A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!

Okay, I have to be really brief because Elder Weaver is already done emailing and he is waiting for Elder Hegemann and I to finish!

     

We had such a great week! On Tuesday, we were able to meet with Bobby and we just read in Alma 37 & 38 because that is where he is in his reading. We read for a while and had a great discussion! I love reading the scriptures with others and stopping to talk about things that stick out or questions that anyone has. That is something I remember doing with my boys back in Utah that are all out serving missions right now! 

     

Wednesday, we met with Niki and Pamela who are two young girls that live with their grandma who is a member. The girls have been meeting with the missionaries for a few months and they really want to be baptized. They are both 10 and 11 years old, so we are doing our best to explain things to them in a way that they can understand the seriousness of what they are wanting to do. It is so sweet! They wanted to be baptized on the 3rd of January, but we felt that it would be better to wait another week so they are scheduled for the 10th now! 

     

Christmas was the best day ever! After studies, we went over to the Gifford's home to have breakfast with them and it was really yummy! Then we went to the Pope's house, which is an investigator family, and we reviewed The Restoration with them and set four baptismal dates for the 31st of January. So, the grandma that lives there was a little confused why she would need to be baptized again if she was already baptized before and their daughter Kara was explaining to her that she needed to be baptized by someone holding the priesthood! This was so neat to watch her explain to her grandma what we had shared with her. After the Pope family, we went to the Pond's where I was able to Skype my dear family. I am so blessed to have the family that I do. I love you all more than I can explain and it was the best present to see and hear from you! 

     

Friday we had a sweet district meeting about the importance of prayer and teaching it to others. We had a role play that was a little different than what we usually do, but it was very helpful. We all took turns teaching Elder Hegemann as companionships and then we would evaluate and the next companionship would teach him the next principle. We focused on the what, why and how we pray.

     

Saturday, we met with Bobby again and we were able to teach The Gospel of Jesus Christ lesson. We had a recent convert who is on fire come with us and the lesson went so well! 

     

Sunday, something really sweet happened. Paul texted us when we were in ward council and said that his brother was sick so he would not be able to take him to church. He said that he was sick as well, but that he knew he should come to church so he asked us if we would be able to find a ride for him. The same member who came out to teach Bobby with us was able to go and pick him up! He stayed the whole time and explained that he knew he should have come and he felt like that was right where he needed to be! We weren't able to meet with him this past week because he was at his dad's house for Christmas, but we are meeting with him this Wednesday! 

     

I love my life, I love being a missionary, and I love all of you. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and remembered the most important reason why we celebrate it. Our Savior loves us all more than our minds can comprehend and He want us to return back to live with Him and our Heavenly Father and He has made that possible for us. I hope you have a great start to 2015! I love you guys! 

Love, 

Elder DeLuca

​Winter wonderland in Texas! 

Sorry I didn't take any cool pictures this week! This is me emailing you guys(:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Oh my goodness. I had the best week ever! When I said that this place was on fire, I was not kidding! We have been teaching a guy named Paul for the past week and a half and just this past week, we have met with 4 times since last Sunday. That is cray. I have never met with an investigator that frequently since I have been out here! Paul is seriously so solid. He truly wants to change his life around and he tells us that this is the time. His brother is actually in our ward so he is really familiar with the LDS church. He told us from the start that he knows that the Book of Mormon is true! He has read all of it and he still studies from it every day. We are seriously so blessed to be able to be working with him. 

We also met with Bobby this week too and we had a really good lesson with him. We taught the Plan of Salvation and everything was making sense to all of us. The lesson flowed really well and we had a great discussion. Something really funny happened though. After the lesson I came to find out that Bobby and I have the same birthday! I was asking him if he still felt that January 10th was a good date for him to be preparing for and he was like "Yes, it is right after my birthday too." And I was like "Hold up, what is your birthday??" When he said, "January 8th." I seriously jumped up and was like "NO WAY!! That is my birthday!" I put my fist out for him to pound it and he was laughing so hard. I don't know why it was so funny, but he seriously could not stop laughing so then my companions started laughing too and all four of us could not stop. It was really funny and I was glad to have been the one being laughed at. Haha.....good thing it was after the lesson was over!

