Land of the neverending summer

Ah San Diego is so great! I love this work and the Hand of God is very present in the work! 

One tender mercy is that in the last 3 months more families are being taught and baptized than in the last 4 years!

With San Diego being warm we gets me San Diego Vibes... saw a man yesterday breaking a boogie on intersection corner with a big radio speaker on his Shoulder Haha wish I got a video because he was really dancing. He was sweating pretty good. 

We have been having some cool experiences going from home to home. People have been willing to listen for "5 mins" they say so we teach a short restoration then they end up asking us a million questions and we just say those are some great questions we will answer those next time we come, does Friday or Saturday work? Bang got them!

I was on Exchanges with Elder Partridge this last week. And it was 8:40 at night and we were trying to find a member's home who the ward had not seen in about a year. After a few wrong doors, we are walking past the house at the very end of the street. And this big Ol Great Dane comes around the corner with this big deep bark and this little ankle biter chihuahua. Literally woke is the entire neighbourhood. Every dog on the street started barking at us... keep in mind it is 8:40. This guy comes out of the house and yells at us "who are you!" "Uh we are the missionaries for the Church..." "Oh come in through the gate on the side there" 

Ya super nice guy turned out to be the family we were looking for and he basically told us that he was about to scream at us to get lost until we said we were missionaries. 

In my studies, I found this scripture very impactful and very applicable to our day. 

We as a people miss the mark because we focus on the questions that really do not matter. The Lord should not have to shake us to do the right thing and he is mindful.of each one of us that even a Child can understand the truths of Eternity. The very truths at "wise" men will spend a lifetime trying to find the answer to life's biggest questions. 

Jacob 4:14

"sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand"

"We are trying to become like Christ"

Love Elder Palmer

New and Everlasting Covenant

one of them quick weeks!!! We have been doing so good the last few days, we went on and Exchange out in El Centro about 2 hours away. And it was so fun we stayed the night with the Elders and then got to work first thing in the morning. I was on a bike with Elder Espino who is a native spanish speaker but he grew up in Washington picking cherries (he is a literal Cherry Picker haha) he is so awesome he is a really hard worker and connects with the people really well. we were biking down the street and we saw this guy biking towards us so we stopped and said hey how is your day and the guy actually stopped his bike and started talking to us... ended up biking with him to a park bench a few blocks away and then we taught him the restoration in Spanish. haha well Elder Espino did I listened and then Elder Espino translated for me!

Elder Rausch and I are definitely having way to much fun together!!! we get along super well and are very open with each other, the best part is we are just straight-up weird together haha the YSA ward loves us and we are kept very busy. It has been a huge blessing we wake up every day with stuff to do.

This week I have really been studying the New and Everlasting Covenant "temple sealing" 

it has been blowing my mind it is a simple yet very profound doctrine!

There are some really amazing promises that come from entering into the New and Everlasting Covenant. (Doctrine and Covenants 132:19) that is only one verse! But it goes on in Verse26 that being Sealed does not Guarantee exaltation. I Heard a Jewish Rabbi speak at a community event this week and she said "we must pray with our feet and with our hands" in other words we must Go and Do.

I love this Work and I feel so grateful that I have to opportunity to Serve my the only true and Living God. Jesus Christ lives and has borne our griefs (Mosiah 14:4)

Love Elder Palmer

Practical joke

We have been super busy with Transfers. And I got to stay with Elder Rausch! Finally, the streak has been broken, of a new companion every transfer. We had a good week though we got to play doubles tennis with Shaurya one of our friends that is pretty good at tennis but somehow Elder Rausch and I held our own and almost won. Tennis is way more fun than I previously thought Haha.

We also decided to pull a little joke on the new missionaries as they came into the mission... we even had President Stubbs in on it!

We placed bike helmets under each seat in the van. Then we picked them up from the airport and once they all piled in we turned around and were giving some things to know about the mission before we got on the road..."you may notice Helmets under your seat" without question everyone reached down and put the helmet on their heads (it was way too easy) 

We then explained the reason being that we have had a number of bad crashes in the mission recently so this was a standard that we have been asked to live... 

We drove 45mins to the stake center (helmets on) then had dinner and got to know them it wasn't until the next morning that our scheme was figured out Haha. 

Most of the missionaries got into the car and asked their trainer for a helmet but... the trainers had no idea what they were talking about Haha. 

As a mission we have really been focusing in letter of the law and Spirit of the law it has been extremely eye-opening to me as I have really pondered it over the last few months

What helps describe it best is Adam and Eve

The letter of the law was to not partake of the fruit. But God had a great purpose "to multiply and replenish the earth" Eve understood that she need to transgress the law to fulfill God's greater purpose. 

That is very simple but I have a lot more to say on the subject. 

Love Elder Palmer