Week 12 - Oklahoma City - Sept 24, 2012

Mi Querida Familia,

Another great week in the mission. We had a lot of success in finding new investigators, one of which was a member referral family of about 6. They are such an awesome, strong that were very appreciative of our prayer. The father is very opinionated, but very respectful. Unlike many hispanics he actually has a schedule and if we're late for an appointment we miss the opportunity to really teach him. He also just recently switched religions and strongly believes in his faith. That's ok though...so did Saul in the Bible. That's one of the great things about missionaries. Our purpose is solely to invite people to experiment with our words and help them recieve the Restored Gospel. We do that by strongly testifying. It's so great. I don't have any fear going into appointments, because we are solely here to help...no gimmicks. I've found that when you really have a spirit of love, you don't need to worry about barriers such as being shy, or not knowing the language. When you truly love the people you serve and do your best, the Spirit makes up the difference.

So cool experiences for this week. I was on exchanges with a missionary who was with me in the MTC. His name is Elder Reese and we had an awesome teaching experience on Friday. It was with Juana and Tania who I mentioned last week. Turns out they actually liked Church (although they didn't come this week we're going visit them tonight to see whats up). Juana actually is really starting to progress. We had an excellent lesson in which we reviewed the Restoration by watching the DVD of Joseph Smith's First Vision. Believe it or not, the DVD actually works miracles and brings the spirit into the home in a way that other means can't. The little girl Tania was asking questions about who were the people that Joseph Smith saw, and it felt so cool to be able say, "It's God and his son Jesus Christ" and then see her eyes light up. We started talking after the DVD and we starting explaining how the Holy Ghost manifests truth. Juana really opened up and mentioned how there's something different when she talks to the missionaries. SPecifically she mentioned that we have a sort of power  and authority when we speak (it's like we're called of God or something), and that when she looks at us she feels happy. It was interesting to realize that when we teach the Gospel, we really do have the light of Christ inside us, and people see it. The light of Christ is what really helps us have success. We really do know the truth and the Spirit testifies.

We invited the family to baptism. Tania accepted. She started asking questions specifically about what the Holy Ghost was. I explained it to her that it was a Spirit that can be with you at all times that can help you feel happy and make good decisions. She then asked if it was like a best friend. I can't explain the joy I felt when she said those words. Yes the Holy Ghost is a friend; Tania really liked that and then asked if I had the Holy Ghost. I said yes and that he was here with me at that very moment. You feel power when you testify of truth. I can't quite explain it, you have to feel it for yourself.

Juana is going to take a while. She needs to act and read the Book of Mormon to really recieve an answer. Right now she isn't making the connections between the good feelings she feels when she's around us to the Holy Ghost. But she's progressing.

WE also set another baptismal date with a new investigator. His name is Michael and he's extremely humble young man about our same age. He lives in Moore but visits our area to help take care of his little brother and mother. He is so awesome! I can't wait to keep teaching him. His work schedule is crazy, but we can work with that.

This weekend we also had a Mission Conferance. Elder Collister from the presidency of the 70 spoke and Elder Roberts and area 70 spoke as well. They were very spiritually uplifting. They made some excellent spiritual insights. I wish I could go into to detail but I can't. But I will ask this question: Were Laman and Lemual obediant? Think about it and study the scriptures, the answer might not be what you think.

Yesterday we found out our assignments for next transfer. I'm staying in the same area with Elder Chapman! I'm so excited, there must be some unfinished work that the Lord needs us to carry out. We are also gaining a third person in our companionship, so we're going to be a trio. This will be interesting because I've never served in a trio before. But the new Elder is named Elder Vance. I' actaully had the privelage of taking him tracting for his first time when he arrived in Oklahoma a month ago. He's way cool and I'm excited for our new district. 4 members of my MTC district will actually be serving in the same District here in the South, including myself. It's going to be a blast!

Anyways, got to go for now. Keep strong!

Con Amor,

Elder Powley

Week 11 - Oklahoma City - Sept 17, 2012

Mi Querida Familia,

Ok where to start for this week. First off, I can't believe BYU lost this week by a field goal! Sounds like they could use a little Doctrine of Christ in their lives and actually endure to the end of the game.

Anyways, I've had another great week here in Oklahoma. One of the higlights of this week is that we got three investigators to come to church. I'll quickly tell you about these people and the fun lessons we got to teach them this week.

First off we have Pancho. He's an older man who lives by himself. His woman (not really sure if it was a girlfriend or wife) left him a month back and he's really enjoyed our visits. we had a lesson with him this past week on the Doctrine of Christ and it was really cool to hear him open up to us about he's seriously felt a difference in his life before and after he met us. He truly believes that the Book of Mormon brings the spirit into his life and it helps fill the pain that he felt before. In reality, he hasn't really read the Book of Mormon, he can't read that well, but he knows that he feels good whenever he tries. I hope histestimony will continue to grow. Right now he sort of considers more of a "good luck charm" rather than inspired revelation that provides the evidence that Joseph was a prophet and that this is the true Church.

Quick story about our last lesson with him. We actually we'ren't planning on visiting him that day, but as we were riding our bikes past his house, we heard a whistle. We kept riding, but my companion and I looked at eachother and wondered if that was Pancho who whistled at us. We both felt strongly to turn back and visit him. We did, and it turns out that it was Pancho who whislted and he was very excited and wanted to tell us something. We went in, and he started telling us how much he loves the Book Mormon, how it's brought so much happiness into his life...because the other night he got engaged:) So my companion and I were happy for him. Pancho doesn't know when, and it reality the woman it question never said yes to anything...yeah we'll see what happens. But the bottom line is that he's happy, and believes it's because of the Book of Mormon! He then came to church yesterday, all by himself and said that he liked it. He's really starting to progress, hopefully iif his engagement doesn't work out he'll still have testimony of the Book of Mormon.

Our other investigators that came to church are a mom and a daughter. The mom's name is Juana and the daughter's name is Tania, and she is about 9 years old. We had an awesome member named Hma Garcia accompany us to a lesson this past week. She did a great job in helping fellowship the mom, and Hma Garcia brought one of her sons to help friendship Tania. It was a long lesson, but all-in all it was worth it because we helped fellowship our investiagtor. And then Hma Gracia actually took it upon herself to pick up Juana and Tania for church. What an awesome example of member missionary work!

so Juana and Tania came. I'm not sure how they liked it because they left kind of quickly, but I'm optamistic that they flt the spirit if nothing else.

We did have kind of a down side this week. We taught Jose (our golden investigator who came last week to church) an awesome Plan of Salvation lesson with one of our members present as well. He agrees with everything, Pre-life, Spirit World, Three kingdoms, and all. However, he is a little uncertain about baptism. He feels the Spirit, but he honestl felt a little nervous about commiting, mainly because his wife is Catholic and he doesn't want to split his family.

Unfortunately, ever since that lesson, we've been unable to contact him by phone or by door contact, and even worse, he didn't come to church today. I hope he's still porgressing. It just goes to show how much a lack of communication can really cause uneasiness and doubt.

In a way, that must be how our Heavenly Father feels when we fail to pray as often as we should. Think of how worried you must be when a child fails to call home on a Friday night, or a least text. It's the same with how we feel when we can't contact our investigators and its the same with our Father in Heaven. Sure, he's all-knowing but when you fail to talk to him, he must feel worried...its our eternal life at stake and he desperately wants all of us to return home safely to his presence.

This week I am especially grateful for my companion Elder Chapman. I was feeling kind of down last night, a little stressed out because I had no clue how to plan for the next day. I was trying to feel the Spirit and follow promptings, but I kept second guessing myself. I voiced a concern that perhaps I didn't have the spirit with me and stuff like that. Then Elder Chapman taught me a very good lesson.

God does not always tell us what to do when we ask him. Sometimes we have to use our agency a little and make a decision NOT based on whether or not we feel prompted...but rather based on reasoning through our own knowledge and understanding, and past experiences. I was shocked! Of course it makes sense: how else can we grow as children of God if we don't get a chance to make our own decisions. If God made sure we knew exactly what we were supposed to do all the time, we could never make mistakes and learn from them. Imagine if you're a parent and your child keeps asking for directions on what classes to take, what groceries to buy, what to do on the weekend...would you tell him/her exactly what they should do? Of course not. They would never learn how to be independant. The Lord asked the Brother of Jared to come up with a solution for the lack of light in the barges, rather than fixing it for him.

