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 

A Week of Gratitude - Day 7

Today I am grateful for the time I had serving in the Kingdom of Tonga. I loved every bit of it and every person I met. I learned a lot while I was there. One of the biggest things I learned was the example the Tongan people set of charity, selflessness, and love to all. Every single day there was an instance when someone would offer me food even though it was all they had, or someone gave me sandals when mine were completely destroyed, or someone offered us a ride to a place that we needed to go to even though it was in the opposite direction they were going. These are just a few examples of the Christ-like love these people showed and it made a impact on my life. I learned that a little can go a long way, and that it brings me so much joy to make someone's burdens a little lighter. I would not trade the experiences I made in Tonga for anything in the world. Plus I got some cool tan lines.

Please remember to go out of your way today to help someone out! It will mean the world to them!

A Week of Gratitude - Day 6

Today I'm extremely grateful for Temples! I'm grateful that I can visit these beautiful places and feel God's love inside them! The Temple has blessed me and my family so so much!

A Week of Gratitude - Day 5

Today I am grateful for sports!

Playing sports, especially football and lacrosse bring me so much joy. I've learned throughout the years that to become a great athlete you need to practice every day. You need to have the discipline to practice every day and to have the determination to know that you won't be the best athlete after one day of practice. It takes many many weeks, months, and years of practice to become an outstanding athlete!

I love this so much, because it relates to the Gospel so well, and to me it relates to scripture study. Through daily scripture study we can strengthen or testimonies and knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Scripture study takes lots of discipline and determination. Over time you will be able to feel your testimony of the Gospel, and of Christ, and of the scriptures grow.

A Week of Gratitude - Day 4

Today I'm grateful for my amazing parents! I'm so thankful for the great example that they have set for my siblings and I. I'm also so grateful for their love of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that they could help me learn how to be the very best person I can be!

I love them so much, and I'm always filled with joy to know that I can live with them for eternity!

Mom and Dad, I love you to the moon and back!