Landon has come home:  January 5th 2017

For this last week I wanted to write down my testimony for my future self, but I'm way to lazy to write it down so i'll type it. Everyone who sees this just gets lucky! :) So i'ma just drive in.

First thing, I believe in a loving God. A Father in heaven, not some lightning bolt Zeus trying to catch us everytime we mess up. A God who cares about me enough to help me be better. Who always looks to build and mold me into something better. Something better for him to use me to bless others. 

I believe that God gave us truth. He does not want us to argue and fight about what is truth and what is not. I believe there is a lot of good in the world. That a lot of people have a lot of good things in there churches and there beliefs, but that only one gives us full access back to God. Only one is the fullness. I think a lot of churches are very close but most people are do not fully believe there own church. Someone told me yesterday, "If everyone just read and believed there own books, the world would be paradise."

I believe in hard work, nothing good ever game without hard work. Either from the past or the present something has to be put in if we want something good back. Whether religion, school, or relationships, we have to work at it if we want something to happen. I know that because of the I can to hard things as well. I hope to be able to do all things. 

I've come to believe that we are all not so different. That if we hope to survive in the world and help make it a better place we need to stop looking at the differences and start looking at what we have in common. we need to learn to respect and support differences. "If God wanted us all to be the same, He would have made us the same." 

I've come to love giving up what I want, for something others want. That we are our happiest when we do something for others. Whether it's service in the form of literally helping them, or just listening. Putting others before myself has never left me unsatisfied. 

I know that I'm far from perfect. That God does not intend that we learn everything here in this life. He hopes that we learn from what we can and push ourselves to be the best that we can be, and then to feel we really are doing our best even when we fall. I know Gods grace is sufficient! To mold us into whatever we need to be. Not only to help us repent, but to do anything. "All men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" He still wants us to come back thou. 

I believe we should do our best to be ready whenever God calls on us, but that if we do not feel ready when we are called, that we are always ready if we are willing to try. "whom he calls, he qualifies." 

Last I believe if nothing else about the gospel is true, Loving God and Loving Others is the two most important things in the world we can do. That if we can do nothing else in this life but those two things we will be so much happier in this life, and so much better in the world to come! 

I love my Father in heaven! I love the blessings of this gospel, and the small chance that I have had to help be apart of this great work! 

Elder Landon Aldana. 

It's been a great week! I'm sure I say that same thing every week but I just don't even know where to start. Really I just don't really understand how to put everything into words. I'll try for a little bit. 

Because I'm going to be calling y'all next week you can expect that you're going to get a little bit of a cheese letter this week. Other then potentially freezing to death it's been quite the ride this week. during the week we had a very large Christmas party in the mission. I was able to do a great little magic trick and have once again sealed my name as "that Elder that does magic..." but the best part by far was that we watched a movie as a mission. We watched the movie Zootopia? (I think thats how you spell it) Such a funny movie. Only down here could you really appreciate a line in that movie, It almost took all of us to our feet. 

at one point the main bunny is talking really really fast and runs off. There is more of a country bunny and he says to the parents of the main bunny. "Y'all didn't catch a word of that either? that makes me feel better I was thinking we was speaking in tongues of something" SOOOO!! funny, I would guess most everyone reading this has not had the chance to have someone start speaking in tongues to ya but it's a trip. 

later in the week another highlight was that Elder Ogden and I went to a Islamic Potluck! there is a fairly large Islamic center just a stones throw from our church that we semi-invited ourselves over too. I was so amazed at the kindness and reverence that was felt with them. We talked a little bit with someone similar to a pastor for a little bit about beliefs and tried to better understand one another. From what we left with both of us really just want to be better understood. They invited us back to give a presentation of what Mormons believe and we joined them for a service later that night. 

It always amazes me how alike all of us religions are. All of us are seeking a better relationship with our creator, seeking to be better people. I love how many blessings and opportunities come from being where I feel we can reach the closest back to God. I love the south and how different we are, but how similar we are at the same time. 

Love all y'all lots!! 

Elder Landon Aldana!!  

what an exciting time of the year! 

Well I'm very glad to hear that everyone is going to be enjoying Christmas as much as I am. This week at our church up here in Huntsville every year they put on a big Christmas concert. We were lucky enough to bring several people so we went several times, because of that I have had a song stuck in my head for the last day or so. It's been the Hallelujah chorus from handel's messiah. By nature the song just about blows you're socks off, but as they starting singing it really stuck out to me. 

I think part of it was that the song is all talking about Christ coming back one day and we talk about that a lot all day. How it talks about him coming and being the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It made me think just about how much I would not mind that. 

It helped me to laugh a little bit more as the next day after listening to a choir sing it, we went to seminary in the morming. Later in the day we went out knocking on doors first thing in the morning because why not.? As were knocking doors at like 8:00 in the morning and catching just about everyone at home (imagine that!) we had also took another set of Elders up with us and our plan was to divide and conquer. 

What really happened is that as we were walking back from a house little old grandma on the other side of the neighborhood was woke up by the other set of missionaries. She found us first :(. She then went on to explain what an awful thing we were doing and that we better be careful before flashing her beautiful 6 shooter revolver at us. She informed us that she had called the cops and did not enjoy us... :( 

we laughed about it and thought about how it semi killed the effectiveness of our morning. we took our dive home and enjoyed a great breakfast! 