Now I'm not saying we should learn how to become so independant that we forget to rely on the Lord. We should always rely on the Lord to help us and work miracles....only AFTER we've done all we can do. the AFTER is key. without the AFTER, we don't have any motivation to work and grow.

It was a great insight for me this week. It gave me greater confidence that I can use my own knowledge to make worthy decisions, and then the Lord will work with me to make sure that His work gets done.

Great stuff, and I highly reccomend everyone watching Elder Bednar's recent three part Mormon Message online. He does a great job of explaining how the Spirit works in all of our lives.

Anyways, there's my doctrinal rant for the week. I feel like I'm repeating some of the stuff I've explained in other emails, but it just goes to show that we keep re-learning principles over and over and each time they take on greater meaning that help us apply them for every day life.

I wish I could keep writing, but I've got to eat lunch. Hope everyone has a great week. Tell Matman not to worry about the election, class officers don't do much anyways in Junior High, I would know. Make sure he continues to be friends with everyone and then he can run for SBO in 8th grade!:)

Also, I thought Alex was going to Homecoming with David Peterson or someone like that not Alex Ingrebretson. Did something happen?

Have a great week and I miss you all! ( Los echo de menos)

Con Amor,

Elder Powley

Week 10 - Oklahoma City - Sept 10, 2012

Mi Querida Familia,

It's been another great week in the South. Our key indicator numbers weren't that high, but we had some great experiences nonetheless. The first of which was the Branch Talent Show!

What a fun night! It took a lot of stress leading up to the event, but once performance time hit, everything ran very smoothly. Elder Chapman and I sang a little song about La Doctrina de Cristo while my companion played the ukalalie. It goes a little like this:

Me encanta aprender el Evangelio.

En nuestras vidas, es el proposito.

Empieza con la fe, con la fe , con la fe,

crees in las cosas que no ves, que no ves que no ves,

pero sabes que existe.

Y con esta fe, tienes que cambiar,

y contra malavidas, tu puedes conquistar, si hermano,

Arrepientete Arrepientete, arrepientete

Com dice Dios Arrepientete

Por que nadie es perfecto

El es nuestra Ejemplo, lo seguimos en todo que hacemos

tal como el bautismo y todos otros convenios

como el Espiritu, Espiritu, Espiritu

Como companero, Espiritu

Te guiara en lo que es bueno

Sigue mi hermano, a Dios y haz lo justo

Sigue, Sigue por la vida,

Es la Doctrina...De Cristo!

y trae salvacion, y trae la vida eterna.

Good song. I 'll have to see if I can get the video file from someone.

We also did a little skit as a District. We basically acted out a typical day in the mission field, in a sort of silent film style with a piano playing in the background. The Branch got a real kick out of it! We included scenes such as door apporaches, getting chased by dogs, getting our bikes stolen, getting Dear Johned and getting a referral. It was awesome. I also played a little John Schmidt for them as well as accompanied a member of our Branch that sings opera. I'll have to see if I can get the recording to you guys, it was a really a lot of fun.

But even better, Elder Chapman and I were able to get one of our investigators to come to the activity. He's an older man named Pancho who's wife left him a few months ago. He's pretty lonely, so it was great to see him come out and have a good time. The Elder's Quorum President did an amazing job in fellowshipping him. While me and my companion were out an about performing, the EQP jumped right in and made sure Pancho was included. The EQP introduced him to a few other members and it turns out...Pancho was old friends with one of the members! It was so touching to me to see what a big difference members make in missionary work. Hopefully this experience helps him feel more comfortable and willing to come to Church.

Overall, the Talent Show helped solidify Branch relationships with eachother as well as with the missionaries.

On Saturday, I also got special permission to go up to Stillwater and accompany President Taylor's son for a musical number in a Stake Conference he was speaking at. So I got to leave the city for the first time in my mission and ride up with President and his family. They are such an awesome family and were very kind.

I also got a chance to work with my old companion Elder Black for a little bit before the meeting. We got to sit in on a great lesson as well as try a few houses. It was great to see him and catch up on all the work going on in our areas.

And then time came for the musical number. I was so grateful for the opportunity to perform and share my testimony with the congregation through music. The President's son is an amazing singer who plays most of the lead roles in his school musicals. We literally didn't practice beforehand and pulled off and incredibly powerful song.

Spending time with the Taylor family was nice, but also a little nostolgic. I was remeinded of my family and the great bond that we all share. There really is nothing more sweet than the relationships you have with your family. I am learning that more and more, as I travel through the months without seeing my own family. I'll admit I got a little home sick, but I know that when I get back, our relationships will still be their and even twice as strong as they were before.

Now as for actually missionary work. Jose, the golden investigator we found a few weeks ago came to Church again on his own. Had a great time, the members fellowshipped him, and he even participated yet again during Gospel Principles. I later learned that his wife is actually not interested in the Gospel; however, this hasn't shaken Jose the leastest bit. He has a little trouble understanding the Book of Mormon, but he shows incredible faith and desire to learn. He prays for the ability to understand. It's so incredible to witness the Gospel really affect someone's life.

Now, you're probably wondering about all those incredible finding experiences I've mentioned in my past emails. I'm sad to report that we've been un able to really contact those people in any meaningful way. I'm learning very quickly that it's very easy to find people and set appointments, but nearly 85% of all first contacts turn into failed return appoinments and we're stuck trying to re-contact them at random times during the week. Half the time we don't see them. Patience and dilligence are some attributes that I'm having to learn and develop a lot more fully.

As usual, my understanding of the Gospel is growing each and every day. Every day I witness the love of God whether its through spending time with my companion, teaching a great lesson, seeing an investigator coming to church, or having a simple prayer with a stranger, or having a prayer by myself. I feel my Saviors Love!

Some great things are in store for our area. We met this awesome family this week where the Grandmother is very open to the idea that God speaks to prophets in our day. Mainly because she said she has seen God, but that's a whole other story. Anyways she is very religious and wants to hear our message. We hope to teach some of the families of her children as well. They all live on the same street, so it'll be easier for us missionaries to keep ttack of them.

Anyways, Oklahoma is cooling down and things are continuing to go well.

Con Amor,

Elder Powley

Week 9 - Oklahoma City - Sept 4, 2012

Mi Querida Familia,

I'll be honest, this week has been a little slower than the past few weeks. Almost all of our baptismal dates dropped simply because we haven't been able to contact any of them. Just goes to show how the little things such as communication, or a text message or a phone call are so critical. Without communication, nothing gets done. I think it's the same with our Heavenly Father. When we fail to communicate with him, we cease to grow spiritually. He can't let his Spirit guide us if we don't try to talk to him. That's one of the things that I've noticed about being a missionary: we pray almost constantly. We pray right when we wake up, for every meal, to start and end our personal studies, to start and end our companionship studies, before we leave the apartment, during each lesson, each door contact, for every meeting, every day we do a role play for our investigators, and finally every other time in between when we don't have anything to do. Needless to say, us missionaries say many prayers; let's face it we need all the help we can get.I think the mere fact that we openly try and communciate with our Father in Heaven contributes to the whole experience.

We didn't see too much success as far as numbers go, but I've still had some great experiences. The first of which was an exchange I went on with one of our Zone Leaders Elder Aliifua (an exchange is where you switch companions for one day). I had a great learning experience with him. He's almost finished with his mission and he has so much wisdom and knowledge that has really helped with me. He bore his conversion testimony to me, and my testimony of the enabling power of the Atonement has increased 10 fold because of this guy.

I also had one of the most meaningful teaching experiences with him. We were teaching a lady named Juana, her daughter Tania, and her son Oscar. Juana had been a former investigator in our area but for one reason or another, the last missionaries stopped teaching her. So Elder Chapman and I found her record and began the teaching process over again. Juana is very kind, speaks only Spanish and loves hearing the missionaries...but she is not one to make commitments.

So going into this lesson without a companion who spoke Spanish was a little daunting. However, I found that I was given the gift of the interpretation of tounges for this one lesson. I understood almost everything she said, not perfectly but enoght that I could answer her concerns. It was truly a revelatory experience that the Lord will make sure that whatever situation I'm put in, as long as I have faith, He will provide. For some reason, I was able to communicate with Juana and teach the Gospel of Christ all in Spanish. It was so cool! And I could feel the Spirit testifying just as strongly. Juan then invited us to come back on Sunday.

