BEST WEEK OF MY MISSION SO FAR!!!!!

Hello Everyone,

Sooooooo many miracles this week, I come to the end of it so humble and grateful to Heavenly Father for the great opportunities He gave is Elder Whetzel's last week in the mission. I'll give you a brief explanation of most of the miracles we experienced this week: 

   So first of all we were able to find 7 new investigators this week, all from tracting! A few of them we found on the first door that we knocked. We prayed in faith that God would lead us to His children who would receive us, and he surely did. 

   On Monday we met a woman named Kiaera, we shared the family proclamation with her! She just got married about a year ago and she said that after she was married things have started to fall into place in her life. We helped her realize that these things "falling into place" were blessings from God for keeping his commandment to be married!! We are meeting with her and her husband again this week.

   On Tuesday morning we met up with this couple that we set an appointment with but we didn't think they were super solid, honestly we expected the appointment to fall through! But we felt that we should go to it. So we did, and they ended up being pretty solid!! They are struggling to raise their kids in the world today, they have teenagers and they don't know how to protect them against the world. We taught them The Restoration, and She especially felt that what we shared is the answer to her concerns and struggles in life. She really understood the Priesthood well! It was amazing to see them light up as we taught them, they gained hope that there is a way for they to help their children be in the world, but not of the world.

   On Wednesday we knocked some doors in the afternoon and we ran into this man named Shane. He told us he used to live next to a Mormon just a few miles away! He said his name was Michael Ogden! We told him that we know Brother Ogden very well (he is our ward mission leader)!!! So then we set up another appointment with him two days later and Brother Ogden came with us, it was great! Shane's friend Joshua came out of the house about a quarter of the way through The Restoration and he jumped right in! He explained how he has been feeling that something is missing in all the Churches in the world, and was very interested especially in our claim that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Original Church that Christ organized when He was here. We came back a couple days later and taught him about the Book of Mormon. POWERFUL lesson, I've never seen someone in my mission so competent and quick to understand the message that we share, and so eager to know for himself from God if it is true. So then we set up another appointment with him two days later and Brother Ogden came with us, it was great! 

   On Thursday the first door we knocked this brotha named Jeremy answered the door super sleepy, telling us he just woke up! But we started to teach him about The Restoration, about halfway through he was awake! And he invited us in. We finished teaching him and asked him to pray, he did. Afterwards we asked if he received an answer! He said, "I received the answer before I even prayed! It's the reason why I let you guys in, while we were talking at the door I felt that what you had to share was important and true." I've attached a picture of Elder Whetzel and Jeremy, he's the African-American guy! Such a sweet experience.

   Then on Sunday, Marcus was baptized! We've been teaching him for a while now, and he was ready to make that commitment to God! It was a great experience, I felt the "power of godliness made manifest" as Marcus entered the water and came up again, clean and pure before God. I've attached a picture of us with him right before he got baptized. 

   I know this is the work of The Lord. We can become a part of it, if we will exercise our faith and experiment upon His word. May we be eager participants instead of spectators on the sidelines of the Hastening of His work, is my prayer for all of us.

Elder Goff

A Week Full of Miracles and Blessings

Hello Family and Friends,

This week was wonderful, I felt Heavenly Father's sincere love and care for each of His children as we were out and about the work.The subject says it all, we were witnesses and participants in multiple miracles, I'll share as much as I've got time for!!

So first off, William Lomas and Rao Olibiri, two of our Recent Converts here in Livonia have been out teaching with us a lot! It's so incredible to see their progress in the Gospel. When we first met Rao, he didn't even know who God was, or what Jesus Christ had accomplished for him. William had a brief Christian background, but almost everything was new for him too. But now they both teach The Gospel with confidence, and their testimonies have grown so much since their Baptisms. So that was a huge blessing that I was able to experience this week, just to be out teaching with Recent Converts, they really get it you know?? They've caught the vision of The Gospel and they want to share it with others. We came over to teach Rao one of his new member lessons and he had brought a friend over for us to teach! That's the type of fire that the Gospel will light in you as you really understand and live it. 

   

I went on exchange with a District Leader this week, his name is Elder Hansen! He's a great guy, from Ashton, Idaho. We felt inspired to tract at this certain place so we got there, prayed in faith that God would help us find people to teach that morning, and then we went out to work. The FIRST person we saw was a woman helping her kids get their seatbelts buckled. We struck up a conversation with her as her head was still in the car and then she looked at us and said, "Weren't you guys at my house looking for my boyfriend the other day?" And then her face became familiar to me and I remembered who she was! Her and her boyfriend live just a few blocks away and we taught her boyfriend about prayer a couple of months ago. He was interested but his schedule is unpredictable so we couldn't set up another time to meet. We tried by him just last week and this woman that we were talking with on exchange answered the door and was kinda freaked out that we knew her boyfriend's name! Anyways, we got talking with her and she's just super skeptical about God and wants proof of his reality and so we taught her as much as we could, but she had to leave (she was just over at a friend's house getting done babysitting). So we set up another time to meet with them this week. Heavenly Father is sending us to this family from all angles! 

