Monday, February 29, 2016

Al infinito y mas allá!!!!!!

Buen Día!!!!! 

I hope everyone had a great week!

This past week we had the opportunity to hear from Elder Bednar! It was incredible! The first thing I felt was his presence when he walked into the chapel.  Wow, you can easily know and feel that he is an apostle of the Lord! He talked to us a lot about Faith, and the importance of acting and not being acted upon! Unlike objects, we as humans have the ability to act, not to just be acted upon. The same is with faith. We can choose to act, or we can wait to be acted upon. I don't have my notes with me right now, but it was really good!!! 

I thought my companion was going to die this week, but he feels better now. He couldn't walk, talk, eat, or anything...so it was a tough week for him. Luckily, he is better now and we will be able to kill it this next week! 

I have really been thinking about trust in the Lord this past week, and always being prepared! I have been reading in Alma, about Capitán Moroni and also about Helaman and his army of 2000 jovenes. First, Captain Moroni was always prepared, in every aspect he was prepared! The Lamanites might have been stronger and had greater numbers, but Moroni and the Nephites were always prepared. Today, we may not be fighting an actual war, but we are in a constant war spiritually. I learned a lot this week about the importance of spiritual preparation, so that when things come, when we are tempted, we are fortified and do not fall. The stripling warriors were an army of 2000 jovenes..and they were going into battle against the Lamanites as well. Sometimes I feel the same. I'm an 18 year old kid (almost 19 April 2nd, don't forget ;) ) and I'm teaching and helping people that are a lot older than me.. Why were the stripling warriors successful? Because they trusted 100% in the Lord! That goes for us all. As we trust in the Lord, He will free us from our problems and trials.

I know that the Lord lives, that He knows us perfectly, that if we apply His teachings and His gospel in our lives we will be able to have more happiness than we can imagine! I love you guys a ton!

Elder Yeoman



Personalized leather scripture cover I had made! (Front)

Back of scripture cover



Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Me Quedo en Boulogne!!!!

Hello everyone! 
I hope you have all had a great week! This week was transfers and my companion, Elder Jenkins and I are staying together here in Boulogne for the super transfer (8 weeks)! This past week was a tough one for us. It was hard finding anyone new to teach but that is part of the mission..you have to push through!! 

I had the opportunity to give a talk in sacrament meeting this past Sunday. It was a great experience and I learned a lot from it! I spoke on faith, but I focused more on the action of it! We can clearly see that in the scriptures and in real life there is a faith and an action to everything. I used an example of lifting weights. We can say all we want that if we lift weights we will be stronger, look bigger and grow..but if we don't do it, we will never see any results (Then I said that we would look like Elder Jenkins haha..everybody got a good laugh out of that). Or BJ would say that then it would look like me haha! Anyways, the same is with faith. We can say that we believe. We can say that we should repent. We can say that Jesus Christ is our Savior, but if we don't act on this faith..we cannot receive the blessings! 

An example of this that I came accross in my personal study this past week is in Alma 34 

 15 And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.
 16 And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal planof redemption.
 17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;
We can see here that through the atonement of Christ, we have the opportunity to receive His mercy...but His mercy is only available to those that exercise their faith unto repentance. And we know that salvation comes through the Mercy of the Lord, which is only available through exercising faith!
Exercising our faith will help us to conform to the will of the Lord and also enable us to be able to reach our potential in this life! 
I love you all!!!!! Thanks so much everyone for the support and love!
Elder Yeoman
Life is good here in Boulogne!

I was so excited to run into Elder Kelly at the mission office today!






Monday, February 15, 2016

Happy Valentine's Day from Argentina!


Hello Everyone! I hope you all had a great week and Valentine's Day!

Before I start, I want to announce to everyone that I am pretty disappointed that my brother couldn't keep the streak going in Church Ball....but I guess that is what happens when I leave. The Panthers get to the super bowl and High Point loses the church ball tournament! ;) 

This past week was super hot, I don't think I have ever sweated so much in my life..not even in a basketball game or anything! And then I see that it is snowing in NC! We had a pretty good week. We found some new people to teach and Nicolas is still progressing pretty well! I have been very lucky on my mission to be blessed with awesome members that really help the work and really take care of missionaries. I have also come to find that all of the miracles and people ready to hear the gospel are centered around members! My companion and I had one day last week that we were just working like crazy and nothing was really happening. We were teaching good lessons but nothing was really going anywhere. The people were not really ready to hear the Gospel. We were with a member who was accompanying (I dont know if I spelled that right. It's been a while) us, and we were finishing up the day, taking her back to her house and then we were going to head back to the pension. My companion and I both felt like we had a really good day because we taught 9 lessons with a member, but we still didn't find anyone. We were about to the members house, and she takes off running. My companion and I were really confused but it turns out she saw her friend that lives on the whole other side of our area that she hadn't seen in like 3 years. So we talked to her, and she was interested and we got to have a lesson with her and her sister that was also interested..2 new investigators just like that! 

