Email received December 22, 2014

Hello everyone!

First of all, Merry Christmas! Hmmm.. can't believe it's Christmas again... weird. So we had a good week this week! On Wednesday we were trying to find a member of the ward, we talked to his wife and she said that he had moved out. He hasn't been active in years. We talked to her about the He is the Gift video and were able to share it with her. She said we could come back and share more with her. I really hope so. She seemed like she had some walls built up but I feel like she is prepared right now. On Friday at the Christmas conference, I was talking to a missionary who is now serving in the Melbourne ward. I asked him about Gilbert. Do you remember him? He got baptized in November of 2013 but stopped coming after about 2 months. Well, apparently he has been reactivated and is doing great! Definitely a pleasant surprise.

About 2 weeks ago we talked to a man who was outside his house. Before we left he promised to us that he would come to church sometime. Well, guess who came to church yesterday?! Yeah, that was totally unexpected. He loved it! He said he would be back next week and that we can come by this week and begin teaching him. His name is Mark and we are really excited to teach him. The sacrament meeting program was full of musical numbers. Including plenty from the primary. Mark got a kick out of that. haha.

The Christmas conference was great! The whole mission got together, President Mortensen spoke to us, we watched The Nativity, ate, sang songs (We're all still confused why they picked "I'll be Home for Christmas" as one of the carols, jerks.), and to close it off we all got a package from home! Twas awesome. I also got to see so many friends! Especially Elder Su'a and Elder Fa'amausili.

On Saturday night we went caroling as a district! It was awesome. We've been handing out as many He is the Gift cards as we can. Christmas is definitely the best time to be a missionary. It's very natural and people are receptive. I hope you all have a merry christmas! What an awesome time of the year. I'm so grateful to have the best gift given to me that anyone could ever have. I love you all and miss you!

-Elder Steed

The Bro's at the Christmas conference. Elder Hunter and Elder Fa'amausili

So a member gave us a $50 papa john's gift card for christmas. Yeah, it's all gone. lol.

 Bed-time selfies. Lol

Email received December 15, 2014

Hello Everyone,

We had a pretty good week this week! We had lots of appointments with potential investigators that all fell through. However, we were able to find some more potential investigators this week as well. So let me tell you about a guy named Jimmy. Jimmy was baptized in the 70's but fell away soon after. He loves missionaries and will do anything for us. He takes us shopping, he feeds us, he's the man. So missionaries go over there pretty often and check up on him and share some thoughts and all that good stuff. Well, he likes the church and will come every once in awhile but doesn't really have a testimony of it. This week while we were at his house we showed him the He is the Gift video. He loved it! We got to talking and he opened up quite a bit. He was telling us how his neighbor (who is a member in the ward) told him about his conversion story and how he came to know it was true. :)

Jimmy starting talking about how he doesn't think he can say that, and how he doesn't have an experience like that. Anyway, we decided that we are going to start going over the lessons with him. It was cool because it was totally his idea. We're really excited! To top it off, he came to church on Sunday! There are 2 conditions that have ALWAYS had to happen for him to come to church. 1. He has to convince his wife to come with him, he would never come alone and 2. If his daughter came to visit on Sunday which she almost always does, he stays home with her. Well, he couldn't get his wife to come and as he was walking to his truck his daughter pulled up. He still came! I was really proud of him.

Awhile back I wrote home about an inactive member that we tracted into. We went over this week and talked to her daughter, Tina, who isn't a member. Tina has had many discussions with missionaries in the past and knows a bunch. She likes us but there are some doctrinal things that she disagrees with. Anyway, we are going to start going over to her house and doing service for her. Hopefully we can get to talk more with her and answer some of her questions. :)

Yesterday the bishop's son gave his farewell talk and he had an open house that night that we were able to stop by for a few minutes. Took me back in time to my talk and open house (not that it seems very long ago) haha and it made me thankful for all my friends and family that I have for support. You guys are the best! Things are really picking up in this area. I know that if we do our best with what the Lord asks of us, blessings will always come. :)

Oh! We're also having a Christmas Mission Conference! No one really knows what's going to happen.. haha. It's this Friday at 9am and there is no end time. Intriguing. lol. Until next week! Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! You're the best momma ever!

love,
Elder Steed

New companion, Elder Beck. In front of Jimmy's famous Tree of Life. haha. He takes one of these pics for every new companionship.

