El Centro

This last week we were able to add two more investigators. Their names are Becky and Amy. Becky is the mom and Amy is the daughter. We taught them the restoration on Tuesday night and then at the end of it we asked them to be baptized and they both said yes. Their date is the 27th of December. Also Tuesday night we got Drew with the same date of Dec. 27th. Wednesday i went on exchanges with Elder Oakley and we had a fun time in his area. On Thursday we met with a Less Active member, named Kayla, and we discussed about patriarchal blessings and we also talked about preparing to enter the temple. She got super excited and is getting he patriarchal blessing soon. Friday we had all our set appointments end up cancelling by the end of personal study....so we recreated plans and had a good day. Saturday we had district meeting and had a great time. We met and had a great lesson with a recent convert, Savannah. We also visited with some more less actives. Sunday we gave talks in church and that went really well. For dinner we went to the bishop's house and had a great time. We also went to family home evening and that was a great time. Monday we talked with Tom, our baptism last week, and we helped him understand the priesthood. We helped him know what to expect and he is really excited to get it on sunday. Then we had lunch with President Jimenez, a counselor to the stake president. and then a meeting with our mission president. Then we went out and visited with some less actives. We had a really great week filled with lots of spiritual moments. Love you all Have an amazing week Love Elder Betts

Weekly Email!!!

Hey Everyone,

This last week has been a very good week. We have had a lot of success this last week.

I think that last time I talked about our lesson with Drew, but just in case I didn't here it is. On Tuesday night we met with Drew. He is a 17 yr old. He is friends with one of the youth in our ward. They invited him to take the lessons and he said yes. He has been coming with the Sanders family to church off and on since 8th grade, and he finally wants to know the truth and accept it. When the lesson was finished, we invited him to baptism, and he said yes if the answer he get from his prayers is yes. So our Tuesday night was a success!!!

We started our Wednesday off by going to the food bank and helping them bag up food to take to those in need. After we did this we met with our ward mission leader and planned the program for Tom's baptism. After that we met with some of the members still trying to get to know them and see if they have anyone who is wanting to learn about the gospel. After all of that we went down to Calexico to have a lesson with Ben. Ben is another one of our investigators who we added last week. He works with a member and asked the member to learn more about the church. Once we met with him, the lesson went well. Then during this 2nd lesson with him, when we challenged him to baptism, he said once he knows for sure he will. So that went super well!

On Thursday we went and had a lesson with a LA member, who wants to get back to church. Right now she is preparing to get a patriarchal blessing. After her lesson we had a lesson with a recent convert and his non-member son. That went really well and we invited him to church. He accepted and we hope that we will see success from him. Then we most of the day weekly planning. After all that we had a few more lessons with a few people.

On Friday, we met with Tom and explained everything for the baptism. We showed him around the font and helped answer any questions about what will happen. We also went over the program with him and he liked what we planned.

On Saturday we had the baptism and it went so good!!! The service was so nice and such a spiritual experience. Tom really enjoyed it and it was a success. After his baptism we had a lesson with a recent convert. We also talked about patriarchal blessings because she also wants one. Then we met with an investigator named Angel. Him and his mom were the only ones who were at the lesson, but normally their whole family joins. Angel has already received an answer about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. When we invited them to baptism, Angel said yes and we set a date to have that happen. His mom said that she wanted to learn more and when she got an answer it was true, she would be baptized as well.

Sunday we confirmed Tom in church and it was really cool to stand in the circle and be a part of that. It was such a great experience. Then we went to Seeley, which is where a few members and potential investigators live.

And Monday we walked around our area and stopped at less active members on the route. We were able to talk with a few of them and help them want to come back to church. We also met with Hector and Gylda- who are a couple who both are in wheelchairs. They are the most humble people. They look at the good side of this experience instead of the negative. They are the best example of humility.

So that is the highlights of the week.

I hope that you all have an amazing week!!! Love you all!!

Love Elder Betts

New Area!!

This last week has been a really good week.

On Tuesday, for p-day we just played basketball at the church building, because there is not anything to do out here....so just sports we get to play. After P-day was finished we went over to our bishop's house for dinner and a lesson/get to know them. It went really well!!!

On Wednesday we did service for the food bank. We help them bag up a whole bunch of food and get ready to be shipped to local areas in need. Then we did service for a family in the ward. We helped them mow their lawn, and do yard work for them. Then we met with another family in the ward and got to know them. Then we had a ward activity at night- "Carne Asada"- where we ate carne asada, and mingled with the ward. We had to leave the party early, because we had to travel down to Calexico to go meet with a guy. His name is Ben Horton. He works with a member, and wanted to know more about the church. He wanted to meet with us. He is super humble....and he is going to make a great ward member.

