Week 69

July 19, 2017
Wednesday, Day 482
Day 122 back in NY
Pday!

Today was pretty fun! We started the day off with laundry as always and in between loads picked up some groceries. When we quickly got done with those things we drove to the Walkway over the Hudson. I guess it's the highest walkway in the world or something. It used to be an old railroad track. But many years ago it caught fire and for many years it sat there. But I guess in the last decade or so they made a walkway out of it and it's open to the public. So we met up as a district and went for a walk over the Hudson River.

When we finished up with our walk Elder Murray and I met up with the Poughkeepsie elders to go bowling at this place called Spins Bowl. We played a game of bowling which was sweet; it only cost $3 for each of us. Then we wanted to go to an indoor trampoline place, when we got there a sign was on the door to tell us that because of a certain kids camp, they aren't open till 6pm. So we left there and found this DC Sports mini golf place and we mini golfed it up! We were all wearing pday clothes but still wearing our tags, and the girl at the cash register was asking about our nametags. I talked to her for a couple minutes about who we are and where we are from and what we are doing. She and her coworkers thought it was really cool.

We headed home after golf, grabbed something to eat, and went home to change and email at the church till the end of pday.
All our appointments fell though this evening. We did a couple look ups and then went to the church for a couple baptism interviews. The sisters have been teaching Sister M’s girls, B and A. And they decided to get baptized, so Elder Murray did the interviews and they are ready for their baptism on Friday.

July 20, 2017
Thursday, Day 483
Day 123 back in NY

After weekly planning…we sent out our Gospel Minute:
Elder Steven E. Snow Of the Presidency of the Seventy
By listening to the prophets, keeping an eternal perspective, having faith, and being of good cheer, we can face life’s unexpected challenges.

Matthew 14:27
​But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good ​​​cheer​; it is I; be not afraid.

The APs called and wanted to know if we could meet up with the Zone Leaders and give them our Book of Mormon board so that the going home missionaries could use it for their last APFs in the mission before they go home. So we met halfway with the Zone Leaders and gave them the board.
We went and visited J for a bit, we planned earlier in the week to help him stack wood. So we came in service clothes and stacked most of the wood he split. After about an hour he asked if we were hungry, we were, so he told us to stop and go out to dinner with him. He took us to a college diner, which was nice; I ordered a monster pork sandwich. It was really good, but it wasn't monster size at all.



We left the diner and went straight over to Brother W's to help him with his rental; we were laying more tile. Before we started he brought pizza for us so we ate pizza and then started tile. We were there for about an hour and a half then needed to head home.

July 21, 2017
Friday, Day 484
Day 124 back in NY

We had a miracle line this morning, president shared some miracles and even called on a few missionaries to share their miracles. He also talked about goals and used a story of mine that I shared with him during an interview I had with him. It was pretty cool to have him share.

We didn't have the Book of Mormon board today but we met up with the sisters at the church first and talked about ideas for APFs. Then we got ready for one and went down on Main St. closer to Water St. we had a poster of Christ and a white board, we wrote on the board “What Mormons Believe in 60 seconds.” We would share a quick minute video about Mormon beliefs.

We then had a few look up and had dinner. Then we went to the church for the baptisms at 6:30. We got there a bit early to help set up. Then everybody, as usual showed up late by half an hour. So we didn't have the baptism till close to 7pm. The baptism was great, there was more food then there were people, lol but that's what you get in our branch.

July 22, 2017
Saturday, Day 485
Day 125 back in NY

Happy birthday to me! Thanks for all the letters, packages, and emails!

We started the day off doing some service at Salvation Army. We went around the clothing racks and took off all the clothes with yellow/pink tags. The sisters were there too and we stayed for 2 hours.

We then met with Brother K and then went back to this neighborhood where we had knocked a few doors before, early on during my first couple weeks in the area. We made contact with this guy named D, we talked about the plan of salvation and he said he would talk to his wife and let us know.
I had a special birthday dinner at Brother H's home. We had some really good ribs! His daughter J made me brownies and they had vanilla ice cream out. It was an awesome little party.

We then had correlation later that evening. We had planned to have it at Brother W's at 7pm. We were running a little late from Brother H's so we called Brother W and he said to meet at the church and so we made our way there. Then the sisters called and said that they were at the W's and so we then turned around and were heading to the W's. Brother W then called and told us that we will meet at his house… #communication lol

We found out transfers tonight, Elder Murray is going to West Point as a Zone leader. And I will stay, I'll receive Elder Wallace and I will be district leader. .

July 23, 2017
Sunday, Day 486
Day 126 back in NY

Woke up exhausted, I didn't really sleep much. Church was great! Gospel principles was taught in Spanish again which is fun for us! Unfortunately none of our investigators showed up. So Brother W taught gospel principles in Spanish for his in-laws.

Then later in the day I started to feel the worst. We went and stopped by a lot of people that Elder Murray wanted pictures with before he left.

Around 7:30 we met up with Brother W. He wanted us to meet a friend of his. So we drove over with him and met up at his friend’s house, Brother W taught the Plan of Salvation and we testified of it and also taught part of the restoration as questions were asked. It was really cool we got 2 new investigators tonight!

July 24, 2017
Monday, Day 487
Day 127 back in NY

Last night I didn't sleep at all and I was sweating all night…. It wasn't fun. We had district meeting. The Zone surprised me with cupcakes and sang happy birthday to me after our meeting. Then went over to grandma W's home. Took a picture with her and signed her guestbook. Then we met up with President and Sister C for ice cream.

Then for dinner we went to the C’s, a family from Honduras. They made us tacos and Bailiads. They were way good!

The W's also came and had dinner with us. Afterward I was feeling like trash... so I asked Brother W and Elder Murray to give me a blessing, we drove over to Brother W's office after dinner and they gave me a blessing there. Then we went to Sister P's for pictures and to help her with what we thought was a small project, she told us earlier it was just moving a dining room table. It turned out to be a U-HAUL full of furniture. I was feeling like death... I had lost 7 lbs already from not having an appetite and going to he bathroom so often. I ended up lying under a tree watching Elder Murray and J move furniture. 

Then we went home. I drank some NyQuil and went to bed…

July 25, 2017
Tuesday, Day 488
Day 128 back in NY

Transfer day! I woke up twice every hour until 3am, and then didn't wake up till 8am. Then I got ready and Elder Murray finished packing his bags. We drove to Ossining and Elder Murray got his new companion and they left and I waited around a few hours with Elder Busby and few other Elders. President Smith showed up and we had a discussion, all of us. We talked about questions we had to improve the areas we are in. We talked about working with Ward/ branch members.