Email received December 8, 2014

Hello Everyone,

So I have a new companion. His name is Elder Beck. He’s from Seattle area and was also Elder Fa’amausili’s MTC companion. We spent our whole entire week finding and talking to people. I’m sure most of you have heard of the “He Is the Gift” initiative that the church is putting on right now. All the missionaries have special “He is the Gift” pass along cards. We’ve been handing them out like candy! Christmas time is such a great time to be a missionary.

I think we found around 10 potential investigators in just the past 4 or so days. Some of them seemed really interested and prepared. I love being a missionary during Christmas time because it’s so easy to share the gospel. If you were wondering, we haven’t really been able to stay in contact much with Alan, and Ayad has seemed to have lost interest. Just thought I’d update y’all on that ----- yes, I said it. I hate it as much as you do. haha.

I had some weird anxiety attack thingy this week. It was the second one I have had on my mission. Quite ugly. haha. Anyway, I asked my companion for a blessing and everything is all good. Since I have been in this area we have been working with a very interesting guy named Peter. When I first got there he was struggling a lot with his testimony. This past week when we met with him I realized just how much he’s changed. That’s truly what the gospel does for us. It changes us into something even better than we were before. I know that as long as we are trying our hardest and doing all in our power, no matter how much power that is, to do what is right, the Lord will always bless us.

Yesterday in Young Men’s 3rd hour of church, we watched the movie called “Legacy”. Pretty old and pretty cheesy but good. It’s amazing how powerful a testimony of the restored gospel can be. That it can allow people to endure seemingly impossible trials. I know that The Book of Mormon is true. I know that this is Christ’s church. And I know that no matter what opposition may come our way, the Lord will always remember us. Thanks for all that you do. I love you all! Until next week.

love,
Elder Steed

Email received December 1, 2014

Happy December!!

We had a much better week this week. The best thing that happened this week was we started doing something that our District Leader suggested to us. He told us that when we go to a member’s home for dinner or when we are sharing a message with them, to ask while we are leaving who they feel we should go visit. He said it's always inspired. So, we were having dinner with a family on Friday night and asked who he feels we should go visit. He gave us the name of a lady we should [see, someone] he home teaches.

We went over the next day and had a great lesson with her. It was definitely something she needed at that time. Her daughter who hasn't been coming to church was there as well and we were able to meet her. At first the daughter was in the other room and not really listening. But towards the end I could tell that she was listening. We've gotten some other names from other members for people we can go visit. I'll let you know how those go.

We got transfer calls last night. I'm staying and Elder Allen is getting transferred. We've been together for 2 transfers. I still haven't had a companion for more than 2 transfers. It's probably inspired. The Mission President probably feels bad for my companions. Haha jk. So that's all there really is to report on for this past week. There's a lot of new changes in the ward with callings and such. Especially with our new ward mission leader. I'm feeling really excited for this next transfer.

Ahh, the Christmas season again. What an awesome time to be serving a mission! Seriously. It's the best. I get to skype home in 24 days! Crazy. Time is flying by so fast. Anyway, I love and miss you all. Have a great week and be safe! Until next time.

love,
Elder Steed

Add-on message:

Dad, Houston is such a horrible city for bikes. haha. There are no sidewalks, no street lights, all the streets are cement with tons of potholes haha. Yeah, not a very bike friendly city. It's all good though! :)

Email received November 25, 2014

Hello everyone!

Rough week. That's for sure. Last Monday I started to feel sick and had a cold the next few days. Then my companion got it. Then his back wheel on his bike broke. So we got it fixed. Then the back wheel on my bike broke. haha. Then for the weekend I was on en exchange with Elder Hunter and his back wheel broke. haha. All of our bikes are cursed. It's whatever.

So, most of what we did last week was try to visit less actives and former investigators. We met a few former investigators who said that we could come back, so we'll see where things go from there. Honestly there's not much else to report on. The past couple of weeks have been pretty rough.

In the next couple of days I will be finishing the New Testament. Reading it has really strengthened my testimony, not only of the savior, but of the restored gospel. It's truly amazing what we have. This is the New Testament church. This is Christ church. I know that he leads and guides us through prophets and apostles, and if we stay close to their counsel and follow the commandments, we will not be led astray.

