the person I am becoming and in my studies I've learned that God really does put people in our lives who are meant to help us learn and grow but we have to be willing to swallow our pride sometimes and accept that we aren't perfect. Sometimes (actually a lot of the time) we can be wrong about things. It is probably one of the hardest things for me to do but the times when I've admitted that I need to change and then taken action has caused the most growth that I see in myself and it truly does affect those around us. 

Anyways just a thought hope everyone has a good week.

Here are a bunch of pictures from the last - weeks 

Elder Amata

Moved again...

 So I got moved to Owensboro and I've been here for a couple weeks now and I love it here. 

We have been doing missionary work in Spanish and English so we have been super busy. We had a baptism for our friend Jose and it was a really cool experience he has a strong desire to follow Christ. 

We have another friend named Isaiah who is planning on being baptized on the 31st of this month. 

We have some really cool members her in our congregation and it turns out that one of the families that used to live in Norco loves out here now. So it's been really cool to catch up with them. I'm also training a new missionary right now and we are in a trio so it's been really fun. 

Its interesting to see how the Lord knows where to put us when we need to grow and where to out us when we need to help others grow.

1) my companions elder Blaser (left) elder Smith (right) Thai chili so we were dying 

2) this cool tank at a park 

3)José at his baptism 

4) tank

5) we went to a Karen (/kəˈrɛn/) house to eat some food and we ate 

6) biking