Service and More Miracles

As you know, Monday was a special day with a visit from some very special people and the rest of our week was great! 

Tuesday, we did some service at Sister Hughes again. We mow her lawn every week for her and it is really fun. I love it! That evening, I had the opportunity to interview a 9-year-old named Tyson for his baptism this past weekend. I have never met a 9 year old so humble but yet so anxious to be baptized. He really knew why he was doing it and most 8- or 9-year-old's don't have that understanding. After that, we went to an address of a less active member family in our ward and it turns out that they have moved, but we found a new investigator from it! We talked to this guy named Billy about the restoration for a while and then we scheduled a return appointment later in the week! Yes please.  :) 

Wednesday, we helped the Johnson's move a big pile of dirt in their front yard and we got a pretty good workout! That evening, we had a lesson planned with Rick and Corban and we were planning on meeting at their house, but they were planning on meeting at the church! I don't know where the confusion came from, but it surely came! So we ended up driving to the church and we got there 10 'til 7 and Corban was planning on going to young men's, so that put a damper on things. We ended up having a lesson in Brother Rittman's car with them when we took Corban to the activity! It was sweet. We talked about temples and family history with them and then dropped Corban off and continued talking with Rick! They are so solid. Rick explained that his work was calling him in on the weekend so he was not going to be able to attend church with us. However, he looked up the church address in Galveston and he went there!! How sick is that!?! 

We had planned to give a blessing with Brother Rittman Wednesday night, but it fell through so we did that with him on Thursday! 

Friday, we had interviews with President Mortensen and it was a little different this time. He gave a 30-45 minute training and then after that he had the zone leaders working with the companion of whoever was being interviewed and we just went through their area books with them and also showed them the baptismal tracker that has the names of everyone who has committed to be baptized. It was different, but really sweet! We met with Orian that night and told him about Tyson's baptism that was on Saturday to make sure he could go, and he could! 

Saturday morning we had to get up early to go and finish interviews with President. We have the biggest zone so he wanted to split up interviews into two days. After interviews were completed, we went back over to see Billy! He was there and it turns out he is the caretaker of this assisted living home. We went in to meet with him and he introduced us to a less active member that lives there and so we invited him to sit in with us during the lesson. Well a couple minutes after that another man named Daunte came and asked if he could join as well! Then a man named Angel came after that! After Angel was there for a few minutes, a man named Weldon came too! You guys, it was crazy cool. Then right towards the end of the lesson a lady named Cynthia came to join as well. They were like mosquitoes attacking us, however this time I didn't shew them away! :) It was so sweet. After the lesson I explained to Cynthia what the Book of Mormon was and she really wanted to have one so she could start reading as soon as she could! We asked them who wanted to come to church and they all wanted to! We were thinking to ourselves, "How in the world are we going to get them all to church!?!?!" Billy explained that he would have to stay to take care of the rest of the people there but Cynthia, Angel, and Daunte said that they wanted to come for sure so we told them that we would get them a ride! After that we had dinner and then met Brother Ure at Orian's house to go to the baptism at the stake center. We went and it was great for him to witness what it would be like for him. He was a lot less nervous after he got to see what it would be like. Brother Ure also found someone to pick up our investigators for church the next morning! 

Sunday was sweet! Brother Beacham was kind enough to pick them up and bring them to church! Cynthia, Angel, and Daunte all came!! Angel actually told us that he was baptized when he was 8 in California, but we ran his records and could not find them. We will check again. Anyways, they all really enjoyed church and we invited them to the Mission President Fireside that night and Cynthia and Angel said they wanted to go but Daunte had to get up early so he couldn't. Brother Ure Sr. was able to meet us at the Shell station and then we went and picked them up and headed to the Spring stake center that was 20 miles away! We all talked about the fireside when we got back in the car and we all could testify that we felt the Spirit while we attended. I actually felt it most in the last song that the missionary choir sang. It was truly beautiful. It was the :Sisters in Zion/We'll Bring the World His Truth" EFY song. I actually sang it when I was part of the choir back in February, but I did not feel what I felt last night. I knew the Lord was telling me at this particular time that what I feeling was right. I cannot adequately explain how I felt. The chills went through my entire body. This made me think of the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 25:12, "The song of the righteous is a prayer unto me." It is so true. 

I love you all and thank you for your prayers! 

Love, 

Elder DeLuca 

Check out what we found at Wal Mart! Haha.....this entertained us for a couple minutes! 

