week 79 Merry Christmas call

No email today because it's call day!

We had a great call with Connor, he's happy and working hard, feeling so blessed to be in Houston.

week 78 Feliz Navidad

Hey family here is a quick update of what’s been going on. Our investigators that came to church a couple weeks ago have been hard to get back in with and contact so we are most likely gonna move on form them but we will see! Pray for them! We found a couple awesome new people this week that met with missionaries before. We had our ward Christmas party which was pretty fun. We had some less actives come that we’ve been working with and then they came to church as well so making some progress there. We are starting to do noches de hogares with families in the ward to help strengthen the unity in the ward so we will se show that goes. I gave a baptismal interview in Waller to a super prepared guy that got baptized on Sunday. This week we have our Christmas conference on Wednesday so I’m excited for that. There’s some good things happening here and in the ward with the members so we are expecting some big changes. We went bowling today for pday so I’ll send some pics from that. Love y’all and I’m excited to FaceTime on Christmas! 

week 77 Snow

Hey everyone here’s a quick update of the week. I’m in the same area and I got my new como Elder Wells. I was companions with him back in June in the woodlands so it’s been fun to be together again. This is his last transfer so I’ll be killing him. We had a crazy week cause Elder Wells is struggling with some health issues so we were inside for most the week and in and out of the hospital. He is doing better so we hope to get back to work soon. It snowed here which was pretty crazy to see I never thought I’d see that here in Houston haha. Sorry this is short! Happy birthday yesterday Treyton!! Love y’all. 
I was so cold ha

- Elder Cammack -

week 76

Hey guys! 

We had exchanges and I went with Elder Hadley again. We were able to give a girl a blessing that has been struggling with depression. She has gone through some hard stuff and so we gave her a blessing and invited her to read the Book of Mormon and pray. We haven’t been able to see her since so we are hoping to get in again this next week. 

We found a new family from Cuba that we have been teaching for a couple weeks. Let me just say that Cuban accents are soooo hard to understand haha. Especially when they are older... I understand about half of what the parents say and so a member there is essential lol. They were able to come to church yesterday and they brought their grandson as well! It really pumped up the ward to see them there and it’s getting everybody excited about missionary work. We are excited to get in with them again this week and set some bap dates! 

Our investigator angel that came to church a couple weeks ago wasn’t able to come to church but we did set a baptismal date with him for the 23rd of December. It was the coolest lesson ever. We went in to talk about the tree of life and holding on to the rod of iron but as we started reading I stopped and asked him what he understood of the story and he already had read it and understood it perfectly. He is a super awesome guy and we are gonna do all we can to help him get baptized in a couple of weeks! 

Being a missionary during this Christmas season is so amazing. I love being able to testify of our savior and help people out during this time of year. Our whole zone is super pumped about it too. We found 44 new investigators this past week as a Zone and are seeing so many miracles. I’m so thankful for my Heavenly Father and for his grace and mercy to help me and everybody I work with even through all of my imperfections. 

We got transfer calls and I’m going to be stayin here in Louetta and my comp will be leaving. I’m so happy to be staying here with all the stuff going on. I love this area and ward. I have seen more ups and downs here and grown more than any other area. Love y’all and and I hope you have a great week! #LightTheWorld

week 75 Happy Turkey Day

Hey everybody! We had a super good week full of miracles. 

Btw I’m super sorry for slacking on the emails lately to everybody. I’ve had some super busy pdays lately... 

This week we found awesome new prepared people!! One was a young guy from Cuba named Luis. He’s lived here for about a year. When we knocked his door nobody answered and we stood there forever and then as we were walking away we heard the door open and he says hey come back!! So we talked to him and taught him about the Book of Mormon. He is working here to provide for his family back in Cuba. He is a super humble and loving guy. I’m so stoked to go back and teach him more!