Then he U-HAUL showed up with the luggage from NYC and the missionaries from down there. Elder Wallace and I then drove home and dropped off his luggage, then went to an appointment. We met with a referral we recently received and taught him about the Book of Mormon.

Then we went to the church to try and set up his new area Book. That didn't work then we came home. I felt like trash still, so I got ready and went to bed. I'm feeling the slightest bit better today then yesterday, but still trashy.

Patience. Love. Faith
Much love,

Elder Newbold

Blessings Elder Newbold has Recognized

I was asked to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting on July 23rd on blessings we have recognized from having a missionary. I wrote to Elder Newbold to ask him for some feed back also. This is what he shared with me:

The blessings I recognize:
As a missionary, when I've tried to be more obedient I have recognized many things. One being, tender mercies, such as; the Lord allows me to see the experiences I've been given as lessons to learn from. Like recognizing promptings from the Spirit. And as I have began to learn more of how the Holy Ghost works with me in my life I have been able to recognize the inspiration and promptings as they come.

As I've studied more and have used more resources while reading the scriptures (like the institute manual) I have gained a much greater understanding of the Book of Mormon and have been able to remember those things I learn. Which has been neat to slowly recognize. My patriarchal blessing promises "I bless you with a desire to draw closer to your Heavenly Father. As you do so, He will draw closer to you. And the closer you come to God, the greater the blessings that will flow unto you. He will illuminate your intellect. He will expand your capacity for learning and your ability to retain and recall."  That last sentence brings me hope. Retaining and recalling information has been close to impossible for me throughout my life. But as I do as I've been told and promised in my blessing, when I draw closer to God, He WILL bless me. It hasn't come all at once, I haven't been completely changed because of the blessings that I've received, but I know that I have been blessed at MOMENTS where I can recall the things I've learned throughout the day or even the week, which has been a blessing. Slowly but surely they come.

Another more obvious one for me, I have embraced the gospel, in a way that I haven't before. I may not be a perfect missionary or the best at teaching, but I'm a trying missionary and I have come to know the things I've been taught since primary to be true.   I do have a loving Heavenly Father and I know He has a son, Jesus Christ. I know that He has a divine plan for His children. For me, for you, for us all. It's not a plan that will in a future time be revealed, it's a plan that we were a part of from the very beginning. We are living in the plan. I know we were together as spirits with our Father in Heaven before we were born on earth. It's a wonderful plan and we can continue to learn about it as we love life. 

I know these things and I continue to learn for myself the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

These are just a few of the many blessings I have recognized in my life, since a missionary.

Week 68

July 12, 2017
Wednesday, Day 475
Day 115 back in NY

Pday!

We did everything we needed to get done this morning first, laundry, grocery shopping, unloading groceries and putting away laundry. We had lunch then we went to SUNY College’s soccer field and played around on the field. We practiced kicking goals, PKs, and blocking goals. We took turns switching off and then we played one on one soccer.

Today was HUMID so we were drowning in our sweat as we played, but we had a lot of fun. Elder Murray decided to set up his tablet and recorded us playing.
Around the time we finished up on the field we went home rushed to get ready for dinner we quickly made a glass of raw meal shake (a meal replacement/protein shake) and hit road. We went to the church and “began” emailing... well my email was reset and deleted by the church. (Apparently it's a regular thing the church does... well it's beyond annoying and unnecessary)
It took me nearly 45 minutes to get it all set up again… super lame, so I had like 15 minutes to email. I had to write 3 letters to President Smith. 1. My weekly letter to him. 2. A response from his last email to me. 3. A miracle that happened this week; which I needed to get these done first.
Afterward I rushed to reply to as many emails as I could, time flew by and there was no time left.
We then went to our 1st appointment for the day, J.K. We met with him at his home on his red couch in his shop, where he works on his cars and where we always meet. Last week we committed him to read a verse a day from the Book of Mormon and to try to understand what's going on.
Before we even followed up he told us that he kept his part of the deal and read a verse a day. He then had some questions, which on our part was our job to answer. We went about what he read and we didn't get far… he brought up Nephi’s building of the ship and had some pretty lengthy questions. So we focused on his questions and that's as far as we got. 

After our appointment we got to the car, I called Brother W and confirmed the time for us to come help him out. We went home and changed to service clothes. We met him at the home he rents out and we started putting tile in the basement. We lined one side of the room up and evened them out, got an idea of where we wanted them, and spaced them correctly. We had a pizza break, then removed the spacers, pulled back the tiles in order from where we started and began laying them down. I buttered the tiles with the pate like “tile concrete” and Brother W laid them down. We got about a quarter way through and realized it was after 9pm.

We were so caught up in the pday grind we completely forgot about our Gospel Minute… #RepentanceIsCool we will have one tomorrow!

July 13, 2017
Thursday, Day 476
Day 116 back in NY

We finished weekly planning around 2pm. Then went home to change and go to the E Family to help clean around their yard. Just as we finished, the sky quickly grew dark, the wind appeared like lightning, thunder cracked like the sound of a splitting tree, and lighting flashed with the down pour of rain.

All the kids took off into the house and we followed. We stood inside for about 15 minutes and watched as the rain came down and thunder continued to roar. All awhile I had this thought come to my mind and I acted as soon as it was clear… Elder Murray left the keys on the hood of the car... out the door I ran, trying my best to dodge the puddles that had quickly formed. I swiped the keys off the hood and made my way back to the house.

From the look of the storm, we thought we'd be stuck in the house for at least half an hour, just a few minutes more, after retrieving the keys, the rain lightened up and we left the family with a prayer.

Realizing I had packed a change of clothes and left my dress shoes at home, we went home to change. Our APF canceled due to the weather, but our day continued. We had companionship study, had dinner, sent our Gospel Minute, then left and visited the Jamaicans down at the orchards.

We talked with K at the orchards and told him we would come back with a member from our congregation who is Jamaican.

We ended the night with a lesson with this guy named C. The last time we met with him we committed him to read Alma 32, so that's what we discussed this time.

Elder Murray invited him to be baptized and immediately he responded, no I will not be baptized. He went on to say he has already been baptized and he doesn't want to be tied down to one church, he enjoys going to all churches.

Our Gospel Minute today was:
By Carol F. McConkie First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency

"Holiness is in the striving and the struggle to keep the commandments and to honor the covenants we have made with God."

Doctrine & Covenants 4:2
2 ​Therefore, O ye that embark in the ​​​service​ of God, see that ye ​​​serve​ him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand ​​​blameless​ before God at the last day.

