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Howdy how oh hey,

How's are you!? I'm's good thanks! But really hope everyone's doing good...thawing out little by little. Today we're going to head up to a place called sunset cliffs...so a bbq, sunset, 75 degree weather yeah...it's gonna be legit! Things have been going really well out here! Just flying under the radar hoping I stay here in Bonita! I really do love it here....man I just had a deja vu ha sorry...just wanted to tel yall that haha...but yea it's goin good here and the work is just pressin along! Pray for me that I stay here ha! Other than that there's not a lot of big big news coming from down here. We had some rain..nothing new for you all but for us it's big! and it stinks walking in it all day too! ha but I guess I cant really complain....sunset cliffs isn't gonna disappoint I don't think! So I don't really know what to write today ha sorry..somedays I feel it and somedays not so much, I think not so much today is cuz the dang computers aren't workin and it's tickin me off! ha but ni modo venga lo que venga.....  i guess the thing that has really touched me the most this week was when we went to the temple con La Familia Cornu and one of our investigators the step-son of Hermana Cornu and it was just crazy how strong the Spirit is there! I hope you can open the picture that I attached to the email and just see and feel the shear beauty of the House of God. We have some investigators that we're teaching that the greatest thing in life what they wanna do is get married in the temple. They don't really know anything about the temple but that their family can be sealed and bound together for time and all eternity by being married in the temple and that's all they want is to have the assurance that whatever happens in this life their family will still be together forever. It's one of the greatest blessings that we have is to have the House of the Lord established for us to come closer to Him. That's what we're all striving for and in the end that's where we all want to be is closer to Him with our families. And through the blessings of the temple it is possible. Once again it's one of those tender mercies that we have in our lives and we should take advantage of! Even if you're not a member go to the grounds...feel the spirit that's there and draw nearer to Him.

Lots of love,

Elder Ryan Lawter

More yucky ducky

At La Jolla

Ry got really excited about these seals

"Cheers to the duckies!" 

This is round 2 of eating aborted ducks...gross. 

He said he'll eat one with me when we go back to visit in August. 

I said, "Umm..NO SHANKS!"

Das nasty

Hey everyone!

How's it going!? Things have been really good here! Elder Linnemeyer and I have been working our bums gettin people to do things to progress. Sometimes it's so difficult to have someone that you're teaching and you do sooo much on your part but they do nothing on their part but we've got some investigators that are really searching and really wanting to know! It's amazing to see the power that the Spirit has in the conversion of people. It really isn't us missionaries that do the converting it's the Spirit, it's just a tender mercy from the Lord that we are able to be a mouthpiece and to witness true conversion take place.

We had a baptism that we went to and I spoke in the intermediate about the similar topic of how we as children of our Loving Heavenly Father witness tender mercies from Him each and every day. They really are all around us. Our bodies and health, nature, our family, having work, waking up out of a bed each morning, our families, the opportunity to love and to be loved....whatever it may be we are all witnesses of the work of God, meaning we are all witnesses of Him each and every day and it's those tender mercies that keep us going. For anyone who is struggling, for anyone who is lost or in despair just stop.......listen.....watch.....smell.....touch......taste...... this life is to be enjoyed...not endured. In the beginning we knew it would not be easy. We knew we were going into a hostile environment where we would be tempted, where we would be tried, a place where heartache would be present but we had faith to come here and that's the faith we need to make it through. Just take a second out of the day and look around it's amazing how present God really is and how much He really does love us! It makes sense that a Father would want His children to succeed and so He's given us all the tools necessary for our journey back home. Today we are soooo blessed to have the same church that Jesus Christ Himself established on the earth restored and re-established in it's fullness. We are soooo blessed to have that same Priesthood authority that He gave to His apostles, the same authority that all the Prophets have had. And we are soooo blessed to have a living-day prophet leading and guiding us today. It just doesn't make sense to me that God would call Prophets and Apostles in the times before, during, and a little after Christ and not call Prophets and Apostles when we needed them the most. The world is the worst it's ever seen and oh how we need men called of God to be mouthpieces for Him and to direct us and gives us the safety and security that we need. The Heavens really are opened and God really is still there. A man came up to me a few days ago and asked me "how can you possibly believe in miracles?" and I told him "how can you possibly not? just look around and tell me you don't see any miracles"......

