A Week of Tender Mercies and Miracles

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was wonderful!! We witnessed so many blessings in the work.
I don't have time to tell you all of them but I'll tell you a few!
   We were knockin' doors one evening and this girl answers the door
and steps out onto her porch. She exclaims, looking at my name-tag,
"that's my last name!!" Then I asked for her first name, and she said
"Cortney!" Hahaha I was like what!?! So I met someone with the same
name as my sister this week. The only difference is she doesn't spell
it with a "U." We watched the "Because He Lives" video with her and
she felt the Spirit strongly! She's had a pretty rough life with drugs
and stuff but she's been clean the last few years and she wants to
turn her life around! We came back to see her a couple of days later
and she said that she ended up "standing up for Mormons" because she
heard someone declare that Mormons don't believe in God or Jesus
Christ... She was like, "I told 'em you're wrong!! I KNOW what they
believe. So that was pretty neat.
   We met with a Less Active man in the ward named Alfonzo this week.
He has Rickett's disease so he is bound to a chair all day every day.
He isn't physically able to make it to Church, but he's not actively
engaged in the Gospel at home either so he's still considered Less
Active. We had a really inspiring lesson with him and he promised us
he would change. We read Lehi's dream in 1 Nephi 8 and asked him to
describe where he sees himself in that dream. We helped him realize
that he's not holding onto the iron rod, and The Holy Ghost let him
know that he needs to get back on track! It was great, he is a good
guy.
   An insight I had this week: It's easy to get discouraged as a
missionary, or even just as a member of the Church here. Being the
beacon of light and truth is difficult with all of the darkness
swirling around us in a place where there aren't very many members of
the Church and wickedness is so prevalent. However, NOTHING can change
God's truth. We know that there is Absolute Truth that God has given
us. No matter how much the world strays from it, the truth remains the
same. However, some of us get so caught up with what the world thinks
is okay, then pretty soon we're justifying what's acceptable and
what's not. Then we have shortchanged our potential and we are living
beneath our possibilities. God has already told us what is right and
what is wrong! We must stay close to Him and His standards in order to
stay strong and receive His blessings in these Latter Days.
   Here's one of the miracles I wrote President Gerber about this
week:  On Sunday afternoon we went finding for about 30 minutes prior
to our dinner appointment. We get to the second house and a guy pulls
into his driveway and garage which was at the back of his property. We
were going to just walk by but we felt that we should walk back there
and talk with him, so we did! He ended up being super cool and open to
the Gospel. He felt the Spirit strongly after he prayed and throughout
the whole lesson. Asked him to be baptized right there and he
enthusiastically accepted the invitation! We must use every second
we've got and follow the Spirit in the work. If we don't then we will
miss tender mercies and mighty miracles that The Lord has provided for
us!"
   I know that this is The Lord's Church. I am so grateful to be
serving Him and helping build his Kingdom upon the Earth. And I know,
that if every single one of you met with missionaries to learn the
Gospel, studied it out for yourself, asked God in prayer if this is
His Church on the Earth today, you would receive an answer from Him,
by the Power of the Holy Ghost. I testify this is The Lord's work!
Time is going by way to fast! I wish I could stay on my mission
forever. I love you all, thanks for all you do for me. If you want to
write me my new address is:
2277 Grove St. Apt #824W Ypsilanti, MI 481989253.
Have a blessed week!

