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Another great week in Minneola. We started the week with a lot of tracting Tuesday. We talked to a 95 yo named Stanley and I want to be him when I grow up. We had zone conference Wednesday and that was fun, I got to meet lots of new missionaries. We also had a crazy lesson with Anthony and now he's getting married this week. I'll talk a lot about him later. Saturday we went to Elder Grant's old area for a baptism. It was pretty funny, the guy was 300 lbs and Elder Grant's trainer Elder Witt baptized him. He only weighs about 130 lbs.
Stanley is the coolest guy ever. We knocked on his door and he said he was glad we were doing what we were doing but he was good. We left and finished knocking his street. About an hour later, we came back and Stanley was outside trimming his bushes on a ladder. He is 95. We offered to help, but he said if he stops moving he'll die. We talked to him and he said he flew a bomber in WW2. After that he played for the Red Sox making 400 a week. He loved baseball, but said he couldn't play anymore. Because when he was 85 he hurt his knee when he was playing baseball and he slid into 3rd base. He said he was safe though, which is what really mattered. Super cool guy.
I'm now in the North part of the mission, so for Zone Conference I met lots of new people because it was my first one not in the south. It was great, and we got a lot of new ideas for how to be better missionaries.
So Anthony, he is moving in with his girlfriend in a few weeks. We taught the Law of Chastity and said he would have to either not live with her or marry her if he wants to be baptized. He said he'd need to think about it and talk to his girlfriend. That was over a week ago. On Thursday we met with him and discussed it. He said he is moving in and there's no way to change that. We asked about marriage and he said they wanted to be married but didnt know who to ask about it. We said he needed a license and that our bishop could do it. He asked if they could do it that week. We told him to talk to his girlfriend and pray about it, and that there was no rush. He talked to her and now they are getting married either this week or next. And I could be a best man. Craaaaazzzzyy. And we will finally meet the girlfriend in person this week and hopefully put her on date to be baptized.
We also have 2 other kids, James and Jonas, that are working with our mission leader to do family history. He talked to them about the temple and they wanted to do work for their ancestors there. He said they had to be baptized first, and so now we are meeting with them and hopefully put them on date this week.
The baptism this week was way fun. The guy that got baptized bashed with Elder Grant about church history and archaeological evidence behind the Book of Mormon. When Elder Grant left they weren't teaching him anymore. But he read the Book of Mormon and got a testimony of it and wanted to be baptized. When he got baptized though, Elder Witt was too small to lift him up after dunking him, so they both fell into the water and it was hilarious. He went under, so it counted though.
Big things coming here in Minneola. Got a few cool pics this week.
We had a very busy week for once, which means we didnt have to go tracting a lot. We did 8 hours of service which was amazing, and I had my SECOND exchange ever.
We had so much going on this week, we probably only tracted about an hour a day, usually we will tract all afternoon. Sadly we only found 1 new investigator though. He is a really cool Buddhist that was telling us about his meditation.
We did 8 hours of service. That was the highlight of the week. We did 3 hours at a food pantry unloading a huge truckload of food. We also got to take a little bit home, so we didnt need too many groceries today. We also raked leaves for a few hours at a member's house and then went to her next door neighbor. Her neighbor has a huuuuuge garden with so many weird foods. She has banana trees, macadamia nuts, garlic, and a whole bunch more. She had us dig out 2 big tree stumps which took a while, but it was really nice to be able to use a shovel. There's no dirt in Florida, it's just sand, so digging it out was easier than it would be in Utah.
I had my second exchange finally this week. I was with Elder Pettey in Clermont. He has been out 1 transfer, so the exchange was really fun. I got to teach him a few things about knocking doors and teaching lessons. He had only taught 1 lesson, and we got to teach one. It was a guy that used to be taught years ago, and we had our first lesson with him since then and we got to put him on date to be baptized! I was so happy to be able to be there to help Elder Pettey put his first person on date to be baptized. We also found another person who races cars, which Elder Pettey likes to do also. The picture is of him listening to the guy rev his engine.
