Back To Long Beach!...

Hello Everybody!!

So a lot has happened since my last email. Let me just go ahead and say that I won't be staying in Cypress for another 6 weeks. I'm going back to Long Beach, in fact the same zone I was in at the start, just in a different ward. I'll be serving in the Long Beach 4th Ward with Elder Henry. He's from Micronesia!!!!! I'm so excited to be with him, he actually was serving in the Cypress 5th ward last transfer, but he left and now I'm gonna be going to join him in Long Beach. I can't believe I spent 6 months of my mission here in Cypress, there's been some really good things that have happened here for me, for the area and the ward over the past little while. I have really come to love the people here, the area, and the companions I've been with. It's true you really do build life long relationships while you're out here. It's sad to leave, especially some of our investigators, but I know the Lord will take care of them and everything will work out for the best.

Speaking of, Mike did come to general conference!!! I sat right next to him! He loved it and took a lot of good notes throughout the session. He wasn't feeling well after the first one so he had to go home, but he really did enjoy it. Crazy stuff has happened with him over the past week. So, we met with him on Tuesday and we read 2 Nephi 31 with him, when we got to Baptism we kinda just laid it all out and asked him what was holding him back from being baptized. He has admitted multiple times he knows the church is true, the book of Mormon, Joseph smith, the whole shebang. So what we got wasn't what we expected. We thought it has been his mom this entire time, but turns out his mom has been fully aware he's been meeting with us and he just tells her that he loves meeting with us too much to stop and that the gospel has really helped him, so she really hasn't been the problem. Anyway, it ended up being something even smaller of an issue, and the second we resolved it he said that was the only thing keeping him from joining the church. Out of nowhere he shared an experience that he had when he was a teenager where a friend gave him a Book of Mormon and he read it and said that if he were to ever join another church it would be The Mormon Church!!! We had no idea! I can't express over email, how excited I am for Mike, I know that I have talked a lot about him for really the entire time I've been here in Cypress, but I really have come to care about him and I've done all I could to help him except the gospel. So things are looking really Good for Mike, hopefully over the next month or so Elder Adams and his new companion can continue working with him, helping him to set a specific baptismal date. If it is sometime over the next 3 months I'll be able to come back for it.

This whole experience really has helped me see that everybody progresses at there own pace and that patience, love, and many opportunities to feel the spirit can really change people, no matter how long it takes. The Lord Knows what all of us need, when and how. Sorry this was such a long explanation, I'll quickly say a few more things. Kirk, unfortunately out of the blue called and said he wasn't interested anymore, but we're not gonna give up that easy. Elder adams plans on going by tomorrow to try and re-kindle the spirit he felt when we met with him before.

And one more crazy cool story. We were out with a member on saturday, we didnt really have any solid appointments, so we decided to go by this potential investigator we've had for forever! Her name is Mariam. We've tried so many times and shes never been home, but we had the feeling to go by again so we did. She was there, we watched the "Because He Lives" video with her and then she invited us in to share more with her. We simply shared the message of the restoration and helped her throughout to recognize the spirit. She said that she kept having the same feeling she had while watching the video. It was a really simple but powerful lesson with her, we invited her to be baptized on the 3rd of may and she said Yes! We couldnt believe it! It was such a blessing from the lord to be put in the right place at the right time, and be given the words to say. I know that when we put our trust and confidence in the lord he blesses us and looks after us. So Some really good things happening for the new missionary coming in. Hopefully I'll be able to bring what I have to offer to my new area and help those people there receive the gospel so Heavenly Father can bless them even more.

I'm really excited to share more missionary experiences with yall over the next few weeks. I know this work is true! I Love it, and I Love you. Never loose faith. Till next time!

Love, Elder Page