-Elder Goff

New Companion, New Transfer, New Area

Dear Family and Friends,

Elder Hidie and I went to transfer meeting early Tuesday morning and
we left around noon with our new companions! I'll be with Elder Cooper
for the next 6 weeks or so now. He's from Queen Creek Arizona, he's
got a twin brother a sister, and a set of twin sisters! He loves choir
so our companion study opening hymns are where it's at! :D He is a
good guy, I'm looking forward to getting to know him better this
transfer and teach him all I know so he can be better than I am in his
mission! Elder Hidie's new companion actually is going back  home
today and he is getting a new companion named Elder Ferguson! Elder
Hidie doesn't like change so he's a little frustrated but he'll be
alright.
   On Tuesday Afternoon I handed the GPS to Elder Cooper and asked him
to find a place the Lord would have us go. He picked a place he felt
good about so we went there. 3rd door we knock this 19 year old girl
comes out and we are able to watch the 'Because He Lives' video with
her as well as teach her The Restoration. She had little to no
knowledge about God, so we invited her to pray at the end and ask Him
a simple, specific question. She asked, "I want to know if you're
really there." We took a few seconds after the prayer to listen to our
thoughts and feelings and she spoke up and talked about how she still
didn't know that there is a God, but that she felt a hope that there
is that she did not feel before. We were able to help her understand
that that was an answer to her prayer! In Galatians 5 it talks about
feelings the Holy Ghost can give us in answer to our prayers. One of
them is Faith. She was excited and agreed to continue meeting with us!
   Another day this week we found a place to tract and we were walking
down the street and we felt prompted to knock on a certain door. We
knock and an older African American woman comes to the door and starts
talking with us. We found out that her daughter was a member of the
Church, and had passed away a few years back. Her grandaughter that
lives with her is a member as well. Turns out she knows her
grandaughter's Home Teachers really well so we set up another time
when we could come back with the Home Teachers. We went back with the
Home Teachers later in the week and had a good lesson with her! She
said she would pray to know that the message we shared with her is
true.
   That Father of the 2 young girls that Elder Hidie and I found 2
weeks ago came to Church yesterday and he is on baptismal date!! He is
elect! So ready for baptism. I love following the promptings of The
Spirit, the results are increasingly rewarding as I become more
familiar with the still small voice of The Holy Ghost.
   I know that The Lord will bless us with people to teach as we go
out in faith, talking with everyone we can about the Restored Gospel,
for that is our unique message to the world! We will work our butts
off and I know the work will pay off. I desire to bring my brothers
and sisters to Christ, and I know that because my will is aligned with
God's in this aspect, He will help us find those who will receive us.
   Let me know about your missionary experiences! What are you doing
to share the Gospel every day? We have something so precious, we
cannot afford to let fear override our faith and keep us from sharing
what we've come to know for ourselves. I know that as members and
missionaries come together and work as a team, miracles will ensue.
   I love you all so much! I hope you have a wonderful week. I'm sorry
for not writing back to your letters!! I am a noob and haven't been
able to set aside the time to do that and now I'm behind on like 20
letters haha. Hopefully I catch up soon. Peace!

-Elder Goff

Elder Cooper and Elder Goff

They look very happy!!

(Selfie in the mirror, we take what we can get!!)

Listen to the Promptings of the Holy Ghost

Dear Family and Friends,

Transfer calls were Saturday! I will be leaving, but I won't be
going very far. I'll be staying in the Ypsilanti Ward, but moving to
the Ypsi North area instead of the South area where I've been for the
past 2 months. I will still be serving as a Zone Leader with Elder
Hidie, but we won't be companions. Both of us will be training a new
missionary! I'm looking forward to it.

This week was great! Elder Hidie and I worked hard together and were
able to see miracles. This week I have learned about how The Holy
Ghost speaks to us. A lot of times we want and are expecting an
incredible experience as an answer to our prayers. However we learn
from the scriptures that God speaks to us through The Holy Ghost, and
it will come to us as a 'still small voice' sometimes barely
perceptible to us. As we listen and heed these subtle promptings over
time, we develop our Spiritual Senses, and we will know with a surety
when the Spirit is speaking to us.