We also met a part member family that we’ve been trying to get in with for a long time. We seem to always go by when nobody is there... but this time the 17 year old daughter that hasn’t been baptized answered. She said she has had all the lessons from the missionaries before. She’s had many baptismal dates but then they have never gone through. We asked if she’d be willing to set a goal for baptism and to work up to it again she said yeah so we are excited to go back and help her understand the blessings that come from being baptized and coming to church! 

We met another family from Cuba! Lemme just say real quick that old Cubans are soooo hard to understand haha. They speak so fast and deep and don’t pronounce their words but Elder Gibby and I got through it somehow lol. We met them when we were looking for a less actives apartment. While we were walking around the complex, an older lady come up to us and said “hey I’ve seen you guys before!!” We started talking to her and it turns out that missionaries taught her awhile back. She said they told her in Cuba that the Church of Jesus Christ was restored in the americas. So ever since she’s been here she’s been looking for it. We explained a little how it’s been restored and about the Book of Mormon. We are excited to teach them as well!

The lord is truly blessing us with so many people and it’s been so fun. I’m truly so happy doing the work of the lord. This area has been difficult and I haven’t seen very much success here. But through that time I learned and grew so much. This thanksgiving I’m so thankful for the trials I’ve had on my mission. I have learned that sometimes no matter how obedient or righteous we are, the lord still puts us through trials. I’ve learned how to continue on with faith and being happy in those difficult times. I’m thankful for the atonement of Jesus Christ that strengthens me everyday to improve myself. I’m thankful for the opportunity that I have to change through him. It gives me hope each day. The church is true!! 

Last night we were able to watch the face to face event with Elder Oaks and Ballard. I wanted to write a few notes I took from it. They explained how every person needs balance between spirituality and worldly things. They explained how those who keep the sabbath day Holy have a built in balance between those things. We are more happier and confident in ourselves when we keep that one simple commandment. Another thing I really loved was some advice that he gave to a recent convert of the church. He was directing it towards recent converts but I think it can apply to every member. He talked about how we need to analyze our lives and apply righteous routines. He gave an example on if one persons weakness was with the word of wisdom, and he walked by a bar everyday going home, he would need to apply a righteous routine by going a different way home. We all have our own weaknesses. We all struggle with certain things. If we apply righteous routines in our own daily lives we can overcome these things with time. 

Sorry this email is super long... Idk if people even read these things anymore after 18 months lol... but for those who do thanks for stickin with me for all this time! 6 more months to go... Love you all! Have a great week. 

1. Our zone flag!

2. Throwback to the bikes 

3. Lunch after district meeting

4. Guy riding a horse in the middle of Houston in PJs lol

5. Me going down a slide after tracting 

week 74 no family letter

week 73 EARN IT

GO STROSSSSSSS 

This city has been so pumped from the World Series it’s been super cool to see. To have this city win the World Series right after Hurricane Harvey has been amazing! 

So this week our investigator Angel came to church. We had a super good lesson with him with a member of our ward. He had some really cool questions about what happens to people if they die without the restored gospel. Our member answered them perfectly. He is such a miracle. We are excited to set a baptismal date with him this week. 

We found some awesome new people this week that are so prepared and excited to learn. One is a young couple that is about to have their first child. They are scared to have a kid in this crazy world. We explained how the gospel will protect them from the dangers of the world. We are excited to go back and talk to them again. 

In this week in personal study I focused on humility. Im gonna focus on one Christlike attribute each week til the end of the year. I felt myself change as I read and focused and humility. It is something that is changing me and my mission. 

We got a car this week so it’s gonna be a lot easier to get work done. 

Love y’all have a good week!

-Elder Cammack-

week 72

We got to exchange some emails back and forth, but no family letter this week.

We sent him a couple of jerseys he requested so he is a happy boy.

Next week! Something to look forward to.

week 71

Hey what’s up guys!? It’s been a pretty crazy week. Lots of stuff to tell! 

