Great week!

    Hello!
            Elder Lemmon and I had another fantastic week. We taught a lot of lessons and found more people to teach! The members here are very missionary minded and they love helping us out with lessons, but also with providing activities for the Ward. On Sunday we had a mingle or linger longer after church and it was a really good way for us to get to know the members better and see them in a comfortable environment.
            We had a lot of less active members attend church yesterday! That made us another very happy.
            I got a wedding invitation in the male this week! Picture is attached below. It's from my cousin, Cameron Williams, and he is getting married in May! Thanks for the invitation Cameron! I know the wedding is somewhat close to me but I don't think I will be able to go, but the invitation was really nice! I'm so happy for you and your fiancé.
            I'm sure things will be great! I have been trying to study the New Testament more lately. I also have been focusing on how I can find strength through the Savior's Atonement and help others find that strength as well. I read something really interesting this morning. Matthew 11:28–30: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall  find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
            I express my appreciation for the infinite and eternal sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Atonement is not only for people who have made mistakes and are trying to be good. It is for good people who are trying to become better and serve faithfully and who desire an ongoing and mighty change of heart. I know that Christ's Atonement can help us maintain a mighty change of heart everyday. The things we do everyday will influence who we become. Our purpose in this life is to become like the Savior. The enabling power or grace that comes through the Atonement of Jesus Christ can help us accomplish this purpose.
            Another scripture that comes to mind as I think about this concept is Mosiah 3:19 in the Book of Mormon. "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."
            As we yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, put off the natural man, and become a saint through the Savior's Atonement, I know that we can develop submissiveness, meekness, humility, patience, and charity. Our redeemer has promised us that His grace is sufficient. I know that it is. I have felt his grace change me and enable me to become a powerful missionary. I have truly felt his influence everyday, and I'm so grateful for the love that he has for me. Christ loves and knows each of us perfectly. He knows exactly what we need and when we need it. Words solely cannot accurately express my gratitude for the Savior. Without him I am nothing, but with him and his grace I can become something meaningful and become an instrument in his hands. May we discover what the Lord's will is for us, and follow it. He loves us so much, and I promise you that as you follow the plan he has for you, that you will become a better person and an amazing disciple of Christ. You will become more than you can become on your own.
            A cool experience that I have been having this week is actually a combination of the little things going on in the area. A lot of less active members of the church or non-members around here are very bitter. They usually have the attitude that they have heard it all before and there is nothing that we can share with them that will change their minds. Elder Lemmon and I pray a lot as a companionship throughout our day. Every time we pray, we ask the Lord to give us strength to become powerful teachers and we ask that the hearts of those around us may be softened. We ask that those around us may be willing to listen. During my time in this area I have seen so many people let us in and simply give us a shot. That to me is a miracle. Our prayers and fasting has been paying off. I have seen the Lord's influence in our area because he is preparing the hearts of those around us. It's been really neat to see that.
            I know that the Lord has his timing for each and every one of his children. All we can do is invite those around us to partake of His Atonement. An invitation to come into Christ never hurts because you never know what truly is going on in their life. It might be a perfect time to invite them depending on how the Lord is working with them through challenges and the influences of mortality. I believe that this phrase so frequently used in the church, "the Lord is preparing his children to receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and we must find the elect. We must find those that he is preparing", can be commonly misinterpreted. Lots of people believe that we must solely look for the elect. The trick is that we don't know how ready someone is or if they are elect until we invite them. An invitation for a friend to attend mutual could change their life. An invitation to a ward activity, or a friend's baptism, or a party can change the life of someone you know and love. Please think and pray about someone you can invite to come unto Christ. There are so many different ways to invite, and so many different opportunities we have to invite. The most important thing we can do as disciples of Christ is invite our fellow men to return to the fold of God. I have seen that in my area.
            I have seen that in my other areas. I have seen that throughout my entire life. Invitations bring a chance for change. Keeping covenants or promises we have made bring opportunities for sincere repentance and progression in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love my Savior and know that he lives.
            Have a great week! I hope my message has inspired and edified you today. Thank you for your support. I can feel your prayers on my behalf and I sincerely thank you for them.
            Love,
            Elder Strate

