April 11, 2013....My Last EMAIL!!! 25 Things I will Miss The Most

Well everybody this is my last email on my mission. I have thought about what I wanted to say and how to sum up two years in an email.  I figured I can't but what I can do is let all of you know what I'm going to miss the most about being a Missionary and being in England. This has been the best two years of my life, the hardest and the most rewarding. I have learned a lot about myself and even more about the Gospel.  I have had a lot of time to reflect this week on how much I have changed or if I even have (I've come to the conclusion I have a lot) and what was the purpose of me coming on my mission. I have had success as a missionary I have seen people change their lives by living the Gospel , but I have come to the conclusion that a successful Missionary isn't one who just baptizes , but one who fulfills his purpose and is converted himself and I can say that I have been converted. I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father that cares for each of us and knows us individually and that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of all mankind and through him we can live with Heavenly Father again. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it can change lives.  I know Joseph Smith is a prophet of God,and the prophet of the restoration.  I'm so grateful for his faith and example to help all of us. I believe in miracles, I believe people can change and I know families can be together forever! What a blessing it is to have the Gospel in our lives for it has been the greatest two years sharing it and bringing others to Christ. Through The Atonement I've had a successful mission, Through The Atonement I've changed. :)

 Now here are the 26 things I'm going to miss about England/being a missionary in no particular order!
1. I'm going to miss English roast dinners and roast potatoes and gravy! nom nom nom
2. I'm going to miss custard and English Chocolate... nom nom nom
3. I'm going to miss being called ''Elder''
4. I'm going to miss driving on the right side or being the passenger on the left LOL
5. I'm going to miss English accents :)
6. I'm going to miss wearing a name badge
7. I'm going to miss associating with all the missionaries, and zone conferences
8. I'm going to miss finding people ie. street contacting, knocking, smile boarding
9. I'm going to miss wearing black trousers and white shirt and tie errday, the ''missionary swag''
10. I'm going to miss my daily planner and having a meaningful activity every hour
11. I'm going to miss traveling on double Decker buses and trains !
12. I'm going to miss meeting/teaching people from all over the world
13. I'm going to miss studying the scriptures errday for two hours
14. I'm going to miss having a companion by my side all the time
15. I'm going to miss helping people get back to church and serving them
16. I'm going to miss carrying a Book of Mormon everywhere I go
17. I'm going to miss missionary banter and missionary humour
18. I'm going to miss the English dry sense of humour
19. I'm going to miss telling everyone I meet about the gospel
20. I'm going to miss getting the missionary special treatment everywhere I go LOL
21. I'm going to miss getting up at six thirty although its a habit now I'm sure ill keep doing it
22. I'm going to miss telling families about how they can be together forever
23. I'm going to miss filling out progress/teaching records for investigators
24. I'm going to miss being fed awesome meals from members
25. I'm going to miss eating crazy exotic things, things I'm obliged to eat LOL
26. But above all I'm going to miss representing and serving my Saviour Jesus Christ!

Thank you all for the support you have given me these two years because of you its been the best experience in my life. :) I look forward to seeing you all when i get home, see ya next week!

Elder Queston Armijo

Monday, April 1, 2013....The Plan of Salvation. God has a plan for Uncle Todd

Hey There Everyone,

 

