Elder Neel: 2/13/23

 

Whooo let the dogs out!?

Spencer Neel <spencer.neel@missionary.org>

Hello my friends and family, what a wonderful week it has been! I hope it has been the same for you all and I want you to know that I love you guys so much! 

This past week has felt like a blur, time goes by way too fast! Jacob 7:26 says it best that time passes as if it were a dream. It really does and that is why we need to cherish it so much! I went on exchanges on Tuesday with one of our Zone Leaders, Elder Briggs and it has been one of the best exchanges I have been on so far. He came to our area and I had my first opportunity to lead out! He doesn't speak Spanish so we were riding solo on this one. We worked the area so hard and got in contact with a ton of people we had never met before. One of them was our new friends Pedro and I will get to him in a second. That night we had a lesson with the Garcia's and we also had never been able to get inside to teach them. They are members but every time we try to set something up they are either not home later or have to reschedule. Elder Briggs and I said a prayer and we knew we were going to teach the Garcia's. Sure enough they answered and I taught my first lesson in Spanish all by myself! Super proud moment right there. It wasn't perfect but it made me so happy knowing I could do it. And also a tender mercy from the Lord for being able to meet with the Garcia's!

Going back to our friend Pedro he is so cool. Elder Briggs and I met him for a bit but he didn't have much time because he was working on something. So later in the week Elder Allphin and I went back and we were able to have a sweet lesson with him about our purpose as missionaries and an overview of what we were going to share with him. He met with missionaries in the past but it had been almost three years since he had seen them. Pedro said he was so grateful to have us back and graciously accepted a Book of Mormon because he had lost his other one in a move. We then talked about how we help people work towards baptism and if he could see this in his future, he said yes!! This was such a cool moment and please pray Pedro continues to have the desire to learn and grow closer to our Savior and work towards baptism!

Yesterday was Super Bowl sunday and let me tell you that has been the biggest thing in Lubbock. You'd think being in Texas everyone would be a Cowboys fan but boy was I wrong. Here in Lubbock everyone loves the Chiefs because of Patrick Mahomes. He is an idol here because he played at Texas Tech and is probably the biggest thing that has come from Tech. Everyone was walking around in Chiefs gear so us and the Hermanas set up a stand at the local Supereconomica and passed out Books of Mormon and pictures of Jesus! It was packed with people doing last second shopping for the game and we just walked around the parking lot talking to people. I have never had a more fun time just talking and loving and getting to know people. The hispanic culture is so nice and everyone respects you. They might not care what you have but they still say hello and give you some good conversation. Overall we were able to pass out a lot of stuff and make a lof of new friends! I am excited for next Sunday when we do our next stand. 

Proverbs 3:5-6,

 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

I know many of you know this scripture but how profound is the message of trusting the Lord with ALL of our heart. Not a little, not most of it, all of it. My friends and family follow this scripture and you will find direction for something you need so much help with in this very moment. As a missionary I can promise blessings for my friends out here but also for you at home. If you follow this scripture and trust in the Lord with everything you've got and acknowledge Him in all things, you will find an answer or direction of something you've been really needing. As a servant of the Lord I can promise you this. I have seen it work in my mission so I know it can be the same for you. I know we have a Heavenly Father and a Savior who listen. It's the most famous primary song but they will lead you, guide you, and walk beside you when you put your trust in them. I love you all so much and know that I love you more than you could ever know. Until next week,

Elder Neel