Jonesboro-Week10

So Elder Phillips spent his 20th birthday in Jonesboro, Georgia.  He is doing great.  He received his birthday package from us just in time.  This is what he had to say this week.....We had dinner with a member family, who invited another member over to celebrate her birthday, well the member who had the birthday couldn't make it so Elder Sarniguet (one of the Spanish missionaries) spilled the beans and they used the cake for me.  It was great.  My week has been good, we have had a lot of success, we are mostly working with the less active members right, they are great.  The work is movin' forward like always, just trying to find those that are ready for the truth.  I love my companion, he gave me a nasty looking tie for my birthday today, it is a pretty good looking one.  The weather is heating up quick, I am pretty stoked about that.  Elder Astle and I have been working on talking to more people and this week we had one day where we just talked to everyone and we found a lot of people who seem ready and we set appointments with a lot of them.  It was an amazing blessing from the Lord.  But we have had a lot of good stuff happening here, we gotta keep pushing forward and keep working hard everyday.  I know that this is the Lord's work and that this is the true church.  I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God.  Well that is all for this week.  I love and miss y'all.

Jonesboro-Week 9

We had the opportunity to talk with Elder Phillips on Mother's Day.  We were able to Skype with him and he looks great and sounds awesome!!  He is getting along with his new companion and they seem to work well together.  He said that there is lots of good things happening in the South right now and he is excited to be part of it.  He has had a number of baptisms and they are working with a number of families.  He was able to see Oliver and we teased him by giving Oliver his "crookies" (the frosted pink and white animal cookies).  Oliver loves them too.  He is busy being the district leader and he says it is a lot of hard work but it is very rewarding.  His brothers teased him about his lost back pack and they all compared waist lines.  LOL!!  We did get a short email this week but since we had just talked with him it didn't have much news.  Michael says he sounds funny now.  From his email....Sorry this is short, but I have like no time to write this email but I just wanted to say that it was awesome to talk to y'all, you look great and happy.  I enjoy seeing family and interacting with y'all.  Love and miss y'all!!

Jonesboro-Week 8

Well, Elder Phillips got a surprise this week in Jonesboro, Sister Wright who watched out for him while he was in Monroe visited her parents who live in Jonesboro and got to see Justin. She sent me a facebook message and said that he is looking great and doing well. From his email this week.....We had a baptism on Sunday, which is always good. They are getting confirmed next Sunday, super cool. He is really liking his new companion, he is fresh out of the MTC and is a hard worker. The work is going great, being district leader is a challenge sometimes but many are called and few are chosen. My week has been pretty good. We have been finding a lot of new people to teach. Tiny miracle this week, we got an amazing referral from the members. I wasn't sure how the first lesson was going to go but they are a great couple, it was one of the best first lessons I have ever had on my mission. The Lord is giving us people and we are working as hard as we can. It is such a blessing. I love serving the Lord in Georgia. I love and miss y'all. Talk with you next week.

Elder Phillips and Elder Sarniguet (one of the spanish speaking missionaries)

Jonesboro-Week 7

Here is the latest update for Elder Phillips.....Well, shoot this has been a pretty good week.  I have a new companion, Elder Astle from Yuba City, California.  He is the bomb at missionary work but it feels weird training him because he is 22 years old and I'm only 19 but only for a few more weeks.  He is a hard working missionary and I feel really good about this companionship.  I am very excited about staying in Jonesboro, it is a great area to be in.  My week has been great!!  We have contacted a lot of people this week and we are having tons of success already.  The weather is crazy here.....it is heating up though.  I pray for everyone back home every night.  I know that there are lots of struggles right now but the atonement is infinite and eternal, it can fix anything.  I'm happy to hear that you are making the best of your callings.  I am being tested with accepting callings out here.  The Lord has called me as District leader/Trainer...a lot of responsibility.  But prayer makes it so much easier to deal with.  Our little miracle is on Wednesday we were visiting a former investigator at like 8:30 but he was busy so we talked to the first person we saw.  We talked to her for like 20 minutes, she accepts our message and commits to read and pray about the Book of Mormon.  It gets better though, two other people came out of no where and wanted a copy of it too...so we talked to them and got their information, then a 4th guy shows up and we talk to him about it, it was amazing y'all.  The Lord is in this work, I know it.  I love serving the Lord...and I look forward to talkin' to y'all in a couple of weeks.  I love y'all.

Jonesboro-Week 6

So I guess the best news of this week's email, at least for me, was Elder Phillips found his backpack!! and everything was still in it.  I don't think he would have liked to finish my mission with a "My Little Pony" backpack.  Elder Phillips received the news that his companion Elder Keliikoa was going to be transferred so that means Elder Phillips will be training a new missionary next week. From  his email this week....It is crazy to think that I am going to be 20 years old next month.  I am so excited to talk to y'all.  I have been almost gone a year...crazy huh? Here is my bad news, our baptism was changed to a later date but that is okay I am not discouraged.  I have had a lot of great experiences on my mission so far, some you have heard of and some you haven't.  I know that I am here for a reason, that this is where I am supposed to be and that it is shaping my life.  We had an experience this week where we had a lady that we met on the street and she invited to meet with her at her home so we went over there and she wasn't there...wrong home. So we talked to some lady that lived there and we talked to her for a good hour and she was a honest seeker of truth.  It was so cool and now we are going to start teaching her.  We also talked to a lady from Jerusalem on that street, that was pretty sweet.  Oh, man it is crazy that I am training again.  I am really excited to be doing this again.  I saw Elder McGary recently and he seems to be doing really well in Monroe.  I gonna miss camping this year but it is okay, the work that I'm doing right now is more important.  I am away from my family for a little while so others can be with theirs for eternity.  Thank you for the support, guys...it really means a lot to me..this work is a great work for me to be doing and I am grateful for the love and support that you guys give me.  Well, I know it is not alot this week but this is all I have for this email.  I miss y'all and love ya.