So to start out on the bad news... I dropped my iPad and shattered the screen lol but luckily our ward clerk works at a phone repair shop and is hooking me up... #bendiciones 

We went on exchanges with the assistants this week and it was super fun. I went with elder bailey. He is from Huntsville UT which is a small town just through the canyon from north Ogden. We knew some of the same people from there so it was cool to talk about that. He is a stud!! We had a super cool miracle while on exchanges. We were riding bikes and we pulled up to a stoplight. A guy with his window down was stopped next to us. We talked to him at the stoplight and gave him a card with our info. The next morning he called us and said that he couldn’t get us out of his mind and he had a burning sensation that he needed to call us. So we met with him at the church that day and taught him the restoration. He said it hit home and it’s the message he’s been searching for a long time. He sadly doesn’t speak Spanish so we referred him to the English elders but it was a really cool experience. 

We also got a sweet referral from one of our members this past week. A members friend came to our ward party and then we had a noche de hogar with that family a couple days later. They said he enjoyed the party and said we show go stop by. We meet by and taught him and he is super awesome. He is from Honduras and has had a crazy life. He came here looking for something better. We explained that the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is what he is missing in his life and is what will change him. We are excited to continue working with him. 

Lately, we have ran into a lot of people that have had questions on why they have had to come to this country. They don’t want to leave their homes and their families but their countries are in such terrible conditions that they don’t really have another choice if they want a stable life. A scripture that I found that I really love that applies to this situation is found in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 1:6,9. 

6 Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord.

9 Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall keep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their inheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever.

I remember awhile ago my mission president telling me that as Spanish missionaries in the United States we have a special responsibility. People come here for a better life. They come here searching for something that they might not know exactly what it is. It is our responsibility to help them understand that what they are searching for is the restored gospel Jesus Christ and that god sent them here for that purpose. love sharing these scriptures with the people that have these questions. The Book of Mormon answers questions of the soul. The Book of Mormon brings peace into peoples lives. The Book of Mormon is true. 

We got transfer info and Elder Gibby and I will be staying together to finish out training! Im looking forward to another great transfer! I didn’t take any pics from this past week so I will send one from about a month ago that I never sent of Milena and Lucas baptism and a random selfie of elder hunt and I lol. Love y’all. Have a good week. 

- Elder Cammack -

week 70

It was a pretty crazy week. We had a noche de hogar with a family in the ward. It was super awesome. We are having another tonight and talking about missionary work and helping the kids want to serve missions. A recent convert in our ward came up to us at stake conference and said her brother wants us to teach him so he can be baptized. We are super excited for that and hopefully it goes through this week. We had a ward party and some non members came to that. They said they are going to come to English clas this week. Hopefully we can start teaching them there. We thought of an idea to start a Facebook page for English class hopefully it works out and we see some success there. We were able to teach a new investigator named Martha again this week. She just moved here from Honduras. We taught about the restoration and the Book of Mormon. It went well and we are excited to go back this week with a member to get her to church. This is the last week of this transfer. It’s been a crazy one to say the least. I’m excited for another transfer of training and to progress and learn here. I have felt myself rely on the lord even more through some of these difficult times. It has been a growing experience for sure. I know the Heavenly Father gives us trials when he needs us to progress and come to him. I have felt myself do that. I love this misison and I love my savior Jesus Christ. Have a good week everyone!

- Elder Cammack -

- Elder Cammack -

week 69 Andamos en bicicletas 🚲

Hey everybody!! Real quick. We crashed our car so now we are in bikes and I actually love it. It’s way different but I’m gettin swoll lol. We found two new investigators this week and they are excited to learn more. We have a couple noches de hogar set up this week with some families so that’ll be fun. We are doing some service this week with a Baptist church on cleaning some areas up in Houston. We have zone conference this week on Thursday which will give all missionaries Facebook. I’ve been using it for the past week and it’s been cool. We have a ward party on Friday for noche de hispanidad where everybody brings a food from their country and cultural dances. We invited some families to invite their friends and they said they would come so we are hoping that works out. We watched a part of a high school football game. The stadium is so sick. Hope all is well with y’all. Have a good week!! 

- Elder Cammack -

week 68 Amo al Profeta!!

