Going Good in Medford

I dont have much time for email this week and it took a little while to send those pictures, so my lettter will be shorter this week.

Everything is going great, it was another busy week. I am so blessed to be in a place were we get to teach to so much, and so many peole are willing to hear the gospel. We have a baptism coming up this saturday for our investigator named Greg. He is a awesome guy, When i first came he had a date for baptism but he was not really sure its what he wanted to do. we were able to teach him and talk to him so he gained more confidence. A big part of it was a member (bro. Willford) who has been a great fellowshiper. Greg is so willing to do whatever he needs to. Teaching him about the law of tithing, and the word of wisdom was awesome because he is just so willing to do what he needs to do. he is being baptised by brother Willford after the priesthood session of general confrence, I am so exited for saturday its going to be such a great day with confrence and with the baptism.

I feel like every day gets better, and it was good to begin with, but i just get happier everyday. I am so greatful to be here and i am loving it, my testimony is growing everyday.

Love, Elder Covey

Fearless via Faith

Another Great Week

This week went by super fast. It is crazy to think that I have already been on my mission for a month, in a way it seems like i just got here, but because I have learned and grown so much it seems like i have been here for ever. We still really busy which is so great. This last week we had 16 lessons and this week we definitely plan on getting over 20. We have 6 investigators with baptismal dates, but three of them we will probably be handing off to the singles ward missionaries this week. We dont really have any time to knock doors, but we talk to about 15 people a day threw OYM's (open your mouth) we have gotten a lot of investigators threw OYMs, it seems to work a lot better than knocking doors. We also get a lot of refferals from the members, which is so great, because they are people who are open and really want to figure out. The gospel is truely an amazing message, lots of the people we teach really want to find the truth and they want answers but they really can't find. Teaching them is so awesome. I love seeing people truely find out for themselves, prayer is so powerfull. We are really just trying to get people to read the Book of Mormon and to pray about it, because when people do that, they really get answers.

I am really enjoying my time here, it is such a great feeling to always be in the service of the Lord. I am so blessed that I dont have to worried all the things that I used to. I can just focus on serving.

We are teaching these three Phillipeno guys they are all around 18 years old. They play basketball with the ward mission leader a couple times a week. A couple days after i got here he wanted us to meet them so one night before they went and played basketball we met them and had a little scripture study with them and the ward mission leaders family. The next week we taught them the first lesson (the resortation) they really liked it. One's name is Tony and he really understood it well, he really could grasp the idea of authority and how important it is to have the priesthood. The next lesson we were planning on teaching them the plan of salvation, but we ended up talking about repentance and baptism, we challenged them all the be baptised and they accepted, their great kids and I am way exited for them. Tony has read a lot into the Book of Mormon I think he is done with 1st Nephi, he really loves it and can feel the power of it. We might not teach them anymore because they are suppose to be in the singles ward, so other missionaries will teach them, but iIam very exited for them.

Thanks everyone for all your prayers, I love you all.

Love Elder Covey

Fearless via Faith

Mission President

President & Sister Young

Trainer Elder Mckenzie

A Great First Week

This first week has been awesome! It has been super busy, the area we are in has lots of work to do. We have been so busy that i have not been able to unpack until today. It has been awesome to always have something to do, we have waisted no time. My Companion (Elder Mckenzie) is awesome, he has a really cool accent, and he uses cool phrases that dont really understand. Our apartment is really great. we even have a washer and dryer. Medford is a really cool city, and it really reminds me of Orem, so much so its kind of scary. There are mountains to the East and a valley to the west. The streets are wide and it really just feels like Utah Valley, it is a little greener but not a lot. Wednesday was my first real day, the first lesson i taught was to a laddie named Sheri, Elder Mckenzie and his old companion contacted her while visiting her neighbors, they had talked to her but not taught there yet, so we taught her the first lesson, it went really well. I did not say a lot but I taught the Joseph Smith story and it was just so awesome to bare my testimony to a real investigator, she excepted the first lesson pretty well, and she is reading the Book of Mormon. We are visiting her tomorrow and we plan to challenge her to baptism, I just really hope that she has opened her heart to the Book of Mormon and prayed about it. We challenged her to read and pray about it and she committed to. I know that if she does she will be ready to accept baptism. I am very exited to see how things go with her. We are teaching a bunch of other people also but i dont have a lot of time to tell you about everyone.

