Elder Jonathan Collier: 2016...Is That Even Possible???

Hey there Mom!

It was so great to talk with ya'll on Friday. Dinner afterwards was great. The Robertson's are so awesome and we just got to sit and talk with them for a while! Elder Hailstone had a great time talking with his family too! We had a great Christmas. And really what I said is so true, being out here just makes you so happy!

It's crazy to think that I will be a missionary for the entirety of 2016. I am excited to see what will come. The time on a mission is seriously so short. I have already been out for 4 months and it doesn't even feel like it. This is the only full year I will have so I want to make the most of it. I want to improve on talking with people and with just having the spirit with me. Something I have noticed is that our faith must be tried with the little things in order for the Spirit to constantly be with us. Miracles really come when you are faithful and just do what the Handbook and Preach my Gospel say! I know that "[We] receive no witness until after the trial of [our] faith." (Ether 12:6) And I feel confident when I say that when I learn to exercise my faith more fully, miracles will happen.

I am sorry to hear about what's happening with Grandma. I will keep praying for her and for Grandpa. Hopefully they get my Christmas card soon! I love them so much.

I am doing fine after the bike crash... haha! My shoulders are just a little sore and I'm a little scraped up, but I'm fine! Oh and my watch is broken... maybe that could be something on my Birthday list! I'm just glad that my slurpee survived after the crash.

Make sure Jordan knows I said hi! I wish I could talk to him too.

This week was a pretty good week! We had a lesson with Ted who is doing really well. He also came to church with his wife and two sons! He only stayed for Sacrament meeting, but that was okay. We have a lesson scheduled with him on Tuesday and I'm really excited for it. The Hughes family was also at church yesterday! Well Brother Hughes and his two sons. Sister Hughes wasn't feeling well. But I was so happy that they were at church too! They are also doing great. I love meeting with them, they are so cool!

Saturday was an interesting day. We got a referral so we went to go try and contact it, but when we biked to the address it was a Walgreens. We didn't really know what to do, so we just walked inside and asked if the person worked there. Turns out she actually DID at one point, but now works up in Williamsburg! So we called the Williamsburg Elders and hopefully they will be able to find out who she is! Then also on Saturday this guy flagged us down and wanted to talk with us. I was really excited because that NEVER happens here. But as we got closer to him I saw he was holding a Bible and I was like "Oh no this isn't going to end well." He started pointing out scripture after scripture in the Bible about how we were wrong about, faith and works, the trinity, and how Joseph Smith is a false prophet. He talked to us for about 15 minutes. Every scripture that I used to help explain things, he had some reason for why it was wrong. We had been there for about 25 minutes and I knew that we were just wasting our time so we tried to get out of there, but he wouldn't stop talking with us. In the end, Elder Hailstone and I just bore our testimonies of the Book of Mormon. Sure he didn't really care, but I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I have come to realize that we testify of things that are made known unto us by our Heavenly Father. He loves us so much so that He will tell us truths, and make them known unto us. When that guy was "testifying" it didn't make sense, and I know it was because he was teaching things that he understood, and hadn't gotten a for sure witness. I have a for sure witness that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It has been made known unto me, and I can promise that anyone can receive a witness for themselves! So that was a crazy thing that happened on Saturday!

My ponderizing Scripture for this week is, "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes. Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands." (Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-9) I know that this is going to be hard. I have already experienced hard days. But I know that this promise that the Lord gave Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail can also apply to me. And I know that with the Spirit, we can bear our afflictions with joy! And I also love that last verse. I know that my family and friends do stand by me, and I will be glad to see them again. But for now, I'm off to work!

I love you so much Mom! I'm glad that your Christmas ended up going really well. I'm glad that you got time off, cause you work so hard all the time. I have such great examples for hard work in my family!

Hope you guys have a great New Year! And I will talk to you... NEXT YEAR. (I just had to throw that in there.)

Love you so much and I will talk to you soon!

Your son,

Elder Collier