Baby Goats

This week was a good week. We had a good first lesson with a guy named Kenny, our other lessons didn't fall through, we went to a baptism in St. Cloud, and we got to do some really fun service on a ranch.

Kenny is a guy we gave a Book of Mormon to six months ago, then couldn't get in contact with him. Then just a few weeks ago we found him again finally. Apparently he had been reading the Book of Mormon the entire time. We taught the restoration a couple days ago and he loved it. He had no concerns and also said he would pray about being baptized after wet talked to him about it. He is a super solid dude. I'll update you all on him next week. 

Nothing else crazy happened during the week, but Saturday was a blast. We started the day with a baptism in St. Cloud that one of our favorite members took us to. It was so fun being able to sit and talk in his car for a while and also it was fun for Elder Johnson to see a bunch of people from his old ward. Plus we got free chic-fil-a out of it. 

Right after we got back from the baptism we went way out to Geneva to help a member out on their ranch. We did about two hours of digging with a shovel which was actually really fun. I miss using a shovel. Then we got to feed some baby goats, cows and horses. We finished the day off with a delicious dinner of homemade chicken tenders with chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Saturday was a really good day.

We also found out that Elder Johnson and I will be doing another transfer here together. That will make it over seven months in this area for me. I'm really excited. Anyway, I'll talk to y'all next week.

Bulgogi

This week highlights a lot of struggles we have as missionaries. We didn't have too many good things happen. Sometimes we have those weeks, but that's OK! We have some good things coming this week. I did have some bulgogi though! So that made it a little better.

We didn't have a single lesson this week. I think ten lessons fell through in total. People are not very good at setting an appointment and then keeping it. I'm not sure why. It's something we need to know how to handle though because it happens daily. This week I'm going to be very bold setting appointments with people and tell them straight up that "our time is important and your time is important, so let's not waste each other's time. If we are going to set an appointment let's keep it." Hopefully we will get some more solid appointments, and if they don't set an appointment then, then they probably aren't worth teaching.

I had some amazing bulgogi this week. Bulgogi is one of my favorite foods. It's a Korean dish that I had on special occasions growing up, and there is a Korean member here to took us to get some this week. It was super good and reminded me of home.

Even though it was hard to see them for me this week, I know that miracles still happen today. God is a God of miracles. He has a hand in all parts of our lives. 

Moroni 7:27-29 

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men? 28 For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens. 29 And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men."

I know that as we have faith and do our best to act on our faith, miracles will happen in our lives. If we have faith that we can do missionary work and we do the work necessary and try our best, miracles will happen and the Lord will bless you. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Someone set a baptismal date

We had exchanges and set a baptismal date with one of the people we are teaching, so this week was great!

The first half of the week we were busy finding new people to teach and having lessons. Nothing too crazy. Friday was lit though. Elder Pihl came here that day with me and we had a great time.

Elder Pihl was trained here a year ago, and this was his first time back. We went to some of his spots that he would go to in his training. It was fun for both of us. Elder Johnson also got to go to do YSA work for the day so of course he loved that.

The best part of our exchange was our lesson with Lupe though. I found her a month ago, but she has canceled all our appointments because things keep coming up. We finally were able to have a lesson on Friday. She was prepared and we were able to sit down and talk to her. She asked us why there were so many churches, and said she thought most of them were false and was worried about her salvation. That goes perfectly in line with what we were about to teach. We taught the restoration and she started crying during the first vision. She said she knew it was true and was so excited to start reading the Book of Mormon. She also wanted to be baptized, and we set a date for the end of March. It was such a good lesson. She had commitments on Sunday, so she didn't make it to church, but she will make it next week.

That was our miracle for the week. I know that if we put in the effort, have faith, and follow the spirit, we will see miracles. That goes for all aspects of life. I'm grateful I have the Lord here helping us out. Happy Valentine's Day and see you next week! 

Something crazy happened

Hey guys, some craziness went down this week. I have a new companion and he's awesome! We went to an Alex Boyé concert which was also awesome. And I'm now the district leader. Yup.

So transfers aren't for another four weeks, but I guess President felt he needed to move some things around this week. We got a call Tuesday from President saying that Elder DeMoux was moving to St. Cloud and Elder Johnson as coming to be with me in Sanford. So he packed and we left the next morning. Elder Johnson is pretty new, but we have had a blast this week. We have so much in common. I'm really excited to be his companion.

We also got to go to an Alex Boyé concert this week. It was so much fun. I got some cool pics and videos, and we also got a pic with him. During the concert he also came and gave all the missionaries a shoutout. That was a really fun day. I didn't think I'd go to a legit concert on my mission haha. 

The last piece of news this week is I'm now the district leader. I'm excited to be able to help the district here, we have a lot of great missionaries here. I will have a lot more duties now though, so it will be a bit of an adjustment.

Even with the crazy week we were able to have lots of lessons and find seven new people to teach. The Lord provided. Hopefully this upcoming week will be as good as last week. 

Updates

Good grief! What happened to January? It just sorta mushed into February.

