Roller Coster

Well. This week has been one GREAT week. I was just thinking..... I don't know how i could measure how one specific week goes as a missionary. I guess that I look at it as more, if there were more good things that went on than poor! If thats the case, this week was so great!

To start off i want to tell yall a little bit about what we are doing in the Richmond Virginia mission this week. To help strengthen our love for the Book of Mormon, and our testimony of it..... WE ARE READING IT ALL THE TIME. Like for reals, any time that we don not have a set appointment, we are reading. We started this yesterday with a special fast and it goes until General Conference weekend! I am so excited to see my testimony grow and what new stuff I learn. Definitely invite any of you to join along and see what we can learn. I definitely know that it is the best book I could read in this life :)

I have to say that we found a sweet new sister that is looking into the church! She is 19 and moved up to the area just 6 months ago. She is super excited to learn what this church is all about and she even wants her dad to come along!!! YEAH YEAH!!!!

We had one day this week where we literally had perfect weather! It was so great! And, to add to that excited it was a great day as far as missionary work goes also! This is such a great time to be in Virginia, I LOVE IT! If any of you want to travel somewhere with nice weather right now, COME HERE!

Remember that lady that i told you about maybe last week. The one that cussed me out 6 months ago? Yeah she has read almost 10 chapters in the Book of Mormon and is now ready to receive this gospel. I can say that God put me in this area for a reason. I am the type of person that has trouble letting go of things, so when I met someone I try and never give up on them..... Well look what has come with it :0 The Lord's timing means everything!

Oh, and that girl that I wrote about above..... Yeah she dropped us after going to the woman's meeting on Saturday night because she wants to be BAPTIST! Like really?? How about u be more Christian instead? Anyways i was bummed about that one but life moves on!

HAHAH Thanks for reading, sorry it was short. Have a good week and GoodLUCK!!

- Elder Cj Young

Ups and Downs

Hey everyone, I am so grateful for the week that I had to be a missionary this week in the Chester area of Virginia. If you would have asked my half way through this week I would have probably said the total opposite but hey; Always got to end the week on a good note!

Cool experiences and life lessons learned throughout the week;

• We were taught in a Stake general Priesthood session last night about how we always have to be striving. Realizing that we are not perfect is one thing, but always striving to be in another. WE HAVE TO STRIVE. One of my favorite teachers in High School had on her Web page, "never let it rest, till you good is better, and you better is best." I see this to be totally true, if I personally am not constantly pushing myself, than God is going  to start the Humbling process :)
• To go along with that; that the Lords work that is going on right now in the earth was and is on his timing. if he wants his work to hasten it is going to hasten with or with out us. haha I saw a Webpage titled how to stop the Mormon Media Increase :) fun to see all these people that THINK they can do something against the hastening of this work! We as people that are on gods team have to be the ones to keep up with God. he is moving at an ever increasing speed and we have to step up to the level he wants. The stake Presidency applied the specifically last night to the work of salvation at a whole. If you don't know what it is u can hit up this past ensign! 
• Taking something not intended as an insult, as an insult...... is your problem. Get over things and move on with life. There are always bigger and better things ahead! 
• I beat this drunk guy in horse shoes the other day :0 that was cool cuz i dont even think I have ever played a legit game of horse shoes in my life. Haha then the first thing he says after I bet him, "I can't believe I just lost to a minister!" Classic Missionary moment #godonmyside
• We went and talked to the sweetest lady yesterday. She lives next to a family in the ward and the last time we talked to her she just cussed me out and was pissed, well needless to say, after 3 months of not seeing her; we had the greatest lesson with her ever! She began to cry and was just so happy that we never gave up on her! The greatest Part of the mission is seeing the Lords timing in things. This was totally in the lords hands and now she is humbled and ready to feel the spirit more in her life!

I am so grateful for this chance that I have to be a missionary, especially at this time in the world when the lord is requiring more and more of us each and every day. I am so grateful for all the great example that I have in my life. Looking forward to the "war" that will take place in the future, I am glad to have you all on my side. I would love a letter more than anything from each of u, and your prays! Thanks for reading and have a great week! Good Luck!!!


Ps this is my new favorite Video!



http://bcove.me/0djeoayt

Loving the Crazy Life!!!!

What a trip of a week. My mind is just finally winding down from the stressful week this has been :/ haha so transfer took place and we have two brand new missionaries in the ward and house with us. And one of them is even brand new. One is from Canada and the other from central Utah. Both are hard working missionaries and clean so no complaints there :) But his week has been full of ups, downs, and really just dealing with drama I want to say. After this week I would say that being a missionary, is worse than a high school senior as far as hearing gossip and people crazy stories go :0 but its fun none the less! A few powerful lessons that I learned this week;

The Power of Pray. One of the days this week we picked to go back and see a person we are working with that we have not had contact with to much but wants to get baptized none the less in the coming weeks. We don't really know what to tell her and how to go about it but we had a pray in the car before we go into the lesson. I am telling you, that pray made the lesson 10 fold better. We were able to discern her and her kids needs to learn how to help them see the blessing of baptism. I will say that I am not the Best at praying before I go into lessons, really just because I am so excited and forget to think about it. Well this was another humbling things to realize that we can't get anywhere if we leave the Lord out of these lessons. We have to bring him so they can see the blessings to come with the Holy Ghost. Needless to say I will be working on praying before each lesson and relying on the Spirit more :)

Also had one of our more solid investigators drop us this week. It was sad, like the saddest thing i have ever been though in my life. Screw breaking up with GFs. "Breaking up" with someone you are help progress to a better life is way worse, definitively takes more out of you. Anyways we moved on and will continue to pray for him. i bet he will come around, just wait for it :) they all come running back :0 hahahahahahahahahah

Last, we have had the great chance to have awesome lessons at members home this week. I can say that having lessons in the homes where the Spirit is already so strong totally helps one see the blessing that God wants to bless them with. I am so grateful for the members here and the chance I have to help their friends be in the CK with them! #loveswiftcreek

Thanks for reading. I hop you enjoy the pictures :0 there is lots, sorry It took so long to get them up. Write me in you have time and love me :)

- Elder CJ Young

love life, and good things will come

In the middle of looming this sweet awesome hat :)

haha me and my smile. 

