Welcome to Texas!

How y'all doin?

As always, thank you for your prayers, love, and support. I loved talking to everyone and thought it was so neat that I got to talk to all of my family and feel of your love. Tuesday we woke up at 3:00 A.M. and traveled all day. I just studied and slept on the plane ride. The Ashton's were waiting for us at the airport. We then drove to a church building where some other missionaries were waiting, broke up into pairs, and went "running". This is just street contacting or "OYMing" (Open Your Mouth). The very first person that I saw was Hispanic and I looked I my temporary companion and he just smiled, so I started talking to him in Spanish. That was fun. We then went to the mission home, wrote letters to our parents to say we didn't die yet, received training on the mission rules from the Assistants, were interviewed by President Ashton, had a testimony meeting with all the new missionaries, ate dinner and then went to some random apartments in the area to sleep for the night.

In my interview with President Ashton, he said, "Well, I already know you so we are going to skip all that. The only thing I want you to do is learn Spanish." He said that my trainer is the only native speaker that he had training and that he needed me to learn Spanish so that I can reach my full potential. He said that the mission is focusing on charity and he said to get charity. That was it. Three or four minutes with him and he told me all he expected.

Wednesday we had breakfast at the mission office, received training on cars and cell phones (I know you think I am spoiled Stephen and David), then received training on Texas. Dad, I wish you could have been there. You would have loved it. They taught us how to properly use the word "y'all" and explained that it can never be said to one person. They also explained how to use the plural form of the word, "ally'all". The man that did this training was hilarious. He is an eight generation Texan and he said that when he got married, he was worried about the mixed marriage since his wife was only a seven generation Texan. They take their Texas pride very seriously here. In fact, I realized last night that I am already warped because we were at the dedication of our chapel, and the bishop was speaking in spanish about this great country we lived in and I couldn't figure out if he was referring to Texas or America.

After our trainings, we met our trainers. I am with Elder Barajas. He is from Oregon but both his parents are from Mexico. We are serving in Houston. He only has three transfers left including this one. Our area is Houston 8. Pretty close to Sugar Land. We serve in a Spanish ward.

On Wednesday, we had our first teaching appointment and Elder Barajas told me that it was my turn to extend the baptismal committment. I did and it was incredible to know how much the Lord trusts me. We have had a busy week teaching and knocking doors. About half the people we talk to on the street speak English, so I spend half the day talking English and the other half Spanish. My own speaking ability has improved a lot, but what has improved the most is the ability to understand. Some of our investigators speak so quickly, it is insane. We have four people with a baptism date right now and hopefully will have two more after tomorrow. I have already seen miracles happen.

We just ride our bikes around and I just pray my heart out to Heavenly Father and right then someone walks by that is interested. It has happened multiple times and it is incredible. I know that He is guiding this work. One really neat story was we knocked on the door of a less active family and they weren't home. As we left, Elder Barajas saw someone to talk to so we pulled our bikes up to the driveway and began talking to him. He didn't respond but kept motioning to us. We walked up to him and saw scars all over his throat and head. He motioned that he had been shot in the head and couldn't talk. We asked if we could share a message about Jesus Christ. He motioned that it was ok. We then taught him for half an hour about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We shared with him Alma 7:11-13 and bore testimony that He is not alone in his trials. We left him a Book of Mormon and set a date to return. I am amazed at how the Lord has prepared some people to listen. This man has hard trials in his life right now, but because of them he his humble.

I am happy and working hard. I see miracles each day. I just read the talk by Elder Callister today entitled "Becoming a Consecrated Missionary" (thanks Stevo) and felt inspired to do as he says and give my whole soul to this work. I know that it is true. The Spirit testifies of that constantly. Thank you all for your support and love.

I pray for you daily.

Love,

Elder Case

Houston at Last!

Dear Parents,

We are pleased to let you know that your missionary has arrived safely in the Texas Houston South Mission, the best mission in the world!!  They are happy and absolutely wonderful. President Ashton and I are thrilled to welcome them. We had a terrific afternoon and evening together. They received some training and talked with people on the streets of Houston.  We also had dinner together and then we enjoyed a beautiful testimony meeting. They come with such courage and strength. We were very impressed by their character and preparation.  You should be very proud of them.

