WEEK 101: WELL DONE MY FAITHFUL SERVANT

  This last week was very busy.  We had a ton to do and a lot of places to go.   We still saw miracles and the Lord provided. 

   On Tuesday we had exchanges.  I was with another American elder.  We worked in our area, it was so awesome!  We had a great day.  He interviewed our candidate for baptism and we were able to find other people to teach.  We even taught this super spiritual lesson in the evening about the plan of salvation.  The person we taught is fire. He asked such good questions, it was great. 

   On Wednesday we taught some recent converts in the morning about the restoration.  It was a good lesson and then we exchanged back to our companions.  The mission nurse called and said we needed to go to the MRC (missionary recovery center) and do some stuff.   That took a lot of time out of our day.  We did that and got everything squared away and got back to our area as fast as possible to visit people.

   On Thursday the whole zone had to go into the mission office to get a flu shot and after that we had exchanges again.  I went to the other area this time.   It was a productive exchange.  I learned new things and met some great people.  There is a tatay over there that works with the missionaries everyday and he is so cool.  I loved talking with him.  He knows the area so well. 

   On Friday we exchanged back.  We did our planning  and helped prepare for the baptism on Saturday.  We were putting water in the font and doing other necessary preparations.  We were also able to visit these long time investigators and the lesson was good.  They really seem to be softening and coming closer to baptism.  The day was very busy but it was good. 

  Saturday was awesome!  We had the baptism in the morning!  We had members come and support and the program went great!!  The candidate was so happy and I was so grateful we got to know him and teach him.   After the baptism, we had the opportunity  to take recent converts to the temple to do baptisms for the dead.  It was so cool to see someone we had taught previously, get baptized, then enter the temple to do baptisms for the dead.   We were able to go in with them.  The temple is amazing and the Spirit is so strong.   When we got home the person that was baptized in the morning worked with us.  He's so fire!

  Sunday was awesome too. We had miracles happen with people coming to church!  It was so exciting.  This area has so much potential!  There are great people here.  We were able to teach some recent converts and then had a lot of places to go, so we went on splits and were able to teach a great new family.  They are a referral of recent converts and the lesson was awesome.  They already committed to come to church and are so interested.  The Spirit was so strong in the lesson.  The whole week was busy and awesome. 

    This may be my last email.  I just want to say that I know this Church is the true Church of Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and called of God.  I know the Book of Mormon is true and if we read it we can find answers to our prayers.  I know Russell M. Nelson is a prophet of God and has been called at this time to guide and help us.  These have really been the best two years!  I have learned so many things.  I have grown closer to my Savior and my faith has been tested and strengthened.  I love missionary work!  I have learned that the Lord is aware of our individual needs and He will always provide. He loves us and wants to help us. The work is true.  I have seen many miracles on my  mission and I know we can all see miracles and tender mercies in our lives.  I hope you all have a wonderful week. 

Elder Snyder

WEEK 100: PEOPLE CAME TO CHURCH WE DIDN'T EXPECT

  Hello everyone!! I hope you had a great week. We had a good one.  An investigator was baptized!!!  It was so awesome. It's great to see another person come unto Christ and see their lives change. 

   Last Tuesday we had zone conference, It was great. I learned a lot. It was actually my very last zone conference for my mission, which was sad, but it was a good one. President Koster and Sister Koster said great things and I learned from the other training's.  When we got home we only had time to teach one person, which was a good lesson. 

   On Wednesday we were able to teach a person we have been trying to teach for a long time. She was just always too busy.  We taught the plan of salvation and it was great. She had so many good questions. I was so happy that she became less busy and we were able to teach her.  We also had a person we are teaching, work with us.  He is awesome.  He is getting baptized this coming Saturday and he wants to come with us as we work.  We then taught another person that is so interested, he is fire.  I love teaching him because he has such sincere questions and is really seeking.  We had a powerful lesson on the Book of Mormon.  He is coming to love the Book of Mormon.  I know that if we will all read it then our faith can be strengthened and we will know what we should do. 

   On Thursday we had district council in the morning and taught a person preparing for baptism in the afternoon. He is so fire. He is so ready to be baptized and is excited.  We were able to find some new people to teach and help teach some less actives to help them come to church on Sunday. 