"Be still, and know that I am God." - Psalms 46:10

If we just take a few and be still we will truly know the reality of God and all the tender mercies that we have in our lives....

As you all being my tender mercies I am grateful to have your love and your support! I love you all and pray for the best to ya! Have a good week!!!

Much love,

Elder Ryan Lawter

Hows it goin!?

These pictures are from basketball in the ghetto last pday!

"Chris Farley catchin some rays..haha doesnt he look like Chris Farley! He's freakin hilarious too..."

"Swatted again!!! The kid in the gray shot it and I just smacked the crap outta it...not in my house...."

***


Another day another dollar here...things are going pretty

well actually! It just seems to be clicking right now. Everything seems to

be clicking so I'm hoping to keep this momentum up and finish this rat race

off strong! Just not a lot of time. President Donaldson was telling us a

story that's kind of similar. He was telling us that he was in a meeting

before his mission with Elder Ballard and they obviously were talking about

missionary work and something that Elder Ballard said that always stood out to

him was that he told them that "We need to give our ultimate best because we

just don't have that much time." Then he said that the same night or the

next night one of the two that his grandson was killed in a motorcycle

accident if I can remember right.... The time really is short and we don't

know how many days we have left...we have no control over that, but what we

do have control over is what we do with those days that are given to us. In

the words of a wise sense from Kung Fu Panda " Yesterday is history,

tomorrow is a mystery, but the present is a gift...that's why it's called a

present." Christ himself said that 'I must work the work of my Father while

it is still day...because the night cometh where no man can work." It's

something that I think we take for granted everyday is the time that we've

been given. And if we better realize those blessings and opportunities that

cross our path it would be a lot harder to let our days just slip away.

Sometimes we have days that we wish never would've come....Sometimes our

days are filled with more things than we can carry...But always that day

will end and a new day will come but it's through the trial of our faith

that our faith will grow and with our faith growing will come a better

realization that our days that we have are blessings and it's in those days

that we will receive many more. Have an awesome week and we'll talk to ya

next week!

Love,

E.L.

Let it snow, let it snow...NO!!!

Ryan and his BFF Elder Little

San Diego Temple

Cute widdle chubby bunnies

Hey Snowbirds!

Sounds like you all need a vacation to somewhere sunny.... sorry I can't help you there...don't really know where to point you... How's everybody been doing!? Things here really couldn't get any better but I know that they are so that's a good feelin! I just can't believe all the miracles that are goin down here Bonita....We've got people with dates to be baptized, people coming to church, new miracle investigators, all of our members are inviting their friends and that's been the real drive of all these miracles here.... probably 3/4 of the solid people that we're teaching right now are member referrals so that just goes to show you how crucial it is for everyone to work in the kingdom.... there's no way that we could do any of this without each other and things are just exploding now because we've put in that long term vision of the work and have been working with these members ever since I've got here...so can I take credit for any of this??? No but how blessed I am from Heavenly Father to be a part of it! When I got here things were...well actually they weren't ha nothing was going on but the miracles that God has been placing here is just unimaginable! How I love the work of the Lord!

We've actually this past week have had 3 members of the 70 come through here that I've met that's 4% of em! Only 96% more to go at least in the 1st quorum but Elder David Evans, Elder Lance Wickman, and Elder Robert Oaks came here and I had once again the BLESSING to here from 3 Special Witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ and how sweet it is to hear in person the words of men called of God. I just got the warmest feeling when I was listening a testimony that these men really are inspired just as the Prophets, the apostles, and the quorum of the 70 of old as when Christ was on the earth. The Gospel has truly be restored in its fullness and that's the message that we have to share is that it is here and it is ready to bless peoples live if they will just listen. Christ said many times during his mortal ministry "If any man have ears to hear, let him hear." Pretty much meaning you better pay attention dummy because this is important! ha But that's whom we seek out the people that will "Harden not their hearts," all just listen it's really not that hard to do but people are so wrapped up in themselves and in the things of the world that they do not have "ears to hear." It's my pray that we all open not only our ears to hear but as well our hearts to feel and only when that happens is when the Spirit of the Lord will testify of the divine reality of this gospel. "Ask and it shall be given you;seek and ye shall find;knock and it shall be opened unto you." It's the invitation to us all and how blessed we will be if we accept it!

Much love,

Elder Ryan Lawter