Week 62, October 10, 2016

Area:

Companion:  Elder Lee

Date:  October 10. 2016

So this past week was amazing we saw so many miracles The work is really picking up! So a young woman in one of our wards saw a friend of hers post something about our church so she decided to act on that and talk to him at school about it! She found out he has been looking for a church to go to so she invited him and he came. He loved it so much he went home and told his mom that he "felt at home" when he came and that everybody was so welcoming! We were able to get his contact information and we went taught his whole family he has two brothers one is 9 and the other is 15 and then is Mom. It is so nice to be teaching families again and to help them come closer! His mom asked me such a heart felt question she asked "How does your church feel about broken families cause as you can see we are missing someone in this family." They are going through a divorce right now but the mom is very strong! It was so good to be able to say we love broken families in this church because it gives us a chance to come together and build it back up! When we come to the Lord with a broken heart that allows the Saviors Atonement to fill in the cracks and make us whole! This family is awesome and Jackson (the kid who came to church) is so awesome and really wants to get baptized! We are working with others as well Jake is a YSA kid who was dating a member and then came to church and liked it so we are teaching him now and he read all of 1 nehpi in a week so he has a date now for November 5th and Kealey is still working towards her date ah man just so many good things going on right now we are so excited to see all that comes from it! We have a lot of work to do which is nice! This week we also had MLC a meeting with all the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders and President and during a training we were give the spirit was so strong it was so cool! We talked about having Joy in this work and making Christ the center of each companionship! So many amazing things were said! I also heard Olivia got baptized this last Saturday that is so amazing to hear ah those two missionaries have no idea what they did for our family! 

Well for this spiritual message it comes from C.S Lewis I heard this quote and thought it was amazing it says "Christ says, "Give me All. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good...Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked--the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours." I hope I can give my all to the Savior my everything! I know he wants us all do to that because when we do that he can make us into who he wants for us! I love you all I hope you are doing good keep close to the Lord all things become possible! 

Love Elder DeSantis

sorry I didn't take any pictures this week

Week 61, October 3, 2016

Area:

Companion:  Elder Lee

Date: October 2, 2016

This week I got my new companion Elder Lee he is from Modesto California he went to BYU for a year before coming out. He is super awesome and we get along great I am excited to see the success that will happen. Also another perk is that he was called Spanish speaking so we can have some conversations in Spanish so we don't lose it completely. Well the people we are working with are doing good! Kealey is awesome still and we had a good lesson with her pretty amazing how the spirit works through our studies because everything elder Lee and I studied that morning was needed for kealey to hear. I will share later on what it was. After leaving there she texted us and said "just so you know I am thinking of Nov. 5th for a baptismal date." how cool is that our investigator set her own date. Kealey watched all a lot of the conferences and she said 3 out of her 5 questions were answered so we are making great progress! Keep praying for her. Then we had a lesson with Derrick he is doing good sadly he couldn't make it to conference because he headed back home for the weekend and missed all the sessions. I truly loved conference it was such an spiritual experience. I am so glad we are lead by an amazing Prophet Thomas S. Monson,  The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. I know these men are called of God. 

One thing that really stood out to me at conference was something that we taught to our investigator the day before conference which was, putting what you know into your heart and believing them. It is hard to think that we know things but don't believe them but, it is true some things we know but don't do them so in other words we don't believe them. Until we can put all that we know in our hearts and allow God help us believe them that is when we will feel changed and the desire to do God's will for us. I know that our Savior lives and that His Atonement is real and that we are all invited to partake of the wonderful feeling of Repentance. I love you all so much and for the support I have felt!! Have a great week!

Love Elder DeSantis

Week 60, September 26, 2016

Area:

Companion: Elder Lee

Date:  September 26, 2016

Well this week is transfers and I will be staying in my same area but, my new companion is Elder Lee he is from California super awesome elder. I am excited to serve with him well Elder Christian is on to bigger and better things, which is Texas he is flying home on Thursday morning it will be fun I will be able to drop him off at the airport so that will be crazy to see him go home! This week was pretty good we had a lot of things to finish for transfers so it was kinda crazy but all went well! We had some sweet lessons with a new investigator named Derrick he is awesome. He was taught by some missionaries in a different part of Wisconsin but then moved to Milwaukee to go to Marquette. He called us to set up a time to meet how awesome is that, so our first lesson went great with him haha he is a funny kid he said " So I realized something today while reading the Introduction to the Book of Mormon and the Testimonies is that today is the exact day Joseph Smith first saw the plates and I am kinda freaking out!" Funny kid but ya then we met with him another time and set a baptismal date with him! So pray for Derrick! Sorry that is all I got right now I have to take off I love you all good luck this week!

