The Fellowship of the Unashamed

                                                The Fellowship of the Unashamed


I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed.  The dye has been cast.  I have stepped over the line.  The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.


I won't look back, let up, slow down , or be still.  My past is redeemed,  my present makes sense and my future is secure.  I'm finished and done with low living, small planning,

smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, positions, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.  I don't have to be right first, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded.  I now live by FAITH, lean on HIS presence, walk with patience,  am uplifted by prayer and labor with power.

My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear.  I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed.  I will not finch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up and shut up or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, and paid up for the cause of Christ.  I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know and work till He stops me.  And when He returns for His own He will have no problem recognizing me.  My banner will be clear.

~President Henry B. Eyring

Happy Mother's Day!

Letter from 5/2/11

Happy Mothers Day Mom....=) i love you...

Well this email is going to be super short because right now we are going to have a barbeque for the zone...=) a little somethin to end the transfer...

by reading your emails i can see that you guys had a great week and jammed packed with things to do.. im glad Leslie and Max Had a good time in their stay... thats CRAZY about Osama Bin Laden... we finally got him...=) after 10 years No? i wish i was there to see the excitement. i was truly happy to hear...

this last week went okay... we found a few really cool people that said they would go to church with us but none of them ended up going. but in church a few Miracles came... thats what we call people who arrive on their own who investigate the church or a part member family where some of the kids aren't baptized...lol a kid named Giovanni came with his family and turns out he hasn't been baptized so we invited him to be baptized this next sunday and he agreed..=) we are pretty excited... also Alondra who was supposed to get baptized yesterday didn't because she and her boyfriend broke up on wed and well he was going to baptize her and she felt a little weird to do it... but we were able to talk to her and she told us that she would like to be baptized this coming sunday... =) its going to be my last Sunday here in the mission... crazy to think about. i am excited though. but as dad said its a bitter sweet experience.. yesterday i got up to bear my testimony and as i was up there i started to cry. i just had so many things running through my head about the mission and what has happened and as i looked at all the faces of the members i just broke down. but it was truly a special experience. i now have about 6 months here in this ward so i have gotten to know all the members and they have truly become part of my extended family. as i looked into the crowd with my teary eyes i could see that everyone else was crying too... i could truly feel the love they had for me and it gave me much comfort...

Next week i am going to be home... CRAZY!!! I CANT BELIEVE IT.....

Also i am way excited to talk to you guys on Mothers day...=) i would like you to call me at 530 my time here in Monterrey... here are the directions to call... sorry i dont have skype..lol

SO IF YOU CAN JUST FOLLOW THOSE STEPS AND CALL ME AT 530... I HOPE THERE ISNT ANY PROBLEM WITH THAT... well i'd better go but im looking forward to talking with you sunday... Love you all,

Elder Kingston

Letter from 5/9/11

Happy Mothers Day mom...

well this is going to very fast...lol!  i checked on the number of the flight and yes its the same flight 1827

and as far as i know we get home at 815....

and mom to answer your question yes i will be willing to watch the kids with dad...=) it will be fun...

well i better get going dont have much time to write but ill see you thursday....

Love,

Elder Kingston

Pictures of Judith's baptism

heres some pics... finally...  me cleaning the baptismal font, the baptism of judiths, picture after her confirmation and a picture of us today in la huasteca...=)

Elder Kingston, Judith and Elder Cruz

Judith's baptism

Hey Family,

Lol mom i know my emails are pretty small huh!? I'm sorry, ill try and do better.

