Email #20 - El Palabra Segura de Dios

January 24, 2017

Hunstville, Alabama

Family! How are y'all? I love hearing from everyone and the amazing experiences you are all having back home! It's great and it makes me happy! So this week was pretty great! So I'll get right to it!

This week we were out tracting and we met a lot of people that were pretty interested in the gospel. So that was super great! The other night we went to a lesson with a lady named Erraine who we have been teaching for the last few weeks and she said, "Hey you guys should come over when my sister is here because she would be super interested in your message! Could you come over when she is here?" I responded, "You bet your boots we can do that!" So she said we could come back later this week and we set up another appointment to come when they were both going to be there. So we went on with the rest of our day and we had decided that we were going to tract this apartment complex that was supposed to have a lot of Hispanic people. We got tracting and GUESS WHAT! #fourthfloorlastdoor President Uchtdorf testifies of the truth. We pushed through to the last door of the complex and a lady named Patricia opened up. She invited us in and we sat down with her and her husband Lennord. We got talking and she said, "Ya know I saw you two the other day in the Westgate apartments." (Where Erraine lives) I responded, "Oh yeah! What were you doing over there?" "My sister lives there and we were visiting her." "Oh really? What's your sisters name?" "Erraine!" Oh my goodness. FOURTH FLOOR LAST DOOR! I heard that and I was speechless. How crazy is that? We ended up having just a stellar discussion with her and it was amazing!

Yesterday at Church I gave a talk in the Spanish Branch. The 1st counselor in the Branch Presidency asked me to pick a talk that Grandpa gave in General Conference and to talk about it. It was super fun for me to read through a few of his talks! I chose to talk on the one called, "The Sure Word of God."  In that talk he goes on to talk a little bit about the things that gave him his testimony in the scriptures. So since I couldn't quote any of it because none of it is translated into Spanish, I decided that I wanted to talk a little about those stories and experiences with the scriptures that gave me my testimony in the scriptures as well as other things that helped me gain a testimony of this gospel. The scriptures I decided to expound on were Enos 1, The Story of Abinadi in Mosiah, and Alma 37:36-37. Those three have always been some of my favorites. I shared those scriptures with them.  I finally feel like my Spanish is getting goodl enough that I can understand what the people are saying, as well as being able to respond to them. So it was super cool to be able to share those things with the Branch. The members here are amazing. I have loved getting to know them and work with them in the missionary effort.

Well that's about it for the week! I love this gospel and I love all of you. Thank you for the great examples you all are to me. I hope you have a great week!

Strength and Honor

Elder Noah Featherstone

Email #19 - "Whose up for ROUND 2!"

January 17, 2017

Huntsville, Alabama

FAMILIA! Como estan ustedes? This week has been a blast! We have been doing ton of stuff this week! I don't have a lot of time today so I'll have to keep it pretty short.

This week we had a lot of hysterical experiences street contacting and tracting. The other night we were walking down University Dr here in Huntsville and we met these skaters from Montgomery. We talked to them for a minute and shared a scripture and got their contact information. They said, "Hey can we take a picture with you?" MAN I GOT SO PSYCHED!!! So we took a picture with them and you are going to die at this picture. hahahah! So dang funny!

This week we were tracting some Hispanic apartments and we had a lady open up and talk to us for a minute and we taught her the restoration. The First Vision never fails to bring the Spirit into the lesson so quickly. I am amazed every experience we have to share it. It is the greatest! The experience that Joseph Smith had was miraculous. We have had many experiences sharing the Restoration of the Gospel this week and it has been amazing.

This week I have been reading in Mosiah in the Book of Mormon and about Abinadi and the courage he showed. Would we defend the word of Christ and the Gospel of Christ unto death? We have some amazing role models in the Book of Mormon that I look up to so much. The Book of Mormon is the greatest and I love being able to share it with everyone. Every single time we read a scripture with someone I can feel the spirit with the people we talk to. It is true. The Book of Mormon is true. Please share it with others and help others come closer to Christ through the Book of Mormon. Everyone is watching us as members of the Church and we need to be, act, and do as Christ would. Be an example to others in all you do. I love you family! You are all such great examples to me and all you do! Thank you for being you! Have an amazing week! #fourthfloorlastdoor

Strength and Honor

Elder Noah Featherstone

Email #18 - The Uhaul Movers

January 10, 2017

Huntsville, Alabama

FAMILIA! COMO ESTAN??? I hope you are all doing just "FANTABULOUS!" This week has been pretty great! Once again a week of service. The missionary work in Huntsville is a little slow so we try to do a lot of service to help others and open their hearts to hear the gospel. We helped four families move this week! "It's a new record!" We had to fit a family's stuff in a 10x20 Uhaul into a 10x10 storage unit and everyone said we couldn't do it. But I had FAITH! I learned how to pack from my father! ha! We did it and still had room to spare! So you can just call us "The Uhaul Movers" now!

This week we were at Los Bahena's for Dinner and I shared this spiritual thought with them and I thought I would share it with y'all! We read in Mosiah 3:19

19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

So the question I ask all of you is what does it mean to put off the natural man? What does it mean to become as a child? Submissive? Meek? Humble? Patient? Full of Love? and to do what the Lord seeth fit? I asked everyone in the room what these attributes meant one by one. We are all constantly trying to become more like Christ and what can we do to develop these attributes every day? I love this scripture because I believe that we truly can develop these attributes as we do the Lord's will. I am so thankful for the scriptures and they help us come closer to the Lord as we study them. I love you all and I am so thankful for each of you. I hope and pray that you all have a great week! I love you all!

Strength and Honor

Elder Noah Featherstone

Email #17 - El Año Nuevo

January 3, 2017

Huntsville, Alabama

Familia! Comó estan ustedes? I hope you are all doing well! I don't dare type much more in Spanish or nobody will understand it. Except maybe Brian and Greg would understand Voy a la playa y la bibloteca. ha! Well Happy New Year! El año nuevo! 2017! The Year of total Missionary work! How exciting! So I don't have a ton to report on this week but we did have some fun stuff happen. We helped a lot of people move and we raked leaves and did service.  We couldn't do a ton of proselyting this week with all the people being with their families and all that jazz but we did do a lot of service! So I honestly don't have a ton to tell you all about! But! I do have lots of pictures to show you all!

This week we have been doing either follow up appointments and stuff like that or doing service. So the other night I was going through some potential investigators we had phone numbers for and I ran across this man that we met store contacting at the mall! His name is Shirish. We taught him the Restoration and he was super interested so that was super exciting! So I called him up last night and asked if we could come by and share something with him. He was excited and said “of course!” So it turns out he is really into a sport called Cricket. I don't know much about it but I made a deal with him. I said, "Shirish, if we come and teach you a lesson will you teach us how to play Cricket and then maybe we can get some people together to play every once in a while?" He was super pumped! So I am going to be learning about Cricket. I was told a quote that comes from the former president of the Alabama Birmingham Mission, President Hanks. "Service Softens Stoney Souls." So that has been our focus this week. So I encourage y'all to serve others and to serve especially those that have hardened hearts against the church. Service opens doors that you never thought would open. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week full of the Spirit!

Strength and Honor

-Elder Noah Featherstone