As many of you are aware from last week’s email, two weeks ago was very tough for Elder Allen and I. Thankfully, the Lord knows our physical and mental efforts to share the gospel and so He has blessed us with a Miracle week. We were blessed to have met two new families that were former investigators and also many other individuals that asked for a copy of the Book of Mormon and asked us when we could come back to share more. It seemed like we were handing out Book of Mormons left and right all week. We even ran out of copies and had to give a woman a pass-a-long card with an "IOU a Book of Mormon" (that was a first for me and it was while we were on exchanges with the Zone Leaders - awesome!)

In August we will be having a mission tour. This is similar to a Zone Conference but instead, two zones get together and an Area Authority comes to the mission to give training. Elder James Martino will be coming to tour our mission this year. He has asked us to study diligence in the Christ-like attributes section of Preach My Gospel and to come prepared to the meeting ready to give a three minute talk on how we have applied diligence into our ministry. In preparation for this I have set apart some time in our weekly district meeting to talk and give some training and teaching on diligence. This past week I talked about how diligence takes discipline. I shared some scriptures from Alma of the great missionary stories there and what discipline they showed. I concluded the teaching with a comment about the Wisconsin state flag. It has the word "Forward" on it. I invited the district to "diligently press forward" this week, for the sake of Wisconsin. I am greatly appreciative of the Elders and Sisters in my district. I am proud of their hard work and diligence, and I’m looking forward to this upcoming mission tour and what more we get to learn about diligence.

Due to the lack of success we had two weeks ago, both Elder Allen and I emailed our Mission President about it. Our emails were similar enough where we got similar suggestions from him, but they were also different enough where the advice was focused on two parts of the same overall message. Essentially, we need to use the members better. During our weekly planning session on Thursday, Elder Allen and I spent a lot of time focusing on how we were going to accomplish this. We came up with an idea, fine-tuned it so that it would better match our ultimate goal and focus. And now we get to put that plan into action. We have asked the members to join with us in prayer for the mission wide vision - "to have a convert baptism in every area of the mission before the October General Conference". Our plan of action is to visit as many members as we can in their home and share with them a powerful message of missionary work. We are inviting them to do something specific with someone they know that they could share the gospel with. A "who, what, when" as they sometimes call it. We write down with the members who they are going to invite and what sort of invitation they will be leaving with them. Then Elder Allen and I follow up with them on a later date to see how the experience went. We know that as we use the members more and as they join with us in mighty prayer that the powers of Heaven will be opened up and we will see more miracles as the Spirit is poured out upon the Appletonians.

Scripture for the week: 2 Nephi 4:24-30

24 And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me.

 25 And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away upon exceedingly high mountains. And mine eyes have beheld great things, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I should not write them.

 26 O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?

 27 And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy?

 28 Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.

 29 Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions.

 30 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

Thank you so much for your love and support. I am grateful for all that you do. Enjoy your week!

Love,

Elder Luymes

This guy attached himself to my shirt and took a 3 mile ride
with me on my bike.  He as in tune with the spirit but
made a very unexpected exit when I hit a speed bump.

 

Service at the Salvation Army: they needed a specific box that was smack in the middle
so I burrowed in and dug it out creating myself a "Fort of Boxes".

Thanks Emily Aranda for the cool masks! Servants of the Lord
come in all sizes, shapes, and super-powers!