Aaron's email 2/26/13

Dear Family,

Thanks for the pictures!! Mom, you cut you hair! it looks great!:) and everyone looks happy and i hope you all return to full health soon! i did get the valentine/st patty's tie and shorts, thank you so much!! i hope that PTC's go well for you and you can make it! it's not your first rodeo;) 

Alrighty on to updates! and oh! that scripture that's been on your mind, believe it or not i am singing a duet with a sister missionary next month with that exact scripture in it! it's called "be still" coincidence? i think not:)

 

Linda is the big story for the week! so if i recall last week i told you that Linda has her baptismal date set for Mar 30 right? well at church on sunday she came up to us and said "i just realized, i'm getting baptized on Easter weekend! and i'll be able to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost on Easter! how cool is that??" i personally think that's totally awesome, something that will remain with her and us forever, that will be a very special day for her and hopefully her daughters as well! there were many members of the ward who introduced themselves to Linda on sunday and Sis Riewerts did an awesome job of inviting Linda to RS with her and got to know her and her story (sis riewerts is a new move and convert to the church) and that was Linda's 2nd time ever going to RS and she loved it! she said to us after church "i'm really starting to feel excited about everything!" which is so great! we know that being baptized won't be able to resolve all of life's challenges but we do know how much it will bless her life! we had a cool lesson with her and she said to us that she was blazing through Moroni during church and she committed to finish it before we get together this week. we reviewed the baptismal interview questions with her and she is certainly progressing in the Gospel and what a blessing it is to be able to be a witness, and testify of the Savior and see people's lives change, and to have Linda's experiences and testimony of the Holy Ghost is so humbling, i know that the Holy Ghost is real and it truly leads and guides us, for this is the Lord's work and He directs it through the power of the Holy Ghost.

 

Sariah is doing well too, she's such a smart girl! we'll be meeting with her tonight so more updates will come but we plan on opening up to the scriptures this week with her and helping her understand and see that they can apply to her and the blessings of reading every day as well.

 

Will you watch the new Mormon Message "mountains to climb" by Pres Eyring this week? i promise that you'll feel the spirit and be comforted in knowing that you are not alone in this life and that He is always there to help you overcome.
http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#mountains-to-climb

 

I want each of you to know how much i love this work and this Gospel, i love my Savior Jesus Christ, i know that He lives. I know that all that He requires is a willing heart and a willing mind, and once we're able to give our will over to His, miracles can and will happen, in our own lives and in the lives of others. I testify that this is His work, and it will continue to roll forth! i love you all so much and hope that you have a wonderful week! stay safe and warm and healthy! until next time!

love,

Elder Aaron Jordan Lloyd

Aaron's email 2/12/13

Dear Family,

It's great to hear from you!! I bet Trevor's homecoming was great!  That's awesome to hear that Haley is working on her papers as well!! the Goaslinds will have two SUPER SISTERS out in the field! seriously, they are two amazing examples to me and dear friends. thanks for the updates on the homecoming talks haha i'm trying not to think about those things too much but keep me posted there on that one. Now is the time for me to sprint as dad said and i plan on doing so! No Sacrifice, No Victory right dad? We got word about transfers today and I will be serving in Del Cerro for another 5 weeks (because this is the short transfer to reallign with MTC schedule) and I am so stoked to be able to continue to serve with Elder Laxton! he is seriously a stud of a missionary, i am learning so much from him, he is a great example to me and a great teacher! i hope you enjoy st george!! 

so quick updates then i want to touch on what mom has learned from her book about the Holy Ghost.

So! Tom is doing well and is working towards baptism on March 2, 2013 and we have seen some big changes in Tom since i first started teaching him. He has been attending more regularly (hopefully will start to all 3 hours) and we went through the Baptismal interview questions with him and he understands everything and we are just helping him with the Book of Mormon and with praying specifically for an answer to know if Joseph Smith is a prophet ( i know, two kind of HUGE things, but he has a willing heart and mind and we know that he'll receive an answer as he truly and with real intent seeks it). He is a great man and we hope and pray for his continued progression.

Linda is still doing well! she's still preparing for March 16, 2013 to be baptized and please keep her in your prayers as well. We are hoping that we'll be able to start teaching her two daughters as well 13 and 9, they've gone to church up in Vista with her fiance's family and have really enjoyed it, so now we just need to introduce them to the youth of the Del Cerro ward and help that make connection for them. 

and finally Sariah, i think i told you about her last week, but we've had a couple lessons with her since last tuesday and she is doing well! We've been trying our best to bring our "A-game" to those lessons to keep them short and sweet, and super simple so that she can understand the basic principles and ordinances of the Gospel. She has a baptismal date for March 23, 2013 but she expressed to us that she "won't be ready by then" we asked why she feels that way and sis davis and her mother asked "are you nervous?" and we could tell she's a little nervous, not about the water or the Holy Ghost, but she is a very intellectual for an 11 year old and she asks and dissects a lot things, which is fun for us. But she committed to pray specifically for answer to know if she should be baptized and we know that as she has the desire, she will receive an answer. 

