¡FELICES PASCUAS!

Dear Family!

How sweet it is to be able to sit down and bask in the love of our Savior. A quick April Fools to you all.. We had the great blessing to watch the General Conference live! Gotcha. It was a very special week with lots of emotions and being touched by the spirit in many different ways.

So glad to hear the lawn is up and going! Haha I loved how most of you informed me of that, confirmed my doubts that I´ll be the solo old man with his grass. :) shoot. (lets be honest though I´ll probably pedir (to ask) pictures and updates in the future.)

This week past by very quick with lots of amazing experiences. The first one was our interviews with President Stapely. So so good! Each companionship would participate in a taller with the Zone Leaders. In this one we were taught a lot of our unique experience to be representatives of Jesus Christ. I loved pondering on what that meant and what traits a servant of Christ would have. We were taught about an experience that Gordon B. Hinckley shared of a simple, but loving act of charity that promoted 2 boys to be sanctified by the spirit and grow to become more like Christ. As a missionary, I am blessed to have many opportunities to give simple but loving actions to those that don´t know Christ and it is a joy every time that it happens. My favorite and sometimes the most special experiences that I will have in a day is through saludando EVERYONE that we can pass by with a sincere smile and to see a face change to smile back at you! Nothing better. After we were done with our taller, we waited in the mission home to meet with President Stapely. My interview passed really well and I had a great talk with him about the ways to improve my abilities to become an effective missionary. He shared two scriptures with me that really have stuck with me. In Jacob 1:19, and in Jacob 7:26. Jacob realizes the importance of magnifying his calling to the Lord that he will not be held accountable for the things that he could have done. The other says something that puts into perspective the importance of priorities in our life, "and our lives past by as if it were a dream." WOW! Kinda explains the mission, but from hearing a couple of the talks from conference this principle can really be applied to everything that we do. He has granted us a select time here on Earth that will pass by too quickly, so it is our blessing to always be in His service and giving Him our all! President Stapely is an inspired man and am grateful to have him as a guide.

As far as the rest of the week went, Friday I went on a inter cambio with Elder Saunders, a capo from Morgan, Utah. He is a great friend and he and I get along really well. He is a lot like Elder Nielson, Elder Larsen, Zach and Jake... Don´t know if there is much more to explain from that.. The purpose of the Inter cambio was to FIND. We contacted a few houses and set up some follow-up appointments with some great people. I learned a lot from Elder Saunders. Each misionero has a unique form of teaching, I was really impressed by the inspired questions that normally I wouldn´t think to ask in a contact but helped the people to be touched by the spirit. Elder Merritt and I continue to find new ways to improve and new ways to make sure that we are helping our investigators progress. Our desires have had to change a lot as we have hit a little rut, BUT I couldn´t be more thankful for the Ruts of our Heavenly Father! They´re "a higher mountain" as President Eyring put it that secures the foundation of our faith.

Alright to get to conference. I swear this year was something else, I didn´t sleep at home, but I never was touched by conference in the way that I was this year. I had such a testimony building experience as my Savior and I chose things that I can fix in my life in order to become more like Him. I wrote down questions and was filled to the brim with the word of God. There is no way I can choose favorites cause everyone was just a feast. I was able to take in a little more on Saturday than on Sunday, we had a few investigators come and watch so I was able to... improve my Spanish movie skills with them? ha. Both days were completely different and equal in blessing. I can´t explain how amazing it was to be able to see those men and just look at their countenance and to testify that they are chosen men and disciples of Jesus Christ.

There was one talk by Elder Packer that I loved so much. It talked about the family, I had a lot of memories of the last conference at home and this one being away was an eye opener to the love I have for you all! He said a golden phrase, "The ultimate end in all activity of the church is a husband and wife with their kids. Happy at home and sealed safely in the bounds of the Everlasting Gospel." How beautiful eh? :) I love my Savior beyond description. He gave me a family that is happy at home and no matter, sealed in the bounds and security of His Atonement- which is center in the Everlasting Gospel.

I hope this week we can each reflect our love and the SIMPLICITY of the Savior. His course is straight and His promises sure. I know that my Redeemer lives!! :)

Felices pascaus a todos.

Elder Jolley