Miracles

March 30, 2015

Dear Family,

Many miracles have been occuring. In the last couple of weeks we have found 5 families! (Dad and Mom) I wish that I had time to share everything but I dont. I will share what I can. I feel so blessed and grateful for everyday and for the experiences we are having. A man named Carmelo came to Church the first Sunday after teaching him and then his wife came yesterday with him. They have a baptism date for the 2nd of May because they need to get married first. A less active member Sister Alfaro is now active and her daughter Laura was baptised on Saturday. I sent the picture on mom's email. A 19 yr old man named Jorge was prepared from the first day we met him. He read the pamphlet of the Restoration and prayed to know if the message is true. The third lesson with him he explained to us that he recieved an answer and that he knows this is the truth. He came with us to the baptism on Saturday. A boy named Edwin laminated the pamphlet of the Restoration and the Book of Mormon and was teaching his friends in school that we ¨the mormons¨(he already considers himself a mormon even though he's not baptised yet) believe that God is our loving Heavenly Father as he showed the first page of the pamphlet to them. He is so awesome. Great things are happening and great things are coming. I wish that I could write a lot more! ahhhh why does time go by so fast! 

I love you all more than words can describe. I know that the Church is true. I know that Jesus lives and that if we become like Him we will be happy. Have a super week!

Love Elder Conover

update!

March 23, 2015

Hey Family!

Sadly Elder Guzman had changes. But guess who my new companion is!? Elder Monterrosa! Elder Guzman's trainer! We were all together in Sonaguera. It's crazy how we have all come together afterwards! He is a super good missionary. I am learning a lot and we have a great relationship. Today we played our hearts out in the morning playing soccer with the zone. It was hot, tiring, and AWESOME! :) I love this work. The family who lives right in front of us are so awesome. It is special to have a family here in Honduras as well as the greatest family of all YOU in Highland. I love you all so much. I testify that Jesus Christ lives. I have felt our Heavenly Father's love. Have a great week!

Love Elder Conover

From Elder Conover

March 16, 2015

Dear family,

Thank you for all of your emails. I am so glad to hear you are all doing so well. Things are going great here. Obviously there are always small challenges but an attitude of grattitude always helps. This wednesday there are transfers. We dont think we will be changed but who knows. The multi mission meeting was incredible! Elder Anderson, Bishop Davies, Elder Maynes, and Elder Ochoa were all there! It was very special. The focus of Elder Anderson's counsel was about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That we personally try to understand better the Atonement and help others use the Atonement in their lives so that they have a change of heart. We shook their hands and Elder Anderson was walking in between the aisles. It was cool. Oh and we were on the first row! He asked what scriptures do we know in the BOM about the Atonement. I raised my hand and he came and stood right in front of me and I answered Alma 7. It was really special to be with him. I could feel the love he has for the Lord and for all people. He testified very powerfully of Christ and promised great blessings. 

We are teaching a man named Arturo. He told us he is waking up at 4 in the morning to read the Book of Mormon. He came to Church on Sunday and has a baptism date for the 28th of this month. We have seen him change greatly. It is so special to see the gospel change peoples lives. This last week we found a ton more new investigators. It was really good.

Today we played soccer in the morning and then made lunch with some members. It was a lot of fun. Thank you for everything! I love you all so much. 

Love Elder Conover

Hearing the Lord's servants

March 9, 2015

Hi family!

I am very short on time, sorry I can't write more. The conference with Elder Duncan was incredible. We learned so many things and this work is changing dramatically for the better. I felt the spirit so strong being with him on Wednesday. We also had a leadership meeting with him on Friday. He talked mostly about us needing to know our sheep. It was very good. In the meeting on Saturday we talked a lot about always having the vision and representing Jesus Christ always. We talked about working better with the members and much much more. It really was an eye opening meeting. This Saturday we have the multi mission meeting with Elder Anderson of the 12 Apostles. We are so excited to hear his words! Elder Guzman and I are doing good. We are trying to improve everyday and keep this work moving forward in our area and help the other missionaries in our zone. I love the gospel. I love reading the Book of Mormon everyday and learing new things. We gave talks on Sunday about the law of the fast. It was good! I learned a lot preparing the talk. I know Jesus Christ lives. I know with even more surety now than ever that He leads this Church through his chosen leaders. Have a great week!

Love Elder Conover

Onward ever onward!

March 2, 2015

Hello dear family! 

Thank you for all of your wonderful and supportive emails. Sadly today I am not going to have time to respond to each one of you individually because we had to take a Preach my Gospel test and I am running out of time to email. I love you all so much. I appreciate your love more than you can imagine. 

