BE Happy

June 25, 2018

HELLO WHATS UP!!  I LOVE YOU!!

This week was like the slowest week for me. I don't know why, but it just was. I was doing service at a golf course for half the day and so I don't have much time to email. So every week when I say I'm gonna try hard the next week to make a longer email....yeah just forget that hahaha something always comes up. I'll get the hang of it someday.

There's one experience I want to share:

We were knocking on doors on a road we hadn't been on before. We prayed for inspiration for where we should go. We both agreed which direction to start going in. Well after a few nice people rejecting to hear our message and a few door slams, we eventually received some blessed people willing to hear our message. (Not that the other people aren't blessed. They will one day decide to hear the message :) just takes time.)

So we walk up to this guy smoking on his porch. He said he had met with missionaries before and that he likes us. He invited us over for the next day. He called us and asked if we could pick him up some McDonalds hahaha so we got him a bigmac and fries. We gave it to him and had a lesson with him. He was so sweet. I didn't know what to think at first because we don't usually go out and buy people we don't know food aha but anyways we did. And he called us on Sunday and asked if we could come by. We said that we were still planning on coming Tuesday. But he insisted that we come on Sunday, so we did and he had prepared a plate of BBQ for us. He listened to another lesson we shared and we are meeting with him again this week. His name is K and he is so sweet. He has been through a lot in his life. Lots of trials and hard times but he is one of the most positive people I've ever met. He inspired me to just have positive days and never be down on yourself. I try to be but I don't do it enough.

This happened 3 weeks ago but just now telling you, anyways… We knocked the door of a really ghetto apartment. The hallway smelt like weed, alcohol, weed, cigarettes, weed and mold. Oh and also weed. A girl answers and her name is J.  She listened to our message and halfway through the restoration she shuts the door. Aha so we stood there and just waited.  Then the door opened up and she pushed her boyfriend out into the hall and said he needs Jesus more than me, then shut the door.  So we shrugged our shoulders said whatever and started teaching this guy. Tatted head to toe. Louis Vuitton tattoo on his head. Rugrats babies on his head. His name tatted all over hahaha. He Tatted "r-yah" on His abs so we call him r-yahyah. He's hilarious.  Well weeks pass and he is just crazy aha. But we stopped by and didn't see him for a week and wondered where he went.

Well turns out he went to jail. He got out the day we came by and went to jail the day we were there aha. He came to church the very next day out of jail. It was sweet. He showed up in a st. Louis cardinals uniform and a snapback.

He said He wants to dunk on me and I told him I could jump higher than him so he might ball up with us on a pday.

So he's hilarious and cool.

Another investigator her name is C. She is the sweetest lady. We talked to her about The Book of Mormon and she told us about her brother and dad that passed away. She started crying. And we said we loved her. We came by the next day and brought her cookies that I made in a muffin pan cuz we don't have anything-here hahaha but that's okay. We stopped by and gave them to her. She answered the door and was standing behind the door and only showing half her face. She said, "I'm really not well right now. You shouldn't be here. I am sorry I'm just not good right now." I said, "C, we are here because we love you. I know we just met you but I love you and I want you to be comforted."
She started crying and said, "I love you too." We left the cookies on the doorstep and left. She is so sweet and she seems to really like us and feels comforted being around us. We meet with her Thursday :)

The Lord has given us life here on earth. He has given us love, care, guidance and comfort. The times we feel that the Lord isn't there with us are the times we aren't looking. So try. Have faith. Turn to him in love and gratitude. Be grateful for specific blessings you've received in your life. Don’t hold grudges. Don't be angry. Don’t be beaten up by past mistakes. Turn to the Lord and ask for forgiveness. Allow yourself to feel forgiven. Show your love to Him because He's showing His love for you every single day. Learn to recognize it. I promise you'll feel his love for you when you are looking in faith.

Be happy because there's joy in life.
Be loving because God loves you.
Be positive because positivity is fun.
Be you because why not.

I love you and I invite each of you to think of a time you saw Gods hand in your life and then pray to Him in gratitude.

Peace out  talk to y'all next week

-elder newbold

The Lord is Cheering you on!

June 19, 2018

How is everyone's week going?!?! I hope you are all doing absolutely amazing!

I love you all so much. I'm so thankful for you all. I look forward each week to emailing all of you because hearing your responses makes my week so much better. You all have been such an important role in my life and you're a pretty legit blessing the Lord has given me.

My keyboard is awful with auto correct and I am awful at typing so the mixture can sometimes be pretty horrendous so hopefully you can read my misspelled words if any.

Anyways this week was the hottest week of my entire life. Each day my companion and I leave the apartment and I turn to him and say, "it's the hottest day of the year." And I'm starting to think I'm right. I've only been on a mission in Missouri for like 8 minutes but it progressively gets hotter each day. I am not used to humidity and to be honest I don't think anyone that lives here is either hahaha. The sky also decides to pour rain down on us whenever it wants and it makes me laugh to see the steam coming off of house roofs and the asphalt when the rain hits the INSANELY HOT SURFACES. So if you live in California, be thankful for the wonderful dry hot weather I sure do miss it.

