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Can you tell I'm having a wee bit of a time trying to keep up. Elder Leary got his package so now he's got a Christmas tree for his apartment.
I shipped out his Christmas package today, so hopefully on Wednesday he'll have some presents to put under that tree.
His presents had our traditional Santa math tags. Hopefully they will make him feel like he's at a home a little. Only 10 more days until we get to talk to him!
He was also busy this week putting together a Primary nativity.
December 3
It's been a long week. We had some good lessons and cool experiences, some not so good ones, and some cancelled. I'll start with the bad.
We had a lesson with a family with 2 daughters that want to get baptized and a dad that wont let them. We had s great lesson yesterday and invited them to be baptized and they said yes. Long story shirt though, the dad said they couldn't and now we dont really know how to proceed. We're going to keep in contact with the dad and address some of his concerns. It's kind of a terrible scenario for the whole family. Oh well, we'll figure it out.
We also had an awesome lesson with Sister Villamil, an inactive member and her nonmember husband. It went awesome and we're hoping to invite him to be baptized this week.
We had a cool experience with them. That morning so I was leaving I had the impression to grab a Spanish Book of Mormon. I never have them or need them. Anyway, I didn't have room for them in my bag. I had been having problems with my bike tire deflating, so I had a bike pump in my bag. I decided to take it out of my bag and put in the Book of Mormon instead. All day long, I never needed to use it so I was pretty confused. The last thing we did that night was go to our appointment. We're found out that they had lost their Book of Mormon and so I have her one and her husband wanted one too. I have one too him and he said he can only read in Spanish. He speaks English pretty well but I guess he can't read it. I was like hey, I have a Spanish one! So that was pretty cool.
We had 5 appointments cancel this week, and 3 in one day. That means we did a lot of tracting. We didn't find a single person until Sunday night though. Sometimes nobody ever wants to hear what you have to say. Oh well, next week will be better.
We also saw lots of cool reptiles this week. We saw hundreds of lizards,
a gecko, a WILD IGUANA,
and a man caught a black racer snake.
Here's an overview of my week. We got to have p day with a different zone in Rockledge which was muy bueno y divertido. We had transfers and now only have 1 ward, yay! We found 3 new peeps, Cathy, Moises and Brian.
Thanksgiving happened on Thursday in case you didn't know, and it was awesome. And last night we had dinner with a family comprised of a member, 2 investigators, 3 nonmembers, and 2 kids. It went soooooo well.
So last p day we went to Rockledge because it's closer than where our zone goes in Vero. We got to hang out with that entire zone in their monstrous gym which made basketball and gator ball way fun. Ender Squires' trainer is also in that zone so we got to hang out with him. We are also going to be with that zone today.
We had transfers on Tuesday and got sisters in Palm Bay 1, the other ward we were covering. So now we're back to 1 ward and there are sisters in our apartment complex. So we're also back to sharing a car. It makes our job easier, but now we're back to biking basically everywhere because we let the sisters use the car most days because they have a big area.
We found 3 new people. Cathy we found tracting. She is pretty old with lots of health issues, but she's the sweetest person ever. She was on her porch and we talked to her for a good 20 minutes. We offered some service and then talked a little about the Plan of Salvation and the Book of Mormon. She said we could come back this week, so that will be fun. Moises was the dad of someone we found tracting. We got a return appointment with his son Alejandro, and we went to the appointment and Alejandro was just going to work, but he had talked to his dad and his dad was more interested than he was. So that was kind of funny, but we had a really long lesson with Moises about what the Book of Mormon is and how it can bless his life and his families lives. He is really cool and seemed very interested. So that was amazing. Brian was the last one we found, I'll talk about him later.
So Thanksgiving was Thursday. We all know what that means, we can now listen to Christmas music.😃 Thanksgiving was fun though we had dinner with the Hobson family and the Rasmussen family. It was really good. They're the 2 families that feed us the most, and the Bro. Hobson is the mission leader, so we k ow them really well. The sister missionaries in our ward also ate with us. It was fun. We spent the rest of the day tracting and wishing people a Happy Thanksgiving and we visited as many single people in the ward as we could to make sure they had people to spend it with.
Our dinner last night was amazing. It was with the Schwind family. The moms a member and they have 4 daughters. There's a 15 yo and a 13 yo that are investigators. The dad is not interested at the moment. We had ribs and talked a lot to all of them. The daughters really want to be baptized but the parents dont want them to because they think they're doing it for the wrong reasons. We've become really good friends with the dad which is good. We had a good lesson on faith and how it might start as a tiny seed but that's ok and last week we had a lesson about the importance of building our own testimonies. The whole family liked it and the dad even said he'd read out of the Book of Mormon this week. 😀☺ Next week we have another dinner and hopefully we'll put the daughters on date to be baptized.