The other picture is of a super serene lake in Clermont. There's a trail that goes along it that's really beautiful. Missions are awesome! Helping people find happiness and change their lives around really is great. I'd encourage all of you back home to pray for a missionary opportunity this week and find someone to share the gospel with. There are people all over the earth looking for truth that just haven't found it yet.
Can you tell I'm not very timely at posting these missionary letters. College started back up for me this past week and it's been insane trying to manage all that and plan lessons for my class. This too shall pass by the end of March and then I think I'm officially done unless I decide to finish up with the Master's. That's another year and half and I don't know how badly I want it right now.
I also got the best text this week. A member lady from Erik's mission sent me a text with a picture of him and his new companion. I have yet to see any pictures of him, so I loved it. It made my entire day.
December 31
It's Been a Wild One
Heres a quick summary of my week: I got to go to a Christmas Eve party, I called my family, I got presents, I had some fun tracting experiences, and I SAW SOME ALLIGATORS!
We got to go to a fun party last Monday at the Cueto's. We thought it was just a dinner, but we showed up and there were about 20 people there. The Cuetos make amazing food. We had rice and chicken and tres leches and tons of other stuff. She has a son on her mission and she was soooooo excited to talk to him. She cries every time she sees a picture or video of him, and she showing us videos. She would say "I watched this 20 times yesterday, and I cried very much." We talked to her on Sunday and she said she talked to him for 3 1/2 hours.
I got to talk to my family! We talked for over 2 hours and it was good to see their smiling faces and be able to talk to them. I also saw both grandparents on the same call. My sister Kiersten bought a giant cardboard cutout of me and set it up Christmas Eve. So they can now see me whenever they want, and it isnt annoying like the real me. I've been replaced.
On Christmas we spent the day at 3 members houses with their families.
It was really fun. One of the members has a giant tortoise and 2 really fun dogs.
I got pictures of them that are in the google drive. I got some fun presents, I got another puzzle
some fun ninja guys with sticky hands that can climb down walls, a mini rubix cube, and lots of socks!
Tracting this week we handed out 4 Books of Mormon which was really cool. We also almost stepped on a five foot long snake that was chillin in the road.
Look at the google drive for pictures. A weird thing about Florida is that everyone has little statues in front of their houses. On one street, I took about 10 pictures of little statues. I'll put a few in this email. I'm not sure why people like them but they're everywhere and they can be of anything. There was a 4 foot tall statue of David in front of one house but I wont include that picture in the email.😁😁
Today I finally saw some alligators! They were in a cage at Bass Pro Shops though. They have about 10 live alligators out front, and it's about a half mile from our apartment, but we haven't gone yet for some reason. Again, there are pictures in the google drive.
Saturday we got transfer calls and I'm moving to Minneola. I have never heard of it, but I guess it's in the middle of nowhere and there's a lot of rich people there. I'll be with Elder Grant, who has only been out 1 transfer longer than me. Its gonna be a blast. There's a lot of work to do there according to Elder Grant. That's what I like to hear! Goodbye Palm Bay and Elder Squires.
January 7
I'm in the Mountains
It's been a crazy week. I got moved to a new area up in the Florida mountains in Minneola. I got a new companion Elder Grant, aka Elder Grand. We found lots of interesting people to teach, and we found one that is now getting baptized, in one week. Plus my whole mtc district are ballers (bowlers).
So I'm now in Minneola. It's very hilly here, we which I didnt know Florida had any hills. I've been biking them a lot, it's a real good workout. It's a pretty rich area, but it's been surprisingly easy to find people to teach. Elder Grant is really good at talking to strangers and starting conversations. Hes only been out 1 transfer longer than me, but I have a lot to learn from him. We've been doing a no music transfer, which is going to be crazy hard and I dont really know why we're doing it. Elder Grant says we'll see miracles by giving something up, and honestly I dont know, but we have seen miracles this week.
We got to talk to a hindu person, a few muslims, a Buddhist that we are now teaching, and a couple Jehovah's Witnesses that we had some good conversations with. There's a lot of diversity here, re which is good.
