HOMECOMING

Aunt Susan and Aunt Kathleen

Aaron and Ali and Anya

Jack & Lucas love Uncle Aaron!

Aaron and his parents.

Friends and companion from his mission.

There is nothing better than FAMILY!

Aaron's Homecoming was given on March 25, 2012. He spoke about being diligent in following the guidance of the Lord. He related several stories from his mission about how he and his companion diligently followed the promptings of Lord. His examples showed that working hard and persevering through trials and frustrations was rewarded by people accepting the gospel and being baptized.

Thanks to everyone who came and supported Aaron by attending his homecoming! We were so happy to see the family and friends that attended!

ELDER PHILLIPS IS HOME!

Standing in front of his new TRUCK!

Welcome Home Elder Phillips!

Elder Phillips with his grandparents.

Elder Phillips with Ali and Jack

Elder Phillips with the parents

Dad got the second hug!

Elder Phillips and the Neidigs

Mom got the first hug!

Aaron arrived home on March 9, 2012. This was a day that we had been looking forward to for 2 years! We had a count-down going from 100 days on. Everyone that would see us would always ask how many more days? We were always excited to tell anyone the number of days left.

It was a very emotional reunion between Aaron and his family. He saw his mom first and immediately dropped his back-back and ran to her and gave her a huge bear hug. Then he moved on to his dad, grandparents and sister.

We are so grateful for the safe return of Aaron and for the wonderful experience that he had serving the people in the Massachusetts Boston Mission.

HOMECOMING INFORMATION!

You are invited to attend Elder Aaron Phillips' homecoming. The information is listed below:

March 25, 2012

10:45 am

6710 South 2522 East

Salt Lake City, UT 84121

Please join us afterwards for lunch to celebrate his return home.

6660 S. Aqua Vista Cove (2885 East)

March 7, 2012

Our most recent baptism!

Just dropping a note to say that I am good. We had a baptism last week. I will tell you about it later. I am in the mall and want to enjoy my last p-day! I will see you in 2 days! I love you. Well, Peace out!

Elder Phillips

February 27, 2012

Wow! I am just loving life and doing what we need to do. I am loving my life here but ready to start a new chapter. I am trying to prepare spiritually so that I will be able to take care of everything that I can before I leave.

We have had many miracles to finish my mission. We had another fantastic week with mission highs and records in the area for teaching. We have great investigators that are progressing quickly. We have a baptism date set for them on Sunday. It is going to be a really great week!

I gave my farewell talk and I bawled! I am not excited to leave this great place because of the tears that will be spilt by all the people, including me. I talked about the changes that I have seen on my mission. I told the miracle stories that make the whole mission worth it. I have to write a final letter to the mission president that includes a summary of my mission, my favorite things, my best day, the people that I taught and my testimony. It has been awesome to reflect on what I have done. I have been thinking about my successes and the heart breaks. I am still thinking of ways that I can get better. During my talk, I committed to working hard till the last day. The changes that have come into my life because of the gospel are awesome.

We have 5 investigators that are progressing towards baptism. Elder Morris will get to harvest all this great work. I am happy that I could help him and I pray that he will continue to do the work here. The people recognize the change in the area and the branch, which is great! I am not sure why I am so attached to the people here, but I can tell you that the best friendships are made doing spiritual things. Teaching, helping and serving others builds good lasting relationships. One of these relationships is with Elder Morris. He is one of my favorite companions. I love him so much and we have helped each other grow. He has gotten so much better! If you can remember the last time we gave talks in church, he spoke for three minutes and I had to fill the remaining 35 minutes! This time we split the time 50/50. He did so great and he is doing so well with his Spanish. Everyone is so impressed with him...but I knew he could do it! He is going to be the best missionary ever! We are doing our best to pass the baton. There is so much to do this week and all I want to do is work, but no one wants me to. They all just want me to chill and hang out with them. But, I love the work and I will continue. I love my mission. I love it with all my heart! See you all soon!