Elder Chapman and I then got to meet with her on Sunday, but this time we took a different approach. We decided to include the daughter Tania in on the lesson. It's actually kind of a sad situation with the mom and daughter. Tania speaks English while her mother speaks Spanish. Both can understand a little bit of eachother but neither can tlak to each other very effectively. But Elder chapman and I decided to focus on Tania. And as we did, we noticed that Tania had a great curiosity for things about God. The fact that we included the child in on the lesson, in my opinion is something that touched Juana more than anything.

We then taught them again last night using the same apporach with the Plan of Salvation and I was astonished by the wisdom of a little child. We were asking her some very pointed questions and she answered them simply and profoundly. It was amazing, and again the mom was touched.

It just goes to show, that when you teach a child, adults will understand and learn more effectively. I've heard it said that the true mark of a genius is one who can a very complicated idea and explain it so that a child can understand it.

In other experiences, Elder Chapman and I were looking for new investiagators when we ran into a man named to Miguel. We had a very nice prayer with him and he asked us to come back on Tuesday (which is today...woah). At first I was like "Ok cool we have a new investiagator. I'm excited." Then Elder Chapman asked me if I noticed anything strange about Miguel. I said apart from the fact that his apartment was pretty clean, no. He then asked me if I saw the tracking bracelet around his ankle. I said No, I must have missed it. We are apparently meeting with a convicted criminal tonight. Not too scared becaue we definately felt the spirit during the prayer, but this is gonna be interesting.

I've run out of time to write, but things are going pretty well out here in Oklahoma. We had a Talent Show coming up this Friday with the Spanish Branch and I'll be performing a little piano song by Jon Schmidt called "Onward Christian Soldiers" (sound familiar?) and also accomompanying an opera singer in our branch. I'm excited, and hopefully we'll be able to get some investigatores to come as well and start involving the branch members in fellowshipping them.

Hasta proxima semana!

Con Amor,

Elder Powley

Week 8 - Oklahoma City - August 27, 2012 -

Mi querida familia,

Just when you think it couldn't get any better...I had another awesome testimony building week. I don't know whats going on, not every week is supposed to be amazing, but while looking back... I had some INCREDIBLE experiences this week.

This week, we focused a lot on visiting less active members of the church. It was quite humbling to visit homes that weren't active in the church. The homes were nice enough, but you could definately feel the contrast between being in a home with active members. It just goes to show that even though you may be baptized, that doesn't mean the Spirit will be with you at all times...you have to keep doing your part by reading the scritpures, praying, and attending church. And you have to do all three of those things, not just one or the other. We met with two families this week and they both had a common denominator...neither had been visited by home teachers in the past months. This one goes out to you Dad, bishops and all those Elders Quorums out their. Hometeaching is essencial for member retentions. I remember when I was an Elder's quroum president at BYU and hometeaching was the hardest thing to have people do. But the difference was the same. Those brothers and sisters in my BYU ward that weren't active in coming to Church were the same ones that hadn't been visited by home teachers. In a way home teaching really is a type of missionary work... in fact it is missionary work.

We also learned about this one inactive family that the reason the wife didn't attend church was because she was offended...once. We can't underestimate the power our words have on other people. True we shouldn't choose to be offended, but we also need to be careful what we say.

Then there were a lot of less actives that weren't livving at the given address anymore. We actaully visited this one guy and we met his mom and brother at the door. Turns out, this member is in jail (we had no idea). However, this contact turned into a pretty sweet experience since the mom and brother weren't members. They ended up becoming new investiagators. It's amazing how spreading the gospel is more effective when you work with people who have had experience with members of the church before.

This week has also been kind of hard in keeping in contact with our investiagators and setting return appointments. The people who work out here NEVER have fixed schedules. Every time we ask "What time would be best for you?" we get the common "Oh any time is as good as another, no tengo un horario." Its so hard. We have three baptismal dates and we didn't get any time to teach those specific people lessons this week. Because they simply aren't making the time to hear our messages. It especially interferes with getting investigators to come to church. Work is like an addiction out here. People just don't want to stop working. It's good that they want to provide for their families, but at the same time it's hindering the mission. But ultimately I think it comes down to the desire.

Ok I have a few more specific experiences I need to share. First, this week was my first time being "dropped" by an investiagtor. This means, the investiagator tells us that they aren't interested anymore. Elder Chapman and I went to visit this lady that previously had a baptismal date. We asked her if we could set an appointment to come by and teach. However she seimply said that she didn't think the Mormon Church was right for her. Our hearts sank. Her concerns were doubts about living prophets and the idea of three kingdoms and that even the sinners will recieve a place of glory. Everything else felt good, but she simply wasn't ready. Her marriage was also a bad situation. She kept telling us that her husband was a lost cause and always made fun of her when she did good. It was sad. However, she had not read the Book of Mormon. this was the only flaw in her desire. So I shared with her two of my favorite scritpures Moroni 10:4 and 2 Nephi 33:10,(perfect scritpure combo for anyone who doubts this church is true and hasn't read the Book of Mormon) and bore my testimony that this book truly testifies of Christ and teaches men to do good that that next to a wtiness from the Holy Ghost is the strongest evidence of its truthfulness. "ask God having faith in Christ if this things are not true...if ye shall believe in Christ ye shall believe these words for they are the words of Christ." I could feel the words flowing easily from my mouth, there was power when I quoted those scriptures and I haave no doubt that the Spirit was backing up what I was saying; our investiagotr had no response except that she would continue to read and pray.

Now, before this experience I had never cried during my testimony. I've always known the Book of Mormon was true, but had never been so sure, so positive in my whole life until this moment being dropped by an investiagator. We left her on good terms, she continue to read and pray, but she will contact us when she feels ready.

In contrast, I had another experience. We were at a restaruant with a member for dinner and while my companion and I were in line for the HIbachi grill, we were apporaced by a lady who asked if we were mormons. We said yes and that we were missionaries. She smiled and said that that was cool and that she had a friend who was Mormon who served a mission as well. My companion and I are both thinking "Wow sweet, this might be a golden contact." Then she started asking about whether had heard about Heavenly Mother. There is this new church in Oklahoma where people are teaching that the gospel has been restored by God....but they believe God is a female. It's an interesting belief. Anyways, then she said that we didn't believe in Jesus Christ but rather Joseph Smith and it just went downhill from there. She wasn't attacking, but rather trying to preach to us. She kept citing revelations and saying that Christ has already come again, and that he came in 1948 when the state of Israel was formed. It was crazy.

But here's the thing. I remember distincly that my mind was at a blank while we were talking with this woman. I had no comeback, no words were coming to mind, not even a testimony. And then after she left, I suddenly realized all the flaws in her argument and my mind was opened to a ton more things I could havbe said to to this woman. I asked myself, "Why didn't I think of these things while I was actually talking with her? Why did the Spirit not give me the words to speak in the moment?" and then I realized something... that mind blank that I had druing that conversation with the lady was infact the Sprirt giving me a "stupor of thought" as the scriptures put it. The Spirit was in fact directing me to NOT say anything. She was obviously not open the Gospel and if I had tried to reason with her, it would have been to no avail and it would have turned into a fruitless argument. Sometimes, we aren't meant to correct people who are tryin to prove us wrong. Silence is often the best tool. The Spirit works by giving us the words to speak, and also by stumping our thoughts so that we don't get into a needless argument. The ones that want to argue and satisfy their intellectual gratifications are not the ones us missionaries should be focusing on. We still invite them to come unto Christ and to read and pray, but there is a line drawn when it comes to Bible bashing.

Ok I've saved the best for last. This weekend, Elder Chapman and I decided to visit a former investigator who for one reason or another had lost contact with the missionaries. We knocked on his door and a man answered who introduced himself as Jose. He said he was the brother in law of this former investigator. So we offered to have prayer with him. He was very excited to invite us in and have a prayer. He invited us to sit down. We talked for about 45 minutes about God and some struggles that had been going on his life. This man has been working in Oklahoma for the past year and has only seen his family 12 days out the year. He loves his family (first sign that he's open to the Gospel) and wishes he could be with them more. He then told us how he'd been very said lately for the death of one of his co workers and how he hoped the man had a chance to accept God (2nd sign that he's looking for something more). He talked for a bit about how he wasn't sure about what happened after this life. He aslo mentioned that he wanted to go to church again. GOLDEN CONTACT! This man had been prepared. We had a prayer, shared our testimonies and gave him a Book of Mormon. He graciously accepted the gift and we invited him to church.