Happy Birthday Malia...=)

well this last week was pretty awesome. we had a baptism... whoo hoo.... its pretty interesting how it happened.  about 2 weeks ago Elder Cruz and I started teaching the wife of a less active member. her name is Judith and the members name is Daniel. we taught Judith the restoration and we left her to pray to know if it was true. she did and told us she felt a sense of peace when she prayed and asked. she then accepted a goal to be baptized on the 10th of April, which we were really excited about.. but we lost contact with her because she started to work and a couple of other things. so a week and a half passed and on Friday i was on divisions with Elder Jenkins a District leader in the Zone and it was about 9 at night and i had the feeling we should go visit Judith and see if she was home... we got there and started talking then she said, this Sunday i cant get baptized because i have to work in the afternoon but how about tomorrow... ha ha Elder Jenkins and I looked at each other saying sure that would be alright.... so she was baptized Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. her husband was able to baptize her. they now have a goal to get sealed in the temple in a year. its just crazy how prepared she was, my companion and I only taught her 2 lessons. i truly know that there are many people just like Judith who are ready to receive this gospel. We as members just have to do our part and find them...

oh also pretty crazy, while walking to the church to fill up the baptismal font Saturday, someone threw a grenade in a parking lot in the marketplace. me and my companion arrived 5 minutes after it happened. it was like a scene out of an action movie. there was a man badly injured and a crater in the ground and broken glass everywhere.  it was truly a sad sight to see, you could sense the fear that everyone had. i wasn't too scared though, i felt a sense of peace. and that's why its so important that we share this gospel, so that everyone else can share this peace and joy that we members have...

on another note i am way excited to see all of you in 4 short weeks.... =) and mom that sounds good about the get together Monday...=) and is the stake still having all the returned missionaries talk in each ward??

well i better go and mom i hope this was a little bit more than last time...haha

Love you all,

Elder Kingston

Conference was awesome!

Hey Famileeee,

Conference was awesome wasnt it??? the only thing i missed was being with you all and having breakfast and playing those sweet conference games that mom had so we would pay attention.haha i really loved all the talks and left conference spiritually uplifted.  my companion and I,  Elder Cruz, got to go to all 5 sessions of conference. Saturday as a missionary you were able to go if you brought investigators to church.  we were able to bring 3.=) then Sunday everybody was able to go. i got to watch half of it in English. which was good because the spanish translators have such monotone voices.lol

i in particular liked Elder Hollands talk. wow talk about powerful. as i heard him testify that he knew president monson is the prophet seer and revelator of these days, i felt a warmness come over me helping to strengthen and make firm my testimony of the prophet.

this last week went by super fast, i really like my new companion. as i told you his name is Elder Cruz and he is from Puebla, Mexico. he has 17 months in the mission. We get along great. im sure we will have success this change.

im glad to hear you're finally having nice weather. here in Monterrey its still crazy hot. when i get home i will be looking pretty rosy.

5 weeks crazy right??? the mission is going by so fast. oh i was going to ask if you guys already told keva that we get back on the 12th instead of the 11th???

well i better get going i love you all and wish the best for all of you... have a great week...=) Love

Elder Kingston

Visited Elder Smith's former areas today

Hey Family,

its great to hear all is swell..=)

i don't have much time right now because my companion and I went to visit converts in his other areas he has been in and we took a little longer than expected. it was nice to see the faces of his converts and how excited they were to see him.. i cant wait until i get to visit my past areas...

Great news. Victor and Alicia where confirmed members of the church yesterday. they are both very excited and thrilled, i cant believe how much they are progressing.

it is crazy to think that this will be my last transfer in the mission. im definitely going to make time count with these last few weeks. oh and dad no i will not have to do another presentation. we do them  every 3 months, so i lucked out.lol

well i better get going got a lot to do... i love you all so much....

Elder Kingston

Oh and this next week i wanna hear what it is that stood out to you the most in General Conference....=)

 oh and fyi for dad:  for the month of march we had the goal of 300 baptisms but we got 236 baptisms and 210 confirmations.... but you have to remember we are in Mexico...lol

Hey mom love you... thanks for the picture of Christian... i cant wait to meet him...

also dont know if you already know but Keva and I will be arriving in Sacramento the 12 of may which is a thursday and we will be getting there at 8:15 pm...

just thought ill give you a heads up...=)

Open Our Mouths!