Wedding Invitation and picture from Cameron! :)

Loving his new area

     Hello!
     I found this cool link on lds.org. It has one of my favorite quotes from conference: https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2016-03-015-choose-the-harder-right?category=april-2016-general-conference-video-quotes&lang=eng It's just a simple little thing that we can share with our friends and family. I want to invite all of you to share this or to share something that you learned at conference with a friend. At the least, it will help make someone's day a little brighter. I know the words of the prophet and apostles are from God. The most important teachings we can apply into our lives are the revelations we receive today personally and through the Lord's chosen servants. I loved conference and I have been re-reading/watching some of the talks. It's been great for me and I have learned so much. 

     We had an amazing week! We taught a lot of lessons to less-active members and we also have one of our investigators in date to be baptized! His name is Julio Garcia and he is from Puerto Rico. He is going to get married to his girlfriend in May and then get baptized early June. There are a few legal things that we have to work out so that's why the dates are a little ways away, but he and his girlfriend are both solid. They both came to church yesterday and they love the gospel. His girlfriend is going to have a baby soon and they are both really excited to raise him in the environment that the gospel brings. It's been such a blessing to meet them and they are progressing well at the moment. They read their scriptures and pray together daily. They attend church. They are simply awesome! :)   

     We learn in Alma 37:6; "that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass". I've seen this promise to be true with the people that I have worked with throughout my mission. The people that truly want to come unto Christ will read their scriptures, pray, and attend church. We call this CPR (church, pray, read) haha because it saves lives. I know that as we do the small and simple things that the Lord will bring greats things (such as miracles) into our lives. I love this work so much! 

         Elder Lemmon and I are getting along great. He is from Vancouver, Washington. We have been working really hard and the Lord continues to bless us with more to do each day. Our area is starting to really pick up and I'm so grateful to God for helping us in this work. Without him our work would obviously be in vain. As we receive revelation for the people we teach, the work becomes so much easier because the Lord's will is involved. The prophet Joseph Smith taught, "Salvation cannot come without revelation. It is vain for anyone to minister without it."

      We are performing the work of salvation, so for us to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man we need to be receiving revelation. We are called to minister unto God's children and revelation helps us accomplish this task.

      My trainer from the Calgary Canada mission, Hudson Smith (formerly known as Elder Smith ;) hahaha) came and took us out to lunch on Saturday! 

      It was so weird but so cool at the same time to see him. He taught me so much on my mission and I know without his help and support at the start, there is no way I would be the missionary and disciple of Christ I am today. It was super cool to see him, and he's going to BYU so I will see him after my mission too! :)

      This week should be great! Thanks for all of the support, it is greatly appreciated!

         Love,

            Elder Strate 

Loved Conference

     Hello!
       Elder Lemmon and I are doing amazing. He's like my little brother, I love him so much. He's super diligent and obedient. He's also very humble and willing to learn and grow. I loved how during conference Stephen W. Owen talked about how the best leaders are also the best followers. That inspired me, I know that Christ was perfect at both. He perfectly followed and submitted to his Father's will. He also was a perfect leader because he led people to His gospel by teaching them His ways. Elder Lemmon is a great example of that to me. He's helping me realize that I need to try to be more humble and more willing to learn. I have been out for a long time now and have lots of experience, but I still need to stay humble and willing to learn.
     Progression is an eternal principle. We cannot reach perfection in this life so there is always room for improvement. One of my goals is to not become complacent with where I am in my progression and conversion. I love the Lord and I know that he will help me with this goal.
     Our new area is amazing! We are covering part of the Arbor Branch which is in the Liberty stake, part of the Lucero Ward which is in the central stake, and also the Mount Ensign 3rd Ward which is part of the Salt Lake stake. These are all Spanish units. Throughout my entire mission I have always covered 1 Spanish Ward or branch when I was in the Spanish program. Now I am covering 3 (well, kind of) so it's going to be a test, but I have a great companion and we have met some of the
leaders in our wards and they all seem great so far.
   

