Week 88- Rather Be Righteous than Cool

Holy cow...  It's been 88 weeks.  Okay, so Monday was pretty low key as I recall.  Let me grab my journal.  Oh, that's right.  We were snowed in on Monday so very low key.  

Tuesday was good.  We had interviews with President Cooke.  He told me he's really proud of the work that I'm doing and he loves to see how much I've grown up in the last few months.  After that I took Elder Gipson into our area because he was about ready to rip his companions heads off.  We didn't get much done in the afternoon, but we did have a good dinner with The Granges.  They're a really cool family.  We went to the Penguin Store for a minute that night because it was on our way back into his area.

Wednesday was good.  We had lunch with a member which was really fun. Then we went to Sister W’s.  It's good to meet with her and hear the progress she's having understanding the Book of Mormon because of gospel doctrine class this year!  She's doing well.  We went to The Hales for dinner and to help Malachi with the signs for Gethsemane for his baptism.  We got to milk their goat!!  It was really fun.  I love the Hales! 

We were asked to help with activity days because they were doing a missionary night.  We came in and gave the girls a few ways they could be missionaries themselves and then did a little Q&A with them.  They had some really good questions! What do we teach, how did we prepare, what's our schedule?  Sharp kids.  Then we went and read the Book of Mormon with A- after that!  It was a great day!  

Thursday didn't start so good.  I had a dream that made me pretty angry.  I don't even remember what it was now, but I was livid in the morning, so I just kinda did my own thing for a while.  Then we went to zone district meeting and being around so many people helped me cool off a lot.  We went to The Chamberlains that night.  It was awesome!  I love them so much!  

Friday was a cool day.  February 19th, which marked two years of me getting a mission call!!  Crazy days.  We had a really cool lesson that morning.  Sister Gardner called us and said she had a friend she wanted us to meet with so we set it up for that morning and talked with her a bit.  She had a daughter pass away in September who was 14 years old.  We taught her about the Plan of Salvation and what happens after this life.  She received really well and said she would pray about it and wants to meet with us some more.  It was so awesome!  We went all the way down to Newburg to visit with A- after lunch and had a good lesson with him.  We're really trying to motivate him to come to church.  Any ideas?  We had dinner with the Sponaugles that night.  They made us salmon.  I don't normally like fish...  But it was pretty good.  I was able to finish the piece I took. 

We had a fun day Saturday.  We went to Noah's basketball game.  He was playing Bishop Cottle’s team.  They won!  Afterward we were able to introduce the Bishop to B- (Brother Chamberlain) and the head coach of Noah's team whose wife is also a member.  Then we went back home and played some basketball with the boys.  It was a really good day.  We had dinner with the Cheneys!  They're awesome!  I got to play some ping pong over there.  It was a good night.  After that we were invited to the high priest dinner/activity night to integrate ourselves into the ward a bit, so we went to that.  It was really fun, and we got to have our ward correlation meeting with Brother Heath, so it worked out
great!  

Sunday was okay.  I think I learned some important stuff from that day.  We had Why I Believe so we ate dinner at 4 with the Schwartz family.  They're really nice.  I like them.  Then we made our way up to the visitors’ center.  A- had a rough day at church and was kinda worrying me about it a little so I was stressed about that.  The speaker was really good!  Fiona Givens.  She talked about her conversion from Catholicism and talked about all these things that our church clarifies that regular Christianity has discrepancies on. 

Afterwards I went to talk with Elder Patchett, Elder Parker’s last companion to get the tie box from him.  Elder Parker had gotten the tie box from Elder Greding.  The box is a legend in the mission that has about 400 ties in it. Elder Patchett told me he had it for me last Saturday at the recent convert temple trip, but he gave it away to another missionary when I didn't make it that.  I was really mad about that; it was super lame of him to do that.  I was especially frustrated because it wasn't my
fault we weren't able to make it to the temple trip, I had tried as hard as I could to get there with people but no dice. 

I had a really frustrating day that day already, and finding that out made me more upset about it.  But on the ride home I started thinking about it a little more.  If the price for doing what I know is right and working in my area instead of wasting time to go do cool things, or get cool stuff then so be it.  I know that I'll be rewarded more fully for the work I did in my area that day however frustrating and seemingly ineffective those hours were.  I'd rather be righteous than cool.  We were able to stop by the ASL apartment for a minute on the way home and see Elder French, Elder Smuin, and Elder Bleazard!  I love those guys!  I'm so sad I don't get to see them as much anymore. They're some of my best friends out here! 

Today we hung with the Calvert and Bayside elders and then went to the Penguin Store(a suit store) and then went to dinner!  It was a solid day!!  I love you guys!

Week 87- Press Forward

This week felt really long and frustrating, but at the end of it we had 21 lessons, so it ended up pretty good somehow!  Here we go! 