Peace and blessings and have a magical week!

Elder Phillips

February 22, 2012

Hello! We couldn't email on Monday because of President's Day and because we were so busy it was nuts! We had the opportunity to go to the temple, but we were too busy. We are working to get things done here. We are very lucky. We have 2 baptisms that are serious and that should happen before I go home...so we will see. We had so much success last week. We taught over the amount that the President expects from us. Again, I will say that I will not be coasting to the end of my mission, there is just no way this is going to happen. Elder Morris and I just love the mission more than anything.

We also had a good week at church because we had investigators come to church. It was very fulfilling. Then one of my good buddies that goes out with us almost every day got the priesthood this week! We are so excited for him. He has overcome so much and gives us full credit for helping him. I love him so much. He is changing his life. He is the first in his family to be a priesthood holder. It is so awesome! Everyone is so happy for him. We have a goal that before I leave that the missionaries won't have to help bless the sacrament anymore. We are hoping for enough priesthood holders that they will not need us. We are getting more and more priesthood holders and the branch continues to grow! I just never really imagined how well my mission would end. God really is blessing me with the gift of results and of the spirit. I just feel spoiled for all the things that he has blessed me with.

This week, I also finished the exchanges with all the missionaries in my district. It is good to have finished that early in the transfer. Because we finished early, we will have more time to work and get down to business. I am also giving my farewell talk here this week which is strange that everything is winding down. There is a scripture in D & C 123:12-14 that describes me. It talks about wasting in the service of the Lord. I love it! It is so cool to thing about all the people that we are teaching and to see the great things that are happening. It is hard to see people go through so many trials in life. I know that I have had such a fantastic life. It has been so nice, and I am not going to lie, mostly just easy and beautiful. I look back on the trials that I have had and they are nothing in compared to what I see daily here. I will give more details another day.

I love my mission and I love you all. Peace and Blessings. Have a Magical Day!

Elder Phillips

February 13, 2012

P-day Project!                                                    

Look how warm it is this winter!

Coast Guard Academy                                              

My week was good and busy with my District Leader responsibilities.  I have been doing exchanges since transfer week.  I have not been able to do exchanges for a while because I was training a new missionary.  Elder Morris' training is officially over and so I am back attending to my responsibilities as the District Leader.  I should have them finished up this week.  I am doing my best to push the missionaries and help them to get better.  Most of us have been together for so long that we are in our comfort zone.  A coach once told me that if you are not getting better then you are getting worse, so we are focusing on improving as missionaries.  I am focusing on improving all aspects of my life...as a companion, leader and friend.


We also had a Zone Conference last week and continue to work with our investigators.  Everything is kinda the same with the investigators.  I am trying to get them out of their comfort zone and move towards baptism.  There are no sure baptisms scheduled right now, but we have some on track.  I got some fantastic news that someone that I had been working with in Worcester, that had a baptism date schedule and it didn't work out, is getting baptized this week.  That was a little treat that I was so happy to hear about.


The highlight of my week was going to dinner at the Coast Guard Academy with one of our investigators.  He is awesome.  He and his friends that are members invited us to go eat with them on campus and to show us around the campus a little bit.  It was really pretty.  We had burgers and stuff.  It was pretty cool, I am not going to lie!  Even though he is Hispanic and speaks Spanish...he goes to the English ward with his friends.  I am fine with it and happy that I get a small part of helping him.  He seems like a good friend.


I am trying to stay focused which is hard because everyone, and I mean everyone from home, friends on the mission and friends in the branch keep asking me how much time I have left on my mission.  I think it is the Lord's way of preparing me to return home, otherwise it would be really hard to leave here.


Peace and Blessings.


Love,
Elder Phillips

February 6, 2012

This week was really, really good! As you know, last week we set a goal to teach 20 in one week. We knew this might be our last opportunity to reach this goal because of all the activities coming up. We worked very diligently and it was worth it because we reached our goal! The branch said that they have noticed our work. We have been working really closely with the branch teaching them to focus on the things that matter most. We have also been working closely with the kids and teaching them the things in the Strength of Youth pamphlet. Things are really different in Connecticut than Utah and we are really trying to be a positive influence.

