Peoria Week 81 *March 9, 2015

Hey everyone!

Our mission has undergone some serious remodeling as far as how we use the technology that we have been so privileged to use the past year. We were one of the beginning missions to get iPads and to use Facebook so we didn't really have too many rules from the bigwigs in the salt lake missionary department. Our mission president came up with a bunch of rules that helped us to stay focused and to learn the best way to use the devices. He had us try things that worked really well and other things that worked not so well haha. Now that the headquarters has had the opportunity to gather enough information they were able to see what changes needed to be made and what rules really needed to be implemented. We had a big conference where all the missionaries came together to talk about how we could best learn and use the iPad's that we had been given. They handed out booklets and talked all about the new rules and what we really should be doing. Luckily for us we were not doing too bad so we didn't need to change a bunch but some minor tweaks were made. 

The rest of the week consisted of helping the missionaries set up their new iPads and working with the office staff to get everything all situated. Needless to say we didn't get too much done in our area as far as missionary work goes but this was a necessary thing to do that will bring future blessings. 

I will write more of my adventures next week. Talk to you then.

Elder Cole Safford 

Peoria Week 84 *March 30, 2015

Hey hey hey! 

Many of you have heard about the new website called Just Serve. It's basically a site that you can upload service opportunities on for people to come help with. We had the opportunity to go to one of these events put out by the Feed My Starving Children organization held in the Community of Grace Lutheran Church. They put on a once a year food packing event to help the children all over the world that do not have the means to obtain food through their own country. The gymnasium had been converted into a fully functioning FDA approved packing site and there were plenty of volunteers and more then enough work to go around. There were tons of different jobs to perform and all of them were fun. They had music blasting, people dancing and everyone was really getting into it. We had a total of 12 missionaries participate for three hours each so in total we were able to work for 36 hours. In the three hours that we were there as a group we packed 33,000 meals and the whole 24hr event packed over 171,175 meals. At the end of the whole thing we prayed as a group over the food to make sure it had a Devine guiding hand to help it arrive at its proper destination which really added a heartwarming spirit to the event. One of the missionaries volunteered to say the prayer which was super neat. The atmosphere was one of unity, love and service for those that couldn't do it themselves. We all left that event knowing we had really done something right and felt good about it all day!

We have been doing our best to find some new investigators and to get to know the ward the best that we can and the lord is starting to bless us for it. We received a text from some other missionaries with a referral for someone who wants to come back to the church. We were hoping he was not a member but we love to teach everyone so it wasn't a big deal. His name is Zach and he recently moved into our area after some major obstacles in his life. We went over and had a lesson that went really well. As we were about to leave,  Zach's older brother and best friend, David, walked in. David started asking us all sorts of questions about the church and we ended up teaching the whole restoration. He isn't a member but wants to find the right church! God really does bless you when you do the best you can and follow though with opportunities. We invited all three to come to the YSA ward because there was two missionary homecoming talked which are always powerful. Unfortunately they had some last minute things come up which is a bummer. The homecomings were still good and we were able to meet a bunch of people, both members and not, that came to church just for those talks. 

There is a new Easter video that the church has just recently put out titled "He Lives" and it is so good. Last Easters video got me all pumped about Christ and what he did for me but this one really lays it down nice and smooth and really gets the point across. If you have the time and the means I highly recommend you checking it out. Just go to helives.mormon.org It will be worth it! We have been sharing this with everyone and it has been very powerful. We had the chance to take a part member family, the Randells, to the Mesa Arizona Easter Pageant last Wednesday night. I have never been to a church pageant before but this one was really good. There are over 500 cast members and they went over the life of Christ in good detail. The music was beautiful and the cast did a great job. I was really impressed and luckily so was the family we went with. I hope this was a turning point in their progression towards the gospel and becoming a fully active family in the church. We didn't get home until pretty late at night and I realized that I have become a real Nancy when it comes to being tired. I could barely stay awake to hold a conversation and I looked over to see elder Johnston passed out next to me but the two members in the front seat were still yapping away and having s good ol time haha. It was priceless. 

Thank you all for everything that you have and continue to do for me. It really means a lot. I hope you all have a great Easter and remember the Savior Jesus Christ. Love you. Talk to you next week

Elder Cole Safford 

Peoria Week 83 *March 24, 2015

Hey everyone!

