July 10, 2016
Hey Everyone! 

Things are going well! We had a good week. We travelled the mission attending "Get to know you" Zone Conferences for the Badgers. Elder Cox, and myself trained on Chapter 5 from Preach MY Gospel. We talked about the importance of teaching with the Book of Mormon, and helping our investigators to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. 

We also got to attend the British Pageant on Friday night. It was great. A few of the people we are teaching came to church this week. Patience and Serge were at church. Patience will be getting baptized this Saturday at 11:30. We are really excited for her. She has changed a lot just in the last few weeks. Another recent convert, Marshall just received the Aaronic Priesthood this week. It was great to see. He works all night, but still comes to church after getting off at 8 in the morning. He is a good man.

This week we will go to the temple with all the departing missionaries. Then we will plan for the mission, and transfers on Wednesday, Thursday, andFriday. It should be good. I love the temple. I hope you all have a great week. I gave a talk this Sunday. I was asked to speak on the covenants that we make at baptism. We promise to Take Christ's name upon us, always remember Him, and keep the commandments. I know that if we are always remembering him, it will be so much easier to keep the commandments. We will be motivated by our love for the savior. I know this is Christ's restored church. I love you all! 

I attached a few pictures from Zone Conference,and from the pageant. 

-Elder Lords

New Mission President

July 3, 2016 
Hey, 

This week we said "Goodbye" to President and Sister Jensen. It was hard to see them leave. They have taught me, and anyone who has been around them so much. It was great getting to know them. I will stay in contact with them for a while. 

This week we had a lot of good things happen. We were in our area most of the week. We got to teach a good number of people. We also had a few people at church. I hope that I will be able to help a few more people be baptized in the month of July. 

Justin was given the Aaronic Priesthood today. That was really neat to witness. He is doing well. It will be fun to see him pass the sacrament this upcoming week. I love that the Priesthood Authority has been restored to the earth. It has blessed my life. I know it is God's power to act in his name for the salvation of his children.

We also met a cool guy from Cameroon, Africa. His name is Serge (pronounced Surge) he is a great man. We met him on Wednesday and taught him. He came to church on Sunday, and he bore his testimony. It was great. He was trying to get the audience to be more interactive so he was saying "Amen" and "Hallelujah" from the pulpit. He is very humble. I have learned a lot from him. He has Polio, but he still has a great attitude. He is very successful he works for Wells Fargo as a financial investigator. 

This week we will travel to 4 different Zone Conferences. The mission will get to meet the Badgers. I really like the Badgers. They are very kind and loving. President Badger is a very nice man. He is and will make a great mission President. We also will be in Nauvoo on Friday for the British Pageant. I am excited for that. Have a great week. 

-Elder Josh Lords

Hanna was baptized

June 26, 2016
Hey Everyone, 

Hannah was baptized and confirmed this weekend! It was great to be apart of! She was nervous leading up to her baptism, but she was so happy as she was baptized! It was great to see! Her nephew Justin, the boy that got baptized June 11th, was interviewed today to receive the Aaronic Priesthood! 

This week we also had three Zone Conferences. It was the departing Zone Conferences for the Jensen's. It was a lot of fun to be apart of. It was also a bit sad. I have learned so much from President and Sister Jensen. They have taught me to love everyone. They have taught me numerous different skills, and attributes that will bless my life forever. They have been my parents away from my parents. There time has come, and now they will get to return to be with their family! I am excited to meet President Badger this week. He will come to the mission this Thursday at 12 p.m. It will be nice to meet him. 

This week we will get almost the whole week to proselyte without many meetings! I am really looking forward to it. We have a lot of investigators that we need to see! It will be a great week! I hope you are all doing well! I love you! 

-Elder Lords

900 Miles!

June 19

Hey Everyone! 

