Transfer 13/Week4/Day1 (February 13, 2017)

Hola Familia! Happy Monday and Early Valentine's Day too! I hope it's just lovely haha. I hope you can feel some love comin from over in NoCal. We had a pretty good week this last week! It was good because I wasn't sick and we were able to get some good work done! That always feels so good! We were able to find some new investigators to teach which is such a blessing! One of which is this single mom named Victoria. She's awesome. Her story is basically like that of Joseph smith but here in Ukiah. She says she's been confused about which church is the right one and has joined many but just can't find what she's looking for. We shared a little with her and let her know that her search was over and that the emptiness she feels will be found in the gospel! We only have had one lesson with her but we are stopping by again next Saturday. She also has 4 kids (2 of which are over 8) that she wants to grow up in good standards and such. Exciting stuff! We found a couple others but we think she's the most solid we've found in a while. The Lord is truly looking out for us. 

Thursday, we had interviews with President which are always a blast. I just love him and Sister Wright. They are some of the most amazing people I've met. He helped me out with some stuff and gave me some great counsel. We really have a special relationship haha. Friday, got some planning done and then went to a birthday party, dinner, and then went to visit another investigator we have which happened to turn out to be another birthday party for his niece. We walked in and taught like 10-15 people haha. It was awesome to see so many people interested in the gospel! And we were just in the right place at the right time. Saturday, we had MLC in Santa Rosa and it was just so good! I don't know why but this time all the sections and lessons were just on point. I learned so much and am excited to teach them to the zone next week! That was a blessing. 

Sunday was a busy day. We went early to try to invite someone to church and then made it to 10 minutes of ward council with just enough time after to practice a song that I sang in sacrament Meeting. The English Elders were speaking in both English and Spanish Ward so we had to do mini exchanges while we figured that out and then I had to translate for one of those talks. After church, we had a linger longer and then went with a member to see some potential investigators, had some quick dinner, stake choir Practice, went and had that lesson with Victoria, gave a blessing to a member, with just enough time to make it back in time for our weekly call and numbers. We're a little busy to say the least haha. 

This week we exchanges tomorrow, Zone Conference on Thursday, and Stake Conference on Saturday/Sunday. Should be a good one! 

Overall theme for this week, God is good. Plain and simple. I love my mission and the opportunity to serve others. Gandhi once said, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." I find truth in that everyday. It's amazing. 

I love y'all. Have a super week.

Con Amor, 

Elder Alexander Scott Joyner

"I got bronchitis..." jk not really bronchitis (February 6, 2017)

Hey-O! Happy Monday! And happy Waitangi Day for all you Australians :) haha ALSO Happy Early BIRTHDAY Mom! I hope you have the most fantastic day and all your hopes dreams and wishes come true! Wish I could be there to celebrate with you! Know I'll be thinking about ya! Wheeew it's beeen quite the week though. 

I've basically been sick all week. I came down with a bad virus that I'm just barely getting over today. It's been tough, both physically and mentally. I've had a bad cough and sinus stuff and it's just been a mess. And then I kept feeling bad because we'd have to stay in so I could rest and then we couldn't go find or see people and ya. Luckily, after lots of orange juice, I'm getting back on my feet and we're gonna have a super awesome week. There were a couple nights where I got cabin fever so we decided to go see a couple of people. We were able to see one of our investigators that we haven't seen in about 2 months named Rodrigo. He had a baptismal date for about 2 weeks ago, but we haven't been able to meet with him. He's really good friends with our ward mission leader and some other members about his age. He goes to institute and the YSA and everyone thinks he's a member but he's not. He's still interested in baptism but we're working on repentance with him right now. We had a good lesson this week about how repentance relates back to the Atonement and how he can personally gain a testimony of Christ for himself. We really see lots of potential in him and hope he makes that final commitment and sets a baptismal date this next week! Yes!

Other than that, we were able to see a couple less active members that haven't been in a while and because of that one came to church on Sunday and bore his testimony! It was sweet! He said he's been meaning to come more consistently and because we saw him that one night, he felt impressed to come! Cool stuff. 