Oh! so this is kinda cool, Elder Laxton and i have been trying to see a Less-Active in the ward named Lucas and he lives in the apartment complex known to the members of the ward as "the great and spacious" haha it's called La Mirage and there are over 1400 units in this place, it's huge! anyways, we talked with him a couple of weeks ago and set an appointment but when we got there, he forgot that he had a 24 hour duty on base (he's a marine) and wanted to reschedule with us. we are in church on sunday and we look out the doors into the foyer and we see this man walk by a few times in a t-shirt and sweat pants and we look at other and mouth almost in unison "is that Lucas?" sure enough! he came to church! and after the block we set an appointment with him for wednesday and he met our bishop and Elders Quorum President and is looking forward to meeting with us this week! He's told us that his wife will come around (she's phillippino and also catholic) but he says he's working on her haha :) 

ok now to my thought about the Holy Ghost. So as a companionship we were talking the other day about the Holy Ghost, how we feel it, what it is, the differences between the power and gift of the Holy Ghost, the Light of Christ and the Spirit and we then began to talk about the Plan of Salvation and to know that we existed before, where we all lived as spirits in the presence of our Father in Heaven. there also was the Holy Ghost, he knew us and knows us just as well so that's how he knows just how to talk to us individually, spirit to spirit. To have the gift of the Holy Ghost is such a blessing and what an amazing gift that it is! may we each strive to understand and follow and act without delay on the promptings that we receive from the Holy Ghost. In your missionary efforts, consider Cleopas' experience with the Savior in Luke 24:18, 29, 32. and know that those with whom you interact feel the spirit that you carry with you, each of you. I love you dearly and hope this week goes well for each of you.

Love,

Elder Aaron Jordan Lloyd

John 4:34-38

Aaron getting a Flu shot

Pictures of Aaron

Aaron's Release Date

We received news from the San Diego California Mission that Aaron's release date is June 11, 2013

Aaron's Feb 5 2013 email

Dear Family!

 

It's great to hear from you!! i hope this week has been a great one! it's great to hear of all the adventures that you are having and thanks for sending the pictures as well! it's great to see you all! holy smokes Nolie and Lincoln are huge! ha ha and your hair is so long mom! you all look wonderful! ha ha thank you for your love and support and for all that you do for me out here, your prayers are felt and they are greatly appreciated! as for a decision for school. I've decided on the Business Finance major and we went through the prereq's and i don't have too much left to do but the upper divisions. i hope you have a great time in st George!

 

updates! i want to tell you what happened this past Sunday! what an awesome fast and testimony meeting it was! Elder Laxton and now Elder Brown has joined us (he's our companion for the week until transfers next week then we'll see what happens from there) and I are working with the active members of the ward and inviting them to create their family mission plans and set the goal of inviting one family to receive a lesson this year, and we're inviting them to share their experiences in sacrament meeting and this past Sunday every single testimony minus two were all about sharing the gospel and the experiences that they've been having in sharing the gospel and testifying to their friends and inviting them to their homes to feel the spirit. It was so cool! and Tom Bach made it to church and he's preparing to be baptized next Saturday Feb 16th! and Linda's also working towards March 16th too!

 

I also want to tell you about what happened to us last night. We had an appointment with sis Rarick, a LA in our ward and we initially thought it was going to be a "normal" visit and hopefully help her to strengthen and deepen her testimony and conversion to the gospel. Now she has two daughters and about 5 minutes into our lesson she said "you know, sariah hasn't been baptized yet, she just didn't feel ready when she turned 8" and then her mother asked her "would you like to meet with the missionaries and take the lessons?" to which she nodded and we were able to talk about the gift of the Holy Ghost and how it can help her in her life. she'll be turning 11 this month and we'll be going over tonight to share an awesome lesson about the Holy Ghost with her, we are super excited!

we also had a lesson with the Whittaker's and when we walked in Nick was there to greet us and he said "ah i probably won't be joining in on the lesson tonight" and so i was just talking to him about school and how things are going and then he said, "you know, i actually will be joining the lesson" and he was totally participating in the lesson. Now Nick had been baptized baptist about two weeks ago but in our discussion about the Holy Ghost and how we feel it and the difference between the power and gift of the Holy Ghost, Nick came to understand that he truly desires to have the gift of the Holy Ghost bestowed upon him and he wants to keep meeting and learning more. His little brother Josh will be a little more fun to help understand the gospel, and Jake is 9 and is really funny and fun to teach. What a great family! I'll keep you update with what happens with them as time goes on!

 

I want you to know that i know this is without a doubt the Lord's work! His hand is in this and he knows and loves us! each and every one of us! He is the Christ and He leads the church today. Thank you for all that you do i hope this week brings many blessings and miracles for each of you and have you had any missionary experiences lately? if so, i invite you to share them with me so i can share them with the members out here and I'd also invite you to share your experiences over the pulpit next fast Sunday. take care family! i love you!

love,

Elder Aaron Jordan Lloyd