DENVER COLORADO!!!! (T1, W2)

Hola Amigos

Nothing happened this week. Talk to y'all next week.

--Elder Davis

Hahaha just kidding. This week was insane! So on Wednesday, Élder Jensen and I got up and packed the last of our things. Then we ate breakfast, said goodbye to the rest of our district, and made our way to the travel office. When we got there, we ran into a bunch of people also going to Denver. All of them were English speaking. We had about 13 people. Once we had all turned in our keys and locks, we boarded the bus. I got to know some of the people in our group and most of them were really nice. Élder Jensen and I were the only Spanish speaking missionaries. We got off the bus at Provo Central, then hopped on a train to Salt Lake. While on the train, E' Jensen and I talked to this man who had served his mission in England a long long time ago. He told us all his stories and it was really interesting. Once we got to Salt Lake, I made it through weighing and security no problem, but others had stuff confiscated, so it took a little while to get through.

The flight was uneventful for the most part. I sat next to two elders and we just chatted for a bit. The flight was super short, then we landed in Denver. It was only an hour long. We got off the plane and went up an escalator to meet President and Sister Gifford. They were super nice and took us to baggage claim. Sister Gifford and I talked a bit, and I realized that they had left from Rexburg, Idaho. I asked if President Gifford had been a professor at BYU-I and she said, "Yes, he taught Economics". Turns out she knows my uncle who also taught Economics there! Small world!

Anyway, we got to the mission home and had a nice devotional. President and Sister Gifford gave us some Thank-You Cards (For when we have dinner with members), and a spiral-bound Book of Mormon. After the devotional, President Gifford pulled some people aside for interviews, and the rest of us got to know each other and kinda just chill for a bit. Then we settled in and went to bed. The next day was "Get right to business day". We woke up at 5 and ate breakfast and went to training. The mission office is in the basement of an old church building. We did training all day, learning about our apartments, driving, finances, and so on. 

Later that evening, we were thrown out onto the street. President Gifford assigned each of us to a companionship of more experienced elders to take us out, have dinner with a member, and take us tracting. I was assigned to Elders Busch and Jorgensen. They were pretty chill. We went and ate at a member's house, who is part of a PMF (Part-Member Family) She fed us some bean soup, and I shared a message about Faith. More or less, it went well. Then we hit the street. Now these elders were English speaking, so we were only talking to gringos, not the people I was called to teach, and for good reason too: We ran into every sort of person you can imagine. We talked to a guy who had just gotten out of a 10-year prison sentence for shooting somebody, who yelled at us for probably 10 minutes straight about how Joseph Smith was a false prophet yadda yadda yadda. I was done talking to him when we started. We also ran into a guy who thought that we were "Space-Cristians". Someone had told him some out-of-context stuff about Kolob and other obscure stuff. He was convinced that Angels were aliens and that "Mormons" (whatever those are) were from another planet. We promptly moved on. We had some guy yell at us to go away, which we also promptly did. And at the last door of the night, we got in. It was a family from Louisiana who had been studying the books of scripture from every religion and were looking for the truest one. We gave her a book of Mormon. Cool stuff! And that was only from a few hours of tracting! 

After we got back to the mission home, we got our companion assignments. My assignment is... (drumroll please) ...  DENVER FIRST WARD! (Yeehaw!) This is the area closest to Denver in our mission, but I am in the Spanish area. this means that I cover almost 13 English areas because those are the boundaries of a Spanish Ward: Denver First. My area is Huuuuuuge. Also, my companion is... ELDER GIBBY! He was just released as zone leader and has spoken English his whole mission, but is fluent in Spanish. He and I are actually opening this area. That's right. Brand Spanking New Area. The ward is only moments away from falling apart, though, and we were afraid we wouldn't be able to find anybody to teach since they were struggling so much. NOPE! We found 3 new people on day one! We just knocked doors like crazy and Elder Gibby has really good approaches to get in and teach lesson one. On Thursday and Friday, we found 2 people each day. To put this in perspective, the rest of the mission struggles to find one person a day and we have found 7 in 3 days! This is an area of miracles! Literally the whole area is packed full of apartment complexes. Like TONS. There are literally too many people for us to be able to run out of work. My confidence and skill has increased a ton since day one! I am now a lot more confident approaching people and saying stuff in Spanish. I rarely understand everything they say back, but Elder Gibby does and that works out just fine. From now on, at least for a while, I will probably be approaching people and getting them started, then Elder Gibby will throw in the juicy stuff. Yesterday, we put someone on date for baptism in the first lesson. This is the E' Gibby way and it's pretty effective. I love it out here and talking to people each evening makes all the hard parts worth it. Sunday was pretty rough for me. I had a headache from trying to translate everything, and they asked me to introduce myself in Priesthood and my mind totally went blank. I was like "Uhhh Mi nombre es Elder Davis, uhhhhmmm soy de Saratoga Springs, Utah, uhhhhhhh bien."  Then I sat down. I guess I'll have a chance to redeem myself when I speak in sacrament next month.  I'm learning and getting better at Spanish each day.