We had Chick Fil A for lunch on Tuesday which was awesome.  We ate it at the laundromat to teach A-.  It was cool.  We told her about the Book of Mormon Reading Challenge were doing as a mission so that she can get through it.  She doesn't like reading scriptures too much, so this is a good attainable goal for her.  We saw S- after that and just shared a message with her about continuing in faith and steadfastness. 

2 Nephi31:20-21:

20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.

These are good scriptures for enduring trials, and just life in general.  We went to A-'s after that and shared from the Book of Mormon.  He has a new truck.  He hit a cow with the old one...  Yuck. We had dinner with the Armentrouts.  They are super nice, and one of their sons is a quantum astrophysicist, so I talked with them a bit about that.  Then we had Cafe Rio with B-!  It was tons of fun. He's really coming along.  Elder Summit and I ran over to Calvert to pick up Elder Van Wagoner for the next day after that.  

Wednesday we had lunch with Sister March.  It was her birthday, so it was really fun to get to spend time with her.  We had a lesson with J- after that.  She told us she wasn't ready to be baptized on Sunday...  It was heartbreaking.  She wants to wait a little while and keep learning.  We're having her continue to pray about it, and J- (the mom) told us on Sunday that J- has been talking to her about her prayers etc. so that's good.  After that we had dinner with the Geers.  It was super good!  They got us pizza from a local restaurant that was super tasty.  Then Ashley wanted to meet Elder Van Wagoner so we took him there and read the Book of Mormon with her.  Then we took Elder VW back to Calvert. 

Oh, I forgot to mention, I had Elder Van Wagoner cut my hair.  Things didn't go quite as planned...  So Thursday morning I went and got it cleaned up a bit before zone district meeting.  Then we went to the Hale’s for dinner.  I freaking love the Hales.  They had the baby goats!!!  I got to hold them and feed them!!!  It was so cool!  They are soooo cute!  We had a lesson with brother S- after that at the church that went really really well!  

Friday was long.  We taught seminary in the morning, and enlisted the help of one of the boys there for a lesson we had at 10 am.  He's homeschooled so it worked out.  Went home and studied then we picked him up to go with us.  On the way there the lady canceled so we tried to contact a few less actives unsuccessfully.  Then we dropped off Andrew, the young man who was with us, and started up to Frederick for a doctors appointment for Elder Williams.  We had the chance to talk to some missionaries from the Baltimore mission who were also there. Came home and got back right in time for dinner!  A- took us to Ghengis Grill.  It was sooo good!  It reminded me of Tepanyaki!

Saturday was gonna be awesome because we had the recent convert temple trip, but everyone cancelled last minute!  So I had to scramble and pull together a list of people to check on, none of which were home and then we had dinner with our ward mission leader and ward coordination after that.  Ugh... Saturday tested my patience.  

Sunday was good.  I felt really sick in the morning and didn't want to go to church but I'm glad I did.  We talked to a boy who is interested in getting baptized as long as it is okay with his mom.  We gave him a Book of Mormon.  He's friends with a ward member.  We also set up a lesson to teach an 8 year old who didn't quite understand baptism later that day.  Plus, Malachi, Sister Hale’s son asked me to sign his favorite primary song, Gethsemane, with him at his baptism in 2 weeks.  The lesson with A-, the 8 year old went really well.  You know you're doing okay as a teacher when you can get through to an ADD 8 year old! Then we went to the Chamberlain’s for dinner!  It was so fun.  I miss being there so often.  We've been really busy and the boys have had school so we haven't been over as often and I miss being with them so much...  I love them.  

Today we're snowed in so we've just been hanging around...  Kinda a boring day!  Love you!

Week 86- I Love Being Part of Their Lives

J & J in the last few letters are a mother and daughter who are taking the lessons.  The mom was baptized last week and the daughter goes to Primary and takes lessons still with Bennie and his companion. The mom is also engaged to a fellow who is a member. 

There are also two A’s.  One A is a young mom that has a son.  She was baptized before Christmas and Bennie and his companion visit with her at the Laundromat and at their home quite a bit.  The other A is a fellow that is taking lessons.

Okay, Holy cow.  So, let's get right to it!!  Monday was legit.  I talked about that whole thing already though. 

So, Tuesday, we did service for Brother Cusic.  Helped him clear out his storage unit, and then he was really nice and got us lunch.  Had a crazy last minute change of plans and had a lesson with Brother S-.  It was really good!  We read Helaman 3:20-35 with him.  It's a really good section about how the saints were faithful through trials and were blessed because of it.  When you read look for the "and thus we see" phrase that starts a couple of the verses.  I love verses that start with that because that is Moroni commenting on what he just transcribed and telling us the lesson we can learn from it.  It's a really fun Easter egg to look for throughout the Book of Mormon!  We visited with A- at the laundromat for a bit after that, and then headed out to dinner at The Hales.  They live about 45 minutes away from us.  So it's a trip, but it's so worth it.  I love the Hales!! The Chamberlains and The Hales are my two families out here that make me feel most at home.  After their house went had a lesson with A-.  He's so awesome.  I think he's starting to do a bit better.  

