Week #12

Hola!

Another week completed down here in Visalia! It was a bit different this week cause we aren't in a trio any more but Elder Del Carmen have been doing solid! Sorry I didn't send that much last week, some members in our stake own a huge trampoline park so we went their for like 3 hours for free!!! They also have a little parkour park inside which is even better! I was a bit rusty at first but after a bit I pretty much got it back! I also taught the Elder I went with (Elder Witt) how to do backflips and frontflips! The very last backflip he did before we left he tried to get extra height and ended up landing on his head! He ended up being all good just a bit of a sore neck! 

This week we find some solid investigators and had a really productive week! Our investigator Isabel came to church for the first time and brought her granddaughter, we set a date with her for the 28th but are going to have to move it cause she's going to have a surgery on that day so we are going to try to move it forward 2 days! Our other investigator Alejandra has a date for the 21st and is super solid! She understands everything we teach and the things she doesn't she just moves forward with faith that it will come! She has a 4 year old and really wants him to grow up in the church! The church truly helps build families on the strong foundation of Jesucristo so when the trials and challenges come, peace and joy will still be found and the foundation will not fall! 

This week we will getting a new companion! All of the missionaries in Puerto Rico had to be moved out so our new companion (and new zone leader) is one of those who had to be moved out! It's definitely going to be sweet having him as one of my trainers! We are also getting another big group of nuevos from the MTC and 4 are coming to our zone!!! That means 7 of the 10 compaionships is our zone will be trainer/trainee companionships! The Viscous Visalia Zone is going to be rolling strong with fresh Elders and Sisters ready to give their all to the best work in the world!

Espanol is coming along great! I think for the first time at church I understood pretty much all of what was said! The ward is awesome at feeding us too and the fijoles are muy rico!!! 

That's about it! We are about to leave to have a Zone BBQ with ultimate Frisbee so thank y'all so much for all your prayers and thoughts! We truly do feel all the prayers sent our way!

My favorite scripture this week comes from Alma 13: 22-24 so look that one up! But here i'd like to share a different thought! It's about the importance of Family Home Evening! In this crazy and changing world family home evening can help strengthen and unify the family and shouldn't be something that is ignored!  Here's a deep quote from Elder Bednar!

“Each family home evening is a brushstroke on the canvas of our souls.”

Elder David A. Bednar  

I invite all of those who have not have a family home evening for a while to start again! Or if you havn't at all to start! you will see the joy and happiness that will come into your home and families!

Also Happy Birthday to my awesome bro Kyle out serving in Las Vegas! He's a big inspiration to me and is going strong out in the the mission field! 

Nos vemos amigos!

Con Amor,

Elder Houssian

I saw this Bills flag on a biking exchange so I had to take a picture and knock the door! They weren't interested but it was nice talking to a fellow Bills fan!

Week #11

Buenas Tardes Amigos!

Solid week here! Hope everybody enjoyed conference! I think it was the first time I got to watch all the sessions and it great! They seemed to pass by way faster then before the mission! 

I started out the week on Bikes with our district leader in his English speaking area! It was a great day but the work is so different! The Hispanics seem to be more open to talking about religion and love just talking in general! Our investigators here are progressing a ton! It's cool to see how the gospel can bring light to and change people's lives! 

This week we got fed a ton of Mexican food and most of it was stuff I'd never tried before! I don't know how but the frijoles that they make are SOOO good!!! We also ate Tortas, Tamales, all sorts of tortillas (Blue, grande, fried...), and a lot of other stuff!

Elder Morales is moving up to be an assistant to the President today! So he's been packing up all day and leaves tonight! It's going to be a bit crazy for a week cause I'll have to fill in as an unordained zone leader for the week until transfers! 

My favorite scripture this week comes in Alma 5: 27,28! 

27 ¿Habéis caminado, conservándoos irreprensiblesdelante de Dios? Si os tocase morir en este momento,¿podríais decir, dentro de vosotros, que habéis sidosuficientemente humildes? ¿que vuestros vestidos hansido lavados y blanqueados mediante la sangre de Cristo,que vendrá para redimir a su pueblo de sus pecados?