This week we have exchanges tomorrow, interviews with president on Thursday, and then MLC in Rosa on Saturday! Should be a good busy week! Hope y'all are doing well. I love hearing from you and thank you for the support and such. It means the world. I love y'all! Have a super week!

Con Amor,  

Elder Joyner

Crazy! (January 30, 2017)

Hey! It's been a crazy past week here. I don't even know where to begin! Tuesday we had transfers. Elder Perez and I didn't have to go down to Santa Rosa because we were both staying. We worked hard Tuesday and Wednesday but not too many people accepted us both days. We're trying to rebuild our teaching pool back up right now. We don't have to many people that we are teaching regularly. This transfer will be a lot of that for sure! Wednesday was a big day. We had a missionary broadcast! We talked and reviewed a lot about what was talked about last year. It was really good and interesting to see the apostles and leaders at work. They also made changes to our schedule. (I'll attach a picture of it) The reasoning behind it is to help us be more productive with our work. They've also given us more of a choice of how we use our time.  Some people have complained, I love it and can already see a difference in it! Good fun!

Thursday was MLC down in Rosa. We talked a lot about the broadcast and how we could best implement it into our mission. We also talked about joy in our service and how to better our companionships! As always, it was a super time. We stayed for a second after to do some prep for Zone Meeting. Then after that we went to see a missionary who was in the hospital because he broke his leg. He was in our zone. He was playing basketball with a less active outside trying to get him to come to church and twisted one way and broke his femur. They're scared there might be cancer in there because your femur shouldn't break that easy. They ran some tests and didn't find anything. He had to get transferred to another hospital to get the surgery so we waited there with him until he got loaded up in the ambulance. We waited with his companion and had to pair him up with some other missionaries. We got a call from president the next night saying we needed to pack up all his stuff because he was getting transferred to a hospital in Utah. Saturday, after zone Meeting, we traveled down to Clearlake and packed up all his stuff then brought it back to Ukiah for the AP's  to grab it and take it to him. It's crazy how your mission (or life) can change so very quickly. Don't take anything for granted. Live in every moment!

Saturday we had a good zone Meeting, relaying the stuff talked about at MLC. The zone has really changed and it's crazy the difference people's attitudes make in bringing the spirit. I'm grateful for that. This transfer we got a lot going on, which is good and will keep us busy! 

Thanks for your love and support. I love hearing from you and your weekly experiences. Love y'all!

Con Amor, 

Elder Joyner

Change is a comin! (January 23, 2017)

Hey hey!

It's good to hear from some of y'all! I'm jealous of your trip to Utah this week, mom, dad and Cole! Sounds like fun! This week we have coming up is a busy one! So tomorrow is transfers and Elder Perez and I are staying together one more. He leaves at the end of this transfer too which means we're gonna work especially hard :) The zone is getting switched around with almost one companionship leaving in each, so that means we should get some new faces and hopefully some new fire in the zone! Should be good. So we have transfers tomorrow, a worldwide missionary broadcast on Wednesday, MLC in Santa Rosa on Thursday, zone Meeting on Saturday, and we get to speak in the english Ward on Sunday! Needless to say we're a little busy haha. 

This past week was pretty good. We went on exchanges with the Lakeport Elders and Elder Hardin came to Ukiah with me. We had some good fun and we're able to have a pretty effective exchange. He's a cool guy and I'm excited for what's in store for him! A good bit of the rest of the week I was recovering from a little from sickness. We were able to see some less actives though and it ended up pretty good. Thursday, we drove up to Fort Bragg and then we went to Cloverdale to do some work. There's this really cool cookie place in Fort Bragg called the Mendocino Cookie Co. It's BOMB. 

I've been studying a lot in the Book of Mormon and it's amazing the blessings it brings. It's soo cool just the wonderful spirit you get when you read it. I have a sure testimony and knowledge of that book. One who reads it and really ponders its message cannot deny that it is from God. I invite you to read/re-read it to receive a firm witness of the validity of its message. 

I don't have too much more for this week. Hope all have a super week! Keep rockin and rollin! I can't believe it's almost February too. Wat. Haha love y'all!

