Caveman Time

HELLO to all 

This week was superbly superb.

Faith + Works = Miracles. 

The end. 

First off, update on the Peña Family.  They're amazing.  Literally the most prepared family ever.  We met them 4 different times this week and every single time we left just so stoked and happy, we love them so much.  Some reasons why: they have read and prayed every time we've invited them to, they have a really cute dog named Five, they make really good food, they always give such solid answers, they are straight up and honest with us, they have a baptismal date for September 20th and they're so excited for it.  They're just so good and so nice and are real truth seekers.  It's such a blessing to be able to teach them, I always learn so much when I'm with them. 

A cool experience I had with the 12 year old boy, Augustin, we were sitting in a lesson and were just kind of wrapping it up and I got a very clear thought that was, "Go invite Augustin to read the Introduction of the Book of Mormon."  I got up and sat by him and opened to the intro and he said, "Oh hey, I read that last night!  I really liked it."  I asked him what it was that he liked and he said, "When I read that Joseph Smith said it was the most correct book on earth, it made me feel really good inside.  It felt different, but really good."  I was able to testify to him that that feeling was the spirit telling him that what Joseph Smith had said was true.  I'm grateful I listened to the Spirit because if I hadn't, I wouldn't have gotten to testify to him.  He said he's going to keep reading and praying, we're so happy about it.  That's just one of the many awesome miracles we've seen as we've met with them. 

We got to do some service this week!  I love service, especially manual labor service.  That's not sarcastic by the way haha.  If anyone knows any Latinos in Anaheim that need some service, let me know.  But we got to move boxes, weed, rake, move logs, break down boxes, and organize.  I was thriving. 

I mentioned the Harry Potter wand last week.  Well, we went back to the member's house and she insisted on giving me the scarf and tie, so now I have the whole outfit.  You might see me wearing that on the plane ride home, who knows?  That's still a LONG time away though, so we're good. 

My companion and I are starting a Paleo diet to get into better shape hence the Caveman reference.  If you know any good paleo recipes, please send them, we need more inspiration.  We also are working out pretty hard and this past week my legs were the sorest they have ever been.  We did 400 air squats in just one day, and we worked out every day.  Good thing we have a car. 

If you want some really good, life changing, inspiring scriptures to read, you should check out Mosiah 2-5 in the Book of Mormon.  Here's a sneak peek from Mosiah 4:9. 

 "Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend." 

I love this verse, especially the last line.  God understands things so much better than we do and He's doing everything just for us.  We're never going to know what He knows while we're on earth, but if can trust in Him and in His power, everything will turn out all right in the end. 

Alrighty then, that's all I have for you this week.  I didn't take any pictures, which is quite unfortunate.  Remind me to do that. 

Love and miss you all!

Elder Spangler 

You're a Wizard

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE

This week was pretty fantastic if I do say so myself.  We saw some awesome miracles and worked hard, what more can I ask for? 

First off, I mentioned the 9 year old girl, Lily, that we're teaching.  We went over to their house last Tuesday and after a steak dinner (not even kidding) we had a lesson with Lily and her sister, Lesly.  We talked about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and man, they are the best listeners ever.  They understand everything really well and ask super solid questions, it is so much fun teaching them.  At the end, we invited Lily to be baptized on September 6th, and she said yes!  She had the biggest smile on her face, it was awesome.  We're really excited for her. 

We got to do some service this week, which I always love.  We were helping an hermana move some boxes and stuff, and on top of one of them, there was a replica Harry Potter wand.  I picked up and said, "oh cool, a Harry Potter wand."  The member then asked if I liked Harry Potter and when I said yes, she told me to take the wand and then said, "oh also, give me a sec and I can find you the scarf that goes with it."  Haha, I just took the wand. 

I went on exchanges with an Elder this week and he made me a breakfast of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, fried Spam, and canned peach nectar.  It was definitely an interesting combo but it was a good breakfast.  You should try it out sometime. 