Anyway, that's about all I've got this week, it's been hard, but it's totally worth it. I love the people, they are just so nice! The mission is a life unlike any other. Not everyone gets to spend every waking moment serving the Lord. Not everyone gets to wear the name of Jesucristo on their chests. Not everyone gets to share the gospel with every person they meet and have the protection of angels while doing so. I am so lucky to be out here, and I know that this will make me a better person, husband, and father one day. I can't wait to hear from all of you this week. 

Haz lo justo! (Choose the right)

-- Elder Davis

MAILING ADDRESS

Elder Samuel Davis

1990 Fenton Street #4

Lakewood, CO 80214

ARRIVAL!

This is Maegan.  It was so fun to get an email from President and Sister Gifford with the first picture.  I found more as I stalked the facebook page :) We were able to talk with Sam at the airport as he awaited his flight to Colorado.  He sounded so excited, and so ready!  We eagerly await an email from him today!  Then we'll know WHERE he is and who his new companion is.  We should get emails on Mondays now since that's his new preparation day.  I can't wait!!!

Pues, pues, pues. ¿Qué tenemos aquí? (Semana 5.5)

Hola amigos!

¡Es la última semana en la CCM! (This is the last week in the MTC!!) 

This week has been a blur, so hopefully I don't miss anything important. 

Why don't I start where I left off last week? GENERAL CONFERENCE!

Ahem... THAT WAS THE COOLEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE IN LITERALLY MY ENTIRE LIFE! I got to sit in the best seats in the conference center! So on Saturday Morning, Élder Clarke and I got up and ate breakfast and went to rehearsal. We all gathered in one of the chapels on campus. We ran through all the songs, but we were just so excited that we were basically yelling. After that, they lined us up by height and we filed onto the buses. I LEFT THE MTC!! We drove for a good long while, maybe an hour, until we came upon Salt Lake. Not long after we saw Salt Lake, conference began and we listened to it over the speakers in the bus. Then we pulled up to the conference center, oh what an exciting moment! We filed off the busses and into a back entrance in the conference center. It was some sort of receiving center for food deliveries or something like that. We walked down until we reached a security stop at which we were briefly checked for dangerous tie pins. Then they lead us into the conference center. We went up several flights of stairs until we ended up in this theater. It was laid out very similarly to the conference center choir seats, except instead of the general authorities on front of us, it was a stage. A projector screen was showing live general conference. As we all started taking our seats, we heard the 2 hour church announcement and everyone was buzzing about it. When everyone was finally seated, Brother Egget turned off conference and we proceeded to practice for somewhere around 2.5 hours. Then our time came. We walked  into the conference center right behind the general authorities' seats. We found our spots in the choir seats and I could see over the whole conference center. We practiced a bit, and let me tell you, that organ sounds so cool close up. And by close I mean we could literally touch the pipes. 

At one point, Elder Neil L Anderson came up with a family. He then pointed out an elder and had him come down. The Elder went and hugged his family before sitting down again. Everyone was trying to figure out who this guy was. I eventually found out that he is Elder Ballard, the grandson of Russell M Ballard. Then, on the saprano side, Elder Holland came up and pointed out a sister, his granddaughter. She came down and gave him a hug. Then on my side, a little while later, we saw all the apostles start coming in. They all stood in a group and were talking with each other. Then Elder Holland, from the bottom of the stage, pointed at Elder Ballard and beckoned him to them. He went down and hugged his grandpa and a few of the other apostles. I realized that it was his grandma who had just passed away. Then he came back up and sat down and totally acted chill like it was nothing. Being the child of an apostle would be so whack. 

I was there, right there! when Russell M Nelson and his counselors walked in. I saw them and I felt this powerful spirit hit me. I was almost emotional just looking at him. I realized the magnitude of his calling and validity of it. It was almost like being in the presence of the Savior. 

Then conference began. I could clearly see the back of the speaker, and it was crazy! I will never forget the moments where the lights turned on and the choir was raised and I could see 22,000 people who were all watching, not to mention the 6 million other people watching. I'll never forget singing with all my heart and preforming a service that could actually make a difference. I will never forget being able to sing the prophet's favorite song "Hark All Ye Nations" for him and actually being able to give him something real. I will never forget being chisen to represent not only the thousands of missionaries all over the world, but Jesus Christ as we sang praises to God wearing his name on our hearts. I actually got to check something off my bucket list and it was one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had the opportunity to experience. I was incredibly blessed to have this once in a lifetime opportunity. 

