Marietta-Week 23

Well, Elder Phillips time in Marietta has come to an end.  This will be the last update from there.  He has been transferred to Coal Mountain/Cumming Georgia area to finish our his mission, he thinks.  He was sad to leave the area but excited about a new challenge.  Here is what he had to say about his last week in Marietta....Well mom I am getting transferred on Wednesday to the Coal Mountain Ward.  I will be opening it up, they have not had missionaries there in 3 months.  I will be with Elder A.  I think it is near where my old area was of Dawsonville.  I am doing great.  I love this work.  The weather is warming up nice and good, well a little bit.  The work is moving forward very fast.  I love it.  So this is what happened this week....we were doing the Peace and Blessing tool and knocking doors.  And we met this family who wasn't going to let us in.  So we asked for a referral and then Elder M changed and asked if we could just come in and she let us in.  And we blessed her home/them and the spirit was super strong.  I am seeing so many miracles as a missionary.  I love being a missionary so much.  I know that this work is real and that the Lord is in this work.  I want to serve my Heavenly Father for the rest of my life so I can enjoy the blessings of the gospel.  Well, that is all I have this week.  Love ya all

Elder Phillips

Marietta-Week 22

Here is the latest from Elder Phillips.....It is hard to believe that I have been in Marietta now for almost six months.  The ward that I attend feels like my home ward now.  I am thinking that I may be transferred next week so I will try and send some stuff home on Monday.  My blanket is still good but my coat has seen better days.  I am thinking that I will leave my bike for another Elder to use.  What do you think, Mom??  My week has been good, just a pretty normal week.  The weather is basically the same.  Elder M is good, just pushin' forward hoping to get someone on the path to eternal life.  I've seen our teaching pool change a lot since I've been here, it is so crazy and it breaks my heart sometimes when someone I've grown to love doesn't join the church, they miss out on blessings...missionary work...I love it so much.  I'm looking forward to General conference this next month, it has come so fast.  So here is our little miracle for the week.  I was on exchanges with a missionary and we had a couple of minutes to use before our dinner appointment and so I suggested since we were in his area maybe we could do this new finding tool, the peace and blessings.  I told him that I would lead out the door approach.  So we knocked on the first door, it was a young kid, no interest.  The second door we knocked on a lady answered and we introduced ourselves as representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ and she knew we were...the spirit testified that we were, she let us right in and we left the blessing.  Those missionaries from that area will be going back to teach that lady tomorrow.  It was so awesome that him and I were able to do that. I am so grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord.  The Gospel is true!!  I love this work!!  I love my Heavenly Father and I know that my Savior lives and loves me.

Elder Phillips

Marietta-Week 21

Here is the latest from Justin in Georgia.....I fell on my left hand during basketball today so I am writing this with a sore hand.  I told Justin about the van dying on us and that we were looking at a new car and I told him that he was not driving it when he got home.  His reply was...I am fine not driving it, I'm tired of driving cars :) I want to get a truck as soon as possible when I get home.  My week has been great.  Things are really going well in this area right now.  It is off and on cold with the weather.  We got a little bit of snow on Saturday.  The work is moving forward, we are getting more and more missionaries every transfer, it is so crazy.  The Lord knows his work, he is in this work I know that for sure.  I am doing all right just pushing forward.  Enjoying my mission while I got it.  We had a sweet experience Elder M and I found this kid a couple of weeks ago and he was super open and he let us right in to leave a blessing.  So Elder M and Elder M were on exchanges this week and they felt inspired to knock a door and they knew they had to knock it.  And they found a young lady who let them right in to leave a blessing and she turned out to be the first kids's we found, it was his sister.  So we found these two people who are siblings, who lived in different parts of our area, super inspired.  I know that this is the work of our Father and that we as missionaries are inspired and that when we are obedient we are led by the spirit.  Obedience brings blessings, exact obedience brings Miracles.  I love this work and I love my Father in Heaven.  I love my Savior so much, he means so much to me.  I love y'all.

Elder Phllips

Marietta-Week 20

Here is the latest from Elder Phillips in Georgia.  He did comment that this past email was the shortest one that he has received from me.  It is weird all the changes that are happening in our mission, a lot of the missionaries I know are going home, they are gettin old.  I feel like one of  the old ones now, it is so weird.  Things are good here.  The weather is heating up a little but not hot enough yet.  I want to have the heat back. Elder M and I thought about calling Sister W but we decided not to.  I bet she freaked out when she found out, she was so cool.  I love that family so much.  They are probably one of my favorite families in the south.  I love this ward so much and the weird thing is that this ward feels like home to me now, I know everyone names, even their first names.  But I still refer to them as ma'am or sir or Brother and Sister.  But the work is going well, we have Zone conference this week and I am conducting the meeting.  So that will be interesting.  I am excited though.  Can you believe that they are opening up like 58 new missions?  So crazy!!  The church is sooo true.  I love it!!  So here is my little miracle, Elder C and I were on exchanges this week and we were knocking doors in this neighborhood and we came across a lot of people who didn't want to listen to us but then we came across a woman and her daughter who let us right in and we left the Savior's peace and a blessing upon them.  It was so awesome, it was a tender mercy from the Lord.  I love this gospel so much.  The gospel is so true.  I love y'all so much!!

Elder Phillips