Blake is Home!!!

Just making sure that Ben didn't get taller than him!

 Mom can't wait for that hug!!!

Mom,Bryce and Blake

The best hug ever! 

We LOVE having Blake home!It has been wonderful hearing about his last two years. He will be speaking this Sunday at church at 9am.

Week 101:Elder Young comes home Thursday from a two year mission in Guatemala!!!

We are so excited to see him and give him the biggest hug this Thursday!!!

week 100: Elder Young enjoying bowling on Pday and HEFY visitors

We have been bowling every week since I got to the office and my score has improved dramatically. In the beginning I was happy to hit 90. Now, after weeks of practice, I bowl a 130 pretty consistently. My highest bowl was a 180 something today with 195 as a personal record. I think it is so much fun. Today we played for three hours until I got blisters in my hands. It was great. 

Some gringos came to our ward for an HEFY trip. It was cool to see so many gringos in one place. They couldn't really speak Spanish  but they seemed pretty cool.  We took them with us as we visited investigators and we had a lot of spiritual experiences even though they couldn't speak the language. It was great.

 

Then we had a talent show. My comps and I performed a skit about an investigator of the church who had doubts about baptism. It went amazing. Everyone loved it.  I'll have to show y'all the video.

Week 99:Elder Young -I know the Lord Lives

We have been very busy with many things to do. Multizonas are always very instructive and I learn more each time I attend.  The Spirit that I felt, especially in Xela was wonderful.  I am super happy with everything I have been able to accomplish in the mission and for the wonderful opportunity I have had to work in the office.
I know that the Lord lives.  One of the biggest reasons I have no doubt is the evidence of His influence in my life and the lives of so many I have met on my mission.

Week 98:Elder Young's weekly update

I'm doing great!!  The volcano didn't do anything to us but we have heard all week about it. It went off pretty close,  I haven't recognized any differences at all over her in Xela.  I have two comps Elder Alcayaga and Elder Tolbert. I love them both they are so great. 

Today we went bowling then went to the zoo. I won the rounds of bowling with 126 and then we ate ice cream it was pretty fun. 

Week 97:Elder Young's Testimony

Hello my beloved friends and loved ones.  Today I would like to testify. No wait, let me change that. It is my joy and privilege to share my sacred and dearly treasured testimony of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ here on the Earth with you.  I also testify that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. Let me explain:

Throughout my life, Joseph Smith has been a mystical character for me. How strange, fascinating and awe inspiring?  Could it really be that in the spring of 1820, this young 14 year old boy actually saw the crucified and resurrected Christ stand before him, testifying that the proclaimed restoration was about to unfold?   Could it be that in September 22, 1827 Joseph Smith received the brass plates from the angel Moroni?  Could it be that the book he published in March of 1830 is another testament of Jesus Christ, the very stick of Ephraim?  Is this church, the same church that my parents pay their tithing to, the same one that Joseph Smith organized on April 6th of 1830, the only true and living church of Jesus Christ in these latter days. 

My answer is: YES. Not just a little yes with lower case letters but a "HOLY COW YES AND IT IS SUCH A SACRED AND BEAUTIFUL PRIVILEGE TO TESTIFY OF THIS TESTIMONY I HAVE GAINED" all in intentional uppercase letters. 

My dear brothers and sisters, I know as I know that I am writing this letter that Jesus Christ is my Savior.  Leave it to the scientists and their esoteric studies to explain HOW His atonement works and believe to my empirical testament.  Jesus Christ is my best friend.  He is the Author and Finisher of my salvation. He is the great Jehovah of the Old Testament and the very same One I expect to see as I enter through the gates of glory after this life.  I know Him and I love Him.

I know that the Book of Mormon is true because I have read it and prayed about it.   Have you read it? How interesting and fitting it is that this same Jesus Christ has said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." He is the same God that provides us with real, tangible evidence of the restoration.

The pattern to know these things is simple. Just follow the advice James gives in his first epistle fifth verse "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

In other words, if you (yes you, because you are a child of God) have a question, then ask God about it!

Please, my dear friends. Follow James's advice. Ask God. Just ask him.  you can do it like this:

Start by saying

"Dear Heavenly Father"

Then ask your question.  It can be something like, "Is the Book of Mormon true?  Was Joseph Smith actually a true prophet? Did you actually call him to do Your work?"

Then say "In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Then wait for the answer to come. 

I have seen many people do this. Then we have waited together.  I've then witnessed their emotion as they feel God's love for them. This is ALL it takes. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, happiness and peace. I testify that God loves us. He loves all His children. The gospel has been restored. The priesthood authority and the truth--the complete, unabated truth, is found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This is my testimony.  I know that it is true.  I invite you to do what is necessary to know it is true also! 

