The Moments that Make it all Worth it

Well this week has been really good but also frustrating! The road to becoming isn't very easy. It takes alot to be obedient. It is also getting harder because Elder Birrell is in that mode that he goes home in four weeks. He is doing good but I feel that he is starting to shut down. I am trying my hardest to help him finish strong but it is hard but you know me I am just patient and keep trying. I do whatever he wants me to do and am pretty easy going about it but we can be doing so much more. So that has been really hard on me this week. I have had some really life changing experiences though this week. Brother Leech is a less- active in our ward that is trying to make the right choice. He is probably going to be exed for what he has done but he knows that already. He wants to change his life and is working so hard at it. We had a really intense converstation and at the end we got him to pray about it. Nothing we did it was all the spirit. I had some really neat things happen to me and questions made answers and my testimony grew so much. All the hard times that I have been going through are made worth it just becuase of that moment. I wouldn't rather be anywhere else. I have started seeing the spirit work through me more and more and I LOVE IT!!! I have been studying really hard and trying all that I can but I still fall short. I have made some really great goals that I am going to try and achieve for this next week!
We saw Astevia and her family this week again and they seem to be doing good but didn't come to Church which made me sad but we tried. Its all on the Lords time. I passed off Lesson 1 with Elder Birrel this week which made me feel really good but I know that the Lord was helping me. I had to memorize like 10 scriptures and it was really hard but I did it. He wants me to pass off the rest before he goes and I'm going to do it. It will take some stretching but I will do it!
So things are going good. I love you
all and pray for you everyday.
Love Elder Butler

More MTC Pics

Consistent Climbing

Well today is presidents day and its pouring outside!!!! It snowed this past weekend so we had another snow day. This week was a pretty good week but I have been pretty hard on myself this week! But things are turning around for my desire to do better. I have realized that it wont happen all at once and that I just need to keep working at it. Astevia and Katherine came to Church on Sunday and I can't even describe the feelings I had. It was so incredible to see them take that leap of faith to see if this is the True Church and feel of that wonderful spirit! I love being a missionary. Every minute of it. Its really hard sometimes. I just want to know everything and it seems like and 1 and a half hours isn't long enough for me to study. I truly want more each day. Things are going good here though. Elder Birrell's Birthday was on Saturday so we celebrated that. I got him a sweet jersey (from Sister Jackson from Nauvoo) and I gave him a couple of my ties. It was a prettty good day. I really do love him and appreciate him so much. He is an amazing example and has answers to alot of my prayers. We have exchanges this week and he is letting me take over the area. Its kinda nerve racking because we are teaching Astevia tommorow and he wont be there. So i'm really nervous and feel inadequate! But I know that the Lord will help me if I truly pray and put my faith in Him. This week has been tough though. I have had alot of thoughts that seem to destract me. I try so hard to get rid of them but they keep coming back. Its so hard sometimes. But I want to be the best missionary I can be and it will take some work but I will overcome it through the power of faith. Its so great that I can turn to my Heavenly Father whenever I need help and if I am desirous and have that faith and hope then He can do all things. I hope this week is better and that I can be more obedient. I can always do better. Well know that I love you and keep you in my prayers constantly.
Love Elder Butler