We had a good week this week. We travelled around the mission quite a bit. So far this week we drove over 900 miles. It was a lot of driving. We attended Zone Training Meetings in Nauvoo, Cedar Falls, and Iowa City. It was good. The mission seemed to benefit from the training this last week. This week we have Zone Conference that we will be travelling to. It was hard to be gone all week. We just wanted to be back in Des Moines teaching people, but we know that what we were doing was also important. President Jensen has us present our training at three different Zone Training Meetings. 

I want to share a cool story. So on Wednesday we were driving to Cedar Falls, Iowa. We were driving along and we got a call from Hannah. She is the Aunt of Justin. Justin was the boy who was baptized last week. We have been teaching her for a few months, but she has been nervous about being baptized. She is a great lady. She has great faith. She called and said "Can I be baptized on the 20th?" So we talked with her and said that we could come by Friday once we were home, and talk about things. So Hannah will be getting baptized this Saturday at 11 a.m. We are really excited for her. She is super prepared. 

This week we will have a goodbye Zone Conferences for President, and Sister Jensen. I am super sad that they are leaving, but they have been so great for the past 3 years they have been serving. Have a great week! 

Also, Happy Fathers day! I love my Father. I also love my Father in Heaven. I am grateful to be a missionary.

"Perhaps the most essential of a father’s work is to turn the hearts of his children to their Heavenly Father. If by his example as well as his words a father can demonstrate what fidelity to God looks like in day-to-day living, that father will have given his children the key to peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come.9 A father who reads scripture to and with his children acquaints them with the voice of the Lord." My Father taught me this, and so much more. My Mother definitely helped as well! I have great parents! 

"Fathers" By Elder D. Todd Christofferson 

 -Elder Lords

Justin was baptized!

June 12

Hey Everyone, 

Wow, it has been a great week. It has been busy, fun, and stressful. The best part of the week was this; Justin was baptized, and confirmed today! It was great. He was supposed to be baptized this last week, June 4th, but then his date got moved because of his family. Then he was supposed to be baptized June 18th, but his Mother's girlfriend said that he couldn't be baptized that day, but that he could this Sunday. We had to scramble to get the baptism all set up. The ward was a little frustrated that we didn't give them more notice. Of course we would have given them more time, but we gave them as much time as we could. I am sure that Alma didn't give the people a few weeks notice that he would be baptizing people at the Waters of Mormon. Haha, No I know we need to respect, and work with the ward, but Justin was ready and prepared. He needed to be baptized. He was so happy at his baptism. We shouldn't deny him the blessings of the gospel because "The ward needed more notice." I am glad that they were able to understand that, plus the Stake President helped them to see they were being unreasonable. Sorry for my rant. Justin was baptized. It was super great. He was super happy! He kept smiling the whole day. 

This week we will have MLC on Tuesday. Then we will travel the mission Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday giving the same training from MLC. It should be good. Hopefully we can help the missionaries. Have a great week! I love you all! 

June 5

Hey Everyone! 

This week was pretty good! We were busy with going to the temple, and transfer planning! It was a good week. This week was also pretty sad. Justin was supposed to be baptized on Saturday. We called his Mom Friday just to confirm that everything was good to go. She got scheduled to work so she said we would have to move the baptism. We moved it from 11 to 7:30 p.m. We got the font all filled and a few members of Justin's family couldn't make it. His family demanded that we move the baptism. We had to respect his family. So he should be baptized in the next few weeks! He is a great kid. 

This week we will pick up the new missionaries on Wednesday. Then 9 missionaries will depart on Friday. It will be sad! It will be really sad to say goodbye to President and Sister Jensen at the end of this month! I love you all! Have a great week! My emails keep getting shorter and shorter! Sorry! 

-Elder Lords

May 29
Hey Everyone, 

I hope that everything is going well! We had a good week. We taught a good number of people. Things are going well. I just found out who my new companion will be. He is actually one of my previous companions. I trained him when he came to the mission, Elder Davis Cox from Kaysville, Utah! I am excited it will be fun! 