Transfers were this week and Elder Johnston and I will be staying together for another six weeks. We are both happy staying together and are positive this next transfer will be better then the last as far as our effectiveness goes. No matter what companion you get or where you go there is an amount of time referred to as the honeymoon stage. Elder Johnston and I are finally over that and understand how each other works and that we want to accomplish and how to go about doing it. Elder Johnston is really efficient when it comes to being organized in all aspects of missionary work. He has really taught me a bunch and made our area ready for miracles. I know that the things that will happen are going to be blessings from the time he and I spent organizing and showing the lord how bad we want it. 

I had the privilege this last Sunday to teach the primary how to be missionaries. We had two places to be at the same time so I got to go to the primary while he went to the YSA ward. I knew that I needed to keep the kids attention or it would be a disaster so I used my artistic nature and made a sweet poster all about missionary work and how they can be missionaries in their own lives. It was a really fun experience and I learned a lot as far as how to deal with little kids and hold their attention for more then 30 sec. While at the church I also had a lesson with our progressing investigator Chris. He is still set to be baptized and is looking forward to the day that he will be. We talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ which includes faith, repentance, baptism, relieving the gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the end. He has been around the church for a long time so nothing I say is really new but more of a refresher course. He has made the decision to be baptized and nothing is going to stop him. They had us over for dinner a few nights ago and they had Buffalo Wild Wings. Chris always gets the hottest wings and dared myself and elder Johnston to eat just one. Well it was the worst idea of my life. I was literally dying. Never again. 

We had an investigator that was dealing with some legal issues and we totally thought he had been locked up but the other day we got a call and he wants to meet with us again! It is going to be so sweet! We have some appointments set up with him so hopefully he wants to progress as badly as we want him to. Our friend Dominic has been on the outs for the past few weeks. We haven't been able to meet with him which is a real bummer. The best way to find new investigators here is to use the members so that's what we have been trying to do. We set up as many appointments as possible and then go on splits with the ward missionaries. It has been pretty successful so far. We have also been working at doing service for people to try and open up their hearts to us. It's a good thing to do but man do I hate rocks. They are just the worst way to do your yard. Please don't get them. If you were thinking about it stop. Haha

Well I love you all. Talk to you next week 

Elder Cole Safford 

Peoria Week 82 * March 16, 2015

Hey there everyone!

This week was a little consumed with meetings and all that good stuff. As much as I enjoy learning new things there is nothing much better then going out and doing the good ol fashion missionary work. We had a two day stake conference for the YSA ward that we cover. They talked a lot about marriage of course but also about our unique ability to teach the gospel to our friends through inviting them to simply "come and see" what we do at our activities and at church. It was nice because I got to see my old companion elder Allen right before he went home and I also got to see brother Fullmer! He is the man. I love him so much.

We had stake coordination meetings for two different stakes and they both went so well. One thing I have the ability to learn while serving here stateside is how the church really works as far as callings and members and leaders. It is something I will use for my whole life and something I can definitely improve on. One thing that comes with that is the gift to be able to communicate what is on my mind in the way that people need to hear it. Effective communication is the easiest way I have found to get the stuff done that needs to be in the way I and the lord want it to be.

We went on exchanges with some elders in our zone named elder Luke and elder Davis. I went with elder Davis and got to ride "the banana". Haha it's an older road bike that is bright yellow. It's pretty dang ridiculous. Elder Davis is a newer missionary and is way excited about the work. It made me excited just being around him haha.

Well that's all folks. I love you and will talk to you later.
Until next week,

Elder Cole Safford

Elder Johnston in our study room

Peoria Week 80 *March 2, 2015

Hey everyone!

This week was jam packed with meetings and next week will be as well. There are a bunch of changes being made in the missionaries working with iPads so we all need to be instructed on how to use the new applications and how to be as effective as possible. All good things but still they take time. This past weekend we had Stake Conference here in the Peoria stake. One of the members of e quorum of the seventh came down to preside and he gave some wonderful insights. I will put them in here so you too can be spiritually fed like I was:

" I often do not come to meetings and learn new doctor in either about the church or even history, but I always try to come away edified by the spirit. This is the reason that we go to any meeting in the church. The doctrine never changes and as we get older in our lives it may seem like a constant repeat of the same thing but ultimately the spiritual promptings we receive will always be specific to our challenges at that point in our lives. And that is what we come to meetings to learn of. "
The church did a survey and found that the number one reason the young men go on missions is due to the spiritual experiences they personally have throughout their young lives. Parents can help them have these experiences in the home, church and in their daily lives. The prayer of a righteous parent can do more than we can often give them credit for. Those prayers for their children are often what helps them to have these experiences. Then he shared a joke : "Children should be like pancakes... you should be able to throw the first one away."