Con Amor, 

Elder Joyner

Elder Hunter, Elder Hardin, & Elder Joyner

Week 6! (January 16, 2017)

Hey Hey!

Happy Monday! It's been a pretty good week this last week. Congrats to Cole and OYP on their show! The pictures looked really good. I've never heard music from that show but with that story line, it sounds fun! At the beginning of this week, there was a lot of flooding and rain and such. It got so bad at one point that there were some Elders here in Ukiah that couldn't get back to their apartment. Haha it's all cleared up now and bright and sunny! 

This week was kinda sad with our investigators that have baptismal dates for this Saturday. We have been trying and trying to meet with them but they keep canceling and are not really committed. They don't have as true of a desire to change as we initially thought they first had. After much thought and prayer, we decided to drop most of them and start fresh. We're still gonna try with Carlos and Maria once or twice more though. We're gonna a start fresh and really search for the elect! So prayers for us to find more people would be really appreciated!

Transfers end next week, which means we find out this next Saturday. I'll prolly stay one more with elder Perez, but ya never know what happens! Change is good!

The stake patriarch here is a potter, so this morning he gave us pottery lessons and I must say I'm not too bad at some pot making skills. 

Well I think that's all for this week!

Con Amor, 

Elder Joyner

Lunes (January 9, 2017)

Happy Monday!

It's been a good first week to 2017! Still can't believe that year is here. Congrats Dayne on YPM again! That's super cool bud! Wish I could come see ya there again. What is that like 3 missions now? Haha what a record! Almost got GMA and Papa beat! Glad that you three made it out to Utah all good and safe without too much snow. Good fun!

It's been a pretty good week!

We had a couple miracles this week. On Monday we were trying to see Maria and Carlos (that have a baptismal date for the 21st) but they weren't there so we stopped by to see one of their apartment neighbors who just so happens to be another Investigator we have named German. He's been meeting with missionaries for a while but hasn't really been progressing. We had a lesson with him on the Book of Mormon and a brief restoration. We basically helped him realize that after knowing these things were true that baptism was the next step. He agreed and we set a date! That was cool. The next day we were trying to see Jesus (another baptismal date for the 21st) and he actually invited his sister to join in with us. We found out she used to go to young women's and she actually seemed more receptive that he did. We also set a date with her for the 21st too. We realize those are super soon and are working very hard to help them get there! Should be good!

We had Zone Conference on Thursday. The theme was becoming a consecrated missionary. I had a little section where I got time to give my thoughts on what that means. I related it back to it doesn't just apply to the mission but becoming converted disciple of Christ. I focused on how every decision we make and take should be focused on our ultimate purpose of returning to Heavenly Father, and that the motivating force behind that is the atonement. As we learn more about the sacrifice that our savior made for us, we'll be more motivated to be more righteous and obedient in what we do. I learned a lot just study and preparing for it! Those principles are applicable for all too!

This transfer is just flying by. We only have this week and next week left in the transfer. Wow! That just means there's no time to lose! Gotta keep working as hard as ever. Until next week. Love y'all!

Con Amor, 

Elder Alexander Scott Joyner

2017 (January 2, 2017)

It's been a quick week this week! HAPPY 2017! That's crazy that I was a missionary for a complete year in 2016. I loved it and wouldn't have changed one day. Lots of exciting things coming to ya this year though! 

Not too much happened this past week. Monday night, elder thom came on exchanges with elder Perez and I. Whenever there are new ZL's, the ap's come with them for a day to make sure everything is going good. It was fun! Wednesday night to Thursday, Elder Castro (my follow up trainer) in Kelseyville! That was a good time catching up on the last year and how we've both changed. That was really good! 

This week was a little slower. We haven't been able to see Carlos or Maria or Jesus or Joey much. We're meeting with like all of them tonight though! Hopefully it will be a good week with them! New Year's Eve we had a curfew at 7, so we went inside and I had to write a talk for the next day! Luckily our sacrament Meeting got changed to 11! 

This week we have Zone Conference and some exchanges and such. Should be a good one! 

I always love hearing from y'all! Keep me updated. Love ya!

Con Amor, 

Elder Joyner