This week we will go to the temple with the Departing missionaries. Then we will transfer plan all week! It should be good! Sorry this is a short one. We are having a baptism on Saturday. It will for sure be Justin. He is a sweet 12 year old. He is super prepared. His Aunt Hannah will possibly be baptized as well if she decides to be. She has been a bit nervous about getting baptized so hopefully she will decide to be as well. She says she wants to wait, but she is thinking about being baptized still. She has already paid tithing so she might as well take the leap of faith and get baptized! Have a good week! 

-Elder Lords

May 22
What a week! This week was great. It was full of great things. Mahawa was married at the church on Friday. It went well. I will attach pictures. Bishop Cook married them. Then Mahawa was baptized yesterday, and confirmed today! 

The wedding was really great. It was half a gym of Liberians. It was great. I love Liberian people. They are very loud people so it was a fun wedding. The wedding was scheduled for 4 p.m. No one showed up tell about 5 p.m. We were talking to a few people at the wedding, and they said "Us Liberians are always late." It turned out good. Mahawa was baptized the next day at 1:30 p.m. Her daughter Princess was planning to be baptized with her, but her Grandparents found out and didn't want her to be baptized it was sad. They stopped her from being baptized. Patience, a friend of Mahawa, was supposed to be baptized as well. She got nervous, and backed out she. Says "I will wait until June 4th." So hopefully she can be baptized then. It was stressful trying to figure everything out this weekend. It was good. 

This Saturday I will find out who my new companion will be. Then next Tuesday we will pick him up on the way to the temple next Tuesday. We will be in a trio until June 10th when Elder Banta goes home. I am so grateful to be on a mission. I love Christ, and his church. I hope all is well. I love you all! 

May 15
Hey Everyone, 

We had a great week. We got to teach a lot of people. It was good. We stayed super busy. We are always busy. Mahawa and Princess passed their baptismal interviews on Saturday so they will be getting baptized on Saturday at 1:39 p.m. Mahawa will be getting married on Friday at 4 p.m. It should be a great week. 

This week we will be in our area all week so we should be able to teach a lot. It will be good. I want to share one of my favorite quotes. “The purpose of the gospel is … to make bad men good and good men better, and to change human nature.”  I am grateful for the gospel. I want to be a good man. I make mistakes and sin, but I am so grateful for the optamism that comes from The Gospel of Jesus Christ! I love you all have a good week! 

-Elder Lords

Happy Mothers Day!

May 8
Hey Everyone, 

THings are going great. We had a pretty good week! We travelled a lot! We drove over 700 miles this week all over the mission attending meetings. It was good, but long. We also got to stop in Dyersville, IA at the set where they filmed the "Field of Dreams". It was cool. I will attach a picture!! 

The work is going well. We have a family who will all be getting baptized on May 21st. Hopefully the Father (Prince) will be able to join the wife (Mahawa), and the eight year old daughter (Princess). Prince and Mahawa will get married at the church May 20th, and then they will be baptized the next day! It will be awesome. They are doing well. We are also teaching another family, Justin (12), and Hannah (his aunt). Justin's Mom is a member of the church. All the people that I just talked about are from Liberia. They are wonderful people. 

I am very grateful for Mother's, especially my Mother. Parents play such a essential, and fundamental role in the lives of their children. I am so grateful for the kind, compassionate, loving, and thoughtful Mother that I have. She taught me so much. I am grateful for all the women in my life. I hope you all have a great week! I love you! 

May 1
Hello Everyone, 

Things are going well. It has been a great Sunday. We had a lot of investigators at church. It was a huge blessing. We were supposed to have a lot of people at church, and church started and no one was at church, but at the end of the day we had 13 people at church and 7 of which are baptismal age. It was a huge blessing. We had a mission wide fast that every companionship could have 2 people "On Date" for baptism by May 14th. So hopefully we can see fruits from our fast. 