We should have a couple of baptisms in a few weeks if all goes according to plan. One is almost for sure. It is awesome. This man has turned into one of my best friends. We had a lesson that was one of the most spiritual experiences ever. We talked about trials and experiences and how we over come them. It was the most spiritual and simple lesson ever. We just talked about how to get over trials with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was just incredible.

This week has been really busy. I have been going on a lot of exchanges with my position as the District Leader. What happens in an exchange, is that I have a missionary come and observe what we do in my area and how I run my area. We are trying to get these done before things get too crazy with all the changes that are happening with me! Ha Ha! We had good experiences. One missionary came with me and he loved how we ran around all day long and didn't take breaks. It was a good experience for him. Then we also had an exchange in my area, but the English speaking portion of my area. They don't have too many investigators, so I got to walk around and contact everyone and knock on a good amount of doors. This does not happen too often in my area so it was nice and refreshing to do some good hard missionary work.

We had to sit down and have a good apartment inventory because we had some rough times with missionaries getting upset. This is just part of the mission. We are all great now and working to improve.

It seems like a lot of my friends are finishing their missions. It seems weird. I am still not "trunky" and don't want to come home, but I think that I will need a break when the 5 weeks are up. I forget sometimes how tired I really am but I will just go until the end and my parents can catch me as I am fall off the plane from being so tired, because that is what I will need.

We did not watch a single second of the super bowl! That is pretty good for me..we all know my weakness is sports. That will be fun to do when I get home I am getting more and more used to the idea of coming home I think the Lord is preparing me to come home because he knows that it will be hard for me. I have been reading the General Conference talks in the Ensign and came across the talk for return missionaries. It is funny how the Lord prepares you.

I am loving life in Connecticut! Peace and Blessings! Have a magical day!

Elder Phillips

January 30, 2012

Our most recent baptism!

This was a fantastic week that was very, very full. It started out really slow but ended up being really busy. I am still the District Leader and we had a district meeting with a great speaker who is a recent convert. He said something that really hit me...he said that if you feel you are on a wheel that you should get off because when we are on the wheel, it is means that we are doing the same thing over and over. It is important to change that because if you look at the plan of salvation, that is not how it is supposed to be. You are happier when you are not on the wheel and pushing yourself to get better. It really hit me and made me think. I really enjoyed listening to him. He really impacted the missionaries in the district. It was really good.

This week we are going to try to go for the all time high for teaching. We are going to try to hit 20. I have been close but have always fallen short. It should be good. None of this coasting till the end of the mission stuff. I have things to do and people to help out! I am excited for this transfer. Wow, Elder Morris is doing well and he taking more responsibility. That is our plan and what I want him to do. We have set goals to help one another achieve it. It has been great to be around him.

We had some extra miles last week and went to Hartford. I like it better than Providence. It was just awesome. There was a great spirit there and I just loved being there. It would have been great to work there on my mission, but that didn't happen. oh, well. I feel like I have something to finish here before I go. We found 2 new investigators and they both should be baptized before I go...which is awesome and I am excited for that. I feel like I experienced a miracle. I went and gave a blessing to someone and then we went back a few days later to do some service. She said, " I know that you have the authority from God because I felt that the blessing was more pure than other that I have gotten from other churches. She was shocked that I can speak Spanish so well, she says I speak better than her kids! Ha Ha! She wants to hear the message of the gospel and come to church but she is quite sick. I hope that she will be able to go someday. The way she described the blessing was that part of my heart went out to her and that I said true words. Wow! That was cool!