There was some great insight on our choices in this life that really resonated well with me. He said "Many of the path of happiness in the world are simply mirages. We look at them chase them and once we get close, that happiness evaporates because it was never there. Then we are left empty and unsatisfied looking to the future for another opportunity."
I really loved all the 7 hours of stake conference and couldn't get enough. That's a stark difference from when I was at home and 30 minutes seemed too long haha.

The time that I have spent so far with my new companion elder Johnston has been a blast. He really enjoys missionary work and doing the things that we have been called to do, so we always have some interesting or awkward experiences. This past week we were able to just be walking down the street and see moving trucks in front of houses. On two different experiences we just walked up to these strangers and asked to help them move and they accepted. There we were in white shirts and ties helping these people we met not just 5 minutes earlier. At the end of the move we didn't preach to them but simply shook their hand and said good luck. These types of interactions will do something some day. They won't get baptized next week but years down the road they will remember missionaries help them move and will be more inclined to let them into their home to teach them. That's the hope anyways.

Their is a part member family here in this area named the Vanalstines that remind me exactly of the story of my mom and dads journey into the church. Nick is a motorcycle painter and loves anything with wheels so we hit it off from the get go. Telling our daredevil stories and having a blast. We had a lesson with them and I told my dads conversion story and the father, Nick, could not believe it. He said that there was a reason I was in their home and it was because of what my dad went through. I was able to connect with them and I hope to see something come out of it. They have been married for a number of years and Nick told us "it's not if I get baptized but when". We are so stoked for him. He knows the church is true and has had many spiritual experiences before but just has those favorite sins that are holding him back. We will get him over he hill though. It's going to happen haha.

Thank you all for the love and letters. The weather here is wet and wonderful. It's nice to be in a car and enjoy the rain in shelter haha. I will write everyone agin next week.
Until then,

Elder Cole Safford

1. Mission Lane. Classic. Boulevard of making dreams
2. I gave elder Johnston a sharpie tattoo. I think we will get it done for real this week.
3. Light on the horizon. I need to clean the inside of the window. Sorry dad.

Peoria Week 79 *February 23, 2015

Hello to all!

The longer I am in this Sun Valley ward the more I begin to love the people and the work that is going on. We don't have the most baptisms or the investigators right now but what we do have is members that are willing to do the work and to progress the gospel throughout this area. We have been training the different auxiliaries how to have a gospel conversation with their friends and so far we have had a ton of success. People are excited to share their experiences and they are getting more confident. The bishop is defiantly the source of the fire. His excitement and attitude is contagious. It's interesting to see how things work in the states as far as missionary work goes and in other countries. The members really are the foundation for everything that we do. But that's as it should be. We are all missionaries in some way, shape or form. It's cool to be able to recognize that now.

We had a great missionary opportunity this past week for the ward as far as less actives go. There are a group of about 10 men that have gone less active for whatever reason and still have net received the Melchizedek Priesthood. So this past Friday we held a mini fireside for them and their families to come learn more about it and how it applies to them. There was a nice dinner and games for the kids and then we had the fireside. The bishop and elders quorum president spoke to the men and their wives and really brought the spirit into the hearts of many. I know that I felt it and understood the importance of having the priesthood in my life. All of the individuals at we invited came and participated and then they all came to church the next day which was amazing. We are seeing them make changes in their lives and we couldn't be more excited. Sometimes people just need a gentle reminder of the things they are missing out on. Then it's up to them to make the choice.

I had a chance to go on exchanges with one of the Spanish missionaries in our zone. His name is elder Canny and he is from Norway. He speaks three languages! Norwegian, English and he is serving a Spanish mission. How sweet is that? He is the nicest guy ever. He has been out for just over a year and absolutely loves missionary work. I talked the whole day and was just drilling him with questions about the Spanish culture and Norway. He was a good sport and answered all the questions haha. We had a nice productive day and set up a ton of appointments which was really great.

Our investigator Chris is still progressing towards his baptism at the end of March. He is still working a bunch so it's hard to find the time to teach him but when we do teach him it's magic hahaha. I got to go to dinner with Bryce and Savannah Hays this week which is always a blast. We went to a play called Carved. They have burgers but they serve them in these non sweet thin waffles. It was way good. I always like going out with them because it's a little slice from home and I feel like they are the one family that I can really let my hair down with and have a good time. You know? Not in a bad disobedient way. Just different then most people.

