February 22, 2011

Hey family! How is everything going?? Thanks for all of the support and love! Time is flying by! I cant beleive that February is almost over. Things have been going pretty well here. I am learning a ton and really enjoying my time here. On sunday as you guys know i spoke at a fireside in Bakersfield. There was a ton of people there. It was like a stake conference. I was so nervous before it started ha. I started sweating and then I started to have like a panic attack because I was afraid to have an attack! So i prayed so hard and I turned to elder Manning and was like man, Pray for me! So when it was my turn to speak i got up there, and honestly I was as calm as could be. My mind was clear and I really was so calm. I had my notes and I bore my testimony on the importance of sacrifice and why i came on m,y mission. I had been really pondering about it the past week and i realized something really special that I shared at the fireside. That I have always known that football wasnt the most important thing, even though i didnt shopw it at times, but my parwents always showed me that we had priorities, and that The Lord was always #1. I shared how griowing up I remeber my parents teaching em to give thanks for the ability i was given to play football and all the blessings that I have, I always remeber them praying with me and thanking the lord for all he had blessed me with to play football. I hadnt realized it up until last week buit this was a way that my parents were humbling me. I realized that my whole life i have known that all i have and was given to play football was from the lord and that by the example of my parents, i alweays thanked god for those blessings and I truly came to know that all was and is from Him. I am so grateful to you Mom and Dad, Kc Kelly Kevan Kimmy fdor the ecxample you were and are to me. I wouldnt be here withiout you. I talked about how it is necesasry to make sacrifices to come closer to the Lord and we should make them everyday to be colser to Christ and the Holy Ghost. I spole for about 9-10 minutes. I felt guided by the spirit. I know that this is the greatest thing thathas ever happpened to me. I love my mission. I love the people I have baptized. Juoquin Guytan. I know he uis a reason I came out here and that I was in Santa Paula. I know that Christ is the savior of the world.

We had a lot of awesome experiences this week. Yesterday we had a zone training for the fundamental s of PMG. After the training we went and taught Linda and she had read up to 1 nephi 10. She had a lot of q's abouot her readfing. All of her questions were from 1 nephi 8. We invitesd her to keep reading and she would find the answers. We camn see her growing in testimony and recieving revelatiopn from the book of mormon. We set her with a date for the 26th of march. The lord is in this work! He loves his children so mnuch!

I love you guys more than words can describe.I love the Jesus Christ. I want top be like Him, I want to live my life serving him. This life is such a blessing! I love you all so much! Thanks for all that you do for me! Lover ELder Bills

February 14, 2011

Hey family! How is everybody doing?? Thanks so much for all of the support and love! Kelly! Congatulations! I am so happy for you! Man I cant even express it! Good Job man! This past week we had some very spiritual experiences. We have been fasting every tuesday for the work. For investigators or for baptisms. Just anything to do with the work. I have seen a great difference and my testimony of fasting has grown. I have been thinking of when Cjhrist fasted and communed with the Father. He recieved spiritual strength and preperation for what was ahead, and I know we can all have the same communion with the father if we will fast prayerfully with a purpose. What a blessing we have that our bodies are strong enough to fast!

We found this investigator this week named Linda. She is a 62 year old lady with some health problems. We knocked on her door and let us right in. She knows quite a bit about the church. As we sat I asked her why she let us in ruight away. She said i am old and i want to know where I go when I die. So we taught her the plan of salvation. Ity was very spiritual . The spirit was guiding us in every way. I felt like a vessel for what the Lord wanted me to say. We taught her and she wass learning so much as we taught her. She is from a catholic backround and was really open to our beleifs and knowledge of everything. It was a great lesson. We were all leaerning as we taught. I learned something very specail, that when we teach with the spirit we are very able to learn new things during the lesson. Whether it be from the investigator, companion or the Spirit Himself. So we set a return appointment with her. This morning she called us and told us we shouldnt come back. I was asked her if she had prayed about the Plan of Salvation and she said" yes and i feel good about it, i just dont think i would be a good mormon because I know that your symbol is the beehive because you work so hard, but i cant work that hard because i am old. I cant go out and serve other people." I was so happy with that answer ha. I told her we dont forcwe any one to serve because we know people have limitations to serve but i told her we can serve in other wyas. She said ok i want to learn more about the releif society. Then she said alright you can come bnack on Wed. sio i can learn more about the RS and the book of mormon! Ha it was awesome. I love this work. I am so grateful to serve a mission for the lord. This has been the greatest blessing of my life! I love you all so much

The stake president of Bakersfield asked me to give my testimony at a 3 stake fireside for the youth next sunday about sacrificing to serve the lord. Spencer Hafoka will be there ttoo~! I love you! Love ELder Bills

