This weekend was great. I haven't had a better birthday in all of my life. I surely do appreciate all of the birthday parties that you threw for me, but being in the mission truly comes to show that when you are serving others you are happy. On Saturday I had the idea to buy a bag of suckers and give them away to all the people we visited so that I could share the joy with all of them too. It was great. I saw smiles from many and I know that the Spìrit of the Lord touched their hearts as I did a small guesture for my brothers and sisters here in Santiago. I also got invited to lunch by some of the members here in the branch and it was great to be remebered by those around me. I feel so loved here and I feel like the members are seeing the work that my companion and I are doing and they are starting to be more willing to help us out with visits. On Saturday my companion and I found a family, and in fact it was the first visit we had that day, and as we were getting to know them I found out that their little daughter and I share the same birthday. It was a cool experience and I hope and pray that this coming Sunday they will come to church with us. Also on Saturday my companion and I passed by the lady who always cooks us lunch (my favorite member in Santiago) and she also gave us food and for my birthday she made us Brownies with vanilla ice cream which was soo delicious. I love being a missionary on my birthday because everyone is just so nice.

This weekend was another weekend of miracles! The best part of this weekend was that one of our investigators that we have been working with for about three weeks stopped drinking so that he could come to church on Sunday. My companion and I have been praying for this to happen for about 3 weeks and the miracle finally happened according to the Lord's time. What a blessing it was to be able to see him come to church and although he didn't stay for the whole time he made the effort and he showed up with his wife. I know that this family will enter into the kingdom of God as we work with them to change their lives and repent. I love being a missionary.

This same weekend I also had a nice call to repentance as my companion and I were contacting. I was getting really frustrated and fed up with the people and the excuses they were telling us and I was losing my patience. I was beginning to lose the Spirit. We kept going from door to door rejection after rejection and I was getting irritated and impatient with the people. We knocked a door and a man came out and we began to talk to him and he let us in. I thought to myself that we deserved to be let in and when we walked in the house I saw a woman sitting on the couch with a blank look on her face, I could tell she was sad. I asked the man if that was his wife and he said yes and that she looked sad because she had lost movement on the right side of her face due to a stroke three months previous. I asked the man if he had any kids and he said yes and I asked where they were at the moment because none of them were in the room with us. He responded, "They are resting in peace right now. They all passed away when they were young." I felt tears come to my eyes and a voice came to my head telling me, "You think your patience is wearing thin? This is truly a man whose patience is wearing thin." I felt as though I had committed a serious sin with the amount of guilt I had. We shared about the Plan of Salvation and how these two people could find that love and joy that they have been searching for. I am so grateful for the knowledge that we have. This is the only true and living church! I love the Lord Jesus Christ.

Love,
Elder Turner

I don't know if I'll get everything in this email that I'd like to get due to time, but know that I love you with all of my heart. This last 21 years have been a blast and the future will continue to be a blast. I love being a missionary and Im glad that I'm serving the Lord. While the majority of the missionaries that entered with me (and in the world) are comparing this to the fourth quarter of a football game, we all know that you always let up in the fourth quarter. To me this is over time. It's do or die. I'm going harder than I have ever gone and sharing the gospel with everyone. Obedience brings blessings. Obedience with exactness brings miracles and this past week miracles happened in Santiago Atitlan. The Lord loves those who love Him and I have never felt more loved by the Lord in my life than I do now. The Mission President is asking a lot of us as a mission and we are reaching our goals because we are trying harder. A few weeks ago I said that I felt like I have never contacted more people and had less success, but this week my companion and I contacted more people than I ever have and we had more success that has ever been in Santiago. Miracles are happening. We worked so hard and prayed so hard that we would be able to have 3 baptisms this month, but we didn't have anyone prepared yet, we were just hoping that we would be able to bring a family that we found contacting to church this Sunday. When we passed by they told us they couldn't go. My heart broke. I wanted to just stop in the street cry. I prayed that the Lord would provide a miracle. We got to church and had no investigators and I just felt really down on myself. The meeting began and like normal they asked me to direct the hymns. I stood up in front of the congregation and saw 3 investigators that the missionaries had taught before sitting in the back. How it happened I do not know, but I do know that the Lord provides. He always does.

Happy Birthday Mackenzy!! I know it's late, but I love you and I hope that your birthday was great. Be safe! Riding in the front seat is dangerous :)

Thank you for the package Deb. I've been getting the Dear Elders and the letters, it's just been really hard to get back to you. I don't even find time to write in my journal. They are really apreciated though :) Thanks for the calendar and all the other goodies Mother. I finally got the package that Grandma Bench sent me for Christmas. I don't know what happened, but I got it like 2 weeks ago and it was supposedly here in Guatemala the 21st of December. The apples were a great walk along snack, I really loved them. Thank you all for the love and support. The mission wouldn't be the same without you.

