5.29.12

Thank you for writing me and always supporting me with my mission. I just read the message that Kya sent me and it was a shocker to hear about all of the news going on around home. Kya is going to be married here soon and I can't believe it. I'm sure you and Dad are having the flashbacks more often than I am, but I just can't help think of all the goofy mischief that me and Kya did when we were younger. No more mischief these days, just a lot of growing up. I'm so glad that we have the gospel and that we know of the importance of families. That is crazy to me that Andrew is getting married, but that explains why he's been so busy. I'm proud of him for making the decision to get married. That will give me more of a push to get married.

You should have the boys write me about the trip they went on, I wanna hear how it went. I'm praying for them and I hope that like you said the spirit touched their hearts to soften them so that the gospel can begin to have a place in their heart and in their life. I can't wait to see them again. I had a thought about my homecoming talk, although it is still far away, but I think that it will have to be the 10th of Sept. and then I would like to go up to Utah on the 11th if possible. I mention this now so that you can talk with the bishop and plan things out well in advance. Let me know what you think. Have you talked with the mission office or travel agency of the church about planning the trip here? 

I haven't gotten my debit card yet. I thought that being here in the capital would make things like mail faster, but I guess not. I might have it in the next two weeks but I'm not sure. I will be sure to let you know asap.

Well work here in the area is progressing and we are trying our best to be patient yet diligent. I'm praying for success and the Lord is providing in His own due time and way. It's about diamonds. I'm getting there. I love my companion, I love the Lord and I Love this gospel. The Book of Mormon is true and it is our guide, along with the prophet, to lead us back to our Father in Heaven.

Love

Elder Turner

5.22.12

Life here is great and I'm learning a lot from my companion, my area, and my leaders. I'm trying to be humble and patient in all that I'm doing so that I can have the guidance of the Spirit. I know that I'm not perfect by any means and I know that the Lord has placed me in just the right area with just the right people to help me reach my full potential. I want to be better and the Lord knows that so He is turning the heat up and putting me deeper into His fire. I have to be honest, I love it. My companion is doing well and we are finding the way to communicate better and to rely more on the Lord. 

The world is changing and so are its standards. It's amazing how immodest the world is and unfortunately we are surrounded with its filthiness but the great thing is that we have agency and rather than settle for less we can keep our standards high and find the way to be in the world but not of it. I love knowing that obedience brings blessings and as you are obedient in terms of modesty you will be blessed and others will see your prime example. That is crazy to think that in 3 weeks Kya is going to be married. Time is flying. It seems like a dream. 

I haven't gotten the debit card yet, I'm not sure why but I'll send you the info you need as soon as I get it. With my contacts, I'm sure that I will need an eye exam but I can still see great with the perscription that I have and so I'm sure that the difference won't be much if there is one. Thank you for helping me with all of these things. I was curious, what do I need to do in order to have housing when I go up to Utah this fall? I won't be studying so I don't know how that will work.

That's great to hear that the window got replaced. I had completely forgotten about that day, but when you mentioned about the window I had a flashback that made me laugh. Most of our experiences in life seem to be like that. In the moment it is a situation quite serious and in some occasions fearful, but looking back they become funny and help us to progress. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is real and as we strive to live it we are blessed. 

This past week it started raining and so now the rainy season has officially started. On Thursday my companion and I were walking to a bus stop to talk with people and up to this moment we had stayed fairly dry other than our feet. The rain had slowed down and it was to a very light sprinkle so I closed my umbrella and as I closed it a car drove by right through a huge puddle of water and soaked my companion and I. I thought that things like that only happened in movies, but now I have my own real life experience of getting soaked by a car. Needless to say we went right to the bus stop to share the message of the Restored Gospel.

I love you all. Have a great week.

Love,

Elder Turner

It was so great to hear you and the rest of the family on mothers day. I feel so blessed to have a mother like you who loves me for who I am and what I am becoming. I wouldn't be able to make the changes that I'm making if it weren't for your support and prayers. I love getting emails every week from you and although I may be coming in on the home stretch this is when I need your prayers more than ever. Satan is working really hard with me and I know that he wants me to fall more than ever, but I know that I have built my foundation upon the rock of my Redeemer. I am on a sure foundation, a foundation I love and can trust even in the worst storms. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is God's kingdom that has been established upon the earth to prepare for Christ´s second coming.

That is great to hear about Katie's experience and her conversion. The key to the gospel in which we associate ourselves is our personal conversion. As we face trials and challenges in our life we have to put the gospel to the test and we will always receive a witness from God thru  His spirit of the truthfulness of what we profess. Its great to know that the boys are going to Saint George after school is out. The Saint George trip I went on right after graduation was a turning point for me in my life. I remember getting the opportunity to bear my testimony from the pulpit where every prophet of the dispensation except for Joseph Smith has born their testimony and I remember receiving an answer to my prayers that the gospel is true. I pray that the boys will have a great experience there and that they will remember it for their entire life.