We finally finished the 12 week study program of 4 hours of scripture study every day...we are now back to 3 hours per day. Morris is now officially trained and technically not a greenie. My boy is all grown up (now imagine a tear falling down my cheek). Ha Ha! We played ball this week with some less actives and prospective investigators. It was really fun. Elder Morris turned it on and is not awkward anymore. It was just a good time. It was just a good all around week. We are very close to some new investigators. It should be good!

Peace and Blessings!

Elder Phillips

January 25, 2012

This week was transfers and the best thing in the whole world happened....I am staying! Yes! I love the branch and we are just so busy with everything. I am just loving the work here! The next good news is that my companion is staying, too! He is great and I love him so much. He is probably getting sick of me though! He is really doing well. He is learning a lot and I am going to let him take more of the reins here so that he will continue progressing. No one in our apartment was transferred, in fact no one in our district was transferred. We are having fun as a district. I think that it is good sign that no one got transferred. I think it means that the Mission President trusts me as the District Leader and that we are having a lot of success. I am pretty sure that we are all still together for a reason and I hope and pray that I can find it and that I can be a benefit to everyone here.

The weather has been unusually warm this year. I think we deserve it after last year! Ha Ha! It snowed close to a foot one day and we went out and pushed cars and then just kept working. Walking in the snow is hard. We were so tired after walking in the snow all day that we took the bus home. Elder Morris just passed out on the bus...it was so funny! The members have been so nice and giving us rides. The snow all melted and it is crazy warm again.

We had an awesome baptism this last week. It was so spiritual. We did it on Friday night which gave us plenty of time to prepare. Her story is so fantastic. It ended up being a lot bigger miracle that we thought. She is so happy and wants to do well in the gospel. She also made so much great food for after the baptism. It was awesome. This was probably the most spiritual baptism that I have experienced on my mission.

We also have a couple of new investigators that will be baptized very soon. I am just loving life here and trying to enjoy it. We have a ton of extra miles for the car this month because we were planning on taking missionaries to the transfer meeting in Boston. Since no one was transferred, we decided to go to Hartford today. We are planning to get haircuts, go to the mall, and say hello to the missionaries here. It should be fun.

I love my mission. It means the world to me. Peace and Blessings. Have a magical week.

Elder Phillips

January 18, 2012

What a fantabulous week that I have had! It has been the best yet! We have a baptism in 2 days and we are so excited, especially Elder Morris. He is doing so well. It has been a great opportunity for him to teach someone all the way through the lessons and do all the preparations for the baptism. We have been visiting our investigator quite often so that she will be ready to go. We also have other people that are getting closer towards baptism as well...so that is good.

We also have an amazing story about a boy that the missionaries met the other day. He will be baptized in his home area with his member girlfriend and his father. He came and played basketball with us. We had a lot of fun and then we taught him afterwards. He is so ready to be baptized. He has been researching the church and learning how to live according to its teachings for quite a while. He already knows so much because of all the study he has done. It has been exciting to teach someone who is so prepared. Even though he is not our investigator, it has been very exciting to teach him and be apart of his conversion.

We are also helping a member by painting her living room and kitchen. It has been really fun to help choose the colors and help by painting. It looks really good. I will send pictures later.

We are having success teaching our investigators. Lots of them are getting close to making the committment to be baptized. They love the gospel that we teach and some have received answers to their prayers that the gospel is true. It has been a cool thing to be apart of.

Next week is transfers. I hope that I will be staying here because I have done so much work here. It would be a real bummer to go somewhere for six weeks . I have made such good friends here and we are making such progress with our investigators. People are changing before our eyes. It is pretty awesome...they are making it easy to be a missionary. The district and my companion are great. This has been a great assignment. I am almost done as a trainer. Next week, my little baby pollito (as the members call him) will be all grown up. He still has a lot to learn, but he has learned very fast. His Spanish is great and his is a good missionary. Everyone is so complimentary towards him.

It is getting colder now. It is starting to feel like Boston felt last year. We have enjoyed the unusually warm climate, but it looks like it is coming to an end. I hope that I will be staying here to the finish, but what ever happens I will continue to work until the end.