   On Friday the rain was coming down hard. A storm came through and the rain was heavy.   We were walking and talked to this tatay and then the rain started pouring and he let us come in to hide and we ended up being able to teach him a short lesson.  He was great.  The Lord put us in the right place at the right time. 

   On Saturday was the baptism!!!!  We had many people show up and it was a great service!!  I am so happy for the person that was baptized.  She has shown a lot of faith to be baptized and now her family is complete.  They can prepare to be sealed next year in the temple.   We were also able to teach some really cool people later that day.  Their electricity went out and they only had candles.   This guy is searching so hard for truth and the Book of Mormon has all the answers. The message of the Restoration is awesome. It just makes sense and can give hope to all of us. 

   On Sunday we saw miracles.  We had people come to church that we didn't expect to come.  They had an amazing experience. The Lord always provides, It was so great.  We were able to teach other people and less actives.  The area is progressing and great things are happening. I hope you all keep reading the Book of Mormon and have a great week.

Elder Snyder

WEEK 99: IT'S ALWAYS WORTH IT!

  The time is going by fast.  Another week has flown by.  We saw miracles this last week and found some really great people. Missionary work is amazing!

   On Tuesday we had exchanges.  I was with a great elder, he is awesome.  We had a good day of work.  We even had 2 recent converts work with us.  It was awesome.  We can really see the recent converts progression,  but the best lesson was our last one.  We were teaching a really humble guy.  He is such an honest seeker of truth.  He asks really good and deep questions.  The Spirit was so powerful in the lesson.  He really made good commitments and we are excited for him.  

   On Wednesday we saw miracles.  We were out in the morning and got punted. The Lord still provided. We found 2 part member families and a really interested person.  We went to this person because he was written in the area book.  I had written his name a while back and as I was looking through the area book again and the name popped out to me.  We went back and he was very happy to see us.  In the afternoon we taught a great guy, he's preparing for baptism this month. we taught the word of wisdom and he was living it before he even knew what it was. We got kinda punted the rest of the day but we had a tatay recent convert working with us and even when we're punted he cracks jokes and is happy. 

  On Thursday the mission got washing machines for the apartments for all missionaries.  They're just the simple ones that spin.  No automatic stuff or anything fancy.  We helped the person from the office deliver some of them to missionaries in the zone.   Later that day our recent converts had a referral, it was awesome.  They've been members less than a month and are referring. We taught him and it was pretty good.  We were also able to find other great people. There are so many great people to teach here in the city.  

   On Friday we were able to teach some great people that are preparing for baptism. I am always so humbled and grateful that we found these people. It's great to see the faith they are showing to change their lives and live the commandments.   We taught the guy that I mentioned was written in the area book.  He is awesome.  He asked great questions and listened so intently.  It was a great lesson.   Later that day we went to teach a lesson but we had to go through small floods and heavy rain.  When we got there they had no electricity.  He said he would come to church.  Even though we weren't able to teach it was well worth it. 

   On Saturday we taught another member referral.  It was a great lesson too.   We picked up an investigator and attended a baptism of another area so he could see a baptism.  It was great!    I think he had a great experience.  He then attended the ward activity.   We were able to teach another member referral in the evening.  He was fire too.  He has lots of questions and really wants to find the truth.  It was a great day. 

   On Sunday we had miracles as some investigators came to church.  Some came that we didn't expect to come and it was awesome.  We were able to teach recent converts and found some part members.   We had a meeting with the stake presidency that the missionaries are invited to attend.  It was amazing.  The stake presidency here is so supportive of the missionaries and we were able to discuss great things and give ideas to help further the work.   Our investigator we are preparing for baptism got interviewed and she passed.  Her baptism is this Saturday!! She is the daughter of our recent converts.  I wasn't feeling to good this week. I got sick, but  pushed through.  It's always worth it. 

   I hope you all have a good week. Remember how much God loves you and push through the hard things because it will always be worth it.

Elder Snyder 

WEEK 98: REDIRECTION NOT REJECTION

   Happy 4th of July!!!! I hope you all had a great week and a good holiday. 

