Week 19 in Carolina (Pontezuela)

Hello All

Family and Friends!!!!!! 

Where do I start??? I am really enjoying my mission!!!! 

This week we were able to set a baptismal date for the 30th of October!!!! He is super cool his name is W and he is super interested in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!!!! I have seen changes in him already and we have only been teaching him for 2 weeks!!!!! He is such a great guy. 

But now for the part that I love to do is talk about something that I have learned and it is something that we all can learn and need to learn. That is we are all going to have trials and tribulations in our lives. The Lord has given us these trials to teach us a very important lesson, we all have had these trials in our lives, I want everyone to know that it is normal, But I have come to know that the Lord loves each and everyone of us, he is always by our sides and will never ever leave us alone!!!! One of my favorite poems is Footprints in the Sand. It has a great message, the Lord will always carry us through our hard times. He has helped me and helped all the people I have seen enter the waters of baptism. I want everyone to know I love you and you all mean the world to me!!!! You have helped me through the hardest and the easiest times of my life. I know that the Lord has blessed me with amazing family and friends I love you all and miss you tons!!!!! Before we know it we will be reunited again!!!!!

With Much Love 

Elder Musgo

I love you all 

Only 5 more letters!!!!!!!!!

L-R Grandson, Son, Dad

MTC Group minus Powell who's serving on the island of Dominica

Elders Moss y Guare

Elders Moss y Guare after service project

Week 22 in Salinas

Family and Friends

This week was great for us. We are seeing a lot of things changing!!!!! We have been blessed with different miracles. We have seen the Hand of God in our work here in Salinas!!!

For us we found a guy named N last week and were supposed to have a lesson with during the week but he wasn't there, which was sad but we left a card for him and asked him to call us. But it was Friday night and we had just started our exchange, and Elder Morales got a call from him and asked if we could go by and talk to him. So Elder Morales and Elder Anderson went by to teach him and when they got there, they found out that he had read the Pamphlet twice that we gave him and he then asked for a Book of Mormon, for his reading!!!! He is such a great man, we will be setting a baptismal date with him this Thursday!!!!

I am so grateful for this opportunity I have to be District Leader here I have been able to learn so much, one of the things that I have really learned as being District Leader is that as a leader we are needed to focused on not just our investigators but on the investigators of everyone, I have been able to help a lot with the other investigators and it is really neat how as a leader we are able to receive that revelation to help everyone, I haven't really noticed how important it is to be a good leader until 6 months ago. I am so grateful for the Savior and all that he has done for us and given us this opportunity to be missionaries and members of this Church.

I have also learned a lot more about who I am and who I want to become. I love you all and miss you tons!!!!!! I know that the Lord has blessed greatly!!!! I am so lucky to be apart of this amazing work and amazing Family!!!! I hope you all have a great week and CONGRATULATIONS to everyone with the end of school you guys did it!!!!!!

Con Mucho Amor

Elder Musgo

Questions and Answers

MOM (WOW) 

That sounds like a very busy Sunday!!!!! I am glad that you made it through!!!!! 

How are you doing?

I am doing great!!!! I love it here!!!!!!!

 

How was your week last week?

Our last week was great learned so much.

 

How did your zone conference go?

Zone Conference was great since it was in May and here we have Zone Conference every three months we celebrate those Birthdays for everyone and so last week we celebrated my birthday with 8 other missionaries.

 

What kind of fun activity did you get to do there?

We didn't really do any activities we really just sit in a seat and listen to people talk for about 4 or 5 hours it is really fun actually.

 

What were the lessons you learned? 

The lessons I learned were how we as missionaries and members are needed to work together and how we can teach better.

 

What size did you buy?

The pants were 34x32 so that is a big difference at first they were 38x32 so I have changed a little.

 

Did you buy anything else?

I also bought some personal supplies that I needed for the house like Shampoo and shaving cream and other stuff like that.

  

Week 5 in Cabo Rojo

Well my time is flying by I have been in Cabo Rojo for 5 weeks now that is so weird. Transfers are this next week and there is no saying what could happen it is very possible I could be leaving Cabo Rojo but it is very possible I could be training a new missionary here in Cabo Rojo I will let you know next week what happens. As for this week.

It was another hard week we were supposed to have 3 baptisms but all three fell through but I know that in some time these kids will get baptized it may not be with me or Elder Noble but I know that they will get baptized. Additional information about the baptisms from a different email: They didn't happen because we couldn't get an interview and their mom didn't have a free day this weekend.

