"Exact obedience brings exact blessings."

October 29, 2013

Hello Hello,

So we had two baptisms on Saturday! That was so awesome! Also probably one of the funniest moments on my mission. One of the boys started singing that song "A whole new world" from Aladdin at the top of his lungs after he got baptized hahaha. We were dying laughing! The baptism was combined with two kids from the ward so there was A LOT of people there it was wonderful. One of the other girls getting baptized asked me to confirm her so that was another awesome experience. You really can feel the spirit so strong at baptisms. Its really awesome seeing all the little kids crowded around the font to watch the baptisms and they are just so excited and cant wait to get baptized. Even though at the moment they may not understand quite fully what it means but they can definitely feel the spirit and they KNOW they should be baptized too. So the baptism went smoothly but the whole morning and afternoon before that....that's a different story lol.

So we had a pretty good day planned out with some lessons and helping some people move. Everyone either canceled on us or just wasn't home except one recent convert family then the family that wanted us to help them move only wanted help to move their huge grand piano and lots of people were supposed to show up to help but it was only us, the dad and the elders quorum president. Talk about some fun.... haha Then they had totally forgot about their two sheds they had full of stuff so we stayed and helped them pack all that up then went to help unload and before we knew it we had to be at the church in a half hour. So we ran to our car to find out the battery was dead and nobody had cables. Then we found out that the terminal on the battery was completely corroded and broke off so our car was outta commission. Luckily we were able to get a ride and got it all sorted out. We had a member jimmy rig the  car so we could at least get it to the mechanic on Monday. On Monday we took it in only to find out a couple hours later we needed to take it to the dealership and we got there right after the service shop had closed so we had to leave it there overnight. Talk about fun stuff haha So we are without a car in this HUGE area but luckily my comp has a bike and a member let me borrow one :) Crazy weekend!

Last week we really focused on finding new investigators went out having faith and trusting in the Lord to lead us where we need to go. We found 6 new investigators last week and 4 of them in one day! The promises in the scriptures are soo true. All we have to do is do what they say and the blessings are there. We have so many blessings in store for us as long as we do what is commanded. Obedience is the only way to receive blessings. That's why one of my favorite quotes is, "Exact obedience brings exact blessings." If there's one thing I've learned on the mission it's that being obedient to the Lord really is the only way to truly be happy in life. Then you have no fear cause you will always have the spirit to be with you leading and guiding you. Anyway, hope you all had a wonderful week! Thanks for all the love and support!

Love,

Elder Jaden Espinoza 

Damion and Danny Fox

 

Katelyn Smith

My first week as a district leader

October 21, 2013

Hello everyone!

 This last week was a good week! A little different than most. My first week as a district leader was a great learning experience. Kinda have a funny story. So district leaders have these big white boards where we make this chart thing that shows every areas numbers for the month. I completely remade the one that I got cause it really wasn't that nice. It took me hours and hours to finish and not gonna lie I felt pretty accomplished when I did! I was just really hoping my district would appreciate the new board I made. So anyways we bring these boards to district meeting and the companionships will come up and talk about what they did good for the week and what they wanna work on basically accounting for their last week. Guess what I did on my first district meeting ever. FORGOT THE BOARD! (My mom is probably not surprised) lol I was soooo disappointed cause I spent all this time on the board and got it looking really nice then boom I forgot the board. Not to mention our zone leaders came to my first district meeting which made me even more nervous and on top of that I forgot the board. But I think the district meeting went good and we all just laughed it off haha.

 So we have 2 baptisms this Saturday! We are soooo excited to see these two boys getting baptized. This is really going to be a wonderful addition to the Church! Its so wonderful to see people progress in this Gospel. Nothing has brought me more happiness so far in my life. Last week we taught the Gospel Principles class cause it was on missionary work. The Lord blesses us greatly for doing missionary work. We gave the class an opportunity to share some experiences of them doing missionary work. The most common thing I remember is that they all said they were soooo happy to see their friends accept the gospel. Most of them said it brought tears to their eyes immediately. I think joy is one of the greatest blessings we receive from missionary work. Not to mention all the other wonderful blessings and spiritual gifts we receive from it. I would encourage everyone and especially those of you who feel like they have not had enough joy in their life recently to start doing some missionary work and see the happiness it brings you in your life and the spiritual blessings you will receive! It really is the work of God.

