Best Week!!!!

This last week was so amazing! We worked so hard! And we found 4 new investigators, with 1 progressing! It is so fun! One of which is an African named Chum, he is just north of Ghana Reese! He is so amazing. He doesn’t know a lot of English, so we asked a member of our ward, Brother Jeremy Bramwell (went to medical school with Angel and Trevor) who served in France just before Brian. He is so amazing! I know he is very inspired, he told us he felt that he should start reading in his French Book of Mormon again, a month or so before we asked him! It is so amazing when people listen to the spirit and the Lord prepares our hearts and those we come in contact with. So we went with Brother Bramwell last night to Chums, (Reese I wore my African tie, Chum liked it :)) and we started out with a prayer and the plan of salvation.  ln his prayer he talked about how we are all children of God, and he was already pretty much teaching the lesson to us! Haha but it was so amazing to feel the spirit that was there, it was fun because I could understand some of it knowing Portuguese, but we then asked him about baptism and what he thinks, "if Christ being perfect was baptized how much greater is our need to be baptized." Brother Bramwell turns to us with a huge smile on his face and said, "He pretty much just quoted 2 Nephi 31!" Haha it was so awesome, and we turned there and read with him! He is solid! I love the humility and love and the happiness that he shows! I now know what brought you Reese so much joy and happiness serving in Africa with those amazing people! Their spirit is so amazing, we can learn a lot from those that are used to not having what we have. They have a pure joy! It really opened my eyes! I love Chum!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ah it was so fun!  I love this work!

Football with the youth at the Ward Party

Well we had an amazing ward party with food and dessert contest (we elders were the judges :)) and corn hole, and football (Elder Bair and I played with the youth! it was awesome! Elder Bair is the other Elder in Greenwood) but it was such a goodnight with a huge firework display! It was fun.

Football with Elder Bair

Sorry my email is so long, but I want to share a touching experience that I had, it came from a letter I received from a dear friend. In this letter she told me of how she was working hard to get 40 hours a week at her job so she could get full hours and pay. She said one day a man pulled up and ordered his food, she then stated, “he then said," "can you also add 2 orange juices on there? They forgot to charge me for them last time." she laughed and thought it was cute, and thought to herself, what an honest man. She then said as she opened the window who it was..."it was your dad." ah it brought me to tears. To some may seem menial in receiving free orange juice, but to my dad it wasn’t rightfully his. I owe everything to this hero, this man of integrity. I owe everything to my heavenly father, and my earthly father! I can’t thank you enough dad for leading by example and having a love for our Father and Savior. Love you so much!

My favorite Mormon message is Heavenly Father, Earthly Father. I encourage everyone to watch it, and think of their fathers! I know both of mine are always watching over me! Love you dad!

Well I have said enough, I love you all! I love each of you my wonderful family and friends serving missions! Love you all,

Elder Loveless

:) Happy Pioneer Day

Elder Howell, Elder Wall, and Elder Loveless

Well this last week has been really good. We received our new companion Elder Howell! His is from Arizona and has been out for 14 months. He came out with Elder Buck. But anyways, this last week we have been working really hard at finding new people, and with splitting the area with the new elders, we have had to find more potentials and people to teach. Which means if we don’t have referrals we have no lessons....TRACTING and PERSONAL CONTACTING :) :) It is really exhausting but oh so worth it. I love it. I feel as the sons of Mosiah felt to declare salvation unto every creature, so that not one soul would perish. I feel that desire, and it breaks my heart when people turn down the message. The only thing that has kept me from getting discouraged is to know that they aren’t turning me down, but the savior, and that is where the most sorrow comes. I love reading Alma’s account of what the atonement was like for him, I love in Alma 36: 21 "yea, I say unto you my son that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea and again I say unto you my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy" I find it very interesting that in Portuguese Alma means soul. And soul is our spirit and our bodies. It is such an amazing scripture that I can relate to. I love how we may have pains, we may get discouraged when others won’t listen, but our joy can far out way our sorrows!  We can receive joy in the fruits of our labors. I have learned a lot from the scriptures and studying them in Portuguese puts a whole new meaning on it. :)

Elder Loveless and Elder Eller

But we had cool study earlier this week for district meeting on faith. I came across a sentence in preach my gospel stating, "faith leads to actions" it made me think of the saying our thoughts lead to our actions. And this is very true with faith. When we strive to have faith in the savior and think as he would think and do as he would do, we become like him. Our thoughts and our actions will become more like the savior. It is so fun to study the New Testament along with the Book of Mormon to see the greatest teacher our savior Jesus Christ. Studying from both of those books each day has taught me how to be a missionary, and how to become more like him. I love being a missionary and being able to work my heart out each day, and come in sore as all get out, and knowing that he was there beside me. What a wonderful gospel we have and are a part of. We are blessed beyond measure!

Elder Sperry (Elder Loveless' cousin's son) and Elder Loveless

I love you all so very much! I can’t thank you enough for your prayers in my behalf and for all missionaries! Love you all!

