new area!

It was pretty sad leaving the stone oak area.  To be totally honest I kinda hoped to leave every transfer before that last one because I wanted to get somewhere crazier and more exciting, but by the end of that last one I loved the people so much and had gotten to know everything so well and saw all the incredible potential in every individual that I really was sad to leave... it was kind of weird.  We didn't really go around to say goodbye to anyone because that would've been an irresponsible use of missionary time, so I just made sure to remember and tell people the last time I would be seeing them over the last couple of weeks.  Lizbeth Flores (Louis' wife) did make me tres leches for our last lesson, though, so that was cool.  Hopefully he'll be baptized soon and I'll be able to come to the temple here for their wedding.

 

So I'm in San Antonio 10th ward now.  It's big enough that there are six missionaries that cover different parts of it.  The cool thing, though, is that each of those companionships also covers a spanish ward that is the same area as the part of 10th that they cover. :)  So we also cover 5th ward.  It's funny because the english ward speaks just as much spanish as the spanish ward...  We are down on the south side of San Antonio.  President Jones told me that I'd worked hard enough on my spanish that he thought I deserved to be in a spanish area (since that is kind of a coveted thing in this mission), so that's what he did.  It's been super cool and I've been excited to see that my spanish really isn't too bad.  Elder Robinson (my new companion) and I can pretty much communicate whatever we want with anyone we want.  It's also way easier to talk to more people here, though it is harder to have as serious of a conversation with them.  There are a lot of people that would like to just talk, but it's hard to get them to understand that we're asking them to do things.

 

Elder Robinson is really cool.  He's kind of a gearhead from Utah (park city, I think), and we like a lot of the same stuff, though he knows a lot more about cars and guns than I do.  That's okay tough because we mostly just focus on the gospel haha.  It's kind of weird because we both teach very differently.  He's very good at simplifying everything so anyone can understand, whereas I'm used to presenting it in such a way that someone who has read all of the bible and knows a lot of history can find it logically feasible enough to let their heart open and feel the spirit when we testify.  It's interesting how different that is and how hard to transition it is.

 

Anyways, yesterday we had planned to knock a specific street, but took a wrong turn and ended up somewhere way different somehow.  There we saw this apartment complex sorta looking thingy that was so incredibly scary looking that we couldn't help pulling over to knock it.  Turns out nobody lived there, but we felt like we should just keep walking down the street. This street was kind of a bigger one that mostly gets used for transportation and you don't realize that there are a few houses spread out kinda hidden on the side until you're walking on it, so I don't think it had been worked by missionaries for a very long time... anyways, most of the people weren't very nice, but we found this family that was having kind of a hard time, and was willing to listen.  The spirit was so strong, and we commited thm to be baptized on the thirty first of this month and they accepted!  It was amazing.

 

I'll tell you more about them next week, and other things too, I'm just out of time now...  I've seen so many miracles here already, I'm very excited for this time.

 

 Love you

 

Elder Katzakian

 

Que pasa!!

Anyways, It's kinda weird to think that I'll be somewhere else in Texas on Thursday.  I've been here long enough that I don't really want to go now... I love the area and the people so much and would just love to keep working with and serving them.  I am kinda excited to see something else though.  I am sorta hoping to go somewhere more "Texasy."  Haha It doesn't really matter though.

So Louis and I totally did the five pound burrito challenge thing.  Also he came to church for the first time, and it looks like he'll be able to start coming pretty often if not every week.  So he should be able to be baptized pretty soon.  It's awesome :) Also, he was telling us about a mormon friend he had in high school who was one of his best friends ever, but they basically lost contact after his mission. The friends name was junior... So yeah, we looked junior up and had junior come to church the day louis made it and surprise him :) so that made it really cool.  Missionaries would make the best stalkers ever.  Also, we took pictures of the burrito thing, so I'll send those some time. I dunno if I'll have time to print them out today, but I did print some other ones earlier of other things that I'll send tomorrow when the mail starts going again.

Evan Tan is still doing super good, too.  His testimony is super strong and he's got some very good friends in the ward and he's planning on going on a mission.  That's really exciting because he could go before I go home.  That would probably be one of the coolest things ever.  We're going to try and coordinate schedules so we can take him out knocking door and stuff with us before I leave.

We have a lot of good things happening right now, and we're looking at about ten relatively solid people who should come to church next week.  So that's awesome.  We only had two yesterday... but everyone else is coming back in town and stuff.

