We Belong Together

We Belong Together from Traci Excell on Vimeo.

Hey everybody!

This last week has been really great! It was one of the strongest weeks yet for the zone, and we had a lot of miracles in our area. Also I had two baptisms this weekend!

The first thing I'll talk about is the temple tour that we were able to take with one of our investigators. It's the part member family that I was telling you about last week, Eddie and Melinda. We had our ward mission leader and his wife there with us, and they are great fellowshippers. Eddie and Melinda really felt the spirit of the temple, and really enjoyed themselves. They both said that they really want to prepare themselves to be married in the temple! The temple is such an amazing sacred place, and I'm so lucky to have one within my mission boundaries so I can still attend while I'm on my mission!

The first baptism that we had was on Saturday morning. Her name is Jaiden R. and she is 12 years old. Most of her family are members who have been less active for a while, but are trying to get back in the church. It's been great to be able to work with that family!

The Rollins Family

The second baptism was down in Dolan Springs. Elder Aitchison and I caught a ride with a member from my previous area. We were both very grateful for the ride! It was so amazing to see everyone! Especially to see the Gosser family! They are the family that we baptized while I was there, and it was kind of emotional to see them there. They weren't expecting us to be there, so they were really surprised and it was a very special reunion. And on top of that, I got the chance to see Betty be baptized. I found her in December while I was with Elder Andersen. She said something when I saw her that meant a lot to me. She told me, "You saw where I was when you found me. I was in a very low place, and look at where I am now." It's very true. She was in a very rough place when Elder Andersen and I found her, and it's so amazing to see the change that has come into her life! You can really see the change the Gospel has made in her in her eyes. That's one of the special parts of being a missionary, is getting to see people make changes in their lives for the better. That conversation that I had with Betty is probably one of the more spiritual experiences I have had so far on my mission.

Betty, and some of the missionaries that taught her.

Well, it's about time to close. Don't have much time left! Thank you so much everyone for everything that you're doing! I love you all, and hope that you're all doing well! God bless!

Elder Excell

Q&A - 9/5/2016

1.) I've been anxious to hear about your baptisms over the weekend! Did you get to attend the baptism in Dolan Springs? Were you able to baptize or confirm? -- I did! I'll tell you more about it in the letter. But he asked me to do the confirmation, the confirmation always takes place in the
following Sunday, and it wouldn't work for me to of been there on Sunday. I was there for the baptism though! Elder Aitchison baptized her.

2.) Your videos of the flash flood were crazy!! We're there people in your ward or area that had flooding? Did you have lots of service opportunities to help clean up from flooding? -- There wasn't really any lasting damage. It was mostly just the streets, and it was all gone within a few hours after it started.

3.) I think this is a transfer week, right? Any idea if this will mean any changes for you? I'm assuming you've gotten that news by now... -- We're staying! I'll include a video that explains our excitement.

4.) Even if you're staying, it probably means new missionaries to work with. Are there other responsibilities as a zone leader during transfers? -- Well, this last week we've been in contact with the APs and President quite a bit trying to get them information on the zone so that they know what to do about transfers. But other than that, we're mostly just in charge of making sure that all of that of the logistics of transfers are worked out. For example, making sure that everyone has rides to their new areas, the missionaries are never without a companion, and other similar things.

Me and Anna - an investigator from Dolan that was at Betty's baptism.