March 30, 2011

How do you pronounce Worcester???

Elder Horton and I

I love you guys so much and hope that everything is going well and that you guys are just truly enjoying being alive on God's fine earth that he has created.

Thanks to the spirit and my fine doctor, I have tried to do a few new things this past week that totally worked and have me very happy and excited. First, he challenged me to not to be super stressed about occupying all time of the day doing missionary work and just go with the flow. I think this challenge has me thinking more about the the love of the people and the reason that I I am truly here on a mission is to help people come to Christ through the restored gospel of our church. The second thing is to just try and fake like I like my companion and just talk and give him more compliments. This has changed my head in a little different way, because I think us not getting along was in my head. I feel like my prayers have been answered and we had the most successful week numbers wise on my mission and in other aspects as well. It was truly amazing. Everyone is wondering what we are doing in Worcester because it has never done this well before. I just say that if you do everything the book says then it will work. Preach my Gospel is inspired and brings success. The things that the Mission President says are inspired and so are the authorities that advise us. It has transformed the work in Worcester. It has been like this my whole mission. I have been part of a change in an area twice now and it is a true gift from God.

There are a few good stories this week. We got a referral from a friend. He was there when we taught the investigator and he wants to be baptized. All the success that comes in missionary work is through the members and their referrals. It is so cool. Our friend trusts me and wants advice on everything in life. The gospel of Jesus Christ answers all questions. The gospel of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon makes us happy when we live what it says. That is missionary work...help friends and people that you love find out the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ.

The other sweet experience that I had this week was with a little girl named Rosie that lives with a member who gives us the opportunity to come in and help her. She has been coming to church and loves the Book of Mormon. We take a member with us to teach her and he is such a fantastic teacher. I have learned so much from him. He is awesome and we have created a bond with her. We found out she lost her father and right away she has a father figure. This girl has found comfort in the Book of Mormon as she studies it with the member that she lives with. Now her mother is interested, too. So cool. By the way she is only eleven. She brings the sweetest little spirit to the lessons that I have taught her. I have felt some of the strongest impression from the spirit that God loves her.

Good week! Love you all! Peace and Blessings.

Love, Elder Phillips

March 22, 2011

Random statue in Worchester!

Painting Service Project

It was a good week. We did lots and lots and lots of service and I had a cool St. Patrick's Day. It was really fun. We got to over to someone's house that is from England and she cooked us corn beef and cabbage. It was really good. I stuck mostly to the cabbage because the way she cooked it reminded me of mom's cabbage rolls. So I stayed healthy and ate lots of cabbage. It was delicious. Then on Sunday, someone gave us a ton of corn beef and cabbage to take home with us. Sooooo, once again we learn that on the holidays most people drink....mormons eat! ha ha!! We still worked, but the in the city they shut missionary work down because it is sooo bad. The bars are open in the morning and there are lots of crazy drunkards! But, it was safe to work in Worcester.

Last Friday, we painted a house. It was really fun. We went with the other elders in Worcester. It was our service project, but we feel bad for the other elders because all they do is tract! So, we had them come with us and it was fun. I painted the trim while the other elders painted the room. We are going to help her again in two weeks. I spilled paint and made a little mess. She got after me and told me that I better clean it up! She likes to tease me! It was fun to be treated like that...it was like having a mom! ha ha! I have not had one that gets after me for some time! ha ha! maybe never!! ha ha! Yeah, life was good then!

It was a normal week teaching and finding lots of new baptismal dates through the members. I am telling you that it is how you do missionary work...through the members! I was in Bishop's Ward Council meeting and the Bishop kept thanking us for helping all the less active members! He said that what we are doing is really helping their ward grow! It was great!

Just want everyone to know that it snowed yesterday and we are expecting another storm tomorrow. I am getting sick of it! Anyways all is good in the Worcester hood! Life is good here. Just trying to help people get salvation and the only way is to get baptized. So, still looking for investigators to set a date...lots of people ready, but they all need to come to church! Come on! They know it is true, just come!!!

Peace and blessings.

Elder Phillips

March 15, 2011

Our special help at the Bishops Storehouse.

Well, what a great week! I received the most presents I have ever had in my mission, by far!

Still fighting to get those baptisms. There are lots of people ready...4-5 that are ready and just waiting for something like an interview or something. We are just trying to help the people as best we can, so that is good. We are continuing to get better at missionary work and I am really happy because me and my companion are becoming better friends. I have really struggled with that this transfer. I am changing so that I can learn from him or learn because of him because I know that I am not perfect either.

All is going well and the work is good. We are busy and teaching a lot. I don't get it because the English elders that work in north Worcester don't teach at all and spend all their time tracting. I feel kinda bad for the other elders, because we don't usually have to tract at all.

Yesterday for p-day, I went to the restaurant depot with my friend Rob from the Boylston Deli. It was really fun. I enjoyed it. Rob always likes me do help him with stuff. His wife, Sister Ciunci...I call her mom, I love her and she always makes us really good food. It is awesome. It was good to focus on service on p-day. When I think we have been slacking off during the week, I can say that we did lots of service on p-day, so I am good!

