Week of Good Goals!

Things are going great here in Miami. We had our Zone conference this past Tuesday which has really helped out a lot. The Lord really showed Elder Goodale and me what we needed to work on this transfer while we are together. We set some goals on how we are going to plan better and how we are going to teach more using the Book of Mormon, and show how it compliments the Bible. We defiantly received some inspiration and revelation Tuesday that will help me out for the rest of my mission and life.

The lord has been thinning out our teaching pool and is filling it with people who are truly prepared for learning. This past Wednesday we taught a 20 year old kid that has no clue about the Bible, or even Jesus Christ, but is really wanting to listen. We taught Dustin along with his brother and sister who are twins and we are going back this next Tuesday to teach them again. Teaching them was a blast because I got to see how well I knew the gospel. I have this quote that I put on my planner that reads, "The best measurement of how well we understand the doctrines of the gospel is how clearly and simply we teach them and live them." As we taught Dustin and his seven year old brother and sister (Kolob and Courtney) it was a real test to teach to their understanding and revealed to me that I understood the gospel more then I had judged myself to. Even finding Dustin was a test, when we knocked on his door he had no interest in what we had to say and when we would ask questions he was short with us, but I asked him a question that really made him think, I asked him what was his family life like when he grew up. Dustin said a pretty nasty word to get his point across of how terrible it was. After his reply we bore our testimonies about how it wasn't supposed to be like that and that the gospel and the message we share helps us to change so that are own families can be better. After we talked a little Dustin warmed up to us and his heart was softened.

We found one of the sweetest families this week! The Lord is really helping us out and is putting us where we need to be to fulfill His purposes. We met Jason last Wednesday and he said that he's been looking for a church to join, so we are going to help him find the right one We went back to his place and taught him and the spirit was there guiding the lesson. He understood the whole thing and he understood the need for a restoration and that we need prophets and apostles. Just as we were getting to the end of the lesson his wife came home. Her name is Savannah and is just as prepared as Justin is! When she got there my thoughts were like, "Well great, I hope this goes over well, nothing weird about walking in and having two "religious" guys sitting in your living room." Justin invited her to listen and Elder Goodale taught her a brief summery of what we taught Justin and she understood it as well. They really warmed to us, even their kids loved us. At the end of the lesson the kids all had things to show us. They had a Bible story book and other things that they wanted to show us. Teaching the restoration to some one is one of the best ways to make friends. I learned that from Elder Patterson, he's an assistant that I look up to; he said that teaching the restoration builds a relationship on a sure foundation. And I see this true principle everyday as I make new friends while teaching the restoration.

I'm learning lot! This area is so sweet and I love the members. This morning we were talking about some ways we can make the ward stronger and get them to do missionary work and we are going to try our best to build up the Miami ward. Well that's all for this week, I love you and thank you for all your support!

Love,
Elder David Kelly Conrad

PS, Megan, that would be sweet if you could send me like a pedigree chart or something as you do the genealogy work.
PPS, I've been meaning to asked dad about how his side of the family joined the church and where Grandma and Grandpa comes from and their story.
PPPS, I'm all out of stamps, I'll be using my last one today.

still jumping!

This week has been one of the best. We jumped six feet and got 140/40 (OTM's and lessons) and we are seeing the blessing of the Lord. With my new companion I am getting to learn more about others things. Elder Goodale is equally yoked with me and I am focusing more on perfecting myself and my teaching skills. I have noticed a lot how I shine in some areas of missionary work, but in others I'm still dull. So I'm looking forward to this next transfer to get to rest from some things and fortify some others.

This past Monday we had a really rewarding experience. Its was coming to the last of the day and we needed to get one more lesson. 8:30 comes around and we can't find anyone to teach. While driving around and saying my little prayers I had the idea placed in my head to go to a certain potential that we found earlier last week. Their names are Aj and Samantha and they were home and they are is pretty sweet. The day we found them was my secound day with Elder Goodale. I was driving to a this apartment complex to go and look up some potentials and have an OTM power hour. While on the way there I would forget where I was going and drove past it and by the time I figured out that I had past it we were down the road qiute a ways. So we turned back and I forgot again where we were going and drove past it. Finally on the third try we got there and by this time we were a couple of minute late to the appointment we had set up, but we figured we would start our power our. To make a long story short we found Aj and Samantha, who happen to be our next door neighbors, but we were lead to meet them several miles from our house. Of coarse we didn't see how it all fit together till sevral days later, but this simple story shows me that there is always some reason that we met someone, whether we get to know now or later.

On Wednesday Elder Goodale and I had the chance to meet with one of the most sincere people that I have ever met. Her name is Carol and we found her after leaving an appointment outside and we otm'd her. Carol and her mother Viginia were fixing up their house and things out side, so we walk up and start talking to them. Now the way I otm is that I get them talking about life and things and I ask questions that lead down to the spiritual side of things, which leads to something that is writen in the Book of Mormon that I can share with them. So we got to this point in the otm and we find out that she believes in everything that we do and that she has read the Book of Mormon. She is an Indian and has studied every religion that there is and she knows a ton, which is her down fall I quess, but she is still a wonderful lady. Before we left we asked if we could leave with a prayer, so we all held hands and I offered the prayer. After I was done Carol went, then her mother, then Elder Goodale. It was one of the most sencere and most powerful prayers that I have ever felt. It was like the Spirit was in the middle of us and we all could feel its warmth. We left and our faces were red like we had been out in the sun all day, it was that intense!