Aqui es la cosa, members of the church are so important in this work. I can look back right now and see that every single convert I have had also had a relation to a member. There is a promise that the Lord is preparing people to hear the message of the gospel. But I can promise that these people He is preparing are through members. Your friends, your family members, your neighbors. They are the ones that the Lord is preparing..because we are all on the same team, bringing to pass the work of Salvation. It would make sense that the Lord prepares those that already have ties to someone else in this work, a member of the church. This is something that has been drilled into my heart, the importance of working through members. If you guys feel that there is nothing you can do to help the Elders, there is! Give them a reference of a friend, neighbor, etc that you feel is ready to receive the Gospel! 

So we had a lesson Sunday in Elders Quorum that really caught my attention. It was about opposition and adversity! Sometimes, we feel that adversity and opposition is something so terrible that we have to face every day. But actually, it is all part of the plan of God! We are here to overcome adversity, learn, and progress! One thing essential for progression is adversity! As a missionary, I really try my best to think of any adversity I have as a way to grow. Sometimes, I can do it, sometimes it is kind of hard and I fall into the question that everyone is guilty of,  "Why me?" But as we really take everything for what it is, and as we humble ourselves enough to grow from every test and trial that we are given in this life...that is when we can really see progression! 

Sorry this letter is long but I wanted to share some thoughts I have had. I want to share 2 more scriptures...one that I read in my personal study and one that our Elders Quorum President read yesterday at church.

First, Mosiah 23:21-22

  21 Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith.
 22 Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people.
We can see here that this answers that great question "Why me?" Well you can go to your neighbor, friend, mom, dad, brother, cousin, classmate, co worker and ask "Why them?" Because we all face adversity, challenges, and trials! Lets be honest, Heavenly Father knows a better way for us to learn than we do. He knows us perfectly, and knows who we need to become. Sometimes we need a trial of patience and faith, so that we can come out so much more strengthened. But everybody needs to overcome these things with trust in the Lord! Because he has gone through it all, suffered adversity and opposition of every kind..so that we would be able to find strength in Him!
This leads to the last scripture, Matthew 11:28-30
28 ¶Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek andlowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
The Lord asks us all "Come unto me, take my yoke upon you, I have been through all of this..I can give you peace and rest." I know that we all go through trials, but we also all have a Savior Jesus Christ that has been through it all. I testify of Him, and of this Gospel. I have come to love this Gospel, and in it is peace, and the answer to all. Lets take this yoke and work with the Lord, so that we may be able to better face adversity! 
I love you all and hope that everyone has a great week!! Transfers are next week, so I will email again on Tuesday. Sigan fiel mis amigos!!
Elder Yeoman 
A recent convert cut our hair. It didn't go so well!

Elder Yeoman with Nazario, a church member in Boulogne

Elder Yeoman and Elder Jenkins sporting the new haircuts!!!


Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Yes, I ate the Fish!


It was Carnival (a National Holiday) in Argentina this week and that means everything shuts down for business.  Since all of the internet cafes were closed, Jace was just now able to email us today.  He is doing great!!!! For everyone that wonders what “Yes, I ate the fish!” is all about…. A sweet lady in Argentina sent pictures to me on Sunday while Jace was at her home for lunch.  He was holding up a cooked fish that still included the head and all!! Everyone that saw the picture must have had the same question for him….. “Did you eat that fish?” I have included a couple of the fish pictures with this post.  
Alana

Hello everyone! 
Hope you all had an awesome week! This week was a little slow and crazy because of carnival. Anyone who has served a mission in South America knows exactly what I am talking about...and it is pretty insane! So for that, I am writing today and not Monday! We had a pretty tough week this week. We really didn't find anyone new and we didn't teach very many lessons..but sometimes we go through weeks like that to get prepared for huge miracles and blessings to come! Yes, I know you guys are all wondering if I ate that fish, yeah I ate it haha! It was kind of weird, but it is what it is! 

Elder Bednar is coming to our mission February 24th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

So last week we had a Zone Conference with President Ayre, and he started out by saying "We are literally sons and daughters of God, and sometimes we take for granted the significance of that..our true divine potential. Who are we as sons and daughters of God, and what are we doing to reach our divine potential?"

