Rollin

Hey guys!

This week went really well! We had our ward conference this weekend so the whole week we had a bunch of activities in the chapel and it was so much fun. We were able to bring a ton of investigators to the activities and it helped a bunch because they were able to get to know the chapel and spend time with the members.

Well Frank got baptized this week! It was such a neat baptismal service. he was really nervous but he held in there and after the baptism in the bathroom when we were changing he just kind of stared at himself in the mirror just smiling, he was really happy and feeling the spirit and then randomly he turns around and then says to me... "do we need to mop this water up?" haha.

 The best part is my other convert francisco gave a talk in the service about baptism, and the fact that these two families got married on the same day, it was really special. Francisco and Victoria are doing really well!

Frank has finally taken a big step which will help his family and more than anything sandy, his wife (she is more than 4 months pregnant now)!

I can honestly say that what it says in Jacob 1 19 is true.

And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day.

These couple months have been so great and the Lord truly blesses us when we lose ourselves in the work and are diligent at all times.

Love you all, thank you so much for the support! and have a great week!

elder nathan russell walton

The Lord Blesses Us

This was so special and one of the more spiritual weeks I have had in the mission.

On Wednesday we had a multimission conference with Elder Anderson from the quorum of the 12 apostoles. It is so amazing to be in the prescence of a true living and special witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. He shared something with us, that I have been trying to explain to others my whole mission, and I finally got backed up. He spoke on TRULY helping these people gain a testimony of the Atonement and the Book of Mormon, basically he said that there is not point of baptizing someone if they are going to continue in the church... that is why we must always teach with the spirit and truly help them learn, BEFORE they get baptized. I have always been one to find those that TRULY are going to continue in the gospel, and not just baptize whoever, if we dont teach with the Spirit, we are not teaching in Gods way.

On Saturday Familia Solis got married! So amazing! These people have been investigating the church for a long time, but marriage has kept them from being baptized. They finally made the decision and they will be baptized soon:)

Francisco who was baptized about a month ago has been leaving with us to appointments a lot lately, on Saturday is was so neat to hear him teach an investigator about the Restoration and testify of the first vision. He has learned the way we teach, and he is doing the same. It is such a blessing every time he leaves with us, him and his wife Victoria are doing well!

Now you may ask, and Dad, you did ask "How are Frank and Sandy"? Well Frank has his baptismal interview yesterday, and he will be baptized this saturday! I am so excited, the extra month of teaching and him waiting has definietly been worth it because his testimony is so much stronger now.

This week we found an older lady named Aurora and her daughter Lilian, they go to a evangelical church but they are really interested in the message we share and they went to church with us yesterday and stayed for all 3 hours. They LOVED it, the Lord is truly blessing us and our area. Along with these two sisters, 8 other investigators went to church with us yesterday. I am loving these last couple months of the mission because I am seeing so many fruits in the work and I feel like the Lord is helping me reach my potential as a missionary.

I feel like I could write all day because so much more happened this week, but this is all I can share. I love you all, I know and testify that this is the True Church. I know that people can change, and when they do it, they are blessd immesely.

Love elder nathan russell walton

21 and Young

I honestly feel like i am still starting my mission, the fact that i hit 21 months this weeks literally doesnt mean anything. It just means I get to keep working in the vineyard of the Lord:)

So we have seen some crazy miracles this week. We are going to have a wedding on the 21st for familia Solis, they are eternal investigators that finally are willing to get married. The mother and her daughter are going to either be baptized this sunday or on the 28th. PLEASE pray for them, they are such a great family and have been waiting for this moment for years. The Lord and His spirit are truly softening their hearts, but I know that there are going to be obstacles this week.

This week we did lots of splits. I got to stay here on Wednesday with Elder Linford from my group! He is a great missionary and we started in zona Jalapa together and now we are going to finish in the zone together... at the end of the night we ordered pizza, two larges for the price of one. BUT the oven broke that cooks the larges, so they gave us 4 mediums for the price of one large. BLESSINGS haha i will attach the picture (ignore the trash in the pic, we were doing a deep clean that morning but didnt finish)

We found a nice lady on Saturday and she went to church with us yesterday. Her name is Marla and she is from Nicaragua... i wish the guatemalans were as receptive as the nicaraguans;) haha but she is great and we are going to work with her and her family.