​That was the only kiss I got for two years.<3 I love you Buddah! :) 

Another Great Week in Tomball!

Hello everyone! I am going to be brief with my update this week, but we had a great week! 

This last Monday, we were able to visit with a guy who is a recent convert in the Parkway Ward and then he recently just moved to Tomball. He explained his conversion story to us and it was really sweet. We are planning on seeing him again this week! 

Tuesday, we were able to meet with Suzie who we met with weeks ago and kind of lost contact with. She is interested in meeting with us again so we are planning on a lesson tomorrow! We shared the Restoration with her last week! 

Wednesday, we saw Rick and Corban and we taught them the Plan of Salvation! We had Brother Ure with us and he was great! We extended a baptismal date for them both on May 16th! They are really excited to go through this experience together! It is really neat for us to be meeting with a father and son. I love it!

Friday, we went on exchanges with the Elders in the Memorial Springs area so I was with Elder Gray in their area for 24 hours. We met a really nice guy when we were street contacting and we talked to him for like 30 minutes. We explained to him where the Book of Mormon came from and where is prophesied about the in the book of Ezekiel 37. He was like, Well, I never thought of it like that, I want to read it!" The only Book of Mormon I had with me was the one that I have marked up for Bailley, so I explained to him and he was like, "Well, you need to keep that for her."  We exchanged numbers so we will get him one. Don't worry! 

Saturday, we met with Orian in Bishop's home and we had a lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Orian is a little nervous about the actual baptism itself, so if you could please keep him in your prayers that would help him! :) 

Sunday was really sweet! So get this. We are in ward council and we get a text from Rick and he said that he got called into work so he would not be able to make it to church. I texted him back and asked if Corban had a ride and he responded no. Its go time! I told Brother Small, he was sitting right next to me. We issued a little exchange and Brother Small and I left ward council to go and pick him up! I called Rick and he said that he was trying to call Corban but he was asleep and then he told me that his bedroom was the one on the far right of the house. We knocked on the front door and there was no answer so I walked over to the right side of the house and I knocked on his bedroom window and I woke him up! hahah it was the coolest thing ever! He came to the door and let us in while he got ready really quick, then we were off to church! He had a great time there and he thanked us for coming to wake him up! SO sweet! 

We also we able to go and meet with them last night and we read from the BoM with them. They have been reading together as well! It is so cool to see how prepared they are and how anxious they are to learn more! I love that we have the opportunity to meet with them. They are so sweet! 

I love you all and I will talk to you next week! 

Love,

Elder DeLuca

Sooo, there were some visitors coming through my neck of the woods today so we got to go out to lunch!! 

She takes after my good looks! I love her so much!!!! <3 :) 

Here is Elder Petersen! I didn't have a picture to send last week. He is awesome! 

New Companion and New Investigators!!!!

This week was awesome! We had transfers on Tuesday and my new companion's name is Elder Petersen from San Diego. He is a stud! My first companion that is the same height as me haha!! 

Wednesday, we were jam packed with lessons on deck!! We actually got to see Elder Lythgoe in the morning because he came back to visit with his family so we talked to him in a parking lot for like 5 minutes. I miss that fool so much. He is such a great missionary. 

We met with Guy Benjamin and talked to him a lot about baptism and what he needs to do in order to be baptized. He had been taught everything and knows that the church is true, but he has a female roommate and he cannot be baptized while living in the same home with someone of the opposite sex unless they were to get married, but they do not want to do that. It is a really confusing story but that is the gist of it. 

After Guy, we were able to meet with Orian and this time we just read with him AGAIN because he was not reading. We really stressed the importance of reading and then when we saw him again on Saturday we were able to teach him the Plan of Salvation lesson in our bishop's home and everything clicked for him! HE was like, "You know I was really nervous about being baptized and having kids make fun of me at school, but I know I need to now so let's just get it over with." Hahaha. I thought it was hilarious how he said, "Let's just get it over with." If you knew Orian, you would know that that is just how he is. He is really excited now and we have a date set for May 9th! 

We also were able to see the Castillo family and we talked to them a lot about the Plan of Salvation as well. After them, we saw Julie Stewart and we brought Sister Bean with us. We had a really good member-present lesson with her. We reviewed the Plan of Salvation lesson with her too! You guys are probably thinking that is the only lesson we taught this week, huh!?! Hahaha!! It went well, though, and it was really good for Sister Bean to be there to fellowship Julie. They connected really well!! Sister Stewart gave Sister Bean a bunch of baby clothes for her new baby! 