On Thursday we had weekly planning.....that was fun as usual. Then we had dinner with a member- the Bank's.

Friday we had a big long meeting with the mission president- called MTE (missionary training exchange). We met for a while, got training, then we added a companion for the next 24 hours. He went with us and taught us how we can become better missionaries. and what we can work on to improve the work in our area. We met with Tom and got him even more ready for baptism on the 15th.  We went and had dinner with a family in Calexico.

Saturday we had MTE follow up. Where we just talked about some of the miracles that we had happen during the MTE. We had Lunch with a Less Active member who wants back to church. We also had a lesson with Savannah (who is a recent convert). We had choir practice because we had to sing at stake conference at the adult session. We went to the adult session and we sang....Stake conference was a great time.

Sunday we went to the church early so that Tom can have his baptism interview...which he passed. And then enjoyed stake conference. Two general authorities came and talked to us/reorganized the stake presidency. They were Elder Lawrence and Elder Bassett. After conference we had dinner with members.

Monday we had zone meeting for 3 hours, then zone lunch afterwards. Then we tried to visit with some more members and get to know them.

Tuesday we had p-day and we played volleyball and basketball. After p-day was over we met with the Sander's Family (who ended up making us dinner-so we had double dinner because we ate before meeting with them), and the had a friend named Drew who want the missionary lessons and that is why we met with them. He is really wanting to learn about our church. He has gone to church with the sanders many times. He is ready to be a member.

So that is my week in a nutshell....

With the upcoming holiday of Thanksgiving we need to remember to continually be thankful. I suggest watching this Mormon Message about thanks. http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=910930407001

In a talk by Elder Russell M. Nelson he says: How much better it would be if all could be more aware of God’s providence and love and express that gratitude to Him.

Let us all be thankful for everything we have.

Love you all

Love Elder Betts

Transfers!!!

Update:

So my companion, his name is Elder Weber (He is from Enterprise Utah, which is near St. George area. He has been out for 1 1/2 years. He is English missionary-not ASL) , and I got "white washed" (means thrown into an area, without one of us there before) into and area. The previous missionaries left us some notes, but this last week consisted of us scrambling to get to know the area and the people in it. It has been such fun and a wonderful adventure.

As you might guess I am doing English work now (for the next little while) however, I have authorization to teach deaf people out here. We have heard there are deaf people out here, so I can teach them and baptize them :)

Oh, I forgot to say where I am at..............well I am in the middle of nowhere. We are closer to Arizona than we are San Diego. We are about a 2 hour drive to the mission office right in San Diego. We are in a place called "The Valley". We had to venture over mountains and dessert to get here. We are in a place called El Centro. If you look on the attached picture of our map you can see its out in the middle of nowhere. We also cover Calexico (which is right on the boarder of mexico). The average temperature out here in the summer is only 125!!!! Luckily in the winter time it cools down to 90's. We have perfect whether here. Actually last night....it was kind of nippy at 6 (where it is now dark) when we were out and about. We decided to put on our sweaters!!!! :) it was funny!!! We were matchy matchy!!! Our ward is the best. We are the Imerial Valley 2nd ward and the members are so great!!!! We get fed like every other night!!! Its great!!!!

So that is just a quick update on where I am!!!!

This week has been fun!!! We are working with an investigator who has a baptism date for Nov. 15th.... He is super ready and we cannot wait for his baptism in a few weeks!!!! Other than that we have just been visiting with people and getting to know them and the area.

Now for a quick spiritual thought that I read from the Book of Mormon. (I have a goal to read/study it within 3 months)

In the vision of the tree of life there are 4 different groups of people shown.

The first was immediately turned away from the tree and wanted the worldly things, like the great and spacious building.

The second group started on the path, but when the mist of darkness came, the got lost and fell away.

The third group "Clinged" to the iron rod, but then were mocked by other and fell away.

The fourth group "held fast to the iron rod" and made it to the tree of life.

So what does the Iron Rod represent? It represents the word of God-meaning scriptures and words of the prophet etc.

So what is the difference of clinging and holding fast? Well Elder David A Bednar in a talk entitled: Lehi's Dream: Holding fast to the iron rod in the October 2011 Liahona Explains it really well. He says," holding fast to the iron rod entails, in large measure, the prayerful, consistent, and earnest use of the holy scriptures as a sure source of revealed truth and as a reliable guide for the journey along the strait and narrow path to the tree of life—even to the Lord Jesus Christ."

The third group only occasionally read there scriptures, and thus fell away form the tree, but the fourth group read there scriptures often.

We need to continually Study the scriptures.

Well, I love you all and hope you all have a wonderful week.

Love, Elder Betts  :)

Elder Reger and I (the sign is chihuahua and they called me that after the haircut....so that is why the sign)

Elder Rutland and I