I have attached a photo from our gathering tonight in the mission home. As you can see, there are many smiles.  We have seven children.  Our youngest is 1 month and our oldest is 13. They are so excited to be a part of your missionary's life!

Again, thank you for the opportunity you have given us to serve with these fine missionaries. We love them already and promise to take good care of them. May you find great joy and blessings as you continue to support them in bringing souls to Christ through His restored gospel. This is His work and these missionaries are on His errand. More joy awaits them than they have ever experienced!

With love,
President and Sister Ashton, Spencer, Braeden, Jacob, Elisabeth Kate, Ethan, Daniel, and Wesley

Last one from the MTC

Family!

 

I can't believe that my MTC experience is already finished. I was just writing a lette to one of my leaders today and in it I said, "I don't think that anyone has ever enjoyed the MTC as much as I have." It has truly been an incredible experience here that I will never forget. And I guess next week you will get the email that says they taught me the wrong language here. I am excited to go out to the field and learn some more! Though I know the language will be extremely difficult, I have come to find that in lessons when I just forget everything and focus on the words of the investigators, I can understand. Sometimes I have no idea what the words are but the Holy Ghost tells me what they are saying. It has been incredible and I know that the same experiences will happen in Houston if I will continue to listen.

 

We had In-Field Orientation yesterday which is why P-Day is today. It was 12 or so hours about learning how to street contant, bus contact, airport contact, and so on. We learned about how to work with members and so much more. It was a long day but almost everything they taught me was completely new.

 

Elder Gray and I had a really neat opportunity this week to teach the new missionaries. We were selected with some others to teach the new missionaries how to begin teaching. On Monday nightwe received training and that hour and a half taught me more about following the Spirit and how to teach than anything else. We then went and did the demonstration on Wednesday night in front of two groups of new missionaries. All we did was begin to teach an investigator in front of them for about ten minutes and then they took the lesson over. It was fun. We have been reminiscing on our experience here and realized that we have had a blast. He had the best weekly service assignment which was in the kitchen and we got to explore the tunnels under the cafeteria. We have not had roommates for the past three weeks. We have loved our companionship, and we have had so many other unique experiences here.

 

Thank you all for your love and support and prayers. I can feel them and I am so grateful for them. I pray for you all daily. I have come to realize that miracles happen every day. One of the quotes from In-Field that I really liked was: "Miracles are the natural result of the application of true principles." I know that that is true. As I have done all I can here to be diligent, to be exactly obedient, and to serve with all my heart, might, mind, and strength, I have seen these miracles occur for me and others. This Gospel and work is true! I am so grateful to be a part of it and to be a full-time servant of the Lord.

 

Love,

 

Elder Case

3 Births

Family,

Just for the record, three babies have been born in our family since I left on my mission and I haven't even left the MTC. That is crazy! Sounds like you are all doing well. I just got the update from Stephen as he and I had lunch yesterday. How awesome is it that I get to eat lunch with my best friend at the MTC? Good luck to everyone with your plethora of travels. And congratulations to David and Cami on their new baby! I am so happy and excited for you.

As always I am wonderful! Elder Gray and I have a temporary third companion from the advanced district. All of his district already left but he didn't have his travel plans. He has been with us since Wednesday and he leaves on Monday for the Arizona Mesa Mission! He will only be in our mission until he gets his visa and then he goes on to Veracruz Mexico. But I am going to give him our address and phone number and if he serves in the Via Verde branch you all need to find him and tell him how much I love him and how wonderful he is. His name is Elder Soto. He is from California. His dad died when we was 14 and he joined the church during his junior year of high school. He has been a member for almost two years now and is such a powerful missionary. The temple is open again and we went with him today. It was only his second time but it was a sweet experience. We have taught four lessons with him and the last two have been incredibly powerful. When he bears his testimony, he can relate perfectly to the investigators stories and you can tell that he is converted. It is powerful. It has made me think about Mike Shuga and how powerful of a missionary he is going to be. I have known at least ten missionaries now who are converts within the last two years and all of them are the hardest workers and extremely focused.

