Hi, this is Traivs's mom.  Sorry I haven't posted in a while.  Here is Travis's latest letter from Washington.  He is doing great and really appreciates those who are writing to him.  He would love to hear from all his friends so drop him a card or a line when you have a moment. 

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Yes, I was transferred, and now I'm working in the Monroe area. Elder Perkinson is super great;  We have great unity in teaching, and we're literally always on the same page. The thing that ties us together is of course, the Spirit.  

We are teaching three different families right now. The latest of the three came when some English Elders talked with one of the sons and asked if he's be interested in having the missionaries visit. He said yes, and asked how soon we could come. So last Saturday, I went on a miniature exchange with one of those English Elders to their house.

 When we got there, we found out that the son whom they'd talked to wasn't there, and that he'd left to go play "futbol" out at the high school, though they said he'd be home soon. The father came to the door and called his daughter over to translate for him, not knowing that I spoke Spanish. Sometimes I like to not use Spanish right away because it gains their trust and admiration BIG TIME when they're relieved that you went and learned their language. I volunteered el Espanol after just a moment though, and had a good conversation with him. 

 One of the things we learned about at our last district meeting was about making solid contacts with people. It's really easy to get into a rut and not mix things up, and usually it ends up being a junky contact if you don't think outside the box. Naturally it's best to talk "with" someone rather than "at" them, along with other good social practices. The thing I learned in our contacting practice was asking POWER QUESTIONS, questions that will almost instantly reveal their mind and heart, and which will almost always lead directly to a gospel conversation. 

 Talking to Luis, the father of this family, I decided to ask him, "Luis, if Jesus Christ was here with us, right now, what would you ask Him?" Now, Elder Holland made a special promise to missionaries. He said that if you will talk with them and listen, he guarantees that something they say in that context will highlight a gospel principle, without fail. I have put a great deal of faith in that promise, and I am able to relax more in these conversations. In answering this question, Luis simple stated, "well, I would probably ask Him what I need to do to go to Heaven and be with Him." .... !!!! :D !!!! .... AWESOME!!! I put faith in the promise, asked a solid question, and Luis led us straight in to Lesson Two - The Plan of Salvation. 

 Immediately after answering the question, he asked if we'd like to come in. We went in, and taught a powerful lesson on God's Plan of Salvation for mankind. They are a family of seven. The three oldest kids were actively involved in the lesson and very intent and carefully focused on what we were teaching. Every word was important to them. Luis pondered carefully and agreed wholeheartedly when we testified that God sends us to answer prayers, and we follow the Spirit to be guided to the right people. I promised that we were sent to his home and their family for a reason. The reason being, to show them the Gospel path and the means prepared by which we can be saved. 

 The Spirit came like crazy into the lesson, and they committed to come to church. This happened last Saturday, and they were going to come to church yesterday, but something else came up. It's understandable since it was just the night before, but we'll be going back to teach them more and make more invitations. The most important part is going to be the presence of the Spirit with us in the lessons.

 I am making some great friends :) There are certain members and non-members that I'd like to come visit in the future, but I've long since decided I couldn't live here. The clouds kill my brain. I don't know why... 

 Since Spanish has been going super duper for me, I figured I might as well learn Portuguese as well!! I'm working on that presently. Our branch president is hosting a foreign exchange student from Brazil, and we got a Portuguese Book of Mormon copy for her. We haven't given it to her yet, and I've been studying it with some of the materials that Elder Perkinson has, since he's been doing the same. I can read it, and basically understand it when I hear it, but it's hard to speak it. It's would be accurate to say it's like a sophisticated British accent equivalent on Spanish. It sounds WAY cooler than Spanish and I really want to learn it as well. Next is Chinese. 

 That'll be nice to have a new parking lot for the church! Maybe they'll be able to put a full family history center in there with it or something sweet... We're in a super old church building up here. It's pretty great. I'm so excited for conference! Last night we contacted some Hispanic guys and invited them to watch it. We'll be returning in the coming weeks to follow up and make sure they can come to the church to watch it :) This conference is going to be super special for me.

Elder Talbot