I love this time of year! Thanksgiving is my all time favorite holiday. Luckily, it's the last one I have to spend away from family. I'm grateful for all the amazing friends and family that I have. I'm grateful for the gospel and the chance that I have to share it everyday. I love you all. Have a wonderful thanksgiving and a wonderful week! :)

love,
Elder Steed

Email received November 17, 2014

Hello everyone!

We had a pretty rough week. However, we did have some pretty cool miracles. One is that there is a member here in the ward that is working really hard to go to the temple so he and his family can get sealed. He's working hard with the bishop so that he can get to that point. Anyway, he does lawn maintenance and we just kept running into him all week! It was awesome. We knocked on the door of one of his customers and he is now a potential investigator. So that's cool.

Another miracle happened on Friday night. We had everything fall through and we were going back to our apartment, it was super cold and just really bleh. Anyway, a man stopped us and starting asking us some questions that he had. He thought we were Jehovah's Witnesses so when he heard that we weren't he was curious about who we were. We talked about the Restoration and he accepted a Book of Mormon. It was just cool because it always seems like the really awesome things happen during the crappiest of times. haha.

This week we were biking to a dinner appointment. As we pulled up onto the driveway I noticed that the car had a Nevada license plate. When we got in the brother was wearing a shirt that said Las Vegas on it. I started talking to him about Vegas and where I live and where he used to live. Then the wife came in and after over hearing that I lived in the Orchards she asked what my last name was (my tag was under my coat) I told her Steed. Her reply was "Laurie?" hahaha I was really surprised. Turns out that she was a roomate with Liz Chidester for some time and had gone to a couple of camps when mom was stake yw president. She used to live in Stallion Mountain ward. Anyway, her name is Sister Perez and her and her husband have 5 adorable adopted kids. Such a cool family. She sent a photo of me to Sister Chidester over facebook so maybe you guys have seen it already. Anyway, it was a good time talking about Vegas and people that we both knew. Well thats it for this week. Love you all! Have a great week!

love,
Elder Steed

Add-on email: We also got a new ward mission leader! Brother Cline! The family that sent the photos!

(Here is the photo taken by Sister Perez mentioned above as well as Liz's commentary. :))

Look who ate dinner with my friend and family tonight! It's Elder Nathan Steed, she was so excited and so am I! I always love hearing about my seminary kids that are now serving missions. 

Email received November 10, 2014

Hello everyone,

We had a cool miracle happen this week. We were tracting and ended up knocking on the door of a lady that has been inactive for years and isn't on the ward list. We talked a bunch and she said that she really likes the church but had just fallen away. :)

We were finally able to meet with Alan again. Everything is going well with him, it’s just going a little slow. We were able to set up a constant meeting with him for every Friday. This week we are going to be really bold. We are going to talk about the Plan of Salvation (his wife died 7 months ago) and about baptisms for the dead. His wife was also an investigator before she got cancer. We talked a little about how the gospel is taught in the spirit world and how there are missionaries too. We really feel good about Alan. Church was really great yesterday. Both of the talks were amazing. :)

Other than that, this was a really rough week. Everything fell through and we didn’t plan very well for that. At one point I kinda lost it and had a mini melt down, but all is good. haha. It’s so cool to be a missionary. We are working really hard to find people to teach. It seems like everyone we talk to that is interested only speaks spanish. So we’re finding people for the spanish missionaries! Same team though, right? haha. Anyway, we’re gonna try harder to work more with members. I think because my first area when I was being trained was a pretty hard ward to work with members so I honestly just never learned how to do it. I guess the best way to learn something is to just do it even though you have no idea what you’re doing it. That’s probably the biggest lesson I’ve learned on my lesson so far.

Well, I love you all. Thanks for the continuous prayers and updates. It’s so great to be a missionary and to do the Lord’s work. It’s always amazed me how he trusts us (missionaries & members) to do HIS work. I love you all!

love,
Elder Steed

(The following photos and captions were sent to us by a family that fed Nate and his companion a while back, the Clines.)

Hi, my family belongs to the Bear Creek Ward where your son and his companion are serving.  We took photos of them when they had dinner at our house and I thought I would pass them along to you.  My son is serving a mission in Nevada Las Vegas West and I love it when I get photos from members so thought I would do the same for you.

We fed them up on lasagna, garlic bread, salad, brownies and Blue Bell ice cream.  After dinner they gave my husband and I and our 15yo son a wonderful lesson on the blessings of the priesthood.  We were so grateful to have Elder Steed, Elder Allen, and their spirit in our home. Hope you enjoy the photos.  They enjoyed posing.

