February 23, 2011

hey there ma!

my week has been great thanks. the auto show WAS a blast. 

well, like i told dad, we have an awesome investigator named Gabriel. he is progressing a lot. he is such a funny guy too! we taught him saturday night about the word of wisdom and he was a little concerned because he really likes his coffee. but he said that he would do it and he would start right then! so the next morning in sacrament he leaned over to me and said "i'm falling asleep because i don't have my coffee!" and then we both laughed about it. he said that it'll take a little getting used to but that he'll be fine without it. we are going to teach him tonight so we'll see if he's gotten over it and still going strong.

it's great what i get to teach everyone! because i believe in everything so strongly, it makes it nice because i know i need not worry about it. i have my testimony of what i teach. although i'm not perfect and don't know close to everything, i know that what i teach shouldn't be a problem because it's true. it's so awesome because i have learned to be sweetly bold and confident. fear not! and trust in Heavenly Father.

i got the valentines card ya'll sent! thanks for that! i loved the snoopy. haha

well i'm going strong through the fierceness of chicago! i like you have found a love for reading my scriptures. and just like i told dad, i'm reading Jesus the Christ! i remember you suggested that to me several years back. well now i'm reading it and i wish i took your advice sooner! it's awesome. i love that book. i've been learning a lot.

i love ya'll. until next week!

elder munoz

February 17, 2011

hey there all!

so there was an elder that left and came back to the ward a year later? that's awesome! did i know him? cuz that was right when i left right? (i just hit my year-to-go-home mark today!) and that is SO cool that you all got to talk to that family. they are way cool. they have been members for about 3 years and they are temple workers and have a daughter on a mission! pretty neat yeah? they always welcome the missionaries to come over and eat, and are always willing to help us teach if they can. we really enjoy their company.

things sound like they are going great for everyone! i'm glad that you have been able to do your work-outs and studies in the morning mom! dad you bought tickets for Wicked?? that is awesome! you two will love the show! it was playing here and i wish i would've bought a ticket. they are also playing les miserables now and some missionaries are going next week i think. maybe i can go to a play here sometime too. i like musical theater and i think it's amber's fault.

well things are going great here. my comp elder john and i had a great and productive talk with one another this week. i feel like for the first time we really opened up with eachother and i think it's going to push the work forward exponentially. we were kinda struggling because we weren't on the same page and we weren't doing everything that we could do to be successful. but we have discussed our challenges, repented, and look forward to working the hardest we have worked! i really am glad that we had our talk beacuse i think we are going to be able to help each other reach our potentials as missionaries. when we weren't unified it made that a lot harder to accomplish.

our investigators are doing well. Gabriel is doing AWESOME. we taught him yesterday and he had such great questions about what we were teaching him. he kept asking about what he can do to be baptized and have the Holy Spirit with him constantly. we're a little nervous to teach the Word of Wisdom this saturday because he has a lot of wine and liquor bottles in his living room... haha but i know not to fear because what we teach is true and he's felt the Spirit before. he should know that this is a commandment of God.

well this week we went to the Auto Show and saw a bunch of cool cars! they were so nice and i got to sit in a bunch of cars i never thought i'd even see in real life! haha that was such a fun thing to do because it's something different than the norm. i'll be sure to send you some pictures. we also got to do this test ride in a jeep and now i want one so bad! it would be so fun to go jeeping and exploring in utah with one.

i'm doing great. i love and miss you all! the work is moving forward and i appreciate the prayers you've said for me. thanks again for the valentines package! i'm enjoying that a ton. mom you're gonna have to kick my butt with p90x when i get home so i can get my figure back! ;)

love,

munoz

SNOW! February 9, 2011

hey there!

yeah the snow storm was crazy. there is still a TON of snow everywhere. it's insane and i think i'm on your side of not really wanting to live in a place that snows every winter. eh, maybe, we'll see. haha that is funny about home. texas gets made fun of because there is like, no snow yet everything closes. but it makes sense! we aren't prepared with salt and junk so the roads freeze.

