Elder Luke Maughan

May 11, 2010

2010-05-10T16:20:00.000-07:00

Wow! It was such a huge blessing to be able to talk to family yesterday!

It is such a blessing to me to have the support and love of my family and to be adopted in to the Belnap family too. It's one more blessing I have been given that I'll never be able to pay back. My brother wrote me a letter not to long ago and in it he mentioned something that was really profound and hasn't left me since. He said, "You start your mission already in debt to the Lord. When you come home you're in even more debt to Him." That statement is so True! Since I've been on my mission I've received more blessings, learned so much about life (I still don't know very much though), experienced joy beyond measure, and have seen teh Gospel bless those around me and at home. It's comforting to know that even though I am indebted to the Lord, He continues to bless me.

The work is still going well here. F is still getting baptized on Saturday and I can't wait. I'll still be on my mission when he and his wife go to the temple to be sealed. Hopefully I'll be able to get permission to go to the sealing. We're working with another part-member/less active family that we didn't even know existed. We found them by complete accident and started teaching the wife who has been less active for 20 years. After we taught her, she really wants her husband to join the church. They also have a daughter who is pretty excited about getting baptized. Tonight we're going over to make plans for her baptism. Other than that we're just working really hard to find new people to teach. I talked to Daren Falter last night about better/more effective ways to find people. He gave me some really good suggestions that will work when I get tranfered to a bigger area where thear are public places. I'm actually really excited to try it out!

I'm doing really well and nothing new has come up since I talked to most of you yesterday! :)

I love you all and will keep you in our prayers!
Love,
Luke

May 4, 2010

2010-05-10T16:08:00.000-07:00

Hey. I don't have much time today. I waisted a lot of time looking over the "transfer email" that tells us where we are going. I have some big news! Okay, I lied. It's not really big news. I'm staying in Pueblo West 1st ward (I'm VERY happy about that) and Elder T and I will continue to serve together (no comment). I had an excellent conversation with Pres. Pfile while at a "Recent Convert" fireside last Sunday and he explained to me why a lot of things are happening the way they are. Everything is great! I'm so grateful to be a missionary and to partake in so many sacred opportunities.

I got the shipment of Yoli again. Thanks so much (Belnaps). Yoli is now winning the battle over Mountain Dew again. Also, thanks Barbi for the money you put in my account! I hope you all know how much tha tmeans to me. I was able to buy a decent amount of food that is gluten free and healthy for me. Again, I can't thank you enough.

Here is an update on investigators and the work out here. F is getting baptized on May 15th. He is doing excellent! We went over there last Tuesday and he ended up bearing his testimony to us and then proceeded to give us his coffee pot to throw away. We didn't even have to ask. He also poured all of his alcohol down the drain. We talk to him everyday and he says he doesn't miss it at all. It's such a huge blessing to be able to see the Spirit of the Lord take control of hime and the happiness that comes from it. He and his wife are so excited to be able to go to the temple a year from the day he gets baptized! I lvoe missionary work!!!!!!!!! We're not working with anyone else righ tnow but we have some good ideas for finding new people to teach. Hopefully they'll work!

Time is up so I better end. I am so excited to call home on Mother's Day!! I can't wait to talk to my loved ones!!!!!!!

Love,
Elder Maughan

PS) You can send letters and stuff to my address at 106 Baldwyn Dr for another six weeks!
PSS) Don't flip out but I have to have surgery on my finger on Wednesday the 12th. It's not a big deal at all. They just have to repair the ligament.

April 19, 2010

2010-05-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

Hello,

I'm doing great. Trying to stay positive and have patience is proving more difficult than ever. I've been pleading with the Lord for help. I just need to keep doing the best i can even though times are hard. I have faith that help will come. God has not ever left me hanging, an answer to my prayers has always come when the time is right.

I'm still struggling to get a long with my companion. I need to work on developing more patience and charity. I'm failing at that right now. Don't worry about it though, I'm not letting it stress me out too much. Transfers are the 5th of May and I'm positive we won't stay as companions. He's been trying to work on things; I really appreciate his effort. I just need to work on things myself too. We'll leave it at that.

I'm feeling great. Nothing has really changed. It sucks at times but its okay. Soda is still winning the battle right now. I need to buy a bottle that I can use for Yoli. Once I stop procrastinating buying a bottle I'm sure Yoli will start to take over. I'm going to start filling my camel back with water and then blast a few Yoli caps in there so I can just drink Yoli while tracting. I'm doing my best to eat things that won't kill me. Again, I'm failing though. The Lord will take care of me as I continue to do what he asks of me. My testimony in that area has grown a ton. It's amazing to see all of the miracles that come our way when we do what we're asked to do. It's really not that hard to do it either. Especially when we turn to the Lord for help.

Time is up!
Love you all!
Elder Maughan

April 12, 2010

2010-04-12T17:42:00.000-07:00

Good day to you!

The last two weeks the weather has actually been really nice. It's made missionary work a lot easier too. You'd be amazed at how many more people are willing to talk when its warm outside. All the older missionaries tell me that the summer months go by way to fast. I understand why now! More people to talk to turns into more people to teach which makes the day seem so so short. I don't like it to be honest. Obviously I don't want my mission to drag on slowly, but I definitely don't want it to go by fast. I want to enjoy serving the Lord for as long as I can! Oh well. I've realized that I really don't have much time so I need to make every minute count!

My cold is gone (thank heavens). I drank a lot of Yoli during that time. I'm slowly cutting pop out of my diet again. I like Fun, but not as much as I do Truth.

Isn't personal revelation great?!?! Thanks for sharing your story and testimony with me about receiving it for yourself. What a blessing it is to be able to know that God, our Father, is always willing to guide us on a personal level. The heavens truly are open and divine inspiration is available to us all. I love being able to share that with people. Being a missionary is the best thing ever. I am so grateful to the Lord for allowing me the opportunity to serve!

As far as my companion goes....I can't wait for transfers on May 5th. He's getting better with the whole language thing. It's a struggle for him. We talked about it after he called me some inappropriate names and He knows that I'm not going to put up with his crap. Being a Missionary is a sacred calling and we need the Spirit with us at all times. I told him that if he continues to have the attitude he does than I won't hesitate to calle President Pfile. I think he's working on it because he really wants to improve and not just because he knows I will do something about it if it happens again. This transfer is going to be a huge trial. I know that there is a purpose for it though. Daren wrote to me once and told me about some of his companions and it helped me to realize that every missionary is bound to have a companion he won't get a long with. Unfortuanatley this is companion #2 for me. Oh well, I know I have a lot to learn so I'll look on the bright side and try to remember that after this transfer (or whenever Elder xxx and I get spilit up) I'll be at a higher level than I was before. There were a lot of Conference talks that are helping me get through things. The Lord knows I'm struggling but he's helping me get through it all. So don't worry about me, I'm doing great :)!

Time to email President Pfile my weekly report. Thanks again for your Love and support. I miss you all so much. Also, I keep forgetting to send my memory card home. I promise it will come home this week with a letter to someone (probably Kylee). I love and miss you all!
Love,
Elder Maughan

April 5, 2010

2010-04-12T17:39:00.000-07:00

Conference was amazing! I couldn't believe how much I was able to take from it. It's amazing to see how much the Lord really does prepare us to receive the things that we need in order to progress. Naming a favorite talk would be near impossible this time. Actually, one talk did stand out to me a little more than some of the others. President Uchtdorf gave a talk on Patience during Priesthood session that was absolutely amazing. I needed everything He had to say during that talk. I never though that Patience was something that I struggled with until that talk. In order for me to become the best disciple of Christ I can be, the principle of Patience is something I need to focus on and apply more fully in my life. There were so many other amazing talks that effected me a lot. I can't wait to get the Ensign and review them all. I took a lot of notes but it's amazing how much more you can pull out of the talks once you actually have them in your hand and can focus on the words line by line.

I'm pretty sick but doing well. I came down with a cold again that hit me pretty hard. My voice has sounded pretty nasty for a few days now. It's okay though. Everything could be much worse!

My companion and I are struggling a little bit. Honestly the more I get to know him the less I like him. I hate saying that. Even as a missionary he is very vulgar. He enjoys using inappropriate language. I'm working with him the to best of my ability but it gets pretty hard at times. He's been out 2 months less than I have and he thinks he should be the one who is Senior Companion. When things don't go his way he gives up and doesn't want to work. I'm sure there is something that I could be doing better in order to help him. It will be a challenging transfer but in the end I'm sure things will go well.

Being on a mission has helped me to realize the tender mercies of the Lord. He's heard my prayers throughout the years and, without even recognizing it at the time, He's answered each and every one of those prayers.

Time to run. I love you all so much. I forgot to send my memory card home last week so I'll put it in the mail today. Love you all so much.
Elder Maughan

March 29, 2010

2010-04-12T17:34:00.000-07:00

Hello!
So many crazy things have happened this week. I have to be quick though! First think first. My new companion is great. His name is Elder Taylor for Cedar Hills Utah. He's been out 6 1/2 months. Together, we teach really well. It's pretty awesome. Our personalities are a lot a like. He's half Japanese. His mom sent him a package with some crazy Japanese food in it. 90% of it I couldn't eat because I'm allergic to most of the ingredients. We'll have a good transfer together I'm sure. We're already working with a lady who has a baptismal date for April 11th. Sadly she won't be able to make it because she'll be out of town but we're not moving her date for now. We're showing the Lord we have the Faith that he'll make mountains move (perform miracles) so that things will work out and she can be baptized on that day. Update on our newest convert, she's doing well in Georgia. The missionaries there started the new member lessons with her. I'm excited to know that she's doing so well! Our Father in Heaven is definitely looking out for her.
Isn't it crazy that I'm already almost 21? I can't even believe that Nathan, and soon to be Nick, are already 20. I remember being 10 years old sitting in my basement with those two talking about turning 20 and 21. I've been so blessed to have had such great friends. We've been part of a brotherhood for almost 11 years now. I'm so thankful for Nick, Nathan, Kade, Sean, and of course...BRYDEN WILLIAM BELNAP...for being my friends. Every one of them have been a huge influence for good in my life. I know that it's because of our Saviors mercy that I was given the opportunity to become friends with them. I wouldn't be who I am today without them. I'm working on packages for both of their birthdays (even though Nathans has passed :])!
I've got to get going. I love you all so much. Thanks for everything! I'll talk to you soon!
Love,
Elder Maughan
P.S. Also, good news, I found some of my ancestors that I can do Temple work for! I got permission to go with the youth on April 10th. I have a few of the youth who I'm close to who will be baptized, by me, for the female ancestors! It's so great to know that I can help bring salvation to not only the living but also to relatives that have passed on!