July 14, 2017
Friday, Day 477
Day 117 back in NY

Yesterday morning, like half way into out studies we got a text from President Smith; he invited us to MLC (a mission leadership council). He asked us to come prepared having studied preach my gospel chapters 1 & 8. Having received this text late we didn't have any time to study those chapters before MLC today at 9am.

We woke up at 6, got ready, left at 7. We drove to Poughkeepsie to carpool down to Scarsdale with the ZLs (Elders Busby & Nadonie). We arrived on time at 9am. It was raining the whole drive down and through the entire MLC meeting.

The meeting was good! The focus seemed to be goal setting, but most of the time it was talked about indirectly. Until the end when it was then emphasized overall.

I cannot recall at all anything that was talked about in depth, but I did have some impressions and things that I felt to write in my pocketbook. Questions I felt to ask myself and take to prayer.

Today was also President Smith’s Birthday so after the meeting his family wheeled out a cake and we sang to him.

The drive home was much longer with rain and traffic so we didn't end up getting home till about 5pm. We did a look up and made contact with this guy named M. We caught him in a bad time, he said. He told us he was on call, waiting for his wife who just got to Italy to call him. She recently lost a loved one and was there for her family.

We then had correlation at the church; this was the first meeting since I've been here that anyone from the branch presidency had joined us for our missionary meeting. It was pretty cool and helpful.

At the end of our meeting we asked Brother W if he would come with us to meet with K (one of the Jamaican guys we met on the orchard farm). They hit it off pretty well; Brother W talked about how he found the church in Jamaica and then bore testimony of the Plan of Salvation. It was awesome!

July 15, 2017
Saturday, Day 478
Day 118 back in NY

This morning we met with Brother H, we talked about a lesson in the Teachings of the Presidents - Gordon B Hinkely. Simply living the gospel. There's an awesome message taught in this section.

We then stopped by L, the neighbor of a member in the branch. She asked if we could come help her out. She's an older woman and has cancer and is very weak, we stopped by and she asked if we could clean up the front walk way, people were moving out and a family was moving into her home and she'd like it to look a little presentable. I trained and the bushes out in front, Elder Murray pulled weeds. We piled it all onto a tarp and took it to the back yard, it was an easy job, it's just hot and muggy out.

But that's the way I love to start my day off. #ILoveHelpingPeople.

When we left her home, we drove about 30 minutes to visit Brother K. Then tried looking up an old investigator who wasn't home, we knocked a few doors. The last door we knocked a couple opened up the door. They held each other at the front door and we introduced ourselves and began to share our message, they talked about how sad it is that so many people say they follow Jesus but they go around twisting and changing His words. They were very nice, very strange, touchy at the door, and obviously weren't interested. We left and went to the church to write up our progress report and had dinner.

Tonight we had planned a sports Night, well we planned it like 2 weeks ago, around 6:30pm it started, at 7 Brother J showed up, and that was it. Lol it was us, the sisters, and Brother J. We played soccer in the front of the church, then went inside and played the crazy cat lady game. It wasn't the greatest success, but we were able to bond with Brother J.

July 16, 2017
Sunday, Day 479
Day 119 back in NY

Church was great! Second hour in gospel principles was taught in Spanish again, that was fun! After church we went straight to sister M’s for the weekly box of food. Then went home for lunch and comp study. We then went to visit Brother Ma and take him the sacrament. His eyes are bad and he can't read the small Book of Mormon font very well, so we brought a small DVD player and the Restoration video and watched that with him.

We came home and made cookies and then drove around stopping by member’s homes and dropping off cookies. Our last stop we brought the cake that we got from sister M with us and we dropped by Brother W. Today's his birthday and we usually drop by his place on holidays and around dinner haha we don't ever plan it that way but so far thats our reputation. So when we pulled up, he was sitting out watching the sunset on his deck and he threw his arms up in the air as he saw our car pull up! Haha he just knew we would stop by. He saw the cake and he and his son were excited. He invited us in and they put candles in the cake, we sang, and served out the cake. I love the W family! Wonderful way to end the night. We were then driving home and A H had pulled out from behind us, we got a text from her and she said “you guys drive so slow” lol we apologized for having tiwi. Haha

July 17, 2017
Monday, Day 480
Day 120 back in NY

After district meeting we drove down to Ossining to split with the AP’s. Elder Murray went down and was with Elder Davis and Elder Chambers and went back up to New Paltz.

Our first stop was at Sister E’s. We had an appointment to stop over and help her with her garden, but the sisters I guess ended up stopping by and did it for her. So after our hour drive back to New Paltz we found out when we showed up to her house that the sisters did it all. Fortunately Sister M had text us about needing help with her garage. Already in our service clothes we drove over to Sister M’s and pulled everything out of her garage, swept the floor, blew out the garage, then reorganized everything back into the garage. After we finished she gave us a frozen pizza.

We drove home, threw the pizza in the oven, cleaned up, and had companionship study while the pizza was cooking. We ate pizza and then continued our study and prepared to visit the E’s.

They were our only set appointment tonight, we stopped by and we taught about the simple ways of living the gospel and making it to heaven. We had this awesome “Lehi’s dream presentation” on our iPad, so we taught using that. It was sweet, the kids were all involved and anyone who gave a correct and great answer they got to touch the screen to add the next slide.

The last couple people we stopped by were the Ma family who were home… and the D’s, fortunately they were home and we gave them cookies and shared Moroni 10:31 with Brother D. It was about 9pm and it was a 30-minute drive home. So we left their home and back to ours.

Our Gospel minute was the last thing we did, we've been slacking on sending them out this week, but it was a quote from President Monson “If you are not reading the Book of Mormon each day, please do so.”

July 18, 2017
Tuesday, Day 481
Day 121 back in NY

Happy birthday Zach! The big 16!

Miracle this morning!

This morning during daily planning I had put 3 people into our schedule to look up after studies. Then I had this thought, “go to the Jamaicans” I put them in the schedule. A few moments later I caught what I had just done, I knew that the Jamaicans worked everyday from 7:30am-4:30pm. So I hesitated and thought I would take them out of the schedule. I explained that to Elder Chambers, then had the feeling “stop” and I realized that it must have been inspired. We did 3 look ups in our neighborhood… no success; no one answered their door. Then we went to the Orchard farm to look for the Jamaicans. We knocked all 3 homes where we know they live. No one answered. As we stood on the front porch of the last home, over the top of the mobile home, we saw pesticide being sprayed and a tractor coming our way. It then came into vision and stopped in front of us. The man driving the tractor got out and we approached him, we confirmed that everyone was out working today, he said that he had just come back to the house to move the clothes off the clothes line so he could continue spraying.

We taught him about he Book of Mormon and set an appointment to come back Saturday evening.