The very next day, he came to our sacrament meeting. We had met Jose once. He came, and during Gospel Principles we talked about Missionary Work. He got up and bore his testimony about how grateful he was for meeting the missionaries, and he said it with tears in his eyes. He truly believes we were sent from God to teach him. It was incredible! And the cool part is that Elder Chapman and I literally did NOTHING to convince him to come to church... except being obedianet and by bearing our testimonies and inviting him. The Spirit did everything

But what pleased me the most was how well the ward fellowshipped him that day. He was brand new and I think he shook everyone's hand at least once. He was having full on conversations with members as if they were already friends. Jose has been prepared by the Lord.

The more and more I serve out here, the more I witness the Lord doing his "marvelous work and a wonder" through his servants. I really can't describe what it feels like to be tool in the hands of the Lord. You have to experience for yourself. But I can tell you that I've never been happier in my entire life.

Until next week. I can't promise it will be as exciting, but I promise that what happens is exactly what the Lord has in mind.

Con Amor,

Elder Powley

Week 7 - Oklahoma City - August 20, 2012

Mi quierida familia,

Wow, this week has been incredible. I've witnessed the Lord's hand very frequently in the past few days in this work, and more and more I am becoming convinced of how real this mission really is. Words almost can't describe...well they can, but it's almost impossible to explain what a mission is like. The best I can do is relate my experiences.

My new companion...is AWESOME. President Taylor was truly inspired to put me with Elder Chapman. I love this guy! He went to be BYU and is planning on majoring in biophysics.  He is also allergic to glutten so I am forced to avoid eating flour tortillas (corn tortillas are more healthy). One of my favorite things about him is that he loves to sing (Elder Black couldn't carry a tune to save his life). He carries around a ukelalie (can't spell) and loves to sing. We've starting opening up our companionship studies with a hymn. He plays the chords and while we both sing. We actually can get some pretty good blend and harmony going. Who knows we might do a number for the upcoming branch talent show.

Elder Chapman is also very good at Spanish, which is a great strength to me because he speaks it very often so I get to practice. But one of the traits that I think I can learn from him is his ability to see a solution to a problem and make a decision and follow through without any delay. He's going to be an awesome District Leader for our district. When he gets focused, he gets focused.

It's only been a few days and I can already tell we have a good relationship, and we've been very productive these past few days as well (which is surprising since the first week of transfers usually don't yield too many results.) Another thing I like about my companion is that when I have a prompting by the Spirit or when I have an idea, he takes it very seriously and is able to reinforce my idea. For example, we were out tracting and I saw this lady out weeding her yard. We were about to hop in our truck and head out to Noche de Hogar with the Branch, but I felt the impression to go talk with her. Now, I've served with a few elders where I'd have been hesitant to share my opinion, but for some reason I told Elder Chapman about my thought. Instead of saying "Oh we're going to be late don't worry about it," he shrugged his shoulders and said "Ok, let's go talk to her." We ended up having a prayer with her and having a great contact. She lives by herself and drinks every now and then, but she has a strong belief in God. She even mentioned that she thought God told us to come and talk with her, which in a way is true. I can't deny it was the Holy Ghost that told us to go talk with her.

Another experience: just on Saturday Elder Chapman and I were debating on whether to ride our bikes or use the truck for our appointments that evening. I wanted to ride bikes so I could get a work out (not the best reasoning) and to also save miles since we're only allotted 600 miles a month. However, we both realized that since our appointments were spaced out over a large area and we had set people we needed to visit, that the truck would be more effective.

As we were walking out to our truck, we ran into a hispanic standing outside his apartment (he lives in our complex). We exchanged some hellos and than Elder Chapman started to contact him. We introduced ourselves as missionaries and said that today we were offering prayers for people and their families. He let us right in to his house and gathered his wife, two daughters and we had a kneeling prayer right there in his dining room. The Sprirt was incredibly strong, he asked us to specifically pray for the presence of God to be with them in their home. This was honestly one of the most amazing prayers we've given. Nothing special was said, but you could definately feel the Spirit testifying of our Heavenly Father. Let me say that again: you could DEFINATELY feel the Spirit TESTIFYING of our Heavenly Father. We paused after the prayer (I highly reccomend this for everyone, pause after you say a prayer allow time for the Spirit to work within you. If you just say the prayer and go on your way, you don't get the same effect.) and we set a return appointment for Tuesday. Now it's too early to say they will be baptized, but one thing I know for sure is this... we were NOT meant to ride our bikes that day. If we had chosen to ride our bikes, we never would have contacted this man and his family. Just goes to show that the Spirit does not prompt us in obvious ways.

                 When we are consistantly living the Gospel and keeping our covenants, the Spirit NATURALLY works through us guiding our thoughts in a seemingly effortless manner. God placed us and this man in that exact moment for a reason. Some of you reading might call this coincidence. Sure, but I can testify that it was more than that. This work is real.

An then to even add on to this experience, later that night we were driving and stopped by an old potencial investiagator Elder Black and I found back in my third week. Her name is Martina, and we had never been able to contact her since, and the one time we did contact her, she said she would have a prayer with us as long as it was with her husband. Well, after 3 weeks Elder Chapman and I found her at home with her husband and had another incredibly strong prayer with them where the Spirit was DEFINATELY TESTIFYING. It was great. We then set an appointment for the next day to come and teach the first lesson.

And again, if we had been riding our bikes, we would not have had the time to stop and visit her, and we may have lost the opportunity.

So you can see, that two families were introduced to come to Christ through the smallest decision: should we ride our bikes today? Being a missionary is soooooo incredible!

Anyways, our follow-up with Martina was equally amazing. We brought Hermano and Hermana Fabela, a married couple in our Branch, as member presents. Only Martina was home unfortunately, but we decided to teach her. The members are amazing! They are instrumental in helping break the social barrier that is sometimes created by missionaries. Hermana Fabela and Martina were very friendly and that jsut only invited the Spririt. We taught the lesson, I definately said some things I did not plan on saying (inspired questions were asked) and we were able to set a baptismal date with Martina. You could tell she felt somehting, and I could feel my words being solidified by the Holy Ghost's testimony. People feel different when you share the Gospel with them, they may not say it, but there is a different feeling.

We also got a new investigator off the visit. Martina's niece Jasmine also sat in on the visit. She was very interested as well. We asked her if her family would be interested in hearing our message, and almost without hesitation she said yes and said we could come by Tuesday night. Wow! This is a mission! I feel like a silent voice crying from the monitor of a computer screen. The Holy Ghost is real, this whole Gospel is real, not just a nice thought.

Needless to say, I am really excited for this next transfer. I have a feeling this weekend was only the beginning.

There's more I could write about concerning Branch drama, but I think I'll just dispense with the drama and call it good. Just remember to be quick to forgive and slow to anger, and if you lose a plate...don't worry too much about it:)

Anyways I've got to go, but remember the Church is True!!!!

Con Amor,

Elder Powley

Week 6 - Oklahoma City - Aug 13, 2012

Mi Querida Familia,

Hola! We had a really good week. Yesterday...I had my first baptism for Alberto. He's a nine-year kid who loves video games and the Gospel. And let me tell you, he has the strongest testimony in any 9-year kid I've ever met...that would include myself when I was his age. He was ready to get baptised at least a month ago, before even his mom accepted the invitation. So Elder Black and I have been teaching him all the lessons for the past month and it's been such a blast! I actaully taught my first Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity lessons ever with Alberto. They were actually really fun lessons. For Word of Wisdom, he said "I don't understand why y'all can't drink beer.. it makes you tell the truth." And then for Law of Chastity, we basically told him straight up that you aren't allowed to have sexual relations before or outside the bonds of marriage. He's first reaction was "Are you for real? That's messed up!" It was so funny to hear that coming from him, but it also shows what kind of environment he's living in with his school and in Oklahoma...it's not you're typical Mormon Utah school playground. Some of the things he told us really shocked me. Nonetheless, he is dedicated to keep the commandments, and Elder Black and I love him a lot.

The service was very spiritual. Alberto and Maria, Alberto's mom, were both baptized. Elder Black had the privielage of performing the baptism for Alberto, and then Alberto's older brother got to baptize Maria. It was quite an experience. The Spririt was definately testifying with every passing moment that this is the right path to go. This Church has the authority to perform saving ordinances, I have no doubt about that.