I was thinking about that a lot this past week..I am a son of God, with a divine potential that I hope to be able to reach one day. How can I reach my divine potential as a missionary, a future father, a future husband? Being a missionary right now in my life, I think has a lot to do with reaching my divine potential. I think part of my mission is a journey to find who I really am. And who I really want to be will come from my faith, obedience, and confidence in the Lord! I have found that we can only reach our divine potential through living the Gospel of Jesus Christ..Every Day! Heavenly Father sent His son, so that we may have the opportunidad to reach this potential that He has prepared for us.

I was reading a talk out of the Liahona the other day by Elder Holland that is titled "Know the Godhead" or something like that..i read it in Spanish so I dont know what exactly it says in english haha! I was reading about the importance of knowing the role of the most basic and fundamental doctrine that we teach in this Church..that God is our Heavenly Father, that Jesus Christ is His son, and that the Holy Ghost bears testimony of them both! It was talking about the role that each of them have, and how united they are in purpose. Then, it took me to a chapter in the Bible, John 17. In this chapter, Jesus Christ offers His Intercessory Prayer and something really caught my attention even more of all of this, of why we are here and how important the Gospel really is! 

Right before Jesus was betrayed, He prayed to the Father. He begged the Father on behalf of every single one of us..that with all He did, doing all the will of the Father, His suffering, Atonement and everything, that we could be united with them. That we would be united with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, because when we are united with them, we can truly reach our potential, and everything they want for us! That we may be one, like unto them. This is a huge testimony of the importance of us, as children of Heavenly Father. 

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are united in purpose and in doctrine. For that reason, we have the Gospel, so that as we follow the doctrine of Christ we may be able to reach our divine potential! I have found that in all that you can study and learn in the Gospel, it all comes back to the importance of the Doctrine of Christ, and living the first principles of the Gospel. Jesus Christ made everything possible for us, and as we follow Him and His doctrine we can be united with Him and the Father, and reach our divine potential!

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.
I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,
That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.

Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me
Enough to die for me!
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!

Through Christ, we can accomplish all that Heavenly Father has in store for us, and reach our divine potential! What are we doing to reach our divine potential? We are following our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

I love you all and hope you all have a wonderful week!!

Elder Yeoman

It's a running joke in our family to make fun of my Grandma's big feet! I took this picture for her and told her that I found her shoe!
My companion, Elder Jenkins and I went bowling on Monday for Pday

I REALLY need a haircut!!!!!

Yes! I ate the fish!!!!














Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Boulogne Week 3


Hope you all had an awesome week! 

This week was really good! I have really been focusing lately on every week being a week of progress! Because, if we aren't progressing we are falling back..going backwards! We are on this Earth to progress...to become like Jesus Christ. This progression is not easy, and requires a lot of work..but what the Lord wants is that we are making progress every single day! 

So my companion and I got a call this week that the office elders needed our help in the office with sending referencias..so we have been working in the office a little bit haha..not really sure why but it has been fun! We have to go again tomorrow and I think that will be the last time! I also had the opportunity to perform a confirmacion! That was really special, and it was the first time I had done it on my mission! Other than that, my week has been pretty normal! Filled with work and finding! We were able to put one date this week. His name is Nicolas and he is 17 years old. He is an awesome kid but has a ton of questions! We have worked with him to help him to realize that it is okay to have questions, but the biggest question is if this church is the Church of Jesus Christ. The basis of a testimony is really one of the most powerful things in conversion and also in taking away doubts and answering questions. That is why as missionaries we teach the importance of reading and praying..and asking the Lord if these things are true! 

As members of the church, we also need to constantly increase our testimony! One of the most important gifts we have is our testimony..but it has to be strengthened! We have been reading the Libro de Mormon as a mission 7 pages a day so we can get done before conference and I can say with all of my heart that the Book of Mormon is how you can really develop a testimony of the Church and of the Savior! As a missionary I have really come to value all that we have in the church, all of the opportunities to be better, to improve, to increase our vision...and the Book of Mormon is 600 pages of testimony of Christ! What a blessing we have to truly come to know exactly how Christ was, and His example through the Book of Mormon! 

As we look to strengthen our testimony and apply what we learn, we can see this everyday progression that the Lord is looking for! I have seen that change in my life and hope the same for everyone! I love you all and hope you all have a great week! 

Elder Yeoman

This is Elder Yeoman sending his mother a selfie while emailing today because he knows she needs to see his face!