January 27, 2014

Hello there everyone!!
I absolutely love this work! last Saturday was the baptism for the wonderful Enciso family! There are 7 of them. The father, mother, and 5 children who were all dressed in white and blessed with a wonderful baptismal service as well as confirmation! The baptismal service was great! We had great speakers and we had their friends be the people to baptize them. The best part was seeing them after the baptism and knowing that they had made the right decision in their lives. the next day after the confirmation and after sacrament meeting, everyone was welcoming them in to the ward and I could tell that they really felt the love of all the members here. I love the Enciso family so much and I am so grateful that they made the decision to follow their Savior, Jesus Christ, and that they now can receive all the blessings that Heavenly Father wants to give to them. I will never forget this wonderful family and all the memories we had with them. They went through a lot to get to that point, but now they will be blessed forever! We also found a great new investigator this week! We were walking down a street and noticed a less-active member just coming home from work and had groceries, so we helped him get his groceries in the house. After, he just invited us into his house to share a message with them. We ended up teaching his daughter as well! Come to find out, she was really prepared by the Lord and wants to get ready for baptism as soon as possible! They are the Ortanez family and brother's name is Bernie and sister's name is Katleen. They are awesome and I know their family will be blessed so much! Last week we had interviews with President Stucki, and Elder Bautista and I got to check area books since we are the zone leaders. Interviews were great and we were able to learn a ton. We also shared with President Stucki about our goals for 2014. I had 3 goals. First, continue to get better each day and be more consistent in the work. Second, focus on the people to help them progress in the gospel. Third, be a Preach My Gospel missionary until the end of my mission, and after as well. I just need to work as hard as I can to achieve them! In the interview, President Stucki have me some crazy news. I am going to transfer this week, and become an assistant to the president. I am going to be companions with Elder Belnap! I am excited, but a little nervous. I know, however, that the Lord will help me. He has throughout the whole mission. I love this work so much and I especially love the people. I can't wait to continue to serve!

Elder Stephens