Also, I biffed it on my bike. Check my google drive for more photos. What happened was we were biking down a sidewalk by a whole bunch of tall tightly packed houses and it was pretty windy. We passed by a canal which mean there was a big canyon thing that all the wind was going through. So right as we were passing it a huge wind gust hit and pushed me to the left, then I overcorrected and fell. I want hurt at all, I caught myself pretty well, but it messed up my seat and my brakes a little bit. It's all good now though.
That's all folks.
P.S. Oh yeah, Brian is the dad at the end, should've clarified that.
I'm sitting here in awe at what just transpired. My previous bishop and friend, Mark Steinagel, just called to say he had just surprised Erik, or Elder Leary I should say, at church. I knew he was going to Orlando on a business trip because he asked for Erik's information. I gave him what I had but let him know I certainly did not expect him to seek our Erik because of the distance. Erik is in an area an hour south of Orlando.
But in my heart of hearts, I knew he would find a way to get down there.
And he did. He said, "I wasn't sure if I was breaking mission rules by being there, but I figured I wasn't family."
He called me after church to tell me about his experience.
Mark and his daughter drove 1 1/2 hours to the meetinghouse Erik is assigned to. They walked in just as it was about to start to find a full meetinghouse with no seats except for the two right up by two elders in white shirts.The opening hymn had begun as they made their way to these two empty seats. He sat down nonchalantly by Erik. Mark said the face Erik made when he glanced over to see who was sitting by him was priceless as Erik gave him the biggest grin. Erik immediately leaned over to his companion to tell him who was sitting with them.
They briefly talked after the meeting, but Mark could tell that Erik was unsure how to interact with someone from home. He could tell that Erik felt the need to get to work with whatever they had planned that day. After learning that Erik and his companion didn't have a car in the 89 degree heat, he offered to take them wherever they needed to be. He was going to consecrate his rental car to the work of the Lord for the day. Immediately after he felt that wasn't the right thing to do, and Erik confirmed his feelings when he said (without consulting with his companion), "I don't think that would be a good idea."
They talked just briefly and Mark watched Erik and his companion talk with some people up front and then out in the hall. He felt it was time to go and quickly waved goodbye to Erik.
Mark relayed to me that Erik looked fantastic. He looked happy and upbeat. Oh how this mother's heart was grateful to hear from someone who had a first hand experience with Elder Leary in the mission field. You get emails home, but sometimes I wonder how much he's really saying. I guess that is why the Holy Ghost is so important. I've felt at peace with the weekly emails and haven't had to worry too much. The Holy Ghost has given me that peace and Bishop Steinagel confirmed those feelings today.
Twenty-three more days until we get to talk to our missionary. I CAN'T WAIT!! I need to commission Ash and Alex to make us a missionary chain instead of the usual Christmas chain.
Mark has been an important part of my family's life. He has given such great service unselfishly as he puts other's needs first. He will always have a special place in my heart for the service he has given to us.
*He didn't feel comfortable getting a picture with Erik so this is what I've got from the day Erik opened his mission call. Bishop Steinagel is in the suit.
November 12
This week was really fun. I finally did my first exchange which was amazing and we went to the beach! I also learned how to make ties and made the best time ever.
On last Wednesday, I went on an exchange with Elder Terry. I probably shouldn't say this, but we stayed up until 12:30 talking and working out. It was really fun to talk to someone new and live with them for a change. I love Elder Squires, but it's nice to be with someone else for a change. We had a great day together, we had 2 amazing lessons, put someone on date to be baptized, and found 5 new investigators, and 2 return appointments from potentials. That's about as good a day as you can ask for. They also had a member in their ward drive us to the exchange from Palm Bay to Fort Pierce. It's an hour drive, he did it in 25 minutes. He has a mustang and drives 130 on the freeway. It was kind of terrifying but it was way fun. Again, I don't know if I should have said that.
We went to the beach this morning at sunrise.
Too bad it was cloudy on the horizon. It was way fun though. There was nobody there, and we could even stand in the water a little bit. We had a really good time. That was my first time seeing the Atlantic, even though I've lived within 5 miles of it for the past 5 weeks.