We also went by a less active members' house this week and he has a brother that is living with him who was present during our lesson and he started asking us a lot of questions. We ended up focusing the lesson of him and we asked if he wanted us to come back and start teaching him more and he said yes! He also accepted a Book of Mormon and a soft baptismal date! We went back the next day but we didn't actually get to teach anything so we are going to go again sometime this week. 

We had a Christmas Conference last Friday and our entire mission met at the Cypress Stake Center. We had all 270 missionaries there! That was pretty crazy, but we had a lot of fun and we got to sing some Christmas songs which was really fun. 

Okay, so remember how I said Jordan was being baptized on the 20th? Well, we were doing some street contacting that day and Elder Hegemann had to use the restroom so we went to Target and when we were there I saw Sister Burnett! (Jordan's Mom). She was there getting some stuff for the baptism and we talked for a little bit and then I told her to keep in contact with me to let me know how the baptism goes. So a few hours later the Magnolia Elders called me and said that they just talked to Sister Burnett and that Jordan really wanted me to come to her baptism. I guess Sister Burnett didn't know that I would have been able to leave Tomball so she didn't ask me. I ended up going to the baptism and on the way there I asked the Magnolia Elders who was baptizing her and they said the Bishop. I was like, "Why aren't either of you doing it?"  And they said that it just worked out that way. Elder Edwards was like "Wait, do you want to baptize her?" to which I responded, "Well yeah that would be sweet, but Bishop is already planning on doing it!" So, they called Sister Burnett back and asked her to ask Jordan if she wanted me to baptize her and she said yes! Long story short I not only got to go to the baptism, but I was able to perform the ordinance. You guys I cannot explain how it feels to bring someone to the waters of baptism. When I was in the font with her, everything felt so right. I know that I had the spirit confirm to me that what I was doing was so real and so serious. I love it! 

So Paul came to church this past Sunday and he was so pumped. He looked so natural there he and knows a lot of people in our ward because of his brother and also he is like a master tech on working with A/C units and he has done a lot of work on people's homes in the ward. 

Well this is my first Christmas away from home, but this is where I need to be and I know that. I am so excited to skype my family! You all might have to wear sunglasses when we skype so the reflection off of my bald head doesn't hurt your eyes! Hahaha JK it isn't that bad yet, but it is always better to prepare ahead of time. I wish you all the Merriest Christmas ever and know that I love you, but more importantly that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ do too. Thank you everyone for all of the packages and cards and treats....I have definitely been eating them, and it most certainly shows!   

Love, 

Elder DeLuca

Here are the Mortensens! 

​This is Paul! He is such a stud! I think that picture in the back is actually in Arizona!(:

This was the best surprise ever! This is Jordan! 

2nd Week in Tomball!

This past week was SO sweet! Last Monday, we were street contacting in a neighborhood before we got our haircuts (I was hesitant because I am worried it won't grow back....) and we walked past a guy who went into his backyard to bring in his garbage can. Right when we passed him, I felt like we should talk to him but it was one of those awkward moments when we already passed and then we would just be standing there waiting for him to come back.  However, I stopped and stood there. He came back and we all started talking to him and, long story short, he was wanting to learn more and he accepted a baptismal invitation on the spot! He is a very high potential, but he said he only had a work phone so all we have is his email. We are going to have to go back by! 

     

Another miracle was a lady named Kimberly that we tracted into before a lesson we had with Bobby, who was one of the sister missionaries' investigators before they were transferred out of Tomball. Kimberly was very similar to the guy I just mentioned. She was really nice and she accepted a Book of Mormon and she told us that it would be a few weeks before week could meet, due to her busy work schedule and four children under the age of 16. She is super busy! 