Everything is going great here! I will admit that some days are very frustrating. Sometimes it's hard to work as we should with the members but we are getting better! We are also running very low on sleep because of our calling. As you all very well know sleep is so important. :) I know that trials and temptations are part of the great test we are going through here on Earth. NEVER GIVING UP is so important. I know that through Jesus Christ we can overcome anything if we do our part. 

We are teaching a man named Arturo. He is a very good man and has great desires to know the truth. He came for the third time to church on Sunday! He also wants to go with the ward to the temple on the 13th! He still is waiting for an answer from our Heavenly Father to know if the Book of Mormon is true. 

We are also teaching a less active Mom named Sister Maldonado and her 10 yr old non member daughter Laura. Laura has a baptism goal for the 14th of this month. We are making sure that her mom is active before she is baptised. They are doing great reading the Book of Mormon and they are making great changes in their lives! It is awesome. 

We are also teaching 16 yr old Alberto. He is the brother of a recient convert. We still need to teach him a lot but he has come to church twice now. The goal is that he can be baptised this month. 

Finally we were able to have a lesson with Fanny's Dad. It was very spiritual. His name is Mario. He is taking his time and really analyzing everything. Fanny's parents have both noted the change in Fanny and her way of living. Her mom Rosa shared with us that before Fanny used to get angry when she was asked to do something but now that she is a member of the Church she volunteered to take her little brother to school without even being asked. That was really special to hear. We want so badly to help her parents follow her example and be baptised so that they can have an eternal family.

Please keep these people in your prayers. I love you all so much. I can't believe how time is flying. I hope that I can become more like Jesus Christ these months that I have left. Have the best week ever! Remember who is King! :)

Love Elder Conover

P.S I will send pictures next week of our adventures at the beach today! 

P.P.S This Wednesday we are having a conference with Elder Duncan from the area presidency! On the 14th Elder Anderson from the quorum of the 12 Apostles is coming to give a talk with us and the other mission! :) We are pumped! 

SPS Life

February 23, 2015

Hola familia! 

Thank you all for your support and prayers. Today we played some great soccer on a turf field with the zone. It was a lot of fun! Elder Guzman is quite the hilarious companion. We are having a good time.

We had a baptism service on Saturday. It went great! Many members came to support Jessica and Fanny. They were so prepared. I am truly amazed by their desire and dedication to follow Jesus Christ. They will be great members! I really love the Book of Mormon. We were crammed into and riding in one of the small buses called rapiditos and a man asked me if we were protestants. I told him what church we represent and immediately could explain to him about the BOM because I had it in my hand. He was very interested. He asked me after I told him ¨Jesus came here to the Americas?¨. It was a great experience. We had to quickly jump off the bus right in the middle of our conversation but I quickly told him I wanted to give him the book and handed it to him. I wish I could have gotten information to visit him but those buses are called rapiditos for a reason. haha I am reading an attribute of Jesus Christ out of PMG every night. I love this gospel. It truly is perfect. I know Jesus Christ lives and leads this Church. Have an awesome week family! I love you all so much. 

Happy late Valentines day

February 16, 2015

Hello family! 

Thank you for all your wonderful emails, videos and pictures. They are all so special! I love you all so much.

Happy late valentines day. I'm so happy to hear that you all had a great day. Apart from being sick today things have been going very well here. I feel like this blessing to be a leader is forming me and helping me become more of the person Heavenly Father wants me to be. A less active member named Gaby told us that she is ready to make her life right again and she told us she deeply desires to feel clean again. We told her that through repentance and then taking the sacrament again she can feel completely clean. She came to church the next day and had an interview with the bishop. She looks so happy! Her 10 yr old daughter also accepted a baptism date for the 14th of March. When ever we leave the house we each hold a copy of the BOM in our hand. President Klein has created a new vision for 2015. Always having a Book of Mormon in the hand is part of the plan. Giving out way more copies of the Book of Mormon is great. The BOM is such a powerful instrument in converting and strengthening ourselves and others. There are so many prophecies in the Book of Mormon about the coming forth of the BOM in our days as a sign before the second coming of Jesus Christ and the gathering of Israel. ( ch. heading 3 Nephi 29 and 3 nephi 21, 1 nephi ch. 13 etc.)  I feel greatly honored and pleased to be a part of these great prophecies. I am going to attach a copy of the vision for 2015 so you can see what we are doing. Mom should be able to translate it. :) 

Fanny and Jessica are doing good. They are both preparing to be baptised this Saturday. We met a man named Ignacio the other day. He is from Peru. He had many questions and is very interested in reading the Book of Mormon. I feel like he is going to progress. 