We have some good things lined up for this next week so I am excited to be a missionary. For those of you that didn't hear, I got accepted into BYU Idaho! Woohoo. Elder Johnston and I celebrated how Californians do and got double doubles from In-N-Out! It was a great night. Love you all. Thanks for the support.

Until next week,
Elder Cole Safford

Peoria Week 78 *February 17, 2015

Hey hey hey!
Things are starting to work in our favor over here in the great state of
Arizona! The weather is absolutely amazing and the people are starting to
want to listen to the two white kids with name tags. I have told you about
Chris before. He is the nonmember father of a part member family that was
super ready to hear the lessons finally after many years of putting it off.
Well anyways last night we had a lesson with them and taught the plan of
salvation. Since he has had so much exposure to the gospel nothing is new
to him in the missionary lessons so they tend to go rather smooth and
simple. At the end of it we knew we needed to try and set a date for him to
be baptized. His work schedule is so wack that setting any type of date
rarely works out but we felt prompted to say that he could be home and
ready to be baptized by March 21st! He said he
would try his best to make it happen but no guarantees. You better believe
elder Allen and I are praying for a miracle! We are so excited for him. We
were also able to set a baptismal date for Dominic, a 10 year old boy of a
returning less active family.  They are a super great family and we hope
that the family gets fully active a ready to support his decision to follow
Christ's example.  So that's two people who are so close to be baptized!
It's such a good feeling knowing that you have helped someone make such a
big commitment that will being them so much happiness!

Well the day finally came that the missionaries that lived with us finally
got the OK to move back into their assigned house. It took a lot longer
then they would have hoped but it all worked out. Our house is now a lot
more spacious and a lot more quiet. The nights are a little boring right
before bed but that makes it easy to want to write in a journal or do other
productive things. It's tough to talk to elder Allen about what happened
during the day because he was there and  he already experienced it and we
already talked all about it. Hahaha. I got to go on exchanges this week win
my very first companion Elder Pettingill. It was pretty neat to see him and
do missionary work with him after 15 months of separation. He is a great
guy and I trust him a ton. We talked about goals and how are missions are
panning out and helped each other with whatever we could. It was a good
experience and I learned a lot from it. We were also. Finally able to find
some service opportunities throughout the ward which is a nice change of
pace. We did some weed picking for an elderly couple and let me tell
you.... I really dislike little rocks in people's front yards instead of
grass! Holy moley it makes picking weeds so much harder and just annoying
haha. I pledged that I will never have rocks.

We had a mission leadership council and talked all about obedience
throughout the mission when it comes to our iPads. We are doing well
compared to other missions apparently but we still have much improvement to
be made. It's a world wide problem and we are just trying to find the best
way to cure it. Zone meetings are always after a mission leadership council
and we do our best to get the water to the end of the row and teach the
rest of the missionaries all about what we learned and new things that we
are trying to accomplish in the mission. The power was out for the most
part of that meeting so we had windows and doors open for a natural
lighting haha.

Well today we received the transfer news and it looks like I will be
staying in the area with elder Allen for his last transfer. I am pretty
excited and we are going to go out swinging! Thank you all for the love and
support. Talk to you next week.

Until next time,
Elder Cole Safford

Our Zone

Peoria Week 77 *February 10, 2015

Helllllooooo!

In our zone we have a companionship of Spanish missionaries and one of them happens to be the district leader. We get the opportunity to go on exchanges for the day with them and help them with whatever is needed. Well when I went on exchanges I got to teach Martha in broken Spanish who was preparing to be baptized this past week. For whatever reason I made a good enough impression on her and she invited elder Allen and I to attend the baptism. Holy shmoley Spanish baptisms are so much different. The culture all together is so polar that the way they run their meeting and everything are just a little crazy. It was a blast and I could barely understand a word. We sang in Spanish and watches the crazy little kids run around haha. It was a great experience and one I won't forget. More importantly we were able to support Martha on her special day. She wouldn't stop thanking us and taking pictures and smiling. In our family ward we have been working with the Danielson family and they are preparing to go to the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity. Hey are going through some rough times and just want to learn as much as they can and progress towards their ultimate goal. They have two young girls and a a 2 year old boy and they are all nuts. The whole lesson they are all over the place and will not sit still. The Danielsons are always apologizing and trying to get things under control but in all reality that is just how young kids are. We do our best to teach them but sometimes it's just too much! Haha. This last lesson the 2 yr old boy Henry was standing int he middle of the room with a plastic red hammer thrusting it into the sky and spinning in a circle while yelling at the top of his lungs until he got too dizzy and fell over. He would wait a few seconds and be right back at it. It was so funny but at the same time you just wanted to swat the kid on the head haha.

