Sacrifice...

MOM! 

Well sorry not much time, but today we WENT TO THE TEMPLE!   I was SO EXCITED!   I loved it!!! But I don't have much time to share with you guys.

Today, just wanted to share with you guys some wonderful experiences we had this week. 

The whole week we have been working hard.  I don't know everything about this area very well because I have only had a little bit of time here, but I am working hard and learning the fastest possible way so that my Companion won't have to worry:)

We have some wonderful people.  First, is M... and her daughter.  They have been listening to the missionaries for awhile, but have not been able to go to church.  As we taught THIS week, we decided to try and figure out how to help in the best way.  As we expained the Gospel of Jesus Christ, she was touched by the Spirit and started to cry.  She said she wanted to change things, that she felt wonderful and she wanted to feel it more often.  She wanted to show her Heavenly Father how much she loved Him.  The way she wanted to do that was by going to church and it didn't matter what sacrifices she had to make! And...she was able to go!

Another experience, we had M..., who works every Sunday.  But, she decided also that she wanted to sacrifice a little more.  She worked 5 hours extra Saturday so that she could go to church, and go to work a little bit later on Sunday.   She did it and she loved it!! :)

And finally, R... She also has been working on things, and is doing wonderfully.  Sadly, she fell and broke her arm on Saturday.  Even though that happened, and she was really tired on Sunday, she decided to show her love for the Savior and go to church!

I was thinking about these families.  These people who decided to sacrifice and change, when they understood the love God has for them, and WHY it is so important.  That is what happened and I am working on exactly that... Jesus Christ showed me His love through His sacrifice, and I want to do the same.  With the video 'Because He Lives', I have loved what it teaches.  Jesus Christ changes everything and we just have to accept and sacrifice a little in order to show Him our love.  So that is what I am doing:)  Just wanted to share a little of what is going on here.  It is REAL, it is AMAZING!  It is something I love.  

Hope you guys have a great week:)

Love you tons!

Elder Goodman!

He Changed Everything

HEY! OH MY GOODNESS OH MY GOODNESS OH MY GOODNESS!

Sorry, there isn't much time...we played soccer...and it went a little overtime.  I am sorry:( But... you gotta get ready for this.....

THIS WEEK WAS AMAZING!  Seriously, we were in mission heaven.  It was wonderful. 

Let me explain why.

1. We got to share 'Because He Lives' every day!  Here, they celebrate Easter but it isn't Easter, it is the holy week, and they celebrate the WHOLE week!  As they did it, it was a wonderful time to share experiences about Jesus Christ, His sacrifice and ressurection.  It is something MANY BELIEVE in, but don't UNDERSTAND.  It was wonderful to share it with them:)  First, was E..., a contact.  We were talking with a group of like 6 people and we explained to them what was going on,  the joy our message brings.  Well, E... seemed a little more interested than just "sure, pass by another day"...so we showed him the video, right there and then!  As we did, his face changed.  He started to see a difference, paying attention to what was happening in the video.  When it ended, he whispered...."it's true."  The spirit bore powerful testimony of WHO IS CHRIST.  The feelings changed to reverence and respect.  It was wonderful for him and of course, he wanted to learn more after:)

After, we were with the family of S..., she has 2 children and her husband.  When we entered their house, they were doing a bunch of different stuff and they all decided to sit down and listen.  As we taught and watched the video, many things changed.  The teenager named J..., changed from bored to very very interested, hanging on to every word of the video, or what we said. The man of the house, also J..., payed a LOT of attention.  At the end, he said, "You have brought something different here. You should pass by more often..."

And the wife just looked in shock at her baby,  teenager, and husband, as they calmed down and the spirit was felt:) 

As we were able to bear testimony of what He meant for us, the spirit bore a wonderful testimony of what we had said.

AND MANY OTHER EXPERIENCES.  But the point is this, like it says in the video... when He came, He CHANGED everything... and then  EVERYTHING changed.  That is what happened.  He changed everything many times this week, and THEN the people decided to change.

And that is when we come to the second part....

2. GENERAL CONFERENCE! As I am sure  you guys know, I enjoy the conference more than anything else for Easter and I loved being able to invite ANYBODY, AND EVERYBODY we could. It was crazy!  After the video, or explaining a lesson, we explained the importance of the servants of the Lord.  The people had a great desire to see what the Prophet was going to say this past Saturday and Sunday.

That is when THEY changed and I loved it!  Just because of time, only one example.  There is a couple, named M... and J.... They haven't been able to go to church for a long time and J... is an investigator.  But as we shared with them the opprotunity they would have, their eyes lit up!  They WANTED to CHANGE something.  On SATURDAY, they came:)  It was wonderful to see that the Spirit, and the Lord are the people who are ALWAYS working in this work.  It was great and we had a great week!

All in all, I loved the week!  I hope you guys did too!  I will write more next time! I promise!

I LOVE YOU!!!!

Love,

Elder Goodman!

#heisrisen

I BELIEVE, YOU GUYS ALREADY KNOW, ABOUT WHAT I WILL BE TALKING ABOUT TODAY!

BECAUSE HE LIVES!!!!!

 NOW IS THE TIME!

Well, we are SO SUPER EXCITED TO SHARE THE VIDEO, AND I HOPE YOU GUYS ARE TOO!  We have been working in the branch and in the district in Guzman in many ways, but I think the thing I love SO much about missionary work, is the fact that what I share is something everyone needs. 