So that's the scoop and I'm out of time.  Have fun and I'll talk to you next week.  Love you!

Love Elder Katzakian

Another week...

Apparently the people of san antonio are not as slow paced and laid back as I always imagined the people of the south to be.  They are very fast-paced and business minded.  Though I have spent a few days in the sticks and you can knock on the door and then not say anything for like ten seconds and it's still okay haha.

 

So the people we are teaching are pretty much the same as before, except for one person. We talked to this girl named Gio (short for Giovanna) at her door and she told us she had talked to missionnaries before, and she wasn't really interested and neither were her parents.  Normally we'd just leave a pass along card, but this time specifically I felt to put our phone number on it before we left.  Not five minutes later we got a text from her saying that her dad told her she needs to find christ, and she agreed to meet with us, for that is our speciality.  The meeting hasn't happened yet because she was getting ready to go to the other side of town for a couple days, but it looks really good.  So keep her in your prayers.

If anyone has any pointers for talking to people or door approaches or anything, that would be appreciated.  Often you can just say that you're sharing a mesage about Christ and they'll be way open, but to really grab their interest and motivate them to act is different...

 

Thank you so much for all the love and support and help.  I hope fathers' day was great.  I'll talk to you next week. I love you.

 

Love

 

Elder Katzakian

It's getting hotter...

We're teaching a man named Edward who has nearly read the entire Book of Mormon now.  He came to church and loved it.  We're going to help him to come to know the truth of it all and be baptized by the end of this month, so he could use some prayers.

 

The Flores family still needs help.  It's really frustrating to see him really wanting to be baptized, but unable because he can't get work off really... so yeah.

 

Midy  is also doing well, but still not totally sure of her relationship with God.  Her husband, who is currently regaining full fellowship, is on fire though.  His testimony is so strong and he's doing all he can to help her...

 

Also, pray for a good kick-off to Mitch Wilson's marriage (the son of the Sister wilson who was in Bishop Pollman's ward and the family who apparently probably totally saw me a bunch when I was a little kid).  He's a really good RM friend we've made.  He just got home from philly a few moths ago and married his girlfriend of two and a half years on saturday.  He's helped us out a lot and gave me a really cool tie, so we wish him the best.

 

It's been getting pretty hot, but it turns out I really enjoy the heat more than I ever did.  Also I'm getting sweet tan lines.  It's kinda ridiculous.  I can't wait to swim when I get home haha.

 

So yeah, we're going to be cooking more because we're both tired of eating the same thing every day... also, I'm running out of time, so I need to go now.  Love you all a ton.  Ttynw. (talk to you next week)

 

Elder Katzakian

 

p.s. I totally learned the vos form in spanish, but can't really use it because it's way casual.  Like surfer dude on the beach casual.

 

 

Memorial Day weekend

nothing too exciting happened this week, and I don't have really any time since the libraries are closed today, so I'm just using a member's computer with the last few minutes of p day.

 

Louis is doing really well; he is thinking about quitting his job in order to get sundays off, but it looks like he might be able to stay and get one or two a month off.

 

Additionally, I ate a june bug for forty bucks.  That was pretty cool.  It didn't taste that good.

 

We're getting pretty well settled in to the apartment.  It is becoming ours now.

Anyways, thanks for y'alls letters.  I've gotta go now.  Love you.

 

Elder Katzakian

Texas is good

Texas is good.  This transfer I'll be staying here again, so I know I'll be here for sure for the next six weeks.  That's cool because it'll make it a lot easier to care about making the new apartment nice when we move in.  

 

It is moving week, and we will be moving tomorrow.  We got to look at the apartment and it's pretty nice.  We'll get some privacy at last...  There have been guests in and out of the glory's home and it's made it really hard to study and focus and work because they share our bathroom and sleep in the room next to us, so they are constantly in and out of our study area... so yeah... it'll be good.  I don't think we'll be with any other elders this transfer, but I'm sure some will be coming in in the next few.

 

 

Anyways, this week we've been talking about family mission plans and things of that sort.  I have some instructions for those reading this.

 

1.  Look up a talk by Elder Ballard in the April 2006 general conference titled "Creating a Gospel-Sharing Home." Also read it.

 

2.  Hold a family council (slash FHE) and, as a family, make a family mission plan using the doctrine and principles taught by Elder Ballard in that discourse.

