Thanksgiving #2

I had a good week this week. On Tuesday I went on an exchange with Elder Derbidge. We were able to teach a lot more people this time, and I was able to do a lot of teaching in Spanish. We taught the Valentyne family, and a lot of other people. I really enjoyed teaching the dinner lesson in Spanish.

On Wednesday I went to District Leader Council and had a great time there. I really like that meeting, and always learn a lot.

It rained a couple of times this week.

Yesterday Elder Atkinson and I went to tract a street, and I took a Book of Mormon, a plan of Salvation pamphlet, and a super old finding happiness pamphlet. We contacted a family from somewhere in the middle east area that didn't speak very much English. They had a stick precariously perched on their roof, and I commented on it. They didn't understand, and one of them called their dad, and then gave the phone to me. he didn't really understand English very much either, so we eventually just left. The next neighbor we talked to wasn't super interested, so I gave her the old pamphlet. We contacted about five houses in a row where everyone was sick inside. We actually were pretty successful on that street.

Thursday we had a Turkey Bowl in the morning. We ate dinner at the Teves's home, and then helped them get rid of some flies.

Love,

Elder Keeley

picture 11/28/16

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President Interviews again

I had a great week this week. I really learned a lot this week. From my interview with President Clark I learned about the importance of relating everything back to the gospel of repentance and the atonement. It was something I knew before of course, but I learned it in a new way.

During my studies I really focused on powerful prayer and faith. I've always tried to keep gratitude a theme in my prayers, but I learned more about being completely sincere, and how I can be that way. I believe that it has helped my prayers become better.

We have a lot of good things happening in our area, but it isn't moving as quickly as I would like. I have made teaching about church and repentance more of a focus, but no one came this week. 

I am excited for Christmas and the spirit that comes with it. 

One of the most visible miracles that I experienced this week was while I was on exchanges with Elder Matienzo. We only knocked on about one random door during the day, we had a lot of appointments, but with the random door that we knocked on we were able to find a pm family that had just moved down to Tulare from Fresno 3 days before. The non member is a 9 year old girl, and the parents have been sealed. They have one son on a mission. We were able to help them settle into the ward and spanish group. Things like that have happened to me a lot on my mission. Especially on exchanges. There were many more less visible miracles. I am glad that I have a journal to look back, because it is really easy to forget.

Remembering is another thing that was brought up a lot this week, especially in relation to the sacrament. Remembering is truly a wonderful thing.

The Martinez family is making a good push to give up smoking for good. They have decided to work their way down using e cigarettes, and then quit completely.

The work is progressing, and getting ready to explode with Christmas.

The baptismal interview was also good. The candidate passed.

Love,

Elder Keeley 

Picture 11/21/16

It's a​lmost after Thanksgiving

Tons of Teaching

I had a really great week this week. There were four days where we taught 7 lessons, so this week we taught more lessons than I ever have before. We found quite a few new investigators, and were finally able to teach the Faucet family. They are really awesome and understand a lot about the gospel. They didn't make it to church this week though. The Martinez family has quite smoking, but it will be a challenge for them to hang on. We had an investigator named Kennedy that came to church and had a lot of fellowship, but she dropped us after seeing the commitment that she would have to make. 

We are doing a much better at teaching less active members as well, and I had a neat experience while teaching one. I was on a split because Elder Atkinson was is MCM, and Brother Van Herk and I taught Sister Galecia about the Atonement and the sacrament. She had never before understood the purpose of the Sacrament, and it really stuck with her. She came to church this Sunday.

We had a lot of random people come to church this Sunday. We had 4 investigators come, and then 3 or 4 new members came. Three came from Delano, and the Fourth had been going to the Spanish group. We also had one non-member come to Sacrament meeting, and then talk to the Bishop afterwards to try to get financial help. She disappeared afterwards.

My home ward boundaries were shuffled. I am in a new ward back home now. 

The new missionary in my district is named Elder James. He is from Utah, but lived in Northern California for a long time.

This week should be a pretty busy week. We have president interviews tomorrow, and I get to do my first baptismal interview on Wednesday.

Love,

Elder Keeley

Picture by Elder Nelson of my new haircut

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Picture 11/7/16

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The beginning of another transfer

The first transfer here in Tulare is over now. The district basically is the same, but Elder Frei is leaving to Fireball, Kermin west, and Elder Matienzo is training a new missionary. Elder Nelson is coming from Hanford to be the new Zone Leader, switching with Elder Walker.

Also, Elder Perkins, my trainer is one of the Assistants now. 

I had a really good week here in Tulare. Halloween was very interesting, we never were able to go out and proselyte. On Tuesday Elder Atkinson went to San Fransisco for insurance reasons, and I spent the day with our brand new Ward mission leader.

On Thursday I went on exchanges with Elder Matienzo, it was the second of the transfer, and it was fantastic. He has really grown a lot this transfer. I also went on exchanges with Elder Derbidge on Saturday. We were able to teach a new investigator in Lindsay that has already come to church twice. He is currently living with a member family. He is a very likely to be baptized in the coming weeks.

We had stake conference this week, the theme was the temple. 

Work is going pretty well in Tulare as well. Tonia is doing fantastic, and has really changed a lot already. We were able to receive a solid media referral man named Rudy, and also have several solid member referrals that we have begun working with. We taught a young lady named Kennedy that had come to a members farewell talk. She has a lot of solid member friends as well. Sherrie was unable to be baptized because she has been extremely busy, and we have had a hard time teaching her recently. The Martinez family has been struggling to successfully quite smoking so that they can be baptized. Eddie was able to quit drinking for a few days, but then he slipped a little.

This ward is very focused on missionary and temple work, it is a great thing. I am amazed at how many investigators Elder Atkinson and I were able to find this transfer. I never really tracted and knocked doors consistently on my mission until I was with Elder Stojka, but it has really increased my confidence and the rate at which we find new investigators. We found more than 4 times the new investigators this transfer than were found in this area last transfer, and received considerably more referrals as well. 

I have been studying the principles of humility and patience, along with faith recently, working mainly through the index. I have noticed a strong difference between being compelled to be humble, and being truly brought into the depths of Humility. Being compelled is often temporary like Laman and Lemuel, but truly humbling oneself to the depths of humility is generally considerably more lasting and life changing. Nation changing for the Nephites. It is a very important attribute.

Love,

Elder Keeley