We are talking about the Atonement!  About a sacrifice that has changed my life.  That has helped me become the person I am, and become more than I ever could become by myself. Now...I am not great, I know!  But I know I am much better off for my knowledge of Jesus Christ and the way we have been able to share it with others.  The joy I feel, the miracles  I see, are ALL because of the Atonement and are from my Savior, and THAT is what I have been excited to share!!!! 

So, this week we started....We have been talking to everyone, and the buzz is all around...."Elder Goodman is going crazy because another beautiful video came out and he wants to share it with everyone." But, it isn't crazy, it is joy.  That is what we have been doing.

We have an investigator, J.... His son died about a month ago from an accident, and him and his wife have had quite a hard time dealing with it....but, with this video, and with the message of the atonement, EVERYTHING CHANGED... (like the video says) everything. They are going to church,. They feel peace.  They are HAPPY.  It isn't something of this world, it is from our Heavenly Father!

Another example, B..., a less active member we have been visiting.  She has so many trials right now, I figure the ONLY way she wakes up in the morning is for the love of her little daughter.  But to realize that there is someone there, that there is HOPE ALWAYS, has helped her.  She has gone to church and has been able to partake of the sacrament, and to receive the strength, the boost, she needs to get through another week.

And lastly, the branch!  We have classes every last week of the month about preach my gospel.  The members came and we talked about how they understood the atonement, how they could share it with others.   Let me tell you, they left ON FIRE!  We are so excited, and the thing is, it can't just be me and my companion that are so excited:)  I believe, that as the people watch they feel that same wave of love, excitement, and readiness.  So, I will let you know more next week, but that is basically what is happening.  All of the mission Guadalajara is having spiritual experiences with this video, and they are HAPPY! 

I love you, but The Lord loves you more.  I can't compare with Him, and I am SO GRATEFUL for the knowledge I have that He loves me.  He has suffered what I have suffered and that there is always, ALWAYS a way to change through Him!  I love you! 

Have a great week!

hugs and kisses!

Elder Goodman!

For all walks of life!

Mom! 

thank you SO SO SO MUCH for always writing.  I love it.  And I love hearing from you. 

LIFE HERE IS GREAT.  We are working hard here in Guzman.  Seriously, it has been wonderful.  The people, like I told you last week, are still on fire!  They are awesome!  I love it!

Mom, just to let you know, I have not had even 1 day in my mission when I didn't have an amazing experience.  It is a 100% true that statement.  I know that although I can't tell you ALL of it, I will one day and I will let you all know the things that happened. For right now, you gotta just have patience with me and my 2 or three stories!

This week, we taught the Gospel to all ages, classes, and walks of life.  It has been AMAZING.

We will start out with Hermano J.... I know...a little generic, but think of him as the grandpa. He is about 90 years old.  He can't walk much.  He can't hear.  He can't see.  BUT, he wanted to listen to the missionaries.  His daughter, R..., is a convert of a few years and he hadn't wanted to listen until he had gotten sick.  Right now, he needs help and he has decided to change.  So, we went and visited him.  Now, like I said, he can't hear very well and he has had the same traditions for 90 years.  BUT, as he listened to our little message, he decided that there was something he is missing.  That he hasn't done it all yet.  We felt the Spirit testify as he spoke, as we taught, and his daughter bore testimony of how the Church has helped her.  At the end, he decided he wants to get baptized.  Let me tell you, that wasn't two missionaries, it was the Lord, communicating with HIS children --HIS will!

After that, I was happy, beyond happy, I was estactic!  But I got to go to the opposite end of the age line.  I had an interview with a wonderful Sister Y... She is 10 years old, just starting. She had the desire to be baptized.  She has helped reactivate her family, she reads the scriptures, and is ALWAYS determinded to go to church EVERY Sunday.  As we talked, she bore testimony of how she wanted to make her Heavenly Father Happy.  She felt that by being baptized in THIS church, that would be the thing He would want her to do.  It was again, a humbling and wonderful experience to be with someone, who with only 2 months of listening and understnding the gospel, she has changed herself, her family, and her future family.  I loved it. 

And lastly, just for the middle age... I sent you a pic of a family home evening.  We are working with an investigator named J...C.... and he is awesome.  He decided to invite a family to the family home evening.  They were ages ranging from 2-50 and we planned an activity where ALMOST everyone could participate:)  But the most special, was that this other family, J..., A.., M.., and V..., said they wouldn't listen to missionaries.  As they gave us 10 minutes to talk and let the spirit teach them, they changed their minds.  At the end, A... said, "I have wanted to feel a hug from my Lord for a few months now...I didn't know how. Now, thanks to you Elders, I know how. THANK YOU."  It changed my life.  This week, we taught many people.  We always do:)  The thing is, we don't always know their backround, their stories, their challenges.  Even if we listened for 5 hours we wouldn't know! But the spirit does know, and the Lord does too.  This is HIS work.  We have seen it in so many ways.  EVERY DAY MOM. 

I love you guys.  I want you to know, it isn't important who it is, or how old they are, SOMEBODY needs the Gospel this week! Everyone needs it!  It is applicable to everybody:)

I love you guys!  Sorry I can't write more, but I loved this week, and every week!  Hope you have a great week!  Love you!

Prayers and love your way!

Love,

Elder Goodman!!!

 A little car...maybe they will let us use one of these for proselyting??

 A member of the ward!  Great helper in the work!

The Snow...

 Grape juice in a bottle...amazing!!

 BBQ...Mexico style

fhe