Another miracle - A lot of this is straight out of my journal: This was last Wednesday evening. We get to this member family named the Eaton's apartment for a dinner at 5:30pm, but the Brother Eaton wasn't home from work yet so we couldn't go inside. So we were about to get back into the car to make some calls and take care of some business, but Elder Whetzel spots this Indian guy leaning up against his car in the parking lot smoking a cigarrette. He says, "Let's go talk to him." I agree and we go! He tells us his name is Arush (Uh-Roosh), he's from India but he just graduated from Boston University with a degree in Finance. He just moved out here to Michigan for a job and he doesn't know a single person outside of work! All his family is back in India. We just kept talking with him, about his religious background and stuff, he says he was raised Catholic, but that he hadn't been to Church in forever but that he prayed every night, and that helped him feel like he wasn't alone. Then Brother Eaton pulls into a parking space and we wave him over to us. He comes and starts talking with Arush, turns out they do basically the exact same thing at work as financial analysts! I then asked Arush, "Do you have any plans for dinner tonight?" He says "Nope!" Brother Eaton picks up on it and says "Well let me call my wife and see if she made enough food for all of us then!" Of course she did, and so we had dinner with Arush at the Eatons! As we talked we found out that he played 3 sports on the collegiate level, it was Cricket, Squash, and Golf! He's a Scratch golfer so he's pretty good, Elder Whetzel LOVES golf so they really connected there. We taught him about how God is Our Loving Heavenly Father and how he can make his prayers more sincere, he loved it! He had never thought of God as his father before. Just a super awesome guy, and an amazing miracle. If we fail to talk with ALL THOSE around us, we may be missing the very person who God was placing in our path. 

I love you all so much! Have an amazing Easter Week! Check out https://www.mormon.org/easter to watch a new Easter Video that the Church just put out and to study the timeline of the Saviors last week of His mortal ministry. I pray that we all keep Jesus Christ at the forefront of our minds, and let his teachings govern our words and actions. I'm grateful for him and infinite sacrifice He made for each one of us. Without Him, we are nothing. But with Him, we can accomplish everything. 

Elder Goff

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"It's been a minute with Elder Whetzel"

Dear Family and Friends,

As they would say in Detroit, "It's been a minute with Elder Whetzel!" That could literally mean a minute, could mean weeks, months, or years! The statement "I ain't been to Church in a minute" definitely requires a follow up clarifying question :) It's been a while with Elder Whetzel, and we still like each other! It's a miracle! I'll miss him when he goes home in a couple of weeks.

   As for the week, it was a good one :) Didn't go all as we expected, but we had many great experiences. First off, we went on exchange with some Zone Leaders in the Roseville area (their whole area is Detroit). I actually was working with Elder Ferguson for the day, we served around each other in Ypsilanti 8 months ago, I love him! He's a great man. Anyways, We drove down streets where both sides were filled with houses that were abandoned, boarded up, I even saw one with this huge tree that had fallen into it! Trash all over the yards and streets, it's just so different from anywhere else I've ever been in my life!  I should've taken my camera down there but I forgot!! Sorry about that Mom :) I won't forget next time! But the people there are AMAZING. So humble and such strong faith in Jesus Christ, and most all of them are willing to listen to you if you're talking about Him. We had a super cool experience as we were biking that I'll share: 

   First you've gotta understand that in Detroit the people just walk across the main roads, forget the crosswalk! They just choose a pace when they start across the road and go all the way through. We call it "the Detroit walk." Much better than simple jaywalking. So we see this guy come out of a Dollar Tree and take a Detroit walk across the street and he ends up a little ways in front of us on our bikes. So we catch up to him and stop to talk! You could tell he was a little surprised two guys in white shirts and ties were riding their bikes and stopped to talk with him, but he kept talking with us! So we get off our bikes and just start walking with him, we walk a little ways and we end up on his front porch and we start to teach him The Gospel. He expressed that he's had family members pass away and he wanted to feel peace in his life. He had attended Churches in his youth but had never really applied what he learned. We discussed The Plan of Salvation with him, and his eyes were opened, it was amazing! He was just intrigued the whole time as we talked about our (his) purpose in life, and where we came from. We testified of Jesus Christ and His Saving and Redeeming power that is available to each of us, and that He made it possible for us to live with our families again. We taught about Baptism, and how as we are Baptized we gain full access to that Atonement that He made for us. He was feeling like he needed to be perfect to be baptized but we assured him that neither of us were perfect and that all we are required to do is strive to be perfect. He was still unsure about baptism when we invited him to pray at the end of the lesson. He prayed and offered a very sincere, simple prayer. He didn't even ask if he should be Baptized, he just thanked Heavenly Father for the knowledge that he gained as we talked with him. We sat there pondering after the prayer for about 15 seconds and he says under his breath, "That's crazy." We said "What's crazy?" He replied, "My life just flashed before my eyes... I think I need to be baptized. Yes, I need to be baptized!" We were so grateful that Heavenly Father heard and answered His simple prayer, and showed him his next step in his spiritual growth. 