We got a full work in our area this week. It was great. I love teaching people the gospel. This week we taught people from all over the place. We taught a lot of people from Liberia. We taught, and talked to several people from Thailand. We also taught some people from New York, and from other places around the US. It has been a great week. I love the optimism of the Gospel. The Gospel is all about where we are willing to go with the savior's help, not where we have been. It is about changing and putting the past behind us. I love applying the principles of the atonement in my life, and helping others to apply those principles. 

This week we will have a bunch of meetings.... :/ We will have MLC in Iowa City on Tuesday. Then we will attend Zone Training meetings in Cedar Rapids(Wednesday), Davenport(Thursday), and Oskaloosa(Friday). It will be good. We are stopping by "The Field of Dreams" on Wednesday so that will be fun! I hope you all have a good week! I love you all! 

-Elder Lords

April 24
Hey Everyone! 

This week was good. We had transfers it went pretty well. Three of the missionaries that were coming out missed there flight from Texas to Iowa. So they didn't get here on Wednesday until 10 p.m. They were suppose to get her on Wednesday at 12 p.m. So they had to sit in the Fort Worth Airport from 10 a.m. to about 8 p.m. That would be such a long day! Then we trained them from about 11 p.m. to 12 p.m. It was a long night. They were all falling asleep as President interviewed them and as we trained them haha! 

We also got to teach a few people this weekend. For a while we lost contact with Hala. Angelina, Halas mom, also told us we couldn't teach her anymore. Then this week we got permission to teach her again. So we saw her last night and she is going to be baptized on May 21st. We will have a busy weekend. Mahawa a lady we are teaching is going to be married at the church on May 20th and then baptized with her daughter May 21st as well. They are a really cool Mom and Daughter from liberia. 

I love being a missionary! Life is good. I love you all! 

Picture: On the left in Alex. He was baptized in December, and the right is Dede. He is a man we are teaching. Alex is from Togo, and Dede is from Burkina Faso. 

April 17
Hey Everyone! Things are going well. We had a good week. On Tuesday we went to the Nauvoo Temple with the departing missionaries it was a good time. It will be sad for me to see some great missionaries returning home. I will attach some pictures from the temple. 

This week we spent a lot of time transfer planning. It went pretty well. The mission should benefit from the changes that will be made. We also have a few hours of Pday on Saturday because we work in the office on Monday. This Saturday we went golfing with President Jensen. It was a lot of fun! I enjoy golfing. 

We also got to teach a few people this week. We had about 3 hours each night in our area other than Saturday. We had almost a full day Saturday. My favorite lesson this week was with Kay. She is an awesome lady from Thailand. She came to church last week and really enjoyed it. She wasn't at church today though. We taught her on Friday, and her and her daughter fed us Pho. It is a Thai dish. It was really good. It has rice noodles and beef and a whole bunch of stuff in it. Teaching her wasn't my favorite just because of the food, but because she is just super humble and she understands. As we teach her she just soaks in the Gospel. Most people in Thailand are Buddhist, I think, but she is Christian already! 

This week we will be busy with Transfers. The new missionaries fly in on Wednesday. We will pick them up around 12 or 1. Then we will send the departing missionaries home Friday. We will leave for the airport about 5 a.m. Have a good week! I love you all! 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/in-praise-of-those-who-save?lang=eng

This is my favorite talk from conference! 

-Elder Lords

April 10
Hey Everyone! 

Life is great we had a good amount of time in our area this week! We had meetings in Iowa City Tuesday, and Wednesday morning, but other than that we were in our area all week. It was great! We were blessed to teach 8 new people this week. It was a lot of fun! We taught people from all over. We taught a lady from Thailand, and a lady from Liberia of course. We met a lot of cool people. 

We also ate some Fufu last night. Fufu is an african dish. It looks like a ball of dough. You put some on your fingers then you dip it in spicy soup, then you swallow it whole haha! It is an interesting dish. I kinda like it. The family that fed it to us had just gotten back from buying/butchering a goat haha! I will attach a few pictures! 