I am so grateful for all that I have been blessed with especially the Book of Mormon. 

Right now I am reading it again but this time it is only in Spanish and it is really helping me with my spanish. This week we had the opportunity to have a Reunión de la misión (Meeting of the Mission). Este fue bien chevere (this was really cool) sorry my Spanish kicked in for a second. But this meeting was really cool we got to share our testimonies about the Book of Mormon, and boy were there a lot of missionaries that wanted to share their testimonies. Additional information about the Reunión de la misión from a different email: I got to see my whole group from the MTC yesterday and all but three of us shared our testimonies and it is weird to hear how different we all speak the language after 8 months (that is today 8 months) it was really cool to see everyone.

Elders Beecroft and Moss

Elders Orr, Beecroft, Moss, Fox, and, in front, Flores

Elders Moss, Grimmer, and Orr - Buddies from the MTC

Yo quiero testificar sobre El Libro de Mormón, yo se que este Libro es la palabra de Dios, yo se que este Libro esta aquí para ayudarnos en nuestro vidas y también este Libro esta aquí para enseñarnos que no hacernos como los personas con sus corazones endurecidos. Este Libro es mi Libro favorito. Yo se que este Iglesia es verdadera, yo se que José Smith fue una profeta, yo se que Thomas S Monson es nuestra Profeta hoy y el fue llamarlo para ayudarnos en este tiempo. Te quiero familia. Yo extraño mucho.

[Because we don't speak Spanish,  I put his testimony into Google Translate - It's a beautiful testimony...]

I want to testify about the Book of Mormon, I know that this book is the word of God, I know this book is here to help us in our lives and this book is here to teach us not become like the people with their hearts hardened . This book is my favorite book. I know this Church is true, I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, I know Thomas S Monson is our prophet today and was calling for help at this time. I love family. I miss her so much.

Con Mucho Amor

Elder Musgo

 

Free meal for the week - They get a free meal each week from a very kind restaurant owner!

Feliz año nuevo a todos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy new year from the DR CCM

Elders Moss, Orr, and Powell

Elder Moss and the Elders from Haiti

This past week has been amazing and sad all at the same time. We had a group of missionaries from Haiti but this last week they left us. It was so hard to see them go. Those missionaries were so awesome. They had such amazing testimonies and love for this gospel. Other than them leaving this week has been great.

Elders Moss and Grimmer

My companion and I are working great together. We have been able to teach investigators every day. We have been working with these guys for just over a week and we committed one of them to baptism - he said he needs a little bit more help understanding baptism, so we gave him 2 Nephi 31 to read it is such amazing chapter [Nephi tells why Christ was baptized—Men must follow Christ, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end to be saved]. My companion is such an example to me.

As we started this week we realized that we are on week 5 of the MTC and we only have one P-Day left in here and we will be off to Puerto Rico!!!!! This is one of the best things that has happened to me. I have been able to gain such an amazing testimony about the gospel. I am so grateful for all the people that have helped me gain this testimony. This experience has helped me to grow and understand myself more. I have realized that the things people say, I can't take offense to. People have come from many different situations to be here. I have had some hard times with some things people have said about me, but I have been able to talk to another missionary here and he has helped me so much with everything. I have had the opportunity to turn the other cheek and just let it go. But I also have had the opportunity to get over it. I realized that I am strong and nothing should offend me. I know that I am who I am because the Lord wanted me this way. I have been able to study a lot on repentance and I am so grateful for this opportunity. I love this gospel. 

Yesterday we got two new groups of missionaries we have a group of native speakers who are going to Santiago and Puerto Rico. We also got a group of English speakers going to the West Indies!!! There is an elder from Jamaica and one from Canada. They came here because one of them is from Jamaica and he hasn't gone through the temple yet so they brought him and 4 others here so he can go in his temple district.  It is so cool to hear about the different places missionaries come from and where they are going. I am so glad that I have this opportunity to serve the Lord at this time. The Lord has blessed me so much since I have been here. I am so grateful that he has blessed me with the gift of tongues. I am so grateful to be able to speak and understand a little Spanish. This week I hit a major accomplishment for me! Normally, I would use a dictionary to translate from English to Spanish but this week I stopped using it and I have been able to recognize what the Lord can do for me. 

I know this gospel is true and I know that we all have a specific purpose on earth and that we all have things to accomplish. I know that the Lord will bless all of those who are worthy and willing to follow the commandments. I love you all and I am so grateful for the many amazing experiences I had at home before I came here. 