Love Elder DeSantis

Week 59, September 19, 2016

Area:

Companion:Elder Christian

Date:  September 19, 2016

This week went by pretty fast because we had Zone Conferences so we went all around Wisconsin, It was fun to be able to see all the missionaries again and get to know them better. We had great training's given to us one by our mission presidents was on the Atonement and oh man he expounded my knowledge sooo much I loved it I will talk about it later for my spiritual thought. We also had good lessons with Kealey she is doing good but also isn't haha it is really weird she has felt like she has gotten an answer that the church is true but, then she also felt like she got an answer of no the Book of Mormon isn't true. She is smart enough to know that those two answers to work together so she is really confused right now so we are working with her on that. Honestly though our lessons with her always amazing but they never go how planned which is good because the spirits takes them the way they need to go. We really need to find new people though to teach so we will be working on that a lot! We also have transfers coming up next week so sadly elder christian will be leaving me he is going home to texas in 10 days! We had this cool experience the other day with this lady while tracting. So we walk up her drive and this dog just comes bookin towards us and so ya heart dropped really quick but he didn't do anything and then this lady comes out and is like Elders! Super confused she was so happy to see us I thought it was like a member we didn't know but nope she was just a super nice lady who knows what we do she was awesome she is very catholic but open to learning more so let you know more about her! She just made our day so much better need more people like her in the world. Well ya now I will go on about what I learned from the Atonement training we got.

“Oneness is not only a matter of geography, but of identity. The issue is not just where we live, but what we become. To live with God does not assure us we will be like him. All who live in the celestial kingdom dwell with God, but only those who are exalted become as he is. The objective of the Atonement is not just to cleanse us, but to so transform our lives and our way of thinking and acting that we become like God.” (Tad R. Callister, Infinite Atonement, 26.) This quote is so amazing and so much to ponder in. He is saying geography (living in the celestial kingdom) isn't as important as your identity becoming like God. It is so cool to think that this is all possible because of the one act of the Atonement it truly shows you how infinite the Atonement is. I love you all hope you have a great week! 

Week 58, September 12, 2016

Area:

Companion:Elder Christian

Date:  September 12, 2016

This week was a good one even though we didn't have our Baptism on Saturday. Kealey didn't feel like she was completely ready to be baptized which is alright we want her feeling confident going into it. She still came to church though and really loved it and she listened to Elder Cooks devotional and she said that it was speaking right to her so the Lord is still working ard on her and so are we! This week we met a lot of really cool people but we handed them off to other missionaries cause they weren't in our area but, they all seem pretty promising. We had a lot of exchanges last week cause we have Zone Conference this week but, while on one of the exchanges I was talking to the Elders about how Joseph Smith was thinking of joining the Methodist church and I said " I have never met a Methodist before I don't think" well next door we knock it was a Methodist lady from New York so ya I thought that was pretty funny. Well the rest of the week was good we had great lessons with Kealey one that is really cool with her is she has made me really need to follow the spirit with her becuase she throws so much at us during lessons and sometimes she doesn't say anything but, teaching her has truly helped me become a better teacher and understanding more of how the spirit communicates with me. Kealey truly is an amazing person with an amazing spirit. 

I have a scripture I want to share that Kealey shared with us and it is Hebrews 10:31 "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." I love that so much cause honestly it is such a fearful thing to fall into his hands but, what better hands to fall into He just ask us to show our faith by doing it! I hope you all know that He will catch you He is there. I have felt it time and time again and then the promise as to why we do it  35 "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hathgreat recompence of reward." The reward is truly great but, we only will find that out once we try it! Turst in the Lord and he will not lead any of astray we will not be lost! We are truly His children and He does love us more than we can imagine! I love you all! 