Okay, so get this! Thursday, we helped Guy Benjamin move a pile of wood at his property in Magnolia. We were loading up this pile onto his trailer and we were just about finished and then he said, "There are some bigger, heavier pieces from my deck over there but be careful because there are nails in them." Bigger, heavier pieces? Yes please. I went over to grab them with another elder and we brought a few pieces to the trailer then we came back and we were talking and I was not paying attention and I stepped right on a board full force and a nail went right through my shoe and into my foot! Hahaha....I was like, "Dang it!" I felt my foot getting really cold and knew that there was a bunch of blood. I took off my shoe and sock and hopped over to the car to wait for them to finish. We called the mission nurse and she said that if it went that deep that I needed to go to an urgent care to get it cleaned out. I really did not want to go, but I obeyed. They cleaned it all up and gave me a tetanus shot to be safe because that sucker was rusty. I also got an antibiotic to be safe, so DO NOT worry about me. I just thought it was funny so I wanted to share that. :) 

Saturday, after we met with Orian, we went to a baptism in the Woodlands where Elder Petersen was serving (College Park Ward, baby!!) and I saw all of the members from my first ward!! So sweet! 

Sunday = best day everrr!!! We were asked to go and help teach the primary yesterday. Too cute! I seriously look forward to the day when I can be a daddy. Anyway, we talked to them about Joseph Smith and we shared the First Vision. We had them all close their eyes while we restated it to them and then we talked about it. They were so cute. We ended up doing it twice to two different age groups so we each had the opportunity to restate it. After that, we were back in gospel principles and the Brother Hiatt opened the door and looked me right in the eye and did the "You come here thing" with his pointer finger. It reminded me a lot of when I was in elementary school when teachers would do that to me. I was like, "Great what did I do now!" We walked out into the hall and there was a non-member, Rick, there that he wanted to introduce to us. He just came to church on his own and brought his two children!! Corban is 15 and Shelby is 11. This was a miracle you guys. They went to their classes and then Rick came with us. He stayed until the end and, during the closing prayer in Elders Quorum, I had the thought to invite him to the temple tour that night, so I did! He was like I have done work on the furniture in that temple, I know exactly where it is. Corban and I will be there, but Shelby is going back to her mom's at 5. So we went to our dinner appointment a little early so we could make the temple tours at 6:30! He texted us before and was like, "Is it okay if I bring a friend from the Windrose Ward?" We were like, "Yes please!!" So it turns out his friend Julie had told him to go to church and so she contacted the Bishop in our area to see what time for him to come and what not. They all came to the tour and they loved it! We asked them if we could meet with them for a few minutes after the session was over and they said yes. We talked about the Prophet Joseph Smith and the restoration of the church and also the Book of Mormon. Rick even said that it is a pattern of God calling prophets in the bible so why would he just stop? I was like, "YOU ARE SO RIGHT!! He didn't stop. He called Joseph Smith and we have had a living prophet on the earth ever since then." It was amazing. Julie also bore her testimony and I know they felt the spirit. So we have a return appointment with them this Thursday for sure and possibly before that to meet that the church to have a church tour. There was one little detail I left out of this story. Remember how I told you that I fast every Sunday now? Well Elder Petersen and I were both fasting to find a family and the Lord answered our prayers. We didn't even know that each other were fasting for the the same thing. 

I know that this is Christ's church and that He is at the helm. I know that Heavenly Father hears our cries and He wants to bless us more than anything and He will as we are faithful and obedient to the things He has asked us to do. I know that Joseph Smith restored the Priesthood that Christ had administered to His Apostles and that His power and authority to perform saving ordinances is back here on the earth today. I know this with all my heart and I cannot and I will not ever deny it. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Love, 

Elder DeLuca 

It was good to see Bobby! 

Remember the Harris family? I love them!! 

​Sorry this is a little blurry, but this is the Workman family also in College Park! Check out his new website: https://makgoods.com/ Its so sick!! 

Gators, Conference & Transfers!

Hey everyone! Another great week from Tomball and be ready for some more because I am staying here! We found out last night that Elder Christensen is going to be transferred. We have now spent one fourth of our missions together! 

Tuesday, we had a lesson scheduled with Aaron and Bobbie but Bobbie was not feeling well, so we just had a lesson with Aaron. We watched the "He Lives" video and had a great discussion about it. It is truly such an incredible video. I know I feel the Spirit when I watch it. We cannot fully understand all that Christ went through for us but, as we use the Atonement in our lives, we can come to a better understanding what He did for each of us personally and come to a greater appreciation. 