It all started one day, on September 11th, 2013

And the 1st year ended September 11th 2014

One year is gone. SO one more to go HARD!

It all began with a desire to grow :) 

Cheesy smiles for Lyfe :0 

Learning how to loom

Still have that Woods Cross Pride

No looking back now, so just love life

If you did not know, missionaries at....

.... One year Burn a shirt! 

Hump Day on the 11th

I can't believe that this day is already here. This just does not seems right! Haha 9 months ago I thought this day would never come. Now as this week especially, I’m looked back on the last half of my mission and boy has it been a trip! Let me tell u a little about this week before I get more into that.

- This week I learned to knit and loom. So I am looming this sweet woods cross colored hat and will start on a Utah state colored one after :) they look good and they are not to hard :) something you all could look into! It's fun!!!

- We had two people that we are working really closely with go to the temple. Wow,  they totally enjoyed it I would say :) just seeing them at church yesterday, they had a totally different attitude and it was a huge miracle. I will definitely be trying to get more people i work with to the temple so they can just feel what that building brings to the world!  

- As of right now we have baptisms lined up the next 3 weeks. Hahah it has been too long since a baptismal service. So pray for those that made this decision in there life! I know that it will bless them. Best part is that 2 of the 3 have families that will see the blessings the temple can bring immediately. :)

- So one day this week we were sitting at Waffle House, eating so decent waffle when two girls just came up to us and started asking some pretty sincere question. As we talked they said you guys look like you represent something good. Well that made me happy :) as we read our white handbook, it just says make sure ur dress it nice, and professional. Even though that means buying new clothes which I am sure my parents hate me for. I am glad to be able to wear the name tag and represent something so amazing!!!!

- As missionaries. U have the privilege/burden to know almost everything that is going on in the ward. So with that comes the responsibly we get to do our best to help out everyone. At first I love knowing lots but have come to realize that :/ it comes with all this pressure. Anyway this just came up cuz. We got caught in the middle of a situation this week and it was not the greatest.

So this week especially I have looked over the past year of my life. In some ways I felt a little regret. Just cuz I feel like  I am such a better missionary now, and wish I could have been that in my past areas :) well here we go. I feel as though I am ready to concentrate all that I have been given for the next year of my life. I am ready to see the miracles come :) exhaust every chance I have for The Lord. This is once in a lifetime so goin HAM, goin YOLO and finishing this next year with no regrets. Love you guys and keep ur heads up! Good luck!!!!!

Elder young

Busy like a BEE!

Dang ladies and gentleman, this has been one of those BUSY weeks in the mission field. So much has happened; embarrassing stuff, fun stuff, sad stuff and just plain CRAY CRAY stuff! So I will get down to it :) 

• So this week a member made us like the best dinner ever and it was Phillippino! hahah Definitely was some good stuff, kind of wish iI was eating it everyday :0 @goodstuff

• So school is just barely getting in session down here... I know it is weird! But last night Elder Goold and I had the great chance to give 8 or so blessing to a family in preparation for this new school year. I have to say that it was a testimony builder for me more than anything just to see how the Lord wanted each kid to hear something different, they each had there own special one! 

• I have to tell you all about this lady we found the other day. It was Saturday and we are just walking through one of our favorite apartment complexes like normal when someone calls out to us....... "are you'all church people" and I was like "heck yeah want to talk?" and then she came out and we had a good conversation, the low down is that she is crazy but wanted to come to church so we set her up with a ride. So she actually came to church and followed up on her commitment which I can not complain about :) but she talked the whole time during church! LIKE THE WHOLE TIME!!!!! Members kept giving her dirty looks and I was like for real! Ahhhhh, one of those days! Anyway, I will get over it :)

• We helped put a roof of the shed on a car that a member built from the ground up, so that was cool to help out where we could!

• I was able to go on an exchange with Elder Murdock the week. He is from Bountiful so I am sure lots of you know him. haha it was fun to talk about how much we have both changed and come so far in out lives since the mission! #niceguy

• Another thing crazy that happened this week. on the way home from church this past Sunday one of your recent convert's car got car off the road. He is a 70'y year old man but he is okay. pray for him! His name is Tim. 

• The restaurant that we have been help getting opened finally is opening its doors. It is called Ninja Go-go. check it out if your ever in the area!  http://ninja-gogo.com/

• We totally moved a mattress on top of our car this week for Sister Heacock. I think she posted a picture on instagram so you can check that out. @chandles_i_luv_u She is always posting others so yeah :) 

• Elder Goold and I have been doing lots of work with Family History in the ward. I truly do love doing family history, especially everyone else is. I have to thank my good daddyo for getting me started on it!

• Last just wanted to tell a nice experience we have had with this nice man. Just someone that we knocked into and started talking to. We talk for a good solid hour about like everything. He has read every possible anti-Mormon material out there but still wants to truly know what we are about. Well after our long conversation we just finish with this Book of Mormon is a perfect book with nothing to contradict the Bible. I never realized that until I told him, but that makes me so happy! You can't have the Book of Mormon alone, nor can we have the Bible, we need them both. And they both run in prefect harmony with each other!

Well thanks for reading, I hope that you enjoyed! much love!

- Elder CJ Young

P.S. Hump day is in 9 days! Holla Holla! Time is flying by way to fast!