   In our area a similar thing happened, Elder Whetzel and another missionary stopped to talk with someone who was just getting in their car in their driveway to leave (Elder Whetzel and his companion were just walking down the street). But he talked with them and they said they'd be back in about 20 minutes and that he could talk with his girlfriend at the door. So they did! They talked with her and of course she thought it was pretty awkward and it held her back from opening up and discussing her feelings. But the guy that got into his car came back in 20 minutes as he promised, and they shared The Family Proclamation with them. We've come back and taught their family (Kevin & Sami are dating, and their 4 year old daughter named Courtney) 3 times now. They are doing so well!! And they said that they "love having us over." Of course that is because they feel the Spirit when we are with them. We've taught them about who God really is, and how they can communicate with Him as individuals and as a couple. We love them so much! We hope they will keep their commitments and progress towards Baptism.

Remember all of this came to be because we stopped to talk with someone that God placed in our path. How many times do we pass those opportunities up? How often does God place someone in our path, or place us in someone else's path to share the Gospel with them, and we shrink from the responsibility? I think it's more often than not unfortunately! But I know that as I've come to know that on my mission, I will not make those same mistakes when I get back home! I will talk with everyone, and teach everyone. And surely as we all act in faith and share the Gospel with all those around us, The Lord will trust us enough to place people in our paths who are ready to receive it.

OH! I almost forgot to tell you all, Rao Olibiri and William Lomas, two of our Recent Converts here in Livonia both went to the Temple last Saturday and were Baptized for their Fathers!! Isn't that just the greatest thing?? I love them so much :) I'm so happy they were able to go experience The Spirit in the Temple.

I love representing the Savior, who is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. May we all share his perfect Gospel with those around us this Easter Season. 

A super easy way to do that is to share this video with them on FollowHim.mormon.org, or posting #Hallelujah on your Social Media sites. Check it out! And don't be afraid to share it with friends, neighbors, and strangers God has placed in your path. 

I love you all!! I hope you have a wonderful week :)

Elder Goff

I found our street!!!

Elder Whetzel's Birthday Week

Dear Family and Friends,

Last Friday March 4th was Elder Whetzel's birthday! We went out to a restaurant called "Bahama Breeze" it was super nice, in a city called Novi (a pretty ritzy area). We had some Coconut Shrimp, Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Fresh Strawberry Lemonade. It was a great meal and a good time to celebrate his 20 years on the Earth. 

   This week was Zone Conference Week! We held 4 of them, one on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I felt the Spirit strongly as we instructed and learned from President Gerber. He instructed on The Fall of Man and The Atonement of Jesus Christ. He helped us gain a greater understanding of the need for a Savior and what He really did for us!! I'll attach a picture of the object he used to help us visualize the principles he was teaching. He taught that and then we went to 5 different stations for about 20 minutes, each of them focusing on one specific aspect of the Atonement such as the enabling power, repentance, the resurrection, and there was also a station where there was a to scale setup of the city of Jerusalem, with scriptures labeling the events leading up to and going through The Savior's Atonement. At the end we watched a movie produced by the Church only about 30 minutes long called "The Lamb of God." Which President Gerber was on the writing board for by the way. The experience of going through those stations and concluding with watching The Savior go through each event of His Sacrifice brought a powerful Spirit into the conference and I gained a deeper love for Jesus Christ. I know He is The Savior of The World. Without Him, we would have no hope for life after death. Every mistake we make and all the effects therefrom would be unchangeable, and unforgivable. I love the songs "Our Savior's Love" and "Where Can I Turn for Peace". We sang both of those in the conferences. Overall just a powerful week, experiencing The Atonement in my life and understanding how to help others I work with experience it more fully. The talk "Strengthened By The Atonement of Jesus Christ" by Elder Dallin H. Oaks from this last conference is really great too, He teaches us there about the special enabling power He will give us to help us bear and overcome our afflictions, temptations, pains, sicknesses, grief, and sorrows. I felt after reading it that I haven't been using The Atonement for all I could have been in my life! I'm sure we all do that sometimes. But His help is available, all we must do to receive it is ask. 

   I know that this is true and it is the reason why I am out here in Detroit. To bring others to CHRIST. To help them see that there is a better way to live, and there is a way to experience joy, peace, and consolation in our lives, no matter the pains and sufferings we are currently bearing. I'm grateful for His Sacrifice. He is The Light of The World and as we come to Him we will find new life. Much better life :) I love you all! May we come unto Christ this Easter month.

Elder Goff

The Object Lesson President Gerber did for Zone Conferences

Coconut Shrimp, soooo good!!!

Elder Whetzel's Birthday at Bahama Breeze Restaurant