Prayer (Week 7)

Hey Everyone,

 This week was a great start to my first transfer and really fun! Last night my companion and I finally had time to attend the Chinese language class, so it was good to learn some Chinese! It is coming slowly but surely ha ha! We also had a member take us to a Korean restaurant were you grill your own food and that was a first time experience for me! We ate with two other members and they had a coupon for the buffet there and they ordered everything on the menu!!! Elder Chen and I glanced over really surprised and the waiters just kept bringing out heaps of food and meat! There was fish, octopus, squid, chicken, beef, ox, and lots of other meats. I had them all except the Octopus, it was the full octopus ha ha! It was super delicious and we somehow managed to eat all of the food! 

We taught lessons this week, but the one that was really awesome was a lesson with our baptismal date coming up February 19! He prayed about Joseph Smith and he said the first word that came to his mind was true! He then continued to bear his testimony about how he lost his student card and was looking all over the place in his dictionary, like three times and all over the house! He then said a prayer and the first thought that came to his head was a word. He then looked up the word in his dictionary and when he found the page the word was on his student card was there!!!! It is obvious the way God communicates to Cale is by his thoughts, which is super cool and his testimony brought the spirit, so much that our member Brother Bowley was crying. It was an amazing lesson and we are super excited for him to be baptized! Sunday we watched a baptism for a companionship of sisters and it was great to see all the recent converts come together and build friendships together! They all plan to attend the new city branch opening in February, which is super awesome! It will be in the city and will be a YSA (Young Single Adults) hub for Adelaide. It will be a great place for international students and will really help the missionary work in Adelaide grow! 

This week overall has been great and time is still flying by fast. I was talking to my companion and in two transfers (12 weeks) I will already be out for 6 months! Crazy and my birthday is this Friday and I feel like I just turned 18 ha ha! I wish you all the best and I get to attend the temple next week, so the next time I can email is Thursday of next week, but until then I love you all!!!!!!!

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Sincerely,

               Elder Ethan Salcedo

Blessings (Week 6)

Hello Everyone,

We just completed transfers!! This transfer went by super fast it was super crazy! I am staying in the city of Adelaide and Elder Chen is still my companion! Elder Chen and I were working very hard this week to help prepare some of our Investigators for baptism in February.  It was awesome to see that we are staying in the same area and can continue to work with these investigators! 

Transfer Day

 One of our investigators has a baptismal date in February and was debating whether to come to church or to stay home and study for his English final exams coming up this week! We then taught him the importance of putting God first in our lives and then we will see the blessings pour out to us! He then came to church the next day, so it was awesome to see him put God first in his life! It was also a good lesson just for me in general and for everyone. We need to always put God first in our life, even if times are tough. If we put God first he will bless us tremendously for our faithfulness, obedience, and diligence to Him! 

Specialized Training 1-13-17

 

I also had my first bike accident this week ha ha! I was riding my bike and while I was standing and pedaling my pedals just stopped and my bike gears clanked and I slid forward into the bar.  I put my feet down to stop, but we were going downhill and the momentum just kept going forward and  I fell over.  Nothing too major ha ha! First thing I did was check my pants because I just spent $130 on nice pants and I was making sure they didn't rip ha ha! There were a couple miracles that occurred during that accident! First off I had no rips in my clothes and no cuts or scrapes anywhere on me even though I messed up my bike and broke the handlebars! The next one was the street I fell on is always busy with cars flying down the road, but that night there were no cars on the road! God has blessed me so much on my mission and my life. God loves us all so much and he wants to bless us continually to show his love for us, it is amazing!

 I also got to drive for the first time today! It was so weird ha ha! I do not recommend driving on the left side of the road, not fun at all! It was so stressful and everything is flip flopped.  There were times when  I went to put a turn signal on and I put the wrong direction or I would turn on the windshield wipers, it was super funny! It is very stressful and confusing, but I  made it to my destination safe and sound, so I didn't do too bad.

That was the final week of my first transfer and I am excited to start the next one! I am also super excited for my birthday next week I totally forgot about it and my companion reminded me it is next Friday the 27th. I can not believe I will be 19!!! Well, anyways I hope you all have a fantastic week! I love you all!!

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Sincerely,

               Elder Ethan Salcedo

Testimonies (Week 5)

Hello Everyone,

This past week has been great and spiritual! We had three zone training's this week and I have learned so much from them! The best part was how different they are from the importance of Preach My Gospel, to Testimonies! The one that impacted me the most was the training on Testimonies! Being in the room surrounded by my fellow Elders and Sisters bearing their Testimonies was just amazing and so strong that it brought me to tears and many of the missionaries in the room during Zone Training! President and Sister Parker are just amazing and this mission and the progress it is making is because of them! President Parker's vision is truly the Lord's vision for Adelaide and it is continuing to expand! Before President Parker was mission president there were no missionaries in the city of Adelaide, and after he came and shared his vision we now have 18 and he plans to have around 22 in a few transfers!!!! It was cool to see all that he has planned for the city in the coming months and I will for sure keep you all updated with all of the out of the box ideas that we are coming up with, as a mission it will be great! 

                              

The weather is starting to heat up and it is getting pretty warm I am extremely grateful to be used to Arizona Summers because I feel good out in the heat ha ha! I do enjoy the weather here it is very random, so some days you get very hot and some days you get cloudy and cold. I am grateful for that because I get to feel both sides of the weather during the summer! 

This week has been busy with training's, my companion and I are still putting in the work! Unfortunately, we had one of our baptismal dates fall through, which was hard for me this week.  I guess he just isn't ready yet, but you never know he said that my testimony affected him before he left  back to China.  Hopefully, when he gets back he will be ready to be baptized. We left him with a Book of Mormon and committed him to read and pray while he is China, so hopefully that helps him! Despite that set back we were able to put someone on date for Feb.  We now have two and one is scheduled for the 22 of Jan., very soon! 

The best part of  the week was the training especially the one on testimonies, because you can feel the spirit so strong when you bear your testimony! Never forget that! We are entering the final week of the transfer this week, so my companion and I will continue to work hard and finish strong.  I will update you all on the conclusion of the transfer next week! Remember to read those Book of Mormons and remember it is never to late to start reading! I love you all!!!!

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Sincerely,

               Elder Ethan Salcedo