I had a few experiences this week where we were walking down a street,
 constantly asking God with a prayer in my heart, "Should I knock this door?"
"Will this person receive us if we try them?" and as I asked, I received. The
 promptings were small, and when they came, I acted on them, and was able
to see from the results that it was from God. Here's one of them: "We were
walking through this condo complex and finding by the Spirit, so we
pass a whole row of doors, and we almost pass this one, when I
received a small swelling in my breast, or burning in my bosom. So we
decided to knock it. The man there told us he was watching us, and was
so happy that we decided to knock on his door! Father of 2 little
girls, he's a great dad. He was so intrigued with the fact that there
is a prophet on the Earth again today and wanted to learn more. I know
that the Spirit speaks to us, all we need to do is keep ourselves
receptive, and heed the still small voice when it comes."
I'm so grateful for the guidance of The Holy Ghost in our lives! We
should realize that as we are baptized and confirmed into Christ's
Church, we are given the right to receive guidance on all things in
our lives. Whether it's a spiritual matter, a life changing decision,
or a simple choice you are struggling to make, The Holy Ghost can tell
you what the right way to go is. "The Comforter knoweth all things."
And "by the Power of The Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of ALL
THINGS." It is a priceless gift that we are given after we are
baptized, but many of us do not use it to its full extent.

I know that as we seek guidance from God even in the little dealings
of our lives, He will answer us. It may not come in exactly the way we
want, or even think it will come. But He will answer us through the
thoughts, feelings, and impressions that come to our heart and mind. I
want to invite all of you to take advantage of The Holy Ghost in your
lives! Seek God's help and you will receive it, I testify that that is
true!
I love you all and hope you have a great week!

-Elder Goff

Tracting, Training and a New Haircut!!

Hello Everybody,

We had a pretty good week, I don't have much time today but I'll try
to sum it up.
We did lots of tracting! We found a lot of people to teach as well.
One of them is a family of 7! We are pretty excited about that. We
taught them just yesterday, we are going back to share the Book of
Mormon with them in a few days. God led us to them for sure. The way
we tract has changed a little bit. We used to just go down a street
and knock every single door on it. But now we are taking advantage of
the Gift of The Holy Ghost that we have been given, and we walk down
the street, only knocking the doors that we feel impressed to knock.
We make the most of our time this way, and find the people who are
ready, it is great! It isn't easy though, sometimes I feel like giving
up, but I know we just need to keep on trying my best and The Lord
will lead and guide me as I act in faith.
We didn't do anything special for the 4th of July, I heard lots of
fireworks though! I thought about my 4th of July exactly a year ago in
McCall with the McCuen family, that was way fun! It's crazy to think
that was a whole year ago.
Elder Hidie and I are in the process of planning Zone Meeting for this
Wednesday, it's going to be great! We have sought and are continuing
to seek revelation on how to best help our Zone take the next step
forward in missionary work.
At MLCM this week we discussed The Church's declaration concerning the
Supreme Court's ruling. The Family: A Proclamation To The World is a
wonderful testament to me of the fact that we have living Prophets,
Seers, and Revelators on the Earth today with Christ leading and
guiding them. Who would've known back in 1995 that the basic
components of the family would be so vulnerable to change and
distortion from God's plan for us. I would invite all of you to go
onto http://lds.org and read that declaration, it is powerful!
I know that I will be training for sure next transfer. After MLCM on
Thursday President and Sister Gerber pulled us and another
companionship aside and let us know about it, Elder Hidie and I will
continue to serve as Zone Leaders for the Ann Arbor Zone but we will
be split up and be training! We'll see how that goes! I have faith in
President Gerber's decision, he is an inspired man. I will make the
most of my last week with Elder Hidie, he is a stud, I love him! Even
though he gave me a haircut that is the equivalent of his, and doesn't
look the best on a white guy like myself! Haha he shaped up my
hairline and stuff, I look like a goober. But it's alright! It'll grow
out eventually. I love you all, I hope you have a great week!

-Elder Goff

Elder Goff and Elder Song (from Beijing China)

Elder Hidie gave Elder Goff a haircut, he doesn't love the cut!!

So funny!!

Thanks for the 4th of July T-shirt mom!!