I love you all so much and hope that you have the best week ever! I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that His Atonement is real and that through repentance we can change to be more like Him. I am so grateful to be able to express myself and talk with Heavenly Father through prayer. I am so grateful for the sacrament and the power it has if we take it worthily and with a desire to be better the following week. Thank you for your support and prayers. 

Love Elder Conover

The update

February 9, 2015

Dear loving family,

Ready for the news... yes I was transferred. It was sad to leave beautiful Ceiba and all the wonderful people there. Tuesday night we had a very spiritual lesson with the Reyes family and I have great hope for them. They will continue to progress. My greatest desire is that they will one day enter the Temple together as a family and be sealed for all eternity. Wednesday morning we took a bus to Progreso and from there to my area. Now we don't have change meetings. You are not going to believe who my new companion is. Elder Guzman! We always joked about being companions someday but now we really are! We are already teaching very unified because we know each other so good. We are working hard and having a great time! We are the zone leaders here in San Pedro Sula (zona Satelite). I love it here and am really enjoying being a missionary. Sometimes a profound feeling of joy and gratitude come over me. The transportation here is super crazy but fun. There are these small buses called rapiditos that we take quite a bit and we are always jumping from one bus to another when we have to go to other areas. I am very grateful to be with Elder Guzman because if I wasn't with someone who knew how this all works there is no way I would be able to make myself around. Now I don't have to just learn one area I need to learn the whole zone because we do interviews and go on divisions with all the other 30 missionaries in our zone. Tomorrow we have interviews with Pres. Klein. As he does the interviews we are going to be training one by one each companionship in our zone the vision of the mission. The work is being accelerated greatly here in centro america and in all the World. The leaders are putting great emphasis in auto sufficiency temporal and spiritual. It is awesome! The last zone leader here, Elder Lamb, is super great. I hope that I can keep the fire going. They found two investigators Fanny and Yesica that we are preparing for baptism on the 28th. Fanny is 17 and Yesica is 23. They are very prepared and have lots of stewardship from the Ward. We are very happy about that. We are also super happy with the missionaries in our zone. There were a total of 11 confirmations on Sunday! The house where we live is really cool also. There is a huge water font outside. I do my hair, brush my teeth, etc. all outside! It feels like camping! Where the font is it's always shady also. I love it! The members here are super nice. Almost every day we have diferent members who give us lunch and dinner. They are so kind. 

Thank you for all of your kind emails. I love hearing from each one of you. I love you so much and hope that every day our love for each other and Heavenly Father will continue to grow. I love this gospel. Becoming like Jesus Christ is our life goal. Keep enduring and loving the journey. 

Love Elder Conover

Transfer week!

February 2, 2015

Hey family!

This week we have transfers. Tomorrow we find out who leaves. Today we went to the beach with a box of pizza and banana pop and sat on the dock watching the waves. It was very relaxing. I don't have much to update. Sister Augilar (David's mom) came to Church on Sunday! That was great. I know that we belong to the true Church of Jesus Christ. This is His Church. I am so grateful for the blessing to be a part of His kingdom. Sometimes I feel it's too good to be true. I know that we must find all the elect from the four corners of the Earth and bring them Home with us. I love you all so much! Have another wonderful week. 

Love Elder Conover

Today from Elder Conover

January 26, 2015

Hey family!

Thank you for your great emails! I love you all so much. This last week went really well. Saturday was awesome! Luis Torres, and Lilian, Axel, and Eda (Garcia Pagoada) were baptised! Like I have told you Luis lost both of his legs so what we did is we put a metal chair in the water and Aaron Leiva (ward missionary in our area that we asked to baptise Luis) and I lifted him out of his wheel chair and placed him in the chair then Aaron said the words. After with the help of Elder Lessard we lifted him up, my companion pulled the chair from under him and we lowered him into the water then raised him up and sat him back on the chair. It went really well. I thought it was going to be harder but in the water he was as light as a feather. It was so happy! During the baptism service after the baptisms he bore his testimony. He said that these days are the happiest days of his life ¨today my baptism, tomorrow the confirmation, and monday my birthday!¨ Today he turned 53 yrs old. In tears he shared how grateful he is to be completely clean starting a new year of his life. His two daughters one of which is a member started crying also. At the end of his testimony he raised his fists in the air and said Amen as him and many others were crying. It was very special. I felt the spirit very strong. It was definetely one of the very most rewarding moments of my entire mission. Seeing someone so grateful for the new life the gospel of Jesus Christ has given. Many members in the Ward have grown very close to Luis. He is part of the family now! As Lilian was being interviewed for her baptism by Elder Rojche she shared desires to serve a mission! She is 19 yrs old. I hope so badly that she can! That would be so awesome! I wish you could see these people and talk with them. I can't explain in words how special it is. 

