Ya se me acaba el año blanco

Hey Everyone!

It's been a good week out here in Arlington Heights with my boy Elder Anderson! We have been working crazy hard. It's been a blast. Really I only have to talk about a couple of days this week considering we last spoke on Wednesday due to the the change in days!

But this week was a we e we were able tk find a bunch of people to teach and we were also able to visit some people this week and weekend and it was awesome! We found this one family last week, la Familia Soliz and they are homies. We also have been working ING with this one guy named José and he is a legend. He is super solid actually! We are also still working with Mary! She is a awesome person! She came to church this week which always awesome! (she showed up about 40 minutes late, but she came!) She son Angel is wild haha he is like 4 and he never sits still for more than about 1.2 seconds! He is hilarious honestly!

We also had an interesting lesson with our friend Nahu. He is a good guy, but he got into researching the Book of Mormon on the internet and he found a bunch of anti-mormon (I know we aren't supposed to say that anymore haha) literature and he tried to make it a big deal to us and try and tear our beliefs down, telling us that we've been lied to the whole time and that we need to study better. But Elder Anderson, being the savage he is, looks him straight in the eye and says "I have been a missionary, talking with people like you for more than a year. Do you really think you're the first person to tell me these things? I know what I know and nothing can change that" Nahu didn't seem to get who we was talking to, Two seasoned spiritual war veterans, and it was a lost battle for him at that point. He's a legend haha

But as the title says, my white out year is ending. 2018 was a full year that I dedicated to the service of my God. It will have officially ended tonight. It has caused me to reflect a lot on who I am, where I've come from and how much further I can go! I've gone from kinda speaking Spanish, to being able to really talk with anyone. I've gone from knowing the basic doctrine of the restored Chruch of Jesus Christ to truly knowing where it all come from in the Bible and the Book of Mormon. I've gone from a lost missionary training another in the city, to a far more competent and hard working Zone Leader. Truly this is the purpose of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: to change and become more of the person that my Heavenly Father desires me to be. I've gone from believing to knowing. I've gone from 18 to 19. Change is the essence of Repentance. It's all true. The Book of Mormon, Priesthood Power and Authority, Miracles, The Atonement of Jesus Christ, all of it. 100% true. I couldn't ever deny this, nor will I. I feel as though my life's desire currently is best described as in the Book Of Mormon in 2 Nephi 26:33. Look it up at https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/26?lang=eng and if you want to know it's true like I do, do what this verse says in Moroni 10, verses 4 and 5: https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/10?lang=eng

If you have questions let me know on Messenger

Love you all and I hope you all have a fantastic start of 2019! See you all soon!

As always
Elder Tracy

Photos
Obispos house with the other elders
A awesome truck we found
A good Sunday selfie haha
We found this lit house

Last Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

It is little late, but here we are wishing you all merry christmas! We were told to work on Monday and Tuesday because people were going to be home so we decided to work really hard those two days to see what could happen on Christmas! It was way fun! we spend the day with members eating, with people we are teaching, and we spend the most of the day just knocking doors to try and spread the cheer! (turns out a lot of people are not having the idea of a Christmas Message on Christmas about Jesus which is why we celebrate Christmas. Weird right?)

But this week was kind of legendary. We did a lot of awesome tujgs this week and last too! For example, we were able to put one of the homies on date for this next month and she is a legend! Her name is Mary and she is the coolest. She is a sweet lady with a little kid and she is coming to church and she has some awesome members as friends!

This Sunday we went sang villancicos to the people we are teaching and some members who don't come to church a lot. We went and sang to Mary, Dennis and Gloria, The Rivas Family and several more! They are the homies. We went with the Najera Famoly to go and sing and it was way fun!

We also had an awesome lesson with Dennis and Gloria yesterday. They were kinda avoiding us this week it seemed, but we were able to get in with them again and they were way happy to see us and they said that we're super in. The Spirit was super strong and it was a way good lesson.

Things have been good. I've been recently been thinking a lot about the birth of Christ and I'm so grateful for him. It's thanks to him that we can have happiness in life and how we can overcome difficulties. Without him, we would always be drifting further and further away from happiness and God. But we can be grateful for this gift we have received.

