Breaking Ground

Oi tudos!

 

This is going to be an exciting transfer. I have a new companheiro now! His name is Elder Miller. He is from Chester, Idaho and has been out just over 8 months. He is an awesome guy and has the greatest hunting stories. I've been taking lead in most of the work lately while Elder Miller is trying to get familiar with the area and people. It's stretching me quite a bit, but I am certainly enjoying the adventure!

 

This Saturday was the Fort Collins temple groundbreaking. Elder Rasband presided and dedicated the site, and it was a great event to be a part of. It is certainly turning heads in this area and opening the door for people to receive the Gospel.

 

We've been doing more tracting and referral searching, looking for new investigators. We have met some awesome people and look forward to teaching some new faces and families. We found a golden family! Their names are Saber and Arafina. They are from Africa and have lived in Colorado for about a year now. They have the cutest baby girl who has been born as long as I've been in Colorado. We invited them to church, and they excitingly accepted our offer. So yesterday when we waited for them to show up, it was quite disappointing that they didn't show up... When we went to visit them later in the afternoon to follow up with them, we found out they actually went to church! They just attended the wrong sacrament meeting. They loved the sacrament meeting and all the nice people they met at church. They are already considering baptism!! I've been so blessed with the people I've met and had the opportunity to share the Gospel with. As I've been able to meet with Saber and Arafina I've realized that I have something special and personal to offer them. My Heavenly Father has truly blessed me by putting me in the right place with the right people. God's way is the way!

 

Eu sei que meu redentor vive!

 

Picture - Elder Miller & I (like my homemade haircut?!)

 

Elder Alexander James Hamilton

Missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Centennial Ward - Greeley, Colorado

 

 

One Down

Bom dia!

Well, it's official: I'm through the first transfer of my mission! That was quick. (I know that I always talk about how fast time is going, but it really is!)


It was an interesting week with transfers. I don't know if I've mentioned my living situation or not, so I'll go ahead. I've been living in Sister Miller's basement, an older woman in the Centennial Ward. Along with Elder Maciel and I, we have been with the Greeley Zone Leaders: Elder Hanks and Elder Householder. On Tuesday, Elder Householder was called to be an Assistant to the President. He left on Wednesday, and Elder Hanks, Elder Maciel, and I worked through the rest of the week in a trio serving both the Centennial and University Young Single Adult wards. Elder Maciel was assigned to be the new Greeley Zone Leader. I am staying in Centennial (yay!) and will meet my new companion in Loveland today. The change is bitterseet for me. I am SO excited for Elder Maciel's assignment and know he will do great things. I will miss having him as a companion, but I am so happy to continue to live with him and Elder Hanks. I'm excited to meet my new companion and for the great work and adventures ahead serving in Centennial!

Here are some happenings of the week:

1) I cut my hair. By myself! Call me a true elder.

2) I don't have a driver door handle on my car. Last p-day, I chased after some elders who were trying to drive off with my car. While trying to stop them, I accidently ripped the door handle off. Everything is all right now and insurance is going to cover a new handle, but people know not to mess with me :)

The work in Greeley is expanding. There will be a new district in the zone and seven additional missionaries, making there 37 missionaries in the Greeley Zone. We have some great missionaries coming into the zone and good wave of new missionaries as well. We have some great work ahead, and I am so grateful to be apart of it.

I love having the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. It brings such joy to my life, and it is a privilege to see the miracles it brings into others' lives.

A gente se vê!

Elder Alexander James Hamilton
Missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Centennial Ward - Greeley, Colorado

Picking Up

Oi tudos!

 

Things are picking up again! We have met new people and are teaching some great families. This weekend was the Greeley Stake Conference. Elder Rhodes (area 70) presided and spoke, and he was great. President and Sister Brown also spoke and impressed the members of the stake with their vision for the Fort Collins mission. There were so many great talks; it will be a conference to remember. We started teaching Audrey this week. We have taught her the first two lessons, and she attended two sessions of stake conference. Yesterday, we invited here to be baptized. SHE SAID YES!! We are so excited and look forward to helping her be ready by the 24th.

 

The signs for our adopted streets are now up and all around Greeley!! It's great publicity and exciting for the members to see our signs. Here in the Fort Collins and Denver North mission, the missionaries participate in program called JustServe. He have the opportunity to do ten hours of community service a week participating in a variety of projects such as cleaning our adopted streets, building homes with Habitat for Humanity, volunteering at Weld's Food Bank, helping out at the Humane Society Animal Shelter, etc.  I have learned so much through this program.  I gained a better understanding of how important it is to serve and provide charity in the community. Through charity, we are able to help those who need help feel loved and important. As I serve, I have not only been able to help others but have benefited personally as I develop more Christ like love for God's children. I have found so much joy and fun through serving.   

 

That is all. Amo vocês!

 

Elder Hamilton

 

Riding the Tornado!

Oi!

 

What a week! In all honesty it was a little rough. Elder Maciel and I planned a great week full of appointments with our current and new investigators, but in the end EVERY appointment fell through... We also had to drop our baptismal date with Laura. She doesn't feel ready for baptism and has some obstacles to overcome. I know she will be baptized someday, but she needs time. On the bright side, we have an awesome new investigator! Her name is Audrey. She is roommates with some of the recent converts in the Centennial ward. We haven't been able to teach her yet, due to moving, but she has been to church twice and already desires to be baptized and have the gift of the Holy Ghost. We are very excited to teach her this week. We also have received some referrals from the zone leaders and spanish sisters that have great potential. Even in the hardest of times, it's amazing the blessings our Heavenly Father will pour upon us!

 

Saturday was exciting. Elder Maciel and I finished our Just Serve hours picking up garbage on 35th Avenue (we adopted 6 miles of streets that will soon have signs that say "adopted by the LDS Missionaries"). We hurried home to take showers before heading to an appointment. When I got out, I found Elder Maciel and Elder Hanks running up and down the stairs. Elder Householder and I joined them outside to see what was going on. There was a tornado warning and we stood outside to watch the storm begin. We watched the clouds begin to form a column. The sky was really dark and before too long, it was hailing  and raining so hard that we couldn't even see down the street. All the missionaries were ordered to stay in for the evening. Several tornadoes touched down in Northern Colorado. Two touched down in Greeley (one of them less than a mile from us), but there was no major damage. It made an exciting end to a crazy week!
 

Elder Alexander James Hamilton