28 He aquí, ¿os halláis despojados del orgullo? Si no, yoos digo que no estáis preparados para comparecer anteDios. He aquí, debéis disponeros prontamente; porque elreino de los cielos pronto se acerca, y el que no estépreparado no tendrá vida eterna.

Well, that's about it for the week! I love the work here and can't wait to have another solid week! I forgot my camera so i'll send other the photos next week!

Week #10

¡Qué paso amigos!

It´s been a great week down here in Visalia! The weather has cooled down here which is so nice! Our Truck had to get an oil change and apparently the tires were messed up to so we had to bike for the day! The next day we went on exchanges and we went in the Gringo area so we rode bikes again! I love riding bikes! It adds energy to the work and we get to meet a lot of people on the streets!

We have been working with Marco and Andy a ton this week and they got Baptized on Sunday!!! It was a very spiritual service and I got to Baptize Andy!!! They both have grown strong testimonies and loved their baptisms! 

We taught a lot of our investigators this week and many are progressing very well! The finding has been a bit slower this week but we have set some high goals and made good plans for the next! We had Zone Conference this week and it was solid! At the end the missionaires that are leaving gave their testimonies and it was powerful!!! 

Overall pretty much just another spiritual and crazy week here!!! Español is getting better gradually and I can hold a conversation pretty good with most people we meet and teach!

This week I studied in Mosiah a lot and my new favorite story is Abinadi! He´s a super powerful prophet and a savage! He came in, chastised the king and all his false priests, shared some of awesome revelation, then cursed them to be put to death by fire!!! One of my favorite parts is here 9 Now Abinadi said unto him: I say unto you, I will notrecall the words which I have spoken unto you concerning this people, for they are true; and that ye may know of their surety I have suffered myself that I have fallen into your hands.

10 Yea, and I will suffer even until death, and I will not recall my words, and they shall stand as a testimonyagainst you. And if ye slay me ye will shed innocent blood, and this shall also stand as a testimony against you at the last day.

Many people here try to tell us we are wrong and that we don´t know what we are talking about but we KNOW they are true and the work of the lord will go forth unto all (¡Necios!)! 

Love you all and have a solid week!!!

Con Amor,

Élder Houssian

Week #9

Hola!

Another solid week down here in Visalia!!! Our investigators are progressing very well and have two baptisms solid for this Sunday! We have been working a lot through the less actives and inactives and got a ton of them to come to church this week (plus 7 of our investigators!). 

This week we got to visit the Temple! The Temple here in Fresno is small but super nice and the session was amazing! We also got fed a lot this week and ate a ton of mexican food! I love the carne con salsa verde con arroz y frijoles all put in a tortilla! My parents would be proud too cause I ate sandwiches with mustard and mayonnaise and tomatoes (All things I hate) that an old lady in our ward made for us!

We got to visit the Sequoia National park for Preparation day today and It was really amazing! The trees are MASSIVE and there are tons of them! We got to see some of the biggest trees in the world! It is also up at like 6000-7000 feet so the cool air was a great break from the heat! We also got to see some awesome views and all the other mountains around! 

This weeks study for me has been in the Book of Mormon, books Jacob-Mosiah! Some of my favorite part are in Jacob 5 (The parable of the Vineyard) which requires some deep thinking to find the interpretation but is super solid, and my favorite scripture is in Jacob 6:12 - ¡Oh, sed prudentes! ¡Qué más puedo decir!

The lord's work is continually moving forward and I know the it truly is a marvellous work! Tell next week!

Con Amor,

Elder Houssian

 Rain in Fresno?

 Top of Sequoia National Park! (Moro Rock!)

​ 

 El Templo!

Week #8

Buenas Dias!

Great week out here in Visalia California! The work has been progressing a ton here! We have a huge baptismal goal of 127 baptisms for the whole mission so we've got lots of work to do! We have 8 baptisms planned for this month so far and 4 for the next month! We also had 6 investigators at church yesterday and 5 of us Elders in the ward sang "Cuenta Tu Bendiciones" for a Sister's homecoming talk! 

Two of the Elders in our area got transferred out to fill in for an Hermana who got sent home for medical reasons so we took over their area and now have 2 huge areas! Basically 2/3 of a stake! A lot of work needs to be done but I am super excited!!!