Love,
Elder Turner

I'm blessed to have a mother like you who has taught me the gospel and given me the opportunity to be able to put it in practice. The mission is changing me. I am still your son and I still have natural desires and we all do, but the atonement has taken effect in my life and I have come to realize that I need to work even harder each and every day because there are people here in Santiago and in Guatemala that need me to knock their door and they need me to contact them in the street and they need me to serve them in any way possible so that their eyes will be opened to the gospel. The atonement of Christ is so real and I have felt it in my life. I feel like sometimes when we don't really know what the atonement is rather we just know what it's about, we don't strive enough to bless the lives of others with the restored gospel. I feel like in the past few days I had an awaking to that fact and that I needed to work harder to use the atonement and bless others rather than just try to pay the Lord back.

My companion and I are getting along great and as the days go by we get to know each other better and we grow to our teaching styles and the like. I think that may be one of the most difficult things about getting a new companion, being able to teach in a way that we both work off of each other. As we strive to be obedient the Lord blesses us and we are able to mesh together and become a great companionship. One great thing about getting a new companion is that you can take a look at yourself and see where and what you need to do better. A lot of times we have comapnions so that they can point out the things in us that we need to change and refine so that we can become what Christ expects of us.

This week, Wednesday and Thursday, I had a meeting in the Capital with President Brough and due to the fact that my area is so far away we had to leave on Tuesday and we didn't get back until Friday morning. That really hurt us this week in our area because we didn't get to work for three full days. I was pretty bummed about that, but the meeting was a great meeting and it really helped me to re-evaluate and see where I am and and the things that I need to do better. Lately I have been a little shy and I haven't been opening my mouth as much as I should be, but in this meeting President told us that if we are not opening our mouth and contacting people in the street or knocking doors then we aren't worthy of the Kingdom of God. As strong as that may seem and as much as we may justify why we don't talk to people about the gospel, it's true that we must open our mouths and share the gospel or Christ will take away the blessing He has given us (D&C 60:2-3). I'm grateful to know that the Lord loves me enough to chasten me and to get me back in line. I have never tried harder in my mission to share the gospel than I am now and even though the people can barely understand what I am saying I am trying with all I have to share the truth. It hurts when people say no because you just want them to accept the truth so bad. It's frustrating when you try to speak to someone in their native tongue and they look you in the eyes and tell you they don't understand you. It drives me. I want it so bad and there's nothing that will stop me. I feel bad sometimes because my companion struggles to walk at the same speed but there is no time to waste. This is it.

I'm sorry to hear about Zack and the way sectionals turned out, but all you can do is get back on your feet and keep going at it. I love you Zack, keep your head up and work harder. Next season will be much better if you want it to be.

Love,
Elder Turner

This week we had changes as you know and I have a new companion. His name is Elder Brown and he is from Oklahoma. He has 6 months in the mission. The adjustment has been good and he's easy to get along with but of course we are different. It's hard to make such drastic changes in your life like being with one person day in and day out for 3 months and then the next day your with someone else for the next few months. After the change meeting President Brough talked with my companion and I and told us that he wants my companion to learn the language and be ready to lead the area in 3 months, so we've definitely got some work to do. I'm excited and we are off to a great start. We have a lot of expectations to meet, but I know that it is possible with faith and hard work. As a mission we had a goal to baptize 204 people in January and we worked really hard to reach that goal, but we did much more than I had imagined baptizing and confirming 221 people. Sometimes we have to raise the bar and work a little harder and when we do the Lord will always bless us if and when we are obedient. This week we raised the bar in our area and knocked more doors than I ever have in my mission and had the least amount of success I've had. The Lord tries our faith before He blesses us. Satan was working very hard with me this week and many times I thought after each door got shut without getting in, Why? What am I doing wrong? Why am I here? Every question was reaffirmed with a calm feeling of love that told me that God is pleased with my work and I need to go knock another door. I had a cool experience where I was feeling down and wondering why it was so hard, but then a little moto-taxi drove by with a sticker on it that said "Dios te ama". I smiled and kept pushing on.

Well hopefully the boys will work harder than they have all year in these next few days because this is it, the season can't rewind and they've got to finish strong. Right now I am studying the New Testament in my personal study and this week a scripture really struck me and Kortland popped into my mind. The exact verse I don't remember, but Jesus is talking to Peter and says I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted, strengthen thy bretheren. I know he will turn around.

Well about the whole college thing, that's great to hear that they have something that I can study that will get me closer to a PT degree, but that is quite a bummer that I won't be able to be in Arizona for the time passing. I will, like you said, need to pray a lot about it and find out what will be the best for me. I'm not exactly sure what the possiblities would be, but the thought has crossed my mind before that maybe Uncle Ryan could help me out with a job. If not I'll look for something there, maybe some family up there could help me out with finding a job.

Mom thank you for all that you are doing to help me out. You are such a blessing to me and I will forever be indebted to you for your love and care that you've given me over the past 20 (almost 21) years.

