Brother Trubilla stepped into the waters of baptism this past week!!

Elder Petersen has been feeling alot better so its been a more eventful week. He still has this really bad cough but hopefully he will get over that. We have been helping a couple of young men in our wards to decide to serve a mission. We have a FHE tonight with one of them on the subject of joy. I really hope they decide to go on one. The Message in the Ensign this month was all about serving a mission if you are worthy. So we are trying to get them to come on splits and try to talk about missionary work all the time with them. Hopefully that will get them fired up about going on a mission.

Well it definitely was a wonderful and inspiring week for me. I am so grateful to be serving in this great area of Wake Forest. I have a true love for the people here, members and non-members. I am so grateful to be embarked in the work at this time in my life and at this time of the year. We have truly seen some miracles this week which has been really wonderful. I am so grateful that we have Zone Conference to help refocus my thoughts and recommit to my Savior that I'm going to do better. I have seen a real difference as we have been using the Planning guidelines more and have felt more inspired on where we should go. Our focus on the Key indicators really helps us plan meaningful activities for the day and the week. I know that as we continue to use these guidelines throughout the rest of my mission that it will lead me to those who are elect and ready to make covenants with our Heavenly Father.

Brother Trubilla stepped into the waters of baptism this past week!!!!!! It was incredible! The Spirit was so strong at his baptism. He definitely was ready to make that covenant with his Heavenly Father. The Lord definitely taught me a lot as we have worked with him these past 8 weeks. I learned to have a lot of patience and learned how to listen better. This is the Lord's work not mine. It needs to be done His way not by some other way!! His parents attended the Baptism and really enjoyed that experience. It was evident in their faces that they felt the Spirit and didn't know what it was. They also came to Church on Sunday to support their son. They really enjoyed that and the members really fellowshipped them and made them feel welcome. We will hopefully be meeting with them this week as we teach the new member lessons with his new home teachers. We are really excited about that.

The Brookes family is doing good. They have very busy schedules and its really hard to find a time that works with them to meet. It seems like they are always on the run. The whole family has been reading and praying and they feel good about what they are learning but still have a lot of questions. They have concerns about the Book of Mormon and why we need it and they want to know where in the Bible it talks about Christ visiting other people. So I am really excited to find a time to meet with them, hopefully this week. Brother Brookes was sick so he wasn't able to make it on Sunday but Sister Brookes and Maddie were there. They had a real enjoyable time. The ward has been so good about fellowshipping them. I really love this family a lot. They are honest seekers of truth. They have been being prepared for a while and they are ready to hear the message of the restored gospel.

We met with a new family this week, the O'Brian family. They are neighbors to the bishop. He asked if we would go with them to teach them because they had alot of questions. They met with the missionaries before but it has been a while. They are wonderful. Brother O'Brian is a quadriplegic and has had some real tough experiences in his life. His wife started following the teachings of Christ only 3 years ago. They have a lot of great questions. Brother O'Brian likes to study deep doctrine (like the journal of discourses). We had a great first meeting with them. They have a lot of questions on the apostasy which is great because the questions they have asked I don't know the answers to, so I have some studying to do. I know that the Spirit will help us as we pray in faith to know what to share with them. They are seekers of truth as well. They don't know how the Holy Ghost feels so we are going to have to help them with that so they can know when they receive answers to their prayers. Brother O'Brian is feeling as of now that everything he has been learning so far is just making it more clear to him how the "Mormon religion" isn't true. It was a comment that worried me but I know that if we put our faith in the Lord that he will help us guide him to what questions he needs to ask and where he needs to read. So its definitely going to be a great experience. I already can tell that I am going to learn a lot with him. He is really going to help me rely on the Spirit more and not use the understanding I have but that which the Holy Ghost has to offer.

I am grateful for the opportunity we have to set goals each week. I have really seen as I have been striving to meet my goals that my faith grows in the Savior. I need to work harder at keeping focused. My mind wanders sometimes and I have made the goal when that starts to happen to hum a hymn or to read scriptures. I hope that it will help me keep my mind constantly focused on the Savior and the people that we are entrusted with.

Well I hope y'all know that I love you so much. I can't believe how time flies. I love it out here though. I really hope that I get to stay in Wake Forest for a while. Good things are happening here and the people are really amazing. I love them all so much. Know I feel all y'alls prayers and that it gives me strength. I hope the week goes well and hope to hear from you next week.