Wednesday was good.  We had a lesson with SJ.  He's so awesome!  I love to meet with him because his testimony is so powerful.  We tried to check up on a few less actives after that with no luck.  Then we went to A-'s to go over the lesson we were gonna teach to J-.  It was a good lesson both times.  I love being able to teach people.  It's my favorite thing.  I love being part of their lives and teaching them principles that will better them.  It's so awesome to see them grow. Then we had dinner
with the Geers again.  

Thursday was really interesting.  We had zone district meeting.  It was really good.  Elder Summit had me and Elder Gipson make characters based on previous investigators so we could use them in our role plays.  It was pretty fun.  Then on the way to lunch after district meeting we were read ended...  So.. That took up some time.  We had dinner with The Cusics.  Then we had ward night of ministry.  Elder Williams went with Brother Van Slyke and I stayed with Adam Beal.  We got some good stuff done that night!  

Friday was nuts.  I taught seminary that morning. Then Elder Summit had leadership training meeting, so he and Elder Timmerman went out to that while the rest of us went to work out cars and stuff.  Then filled out paperwork on the whole deal.  Then Elder Van Wagoner and I went over to the Calvert apartment to pick up Elder Summit.  Had dinner with Brother Patten there which was super fun.  Then Summit and I headed home.  A minute and a half away from our house we realized we had left the phone with Elder Timmerman... So we took the 40 minute drive back to their apartment, got the phone, then drove all the way back home.  Elder Talbot and Elder Williams had picked up Elder Gipson for our exchange the next day.  So we had a good time talking that night.

Saturday was really interesting.  Super fun overall.  We were going to The Chamberlains to help out with stuff and watch Noah's basketball game.  Noah's team won in the last few minutes of the game!  It was awesome!  Then Sister Chamberlain ran us all to the grocery store really quickly-- we all went in her car. When we got back to The Chamberlains we changed out of service clothes and went and taught J-.  We had a solid lesson with her!  She's doing really well.  She'll get restless toward the end, but I'm super smart and pack a treat to help her focus towards the end.  Then we went back to The Chamberlains for dinner!  It was a super fun day overall!  I'm really grateful for Elder Summit.  I was able to talk with him and come up with a solution to a problem I had.  

Sunday we had J-s confirmation!!  It was so awesome!  I'm so happy with the work in this area!  It's nice to have a really solid live area towards the end of my mission. 

Today we went to Ceasar’s then hung out at the church so some of the new missionaries could email because they don't have iPads yet.  Plus I got Cava, and it was amazing!!  I love you guys!!

Week 85- Hunger

Here's my week!  I can't remember what I told you about from Monday, but we were stuck inside again.  We were given three hours to shop; or in my case drop me off back at my apartment.  When I got home we helped a few people shovel their cars out of the snow.  Because we weren't able to go out, the Hales ordered us a pizza!!  I love the Hales.  Then we played games together to finish the night.   This week was kinda ridiculous because even though it didn't snow we still had a meeting  that kept us from setting up appointments and lessons  every day but Friday...  So we were still out of our area for a majority of the time.  For example, Tuesday we had interviews with the mission president in the morning.  My interview was literally three seconds long.  He said he's proud of me and he's gonna keep my where I'm at for another transfer and that he loves me.  It was nice to know I'm doing well enough that he doesn't feel the need to check up on me.  After that we went to chick fil a to teach A- because she didn't want to be stuck inside anymore.  It was pretty fun.  After that we had dinner with the De Atleys.  It was awesome because Sister De Atley is the primary teacher for the 8 year olds and she has J-, our investigator J-’s daughter, in her class.  She said that J- is super active and participates a ton which is awesome to hear!  After that we headed home because they live way at the bottom of our area.  

Wednesday was really fun.  Our schedule that day was the departing temple trip. I got to hang out with all my ASL buddies!  It was Elder Parker’s last one….Sad panda. We got some good pictures in front of the temple though, so that's good to remember by until I go home!  After that Elder Williams took Elder Talbot to an appointment in our area, and I went with Elder Summit to finish preparing the lesson I was doing in seminary the next day.  We later found out seminary was cancelled again... So that was lame.  Anyway, we went to the Chamberlains for dinner!  It was so fun!  I love them.  I seriously can't stress enough how much they've become my second family.