We had a super awesome miracle with a family that was previously being taught.  One day we were sitting in our hotel room and Elder Mortimer said, "We should visit the Peña family today."  I had been about to say the same exact thing so we were like, "oh man, the spirit said it to both of us, we're visiting them."  We had called them several times but they never answered, so we stopped by their house.  They answered and let us in and as we talked, we learned that Hermano Peña had been praying for a sign from God that he was there and that he loved him.  They've been going through some rough times and they've been needing some help.   We were able to share a message with them and help them with their struggles.  We invited them to read in the Book of Mormon and when we went back a few days later, they had read, but they also just looked a lot happier and a lot less stressed. I t's amazing what the gospel can do for us. It's also amazing how God knows and hears all of us and that I, as a missionary, have the blessing to be the answer to some of these people's prayers.  I love this work so much. 

In order to try and get in contact with some more members, we schemed up a plan to bake cookies and drop them off.  Since we don't have an oven, we just went to the church and baked like 75 cookies and then ding dong ditched them to several families.  It went well except when we scared some kids in the house because they just saw us knock and run, and also when I put the plate down right when the hermana opened the door to leave.  It was a good time though, you should try it out sometime. 

That's all from me this week.  Don't forget to pray and listen to the spirit. 

Love and miss you all.

Elder Spangler

Babes

hElLo EvErYoNe

This week was muy packed.  We will now get down to the nitty gritty details.

Not only have we been teaching many lessons, we also are in charge of responding to those who comment on our Facebook page.  We've been running ads for free English classes throughout the mission so now we have had dozens of people message us asking about the classes.  We have to respond to them, get their contact info, and then send them to the missionaries in the area where they live.  It's a subtle art, I have yet to refine it. 

We had a nifty miracle this week.  We were calling the members in our ward and we called one family and asked them to set up a time to visit.  They said yes, so then we asked if there was anything they wanted us to talk about and the hermano said, "Ummm, baptism. My 9 year old daughter hasn't been baptized yet because of COVID, so we want her to get baptized soon.  Will you help her prepare?"  We were pretty excited when he said that haha.  We went over and taught them and it went so well, it's fun teaching kids because you can make it really creative and interactive.  We're teaching them again tomorrow. 

We unfortunately haven't been able to teach Victor or Abel in a bit, they keep rescheduling or just won't answer.  They're so ready to hear this message and apply it, so please keep them in your prayers so that we will be able to meet with them this week. 

I taught my companion how to turn a fat tie into a skinny tie and in this past week we've skinnified a combined total of 8 ties. It's kind of therapeutic, I recommend it. 

I got another injection in my ear hole.  The doctor said since it has been about 6 weeks since this problem started, we're past the time frame of when medication or treatment would help.  So looks like my left ear will stay at about 80% of it's normal capacity.  It's not too bad honestly, just a little obnoxious sometimes.  I feel completely at peace with it because I know God has a hand in this and there is a lesson for me to learn from it that will be for my good, so I am doing just fine.  Thanks to all who have included me in their prayers, I really appreciate it.  I have definitely felt their sustaining power and support. 

We met a lady named Alma who had been listening to the missionaries over a year ago, but had to stop because she was so busy.  She's now a lot more open, thanks to COVID, so that's one good thing that comes from this darn pandemic.  But yeah, Alma is so awesome.  We talked with her about the Book of Mormon and why it's so important and when we finished we invited her to be baptized.  She said, "probably," but as we continued talking she kept asking questions like, "so when I'm baptized will I have to..." or "after my baptism will..." so it sounds like she's pretty committed.  We're really excited about her too.  Please keep her in your prayers as well. 

Here is a quote I really like, it comes from Neal A. Maxwell.  I think it's a good reminder for everyone. "Our perfect Father does not expect us to be perfect children yet.  He had only one such Child. Meanwhile, therefore, sometimes with smudges on our cheeks, dirt on our hands, and shoes untied, stammeringly but smilingly we present God with a dandelion—as if it were an orchid or a rose!  If for now the dandelion is the best we have to offer, He receives it, knowing what we may later place on the altar.  It is good to remember how young we are spiritually."  Just remember that we still have lots of time, literally eternity, to learn and grow.  I need to remind myself of this a lot. 

Welp, love and miss you all.  Write in your journal this week. 

Elder Spangler

•Burritos I ate when we went on exchanges

•Cool picture of Jesus 

•The kitchen sink at a member's house.  I love how innovative Mexicans are. 

•We made Carne Asada with some members.  It sure was rico.

Yogurt and Bananas

HELLO TO ALL MY FANS OUT THERE WHO STILL READ THESE EMAILS!