It was inspiration to come to the Jamaicans and to be obedient in following that prompting, along with the idea to knock all the doors to stall till K (the Jamaican man driving the tractor) came into our vision.

We then drove back to Ossining to end our split. The hour drive down there we talked about New Paltz and how the branch is and what things we could do to help the branch grow.

Then Elder Murray and I headed back to New Paltz and went about our schedule. We visited Brother and Sister F. We talked about what it was like and how they felt when they first heard the restoration and Joseph Smith experience.

We came home for lunch and comp study, we planned the rest of our day.

We stopped by Js and gave him the Restoration video DVD and invited him to watch it. Then we stopped by a couple people on the way to Poughkeepsie to meet with a brother Ray Smith for dinner.

We met at the Poughkeepsie chapel and he drove us to dinner at the Tavern. There's a school called CIA (Culinary Institute of America) I believe is what it's called. It's a school with restaurants. These students intern here and work as chefs, bakers, waiters, etc. and there are teachers that observe and grade the students through our their shift. It's pretty sweet. The Tavern is a 5 star restaurant. We started with an appetizer. I got the Steak Tartar, which was really good. For my entree, I ordered something with venison, I can't remember the name of the entree, but it was really good. For dessert can’t remember what I ordered either but it was ice cream made from mint leaves, it was really good. On my plate they wrote Happy Birthday so that was really awesome! Brother Smith had made this my birthday treat! He's amazing! I really appreciate all he does for me and the missionaries out here. By the time we finished up there we had to rush home. It was a wonderful day! We celebrated my day on Zach's Birthday!

Our Gospel Minute for the day was:
By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Honestly acknowledge your questions and your concerns, but first and forever fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to them that believe.

2 Nephi 27:23
“For behold, I am God; and I am a God of ​​​miracles; and I will show ​​unto the ​​​world​ that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I ​​​work​ not among the children of men save it be ​​​according​ to their faith.”

Patience. Love. Faith
Much love,
Elder Newbold

Week 67

July 5, 2017
Wednesday, Day 468
Day 108 back in NY

Pday!

Today was just all right and for once I'm actually writing in my journal the day of, instead of a week from now. We spent way too much time at the church because I am horrible at writing in my journal; I just come home and want to be home. I want to wind down and enjoy my time... but then I do that everyday and cram 7 days worth of writing into 2 and half hours… so I'm taking a stand for myself lol…

We decided to get up at 6 this morning so we had time to plan and study for more than 15 minutes. We planned for 30 and studied for 30. We then went and did laundry, got groceries and got a text from J asking for help right now. So we went to help J. We got to his house and he said he just wanted us to pick up some heavy equipment because he needs to take pictures of it all so he can try to sell them. It was pretty quick then we were on our way to he church where we spent the rest of pday… Elder Murray was having trouble sending emails and on top of that he probably didn't like me very much today because I spent a lot of time writing my journal, but he can't complain…he never said anything about it and he was emailing the whole time too so I don't think it was a big deal. But I'd rather not waste time like that anymore.

We came home about 5:15pm, made some quick dinner and got ready to go look up M. He wasn't home, so we knocked a couple doors, no one was home. Then we stopped by the W's, Sister W was home but Brother W is still in Atlanta. We chatted with her for a bit and then noticed she had a box of books siting by her door, we asked if she'd like us to do anything with it for her. She said yea, if you could actually take it to The Salvation Army that would be awesome. So when we left we suck it in the back of our car. On the way to the church, we stopped by the Salvation Army but it was closed. We went to the church and got on Facebook, we found M on Facebook but the wifi was trashy so we couldn't get a message to send to him. 

When we left the church we stopped by J's again, he wasn't home. Jake (his dog) wasn't in his kennel so he was probably on a walk with him. We then drove towards Brother P's and remembered he was on a camping trip with his kids… we flipped a u-turn and then headed towards the church again, but we stopped on the way to visit Sister M. She's a sweet woman who woke up Mother's Day this year and felt the need to go to church. She hasn't been active for 20 years and she got her 2 girls ready and came to church. Every week since she's been at church. It's been awesome to see her grow. So we stopped by and chatted at her doorstep wit her for a minute.

When we got to the church we did daily contact, our Gospel Minute for today was:
By Elder Juan A. Uceda Of the Seventy
“When you pray, are you really praying or just saying prayers?”

3Nephi18:15:21
15 ​Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and ​​​pray​ always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him.
​​​​​16 ​And as I have prayed among you even so shall ye pray in my ​​​church​, among my people who do repent and are baptized in my name. Behold I am the ​​​light​; I have set an ​​​example​ for you.
​​​​​17 ​And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto his disciples, he turned again unto the multitude and said unto them:
​​​​​18 ​Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for ​​​Satan​ desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.
​​​​​19 ​Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name;
​​​​​20 ​And ​​​whatsoever​ ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.
​​​​​21 ​​​​Pray​ in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed.

· Prayers must show forth the desires of our hearts. We cannot expect answers or any timely solutions to our life's misfortunes if we are not praying unto the Father, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ. Pray always and with patience and you may expect the Lord to reveal great things unto you.

July 6, 2017
Thursday, Day 469
Day 109 back in NY

This morning we got ready and planned. Then we took off to the Poughkeepsie chapel for interviews with President! When my turn came I went into the room, President asked me to offer the prayer, I did. Then he told me it was my interview and to lead it how I'd like. (In an email to the mission we were told to come to our interviews prepared to share our goals). So I opened up my iPad and had my goals out, I started talking about my view on goals as a youth. I shared an experience while playing baseball growing up. I told him all my time in little league my “goal” was to hit a homer in a game... now looking back I realized I never achieved that goal. I shared with him that as I reflected on my “plans” to achieve that goal, there were none... I had hoped I would hit a home run, but never took extra time to practice or work out to build strength or anything. I had no plans to achieve my goal.

Well he then had some things to share and we went on for a few minutes about goals. Then as always, he was inspired to ask a simple question, which led to a different topic but very relatable to goal setting and achieving. I believe these interviews with President Smith to be sacred to me, so the details I will hold to my heart and hand written in my personal journal. But I will share that President Smith is very inspired and was able to bless my life today, in ways only possible if there were a loving Father in Heaven… many experiences in my life allow me to know for a surety that God does exist and that He hasn't abandoned us by placing us on earth. He's real, He lives, and He for a surety loves each of us.

Today's Gospel Minute was:
By Bishop Gary E. Stevenson Presiding Bishop
“The miracle of the Atonement can make up for imperfections in our performance.”

John 14:18
18 “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

· The Lord has blessed us with this miracle called the Atonement. We should study it and learn of it, that we may know how it can be applied in our lives. We must experience the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives to truly appreciate and understand it.