I bought a bike from Elder Mckenzie's old companion who went home, he only used it for a week so its pretty much brand new, its nice, but its kinda girly looking, which is too bad but i really dont care that much. We get fed by the members every night and its really nice, we have had a lot of good food. We look after two wards. Elder Mckenzie is from Brisbane (I really dont know how to spell that) Australia.

Everything is going great. Sorry I cant write more. I am as happy as i have ever been, and i am so greatful to be here.

love Elder Covey

Phone Call with Elder Covey & Mission President

Here is Jacobs letter this week. He was able to call from the airport. Dad and I had a great visit with him. He was on fire and so excited to be able to be in Oregon. He told us more details of the fireside with Elder Holland. He was so happy, so excited.
As we said goodbye he told us he had some thing he would like to share with us. He then went on to explain that he has a mission statement for himself. It is "fearless via faith"
We are so proud of him and we know he will be fearless because he has such great faith.

Last night at ten o'clock at night we got a phone call. It was Jacobs mission president (President Young)and his wife. They told us Jacob had arrived in Eugene and that they had enjoyed spending the day with him. Preident Young told me of the interview he had with Elder Covey. He said he asked his to bear his testimony on the Savior and that he bore a powerful testimony. He then asked him if he would be obedient. He said "Elder Covey looked me in the eyes and said "you will not have a problem with me. I will be obedient"
President Young then told me that right then and there the spirit told him that his companion should be Elder McKenzie. He went on to explain that Elder McKenzie is a very obedient missionary. He has only been out 12 weeks. He is from Austalia. He said "Elder McKenzie is a very handsome missionary like your son. I am a little worried about them because of the laurels in the wards "and then he laughed. I assured him he would not need to worry about Jacob. He told me Elder Covey won the lottery. He is serving in Bedford Oregon and arrived there last night. He will be living in a members walk out basement. It is one of the nicest apartments in the mission. He said it was like the Ritz Carlton. He will be riding a bike. Bedford is near the temple. They will be able to go to the temple quarterly. They have 4 people that they are teaching that are close to being committed for baptism. The mission had 21 baptisms last month (or he may have said last week). The mission is on fire!
It was such a tender mercy for us to receive that phone call. To think they would take the time and call us and give us such details of Jacobs area and companion. We feel so blessed and so grateful.
We love you all. Keep praying for him.
xoxoxox
mom

Leaving MTC Tomorrow

I am leaving the MTC at 8 am tomorrow, and since my P day is usually Tuesday i get to email you guys a day early. Once i get to the airport i will call, i am planning on calling moms cell phone, i don't know how long i will have but i will figure out at the airport. Everything is going great, i am outrageously exited to get out to the field. Last Tuesday for the MTC fireside Elder Holland came! it was incredible, he talked about how people look at missionaries as perfect people, and even though we are not perfect, we dont have the right to let people think otherwise, he was so powerful and it was amazing to hear from him. I cant believe its time to leave, in a way it seems like i just got here a couple days ago, but on the other hand i feel like have gained and changed so much, i have really loved my time here at the MTC I dont know if i have ever been so happy, so consistently. The gospel is so great because, you really get rewarded for all the effort you put out, You really get out of it what you put it in, its incredible. The missionary life is incredible its so easy to always be doing what you are suppose to, and when you do what you are suppose to you are blessed so much. I dont know when my P day will be in the field but i will email you and i am sure i will have lot to tell you. I love all of you.

Love: Elder Covey

MTC Pictures