This week was fantastic.  If any of you think that missionaries in quarantine aren't busy, then you are fortunately mistaken.  Elder Mortimer and I always have our days packed full and we love collapsing into our queen beds every night.  Sleeping in those is a grand reward for the work we put in during the day. 

We met the most prepared man ever yesterday.  His name is Victor and he's seen our ads on Facebook, so he decided to reach out.  He's going through some tough times right now and has been looking everywhere for spiritual guidance and help and he said he feels like God put us right in his path.  We taught him yesterday and when we talked about the Book of Mormon, he was so accepting of it and excited to read more of God's word.  We have another meeting with him on Wednesday and we're so stoked.  After our lesson, Elder Mortimer and I were just so excited and thankful and it made all the hard work so worth it. 

We ate lunch with a member and she gave us pineapple juice but it tasted like it had garlic in it.  Pro tip: wash your blender before you make pineapple juice. 

We really have been trying to meet with all the members, so we call members for like an hour and a half every day and also have several video lessons a day.  It's definitely very different compared to what I was doing in Ecuador, but it's the same work and it brings just as much joy. 

We burned through our food kind of quick this week and we pretty much lived off of yogurt, bananas, peanut butter, and granola.  There's only so much you can do with all of that, but we got pretty creative.

We saw a car that the owner had painted to look just like Lightning McQueen and I got so excited.  We were stopped at a stoplight and I was driving, so I whipped my phone out to take a picture and right when I turned my camera on, the light turned green.  I tried to take a picture but didn't realize the camera was in selfie mode, so now I have a great selfie of me and Elder Mortimer is in the background looking confused.  I'll make sure to send it. 

Here is a neat scripture I read this week. Its Jacob 4:10.

"Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand.  For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works."

Welp, eso es todo.  Look for miracles. 

Love and miss you all! 

Elder Spangler

God is a God of Miracles

GOOD AFTERNOON LADIES AND GENTLEMEN 

MIRACLES HAPPEN

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. 

Okay but really, this week we saw SO MANY miracles.  We had a zone meeting the other day and the whole topic was miracles and that they can happen and we as missionaries can do things to make them happen.  We definitely saw that come to fruition this week. 

First off, my ear/hearing is doing a lot better.  It's not 100% back, but it feels better than it has in over a month.  I went to the doctor the other day and got a steroid injection straight into my ear hole, which wasn't a pleasant experience but it seems to have helped a lot.  However, I think the real reason it's doing better is because my wonderful mother invited all my extended family to pray and fast for me yesterday, and my extended family is not small.  I fasted as well, and when I went to bed last night I realized that everything sounded a lot clearer and louder than it had in a long time.  The power of prayer and fasting is real, no doubt about it.

Another cool miracle.  We went to visit a member family early in the week and they mentioned to us that they have been wanting to take the sacrament, but the father was recently baptized and didn't feel prepared or comfortable with blessing the sacrament on his own.  He also said that he really struggles with reading out loud and it makes him really nervous which causes him to stutter and trip up his words.  We offered to come by on Sunday to help him bless the sacrament, and they said we could.  We got there and set everything up, and then Elder Mortimer blesses the bread.  We then invited the father to bless the water, and he said the prayer with no problem at all!  When we finished he said, "Wow, I am so surprised right now, I don't know how I was able to read that so well."  We told him God was helping him because the sacrament is really important and God wants us to be able to partake of it.  He's really excited to now be able to bless the sacrament for his family each week. 

We met with a member who lived all on his own and when we asked about his family he said, "Well Elders, when I was younger, I found the church and I knew it was true.  My wife and kids didn't believe it, they thought it was the devil's church.  After I got baptized my wife came to me and said, "The Mormons or your family, you choose.  You don't get both."  He then looked at us and said, "I knew it was true Elders, so my wife got a divorce and here I am today."  It was such a powerful testimony to hear, this faithful brother knew what the truth was and he was willing to sacrifice it all to have it.  I love this work so much, it is such a blessing to be a part of it. 

Well, I hope you all have a fantastical week and that you look for the miracles that are all around you.  They're there, you just have to keep your eyes open to them.

Here are a few pics from our P-day hike today. 

Love and miss you all! 

Elder Spangler