Elder Pope's challenge

Oh yeah!  So, for those who read the Book of Mormon in English,  you’ve finished the book by now. For those reading in Spanish, we’re still in 3 Nephi. The new challenge for all of you that have read is to do the Promise of Moroni again and ask God if the Book of Mormon is true. Listen to your feelings and you’ll know that that is how the spirit talks to you. I want to hear how everybody feels specifically in the next email!!!

A sweet memory of Grandma Dot

This church is so true. Families are truly eternal. Parting is still hard and I’ll miss that sweetest of sweet ladies, Grandma Dot! I love her a lot! I remember when she would pray - even just to bless the food it was really like she was talking to Heavenly Father. I think a lot of times we forget how great a blessing it is to have a Heavenly Father that listens to us and has made such a perfect plan for us, His children!

Contact on the sidewalk

This week we had a lot of cool experiences. On Thursday we had some time to contact and on the way to a busier street I looked across the road at a house and felt like we should knock it. I was a little confused when the people answered and didn’t want to hear, but then the blessing came. We turned from the house and contacted the man walking past and he let us go with him to his house and talk a little.  We invited him to church and set an appointment for the next day. He was there the next day and had read a bunch of the Book of Mormon. We talked about baptism and the spirit came and he explained how he had felt the same feeling fill his chest when we had talked to him on the street the day before and how he slept so well after reading the Book of Mormon. The spirit witnessed to him of the truth and he loved church on Sunday. The gospel truly changes EVERYTHING in people’s lives. It is incredible to be an instrument in finding the right people.

I'm right where I need to be

I do know that I’m right where I need to be.  There have been times where I have just thought about being on the mission as I walk to an appointment and I can feel the spirit so strongly and I just know that this is the best thing that I could be doing. I feel so grateful and a little selfish, because the mission has blessed me every day. I hope I can bring more blessings to those we teach. I know that Jesus is the Christ and can truly comfort us in the weeks that just don’t go so well. All is part of our Heavenly Father’s Plan. What a perfect plan!

I just don’t know what else to say. In the next week, I'll have some awesome opportunities and we’ll be teaching people about Christ, so I guess for now it’ll just be my testimony. In the mission I bear my testimony 100’s of times every week and a lot of people just don’t really care. I still know it’s true and that this is Christ’s church. We just need to find those that are ready to hear the truth from God’s weakest servants. I hope that I can carry that truth to many, because I know that it is the best thing that people can have. I love you mama Jane and all the family (even Uncle Jack), and all my friends!

Love,

John Pope

Elder Pope's sister is home from her mission!

I chose a long time ago...

I love this work. I know that Christ is my Savior. My burdens are truly made light in the Strength of the Lord. Come what may, and I truly do love it.

We just kept on working after the fallen baptisms. On Sunday, nobody came to church, so we went to work after Sacrament and were able to bring a few back for Priesthood and Relief Society. We worked all the afternoon and finally, knocking doors from 7 to 9 at night we found 2 families and 7 new investigators. I really know that God loves His servants, even the most weak (like me). He truly does bless us when we need it. I don’t get discouraged because I chose a long time ago not to do that, but things are tough sometimes. Isn’t it such a comfort to know that we have an Older Brother who knows exactly how we feel and knows how to truly hold us up? Christ in the great enabler and in Him we truly can find strength. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY AND TRYING MY HARDEST TO REPRESENT MY SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!!!!!!!!

Love ya all un buen!

Makin' Chicken Verde - it was mucho HOT!!!!

No regrets:)

I can honestly say that I don’t have regrets so far for anything I’ve done as a missionary; I just with I would have learned how to work efficiently, sooner in my mission. I still have so much to learn, and I hope that I can learn from every experience. My greatest desire is to be able to follow the spirit 100% of the time and to work and have success with my work. I am expecting miracles every day and I know that if I have faith those miracles are going to come to pass. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that His Atonement gives me the strength I need to work every day and do as much good as I can. I love my Savior and that is why I am on the mission.