 We have a few other people with baptism dates coming up soon so we are working hard to help prepare them for baptism. It still amazes me to see how the Lord is preparing people for his Gospel. It will never get old. And it will never stop. I think another blessing I received last week was my new comp! His name is Elder Hoggan. He's from Logan, Utah. Elder Hoggan from Logan lol. We were actually in the same district in the MTC so we were already good friends! From what I can tell this transfer is going to be a great one!! Hopefully we see a lot of success! Thank you all for all the love and support I receive weekly! Love you all and have a great week :)

Love,

Elder Jaden Espinoza

A picture from a couple weekends ago at their wards Fall Festival. They were the chili cook off judges.

 Elder Espinoza and his previous companion Elder Peterson.

Letter from the Mission President

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
New Mexico Albuquerque Mission
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87109-3442

16 October 2013

Dear Verna Marie Ruiz,


I would like you to know how much Sister Miller and I have grown to love your son.  He has exemplified great leadership abilities in his missionary work. Therefore, we have called Elder Espinoza to serve in the leadership position of District Leader.
I have great confidence in his ability to serve in this capacity.  He is compassionate, dependable, obedient, respectful, kind, and loves the people here in The New Mexico Albuquerque Mission, along with his fellow missionaries.  He has a strong relationship with his Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, which entitles him to receive personal revelation from the Lord appropriate to his calling and will gain the confidence and support of those he serves.
Thank you for sending us an outstanding young man.  May the Lord continue to bless you as you continue to support your son.

Sincerely,
President Steven J. Miller Mission President

Elder Espinoza's new companion Elder Hoggan. they were in the MTC together!

Got called to be the district leader!

October 14, 2013

  Well this week was an exciting one! We have 5 investigators with baptism dates. Two will be on the 26th! We really love that family we are teaching! They really will be such a great addition to the church!

  We also have many other investigators who we have been working with for a while and are now finally starting to progress! One guy has really had troubles with drinking but he finally came to church and conference and what do ya know? He drank like once or twice two weeks ago and last week didn't even touch it. He said he lost the desire to drink! And now he wants to get baptized which is so wonderful!! This area is doing so well!

  So transfers is this week and sadly I will be getting a new companion. But I also got called to be the district leader which is pretty cool and makes me a little nervous at the same time! But I'm willing to do whatever the Lord wants me to!

  Sorry this letter is so short! I don't have any more time! lol Love you all and hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love Elder Espinoza

Elder Espinoza   Elder Peterson

 The Fox Family- going to get Baptized

"If the bitter cup does not pass, drink it."

October 8, 2013

Hello!

  I hope everyone enjoyed conference as much as I did! If anyone did not watch all the sessions I would highly recommend it! I would feel like I'm missing out on lots of important information! There were too many wonderful talks for me to pick a favorite but I do remember my favorite quote. Jeffery R. Holland said, "If the bitter cup does not pass, drink it." How true is that!? I love Elder Holland he says it how it is. These trials in our life are meant to make us a stronger person only if we endure them well. And if we do then we will only come out a stronger person with a new and strengthened testimony. Our next trials will become easier to handle because of the experience that we've had. I feel like the trials we are facing now are only preparatory for harder and bigger trials in life to come. People think that if you do everything you're supposed to then life will just become easy. But its not like that at all. We will still be tempted and face many hard challenges but what becomes easier is putting our trust in the Lord knowing he would never give us anything we cannot endure. "If the bitter cup does not pass, drink it." Then leave the rest up to the Lord. He will pick up our slack. Another thing that I noticed was that Matthew 11:29-30 was quoted a lot which is when Jesus Christ tells us to take his yoke upon us. We are so lucky to have a savior and redeemer. All we have to do is do our best and leave the rest up to him. Conference was definitely uplifting and inspiring.

