New Address

Jake and his comp had to give their apartment to the Sisters so they recently relocated. It seems like a pretty sweet set-up for two 20 year old boys. :) His new address is: 2569 Traditions Ct. Franklin, IN 46131.

http://www.mapquest.com/#b5a13afae564f931b8299c2c

Find the "rough looking" people and show them...love

Dear Friends and Family,

All is well in Franklin! We had a busy week of sickness, miracles, and good weather :) Elder Dodd got pink eye about two weeks ago and so they slowed us down a tiny bit, but he is recovering now and just when I thought I had escaped it... it got me too :( So I am taking meds to keep me on my feet and we are still out having a blast working.

This week we had exchanges with the AP's and I got to spend the day with my buddy/old companion Elder Coles. We had a blast talking to people and we saw some major miracles happen that day! When we went to teach Crystal about the Word of Wisdom. She told us before we even said the opening prayer that she had already quit coffee and had been off of it for 3 days already! We were shocked at her willingness to be obedient. We taught her the Word of Wisdom regardless and just committed her to keep living it. She said she would :)

We were able to find 14 new individuals who were willing to learn more about the gospel! We know that the Lord is preparing the people of Franklin for the temple in Indianapolis. It is remarkable to be able to witness the hearts of the people of Indiana turn to their God.

Another cool miracle that happened on exchanges with Elder Coles: so we were out talking to people and we saw some young adults drawing on the sidewalk with chalk and so we thought we would go talk to them. They were dressed pretty rough and were drawing things such as "666" and "I am God" and other things such as that. Now at the beginning of my mission that might have deterred me a little but now it just makes me want to talk to them even more. So we went up and struck a conversation with them. 

We asked them what their beliefs were and Tanner (on of the roughest looking kids) told us that he believed in creating our own realities and that there was just some higher power out there just doing whatever. We talked to them a little more and it turns out they are wonderful individuals who are just misunderstood. They grew up in religious families who forced it upon them and it caused them to view God as a bully or a drill sergeant who lacks compassion. 

So we explained the afterlife to them and our views on the three degrees of glory and they LOVED IT. So we are scheduled to go back and teach them this week :) I know that we have a loving God who wants to give us all that He has to make us happy. If we will just follow His loving counsel and emanate His example, this world will become "heaven on earth."

Well I love you all so much and hope you find the "rough looking" people and show them an outpouring of love :)

Sincerely,

Elder Young

Fun in Franklin!

The work moves forward! Man, Elder Dodd and I are overwhelmed with awe for the Lord. I am now serving in Franklin, Indiana. This area is special to me because this was my Zone Leaders area when I was a brand new missionary in Shelbyville and also when I was serving in Greenwood. I have wanted to serve in this area since the beginning of my mission and now I get to!

Funny thing is is that my companion, Elder Dodd, also has served in Shelbyville and served as my district leader in Greenwood! So we both love Franklin and are stoked to be here. Amidst all the chaos that keeps happening (zone meetings, having to move out of our apartment, etc.) we have set goals to baptize two people this transfer and it is unreal how much the Lord has helped us. 

After church, we went to go tracting and as we were driving to our area to tract we drove by some apartments and we were excited that we found a "gold mine" so we changed course and started knocking the apartments. First door we knock on, this huge bodybuilder guy walks out and we have a sweet lesson and he is letting us come back this week. 

Then a few minutes later we decide to go talk to this lady and her granddaughter standing by a minivan. As we started talking to Crystal (the lady), she told us that she used to investigate the church when she was a teenager and that she has been going to different churches trying to find a church that can satisfy her soul. She told us that her husband she had been married to for 30 years had passed away in October and she was still struggling with that. As we talked to her about her husband she asked us if we wanted to come inside and talk with her. 

When we sat down with her she told us that she felt like we were sent by God to help her and that she was "hungry" to learn more about God. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and she told us that that was what she needed to hear and that she wanted to keep learning. We committed her to baptism and are going back this Tuesday! 

We were so happy to see that the Lord has children who need His word, and it is one of the most humbling and highest honors to know that He was able to use some snot-nose kids like us to be an instrument for Him.

Well, I sure love you all. Thank you for your unfailing love and support.

Sincerely,

Elder Young

Being transferred...

Hello Everyone!

I am leaving Crossroads.... :'( We got transfer calls last night and I am out. I am so sad to leave everyone, but I know that I came and did what the Lord needed me to do and now I am needed elsewhere. Elder Garrett will stay here for his last two transfers and tear it up, so I am not worried :) 

Conference weekend was wonderful! We definitely had some amazing miracles in response to Conference, I can always count on my boys (the Quorum of the 12) to hit home runs every time :) So on Saturday after the first session of conference, we went over to Amanda's house to teach her and when we went over we just decided to talk to her about general conference and how the talks that are given will be able to answer her questions, fears, doubts, etc. 

She hadn't been to church yet because she was still too nervous but when we committed her to come to the next session with us in an hour from then, SHE SAID YES! We were so happy, her daughter Sierra wanted to come to our church so bad so we all were fist-bumping each other when she finally said they would go. They came to the church about 30 minutes before it started and we took them on a church tour. They had such a good time and they all felt the Spirit. 

During conference the first talk was by David A. Bednar and he talked about "not fearing." That was exactly what she needed! That has been her big concern from the get go and he met her need so perfectly. After the session was over she talked to Elder Garrett and I about how happy she was. She told us that the first 5 talks all applied to her and was what she needed to hear. We told her how it was truly the Lord's hand because we had an appointment that was suppose to be right after her appointment that fell through, so if it hadn't we wouldn't have been able to take her on a church tour and it might not have happened as well as it did! We were so happy for her and her girls LOVED IT! 

Another amazing miracle this week was James Shipley. This is the husband of a part member family, who has been coming to church for about 15 years and has a calling in the scouts. So he set his baptismal date in stone and called half the ward to tell them he was getting baptized! One of the members told us that when he did that, the member just cried out of pure joy :) He is so gung-ho about the gospel, it is inspiring to just witness it. He also came by himself to the priesthood session of conference! HUGE STEP ON HIS PART! He is on his way to being a strong priesthood holder for his family. He told his wife that he wants to go to all the temples and that he wants to baptize their youngest son, Tucker, when he turns 8. We were humbled by the power of God this week, this is HIS WORK and we merely have to show up and open our mouths and He does the rest.

Although I am super sad to leave Crossroads, I do have to say that it is going to be a relief that I might actually get to take a breath once in a while now :) No other zone leaders were this busy... it's insane! We were late to almost every session of conference because of all this craziness happening in the area. We also didn't even get to do our zone number reports last night because our District leader's house got broken into and they stole a ton of their belongings, so we had to go over there and help them out and keep them company... only in Crossroads (#indyghetto) "I looove it... its da best!"-Nacho

Well I love you all so much! Thank you so much for all that you do for me and the love and support you send my way. Thank you for all you do!

Sincerely,

Elder Young