I hope you all have a fantastic week! I miss you and love you very much. Please keep the Reyes family in your prayers as well as Alejandro. Sorry, I wish that I could keep sharing more! Time to go to work! 

Love Elder Conover

HONDURAS!

January 19, 2015

Dear family,

I need to be very brief today because I am out of time. Last week went really well. My companion and I are healthy and we are continuing to improve everyday. This Saturday we should have 4 baptisms! Luis Torres the man who lost both his legs and Lilian, Axel, and Edeliana three of the kids in the Garcia Paguada family! We are so happy! They too are all so excited for their baptism. Please pray for them. Today we went to this really cool place out in the jungley mountains. We went on a hike up to this really beautiful waterfall. There was also a really cool bridge over a river at the start of the hike. All the missionaries in the Ceiba went. It was fun hanging out with Elder Measles. The Reyes family still have not felt an answer to their prayers. They continue to read and go to Church. I have been praying so hard for them and they mean so much to not only me but so many members in the Ward. Please pray that they can receive an answer to their prayers. We met this really cool guy named Alejandro. Please remind me to tell you more about him next week. 

I love you all so much! Thank you for being so supportive. This work truly is marvelous. I finished the Book of Mormon last Tuesday morning. It was a great experience reading the last pages and praying afterwards. I know the BOM is true. It has strengthened my testimony so much in the Savior and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet and that we belong to the true Church of Jesus Christ. Keep going strong! 

Love Elder Conover

Lovin Honduras

January 12, 2015

Dear Family,

Thank you for all of your kind emails. Today a member in our area called us and asked us to come help her move out of her house so now I don't have as much time as normal but I will write what I can. 

I am sad to hear that our kitty Molly died. Just the other day I was telling someone we have 2 cats. I always tell people when they ask that everyone in our family has blue eyes, even the cats. :) I'm going to miss him and I'm sure Daisy is going to miss him so much. I'm sure we will be able to see him again. 

Things are going great here! Yesterday we had a great turn up at Church. 6 people from the Reyes family came. Lilian and Edeliana (Gracia Paguada family) also came and Lilian invited her boyfriend Osman who also came. A man named Leo who we recently have been teaching came and Luis Torres. Lilian and Edeliana are preparing to be baptised on the 24th of this month and they are very excited. Luis Torres is also preparing for the 24th. When I have more time I am going to have to tell you about his story but I think I did tell you that he is in a wheel chair and doesn't have his legs. He is so excited about everything he is learning. He loves the Church and always wants to learn as much as he can. He is AWESOME! 

The gym has been really great! Elder Lessard and I have been doing Crossfits everyday in the morning. We also run a good ways to get there. This gym has practically everything. Olympic bars, dumbells, pullup bar, cycling bikes, etc. It is a blast. With the jump rope you gave me it's perfect! Today we did thrusters and a bunch of other stuff. It was tough but felt so good. I am very sore. 

I am reading in Moroni chapter 7 in El Libro de Mormón. My plan is to finish reading it tonight. I love the Book of Mormon so much. It is jam packed with inspiration and guidance for each one of us individually. I know that the book comes from God because it strengthens and helps each individual person with their personal trials. I am learning so much out here. I love the depth and power of the gospel. It is so simple but at the same time so profound. I love seeing people learn and grow. I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that He and our Heavenly Father know and love each one of us. There is no power greater than the power of God. Trust in Him. Love Him. When we serve others we literally are serving our Heavenly Father by answering the prayers He has heard. I love you all so much. Have another great week! Keep going strong we´re apart of the greatest team in the World!

Love Elder Conover

Heavenly Father has a plan for each one of His children

Jan 5, 2015

Dear family,

You guys are the best. I love your emails so much. Thank you for being so incredibly kind and supportive. I am so happy about our family and feel that we have so much potential and blessings waiting for us as we continue to live the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. I personally am going to try to be a better servant of Jesus Christ. I know that as we give our hearts to Heavenly Father He will make more out of us than we can ever make out of ourselves alone. 

