June 8, 2015- Recovering

 Hola familia y amigos!

    

    Well this week was a little bit better than last week because I was actually able to do a lot more missionary work even though it was not as much as I would have liked to do. But on the bright side I am recovering quickly and will hopefully be back to normal capacity by the end of this week. We had some really good lessons this week with investigators and less actives and I feel that my ability in Spanish has grown so much in just under 6 months which is a really cool and crazy thing but I know that it is not me but the Lord that is helping me to learn so quickly so that He can use me as a more effective instrument. And know finally my first picture in the mission field sorry I am really bad at taking pictures I will try and be better at that. The Elder on the right is my companion and then we live with the other two Elders. 

     I am grateful to be out here serving the Lord. Thank you all for all your support love and prayers. I know that my Savior lives, I know that the Book of Mormon is true and is the word of God I know that the Gods kingdom was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored with the proper priesthood authority to perform necessary ordinances of Salvation. I know that with this power to act in Gods name that families can be together forever. I know that through prayer we can receive comfort and direction and that as we continue to follow Gods commandments and Repent we can live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ which is only possible through the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ which is for everyone no matter who you are or where you have been or where you are going through his Atonement we can be made perfect as we strive our best everyday to live his Commandments. Hope you all have a great week and invite someone to learn about the Restored Gospel because I know that as you do so you will be blessed and you will feel the Love of the Savior more in your life.

Love-

Elder Espinoza

June 1, 2015 - Sick and No Work Makes Elder Espinoza a Dull Boy

Hey everyone not much to report this week considering that I was sick for most of the week and was not able to do any missionary work. The reason I was sick was because I got an infection in my right leg right underneath the skin. What I had they call Cellulitis which can give people flu like symptoms, like muscle aches, headaches, shivers which I had all of. It looked pretty gross but don't worry I will not give you a visual but I am still healing from that and hopefully I will be able to get back to my normal self this week. Hope you all have a great week

         I know that this church is true and that God listens to all of our prayers I know that my Savior lives and that the Book of Mormon is true and I am so glad that I am out here serving the Savior.

Love-

Elder Espinoza

May 25, 2015 - #I Pads

 How was everyone's week? Mine has been fantastic probably one of the
busiest weeks of my mission. I learned a lot and had a lot of help
from the Lord which is a sign of a good week. We had a great miracle
this week not only did we have 5 investigators at church but also one
of our investigators was given an assignment! Her name is O. and she
is basically a member but the problem is is that she is not married so
she started to feel useless at church and stopped coming for a little
while. But yesterday we talked about giving her an assignment and that
was an answer to her prayer. Sorry there is not more that I can say
other than that but this week was great and I know that without the
help of the Lord it would not have been.
   I know that this gospel is true and that as we follow the
commandments and live as best as we can that we will be blessed. Have
a great week and love you all.
Love-
Elder Espinoza

Sent from my iPad

May 18, 2015 -Over 100 Days in the Mission!

Hey everyone how's it going? Life in Lawrence is still awesome and I love the people here. The greatest miracle that I saw this week was that L. husband J. and their kids came to church even though she was not able to come because of work. He is on Fire! He is showing great progress and I think he has felt the Spirit and the love that Heavenly Father has for him. Thanks to everyone who has been praying for them and I know that God does answer our prayers if we are diligent in following his commandments.

   I know that this Gospel can bless lives because I have seen it bless mine and the lives of those who follow the commandments. The scriptures gives us guidance and answer our prayers and I know that as we follow the teachings of Living and ancient prophets we can live a happier life than we could if we try to live by ourselves without the help of our Creator. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that as we apply the Atonement in our life we can have the happiness and peace in this life that the Lord wants to bless us all with. A scripture to think about that is found in the Book of Mormon that talks about how the scriptures can help us is in 2 Nephi 32:3 "Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do."  As we read the scriptures and study them we will know what we need to do and the spirit will be able to guide us more in this life. Hope you all have a great week and seek for the inspiration of the spirit in your life more fully. 