Although we were extremely busy this week preparing for the baptism, Elder Black and I also found any incredible family of new investigators. The Mom and Dad have a 1 year old son and live in very humble circumstances. The usually keep themselves pretty hushed up because they don't like the neighborhood they live because of the many "berrachos" (people who are drunk). The story is actually really cool. We met them through a Heavenly Gift. We prayed for them to find their medicine for their child who was sick. We left it at that. We then returned a few days later. We knocked twice and no one answered, and just as we were about to turn around, I felt the distinct impression to knock a third time. So we did, and the door opened. They had been taking a nap and were simply getting ready to let us in. I am convinced if I did not knock, we never would have contacted them again.

So we go in and learn that literally 5 imnutes after we said a prayer the first time we visted, they found their medicine. And so they were very open to hearing about the Gospel. We shared a first lesson, the Dad (whoes name is Eli) is tons of fun. He asked if my companion was married (because of the ring he has on his right hand) we jokingly said he had 5. eli laughed so hard, it was great. Anyways we taught the First Lesson and they felt the Spirit incredibly strong. They notice the Spririt when we are in their home, and I am really excited to see how they progress. Eli is extremely nervous about praying and setting a baptismal date, but I think if we keep fellowshipping him with members, he'll gain more confidence. Man, I really hope they progress!

This past week was my first Zone Conference. And.......WOW! IT WAS SO COOL! President Taylor might become an Apostle one day, I think. He is a very inspired mission president. He talked about the Doctrine of Christ and how it's like being in a tumbler. A tumbler is a machine where you put rocks in side and then let them grind against each other until they become smooth. It was a great analogy and I learned so much. I even learned things that weren't realted to his talk. This Zone Conference really showed me how the Sprirt is able to give you revelation, if you are listening.

I also got to play piano for the whole conference. It felt SOO good to be accompanying people again. Sister Taylor gave me this version of "Called to Serve" that it is really fun to play with a killer key change into D-flat major at the end that makes you want to suit up and shoot a cannon or something. Man, it gets me pumped!

As I mentioned in the subject header, this week my transfer with Elder Black ends. (For those who don't know a transfer is 6 weeks in the same area with the same companion) He is going to become a Zone Leader in Stillwater, while I'm going to stay in Oklahoma City and finish my training. I'm going to miss Elder Black, especially his non-stop laughter and positive attitude and excitement for the work. He's helped me learn how to have fun and take the mission seriously at the same time. It's been good for me because I tend to get stressed out a lot. He'll do great at being a Zone Leader. I did learn the name of my new companion...Elder Chapman. I've heard good things about him and so I'm excited.(he will also be the next District Leader).

Anyways, great week! Can't wait to start a new transfer!

Here are some pictures! I'll try to get some with my apartment for next week. But I have here a picture of me, Elder Black and Alberto. As you can see, he's a lot of fun to be around.

Con Amor,

Elder Powley

Week 5 - Oklahoma City - Aug 6, 2012

Mi querida familia,

It's been a hot, hot week here in Oklahoma. I think we hit record temperatures at least 2 or 3 times this week. It's been fun biking around and looking at the faces of people we contact when they check out our hair and shirts dripping with sweat. It actually is a good thing we sweat so much, I think it helps soften the hearts of those we meet to at least give us a glass of water. Then we've got them right where we want them: they want their cup back, and we want to share the Gospel!

Oh, there's been so much that has happened this week. I guess to start off, I got a new bike this week that replaced the old mission bike that I've been using for the past few weeks. Funny story about the mission bike though: this week we locked up the bike to go give a blessing to the father of one of our investigators. Incredibly spiritual, these people really have a strong testimony of priesthood blessings and were literally excited to invite us in to give a blessing. We got to bear our testimonies and were happy to hear that they are finally taking the Book of Mormon seriously.

Anyways great uplifting experience...we come back to get our bikes (now keep in mine we locked them up extremely well using a U-lock and everything) only to find that someone had stolen the bike seat of my mission bike. Now, forgive my language, but that's just plain rude! You can't do much with a bike seat so it was obvious that whoever took it just wanted to mess with us. So my companion and I took turns riding the bike the 20 blocks back to apartment without a seat. On the bright side, our thighs ae pretty massive by now.

Other than that, we had a very great time this week. We set a few baptismal dates. One of them was a little hard to set. We were teaching this lady the 2nd part of the Plan of Salvation about the Spirit World and such when she brought up the concern that we don't seem to believe in a hell. I was stumped for a second because we do believe in hell, but we also beleive in the Telestial glory. Anyways I got caught up trying to explain our point (didn't go very well) but thank goodness we brought our branch Mission Leader as a member to our lesson. HE was able to more clearly explain the doctrine behind our view on hell. I learned a lot from him. We then invited her to be baptized. At first she accpeted bat as soon as we set a date, she backed off because it was a little soon. So I got to explain to her that the purpose of a baptismal date is to set a tangible goal that she could progress to in order to be baptized. If you show the Lord that you have the specific desire to be baptized on a specific date, he will help you come to a knowledge by that time. WE testified of this and she accepted. It felt so good! now we just need to help her attend church, get the husband on board, expalin the Word of Wisdom, tithing, fasting, Gospel of Christ and of course the Law of Chastity... no big deal.

I had an interesting experience knocking on doors while on exchanges with one of the Zone leaders this week. We were serving in an English speaking area and let me tell you... I've never experienced a larger culture shock in my life! My eyes were finally opened up to how difficult it is to truly go around knocking on doors. Because in the Spanish community, people are a lot more humble and willing to listen. Not to mention, it's kind of entertaining to see a few white guys trying to speak Spanish. However, when you're an American knocking doors in an white-American suburb....it's a whole new ball-game. I never knew Americans were so hard to offer a prayer to. It was crazy. It showed me how much you really have to work in order to find those that are ready.

Sunday, we witnessed quite a miracle though. First, let me share the background of the situation. There was a family in the branch that got to go through the temple the day before. For that, the entire branch was deeply affected. Many people got to go bear their testmonies about eternal familes during Fast and Testimony meeting. It was incredibly spiritual, and I could even understand the majority of it.

Anyways, we have this one investigator who has literlaly been seeing the missionaries for nearly two years. She has a son who is going to be baptized this next Sunday (this is Alberto who I mentioned last week I believe) and today she was especially moved by the Spirit. She literally walked up to us and said she was ready to be baptized and wanted to get baptized with her son! WAHOOOOO! The Spirit is real everyone! Just the week before, you never would have guessed she was ready to commit. Before she'd always been very hesitant, but now she's realizing that she couldn't deny that she has felt happier than she has ever felt in her life... and all because of this Gospel!

I truly am starting to gain a testimony that this Gospel has the potential to change lives. Also, every day I'm reminded that the Spirit touches each person in their own time and place. Imagine if the missionaries stopped visiting to her even 6 months ago because they thought she wasn't progressing simply because she hadn't made any steps toward deciding to get baptized. She would never have chosen to get batized if it weren't the faith and perseverence of all the Elders that came before me. It just goes to show that as long as we do our part and not give up because we think someone isn't ready. You just never know, and ultimately it's the Spirit who converts, not the missionary.

Anyways, here's my week report I can't wait to tell you all about the baptism next week. I'm so excited!

Love you all and remember that this Gospel is true. I know I'm on a mission and it's a completly different atmosphere. I know when I was in the shoes of all my siblings, I don't I truly comprehended even a tenth of how real our Heavenly Father and his 'work and glory" truly are. The Atonement turly can change lives...it's changing mine.

Queden en la fe con mucha fortaleza!

Con Amor

Andrew Powley

Week 4 - Oklahoma City - July 30, 2012

Mi querida familia,

Hola, como estan? This week has been a growing week. My trainer has been at a Leadership Training Meeting almost every day, so I've had to go on exchanges from Tuesday-thursday with an Elder Mulhstein. We both can't understand Spanish all that well, but it was good for us to get out and teach lessons without having to use my trainer as a fallback. I taught my first lessons completely in Spanish without my trainer! I felt pretty accomplished. There was this one lesson we had with a Mom and her children that was entirley in Spanish; we definately struggled communicating, but I think that it allowed for the Spirit to communicate more. Speaking Spanish forced me to simplify my teaching, and overall, I think this was one of the lessons where I felt the Spirit the strongest.

I'm learning a lot about how key member missionaries are in missionary work. Think about the story of the thousands of Lamanites that were converted because of Ammon and his brethren. If you look closely in chapter 23 I think it is, the only reason the missionaries were able to teach and convert thousands of people was because the King of the Lamanites "administered" and "pacified" the people beforehand. Only after the King referred the kingdom to listen to the word of God, were the missionaries able to have success. And then, the Aron and his bretheren went about organizing churches and appointing teachers to preach the Gospel. This is member missionary work! And it was said that the Lamanites who were converted, never did fall away. Think about it, the greatest missionary miracle in the Book of Mormon was brought to pass because of member missionary work.