Thursday we had zone district meeting.  It was good.  I got a few of the missionaries who are leaving addresses so I can keep in touch with them!  Then we came home and shoveled out a couple more people from our apartment complex.  We‘ve been offered pizza and stuff from them more times than I can count.  We had dinner with the Morningstars that night and it was sooooo good!  We were able to help them move some stuff around their house after that, so it was really fun to be able serve them.  We played basketball at the church with some non-members after that.  It was pretty fun.  I scored a couple times.

Friday was the only full day we had to work, so I went crazy setting stuff up.  Before a couple people canceled we had 10 appointments set up for the day.  I was so excited!  We ended up with 7, which is still super good!  We finished the new member lessons with Ashley that morning.  Then we went to lunch with Elder Talbot and Elder Gipson because they were on exchange and Elder Gipson and I are good friends. They invited us to a really cool member from their areas house, the Slaughters.  They're so fun!!  After that we went over the Brother Cusic’s.  He got a new truck he wanted to show us, and needed help with a few things.  It was good to see home again.  We hadn't for a while. After that we went to A-s and read the Book of Mormon with him. He's awesome at getting exactly what I want him to see out of the sections we read!  I love it because as it happens I can feel the spirit testifying of the importance of that message to him at that time.  We had our last lesson with J- after that!  It was so awesome.  She was so ready and willing to believe.  I love the spirit you can feel during the lessons with people that are so ready to hear the gospel.  We filled out her baptismal record, and then we went to dinner.  Brother Behm took us to a Chinese buffet.  It was pretty good!  Then A- called and needed some help with a few things, so we went by to help her.  She made us Chick fil a pizza for helping! It's pizza, with chick fil a sauce as the sauce, and fried and nuggets on it.  It was delicious!  

Saturday was so awesome.  We got up and played basketball at the church with some ward members.  I actually played really well.  Got the game winning three pointer during our last game.  Then we went over to help a less active member of the ward move.  We took Elder Summit and Elder Talbot with us, so we got everything done super quick!  She had her husband’s family there helping too and they aren't members so we were able to make a good impression and tell them a little about what we do and why we're here. Then we had lunch with the other four Elders in our district at the Slaughter’s house.  They seriously are so awesome! Then we came home and got our suits on to go up to priesthood leadership session and adult session of stake conference!  Priesthood leadership session was basically right out of Preach My Gospel, so it was amazing!  I am excited to have the members working with us more and reading PMG.  It has some really good principles for everyone, not just missionaries. After that we had adult session.  It was so awesome!  I sat next to J- and J-.  President Cooke gave a super good talk on patience and not questioning the Lord’s time table.  It was really something I needed to hear.  Sister Cooke gave a talk on our desires, and trying to make our desires more spiritual.  While she was giving her talk, I had a cool thought.  In ASL the sign for hungry and the sign for wish/desire are the same.  When you're hungry, you feel it.  Your stomach moves you to go eat.  Sometimes I feel like we say we want spiritual change in our lives, but we don't really desire it.  A desire is something we feel so strongly that it motivates us to action and change.  It was really cool to think about how my wants and desires are changing out here.  I have seen so much difference as I've wanted to become better, and felt that real desire to become a more devoted servant of the Lord.  It's awesome being a missionary.   After the session J- had her baptismal interview which she passed!! Woot!!  

Sunday was fun.  We had our general session of stake conference.  I had a tough time paying attention because C- (A’s little boy) kept wanting me to play with him, but it was a really good session from what I did catch.  After that we had J’s baptism!  It was so awesome!  She was so excited and it was just wonderful to see her so happy and see the impact the spirit has had on her life the past little bit.  After the baptism we had a little bit of time and nothing to do so A- invited us to come and teach her.  It was really good. I'd rather see someone a couple times a week than sit at home and not have stuff to do.   We had dinner Sunday night we with the Bishop’s and his family.  It was really fun!  I love our bishop.  His son is preparing to go on a mission right now so we talked a lot about our preparations and things we wished we'd known or done.  It was awesome, and his son was super pumped to go on a mission after so I feel like we did good there.  Later we had our ward correlation meeting with brother Heath.  He's so awesome.  As we reported on our work I could really feel that Heavenly Father is proud of how much we're doing and how hard were trying here.  It was a really cool feeling of validation and love.   Elder Summit and talked that night, and it was super fun.  I love Elder Summit.  I hope I stay around him till we go home.  We're all staying in that apartment for another transfer, so we're all really excited!  Then today we went up and saw Sister Mays for a bit in the morning, then played hockey with Elder Parker for his last p-day!!  It was tons of fun!  Elder Parker, if you read this when you get home, thank you man.  You have been a huge influence for change in my life and I'm so grateful we were able to be companions.  You're the coolest guy I know, and I can't wait to see you at home!  I love you man!  Now we're headed to the Chamberlains for the rest of p-day!  I love you guys!  Have a good week!!