   Last Tuesday I had exchanges with another elder. He is a great missionary.  I learned a lot from him. He is a hard worker and knows his purpose.  We had a great day. He is the district leader of another district and their district had a finding activity and so I was there for it.  It was a fun time.  First, we were getting rejected like crazy,  then I said it's redirection not rejection and the very next person we talked to let us in so easy.  We didn't even ask to share a message and they said come in and we were able to share.  I was also able to interview one of their candidates for baptism.  It was so cool. its always so great to see these people and look in their eyes and see the growing testimony.  

   On Wednesday it was the 4th!!! Happy 4th. We just worked as usual and exchanged back.  We were able to teach a great investigator and he accepted a baptismal date. We were pumped and so happy for him.  We then went to teach another investigator.  The people at his house were being crazy and so we taught him in his jeep and it was a great lesson.  We are seeing miracles happen. There are people everywhere who are ready for the Gospel. 

   On Thursday we were able to teach some great people.  We tried to contact some referrals and find some part members.  We got some progress but the addresses were a little sketchy.   We were able to teach someone who is preparing for baptism on July 21. 

   On Friday we had a meeting at the mission home almost the whole day.  We went there early and there was breakfast.  I learned so much from the meeting. I learned things I can improve and ways to help others be better.  The best part about the meeting was that our mission president cooked burgers and had chips and watermelon for the 4th.  Even though it was on the 6th it was a great 4th of July haha. 

   On Saturday the day started out amazing.  I had an extra powerful language study.  I really felt the Spirit as I was reading about Alma and his experience.  It just seemed to apply perfectly to me.  The scriptures are amazing, especially the Book of Mormon.   We were able to visit some less actives and members. There are some inspiring members here. This one particular members house burned down but they are still happy and pushing on.  

  On Sunday we had a miracle happen.  An investigator came to church that we weren't expecting to come.  He had a great time and we were so excited that he came.  We were able to teach other great people.  We had recent converts work with us.  It's a great feeling to see recent converts progressing in the gospel.  The ward is great and very supportive.  We had a great week.  I hope you all have a great week. 

Elder Snyder

WEEK 97: HAVING FAITH, NOT GIVING UP, THE LORD WILL PROVIDE

     This week was a week of miracles.  Many wonderful things happened. Many things turned around and became great. 

   Last Wednesday we had to go the the transfer point and coordinate transfers.  It all went smooth.  The missionaries were able to transfer out safely and the new ones came in good.  We have some great missionaries here and I am excited to work with them.  When we got home we went out to work. We had a member work with us and we got punted all over the place.

   On Thursday we had a cool thing happen.  We were going to an appointment and were supposed to go left but accidently went right.  When we realized the mistake we turned back to go the other way.  We were at the right place at just the right time to talk to a guy that really wants to be taught and is totally prepared by the Lord. It was awesome.   We were also able to get other new investigators. 

   On Friday we helped a member move some stuff, then  went to a nanay and she wasn't on our plan but she now has a new friend that she referred and she was willing to be taught.  We got another new investigator there.   Later we went somewhere that wasn't on the plan because of some stuff that happened, but it was perfect timing to go back to a guy we had talked to and teach him.  It was incredible. The Lord guided the day. 

  On Saturday we taught the awesome recent convert family and he came and worked with us.  Their testimonies are awesome.  I'm  glad I have met them.   We worked hard today and it was good.  The great thing was we went looking for this really great person we talked to.  Where he lives there are no exact addresses.  We had no idea how we would find him.  We just happened to talk to the right people and they knew him and then we ran into his cousin who showed us his house.  I don't think we would have been able to find him if the Lord had not helped us and put those people in our path.  The lesson was great and he has so much potential. 

   On Sunday we had miracles too.  Members brought referrals to church and they are amazing, so interested!   Then another investigator agreed to be baptized.  At the beginning of last week we were having a hard time with the work, but the Lord gave us miracles and we saw so much progression this current week.   It was an awesome week! 

   I hope you all have a great week. Push through the hard times and trust in the Lord and He will provide. There is something good right around the corner. 