     

So, we met with Bobby and our lesson went well with him. We were able to bring a recent convert in the ward named Aaron Finch to come teach with us and he really helped a lot! Aaron Finch was baptized earlier this year and he tells everyone that he had a lot of struggles with different things before he met the missionaries and he completely changed his life around. Needless to say, he is a success story. More importantly though, he really makes people feel loved and I saw that when he was talking to Bobby. We reviewed the restoration with Bobby because it has been a while since the sisters were over there and we planned to see him this past Saturday too, but he had to work. We are planning on meeting with him again this Tuesday though! 

     

Okay, so here is the coolest part of my week. Yesterday, before Sacrament meeting I saw Elder Lythgoe talking to a lady so I went over to say hi to them and as I walked up I heard her introduce herself as "Cindy French" and I was like "I totes know that name, who is she??"  And then it clicked! The first Thursday I was here, we had our weekly planning and I was going through the sisters area book to try to find out who they were meeting with and who all of the former investigators were and so fourth. Anyways, I came across the name Cindy French and so I called her and spoke with her for a few minutes and she said the sisters had come over a few times, but she was out of town for so long because of work so she hadn't met with them in a while. She told me to call her in two weeks so I said I would call her on the 14th after church! So when I heard her say that I was like "I was the one you spoke with on the phone a few weeks ago!!!!!!!" It was the coolest thing ever. Her co-worker is a member from Wyoming and she came down to Houston to do some work and felt prompted to invite her friend Cindy to church with her!!!!!!!!!!!!! You guys do you understand this!? My face was beaming!! I was soo happy! I sat next to her during Sacrament Meeting and she told me that she was meant to be here and that it is not a coincidence. I seriously wanted to cry because I was so happy. She is golden! We have a meeting with her this Thursday and I am pumped! 

     

So, remember when I told you guys about us teaching elders Quorum? When we talked about missionary work with them it went really well and they all were super stoked and so the Elders Quorum President came up to us yesterday and was like "We are going to have a missionary moment each Sunday before the lesson!" He told the elders that he is going to ask who is willing to invite someone each week to hear more about the gospel and then they have to report the next Sunday before the lesson. I responded something like this; "YES! That is what I am talking about! Uh I am so pumped right now! You guys are so sick!" Haha, seriously though, that is what I said. Hopefully, it wasn't too loud. Missionary work is so sweet you guys! The work is so real and I love it. 

    

I wanted to thank you all for your prayers. Many of you know it has been tough for us to find new people to teach, but I promise you that your prayers are being answered. We are starting to speed up and we are gonna explode soon! hahah((: Thank you to all of you. I love you all! 

     

One last thing, Jordan (The one Elder Lythgoe and I started teaching in Magnolia) is being baptized this Saturday! How sweet is that!? Missionary work is on fire! Awww I love it! I hope you all listen to the promptings you have to share the gospel because it is the sweetest thing we can do. It can be tough, but I promise you it is the most rewarding thing you can do here. Heavenly Father will pour out blessings upon you and I promise you that! 

Love, 

Elder DeLuca

I went on exchanges with the Gleannloch Farms elders and this was in the home of a member over there, so I had to get a picture. (: This reminds me of the one that is in my grandpa's home! I love you Papa!!

Tomball is Sweet!

So, I am now in the Tomball 2nd Ward and it is awesome. I still meet at the same building so I saw a lot of members from my old ward yesterday! I now have two new companions. Elder Weaver and I are new to the area and we are with Elder Hegemann who has been in this ward for almost 5 months. Yesterday, I was a little stressed out before church because were asked to teach a follow up lesson in Elders Quorum on a discussion that we were not there for the previous week. Because of that we did not prepare as well as we could have. I was also thinking about all of the new people I have to meet, members that I had to follow up with that we left commitments with a few days prior, ward coorelation meeting, ward council, and the list goes on and on. Needless to say, I was stressin'. I knew that it was such a great opportunity for me to go up and introduce myself and bear my testimony during Sacrament Meeting, so I did! After I sat back down, I felt like a weight was lifted off of me. I seriously felt so comforted just by bearing my testimony of what I know to be true. It was the coolest thing ever!  