Love Elder Butler

Member Missionary Work, Works!!!

A mission definitely is the greatest experience. I heard that they have a newlds.org website. I haven't looked at it at all. Its crazy how detached from the world we are but I am grateful at the same time. I really love not being of the world. Its like living the dream. I am grateful that the Lord has given me this opportunity to serve and not be of the world. I hope to be able to apply all this after the mission as well.

Well this week has definitely been a really different week. With the really weird weather, then my companion getting a virus, it has been a lot of time in the apartment unfortunately. We were able to get a lot of work done from the apartment though. There is always book work that can be done. Also we have been making a lot of phone calls to the members and our investigators setting up appointments and making sure they are doing alright. I have had some really powerful spiritual experiences this week as I have been trying to think outside of the box more in my studies and my prayers. I am trying to make it apply more to my life and trying to make it the most effective for me. I have seen a real difference as I have tried to put the Lord first. My experience has been great and mission-changing for me. I have realized that there is time in the day to do everything but its just about prioritizing things and not getting frustrated when things don't work out. This is the Lords work, not mine. I have really been humbled this past week realizing this. I hope and pray that I can take the valuable lessons that I have had this week and apply them.

Brother Trubilla is doing great. His baptismal date was supposed to be for the 15th but he didn't feel like he was going to be ready that day. It wasn't because he was breaking any commandments but personally he didn't feel ready. It was really hard for me to get my mind around that concept. Elder Petersen and I prayed about it and know that he was ready for that date. The Lord was definitely testing me and helping me build patience. This is His work not mine. Its His time table not mine. We have been meeting with Brother Trubilla 3 times a week, or trying to, and have been making daily contact with him. It has been really great to see his countanance change over the past week. He is definitely ready for baptism this weekend. We are really excited for him. We wish the ward was more supportive of his baptismal day. Since he has called off a few baptisms they don't want us really making it public until the day before and even the morning of. Its hard but we understand. We know he is ready this time and prepared to make the covenant with his Heavenly Father. I have really learned to love him so much. He is a great man and has a lot of potential. We know that the gift of the Holy Ghost will help him. That is his greatest desire at the moment. Its wonderful to see him live the gospel and not be held down by sin and guilt.

We have a new family that we have started to teach. This family is a miracle and shows that member missionary work, works!!!! I remember you telling me a while ago "that the youth of the church are a gold mine!!!" Well your absolutely right. They know so many people and a lot of their friends aren't members. Well there has ben a young women about 14 who has been attending for the past 6 months. A friend invited her and she came before the wards split with this friend. Well the wards split and she was in a different ward but she felt something different. She kept going to church even though she was in a different ward. The young women really made her feel welcome. Well last week she brought her family for sacrament and they loved it. This week they came for the whole 3 hours and loved it even more. They feel comfortable in the church. Thats what they told us. So we are really excited about them. We are going to start teaching the Brookes family in the Perrish's (fellowshipper's) home. We are so excited. They have truly been prepared.

We will also be teaching this family this week that Bishop McEwen referred to us. The O'Brians are former investigators and had a real hold up with the Book of Mormon. Well they called up the O'Brians and said that they wanted to meet with us again. The McEwens say they know that they are ready this time and are more open to the gospel. So we are really excited about our lesson with them.

Things are starting to pick up here in Wake Forest. The wards are really amazing. They are always trying to help us and giving us people to go and see all the time. I am so grateful to be here with my companion Elder Petersen. He is such a great missionary. We had a really great weekly planning this week with a real spiritual companionship inventory. We are really excited to work this week and find some new investigators this week. We are going to try something new this week. Instead of going to the apartment for lunch we are going to pack lunches and take the car and our bikes places so that we can work harder and not waste as much time. We are really excited for this and hopefully it will help us build our teaching pool. We know that the Lord has prepared dozens in each ward.

Well I hope you have a wonderful week. Know that I love y'all and am so grateful for all you do.

Love Elder Butler

I'm so excited that I have the chance to do this for the rest of my life.

