Hello! May 21

Hey Family!

Thanks for the birthday box! It was GREAT! Thank you for the giftcard to Safeway. I think that was one of my favorite gifts. We now have a lot of fruits and vegetables in our apartment! We also have enough food to make some really great tacos because of you guys too! The ties were great too! I actually did like some of those ties...and the others ones do make a nice collection to the "not so nice" tie collection. The Elders and I went to Red Robin for my birthday for lunch. I got a free sundae because it was my birthday and some waitresses sang to me too, so hey, I can't complain. All-in-all it was a great birthday. I feel the same when I was 19, but it's nice to know I'm not a "teenager" anymore...I'm 20!...which is practically the same thing as 19. Anyway, yesterday I finished my Shingles medicine. I was taking 2 Aleve a day for the pain and 3 prescription pills a day for the Shingles. I feel like I'm totally okay now which is great. Thanks for getting me those "Flintstones" vitamins! I always remember having them as a kid!

I'm sorry today's letter might be a little short. We have many things we would like to do this p-day and we are kinda short on time.

I would like to say something about our faith in Christ and about repentance. We are working with a new investigator. He's a 21 year old guy and he lives in a part-active family. He is a great example to me. While we have been teaching him, I have been able to see his faith in Christ grow dramatically. He has always showed up at church with his brother (who is a recent convert), most of the time he reminds his brother that they need to read there scriptures before they go to bed. He has problems with the word of wisdom, smoking more specifically, but he s that when he stops he will be blessed. He knows that Heavenly Father wants him to stop...and he's doing it! He is willing to pay his tithing, and it's amazing cause he truly understands why that is important. He is a great person. He has a 2 year old daughter and he wanted to know how he could best live the law of chastity with his situation. We told him we couldn't give him that counsel, but the bishop could. He just met with the bishop yesterday about his own situation. He knows the guidance that a bishop will give him will bless his life and his daughter's life. He is a great example to me because he knows that repenting and changing is hard, but it is worth it for the blessings that God will give to us, his children, when we obey him.

As a missionary I know I can mess up, BUT as long as I am striving to do my best, that's all the Lord can ask of me. I am so grateful to be on a mission. I am so grateful to have a testimony of baptism, the sacrament, and of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus Christ died for me and that he lives so that I too can return to my loving Father in Heaven and live forever with my family in His presence.

Thanks for everything!

Love,

Elder Trevor A. Morgan

Great to talk to you on Mother's Day! 5/14

Hey there family!

I had a great time yesterday, talking to you all on the phone! It was really nice to hear your voices....BUT, it's back to missionary work!...kinda, it's p-day today. Today were going to play rugby with our zone! I have no idea how to play, but I'm excited to learn. I love to work hard as a missionary, but sometimes it can be stressful. I think Shingles may be an outcome of some of that stress. Now, I don't really feel super stressed at all. I just see that there is so much potential in this area, which I guess gets me stressed. This area is great! All the lessons we teach are great lessons, guided by the spirit and we have great ward members to come with us, to help us explain so that the investigator can learn the gospel from a "regular person" too. The people we are teaching all seem interested in truly knowing if the gospel is restored and if the Book of Mormon is true. I love it! Our goal as a companionship is to get 25 baptisms and 20 less active members reactivated! It really is possible. As a missionary, each week we have to fill out progress records to show to our WML (Ward Mission Leader) and the ward council what we have done that week and how missionary work in the area is progressing. Well, we are really blessed to have so many people we are working with. We fill the front AND back of the page...and then make more room on the page for more people. We have a GREAT ward mission leader in the ward who fulfills his calling with excellence. I am blessed to be in such a great area.