Wednesday was full of miracles! We first had a lesson with Anca again. It has been a while! We taught her the first lesson and something really neat happened. We were going through the lesson and came to the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ through the prophet Joseph Smith and it was my turn to speak. After I explained a little bit about Joseph's life, I went in to restate the first vision. After I restated that to her, looking her right in the eye without blinking, there was a moment of silence and then she said, "Wow, what if this really happened? I never entertained the thought before, but something was different when you just said that to me." All I could do was smile and assure her that the Spirit was there to testify to her. This was an 'aha' moment and it was so cool to see her pondering. She really realized then that if this was, then there are still prophets and apostles today. 

We also were able to see Orian that afternoon and we just read another chapter from the Book of Mormon with him because they had a lot going on and he was trying to figure out if he needed to start packing or not to go to youth conference.

Wednesday evening, Brother Hiatt took us out to go and visit Bill and Kathryn and we watched the He Lives video with them as well and we talked a lot about the Atonement with them. They have a lot going on right now in their lives and they haven't been keeping the commitments that we leave with them so we were trying to figure out if we should keep meeting with them. Last night we went over there to check and see if they watched any of General Conference and they didn't, and then Kathryn said, "I don't want to lead you astray so I hope you know that I will never convert to Mormonism. I love you guys and I enjoy you coming over but I just thought I needed to tell you that." That was really good because that assured us that they are being prepared and hopefully one day in the future, they will be ready to listen to the missionaries. It is such a bold statement, but we are servants of the Lord and this is His work and we have come to find those that are prepared. She understood everything and there were no hard feelings. She actually told us to keep in contact with her even after our missions! 

Thursday I went on exchanges with Elder Graves and we had a great day! We were able to go and have a lesson on the importance of daily prayer with Brother Castillo and he had a non-member friend there that he asked to come listen part way through the lesson. His friend is certainly not interested in meeting with us. As a matter of fact, he just wanted to argue with us about a couple of different things that we believe, so I told Elder Graves that we needed to go. The Spirit is not present when there is arguing taking place and I could see that it was going in that direction. I may or may not have had to bite my tongue! 

Friday, after a great district meeting that Elder Graves taught, we switched back and then it was Elder Christensen and I again! We came back to Tomball and we picked up Aaron Finch and then we went to go visit Brother Mason. We had a really productive lesson with him. I shared some of my thoughts about the council that Nephi gives his brethren at the end of chapter 31 and the beginning of chapter 32 in 2 Nephi. I am reading through a paperback copy of the Book of Mormon and marking it up so I can send it to my beautiful little sissy, Buddah. I love you! :) Brother Mason had some really good questions and he actually had an 'ah ha' moment that day as well. Pretty legit! 

Friday evening, we went over to remind Julie Stewart about General Conference and we ended up talking to her husband Tim for like 45 minutes. He was never really excited to listen to the discussions, but he has opened up to us so much lately. We were talking for a few minutes about all the sports he played growing up and what not and then he was like, "I need to start getting back into shape, so if you guys ever want to go for a run sometime just let me know." I was like lets go tomorrow morning! So we met him at the park Saturday morning and we went for a run and then we shared the "He Lives" video with him! I forgot to mention that Friday night he told us that he appreciates us listening to him and he know he can trust us so he said maybe for a change you guys could share something with me sometime!! Soo sick! So we did! We shared that amazing video and had a discussion and we came to find out last night from Julie that he went home and SHARED IT WITH HER!! This may not seem like a big deal to some of you but, trust me, it is huge!! That is a huge step for Tim. Please keep them in your prayers because we are planning on going over this Tuesday to teach the entire family.  :) 

Okay, so General Conference was amazing! Nuff said. All I will say is that I had two main questions that I really wanted answers to and, you guys, they were both answered. It is one thing to hear people say I promise you that you will receive answers to your questions, but it is a whole different story when you truly experience it yourself and you know without a doubt that Heavenly Father is speaking right to you through His servants. I know I felt the Spirit testify to me and I felt it. We are so blessed to be able to have a living Prophet and Apostles here on the earth. I would invite any of you who have not had the opportunity to watch this last conference to do so. It was incredible! 

I love you all so much and I will let you know who my new companion is next week! 

Love, 

Elder DeLuca

​This is our mug shot face! 

Sister Nielsen is being transferred too. They will be missed!