Week 82, February 28, 2017

Area:  Kenosha

Companion:  Elder Whimpey

Date:  February 28, 2017

Well this was a good week nothing to crazy happened for us. We have a lot of good potential people we are working with and we have a few on date but we really need to help them progress more. It was sad we found this guy named Dorian who is so cool and so ready to hear the Gospel. He listened to us the first time and he said we could come back and we did and he actually remembered our appointment! We had such a good lesson with him and he accepted a date and everything and then we went back and taught his wife who was super awesome also and put her on the same date! So ya we were pumped and thought for sure they were getting baptized! Then we texted them to remind them about church and he dropped us. We are pretty sure someone showed him anti or like said something to him, it is all good though we are gonna go back and talk to him!

   Something a little less depressing haha we had a dinner with this Part member family and after dinner they really wanted to sing hymns. I was super nervous because those of you who know me I cannot sing and then you go ahead and  put it in Spanish and the game is over. Well we started and let me tell you angles were with us like we sounded so good Elder Whimpey will back me up on this one like I was blown away haha! The spirit was super strong it was really cool! 

  Some sweet news we are having an apostle come to our mission, President Nelson is the one coming! He is coming on March 11th but he is here to do something with the Madison stake I think so we only get him for 2 hours but I am so excited! We are having the whole mission together which is crazy I hope no one does anything dumb. We get to shake his hand so I will tell you all how it goes haha! 

Elder Whimpey and I also had the opportunity to teach the youth in the branch. The Young Mens President really wanted us to help the boys go on a mission because there are some who are really invested in sports and he wants them to go on a mission first so it was really fun to tell our stories and what not. I hope the kids go they will not regret it! 

A verse that I read the other day and love is in Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

 I love it because we truly can forget the past because of our Savior Jesus Christ and be able to reach for the things that are in the future. My future has changed and I am reaching for different things now. I am so grateful for this Gospel it has changed my life! I love you all! I hope you have a great week! 

Love,

Elder DeSantis

Week 81, February 20, 2017

Area:  Kenosha

Companion:  Elder Whimpey

Date:  February 20, 2017

Ah well I don't even know where to begin with this week. Everything is going so good! The Lord really is blessing me so much and I have no clue why but I am not complaining at all haha! So this week I will be signing to play for Westminster which is super amazing and I am grateful for the opportunity to keep my dream alive! 

So the main part of my email today will be about Kealey and her baptism. I can't even put to words how amazing that was to be able to be a part of that. I am so proud of Kealey this is something she wanted to do for such a long time but with a lot of opposition from her family it took a little longer. I do love the Lords timing though, I know that this was exactly when it needed to be so that she could be as confident as she is about her decision and so that Jordan the member could baptize her! I had the opportunity to be able to teach the Restoration with elder whimpey while Kealey and Jordan changed. I don't know what happened but I felt the spirit so strongly in that moment. I felt the love that our Savior has for everyone so much in that moment! I also reflected on how much this message has changed my life and now many others!

 I got this text from Kealey after her baptism and it is a text that every missionary in the world wants to hear she said "Thank you for being by my side throughout everything. Thank you for not letting me quit even when I really wanted to.Thank you for believing in me and teaching me that I can do hard things. I'll quit texting you sappy things now. Just know that you've changed my eternity. Sleep in peace tonight knowing that you have surely been doing what you were called to do. You've made your mark on Wisconsin but selfishly I'm just really thankful you were my missionary." 

This text honestly has helped me so much know that I am doing what the Lord has called me to do. The story of Kealey is one I will never forget and one I will cherish for the rest of my  life! I love this Gospel so much I know it is true. I know our Savior loves us each so much. Remember the saying I said before I left on my mission "I am giving up something I love for someone I love." I thought that the someone was just the Savior but now I have come to find out it is everyone I meet in Wisconsin! I am so grateful for my mission it has changed and is currently changing and shaping my life. 

I hope you all have a great week and can feel the Lords love! I love you all!