wow this week was really quite good! last Saturday when we did our missionary day with the youth  and one of the companionship's found a really sweet lady knocking called Angie. they were really led to her by the spirit. And this week we were able to teach her with the member who found her and it was such a great teach she is about forty years old or so and really opened up to us about things that have happened to her in her life and we talked about the Atonement and how that can really heal and change us in all ways possible and we introduced her to the Book of Mormon and she was so excited to get that.  We left her with some commitments and then set up a return appointment . it was such a great teach with the spirit really working on her. She told  us midway through the lesson that she felt something, something peaceful and happy , she said she's never felt that before and we explained to her that it was the spirit and that it was telling her that what were teaching her is true! the spirit was so strong and she may have struggled to grasp some things but the spirit was there and she felt that so its okay she knows how it makes her feel! so that was a great experience and a testimony building one! we have had a few people we are teaching but struggled to get a hold of them this week which we will try and do this week! Ive been reading in the new testament this week kinda skim reading and really have found a lot of scriptures on how much our Heavenly Father really does love us and I listened to this talk this week by Brad Wilcox called "His Grace is Sufficient".  I  felt the spirit so strong and I really felt God love for me I know sometimes that I think man I suck , I still fall short , I still make mistakes,  I'm not going progressing at all. Then I look back two years and see where I was and where I am now. I've come along way and Heavenly Father doesn't care where I've BEEN but where I am and where I'm going and that really clicked when I listened to this talk. I think of it with this analogy : parents see their kids everyday so they do not notice how fast their kids grow or the little growth they make but when a relative comes to visit who hasn't seen the kids in a long time they say how big the kids have gotten and how much they have grown , we don't see the little growth we make but Heavenly Father sure does even if its the slightest growth he rejoices. I know that to be true. i also know with the passing of uncle Todd that the plan of salvation is real and that its centered on Jesus Christ. People really wonder where they go after they die what a blessing for us to know where our loved ones go. I know Todd is in a better place and that God has a plan for him, of course we will miss him but we will see him again and that brings me a lot of hope and comfort which is what the plan of salvation is supposed to do. The church is true, i love my mission!!!!!!! love you all god bless
Elder Armijo

 

 

 

hope you guys made it to grandmas safely. please pass on my love to everyone. i was thinking that after i had time to lay and think about Todd's death i sat there and got a spiritual confirmation that the church is true when i first heard he had passed the first thing i thought about was Alma 40 when it talks about where someone goes after they pass away and what a blessing it is to have to  Book of Mormon because without it we wouldn't know what happens to loved ones after they pass away the Bible doesn't tell us as the Book of Mormon does. I know Todd is in a better place i know god has a plan for him and that we need to lean on Christ at this time if everyone wants to get through it.

  11 Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.
 12 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.]
i love you mum! we will get through this!

It shows how simple the Gospel is.........March 23,2013

Well this week has been so good! I mean I've been trying hard to not think about like going home and stuff and I always wondered why missionaries who were close to going home talked about it and now I know, but it hasn't hindered the work at all It's made it that much better! We did a lot of finding this week and we had some great success as well! It's been really cold lately so there aren't many people out on the streets so we go knocking.Let me tell ya when  it's cloudy or rainy or snowy the English society shuts completely down ha so that can make it difficult for us! but we had a great week. We found this man from Ireland and his two boys like two weeks ago and we couldn't get a hold of them at all which was kinda sad but we had a Yeovil Ward Missionary day and well basically we had a fake mission president over us and the youth and they made companionship's and then we had a mini MTC where the youth was taught by various leaders how to teach the plan of salvation and then we were meant to go off and do missionary work with our youth companion.  What they did was set up appointments from referrals from the members and so most of us had teaches.My companion was a sweet 14 year old kid who I had met once before and we taught the plan of salvation to a part member family and it was amazing and he did so well at teaching it too! The spirit was so strong in the teach and we were both able to feel that this lady needed to join the church so we taught to her needs.  We then tried to stop by a few people and they weren't in but I had the prompting to stop by the Irish man and his two boys and we did.  It was a far walk and when we got there they were outside in the car so I knocked on the window and said hello and he invited us in.  My companion was nervous lol cause we didn't plan on teaching again but we sat down,  had a great chat about the mans life and then taught him the plan of salvation again and my 14 yr old companion did awesome! The man felt the spirit and accepted to be baptized as well as his two sons and they are committed to coming to church this next week! it was a miracle and the missionary day was so awesome we got tons of referrals from it and I cant wait to go out and teach more people the gospel! it was just a big testimony builder for me in terms of seeing a 14 year old teach the gospel , it shows how simple the Gospel is but how difficult WE make it (Alma 37 , last five versus in the chapter) I love this gospel and I loved seeing the youth give up a Saturday to go be a missionary for the day, I know I wouldn't have done it! the Church is true! love you all! 24 days!!!!
Elder Armijo

WARD MISSIONARY DAY!!!

Elder Mecham (profile view)  Elder Holmes and I

My Companion for the day!