Hola familia, 

This week has been so stinkin awesome!! As a mission we have a goal to find 1400 new investigators for the month of October. It started yesterday and our zone is already off to a great start. We are setting dates like crazy and finding more people than ever. The lord is really blessing us as a zone and a mission. It's amazing to see so many people have a change of heart and come unto the gospel of Jesus Christ! We also were informed that we will be receiving Facebook next week as a mission as another tool to find and teach investigators. Tomorrow in MLC we will receive more information about it but it is going to be an exciting change. 

This past weekend while watching conference, I could feel the spirit testifying to me of the truthfulness of a living prophet and apostles on the earth today. I could sense their devine power and I'm so thankful for leaders that guide me in my life. As we were talking to people this week we brought the fact up a lot of a living prophet. Almost everybody found that very interesting and something that they would want in their life. As we testified of the reality of a living prophet, people's hearts were changed and I could feel the spirit working through me. I'm so thankful to be able to have the feeling of being a worthy representative of my savior Jesus Christ and that he always the spirit to work through me to help others. Even through all my imperfections. We have many potentials for this next week that are interested in learning more about a living prophet. We also had an awesome weekly planning session and have plans set out to further progress the work in our area. 

There was a couple themes that kept coming to mind as I listened to the talks this past weekend. One of them was the importance of not getting down on ourselves. Sometimes we think we aren't doing the best that we should or we aren't worthy of our heavenly fathers love. But in reality, our Heavenly Father always love us and as long as we have a willing heart and are continually trying our best each day, Heavenly Father is happy with us and will work through us to bless others. Another theme that I noticed was the importance of faith. Faith is a broad word that many people hear all the time but may not know exactly what that means. I learned in general conference that it means we have hope things will work out, even if things go wrong. I loved the example that Elder Donald L Hallstrom gave of the family in California. He said that he sensed that even if their father had passed away, the family would've had the faith that everything would be ok. They trusted in Heavenly Father. We can never forget that small but important principle. Even when times are hard and things seem to be crashing down around us, the lord is always by your side and as long as we trust him and have faith in him, things will workout. 

I love this gospel and I'm so grateful to be on a mission. I have realized lately that my time here is slowly coming to an end. I have about 7 months left and I'm going to make each moment count. Thank you for your support and prayers this past week. I love y'all and hope you have a good week!!

- Elder Cammack -

week 67

No letter, must be too busy

week 66 Baptism, Mission Conference, New comp, New area

Hey fam! This week was super busy and lots of changes happened! 

Elder Blackford and I were together until Thursday where we picked up our new companions! My new companion is Elder Gibby from Brigham City, UT. He is 6'6"!! He's so tall haha. It was so weird looking up to somebody to talk. I haven't done that since I came out here! He is pretty quiet but a super humble and smart guy. He took 5 years of Spanish before the mission so he already knows a ton. It's gonna be fun working together!

Elder Gibby and I are opening up a new area that hasn't been opened since I was here last! I was here in Louetta in may and when I left they took the Elders out and now I get to open it back up. We are starting from ground zero so it's going to be fun!! It's been super cool to see some members that I got pretty close with. This ward is seriously the best in the mission so I'm super excited! 

We had a mission conference this week on Friday. Elder Uceda and Elder Jones came to it. They both gave amazing talks but I specifically loved Elder Ucedas. He talked about Mathew 28:19. In English in the King James Version it says to teach all nations but in every other version of the Bible and in almost every other language it says to make disciples. He explained how we as missionaries are not here to just teach people but we are here to make disciples. It really impacted me and the spirit was super strong. Elder Uceda is now one of my favorites and has changed the way I look at missionary work. 

We are still helping out with houses that were affected by the floods. We worked on one yesterday that hasn't even been touched yet. It was full of mold and it was super gross haha. But we got it almost all the way done. I love helping people out even though the work is pretty tough. It's amazing to see people's hearts open as you serve them. 

The Llorente kids that I was teaching in the woodlands were baptized on Saturday but we got our car towed and so we weren't able to go :(. We arrived right after it ended but we were able to go to their house after and have some dinner. I'll send some pics from that.