     We took a less active and her non-member boyfriend to conference yesterday and he said that he wants to be baptized now! All we have to do is help them get married and then he will be ready to be baptized! We are meeting with them on Tuesday to discuss this with them! Our new area is already been fruitful and Elder Lemmon and I both think that there is a lot potential here! We love it!    
       I loved conference so much. This was one of the best overall general conferences I can remember in my life. Everyone's talks were on the ball and very straight forward. I loved every second of it. President Monson spoke for very shot amounts of time but his talks were still very sweet and powerful.
      Elder Oaks talk from the Sunday afternoon session was incredible. I thought it was inspiring how he taught us that temptation enables us to become agents. When we are tempted or face opposition, the divine gift of agency that we all have been given comes into play. Christ suffered so we could have agency essentially, and when we face opposition and exercise our agency, we progress. Progression is the purpose of life, and we could not progress if we didn't have trials, challenges, opposition, and agency. Agency is one of the central doctrines to the plan of salvation. I want to invite you to read his talk. It was very powerful and reminded me that opposition comes because the Lord loves us and wants us to become like him.
       Have a great week! The weather down here is starting to heat up a bit but that's good because I need to get a tan before I come home ;)  haha.
       Love,
           Elder Strate

        Ana Gonzales and her sister decided to do my hair! Haha Ana is a 9 year old investigator that will be baptized soon!

       Conference pics - Nicole went to lunch with us on Saturday. We ran into Elder Barfuss, it was great to see him. Dave Forbes (dad's friend) came down from Medicine Hat for conference and bought us pizza for supper before the Priesthood Session.

  
                       This is the perfect meme

Breaking in a new area .... transferred

     Hey!

     Sorry, this letter will be short! I don't have much time because of transfers. I'm getting transferred on Wednesday! Total time in this area came out to about 7 months, and I loved every second of it. I'm going to miss this area so much, but I know that I am ready for a change. I have made friends here that I'm going to stay in contact with, which is great! Serving as AP and working with President everyday was very rewarding.

       I'm going to cover the Lucero Spanish Ward and part of the Arbor Spanish Branch which is like downtown and east Salt Lake City. I'm very excited to be where I am at. I only have 3 transfers left after this one ends, which means I'm probably going to finish my mission here. I have learned so much throughout my mission, and I'm excited to use all of those skills and work my very hardest right here at the end. I'm excited to go into a new area that hasn't been worked for a bit, I like jump starting dead areas. I've done it before on my mission, so I can do it again.

      I'm going back to the Spanish Program and I'm going to be a District Leader. I'm super excited to finish my mission back out in the field and in Spanish. The Lord knew that's what I need and I'm so grateful for that. I have a great companion, Elder Lemmon from Washington. He's been out about 6 months. So I'M PUMPED!!!!! I'm gonna finish my mission here.

      Elder Ohl is my replacement as AP. He's from Pennsylvania, but his mom is originally from Cardston. So it will be Elders Haight and Ohl now as APs. 

      I have tickets to every conference session on Saturday. I got tickets to the Saturday AM session from the mission but I got the rest from local members. I'm still trying to get tickets for Sunday but if I don't, that's ok. I'm super excited to go.

      We got your package, we ate dinner with President and Sister Spendlove, then we taught some lessons! It was a good Easter.

       I know Christ lives, and I'm so grateful for his Atonement. Yesterday was Easter Sunday, and it was so fitting to finish my time here testifying of the Savior and the reality of his Atonement to the members I have been serving. We have some people on date for baptism here in the YSA Ward so hopefully I will be returning to the area for some baptisms.

     Have a great week!

      Love,

         Elder Strate

Birthday Surprises

Hey!
            I had a great week! We taught some wonderful lessons and found some more great people to work with. I have loved serving in this area because the members help us with finding constantly, and that makes our job a lot easier.
            My birthday was on Friday. Our mission sends out a transfer update at the start of every transfer, which includes the birthdays of all the missionaries in the mission for that transfer. As a result, everyone knew it was my birthday haha. I had a lot of cake and different treats given to me on Friday as a result. We went to a district meeting in Bountiful in the morning and one of the sisters in the district made cake, but she didn't know we were gonna come! Hahaha it was so crazy.

                The picture below shows us eating the cake after the meeting.

