Week 75 - I'm Going Back to the Tongan Ward!

Malo e Lelei, 

Hello friends and family! This week has been great! We were busy with a bunch of busy work and driving. We went down to Burleson to give Elder Jenkins his bike and then we ate some good brisket sandwiches at K&S - definitely a favorite! hahaha! 

We contacted a bunch of people, but sadly enough, it's spring break and all our friends are college students, so it's been kinda slow. 

We got transfer news this week!!!!! 

I'm being transferred back to the Tongan area in Euless!!!! I'm so happy. My new comp is Elder Koloamatangi. He's an absolute stud. Were gonna have a good time. 

I'm super sad to leave all my friends and this Fort Worth zone, but in happy to go back to the Hurst zone.

Other than that I don't have much news. I just hope that y'all remember to keep giving it your all and never give up. Remember who you are, and always strive to become more Christ-like. 

Love,
Elder Delgado

 

Week 73 - The Ice Storm is Over and We're Warming Up!

 Wow! I am terrible at sending weekly emails! 

 
A lot has happened, and I don't have much time to write about the past few weeks, but I do want to say that everything is going well down here in Fort Worth and that the work is pushing forward. I'm happy and having a good time. 

I want you to know that God loves all of you and knows each of you individually. He cares about everything that is happening in your life. If you ever feel down, grab a Book of Mormon and start reading (it will fill you with the spirit!).

I hope you all have a great week, and Woohoo! It's March! It's almost Saint Patties Day!

Love y'all lots,
Elder Delgado

Week 68 - My Zone Is The Best Zone

 Happy P-day!

I hope everyone is doing well. This week has been super great! The zone had 4 baptisms and we taught a bunch of lessons. Everyone is progressing well. This zone is definitely the greatest zone in the Fort Worth Mission, and I'm not saying that because I'm biased, but because it's TRUE. All these missionaries love to work and they work hard and have a good time while they do it! 

This week we did some service at the Buddhist Temple (I always forget to take pictures there). 

This week I've been studying a lot about diligence. It's such an important attribute to acquire. Diligence is probably one of the greatest Christlike attributes a missionary can have. When you are diligent you work hard, don't get distracted, and you focus on the Savior. While being diligent we can feel so much joy. Joy in the knowledge that we are serving the Lord and gathering Israel. 

Sorry this email is short, but that's kind of the way I like it. I hope y'all have a blessed week. 🤠 Let me know if you've had something awesome happen this past week! 

Love y’all lots,

Elder Delgado 

P.S. The only pictures I have are silly workout ones, I'll try to take more pictures next week.

Week 67 - Victory!

Happy Day! 

 
This week has been so fun and a little chaotic! But all and all we came out with a big dub (dub = W = Win = Victory). 
 
Last P-day we attended a funeral for Sister Naeta. She was a senior missionary who unexpectedly passed away. As a Tongan speaker, I gathered all the other Tongan speakers in the mission and we sang a song for the funeral service. It was a sad day but we sang one of my favorite songs called Fakaofa Kiate Au. 
 
The next day I started feeling a little sick... and then the next day I started having all the same symptoms someone would have if they contacted COVID! So, I got in contact with the mission nurse and she had my companion and I quarantine and get tested for Corona Virus. I got tested and the next day I got the results back. It came back negative, which I was so relieved to hear. If it would have came back positive the whole Fort Worth Zone and all the people I came in contact with at the funeral would of had to quarantine too!
 
For the next couple of days after that, we were still told to self isolate until I felt back to normal which brings us to today!  Within this quarantine we were able to share the Gospel through technology and teach lessons. We even have one of our friends scheduled for his baptism in February! 
 
I'm so grateful for technology and the aid it gives us in these hard times. God's work is still pressing forward possibly stronger than it was before. I'm also grateful for the spectacular missionaries in the Fort Worth Zone. They are so diligent and hard working, and the work is showing! 
 
I hope y'all enjoyed your past week, and I hope you have an even better one to come.
 
Ofa atu,
 
-Elder Delgado 

Week 65 - I'm a Zone Leader in Fort Worth

 Happy Monday! 

Howdy! It seems like lately my emails have been every other week rather than weekly. I'm super sorry that I forget to send my weekly emails out some times, but this time I'll try and catch y'all up. 

About 2 weeks ago I packed up my suitcases and moved out of the Alliance Zone and moved down here to the Fort Worth Zone. It was a sad day leaving all my friends, but I knew an adventure awaits. I went down to Fort Worth and met my new companion Elder Jenkins. He's super fun and laughs at my stupid jokes which is always nice.

Here in Fort Worth I'm a Zone Leader, which means I'm in charge of about 26 missionaries in the heart of Fort Worth. These past couple weeks have been super busy with meetings and office visits and a few exchanges. We give a lot of training and let all our missionaries known about any updates with COVID and mission rules.

We are teaching a few people here, and they're super fun to get to know and share the gospel with. There's a young kid who's about 17 who is dating a girl who is a member of the church, and he's starting to take the missionary lessons. It's fun because it reminds me of my parents and their story of how they were dating in high school and my Dad wasn't a member of the church. I just remembered all about his Journey and conversion and I thought it was so cool to see kind of what the beginning of a similar story is like in real life. 