Hey Family,

Happy St. Patricks Day.... lol i didnt even know it was St. Patricks Day... i know what a loser.. but nobody here celebrates that...=(

i really haven't heard much of the tsunami that hit japan, but it truly is sad to hear...  im glad to hear that all the Takahashi family is okay...

mom thats exciting that your starting camp kick off...=) just don't get stressed out...lol

well Exciting news, Alicia and Victor were baptized yesterday. i baptized Alicia and elder Smyth baptized Victor. they are so happy and grateful for the gospel and the change it has made in their life.... they were also accompanied with their daughter Ericka, her husband Cesar and their twins , their son Victor went, also their neighbors Monica and Eduardo who we are also teaching went as well. they all really liked it. the ward did a really good job in befriending them. I'm pretty sure we will be seeing all of them in the waters of baptism soon.=)

I was just thinking the other day, that all of this was able to happen just by opening our mouth. about 3 weeks ago we contacted a lady named Mirium while walking, she gave us her direction to be able to teach her another day. we went to her house but she wasn't there so we decided to contact her neighbors and that's when we saw victor cutting the tree... i know it wasn't just for luck we found them.. they were prepared to hear this message, and by opening our mouth we were able to help them come unto Christ and not only them but their family and friends too. what a beautiful work.

the only thing that bugs me is many people think its just the missionaries job to talk to the people about the gospel. and they're absolutely wrong, as members we are all responsible to share the gospel. when we were baptized we took upon ourselves the name of Christ. which means we are disciples of him. in Preach My Gospel it talks about how the members should find, and the missionaries should teach and prepare them for baptism. Members are like undercover missionaries.lol and people aren't going to run from you when they see you on the street. i am really glad to hear mom and dad that you guys are helping out alot in the missionary work... I'm proud of you guys...=)

oh and thanks for sending me money for shoes... i much appreciate it....lol ill have to show you my other ones when i get home....

well i hope you have a great week... love you all...

Elder Kingston
https://lds.org/youth/video/inviting-all-to-come-unto-christ-sharing-the-gospel?lang=eng

Baptism Sunday

Hey Family,,=)

Mom Happy Early Birthday....=)

and Keva congratulations on getting into BYU... =) that's awesome....

im happy to know that grandma grandpa and uncle pat all had a good visit and were able to spend time with you guys and grandpas brother...

dad how was west minister woods??? was the weather okay?

well remember Alicia and victor? the people we helped last week cutting branches...

well they went to church yesterday and they really liked it. they accepted to be baptized this Sunday. the 13th of march. I'm so excited for them. they are learning so much, yesterday we were teaching them and their son Victor. their son Victor has some pretty crazy ideas. he doesn't have a religion, but he really likes to meditate and believes in the nature of things... but last night Victor, the one with the crazy ideas,  asked his son what religion he was a part of and his son said "i don't have one".... then victor was all proud saying that's my kid.... lol then Victor senior the one we are teaching, the dad of victor said out loud.... "you guys are living in apostasy" ha ha we just started laughing and i was just surprised at all he is learning.... he takes really good notes and is learning so fast... when we showed them the baptismal font and challenged them to be baptized, they didnt hesitate at all to respond, they just said yes of course...  it truly is a blessing to be here and be able to see the change in people through the gospel..

well id better get going, but just remember how important it is to share this gospel, i challenge each of you to share at least one principal of what we believe in to a non member...=) Love you all,

Elder Kingston

85 degrees

Hi Everyone,

I hope Mariana had a fun birthday! =)

it sounds like you guys really did have a  busy schedule last week...

haha that made me crack up hearing Mariana picked a white dress because it looks like a wedding dress...lol David and Jaycee better watch out..

that's crazy about the coldness you guys are getting over there... over here im getting sun burnt with weather of 85 degrees.... lol i feel far away but not that far...and mom sorry i haven't sent pictures for a while, i just figure you´ll see me in a few months...lol jk

well this last week went great, we found alot of new people to teach, like 14. but the problem is none of them went to church...=( im not sad though i know we tried our best.