This week was a great week for me. I gained a stronger testimony of what faith really is. My faith was strengthened this week. I wasn't doubting why I was here on a mission, but I was feeling like I was going day after day doing the same thing for no reason. I got a little lazy and didn't do all the things I would regularly do. It was hard because I was sick, but then as a missionary I don't want being sick to stop the work from progressing. I wasn't tired, I just hurt all the time. (MOM note: Shingles) I don't know why, but I felt my faith was wavering....The last 7 weeks I have tried to focus on the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I wanted to know as much about it as I can. I wanted to feel comfortable with teaching, listening, and talking about it. I shared it (and still do) with all our dinner appointments, I share it for 5th Sunday lessons, I share it all the time. But for the past 7 weeks I kept getting the feeling that I should also study the Plan of Salvation more. I know I should have, but I never acted on the thought that the Holy Ghost gave me. This week I felt like my faith was wavering. In the back of my head I would always think, "Well why is the restoration important?", " What makes you and your church so different from any other churches?", "why are you so special?"...I knew it was the adversary putting those thoughts in my head. But I couldn't get them out. Each time I would teach the "Restoration" lesson I would feel the spirit testify to me of the truth of these things, but I still had these thoughts. I felt like my mind was wandering this week and I couldn't figure out why. (MOM note: Shingles)

I always look forward for the opportunity to go to church. This weekend was another great weekend for me...not just because I could talk with you guys. On Saturday, when we were doing weekly planning (usually we do it on Thursday, but we did service at an inactive church member's home), I kept on getting the feeling that I should review the Plan of Salvation this week. So we decided that the people we were teaching needed to learn the Plan of Salvation. I was still "iffy" myself on my feelings that week about myself and missionary work, BUT I knew it was the right thing to teach about. A lot of missionaries (me included) sometimes feel that teaching the Plan of Salvation as a second lesson is sometimes weird because we sometimes feel that it is giving them too much information to take in all at one. Since PMG (Preach My Gospel [the book]) talks about giving us discretion on what should be taught when, we feel like Lesson Three (The Gospel of Jesus Christ) would be good to go over next. Well, I'm here to tell you, I (and all the other missionaries are WRONG)! This Sunday I realized why. We talked about temples in both our Gospel Principles class and our Elder's quorum class. We talked about why they are so important, not just now, but FOR ETERNITY! That's it! THE RESTORED GOSPEL DOESN'T JUST BLESS US NOW BUT FOR ETERNITY! That is why we need the RESTORED Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is why the Plan of Salvation is so important! That's why faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, enduring to the end, Church, and the Atonement are so important!

We NEED to know the Plan of Salvation because that is what will bring us joy in this life and in the life to come! I have always known that, but this week my faith was increased in the Plan of Salvation. As a missionary we need to teach others the plan of happiness! I am so grateful that I can do that.

I love you. Thanks for your support.

Love,

Elder Trevor A. Morgan

Week 2 in Oregon City!

Hey family!

This week has been a great week! Elder Quinton and I were able to visit a lot of less active members and investigators and share a lesson with them! This area has so much potential and I am so glad that I am in this area with Elder Quinton. This week we were able to teach a young guy named Jimmy. He is a great guy. His brother was recently baptized and his extended family are members of the church. He really knows that baptism is the step he needs to take, but right now he is overcoming some addictions like smoking and coffee. He knows he can get over them. This week he came to church with his brother and his daughter. He is a really great guy. He reads his scriptures everyday and he genuinely wants to just be a better person. He has a baptismal date set for June second. He even set it himself. We are very excited for him.

On Saturday night, I got a call from Elder Follett back in the Columbia Ward. He told me this story about a new investigator that they were working with. I don't remember her name, but she a one of the *YW's friends who came to church when Elder Follett and I taught the *YM/YW for the 5th Sunday lesson. The Young Women's president called us earlier in the month wanting us to teach the 5th Sunday of the month about missionary work. She knew that we did the Bible study classes and that we knew the youth well. So Elder Follett and I decided to teach a lesson on the **"Restoration" for the 5th Sunday. We gave each YM/YW a restoration pamphlet and we were going to teach from that pamphlet. We told them we were going to review this pamphlet with them so that they could feel more comfortable in talking to their friends about the Restoration. Not only that, but we told them that we would like them to role play with the person next to them for the last ten minutes. It turned out to be a great lesson with lots of participation, and the role play turned out well too, and now after her own personal experience with the gospel, she wants to be baptized! Amazing.