July 7, 2017
Friday, Day 470
Day 110 back in NY

Today was pretty good; we started off with a run. We ran the same route we do every time we run. Down John st. Then down Manheim Blvd. over Main st. And to SUNY college, through the college, down the stairs then back up to South Manheim Blvd. on Plattekill Ave. till we are back home.

We got ready, planned and I had some good studies this morning. I reread over Jarom then read Omni. Great chapters!

We went to the church and created an invitation/poster to send out about a Game Night we out together. Next Saturday we are having a FHE game night at the chapel, should be fun! We made the invite, sent it out, and then had lunch. We watched a lot of the Homefront videos while we ate.

A member from the branch asked if we could meet him at his storage place and help him move some things to heavy to do by himself, so that he could reach some other things in his storage unit. We helped him out with that, the weather wasn't all that great, hot and sticky, humidity is a joke out here. Your sweat sweats...

Later in the evening we stopped by Sister P's. I made some puppy chow and we did a doorbell ditch delivery. We wrote some notes for her and stuck them on her door. And we left her the surprise.

Today's Gospel Minute was:
By Elder Shayne M. Bowen Of the Seventy
“Because of Him, even our Savior, Jesus Christ, those feelings of sorrow, loneliness, and despair will one day be swallowed up in a fulness of joy.”

2Nephi 31:20
20 ​Wherefore, ye must press forward with a ​​​steadfastness​ in Christ, having a perfect brightness of ​​​hope​, and a ​​​love​ of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and ​​​endure​ to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have ​​​eternal life​.

- Because of Him we CAN experience the feelings of sorrow, loneliness, and despair be swallowed up in a fullness of joy, but we MUST press forward with a steadfastness in Christ… when we do our part, God is bound to bless us with the promises He makes.

July 8, 2017
Saturday, Day 471
Day 111 back in NY

Today felt pretty good! We started off the day at the church, wrote up our progress report, sent that, then had companionship study, ate lunch and we drove up to Brother K's. The drive to his place is about 30 minutes. While up in his area we looked up a few others. We met with another member of the branch up there; we shared a message with them about following God.

Our time was short and we had to be back in New Paltz for an APF. As we were coming to a stop in the parking lot, it started to rain lightly. We had our APF and it was raining a little more and for the whole time we were outside.

We then came home for dinner. Afterward, on our way to an appointment we did a quick look up. Then we met with Chris, our investigator. We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ; Faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. The last thing on our schedule was to meet at the church for branch correlation.

Gospel Minute today was:
Richard G. Scott Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
“Precious truth comes a small piece at a time through faith, with great exertion, and at times wrenching struggles.”

Ether 12:6
6 ​“And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that ​​​faith​ is things which are ​​​hoped​ for and ​​​not​ seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no ​​​witness​ until after the ​​​trial​ of your faith.”

· Seeking for truth takes time and effort. Just as we would, in conversation with a friend, if we had a question we would ask our friend our question and wait for his/her response. In conversation with our Heavenly Father to learn of precious truths, we must also ask our questions and wait patiently for His response. Often times we may not recognize the answers quickly, but they are always near, so remember that and continue to search for truth.

July 9, 2017
Sunday, Day 472
Day 112 back in NY

What a wonderful Sabbath! This morning after sacrament meeting we were asked by the 1st counselor to give the lesson in YM during 3rd hour. We agreed to, as we were getting ready for Gospel Principles, which we planned on teaching we realized that Brother W’s in-laws were here visiting so he taught the class in Spanish so they could understand. So we were off the hook for his week. It was awesome, we didn't have to teach and we got to sit back and enjoy trying to pick out what was being said in Spanish.

After priesthood opening exercises, we went to the YMs room to teach. Well we sat down and just before we started with anything, guess who comes walking in. The 1st counselor… confused we asked if he was teaching? He said “No you guys are” we responded, “we thought you said you weren't going to make it and that’s why you needed us to teach?” He then replied “No, I just needed something off my shoulders.”

(Oh my… I love the members, the branch is great, but if the missionaries never came to church this place would burn to the ground lol.)

After church we went home and had lunch, went to pick up some food from the M's, took the sacrament to Brother M, then had an appointment with another member in the branch. The D’s are so great, brother D actually had a stake meeting in Newburgh, somewhere we showed up it was just his wife and daughter. We waited outside, she brought us some lemonade then said he wouldn't be home for about 45 minutes; she then brought us out some pizza. We ate shared a message with them and were on our way. As we were leaving their driveway we passed Brother D down the road.

The Gospel Minute message of the day was:
By Elder Neil L. Andersen Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
“Don’t let the whirlwinds drag you down. These are your days--to stand strong as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Helaman 5:12
12 ​And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the ​​​rock​ of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your ​​​foundation​; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty ​​​storm​ shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

· When we have done what is necessary for us to do in this life to have our foundation built on Jesus Christ, when the devil attacks we can laugh at his attempt because we will be strong enough to say no and make the right decision.

July 10, 2017
Monday, Day 473
Day 113 back in NY

Today was one of the best days! It was most definitely the 2nd best split I've ever had. The best was just a couple months ago when Elder Tabor and I went back to the Bronx... This split with Elder Busby was so awesome!

Our split began this morning right after district meeting. We split up, Elder Busby and I went home, and we changed. Then we drove to Grandma W’s home where we helped her out for a couple hours. We chopped wood and pruned back some bushes. She fed us lunch and then we headed home to change and get ready for companionship study and daily contact.

At 5 we had dinner, Elder Busby said, “are there any good restaurants around here? Do you have a favorite? Dinner is on me, we will go anywhere you want?”

I didn't have a favorite; I haven’t eaten out around here. But I said that P&G’s is a restaurant that Elder Murray talks about all the time.

He said sweet lets go! We hopped in the car, drove on down to P&G’s and ordered Mac Truck burgers. It's a burger patty in a grilled cheese sandwich with Macaroni and Cheese inside. Delicious!

Then we went back home changed and went to SUNY New Paltz University and went to the soccer field to play a pick up game with this guy named C and his brother and friends. C ended up not being there but we played with his brother F and these other few guys.

Afterward we went and did a couple look ups and went home. Elder Busby is so awesome; he and I have a lot in common and similar views on life and missionary work. Nearly everything we talked about he had similar views and comments to make about the subject. We loved this split together!

Our Gospel Minute today was chosen by Elder Busby:
By President Uchtdorf Second Counselor in the First Presidency
“We shouldn’t wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available--all the time!”