March 15, 2010

2010-04-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

We just got restricted on the activities that we can do on our p-day so hopefully that will free up some more time for letter writing. I'm doing well, happy, and eager to knock 'm dead this week!

You think you're excited for general conference...try being in my shoes! The amount of revelation that comes as a missionary is unbelievable! It truly is going to be one of the things that I'll miss most about being here. I remember how much influence October's General Conference brought with it and I had only been out for about a month. It will be even more influential this time around I'm sure. What a blessing it is to be able to spend time listening to the Prophet and other chosen people that have received direction from the Lord on what they need to convey to us. I feel bad for the people who take General Conference lightly. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to save the world from its own destruction. Just think of how powerful of a role it can have on both families and individual lives throughout the world. I regret 100% not taking it the way I should in past times. I often wonder about all of the sacred things that I missed out on. Oh well....I won't make that mistake anymore!

We had an investigator baptized on Saturday and Confirmed yesterday. Today she left to go back to Georgia to live. The great thing about it is that she already has been in contact with her new Bishop in Georgia. She already has a time set up to have an interview so she can start doing work for her ancestors! How great is that!

I'm about out of time so I better say my goodbyes. I love you all so much and miss you a ton. Love,
Elder Maughan

March 8, 2010

2010-04-12T17:23:00.000-07:00

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints really is the true Church. How can it not be? It's exactly the way the Christ set up His Church when he was here upon the earth!

The weather here hasn't been all that great. It's suppose to rain all day today, tomorrow, and Wednesday. I don't mind the rain normally....it just makes things a little hard to deal with when you're riding a bike and knocking on peoples doors! I think by the end of the week its suppose to clear up though. Hopefully your weather will do the same!

Things here are going great. I keep thinking that I can't learn anymore but then my mind gets flooded with new things. It's pretty amazing what the Lord can do with you when you try your best to be who He wants you to be. His love for us is real. Life really isn't that hard when you rely on Him for strength. I use to think that one day all of my struggles would get me down so much that I wouldn't be able to function. Now its different. I know that we can accomplish anything with His help. There is nothing in this life that we'll go through that He can't help us with. He won't ever let us get to far down in life if we remember to call upon His name. It's a strength to me knowing that this is REAL, not just some idea.

So real quick..I'm about out of time..I'll fill you in on the work that's going on here. We finally have been blessed with a solid investigator. She is getting baptized this Saturday! It's interesting; The Lord really does bless us according to how we endure the trials He allows to come upon us. It's been stressing me out that we haven't had anyone to teach. Elder Darley and I have been working our tail ends off to find people. It's been anything but "easy". When you spend 6 hours tracting and talk to 45 people outside of tracting and come up with a result of teaching 0 lessons with 0 return appointment things tend to way you down easier. I've learned that if you just move forward with faith blessing will come. For example....our investigator we're teaching now. She is the most solid of all people I have ever met. We went over to her house and taught her the 1st lesson and committed her to baptism on the 13th. She accepted and was really excited and asked if we could leave her with any reading on top of the reading from the Book of Mormon that we had already given her. We left three pamphlets. One about the Restoration, one about The Plan of Salvation, and one about The Gospel of Jesus Christ. When we came back the next day we were shocked to find out that she had read everything we had left with her. She had even completed the "additional study" portion in the back of the pamphlets! Oh and don't let me forget to mention that she had started a fast to make sure that this is what God really wanted her to do! I'll let you guess what her answer was :)!

I gotta get going. Mothers day is right around the corner and I'm excited to talk to you all!
Love,
Luke

February 17, 2010

2010-04-12T17:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry they forgot to pass the memo on to us that they moved our p-day this week to Wednesday. Monday was President's day and Tuesday we had Zone Conference.

It's been really warm and nice here all week. I like it. It makes doing missionary work 100 times better!

We have a baptism on Saturday at 10:00 and then we get to go meet Elder L. Tom Perry! I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday...first a baptism...then a meeting with an Apostle of the Lord!!!! I'm way lucky! The kid we're baptizing we've been working with for a while and he's finally ready for baptism. It's such an awesome feeling! I love it! We haven't been able to teach the fmaily that we've been working with. Their daughter got RSV and so they've been on lock down for the last week and a half. They still desire to be baptized and learn more so hopefully this week we can pick things up again and help them come into the Gospel! We're working with a few other people but they're not as solid. hopefully they can be touched and really start to move forward.

I forgot to mention that last Saturday I was able to go to them temple with a less active member I helped bring back into the Church. He went to recieve his endowment and invited me to be there. All I can say is...wow...what a blessing it is to see someone you've helped go through the temple and partake in such sacred things!

I have to get heading! We have to take the time that we spent at the temple (including travel time) 0ut of our p-day. We spent 6 hours at the temple...

Love you all!
Elder Maughan

February 9, 2010

2010-02-09T15:15:00.000-08:00

So first off, I'm staying in Pueblo West 1st ward (same area I've been in) and I'm way happy about it. I'm also staying with Elder D. for another transfer. I'm even more happy about that. We get along really well and he is a great junior companion. He is always trying to be the best he can be and is starting to really gain a love for the work. Even though a lot of times he doesn't understand why I ask him to do certain things or change things, he still does it and he learns from it. That ability is something that a lot of missionaries don't have. I'm grateful that he respects me as his priesthood leader, and it makes our companionship strong and unified. When we have those things, along with obedience and diligence, the Lord is bound to put people in our path to teach and baptize! So...you can keep writing me at the same address in Pueblo West!

It's crazy that an entire year ago I was in WA watching the Super Bowl and playing UNO with Bryden, the Belnaps and Falters. That trip was the trip that changed my life in so many good ways. I'll never be able to thank the Lord enough for that opportunity. I heard the SAINTS won...stupid saints...the COLTS should have totally taken the game. Payton Manning is the best QB in the league! Plus, one of the Colts receivers is LDS and served a mission! I did however hear that after the game when everyone was celebrating the QB for the Saints was just holding his son. I thought that was pretty cool. I wish we were able to watch it. It was hard trying to talk to people at their doors when they all had their attention on the Super Bowl.

So about my health...it's still the same. Not much of a change. Hopefully in a few months I'll be able to see a difference in everything. They put me on steroids. :( They're to help my other meds work better. I'm gaining weight in my face and I hate it! I would go on a diet but it's hard enough eating finding gluten free food to eat. Okay, let me correct myself, it's easy finding gluten free food...but it's near impossible to find GOOD tasting gluten free food! :) I joke about it but it's really okay. I'm not letting it effect me. Honestly I'm really not gaining much weight. I have a pretty solid workout every morning and spending 12 hours on a bike helps keep it off. If anything, the weight that I've been gaining is healthy weight and who can complain about that?!

The work out here is solid. We're teaching a family right now. They have a baptismal date for 02/22. I'm way excited. I just hope that they'll continue to use their agency to yield to the promptings that God gives them and not the ones that Satan puts in front of them. I learn more and more about how real Satan is and how unhappy he wants us to be. We all have our agency to choose right or wrong. I feel like sometimes I'm not doing enough to help investigators recognize the feelings that God gives them. It's easy to recognize promptings from Satan...they're promptings that lead to the natural man and are right in front of our faces. God, however, gives us small, simple, and sometimes easy to overlook promptings. I've been praying that the Lord will help me to point out to investigators when they're feeling the Spirit so that they can learn to look for it more. I'm a missionary and sometimes I still struggle with it. I think that if I learn to understand it more then I'll be a more effective missionary.

My time is short. I'll try and send more pictures soon.
Love,
Elder Maughan

Pictures from December and January 2010

2010-02-06T13:59:00.000-08:00

January 30, 2010

2010-02-06T13:48:00.000-08:00

Pueblo West is still great!!!! We're teaching a few people right now but none have accepted a baptismal date. We just had a baptism on Saturday. The Spirit felt there was really strong. I was asked to be the person to perform the actual baptism!

I'm feeling great. I started my allergy shots last week. Things are going well with that. I've been asked to promise the President to live a more strict gluten free diet. I guess now I really need to do better! It's way hard because of how expensive gluten free things are.

I'm way excited to taste the new Yoli, FUN formula. I love drinking Yoli. I hate drinking water so I pound down the Yoli. I'm already out! In the summer I'm going to fill my camel pack up with Yoli. :) Daren should suggest to make a huge blast cap to go that will fit in a camel pack! :)

Can you believe that in 4 days I'll have been out for 6 months?! Time seems to have flown by but at the same time it feels like forever. Time is hort, I only have 18 months left on my mission. that's really not very much time to do all the work that needs to be done!

Transfers are next week so my p-day won't be until Tuesday. I'll let you know if I get transferred or not. I think that I will be leaving this time. :( I'm going to miss this ward a lot. I've grown really close to the members here and have enjoyed seeing their progression in missionary work. So...send any mail to the mission office until I know whether or not I'm getting transferred. Thanks.