2 of them that were pretty committed to go to church, Alicia and victor who are in their 70s, didnt go because Alicia takes pills to go to sleep and she stayed asleep along with her husband... our church services start at 9... but we went back after church and we took them to an activity at night... it was like a fireside... the high councilmen for the mission work gave it, hermano Obregon... he made a list of ?s about the church and people could ask him whatever they wanted and he would answer them... he did a very good job answering and making everyone feel comfortable... they really liked it.. he reminded me of dad because of his calling...

we found Alicia and victor last Friday, their son was outside working and cutting branches and he let us help him... we helped him for about 2 hours and talking to him about the church while working... him and his parents where amazed at our willingness to serve... haha they said you guys don't charge?! and made more comments like the fathers in the catholic church never do things like this.. it made us laugh inside... but truly in my mission i have seen the most success comes by serving others..

they are really excited to go to church this Sunday...=)

well id better get going... i hope you all have a great week... Love you

Elder Kingston

Studying

hey family....=) and happy birthday Mariana!...

im happy to hear you all had a good valentines day....  and mom and dad I wish I could've heard your talks.

jacosa thanks for writing me.. i really appreciated it, i know im not the best at writing people back but i truly did feel special receiving that letter from you... it brightened my day!! along with the letters from mom and dad also of course...=)

well this last week went swell, we had zone leader council this last wed and thurs, which was super fun and spiritual... i learned alot about how important it is to study, and that when we study we really need to use it as a time to receive personal revelation... i really think one of the biggest traits i have picked up here on the mission is how to really study... i love to read now, and not just read to read but really read for understanding.. throughout my whole life i have been bad at studying, but im excited to put what i learned in practice when i get home.... im sure mom is pretty happy...lol

well the work is going good i haven't been in my area much because me and my companion have been doing many divisions with other missionaries in our zone... but for what i have seen we have a couple people lined up to go to church this Sunday, so I'm pretty excited...

Well id better get going but remember that i love you all and im always praying for you...

Love,

Elder Kingston

p.s i wasnt able to write you on Monday because today we went to the temple... i got to do iniciatorias... it was good to remember all the covenants that i have made with the Lord and all the blessings that come with keeping them...

 

Oh and thanks for all the pictures....=)

Johnny's freezing baptism

Hey Family,

thanks so much for your birthday wishes....=)

it sounds like everyone was busy celebrating new years.. I'm glad you guys had a good time...

mom and dad that's cool you guys got to spend time with grandma... I'm sure she loved the company. that's cool you guys went to dad's house he lived in growing up. I have always wanted to go and see it, after all the stories he told us... haha like when he threw the snake on his sister or ran from a bull....=)

I really have learned alot here in my mission, but one of the biggest things i have learned is to have a relationship with my father in heaven and really putting my trust in him.. and i am so grateful for the relationship i have gained with him...

this last Sunday was real cool, Soledad got confirmed, and she is really happy. we also baptized johnny... his 

story is pretty awesome...

so about 3 weeks ago my companion and I walked (hiked) up to the last street on the side of a mountain called Mitras because a member had given us a reference. the reference wasn't there but about 3 houses down there was a guy, with sunglasses, a cane and just really lookin thugged out..haha we walked past him and just invited him to church to see if he had a desire, and he told us that he would love too. we scheduled another appointment for the next day.The next day we got to know him a little more and he told us he had been in prison for 2 years but he was falsely charged... they charged him with selling drugs... he really has had a rough life, we started talking to him about the hope there is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ... and he accepted to be baptized.. talk about ready...  and yesterday i had the privilege of baptizing him in crazy cold water because we don't have any gas to warm up the water for the baptismal font... haha... but we tried... i spent most of my time in church on Sunday trying to heat the water with irons...lol  i know pretty desperate right!? and yeah it didn't work, but he still got baptized and is so grateful for being cleansed of his sins....

i know that there are many people ready to hear the gospel, its just that we as members need to open our mouths and talk about the truth, so that everyone has the chance to here this message of the truth.... i know that by doing this we will be helping to bring to pass the glory and immortality of men.... i hope that all of us may try our best to be close to the spirit so that we are not scared to spread the truth....

well i gotta go but i hope all of you have a great week and just remember i love you all...=)

Love 

Elder Kingston

These are pictures from last week:

Baptism of Juan