Psalms 118:24
24 ​This ​is​ the day ​which​ the ​​Lord​​ hath made; we will ​​​rejoice​ and be glad in it.

July 11, 2017
Tuesday, Day 474
Day 114 back in NY

Today was pretty good too! The majority of today was spent at the church helping out at the bishop’s storehouse, unloading the truck and filling orders for people. We were there from about 2-5pm. It was a great time! I love opportunities like this, you serve with so many people and it's so fun!

The sisters went out to eat with a member the other day and had left over pizza, so they gave it to us, so we went home and had pizza for dinner lol. We did some looks up and ended the day with our Gospel Minute:
By Carole M. Stephens First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency
“When you love, watch over, and serve others in small and simple ways, you are actively participating in the work of salvation.”

Alma 37:6-7
6 ​Now ye may suppose that this is ​​​foolishness​ in me; but behold I say unto you, that by ​​​small​ and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.
​​​​​7 ​And the Lord God doth work by ​​​means​ to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very ​​​small​ means the Lord doth ​​​confound​ the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.

- What a beautiful thing it is to serve the children of our Heavenly Father. We are all in need and if we can focus more on those around us and less of ourselves we will be blessed with someone in our life to in turn be served by. Let us serve and be served.

Patience. Love. Faith
Much love,
Elder Newbold

Week 65 and 66

June 21, 2017
Wednesday, Day 454
Day 94 back in NY
Pday!
We drove over to Poughkeepsie where our Zone Leaders live. We met up at a park and played tennis, spike ball, and then I wrote emails while the other elders played a pick up basketball game with some guys on the court. We went to the P's and dropped off a thank you card. Then we went to the E family’s home. We shared a message with them and went to the church to report on lessons and contact some people.

June 22, 2017
Thursday, Day 455
Day 95 back in NY

Zone conference started at 8:30am-4pm at the Newbourgh building. Afterward we did daily planning, comp study, had dinner, and did daily contacting. We did some look ups and made contact with a LA family that moved into our branch boundaries recently. We stopped by knocked their door and out came one of the sons. His name is M, he's about our age. It was getting late and the mosquitos were out feasting on us so we didn't stay very long, just long enough to meet him and invite him to church for the linger longer.

June 23, 2017
Friday, Day 456
Day 96 back in NY

Since we had Zone conference yesterday we had weekly planning today. Planned for a couple hours then ate lunch and planned again for a couple hours.

We planned on just stopping by to leave a note for J reminding him about the Linger longer at church, but he ended up being home and came outside as we were walking away. We stopped and talked for a minute… we listened to him as he talked about another interesting topic he was reading an article on in the New York Times. Then we went inside and read together the story of the Two-thousand Strippling Warriors. We discussed it for a minute and he liked the story.

We then had an APF with the Book of Mormon board down on Main St. that was pretty sweet. Lots of cars drive by and it's 35mph so it's pretty slow traffic and EVERYONE slows and looks at us so it's definitely effective. We talked to a handful of people, honestly there weren't too many people out walking the streets today. But we gave a few copies out, had a couple strong conversations about the gospel and the Book of Mormon, and a lot of people saw us and that's what matters! It was a great APF.

Around 6pm we cleaned up and at 6:30 we had an appointment with a member in our branch, we talked about patriarchal blessings with Brother D.

At 7:30 we had correlation at Brother W. Afterwards he made us sit down and he made us dinner. I love the W's! They ALWAYS feed us! Jamaicans are wonderful! We had Jamaican patties and ice cream for dessert.

June 24, 2017
Saturday, Day 457
Day 97 back in NY

Unfortunately the O's in our branch are moving… so this morning after studies we went over to their home and helped them move EVERYTHING out of their house and into the moving truck. We started with their 100+year old piano once we got that into the truck everything else was pretty easy. A majority of it was boxes. We helped out from 10:30am - 2pm then we went home and washed up before going to Brother K’s. Visiting Brother K is so fun, we shared a message with him and then he asked, “Shall we sing a couple songs?” (And he's the blind member in our branch) we said of course! So he went over to the piano and began playing The Lord is my Light and Put your shoulder to the wheel, so he played and we sang for him. Then we went to the church to write our progress report, do daily contact, and comp study. We did some look-ups then had dinner. We made some phone calls then drove over to Brother H's. He's having a pot luck picnic tomorrow after church at 3pm so we went over to offer to help set up for it. We placed a table and some chairs on the front lawn. We helped him move around some things and set the BBQ in place. The sunset and it was time to head home.

June 25, 2017
Sunday, Day 458
Day 98 back in NY

Today was sad… church was great! But after church we had a Linger longer. It was for the O family since they drive home to Utah today. We love the O's and are sad to watch them go. After the Linger longer we went to Brother H's and had another meal, we met some of his family and his neighbors. We were there for about and hour and 45 minutes. Towards the end of our time there a couple of guys showed up with a friend of theirs. We knew their friend but not the 2 guys. We talked with them and got to know that they are from Harlem and so I talked about the church down there and the church they go to is really close, we exchanged info and we sent their info to the elders in Harlem. So it was pretty productive. We were getting fed a lot today! Longer linger, brother H's picnic, then Sister P invited us over for dinner. So between the picnic and dinner we went to do some look ups and did some studies and daily contact. When we got to the P's, Brother P was there; he was outside and so was his son Joe. They were trying to start their little dirt bike. We helped them jump it and jimmy rig it to keep it running. There's a piece in the handle where the throttle cable fits and it was broken so the throttle wouldn't catch to rev the engine. So we took out the front brake and since it has a similar pulling effect we hooked the throttle to the front brake and so to get the bike to ride you just pull front brake which was confusing! So little J was riding around on the bike and trying to do some wheelies… after a few he came flying down the driveway in an attempt to wheelie and smashed into a tree! It was so funny! The bike was fine, he was fine and the tree was fine... he was laughing so hard! Then we got called inside to eat dinner. Sister P was a little late coming home so we were a bit behind and halfway through dinner the Sisters showed up for their appointment with the P's haha so we quickly finished up and were on our way.

June 26, 2017
Monday, Day 459
Day 99 back in NY

Leadership and district meeting were good as usual. Unfortunately we didn't have any set appointments today so we planned, we did some look-ups and then J called us and asked if we were available today to help him out.

We were at the campus when he called so we told him we could be there around 4-4:30. After getting off the phone with him, Elder & Sister M called, they said they were in New Paltz at the Sister’s apartment and wanted to know if we were around so they could inspect our apartment. So we went home, about 5 minutes later they showed up, they inspected the apartment and all was well.

It was about 4:30 so we drove over to J’s house. He just needed help moving his dog kennel, afterward he had some questions so we stuck around and had a short discussion.