Love you all! Peace and Blessings.

Elder Phillips

January 9, 2012

This week was a good week. We had a few investigators that are coming to church and progressing. We also have a few inactive members that are coming to church and we are trying to help them progress and work towards going to the temple and getting the priesthood. They are just awesome.

I had an interview with the Mission President and that was awesome. I love that man. He guides us, but really lets the missionaries sort things out on their own. He has helped me so much to become more independent. That is a good thing because we all know how dependent I was on my family for support. He is just awesome.

I went on a few exchanges this week. It was cool to see the impact that I have had on some of the elders in my district. Sometimes you think that all your hard work is a waste, but it is not. Many people are so nice and complementary. It was great to see that I am making a difference.

I have had fun starting up a big project at a members home. We helped replace a window and took off this awful looking wallpaper. We are going to start painting this week. We are excited! I love doing stuff like this. It is nice to help a member that has helped us so much. They are so appreciative of the help we give them. She even mentioned in her testimony, how grateful she is for all the things the missionaries have done for her life. It was awesome. I also bore my testimony of fasting and prayer. We had investigators with us that were fasting. In my testimony, I shared an experience I had in the MTC. It was fast Sunday and I didn't know what to fast for. I prayed to know who to fast for and I was impressed to fast for my sister Anya. It seems to me that Anya is a very strong person and never needs anyone to pray for her....but I fasted and prayed for her anyway. Later, I found out that she was having some type of complication with her pregnancy and her diabetes and it was good that I had dedicated my fast to her. It was such a good testimony to me that fasting and prayer works because she was ok. God can tell us what we need to pray for. God is there! He loves me and is aware of me and my family. I almost cried remembering the experience. My investigators were really touched. It was a great day!

I love my mission. I love you all!

Peace and Blessings. Have a magical week!

Elder Phillips

January 3, 2012

Well, life is so good. We continue to have so much progress, even though we had a very slow Sunday. We attribute that to everyone staying up really late on New Year's Eve. We continue to pray to expand the attendance at church more and more. We are just plugging along doing the work and continue to not have ENOUGH TIME IN THE DAY! I guess that is what happens when you work really hard...good things happen because God loves you and takes care of you.

Wow! I don't even know where to start. My greenies Spanish is getting so much better. He is changing and maturing right before my eyes! It is awesome. I love him so much and continue to be surprised how much he teaches me! It is just great! We are preparing a few different people to be baptized. We are also getting a lot of people receiving answers that the Book of Mormon is true and another testament of Jesus Christ. We have had so many cool miracles. One of our investigators that we teach, loves the gospel so much. We went over to her house for an appointment and she had company. Usually, when this happens they just tell us to come back later...but this was different. She invited us in and had us teach her guests. Then she testified of her belief in what we were teaching. She showed people her scriptures and everything. Wow! what a cool and amazing experience!!!

I also had the privilege of going to Providence on an exchange with the zone leaders. I sure loved it up there. It reminded me of Chelsea. It is just so dense with Hispanics, it was just awesome to be apart of it. I got to talk to so many people. The city is jam-packed tight with houses. It was a fun day. Elder Morris took the older zone leader for the day. He did so well. He said he killed the kid walking and the zone leader said how impressed he was because Elder Morris knew where to go and who to visit and what to do He did awesome and even taught a few lessons!

P-day we got to play basketball with high school kids. One of them is a member and we met at the court to play. They wanted to play the missionaries against the Puerto Ricans. So we played and won! They were decked out in the Jordan basketball shoes and basketball shorts and we had on running shoes! It was a riot! It was a good time and hopefully some of the kids get interested in the church.

It is getting cold now. Gosh, it is about time! This morning was the first time we had to put on the heater. We woke up freezing! We were so cold and of course our study room is the worst. We took our showers and the steam turned to ice on the windows! It was only 47 degrees in our house! It was our fault, but so funny! I love it too much!

I love you all. Peace and Blessings. Have a magical week!

Elder Phillips