I have to get going. They are making us change our email addresses to a new system. I have to go register and do all that fun stuff to get it ready. I'll email you from my new address once I get it up and running and that's where you'll have to send emails from now on.

I love you guys a ton!!! Keep up the good work and always remember to think of our Savior and what He's done for us. It's amazing how much better your day can be when you really remember to count your blessing!

Love,
Luke

January 25, 2010

2010-02-06T13:36:00.000-08:00

Hey!

I'm doing great! I have been really trying to develop more faith. I didn't realize my faith wasn't where it needed to be until I recognized that my hope isn't developed like I NEED it to be. It's been rough trying to figure out ways to improve both. I pray a lot for it but sometimes I fell like there is more that I can be doing. I'ms sure the Lord will reveal to me things that I can do but I'm anxious to develop those Christlike attributes. I guess I need to work on patience while I'm at it! :)

Don't we all wish we could just pick up the scriptures and know exactly where everything is? I'm a missionary, with the Lord's special blessing. I memorize a scripture a day (well...I try) and still am not at that point. But it's good that we're all not blessed with that gift. If we were to that point hten how easy would it be to justify ourselves when it comes to not reading the scriptures? I think it's important to remember that when we're trying to accomplish a goal like that then the Lord will bless us with that knowledge when we need it. I can't remember half of the scriptures I've memorized but they always seem to come to my mind when I need them!

We had a pretty funny experience happen yesterday as we were tracting. We knocked on this door and a lady answered. She saw us and the first thing she muttered was that she didn't speak English. We get that a lot...people just don't want to hear us out so they claim to no speak English. I noticed, however, that this lady had a thick Russian accent. To her surprise I started to bear my testimony to her in Russian. When I was done she frowned and said (in semi-broken English), "Darn, I was thinking I could get rid of you if I said I coudn't speak English" and then shut the door! :) It was awesome! Even though nothing came of it I was still happy that I was able to let her know exactly what she was jejecting! I love missionary work. Things can get hard but I keep thinking about something Sandy told me in one of her letters. I guess it's a slogan the Falters have adopted for their family, "We can do hard things." It's helped me a lot. We can all do hard things when we let the Lord help us! It's true.

Well, I better get going. I love you all so much and can't wait to hear back from you! Thanks to all of you who write to me. It means so much! Give yourselves a big hug from me!

Love,
Elder Maughan.

January 19, 2010

2010-01-21T08:49:00.001-08:00

Hello,
I'm sorry I forgot to mention that my P-day would be Tuesday this week, because of the Holiday. I'm really short on time because we scheduled a lesson for today (even though it's p-day) and we have to be there in about an hour.

I am doing great out here. I'm going to be sending my camera memory card today, so watch for pictures coming soon!

The work is coming along...slowly. Each night I come in totally drained and account for my day with teh Lord and can't help but feel lik He is simply trying my patience. I've been so blessed to see so much success and now I think He's trying to teach me more. I know that I have a ton to learn and figure out.

So I forgot to mention that this last Sunday was Stake Conference and Elder Nelson for teh Quorum of the 12 came! It was awesome!! I was able to meet him and shake his hand. He commended us missionaries for the work that we've been doing here in this mission. It's a huge blessing to have had that opportunity. He spoke on missionary work and encouraged members to do more. He said he had revelation that great things are going to happen in this area as far as missionary work is concerned. What a blessing to be able to hear that! I'm excited to see what happens.

I have so much more to write but I really need to get going. I love you all so much and hope that everything is going well for you all. I pray for you all - all the time.

Love,
Elder Maughan

January 4, 2010

2010-01-07T12:55:00.000-08:00

Hey!

It was way good to talk to family on Christmas. It totally made the holidays so much better.

So I actually found out that Elder Darby, my new companion, is my 3rd cousin! :) We went through our pedigree charts! (His parents names are Bryce and Loralee and Darley.) He lived in Wellsville for a few years. Its kinda weird, we look a like and have a lot in common with each other. We're having tons of fun but working way hard while we do it! Between Friday, Saturday and Sunday we spend 10 hours tracting! It's all good!

Things are going great. Elder Darby and I are doing really well. We are working our butts off! It's paying off too. We had a huge miracle happen yesterday. I don't have much time so I'll just share with you the short version of what happened. For the last 13 weeks that I've been in Pueblo West I've been trying to go see a part-member family. The husband is a member who was less active for 20 years and has been coming back to church pretty faithfully (he's getting ready to go to the temple and I hope I can get permission to go with him, we've grown pretty close). His wife and daughters are against the church quite a bit. To make a long story short...yesterday we got a phone call right as we had finished tracting and they invited us over to answer a few questions. We have their trust now and I'm way happy. They are such a great family and I love knowing that they now feel comfortable asking questions! Hopefully we can help them accept the Gospel here on earth and they can receive all the blessings the Lord has in store for them!

Other than that, nothing exciting has happened! We're looking for new people to teach...we baptized everyone we've been teaching so now our focus is 100% on finding! It will be good. We have about 5 hours each day next week planned to tract.

Love,
Elder Maughan

December 29, 2009

2009-12-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

A quick hello,

I have like 5 minutes that I can email you all today. Transfers are tomorrow and we were given time today to check our email to see what is happening for transfers. I'm staying in my area again for another transfer!!!! I'm way happy about that. You can keep sending mail and stuff to my address here. My new companion is Elder Darley. I'll pick him up tomorrow. He's only been out one transfer. I'm SENIOR COMPANION and way excited. This will be a huge learning experience for me, I've only been out (almost) 5 months! Elder Darley actually lived in Wellsville for a few years. His older brother lives in one of the wards that meets in the same building as ours and I've talked to him about it before. They know the Ericksons (Kade's parents) pretty well. I"m way excited to get him and start working in my area full time again. Oh and all of our baptisms went through this week! We had a total of 4! It was awesome! The Lord blessed me this Christmas season a ton. Thank you all for sending me Christmas Cards and Presents. I was way happy to talk to you all on Christmas Day. Thanks for your support, I love you all so very much and I keep you in my prayers.

Love,
Elder Maughan

December 21, 2009

2009-12-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

So alot has been happening this week. I'm short on time so I'll type as fast as I can! Elder Anderson is no longer my companion. (He got transfered early because some Elders ended their missions early so they could be with their families for Christmas)...in fact, I have no companion at the moment! I'm just tagging along with two other Elders and we're covering both areas. Normally what I've been doing is just taking out priest to teach with me. I'll get a new companion during transfers on the 30th. I've been teaching so many lessons! It's amazing. The Lord has blessed me so much the past two weeks! My area has two baptisms tonight, one on the 26th, and another on the 27th. It's insane! This area is known to be one of the "hardest" areas to baptize. There were Elders here for 9 months and they only baptized one person. I just think that everyone that has been here has had the wrong attitude about the area. It's full of the Lords elece, we just need to get out and find them! I'm pretty sure that I'll be here for another six weeks and I'm way happy about it! Pray for the investigators that are getting baptized this week...Satan will do everything he can to make them not happen.

Now the Good stuff! I can't wait to talk to the family on Christmas. I'll be calling in the morning. I can't wait. You don't need to worry about calling me back after I call because I'll be using a member's phone who has unlimited long distance. So just be prepared to answer the phone and talk to me!! I love you all so much and I am so excited to hear all your voiced!!!!!!!

Love,
Elder Maughan

December 14, 2009

2009-12-16T12:17:00.000-08:00

Hi all!

I'm soooo sorry but I have to keep things short today. Sadly I wont' be able to write much about what is going on. So first off...next Monday will be my last P-day before Christmas....I need to know where my family will be so that I can call and atalk to you all! I'm way limited on time, I have to kepp it to about 20 minutes or less...it's terrible. I'm kind of upset that they are only allowing such a short time for all the missionaries to call. Oh well. I'm grateful that I even have the opportunity to talk to you all. I'm not sure what time I will be calling but it will probably be sometime in the morning. So please let me knwo what number to call!

I'm glad Dad B. and Sandy got to go to the temple with the new converts to do baptisms for the dead. Our ward is putting together a trip for the new converts in January! I won't be able to go though...it's so far away from where I'm at.

Well, I'd better go. I still have to email the President. I hope everything is going well. I'm so excited to talk to you all! I love you so much!

Oh and the only thing you need to worry about not sending me is NUTS! The rest of the things I'm allergic to you can't really send me in the mail.

Love,
Luke

Video Journal - October & November

2009-12-07T19:08:00.000-08:00

December 7, 2009

2009-12-07T11:54:00.000-08:00

Hey!

I'll start with answering all the questions... My medical test on Wednesday went fine! I'm allergic to a bunch of other foods. The doctor gave up on testing me for foods because I'm allergic to so many. He's really pushing for me to get the shots to get them under control. I'll start as soon as I get the "okay" from my mission president. I'm not allergic to candy (unless it has nuts in it)...so if you want...send all you can to me! :) I found out I'm allergic to all fish, lettuce and tons of other "normal/simple" things. Crazy right? Oh well. I can live with it. Other than that my medical stuff is going fine. I'm getting my medicine from Utah when I need it and I'm thankful for everyone and all they're doing to support me! I love you all!

I got a package from the Lacey 3rd Ward Primary! I loved it! It totally made my day to get letters from all of those little kids. I hope that I get to serve in primary again one day. It's been my favorite calling for sure! Tell them all thank you! The support from them is awesome. It really helps me get through those hard days. And trust me...hard days happen a lot out here!