Elder Grant found Anthony knocking almost 3 weeks ago, but he hasn't been able to contact him. A few days ago, we went over and rang the doorbell but he didnt answer. We saw him on the back porch smoking and on his phone, so we went back to the car and called him. He didnt answer even though we saw him on his phone. I was like hey, why not just go try his door again. Elder Grant really didnt want to because he thought it would be awkward if he answers, but I went and knocked anyway. Anthony answers this time and said his phone has been broken and he was super happy to see us. He had been reading the BoM and was on 2 Nephi 2. We came in and taught a super good lesson and put him on date to be baptized in February. He was so excited. Before we even asked him, he had told us that he had been baptized, but he didnt think it counted because it was in a not true church. As a missionary, that is the greatest thing you can hear. Apparently his girlfriend has also been reading and is further along than him. So we will meet her on Tuesday and hopefully put her on date too.
We've been playing basketball all day, and the whole district is pretty good. That's always a good thing.
I guess blessings come as you give things up that are distracting you. We've been trying to be in tune with the spirit all week and we found a whole bunch of super solid people and are working towards reactivating some people.
Because of the big hills here, we can see everywhere because the rest of Florida is flat. It's hard to see but off in the distance is Disney's fireworks.
Today is Sunday, January 6 and I have never had my tree up this late EVER.
Annual Christmas letters are a thing of the past, but if I were doing one this year, the title of this post really does sum it up. It was the best of times and it was definitely one of the worst of times. I don't think I've ever been so excited to have a year behind me. I'm sure I've felt like this in other years but like childbirth, I have probably forgotten those seemingly hard years.
The Best of Times
*Kiersten got engaged and married. Erik was able to come to her sealing.
*Erik finally turned in mission papers, got his call to Orlando Florida, and left in September.
*High school graduation for Erik.
*He and Kiersten received their endowments. That was a glorious day to have two of my kids in the temple with me.
*A sister got sealed in the temple to her husband.
*A brother surprised us all in the sealing room of the temple. None of us knew he was coming.
*Alex got baptized by his older brother Nate and confirmed by his even older brother Erik. And somehow I didn't even manage a post about it. That tells you what kind of year it was. Our ward had just switch to a new bishopric and the new bishop was unaware that we had a baptism. To pass the time while we waited for him to come, we took photos.
*My parents left on another mission.
*Missionary calls home on Christmas Day at the same time!!
*A missionary stand up of Erik to help us fill the void.
He watched Pride and Prejudice with Ash and really loved it.
He also made an appearance during the final countdown for New Years.
*Our last big hurrah with the whole fam was a day at Lagoon.
The Worst of Times
*Schoolwork and homework and assignments and projects and reflections and lesson plans. I LOVE to learn but I like it to be on my schedule. Being thrust into school was a hard adjustment.
*I also don't like interviews. They stress me out.
*Wedding planning is another worst for me. I simply did not have the time to put into like I needed to. I made sure I got the essentials taken care of.f
*The death of Grandma Leary. She was such a fixture in our home for many years and will be greatly missed.
*Watching Erik walk away from us at the MTC was incredibly hard.
*Lice for Ash after coming home from Beehive Camp. THAT was a miserable experience.
*Decluttering a classroom took me weeks. But I can honestly say it has made this year so much better knowing things have been thrown away, given away, and I don't have to deal with it.
*Inheriting a garage full of teaching stuff from a retired teacher. There was so much that I simply threw away or gave away.
Both
*I would probably classify starting a teaching career as both the best and worst. It has been such a fun, good experience, but I don't like taking most of my weekends to lesson plan and prepare the next week. It makes the week go more smoothly but I really miss having my own time.
This past year also brought a myriad of changes in regards to church stuff. I've been on this out-of-control speeding train that careens at times toward a steep precipice. But then I'm snatched calmly back to continue on this journey that hopefully will be slowly coming to an end.
2019?? What have you got in store for me this year.