We had a chance to go into the stakes high council meeting and teach them something that we are presenting to all the wards in the whole stake to get their feedback and approval. We took it as if we were just teaching the class and role played how it would all go down. Ultimately we are trying to teach and help the members know how to have gospel conversations with their friends and to make them normal and flow. We teach them a about it and have them break off and actually practice with each other a few times and then finish it off with some key learnings and testimonies. With the high council it went great and stale president fully approved it. It is going to be a huge help in future missionary work and helping the members be more available to teach and invite their friends.

As many of you know the Superbowl was held in Arizona. What many of you might not know is that I live 5 minutes away from where the stadium is! It was so cool to see the whole set up and the slow influx of fans throughout the city. Because it was such a big deal our mission president asked us to stay inside Sunday night to avoid any trouble that would come from angry fans mixed with alcohol and driving haha. We stayed in and played some board games and had dinner with the members that we live with. Elder Allen is a big patriots fan and when he heard about the game he was so pumped. We had to go to a Nike store by the stadium on Monday so he could by a patriots championship shirt haha. It was a fun and relaxing night all together.

Well I love you all so much and hope you have an amazing week 
Until next week

Elder Cole Safford

1. Issac Rogers
2. Beautiful winter sunset
3. Super Bowl stadium!

Peoria Week 76 *January 26, 2015

Hey hey hey,

We have been building up this area for a few weeks now trying to get
the basic things happening and it finally is starting to show forth
fruit. The family ward that we cover has started to function like an
efficient family. Everyone is looking out for those that they have
stewardship over and we are making an effort to get those individuals
that have fallen away to come back through activities and fellowship.
Everyone has a part and it is a,along to see people care. It all comes
from the bishop and the people he has called to be leaders over the
other organizations. We as missionaries are being supported in our
effort and fitting in nicely with the work that the ward needs us to
do. It really has been a huge blessing. We have been trying our best
to work with the families that are partially members and then
partially not. It isomer often just a matter of time before the one
non member spouse gets baptized so we are playing the waiting game.

The family that is ready for baptism is the Brinkerhoffs. Chris is the
father and he has been married to Paisley for over 10 years. He has
gone through so many missionaries and just has not been ready for the
gospel and the commitment in his life. He used to blame it on the
cigarets and always being gone for work but his 8 year old son Justin
wants his dad to baptize him and you cannot do that if you aren't
baptized yourself. He works an absolute ridiculous schedule on an oil
rig and is only home for 7 out of the 30 days in a month. So we will
not get to teach him too often but he WILL be baptized as soon as we
finish the lessons. He is so cool. I love him a lot.

It is so cool to see the changes that meany people make in their lives
when they find the truth that is in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know
that this work is for a good reason. I know that more blessings will
come to you as you take the leap of faith and choose to follow christ
by action and not just in words. I love you all and if you are reading
this and you are not a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints then I would ask you to go out and find the nice boys
riding their bikes around town and talk to them. It will change your
life. Just like it has changed my fathers and consequently mine
forever. I will step off my soap box now. I just had to let you all
know that.

Until next week,
Elder Cole Safford

Peoria Week 75 *January 19, 2015

This week was definitely rough for me due to the fact that I caught
the cold/ flu bug this wintery season, which is never fun. It's really
lame getting sick as a missionary because this is one of those jobs
that you hate to miss. It really isn't our personal time to just do
whatever. For these two years we are on the lords errand and missing
time out there working is keeping someone from getting the gospel. I
basically have been functioning off of DayQuil and then passing out
every night thanks to my friend NyQuil haha. I am at the tail end of
the sickness so hopefully this next week is a whole lot better.

We were able to do some good stuff this week including exchanges with
our zone members. Exchanges are a great way to actually get the know
the missionaries that you work around  and see how they are doing in
the different areas of missionary work. We all basically know what the
rules are and what we should be doing so when we go with other
missionaries is pretty obvious when they are not doing those things.
My favorite exchanges are the ones where both of us missionaries are
our real selves. When we don't put on some show for the other guy and
truly talk about the things we are struggling with or working on. That
is how we can really help each other. None of us are any better then
the next guy. We just have different strengths and weaknesses. I
stayed in our area this time and got to drive the truck around. Since
we have iPads we also have gps to I didn't get lost once. That was
definitely a perk. The day we went on exchanges we had a few really
great lessons and sorted out our list of people that could potentially
be willing to learn more about the gospel.