 

So who is tired of just having a bigger list of things to do from church? Almost everyone?  Good!  This isn't about that.  He says that making a gospel sharing home isn't a program. It's not a list of steps, another thing to do during the day.  It is your plan as to how you will make all the things you already do into ways to share the gospel. It is a way of life.  He says everything way better than I could, so just read the talk...  We do, however, have a template (which I can send if you would like), which I have found to be effective.  It essentially consists of three sets of actions, which will be actions you already do, but with the gospel included in them.  The first set is things that are easy to use to introduce yourself as a member of the church to people (e.g. when you walk out to take out the trash and meet your neighbor, you'll now ask how the weekend went, obligating yourself to answer the same question so you can mention how church was great, or reading your Book if Mormon in public rather than just reading it on your phone).  The next set is the things that will get people to know more of the circle of member friends and be comfortable with them.  This will mostly be things that are already planned (mutual, enrichment night, ward barbecue), but may also be something you set up yourself like a block party, dinner with some member and nonmember friends, etc.  The difference now is that you will invite someone who isn't a member (who now knows that you are, and has received the opening actions of inviting friendship), which will help them to see the blessings of the gospel in the lives of others and create a preexisting support system when they begin to investigate the gospel.  Now you have a group of friends who are not members of the church who you openly and easily can talk about church with because it's come up so many times since the beginning, and they have other friends who are members and they have a basic knowledge of your values.  The last set of actions will essentially be how you will invite others to learn about the restored gospel.  You now just include in those conversations that you have invitations to read the Book of Mormon, meet with the missionaries, attend church, pray to find out if the church is true.  I hope all that makes sense... and reading the talk will make it make more sense.  As you go through these steps, you will know that the people you are inviting have been prepared, because you will have helped prepare them.  Do not set a very long timeframe.  As you exercise faith in God by setting a goal that you don't feel you can reach without help, he will help you.  I feel it is absolutely reasonable to have a goal to have invited a friend to meet with the missionaries within a month.  Pray about it and do it.  The work cannot go forth if it is left only to the full time missionaries.  There are 132,000 people in the world to every one of us.  that's 264,000 to every companionship.  I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is truly the church of Jesus Christ.  I know that through the restored Gospel of Christ and His priesthood authority, families can receive more happiness in this life and in the next than by ant other way, in fact, it is the only way whereby they can be together forever as families.  We are obligated to share it or be condemned for those we might have helped if we had been willing. Remember, though, that it doesn't matter what's happened up to this point as long as you are willing now to make the change.  

 

Alright, I'm just kinda rambling now... I need to go.  I love you all. Talk to you next week.

 

Elder Katzakian

Another week in Texas...

We're teaching this lady who isn't totally sure about God (she isn't atheist though), but is married to a super solid returned missionary dude who teaches better than we do.  It's pretty cool.  She was at church this Sunday.  They actually come most weeks... We're just trying to help her have a good spiritual experience that she can recognize.

 

Luis (the UFC fighter) is still way solid.  He wants to get baptized, just can't get off work...  We're trying to help him there.  I guess there's not a ton to report there haha.

 

Elder Walker got stung by a scorpion!  I was so jealous.  He told me it was nothing to be jealous of haha.  I would've taken a picture, but I forgot until after I destroyed it.  Now we check our shoes before we put them on haha.

 

So if anyone knows where to find some good polyester ties (especially with a sorta mexican looking pattern) let me know.  Those have come to be some of my favorites.  Polyester because water doesn't mess it up (so I can sweat on it and wash it) and mexican because it's awesome.  I don't know if they even still make polyester ties, though...  I know the favorite missionary brand (Wembley) is no longer in production.  Haha at least that's the favorite of a bunch of missionaries in the Mighty TSAM.

 

So something that has really been standing out to me lately is fasting. Isaiah 59 has a really good little section on the law of the fast.  There are two verses that explain what it means to really fast, and five that explain the blessings that come from it. 

 

Also, Judges 3.  Ehud is my new hero.  One of them haha.  I like finding out when people are left handed now. 

 

Something we're really pushing right now is family mission plans, especially short-term, action-based ones.  We're working on a template for one that will be super awesome.  I'll send it next week, and anyone who would like to implement it, should (with the help of the full time missionaries in the area).  I promise it will guarantee a powerful, spiritual missionary experience within a month.

 

So I'm running out of time now.  Talk to y'all next week.