Transfers and conference!

Well, after 10 months in the zone Industrial, I´m off to the zone Linda Vista (good view) in the area of Nacional 1 (National 1). Yup. Elder Lainez is from Hondurus. Finally another small brown companion! Elder Carter took my spot and I took his - a nice switch.

Well, this last week Elder Coulter and I contacted a lot.  I’ve never missed a session of conference in my whole life, but I missed my first sessions of conference Saturday due to the fact that we didn’t have people to take (it’s a rule in the mission that if you don’t have anyone to take to conference, you can’t attend). I was a little bummed, but we hit the streets with an urgency to work hard and to be obedient. I thought of a building that we had found due to a reference from a contact of Elder Stevens. We headed there and began to knock. A family of four let us in and the dad broke down and told us how we had come at the perfect time, as things were going rough for them. We talked about the atonement and then Jesus’ baptism. They all felt the spirit and accepted baptismal dates for next Saturday.  They came to general conference on Sunday. I hope that Elder Carter and Elder Coulter can help the family keep their baptismal date. It was cool to see the blessings of working a lot and not staying at conference when we didn’t have people. Cool beans.

I hope that I can do great things for the mission and my companion here in Nacional 1. It is different, but I´ll just keep working my hardest with urgency and the spirit. I have the faith that miracles will happen.

We use the Book of Mormon is almost every contact. I can feel more and more the power of its witness every time I bear simple testimony of it and turn its pages. It is a true and powerful book, a living witness of Jesus the Christ. It is so true that we can grow closer to God reading the Book of Mormon that any other book. Jesus is the Christ; His church has been restored. Heavenly Father loves us. Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God and Joseph Smith truly was a prophet. You can just feel it as you read the Book of Mormon. I have read it a lot and every time I can know for myself that it is true and that it helps me. I love sharing it with people, knowing that they´ll be able to feel the power of it as well. It is all just so true. I love you, mama Jane! and all the family as well!

A sense of urgency

We had a cool week. We invited President to a lesson and he came. (He´s so great at helping each individual.) We started the lesson but then we could tell that President was getting ansy so we looked at him and he said that he was going to talk for a bit. For the next hour and a half he explained everything from Adam and Eve until right now and the spirit was there the whole time.  He teaches like the prophets of old.  It was a great experience to learn from our president.

I contacted one older lady and we went to visit her. Her grandson had just got put in jail for fighting, so she was feeling a bit down. We invited her to church and she said, "yes". The next visit we taught the Restoration and at the end she prayed that her grandson could get out of jail. When she said" amen", the phone rang and they told her that her grandson had been released. Nice! The next time that we went her daughter and son in law and their two kids were there. We read 3 Nephi 11 and the spirit was there. So cool. We explained Jesus' baptism and they all accepted to be baptized next Saturday. All but the dad made it to church. In the lessons, the kids were super into it and all excited to be baptized. It was very cool. 

Well, we contacted over 500 people this week and are trying to have a sense of urgency about the work. It is cool and tiring to be talking every single minute of every day to people about the Book of Mormon. I like it a lot. The church is true. I trust in the revelation of President Tervort. He truly has been called of God to help us as missionaries. I love this work! 

The spirit is just sooooooooo cool!!!!

The spirit is just such an amazing companion. It really does lift us up when we need a little boost and it is so worth it to live worthy of it. It blesses my life and the life of all those around me. Heavenly Father really has provided us with everything that we need in order to be happy and help others be happy. IT¨S ALL JUST SOOOOO COOL!!!!!!! Jesus lives and loves us and we can find strength through the sacrifice that He made for us. What great comfort that brings to me. I love you!!!

Successful mistakes

This week we made sure to get 120 contacts.  President Tervort said we should have that many each week, and we’ve never really had much success with contacting, but before we can complain about it we have to do it, right?. We found a couple of people and once, while looking for an address, we went to the wrong door and found a cool lady. I love how sometimes the Lord lets us make successful mistakes.