April 24, 2017

Hello, 

This week felt really long but not a ton happened. My new companion is Elder Mosher and we've been doing great thus far. But since we are white washing the area, we are just trying to get to know the area better. We've been getting to know a lot of the members this past week and visiting and getting familiar with our investigators too in order to find what their needs are. So we have been doing a lot of drop-bys and calling a lot of people to kind of figure things out. Saturday we did a lot of service and we helped set up and take down for the Lamb of God performance in downtown San Jose and got to sit and listen to it. They did it in this Cathedral which was really cool too. Other than that, nothing too exciting happened, we've just been running around trying to take care of the area the best we can so we can keep moving forward. This area is a lot different than my other one, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Just trying to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the ward and zone so we can adjust to what the needs are.

One thing that is a staple of missionary work is the invitations that we leave with people. It's the same basic things that even the primary kids learn and know, which is go to church, pray, and read the scriptures. We call it "CPR" for Church, Pray, and Read. So the idea is that just as CPR helps somebody stay physically alive, the "CPR" of Church, Prayer, and Reading is what keeps us spiritually alive. It seems so simple, but it's true. Those are the 3 most basic ways that we exercise our faith in Jesus Christ. And if we stop doing those things, our spiritual health slowly diminishes. But as we continue to do those things, our faith continues to grow and be strengthened. It's such a basic formula, but people see and experience miracles in their lives through those simple acts of faith as we invite them to follow the savior. But anyways, missionary work is awesome and things have been going pretty smoothly so far, hopefully we can have a lot of success here in the area as we keep working. 

From, 

Elder Godwin 

April 17, 2017

Hello everyone, 

This week went really well. It was my first week in my new area, so mostly we just went around so I could meet members and our investigators before my current companion leaves. I've been with Elder Maldonado this week which has been awesome and we get along really well. We actually came into the mission at the same time and he was my companion for the very first day of the mission. But he is leaving to a different area tomorrow and I'll be getting a new companion named Elder Mosher. So I'm "white washing" this area which means that both me and my companion are new to the area and have to kind of figure it out together because we have no experience here. So it's been nice to be here a week earlier and learn a little bit about the area before Elder Mosher gets here. Usually that doesn't happen and when they white wash an area they just put two new companions in the area together on the same day. I also got called as a district leader so that will be a new experience too. I look forward to it though and it will be good serving here in East San Jose for a while.

So yesterday I got to go back to the El Camino ward for my baptism and it was really awesome. Her name is Elva and she is from Peru, she got baptized by a friend of hers who came up from Texas. It was really cool to have a baptism on Easter Sunday and see somebody born again on the day that we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The spirit was so strong and a lot of the members of our ward attended to support her. I can't really find the words to express how it felt to be a part of that. Just seeing how happy she was and feeling the spirit there was an amazing experience. A scripture that I thought of was D&C 18:10-16, it just about sums it up. But I hope that things in this new area will go well and I'll be able to see more baptisms throughout my mission. So far everything has been great! 

-Elder Godwin 

April 11, 2017

Hello everyone, 

So I got transferred to a new area a week early, I'm now serving in Las Colinas which is in east San Jose. I figured that I was going to be transferred but it was a surprise that they needed me to go earlier. I'm really excited to be in a new area though and serving in El Camino was a great experience. I'll get to go back on Sunday to go to my baptism tho so I look forward to that. Looking back on my first 6 months in my first area, I've realized that I've learned a lot and grown since I arrived here. I'm much more comfortable in Spanish, I've learned about and become familiar with the culture, I've learned a lot about the gospel, I've developed a lot of good relationships with the people here, and I've been able to learn more about myself. It's interesting to see the way that the Lord blesses you as you go out to do his work and bless the lives of others. The first 6 months went quick, I knew that they would but it's different in hindsight. It hit me that I don't get any of that time back though so I'm determined to keep working hard in the new area. I'll keep you posted on how things go! 

From, 

Elder Godwin 

April 3, 2017

Hello everybody,

This week was pretty busy overall and kind of tiring. I went on 2 full
24 hour exchanges this week and since my companion is a zone leader,
there were a few meetings that came up as well. Not too many new
things happened, it just ended up being busy. The good thing though is
that we were able to go out and teach a lot. I actually went and
taught a new investigator about the restoration and it was super weird
once we started because I was on an exchange and it was in English.
When we started teaching I actually blanked for a minute because I've
never really taught it in English and didn't know what to say because
I'm so used to doing it in Spanish all the time. Which I suppose is
also a good thing that I'm kind of more comfortable teaching it in
Spanish at this point, but it was a weird feeling to teach in English
for once.

Since this week was pretty busy, it was really nice to have a nice
little break for General Conference over the weekend. It was really
good (as usual) and there were several talks that I really enjoyed
that I plan on revisiting throughout the upcoming weeks. I'll also
have to go back and watch the Sunday Afternoon session again because I
watched it in Spanish with our investigator. I was still able to
understand a lot of it and Elder Costa's talk was really perfect to
listen to with our investigator there, but it's still easier to
understand and study it in English. Each time I watch General
Conference I come to the realization of how amazing it is that we have
a living prophet and apostles to direct, lead, and guide us today.
There were definitely a lot of things throughout the sessions that I
needed to hear. But I hope everybody back home was able to enjoy
watching or listening to it too, I love you guys and love hearing from
you.

-Elder Godwin