Alex
He's been thick in the middle of basketball practices and games.

How many basketballs can you spot? Did you get 'em all? Are you sure? This year we tried out the Stansbury basketball league instead of Jr. Jazz in Grantsville.

He's getting taller, but I don't think he'll catch his friend Chris anytime soon.

At the beginning of January he took his Hoop Shoot free throw skills to the next level in Heber. Watching those young kids warm up set my nerves on fire for him. They were good and they weren't missing.

But . . . 

Hold on . . . 

They didn't have nerves of steel. And Alex did.

He ended up taking 2nd class place, making 21 out of 25 free throws. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! Unfortunately, the first place winner made 22 and he got to go on to Provo. Alex still came home with a trophy (that we have yet to see since they forgot them) and a free lunch out of the deal.

Clutch. That's what we call him now.

Ashlyn
Ahhh Ash. Just livin' the dream of hangin' with friends just about every night and trying to pass biology tests and dancin' her feet away in ballroom class and splitting knees open in gym class

and studyin' for her learner's permit.

Nate
Wait! I have a son Nathan? Are you sure? I know someone sleeps in his bed and the truck is gone most days, but . . . Hmmmm?

Nate is home long enough to shower and sleep. He has mostly college classes during the day, comes home to McDonalds, basketball or tennis after that.

The kid is rarely home. He did get asked to Winter Ball by cute Hannah.

Sunday mornings are mission prep and then straight to our ward to play prelude or postlude on the organ. Monday nights he teaches a few piano lessons.

Erik
Elder Leary is just doin' his thang, teachin' and preachin' and hangin' with celebrities like Alex Boye.


He's had some great experiences, great companions, played a little tennis and will be home in September.

We even made sure he got in on the yearly height check-in. I'm pretty sure he hasn't grown much this year.

Kiersten
Soon she'll be able to add UVU alumni to her list of accomplishments. Wahoo!! Once a week she travels out here to teach piano lessons.

She still works at Curves in Lehi, tries to keep up Grandma Ellis who had part of the driveway already shoveled, 

incubates baby Oliver for a few more months,

and finds time to be in an institute choir . . . once in awhile . . . like when they have a devotional broadcast to the world.

She and Jason are doing well.

Tyler and I have started a Master Gardener's class that is 12 weeks long and something that has been on our bucket list for a number of years.

Week one was about plants.

This past week was about soils. On our daily walk around the block I was so excited to see the layers of soil. What a nerdy thing to get excited about (and don't ask about the straw in that hole. We have no idea why and have never seen anything like it.)

Yes, we walk just about every day. January has been such a dichotomous month in regards to the weather. You'd expect cold and snow, but it's been quite the opposite. My daily routine is a walk around one block at 6:30 in the morning. I call it my daily walk with God and takes me 11 minutes. After work and school, Tyler and I usually take another walk around a different block to catch up on the day. And Saturday mornings are a 5 mile run at 6:30 in the morning and then off to a basketball game. Boy do I catch some beautiful sunsets and moon settings. Watching the world wake up and drift off is quite spectatular.

My friend Claudia took this on our walk.

The start of February was another beautifully warm day. So much so that we took advantage and biked and bladed the Jordan River Parkway.

Monday we woke up to this. Our second major storm of the year.

Luckily it was just delayed start for school (so no make up) AND I got to try my snowblower again on our driveway and the neighbors.

Our dishwasher also bit the dust taking me back to my childhood when we had five dishwashers. Yeah, that's right 5. Five kids who washed and dried by hand. So this week I've gone from 1 dishwasher to at least 2 or 3. How lucky am I :)

Our quasi snow day also meant more people on Erik's weekly call home.


And like Porky Pig always said at the end of every Looney Tunes show "That's all folks!"

Yo Hablo Español

Man this week was nuts. We didn't have a baptism like we had planned. We were pretty bummed about that. We did have exchanges this week, which are always a good time. We also had zone conference on Thursday.

So Natasha didn't get baptized. She was in a homeless shelter, but she got kicked out last Monday. She is currently in South Orlando trying to figure out what to do. We got her in contact with the missionaries down there and they are going to try and help her. She may be getting baptized down there in a few weeks. We just want to help get her situation figured out first, though.

We did exchanges with the Spanish missionaries again this week. I ended up bearing my testimony three times in Spanish. I think I did OK, although I sounded like a total gringo. We also taught an English class. It was a good day. Also, Spanish food is the best.

Zone conference was this week. We learned a lot. They reformatted it to make it shorter and more focused on just a few points so we can actually get something out of it. I think it was a good change.

This upcoming week will be super fun. We got permission to do exchanges with Elder Pihl from College Park. He is coming with me to Sanford, which was his first area. It will be a good time. Also, Alex Boyé is doing a free community concert at our stake center and we get to go. That'll be hype. I'll tell you guys about it next week. Have a good week, and if you haven't already, look at President Nelson's post about the upcoming general conference and think about his questions. We've been preparing all the members here for conference and it's been good to be able to talk about the first vision so much. We've been able to feel the spirit so strong teaching and testifying of it.