This past Tuesday we had the opportunity to watch a devotional from Jefferey R. Holland. Oh My Gosh he is such an amazing speaker. He said a lot of great stuff but what I got most was that we don't know anything. He told us that even though we may think we know something we really don't! He said that while in the field we will always learn more and we will never ever stop learning. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve here and be an instrument in the Lord's hands. Mosiah 23:10 has really helped me through all of this because I know that Christ really does here our cries and will always bless us. 

10 Nevertheless, after much tribulation, the Lord did hear my cries, and did answer my prayers, and has made me an instrument in his hands in bringing so many of you to a knowledge of his truth.

I love you guys so much and I can't wait to hear from you all next week. I love my Savior and my Father in Heaven and I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve the with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. I love this gospel with all my heart. 

FELIZ AÑO NUEVO

Elder Moss

 

La Tercera Semana - DR CCM

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas!!!!!!!!!! 

Christmas in the MTC was amazing!!!!! They treated us so amazingly. To start on Christmas eve they gave us an amazing dinner Turkey and Ham and so much food. That we had a devotional by Hugo E Martínez from the Area Presidency and the second quorum of the seventy it was so amazing to be able to hear him talk it was in English. He wanted to met and talk to all of us. Yesterday was Christmas and here was so special we had two devotionals one was from Tuesday December 23rd 2014 (Joesph Smith's Birthday) That was by Bishop Stevenson Presiding Bishop over the Church. Then we got to participate in a live broadcast from Prove MTC by Russell M. Ballard he is such an amazing speaker. I got to experience Christmas in a different way then you guys I got to be a missionary. I have the opportunity to have Christmas everyday as a missionary. I am so excited to be able to experience that. Being a missionary is one of the best things that has happened to me.

Elders Grimmer and Moss

 Just thinking that I am only two weeks away from entering the field is so weird!!!! I can't believe how fast my time here in the MTC has been. I am so excited to get out of here I feel like I am in a prison sometimes always following the same schedule always in classes and just stuck behind a gate everyday. I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve a mission. My district thinks it is so funny how I know a lot of different scriptures by memory. Seminary really does help with a mission. I am so glad I had the opportunity to participate in seminary all four years of High School. Seminary may have been a struggle for me but I am so blessed with the opportunity I had to have it in my life. I have been able to quote scriptures and also be able to tell the elders in my district exactly where to find different scriptures for their lessons. I love the people here in the Dominican.

True story

Last Friday we as the older districts in the MTC had the opportunity to go to the University and be able to talk to people and share a message with them. My companion and I handed out like 5 pamphlets and a Book of Mormon!!!!!!! I HANDED OUT A BOOK OF MORMON AND I AM STILL IN THE MTC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love the feeling I get talking to people about the gospel. Today (December 26th) in class my companion and I had the opportunity to teach in front of two districts and two teachers and we are the two with least amount of Spanish and we had to teach about faith in Jesus Christ. We made it so simple but the Spirit was so strong, after our little lesson one of the teachers complimented us by telling us that even though our Spanish isn't perfect that she could still feel the Spirit in her heart.

Love this tree

I love how the Spirit works. I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve a mission. I am so grateful to be here on a mission at the time of Christ's birth. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life and the opportunity I had to have it in my life always. This gospel means so much to me. As I sit here thinking why Christ was born I always go to the Atonement and how he was pre-destined to sacrifice for our sins. I am so grateful for him and for his sacrifice for me and his suffering for my sins. I love all of you guys and I love this gospel and I know it is true. I know that the Lord sacrificed his life for us the least I can do is sacrifice two years of my life for him. I love you guys so much.

Elder Moss

P.S. I only have one more Christmas here and then I will be coming home ;) I love you guys!!!!!
 

Hi There...Mom, here. I asked Elder Moss a number of questions in an email and he was able to answer some of them. Here are my questions and his answers:

Did they (the MTC people) make it (Christmas) a special day for you? 

**Yes the MTC people made Christmas so special for me.
 
 

Do you get to hear any good devotionals/speakers/talks? 

**Every single week we get to listen to devotionals. They are so amazing, as we stand to sing Called to serve.

How's your Spanish coming along? Are you able to understand and teach in Spanish yet? 

**My Spanish is coming along very slowly but I am starting to understand the language and being able to have conversations with people.