I was listening to a Stake Presdent speak in Church this past Sunday, and he told us that his son, who was serving in Mexico, recently had a mission training with Elder Bednar. Basically, the missionaries are being instructed not to go knocking on doors anymore and work compleltey by member refferals. This hasn't taken effect in Oklahoma, but truly is what is needed in order to really spread the Gospel. All of us have been placed in the lives of our non-member friends for a reason. I highly encourage everyone back home to pray about a friend they could possibly invite to meet the missionaries. If it's done with love and concern, they will not be offended.

Our branch is pretty good about member missionary work. My companion and I literally pass around a sign up sheet during priesthood session every day, and we get quite a few people to sign up for a time to come work with us. The members can help break down barriers with investigators and establish friendly relationships. It's incredible how much this work is not only reserved for missionaries...it belongs to all of us. True, the missionaries are leading out the efforts, but to be honest, knocking on doors is not the most effective way to find people. It works, but very rarely.

Anyways, that's my rant for the day. I just realized that I forgot to mention where I'm serving in Oklahoma. I'm serving in the southern part of the actual Oklahoma City. The Spanish branch I'm working with is actually the largest in the mission. They have a pianist for Sacrament meetings so I don't get too many chances to play piano (except for P-days). However, there is a Branch Talent Show coming up that I'm hoping to participate in. I think I'm accompaning one of the members who is a really good Opera singer (you can hear him sing above everyone else during Sacrament Meeting). Oh, and here's a little tid-bit about the Spanish branch---they can't really carry a tune all that well:) It's pretty funny, one of our investiagators brought it up. He metioned after the meeting that he liked his other Church better because they sing a lot prettier. He said he'd still come to our church, but we've got a little teaching we need to do with him.

The funnest lessons Elder Black and I have taught this week have been to a few 9-year old kids named Alberto and Silas. Alberto has actually already committed to baptism. His Mom isn't a member yet, but he has good support from his older brother. His mom will let him get baptised but we have to teach him all the lessons first. And let me tell you, these lessons have been a blast. I used a little visual activity that I learned from my Mom in a letter home. We asked one of the members to call our cell phone in the middle of the lesson. We changed the caller ID of this member to say "God". So when the member called our phone, it looked like God was literally calling. It worked so well! Alberto was kind of confused, the other kid that was sitting in with us (Silas) totally bought it. Anyways Elder Black pretended to talk with God. He said thank you for all his friends and asked God to bless his family, mentioned Alberto's name and then he hung up. It was a great lesson about how to prayer and how its literally a conversation with your Father in Heaven. Alberto brought up the fact that he couldn't hear God on the other side...PERFECT opportunity to share how we don't hear God but that we feel his love through the Holy Ghost. He then asked a question that really taught me a lot: "How did God feel when you mentioned my name?" My companion and I went silent because neither of us had prepared for this question. But think about it...how must God feel when you pray for other people? He must feel incredibly happy to see his children truly showing concern for his other children.

Anyways, wow! you know if we could teach children more often out here on the mission, I think the Church would grow at twice the rate it is now, and the retention rates would be equally as good. Children are just so open to hear the Gospel. They are naturally curious and willing to learn. I guess that's why Jesus asks us to become as little Child. you literally can't apply the doctrine of Christ without becoming like a Child. If you aren't humble, meek, submissive and obedient, there is no way you can excercise faith unto repentance. I think back to my own siblings and I realize that I've learned quite a bit from them being an older brother.

On a sadder note, my companion and I had an unfortunate experience this week. Remember that family I mentioned a few weeks ago? The one that was golden and ready to hear the Gospel? They had to go back to Mexico this week. We ran into the Mother just as she was preparing to leave. She said they wouldn't know if they'd be able to come back. It was hard. We quickly bore our testimonies and gave her a Book of Mormon. I have a strong feeling they will hear the gospel though. If not through me, it will be through some other missionary. I felt more hope, than despair.

Well, those are the highlights of the week, and I'm running out of time. The work is progressing and it's incredible to witness. I have yet to witness a miracle, but I'm sure once the day comes that I can understand Spanish fluently, I'll have had enough miracles for a lifetime!

Con Amor,

Elder Powley

Week 3 - Oklahoma City - July 23 2012

Note:  Andrew is in the southern part of Oklahoma city working with a small Spanish branch.
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Mi querida familia,

I'll be honest, this week has been kind of tough. We didn't get as much teaching in as we liked since a lot of our appointments fell through, and there were some points this week where I felt really down because of my language abilities. Don't get me wrong, I can speak Spanish...understanding on the other hand is a whole other story. We were meeting with an investigator this week who literally poured out her soul to us about her concerns about everything we've taught her...however it was all in Spanish and I had the hardest time understanding anything. Now, don't misunderstand me, but I've got to tell you, I felt pretty useless. I knew I could have said something that could have helped, and in "Preach My gospel" it says you need to listen to the investigators to discover their needs...but how can I listen if I can't understand?

I vented about this to my companion, and he really helped me through this 3 week crisis I was going through. He helped me realize that I needed to learn self-patience. The Lord works through "simple and small things" in order to bring about his great and eternal purposes. I'm not meant to become fluent in Spanish in the first month, it has to come gradually and I simply need to be patient. Also, he mentioned something very intersting, he said something to the effect that when you're listening to someone speak Spanish, it's very hard to understand them if you keep doubting yourself. This made compelte sense to me! If my head is full of doubt, how can I expect to understand Spanish? I needed to replace doubt with faith.

And so I experimented with this notion during another all-Spanish appointment this week. We were teaching an older couple, incredibly kind and very religious, about the Sabbath Day. A little background on this couple, they used to be Catholic until they started studying the Bible and realized that some of the preachers weren't living the Bible word by word. So they broke away and become part of a Christian church known as "7th Day Adventist". One of the main beliefs in this church is that they believe that the Sabbath day is actually on a Saturday, not a Sunday. This is because in the Bible, it specifically states that God consecrated the 7th day (or Saturday) as a day of rest. When they met with Elder Black before I came in, they politely told him that they would not read the Book of Mormon simply because if our Church really believed the Bible, we would worship on Saterday.

Now, there is scriptorial evidence that the Sabbath day is on a Sunday; so elder Black and I studied really hard for this lesson. In fact we dedicated a day of fast to teach these really extremely kind people. I personally fasted so that I could understand Spanish better. I replaced fear with faith.

And it worked. I didn't understand every word, but I felt the Spirit stronger, and it was able to make up the difference. We bore our testimonies of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and they finally accepted to read it. We didn't change their minds about the Sabbath Day, but we did open up their minds to the possiblity that if the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith was a propeht and modern revelation has revealed the Sabbath Day to be on a Sunday.

Very awesome teaching experience for me. As missionaries, we have done our part; now its up to our investigators to soften their hearts and accept that they need to change (which is very hard to do since they've been worshipping on Saturday for about 30 years and they've adjusted their work schedules to accomadate this belief). Hopefully it works out, until then, we've put our lessons on hold.

I also had the chance to go on exchanges this week with an elder who speaks and understands Spanish about as well as me. Longest day of my life! All our appointments fell through, and nothing seemed to work out. However, we did get to teach one discussion...and that made all the difference. Every ounce of disappointment was wiped away by simply the opportunity to teach one lesson and invite one person to come unto Christ. I really gained a perspective on the worth of one soul in the eyes of God.

This week I also got to give my first talk. It was actually at a baptism for one of the children in our ward, and I got to speak (in Spanish) about the ordinance of baptism. I spoke about how Jesus Christ is our perfect example of why we need to witness to the Father our willingness to follow his commandments. I also mentioned how privelaged we are to hold the literal priesthood authority of God. As a closer, I mentioned to this boy who was getting baptised, to focus on his feelings. Many times when we are baptized, we don't understand the full implication of the ordinance...but we do feel that it is right. Those feelings are more important than anything because they are of the Spirit, and the Spirit testifies whether baptism is the right direction or not.

The mission is amazing! It's been great to wind down for P-day and write you guys a letter. we actually went to the zoo as a district and got to relax a little bit (don't worry, we got it approved from the Zone Leaders:). I'm gaining a deep love for spicy Mexican food!