We found one new inv this week. His name is Jose and he is excited to check the church out. We are excited to work with him. 

Love y'all and hope you had a good week. Talk to ya soon! 

- Elder Cammack -

week 65 A new challenge!

Hey everyone! We have been helping at a food distribution place for people that lost everything in the hurricane. It's been super awesome to be able to help there. I went on an exchange with a new elder in the mission named Elder Hadley. It was super fun. He is playing football at Weber state after the mission. He's a stud. The Llorente family kids will be baptized this weekend so we've been trying to get that all figured out. We are excited for them to be baptized. We went to a sick taco place this week that I'll send a pic of. We got some secret insights for transfers this week. I will be transferred out and opening a new area and training. It's gonna be a challenge but I'm excited for it. The lord always prepares those that he calls. This week we will be helping out at the temple fixing it up. It was destroyed in the hurricane. Im sorry this is super short but we are super busy today! Hope everything is good over there. Love y'all! 

Elder Cammack

week 64

Hey everybody! This week our pday got switched to today because of Labor Day and the floods so that we could go out with members and help! This week has been the most busy and tiring week of my mission. Everyday we have been working all day. It's like the whole mission is on pause and we are just all doing service. It has been so awesome to be able to help all these people. 

On Wednesday we were finally given permission to leave our apartments and we went right out to help with houses. It was so sad to see all the wreckage from the hurricane. We had a really cool experience that day. We were helping a member with their house and a couple elders and I decided to go start walking down the road to see who needed help. Everybody on the streets houses were destroyed. It was weird cause it was like we were tracting but to do service instead haha. The first house we got to, a lady let us right in and we started taking everything out. We did her house for a couple hours and then left and went to the next house and did the same thing. We tore everything up. The owner was an older man who lived by himself. He lost everything and had no idea what he was going to do. We fixed up his whole house the rest of the day and you could see the tears in his eyes as we were working. I was so humbled to be able to be the person to help them. People were just standing outside not really knowing what to do. It was a really cool feeling walking down the street in our yellow shirts and seeing everybody watching us and us being able to help them. 

Thursday and Friday we did service all day. 

Starting Saturday morning, all the wards in the Spanish stake met up at the stake center to receive assignments on who to go out to help. We split up in groups of 6 and all received places on where to go. I went with a member family in the ward. We went up to a neighborhood that was completely destroyed. We helped out there all day. In the neighborhoods that are destroyed, they have people in golf carts that drive by every hour with megaphones and food and water and yell to everyone as they drive down the streets who needs water and food. It's really cool to see all of Texas and even people around the world come to help and support this tragedy.

Later that day, we came back to that neighborhood with some more people. The place we had been working with didn't need help anymore so we drove down the road a little bit and stopped. The young men's president in the ward got everybody together and we decided to say a prayer on where we should go. We said a prayer and as soon as we looked up, we saw a man walking towards us. He asked us if we were volunteers and we said yes. He said his house was the only house on the street that hadn't been touched yet. He had lost everything in the floods and was living on the couch of his friends house with nothing. So we went in and worked on his house the rest of the day and all day Sunday. It was an experience I will never forget. He thanked each one of us by shaking our hands with tears in his eyes. 

Sunday was such an amazing experience. Most chapels got destroyed by the floods and so all the Spanish wards combined into three different chapels. We only went to sacrament meeting and all wore service clothes and all received more assignments on where to go out to work. It was the most spiritual sacrament meeting I've ever had. Everybody sharing testimonies with all of us in our yellow shirts. There was a special spirit in the room. 

This has been an unforgettable week. I have been so humbled as I have helped people who have lost everything. I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father has allowed me to be the one to help all these people. Words can't describe how I've felt this past week. I'm so exhausted but it's all worth it. I'm excited to do this all again this week. Thank you for your prayers. I know these people have felt our heavenly fathers love through these hard times. Have a great week and I'll talk to y'all soon :)