This week has been a good one. On new years eve I woke up at 12am for like 2 minutes but then fell back asleep because I was so tired. The mission is a very tiring but awesome thing. It honestly is one of my very favorite feelings in the World laying down to go to bed after a good day of work. Your feet are sore and it just feels so good! 

On Sunday sister Reyes and her daughter Keyry came to Church. They have been coming every week. They also continue to read the Book of Mormon. So far they still have not accepted the invitation to be baptised. I know they will make this decision when they are ready. Heavenly Father has a plan for each one of His children. Three of the kids in the Garcia Paguada family have come three Sundays in a row. They are progressing so much. Axel who is 14 yrs old Sunday night went visiting with us because he asked us if he could. I asked him why he wanted to and he told me ¨because I want to learn more¨. Their whole family is so awesome. They have a baptism date for the 24th of this month. Brother Luis Torres (the man in the wheel chair) also came to church. Sister Thompson a member in our area picked him up in her car. He is doing super good also. He always tells us he wants more time when we teach him because he wants to learn more so bad. He reads everything we give him and watched 5 church videos let him borrow. He is also preparing to be baptised on the 24th. 

I had a great time fasting on Sunday. I truly felt that my spirit was strengthened. My companion and I fasted and are praying to find more families who are prepared to receive the restored gospel. I want to find families with a Dad, and a Mom willing to listen. I want to help people have eternal families. For the rest of my mission this is my main goal. Find and teach families. It won't be easy but I know that the Lord will prepare the way. 

I love you all so much and desire happiness in each one of your lives. Have a fantastic week! Give it all you got! :)

Love Elder Conover

Feliz ano nuevo!

December 29, 2014

Dear loving family,

Hola! Thank you for the wonderful time together on Chrstmas. I loved seing each one of you. Thank you so much for the package also. I love everything that you sent. Thank you for your kind cards. What an awesome idea sending the HLJ rings! I am going to give one to each of our recient converts. The candy is delicious. I love the ties and shirt as well. I have been listening to the music you sent as I'm writing. It is great! Tell Aunt Jenny and her family thank you for the creative present they sent. So cool. Thank you for the photos also. I love them. Thanks for everything! I am so grateful for each one of you. I'm guessing the card I sent still hasnt got there. I'm sorry, it was my fault I sent it too late. 

On Friday night we had a Ward Christmas party. It was a lot of fun. The Reyes, Augilar, and Garcia Paguada families came. I am so happy to be teaching these familes. They are so special. With the Garcia Paguada family Saturtday night we watched The Testaments and felt a great spirit with them. We still haven't been able to talk with their Dad much but the kids are progressing a lot. Please pray for the Reyes family that they will receive an answer to their prayers and be willing to obey the commandments. Please pray for David's mom Sister Augilar that she will join us at Church. 

Great things are happening. The Ward is about to split. We will be working in the branch when it splits. We have lots of work to do! :) I was able to find a good pair of shoes today! They are Dockers. Super comfortable. They were 112 dollars (2240 lempiras) kind of expensive but I think they are really good. I am wearing them and they feel great! I'm very happy I was able to find them. Tell Grandma and Grandpa on both sides and Aunt Hilarie thank you for the money they sent. I'm not sure if all the money was in my account though because I was only able to take out 1600 lempiras from the ATM. A nice Elder lent me some money so I could buy them today. I will pay him back as soon as possible. If you could put in some more money before monday that would be great. Thank you so much! 

I love you all so much. Thank you for your prayers and faith. Please pray that we can find more families ready to hear the restored gospel. One of my favorite scriptures I read this week is 3 Nephi 7:17-19. I know that we can do miracles by the faith we have in Jesus Christ. As priesthood holders we have the power of God. By our faith and purity we can do miracles. I know Heavenly Father loves you and me. 

Love Elder Conover

My Echos and Machete.

Feliz Navidad!

December 22, 2014

Feliz Navidad Familia!

I love you all so much and so excited to talk with you on Thursday, Christmas day! Things have been going great here! I have been reading a lot in the Book of Mormon lately. I am reading in Helaman. It is very good. I have found many verses that help me personally and also those who we teach. This is the reason I love the Book of Mormon so much. It helps everyone come closer to Christ. 

 I love the second chapter of Luke verse 8-11.

¨And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Its the same message for us today, We need not fear. Our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ was born, lived a perfect life for us to follow, atoned for our sins, knows our pains and sufferings so that he can help us, and now leads His Church as a resurrected being in these latter days through His prophet Thomas S. Monson. We need not fear! Of this I testify.

I love you all so much!

Love Elder Conover

see you soon! 11:00 am Honduras time Christmas day!