Elder Mecham and the other Elders in my District

Elder Holmes and Jr. Companion

Hey there everybody!!!
Things this past week have been going seriously so well! we had such a great week! and had a few miracles as well! We were struggling to get people to church the past transfer and after this week us and the rest of the district made a goal that we would try and invite everyone we could to church and do all we could to get them there and I can say we tried our best.  We talked to everyone and we focused on finding a lot around the chapel to even try chapel tours along with the invitation so we did that and we saw the benefits of talking to everyone! We keep finding new investigators as we are diligent in finding and in our prayers! Something cool happened last night.  We got a call from the E.Q president who said he had a non member family that asked for a blessing and he wanted us to do them.  He said it would mean more so we went to the home of a filipino family and as soon as I walked in I could feel the spirit and so we talked with them and got to know them a little and about their situation and then we explained how a blessing works and we gave the husband and the wife each a blessing and they were so humble and receptive to everything.  We all felt the spirit SO strong, it was one of the most spirit filled visits of my mission and then we departed and we will be going back to see them at the end of this week! It was a miracle and I'm grateful that the members trust us enough to bring us to their friends and situations. AMAZING it was.
Also, we were on exchanges and Elder Curran and I did a lot of street finding.  We both felt that we needed to find someone before we went back to exchange so we tried and had a lot of great conversations and got a lot of potentials but we knew we needed someone else. We then found this man and his two kids that moved down from Ireland and we had such a good convo.  I asked the man if he believed in God and his ten year old boy answered ''Well Yes!!'' so we got talking and he told us about his situation and were going back to see them tomorrow! It was a miracle for they really were prepared.  I felt the spirit so strong on several occasions this past week which has pushed me to work even harder my last four weeks! I love my mission and I love the gospel so much I really am grateful for all Heavenly Father has blessed me with and the time I've had to be out here! I've also had a few questions this week about some things and as I have pondered and sought after the answers I have found them in the scriptures.  It's just been such a great week and I'm so happy , never been more happier then I have on my mission! not to mention i got to skype with my amazing family i love you all so much!! and Elder Mecham is BOSS!  4 weekssssss!!!!!!!!!!!love ya!
--Elder Armijo--

"The Shelf"

http://youtu.be/HjMcq8ROuYQ

March 4, 2013

THE FLAT

NEW SWEATSHIRT

 VISIT TO "THE BATTLE GROUND"

 LAST TIME IN "THE CAR"

 ZONE CONFERENCE/ELDERS SOON TO GO HOME....MY BUDS!

THEY CALL THIS HAIRCUT "SHELVING"

 DID A LITTLE COOKING OF POTATOES AND MUSHROOMS

 MORE BATTLEFIELD PICS

 ELDER MECHAM AND I

February 18,2013 Counting down.....7 weeks!

Hello Family,

Wow this past week has been really really rewarding! Elder Mecham and myself saw a lot of miracles! We did lots of finding as well and we saw the fruits of our labours! On Wednesday we randomly got a text and it was a guy called Aidan and he said that he and his friends wanted to meet up to have a chat so we met them in a coffee shop in town and it was basically a Q&A haha but it was sweet they were about our age so at first we thought oh great more punk kids trying to make fun of us but nah they were really cool and we had great chats about all aspects of the gospel! So that was pretty sweet as well! And lets see we also got to go on exchanges with the zone leaders and that was good always learn something from them and it's good to see it work as we apply it!

 Elder Mecham and I are getting on so well were having so much fun! Since we are losing our car we're making the best use of it that we can going all over our area to visit people and stuff and it's fun to throw on MOTAB and jam as we drive! aww the life as a missionary I will miss it for sure!
Mecham and I cut each others hair as well.  We gotta look fly for my last zone conference! We decided on a hair style that I've been doing for a while now called Shelving.   I'm sure you can guess what it looks like! haha were trying to start a trend in the mission!

 We are working with some less actives as well.  I really enjoy doing that as I feel I can connect with those people so that's been going good.  Some of them have been coming out to church and stuff and keeping the commitments we leave them so that is all going well! We have seen this crazy lady called ...well, I won't say her name and she's not to crazy except she can talk the hind legs off a donkey... haha i'ts hard for us to get an actual discussion in but we try our best and we got to help her get some groceries as she is not able to so that was cool!