Elder DeSantis

Week 57, September 5, 2016

Area:

Companion:

Date:  September 5, 2016

Well I am sorry because this week I couldn't separate the days for you honestly kinda scares me how fast the days go and how much I don't remember them! I will try and dig deep and see what I can come up with for what we did so lets see but it sounded like all of you had a lot more exciting things happen back home like Katie having her little baby ahora yo tengo una sobrinasita. SO for me we worked with Kealey A LOT we saw her like almost everyday which she needs. All of our lessons with her went really well she is awesome but has some fears which I get. This Saturday is suppose to be her Baptism so if you could all pray for her that would be awesome! Some bad things happen after Saturday and that will be that the Packers start the season on Sunday so Sunday School now will become Packer School. I am kinda hoping it wont be as bad as last year because I was in Green Bay last year so we will see what Milwaukee will be like probably the same. We had a labor day BBQ in one of the wards we serve in and it was pretty sweet so much good food! We also had a Part Member family show up and the ward did great in fellow shipping them so hopefully things go well with them! I have gotten so many times that I look like someone it is so crazy a lot of the times when we go tracting someone says you look like so and so. Do I have that much of like a familiar face. Some cool experiences we had on Sunday was we were able to give Heather (a member in the YSA) ward a blessing because he Grandmother passed away while she was at church and she was a mess cause of it. I felt so bad for but, the blessing was amazing the spirit is always so strong in those and your words feel like they are just flowing out I love it! Then right after that we were able to give one to Kealey for a couple of different things and that one went really well also! This church is true priesthood is real! 

For my spiritual thought today "Be not afraid, only believe." Mark 5:36 how simple it is much so much in it. Christ invites us to "be not afraid, only believe" and allow him to hush any fears we might. I know at times it is hard to always be believe but I would like to invite you all to just hang on to the belief show your hope and your faith with your actions and help will come it always does! Love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder DeSantis

Week 56 August 29, 2016

Area:

Companion:Elder Christian

Date:  August 29, 2016

Man this week was so stressful and busy with mission tour (that is when a General Authority comes and speaks to the mission.) So the first day of mission tour was in Milwaukee and so we pick Elder Ringwood and Elder Cordon from the airport haha I was so nervous to drive them cause I was the driver haha and I was driving this huge 15 passenger van with all of us and President and Sister Williams so much stress haha. It was fun though we started talking on the drive back from the airport and he asked us where we are from and what not and he is from sugar house so he started talking to me about what stake I am in and he was like "you just got a new stake president didn't you?" I was like "ya we did" he said "President Ence" I was shocked how the heck did he know that but it turns out that he called him to be it so that was crazy but wait there is more! So then he asked about my parents and was like "Elder DeSantis what is your dads name?" I said Dave and he instantly replied "oh the golfer" I was so shocked haha so be careful dad you are getting too well known by high up callings I would like mow the lawn on Sunday just to be safe haha just kidding don't do that! So ya that was really cool Elder Cordon was awesome as well he was born in Guatemala but moved to Costa RIca and man he sold he me on living there it sounds amazing! Elder Cordon is super young like 43 I think and is already a 70 he is also super smart! We asked if he went to school in America and he did but didn't tell us where so Elder Christian asked where and he was like MIT. Man such a humble and smart man! They truly are servents of the Lord and called by God! So ya it was fun to meet all of the missionaries in the mission there is a lot of them! Well funny story for you all so I we were about to leave for church yesterday and I heard the shower dripping so I went to go shut it all the way off and I leaned in and turned it the wrong way and just drenched myself ah man I felt so dumb in that moment Elder Christian just started laughing ah man well ya there is that! Sorry I want to write so much because so much has been happening but I just don't know how to write it all! 

So many spiritual things happened this week it is hard to just chose like one hmm ok I got a great one so Elder Cordon gave this training and in it he had a picture of a missionary with three little kids and two parents, this was in Guatemala (they are converts). So he ask an Elder to describe what he sees in the photo and he describes the obvious things and then he asks a sister to describe what she sees and she adds a few girly things like they are so cute and what not. Then he goes on and goes back to the elder and says "Elder could you not see that there are 4 full time missionaries in that photo? Those three little kids grew up and all served full time missions and then the Mom served one when he her husband passed away." Then he goes on "Elder Could you not see 3 branch presidents all the brothers served as branch presidents then he says they actually all served as Stake Presidents at the same time!" goes on to add "Elder did you not see Area 70 and a 70 and also a Mission president?" So that picture was Elder Cordon and his family moral of the story is that you have no clue what will come to be with the work we are doing. We can't see all that will come to be like God sees it! We need to look at our investigators through the lords eyes and not what they are but what they will become! Such an amazing story! This truly is the greatest work in the world I love you all!

Love Elder DeSantis

Oh man I forgot to add that Elder Ringwood said "Hey Elder Davidson!" I looked at him a little confused and he said well are you David's son?? haha he kept calling me that too pretty funny stuff!