We have this really nice lady who feeds us every Friday. Her name is Janice and everytime we have gone over to her house the Spirit is always present. This past Friday we taught her about Joeph Smith and we watched the restoration DVD with her and when it got to the vision she let out a short, "WOW!" and we both knew why. That movie, in the correct settings has power, it reveals that Joseph Smith is a prophet and that what is taught by the Book of Mormon is worth listening to. There are so many rewards to missionary work!

Love,
Elder David kelly Conrad

PS, I almost forgot, we had a baptism!!!

FW: Jumping Six feet!

We get a new mission president in June, which makes me really sad because I love President and Sister Seal. I think that transfer that they leave we get an extra week added onto it so that the new mission president doesn't have to deal with transfers right off. So that will be fun.

This week has been a pretty amazing week. I got my new companion and we are going to stinking rock Miami! His name is Elder Goodale and he is from Boise Idaho! He is my first companion that isn't from Utah! He is a sweet missionary and isn't reserved and isn't shy about working hard. Which is awesome because it's going to help get this area moving even more! The first day we were together we got 42 otms and 6 lessons. I'm way excited because we are unified and equally yoked and we are just going to plow Miami over! I've already learned a lot for him and have seen some Miracles happening.

The night he got here we had dinner with this really awesome lady that we have never meet. It's a long story to tell but in a round about way, we tracted into her son, Aaron, who I believe I wrote about several weeks ago, and got her interested in feeding us. Her name is Janice and she knows our ward mission leaders wife, Sister Gibson, and the Gibsons son who is now on his mission. He actually was in the MTC the same time that we were. But Janice knew that Elder Gibson was out on a mission and she really liked him, so she wanted to feed us. There are a lot of holes in the whole story but we ended up eating with her and teaching her, all because of these "and it came to passes." It was really a spiritual lesson. It opened her mind to things that she had never thought before and the spirit was there speaking through us. At one point Janice was telling us about an experience that she had one time when she received promptings to do something from the Holy Ghost. When she got done telling us the story I felt propmted to share with her the story of how I was prompted to do something which lead us to eating at her house that night. I told her that one day several weeks ago I was having a troubled day and didn't know where to go and after saying a little prayer I felt prompted to go to a certain street and knock doors. On the third door we knocked on Aaron's door, who is her son and he let us right in and we are now teaching him. And this event, along with other ones lead us to her and the dinner appointment. Man when I was telling that story felt the Spirit so strongly and she even commented on the fact that she felt it. It was so awesome! So now we have a set dinner appointment every Friday with her and her family!

We are going to have three baptisms this week, so we are going to be working hard to get three more dates set and some more solid investigators in our teaching pool. The Lord is definitely blessing us for our hard work and I'm way excited!

Love, Elder David Kelly Conrad

P.S. I just want to give a shout out to my favorite blog stocker and give a plug for Springdale! Woot Woot I miss you and I know that I will be back there some day!

For those interested in Kelly's blog it is http://www.kellysmissionexperience.blogspot.com

Learning Through Adversity!

Well this week has been a good one, I have seen a ton of success and have been taught a lot. This week has also had its down spots, but the rewards outweigh the bad. The message I got form general confrence was, " Wake up people! Live the gospel and everything will be alright!" I loved Elder Hollands talk because he went deeply into the atonement and helped me to learn more of how it was done. I also like Elder Perry's talks as well because he was calling us all out on not doing missionary work! What he said about missionaries being the most underutilized resource of the church is true, because I often feel that way, as I'm sure thousands of other missionaries do as well. Doing missionary work all comes down to our own undersatnding of what we have as members of Christs true church, this is why President Seal and other mission Presidents persist that we read the scriptures daily and gain our testimonies because as we do we begin to understand the importance of the gospel and what it menas to all mankind!

I learnd a ton from conference and have a long list of things that I have to start appling into my life because of the counsel of the prophet and apostles. I know that as I diligently work and apply what they teach that all will be alright and that as I endure I will return back to Him. The reason I know this is true is because the prophets and apostles speak for God and the words that came out of their mouths are direct instruction from on high and that it is the path that I must take to get back to Him!

So I don't know if you can tell by reading this email the intensity that I have, but I'm stinking fired up! I feel like Nephi when he boldly tells the people in plainess the reality of life and the Savior in the Book of Mormon. I have often had questions these past few weeks about my doings here in Miami, questions if what I was doing was in accordence of Gods will, and when I went out with the assistance to the president the Lord answered my questions. What I was doing was good and for the most part I was heading in the right direction, I was helped in a few areas which have really helped in this past week in seeing that everything is going right.

Elder Robinson is being transferred this next Friday and I am staying to be the senior companion to an Elder Goodale who has been out for four and a half months, I'm way excited for it and way nervious at the same time, but with every companion change I get more and more used to the changes and the first shock of the change.

When we were at Heather Irvins house other day we taught her friends Sarah, who is in a difficult spot. We taught Sarah the restoration of the gospel and watched the Restoration DVD. The spirit was so powerful when we watched that I even felt it! It was so awesome to sit there and think of Joseph Smith and that simple question that he took to the Lord in prayer, and the monumental answer that he received and how that single event years ago has affected my life and has brought me out here on a mission. The gospel is so true!!

Love your son
Elder david Kelly Conrad