Week 39 (On a Sunday... Jimmy)

HeLLo, hello! Hehe, well, welcome to round 3 of Maricopa, AZ! Hmm, for starters, I saw my first snake last week. It was not a rattle snake or anything, so now worries. It was kind of bleeding at the mouth, so it must have gotten in a fight. I thought I would have seen a snake a lot sooner considering all of the desert that I travel through here. The little Maricopa 3rd branch is doing well here. Elder Villasenor and I have made a concerted effort to go and contact all of the members that do not come to church. We still have a few more to find out in the desert, but that is about it. The member that I will mention this week is Flor. She is a very kind single Mother with two children. She was baptized back in December and has been a great strength to the branch. If you smile at all she thinks that you are laughing at her or something that is funny, even if you are just happy. 2 weeks back she was able to go to the Temple for her first time and do baptisms for the dead. She loved it and it really strengthened her testimony. Today we are going to help her put a fan in her house that she bought, because it gets so hot in her house, that she can't cook during the day without boiling up the place. Flor is was baptized by my former companion, Elder Weller. We are glad to have her in the branch. Being here in Maricopa has really helped me enjoy getting to know the members. You get to know all of them and you love them so much. I am excited to be able to continue to serve here in Maricopa and help the branch grow. This work is inspired and will go forth until it is completed, just as Joseph Smith prophesied in the Standard of Truth. I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior, and I love each of you. Thanks for everything!

-Elder LaPorte =)

Week 38 (Laaast Niight...T.S.)

HeLLO!
Well, I am short on time to write today, but I would just like to say a quick hi! I will be having transfers next Wednesday so I will be finding out this coming Monday night if I stay or if I go. I'll let you know!
Sometimes life is hard. Sometimes it doesn't quite go as we planned, or even close to it. Even on a mission life is not always as you hope it will be. One thing that gets me through every day is the Savior and my Heavenly Father. I wake up and go forward trying to better myself each day knowing that no matter what things come into my life that I cannot control, I can always decide how I react. I can always choose to do the things that will bring me closer to them. My hope is in my chance to change, my chance to be better and knowing that with this, I can live with them some day. Every day is worth it. Because we make it what it is. Take care!!

-Elder LaPorte =)

Week 37 (Live Mighty...j.Mraz)

Hello, hello! Another week in Maricopa! Time is an interesting thing. Sometimes it is the greatest blessing. In other moments, the greatest curse. We can love it, or we can hate it, but in the end, this is all based on how we use it. We can think about life and realize that the greatest moments of pleasure and relaxation were when we used our time wisely. There are lots of things that we have the need to make time for and differing amounts of time to portion for each. Satisfaction comes when we use our time wisely. In a grander sense, time plays the same role. Here in this life, we travel through this world sometimes doing good, and other times, bad. Due to our imperfections, there is a need to make reparations daily. The Atonement is the key to using our time wisely in a spiritual manner. Through Repentance, and the Enabling Power of the Atonement, we have the ability to make this change that is necessary at the end of our days. Time can be a beautiful thing if we use the Atonement daily; if constantly we strive to better our lives and become more like our Heavenly Father. When we procrastinate the day of our repentance, time becomes the enemy. The days become longer, and every little trial that comes along seems to feel just a little heavier, and a little harder. Life is not supposed to be that way. We CAN be free. We CAN be happy. TIME can be a blessing always, if learn how to use it. God lives. Jesus Christ lives. He gave His life so that we might live again with our Heavenly Father and so that this journey to him is a moment in TIME, filled with joy. I love this work. I love the simple pleasures in life. We don't need much to be happy. We just need to do what is right. Take care! I love you all!

-Elder LaPorte =)

Week 36 (Yoooouuu, Aaaarrre... Coldplay)

Hello! Hehe, I must begin my remarks by recounting an experience that Maricopa, Arizona had with the rain. To preface it, I need to tell how I have heard that people in Arizona don't know what to do when it rains. I always thought to myself, "psh, how could that be? it's rain!" Well, last week we had a sudden storm come upon us. Now, I have already experienced a little bit of rain in Arizona so I knew that it would get a little flooded because the earth doesn't absorb it too fast. Well, things flooded alright, but much more than I expected. We decided to go by houses closer to where we live in case something happened. Well, all of the streets in the neighborhood began to flood completely. Trees fell down and lighting and thunder became the ambiance/light show. It is always fun to count the seconds after a flash of lightning till the thunder to see how far away the lightning struck. Well, we were driving in the middle of the street to avoid flooding the engine when suddenly *FLASH/CRACK*!! A milisecond after the flash, the lightning cracked! It was SO bright! HAha. I started screaming because it was more exciting that way, and our hearts were just pumping! Hehe, anyways, I don't know exactly where it cracked, but I learned quickly why they might go crazy when a storm comes. Because everything else goes crazy! It was like a monsoon came, except it was just a storm. HAha, all in all, it was a fun and humorous experience. As far as the work goes, things are moving along. The Lord is blessing us for our efforts with little gems of success where we hadn't expected. Prayers and fasting are seeing things through. Every day is a chance to learn something new and trust in the Lord more. I love it! What a blessing this is to give every moment of the day to my Heavenly Father. I hope that your Independence Day was lots of fun! And even though he will not be able to read this, Welcome to the Mission Elder Clark!! Until next time...!

-Elder LaPorte =)

Week 35 (I was hanging on her words... Cope)

HeLLO!
Welcome to Maricopa, inc. 2003. The currently growth-halted town of Maricopa brought warm temperatures this week. Hehe, it is said that you get to know summer well when you go through July and August here. Well, after a few playful weeks of cloud-cover, the sun is setting in. I think you know it is summer when it is 90 degrees at 7 o'clock in the morning and 100 at 10 p.m. Haha. You actually get used to it. Today I was able to go to the temple and it was great. A visit there is always something welcomed for me. A lot of thoughts come to mind when I think about things that I have learned, but probably the one that sticks out the most right now is that of trials. Trials, and how no matter what the magnitude, Heavenly Father is by our side. The beauty of trials to me is that, the harder they are, if endured well, the better off you'll be in the end. You come out stronger, happier, having greater perspective and a greater faith. Among trials and challenges the last thing that you can do is deny your faith. At times testimonies might be shaken but you cannot let them rob you of your faith in God and Jesus Christ. Through fervent prayer, they are the key to get through anything. Day by day I know more and more that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love me. I am never alone. I am never weak. In them, I am everything. Happy Fourth of July!

-Elder LaPorte =)