I am super happy and work is going great. The zone is doing well and we are seeing so many blessings. I dont regret serving a mission at all, and i am going to go home with no regrets. I am happy with the way that i have been able to serve and I know that The Lord has helped me grow so much... I feel like He has allowed me to get closer to my potential.

I love being direct with investigators and making them realize the consequences of their decisions. " nefi 2 : 26-29 helps them realize the importance of choosing the Lords path, and avoiding the world. At the start of my mission is was hard for me to be direct with the people, but then i realized that the scriptures can be direct for me! Now I feel like no matter what I say, the spirit will testify to the people, even if what i say may come across as sharp or harsh, our purpose is to call people to repentance, we are going to be friends with everyone becuase many harden their hearts.

I know that this church is true, i love you all, have an amazing week!

elder nathan russell walton

ps elder aroche from guate came and worked with us for the day. He was both of our companion, and he finished in december.

Dug a Hole

So this did not start off so well.... first thing that happened, our shower head broke so i have been showering with cold water and it is miserable...

well theres my complaining for the day! haha

When I say we dug a hole, I mean a big hole. Our week started off so slow.... My new comp is elder Tamayo from Houston Texas. He is a great mission and was in the CCM with Elder Chase Walton. I wanted to start off the week strong with him, but for some reason we couldnt manage to teach many lessons... it was so frustrating.

On Thrusday night we were 15 lessons behind to reach our goal... basically it was nearly impossible to meet our goal if we kept having days like the first 4. I can testify, in this email, that when we make covenants with the Lord that we will do our part, He does His. We managed to teach 16 lessons before the week ended, and we had 8 investigators, 3 families in church yesterday. Such a miracle, I dont know how to describe how grateful I am. The Lord has blessed me with many great companions and I know that I am going to enjoy my last 3 months with Elder Tamayo, we will have success in all aspects:) (we even started leaving in the morning to run)! haha

We should have a couple baptisms in the end of this month. Rosita and Suli are still progressing but they couldnt go to church yesterday because sulis daughter got really sick. I know that in this life there are always roadblocks, but sometimes i think is so funny that Satan tries so hard, even though he know that he is going to lose.

Frank and Sandy are starting to progress in the gospel again after a few slow weeks. Hopefully Frank gets baptized this month.

The work is moving onward ever onward and our zone is so great! we got so many good missionaries, I feel like the Lord is giving us all the means we need in order to truly magnify our callings as missioinaries.

I love you all lots, I will attach a pic of my new comp and I, we just took it and it isnt the best... hopefully i can send some more next week!

love elder nathan russell walton

Alma 5:62

And Another Bites the Dust

Elder Rocha is going home this week... I am going to get a new companion tomorrow and I am really excited! Our zone has a lot of missionaries who are going to new areas, so itll be exciting this change getting to work with more missionaries!

This week was really slow but we tried our best. Elder Rocha worked as hard as he could for his last week, and the Lord definitely blessed us. Victoria was baptized yesterday, and her husband Francisco baptized her! It was such a neat experience, and this family truly has accepted and lived the gospel. I am so grateful that we were able to find and teach them, the ward is super excited because they hadnt seen converts as great as these guys for a long time! I love this family so much, and I know that they are going to continue strong in the gospel.

Francisco has been leaving with us a lot to go visit our investigators and he has helped us a ton with two ladies we are teaching, Rosita and her daughter Suli. They are so amazing, they went to church yesterday and loved it, the best part is when they showed up Francisco and his wife were there waiting for them with a bench saved where they could sit! These two sisters are preparing to be baptized on the 21st of this month, please pray for them!:)

On Saturday I got a random call from the missionary who replaced my in Jerusalen... he thanked me for leaving so many prepared people there... he finishes his mission this week and he just wanted to let me know that my converts are doing great there. They took Carlos Galco (hno from the wheelchair) to the temple to do baptisms and he loved it and truly was touched by the spirit. He said he wants to be as prepared as possible so that he can enter when he completes a year to receive his endowments.

Victor and Patricia are doing great as well... this elder told me that they go every week and are a great family. They are going to start taking classes at the end of march so that they can prepare to enter in the temple and be sealed as an eternal family in December!

Things are going great and I am so happy, hope you are all well. Say hi to everyone in the ward for me and the other friends you see.

Love, elder nathan russell walton