  These last couple days have been full of spiritual moments! We got to go to the temple yesterday. For everyone that is endowed and has not been for a while I would highly recommend going sometime soon! It was so inspiring and the spirit was there sooo strong! You really do have the best of feelings in the temple and can go there to find peace and comfort. It helps to understand the covenants you made and to always remember them. Things make a lot more sense the more you go. 

  As far as missionary work goes this area is really progressing! The investigators we do have are seriously progressing towards baptism. One lady we are teaching seriously is the most prepared person for the gospel I have EVER met. Things keep coming out the more we visit and teach and every time you can just see how the Lord prepares people throughout their life to receive His gospel. It is really sad though cause she is moving to Alaska and wants to wait to be baptized there so her fiancee can be there. Which really is not sad at all I'm just being selfish lol. She has a son who may wait until then as well but we are not sure. Our main focus now is to have them prepared for baptism by then and prepared to endure to the end. It really is the most exciting thing to see someone progressing through the gospel! And to see the happiness it brings in their life!

  Another thing I got from conference was missionary work! This Church like they said is one of the fastest growing in the world! Lets keep it up and fulfill the desire that Gordon B. Hinckley had to double our numbers! Us missionaries really need the help of the members. Member missionary work is the most productive and best way to bring people into this gospel. I would encourage everyone to pray for missionary opportunities and see the happiness it brings in your life :)

  I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend! Thanks for all the love and support! Love you all!

Love,

Elder Jaden Espinoza

The Elders in our district! Elder Recht, Elder Berryhill and I

The same Elders but with Elder Becar (my trainer)

The Albuquerque Temple

 Just a funny picture

So last week was an absolutely wonderful week!!

October 1, 2013

  So last week was an absolutely wonderful week!! We had Zone Conference which is always very inspiring and uplifting. The main thing I got from it was obedience. There were lots of people who spoke on different topics but every single one of them spoke on obedience. Probably cause it is pretty important. It is the first law of Heaven! A question I know I plan on asking myself every time I'm tempted to not be fully consecrated is if I love that sin more that I love Jesus. For example, on a day where I just wanna sleep in a little extra I'm going to ask myself if I love my pillow more than Jesus. I would encourage everyone to do the same with the little things we are all working on! It really does help!

  I'm also very excited for general conference this coming week. I have lots of questions that I want answered and I know if I pay enough attention that they will all be answered. Same to everyone else. I would encourage you all to write down a few things you're maybe struggling with or questions that you have and I can promise you they will be answered. A scripture we read to people a lot is Amos 3:7 which says, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." How cool would it be to know the secrets of God? How awesome would it be to listen to someone who talks with God and knows exactly what we need to do in order to make it though this life so we can return to our Father in heaven. I know in the past I have definitely taken general conference for granted. Just think about how awesome it is to get to listen to the prophet and his apostles!

  We also get to go to the temple next Monday which I am even more excited about. I think my least favorite thing about being a missionary is we only get to go twice a year! But we are blessed to at least have a temple in our mission which I am very grateful for :)

  So we had lots of success last week! We had a family finally come to church! They've been saying they would come for about 2 months now and they came! It was fast Sunday so that's hit or miss but it was actually really good and I know they felt something. Their lives are already being blessed because of it. We talked to the wife later on that day and she said she is already seeing a difference in her husband! Awesome! We also have been teaching another family and two committed to baptism! SO exciting! The mother was agnostic/atheist really only wanting to learn about our religion cause her fiancee is a member. But now she knows this is the path she should be on cause everything we have been teaching her are things she has already believed and ways she has been living her life. So wonderful!!!!! Missionary work has brought me the most happiness in my life so far. Its amazing to see peoples lives change when they start learning about the gospel and start living it. This gospel really is for everyone. I hope everyone had a wonderful week! Thanks for all the love and support! :)

Love,

Elder Jaden Espinoza

An old picture from about a month ago- Elder Espinoza and his previous companion Elder Bushman.