well things are going well here mom. it was a rough few days with the work because of the weather, but don't worry, things are moving forward! we have several potential people to get baptized! we have 2 solid investigators who are coming to church regularly. hopefully they will enter into the waters of baptism at the end of this month and the beginning of next. i'm trying to fine-tune myself as an instrument in the Lords hands. so that's good. also i'm learning how to look over many other people. as a zone leader i'm tryin to make sure that everyone feels and knows of my love for them. i call many of the missionaries to see how they are doing and to give them council and encouragement. i just know that i would appreciate it if i were in their shoes.

well i love you tons. and hope all is well. keep up the good work! you are always an inspiration to many.

love, elder munoz

New Favorite Hobby... Shoveling Snow! February 4, 2011

hey!

we had a crazy week too. the weather was insane. we had a huge storm  start up tuesday night and went on through the night. wednesday there was SO much snow. we spent the whole day helping the old bishop (who we live above) shovel the backway and shoveling our car out of the snow. our car was burried!!! we had to move our p-day to thursday and the libraries haven't been open until today. whew. there is still snow everywhere and it makes parking a pain to find. but it's all good. i think you were right not to want snow or cold weather! haha

well, last week was AWESOME. my companion and i were able to teach so much! and all 3 of our main investigators came to church! what a miracle! things went so well last week because on Sunday i turned in my Fast Offerings, and i paid extra with a prayer in my heart that the Lord would bless us. and our week was the best this area has seen in many many months! and on Saturday i fasted that our investigators would have experiences that will push them to attend church with us and feel of the Spirit that this is what they should be doing. and all 3 of them came!! so exciting. i'm hoping that they can progress and get baptized this and next month.

i forgot that sister lundeen is the seminary teacher!!! how has she been doing? and let me know how your class went with them.

wow that is great about devin and about your friend at work that you invited to learn more. oh man. this is so cool. i'm so happy about the blessings that our family has been recieving. i want to hear all about devin's ordination and how he is doing. i miss him so much. i miss you all!

i got your package but it is still in the mission office and i will pick it up monday when we have mission council with all the leaders. thanks for the package! my friend said it was huge. haha what is in it? my electric blanket?

well, my good friend, elder swope is training this transfer. when you transfer they call your greeny your son. so on p-day we threw him a little surprise. haha it was p-day yesterday and that was when he went to pick up his greeny. i have a key to his apartment so my companion and i bought some balloons and streamers and decorated his apartment! we wrote all sorts of things like "it's a boy! like father like son! proud father! welcome baby!" on all the balloons and taped them all over his apartment. and on his door we put a sign that said "congrats" and then when they opened the door we hung a banner saying "it's a boy!". my comp filmed it and i played the guitar while they walked in. it was so much fun! i hope that got elder swope excited to train and that his greeny felt welcomed into the mission. 

well i love you all. thanks for your love and support. i can't wait to hear about your weekend and how devin is doing, how seminary went, and everything! keep on pressing forward in the faith!

love elder munoz

January 26, 2011

Hi Mom,

things are going well with elder john and i. we had our zone meeting and it went pretty well. i was a little nervous and some of the missionaries were a little resistant at some new mission changes, but it went well. we actually didn't get to teach for very long or half of what we had prepared for because the AP's took up our time. but that's okay. we're both probably going to be here another transfer or many more. transfers are next week already! wow.

we are still teaching maria and antonio. they weren't able to come to church last week because their sister was leaving to mexico. but i think that they are doing fine and should be there this week. we are also working well with our members. we have papers that have a Family Mission Plan with who they want to work with, what they want to do, and by when they want to do it. it's a great tool to help them keep up with their missionary responsibility as members.

i love you a bunch. i'm proud that you have been so bold as to invite your friends to listen to the missionaries! way to go. i miss you and will talk to you again soon.

elder munoz