Week 55 - Us on a hike

Wow this week was pretty uneventful.  Nothing really good or really bad happened. We have spent a lot of time driving though and trying to get to know all the members. It has been really hard though because everybody lives so far away! We had interviews this week so we had to head up to Lewiston, and that took forever. It was fun to see President and Sister Dymock though. We finally got in contact with a less active member we have been trying to see forever. We taught him the restoration in his small trailer and it went pretty well. We had a hard time understanding him though cause he talks differently. But other than that it was just an average week. We got to teach a couple of our investigators and so that means this week we probably won't meet with them. I can't really think of anything else that has happened. All is well here though, we've got two weeks left in the transfer, which is crazy, I can't believe how fast it has gone. And hopefully we find some new investigators this week because our teaching pool is a little low right now. I sure love ya and hope you are all having a good time back at home!

Week 54 - The sign was a lie!

Just so you know the sign was a lie. There were no cute chicks :( just the dad. 

This week has been interesting that is for sure! We have spent a lot of time trying to meet more of the members in the two wards we cover and that has led to all sorts of different experiences. Several of the Less-Active members we saw were at Church this Sunday though so it worked out for the best! We didn't get to meet with a lot of our investigators this week, but we're really hoping for this next one! We did have a pretty neat experience though the other day. We were driving past a former investigator named Debra and I felt like we should stop by and see if we could set up a time to meet with her. So we went and knocked on her door but she wasn't there at first. As we were leaving she pulled up in her truck and so we went and talked to her. And it went terribly. She was very much anti and tried to convince us that we were going to hell, that Joseph Smith was a known liar, and that the Trinity was the true nature of God. And while that was going on, both Elder Elwood and I got a little upset of course, but we felt the peace that came from knowing that the Book of Mormon was the word of God. So we tried to resolve her concerns logically but she refused to acknowledge the answers we gave her,even though, if I can say myself, they were pretty well thought out. So after we tried to reason with her and she hardened her heart and refused to listen to us, I told her that if she was willing to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it was true that God would answer her and that I knew for myself that it was true. She refused to even consider to ask God about it because "Jesus had already told her everything she needed." So we realized that there was nothing left for us to do and we left. Then right after we had a really great conversation with someone who was sitting outside their house smoking whom we probably wouldn't have met without that first awkward experience. That was probably the most memorable experience we had all week and it certainly has stayed with me, not because it was a bad one but because it helped me realize how much the knowledge of the gospel brings peace and changes us. This truly is the restored Church of Jesus Christ. It contains His teachings and the Priesthood of God. I sure love you all, have a great week!  

Week 53 - A tough week

A few items from the "hump day" package

My week has been a tough one. All of the appointments we set up fell through except for one and that was because we waited 20 minutes for them to get there. Arturo, our investigator who was on date for September, might not be staying in the area much longer so he is no longer meeting with us and fell off date. We pretty much only have 2 investigators now and they only want to meet with us once a week or once every other week. So it has been really interesting trying to find new investigators. We talk to a lot of people who are really into the Book of Revelation and firmly believe that the end of the world is approaching but they don't really have an interest in learning about how to safely make it through those times so yeah. But on the bright side now when people ask me how long I have been on my mission I now say, just over a year, instead of just under.  Also the other day we met a mountain man who told us his name was Bear claw. That was pretty cool. And I don't know if I included this last time but our mission President challenged us to read the entire Book of Mormon within a transfer. That's about 40 days, which is 13 pages every day. It has been a lot of fun and I have felt a difference in my life since I started it at the beginning of this transfer. I have a firm testimony in the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and this has really helped to increase it. The more we study it and apply it's teachings the closer we grow to God and become stronger saints. I know that it contains the words of eternal life from our Savior. So I would invite anyone who reads this to join in the challenge and try to read it within 40 days. You will feel the difference immediately. 

Week 52 - Hump week and Elder Elwood

Here's a fun story. So a couple of weeks ago I lost my study journal I have had throughout my mission and I was really sad but I prayed that somehow it would turn up. And two days ago I lost my wallet and since I really need that in order to drive I was freaking out. So I prayed and then thought, it must be in the truck, so I went and looked under my seat and there was, not a skanky old french fry but my study journal! And then I found my wallet a couple of minutes later. So that was a neat tender mercy! 

Hope you all have a good week and remember the Church is true, the Book of Mormon is true and The Atonement is real! 

Week 51 - Just Do It! Baptize All the Nations

Thanks for all of the pictures! I sure love seeing you guys! Yeah I found out that my companion is being transferred and I will be staying here! We found a couple of new investigators and some Less active members we have been working with came to church. We also got some really funny t-shirts as a zone.