P.S.  This was all their idea....  I just took the photos..

No missionaries or Books of Mormon were harmed here.  Pretty hard to get through 2 Nephi...

Email received November 4, 2014

Hello Everyone!

So yesterday we had a mission tour meeting where we received training from Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge of the Seventy so we weren't able to email. The meeting was good. It lasted really long and it was really hot in the chapel. I also had a huge head ache so I think I missed a lot of what I could have gotten out of it :/ It was about how we can be better teachers and to make sure that we teach to the investigators' understanding.

We had some pretty cool miracles this week! One happened while we were tracting. On Saturday we knocked on the door of a lady who said that just the other day she was thinking about how she needs to be back in church. She prayed just the other day that God would send her somebody. She was also really excited about family history. She said that she would be at church but she didn't come :/ We'll have to knock on her door again this week.

Earlier on in the week, we were biking around and we didn't know exactly where we were going. We stopped and my companion pulled out the map (yes I know, who uses a physical map?) and this [guy] in the house we were in front of came up to me and started talking to us. He said that he was investigating the church up in Delaware and really enjoyed church and the Book of Mormon. He said the only reason he hasn't gotten baptized is because he wants to get baptized with his wife who is still in Mexico. He just recently moved here and didn't know how to contact the missionaries. The crazy thing was that he had seen us 3 times already. He said the first time he saw us biking so he tried to follow us but we turned and he lost us. It was an eye opener to me of how many people I pass by and pass up even when I'm a full time missionary! Sometimes we get so caught up in what we're doing, even though it may be a good thing, that we miss opportunities that are right in front of our face! Anyway, it was a miracle that we were lost right at that moment and needed to pull out the map right in front of his house. We gave the spanish missionaries his info and they've already met with him and say he's doing great!

We've been working hard to contact the minimum of 15 people a day. There's still lots of room for improvement but we are doing much better. My contacting has changed so much lately. I'm trying my best to love all the people I come in contact with and to take an interest in them, rather than just talk to them out of obligation. We've seen our potential investigator pool almost double. Anyway, I love and miss you all, but it is a wonderful thing to be a missionary!

until next time,
Elder Steed

 I come out for studies and I find this.

Email received October 27, 2014

Hello All,

We had a great week this week! On Thursday night we went on splits with some of the members in the ward. The one that went with me is a new member of the ward. His name is Brother Young. We just went to the park and started talking to everyone we saw! He was awesome! He never got to serve a mission so he was having a blast. I did the first few and then he just went all out after that. It was a really cool experience.


On Saturday night all our plans fell through and it was dark. We were just kinda biking around not knowing what to do. haha. Well, we heard someone call for us and we went over and started talking to them. They're a young couple who have been having a lot of trials recently. The man told us that he was about to walk out on his wife and kid that day but stopped because it wasn't the right thing to do. I felt prompted to tell him that as long as we are having righteous desires and doing what's right, he will allow for everything to work out. He got the biggest smile on his face. We are supposed to be meeting with them this Wednesday.

We were finally able to meet with Ayad again this week. His wife has basically been bed ridden so he's been taking care of the kids and everything.They also had someone rob their apartment. When his wife came home he was inside but got away. She's been really paranoid ever since so he's been putting wooden planks on the windows and trying to burglar proof the apartment. He believes in the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith but he has this view that every book and prophet is true. So that's our main concern with him.

Do you remember a few weeks ago I emailed home about a guy that we met while trying to visit a less active? Well, the less active didn't live there but we were going to do service for the guy that did. We finally got to do that service this past week. We went into his backyard and just started destroying everything with machetes! It was awesome! I felt so cool, but now have some blisters to show for it. haha. Well, there's the highlights of the week. Oh, I met a member in the ward that grew up in the Stewart Ranch ward and is related to Mike Hallewell. Purty cool. Love you all! Have a great week :)

love,
Elder Steed

Email received October 20, 2014

Hello everyone!