June 27, 2017
Tuesday, Day 460
Day 100 back in NY

Today's plans were to do some more look ups and visit some people. One of the families we visited, the husband is a member but hasn't been to church since he was a kid. We stopped by like we do each Tuesday since he has work off, the kids were in the pool and he was outside taking apart a broken swing set. We talked for a bit; he's generally not too interested in hearing a message so when we tried to bring up something he changed the subject. We then got onto the topic of motorcycles; he and his wife ride together on his bike. He told us about the ride they went on together on Sunday. They picked a place to eat on a map and started their ride.

At 6pm we met up with the Branch President, President C and his wife at this Italian Pizza place called Pomo Doro. Half of he building is pizza and the other half is an ice cream shop. The food was great we ordered a couple huge meatballs, a salad, onion rings, and buffalo pizza. We ate and discussed President C’s vision and goals for the branch. Then they took us next door for ice cream! We went outside and ate ice cream and talked about them and got to know them a little more.

June 28, 2017
Wednesday, Day 461
Day 101 back in NY
Pday!

Today was all right, we are both pretty much out of money and we haven't gotten our monthly fund yet, so we skipped shopping, did our laundry and went to the church. I'm enjoying being poor, it's teaching me so much and preparing me for when I'm a student and young and married. I think we spent most of our time at the church. We wrote emails and played spike ball with the sisters. After Pday we had a couple appointments set. Our first one was with our new investigator T. This is the first time we have taught him during a sit down lesson, we went over the restoration and he followed it pretty well. He has a Masters in Theology and is continuing as a student studying religion and scriptures. He seems fairly interested and has accepted our invitation to baptism. We left his place and went over to Brother & Sister E’s; we taught the family and focused on prayer and repentance. The kids didn't seem to have much of an understanding of it, but they were along the right track.

On our way home we stopped by a potential investigator, R. It was late, after 8pm and we knew he has young kids so we didn't want to be long; we just planned on setting an appointment with him. We got his phone number, which we didn't have before, so we should be able to meet with him soon.

June 29, 2017
Thursday, Day 462
Day 102 back in NY

This morning we had a conference call, it's always so cool to hear the miracles going on in the mission. After the call we went over to the church to begin weekly planning. By the time we finished it was about 2pm. We then went around town looking for opportunities to do service in the community, we stopped by the Elting Library, and they said we could stock shelves and dust. Then we went to The Salvation Army and they said that we could come back next Thursday and they would have more information for us. Last but not least we went to The Family of New Paltz, they have been around for a very long time, providing help to many people in many different ways; food, clothing, housing assistance, drug recovery… etc. they every so often get a large shipment of food. Unfortunately they just had one last month and the next one is in September, so they said they would update us on projects and things that we could help out with.

For part of our daily contact we started sending quotes from General Conference talks, scriptures to go along with them, and our testimony at the end. We would type them out on our phone and send them to all our members and investigators. We call it our Gospel Minute.

Today's was:
By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf Second Counselor in the First Presidency

“As long as we are willing to rise up again and continue on the path, … we can learn something from failure and become better and happier.”

Romans 5:3-5

3 ​And not only ​so,​ but we glory in ​​​tribulations​ also: knowing that ​​​tribulation​ worketh ​​​patience;

​​​​​4 ​And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

​​​​​5 ​And ​​​hope​ maketh not ashamed; because the ​​​love​ of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us.

I know that we are here on earth to be tried, tested, and over all to learn how to become as our Father in Heaven is. As we do our best to not only endure to the end but to enjoy to the end. We will learn and acquire attributes of Christ.

Miracle today:
We were on our way to an appointment and we drove past a members home, who when we last stopped by said they were moving that day. So we knew they wouldn't be there after that day. Well, we are driving by and happen to see a kid sitting on the steps by the front door and a dog by his side. We stopped the car and got out, we approached the kid on his phone on the steps of the house and asked if he was a Styles. He said he was and that his name is M. We started talking to him, he then yelled inside for his mom, she came out and M was talking about how he wants to get baptized and be missionaries like us. (M is 17) we were super stoked to hear that, we found out hat they won't be moving now till next Saturday. We set an appointment to come back tomorrow and meet with M to begin teaching him the discussions and prepare him for baptism.

June 30, 2017
Friday, Day 463
Day 103 back in NY

We are going on a split tomorrow so we did out progress report today. After sending it off to our branch council members, we sent out our daily Gospel Minute. 

Today's was:
By Richard G. Scott Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

“Scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high.”

1Nephi 17:13

13 ​And I will also be your ​​​light​ in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the ​​​promised land​; and ye shall ​​​know​ that it is by me that ye are led.

I know that as we read the scriptures, ponder the message we receive, and pray for confirmation, our minds will be illuminated, that we may know that it is Christ who guides us.

Our Branch Mission Leader text us this morning and told us he was in Atlanta all of a sudden… so we had our correlation meeting after lunch with the sisters and talked about the things we needed to discuss. Then we had our appointment with M, we came to the house, knocked the door and he let us in. After our opening prayer, his mom came home and said she needed to leave to Kingston to do something and wouldn't be able to give M a ride to his aunts if he didn't go with her in 30 minutes. Well these 30 minutes went by FAST! In the beginning we found out quickly that M doesn't have much of a knowledge of who God or Jesus Christ are. So we took a few minutes in the beginning to help him understand who they were before we taught more about them and the restoration. By the time our limit came to an end, we had only gotten to the 2nd to last point, we didn't have much time to talk about the Book of Mormon, but we left him with a copy and the invitation to read it.
This kid is awesome!

We didn't have an appointment with J, but we stopped by and gave him the Family A Proclamation to the World. We talked a bit about it and told him that this is a church's document that supports and tells people about our standing with families.

Our appointment with T fell through, he text us and said his wife won the fight and he has some errands to run with her, lol so we need to reschedule.

July 1, 2017
Saturday, Day 464
Day 104 back in NY

This morning we split and to start the day off I was stressing out a little bit. Sometime late yesterday the Sisters told us of an appointment they set for us with a member of the branch to do some service. So all morning I was trying to plan and call people to find a 3rd male to go with us so we could help her out.

Long story short, after calling Brother K several times (because he is the closest to her and we have an appointment set with him today) someone finally picked up the phone. It was Brother K’s nephew (a non-member), J. We told him our situation and asked if a Brother K was available to be our 3rd male. He said Brother K wouldn't be home till 1, but that he could come with us. As we were giving him information and telling him we were 5 minutes away from his home he said oh Brother K is coming up the driveway now. When we got to his house, Brother K excitingly agreed to come with us and J volunteered to follow behind us and help us out for a bit. A MIRACLE! Trying my best to be obedient and find a 3rd male for the appointment we were blessed with 2 men. The whole ride there Brother K sat in the back seat and talked about how excited he was, that this was his first service project with the church. It was so fun!

