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! 

Baptism Joys

December 15, 2014

Hey family!

The work is on fire here. My companion's name is Elder Marquezado. He is from Peru! It is so cool to have companions from so many different places. 2 from California, Nicuragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Bolivia, and now Peru! He is a great missionary. We are getting along very good. He is trying to get used to a lot of things. He says that here is very different from Peru. For starters he doesn't like beans... uh oh, we eat beans at least once a day if not 2 or 3 times. haha He´s a really awesome, and humble person. He is also very shy during the lessons so I have been doing a lot of the talking. We are practicing together and working on being more unified. He is also very dedicated to learning English. We have been having good language studies. He is the 3rd missionary in his family. I am very excited for the work we are doing together. 

On Thursday night we had a lesson with Marjorie. We asked her how she felt about her baptism this Saturday. She told us that she wasn't sure, that she wanted to but something was telling her she shouldn't do it. We explained to her that Satan always trys to stop us from doing what is right. We told her that she is completely free to choose whether to be baptised or not but if she does get baptised she will be blessed. She thought about it and we just sat there waiting for her response. She said yes, yes I will be baptised. It was so happy to hear her make the right choice. Agency is a very spcial thing. I know that our Heavenly Father is very happy when we choose the right even though we are given always the wrong and the right choices. 

Gabriela and Marjorie were both baptised on Saturday. The other Elders also had a baptism! All three bore powerful testimonies after being baptised. Sister F___ (Marjorie) said that even though she has been baptised in other Churches she feels like this baptism was real and that she is going to have a real change in her life. I felt the spirit so strong when she said this. Sister S____ (Gabriela) was baptised with a bag around her arm because of a motorcyle accident she had. She has so much faith. I am amazed at how absolutely willing she is to give her life to Heavenly Father and obey His commandments. She is a great example to me.

The Reyes family has been out of town but we are going to visit them tomorrow. David just left for EFY yesterday. The Garcia Paguada family are still very receptive. Two of the daughters came to Church on Sunday. Sadly we haven't been able to teach another lesson with the Dad. Right now we are trying to find new investigators and then focusing on those who are willing to learn and change (the sheep, like Pres. Klein says). Jesus said that His sheep will hear His voice and follow Him. There are many people who are not willing to change or that only want to listen but not act (the mules, like Pres. Klein says) these people may be prepared sometime in the future but we don´t have time to try and make them change right now. My goal right now is find the sheep, teach the sheep, and baptise the sheep. 

I love you all so much and wish that I could write lots more. I am so excited to be able to Skype soon! Yes I will find a computer. You are all in my prayers. Keep being so faithful. Although I feel like I have many weaknesses, I am happy beacause I know the truth and I know who can make me strong. Jesus Christ.

Love Elder Conover