With Much Love, 

Elder  Blake Young

Week 96: Elder Young - Letting God Work Through Me

 I will tell you about a miracle. We were doing a whole bunch of errands, driving almost all day.  We were listening to the Joseph Smith Papers podcasts.  We had a great time listening.  I felt prompted to postpone an appointment, so I called and met at 7.  It was great. Alex was there. We felt the Spirit, We gave Alex, Sandra, Valentina, and Julio priesthood blessings. I just remember thinking “I will say the words the Spirit puts in my mouth”. So, I waited and my mouth was filled with the words, promises, knowledge and comfort each one of them uniquely needed.  I learned so much in giving them their blessings.  It was beautiful.  I left feeling the Spirit so strongly and thinking about my many mission miracles. I have received so many gifts through the Spirit:

• I have prayed  before attempting to choose a key from a large ring of keys which one to use to unlock the door.  I asked, “Father, I know thou knowest, which is the right key.”  When I felt I knew the right one, I used it and it opened the door.
• I felt inspired to ask a certain strangely worded question in many lessons.  For example I asked, “Brother Alex, are you tired of miracles or do you want more?” and he prayed for one and it came.  Another time I was inspired to compared reaching the Promised Land to reaching our own goals in our life after praying for help to know how to help a struggling family follow through on getting divorced and then remarried correctly.
• Another time I prayed to know what house we should go to and then felt the inspiration that "this is the house.”  So we went, found what we are looking for and eventually baptized a cute family of three.
• I have felt the impression to say certain special things when giving priesthood blessings.  Many tears were shed because of the fact that the person knew only God would know of the things that were said.  How great He is!
• I’ve been given the gift of have no desire to sin in any way, many times.  I have been so filled with Spirit that I was brimming over with peace and joy, to the point where sin looks pitiful and poor, a ridiculous joke.  
• I have felt heaven-sent inspiration while talking at church and have been guided in what to say in my testimony.
• I have know the power of prayer.  I have received the wonderful gift of precise, unique answers to questions to him.
• I have received the power to prophesy at times.  Thoughts, ideas and promises have come into my mind and have been clearly God’s will.

So, have I noticed a pattern?  Yes.

All these gifts are dependent on one thing.  As you look at them well and you see one factor they all share?  It is my willingness to let God work through me.

At the temple with Ricardo!

Week 95:A day in the Life of Elder Young

A day in the life. We go to the office at 8:10. We walk about 17 minutes. And I always buy little yogurt popsicles. They are so good and cost 5Q. We go to the office and I update spreadsheets, and am basically a journalist. It is my job to publish a journal every week of the mission. You know what I will send it home  so ya'll can see.President calls me like three times a day and I always  do little things that he asks of me. It is a really fun time. I also update the baptismal registries that is a lot of work and a lot of pressure but I like it a lot. I've already updated a lot of things but now I am sending a video to the whole mission.I send emails to all the missionaries every week-that is a tutorial in Spanish about how to send things on google drive. We have used google drive a lot it's a lot of fun. I like this job a lot.

We are working in our area from three on during the day. We have seen some really cool stuff.  We are teaching a blind lady's daughter and also another family . We baptized two these last couple of weeks and we've had a fun time. Well that’s about it. . I love you  so much. I love my family more than probably anything in the world. And I just want ya'll to know that. I've had a lot of ideas about how I want to raise my own family some day based on what I've learned from awesome members here in these parts as well as the members over at home. I've learned the importance of scripture study because when  I read I really feel great. It's so important to stop the crazy life occasionally and just pray and read scriptures and align yourself with the spirit every so often. I love that feeling when I pray that God will help me overcome my weakness and he gives me a great feeling of peace. It's awesome.
 Well we just went to the Ruins here in Zaculeu, It was a lot of fun. I ripped my pants while I was sliding down one of the ancient Laminite ruins. We played a lot of awesome games and I have a lot of sweet photos. I'll have to show you them.I  also played the ukulele and sang for a group of people along with my comp ,Elder Figgini, Elder Luce, Elder Wind, Elder Godi, and Elder Topete that was fun. Let's see what else. Right now we are driving in the car. Elder Wind is sitting to the right of me. We are listening to EFY songs in the car. It's pretty sweet. I was just reminiscing about my life before the mission. I remember that we would play Halo and we would listen to EFY songs. Haha that was fun. Wow  how crazy is it that my friends are already returning from the mission. I have definently had a great life.

Week 94:Elder Young,"God Lives"

Well I am sitting here in the park while all of my companions are playing soccer. It is pretty fun. One of our investigators came and he brought his kids so I/m teaching them how to play ukulele. They are so adorable. It has been a good week.

EFY Song I like

I was sitting up in my bed

When they called me one day

My bags were unpacked

My training was done

I started feeling like a father

So I followed the son

I close the scriptures

And shut the door

My mind is heavy

As my knees hit the floor

I pray to my Father

And

I'm not perfect

But there is one who is

So when I fall

I remember I am his

Please, ladies and gentlemen, if you don’t believe in God, do this: Ask god if he loves you in a prayer. Start by saying dear Heavenly Father, end by saying in the name of Jesus Christ amen. Wait for 20 seconds. You will also know that he lives. That is all I do as a missionary. That is all it takes. God lives. I know it. After seeing many people just pray and GOD saying, get baptized in this church. I know that it is true. I was present in all those lessons or aleast a whole lot of them. God lives. He does. I promise. In the very Holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen!