This week has been pretty legit. We have met so many wonderful people. Their hearts are so big.

I have been going through something this week that I have needed much of the Lord's help with. I have also received quite a few emails from friends that shared with me circumstances they are in right now that are causing them difficulty and stress. I've been able to realize something very important out here and that is that the Lord will let us go almost to our breaking point, almost our absolute limit. We will feel sometimes like we just can't do anymore. But he is there. He is there for you I promise you that.

One of my favorite things to do out here is promise the people I meet that they will receive blessings if they will pray and turn their trust to the Lord. And I know with absolute assuredly, that you will receive blessings. I KNOW that the Lord cares about you and I know this is something I mention each week in my emails, but it's because it is so important to me. It breaks my heart when I see people's families fall apart. It breaks my heart when I see people feel like God doesn't love them. It breaks my heart when I hear that people don't pray everyday. Because I know I know I know, that God is there. He loves you. 

I may have shared this experience already, but I was walking one day on the street and was feeling so down. It was one of the hardest days I've had out here. I was doubtful and stressed. I turned to my companion and said, "why haven't I been able to feel the spirit much this week. I feel like I'm struggling to keep the Holy Ghost close to me. I want to teach by the spirit, but sometimes I feel like I’m doing something wrong."

About 5 seconds after my statement, a car drove by… Stopped in the middle of the road and said to us, "Hey you two. I love you. I'm thankful for you. I'm proud of you. Keep doing what you're doing."

Then he drove off.

I turned to my companion and with the biggest smile on my face I laughed and said, "why. Haha why does that happen." He patted me on the back and said, "that's what the Lord does elder. He let's you get to just about your breaking point to show you just how strong you are. Then he picks you up and let's you know he's right there beside you."

HE HAS NOT LEFT YOUR SIDE SINCE THE DAY YOU CHOSE TO COME TO EARTH. He loves you and cares about you and he WILL be your guide IF you let him.

I've been trying really hard these past several weeks to keep the Holy Ghost with me everyday. It has been pretty difficult and the Holy Ghost will communicate to us in different various ways. It's a unique feeling. Strive to learn that feeling. The Holy Ghost has been major guide during these hard times. The Holy Ghost testifies of truth and provides me with a warm comforting feeling.

Last week I talked about personal revelation. That is so important and it's something we are all capable of doing. We have to want it. We have to look for it. We have to do our part.

Recognizing, Listening, and Acting are 3 very different choices we have.

It is one thing to recognize the spirit is with you and is present, to feel that love of Christ in your life. It is another to listen to what the spirit is trying to show you, tell you, or warn you about. And it is another thing to act on what the spirit is showing you, telling you, or warning you about.

ACTION is so important. We can listen to the words told by prophets all we want. We can read the Book of Mormon and the Bible all we want. We can pray all we want. BUT nothing will happen, there will be no progression...IF we are not ACTING on the promptings we receive.

I run out of time each week to send my weekly email, so it almost ends up being last minute and I don't too often share stories about the week but more of just a spiritual thought. I will try this next week to send it out earlier and have experiences of situations throughout my week. I love the people here and the experiences I have each and everyday are blessings from the Lord.

But I will leave you with my testimony:

I know that God loves me. I know that God loves you. I know that in 1820 a young man had the desire to know the truth and he prayed with real intent asking God for direction. I know that Joseph Smith was visited by God the Father and Jesus Christ. I know that if we have real intent and a true desire, we can also have the truth revealed to us. I know and I can promise you, I can absolutely promise, that reading The Book of Mormon WILL bring peace and comfort to you and your life.

I love you all. You are children of God and he is so proud of you, so be proud of yourself. Every choice you make, every struggle you get through, every day you wake up, be proud of yourself because the Lord is and he cares about you more than you ever possibly could.

Have an amazing week! Send me pics and updates throughout all y'alls week so I remember what y'all look like hahaha just kidding I won't forget, but yeah send me updates!

Peace out! Talk to you next week.

-Elder Shua Newbold

Small and Simple Things

June 11, 2018

Small and Simple Things

"We need to be reminded that in total and over a significant period of time, seemingly small things bring to pass great things."

-President Dallin H. Oaks

There is so much to be grateful for, absolutely so much.

I apologize for the short email this week. Been crazy, busy, and emotional, a lot on my mind haha but its okay because I'm serving a mission for the Lord and I couldn't be happier.

I have been emailing with a good friend of mine from Texas and she has been talking to me about some difficulties she's having back home. I thought about her a lot this week and how I can be of help to her.  After lots of prayer and thought, the only thing I was able to receive was a prompting to read the general conference talks from April.

As I began to read there were two talks that were brought to my attention.

Revelation for the Church and Revelation for Our Lives. By President Russell M. Nelson

&

Small and Simple Things. By President Dallin H. Oaks

As I began to read through both of these talks I started to see a pattern of how we can bring peace & comfort to our lives. 

The key was personal revelation. President Nelson talked a lot about it.

It truly is such a powerful gift we are given, to receive guidance and direction for our own lives through faithful prayer to our Heavenly Father. He speaks to us. He cares about each of us individually. We have to be able to turn to him and recognize when he responds. The Holy Ghost will provide you with a comforting peaceful feeling. I promise you that, as does your Heavenly Father.