1st Transfer Comes to an End

Well things here are going really well!!!! I am starting to really read the scriptures and study them. I am learning so much!!! I am so grateful to have the Lord as my teacher. I am learning things that I would never imagine. Well I'll tell you a little bit about my week. Well on Monday we had P-Day up in Sanford with the Cameron Elders and the Spanish Sanford Elders. Elder Massy (SP Sanford) is going home this next week so we are trying to spend as much time with him before he goes. We had alot of fun playing board games and just hanging out. I forgot my planner from last transfer so I dont remember what days they were. All the days just seem to blend in. So we have been teaching Astevia, Kim and Katherine for about a week now. We have been over there 4 Times!!! They are such a great family. They are really looking for the true Church and we are there to help them with there conversion. Kim was really quiet to start out with but now is starting to ask alot of questions. They are such good questions and I have been writing down all of the questions and answering them in my study journal so I can learn from them myself. I can't believe how much I learn when I am teaching investigators. The spirit really "Edifies All" when we teach. I had the opportunity to invite them to Church. They said they would come if Kim didn't have to work. Well they gave us a call on Sunday morning and said that they didn't have a strong enough faith to come to Church yet. We repected there decision and have another appointment with them tommorow! I am really excited about them. I just want them to feel the true happiness I get to feel everyday but I only want them to make this step if they have gotten the answer for themselves. Its not about the numbers but its about how we can help them get to that point to have the spirit witness to them that its true. I know that the numbers are there just to keep us going to help us grow to try and teach everyone we meet. We have been meeting alot lately with this less-active family, The Leech's. The husband was baptised when he was 8 but has never practiced. He has made some mistakes in his life that he is feeling really bad for. He had gone through so much in the past few years and is wanting to fix everything. I have never felt the spirit so strong before toward someone in North Carolina. I felt Christs love for him. I want to do everything that I can for him. He is an amazing individual who is really wanting to know if the Church is true. We are teaching him the Lesson's. He came to Church with his wife on Sunday and is doing so great. We hope that he gets the answer he is looking for which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Kelly Green and her husband, Jake (who has been deployed) came to Sacrament. It was so good to see them. I really hope that Kelly can see past all of the tecnical things and just focus on the spiritual side of things!!!! It was good to see them thought. We had the opportunity to bump into the Samuelsons at Walmart. Their Baby girl, Lily ( i love that name) is doing well. We will hopefully meet up with them again this week. James still isnt answering his phone. We pray for him daily!!! Shae is the same way. Antonio doesnt want to be taught anymore so that was sad but we still love him and hope that the seed that we planted may grow someday. We are trying to meet up with Thomas Walker this week. He seems real interested about the message so that should be really exciting. Things are going really good here though. I am still being a bit hard on myself but I'm trying to be more positive about things. It's not that I'm negative but I really need to know the stuff. I know that the Lord will help me but I need to work harder. I love serving. I can't tell you how much I love it. I want to do this for the rest of my life. It is so important to always be member missionaries! Elder Birrell is starting to get a bit "trunkie" Its a little hard thinking that I only have 6 weeks left with him. I really love him and we get along great. We never fight and are always having fun and learning and working hard. I do love him and am really blessed to be his companion. I get nervous from time to time realizing that in about a Month he won't be here anymore. I need to work harder so I can be able to do whatever the Lord wants me to. I need to be ready to teach all the lessons. I hope and pray that in these next 6 weeks I can grow so much. I am still week but i know through my faith and furvent prayers that I can grow to be that Alma. Well that is a little bit about my week.My new attitude for this transfer and the rest of my life actually is "does this please my father!" To become like Christ thats what we need to constantly ask ourselves because the Savior "was about his fathers business."This calling is amazing and I am learning so much but there is so much more I can be learning that I will be striving in this next week. Tommorow starts the Beginging of a new Tranfer. Its crazy to think that I have been out for a transfer already! Elder Smart is getting transfered out of our district so we will find out who is coming in on Wednesday. Well I love you all. Have a great week.
Love,
Elder Butler

Snow Storm in NC!

Well this week have been pretty good but really different! We had Zone Conference on Tuesday which was really awesome. President Cotterell is an amazing man. I love listening to him speak and I love what the spirit reveals to me when he is speaking. He has definitely been called of God! It was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. I got to mingle with some more missionaries and get to know them. The North Carolina Raleigh Mission is definitely amazing. We have a lot of really awesome Elders here and I really love them all. I got to see Elder Kopp also. He is in my Zone. He is doing really good. He has lost over 20 pounds!!! Its really exciting to hear about all the things that have been happening over in his area! I also had Krispy Kreme Donuts for the first time on Tuesday. THEY WERE HEAVENLY!!! They tasted so good!! Well I went on splits with Elder Farrer which was really fun! We have a really awesome District but it will probably be changing because Elder Smart has been in his area for about 6 months so he will probably get transferred! We then had dinner with a less-active family. The Carliles. They are really awesome and I hope that our visit got them excited about coming to Church. They work a lot on Sunday but they have it off this Sunday. So we were hoping to see them. Well this weekend we had a huge storm come over us! There was only about 2 inches of snow but the whole city shut down!! It was really funny to see it happen. But it snows different down here. It's like a wet snow that turns into ice like instantaneously! Its pretty crazy lol. So we were like stuck in our apartment for TWO days. It was good because Elder Birrell and I get along great but we both wanted to work!!! Church was canceled on Sunday which was sad because it was Ward Council. I was really excited for Church and really missed going. We saw the Willet Family again and they seem really interested about the gospel. We have another appointment with them tonight and we are really going to stress Baptism. All of our investigators are doing well. Kelly's husband should be getting home today from Iraq. So we will try and set up an appointment with her with him! While we were on splits Elder Birrell and Elder Smart taught James the first lesson and they said he seemed interested so we are just trying to get a hold of him to see what he thought and if he had any questions. We haven't been able to meet with Antonio again but are still trying to get in his home. We are trying to get another appointment with Thomas Walker but we haven't been able to get a hold of him but he seems really interested. Ryan and Ardell Hare haven't been able to meet with us for a while so we don't really know whats going on there but continually pray from them. Linda McCarthur is doing good we have another appointment with her tomorrow so we will see whats going to happen with her. We get to help move a lady in our ward today by our complex, in the rain. It has been raining all day! Well that has pretty much been my week! Its been kinda frustrating but I have been trying to stay on the positive side. Negativity is of Satan. I hope that everything is going good at home. Know that I love you all and am so proud of you all!!!

My Trainer: Elder Birrell