We did some service this week. I don't do as much service here because I'm so busy, but we had a good time. We helped out at a Buddhist Temple and did some light work, like pour cement and digging trenches. It was pretty fun. I enjoy doing that kind of labor, because at the end you feel like you got a good workout in and you feel accomplished.

I love sending emails, mostly for the spiritual part of it. Yesterday in Church I gave a talk about Joy. It was so fun because it was only a few days after Christmas, and we serve in a Young Single Adult ward, so there were only 16 people at church including me and my companion. It was fun speaking to that small of a group because it reminded me of going to church in Kosovo and Tonga where the congregations are smaller. In the talk I gave I used an Ensign article by David A. Bednar from December 2019 called Jesus Christ: The Source of Enduring Joy. Within it, Elder Bednar Talks about joy; what it is, how we can obtain it, and how Jesus Christ is the source of joy. One of my favorite parts is this: 

Because of Heavenly Father’s plan and the Savior’s Atonement, challenges and afflictions invite us to lift up our eyes (see Isaiah 40:26; Psalm 123:1–2) to Jesus Christ, the true source of joy. The precious perspective provided by the restored gospel allows us to learn lessons that prepare us for eternity through the adversities of mortality. Our suffering and misfortunes can be “swallowed up in the joy of Christ” (Alma 31:38) and consecrated for our gain (see 2 Nephi 2:2), “that [our] performance may be for the welfare of [our] soul” (2 Nephi 32:9). Thus joy endures in times and through experiences that are both good and bad because of our knowledge of the Father’s plan and of the Savior’s Atonement. 

I have felt true Joy in my life, and it all comes from Christ. My Joy comes from living His gospel and loving my family. That's one of the reasons I'm out here on my mission - to help people find lasting joy the the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to invite you to read this article about joy and see what new things you can learn about it. 

Christmas was super fun and I can't wait for Christmas 2021 in Ireland! :) 

Anyways I hope you have a splendid week and a happy new year. I love y'all lots and I know you will do great things this week.

Love,
Elder Delgado

 

Week 63 - I'm Going To Be a Zone Leader!

Howdy from Texas! 

Sorry I didn't send an email last week. Not much had changed since the week before. The weather down here is really weird. Some days in December will be 35 degrees and then others are 72 degrees. It just can't decide if it wants to be summer or winter and it's really strange. 

This past week we did some service like usual. We helped clear out a house and threw away a bunch of random things and sent stuff to be resold somewhere.  

This week Sister Oldham and I recorded and filmed our Christmas song that we are singing for the Alliance Christmas Concert. Usually it would be held in person but because of COVID it's a virtual event. We had fun recording and filming a video of us singing. Hopefully I can share it with y'all next week.  This was a new experience for me to record myself singing with a headphone and a $3000 microphone. It was super fancy. I'll put some photos at the end of the email.

I'm very grateful for these past few months and for the chance I've had to develop and share my talents with others. I'm super grateful for all the amazing friends I've made and for the support they have given me throughout all of this. 

Transfers are on Wednesday! I just got word that I will be a Zone Leader in the Fort Worth Zone! I'm super excited to go back to Fort Worth and also to be a Zone Leader! I'll let y'all know how it's going in the future weeks! 

Usually I share a spiritual message in my emails, and because it's Christmastime I wanted to invite y'all to watch The Christ Child video. It's definitely worth a watch with your family! This video helps me focus on the true meaning of Christmas. I hope you all can focus on the Savior during the holidays, and try to come unto Him.

I hope you have a fantastic week! 

-Elder Delgado 

Week 61 - A Happy Thanksgiving

 Howdy!

Happy Monday! This week was pretty eventful! It included service, a 5K, and a very delicious Thanksgiving. 

This week at the community storehouse I was challenged with the difficult task of building not one, but two artificial Christmas trees! It was fun setting these trees up and decorating them because it reminded me of home and of this time of year how we are starting to focus on our Savior! Like I've said before service is one of my favorite things to do on the mission. I feel super happy when I serve others, and I know how much it means to them, and to God.

Oddly enough, I can say the first 5K I've ever ran was on the mission. Basically, a lady in the stake (a group of congregations) holds a 5K race on Thanksgiving to raise awareness for people with Down Syndrome, and she invited the missionaries to run or help out at the race. And you know Elder Delgado loves new experiences and an adventure, so of course I was down to run! It was actually such a great experience, and I want to run more 5Ks. I would say don't be afraid to try something new because you might find out it's something you enjoy!

For Thanksgiving we ate at the home of one of the families in our ward (congregation). They were very kind and fed us a whole bunch. Afterwards one of the little girls gave us hats with gratitude scriptures write on them. One of them was from Psalms 92:1:

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord,
and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High"

Just remember to always give thanks and show your gratitude to God. Not just for one week of the year but every single day! As you are grateful, and pray with gratitude, you can feel Gods love for you. 

I love you guys so much! Keep being awesome! Tell someone you're grateful for them, it'll make their day.

Love,
Elder Delgado