As always

Elder Tracy

PHOTOS
Some pictures
And one of obispo throwing away some stuff a person we are teaching he shouldn't have had

workin'

Howdy yall!

It's your boy Elder Tracy and you're all tuned in for another exciting week in the great Chicagoland with the Tales of Elder Tracy and Anderson!

But this week was wild busy. We worked super hard all the time and we saw some miracles. For Example, we were able to get in with that awesome couple Dennis and Gloria and they are so awesome! They accepted a Baptismal Date for the next couple of weeks! We just need to get them to church! We also had some awesome experiences with them and we taught them a super powerful lesson!

This week Obispo Belmont called us and asked if we could visit a "friend of his" to help him with some addiction problems. So we said sure and we went and it turned out to be the father and husband of this one family in the ward who is not a member of the church but wants to keep make a change in his lafe after hitting almost rock bottom. We taught him Tuesdat, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday this week and he is progressing a lot! Pray for Armando please!

We got to go on exchanges with the Assistants to the President this week and it was way fun! I went to Woodridge with Elder Anderson (The AP) and Elder Tu'vou (The AP) went to Arlington Heights with Elder Anderson (my companion) we had a really good time talking to a bunch of white people who were not having it but it was legendary haha we had a blast! We ending up driving around a lot that day but it was a blast all in all! 

This week one of our friends here who won't get baptised for anything, Alfredo, took us to this buffet called Hibachi Grill and I despise this place but Elder Anderson wanted to go, so we went. When you eat there, the food will and also ways does wreck you. I had learned my lesson the past couple of times there so I knew what to avoid, but Elder Anderson didn't know and he got destroyed this week. DESTROYED 

We were out knocking Sasturday night and we felt prompted to go stop by this one random lady we had met last week and we went by and she was home and we taught her a little bit about the restoration right thereon her door step and she was feeling it. She cried during the First Vision of Joseph Smith. We invited her to church and lo and behold, she came and stayed for all three hours!! It was way cool! She is certainly a miracle. She said that she really liked it all and she has serious desires to come back and we asked her when we could come by again and she told us any time we wanted to! She is so solid and she wants us to teach her family too! Please please please pray for Mari this week everyone. she need it. 

Things are going awesome this week. Things are picking up. We are convinced that the level to which you are consecrated, you show your love to the Lord. So we are workin so hard to show our love to the Savoir!

I Love you all so much and thanks to all of you who have already sent me Christmas wishes! You're the best!

As always

Elder Tracy

DECEMBER ALREADY?!?

Hey Everyone!!

This was an awesome week! We had a lot of awesome things happen! Also time is flying out here bros but here we are!

To start, Elder Anderson and I have been working super hard to make things happen this week and it was amazing! For example we got to meet with my boy Nahu and he's always so busy but he was able to squeeze in some time for us (Because he is in college and is working a full time job so he's a busy guy) but he is the man that we met in the library about two weeks ago. But we were able to put him on date for the 5th of January! We are super duper excited for him!

I think on Tuesday we had probably one of my favorite days! We got to meet with Nahu that day and we also worked super super hard that day! and the Lord looked down on us with mercy and we literally saw two miracles! It was the greatest! As we knocked the last building in an apartment complex, we were reaching the last floor, we knock the second to last door, and the door opens, and it's a white guy and we start in and all the sudden he says no English man, so we switch to Spanish and turns out he is from Puerto Rico and he is super interested in the church and his wife too! They are named Dennis and Gloria if you all would like to pray for them! They are so cool and we were able to meet with the, twice this week! After that, we went to this one family in our ward and they have a Polish Roommate and she is really nice and she made us food because we are always going to the Gutierrez house on tuesday! and because she made us food we asker her if we could share a video with her too! She said yes, and using the power of technology and the awesome reach of the church, we had a Polish version the "Because of Him" Video and it was a beautiful moment for all of us. None of us understand Polish but we could also feel the power of the Spirit testifying to her about it all! It was a very tierno experience.