Anyway, in other news, I got my travel plans! I leave for Colorado on Wednesday Morning! I am so excited! 

My Spanish is coming along more or less. I think the hardest thing is remembering all the words I learn. I just love learning Spanish though, and I can't wait until I am in the field using it for real. I have so much more to learn, and I can't wait to do so. 

Anyway, sorry this email is so short, we had a long temple session today. Also my last session in Provo. 

I just want y'all to know how amazing the MTC is. I know there are lots of sayings out there about how awful it is, how bad the orange juice is, how a week feels like an eternity, or how awful the food is. But I just want to let you know that even if all that were true, the benefits still heavily outweigh the cons. I have learned so much here that I couldn't have learned anywhere else. I know more Spanish from these 6 weeks than I ever learned in 3 years of High School. I have had more time and opportunity to study the gospel than ever before. I have felt the spirit more on a daily basis than ever before in my life. Don't dread the MTC, it's an amazingly well-put-together training center and it's a once in a lifetime experience... That is, unless you go on more missions. All that being said, I can't wait to get out of here lol. 

Hasta próxima semana, 

-- Élder Davís 

Parlez-vous Français? (Semana 4.5)

¡¡Hola amigos!!

I apologize,  this email is going to be a short one. Today I sing in general conference, and we don't have a lot of time to email. For those of you who don't already know, I have been blessed with the amazing opportunity to sing in the Saturday Afternoon session of conference. I have been extremely fortunate to have been here in the MTC at just the right time and just so happen to be one of the few people (about 340) who were selected for the choir. I am humbled by the fact that they trust me to be one of the faces to represent the vast missionary force. What a responsibility! What an incredible experience! I am so excited!

So this week has been pretty great, especially with choir practice every morning. I get to get up at 5:30 am! How lucky is that?

In other news, I got to Host on Wednesday. For those who have not had the privilege of experiencing the MTC, hosting is where missionaries who are almost done in the MTC get to go drag new missionaries away from their mothers, out of the parking garage, and all over the MTC campus. I had a blast! But my hosting began before Wednesday even came. I hosted my first person on Tuesday. Flashback time. 

It was a regular Tuesday afternoon. I walked to a building, the best building of them all: S1, the meal building. I walked through the doors and entered the cafeteria, I swiped my card and started to leave, but then something happened that only Nephi can explain:

"3 And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn." (3 Nephi 11:3) 

" I turned about to find the source of that voice that pierced me, and behold, I saw an MTC employee leading an elder along. And I beheld that he had the dot of newbiness opon his badge, and it came to pass that I understood the meaning thereof: that he had just arrived in the MTC. Therefore, I heard the voice once more, but it came to pass that my ears were opened and I understood the meaning thereof. And she said unto me: Elder, this is Elder Helle. And behold she told me that he did not speak the tongue of the Americans, but the tongue of the French.

And now behold, it came to pass that I said unto her, Yeah, I wilt help thee. And verily, she was helped. And I lead Elder Helle along and helped him to receive the plates of ceramic. We then sat down. And it came to pass that Elder Helle and I partook of the food. And I made an attempt to communicate with him, but did it work? I say unto you nay. Verily verily it came to pass that twenty minutes had passed by and the people had gathered and were attempting to communicate with him. Behold, then a vision came to my mind, and I beheld my phone. And verily I say unto you, I beheld that my phone had an app and the name thereof was Microsoft Translate. Once the vision had ceased, I rejoiced and opened the translator app. And verily I say unto you, it was like unto the Urim and Thummim. And I said look! And he looked. And beheld many marvelous things. And thus I end this account"

Anyway, in other news, I had my last TRC thus week. Despite how infamous he is, Fernando was super fun to teach. He really opened up and our lessons went super well. I was thinking I would miss TRC, but then I realized that I'm literally only a few weeks away from doing it for real! 

Well, to wrap this up, I just want y'all to know how much this gospel means to me. I love it with all my heart. I have felt the truths of the gospel tough my heart and bring me true joy, and I know for absolutely certain that it is true. I cannot deny the witness of the spirit. As I have stayed here in the mtc, I have felt the spirit testify of the truths we are learning and I am incredibly excited to go and spread this to the people of Colorado. I know that The Book of Mormon is the irrefutable word of God and that we have living, loving prophets today and that they are called of God and that their words and counsel can bring peace and understanding. I look forward to hearing from our living prophets today, and I highly recommend having a question and a prayer in your heart while you watch. 

The church is true, y'all, 

--Élder Davís 

Placentero nos es Trabajar (Semana 3.5)

¡Hola hola!

