Saturday, November 11, 2017

Got Goats? Picture Edition

SEPT 7, 2017

Elder Snell's email this week was a few days late due to Labor Day Holiday and it came in the form of a voice recording and I can't attach that to the blog. So I will just attach all of the pictures he sent.


1) I had a super bad bloody nose the other day. I filled a few tissues
like this hahaha 😅
2-3) This is Jacob! He is my new little brother! I love him so much!
He is starting to understand the gospel better than me hahaha
4) Jacob drew his on my iPad.
5-6) Found this little guy on the wall in the church. He's about the
size of my hand! I named him Pete.
7-8) Super cool looking cemetery.
9-13) Socrates Sculpture Park. This month's theme is GOATS. It is
super weird yet super awesome! Hahaha 😂
14-17) Temple today with Orfatt! Love that man!
18) More GOATS 🐐



















Slam Dunkin’

NOVEMBER 6, 2017

Hey, Everyone! :)

We have had some miracles this week! I have been praying and praying that we will be led to find someone who will actually be interested in what we have to share. Well, we set out each day with the hope we will be able to find just one person to teach. Day after day we had little to no success. However, we did get one referral from Mormon.org for a free copy of a Large Print Bible. Usually the people who order large print bibles are really old crazy people, so weren’t too hopeful for this one. We decided to give her (Leticia) a call regardless. We set up an appointment to meet her at Dunkin’ Donuts in Astoria. We got there a little early and waited for her. Leticia, an older Filipino woman, walked through the door, immediately came right over to us, introduced herself, and told us to get up and go order some food! She got mad at us when we only ordered a donut and proceeded to convince us to get drinks as well! We ordered our hot chocolates and she told us to go sit down while she paid. She brought our stuff over to us, sat down, and proceeded to lay out her entire life story for us! She used to be Catholic, came over to NY, met some Born Again Christian pastors last week on Friday and was baptized in their church the very next day on Saturday! The reason she wanted to meet with us is because she feels she doesn’t know how to apply the teachings of the Bible to her life. She asked us if it would be against her new religion if she met with us weekly to learn more about Christ. We told her that the Lord would be very happy that she is seeking greater light by studying with us! Leticia is such an adorable Filipino woman! She has a lot of faith in Christ and is willing to do anything to come closer to Him. We are fairly confident that she will progress in the gospel :) I am super grateful for the miracles the Lord is sending our way! Hard work truly does pay off even if it is in a completely different way than expected haha! 

Well, there was a lot more that happened this week, but I guess I will have to save it for later ;) I love you all and hope you have a phenomenal week!!!! 

Elder Snell



  • Super cool view of the city
  • We got matching shirts for our district activity today
  • Super fancy dessert at a SUPER good Thai restaurant our investigator, Jonathan, took us to!!!!!

Elder Sitati Mission Tour

Happy Halloween, Everyone! :)

I apologize for not letting you know that my Preparation Day has been switched to today! Yesterday we had our annual General Authority mission tour! This year Elder Sitati of the Seventy came. It was a day FULL of great things! 

So, the entire mission tour conference was split into two days; zones 1-5 were yesterday and zones 6-9 were today. Aside from having the actual conference, Elder Sitati also wanted to meet with the Mission Leadership Council individually. So, the first half of us met with him at 8:00 yesterday morning. It was phenomenal being able to be taught directly at the feet of a General Authority. I could feel the power of his calling. There were a LOT of things I got out of it and took a ton of notes. Most of the things Elder Sitati talked to us about was how we can be better and more effective leaders on our missions and in our lives after our mission. We talked a lot about what it means to be a good listener and how to apply that to ourselves in our personal ministry. I learned a lot from the example of Jesus Christ about trusting the Lord and how the Lord can trust in me.
Matthew 28:18 - “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”
Why was Jesus Christ given all power in heaven and in earth? Because He did nothing but the will of the Father. Heaven Father knew that Jesus wouldn’t ever do anything contrary to His will, so the Father could trust Him with His power. The same thing applies for us!
John 15:7 - “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
If we are exactly obedient to the commandments of the Father and do nothing but His will, we will also be trusted with the Father’s power.

Part of the reason we are here on earth — part of the reason we go on missions, go to church, study the scriptures, etc. — is to learn how to be perfected. This is done through doing exactly what we should be exactly when we should be doing it. Can the Lord trust that I will alwayschoose right? This is how we gain spiritual power. Power to overcome temptation, power to bless others, power to understand and apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ so we may be sanctified, etc. What a wonderful promise the Lord has given that if we abide in Him, and Him in we, we can be given power to all things in line with the Father’s will!!

Some other things I learned was about listening to others! These are some of my notes from the conference (so they may be a little all over the place): Empathy without judgement is crucial! This applies into all aspects of life and especially missionary work! Talking openly with others will help them talk openly with you. Allow them to vent. People confess because they want to get rid of things weighing heavily on them. Continue to hold them in high esteem, showing an increase of love! Show that you are willing to listen. If you want to end a conversation and leave, it is because you have stopped listening. Talk with people naturally to find out their needs! When you listen to people, they will also listen to you! There is a special bond of friendship and trust that comes/is established when you listen. I am here to care about, serve, and love people! My main goal/motivator is to help them with anything they need. With every person, find the opportunity to build trust. Give the Holy Ghost — not you — time to work. Your agenda is the agenda of the investigator! If your investigator wants to talk, let them talk. If you have the desire to make them stop talking, you have stopped listening. This is about truly seeing into their heart. If that takes two hours, then it takes two hours. It takes time to build a relationship of trust with people where they can open up completely to tell you the interest of their heart. John 21: When teaching His apostles, the Lord first provides them with what they think they need (fish, food, etc.), then teaches them what they actually need in order to succeed and live according to the will of the Father (feed His sheep). Peter loved and trusted the Lord and upon seeing Him, expected that He was going to lift him to higher ground (hence the reason he jumps out of the boat and swims to the Savior). As the Savior fed and taught Peter, there was no condemnation in His voice. We should emulate this as we life those around us.

Elder Sitati made a HUGE point of going to every investigator with the attitude and intent of being a good friend. This includes listening to them and learning of their interests. People will do the things that are of interest to them. As we listen to them and get in their hearts, the Spirit will move us to do something or say something that will touch their hearts and encourage them to act. They will feel the Spirit who entices them to do good! 

If you get a chance, study the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 and compare it to Lehi’s Dream and Nephi’s vision of the Tree of Life. SO GOOD!!! 

Anyway, now that I have rambled on for so long, I will wrap things up :) I am so grateful for the experiences Heavenly Father has given me to build me up and help me become the man He needs me to be. I love this gospel! I love the Lord! I love serving Him! Let me know if there is ever anything I can do for you! :) 

I love you all and hope you have an amazing week! 

Elder Snell’s 

  1. President and Sister Reynolds and Elder Snell
  2. My friend Amulek! :)
  3. The Lariego’s at the ward Halloween Party!!!!!! They made those themselves!! Maleficent and her ravens.
  4. Brother Moustakas’ Porsche 
  5. Cool bridge in the distance
  6. Sweet sunset skyline! From a distance... haha
  7. Elder Fausett with an eagle
  8. Throw back to my first day in NY!!!!!
  9. The rest are from our zone activity today at Gantry Park!!!! Tons of fun!