            That afternoon we attended a district meeting in Farmington. One of my former companions, an Elder Martinez, stood up in front of everyone and said he had an announcement. He continued to announce my birthday, so the whole zone sang for me. It was embarrassing to say the least hahaha but I know everyone had good intentions. My birthday was really sweet.

            Some missionaries made me cupcakes that say Feliz Cumpleanos Elder Strate. Feliz Cumpleanos means happy birthday in Spanish hahaha they were delicious!

            I got lots of nice cards and emails from everyone! Thank you so much! I also got a package from my parents. They sent me a ton of chocolate, like I mean a ton. Hahaha I have enough to share, so I will probably end up doing that. 

     

            My mission President and his family had me over at their house for cake on my birthday too. That was really cool and thoughtful of them. It was a nice day.

            We have transfers at the end of the month. By then I will have been in this area for 7 months.... Wow time has flown. We will see what the Lord has in store for me. I'm willing to do whatever he needs and I'm excited to see how I do these next few months.

            Have a great week! I know that Christ lives and loves each and every one of us.

            Love,

                  Elder Strate

Birthday

Derek's Mission President's wife took him over a cake today! Love that he's being so well taken care of.

Another Great Week

            Hey everyone!                                                                       March 14, 2016
           

            This week was great! We had some awesome lessons this week. We had a bunch with some less active members that we are working with, and a few with some non-members. Elaine is going to have her baptismal date moved to April. We have the Provo City Temple dedication this Sunday, and General Conference is coming up so we figured that she would have better fellowship in the Ward if she has more opportunities to go. She has been having trouble getting to church because of work, and yesterday she was gonna come but she was in Heber with her family for the weekend, so she couldn't make it in time for our 10am meetings. We are going to meet with her today at 4:30. We are both extremely excited for that! She has been doing great, but she simply needs a little more time to prepare.
            We gave talks in one of our wards yesterday. It was amazing! I've grown to love speaking in front of groups of people. It's been such a miracle for me to do so, because that is a talent that will be a blessing for my whole life. I spoke on faith, and how faith is a principle of action and power. With faith we can see miracles and receive revelation. My companion and I had a lot of members compliment us on our talks afterwards, so apparently we did a good job.
            I played catch last p-day! It was the first time I had played catch for such a long time. My arm feels loose and it was so nice to play a little toss. I played catch with my companion and a less active member, Joe White, that we are working with. He loves baseball, he used to play for Utah State so it's been cool connecting with him through baseball.
            This week I read a talk by Elder Bednar. He establishes a pattern of prayer that I think is profound;
Ask in Faith - Elder David A. Bednar (2008 April General Conference) "If you and I would truly pray and ask in faith, as did Joseph Smith--if we would pray with the expectation to act and not just to express--then the work of proclaiming the gospel would move forward in a remarkable way, Step by Step Process for how to pray in faith

            - Thanking Heavenly Father for the doctrines and ordinances of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, which bring hope and happiness into our lives.
            - Asking for courage and boldness to open our mouths and share the gospel with our family and friends.
            - Entreating Heavenly Father to help us identify individuals and families who will be receptive to our invitation to be taught by the missionaries in our homes.
            - Pledging to do our part this day and this week and petitioning for help to overcome anxiety, fear, and hesitation.
            - Seeking for the gift of discernment-- for eyes to see and ears to hear missionary opportunities as they occur.
            - Praying fervently for the strength to act as we know we should.

            I testify that prayer becomes meaningful as we ask in faith and act. I invite all of us to pray in faith about our divinely given mandate to proclaim the gospel. As we do so, I promise doors will open and we
will be blessed to recognize and act upon the opportunities that will be provided."
            Now, I'm not quoting this saying that all of your prayers need to be step by step as Elder Bednar teaches in this specific talk. Prayer should come from the heart, but this pattern is a suggestion of how to
pray if you are looking for more missionary opportunities. I think it's amazing, and I love how when we pray for opportunities and act accordingly, the Lord guides us through the Holy Ghost. Then, when we
have a chance to share the restored gospel, we will know exactly what to say and how to say it. I want to invite all of you to give this a shot this week, and pray for specific individuals or families that you know could use a boost this week.
            Have a great week!
                                                Love,
                                                            Elder Strate