¿Cómo le frijole? (How you bean) 

This week was one of Joy, Sorrow, and Beans.

To start off, I lost my favorite "friend of the church" this week... Also my only "friend of the church" I've ever had. My companions and I had been teaching Daniela for 2 full weeks and she was progressing really well. We found out and addressed some of her personal needs and helped her find truth through the Book of Mormon. She was so receptive and we had a plan to invite her to be baptized next week. Then, just as my luck would have it, Hermana Daniela Inzunza was no longer ours. We got a different assignment and may never see her again. ¡Que triste! This is probably just training for real missionary life, we have to get used to change and dissapoinment. Luckily something happened that balanced it all out.

Entooooooonces, when you're watching conference next month, there might be a certain choir singing in the Saturday Afternoon session... And there might be a certain person you know in that choir... And that certain person might be me . Okay okay I got into the Conference Choir!! It still feels so surreal. I am so excited I can't even talk about it without jumping up and down like a primary kid. We get to have practices at 7 am and I've never been more motivated to wake up at 5:30 am. I feel so blessed to have this experience and I'm excited to see what I'll learn from it.

Also I passed the halfway point of my time in the MTC. I feel like I've been here for a year 

In more bittersweet news, My district is now only 7 Elders strong. We sang "Placentero nos es trabajar" (Himno 88) On Monday and bid farewell to our dear friends. We shed a tear and said our goodbyes and I wish them the best of luck in Mejico. (Fun Fact: The himno 88, "Placentero nos es trabajar" is a hymn that is only in Spanish and is a tender farewell hymn. It's right before "Para Siempre Dios este con vos" (God be with you till we meet again) in the book.) 

So turns out both Élder Jensen and I talk in our sleep. I've heard stories of me yelling random words in Spanish in the middle of the night, but nothing beats what Else Jensen said this week. It was the middle of the night, and All of us were dead asleep. Then Élder Jensen started yelling. It woke Élder Meyers and I. He said "I love this place! I would marry you here!" Long pause "But let's go to the temple first!" When we told Élder Jensen about it, he said he was like half conscious and remembered the whole thing. We are still laughing about it . 

On Sunday, I watched a devotional by Elder Holland. It was powerful. Once Elder Holland gets going there is no stopping him. In his talk he said that if you are one of those people who won't learn anything from a mission and just let it all go by without letting it change you, you'd better just go home right now. He also said that absolutely NOBODY Ever learned more from a mission than he did on his. There was no written talk, all of this was just pure Elder Holland. I might go see the other Holland Devotional tomorrow. 

Oh also since Élder Luna is gone, my companion Élder Jensen is now the District leader. I'm excited for him as this is an awesome opportunity to learn and grow. Now both of my companions have callings at a zone level and I am enjoying not having to go to extra meetings lol. 

Okay so Monday night was very eventful. Elders Taylor and Anderson decided to hook themselves up to a Stem machine. I'm not sure exactly what that is or why he has one, but basically it sends electric pulses into your muscles and makes them twitch... I think it's supposed to be therapudic or something... That's definitely not how they were using it . So both of them stuck a few wired to their right arms, then cracked up the electricity. They then proceeded to try to write their names while their arms twitched uncontrollably. It was the funniest. Thing I think I have ever seen in the MTC. I was literally crying I was laughing so hard. I would attach a video, but a certain Élder Butler was yelling profanities in the background so I think I will spare you that.  

Aaaanyway, sorry this email is so short, I have several other emails to respond to, I'd hate to forget somebody. Speaking of which, could y'all do me a huge favor? When you respond to one of my emails, would you mind composing a new email instead of pressing reply? My inbox starts getting really confusing and messy when I have conversations tied to all sorts of emails. I would hate to forget about anybody, and this can make sure I don't.

I love all of you, the church is true. I know the gift of tongues is real and I have seen it begin to affect me and help me along. I know that the gospel, when utilized to its full extent can bless us and our families and our future families for eternity. I am excited to get out there and preach, but I know I've got more to learn here... Two and a half weeks left! It's gonna be a party. 

Hasta la próxima semana,

--Élder Davís

Photos!! 

General Conference Musica oh la la

The last picture with Autumn and Anna. Anna leaves tomorrow and Autumn on Monday.

Élder Toomer and me before they left for Mejico (wearing his fancy MTC cafeteria hat) 

Élder Holt and me (reppin the y) 

Basically my third companion, Élder Clarke. He's not going to Mexico, he's just awesome. Also don't ask why I have a spoon hanging out of my mouth... I literally have no idea. I don't do well under pressure, okay?

Élder Anderson and me

Élder Scott y Élder Scott and me. They finally perfected missionary cloning at the MTC