June 29, 2015

Hey!

So tomorrow marks my 6 months left, so I only have about a quarter left of my mission! Which is absolutely insane!!! We are also half way through 2015, and I hope it has been a good year for you all so far! I got my transfer call on Saturday. I will be staying in Durres and my new companion will be Elder Rigby. He is serving in Macedonia, which is part of my mission for those of you who didn't know, so he is called Macedonian speaking. So my new companion doesn't speak a word of Albanian haha. Lucky for us we have several investigators who speak really good English so it won't be too difficult for him!

So we started teaching our investigators brother and now they both have baptismal dates! They really seem to recognize the truthfulness of our message and of the Church! They even came to church in white shirts and ties! We are really excited for them and their progression towards baptism!

This last week has been good, although today feels really weird. Transfers always feel strange because we are all apprehensive and stressed about the change. And because of the timing it feels like I'm starting summer break, only I get to do missionary work for my break.

I just wanna share my testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the true and restored church of Jesus Christ, and it was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. We have the restored priesthood on the earth so that we can participate in the sacred and saving ordinances, like baptism and sacrament! The Book of Mormon is true and is a testament of Jesus Christ and that Joseph Smith really was a prophet of God! We have a living prophet today and his name is Thomas S. Monson. I love you all and hope that you have a great second half of 2015!

Elder Simons

Photos from our Mission Conference

June 22, 2015

Hey!

So my brother goes home from his mission in a couple of days, and he has really been an inspiration and a role model to me! He has been a great example for me and I'm sure for many in his mission. So I will all of the best to my brother Elder Zach Simons!

Well this week was really good! Our investigator kept his commitments this week and was able to come to church. It was awesome! He loved it! Church is such an amazing place and we are so lucky we have the opportunity to set apart a whole day every week to worship our Heavenly Father and renew our baptismal covenant by partaking of the sacrament. He also brought his brother to our Saturday Soccer, and he seems interested as well! We are hoping to start teaching his family soon!

We had a ward activity on Saturday that turned our really well! We at a bunch of stations with different games including the Stick Pull Game (Joseph Smith's Favorite) and Knock-out the basketball game. It was good and members brought their friends! It was awesome.

This is the last week of the transfer and my companion will go home after that! It is crazy, with all these people going home, like my Brother and companion you realize how fast the mission goes! I am lucky that I still have 6 months left, but I'm sure it'll go quickly! I am so happy and grateful for my mission and I have a strong testimony that this Church is true!

Love and have an awesome week!

Elder Sajmënz

June 15, 2015

Hey!

So as ridiculous as this is I only have 15 minutes to try and write this! Well this week was good. Two of our investigators accepted a baptismal date and seem to be progressing and really feeling the Spirit in their lives! And after all that is our job, we are just supposed to bring the Spirit and Invite and He does the rest of the work!

So this week we are excited to work with our investigators and hopefully to find some new people that are interested in hearing about the Restored Gospel. This month is the month of inviting, so all of you that read this and are members be sure to invite someone to learn about the gospel! Whether be to come to church, to read the Book of Mormon, to meet with the Missionaries, or even to come to a Church Activity. The ward here in Durrës is having a ward activity on Saturday to kick off summer and all the members are encouraged to invite their friends! There is plenty of work to be done in the Lord's Vineyard, and there is certainly plenty of work to go around for us all to do!

And for those of you who aren't members I encourage you to check out "The Mormons" Mormon.org. You will be able to learn all about our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and to learn more about our Savior Jesus Christ. I have a strong testimony that He loves us and that He has restored His church once again on the Earth! I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that through him the Book of Mormon was translated and the Priesthood authority of God was restored on the earth.

I love this church and I love my Savior Jesus Christ!

Have an awesome week!!

Elder Simons

June 8, 2015

Hey Guys!

Not much to report this week. It was pretty slow, but I am pretty
positive that it will quickly pick up! We had a Zone Conference last
week and that was a great experience. Sometimes I have a bad attitude going into meetings, but I always end up learning something really amazing and it always turns out to be an awesome meeting!

With my brother ending his mission at the end of this month and my companion also finishing up at the end of the month I realize just how fast missions go! I am grateful for the time that I have had to serve the Lord and for the time that I have left! Serving with a companion who is on his last transfer can be an interesting experience; those of you who have served with a companion who is finishing up their mission can testify, it almost makes you feel like you are also on your last transfer. However it makes you realize how precious your time is because I actually have a pretty long amount of time left, and for that I am very grateful!

I'm sorry I don't have much to write about this week, but I am doing well and Durres is great! I will have more pictures to send next week! I hope you are all doing well and that you are happy and healthy! I love you guys and I know the Church is true! I know that the Savior loves you and wants the best for you! I hope that you guys have an awesome week and that you can do an act of service this week, service is a great way to come close to the Savior and be happier!

Love,

Elder Simons

June 1, 2015

Hey Everyone!

So this last week wasn't super crazy or anything! We had one investigator leave town because of personal problems, but we are gonna keep in contact with him via email to make sure he can find the church wherever he might end up! We were finally able to meet up with our other investigator who has been out of town and in work! He is doing awesome!

During our lesson with him this last week, we taught the Word of Wisdom which we were surprised to learn was living it already! It was a testimony builder to us that the Lord does prepare people in His own ways! He is praying for a baptismal date and we are so excited for him! He was the one who was an investigator a few years ago and now he is an investigator again!

Today we went fishing for Pday, and let's just say that fishing isn't for me haha. I guess I haven't learned patience very well. Maybe that's what I should work on next..haha. My companion now has less than a month left! It is pretty crazy. In other news it's starting to get hotter and hotter! and it's really humid here, so we are in for quite a treat haha. It's only gonna get hotter and hotter until the end of August. The ward here is doing really well and we are excited for the missionary work.

Much Love,

Elder Sajmënz