February 7, 2011

Hey Family! How are you guys doing?? Thanks for all of the emails and support! I loved the pictures of everyone and it was so nice to see Jeff and Brihanna. I am so happy for them. Man what a blessing. I love Jeff so much and when I saw that picture I was filled with emotion and happiness! The gospel is remarkable. I cant beleive I have been out a year. We were at dinner last night and we were teaching a family (all 4 missionaries) and at the end of the lesson I looked at my companion and the other two missionaries and I realized how happy and blessed I am. I thought about how fast this time has gone and will go and I thought about the end and I had a sick feeling. I dont want this time to end. I love it so much. This week I had some spiritual expereinces. We were teaching this couple about the Book of Mormion and the importance that it brings, how it is the Keystone of our religion, and when they know it is true everything will fall into place. As we were teaching I was really focusing on acting on every prompting the spirit gave me. I was trying to and I honestly was feeling the spirit guide me. We were talking about baptism amnd they asked a question that most catholics do about infant baptism. I kind of sat and let the spirit direct me and I felt an impresion clearly to go to Moroni 8:8. So we did. It was direct they understood and they didnt have many more questions about it. At the end the guy told us that the book of mormon was the exact same as the bible and that there is nothinbg more that he could learn. I again waited and I mentioned the scripture we just read and asked him, before you read this did you know this was the way the lord wanted it? He said no and i said the book of mormon teaches us direct and clear the gospel of jesus christ. Baptism is a key part uin tjhe gospel and if you dont do it right it benefits nothing. I then testified of the Book of mormon. I realized from this experience that the spirit is direct and bold. Sometimes we feel hesitant because the impressions we recieve are so bold but we must act on them. That is why the Book of Mromon is so clear. It was written under the influence of the spirit. I know at one point the Bible was as well but as we know over time it was changed to the mens own desire. I love the Bible. I know it is word of God. But I know aswell that the Book of Mormon IS the most correct book in the world. I feel an assurance everytime i read it with humility willing to learn and apply its teachings. I felt that assurance this morning as i read Heleman5. I love this gospel! It is so amazing! This work is the work of the Lord! All is well in shafter. We are working hard and being led to people with desire. I know this is Christs church and that Thomas S Monson is His Prophet. My companion is good and i will probably get transfered in a couple weeks ive been here for 5 months now! I love you al so so much! Where is KC going to go? I think he should go to Duke! I love you! Love Elder Bills

January 24, 2011

Hey family! How is everyone doing?? Well I get to stay in Shafter another transfer. I am happy. I am learning a lot from training and also I love the ward and I know there is work fior me to still do here! This week I was really trying to focus all my thoughts on the Atonement and how it has blessed me in my life and how it can bless others. IWehad an incredible expereince with a lady we taught. We knocked into her and we sat out on her porch last saturday to teach her for the first time. (it was 68 degrees by the way ha) So as we were talking about her family she tld us about her son who had an accident at age 12 that made him handicapped and not able to live without constabnt help and attention. She was crying and we could just feel how this had been a huge trial for her ion her life. As she was talking to us I was racing in my head what scripture can help her, how can we give her comfort. I was thinking about so many scriptures and then honestly it was like i flipped right to Alma 11:42-44 in my mind. I saw the scriptures in my mind and knew that is what she needed. It is about the ressurection. So we explained the book of mormon to her and how we can learn about the blessings of Christs sacrifice from it and we asked her to read it. She read it and the spirit was powerful. She was crying and I began to testify of a hope of a glorious ressurection for her son. That he will be to his original form with a functioning brain and body that it is through the love and Atonement of Christ that this is made possible. I felt an incredible amount of love and concern for her. I knew that we were testifying of the truth, that through Christ all will be resurrected that her son who may have problems in this life one day will be able to be happy and have a wonderful ressurected body. The spirit was strong and was testifying of the truth we were tesching. I dont know what will happen with her, but i do know were the instruments in the lords hands to bless his daughter, to give her hope and to hopefully plant a seed of faith in her so she can nourish it and have a strong faith in the atonement and its blessings. I know The atonement is real. Chirst loves us. I know that he didi in fact die and suffer the pains of all! I love you all so much thanks for the support and prayers! Love Elder Bills

January 18, 2011

Hey family. Sorry i didnt email you yesterday! We were being taught by a member of the Seventy. Elder Paul Peiper. It was an amazing time to learn and grow and i feel like the things i learned will bless me for the rest of my life if i apply them. He talked about how the questions we have in life fall into 3 categories. Why what and how. The why is the doctrine we have the what is the principles and the how is th application. It was great and he was so spiritual. I feel an overwhelming desire to come closer to Christ when I feel the spirit. Thats why it is so important to have the spirit as we teach for the people will and can feel the same. The past week went good. We are working a lot with the less actives in our ward as wekll as finding new investigators. Elder Peiper talked how we need to find the elect because that is who we are called to teach. I was so grateful to be there yesterday and learn from a general authority. I am so grateful for the leadership in the church. I am so grateful for Heavenly Father who sent His son our elder vrother to die for us so that we can return to him! I love this gospel. I was reading in alma today and i read a scriopture that had a huge impact on me. Its in alma46:15 it says and those who did belong to the church were faithful. yea they were true beleiversd in christ and they gladly took upon them the name of Christ because of their beleif in the coming of Christ. I LOVE this scripture. That is the attitude we need to have! We must take upon us the name of Christ gladly. We should all look forward to his coming with faith and be numbered among the TRUE beleivers. We should stand as examples at all times and be representatives of him at all times. I love you all so much. I know that Jesus Christ is the savior. I know he lives and he knows me personally. Heavenly Father has prepared a way to return to his presence through his only begotten son. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I love this gospel sop much. I am honestly so grateful for my mission. I have come to know these things through the spirit and will never forget them! I love you all.love Elder Bills