Elder DeSantis

Week 80, February 13, 2017

Area:  Kenosha

Companion:  Elder Whimpey

Date:  February 13, 2017

Hey everyone holy cow this week was so good! So many amazing things happened we saw so much success. So I will first tell you about my area. I am in Kenosha which is pretty ghetto but I love it! I am in a Spanish Branch so spanish here we come! I am so glad to be back with Hispanics I love them so much like when I see them I just feel like we are just best friends already ah they are awesome! 

Well on to the things that happened this week so I will start with Kealey even though she isn't in my area anymore but she is getting baptized this Saturday! We are driving up to MKE and going to her baptism! I am baptizing her so I am so excited ah it will be so amazing! Then also we are working with the Mendoza family who have a baptismal date for March 4th. It may be pushed back so that the husband can join them if he is willing. It was so cool so elder Whimpey and I had no clue why she was so sad and we were praying to find out why. So we had a lesson and we didn't have too much of a game plan but to find her need and teach to it so we walked in and got talking and asked her questions and one thing lead to another and she just broke down and told us all the problems! Ah it is so cool how the spirit will make these things possible! We were able to give her a blessing of comfort and she just bawled through all of it such a neat experience! 

We also got in with the Part-member family last night it was so cool they are both converts and they were super strong in the church. He was the branch mission leader for a while and he loved it but for some reason about a year ago they just stopped coming, no one knows why. So we got in and had a great lesson and they invited us back to have dinner with them! We still have no idea why but I know we will find out soon! 

So ya the mission is honestly just so fun right now, the Lord has blessed me so much recently with helping me with everything in my life and when I say everything I mean everything! He has made things back home work for me and has helped me see how my life will pan out for the next few years. The Lord is amazing and He is in control which I am so grateful for. I truly know that when you put the Lord first doors will open that you may have never seen or even thought of! 

So for my spiritual thought today it comes from one of my studies this week. I was reading in Galatians 5 and verse 16 really stuck out to me and it says "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." To me the lust of the flesh is anything pertaining to things that are unrighteous. So Paul invites us to walk in the spirit and then the later promise of what will happen is found in verse 22-23 " 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.' If one walks in the spirit they will have these things listed in verse 22 and 23. I pray that I may always walk in the spirit! I am so grateful for the Spirit and for all it teaches me! 

Love Elder DeSantis

Week 79, February 6, 2017

Area:  Kenosha

Companion:  Elder Whimpey

Date:  February 6, 2017

Well I will start off with how stoked I am to be back in Spanish work ah I love it so much. Let me tell you though my Spanish is super rusty I have a lot of work to do! So yes I am back with Elder Whimpey and it is so fun we honestly have picked up right where we left on in the MTC but this time we know how to do missionary work or at least we think we do!

I love this area a lot I hope so badly that this is where I finish my mission. We have a lot  good potential families we are working with and have some that could be baptized soon! I honestly just am super happy to be a missionary right now like all is just falling into place! I will update you all more next week and I love you all so much!

Elder DeSantis

Week 78, January 30, 2017

Area:

Companion:  Elder Lee

Date:  January 30. 2017

So I am being transferred this Wednesday but guess who it is too yep Elder Whimpey! We are going to be serving down in Kenosha. I am so excited for many reasons but one is that I will be doing Spanish work again! Pray I can understand them haha. I have loved this area so much though, I have met such amazing people. I really consider a lot of the members here family we grew so close! I also was able to grow so much in this area I learned so many great things from all my leaders! 

This was such a good week! A lot of good things happened, all the school things got squared away which is so nice to not have to worry about. I also had a great interview with my mission president this week. I have so much love for that man he has helped me change my life so much! He truly is amazing and I owe a lot to him for what he has done for me. I also had a great birthday dinner with Jordan, Danny, Kealey, Matt, and Elder lee. I love these people they are so amazing it was so hard to say good bye to them! They threw me a great birthday party and then after we had a good testimony with everyone. Update on Kealey she will for sure be getting baptized the 18th of February. Luckily I am close enough I can come back and go to it. She actually asked me to baptize her so that will be soo fun! So ya just a great week over all! 