Love-

Elder Espinoza

May 11, 2015 - Zone Interviews & Joseph Memorial

Hey Family and Friends. Not much to report this week other that we had interviews with President which was great and we found out that we will probably be getting I-Pads really soon! Also on Saturday we went to The Joseph Smith memorial which is a really cool place where people can learn about his younger life in more detail and throughout his life as well as his ancestry and all sorts of cool things. I would recommend going there if you are ever in Vermont it is super pretty up there. Also it was really hot over here in Lawrence. It got into the 90s yesterday and it is supposed to be really hot and humid on top of that so that is going to be great! I love Lawrence and just being able to see how it can be 30 a  month ago and now its close to 100.

      I know that this opportunity that I have to serve the Lord is probably the greatest thing I have done in my life and has helped me come to the knowledge that; I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. I know that Book of Mormon can change lives, I know that Thomas S. Monson is our prophet here and the earth today, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the kingdom of God here on the earth today. And if you don't know that for yourself you can find that these things are true by reading the Book of Mormon and asking if it is true and if you do act upon that feeling because it can change your life for the better. Hope you all have a great week.

Love-

Elder Espinoza 

May 4, 2015 - Franklin + 4 Invited to Learn

This week was great we were able to get a lot of things done. First off we were able to invite 104 people to learn about the Restored Gospel which was a great accomplishment for us (Hence the subject of my email). Also we were able to have some really good lessons with our investigators. We had a great lesson with W this week who said that he will prepare for baptism so he has a great desire to come unto Christ more in his life. Also we had an awesome Church Tour with L and her husband J who said that whenever he has work off on Sundays that he is going to try and come to Church,so please be praying for J.

        As well this week we had a great lesson with a recent convert named A. who is super great and loves the church. Elder Herring and I had a lesson with her about Temples and when she found out that she does not have to wait to go she got super excited. It  is awesome to see when someone is super excited about the Gospel because that helps me to want and spread that same excitement to everyone. 

         Other than that just a normal week here in Lawrence, Massachusetts. With the weather getting better everyday I am starting to understand what summer will be here in Lawrence which is lots of loud Hispanic music and tons of Parties and Barbecues. Hope you all have a great week bring others unto Christ in anyway that you can. And I know that the Lord answers our prayers as long as we ask with sincerity of heart and real intent He will manifest the truth of it unto us.

Love-

Elder Espinoza 

April 27, 2015- Transfer Week

 This week we had Transfers and I received my follow up trainer Elder Herring he is really great and I have learned a lot from him already and its been less than a week. They sort of white washed the area because my trainer knew where everything was in the area and I didn't really pay as much attention as I should have but that's okay because we basically get to start off new. Investigators are slowly progressing they just need to come to church so if everyone could pray for Lidia and Wilson that would be awesome!

       On Saturday there was a great community service project that all of the Elders in Lawrence were able to be apart of. Basically we picked up the streets of trash (which there is a lot of) and it was great because quite a bit of the members went and one of our investigators came out as well. It was a great way to get the Church's name out there into the community of Lawrence more because surprisingly not a lot of people in Lawrence know about the Church. Then on Sunday we had a really great regional stake conference where Elder Neil L. Anderson and Elder Robert D. Hales spoke to all of North Eastern America. It was a really great broadcast and I gained some great things from watching it.

         I hope you all have a great week and try and share the Gospel with people. I know that this Gospel can change lives. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and that through him and his Atonement we are able to receive great joy and happiness in this life. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it is the Word of God. And I can promise anyone who reads it will find the greatest comfort and joy in this life and know three things; firstly that Christ is the Savior of the whole world, Secondly that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God and that we have a modern day Prophet today President Thomas S. Monson, and Lastly that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only true Church here on the Earth today that holds the proper authority and keys of Salvation. Also that this Church contains the Fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

 Love-

Elder Espinoza