I hope everything is going well back at home, I'm really learning so much about life out here and what it really means to love someone vastly different from yourself. I really like my companion, Elder Black, and his outlook on knocking on doors. He just simply treats everyone he meets like they're his best friend. I really hope I can develop this kind of selfless love that I've witnessed with so many people out here in Oklahoma.

Take care! And keep strong!

Love you all!

Con Amor,

Elder Powley

Week 2 - Oklahoma City - July 16, 2012

Mi quierida familia,

What a week! I got to experience my first Oklahoma rainstorm, and wow was I am impressed. I've never seen so much rain fall at one time. Literally, puddles were the size of small ponds, and small creeks would start forming in neighborhood parks. It was awesome! In case you were wondering, I was actually not stuck on a bike, my companion and I were lucky to have a car to drive around in.

However, having the car was the principle reason we weren't riding bikes... This past Tuesday was a very humbling, experience. The kind of expereince that I think every white Mormon boy from Utah has to expereince at least once in their life when they leave home. Long story short, Elder Black and I left our bikes at a member's apartment complex because we didn't want to ride our bikes home in the rain. We made the mistake of only locking our bikes to eachother (which is the first time we'd done that, we're usually not so naive:)and some lucky person got a "2 for 1" deal. Yep, our bikes got stolen! Reality check big time! People actually steal stuff. Apparently, bike-theft rates have tripled this year from last year, and there are people out there targetting guys riding around in white shirts and ties and balck name tags:)

I've learned a lot from this experience. I'll be honest, I wasn't completely discouraged. For me, the fact that our bikes got stolen was a testimony that the adversary is truly trying to slow down missionary work. Key word here is "trying". He can't succeed.

I also found some great words of comfort from the Book of Mormon in the book of Helaman. It says that if the Lord does not chasten us with afflictions, we will not remember him (12:3). I think these our great words of wisdom. I echo the words of Paul who said something to the effect of "I take joy in my affirmities...when I am weak, I am made strong." Losing my bike has been more of a lesson than a hardship. Just as I should probably hook my bike up to an "iron rod" next time, I should always keep myself anchored in Christ.

Despite our misfortunes with our bikes, we nonetheless had some great success this week. We found 5 new investiagtors in one day, using the Heavenly Gift method that I described last time, including a terrffic family. Let me tell you, we are so excited to teach this family. We were literally in the right place at the right time when we met them:

We actually met the kids a few days before outside of their house. They were trying to through away the trash when all the sudden the bag exploded. Elder Black and I rushed over to help them. We talked with the kids, gave them a high five and then left because we had an appointment later that day. However, I had the strongest impression, or thought, the we needed to come back and visit this family.

We were going to visit them on Tuesday, but that was the day our bikes got stolen (another proof that the adversary obviously wanted to delay us in meeting this family). So we contacted them Wednesday. The mother was super kind, the kids had actaully told her what happened when we helped them with the trash. She was open to a prayer, she invited all the kids to participate. It turned out very well. We couldn't enter the house because there wasn't another man at home, however, we set up a return visit for Sunday when the father was home.

So yesterday, we got to have a prayer with the whole family. We literally drove up to the house right as they were arriving home. The dad was a bit uneasy at first, but he eventually warmed up to us because of the example we set to the children. We went in, had a family prayer and we bore our testimonies of eternal familes. We feel very confident that this fmaily is someone God wants us to teach. We left them with a Restoration packet and plan on teaching them the first lesson this ext Sunday. We are willing to wait because you learn out here from experience that if you do not get the father in on the discussions at the same time as the rest of the family, it becomes very hard for them to commit to baptism. I can't wait to teach them again!!

This family (the Martinez family) has been the highlight of my week. You could tell right when when you walked in the house that it was a home abounding with love. It's families like these that give hope that there truly is righteousness in this world.

My testimony has been truly strengthened this week. Sure, I've had moments of discouragement and doubt.  But it always comes back to the same principles we've been taught at the MTC: pray, read the scriptures and love other people. I believe that it's when we turn outward rather than inward that we truly witness an increase in our testimonies and better understand the Atonement of Christ. What better way is there to learn of Christ than to actually experiement with what he did and serve others?

Keep strong in the Faith!

Con Amor,

Elder Powley

Week 1 - Oklahoma City - July 9, 2012

Mi querida familia,

Hey everyone! Hope you're all doing well, I know I'm having a blast out here in Oklahoma.

I'll be honest, I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed. My Spanish is not as good as I thought it was back in the MTC, understanding the members is really hard, but I generally feel their love for the Gospel whenever I'm around them.

So a few things about the Spanish culture that I've learned out here: 1. Spanish culture is very "spur of the moment". We were out knocking on doors one day, and we went to this one house where they were having a family BBQ for the 4th of July. We introduced ourselves and they let us come share our message and then they offered us these really good steak tacos.

Also, I'm learing that often times its not that offensive to completely miss an appointment. Most times, appointments fall through. The men in the Spanish culture seem to always be working 24/7 so its very hard to set appointments with them.

2. The Hispanics are very kind people, I have yet to meet someone who was hostile to a couple of young missionaries walking around offering to bless their homes.

3. There is this fun MExican tradition that they do on birthdays. The person having a birthday often take a huge bite, literally no forks just their mouths, out of the birthday cake. It's quite hilarious.

4. Not the best singers when it comes to Sacrament meeting:)

5. Many people like to sit out on the front porch and simply hang out. I never really saw a lot of that in Utah.

6. Family Home Evenings in the Spanish Wards are a little different. The whole branch is really closely knit, so for Fmaily Home Evening, the whole branch usually goes to the Church for a Spiritual lesson and to play volleyball.

So there are a few things about Spanish culture. Now I want to share with you this interesting tactic our mission uses when doing door appraches. This tactic is called the "Heavenly Gift" or "Don de los Cielos". We no longer identify ourselves as "missionaries as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" right off the bat. Our approaches go something like this: "Hello, we are representatives of Jesus Christ. There are many troubles and hardships in the world and today we are going around blessing peoples homes because we feel like we could all use a little more of God in our lives. Would it be ok if we came in and said a prayer with you and bless your home and family?" We would then proceed to go in, get to know the family, ask them what they would like us to pray for and then pray for them. Ultimately, we get on the subject of religion, and we're able to share a restored truth and get a return appointment.

It's been very effective for our mission, we've actually doubled the number of our progressing investiagtors ever sicne instigating this approach. It works because it very efficiently seeks out those that are ready to hear the gospel. Your heart has to be pretty hard and closed to turn down a prayer.

Now let me tell you about my companion Elder Black. Seriously, he's like the best trainer ever. I have yet to see him frown. He laughs a lot and takes the work very seriously. One of the things he's helped me learn is how to not feel so uptight about everything, keeping that trust in God and keeping the work fun as well as busy. Everyone is really drawn to Elder Black, he is very personable and I've really been able to connect with him. He's a volleyball player and and also the District leader for our District. This means we get to drive a car! We only get 400 miles a month so we still have to bike a lot... but it's a really great asset to have the car. I learn so much from Elder Black, sometimes I feel like I'm eclipsed by his awesomeness but we've been able to work as a team really well.

Our apartment is pretty standard. I'll have to send pictures next week. To those who went to BYU, it's about in between the New Heritage and Old Heritage in terms of quality. I'm so glad to be out of the MTC! We don't have to worry about dinner ever. The members literally sign up to feed us; they really get excited about missionary work; I've never seen such excitement about missionary work such as here than anywhere I've lived in Utah. We pass around sign up sheets for members to come teahc appointements with us, and we've been able to get quite a few volunteers.

MY companion and I have a good sized amount of investiagators. Oklahoma is a very religious state. You know how there are LDS churches on every corner in Utah? Well, it's like that except there's a different church on every corner. Most everyone knows about Jesus Christ, we really have to rely on the message of the Restoration and the Book of Mormon to show our uniqueness from other churches.

My faith has really been tested out here. I'm learning the magnitude of trust you need to have in the Lord and that the Holy Ghost will help you teach. It's a bit daunting to think that God can work miracles through me.

We had a very interesting experience with an investigator yesterday. She really thinks the Spirit is telling her to get a divorce, and even after we explaiend how the Spirit manifests truth. She felt peace when she thought about getting a divorce but she's confused because she gets the feeling that Eternal Fmailes are important as well. It was a very deep, spiritual lesson. I didn't know quite what to say; but I think Elder Black and I have figured out how to help her and keep pointed towards our purpose: which is to bring her closer to Christ through Faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, repentance, baptism , receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.