     

Just this past night, something really cool happened. We went over to visit a less-active family and we were planning on sharing a brief message with them or if they were not available, setting up a return appointment. The mother said we can come back on Thursday so we thought we ought to ask her if she has seen the He Is The Gift video and she said no. We explained a little bit about it and asked her if she would be willing to check it out and she was like "Yes, I'll even post it on FaceBook!" We were so pumped! We told her that we will check up with her on Thursday to see if anyone commented on it. (: After we left, we knocked a few doors there at the apartment complex and a lady came to the door and we were able to talk to her about the video and then introduce her to the Book of Mormon and extend a baptismal invitation! It was sweet! She was a little hesitant but we are going to follow up with her when we go back on Thursday. She actually knew the mother of the family that we had planned on seeing that night! We then went back to the less-active family and we told the mom what had happened and she said that she will follow up with her too! This was so sweet! 

    

We have been using the "He Is The Gift" pass-along cards and we are talking to a ton of people. Last night before we went to visit that family, we were tracting in a neighborhood and someone that we talked to called the cops on us. We don't know who it was, but a cop came up to us and was like "what are you guys selling?" and I explained to him that we were just sharing a free video with people and I gave him a card! (: He was actually interested! He said that we were fine to continue doing what we were doing! 

     

We have been super busy this week with meeting new members, and visiting former gators and such. I love this new area. I wanted to give a little shout out to my little sissy. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDAH!!!! For those of you that didn't know, her birthday is this Thursday and she is turning 16! I cannot believe it. I love you!!

     

I look forward to getting more adjusted here in Tomball and letting you know how it goes. Thank you all for everything that you do for me. I love you guys!

Love, Elder DeLuca 

​This was my last pic in "Magnowia" haha. This is the Green family and they are so sweet! 

Check out the horns on this boy! 

Thanksgiving Week!

 I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We ate three times and I was so full. This past week we were able to meet with Jordan and we had a really great lesson with her. 

     

This past Friday, Elder Lythgoe and I taught our last Zone Meeting together and we felt that it went really well. We also have two Sister Training Leaders who teach with us and they are sweet. Overall, it was a great meeting and we hope that the missionaries who were there took something from the meeting. 

    

We have been visiting a lot of members lately both active and inactive and we are sharing the new video that the church has produced called "He is The Gift." This video is sweet, you guys, and I want to encourage you all to share it with as many people as you feel impressed to do so. The Church had purchased the front page of YouTube and this video will be the only advertisement of YouTube's front page for this month, starting on December 7th. They estimate that 220 million people will see this video! Check it out!! I know that this time of the year is a special time. It is a time where the spirit of The Lord is present and whether other people recognize that or not, they will be more open to hearing from you. #ShareTheGift

     

Just yesterday Jordan, Kona, and Anthony were all at church! I have never had three investigators come to church on the same day. This was a miracle! We were able to teach Anthony after church as well. 

     

Okay, so I am being transferred tomorrow! I am sorry for not reminding you last week that we have transfers this week. I did not think I would be leaving, but I am! I am going to be transferred to Tomball which is not too far from here. I am excited to see another new area even though I am still getting used to Magnolia! My new address is:

1515 Rudel Dr. #1207

Tomball, TX 77375

I apologize for another short email but we have to get going! I want to thank you all for your love and especially for your prayers. I feel them! I will let you know how Tomball is next week! I love you all and I hope everyone has a great week!

Love, 

Elder DeLuca

​Throwing it back to the full time bike days!!

Now to the library day. Sorry this is a lame picture, but know that I love you all!