This week we get to go with the departing missionaries to the temple. It will be great. I love the temple. We will wake up at 6 a.m. and drive three hours to the Nauvoo temple. It should be great! Elder Gowers one of my previous companions will be going home. He is a great missionary. He is one of my favorite companions it will be sad to see him leave! 

The rest of the week we will transfer plan with President Jensen. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from about 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m. we will transfer plan. It is fun/stressful/tiring to transfer plan. It will be good for the mission to have a change though! Life is good. Recently I have been reading back through "The Pearl of Great Price". I really enjoy learning about the creation and all the great doctrine in that book! I hope that you all have a great week! I love you all! 

-Elder Lords  

Pictures: 

The stuff in the sink is what Mable calls "Goat Gut" haha. 

The other picture is Fred and I. He was baptized December 31st. 

The other picture is Fufu and Spicy soup

March 27
Hey! This is going to be short! Sorry! 

Things are going well. I have had a great Easter. I love remembering the Resurrection of the savior. I am truly grateful for the atonement. I am continuing to increase my gratitude for what Jesus Christ has done for us. He makes so much possible. 

This week we have Zone Conference. We will travel to Davenport and Iowa City on Thursday and Friday. We have been preparing our training. I hope it goes well! I am so excited for conference. I love hearing Gods word. Hala is doing well. She will be baptized April 16th. We found quite a few new people this week. We are really excited about a few of them Love you all! 

-Elder Lords

March 20, 2016

March 20, 2016

Hey Everyone, 

Things are going well. We had a good week. We traveled a lot this week. We were gone from Monday to Friday. We went around to a few different meetings. We trained the missionaries on "A Successful Missionary", from Chapter 1 in Preach My Gospel. It seemed to be a pretty good training. 

On Monday we went Golfing with President Jensen. It was a lot of fun. He is a great golfer. The weather was about 70 degrees. It was great to get out in the sun! 

Then on Friday night and Saturday we returned home to work in our area. We got to teach a couple people. Our most progressing investigator right now is Hala. Hala is a 16 year old. She is from Sudan, Africa. She is a very smart girl. We taught her on Saturday in our Ward Mission Leaders home. We also had a few of the young woman there so she would have some friends. Then she came to church today with her sister, Owowdiah.

Things are going well. I love the changes that I get to see people make in there lives. The teachings of Christ will bless our lives significantly if we allow the atonement of Christ to mold and shape us. Have a good week! Love you all! 

-Elder Lords

A short Letter!

March 13, 2016


Hey! I don't have much time or much to tell you from last week. We had a busy week picking up the new missionaries and dropping off the departing missionaries. Transfers went well. All the missionaries arrived to there new areas safely. We fixed a flat tire for a member just off the I-80. We taught a few new people this week so that was good. All is well! 

Here is one of my favorite quotes from last General Conference. I can't wait until General Conference in April. "I pray that we will focus on “the simplicity that is in Christ” and allow His grace to lift and carry us." I hope that you all have a great week! Below is the link to the talk that the quote above is from. Love you!
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/it-works-wonderfully?lang=eng

-Elder Lords

March 6, 2016

March 6, 2016

Hey Everyone! 

Well this week has been good. It has been a busy, but good week. We went to the temple Tuesday with all the departing missionaries. That was great! Then on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we transfer planned. We are preparing for transfer week now. Wednesday we will pick up the new missionaries around 1 p.m. It is a lot of fun to welcome the new missionaries off the plan. This week we taught a few people, but we didn't get a ton of time in our area. Only a few hours each night. Then Friday Elder Banta got really bad food poisoning. So we spent the evening in the apartment. He slept and ran to the bathroom, and I cleaned. I felt bad for Elder Banta. He is doing good now. 