I know the Lord is preparing those to hear the gospel. In the Oregon City 3rd Ward, we have so much potential and it's amazing. Today we have 4 lessons planned starting at 4:00 and ending at 8:30! We are really excited to get missionary work rolling!

Thank you for your prayers and everything you do for me!

Love,

Elder Morgan

Mom note: 
*YW=Young Women: The purpose of the Young Women organization is to help each young woman, ages 12 through 18, "Come unto Christ" (Book of Mormon, Moroni 10:32)

*YM=Young Men: The Aaronic Priesthood is the basic organization for the young men of the Church ages 12 through 18. The Young Men organization strengthens the work of the Aaronic Priesthood in the ward and gives support to the parents and the home. 

**Restoration - click on the link to learn more.

The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Hello Oregon City!

Hey awesome family!

This week I finally finished studying the Book of Mormon for the first time on my mission. I felt so happy to accomplish this. I wish I would have read it more as a kid. I know because of the things that I learned in the Book of Mormon I can be a better missionary, person, brother, and friend. This book is amazing! I look at my Book of Mormon as a journal. I used a pen and four different colors: pink, green, yellow, and blue. Now, I used all the colors not just one when I found things that stood out to me in the Book of Mormon but each color meant a different thing. I really loved commenting and writing down in my Book of Mormon my thoughts and my feelings when I would study it. I know this book has blessed me immensely. The Book of Mormon has changed my life.

Well, on Saturday night I got a call that said I was going to be transferred out of Troutdale. For that reason I was sad. I have met so many amazing people in Troutdale. I grew up in Troutdale.  I made really good friends with both the people I was teaching, and the people from the ward I was serving in. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve in Troutdale. I learned A LOT. Not just as a missionary, but as a person. I know a lot more about myself. I know what some of my strengths are and what some of my weaknesses are. I know that I can care for people I don't even fully know. I know that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing. As a missionary, I learned that it's not all about me, it's about teaching others the gospel so that they can have the blessings that I enjoy. Elder Follett was a great companion. We were able to do a bunch of work for the last 6 weeks despite our sicknesses, and our bike problems.

BUT GUESS WHAT?! I am now the proud driver of a 2012 Ford Fusion! I'M IN A CAR!!! I got transferred to Oregon City! More specifically Oregon City 3rd Ward! My companion is a great guy. His name is Elder Quinton...and he's from CANADA!  He's a foreigner! Ha ha!  He's really cool and he seems like a great person. By first impressions, and even a little more, (we've been together for almost 27 hours) it seems like we will have a great time together. Elder Quinton has only been in this area for 6 weeks, but that's okay! He's been out for about 14 months. Anyway, RIGHT after transfers he said, "We have an appointment in like 15 minutes. It's  with a P.I. (potential investigator) that I have never met.  His name is Robert. We'll be teaching about the restoration."

I'm not gonna lie, I was kinda nervous. I just met Elder Quinton, I didn't know what to expect. But when we came into the house, I felt calm. I felt that everything would be okay. And guess what? It was a GREAT lesson. Robert really truly wanted to find out about the gospel.  He also wanted to pray to Heavenly Father, at the end of the lesson, to find out if our message was true, and if the Book of Mormon is true. It was great,  even without talking much before hand, not even knowing each other, Elder Quinton and I were able to teach and work well with each other. We talked WITH Robert, not TO Robert. We had another church member there too and he gave great insight. I felt so thankful to my Heavenly Father that this lesson went so well.

I am grateful to be continuing on in my mission. I know that the Lord has great blessings in store for the people in Oregon City and I am just His instrument in making that possible.

Love to all,

Elder Trevor A. Morgan

Helllooooo! 4/23/12

Hey there family!

Well this week has been another good week in Troutdale, OR. I'm sorry your weather has not been super warm, but like you say on weather.com our weather in Portland has been great! There were some days this week when it was raining, but when I end (or start) a week with sunshine...I'll always remember it as a good week of weather.