We are teaching the Ortiz family here who have 2 kids and they are Solid!!! They have been coming to church the past couple weeks and have a desire to be baptized! We are planning for the 30th for them! We also have been teaching 2 kids from part member families named Marcos and Andy and they both will be Baptized on the 23rd! Our last two most progressing investigators are Alejandra and Isabel! Alejandra is a bit older and has 2 kids, one is a member, she says she is ready to learn about the church and wants to have the peace and strong family relationships that come from the church! Isabel is in her 70's and has 36 grand kids who almost all live in the same apartment complex! She says every day the missionaries would pass by her and not talk to her or some would give her a card then leave for the past like 15 years but one day she yelled at us to come over and said basically she was tired of waiting and needed the word of god now! We then had a super awesome lesson over the plan of salvation and you could see the sincerity of her desire to learn! The plan salvation means so much to those who haven't heard it before! We then had 2 more lessons with her and they were both super solid but her husband is this super gordo old mexican grandpa who loves to talk with us and tell jokes! Randomly during our lessons he will make some random super loco comment and then laugh hysterically! Isabel then scolds him and calls him a borrchicho (Little drunkard) and tells him basically to get a life! Lol. 

This week we met a crazy mix of people! Some who are die hard Christians, some who are on something, some who are super nice and give us water and tell us stories, some who come to bible bash, some to praise us on spreading the good word of god, some who are ready to change their live and are super open to the gospel, and then the best are the ones who god has prepared for us who were only kept from the truth because they knew not where to find it! 

The work is going strong here and I love the work so much! My Spanish is getting better everyday!

This week I studied the Book of Mormon a lot! One part many people overlook is the intro, It's super solid and is a perfect explanation of what the Book of Mormon is and it's importance! If you haven't read it yet I invite you to check it out! 

y que un hombre se acercaría más a Dios al seguir sus preceptos que los de cualquier otro libro”. 

Love all you and have a solid week!!!

Con Amor,

Elder Houssian

Flips at the church! 

A day out in the Church Vineyard! 

Week #7

Buenas Dias!!!

I'm back across the wall safe and sound here in Fresno! The mission here is super awesome! We got a huge welcome from Presidente and Sister Mackay and tons of the missionaries! We arrived here at like 1 after a long early travel and a stop in Dallas. 10 of us came from Mexico and 10 from Provo so we have 20 new missionaries!!! 

I have two Latino trainers Elder Del Carmen and Elder Morales! They are so solid and amazing trainers! They are zone leaders so we got a lot a stuff we help out with around the mission and area! I'm in an area called Visalia about an hour south of Fresno and filled with tons of Latinos!!! Since I'm with zone leaders we get a truck and it's a new 2017 Toyota Tacoma! I love driving it (Although California drivers are loco en la cabeza)! 

After a bunch of logistics and pre field meetings we have teaching and tracting a ton! Our area is super big! (Basically the whole stake here) And we have 7 Elders in the same Spanish ward! All lot of work needs to be done here! We have super solid investigators! One Investigator is an old man named Margarito and has a super cool Spanish accent! We set him with a Baptismal date and he accepted! We also set another investigator named Andy with a baptismal date and he accepted as well! He's 9 and part of a part member family and is really smart for his age and loves the gospel! I extended him a challenge that if he read the book of Mormon then I would show him some flips and when we came back he read two whole chapters in one night!

Don't have much time to email but I've been reading a lot in the Book of Mormon and it's such a powerful book! I love reading so much!!!

Alma 34 is one of my favorites and I definitely would recommend reading it! 

32 Porque he aquí, esta vida es cuando el hombre debe prepararse para comparecer ante Dios; sí, el día de esta vida es el día en que el hombre debe ejecutar su obra.

I love the work here and love teaching the Latino People sooooo much (Even though the heat is brutal! I love and miss you guys a ton and your always in my prayers! 

Con Amor,

Elder Houssian

Chillin in the back of our truck (Taco)

Last group MTC Photos! 

 The commander Presidente Eves!

Week #6

Hey Mom and Dad!

I have arrived in Fresno safely! My Preparation day is on Monday and to see photos check Californiafresnomission.blogspot.com .

Love you guys and will talk to you Monday!

Elder Houssian