So, by far I had the best week of my mission this past week! Who remembers Laura from my first area? (You all better since every email for the first 7 months was about her) :) I started teaching her with Elder Hillebrant a year ago and last Saturday she got baptized! She asked me to speak at her baptism. It was such an amazing experience and the spirit was so strong. It was so good to be back in Melbourne and to see her and the members. I love that ward so much. There were also so many missionaries there! Elder Hillebrant baptized her, I spoke on baptism, Elder Su'a spoke on the Holy Ghost, Elder Pongi sang a song, and Elder Bergman said the opening prayer. Elder Neville was also there because he is Elder Su'a's companion. All in all I had 5 former companions there! It was a blast.

Laura was just beaming. I'm so proud of her. Over the past year she has had so many reasons to quit or throw in the towel but she never did. I will always remember her for that and strive to be that faithful throughout my life. I cannot even begin to describe my experience on Saturday. It's frustrating trying to put it in words. haha. The best way that I could put it is that everything that has happened over this past year: every dropped investigator, every rude person, every lonely and discouraging moment, has been worth it. I could go my whole mission and never teach another lesson and it would all be worth it.

Ok, the other thing that happened this week was interviews. My interview with President Mortensen went well. Basically the whole interview was him talking about what he's heard from past companions of mine who are AP's or ZL's about me. The whole interview was about overcoming my insecurities, being confident, and to always be me. He promised me that as I pray and fast that I can do it. This is something that I've always struggled with, but I know that I can rely on the Lord and he will help me. I'm excited to do this, and I know it will help me so much. Not only here in the mission, but my life afterward. I also got to sing in sacrament meeting yesterday. It was awesome. I love you all, have a great week!

-Elder Steed

Halloween decorations!

Laura and Elder Hillebrant

The Elders who have taught Laura

Laura after the baptism.

Email received October 13, 2014

Hello everyone!

We had an interesting week this week!. Ayad's wife has been very sick so we haven't been able to meet with him. We spent most of our week riding around and contacting referrals that we have gotten from either Mormon.org or other missionaries. We have met a handful of them and were able to set up appointments with them for this week. So we're excited.

Do you remember a couple of weeks ago I wrote home about a guy named Brandon? He was the guy that showed up at the church with a member when we were doing family history that wanted to learn more. Well, turns out that he had to unexpectedly move to San Antonio. However, when we got back in contact with him he had already found the missionaries up there somehow and he has been meeting with them! It was a great surprise!

Yesterday at church, one of the young women brought a friend to church. We're really close to that family and they invited us over for dinner that night. She had a TON of really good questions that we were able to answer. I think she really enjoyed it and hopefully we will be able to meet with her again sometime in the future. There's a young man who's a senior in that same family and he has been asking us advice about sharing the gospel with his girlfriend. He said that she said that she would come to church sometime! He was really excited about it. These two siblings both invited their friends. They made it look so easy! A lot of times we make it so much harder than it really is. We just need to invite, and do it out of love.

Today so far has been pretty lame because my bike got stolen. We just came out of the grocery store and I could see him riding off. I was really mad. Especially because it was pouring rain and we had a bunch of groceries. Luckily a lady who ended up being a member of the spanish ward came up and offered to drive our groceries back to our apartment. I'm still pretty upset, but I'm glad that Heavenly Father still watches out for us, even in times of trial. He will always look out for us. I love you all and hope that you have a great week!

love,
Elder Steed

Email received October 6, 2014

Hello everyone,

I hope you all enjoyed conference! I know I did. However, my bum is a little sore from sitting ALL weekend. It's amazing the gift we have to be able to have the servants of our Heavenly Father speak to us. I am grateful for them and all that they do for us. I could feel, as I'm sure you could, a confirmation that they are indeed called of God and are faithfully doing His work.

We weren't able to meet with Ayad this week. His wife has been really sick and he has been taking care of the kids. I'm really looking forward to our next meeting with him. Yesterday we were able to see Alan again. He's been doing good but has been out of town. We were able to talk about moving on from trials and setbacks. He lost his wife not too long ago and it has taken a huge toll on him. However, we've been able to see the change in him over the past couple weeks. Although it's still unbelievably hard for him, you can see a change. We weren't able to share the message we had planned or get him closer to baptism, but we shared what he needed to hear. It was a really powerful experience.

That's about all that happened this week, the rest of the week was pretty uneventful. But that's ok because conference totally made up for that! Well, sorry for the weenie letter this week. I hope you all know that I love and miss you. Have a great week! GO DODGERS!

-Elder Steed

This is the Liu family in The Woodlands. Best family ever. Oh, and REAL Chinese food is the best!