I love this place, Love the people, Love Christmas the spirit that comes with it! Love the messiah!

Elder Landon Aldana!

Note:  For his last month, Landon has been transferred to Hunstville AL.  His address has been updated on the top of this page

Huntsville, the rocket city!!

I really like Sparkman! It's been a ton of fun so far, right now my new companion is Elder Ogden. He is from Redding California, It's been a ton of fun! we have been around each other for a good bit so it has not been very hard to work together. Were both nerdy!, and have very similar interests. It's been nice to see a lot of old faces!

sounds like everyone is going to be having a good Christmas, I know what we are planning to have a Christmas party next week. Just about everyone and there dog has asked if I was going to do a magic trick again, so I guess I'm going to have to do something fun! I know that this month we have a lot of things going on all at the same time.

While I have been trying to plan what is the last thing that I was everyone to remember us for I've felt really strong about leaving a trail of service. One of the highlights of some of the things we have stuck our nose in so far is that Saturday were going to an Islamic potluck... so that should be great, I've really trying to push to get a seminar on Mormonism at one of the three collages here. Lastly really trying to find as much service as we can with the new #LightTheWorld project from the church! y'all should look at it if you haven't ---Mormon.org--  This week we also had a great chance to go to the "Mana House" a local soup kitchen.

well, I hope everyone is enjoying the December holidays as much as we are! I love y'all lots!!

Elder Landon Aldana!

Hello!

Well, I guess y'all have heard from someone by now that I'm going to be leaving back up to Huntsville, but if you haven't SURPRISE! 

I must say, It's been really hard to think about leaving here. Here in Alabaster I made a commitment, that I wanted everyone that I met to really feel loved. To really feel like we cared about them and that they knew how much we cared about them. To often to I feel like missionaries come on into a town, or city guns blazing, and simply mine the wards and branches for people to teach. I don't think people do it on purpose, but I think sometimes we let people pass us by without taken the chance to really get to know them and really have a great opportunity to make a few friend. Don't worry thou... I still keep good composure in front of people. No tears or too much emotion can be shown haha! 

I just really don't even know what to write about. I feel like most of the stuff that happens to us is kind of lame... or super crazy, and at this point most things just kind of become numb. For example, this week we were out knocking on doors and someone let us in. Elder Purcell and I looked at each other because if someone lets you in here in Alabama you know it's going to be good. Either a great lesson, or there crazy, or there going to try and bible bash you. For our story, we were lucky enough to only meet someone crazy. 

we start talking and everything seems to be going alright, and we start to teach a little bit about prophets leading into teaching the first lesson. At this point we lost total control and the crazy starts to happen. The man we were teaching very much knew who prophets were... Because he was one, he had no clue how, but God had called him these last few months to re write the book of revelations, and then went on to other tangents. The worst part about this is that Elder Purcell and I kind of look at each other, and companion unity mind tell each other its time to abort our mission. So we get up and leave after another few minuets of really trying to be a nice and non offensive as possibly leave.  

what happens and why wanted to tell y'all this is that everywhere I have been. We meet 10 people like this a week, and it's just become the normal. I don't really know how to best describe it, but when you're teaching at some point they say something and it triggers the there crazy alarm in our minds. I'm really just very sad that I am going to leave these people. I just really enjoy it! there's nothing quiet like it, and I don't think i'm going to get much of it back home, but it's the best! 

I'm very excited to be moving, sad to be leaving. love everyone lots!

Elder Landon Aldana!!

P.S. Enjoy the snow!! also remember missionaries are no respecter of door signs!

Hello! 

Well, it sounds like that is quite a bit of stuff moving and going on back over there. I'm sorry to hear that. There has been a ton of stuff going on over here as well. Around the holidays here everyone does one of two things. One, there super nice because it's Thanksgiving and Christmas and they are just great people. Or two there total jerks and are like, "DuDE!! can you not see it's Christmas?? do y'all ever go away? I'm thinking were going to be getting more of the first ones this year... or at least i'm keeping my fingers crossed. You never can tell thou! people have started to be a little bit less crazy about football as well, all we got to do now is get past the 26th... the IRON BOWL! could be a holiday in Alabama if they could! It's the day Alabama plays Auburn crazy world out that day!

I don't really know what I want for the Holidays... One thing to start is that everyone should join us on December 1st! world wide day of service the church is pushing this year! were super excited because it's part of this years Christmas theme is all about 25 ways to help show the saviors light to the world! were super amped up about it and I think that, that would be one of the big things that I could ask for Christmas. If people would really just love each other for each other. If we could each take a little bit more time to do things for each other. That would be one of the things that I wish most of this year. 

Other then no rain, the weather here has been perfect, almost a little cold! Everyone here has been having a real big problem with the air being so dry a lot of people have been having problems with allergies. (even me... :( ) It's been crazy with no rain everyone has been losing there voice and has a runny noes! so pray for some rain down here so we all don't dry up and end up like Utah. It's been weird to see that everything is still fairly green, I think it's going to be nice to see all of the leaves change super fast. 

Well I love y'all! hope you enjoy this thanksgiving as much as we are! Love ya lots!

Elder Landon Aldana!