We've had a lot of people that we were teaching back out of the baptismal date. They feel like they're not ready. I don't want to push them but at the same time they need to understand that baptism is just the FIRST step...they're not expected to know everything about the Church before hand. I'm trying to be patient but i fear that some of them are just beating around the bush and are simply NOT the elect that we are supposed to find.

On a positive note, we did have a baptism yesterday and it was one of the most amazing baptisms ever! We've been teaching a girl who is a "friend" of one of our recent converts. At first, when we were teaching her she wasn't sure that baptism was something that she wanted to do. She struggled with a lot of things. We gave her a baptismal date the first time we taught her (as missionaries that is something we are supposed to do) two weeks ago. She accepted but wasn't sure she'd have an answer if it was right or not by then. We continued to teach her and she held to the commitments we gave her, reading, coming to church, praying, etc... on the 29th, two Sundays ago, she told us she was still unsure about baptism. I told her to go home that night and plead seriously with the Lord about it. We talked about how she really needed to have the desire to know before it would come. Anyway, she went home...prayed...and got her answer! She was baptized yesterday and one of the coolest things about her baptism is that she was baptized by our recent convert, her friend! It's so amazing to not only see a new person come into the church but also to see a convert progressing like Mike (our new concert who baptized her). This Gospel really is true and the Lord has the power to do whatever he wants. It's amazing. The Lord moved mountains for us in order to be able to resolve some of the concerns Joy (our newest convert) had. He really does have His hand in this work! What a blessing! Oh and I give Joy props for being baptized in the font yesterday - the water was ICE cold!

I'm praying for you all and love you all so much!
Love,
Elder Maughan

Pictures from October and November 2009

2009-12-07T10:44:00.000-08:00

[There are only a few pictures and during the past two months because Luke's camera broke. His Mom and Grandma are giving him a new one for Christmas so we should have wonderful pictures next month!]

November 30, 2009

2009-12-07T10:33:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

I hope you all had an excellent Thanksgiving! This season I found myself more grateful for things than I ever have before. I realized just how grateful I am for the Gospel of Jesus Christ! In 2 Nephi (chapter 3 or 2) there is a set of verses (6-8) about Christ and it nails the core foundations as to why I am so thankful for him. He is just and true...our Redeemer!

I wish I would gone to the temple more often while I was at home! There are so many blessings promised to us as Saints when we attend the temple. I'm going to make it a requirement that when I get married that my wife and I go as often as possible! What a blessing it is to partake of something so sacred as a couple.

Mom and Dad Belnap, thanks for the little book about gifts as well as the money you sent with it. I was slapped in the face by the Spirit as I read the council given by an Apostle of the Lord. I've ruined so many precious gifts people have given me because of my attitude. My pride has gotten in the way of seeing the true heart felt sacrifice that people put in to giving me a gift. I've been blessed with wonderful people that have gone to great efforts to give me a gift that they know I truly could benefit from. I apologize so much for not being able to recognize the heart felt love in which these gifts have been shared with me.

Well, I'd better get going. We still have to do our shopping.

Love,
Elder Maughan

November 25, 2009

2009-12-07T10:16:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

How are you all doing? There might be some confusion, my next testing date is next Wednesday. Sister Richardson probably won't call you at that time anyway. You'll just have to wait until my next p-day to find out about the results. Since we already know I'm allergic to a bazillion things and that's what my problems is...I doubt the mission office will see fit to call anyone to report the results. In fact...I don't even think anyone other than Elder Anderson is coming to the appointment with me.

That's crazy that Kylee is allergic to so many things as well. I feel her pain. Its not easy know that I'm basically allergic to the world. Its been so hard for me to change my diet to be more healthy. I haven't done the best job at it but I'm trying? It'll come over time. I'm just grateful that this is the problem and not something worse. The Lord has truly blessed me more than I deserve! Tell Kylee that my prayers are will her and when she figures out the secret to dealing with this to let me know. ;)

We aren't allowed to work on Thanksgiving. It's an all day P-day for us. Today isn't really our p-day but they've given us time to email and shop since most libraries and stores will be closed tomorrow. We've been invited to ta family's house to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with them. I"m pretty excited. I'm going to ignore my food allergies for a day or so :).

I've been in communication with Nick. He's doing well. He's struggling a bit right now because they're not have much success. I told him not to worry. Missions are hard and there are times that no matter how hard we work we will fall short sometimes. I had to learn that the hard way. Pray for him, please, all missionaries need as much help as they can get.

Thanks to all who prayed for us in finding new investigators. Just to let you know...He has answered our prayers! We have 4 new investigators and one of them has a Baptismal date for the 6th of December! I'm so excited to be part of this work. Elder Anderson and I have a goal to baptize enough people to help the ward meet their yearly goal. They have never had missionaries meet that goal and we feel that if we continue to increase our faith and work hard then we'll be blessed with finding the elect who are ready to enter the waters of baptism. It will be hard...the ward is only at 3 for the year (two of which Elder Anderson and I baptized!) and their goal is 8. Pray for us!

I'm glad Shonnee called Bryden to say Hi! She's such an awesome friend...even though she hardly ever writes any of us :). It's crazy to think that Kade only has nine months left. There is no hope...he'll be married before I get home :(. Oh well.

I better get going. I love you all so much! Have an awesome Thanksgiving. Don't forget to think about everything you're grateful for, after all that's what tomorrow is all about! I'm thankful for this gospel. I know that we belong to Christ's true church. Only through our Savior, Jesus Christ, can we be saved. I'm so thankful for the knowledge that I have that I never have to stand alone during my times of struggle. What a blessing!

Love,
Elder Maughan

November 17, 2009

2009-11-17T12:56:00.000-08:00

I'm doing just wonderful! First off, about transfers...I'm staying here in Pueblo West with Elder Anderson! So now instead of mailing mail to the mission office you can mail it to my apartment. I've been assured I'm staying here for another six weeks for sure...no sudden transfers :).

My address in Pueblo West (for sure until December 28th):
Elder Luke Maughan
106 Baldwyn Drive
Pueblo West, CO 81007

The doctor said if we can control my airborn allergies...which is basically everything in the world...then the food allergies would be less of a problem. They want me to take an allergy pill everyday and see how that works out but I'm pretty sure I'm going to start getting the desensitization shots. I'm so miserable during the months of April-September because of my allergies and now that I think about it my stomach problems are usually worse during those months. So if I get the shots and control my airborn allergies (I'm allergic to all pollens, all trees, all grasses, all molds, and all weeds!!!) then all around I'll be happy! No more/less stomach problems...plus I won't feel like I'm dying because of allergies like I normally do! So yeah...I know it will be a bit of a crutch to my work (I have to go in twice a week for the first month and then once a week for 2-4 years after that) but I have prayed about it and I know its something i should do. I'll let you know if my new diet helps me out! True...it now costs me six dollars for a loaf of bread...but hopefully I'll be able to start eating normal food again in a few months. I'm sure these food restrictions will help but I still think the shots will be the best!

Not much new as far as investigators are concerned. Its been a rough week with all of my doctors appointments. I aslo ended getting the worst cold I've ever had in my life. That knocked an entire day out of the week. I couldn't even move. Dont' worry...I'm getting better though. Expect to hear good news in the coming weeks concerning Investigators and Baptisms! :) Elder Anderson and I are going to tear up the area and work even harder than we did before! I'm so excited. I'm learning more and more how to turn to the Lord and follow His promtings. Sometimes I can't believe its taken me so long to respond to the promptings He's given. How blessed are we to have the opportunity to receive guidance from Him? I can't think of a better way to live my life then to live it with Him guiding me every step! This Gospel is so amazing! I love it!

Well I better wrap up and get going! Nick emailed me so I need to email him back.

Love,
Elder Maugan

PS) Next week my P-day will be on Wednesday because of Thanksgiving so I won't be able to email anyone back until that afternoon.

November 9, 2009

2009-11-09T13:52:00.001-08:00

Okay so I’ll start by answering some questions:

1) Everyday I average about a 7-8 on the pain scale. I'm dealing with it though and not letting it slow me down. The Lord has given me so much strength.

2) No reports yet back. I'll find everything out on the 11th when I meet with the doctor.

3) I'm still in Pueblo but transfers are next week. Next week my p-day will be on tuesday because of transfers. I'll let you know if i'm staying or not. I hope I do stay!

4) The Work....IS AWESOME. Yesterday in Ward Council we had some of the members in tears. The Bishop even prayed and asked that Elder Anderson and I stay in the area for a bit longer. The last set of Elders that were here spent 8 months (yep, the same two elders were in this area for 8 months together) doing who knows what. They had no baptism and were teaching nobody. The members said they saw them hanging out in their homes more than they saw them working. In the six weeks Elder Anderson and I have been here we have been blessed by the Lord with 2 baptisms, by the end of the week we'll have 3 people with a date (we already have 1, we just need to extend a date to the other two) to be baptized (sad to say I may not be here for their Baptisms, their dates are for the 21st and 22nd and transfers are on the 18th), and we are teaching a couple of solid other people. Its been so amazing to see the trust the members have gained in us. However, the only reason why we've had so much success out here is because we have been obedient and worked our tail ends off. The Lord has led us to those who are ready to be baptized. There is no way I would have been able to endure everything thats been happening without his help. I've had the hardest weeks of my life this transfer but He has provided me a way to get through it all.

5) I got my pills finally and it's good to have them back in my system!

That’s awesome that Dad and the Bishop got to go to the missionary meeting with Elder L. Tom Perry! I'm jealous. I can't wait until we get a General Authority come and speak to us. Although...President Pfile might as well be a general authority...he's amazing! That’s sad to hear you're losing Elder Witter. I hope to become the missionary he is. He has done great work in your area and sounds like an amazing missionary!