Email received September 29, 2014

Hello everybody,

We had an interesting week this week. On Thursday we went over to visit a referral that we had gotten. He ended up just wanting to bash and just pulled out so much anti stuff. It was so lame. It was pretty ironic though because the first thing he said when we showed up was that he didn’t wanna bash or be rude. Which is EXACTLY what he did. haha. At the end he wouldn’t even shake our hands because we don’t believe in the same Jesus as him. It was fantastic. haha.

We taught Ayad the plan of salvation this week and it went well! In ward council yesterday the ward talked about what we could do for him. There were lots of members that introduced themselves to him and fellowshipped him at church yesterday. One even gave Ayad his bike to help him with transportation throughout the week! Alan hasn’t really responded to us as of late, which is sad. Hopefully we can get in touch with him this week.

On Wednesday we got to watch the “Meet the Mormons” movie. Wow! It was awesome! The church said that after testing the movie, 74% of watchers said they would refer a friend to watch it. It’s not threatening, it’s funny, and it’s spiritual! It’s definitely something that the church is hoping will help people understand who we are and why we live the way we do. But beware, any mothers with children on missions will most likely cry. So bring your tissues to the theater :) haha.

Well, there are the highlights of the week! Sorry for such a short letter, love you all!

-Elder Steed

 Cool sunset and a mosque in our area.

 Katy North District. Elders DeLuca, Steed, Bergman, Allen, Sapp and Sister Sapp.

My comp made me a cake for my yearmark!

 1 year!

 awesome sunset!

Email received September 22, 2014

Hello everyone!

We had a great week here in Bear Creek! We met with Ayad for the first time. He is from Iraq but moved here for a safer life for his wife and kids. He worked in the oil and gas industry and has met lots of friends from around the world. He had a coworker from Canada who was a member. They weren’t really allowed to discuss religion at work but he learned some stuff about the church. After he had moved here, he told us that he prayed one night telling God that he wanted to learn more about the LDS church. The next day some sister missionaries came up and talked to him. He started coming to church and that’s where we met him! The lesson went well. He’s been reading the Book of Mormon and is already in 2 nephi. He agreed to be baptized. He is waiting to get his work permit so that he can get a job, but in the meanwhile he doesn’t have any income. Yesterday at church we found out that he had walked all the way to the church! He lives right next to us, which is a 15 minute bike ride. Ayad is awesome!

On Thursday we went over to the church for a family history class. I was able to find some new names! Which was an awesome experience. I’ve always known family history work is important and that it’s part of missionary work, but I had such a strong feeling that what I was doing that night on the computer was equally important as what I do day to day. I felt so strongly that it is the same work. While we were at the class, a member walked into the church with one of his friends who was interested in learning more about the church. His name was Brandon and he is awesome. We got his information and will hopefully be meeting with him this weekend. :-)

On Saturday we met with a man named Alan. His wife was an investigator but she has since passed away. His interest has been sparked because of his wife’s interest in the church just before she passed away. We taught him the Restoration and he really enjoyed it. He said he will start reading The Book of Mormon. Unfortunately, neither Alan or Brandon came to church yesterday, but it’s all good.

Some other exciting news, we are getting together as a zone this Wednesday and will be watching the new movie, "Meet the Mormons". We’re pretty excited. Well those are the highlights of the week. I would say the thing I learned the most this week is that I now KNOW that family history work is the same work as normal missionary work. I’m grateful for the Plan of Salvation, and that the Lord has provided a way for those who weren’t able to receive sacred ordinances in this life. What an amazing plan! I love you all, have a great week!

love,
Elder Steed

Email received September 15, 2014

Hello everyone!

We had a few really cool things happen this week. We were going through our list of members that the ward gave us to contact. We went to one of the addresses and they no longer lived there. However we got to talking to the man that did live there. He was really cool. He's a little older and has been doing a lot of work in his yard. We offered to help and we will start going over there to help him with his yard work.

On Friday, district meeting was all about family history work. After the meeting we headed over to the library with the senior couple in our district to do some family history. They were busy helping others so they weren't able to show me much. However, I found a lot of cool pictures of Grandmother and Grandfather. I also noticed a lot has been updated recently by Jamie and some of the cousins! It made me really happy. I also found a line that went all the way back to Adam and Eve. Pretty cool stuff. We are going to be meeting with that senior couple once a week to do family history. I'm really excited. The library also expressed some interest in maybe having the missionaries teach a genealogy class in the future.