I have loved this area so much, it really is so hard to leave it. The people I have met really are my family now! I have never grown so much in one area then I have here. I am so excited for the people I will meet in Kenosha. I am so excited to see what the lord has in store for me my last 4 transfers! 

I love you all thank you for all the prayers! 

Love Elder DeSantis

Week 77, January 23, 2017

Area:

Companion:  Elder Lee

Date:  January 23, 2017

Man this week was great again! To start off it was like 55 almost all week, I am lovin this winter especially because this is my last winter in Wisconsin and if it wants to treat me well I will let it! Anyway a lot of good stuff happened this week! We had a guy come out with us from Salt Lake missionary Department. He was a former Mission President, he knows his stuff. It was such a humbling experience for me, he taught me so much it was so cool! We had good lessons with our investigators as well!

For a little update on who we are teaching, Kealey is going strong she had a really good talk with the Stake Patriarch which really helped her concerns! I am praying that she can get baptized this weekend before I leave that would just make this area so worth it, it has already been great but that would be amazing to end it like that! I am not too worried though she will get baptized one day!

Elder Lee and another missionary on exchanges found this awesome family! They are so cool like super prepared she just left her old church and said she will never go back. She was like the first person to connect all the dots to the restoration without us having too! It was so cool. It is a family of 6 and 4 of them are over 8. Ah they are so sweet I am super excited to see what happens with them! Also Mark our other investigator that just showed up to church a while ago is doing good haha he is such a funny guy, he went to this baptism the sisters had in our ward and he wrote on a note card to give to the girl who got baptized he said "I am a new member not yet baptized" so sweet!

Today my spiritual message is thought of because of the passing of an old teammate and friend, Andrew Garcia. He was an amazing kid who was always happy and a kid everyone wanted to be around. A verse that I stands out to me at this time is John 13: "34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." The time we have with people truly is precious and we need to have that love for everyone because we have no idea when the last time we will see them is. Love is a powerful feeling that when one feels that love for the other person you truly care about them more then yourself. Which is all the reason our Savior did what He did was because He loves all so much that he was willing to lay His life down for us! I love you all so much I truly do! I hope you all know I am here if any of you need anything!

Love Elder DeSantis

Week 76, January 16, 2017

Area:

Companion:  Elder Lee

Date:  January 16, 2017

Well it has been really good here for being January it is staying in like the upper 20's so whatever you are all praying for back home keep praying for that because it is working! It was a good week we finished up Zone Conference's they were super fun all of them went really well! I learned a bunch being able to hear from everyone new things stuck out every time! 

So you remember the guy Mark that just showed up to church last week ya he is doing really good! We met with a him a few more times and in one of our lessons he said "every time I left my church on Sundays there was a whole that I never felt was filled." Like who says that ah man so cool! He is gonna get baptized on the 28th of January! So keep praying for him! 

Kealey is doing really good right now like she is staring to really make her own decisions which is HUGE for her! She met with the Bishop on Sunday and just loved it like really felt his love and just feels super welcome! She is probably the coolest person on the earth I am telling you she is hilarious! You all have to meet her one day! 

So a lot of funny things happened this week I will tell you about two! So first one was we were heading to Appleton for a Zone Conference and when we walked out of our apartment it was just pure ice every where! Let me tell you that nice shoes with wooden soles don't have any grip on them so the second I stepped onto the ice I started sliding towards the stairs and I am carrying a bunch of stuff. I thought that was how it was going to end for me but the Lord stopped me like a centimeter from the stairs! Good thing I said my prayers that morning! So the next thing was pretty dumb of me no like really dumb of me! So my mom got me a work out band that is super thick, so I was laying on my bed messing around with it and putting on my feet and pulling it up and yep totally slipped off my feet and smacked me right the face. Elder Lee was dying so was I though ah man I wish we had someone just film our companionship haha! 

I love you all a lot I hope you have a great week! 

Love Elder DeSantis