I love hearing that Bryden is reading the scriptures with you all. He's taught me so much in life and has been a huge inspiration to me. Sometimes when I get down out here I think of Bry and how even though he has so many obstacles facing him he still pushes through it all. He's my hero for sure! He is such an example to me. He'll love getting the large print scriptures for his birthday. What a great idea!

Tell Kasey I got his package. I really appreciate it. He's the best boss I ever could have hoped to have. He's such a good friend to me. The CD's were awesome! I've been listening to them over and over again (some I can only listen to on p-days though). I hope he and his family are doing well. Tell them all hello for me and make sure Kasey knows just how big of and example and how good of a friend he is to me. I plan on writing him back soon. I've had to catch up on writing people back. I've written like 16 letters in the last week during my lunch/dinners. Sister Wingate and Bailey (the two sister missionaries serving in temple square who were in my district at the MTC) haven't been to happy with me. I haven't written either of them back in over a month! They sent a combined letter to me last week chewing me out. haha i miss those guys, they've become good friends as well.

Jase, Elder Langston, is doing good as well. I sure to love the kid. He's on of my best friends now. He calls me occasionally at nights (now that we're in the same zone he is allowed to do that) just to say hi and to talk. He's pretty sure by the end of our mission he'll have convinced me to go to Dixie state with him instead of USU. I just laugh at him...it's going to be the other way around. He'll be coming to USU with me!

Well I better be off. I love you guys so much!

Love, Luke

November 2, 2009

2009-11-02T11:37:00.000-08:00

Hey!

Talk about a long week! It's been crazy! I'm sorry I haven't written hand letter lately, I've been trying to make up for the days I wasn't able to work. I feel like a slacker right now. I know I need to learn to not be so hard on myself.

We had a great Fast and Testimony meeting yesterday. We had some less active members that were at Church who actually got up and bore their Testimony! It was awesome. There was a lot said that I needed to hear.

It's been really hard, especially the last week, but I feel closer to the Savior more than I ever have. Please tell everyone, all the family and ward members, that I am so grateful for their prayers and support and they have no idea exactly how much they're helping me.

With my health stuff nothing new has come up. We won't know anything for sure until the results from the biopsies come in. I have a doctor's appointment on the 11th to discuss everything. The doctor is pretty sure it's a mild case of crohn's disease. But again, we won't know for sure until the biopsies come back. It's been hard for me the last couple of days. I hope they can figure out what is wrong. I want to be able to serve my full two years without the stumbing block of pain getting in the way. I haven't let it slow me down yet (other than my tests) but I can feel its tear on my body.

Please pass the word around to people that if they send me a package send it any way EXCEPT express mail. PRIORITY MAIL IS THE BEST way to get things to me. It actually takes me longer to get a package when it's sent express. I have to sign for all express mail that comes and they deliver it when I'm out working so I have to wait until the end of the week (or sometimes on p-day when I can find a ride) to drive into the Pueblo post office to pick it up. With the USPS flat rate priority mail they'll just leave it at my door. Sorry if that was confusing...

Thanks for the money! This week with all the medical stuff and the extra groceries I had to buy I was pretty low but I shouldn't have that situation again!

Well I better go. I love you all!

Love, Luke

October 26, 2009

2009-10-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

Hey!

So I have to keep things short today. I guess everyone realized they forgot to write last week so i got nailed with a million emails from people :)! It's good though because after reading them all i'm smiling (believe it or not) from ear to ear. I even got an email from Nick...man that made me so happy!

I guess the first thing I should bring up is my endoscopy and the 5 million tests I've had done in the last week. They took Eight different biopcies of weird stuff in my stomach but I won't get the results for about another week or so. I've had to have a couple different lab work stuff done (blood samples...etc...) and now I have my favorite thing in the world coming up on Wednesday..a Colonoscopy! I'll let you know how it goes! The Giffords are actually picking me and Elder Anderson up and taking us there and back! It'll be nice to finally get to meet them in person. I have to go without groceries this week. I barley have enough money to pay the copay for my colonoscopy. My parents insurance only works in the state of utah (unless its an emergency) so i've had to use the churchs and it requires me to pay a $10.00 co-pay each visit. I've forked over a total of $50.00 so far and am now broke. It's okay though, really, i'll be fine. We get more money on the 31st so I can buy stuff then.

So real quickly...The Lord blessed Elder Anderson and I again this week. I don't know why i've been so blessed but He truley is blessing me above what I deserve. We have had and investigator we've been working with that had a Baptismal date a while back but he ended up backing out because of a fear of tithing. We met with him a few weeks back and talked to him about his concerns. We've been trying to get a hold of him for the last two weeks but we haven't been able to. It's been super stressfull. Finally, last tuesday, Elder Anderson and I had the impression to just swing by his house and see if he was there (he never has been when we've tried in the past). Turns out he was, he was just getting ready to leave. To make a long story short we ended up giving him a blessing (he was sick) and then casually conversed about baptism. As we were getting ready to ride away on our bikes I got the impression to tell him that he was ready to be baptized and he knew it. I told him that and continued by telling him that whenever he is ready we can baptize him...he's completely qualified...i told him we could even do it tomorrow. After a moment of silence he looked up at me and said "what time?". Talk about miracle...So we put together a baptism in the matter of a few hours and baptized him the next day (wednesday)! Man we've been so blessed. We had the oppertunity to visit with him saturday and he was so happy and you could just feel the Spirit of the Lord coming from him. He even introduced us to his wife. It was awesome!

Well I better get going i have to write a lot more people :(. I love you guys and I'll write more in a hand written letter.

Love, Elder Maughan

October 19, 2009

2009-10-19T13:51:00.000-07:00

Hi.
Not a lot has happened since my last email to you. We met with an "eternal investigator" (someone who has been going to church and living the gospel but won't be baptized for some reason) last Thursday night and called him out on being baptized...later that night he called and said he felt it was time to get baptized...so we baptized him Saturday! It was pretty awesome! We also have found 2 new investigators, a family actually, and they're looking solid. Pray for Elder Anderson and I to have the Spirit with us so we can teach them the things the Lord would have us teach. Thanks, your prayers mean a lot.

All-in-All life is good right now. I love being a missionary and bringing souls to Christ. It's so awesome to participate in a baptism because it renews that sense of urgency in me. I only have two years to fully dedicate 24 hours each day to serving the Lord. There is so much work to do and I need to change so much in order to become the effective missionary the Lord needs me to be. I'm giving it my all and I know the Lord will fill in the gaps I can not.

I forgot to mention something amazing that happened last Tuesday during zone conference!!! The Zone Leaders set Jase (Elder Langston) and I right next to each other! It was so awesome!!!!!!!!!!! I totally spaced the fact that we'd even be seeing each other at Zone Conference (Since I've been transfered we're now in the same zone). We had a blast catching up. During Zone Conference we read a talk that Jefferey R. Holland gave to the Mission Presidents and there was a line in there that talked about how Mission Presidents should be extremely happy to see the growth in their missionaries. As I sat there I was thinking of Jase and how we both were in the MTC and how we were now. By the time we were done reading the talk I had to use all my will power to choke back the tears. I can't tell you guys enough how much Elder Langston has grown and how happy it made me. It felt like I had known Jase for years. He seriously is one of my best friends now. I love that kid to death. We later went into a different room (this was after Zone Conference was over) and we talked for a bit. He told me about some of the concerns and struggles he was having. I couldn't hold it back...I was getting prompted by the Spirit...I had to tell him how proud I was of him and the growth that I've seen in him. We had a good long talk, during which I couldn't hold back the tears as well, and I realized that he really needed to hear what I said to him. He was worried he wasn't doing very well. It was so cool to see how much more confident he was after our talk. I can only hope to have grown half as much as he has. He's been a huge example to me!

Anyway thats basically it. I have my endoscopy on Thursday. I pray everything will go well, which i'm sure it will. They're starting to get more concerened. I don't know if I already told you or not but I'm passing both light and dark blood now. I guess passing dark blood is pretty bad...Oh well. Everything will be okay!

I love you guys..study your scriptures and pray...I promise you that your life will be so much better if you do so! Its the key to our Salvation! Go to the Temple as often as you can too....I miss being able to go. I'm sure you guys are doing your best but never forget that we can always do a little bit better!

Love,
Elder Maughan

October 14, 2009

2009-10-14T18:27:00.000-07:00

Hiiiiii :),

Okay...first things first...Sorry I didn't email on monday or tuesday. Monday was columbus day so the library was closed. Yesterday was Zone Conference so I didn't have time to email. And don't worry, i'm not breaking any rules by emailing today (it's obviously not monday, my p-day). We received permission from the president to email when we got a chance. We simply had to end P-day on monday a little earlier.

So about my amazing transfer...It may only be for another week or so :(. I wasn't transfered because of my medical reasons. What happened was that an Elder in this area got sick with kidney stones and had to be sent home for about a week or two. I'm actually further from the doctor then they want me to be. So I'm here with Elder Tyler Anderson (who by the way is AWESOME) and we're tearin' it up in Pueblo West!

I want to tell you about the phone converstaion I had with President Pfile when I was getting more information about my transfer. What he said was a huge relief for me givin the fact that I'd been stressed out about being with Elder Torres for another 6 weeks. One of the problems I have with Elder Torres is that he is very, very very very very, negative towards me. He is always putting me down and making me feel like the worst missionary ever to come into this mission (apparently he's doing the same thing to Elder Hansen, the Elder who joined up with us during transfers) and it was getting really hard for me to handle. I can handle constructive criticism but there wasn't all that much he had to say that was constructive. And don't take me wrong...i'm very grateful for the constructive criticism he did give me...I stick to my words when I said that I wouldn't have changed companions for anything...I learned a lot from him. Anyway, back to the phone call with Pres. Pfile...He told me on the phone that he knew sending me down to Pueblo West wouldn't be the best idea with my medical problems. However, he felt like I was the only one strong enough to handle what was to come. He proceeded to tell me that he has seen great growth in me and that i'm doing and excellent job. I can't tell you what a relief that was for me. I kept thinking I was failing as a missionary. I don't want you to think that i'm being pridefull. I still don't think i'm anywhere near the missionary I should be. I have so much more to learn before i'll become what I think the Lord wants to me be. I'm just greatful to know that i'm not failing as a missionary :).