President Oaks talks about how no matter what we go through, no matter what trials we may face. It doesn't matter what other people will say or feel or think about you, but what matters is what you know to be true. You know yourself. You know your struggles, but only you will be able to get yourself through them...if you let your Heavenly Father help you, if you accept his guidance and help. He's there for you I promise you that.

So I guess to sum up this week's email, don't ever judge some one for what they're going through or how they're choosing to go through it. They may be trying to do what they feel the Lord wants them to do.

We are all children of God. We are all loved and cared for. I've been so blessed to grow up in the Church and to have such a great understanding of the gospel, I invite each and every one reading this to dive into the gospel and learn more each and every day.

I'm thankful for all of you and I love you all.

- Elder Shua Newbold

It's either YES....or TRUST ME!

WHAT A WEEK

WHAT A WEEK

WHAT A WEEK!!!!!

There is no greater joy to find in this life, than the joy that you will receive from sharing what you love with others.

Does it matter if they accept it?

Does it matter if you get rejected?

Does it matter if they completely disagree with you?

I don't know if that matters. It doesn't matter what I know. It doesn't matter what the people you're sharing it with know.  What it comes down to is whether or not you are sharing something that truly, truly, truly means something to you or if you're doing something because you feel obligated to. This is not a gospel-centered email for whoever is reading this, but just a friendly reminder that everything you do and say can impact someone or something.  Share everything that makes you happy!! Share it!! Stop reading this right now... take a break and hop on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Snapchat. Share something you love. I dare you ;) tell everyone what you love and why. God has given you, the world, His only begotten Son, everything. Everything we come across in our lives is because of God... so are you going to be happy about it or find a reason to make things more difficult on yourself???  Attitude is such a huge choice we are given, and such an important one. So be happy, cuz why not!?

We are given so many choices in this life it blows me away. Each and everyday I wake up I see more choices I have to make, that I didn't even think would ever come up the day before. But as I have decided to make certain decisions with the choices that have been placed in front of me, I have come to realize that if I will stop what I am doing and do a self reflection, and think about what is most important for me to do, at that given moment...if I will think about how my decision may affect the next choices laid in front of me, then I become much more prepared to take my next few steps, in whatever direction that may be.

Now if you wanna get a little more spiritual here's a perspective for ya, next time you have to stop and ask God for something, next time you pray in time of need, I want you to pause and listen for his response. Listen for the direction and guidance that God will provide to you. Because if you listen close enough you'll hear 1 of 2 things... Yes..Or trust me.

YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN LOVES YOU!

HE LOVES YOU SO MUCH!!

UGHABXNCMXKSOSISHWBW I WISH I COULD SHARE IN WORDS HOW MUCH HE LOVES YOU AND HOW MUCH I KNOW IT TO BE TRUE.

Hint number 1... you're here! You're here on this earth isn't that legit?? He gave you the choice to come here and to be given a body and look what you did... you made the right decision.

Hint number 2... he's given you agency. He's given you the ability to choose, to know right from wrong. To decide how you want to live your life. To decide whether or not you even want to read this email. And if you've gotten this far, you're probably still reading so good I'm proud of you and guess what?? I love you :)

Hint number 3... I'm not gonna give you that one hahaha but that's ok :) because hint number 2 is your ability to chose. So after reading this and from everyday following, you will have the choice to pray. And oh my, what a wonderful decision that is. So pray and figure out the rest. Ask God. Ask him for guidance. Ask him for strength. Ask him for comfort. Ask him to let you know he is there and that he's listening. Because odds are if you're not getting your answer...you just haven't yet recognized how your Heavenly Father communicates to you, but I promise you he's listening, so I challenge you and invite you to recognize that feeling, that sense of communication and use it.

Your Father in Heaven is there.

He loves you.

He hears you.

He loves you.

He listens.

He loves you.

He cares about you.

He loves you.

And next time you turn to him for guidance and direction...no matter how hard times may be, you will either get the "yes" that you hoped for, or even better the "trust me". 

You will think you can't do things on your own. You will go through hard trials. You will get rejected. You will be confused. You will feel week. You may doubt yourself.  But, don't you ever doubt YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER. Because if you get that "trust me" response, I want you to know, that he is there right next to you. He wants to help you. He wants you to feel his love. He wants what is best for you. But you won't get that if you don't CHOOSE to TRUST in Him and in His power.

I'm so thankful for the opportunity I've been given to be out here serving a mission for the Lord.

This week was pretty amazing. We had 2 BAPTISMS. A husband and wife, the smiles on their faces when they watched each other go under the water and come back up was unforgettable. 

It was so heart warming to watch them take a huge step closer to Jesus Christ. They have been growing so much in the gospel and they have truly been recognizing how they can follow in Christ's example.  They are so excited to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. And they are so excited to continue enduring to the end as they continue following is Christ's footsteps.

I love you. Your Heavenly Father loves you. 

Share with me any amazing experiences you've had recently.

-Elder shua Newbold