Love,
Elder Turner

1.24.12
Thank you for writing me and filling me in on all of the family activities and what not. It's always great to hear from you and to know how everyone is doing. I pray for you all and hope that you all are doing what the Lord expects. I'm doing my best to forget about myself and worry more about how I can help others, but I think that has been one of my biggest challenges here on the mission. As human beings we are naturally selfish and want the best for us before we want the better for others who surround us. I am trying my best to learn all I can so that when I get back from the mission I will not be who I was before because frankly I fear becoming who I was. This morning I watched a video/talk of Elder Holland that he gave last January in the MTC and something that really stuck out to me that he said was that when the Lord called me to be a missionary/servant it wasn't just for 24 months, He called me forever. That is my desire, to have my mission mean everything to me so that when it's all said and done, me coming home will be just the beggining. Many say it's almost impossible to do that when you get home, but like you said Mom nothing is impossible with the Lord. Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small people who would rather live in the world they've been given than explore the power they have to change it. I've been called not just to change lives, but to change the world.

My companion is leaving the area after 7 months here. He has spent half of his mission here in Santiago Atitlan and is a little sad to leave, but that's part of the mission. Tomorrow I will receive my new companion around 10:30 am and well head back to Atitlan to begin working hard. I'm excited for the months ahead because I know that they will be full of hard work and success. It's nice to get some fresh blood in the area and we'll work hard to raise the bar higher than where we've already raised it. This is going to be a struggle for me with the language because up till now I have been able to look at my companion and rely on him when I don't understand what the people say but now I can't do that. I have to rely 100% on the Lord and I know that He will use me as and instrument in His hands. It's pretty crazy how fast these last 3 months here in Santiago have gone by, but I expect the next few months to go by even faster.

About UVU, thank you for all of your help trying to figure that stuff out. I know it's a hastle, but you are being blessed for it. Once you get the info necessary, just let me know what I need to do to sign up for school, whether it be UVU or a community college and I'll ask permission to do most of that here to give you some slack.

I'm stocked for the boys wrestling, it's great to hear how they are doing. State should be coming up in about 3 weeks or so if I'm not mistaken right? I never heard the results of the tournament in Minnesota. How did it all turn out?

Just to tell you an interesting story, and hopefully I have shared this with you, but if I have, bear with me. So about two weeks ago my companion and I were knocking doors in a small alley type street where we hadn't contacted in my time here and we came to a door where a man who was a bit drunk told us to come in. We entered and got to know him and his family a little and then we began to share the message of the Restoration with him. We did a brief overview and shared the Restoration pamphlet with him telling him that we had much more to share with him and we'd like to come back. He told us that he already had the pamphlet and went to bring it, but he didn't bring back a pamphlet rather he brought back a Gospel Principles book. He began to explain what it was and we told him that we knew and that it was from our church. He said that he bought it in the Capital in the Distribution Center. We went back with him yesterday and saw that he had placed on an altar in his house that same Gospel Principles book on top of his bibles.

Love,
Elder Turner

1.17.2012
You're right, I had no idea that it was MLK day, but thank you for letting me in on that! Here in Guatemala you don't hear about those "smaller" holidays but it's good to remember those. That's great to hear that you all had a great long weekend and that you were able to enjoy it with the family. School started here in Guatemala yesterday. Their school year starts in January rather than in August like the US. On top of that the mango season started and I have to take advantage of that because it's my last one here in Guatemala. Saturday I ate my first mangoes and just so you know, mangoes are way better than prunes! I ate the mangoes at about 530pm and by 930pm I was getting rid of them. Almost better than Xlax!

Well I'm super excited for Kya and Ryan, and even though I'll barely miss it, I know it's for the better that they get married as soon as time permits because that way they can continue progressing in the gospel and begin their road to exaltation. I'm not going to lie I'm pretty excited to start that road too, but we'll have to see when the Lord sees fit. I wish them both the best of luck and that they be blessed in these great decisions. I definitely want pictures though, that's the least they can do since they're getting married TWO months before I get home.

So this week was a great week and my companion and I are working really hard. We are having a lot of success, success that can only come from the blessing of the Lord. Sometimes we forget how merciful the Lord has been in blessing us, but remembering the greatness of the Lord is one of the keys in order to receive answers to our prayers as it says in Moroni 10:3. This week we found a great amount of new investigators that the Lord led us to and most of them were found in our last day of the week. We were trying hard, contacting and opening our mouth. We have troubles and trials, those are inevitable, but when we humbly work through them we are blessed. I like the quote that you sent me about attitude. When we decide how we feel and what we think and what we want, we will always be on top if we are focused on the Lord and fulfilling His will. The language is coming along great. I find it essential to pray for the gift of tongues just about every moment I can. This past week I have seen miracles in my progress and I know that the Lord is blessing me in my speech and understanding. I may not be able to have a full on conversation with the people yet, but I am able to fulfill my purpose as a missionary teaching the restored gospel. I have a lot to learn still but I know the Lord is providing the way. Next Monday we will know if my companion is staying or going.

Thank you for all of your love and support and prayers. I need them. Always remember that there is a more excellent way that Christ has prepared. Have faith.

Love,
Elder Turner