Hello family!

It sounds like ya'll had a great week! I'm happy to hear Hadley is stepping it up in the athletics! That is so awesome that you guys get to all go to Youth Conference this year up in Kirtland. Man I absolutely LOVED that youth conference so much. The Spirit is really strong up there. Hadley you are way lucky to be going there for your first youth conference!

So Elder Hernandez and I just got done fishing up in Mantua(town of 700 people). This is our second time going and today I caught a good sized bass. Last time I caught about an 18 inch rainbow trout haha. We go with this awesome guy named K. B. who lives up in the sticks in Mantua and he's a less active guy who we are trying to help come back to church. I'm learning a ton about fishing and hunting and big trucks because that's what a lot of the people up here like to talk about so I'm learning as much as I can about it. haha. The other day we were up in Mantua, and we were walking down this dirt road by this house and Elder Hernandez saw a rooster in this guys yard and started just chasing it around jokingly. All of a sudden though these two gigantic bull dogs started chasing after him and he barely got away before the dogs hit their electric fence - haha! It was pretty epic. We found out later that the people who lived in the house are pretty anti-mormon and so we are pretty sure they sicked the dogs on us. Haha!

On Sunday we also had the chance to speak in Mantua for sacrament meeting. I haven't spoken in church for about 2 months so the butterflies came back a little bit before I spoke. Especially because I accidentally left about half my talk at home and realized it when we were on the stand in sacrament meeting. haha. Kind of scary but The Lord took care of me and I realized that the part I left at home wasn't something the ward really needed to hear. But anyways, things are still going great up here in Brigham City! Sunday in church we also taught in a primary where Laura Theuson's mom was a teacher, haha.

This Saturday J.G. is going to be baptized which Elder Hernandez and I are super excited about! Also, there is a kid we are teaching whose girlfriend is a member. Last week in our first lesson with him we committed him to be baptized on the 6th and he accepted! He came to church on Sunday and this lady that teaches at his high school came up to Elder H and I, and she was like "How did you get that kid to church! He is probably one of the worst kids at our school, always in to drugs and stuff." That made me think alot. A lot of the time, the Lord's elect and prepared are not the people who we think are prepared to receive the Gospel. People who do drugs, and have tattoos and have children out of wedlock could be just as much elect or prepared as someone who goes to church every Sunday. Only The Lord knows, and He is preparing people all the time. Christ did not dwell with the so called "religious leaders" of His day, but with the publicans and the sinners. And just as much as this lady thought this young man wasn't someone who would receive the Gospel, he is! We never know when the Spirit will touch someone's heart and change them! Anyway, I have to get going! But Thanks again for everything and for all the support, I love you all! Have a great week! Love, Elder Powers

Hey fam! Thanks for the emails, you guys are the best. Mom it sounds like the Book of Mormon activity went really well! Bishop Forsyth really knew what was up when he called you guys to be the activities chair people! I'm sure Brother Lindorf was hilarious too, haha. Could you get me his address? I would love to write him and hear more about how he is doing. Also, I'm happy to hear that Grandma continues to get better and that the Philly party was fun! So things up here are still going great! People are coming out of the wood work who are ready to be baptized and it's exciting! To answer your question Mom, we cover 2 stakes now with a total of 18 wards. We get fed pretty much every single night and so I'm eating WAY better than last transfer, that's for sure, which is part of the 15 pounds I've put on, haha. We haven't spoken in church yet up here but next week starts a long line of speaking in wards, which should be fun! The girl S that we found last week is 10 years old and we set a baptismal date with her for the 22nd but the Bishop wants to hold off a little while because he thinks it's too soon but she really wants to be baptized so that will be coming up! Also we are going to baptize this awesome kid named J who is 13 on the 29th! There are a few families who aren't members who have been coming to church so Elder Hernandez and I are super excited about them and their potential!

The coolest thing ever happened this week. We had Zone Conference, and we had a sweet special guest. His name is Alex Boye, and he is one of the 2 black men in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He came and spoke to us and sang to us for about an hour and a half and I felt like I had died and gone to Heaven. It was epic! When he was 16 he got kicked out of his house in London because he refused to go buy liquor for his uncle anymore after he converted. The day he got kicked out he had no idea what to do and so he turned to the scriptures. He read D and C 122 where the Lord talks to Joseph Smith about how his trials will be for his gain. Alex Boye said that made him mad to read that because of the situation he was in but than he read the verse after that which says" The Son of Man hath descended below them all, art thou greater than He" After that he said he knew he had no reason to complain. That scripture is so true and powerful. Who are we to complain?? The Savior went through everything and he never complained. That hit me really hard. Also he said the works without faith is dead. We can go around as much as we want doing things and trying to find people but nothing will ever happen unless we have faith that our works will produce. There was so much he said that was really inspiring. He also talked about blacks in the priesthood and how Joseph Smith when he ran for president, one of his main platforms that was he would abolish slavery if he became president and that was one of the main reasons the saints got driven from Missouri. Also every reference in the Book of Mormon that refers to "cursed with a skin of blackness" really means spiritual darkness. All the footnotes to those scriptures talk about spiritual darkness. Very profound and something I had never thought about. Also he talked about Proverbs 23:7, which says " As a man thinketh, so is he" If we think greatness, than we will be great and greatness will follow us. Thinking great is so key! Never settle for mediocrity, the Lord requires more than mediocrity out of us as Saints. I have to get going but I love you all very much!
Love, Elder Powers

Sounds like it was another busy week in Connecticut, New York and Virginia! I'm happy to hear Grandma Z and Grandma P are doing well! I'm sorry this email is going to be crazy short but someone is coming to pick us up right now and it took me most of the time to read all your emails which I was very grateful for! Know that I am doing great and loving life! Elder Hernandez is THE MAN. His motto which I have taken upon myself is, "Work Hard, Play Hard, Keep The Rules". I have already learned so much from him. I'll let you know everything that's going on up here in Brigham on Sunday though because I have to get running! Love you guys! Elder Powers