After helping Sister R, we had lunch and gave her a blessing for her back. On the ride home, Brother a K talked about how he needs to bare his testimony at church tomorrow on service.

It was so awesome, because Brother K being blind sat in a chair at the table for about 30 minutes before lunch as we helped Sister R. Anytime I came in to check on him he would make uplifting/encouraging comments to us about how well we are doing. He's awesome! We love him!

Our Gospel Minute message today was:
By Elder Ronald A. Rasband Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

By divine assignment, the Holy Ghost inspires, testifies, teaches, and prompts us to walk in the light of the Lord.

D&C 87:8
8 ​Wherefore, ​​​stand​ ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh ​​​quickly, saith the Lord. Amen.

I know that as we stand in holy places, we allow the Spirit to be present in our lives and as we are willing to act on that which we receive from the Spirit we are more inclined to receive divine help.

We had an APF for about an hour on Main Street then it began to rain! So we packed up and went to the church. We unloaded the Big Book of Mormon board and went to Brother W’s he said he wanted us to come help him change his oil, (so he could teach us more or less) haha but it was great, it was raining still so we helped him out.

July 2, 2017
Sunday, Day 465
Day 105 back in NY

ALRIGHTY! Today was pretty sweet! We woke up at 4am (not so sweet), Elders Howard & Hughes stayed the night last night so we could carpool to Newbourgh. When we got there we got into the van and the APs drove us down to the city. We drive through Kingsbridge The Bronx and stopped at the Inwood chapel in Manhattan, we then got on the subway and went from Dykeman street down to 66th & Columbus Ave, (the Temple). We went inside and there was just a wonderful spirit, we joined our sacred sacrament meeting with the Manhattan 1st family Ward. It was also fast Sunday. So walking in pro a room full of missionaries and members you could feel the Spirit of fasting and reverence. Everyone was prepared to be taught from on high, by an Apostle of God, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. We had the privilege of hearing from President and Sister Uchtdorf’s Grandson, daughter, then Sister Uchtdorf and lastly President Uchtdorf.

There was a common theme spoken from each of them. President and Sister Uchtdorf spoke about the plan of salvation and how every day is a new beginning. They encouragingly spoke to us, saying that we have many opportunities each day to change and become better. They spoke of the plan of salvation and that if we understand the plan our Father in Heaven has for us then we wouldn't get down on ourselves for the mistakes we make, knowing that we just need to try a little harder and be a little better.
Because of the original wards amount of people and the additional 200 missionaries, our sacrament meeting took some time, which I was most grateful for. If there was anything I took from this meeting it was to take advantage of and appreciate the time during the Sacrament to truly focus on the Savior. We had 5 priests at the table blessing and passing forward the trays to the 15 others passing the sacrament. Even with the amount of priesthood holders passing the sacrament it took a good while for the sacrament to be completed. During the sacrament I opened the Book of Mormon and read 3Nephi 18. The whole chapter and I was able to better appreciate and understand the Sacrament.
After the sacrament meeting was over, President Uchtdorf wanted a picture with the missionaries. All 200 of us were up behind the pulpit and we took a picture with him. I was in a horrible spot and I don't think all of me was seen in the photo but oh well.



The NY NY North mission with President Uchtdorf


Tyler is in the 2nd row from the top and only half of his face is showing from behind a Sister Missionary

We then made our journey back to Inwood and back home from there. By the time we got back home all 3 of our church meetings were over. We went to the church and got some bread and a sacrament cup for Brother M so we could administer the Sacrament to him.

Our Gospel Minute for today was:
By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

“Keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever.”

Isaiah 40:29

29 ​He giveth power to the faint; and to ​them that have​ no might he increaseth strength.

As President Uchtdorf said during our Sacred Sacrament meeting "Everyday is a new beginning..." as we keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Knowing that Heaven is cheering us on, we will be blessed with power and strength to continue in this life, pressing forward through the life experiences we face.

July 3, 2017
Monday, Day 466
Day 106 back in NY

Today wasn't very well planned, we ended up working on our branch list for a couple hours to organize and better be able to see who is still in the area and find notes about them. It was very helpful and needed.

Our Gospel Minute for today was:
By Elder Edward Dube Of the Seventy

In the sight of the Lord, it is not so much what we have done or where we have been but much more where we are willing to go.

1Nephi 3:7
7 ​And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I ​​​will​ go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no ​​​commandments​ unto the children of men, save he shall ​​​prepare​ a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

As we begin to truly understand principles of the gospel and become converted to the plan our Father in Heaven has for us, we can be blessed with faith as the prophets of old and modern times. Nephi was blessed with experiences including the Lord where he was unwavering in faith. He was willing to “go and do”. As we take the good serious and take the time to understand it we too will have experiences that will build our faith, that we may be unwavering.

July 4, 2017
Tuesday, Day 467
Day 107 back in NY
Happy 4th!

I am grateful for our freedom, I'm grateful for America.

Today we did some look ups and made contact with T later in the evening, he doesn't have a phone so we stopped by and we were lucky to see him, we planned on coming by again later in the week for an appointment.

We didn't have really anything going in today for the 4th so it wasn't what it could have been. But it was what it was. My 4th of July consisted of making a bonfire, a member had a huge pile of wood she wanted burned so we started the fire for her and fed it for a few hours. I got a couple gnarly splinters before I realized I should put gloves on... then I hit my head on her shed Lol, I couldn't tell how deep it was... it didn't bleed very long so it must not have been very bad at all. But the fire was huge and hot (obviously) with the sun out and the heat of the fire, I got some color to my skin.

Well it was safe and that's pretty much all we did.



His injury from hitting his head on the shed

Our Gospel Minute for today was:
Susan W. Tanner Young Women General President

As we search, pray, and believe, we will recognize miracles in our lives and become miracle workers in the lives of others.

D&C 90:24
24 ​Search ​​​diligently, ​​​pray​ always, and be believing, and ​​​all​ things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the ​​​covenant​ wherewith ye have covenanted one with another.

When we pray, we must pray specifically and I mean specifically. With out details and exceptions we cannot expect exactly what we want. We must ask in specific faith and believe in that which we pray for, with righteousness desires to act on that which we receive from our Heavenly Father, then will we recognize miracles, and have the blessing to preform miracles in the lives of others.

Love you all! Thank you for the prayers! They are recognized!
Patience. Love. Faith
Much love,

Elder Newbold