"Mitt Romney!"

Well hello! Today is Monday and I am really bad at starting emails, so yeah, that's the best I've got. This week, not a whole lot happened.

We did get to teach the Mankoto's twice this week and we watched President Monson with them. It went really well and they are all looking forward to coming to church and baptism!

We were able to have a lesson with Ron again, the guy Elder Vai and I taught right before he left, so it had been a while, but he is really awesome! He said he wanted to come to church with us without our initiation, so that was an awesome surprise! He is also thinking about baptism in September!

It has been really slow though and it will just get slower this week because summer semester is out now. Just a little more until August!!!

We had tons of people yell "Jehova's Witness" at us this week, so that was random. And the best part was we also got a "Mitt Romney!" which was much funnier because whoever yelled it clearly knew who we were and knew Mitt Romney was Mormon!

Something I wanted to share from my studies this week comes from the Sons of Mosiah. In Sunday School yesterday we talked about the fruits of all the missionary work and the deep repentance of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. Something that really stuck out to me was the stark contrast between the members in Zarahemla and the Sons of Mosiah (Alma 26). It mentions how the people of Zarahemla, upon hearing the mission the brothers were about to set out on, laughed at them and tried to shut down the faith they had!! I thought it was crazy the difference faith played in these two groups' lives. Ammon and his brothers clearly understood how the Atonement worked and it's power and were fully influenced by that faith they held. While those in Zarahemla didn't allow their faith to fully be a part of who they were and basically gave up hope on the Lamanites. I really saw how much more favored of the Lord we are as we allow our faith to change our souls and we act with all our power on that faith. I pondered a lot on how that really applies to any church calling, how we need to put forth our full faithful effort to secure the most blessings for those we serve and for us. I really enjoyed learning and studying about all this!

Hope you are all doing well and that it isn't as hot wherever you are as it is here!

Take Luck,

Elder Goold

"A tour of a local mosque"

So it has been only a few days since emailing last, but we have had a bunch of random stuff happened.

Thursday was pretty good. We were going to teach with Bro. D, but our appointment canceled. So we went and tried a good group of potentials, which turned out well because we got to teach someone! We taught Masood, a guy from Pakistan, about the Restoration and it went really well. And when we were tracting earlier in the day, something funny happened. I'm not sure what it is, but a lot of college dudes here just love to answer the door in their underwear. It happens more frequently than you would think, haha!

Friday we had appointments set up but we weren't able to see anyone. That has happened a lot recently, but it's not the end of the world, we are still doing well! We did get to meet a Muslim guy who had talked to us Wednesday night. He got us our own copies of the Koran in English and then....he took us on a tour of the local Mosque. That was most definitely a unique experience. He did say we can go back whenever we want. 

Saturday we got to see Natalia on the bus! She is doing really well. She has been very busy, so we haven't taught her in a while, but she has been reading the Book of Mormon a ton and going to church every week! She said near the end of the month she'll be more free and will be able to meet with us, so that will be awesome! Then we got to see Wenjie again. It was difficult to explain "service" to him because he just kept thinking of a work service like restaurant service. But eventually we got the point across. 

Sunday we got to have dinner with the Huffs again now that they are back for the weekends, so that was nice! Other than that, nothing really happened. I have been leading the music pretty often in Church now, so that is fun! We've actually had a lot of people at church the last two weeks, which is pretty sweet! The Earls are actually starting to return to activity more because they've set a goal for themselves to be sealed in the temple in November (Gilbert Temple, she's is from Arizona)!! That was pretty awesome to hear!

This next week should be pretty awesome, hopefully we get to talk to a lot of the people coming back for school!!  So a spiritual thought I wanted to send this week is about "How Firm a Foundation". As of now, I think it is my favorite hymn and I actually recently listened to a talk by President Monson with the same name as the hymn. A quote from his talk is really awesome: "Stated simply, if we do not have a deep foundation of faith and a solid testimony of truth, we may have difficulty withstanding the harsh storms and icy winds of adversity which inevitably come to each of us." The more and more I am on my mission and am around all sorts of people, the more I see how faith can change and impact every part of our lives, helping us stay immovable in every circumstance. You just have to always focus on the good and push through the bad!