Elder Loveless

Well Hello Everyone

Wellllll hello everyone :)

I hope all is well with good ole Mapleton.

This last week was very special! We went to meet with a family that was struggling, and the past couple of weeks we have been doing all that we could to implement new finding activities and fasting for opportunities to teach. Oh did they ever come. We met with this family and they are working on adopting their granddaughter, she came in the room and told us how she went to a different church last week with a friend and she felt a happy feeling. We then asked her if she would always want that feeling. She said yes (with a glow in her smile) and we gave her a Book of Mormon and she was so excited and loved it so much. We then began to teach the restoration and were talking about how the gospel blesses families and that she could be with her grandpa and grandma forever, and we asked her if she would want that. She broke down into tears and said she did. It was such a sweet and amazing spiritual experience. There is a special spirit that children bring! She absolutely loved church yesterday! This gospel is so amazing for what it can do. And the blessings that come from it. I miss being able to be around children to feel of their sweet spirit and innocence.

But I was able to find out from President Cleveland that visas are coming, but he doesn’t know for sure when.  So I know it is coming, but all in the Lords time. He is in it whatever happens! I am just happy to be serving him and to be an instrument in his hands. I love this sweet gospel.

Well Elder Hallstrom is leaving, and Elder Wall and I are staying and will receive a new companion this Wednesday!

Love you all! Thank you for the prayers!

Elder Loveless

Hello Everyone

Well, this last week has been fun...we had a zone meeting, and then we were able to meet President Cleveland! He is amazing! He is ginormous! He brought such an amazing spirit to the mission. He told us an experience about how when he was coaching at Fresno not all of the players were touching the lines when running, so they would start over. They still didn’t. So he pulled them all together and instead of getting upset he said “if we can’t all touch the lines together, how are we supposed to work together as a team?" he then walked every line with his players and did so 10 times. Never again did they forget to touch the lines. He is such a leader and shows his pure love for all he comes in contact with. He then asked us, "Are we touching all of the lines in our lives?" That has now become a mission motto! He is such an amazing man! I don't know how much longer I will serve under him, but I am so grateful for the precious time I have now.

 

First off, I would like to thank everyone for your prayers and fasting on my behalf. It truly means so much to me. I could and can feel of all your love for me. Prayer is such an amazing tool, and I thank you all for your love and relationship with our Father in Heaven.

 

Yesterday I was able to ordain Zach to the Aaronic priesthood. It was such an amazing experience. The spirit was so strong and the light within him grew immensely. He then gave me a note in priesthood saying, "when president said (priesthood holder) I felt so happy and so much joy inside. Thank you Elder Loveless." This gospel changes lives. The light about him is so amazing. He then told all of us after, “I am the first member in my family, and I am the first to hold the priesthood." It was such a touching day. I feel sometimes that I have taken this gospel and the blessings from it for granted...You learn a lot being a missionary, and I have grown to love the blessings of the restoration more and more each day. I love being a member of this Gospel. It brings me more joy than anything else.

 

I love you all, and I thank you for helping me get to this point in my life. Thank you,

 

Love Elder Loveless

Oi!!!

Well this week has been great! they continue to go by faster and faster...I don’t like it one bit, I want this time to carry on without it sneaking up on me...and next thing I know I’m coming home! I wish it wasn’t like that! But it is...Well we had a new investigator named Jack, he is so amazing! He committed to be baptized on the 27^th  of this month...then we find out that he lives right on the corner outside of our boundaries, so we have turned him over to the sister missionaries! Which I am very excited for him to be taught by them! Sister missionaries are amazing. They bring a sense of spirit and maturity that the Elders can’t bring. We are excited for him though! I admire all of my friends serving especially the sisters for bringing that special spirit to the work.

 This last week we had an amazing lesson with Jack and Zach our recent convert was there with us. He is such an amazing member. He is an amazing description of Alma 5: 14. When in the lesson and testifying about having our Heavenly Father as our literal father, Zach said the following "it is nice to know that he lives, because some days you will come home and think and know that your earthy father doesnt love you, but at those points, we know that our Heavenly Father loves us, and that he lives." Such a simple pure testimony and the spirit filled the room! Everyone felt it and could testify of what Zach said was true! Zach gets the Aaronic priesthood this Sunday! We are so excited for him! He is progressing so well and his testimony is amazing!

 Well I had such an amazing experience this week with a personal study...I was reading in chapter 5 of preach my gospel, under a scripture study section it says, "What does the Savior say about the book of Mormon?" I read in D&C 17:6. “and he has translated the book, even that part which I have commanded him, and as your Lord and your God liveth it is true." As I read that, my testimony of the Book of Mormon and the divinity of the Godhead increased. I had just had an amazing experience knowing that they live, and I read that, and it filled my whole soul from head to toe. I know that they live, I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God! It is true, and as long as they live and we know they live, we cannot deny the divinity of that sacred book! It changes people’s lives, I have seen it. It changes mine. This church is true, and we all are a part of it. How blessed are we!

Love you all!

Elder Loveless