I have continued to study the Book of Mormon and have spent this past week or so reading from Alma 17 on. I am now in Alma 31 and I could not be any more excited to be a missionary right now. When President Ashton was here for Mission President's Training, he told us to study the stories and Ammon and his brethren and learn what they did to bring thousands of souls to Christ. I have been studying it in great depth and have learned so much. They were incredible missionaries. Two things have stuck out to me above all others. The first is that they became an instrument in the hands of God and the second is that there is three different accounts of them teaching and they begin by asking, "Believest thou that there is a God?" I have wondered on this question and have come to realize that it is the most fundamental doctrine of our life. The song "I am a Child of God" has taken on so much more meaning in my life. It is incredible to me to think that there are people that don't know that they are children of God. But we are. I know that. I know that God loves each and every one of us with an infinite love and that He wants nothing more than to have us return to our heavenly home to dwell with Him forever.

Thank you for your emails, your love, and most importantly your prayers. I love you all and I pray for you daily. I am so grateful for our family and for the blessing that I have had to grow up in a home not only where the Gospel is taught but where the Gospel is lived. Thank you all for your examples of righteousness.

Love,

Elder Case

Reporting to the Lord

Hey Family!

Hope you are all doing well and home safe from California without too bad of a sunburn! Dax looks like a cute little boy. It is crazy to think that he will be two when I get home! Thank you all for your love and support and prayers. It seems like everyone is super busy right now and that life is hectic.

Life for me is wonderful. I cannot imagine being any other place on earth than serving the Lord full time. Yesterday was the best day yet! Elder Gray and I had set some goals and then just worked super hard the whole day and received some incredible blessings. First of all, we have started waking up at 6:00 every morning and running around the MTC which is just a good start to the day. We use the 20 minutes as a time to practice Spanish and the grammar that we learned the day before. We also have set the goal to only speak Spanish for our last three weeks here. We haven't been perfect at it but have certainly improved dramatically in our efforts and ability. What a blessing to receive the gift of tongues so rapidly. I know that I still have a long way to go, but it is incredible at how far we have come since day one. Our roomates shipped out earlier this week and we didn't new roomates, so we did some remodeling in our room and put our bunkbeds together. I have bottom and he has top. Now we each have our own king size bed. We definitely are living the spoiled life at the MTC. I will send pictures home this week so you can see it.

We had a really neat opportunity to help a new elder that came into our zone. He was scared to death, didn't know what was going on, planned to be here for nine weeks but was only here for 2 weeks and a day, slept in three different rooms in three nights, and so many others crazy issues. We only had the opportunity to know him for three days but in that time came to love him so much. It is amazing how serving people has that effect. He left this morning and we saw him off. It was an incredible experience to see the hand of the Lord in his life and ours.

Elder Gray and I are already worrying about not being companions in the field. We have been trying to figure out what we can do to receive a promise from President Ashton that we will be albe to serve for at least one transfer together. So far, nothing too convincing. We have become the best of friends and enjoy everything we do here at the MTC. Also, a bunch of my boys from my elders quorum are here now and it is so good to see them and see that they are continuing to do and be good.

One of our teachers talked with us as a district earlier this week about reporting to the Lord each night. I have heard about this a number of times but have never really applied it. I started to this week and boy has it been good for me. Each night I kneel down and discuss my day with the Lord, my failings, and my accomplishments. I express my gratitude for His help throughout the day and try and recognize all the ways I saw His hand in my life. I have become so much more appreciative for prayer as I have done this and I have been able to feel the Spirit more than ever as I then make a conscience effort the next day to improve from the day before. Line upon line, I have found that I can improve.

I am still reading the Book of Mormon and loving it so much. I just read all about Alma and Amulek today and was grateful that I don't have to endure their same trials. What a great example of a missionary companionship. I also will finish reading Our Heritage today. I have gained a renewed appreciation for the pioneers and their many sacrifices. I have loved reading through the book and knowing just about every place in there. It was much more powerful for me because I could remember Haun's Mill, the Kirtland Temple, Nauvoo, the Sacred Grove, and especially Carthage Jail. Thank you dad for planning those wonderful trips and for allowing me every opportunity to grow and strengthen my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that this work is true. I don't think I have been happier in my life. It is wonderful. 

I love you all and pray for you often.

Elder Case

The Gift of the Holy Ghost

Hi Family!

