Weekly Email

October 22, 2018

Friends and Family,

Probably had the best day of my mission this week! It was super fun because we found a ton of people and finally figured out how to use Facebook. We found a lot of people who are interested in learning about the gospel on Facebook, and we have lessons set up with them for this week. We also got loads of help from the members so we were running around teaching their friends.

A scripture that really drew my attention this week is from the Bible in 3 John 1:

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth" (3 John 1:4)

It also reminds me of a well-known scripture from the Book of Mormon:

"For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. ... And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (2 Nephi 25:23,26).

Just as mankind can have no greater joy than to see their children on the correct path, God's greatest joy comes from our choice to do what is right.

Elder Coleman 

Pic1 & 2 - members of the church here in fuerte

Pic 3 - A goat statue because, yeah there's a lot of goats here

October 15, 2018

Friends and Family,

We had our zone conference this week in Las Palmas, which is the most populated island in the Canaries. So we flew out on Thursday night and came back Friday night! Earlier in the week, we saw tons of miracles with finding new people to teach. A family from Venezuela moved to the island this week, and brought one of their friends to the church for us to teach. We had a really good lesson with all of them! Yesterday, we had fast and testimony meeting, and a lot of the primary kids (there are so many here) went up to say their testimonies. They were so simple, but also very powerful. We've been working with a member that stopped going to church, and he has actually been attending recently. We were so happy when he shared his testimony about the truthfulness of the gospel and his commitment to remain faithful.

During our zone conference, someone shared a quote from a prophet that I really liked. He said that, throughout our lives, we are driven to our knees again and again. We face trials that cause us to fall to our knees and plead in prayer for God's help. My mission has definitely been characterized by that process. Everything starts going well, and we get a little prideful. We start to think that we are the ones that are causing these great things to happen. But then God shows us that we can actually do nothing of ourselves. He drives us to our knees so we plead for his help, and he always gives it. Every time. Nehemiah perfectly shows this process with the history of the Bible. While praising God for His mercy, the Levites declare:

"Nevertheless [the Israelites] were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, [God], and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee. ... Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;" (Nehemiah 9:26-28).

Just like the Ancient Israelistes, we find it difficult to continuously trust in God and keep his commandments. Let us pray that God will drive us to our knees in those times when we forget His saving power and His influence in our lives.

Elder Coleman

Pic1 - Super cool Jesus pic
Pic2 - My old companion Elder Castillo
Pic3 - Brain cactus?
Pic4 - We made Arepas ✔

Weekly Email

October 9, 2018

Friends and Family,

Super quick email because not much changed this week. We also might have a hurricane this week which is weird, but we'll see about that. We watched general conference on Saturday and Sunday, which is where the prophet and quorum of the Twelve apostles speak. A certain phrase really stuck with me. Elder Maxwell was an apostle who passed away 15 years ago, and near the end of his life he struggled with Leukemia. Someone quoted the voice of God that came to Elder Maxwell: "I have given you Leukemia so you can teach my people with authenticity." That phrase really struck me. Many of us pass through trials so we can testify that the Lord comforts us in affliction. I thought back upon the few trials that I have had in my life, and I realized how God has been with me in every one. I can testify with authenticity along with Alma, that "as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day." God works in degrees; if we only slightly trust in Him, we will only partially receive of His power. But if we entirely trust in God and His power to strengthen us in affliction, we will be filled with strength. I have fully put my trust in God in many of my trials, and God has never let me down. I know He is there.

I love you all!

Elder Coleman

Sorry I took like no pics but here's one of this guys dog that we gardened for all morning

Desert Island Week 2!!!

September 1, 2018

Family and Friends,

Super solid week this week. We were off our island for 2 days because we went to Lanzarote (another island with just 2 missionaries on it) to do exchanges. So we hopped on a boat really early Wednesday morning and came back Thursday afternoon. We were out talking to people all day and trying to stop people and talk to them and teach them a little bit. We had a few lessons in the street and found some cool people!

On Saturday, we spend the day down in a tiny beach town called Gran Tarajal. We talked to a lot of people and ended up teaching a really cool Colombian man who was going to be baptized but had back surgery and lost contact with the missionaries for a while. So we're hyping him up about the gospel!

Right after that, we were looking for some people we knew, and we rang the doorbell on this building and someone let us in but the person we were looking for wasn't there so we were super confused. But this old lady on the top floor called us up and told us that she was watching us from her balcony for the past while (Super small town so she saw us pass a few times) and that she was really depressed and she knew that we could help her. We sat with her for a while and taught her about the plan that our loving heavenly father has for us. Mankind could not invent a more perfect plan than the one that we teach. It perfectly balances justice and mercy.

"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9, New Testament).

"Behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world,... they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever" (2 Nephi 9:18, The Book of Mormon).

As we explained God's Plan of Happiness to her, her countenance changed. She began to understand that God does have a plan for her, and that any sorrow can be swallowed up in the hopes of glory (See Alma 22:13-18). I know that God's plan is perfect. Our loving Heavenly Father does not intend for only a few choice children to be saved, but he offers salvation freely to all.

Elder Coleman

Pic1 - Above Gran Tarajal

Pic2 - Red Sun (the sand from Africa is so thick that you can look at the sun in the morning)

Pic3 - Found the Apocrypha in a member's house (Its a huge Catholic bible with extra books)

Pic4 - North side of Fuerteventura