Week 52, August 1, 2016

Area:  Brownfield

Companion:

Date:  August 1, 2016

Hey everyone good week this week man I honestly am having a hard time remembering on what we did this week they are just going by so fast and they all feel so combined but, we had some really good lessons with one of our investigators. Her name is Kealey and I have never met anyone who has such real-intent to know if it is true! She is so awesome super funny cracks me up so much! She has read the whole Book of Mormon cover to cover and she felt that she didn't get her answer if it was true but just felt super peaceful after finishing it. So when she said that we had her read D&C 6 22" Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried untome in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things.

 23 Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?24 And now, behold, you have received a witness; for if I have told you things which no man knoweth have you not received a witness? "                                                                                                                  Man when she read that the spirit was so strong! She just has some doubts still but if you could keep her in your prayers that she will be able to be baptized that would be awesome! Well weird story we were about to go into a meeting with our mission president to discuss somethings and before we went in I looked at Elder Christian and had the strongest impression that our president was going to offer us some Sprechers Root Beer (super popular here) and so I told him and then we sit down and before we start he says "do you all want to some Root Beer?" Man that was so weird we look at each other just so confused I guess the Spirit just wanted to show me that he truly knows all things haha! Ya so right now things are good just have so much to do and feel overwhelmed some days but it has been really good so far! Well I am sorry I don't have much time to write but I love you all hope you have a great week! Hope to hear from you all next week! 

Love Elder DeSantis

Week 51, July 25, 2016

Area:  Brownfield

Companion:

Date:  July 25, 2016

Hey everyone so ya this week was cookin hot like 95 plus like I swear 100% humidity I am like cutting the air when I walk! But that hasn't stopped the work by any means! The missions numbers are killing it right now which is so awesome, we also had our baptismal date come to church again (Nathan) he is so awesome so that was sweet to have him there! This week we went on exchanges with some elders oh man the funniest thing happened and I guess sad but man so when I was on exchanges with elder Thatcher we were driving back to meet up with the other elders and we were in the super ghetto of Milwaukee and that is like super ghetto but anyway we were stopped in traffic at a red light and I was talking with elder Thatcher and all of a sudden he was like "oh geez look" and so I looked to my left and there is just this little kid staring right at me with like a most straight faced I have ever seen haha he scared me so bad but I roll down my window and just asked him what was up and what not haha so funny! Probably a lot more funny in the moment but I thought I would share. So ya I guess I will tell you a little more about the area I am in so we have two areas to cover one which is for the two colleges in Milwaukee (Marquette and UWM) we usually just walk around the campus and just talk to college kids it is pretty fun and actually the work in that area is doing really well! I really like Milwaukee a lot actually the downtown is so sweet and has awesome restaurants and what not so ya the city is super sweet! Then the other part is Brook-field and man this is probably one of the most wealthy areas in Wisconsin and most of the HUGE houses are people from India so that is cool none are really interested but they are usually really nice sometimes. But ya there house are just monsters... (like that one) but the work in that area is a little bit slower we are still trying to find people to teach so pray for us! We have been seeing a lot of cool tender mercies with people though coming up to us and like asking us awesome questions so it has been really good! I am starting to get more and more comfortable with this new area so that is nice. Elder Christian and I get a long great I don't think I have said anything about him so he is from Sacramento, Texas and he has been on his mission for like 22 months so he is headed home soon but, he is a great elder!

There is a quote that I love and I feel like it applies to me it says "God cares more about eternal progression then our comfort." it is so true because we all know that we can not grow in the comfort zone so God allows us to be put in situations so that we may grow even though it may seem too uncomfortable for us. I have never felt so uncomfortable like I have on my mission truly what I am doing is so weird haha but I have never grown so much and I know it is because God wants me to grow and gives me situations to grow and it just depends on us if we choose to work through or just take the easy way out and get back in the comfort zone! I encourage all of you to get out of your comfort zone and share this gospel with people this week! Thanks for all you do for me! Let me know if I can help with anything!

Davies Family

Week 50, July 18, 2016

Area:  Brownfield

Companion:

Date:  July 18, 2016

Well this week cooked by no joke we have been so busy with so much stuff again and we will pretty much have almost every week like this so ya. Hmm this week was good pretty crazy to say the least but a good one. We had a lot of people come to church well maybe not a lot but some which is always nice. One of our Investigators Nathan who is going to be baptized on August 13th came and he really liked it! We are so stoked for him he is awesome! We also had two of the less actives come that we visited and invited to church, I love seeing less actives come back because it truly is just as important as baptizing someone so ya I was super excited to see all of them at church! We also went on exchanges this week and guess who I went with Elder Whimpey haha oh man it was so crazy doing missionary work with him again and this time having our investigators be for real haha. I love that guy it was a lot of fun! Well now to describe why my subject is "The Lord Protects his servants." So on Wednesday we had an appointment with a less active (he came to church so it was all worth it) and on our way back some kid ran a red light like super red like mine had been green for a minute so ya I went through our green light and out of no where this truck comes cookin into the intersection and I was going like 45 (the speed limit was 45 as well just thought I would clarify so you didn't think I was speeding) so I had like no time to react and we just T-boned the crap out of him and destroyed our front left side of the car like destroyed you will see in the pictures. Well ya after that happened our car like turned like a 180 and finally came to stop and we were so confused like smoke everywhere so crazy. So the police and everyone get there and we get checked out and all is well only thing that happened between us is that the air bag burned my left arm haha it actually really hurt but hey I mean I will take that! The only reason I tell this story is because my mom got notified of like a prescription they gave me so ya she found out so I have to tell the story now but get this there is more so this burn that I get stops right where my garment begins pretty freaking sweet if you ask me! So I know that the Lord truly protects his servants!