Hope you are all doing well and that those of you that aren't restricted by a due date in the next week are enjoying yourselves in California! It looks like you had a fun time in NYC Mary. I am super jealous! Thank you all for your letters and emails and DearElders. They are a great support. Thank you even more for your prayers. I love you all!

This week for our devotional Sunday night we had the MTC Executive Director speak to us. He gave a wonderful talk about missionary work and taught us powerful principles. What Elder Gray and I liked the most though is that he taught about the gift of the Holy Ghost. He told a story about some missionaries that were having a hard time committing an investigator to baptism. This man talked to the investigator and explained that when we are baptized we can have the gift of the Holy Ghost to be with us forever. The man then was baptized. As Elder Gray and I have thought about this story, we taught all three of our "investigators" about the wonderful opportunity we have to have this gift. All of our investigators finally committed to baptism. This was the key.

This has made me think about how I feel towards the opportunity that I have to have the Holy Ghost, the third member of the Godhead, with me at all times. It has been a humbling experience to realize that I have taken this gift from God for granted at times in my life. We then watched an MTC talk by Elder Bednar last night in class entitled 'Recognizing the Spirit'. It was powerful. He said, that if we wonder whether or not we are being led by the Holy Ghost, to "quite worrying about it!'' He was pretty blunt. He said that if we are keeping are covenants, obeying the commandments, and trying to be and do good, that the Lord will guide us. He said that the Lord couldn't afford to not guide us because we still haven't overcome the natural man. How grateful I am for prophets and apostles in this day and age. For the opportunity to be participating in the greatest work on earth, the gathering of Israel.

Other than that, I am doing wonderful. I am happy and well. Thank you for your prayers. I return them all to you.

Elder Case

Fourth of July

Hola Familia!

I hope you all are doing well. Thank you for your emails, letters, and prayers. They are a great support. This week has been incredible. On Sunday night for our devotional we had a man that was dressed up as Willard Richards. For the opening song we sang, "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" and the Spirit testified to me that Joseph truly did see God the Father and His Son. Then this man, gave an hour long presentation on Joseph Smith. It was all memorized and he quoted a lot from the journal of Willard Richards and others journals. For the closing song we sang, "Praise to the Man". I have never before in my life felt the Spirit testify to me like it did on Sunday night. I now know to my very soul that Joseph Smith was called of God. I cannot describe the power of that experience but I know that as I spend the next two years testifying that Joseph was a prophet and that he truly saw what he said he saw, I will be able to do so with power, with authority, and with all of my being because I now know and I will never be able to forget that feeling. After the fireside we watched the Joseph Smith movie. I won't even get into what that did to me. The MTC is a place of power, a place of the Spirit, and a place of truth. It is truly incredible.

We got to watch the fireworks! Beforehand though we had a wonderful fireside. During which we sang "America the Beautiful". I am coming to realize the power of hymns because as we all sang that hymn the Spirit came. I started crying as I realized that this is the promised land. This is the land that the Lord has watched over and carefully prepared so that the Gospel of Jesus Christ could be restored once again to the earth. What a blessing it is to live here. After the fireside we were instructed to not reture to our residence halls until after the fireworks were over. I felt like the most rebellious soul not being in my bed at 10:30. It was a fun night complete with bagpipes, speakers, the fiddle, and lots of singing.

Some fun stories that I have been forgetting to include. My very first night here I didn't have a towel (you were right mom) so I had to borrow one from Elder Gray. While in the shower I was shaving (never a good idea without a mirror) and then someone turned all the lights off. I cut myself really badly and was bleeding all over the place, there was no light, and I got blood all over Elder Gray's towel. It was funny. Another funny story was that during our second lesson, Elder Gray was teaching the Atonement and instead of saying "podemos ser limpios de nuestros pecados" (we can be clean of our sins), he said "podemos ser limpios de nuestros pescados" (we can be clean from our fishes). Our investagator/teacher died laughing. Last story was that we were showering the other day and our roommate closed the door (which automatically locks) and when after our showers we were all just standing in the hall in our towels for 30 minutes while we waited for someone else to pick up a spare key for us. The other Elders had quite a laugh.

Anyways, my time just ran out. I love you all and I am learning and loving this place and this Gospel. I know with all my heart that it is true. Thank you for your prayers.

Love,

Elder Case