This was a really good weekend. It was fun to talk to Sister Umina about how she talked to Mom and Dad. That made me happy that she talked to you guys! I have a question about love. Did you feel that your love changed or that you could comprehend God's love for us better when you had kids? The unconditional love you have for your child is the closet thing that we can compare to how Father in Heaven feels towards us.

I really had some good experiences this week. We ran into someone that we gave a Book of Mormon to about a month ago. We started talking about the Book of Mormon and the things that we can do to get closer to God. We hadn't even taught her, but she already had a testimony of the Book of Mormon and the church. That is why the church is different. We have another testament of Christ and I know it is true! I feel that I am in Worcester for a reason and others do to. They tell me that my testimony and how I deliver the gospel is how they need to hear it. In Alma 24 it tells us that the Lord has many different ways to bring to pass salvation. It is all his plan...so good!

Peace and Blessings. Elder Phillips

H A P P Y - H U M P - D A Y ! ! !

YEAH! We've made it 1/2 way!!!

March 8, 2011

Checking the breakers!

Freezing with the power off!

Well, Hello! How is everyone going this fine week? I am doing great! Thanks for writing and keeping in touch. We went to a fireside by Elder Christopherson. The message was to make sure that the work you are doing is going somewhere. It really gave me something to think about. I am working really hard, but am I really helping people come unto Christ? It is really interesting....

Well, honestly, I have been kinda stressed out with the companion. We had a good talk and now we are on the same page. We are trying to make corrections with the spirit. In D & C 121:42 it says to do it lovingly when we correct and that is good.

Anyway, what a week. We came home Friday night and we had no power. So we go and flip the breaker and do all that stuff, but nothing. We call the guy in charge of apartments. Then we call the landlord and he asks if we are paying our bills. Anyway...we have been living without paying the electricity for 7 months so they shut us off! The guy at the the mission home forgot to pay our bills! We went and slept with the zone leaders for the weekend and had it all fixed yesterday! Yeah! Having fun! It was really cold when we didn't have power! We bundled up and put on sweats and we were warm, but it was so cold in the house in the morning! It was an adventure!

One night last week, we had three appointments and each appointment made us a dessert just because we were coming over. People just want to feed us. There is a line between polite and unhealthy and we crossed it! I feel like I have to eat the food people make us because they really struggle to make ends meet. They cook us the most expensive stuff and tell us that they want to treat us like Jesus Christ. I feel like I am going to stuff my face until I die because I want these members to feel good about helping us!

We have tons of things to do and we are doing them. We have four baptisms that will happen in this ward, but when is the hard part. We are just working to find some others that need the gospel in their lives.

Yesterday was fun. I went to the Boylston Deli and hung out with Rob again. They are so much like Dad and Mom, so I like to spend time with them. They are cool! I just went and hung out with Rob and did some errands with him. We talked about things and he puts a real world perspective on things because I know I am weird. It makes me happy. He is so funny and just like dad and his wife is like my mom...so spunky! Ha Ha! It is just like being with my best friends. Their kids wish they would have spent more time with their family when they were younger. I thought...I don't know if that was possible for me! I am glad that I spent lots of time with my family. I love them always! Always did!

Peace and Blessings! Keep it real!

Love, Elder Phillips.

March 2, 2011

Sacrament Meeting at a member's home.

What in the world? Another week!

It was a really cool night yesterday. This lady had us over for dinner and cooked us pupusas! They are my favorite things in the entire world. For real...they are delicious. I fasted all day to prepare because I love pupusas so much! I had eight! ha ha! Everyone makes fun of me because I want to loose weight! The diet is not going so good! Hopefully we can get some bikes as soon as it warms up! I would really love it and it would be so fun. Anyway, we went to this lady's house and she just treats us like kings. She has the best testimony ever and is so poor and works so hard. She said, "I am just grateful that I can serve the Lord's servants." People here think we are so close to Jesus Christ and I guess we are. I should think more like that and think about what I was called to do!

My good buddy, Elder Carrillo is in my zone now and the new zone leader. He was my best friend in Chelsea when I was there. Anyways, we will get lots of time together now. I am really excited. He was telling me about the progress in Chelsea and how things are going with the people that I taught while I was there. There was this mom that we worked with and she wanted nothing to do with the church. Her kids were members and got her to sit in a few times on lessons when we were reactivating the kids. She is getting baptized! It is fun to see the work continue even though I am not there.

Last Friday, it was super icy and rainy and the roads were way bad. It was crazy, but we drove anyway. I guess the District Leader tried to call and tell us not to go out, but apparently we were already out and working. Don't worry, the Lord rewarded us and we had one of the most successful teaching weeks on my mission. Pretty cool!

Sunday, we had a freak snow storm. Church was cancelled and we got invited to go and do a sacrament meeting at someone's house. It was really cool because they had invited an investigator to the meeting. She is really close to baptism and it was so cool. The ward members actually do missionary work. It is really great to involve the ward and ward members in missionary work. There is a reason we have this plan in place. It is because it works!

Peace and Blessings!