Week full of meeting and Christmas season success

This week was a good week. It was busy that is for sure! On Monday it was my comps last day in the area and so we did some normal stuff and ya he finished getting everything together and we put as much in the car as we could so we wouldn't have to the next morning and we went to the Bair's house and we had dinner and a lesson and we played this super awesome version of Monopoly called Monopoly Empire, so that was awesome it is a fun version! Then we went home and we had to leave at like 6:15 in the morning the next morning for the cites because we were meeting some other missionaries in Minneapolis for breakfast at this place where you get a good breakfast for $3.17 total so that was good and then i dropped Elder Hurst off at the mission home and I went with some Elders who are in Minneapolis for the day and it was good. I have never really been in the actual cities in the heart of it at least. So it was cool. It is so different then Mankato, but it was fun we saw a crazy black lady at the hospital and ya that was cool, but it was a fun day in Minneapolis

On Wednesday we had transfer meeting where I got my new comp Elder Zerkle. Then we went and we blitzed an area in our zone for the day because we had another meeting in Bloomington the next day and we didn't want to go all the way back again so ya it was good. We showed the Christmas video to this lady who is pregnant and she started crying and it turned out to be a great lesson we taught her and her husband the first lesson and got a return appt so it was great! but ya then we had to Skype in to our Stake Meeting and that went OK our Internet signal wasn't the greatest, but it worked out we got our report in so that was good! 

Then Thursday we had MLC in Bloomington and that was good as usual. MLC is great there is always great training and things talked about it was awesome. Then we went back to our area we didn't get back until like 5:30, but ya then my comp unpacked a little and we ate dinner and then we went to a couples house and she helped me go through my musical number it was good. It really helped me out alot and then we went home because Elder Zerkel wasn't feeling super good and then Friday we went back up to Bloomington for our Christmas Conference we went to Bloomington alot this week, but it was good I sang my number and I think it went well at least I hope it did! Ya we did a alot of singing and President and Sister Forbes did a cool thing they read though something all about Christ and it was good! Then we had lunch and did some other stuff and we watched the "Sound of Music" and that was cool. Movies to missionaries are  alot funnier then they really are, I think. I don't think I have ever heard so much laughter while watching the Sound of Music than I did that day, but it was good! Then we went back to our area and we had our Ward Christmas Party and it was good. There is a brother in the ward who smokes meat really well and he did all the hams and man it was way good! Ya the Primary did a little program and it was cool but it was a good day.  

Saturday we did a lot of planning and calls and stuff and that night we went tracting and we showed the video to 4 ppl and had some really awesome contact with people it was awesome. It was super good this video really helps with the work alot! Then Sunday was good we didn't have anyone to church, but it was a busy day we had appts the whole night. We met with a guy in a halfway house who used to investigate in Rochester and he was about to get baptized then he took off a day before his baptism and ya he says he wants to get baptized so that is cool. Hopefully he can continue to progress and make it to that point. He already has a testimony of it all so we will see how it all goes! It is a cool miracle! but ya this week I was ponderizing Jarom 1:12 and I received some super awesome revelation from it Jarom 1:12 is,

 12 And it came to pass that by so doing they kept them from being destroyed upon the face of the land; for they did prick their hearts with the word, continually stirring them up unto repentance.

As I was reading this and I followed the foot note for prick and it lead me to Alma 31:5 which says,

 5 And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.

It hit me, the word of God, the scriptures, are more powerful than anything else in this world like it says in the verse. Nothing else had a greater effect on the people then the word of God nothing else mattered so it really helped me realize I need to use the scriptures more in my teaching and treasure them more. It grew my love for the scriptures even more then it was before. With the scriptures we can do anything. We can find the courage to do the hard things in life and we can find the answer to any of our questions. the scriptures are  amazing don't take them for granted! They will lead us home again! 
well that is all from this week have a great week 
love 
Elder Howe

Christmas lights

Gift from the Forbes

Gift from the Forbes