Elder Masulonis

Elder Masulonis

Sunday, December 30, 2012

December 23, 2012

Dear Mom,

ya i dint even know there was a name for us talking and sharing stories on christmas eve. but i cant deny that we do it every year. and i love it. i got the package yesterday and i loved all that stuf inside it. i really like the tie that you sent me too. i have a name for it that is an inside joke between elder fogle and i. (elder fogle is the one thta lives in sugar city. he also took my spot as district leader in Raleigh. he is one of my favorite elders. you will probably never meet him though) i loved the video that you put together. and where on earth was that i jump place? that looked like a blast! i thought it was way funny when dad jumped in the foam pit and had to try and swim out. that was hillarious. it was crazy seeing everyone from home and i could practically feel like i was at gramdmas house when i was just watching everyone talk. it looks like taybree has really gotten into the hair cutting thing. something that i thought was wierd was that it looks like all the boy cousins are going through puberty. because it seems like everyones voices has dropped. what the world? i've gotten over the trunkieness factor of the mission for the most part. but now i have a different struggle. i told dad about it, and im calling it my "Funk." i think its just me subconsciously missing Raleigh. i think that while im in an area, i don't see how good things are. i kinda miss Raleigh and the District that i was in there. even if i had to correct missionaries there, i still miss it. i think though, i will end up missiong this place a lot too. mainly because its already seemed like an amazing place. right now we re teaching 2 good sized families and they are both on the way towards baptism. they are amazing. the ward here is great too. i don't think that elder mortensen and i have actually eaten at our own house for dinner since i have been here. which is ironic because the members here are really charitable and they give us so many left overs. which is great because then we don't have to go shopping for nearly as much stuff. elder mortensen is a fantastic missionary. he is such an example to me of how a charitable person looks like. which is such a huge blessing for me because i have been striving to me more and more loving towards other people. and when i saw love i mean, really love them. that is something i've decided i want to come home with. the thing for me is though, love is so hard for me to feel for others. i can do things that are nice for others, but its kinda difficult for me to be able to sincerely say to myself that i genuinely feel a tender and real love for anyone i see at any time. it may seem like an impossible feet, but if i have learned something one my mission, its that the atonement changes people. i have learned that from experiences in myself that you are well aware of, but it is the focus of missionary work. i love how i have gained such a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. even if i don't live it 100% all the time, i love how it is something that i can always fall back on and get the help and love i need from him how loves me and wants to help me.
 i want to make sure that i tell you that i love you. you are the greatest mom in the whole wide world. i cant think of anyone that could do a better job at being a mom than you. since ive been striving to become more loving, ive often thought of you as my example. i can hardly think of anyone that has loved me more than you. i love you.
-LOVE ELDER MASULONIS

Saturday, December 15, 2012

December 10, 1012

This week was a busy and very eventfull week. i have been really tired and really happy. this week we had 3 baptisms. on for a guy named jim pommerenke, one for sister jennifer ross, and one for dylan ross. that story is amazing. and brother ross was a less active that we helped get active again and he baptized his wife and his son. wow. along with this, i found out about someone that i taught that lives in morehead. his name is ashton maynor. im not sure if i ever told you about him while i was in morehead, but he just sent me and email this morning that told me that he got baptized on nov 11. so within this week, i have been able to see some of the fruits of my labors. it makes me feel really good.

December 10, 2012




December 2, 2012

Dear Mom

Alright, time for my rambling. i cant help myself. so right now, is an exciting time for me. i am figuring a few things out and we are having a few baptisms this week. i think i have mentioned these people in my past letters but if i have time i will tell you more about them and their conversions. but here is something that i learned that i absolutely loved. we have a leadership meeting recently and there was this meesage that has stuck with me. and its all about the doctrine of christ. when i say the doctrine of christ, this is what i mean. these principals are the way back to heavenly fathers presence. the atonement of jesus christ is at the center of these principals. so the principals are, faith in the lord jesus christ, repentance, baptism/ordinances, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. now that i have told you things that you aready know, this is what i learned about them and what effect they have in our lives. here are 3 of the effectls that the dotrine of christ that really stood our to me. so the more attatched we are to the doctrine of christ, the more focus, enthusiastic, and effective we will be. there are so many more things that the doctrine of christ does, but these are some of the things that it does for me. now, im not sure on how much sense this all makes, but here is another principal that i am learning all the time. the gospel of jesus christ is what makes people happy. so i have often asked myself, what can i do to more fully live the gospel and be more happy? the answer to this question could be different for just about every person. some people will need to repent for serious transgressions, while some need to trust god more. whatever the next thing that we need to do to come closer to chrsit is, whenever we do that thing, we will be more happy. the thing that i have found that i need to do better is to rely upon the holy Ghost more. these kinds of thoughts have been rattling around in my mind and it is wonderful, wonderfull to me. i dont have much time left, and im not sure on how much of what i said makes sense, but i love you. i hope you know that.

-LOVE ELDER MASULONIS

Saturday, December 1, 2012

November 25, 2012

Dear Mom,
Before i get into things too much let me give you an update on whats happening out here. right now we are teaching a good amount of people and 2 of them are lined up to be baptized on december 8th. (which is coming up pretty fast. but i am confident that they will be ready by that time.)

im way excited to hear that you have been making the video for a while. i was thinking abot what the video would be like and i could only imagine everyone just saying hi and acting all awkward because they were on camera. but hey, either way, its a great gift!

I had a dream that you and Randy were in it and we were all at gary's office. it was kinda crazy because it was like i was hiding from everyone.

I found out recently that there is a chance that i will be with Elder Gillespie for the longest time i have been with a companion. this is because with president cotterell, it was very rare to be with the same companion for 3 transfers. but now with president bernhisel, its become more and more of a common thing. does it seem like im getting new companions all the time or what?

oh i got my very first piece of chick mail recently. chick mail is mail from a girl that isnt related to you and is old enough that i could date when i get back. it was from someone that knows jessi. and it was kinda interesting to hear from her because she was just a friend of one of jessi's friends.  anyway, regaurdless of who it was from or what it said, i felt pretty neat getting my first piece of chick mail :)

Today i am getting my hair cut and usually on preparation day, we just play basketball. but the gym at the church is being used so we are going to use this day to do some christmas shopping. i hope i can remember everyone i need to get stuff for.

what is ijump? i guess i will find out when i get the video for christmas. oh which reminds me. im not sure if you remember last christmas and how everything that worked and stuff, but for this christmas, our mission president wanted all of us to give everyone back at home our personal addresses. so i will give you my address, but just remember that it may or may not change on the 18th. but my address right now is 4900 Edgerton street # 311 Raleigh North Carolina 27616

Love Elder Masulonis