Just wanted to make a quick entry here about the feelings of the Holy Spirit that I have felt in my mission. I have felt, whenever I see someone who I know needs to hear the gospel, I feel in my heart the words or feelings : this person was put in your camino today so that you can bless him. I then have complete confidence, I tell them that and they feel great and happy. It works. The spirit is real because that happens extremely often. I can feel it.

5-5-2018

Well, Ricardo got baptized today. That was fun. It was a nice relief to see him be so faithful and just come through in the end. Great man. He took the baptism and everything super well. He, when we first met him, said that he didn’t even believe in God. Now he prays frequently and is learning to love the Lord. It was a fun baptism. I remember when I was teaching him. I testified of Christ and he was nodding his head  in agreement. The spirit was burning and I gave probably the most powerful testimony I’ve ever given about Christ. It was such a pleasure. I know that testimony effected him and I am so glad to have been worthy, able, and willing to bare it to him. What a great moment that was. Actually, thinking about it well that moment of testifying was even more fun and spiritual and happy than the baptism itself. It's about the journey with the investigators. It is really nice to see them make it, but the moment of conversion isn’t the baptism itself, it’s before. It's in the midnight prayer. It’s in the lesson where you asked them to pray with you in that moment and they do and look up and smile at God. Come on now.

Week 93:Elder Young went back to visit Racana

 We are going to go play bored games and go shopping. Just got finished playing basketball for about an hour with an investigator. He might come to church this Sunday, we'll see. Last night I drove all the way back to Racana to bring the Elder's their luggage. It was weird to be back. I yelled " LA UTZ A WATCH" out the window to some young kids who all responded UTZ Y AT! It was funny. All is well in Zion. I think that I will be staying in the office ANOTHER change. President doesn't want me to go haha. But yeah the new  BED IS awesome.

We are going to baptize Ricardo tomorrow. Great guy. 

Love, Elder Young

Week 92:: Elder Young enjoying good times in Guatemala

Today was a wonderful day. We were in the office pretty much the whole time. I got up, did some workouts for about 45 minutes then worked on  some presentation things for president.  Anyways, we then went and ate lunch with the assistants and zone leaders at a lovely place called San Martin. It was so pleasant.

Following that we got the news that a sister was coming back in the mission again so I prepared her money and everything. I then did some coding to prepare the documents for president’s reunion ( I have done a whole bunch of programming and am starting to get the hang (or basic understanding of) VBA, python, java and google script. It is a whole lot of fun. 

Anyways, that was an enjoyable experience. We then all got new beds!! We called the truck guy ( I lowered the price with my Chapin bargaining skills from 250 to 170) and gave ourselves brand new beds. What a refreshing concept that is. We came back to the office -after helping a man move his broken car- and I finished editing the code. I was editing when I felt a very distant impression: Look up a conference talk about the man who was a zone leader and had to say a prayer to save his life.

Shocked at the prompting, I closed my coding and searched it to find it. I couldn’t find it at all. No matter what I searched it wasn’t there. I found some other cool articles on lds.org though. Finally, I asked my comp “Hey, do you know that conference talk about the guy who almost falls and says a prayer”.

“Yeah, this one”

I look and he is literally half way through it, listening to it. I brought my chair into his room and listened to it all. Wow! That talk was exactly what I needed. It was amazing; I felt the spirit strongly and just a great feeling of peace. I was so happy I listened to that talk. It was just perfect.

What a fun day this was. We had our second multizone. The first one was in HUEHUE yesterday. That was a blast. I filled out an interview with the mission about how to be a more consecrated missionary. I liked it. It was nice. I played piano and gave a comment that president and the assistants quoted later that day and in Xela. The comment was when I was a zone leader about a year ago I remember that President Diaz came in the mission: he asked us what a miracle would be. The whole counsel was full of miedo (scared) and my companion raised his hand and said “60, 60 would be a miracle.”

Since January we have gotten more than 60 every single month in baptisms. How about that.

Anyways, good times. Always good moments with president.

Today we went to Xela and had an enjoyable time here too. I played piano and did the presentations on the computer.. Anaya’s, good multizone (same as Huehue Pretty much but the spirit changes based on the needs of those who president taught and so his teachings did too.

Good times. Anyways, I did a whole bunch of work for president ( he asked me to do a huge assignment for all the stake presidents in Xela and Huehue, so I am going to do it tomorrow. Also they celebrated my birthday a month earlier seeing as I am going home in two and they celebrate birthdays every 4 months.

Then I printed out checks, drove to the hospital had president sign them, returned, gave a scripture study desk to some sisters in San Mateo, went to Cantel, got lost, found Cantel, gave the sisters a fridge and microwave and a blessing to a sick sister. I felt the spirit strong as I gave the blessing. I was just so happy that I could get the right words in my head and just feel good. I love the priesthood. I understand that I need it because I need those experiences.

My companions here in the office are punching each other with newspapers.

Now back to programming the excel page.

 

Week 91:Elder Young on his Pday at a huge Lagoon where they went on a big hike