Elder Snyder

WEEK 96: THIS WAS MY LAST TRANSFER / STAYING HERE

  This last week was amazing.  We had two baptisms, a husband and wife.  They are so amazing.  Their testimonies are fire and contagious.   It was so amazing to see them get baptized and teach them. they really demonstrated great faith and are already seeing blessings come down from Heaven. 

  Last Tuesday we worked with some members and were able to split.  It  was good because we were able to cover twice as much ground and go to a lot of people.  We were able to find new people and visit current investigators, it was a very effective day. 

  On Wednesday we were able to contact a great former investigator.  They are still super nice and willing to listen. That was a tender mercy.   We also got a referral from a member and talked to a ton of people.  We planted a lot of seeds.  We hope we can go back to all of those people. 

  On Thursday we had exchanges with the assistants in their area.  I was able to go with my old companion elder Okuonghae.  We had a great day.  We worked hard and lots of funny things happened to us.  They have some really funny investigators and some really great ones.  I learned a lot going on exchanges today.

  On Friday we were back in our area and had a tender mercy and were able to find a member we were looking for.  We had been all over and then we just happened to talk to the right person who pointed us in the right direction.   We also taught the family who was getting baptized.  They were so excited and so ready to be baptized. 

  On Saturday it was the baptism!!!!!!!!!!!  It was such a good day.  The couple was so happy and excited and so were we.  The  members were awesome.  They filled the font and helped with the program and a lot of them attended the baptism.  The  people that were baptized really felt the love of the ward.  It was a great service.  I baptized the wife and a member baptized the husband.  One of the best parts of the day was hearing them bear their testimonies after they were baptized.  The Spirit was so strong. 

  On Sunday they were confirmed.  I was able to confirm one of them.  The Spirit was just as strong at the baptism if not stronger.  It was such a happy feeling and they had such a happy welcome into the ward.  Later in the day we were able to find and teach a new investigator who was awesome.  He had many questions and we were able to answer them in a way he understood.   

   Yesterday we found out who is transferring.  I will not be transferring, so I will finish my mission in this area.  Sprint to the end!  lots more to do.  Hope you all have a great week. 

Elder Snyder

WEEK 95: 101 YEARS OLD

We had a good week.  Planted lots of seeds and saw miracles. 

    On Tuesday we did some member work, it was great.  We were able to teach some good people and visited members, as they pointed us towards a lot of good people.   The members are great and super supportive here. 

    On Wednesday we taught some part members and recent converts.  Hopefully it works out, they have real potential.  Towards the end of the lesson the rain started coming down hard. By the time we left there was a very deep flood, but a nice lady let us borrow some rain boots to cross. Filipinos are the best.  We got a return appointment with the lady that lent us rain boots.   We then taught the couple that’s preparing for baptism, they are so fire.  I’m so happy and grateful we found them and have been able to teach them.   The Spirit was so strong.   Despite challenges arising they are pushing on. 

   On Thursday we had zone conference, it was awesome . I learned a lot and felt the Spirit and it was great to be able to see other missionaries.   By the time we got home we didn't have a lot of time to work but it was a great few hours.  We had great success.  We met a guy that approached us and said he wants to be baptized (miracle) and we were able to contact former investigators.  We also visited a nanay that is 101 years old and still comes to church.  Where there is a will there’s a way. 

   On Friday we hit some appointments and taught many lessons.  We reviewed baptismal interview questions with our investigator. 

   On Saturday we taught a new investigator and then we taught a relatively new investigator, seeing some progress with them.  Hopefully they keep progressing.  We even had our investigator that’s going to be baptized this week work with us, it was awesome.  Then we went to his baptismal interview.  He and his wife passed with flying colors.  They shared their testimonies, it was so powerful.  It really inspired me.  Hearing their testimonies and how happy they are makes me so happy and makes everything worth it.  There’s no substitute for it.  Missions are awesome.  

   On  Sunday we had a good day. We taught new investigators, taught recent converts and taught current investigators.  The members are supportive  and are really helping with our investigators.  Of course HAPPY FATHERS DAY.  Shout out to my dad for being awesome.  I hope all the father’s had a wonderful day. 

Have a great week. 

Elder Snyder