Yesterday I had a really humbling experience with my companion as we were contacting people in the street. We were hurrying to reach our goal for the day and as we walked by a bread shop a man came walking out and so we stopped to talk to him. He tried hard to tell us things that were wrong about what we believe and we bore testimony of the truth of what we believe but he wasn't receptive to what we were sharing and my companion began to get upset. I smiled at the man and told him that we want him to be blessed and that we could help him receive those blessings. He began to tell us more things aboput what was "wrong" with our beliefs and my companion began to cut him off but the man raised his voice and kept talking. He told my companion to have some respect and told to him to head off because he was done talking to him. I felt awful because the spirit was gone. Its amazing how quick we can lose the spirit even just by trying to do what's right. We walked away and I said a prayer to get the spirit back and as we went out to talk to more people the spirit was with us again. I know that whether it be our fault or not, sometimes we have to accept the wrong and move on. Sometimes our pride may get in the way but we have to remember that it is only in and thru the Lord that we can become who he wants us to become. We must pray always to have the guidance of the spirit so the we can fulfill our purpose as children and servants of God.

The gospel is true and I know that I am doing all I can to live it. I'm by no means perfect but I rely on the Lord who strengthens me.

Love,
Elder Turner

5.8.11
What a blessing it is to have the gospel in our lives and to know that if we are living the gospel the Lord will bless us. That makes me happy to hear that Kortland is doing better. I'm excited to be able to be back before he turns 19 so that I can help him get ready for a mission. I'm excited and I look forward to that day when he will serve the Lord. It's not too far away. Here in Central America the young men can leave at 18 years old if they have finished high school. I wish that it was the same for the US but the Lord knows why He does what He does. I love being a missionary and doing what the Lord asks of me because it makes me happy. The great thing about serving a mission is that you put to the test, not only in your life but also in the lives of  others, all of the things that you have been taught and you see that they are real. In the mission we pay an Emergency Fund in place of tithing which means that every month we put 150 quetzales in a pouch every month and we save that money in case of an emergency. There have been times in my mission when I haven't put the money in and at the end of the month I'm short on money, but every month that I have payed my Emergency Fund I finish the month with around 200-300 quetzales extra. It's amazing that the law of tithing can work even for missionaries. What a blessing it is to pay tithing.

This week was a very interesting week for me. I worked hard and was obedient, but the Lord needed me to be a bit more humble and so this week he gave my companion and I 2 days this week where we didn't have a single lesson. All of our appointments fell and we walked all day long without getting into a house. It was rough for me because here in Guatemala the people are usually willing to let you in. I got a bit frustrated and thought for a while, what can I change to be able to have the success that I need and desire?  I thought about many things, but the conclusion of my thoughts was that I needed to change my prayers. I was turning into a robot with my prayers and if I want the Lord to bless me, I need to be more sincere. Often our lives become so routine that our prayers become the same. We must always remember that we are communicating with our Father in Heaven and if we want His divine help, we need to genuinely ask for it. I have gained such a strong testimony of prayer. I have never prayed so much for the welfare of others and been so blessed in my own needs. Let us remember that the needs of others are greater than our own. As we are charitable to others through our prayers, miracles happen in our life as well as in the lives of others. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and as I'm now studying the Old Testament I know too that it is the word of God.


Genesis 17:1

Let us all become like Abraham. Talk to you on Sunday around 1pm your time. I love you all so much.

Love,
Elder Turner

5.1.11
Thank you for the email and for always being there to support me. Mothers' Day is coming up soon as you mentioned and my plans were to call after church on Sunday the 13th. I get out of church at 1pm and would probably be home to call around 1:30pm or 2pm. I'm going to try and do the same as I have done before, borrow a member's phone and buy minutes here. I need you to send me the number again depending on which phone you want me to call. I'm excited to talk with you all here soon.

I cant believe that the kids are done with school here in three weeks! Time is flying by so fast I can't believe it. The kids are growing up so fast. I'm excited to be able to see everyone again in a few months and by the way it sounds everyone is staying busy. You hadn't mentioned anything before about Zack but that's great to hear that he is doing better and recovering quickly. How'd he get the hernia? How's Kort doing? and Brooklyn?

That's great that you are having lots of work mom. I know that many times you feel like it's too much, but I know many people that would love to trade you places. Thank you for being the most excellent mother and showing me how to keep going even when times get tough. You have been such an amazing example to me over the years. Don't give up on the boys, they'll turn around here soon.

My card says that it is good thru May. Thank you for getting me another card. I'll let you know when I get it.

This week was a great week. My first full week working in a trio and my last. It was really weird getting used to being with two other missionaries but on Friday night the Mission President called and said that Elder Loayza, my companion from Peru was going to another area. There was a missionary who was here in the mission waiting for his visa and it came last week so he went to his mission and Elder Loayza was sent to the coast. Elder Mejia and I are here in Panorama and we're working hard doing all we can to bring people to Christ. This Sunday we had a meeting with the bishop and he is really excited to work with us. He asked all the members of the Ward Council to pick a day when they want to do a fireside in their house and we now have planned every Wednesday and Saturday from the 9th of May to the 16 of June planned. Working with the members is the most effective way and we are going to give it all we have with the members here to bring more souls to Christ. I have never been in an area where the members have such a desire to work with us. I know that we will have success and I'm looking forward to bringing more people to Christ. I love the Lord and His gospel. I know that opening our mouths is part of the promise that we have made with Him and I'm doing all I can to be obedient. I love the Book of Mormon. I just finished it again and I know that it is true. The promise is the same everytime we read it. We just have to have a desire to know if it's true and if we pray with a desire to know then the Lord will reveal the truth of it unto us by the power of the Spirit.

I know that I have to be better. I have to step it up. Overtime is ticking away and I'm going harder than ever. I won't look back, let up, slow down, or be still.

Love,
Elder Turner