Dawsonville-Week 5

Here is the latest update from Elder Phillips.....We had to tell Justin in our email this week that we broke the boat.  We are in the process of re-building the engine in it.  So his email started this week......You broke the boat??   Noooooooooo!!!!  My hopes and dreams!!  It's okay, it happens.  That sounds like an awesome adventure.  I think he is referring to the adventure of getting the boat off Utah Lake and not the rebuilding process.  My week has been pretty good, we had some success this week.  My area is great.  I love it here.  My companion is great!!  Tiny miracle for this week, we were out and visiting potential investigators and we weren't having much luck but as we continued to try to find people we knocked on a door of a man who has been prepared to hear the message.  He said we could come by anytime and while we talked to him, I could feel the spirit working through us.  It was amazing.  That was an awesome experience.  I love and miss y'all.
Elder Phillips

Dawsonville-Week 4

Here is the latest from Elder Phillips.....it has been pretty mild here, weatherwise, but it'll heat up I'm sure.  My week was alright, we worked and preached the gospel.  The work is moving, I am not sure which way it is moving in this area but it is for sure moving.  I am getting along pretty well with my companion, he is a good kid.  No new investigators this week, it was kind of a slow week but we met with a lot of less active members.  We went street contacting the other day and we went to this neighborhood to just knock on doors and talk to people.  Well we ended up talking to a bunch of people and they were all pretty nice about the message we had to share. One even said to come back later.  It was a small miracle but for sure a miracle. We were inspired to go to that neighborhood and work and I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for prompting us to go there.  Mom, I know that you are struggling right now but I know that you have a strong testimony of the gospel.  I followed it for 17 years.  I know that scripture study and prayer are essential in our lives, there is a reason we encourage our investigators to do these things.  I want you to know that I have a testimony of scriptures and prayer.  I know that God reveals things to us through the scriptures.  I know that he hears and answers prayers.  He knows and understands us better than anyone on this earth.  We just need to talk to him, he misses us.  He wants to help us to make it back to him but we gotta ask him for help.  I know that this church is true, I know that Joseph Smith was called of God and that God's church is on the earth today.  The Book of Mormon is true, by reading it we can grow closer to God.  Jesus Christ is our Savior, he loves us and he paid the price for us so that we don't have to.  We just have to do our part and come unto him.  I love y'all and miss ya a ton.  Love Elder Phillips

Dawsonville-Week 3

I have had a number of people ask me if I had new pictures of Justin.  He is good to occasionally send them home to us but I am terrible about getting them posted to his blog but I have included a few from his last 208 that he sent home a few months ago.  This is the lastest update from him....My week has been good.  We got some awesome people that we are workin' with right now.  The weather has been hot but that's just how it is and I love every minute of it, I might move down here ;)  ha ha we'll talk about that later :)  My companion and I are doin' well, we are working pretty hard right now but there is always room for improvement.  We picked up like 3 new gators (investigators) this week, so the Lord is really blessin' us.  I bought new shirts that actually fit, it is a good feelin.  They make me look more like a representative of Jesus Christ.  Thank so much for helping me out with the funds for my mission....this has been one of the greatest experiences of my life.  We had a neat experience this week, well to start last week while tracting we gave this guy a Book of Mormon and said we would come back to share more and so one night this week we went by and his wife answered the door, without asking questions she let us in and we sat down and taught her the first lesson.  She said she was very interested and that she wanted to come to church in a couple of weeks, after the Olympics were over.  I know that this church is true.  I know that missions are not easy, but this is the Lord's work and it is his kingdom that we are building up.  And the things that we do in this 2 year span are far greater that we are and we can't even begin to understand the difference we are making.  I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, he lives and loves us.  His Atonement is amazing, it can change anything.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true and no one can take that from me.  I love y'all and miss a ton.

Elder Phillips

Dawsonville-Week 2

Here is the latest from Elder Phillips.....my week has been good.  My companion is pretty cool, quiet but cool.  We picked up a couple of new investigators this week but it is hard to find new people sometimes.  The area that I am serving in is very spread out and very country.  You know where we go camping at Wastch State Park, it is a lot like that area, that little town that is sort of in the mountains.  There is a mountain range at like the top of our area close to the border of the state.  There are a ton of hills here.  I am settling in pretty well, the four of us gave talks last Sunday, it was my first talk in 13 months.  Plus I taught the gospel principles class at the last minute.  I get along with the other missionaries, sometimes we don't always see eye to eye but that is one of the challenges of missionary work.  I have to learned to be patient and to be humble.  Still working on it though.  Oh so a funny story to share...our new investigator we have been trying to get a hold of her and visit her and everytime we go to see her, her rooster greets us...he always just comes out of no where and just walks around with us, like a dog.  We were at her door one day and she has this table right next to the door and he will just jump up there and look at us as we were knocking on the door.  So tiny miracle, we have been doing a lot of tracting lately, one lady we taught the whole first lesson on her door step and committed her to read the Book of Mormon.  It was pretty awesome, the Lord knows where we are going to be and who he needs to place in our path.  I love this work so much and I enjoy helping others come closer to Christ, I know that his Atonement is real and that it covers every mistake I or anyone on this earth has made and I know that if we accept him and accept his Atonement, we can make it back to live with our Heavenly Father.  His Atonement is infinite and Eternal, he is the way and the light.  I love y'all and miss ya a bunch.