This week has been a great week. On Tuesday, we had *Zone conference and I really learned a lot. One of the biggest things I learned is that I need to pray with more diligence. In "Preach My Gospel" there is a chart that teaches you about prayer and how to make our prayers better. (I wanna say like page 96, but don't quote me). I realized that I need to have my prayers be more specific. I want to pray for so many people, but I just feel like I have been getting lazy. I will admit, sometimes when I am really tired at night and in the morning I will say something like, "And bless all of my investigators in whatever they stand in need of"...that's not how I should pray. If I want specific things to happen to each individual, then I need to pray specifically. In the Bible Dictionary it states that "Prayer is a form of work." Prayer takes energy. It also says prayer is when the will of the father come in correspondence with the will of the child. Heavenly Father WANTS to bless us, our friends, our family, and the people I am teaching, BUT it is predicated on us asking for those blessings....specific blessings. I learned we are blessed when we pray with diligence.

I have been trying to do everything I do with diligence. I'm not perfect at it, but I know that when I study, pray, teach, find, and even exercise with diligence the Lord will bless me. Even more, if I start everything with a prayer God will, as he states in 2nd Nephi 32:9, He will "consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul". I know as a missionary he will not just bless my performance, but he will bless individuals with the SPECIFIC needs that I pray for and/or he will bless their performance. (which always includes all of you too).

Love,

Elder Trevor A Morgan.

*Mom note: Zones

Missionaries are divided into zones, each led by one or more missionaries assigned as zone leaders. The zones may be geographically large or small depending on the mission. The number of missionaries in a zone also varies widely. The zones are divided into districts, each being led by a missionary assigned as a district leader. A district usually has two to four missionary companionships. The zone leaders and district leaders train the missionaries, see after their welfare, conduct interviews, proselyte together, and share successes.

Hola family! 4/16/12

Hey! Sorry if this letter is a little short, I don't have a lot of time to write this letter because we have a dinner appointment in about an hour! This week has been a slow week in missionary work. Elder Follett has been getting over a sickness and then another sickness takes its place. Also, we had to go to downtown Portland to visit the doctor twice. It's a bummer because the problem is that Elder Follett has been sick for about 2 weeks now. I was sick also but only for a few days. We took it easy, but we both wanted to go outside and actually work because as a missionary its almost hurts you to just do nothing. We tried to just do a little bit of work, but it made Elder Follett really tired...and even a little more sick. Because our days have not been super structured, we forgot to call our Ward Mission Leader a few times. We also had to cancel going to a few important meetings. We really want to get back to work this week, but still Elder

Follett has a pain in his knee. We're kinda stuck in a hard place because Brother Nordstrom, our Ward mission leader, told PEC that he was a little concerned for us. Now, I know he knows what Elder Folett and I are going through with multiple illnesses. It's just discouraging to see our leader be concerned about our lack of progress when we're just not able to do everything we have been doing in the past. This week we're going to go back to work, not to impress or show people that we can work, but because we know that it is the time to go out and work harder so that we may fulfill our calling.

Also on another note, today we realized we've had a homeless man sleeping right next to our door for the last couple of days. We have seen trash right next to our apartment door right under the stairs that lead to the apartment above us. Today, coming back from our exercises at the church we saw the homeless man sleeping by our door. Now the reason he is doing this is because there is no rain where he is sleeping, AND we think also because we have pictures of Jesus Christ all over our windows. Now, we wanted to make sure we were safe, so we called our apartment complex managers and let them know, and we turned up our hymns music in our apartment so that he would wake up and leave. We didn't do that right away because we know he probably needed a place to sleep, but at the same time we still wanted to make sure we were safe. We decided we are gonna put a Book of Mormon our there so if he comes back we can talk to him about the Gospel... and also tell him that he shouldn't be sleeping there.

Anyways, can't wait for this week! We have zone conference and me and some other Elders in the district our singing "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" for it. We're way excited for it!

Thanks for all that you do for me even when I am not home. I really appreciate it.

Love,