So about Elder Anderson....He's amazing! I couldn't have asked for a better companion. He's been out 8 months and is the complete opposite of Elder Torres. He tells me that i'm doing well but when I need correcting he is not scared to tell me. When he corrects me I can tell that he does so out of love. Its a really nice change up. He's actually from Everrett Washington! Mom(B) he says he has an Aunt and Uncle that are in a Lacy ward...Sue and Kieth (I think) Smith are their names...i'm not sure if you know them or not. I'm going to be sad when/if I have to go back to Calhan in a few weeks. I'll let you know when you can start sending mail to that address again...for now keep sending it to the Mission Office.

I'm out of time so I better finish up. I've got to go so you'll have to wait until next monday for an email. I'd send a hand written letter but it wouldn't get to you until monday anyway...

Love,
Elder Maughan

Call from the Mission President's wife...

2009-10-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, October 8th, a phone call was received that all Luke's mail needed to be sent to Colorado Springs Mission office. Don't send anymore mail to Calhan.

So, we are anxious for an email on Monday to find out more details from Luke. That must have been why they assigned another Elder to work with them in a three-some. We know Luke's health is not good and he will be having some more tests and assume that is why he has been moved closer to Colorado Springs.

So that's the word...until Monday.

October 6, 2009

2009-10-06T17:12:00.000-07:00

Hi.

Imagine me letting out a super long moaning/depressed sound right now. I'm staying in Calhan. I love Calhan, a lot. But i'm staying in Calhan with Elder Torres :( :( :( :( :(. Ughhhhhhhhhhh. Man this is going to be a trial of my faith and patience. We'll be in a 3 some now so hopefully the new elder and I will get a long better then Elder Torres and I do. Things have gotten a little bit better between the two of us but I called him out on some disobedient things he was doing when he wasn't with me (when he would go on team-ups with other Elders) and he wasn't to happy with that. But we just sent 4 elders home, two were sent home because they let their companions be disobedient. I refuse to let that happen to me. Oh well. I know the Lord will give me strength if I turn to him. There must be a reason why we're still together. It's not going to be an easy 6 weeks thats for sure. So keep sending stuff to my Calhan Address. I'll be there another six weeks.

On a happier note...General Conference was amazing! Man, i've never been rebuked by the Spirit so strongly. There are so many things I need to change in my life. I feel so blessed to have been able to take so much out of Conference. I've never learend as much as I did this weekend. I was humbled...again...I hope I can remember to study my notes often and apply the teachings in my life so I can become a better Desciple of Christ. I thought Saturday Morning was the best session. Elder Bednar and President Uchtdorf were amazing! They were such inspiring talks. I too loved Elder Hollands talk. He threw it down when it came to Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon! All other talks were amazing of course, I just felt that those two hit me the hardest. M Russell Ballard gave a great talk as well during Priesthood. I can't wait for next springs session!

I went in to the doctor and they think I need to be checked up on. I possibly will have an endoscopy next week, or the week after, and I know for sure that within the next 4 months i'll have another colonoscopy. Fun :)! Oh well. It hasn't effected my work. The Lord has blessed me with strength and the ability to cope with it. We'll see what happens. I'm going to continue to work my hardest until it kills me. I've been so blessed, after everything thats happened, to be able to have the opportunity to serve.

Love,
Elder Maughan

September 2009 - Videos...Weather

2009-10-06T15:25:00.000-07:00

September 2009 - Videos... Tired!

2009-10-06T15:12:00.000-07:00

So one thing Luke would really like is any music CD's that are uplifting. He only has one CD with him that he can listen to, it's the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing old gospel songs. He said he'd love EFY, Kenneth Cope, really anything. It could be just instrumental. If it has lyrics, they have to be spiritual. No love songs. That was his latest request!

September 2009 - Videos..."Green" Package

2009-10-06T15:06:00.000-07:00

September 2009 - Videos...Revelation

2009-10-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

September 2009 - Pictures

2009-10-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

September 28, 2009

2009-10-02T08:39:00.000-07:00

Hey La Familia,

How's my spanish? Terrible right?! It's so good to get your emails each week. I LOVE IT.

Things in Colorado are great. Its crazy how fast the the weather changes. It was snowing and cold all last week and then friday morning it decided to get super hot...that was the day I got the packages with my winter stuff in it. Thanks so much for sending that stuff to me. Especially the Candy....man that hits the spot! Tell Sandy Lou thanks for the blender. Can you have her send me the recipe for the shakes so I can make some! Tell her thanks again, give her a hug for me. Wow I'm so proud of Kylee. You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that she's doing missionary work! When members get involved with missionary work the success rate is more than doubled! Tell her I'm proud of her and to keep it up. The Lord is going to bless her so much for her efforts! Let me know how things turn out. My meetings yesterday were great! I love testimony meeting because I get to bear my testimony twice! Once in the Calhan ward and once in the Falcon ward. It's awesome to get to strengthen my testimony by bearing it twice. I'm also blessed to get to hear so many other people bear their testimonies. I LOVE THIS GOSPEL!!! I get so pumped after hearing everyone. Thank you for fasting for me and letting me know the family members that I need to pray for. I'm sure if they put their trust in the Lord then everything will work out for them.

I'm so glad you guys enjoyed the Womens Broadcast! I can't wait to read some of the talks when they come out on the internet. Its so cool to see the Women of the church being strong and putting aside the "world" for a few hours to take part in something so sacred and special. It really will strengthen you as an indivitual and your relationship with your family. You're even a big support and example to me! Thanks!

So my week....wow what a week....probably the hardest week I've yet to have on my mission. All week long I couldn't understand why I was feeling so discouraged. I was feeling as if I wasn't capable of doing this for two years. I didn't know why those thoughts were in my mind and so I felt even more discouraged. I honestly haven't had second thoughts about being out on my mission this entire time...so why now? I found it harder and harder to get out of bed each morning and to stay diligent and obedient. However, I put my trust in the Lord and I knew that if I give in to those temptaions and don't give it my all then my situation would only get worse. It wasn't until Thursday that I realized what was going on. We had a baptism Saturday and I was the one who was to performed the baptism (I'll talk about it more later). We had interviews with our Mission President on Thursday (also an awesome experience). During interviews he asked me about the baptism that was to take place on Saturday. He was so excited! He cautioned me that Satan was going to do everything he could this week to try to get me to be unworthy of performing such a sacred ordinance. He also said this would be the hardest time for me. He then explained that the Lord needs to know he can trust me, even when things get hard. WOW. That hit me hard. Finally everything made sense. It made the rest of the week so much easier. The temptaions to be disobedient and stuff were still there but I finally understood why so dealing with them wasn't nearly as hard. Pretty crazy right?!?!

The baptism went well. I'll send home my camera memory card today with Kylee's letter. Everyone else that wrote me will get a letter as well. You can see pictures from the baptism. I haven't been able to do a video journal in a while. Sorry. I'll do better I promise. It would be nice to start doing them again. I better get going. I still have to email my Mission President. I love you guys! Stay strong. Thanks again for the packages and letters. The Lord will bless you for the support you give me!

Love,Elder Maughan

P.S. If you send any letters to me after the 30th make sure you send them to the mission office. I may be transfered so It will take forever for your letters to get to me if they get sent here (to calhan) and I'm not here. As soon as I find out my new address I'll write a quick note home to let ya know.

September 21, 2009

2009-09-21T12:15:00.000-07:00

It's September 21st and...ITS SNOWING OUTSIDE. Crazy right? Yeah its a good thing it's P-day and I don't have to tract outside, we luckily have things scheduled for after 6:00 (when our P-day ends and we have to be back out teaching). It's only suppose to get colder.

Tell Dad I'm sorry about his uncle passing away, that's always hard to deal with. Luckily we have the Plan of Salvation to get us through those hard times. How blessed we are.

Speaking about The Plan...Man has my brain been overloaded (in a good way) with doctrine and the principals that lie with in. It's amazing what the Spirit of Revelation can do for you once you learn how to effectively receive it. Its so amazing, of all the times I have read the Book of Mormon I have never received so much insight. Things make more sense, its crazy! I've been learning how to tear apart verses and even specific words that end up revealing deep doctrine. It kind of can be a burden to be honest...I know I can develop that skill so much more (I have A LOT of room to improve, I'm no where near where I should be) but I need to focus on keeping things simple. Teaching deep doctrine to investigators only confuses them and hinders their progression. But it's hard...even reading basic things in Preach My Gospel leads to deep doctrine. I've really gained an appreciation for the power of Personal Revelation and The Doctrine.

Our next baptism is next Saturday, the 26th. That will make number 4! I love it!!!!!! I've now helped four children of God come unto him! Best feeling ever!!! Also I will either get to be the one to actually baptize him or do the confirmation :). I'm pretty excited!