We also had Zone Conference this week! President Bingham is awesome. He is so inspired and it was a very nice training he gave. he asked us to study the characters in the Bible and the Book of Mormon regarding the Birth of Jesus and also what the Prophets from these books had to say about it. It was a very interesting experience all in all. I learned a lot and I definitely had a growth in love for the Savior and His Birth. Elder Anderson and I, siendo the Zone Leaders we are, we got to give our first Zone Conference training in Spanish! It was super fun! It didn't go as planned, but it was still awesome!

This week we also found this one man named Mario on Friday and he said we could come back on Saturday and we go back and this man was slammed drunk with all his buddies and they invited us in and we had probably my favorite lesson ever hahaha they were so gone but we had a funny time just talking to them all! Really it was my first time around people drinking and it was funny hahah but definitely something I don't want to do. (Thanks Word of Wisdom)

On Sunday Nights we have e meeting with the District Leaders and so we usually just Facebook Messenger Video Chat with them all, but this time we didn't have wifi and we don't have the miles this month to go back to the church, so we decided to try and snag the wifi from the McDonald's down the street right before and so we circled this McDonald's for like 10 minutes just trying to get a wifi connection strong enough to make a video call so we could talk to these people hahah but we weren't able to... so we made a conference call on the phones and it was a wild one haha but just think about it yall: we would have made a meeting outside a McDonald's in the freezing cold on Videochat using the free wifi hahah we laughed about that for a good minute haha

We have just been working hard and been loving the work at the same time! The Church is True and the Book of Mormon is more of the Word of God and that as we read the words contained there then we can find more happiness! Also try to Light the World this Christmas Season! www.lighttheworld.org or in Spanish www.iluminaelmundo.org

As Always ,

Elder Tracy

PHOTOS
We took a Spanish Zone Selife in Zone Conference (Minus Elder Peterson and Vargas (rip))
Elder Anderson had some Sunday boots now and they are amazing haha
ZONE CONFERENCE FT THE BINGHAMS
MLC we got to see the new Mission Home and then we took a picture there with everyone!
We made some dank tacos with the food we found in our fridge
we found a lit sign out knocking in some apartments

Twas a good week my friends

Hey Everyone!

This was a great week! We had some good things happen! First off I got Elder Anderson on Tuesday! It was a bit of a drive and then a delay due to some sister missionaries high centering their car on a median on transfer day. But at last, Elder Anderson arrived and it was a joyous reunion. It was good to see my brother again. Very good times. we went to work immediately and it was super fun! Although it was a little weird to be with someone other than Elder Fry! We were together forever and its fun to be with someone else!

This was kinda a standard week. We worked a lot and it was kinda discouraging at times, but all in all it was a very good week! We knocked a lot of doors to try and make up for some lost ground. while knocking on one particularly cold and wintry night, Elder Anderson knocked a door and while he was talking to this woman to start things were normal. But about 10 second into the contact he tried to casually lean against the banister on their stairs and this man ATE IT. His feet slipped out from under him and he was gone! it was the funniest thing I had seen in a long time. But it was great. The woman was not having it at all but it was really funny!

This week we also got to go to MLC which is Mission Leadership Council! So we had to drive to Naperville again! Its like a 50 mile round trip so needless to say, we had a major set back with that. But MLC was awesome! We heard a lot of awesome things from the Assistants to the President, The Sister Missionary Leaders, and President and Sister Bingham! It was a really spiritual meeting and we learned a lot and talked about a lot of things that we can work on to improve in the mission. It was a great day and I got to see some of my old buddies form the mission like Elder Garcia, Elder Butler, Elder Osorio and many more! We also got to go and see the new mission Home because the Binghams moved! It was a way neat experience to see the new home! It is in a very very nice area!

This was a good week overall. nothing too crazy. weve been working hard, praying hard, studying hard, sleeping super hard and really just trying to give it all weve got. Sorry this is kinda a short one this week! There was a lot that happenedbut this is all I can remember! I do just want you all to know that I love you and I pray for you all reguraly! Love you all and hope you have a great week!

As Always,

Elder Tracy

Photos
Me and Elder Anderson and obispo and Selvin and Elder Moser and Elder artis