Tell me about your investigators. Who are they? Do you know their "stories?" 

**We have two investigators right now. Their names are Ramon Trinidad and Juan Victor. Our teachers are acting as our investigators though. Ramon has a kid and a wife and is a lawyer he's favorite sport is baseball and his favorite team is the Boston Red Sox. Juan Victor also has a kid and a wife and he works as a CEO of a pharmacy. He is a good guy.

What kinds of spiritual moments have you had? 

**The most spiritual thing I would have to say was when we handed a Book of Mormon to someone and he promised to read and pray about it.

When you go to the temple, do you participate in English or Spanish?

**We go to the temple every Thursday and we participate in the English session. 

Santo Domingo Temple

You're getting a new MTC President soon. Is everyone getting prepared for the Romney's? Have you met them yet? 

**We will not be getting a new MTC President while I am here President and Sister Freestone leave the week after we do. Yes I have met the new MTC President they were on Skype with the Owner of the MTC and he brought them in here to show them around.
  
Tell me about Elder Grimmer? You mentioned that he is funny and that you get along well. What else do you like about him? Where's he from? 

Moss and Grimmer

**Elder Grimmer is the best, he always jumps around from bed to bed he climbs on everything and has so many jokes. He is awesome he has four older brothers who all served missions his dad served in Japan along with two of his older brothers. His other two brothers served missions in Ogden Utah and in Missouri. He [Elder Grimmer] is so spiritual I love him a lot.


What do you guys do on your "free time?" 
Do you have any free time? 

**We kinda get free time after lunch everyone spends it differently some nap and some study I do both depends on how I feel recently I haven't been feeling good during the day so I just see how I am feeling. 

 

Semana Dos!

Family,

Hey another week has gone by so fast. IT is really weird to think that I am in Puerto Rico in 3 weeks. This past week has been amazing. I have experienced so many amazing things. I am understanding the language more and more each day. I love the language now. I have already had 5 different investigators it is so much fun. Me and Elder Grimmer have been getting along great we are always helping each other grow more in the gospel. I had the opportunity to watch missionaries leave to go to the field and it was hard to say goodbye to them and I only knew them for two weeks. Two of those missionaries are also from Arizona. When they left there was only two districts left in the MTC so only twelve missionaries.

Yesterday we got a group from Haiti they are such a fun group of missionaries they are all converts to the gospel. We also got another group of North Americans. They all came in last night There are 6 new sisters and 2 new elders and two of the sisters are from Arizona. There are a lot of Arizona people coming out this way it is awesome. Earlier this week we got to go to the store here so we left the CCM it is so weird out in the real world it is really disgusting out there, there is trash everywhere, no one watches as they drive, everyone is always honking there horns it gets really annoying. Most of the nights we get to go to the temple and walk around outside and or read scriptures on the grounds it is so amazing I love being to feel the spirit like that. 

Yesterday was such an amazing day. Our teacher took us across the street to the park and he told us to go talk to people!!!!!!!!!!!!! My companion and I looked at each other and we were both scared. We found someone to talk to so we walked up to him and started to talk with him and all my fear went away. It was so much fun we were there for about an hour and we handed out 9 pamphlets on the Restoration and we were able to say prayers with three different people, we also got someone's phone number and where she worked so we could contact her again!!!!!!!!!!! I love it here people are so open to talk to us no matter what there religion. 

I know that this gospel is true, I know that I am in the right place at the right time and for the right reason. I love this gospel with all my heart and I can't believe I get to be the instrument in the Lord's hand he has blessed me so much and I want to be able to bless other people as well. This gospel is such a blessing in my life and I want to share that with everyone around me.

I love you guys and can't wait to talk to you next week.

Elder Moss

Hello -- Kara (Mom) here...Here are a couple of other things Parker mentioned in the other short emails we received:

He was feeling down his first week and here's the revelation he received after that week was over --

*I am here for a specific reason. I love it here and couldn't ask to be anywhere else. This place is amazing!!!!!!!!  

We asked him about talking to the people outside the CCM and here's what he said (we also asked where our pictures for the week were!!!)

*I had a blast talking with people yesterday and I am actually going to to send some pictures right now.....

And here's what he told one of his sisters...

*The MTC is amazing. I love everyone here. They are so spiritual and strong. We only have 3 weeks left in the MTC and then we ship out to Puerto Rico!!!

 

The Elders that were left when the first group shipped out to their missions!

We make funny faces when we study!

Yes, it's true...I study!