So here is an awesome miracle for you...So out in Calhan their honestly aren't a lot of people to talk to...it's hard to meet some of our goals. I love it out here but it is far from easy to find new investigators. Anyway, In Zone Conference we talked about being effective in nightly planning and sticking to what we plan (you'd be surprised at how much revelation comes while planning, it should be the only way you plan...by the Spirit). If we've used the Spirit in our planning then our odds of seeing success are much higher. Well, in Calhan our plans change super easy...we rarely have a day that doesn't require us to change our plans. Sometimes it's okay, the Spirit is what makes those changes...but at times it's just a situational thing. We decided one day that we were going to stick to our plans. Everything was going to be detailed and done with the Spirit. To make a long story short...We found 3 new investigators (all accepted a baptismal date, however they won't be able to me baptized on that date because none of them were able to make it to church on Sunday, they have to come at least twice before they can be baptized...but still they accepted :)), and we took the perfect member to a former investigators house..we taught the first lesson again and they accepted a baptismal date! How awesome is that?!?! I'm so excited.

I love you and respect you all so much for the support you give me.

My health is okay, not the best but it is controllable. I'm trying to gain weight. It's not working out so well :). Don't worry though! I'm doing my best to stay healthy. Well I've gotta go, only have 3 minutes left (we're at the darn library again). I love you all. Hang in there. You're in my prayers.

Love, Elder Maughan

September 14, 2009

2009-09-14T13:49:00.000-07:00

Hey!

Thanks for writing. I love getting letters they really help me. Here are some details about the kids we baptised. I've had three baptisms. The Bastian kids. Andrew (15), Matthew (13), and Cassidy (11). They are great. They come from a part member family. Their mom was baptised a few years back but fell away and wouldn't let the kids get baptised. The Lord blessed me so much by letting me start off with such success. I owe it all to Him. I'm nothing without him.

We have a young man who is 9 who is to be baptised on the 26th of this month. His name is Blake. His mom use to be a member but has fallen away. She has been coming back to church now though! Its so awesome to see. We're working with two other guys, one's name is Ned Sixkiller and the other is Jim Hattaway. They both have a lot of potential! I'm excited to see them make the change in their life to progress towards Eternal Happiness. I'm so excited and happy to be apart of this work. It truley is amazing.

The Wards I cover are awesome! I love the members so much. They're amazing. However they could do a lot better with member refferals. They don't do nearly as well as our ward in Washington did. One ward, the Calhan ward, does absolutely amazing. A particular family, The Barks, have done wonders for us. Not only do the parents give us a lot of refferals but the kids do as well! I can't stress enough how important it is for members to participate in missionary work. It is the most effective way to bring people to the Lord. Fellowshipping is also a huge thing. Please, if you see that the missionaries have an investigators at Church do all you can to befriend that person. It's amazing how much more sucess we have when members are warm and welcoming.

I love hearing Brydens doing better. I fasted for him after I found out he was sick. My Mission President keeps telling me I need to stop fasting so much. Its hard though because I know the power of a true fast. Ahhh we have been so blessed by the Lord to be able to partake in fasts! I love it!

I'm glad that my grandma was able to send you some pictures. That is so cute that Bry took them from you and put it in his album. He's such a trooper. I love knowing that he's happy! I love knowing you ALL are happy!

It's getting cold here. I sure hope you sent those packages with my coats in them! We've had a lot of rain and it's predicted to get colder...and fast! Oh well :) I'll endure well! Well I better get going.

Love,Elder Maughan

Maughan Family pictures from Utah...

2009-09-09T10:10:00.001-07:00

Luke says his goodbyes to all his family in Utah.

August 1-5, 2009.

August 26, 2009

2009-09-09T09:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Family,

Oh my heavens...I've only been in Colorado for like seven hours and I've already had the most amazing experiences. First, I don't have time to tell you about my experience on the airplane, but that was awesome. Secondly, I've placed TWO (other) Book of Mormons!

So we get here and instantly we get thrown out into the field tracting! It was so awesome. We of course went with Elder who have been out for a few months so we had a bit of guidance. However, mine was from Mexico...and barely spoke English! We started and I asked if we could pray first, so we did. I offered it. Our FIRST door we knocked was a lady who only spoke Spanish and she let us into her home. The Elder I was with taught the entire first lesson in Spanish. Even though I didn't understand 90% of what was being said I still felt the Spirit so strong! It set the mood for the rest of the day.

We kept tracting my temp. comp. had me do everything. I did my best and left everyone with a "pass along card" even when they weren't interested. Our last house I ended up teaching the first discussion and giving my book of Mormon! It was so awesome! He wanted us to come back tomorrow so we set up an appointment. I won't get to go though. :( Oh well, I'll pray for him.

Anyway, I should go. The point of this letter is to let you know that I'm here and A-Okay! My P-day is Monday so I'll email/write then. Tell eveyone hello and that I love them. It was so great to hear their voices.

Love, Elder Maughan

September 8, 2009

2009-09-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

Hello.

I have to be super quick. I'm so sorry. I'll write to you via snail mail this week. :(.

Things are getting better, don't worry. My comp and I still struggle but i've learned to deal with it. I will not let his attitude drag me down. He has taught me a lot to be honest with ya, but other than that its a true struggle. All the other missionaries hes trained have struggled with him as well. I'm just going to learn everything I can from him and move on. There is no denying the fact that he is my trainer for a reason. I acknowlege the fact that he knows more than I do and that there is a lot I can learn from him.

I'm praying for you guys! At least 3 times a day the Lord hears me spill my soul to him.

So the baptism on Saturday went well! Those kids will be eternally blessed for their choice in following the Savior. It brought tears to my eyes as I sat and watched them do as the Savior did. What a blessing it is to have the Holy Ghost in our life.

Well I really am out of time. Sorry :(. I'll write everyone hand letters today, I haven't heard back from any of the letters I sent last week. I'm sure they'll come soon.

Love ya all. Trust in the Lord! We are nothing without him.

Love, Elder Maughan

Aug. 31 - Elder Maughan hits the field...

2009-08-31T17:05:00.000-07:00

Elder Lucas Maughan, 550 Cheyenne Street Apt. C, Calhan, CO 80808-8633

I'm living in a small town called Calhan. It's about an hour and a half outside of Colorado Springs. We serve in the cities of Calhan, Falcon, and Limon. Falcon is about 30 minutes away from where I live so it's been hard to get out there. Limon is hours away so we don't plan on going out there until the members have referals. Limon is so small that it would not bed effective for us to use our time and driving miles (we're only allowed 1500 a month) to go all the way out there and try to find people to teach. Its hard here in Calhan as well, miles add up. There is only about 100 houses within walking/biking distance. All the other houses are spread out across farm land. Houses generally are miles apart. Falcon has a lot more area to work with but again, we have a problem with using our miles to get all the way out there.

Good news is that we have four people with a baptismal date! How awesome is that? I'm so excited. We have three kids from a part member family being baptised this next saturday and another boy we're teaching who has accepted to baptised the saturday after that! Not a bad way to start right...4 baptisms in my fist three weeks! I guess our 6 HOURS of tracting on Thursday paid off! The Lord is awesome. He made up for the time I spent working my hardest.

I'm going to buy a white pillow case and have everyone that I baptise sign it! I know its kind of weird but it will be cool to have something like that when i get off my mission.

My companions name is Elder Torres. He has been out a little over a year.

So the weather hear is crazy. We had a hail storm two days ago that was insane! The hail was the size of a golfball. It dented our car in a few places! It will rain for twenty mintues super hard then be sunny and hot the rest of the day...it's weird...but I like it.

I live in a dinky apartment but it's okay. It's kind of fun to be honest with ya.

The members feed us well out here, our fridge is stuffed with food. We pretty much are signed up to eat at a members house everynight. I'm not gaining any weight thought, I'm still losing it. But I'm healthy don't worry! I finally was able to pick up some spaghetti O's and cheese! One of these nights I'll get a chance to eat them!

I sure do miss you all.

Love you all so much,
Elder Luke Maughan

P.S. Remember to send my letters and packages here to this address (my apartment) for the next five weeks.

THE AIRPORT PHONE CALL!

2009-08-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

It was so good to hear Luke's voice. He called from the airport and sounded so happy. He is so grateful for all the letters, packages and prayers. A big surprise was when he received a package from his friend, and boss here in Washington that touched him so much.

Daren flew into the SLC airport today and got to see Luke before he flew out to Colorado. It was a sweet surprise!

He really enjoys his companion, Elder Langston and will get to be with him for the next two days at the Mission Home. Then on Wednesday he'll get his new companion, his trainer, and he'll be off to do the work. He said he's nervous but SO happy and excited. He really sounded great! He is also excited to be able to fix his own food, spaggetti o's and cheese is top of his list! :~)

Video Journal - Days 13-15

2009-08-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

Video Journal - Day 12

2009-08-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

Video Journal - Day 9

2009-08-23T18:51:00.000-07:00

Video Journal - Day 6 & 7

2009-08-23T18:32:00.000-07:00

August 18, 2009 - More pictures and videos!

2009-08-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to drop a quick line and say thanks so much for the package! It was awesome. I don't think my week could have started off any better! I love you guys so much. ...

I hope you guys are getting my letters. Well, I better go. Thanks again for the package, I loved it! I'll write ya all on my p-day, which is Wednesday. Love you all. Elder Maughan

PS) Kylee, thanks for getting everyone to put videos on my memory card. For some reason they don't work on my camera but I used my comps camera and the videos worked. Oh my goodness! They were awesome! I loved the singing girls, well done! Daren, my district and I totally rocked out to your version of "God speed the right." Next time send me... "Angels we have heard on high" on the acoustic guitar. Haha. Just kidding. You don't need to but thankds for the song, it was epic. Sandy, next time please don't drive and record at the same time. I knoew how you drive when you're looking at the road, I can't imagine how it is when you're attention is on something else. Mom and Dad (Belnap), thanks as well. I so wish I was there to watch you all off the lawn mower, Dad. Oh well... B-bry you're looking awesome man! You rock, buddy. I love ya!

August 19, 2009 - Oh, one more thing...