Hope y'all have a good week!

Take Luck,

Elder Goold

'I think I am getting used to the humidity!"

This last week has just been nuts. Hopefully all of you have had a good week! Ours was good, just whack.

So this last week, talking to anyone on the streets has been pointless. As you are all probably aware, Pokémon Go is a huge thing right now and everyone who is walking around this campus is playing it, which is funny, but it makes talking to them much harder. It's nuts!!!! 

So we were able to visit with Paul and we had a really awesome lesson with him! We were able to teach him about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon especially. He really wants to quit smoking as well so we will work on that with him. We'll get to see him in a few days, so that will be great! 

We also got to meet with a new kid named Max and his friend John. We taught them about the Plan of Salvation and then we played a round of Ping-Pong with them and they were so ridiculous at ping-pong, it was crazy.  Another kid we taught was CJ. He is pretty awesome, but funny enough he was only 15!! Never would have guessed, but he is pretty awesome.

I got to go on exchanges with Elder Ballard in Southpark. Elder Roberts and Christensen taught the Mankoto’s during exchanges. Elder Balllard and I got to teach one of their investigators who is doing really well. She's been reading the Book of Mormon a lot lately and is going to be baptized at the beginning of August! 

It has been very very hot here lately, but on the good side I think I am getting used to the humidity! I am also slightly afraid that I may be becoming lactose intolerant. It may be because I ate 5 brownies, so I am banking on that, because I love chocolate too much. 

Other than that, today is kind of sad, Elder Christensen and Kropushek are both leaving!! That means I am the one who has been in this district the longest! I am pretty confident that this will be my last transfer here though. It's really crazy that I have already been here 4.5 months! It's all good though, I still really like it here. Always new stuff to be doing, so it's good!

I hope all of you are having a great week and stay safe! It won't be too long before I email again, have a great week-ish!

Take Luck,

Elder Goold

"Happy 4th"

Hello everyone! As you are all probably aware, yesterday was the 4th of July! This last week and a day has been really fast and very warm. It's been real humid here the last few days and everything is just very damp.

To be honest, not a whole lot has been happening that is new, we've just seen a lot of the same people.

Brother Neron is doing well. Our lesson with him was actually pretty awesome. He has been real busy lately, but he was able to read 2 Nephi 31-33 and really liked it. He talked about the verses in chapter 32 that teach about prayer. He said how he really felt like it spoke to him about needing to pray more and coming back closer to God. He really noticed how he was able to receive personal revelation from God!! That was really awesome and now he is thinking about baptism at the end of August!

Brother Mankoto and his family had something come up and we had to reschedule, but we actually were able to see them on Sunday when he drove past us! We talked for a quick moment and he is doing well! We'll be seeing them this Thursday.

We visited with Brother Ma and he just wanted us to teach him the story of Jesus talking with the Samaritan women at the well. Funny enough, I really had no clue except the main points, so we watched the Bible video with him!

So this was a pretty awesome miracle! Not sure how much I mentioned it in the past, but a while ago, Elder Stoddard and I found this Irish guy named Paul. He is super awesome and really funny. But after the first time we taught him, he disappeared! But just the other night, we had some appointments fall through that day, Paul gets on the same bus as us and sits nearby! So we started talking again and it turns he had moved places and had gone through some rough struggles with addiction. But now we have his new address and are going to see him tonight! He said on the bus he really didn't want to talk anymore because some other preacher told him that we didn't believe in Jesus Christ. So of course, recognizing that that is ridiculous, we were able to really testify of our faith in Jesus Christ and how because of Him we can really become new and better people. 

This next week is already transfers because this one is only 5 weeks, so my next P-day is next Wednesday. It's crazy how time just flies by!! Elder Roberts and I are having fun and moving forward until the students all arrive back. Saturday night was kind of sucky, Elder Roberts had a pretty bad fall on the side of the road, but now he is back to walking conditions thankfully!

Only 1 more month until students start coming back!! Hope you all are doing well and have a great next week!

Take Luck,

Elder Goold