This year the Peoria stake theme is "Anxiously engaged in the work of
salvation for both the living and the dead". We are so stoked for
this. For the first time the entire stake will be centered on
missionary work and is missionaries get to help them teach their
friends and share the gospel to all the world. It will be a good year
for sure.

We met a part member family this week named the Brinkerhoffs. The wife
is a member and has been trying for some time now to get the husband
to take the missionary lessons. Well something happened in his life
that made him want to do it all on his own. He works on a drilling rig
and is gone from home for months on end so scheduling a time that
would work for him was really tough. He called his wife and told her
to set everything up with us so that when he comes home this next week
we can just sit down and bang out the needed lessons so that he can be
baptized asap. We are excited to see where it all leads to. I don't
know if we will be able to do it as fast as he wants us to but we will
try our best to make sure he knows everything before he has to make
the steps into the baptismal font.

On Saturday I had a really neat experience. Many of you know that my
dad is a convert to the church. Well one of the missionaries that
baptized him lives here in Arizona. I got a hold of him and set up a
lunch. He was so excited to meet me and show his sons what can happen
if you go on a mission and do the very best that you can. It was
interesting to see the other side of the conversion story of my dad.
He had all this amazing photos of my dad and mom in the 80s rocking
the stone washed pants and huge mullets. He could not stop saying good
things about my dad and the experience that he had. It was a huge
blessing to get to do that because it helped me to see that this work
doesn't just stop after we go home. The effects of our service go way
beyond anything we can realize.

Well I will talk to you all next week. Happy trails.

Elder Cole Safford

Peoria Week 74 *January 12, 2015

To start this week off brother Crandell from my first area came over to our house to cut all of our hair. He is such a funny guy and really does a good job. His salon that he works at is literally right up the road but he only works on Tuesday and Thursday's, neither which are our preparation day so he makes the special trip out her just because he loves us. We talked about how everything was going in both this area and on my old one. He is still planning on taking me to the mission home at the end of my mission and giving me one final hair cut so all of you will think I look decent when I come home. All in all it was a fun visit. Our Monday basketball groove has been put to a screeching halt. Before transfers we had the four of us in our apartment that loved to play and so we would always go down together and things would be great. If we were lucky, which was almost every week, another household of four missionaries would also come play ball. But now we have a bunch of missionaries around us that don't like it too much and never really want to play. It's a real bummer because I was just starting to get the hang of things. Elder Allen and I still go down to the gym and play almost every week but it is defiantly not the same.

We had our monthly Mission Leadership Council this week and they are always very interesting. The first part of the meeting is dedicated strictly to following up on the things we said that we would do based on the last months meeting. People always have some excuse or whatnot but for e most part it keeps us on our toes and hold us accountable. Then we break for lunch and finish off with a deeply inspiring discussion lead by president Griffin himself. This month he really focused on obedience to God and how vital to our success that principle is. He used the example of Peter. Now Peter was a follow of christ, a disciple, and yet he still fouled up from time to time. One of the greatest stories of Peter is when he walked on water out to the savior. He had so much faith and faith precedes the miracle. He knew that if christ called him out onto the water he would be able to leave the safety of the boat and proceed to defy all logic by performing a miracle. It is important to note that the amount of faith is what allowed Peter to do this. It wasn't because christ needed him to, it wasn't to just talk with Peter, but it was to teach both Peter and all of us to this day that faith can conquer all. Obedience to God and his commandments is an act of faith and out faith is strengthened as we trust in God enough to do what he asks. His whole discussion really got the missionaries fired up to do missionary work. To be obedient and try our best each day.

Each week after Mission Leadership Council we hold a zone meeting and discuss what took place at the meeting. Only zone leaders attend the mission leadership council so we need to get the water to the end of the row some how. These meetings are generally lead by the zone leaders with much participation from the rest of the missionaries. Ours went very well and it was a huge success. We brought candy to pass out as people answered questions so maybe that's why they loved it so much. We got a new ward mission leader in the YSA and we are sure things are going to start to move forward. We have our fist meeting with him in a week so I will let you all know how he is dpi the next time I write home. I love you all and want to thank you for the prayers and thoughts. Keep up the good work. Talk to you soon.

Elder Cole Safford