2009-08-19T15:29:00.000-07:00

Hey! I have only a few mintues so i'll be quick. That to bad about Kylee and court! Hopefully they'll get it right this time.

Sorry I forgot to add info about my flight to Colorado. I leave next Monday at 10:00 am (thats when I leave the MTC). I dont fly out until 1:15 p.m. though so I'll call you sometime in between that. It'll probably be closer to 12:00 when I call. I hope to talk to all of you. I'm sending home my memory card today along with letters for everyone. I'm glad you guys are enjoying them. Send any letters to the mission home in Colorado, I won't get your letters if you send them here, I'll be gone before they get to me.

Love you all. 23 seconds left...have to hit send. Love, Elder Maughan

August 19, 2009

2009-08-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

Hey! Thanks so much for all of your letters and packages this week. I got an amazing box of donuts from my brother and his family, thanks Cory. To top it off I recieved a package full of my favorite things! You guys are good at guessing what i like :). Seriously though, thanks for writing me everyone. I love getting letters so much. So keep it up!

Nothing to exciting happened this week. Elder Langston and I went to the "TRC" again to teach another investigator, it went really well again. This time we taught the second lesson and had to overcome her objection to baptism. Her senario was a single lady who was Baptised as a baby into the Catholic church. Since she had been Baptised once before she felt like she didnt need to be Baptised again. It was awesome, we totally proved to her that she wasn't Baptised by somebody who has the proper authority. We also added the fact that The Lord see's infant Baptism as a huge sin. We rocked. The Spirit was so strong. After we were done we recieved compliments again on our performance. Don't get me wrong, we have things to work on...but Elder Langston and I have really got the hang of teaching by the Spirit.

So I forgot to mention in my last email that we had to send an Elder home. He was the big black kid in the photos, Elder Mitterling. We sent him home last Wednesday. He said it was okay to share the experience with you guys so I figured I'd let you know. I give him prop's for coming clean. He was a great Elder but he understood that without the Spirit its impossible to teach. If you're not clean then the Spirit won't reside with you and he could feel it. He asked for a blessing so as a district we gave him a blessing of comfort. I'm sure that he'll be coming back out; his desire was strong and he was blessed that he would continue to have that desire.

Speaking of blessings....We've all caught the cold! My entire district is sick. It all started with Elder Smith last Friday and I just got hit with it yesterday. It's terrible. I slept maybe two hours last night. But don't worry I'll be okay. I'm going to ask for a blessing tonight if I'm not feeling better. Anyway, a story about blessings. Yesterday morning one of the sister missionaries in the district, Sister Wingate, woke up really sick. She couldn't see out of her right eye and she had a really bad head ache. We sent her to the health clinic to get checked out and she had some sort of panic attack type thing while she was there. They kept her in the clinic all day and just said it was due to stress and she need to relax. Us Elders are really close with our Sisters in the district so we checked up on her several times. She ended up asking me to give her a blessing. It was awesome! I felt the spirit really strongly again. But it kind of made me homesick because I thought about the last person I gave a blessing too and I really started to miss that person (I won't mention your name so you don't get embarrassed). It was pretty cool.

Well I'm about out of time so I should get going. I'll write you all hand letter later today. Thanks again for writing me. I love all of you guys. Take Care.

Love,Elder Maughan

P.S. Kylee I hope everything goes well in court today, I'm fasting for you today. And I tried sending an email to Sandy but it said the address was wrong. Can you send me the correct address please? Mom, you're the only one who is allowed to email me back, the rest will need to hand write a letter. Oh, and don't worry...the weight I lost is because of the lack of Mt. Dew and Junk food. I'll be able to check my email here in a few hours for about 5 minutes so hopefully you've written back by then!

Silly Videos...To post or not to post?!

2009-08-18T08:06:00.000-07:00

Video Journal - Days 5-6

2009-08-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

Video Journal - Day 4

2009-08-13T18:34:00.000-07:00

Video Journal - Day 3

2009-08-13T18:15:00.000-07:00

2009-08-13T17:36:00.000-07:00

August 9, 2009
Family,
Hey, I hope everyone is doing okay. Kylee, Brooklyn, and Sandy thanks so much for your letters/note. It meant so much to me to get them. I wish you could have seen the smile on my face when we pulled out two letters for "Elder Maughan" on the first day. Andy Sandy when I found your note in my suit pocket it made my day! Ilove you guys so much. I can't tell you exactly how much it meant.
I'm sending home my memory card for my camera. Sadly a lot of the pictures I took didn't stay saved on my camera. soame with some of the videos. Oh well, something is better than nothing, right? I started to do a "video journal" so you guys can hear my voice, see my face, and whatever else you get from a video. Feel free to post them on my blog so my grandparents can see them. I wasn't sure at first if doing that was a very good idea or not, I was a fraid of breaking a rule or something. So I asked my Branch President if it was okay an d he said it was a very good idea. He told me to send it home often too. He's all for making sure families can see that their missionaries are doing okay. :)
My P-day is on Wednesday so I'll write you all then. I'm not supposed to write letters except on P-day, but my Branch Pres. also said it was good to write a "short" letter whenever I send a memory card home.
So I love you all...very much. I'm excited to be here. The Gospel is so amazing. I love it. Thanks for your support in every way!
Love,
Elder Maughan

Pictures of Elder Maughan's farewell.

2009-08-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

Luke with Dad Belnap.

Luke with his soul mate and brother from another mother, Nick.

Luke with another brother from another mother.

One proud Mom! Mom Belnap wrapping her arounds Luke. We hope she can't fit her arms around him when he gets home! :) The Mecham Family got up to say goodbye to Luke.

We just got a letter! Our first letter!

2009-08-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

Family,

How is everyone? I hope you all are doing well. Thanks to everyone who wrote me. I wrote you all back today. You'll obviously get this first though. Kylee I think will be the first one who gets her letter, I finished her letter first and dropped it off in the mail before I did the others. Just know, you all have letters coming. Thanks so much for writing me. I've found that getting letters actually helps me overcome home sickness when I get it. So please, keep writing :)!

Its now been an entire week here at the MTC. The new Elders came in today. I'm so glad I'm not them right now :). This week has been long but at the same time it's flown by. I should get my flight plans tomorrow. I'm excited about that. The first few days were hard but I just put my best effort into keeping my mind focused on why i'm here and it made a big difference.

I'll share some experiences real quick, I don't have much time. I'm only given thirty minutes on my p-day to email then I'm automatically logged off. Since this was the first time I've used my email I had to register and that took forever! First off, being here has helped me grow so much. I've only been here a week and I can already tell a slight difference. I've worked really hard (that helps with the whole home sickness thing too) and it's paid off. The most amazing experience happend yesterday to Elder Langston and I, but first let me tell you a little about our companionship. As some of you know Elder Langston was sick and so they pushed his arrival date to last saturday instead of on wednesday like the rest of us. I was worried when he didn't show saturday. He ended up coming in on Sunday. So he has only been here for 3 days. So Monday was a busy day and we didn't get very many oppertunities to teach or even go over a lesson as a companionship. We finally had a couple chances to teach a few other Elders around campus. It went okay considering how little time we've had together.

Then yesterday came around and we were informed that we had to teach the complete first lesson to what is called a "TRC Investigator". These are people that get paid to come and act as real investigators for the missionaries to teach. So they're the big ballers around here. They even have rooms that are set up to look like a living room of a normal person. Oh, they also record our 45 mintues with them and give the recording to our teachers to go over. Scary right? Especially because our entire district was never informed we had to plan a lesson for this...all our teach could say was "whoops". Oh well. Anyway to make a long story short Elder Langston and I went in there and Nailed it. We did so good. I did most of the teaching because Elder Langston hasn't had much experience. However, he new when to come in and what he was suppose to teach, towards the end of his part he got nervous and kinda lost it so i picked it up for him and we finished it our well. We commited our investigator to pray about the Book of Mormon, to know Joseph Smith was a true Prophet, and to know if the things we taught are true. We also got her to agree to come to church with us. At the end she said it was by far one of the best first lessons she's ever been taught. After Elder Langston and I talked about how The Spirit really helped us out. And it's true, we prepared a short scripted lesson on our way to teach and we both felt impressed to take it in a completely different direction! It was awesome.

Well I haveto go, I'm about to run out of time and I want you to actually get this so I kinda need to hit the send button :). Know that I love you all and am greatful for the support you have given me. Please write, I love getting letters and hint-of-lime chips (even though I haven't gotten any of those yet:]). Take care, you all are in my prayers.

Love,
Elder Maughan

Bryden's baptism...

2009-07-30T17:40:00.000-07:00

Luke is almost there!

2009-07-30T08:03:00.001-07:00

Well, today will be Luke's last day in Washington. He's starting to say his goodbyes. Those of us not going to Utah with him are sad but we are also happy and so excited for him. It is his great desire to serve the Lord and we are so proud of him. We know the Lord with be with him and will bless him so much.

We'll finish getting him all packed up today. Of course, then he'll have to unpack when he gets to Utah and gathers all his stuff from the four corners...

Luke is planning to go to the temple on Tuesday morning with Mom and Dad Belnap, his Grandma and anyone else who would like to join him. Then he'll will be set apart on Tuesday evening and Dad Belnap will become his companion. He'll enter the MTC on Wednesday!

The Falters in Washington are creating this blog for him and we'll do our best to keep it updated. Check back often and see Elder Maughan's journey in the Colorado Colorado Springs Mission.

His MTC address:
Elder Lucas Arol Maughan
MTC Mailbox #____
Provo MTC
CO Colorado Springs Mission
2005 N 900 E
Provo UT 84604

He'll be in the MTC for three weeks and then his mission home address will be:
Elder Luke Maughan
CO Colorado Springs Mission
4090 Center Park Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80916

-Sandy