So during church on Sunday someone said this quote during their talk and I never thought about this before but it is so true so it goes like this If you’re seeing more of your weaknesses, that just might mean you’re moving nearer to God, not farther away. [Bruce C. Hafen, “The Atonement: All for All,” Ensign, May 2004, 97]"

I think this is so I never would have thought of it like that because so many times we think when we are doing what we are suppose to we think that all should be going great and sometimes it does but, other times he wants us to grow and we know that when we give God our weakness he will make them our strengths and I know that to be true many of my weakness have come out on my mission but it has been amazing to seem them become more of my strengths! I love this Gospel I know it is true and I know that it can bless anyone life as long as we live it! Thank you again for your prayers they truly are being heard and answered!

love Elder DeSantis

Elder Reina and Elder Whimpey

Week 49, July 11, 2016

Area:  Brownfield

Companion:

Date:  July 11, 2016

Hey everyone well this week was crazy busy I have had so many meetings with President Williams and other missionaries! My new area is pretty sweet I cover two wards one is Brownfield and man almost every house is this huge mansion so we don't really go door to door we try park contacting which is super awkward at first but then you just learn to not care haha. So ya that area is a little rough we are still trying to find people to teach in that ward. The other ward I serve in is a YSA which is so weird just having a bunch of guys who were in my shoes not too long ago. They are all super cool and pretty motivated to keep doing missionary work! We also are on Marquette Campus trying to just talk to college kids as they walk by and also we go to UWM college. For being in this type of area we actually have a decent amount of Baptisms which is crazy and super sweet! Ya a little bit about my week we have been helping President Williams kinda catch up on all the meetings he has to do and help him plan and then we had MLC (mission leadership council) so all the Zone Leaders,Sister training leaders APs and then the Mission President and his wife it was fun we gave a training on somethings to all of them so crazy cause all of these people I am "training" I use that term loosely cause I don't know how much I "train" them have soo much more experience then me! But ya the meeting went well set some good goals and what not as a mission! It is super funny to see how different our Mission President is compared to our old like pretty polar opposite but they are both just amazing. The rest of the week was really good nothing to crazy happened but, I ran into what people think as like my twin which was weird cause when I got there people were like you remind me Jordan. When I finally met the guy it was weird so we both had the same time pretty close to the same glasses and then we have the same bag and the same watch it was pretty freaky we just kept finding stuff pretty funny the guy is super cool though! So ya only really investigator we have is Nathan who is super awesome he has a date to be baptized of August 13th so if you could be praying that it happens that would be awesome! Thank you all for your prayers I truly felt them this week my nerves of being AP were going away I have started to feel more confidence each day and I know it is because of all the prayers! 

My Spiritual message comes from a talk I heard on Sunday. He spoke of the parable of the Goats and the Sheep that Jesus gives. So what the speaker did was pretend like he was having a conversation with Christ and asking him why he is on the left side and not on the right side because he lived his like well always being worthy of a temple recommend and what not. So Jesus goes on to tell him well when I was Hungry you didn't feed me. When I was naked you didn't clothe me. So he goes on to say if you don't have much money to give food to people or give clothes he speaks of it spiritually. When someone is hungry to hear the word and you didn't share with them anything of the Gospel or when they are naked you didn't share with them how they can one day put on the beautiful white garments to clothe them. I love the twist he put on it and I wish I could remember more of how he put it but I truly do know that one day we will look back and ask ourselves why didn't I say anything to them why didn't I give them this beautiful gift of the Gospel! Don't be afraid to share the Gospel when things come up because I know that the spirit we bring to people they will ask what that is and all we have to do is tell them and allow the Holy Ghost to tell them it is true! I love you all just know I am doing good and really enjoying my mission right now! Let me know if there is anything I can do! 