I did have my first baptismal invitation this week with an investigator named Ismael. He accepted, but he has so much he needs to learn. He's also not very educated so we have to really explain things simply and we have to remind him constantly to come to Church and and of what we taught the lesson before.

I can't wait to see what my mission has in store for me. It's such an exciting experience. The gospel is truly expanding, and there are people out there who are ready to hear it. They just need to come to Church! (that's the biggest challenge:)

Hope everyone is doing well; again the best address to reach me at is the Mission office in Oklahoma

416 SW 79th Suite 210

Oklahoma City, OK

73139-8121

Keep strong in the Faith!

Con Amor,

Elder Powley

Picture with Mission President and wife

Andrew at the President Taylor's home in OKC.  Night of July 3rd

July 3, 2012 - OKC Arrival Letter

Hi everyone! I'm glad I got a chance to call home and simply hear your voices. It meant a lot to me, but now I think I might miss you all even more...Matthew;s voice is so low! He sounds like a teacher already:) Jane is really funny to listen too, and hearing all your voices really brought back fond memories. Thank you for that.

But nonetheless, I am having perhaps the most fulfilling experience of my life out here. I can't really explain it. You hear all the missionary experience stories that people tell; and they sound cool. However, when you experience them for yourself it's an entirely different experience altogether. You literally feel as if the Lord is supervising every word you speak and there's a certain aura of responsibility that you feel when you talk with other people.

I contacted two people by myself today. Basically I just talked with whoever I sat by during my flights to Denver and then to Oklahoma city. I truly believe both of these people were placed in my path for a reason. The first was an older woman of about 50 or so, who was traveling with her daughter and grandson. I had a nice chat with her about families, what it means to me to serve a mission, finding peace through God, prayer and Jesus Christ. She actually had taken the discussions before, in fact, she'd read the whole Book of Mormon.And then I asked her the golden question: "Have you prayed about the Book of Mormon?" She replied no. I then got to testify and share the promise made in Moroni 10:3-5. I've testified of the Book of Mormon many times, but this time was different. I was testifying to a non-member, something I've never done before. The Spirit backed up my testimony, and WOW! it was so cool! And this spiritual experience happened all because I felt prompted to ask "Do you have family in Iowa?"

Then I talked to a younger guy who was actually in the Army shipping out to Korea in a few days. I noticed he had a scripture from Isaiah tattooed on his arm from the 41 chapter verse 10 about "Fear not I am with thee, be not dismayed for I am thy God..." I thought it was such a cool scripture that I felt I had to talk to him about it. So I contacted him. I then shared a cross reference in the Book of Mormon (Helaman 5:12). He was genuinely interested. I later learned that he actually made a few Mormon friends during his time in Boot Camp. These friends even gave him a Book of Mormon. I then invited him to read it, specifically Alma 56 which talks about the Stripling warriors. I thought it might be cool for him to see that he could liken the scriptures to his situation. If you have faith in God, you don't need to fear anything.

Anyways, being a missionary is awesome. I don't know if any of these people will convert because of what I said, but I know that I invited them to come unto Christ. And after both these experiences I felt really good. Almost as if I'd accessed a part of my soul that I didn't know even existed.

I then landed in OKC and was greeted with a hug from our Mission President, President Nolan. Such a nice guy, including his wife. They were very happy to meet us, and we immediately felt like family.

Our travel group then went to the mission home. we had a nice lunch, a few words from the assistants to the President, and then we went proselyting for the first time. Wow, talk about humbling. The Hispanic community is actually very kind. No one slammed doors in our faces or threatened us (yet), but people were really friendly. The people of Oklahoma are very religious, everyone believes in Jesus Christ; they just don't know that he's personally established his church on the Earth through Joseph Smith.

Anyways, things are great. Slowly its starting to dawn on me how hard this mission is going to be. I feel so overwhelmed right, almost as if I'm not capable of such a work. However, I know for a fact as long as I'm obedient and spiritually minded, I will be strengthened by the Lord.

I know for a fact that I'm supposed to on a mission.

Love you all and remain strong!

Con Amor,

Elder Powley

PS Fyi, my p-days are Mondays from this moment on instead of Thursdays.

June 28 2012 letter

Well, this last week has been kind of crazy. Starting Saturday, we had about 110 new mission presidents and their wives come live at the MTC for their Opening Seminar. It was great to have their Spirit present, but there were some difficulties. Primarily, they had to close of half of the cafeteria to accomodate eating arrangements for the MTC presidents. On top of that, the MTC is pretty much at maximum capacity with missionaries already. Needless to say, the lines were huge! It was like a Pioneer trek just to get a bowl of cereal on Sunday morning.

But, I can't complain. We had some perks as well. The MTC presidency gave us a very nice treat. We got to watch "The Other Side of Heaven" on Saturday night! Now it may not sound that exciting, but considering the past two months we've only been allowed to watch either "The Testaments", "Legacy" or "Joseph Smith:The Prophet of the Restoration", it was really awesome! Not going to lie, once the movie turned on, it was the equivelant of being at the Midnight premier for "Dark Knight Rises"---everyone cheered and gave eachother high fives! It was great. And even better, the movie really reminded us about how important it is to see other people, especially those that belong to a vastly different culture, from the eyes of God. He truly loves all of his children unconditionally.

Another interesting fact about the Mission President Seminar this weekend was that we were also in the midst of many of the apostles at the MTC. Now, they weren't really walking around the MTC campus all day, but you could feel something. And then we had a Devotional on Tuesday (we called it a Super Devo) where 10 of the 12 apostles were present! Once they walked in, it was incredible to witness the change in atmosphere. The Spirit was truly testifying that these men were called of God to help lead Christ's church here on Earth.

Elder L. Tom Perry privelaged us with a wonderful talk. It was actually a little out of the ordinary, he started of by simply stating: "The Doctrine is the same, in fact, Eternal" and then proceeded to not talk about the doctrines of the church, but rather a statistical presentation. Accoriding to surveys done by Pew, the Mormon community on a whole is happier, more healthy, have 40% less clogged arteries compared to people in the US (which is because of fasting once a month), and more family centered. LDS teens are among the top groups who are least likely to engage in risky behavior, Mormonsare the number one religion who have know the Bible, and actually practice their faith as a lifestyle.

Anyways, he was a lot more specific than what I laid out, but needless to say, the Church as a whole is an amazing organization that would not be possible if it were not God's kingdom here on the Earth. Elder Perry also noted that the only way to eliminate prejudices and misconceptions about the Church is through members being good examples to the world and letting their good works show--not necessarily a missionary discussion on the "Restoration". And if you think about it, people are more drawn to the type of person. People were drawn to Christ because he genuinely loved them unconditionally and with perfect charity. I only hope to develop that kind of love while out on my mission.

After the devotional, Elder Holland and Elder Scott blew tender kisses out into the audience of missionaries. The gesture really impacted me because it me realize how we stand shoulder to shoulder with the apostles of the Lord in building the kingdom of God on the Earth.

Really quick, I want to share an insight I've had this week. It mainly has to do with something a protestor said outside the MTC gate this past Sunday.  But first, understand this: The main tempation that Satan has for each one of us is that every day he is subtly trying to get us to "doubt our divine potential". When Christ fasted for 40 days, this "doubt" was the primary temptation. "If thou be son of God, turn these stones into bread." The "if" is important. If Christ had turned the stones to bread, it would have meant that he himself doubted that he was the Son of God. James E Talmage explains it better in "Jesus the christ" but ultimately remember this: don't doubt your divine potential. Don't dwell on doubt. Sure, we don't have perfect knowledge of everything, but that's what faith is for. And the best way to avoid doubt is to consistantly pray and read the scriptures and attend church and be obediant to the commandments.  It's incredible how much you learn out here!

I've learned so much here at the MTC, and it's quite exciting to think that by this time next week I will be in Oklahoma City proselyting for the Lord. I actually fly out July 3 at about 6 am. Just a heads up my mailing adress will be different by then. Here's my new adress,

416 SW 79th St. Ste. 210

Oklahoma City, OK 73139-8121 USA

Man I just can't explain how excited I am! However, it's a little daunting as well. I'm going to be working with real investiagtors. No more practice, it's time to really put my faith to the test. I know I'm inadequate. I'm only a 19 year old college boy who barely knows Spanish, yet the Lord calls me to preach hope, repentance and testify of the love of Christ. I know that through the Atonement of Christ, I can do all things and become whoever th Lord wants me to be.

Stay strong in faith. don't let doubt get you down.

Con Amor,

Elder Powley