Elder Petersen and I are staying together another transfer in Wake Forest. We might have to start sharing the car starting this transfer. We are not sure though. It would be really tough but we will see. Our area is huge. There has been a ton of snow this couple of weeks. Its has been really crazy. We are supposed to get another huge blizzard in the next couple of days so ya its crazy. Everything shuts down, including missionary work. I am really grateful to be serving here though. I am not sure how I would like being a missionary in a place that snows all the time. Things are going really great though. I am learning a lot more now than I have my entire mission. The Spirit is becoming stronger with me as I study harder and learn the gospel and change my mindset.

I had to give a talk this past Sunday. I found out on Thursday night so I had a couple of days to prepare it this time. Unlike last time where I only had 20 minutes. It went really well. It was on Spiritual Preparedness. I will send a copy home of it along with Journal entries this week. I have become a real slacker in my journal writing. I have been doing video journals every night but I have made it a goal to write every day again. This past transfer I only wrote in it like 5 times.

This week has definitely been a week that really has built my faith in the Savior. I had some really powerful spiritual experiences this week that have really helped me make some goals to become a better missionary and servant of the Lord. Some goals that I am continuing from last week are Reading the Book of Mormon for at least 30 minutes a day. I did pretty good with this goal this week but I can always do better. I have also been working out for the whole 30 minute period and it has made a real difference. I feel more invigorated about the work and feel more awake throughout the day. The Lord truly blesses us when we become exactly obedient. Some goals that I am going to do this week is read my Patriarchal Blessing every day, Pray more fervently and try and be positive in everything I say. I have noticed a real difference as I have wrote these goals in my LTP. I constantly think about how I am going to have to make a report at the end of the week and how I am also going to have to make a report to the Lord at the end of the day. So its really helped me focus more on my goals and on the work.

This week has been really great. Steve is doing really good. We have been meeting with him almost everyday. If were not meeting with him we are keeping daily contact. He passed his interview this past week which was really exciting for him and us. We know that he is ready to take the next step and be baptized. We were going to be having his baptism this week but he wants it to be next weekend. We tried to talk to him about the importance of being baptized as soon as he is ready but he is pretty set on the 22nd for a reason. I was not sure about the decision he made to be baptized on the 22nd. We did a special fast for him and the spirit really put my heart at ease. I am so grateful that this is the Lord's work and not mine. Sometime I want to do it my way and I think that my way is best but then learn that the Lord has a different plan. It is a very humbling experience but I am grateful for my Savior and Him always helping me out. Steve also came to the Fireside at Presidents. It was really great. I love being in this zone because we get to associate more with President and Sister Cotterell. We get all the recent converts and they have a Fireside where they just bear their testimonies. It's wonderful. Steve really had a great time. He really trusts us a lot. We are going to be helping him install some air bags on his motor home this week. Working at Get Hitched has paid off!!!!!!

We had a lesson at Bishop Despain's house with a young man named Ben Malone. His parents wont let him be baptized so we are just trying to keep in contact with him to get to know him. He is a really good kid. He knows that the Church is true and comes as often as he can. He associates with a lot of members of the Church. We hope his parents will soften their hearts to the idea and let him be baptized. His father came and enjoyed himself but we think that his mother is the one that has the real problem with it. We had a good discussion with him about the doctrine of Christ. We read out of 3rd Nephi 11 and the Spirit was very strong there. The Bishop told us after that Ben really enjoyed it so we are going to try and keep visiting him and not having a formal lesson but read out of the scriptures with him.

We also had a miracle at Church. The young women have befriended this girl, Maddie Brooks, for about 6 months now. She comes to Church pretty much every Sunday. Well this Sunday she brought her parents. They loved it. The whole ward was really great and welcomed them really well. It was really neat to hear that they were invited to dinner that Sunday night and they had a dinner and family home evening the next night lined up. It reminded me of the role play we did at Zone Conference. The members here are really wonderful. They said that they are going to come next Sunday as well for the whole 3 hours. They also told us that they wanted to start to meet with us as well. They said they would talk to us next Sunday about meeting up. We are really excited about that.

This area is really booming. I am so grateful that I have another transfer to be here. I really love this area with all I have. My prayers are more and more centered on the members and our investigators. I am learning how to lose myself in the work. They are all I think about. I had some really powerful experiences in my study this week that have really changed me. I am starting to feel the same way the Savior feels for the people. It takes real focus to feel that way all the time but it is so worth it.