On Sunday, a man who the sister missionaries met right before they were taken out of this ward came to church. His name is Ayad. He's from Iraq. He is so cool! He has had an interesting life and has moved here for a safer life for his wife and children. He's very intelligent, humble, and pure. We gave him a Book of Mormon in Arabic and hopefully will be meeting with him this week. I'm really excited.

I had another really cool experience, but it will be hard to explain. As most of you know, I am not the most outgoing person. Honestly, I'm pretty awkward. I have to get comfortable around people to really be myself. Once that happens I'm outgoing and all, but before that, not so much. It's a wonder that I have any friends. haha jk. Anyway, I was in a dinner appointment with a member and the senior missionaries. The comment was made that I hardly talk. It was made a handful of times to the member and it was pretty embarrassing. It's something that I've always struggled with and am well aware of, and now it's being announced on the spot to a member. I felt really awkward, inadequate, and alone. The next day I decided to fast to basically feel comfort. I don't know if as a result I'll be more outgoing or less awkward or whatever, but I know that as a result I felt a lot of comfort. Today I feel great! Even though yesterday I felt VERY inadequate and alone. I have a testimony that fasting and prayer can help with any trial, no matter what it is. Well, there are the highlights for the week! I miss you all so much, but I'm happy to be where I am! Until next week!

-Elder Steed

 Personal study selfie. Lol.

New companion, Elder Allen. Mid-stretch. lol

Email received September 8, 2014

Hello all,

I had a pretty good week this week. It was my first in my new area, Bear Creek. The ward activity rate is pretty low so we are spending most of our time on meeting less actives. We’ve met some really great ones and I’ve come to admire them already! We also visited a family named the Durgins. Brother Durgin grew up in Las Vegas and they lived there for a really long time. He went to Rancho so we had a cool conversation about the bone game and some other high school stuffs.

The biking is going good. First 2 days were hard and I hated it but I’m already used to it and remembered how much I like it. Although there’s been a ton of rain lately, so that’s not very enjoyable. 

So I’m still pretty lost and feel like I don’t really know anything. So I’m sorry that this letter is pretty lame. haha. Our mission president keeps emphasizing using family history in our teaching and finding efforts. We are now going to meet with a family history rep once a week so they can teach us how to use it. We are supposedly getting iPads soon as well. They’ve been saying that since I got here though, so I guess we’ll see.

So, best news of the week. I found out that Laura, from Melbourne ward, has a baptismal date for the 27th of this month! I was sooo stoked when I found that out. Her baptism day will be such a great day. Well, that’s all I have for this week, hopefully I’ll have more idea of what’s going on by next week. haha. I love you all! Have a great week!

-Elder Steed

Email received September 2, 2014

Hey!

So, lots of changes have happened. Transfers came a week early because of some meeting President Mortensen has to go to. So this past transfer was only 5 weeks and this upcoming transfer will be 7 weeks long. Well, I am no longer in the Woodlands. Which is sad. A lot of families finally came back from summer vacations and I was just starting to feel comfortable around them and get to know them and then I get transferred. It seems like that’s how it usually goes. The surprise, though, was that my companion got transferred as well. We were not expecting that. :)

Well, my new area is called Bear Creek. It’s in the Katy Stake but isn’t quite in Katy. I’m still in Houston. It’s pretty much 15 miles west from my first apartment off of Little York. I don’t have too much to report on because today is my first day here. I’m not too sure what to expect. My new companion is Elder Allen. He’s from Ogden, he’s 20 years old, and has been out for 7 months. I’m in a bike area again and boy it kicked my butt biking to the library just now. Luckily it’ll be cooling down here soon. :)

My stay in The Woodlands was awesome. It was very challenging but I had a lot of great moments. Some of the families in those wards are some of the best people in the world! They are those kinds of people where you just expect that they will get translated at any moment. haha. Well, hopefully I’ll survive the biking this week. The first week in a bike area is the worst. haha. Have a great week, love you all! Here’s my new address:

Elder Nathan Steed
5450 Timber Creek Place Dr #706
Houston, TX 77084

 Our last photo together. Elder Fa'amausili was an awesome companion!

 Sister Wahlen is going home!

Woodlands 1st and 2nd missionaries!