Happy Holidays!

        I'm going to say on missions, Holidays aren't that fun.  It really makes it hard to stop by and contact people and so on so forth so I am looking forward to 2014 and the opportunity to start teaching more people and to get to work. I really have been looking forward to a lot of things in the new year, as missionaries we are always looking at ways we can better our self, things to sacrifice of our self's and ways to serve people so as a new year is coming I plan to set a main goal and that is to redouble my efforts. I've always enjoyed knowing that we can repent and change and become better people to work closer and closer to God and my plan is to do all I can do, continually redoubling my efforts until soon or later the day comes and I meet my savior and he tells me as I weep at is feel, Travis.... They sins are forgiven thee.

        So lately I have been in my studies looking for answers of the soul's great question that many people ask that they don't find answers to and hope that in some day I may be able to show and testify of the answers that they are looking for. Lately I've been noticing a question that people often ask and that is"why does God allow my to suffer?" and as I've been reading the Book of Mormon I found one chapter that has really helped me understand the answer to that question and that is 2 Nephi 2:2; 11-13. and to summarize the answer is that the lord blesses us with afflictions for us to gain, struggle, knowledge, experience and ect. the other thing is that we must face opposition in all things, if we did not experience sadness we would know no Joy, if we had no sin we could do no good. I have found great peace in knowing this doctrine and to know God gives us weakness that threw humility we can become strong (ether 12:27) I know our savior loves us and 

I pray I can help others feel of that same love that I feel and that is what I strive for. Clayton Christensen: “Every time you take someone figuratively by the hand and introduce him or her to Jesus Christ, you will feel how deeply our Savior loves you and loves the person whose hand is in yours” (The Power of Everyday Missionaries: The What and How of Sharing the Gospel [2013], 1).

-Elder Herdt

This has been a GREAT week!

Elder Brown and Elder Herdt

We love study time!

This week Has been a Great one! Elder Brown and I hit it off with-out a kink. I feel Elder Brown and I are getting along so well because of our expectations of what level of obedience we will live and that is exact obedience. "When you decide to live the same level of obedience there will more of an opportunity for the Spirit to remain in your presence, which will allow your companionship to grown in unity" -President Fenn 

 It makes sense because if one companion is living a lesser law there going to contend on how there going to live and what law they will live by so on and so forth. When you live exactly obedient there will be no contention. Elder Brown and I decided we were going to take this Transfer as almost in a way a White wash and it was Great because the Tuesday night Elder Brown came in we had dinner with the old ward mission leader and we told him how we wanted to go to work in this area and he responded very well to that told us he could help us and Teach us the ins and outs of the area and ward, he said our area use to be a 40 lesson a week area and Elder Brown and I want that. So we have really put a butts in gear. We had a great kick off with 13 referrals in one day and we've been contacting most of them with in the week, several seem a solid as a rock. We also have been implementing A constant finding effort talking to everyone, It was amazing Sunday after church were contacting referrals in an apartment complex and instead of hopping in are care and driving down the street to another referral we decided to walk in hopes of contacting someone along the way. Well almost like we planned it we ted Andrew, who said he was looking for a church and before we even taught him anything asked where our church build was so he could go, So seeing this Golden moment we shared with him the Restoration of the gospel and the first vision after we shared with him Joseph Smiths experience in the grove he (almost cry) said this is one of the most beautiful this I've heard in a long time. I have felt really blessed this week and hope to see more miracles to come.

       "When we live exactly obedient the endowment of faith is bestowed upon us"-Elder Bruce R. McConkie And when Faith in abundance anything can happen and that when we see miracles preformed.

-Elder Herdt

7 Degrees!

Yeah, Im not a fan of cold -___- but it is a better than what I thought it was going to be like so I'm happy about that. So dont worry about me. When we came out of an appointment the other night it was 7 degrees.  I don't know why people like living in the cold. Thanks for the blankets. the came just in time. the next night I would have froze to death. your a life saver. Well we just had our first big snow storm, about half a foot of snow yesterday but they clean up the roads real fast. were not getting a lot of snow yet like its been in Utah. I had a fun time driving in the snow, but I got it down pretty fast and I don't know if you know but I've been driving everyday with elder Ailshie because he doesn't have a license.   Thank you for your Prayers, I really do feel them and I know that they make a difference. 

     Transfers calls came in yesterday and we found out that my comp is leaving and I'm getting a companion that was in the MTC with me that I know very well. Dad even knows him. He's from Lake Havasu city and he went to the temple when dad was working there. His name is Elder Brown and i'm so stoked. I got called to be co. District leader with him so its going to be my first leadership position on my mission. 

              Well I've taken up a lot of time today, I have a lot of people to write, so I'm going to jet.

I keep you in my Prays often!

-Elder Herdt

Thankful for the opportunity to give "Thanks"

Man, I just feel so blessed serving in the Chicago mission in the Bloomingdale 1st Ward. in 2013 the Year of the Lord. I started of last week with a awesome Prep day with a Zone activity, Playing Instruments, basketball, Frisbee and get-to-know you games with my new Zone. Following that I went on Exchanges with my zone leader Elder Tanifa, a really swell missionary. The funny thing about the exchange was that my zone leader is a Spanish speaking Elder and so I was praying that night for at least a little bit of the gift of tongues. Well the next day I didn't even need it because everyone we taught spoke English too hahaha. I had such a great experience and touched a lot of people's lives that day, more than I can speak about but it will always be written inside my heart. This week I truly felt blessed and lucky.  Using iPads in missionary works makes things a BREEZE and I love it! Sharing a Mormon message in a home quickly brings the spirit and helps teach people with out us even talking, really making them think on their own. It also helps because it makes us be able to go paperless. There are so many things we can do now through our iPads that help us hasten the Work!:D But, even at that, that was not were I felt truly blessed and where I saw the hand of our Lord. One of our recent converts had lately been going through colon cancer. His life expectancy is not even to the end of the year and its truly a blessing so see him everyday. We found out that he was in the hospital on Wednesday and the assumption was that he wasn't going to make it out. We had to wait all day to finish all our appointments so we could get there asap.

 We got there around 7:30 and the true blessing was he just woke up from getting out of surgery. We were talking with him and he looked like a million bucks  We didn't know till later that in surgery the doctors made an executive decision and put a couple of stints in him to help drain the cancer's toxins from his body. He said he would be in there till Sunday. We shared with him some messages and gave him some hugs and took off. Later in the week a bunch of appointments fell through so we decided to go check on the him. When we got to his room, he was gone. They were cleaning his room and his bed, it was completely empty, which meant 1 of 2 things, he had passed or was discharged from the hospital. Well to our sweet news he had be discharged earlier that day. I jumped with Joy to Hear he was okay. We Drove straight to His house and visited him. He was just too happy to see us and told us he was praying that we would come by soon. I feel so blessed to be orchestrated in Gods handy work. Our recent convert likes to compare God to a watch Maker. The world and the universe and our lives our so intricately put together that even one missing tooth or an event in life and all existence would be thrown off. I love that because that means just as the scriptures are God's handy work and testifies of Him so does the Universe and our lives, even our bodies. I know that God lives because I am his son and his countance shines upon me.    

-God is our Loving Heavenly Father. 

-Elder Herdt