 The work is moving forward here and although it seems slow the Lord is blessing us for sure! I love this gospel and I love my Saviour Jesus Christ! I  love sharing my testimony with people and seeing the power I receive as I study the scriptures! The Book Of Mormon is the best! I love it so much and I love seeing Heavenly Father answer my prayers and bless us with the things we NEED.  I  know he knows me and my struggles and I'm grateful for Jesus Christ and how through him I can be picked up when I fall short! The church is true! 7 more weeks!! love you all!

Elder Armijo

January 28,2013 Sonia's Baptism and the Snow!

 Sonia was taught by the Sister Missionaries and requested that I baptize her.  It was so sweet!

 Sonia was so sweet ! It was solid and as she was walking down in the font I grabbed her hand to help her cause she cant walk very well...It  was touching and she gave me the biggest hug ever after!!!!

 THE SNOW!!!

 Elder Ormsby and I.  He just got transerred so I will get another companion.

January 14th, 2013......My 21st Birthday!!

Hey there everybody! I'd just like to thank all of you for the birthday wishes! Most of you know that on a mission sometimes there are times when you get lonely and to hear from your family really makes the difference. I mean I don't feel lonely lol I'm just saying that hearing from you all really made my day so I thought it would be easier to send a big email to everyone seeing as I don't have much time on the computer and I'm sure all of you understand and know how grateful I am for the emails!

 Time has gone by so fast!  21 years flew by just like that!  I can't imagine what it will be like when I get to some of your ages... hahaha just kidding!:) you know when I think about what most 21 years olds are doing right now or what they would do on their 21st it really makes me grateful for the gospel in my life and not only that, but the testimony that I now have cause who knows I could possibly be like the rest of the 21 years olds if I had not come on my mission and I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father has given me this opportunity to serve him and my Saviour Jesus Christ!
I am grateful for all of your support since I have been out here and the love you have shown me and my family especially. I think that knowing I had such great family back home to take care of my mum and stuff really made it easy for me to focus and know that they would be alright! I just thank you all for your examples and whether you know it or not the impact you had on me! I'm sure the same will happen for Ammon and the rest of the littlen's:) hope everyone is doing great Know that I pray for all of you every night! this has been the best 2 years of my life(22 months) but still. The church is true!  I know it without a doubt in my mind! :) I love you all!!! thank you !
elder armijo
1/14/2013

Happy New Year!!! 2013

On Jan 7, 2013 2:08 PM, "Queston Armijo" <queston.armijo@myldsmail.net> wrote:

Happy new year!!!!

Hey there everybody these past few weeks have been rough . Christmas time and New years no one seems like they want to listen to our message and it's been tough to get a hold of all the people that we have been teaching but nevertheless we have been blessed with miracles! We are teaching a young man called Connor right now he was found by contacting on the street and we met up with him and he loved our message. We have been meeting with him for a couple of weeks and his faith has just grown stronger! His parents are against the church and they have thrown him out countless times but that hasn't phased him in the slightest! We at first had counselled him to make things right with his parents and so we put off his date a few weeks but this past week we met with him and he said he knows its true and despite what his parents think he is going to be baptised.  There is no question that they will throw him out again but this past Saturday he passed his baptismal interview and will be baptised on the 12th! 

We are also teaching a family, the husband is a less active member and his wife is not a member they are the nicest people ever! They have so many good questions and we love going over there to answer them and talk about the plan of salvation with them. Unfortunately he has a lot of health problems so they are always at the hospital but we have great plans for them and know they will be a solid family in the church! 

We have a few other people who we are working with.  I'll tell you about a young man called Tim. He is 24 and he had back surgery so he was inactive for a while but has started coming back since I first got here and he is so funny and loves the gospel so much! He received his patriarchal blessing this past Sunday and he is preparing for a mission! he's been going out with us to street contact and knock so that's been awesome! we are  working hard and miracles are happening here! 

I just want to say how much I love the book of Mormon! I sometimes slack on my studies and I don't know what to read but the Lord always brings me back to the book of Mormon and I know its because that's the keystone to my testimony and I know that it's true. I have found how my answers to my questions can be answered and how it makes me want to be more like Christ! I love the book of Mormon so much! I really have felt its power in my life and especially on my mission! 

This church is true!

Elder Armijo
1/7/2013

New Years bowling 2013

bowling with sis missionaries and family from the ward