I really love being a missionary. I am so excited that I have the chance to do this for the rest of my life. The Savior has been really good to me and this is the least that I could do. Know that I love y'all so much and am so grateful for y'all. Have a great week

Preach Loud, Preach Proud!!!

Love Elder Butler

So President Cotterell and Sister Cotterell showed this beautiful Nativity at the Christmas Zone Coference that I got the link to that I think you would really enjoy. The DVD presentation from zone conference is called O Holy Night: Son of Man performed by Kenneth Cope and the art work is Liz Lemon Swindle. www.foundationarts.com

Under products click on videos/dvds

Goals

Its weird to think that I will be home for Christmas next year. I want to prep you a little bit just in case it does happen but I was talking to Sister Cotterell and telling her about how Ian was baptized on the 18th of December ( I think anyways, I haven't heard yet) and how I wanted to attend the temple with them but I go home the 14th. She said that missionaries have extended for a week or so to go to that. So I think they are planning to go to the temple on the 20th maybe and if they do I might extend till right before Christmas. I hope you don't mind but I think it would be a really neat experience to be able to see them progress to that point. Its far away but I wanted to give you a heads up of what I was thinking.

It was really wonderful to converse with President this week. I am so grateful for his guided inspiration and love for me. I truly feel it every time I get his LTP'S and every time I speak with him. I am thankful for all the prayers directed towards me and all his thoughts that really help me. I am so grateful to read in the Tar Heels each month and know that is exactly what I needed for that month. I am thankful that he is worthy of the spirit to help me become what my Heavenly Father wants me to become. I will be forever grateful for him and his wonderful wife, Sister Cotterell.

This week has been a very interesting week for me. Elder Petersen, as you know, has been pretty sick all week and its been hard to go out and work just because he was hit hard with something. I have had alot of time to reflect on my year as a missionary and make some great goals that will help me become a better missionary this next year. I am so grateful for my Savior and his Atonement. I have been doing a thorough study of it and have found my love for the Savior increase and deepen. I know that through His Atonement all the mistakes I make can be forgiven and forgotten. The hardest part is forsaking the sin but when you study out of the Book of Mormon every day it really makes things easier.

This week I had the wonderful opportunity to go on exchanges with Elder Wichiers. He is a great missionary and Leader. We had a really great time sharing the gospel with whoever we came in contact with and had a great lesson with one of their investigators, Brittany. I learned a lot from him. We had a really great study the next morning that will change me as a missionary. We studied accountability and I also studied goals. It was a very eye opening experience for me. I came to the conclusion that I need to be more accountable for my work to you and the Lord. So I hope you don't mind but this is more for me but I am going to write down the goals that I have made for myself this week and our companionship goals. So this week I am going to Read from the Book of Mormon for half an hour each day, I am also going to my make sure that I exercise for half an hour each day not just 15 minutes, I am going to be more diligent about writing in my journal each day and I am going to drink three Nalgene Bottles of Water each day. As a companionship we are going to be making sure we update the Area Book Daily and make our calls for the day at 3:00. I think that this will help me be more accountable for my goals.

We have had some great success in the area. We are going to be teaching alot of new people this week under the direction of the members. They are truly helping us out a lot with people to teach. Its so wonderful. I am so grateful for the members of the ward. They have been a true blessing in my life. Like I said in interviews, as we have made the effort to reach out to every member and visit them and try and teach them a lesson my love for them has grown. We also have made these forms for the members so that we can fill out the people they have said they want to share the gospel with and we review them every night and make sure whenever we are with them that we ask them how their friends are. I really believe that we have great member trust and it can only get better. I am very grateful for my companion. Elder Petersen is a great missionary and I am definitely blessed to be with him. I truly love him.

We have been working a lot with Steve this week helping him prepare for his Baptism. He is doing GREAT!!! We made a plan with him to overcome his addiction and it is really working. He says that he is 100 percent clean. We are really excited for him. We have been meeting with him at least twice a week and have been making daily contact which he says has really helped him. He also loved the baptism. He has never been to a convert baptism so it was a really neat experience for him. I am so grateful for him. He is a wonderful individual who needs the gospel in his life. I see that he has a lot of potential and that the Lord has great things in store for him. What a blessing it has been to be a part of his life.

Well I hope y'all know that I love you so much. You guys are so wonderful and it was great being able to speak with you this week. I hope y'all know that I love you very much.

Love Elder Butler