Love Elder DeSantis

Week 48, July 4, 2016

Area:  Lake Mills

Companion:  Elder Poulson

Date:  July 4, 2016

Wow well a bunch of stuff to say this week and don't really know where to start but I guess I will start with July 1st we got to meet our new Mission President. I love the man so much already and I am gonna get real close with him I will come back to that. We had a two hour conference with them and they just told us about themselves and they have some pretty funny stories I will share one day. I don't really get how you can feel so much love so fast for someone you barely know but I know they are going to be amazing! It was fun I got to see some missionaries that I served around with in Green Bay so that was really fun! Well nothing really too exciting till Sunday we got the Transfer texts in the morning and found out I was being Transferred but we still didn't know where I was going didn't think I was gonna find out until Monday but, We got a call from my mission President Sunday night and He told me he wants me to be his assistant my reponse was "there are a lot of great missionaries in this mission President...." He replies "this isn't a question it is a request." I have no clue why me I don't have the experience like others do and I feel super unqualified to do this but, I know I will learn so much from this and from President Williams. But if you don't mind throwin something in for me your prays right now that would be awesome haha. Well ya after that I didn't sleep much that night thoughts were going crazy. Then for the 4th of July I just did a lot of saying good bye to members and some investigators I have plenty of pictures to send home now. The hardest good bye was definitely with the Cabrera family. Man I didn't want to let go of Angel when we were hugging and he didn't let me go. To just hearing the words he said to me with tears in his eyes saying "Tu no intendes que ha hecho por mi familia" or in English "You don't understand what you have done for my family." I just told him I better see him in Utah at the Salt Lake Temple! That family will be one I can never forget I hope and pray they will be in my life for the rest of my life! So this week has been so up and down for me never felt this many emotions in such a short amount of time!

 I want to share with something I read this morning that was able to help me feel some peace this morning it is in Roman 8:25 "But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."

So you may read this and think well now lets sit and wait well obviously that isn't what we should do because in Ether 12:6 it tells us we don't receive our answer until after the trail of our faith! Right now my faith is being tested I feel so in-adequate and thoughts of doubts are coming into my head that I can not do this but I know that I just need to go and work hard that is all I can do is just work hard for the lord and for my Mission President! I love you all I hope you enjoyed your 4th of July!!

My new Address is 9661 Forest Home Ave. #14 Hales Corner WI 53220

Elder DeSantis 

Week 47, June 27, 2016

Area:  Lake Mills

Companion:  Elder Poulson

Date:  June 27, 2016

Hey everyone man this week we did a lot of stuff this week so I will start with Tuesday. Sadly our President and his wife are leaving the 30th so we had our good bye conference with them. I truly felt like I was saying good bye to my parents again cause they honestly become your parents during the mission. President Cutler has impacted my life more then he will ever know his example to me has helped me to become a better missionary each day. That was a bitter sweet day for me but, I know I will love the new mission President and His wife who I will meet July 1st! Well after the conference we had exchanges with the Zone Leaders which went really well taught a bunch of people always fun. Then on like Wednesday I think we taught this guy Micheal who in 4 days had read all the way up to Mosiah. We taught him the Plan of Salvation and it was amazing everything went great and he knew all of it was true (he is catholic so the Plan of Salvation is where we get really different) so ya we were super excited to go back the next day and then we get a text saying "we wont be meeting the Book of Mormon testifies too much of Christ and Baptism" well Micheal it is another testament of Jesus Christ haha. Ya so that was actually pretty sad to get dropped by him we were super excited for him but, I think we will try and stop by again soon. Gotta a little funny story again me and Elder Poulson were planning on knocking these HUGE house for a while but we know rich people think they have it all so finally this last week we tried some and guess what they all hated us haha we tried all approaches from hey can we do service for you to we are representatives of the lord Jesus Christ and got nothing. Well we will try again and teach them again in the Spirit World. Eh that wasn't too funny but it was a story. Well that is pretty much it for my week, just a heads up my P-day will be on the 5th of July not the 4th so that is when I will email everyone back! 

A scripture I read today that I always love reading cause man I weak but I am grateful for these words too keep me going 

Ether 12 : 27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them theirweakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men thathumble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

Allow Him to make you strong because as I have found out without him I am so weak! But with him I can move mountains and let me tell I feel if Wisconsin had mountains they would have been moved now I just need to take the strength of the Lord and help others change their hearts! 

Love Elder DeSantis!

Week 46, June 20, 2016

Area:  Lake Mills

Companion:  Elder Poulson

Date:  June 20, 2016

Well this week was a good one we went to Elkhorn area for a day to do some proselyting which went pretty good I went with Elder Wright he is like genius haha I love talking to the kid about deep things to hear on what he things about it. Then later this week we taught Finna (Josheua) I love this guy super cool and has a lot of good questions about the Plan of Salvation so it was nice to help him answer those deep questions. Kinda crazy to think a 19 (me) has answers to those types of questions I guess that is what the Gospel does for you. Then on Sunday me and my companion spoke on Sunday which I thought went really well we talked about Fathers so I talked about Dad and our Heavenly Father. It was cool because to describe Heavenly Father and who he is all we have to do is look at his Son because his whole goal is to do the will of the Father. The rest of today we are going golfing with one of our Investigators so that will be super fun. That is pretty much all for this week.

My spiritual message is more of me asking a favor. A friend I have met in this mission -Elder Shaum- father passed away this last week from and accident. If you could keep him and his family in your prayers. He is an amazing missionary he went home to go speak at the funeral and he will be coming back out sometime this week to finish his mission. This is why I am glad to have the knowledge I do to know that this is not the end and because of Temples and Priesthood power we are able to be with our families forever. I love you all never take anyone for granted in your life! Let me know if I can do anything to help anyone! Thanks for all your prayers!

~Elder DeSantis