This week we talked with a really cool girl named Holla. Holla is a 16 year old girl from Sudan. She came to church this Sunday and loved it. Her mom, and sister were planning, but didn't make it and she came on her own. She is super smart. We taught her shortly after church with our Ward Mission Leader. It was awesome! She has such a good desire. She will be a great member of the church! We had a great Testimony meeting today. A bunch of the converts bore there testimonies. The spirit was very strong. I am so gratful for the joy that comes from living the gospel. Nothing can replace it. I am so grateful for the opportunity that we all have to change, and become clean through the atonement of Christ. The atonement covers all. It is infinite. It covers all. We can be made clean, so that we can return to live with God.  3 Nephi 27:19-20

19 And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.

 20 Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.

Have a good week! Love you all! 

That is the picture of our new truck. Probably my first and last time driving a brand new truck for awhile haha! 

Dakota was Baptized!

February 28, 2016
Hey Everyone!

Well, it has been another great week! Dakota was baptized yesterday, and confirmed today! So that was great! She is awesome! It was a great baptismal service. She is a really cool girl! We had a good week. We had a few exchanges. We had the Zone Leaders from Ankeny, IA come to our area Thursday, and the Zone Leaders from Iowa City in our area on Tuesday. It was great to have a few exchanges. We also had the new trainers/Trainees meeting on Thursday. That was held in Iowa City (2 hour drive). We do a short training from Chapter 8 in Preach My Gospel. We talk about using the planner, area book, and weekly planning. All principles from Preach My Gospel. It was a good meeting. It was just for the new missionaries, who have been out 5 weeks, and their trainers. 

This Tuesday we will be at the temple with all the departing missionaries. We get to drive down 4 Elders. Then Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday transfer planning. Transfer planning is when we match missionaries with there new companion. It takes a lot of thought, and prayer. We help our mission President do this. It will be good to have a new transfer. A transfer usually helps the missionaries to work a little harder. They get a new companion and a fresh area sometimes. It is good for the mission. We have a lot of baptisms in the mission next week. We will have about 25 people on date for March 5th. That will be great. The mission baptized 32 people in January so 25 the first week of March would be great!! We have a lady, Gaye (Patience is what she goes by), that will be getting baptized March 12th. The work is going well. 

I can't believe how fast time is passing me by. I love being a missionary. It will be sad to go home. I just want to work as hard as I can for my last few months. I am grateful for the Gospel. It makes such a difference in the lives of the people we teach. I hope all is well. Love you all! 

-Elder Lords

Chelsie was Baptized!

February 21, 2016
Hey Everyone, 

Things are going well. It has been a great week. On Saturday I got to travel to Burlington for Chelsie's baptism. It was great. She has made so much progress. She is a really great person. I really enjoyed teaching her. I am super grateful for the gospel, and the difference it makes in peoples lives. 

This week we had a busy week. We taught a lot of lessons. We went on two different exchanges. We went to Fairfield, Iowa. It is a smaller town. We went out with the Zone Leaders there. In this town there is a big group of Mediators, not 50 or 60, but thousands of people who do this mediation thing. They even have a college there named after the guy who started this mediation movement. His name is Maharishi. I met some really nice/interesting people. It was a good exchange. Then Thursday the Zone Leaders from Quincy drove to our Area in Des Mouines. We had a great exchange. I got to see one of my good friends Elder Burtenshaw (he is from Mud Lake). We are working really hard in our own area. We are seeing a lot of great miracles. We started to teach 2 families this week. A Micronesian family, and a family from Liberia. Teaching families in our mission is very rare. So it was a great blessing. 

This week is the last full week we will have in our area this transfer. After this week, next week we will be transfer planning Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Tuesday we will be at the Nauvoo temple with the departing missionaries. So this week we are going to go out and work super hard because next week we will only have a few hours in our area each day. I am super grateful for the peace and knowledge that comes from living the Gospel. I hope you all have a great week! Love you all! 

-Elder Lords