I also made my first tie. It was a cartoon shark tie, look at the picture of it. I wore it to both wards at church. I had probably 20 people compliment it. And kids love it. It wasn't made very well, and it will probably fall apart within a few weeks, but oh well. Today is also my first zone p day. We've been hanging out playing basketball and gator ball all day, it's been fun.
If you want to see some pictures at the beach and a funny guy with a motorcycle with a side car with a dog in the side car with big goggles on the dog in the side car, then check my google drive.
November 19
I'm not the newest missionary in the mission anymore! I'm also pretty sure I'm the youngest in the mission, but that could also change. Anyway, this will be a short email. This week we just tracted a lot and visited people.
So me and Elder Squires are staying together. We no longer have 2 wards which is amazing. There are now sisters that live in our apartment complex that are over that ward, so that'll be fun.
The one cool experience we had was on Thursday, we didn't have anything to do and no idea where to go. Elder Squires and I went to different rooms and prayed for revelation. We then sat and thought. Elder Squires had the thought to visit some part member families and less active families. I had a specific name come to me, the Bradshaws. I didn't know there was anyone by that name. I thought I might have been thinking of the Cutshaws because I know them, but I searched for Bradshaw and sure enough there was someone by that name. They were an inactive, part member family. We went and knocked the door, talked for 15 minutes and got a return appointment. We then found a few more part member families to go visit and got return appointments from all of them.
Anyway, revelation is real. If you pray sincerely for something you desperately need, and then ponder, you will get an answer. We've been guided so much the past few weeks it's crazy.That was such a huge testimony builder. I had never heard that name, and we independently had the same idea of visiting part member families and it worked. We found 3 other people to teach this week too which is cool. That's all I got for this week.
Also, it got down to 50 degrees this week. Dont you guys feel so bad for me? Its soooooo cold. Just kidding. I love the weather here, but it was funny. We went to a members house that night and had soup and hot chocolate and they were wrapped up in blankets on their couch.
**In my email to Erik, I asked if he had somewhere to go for Thanksgiving and here is his reply . . .
So yes we do have a dinner on Thanksgiving with the ward mission leader and another family named the Rasmussens. The Rasmussens have an autistic son who's 27. He's the coolest person ever. He doesn't talk but he uses a form of sign language but it's hard because he doesn't have the fine motor skills, but he can understand you just fine. He leads the music and passes the sacrament sometimes and his favorite place on the earth is the temple. He loves everything church related. Today a deacon came and asked him he'd help pass. It was the coolest thing ever to see his eyes light up and he almost ran up to the front of the chapel grinning ear to ear. We eat at their house every Monday, we're actually going over tonight.
So Thanksgiving will be fun. We have a great ward, they're actually known as one of the best wards in the mission. We are fed every night. We actually had a dinner with a family with 3 little kids that are the literal cutest things ever. One of them wants to go on a mission to Wendys.
Anyway, they made a really easy dinner that seemed like something you'd make. It's basically just chili with cornbread in a casserole. I attached the recipe, is pretty good.
So with the Elder Holland talk [I emailed him one of my favorite talks by Elder Holland called "Remember Lot's Wife"], we just listened to that 2 days ago. No joke. It is a good talk. Some other interesting talks we listened to were Why 1820 by Hyrum Smith and What Is The Blueprint Of Christ's Church by Tad Callister.
How's school going? Does Nate have a job yet? How's the weather there? It got down to 50 the other day and we were biking in short sleeves at night. Elder Squires is from Las Vegas Vegas he was cold, but I thought it felt great. I miss being cold. Here you're always wet. You get out of the shower and dry off and you're already wet. And you can't ever cool down. I'll play basketball and then usually i'll go outside to cool down, but that doesn't help here. So feeling cold for once felt really nice. Another thing, if you need a new phone wallpaper, go to the photos in the new Come, Follow Me manual on gospel library and download them. There are some juicy ones.
I have been really struggling with my calling as a Sunday School teacher for the 17-year-old class. I love teaching but feel like I don't invest what I should into preparing a lesson. I plan a myriad of lessons for school all week long and I'm mentally done by the time I'm ready to prepare another lesson for Sunday. This week I prayed to Heavenly Father about it and let him know my frustrations with the situation. I don't want to be released but a weekly lesson is too much for me right now. I just keep telling myself to hang on until January, but that is still several months away.
Today our Sunday School president asked to speak with me for a few minutes before I began class. He said he felt like he needed to put two people in each class and would I be okay with swapping lessons. I told him that was a direct answer to my prayer. I'm hoping it will begin soon. Prayers really do get answered. Sometimes quickly and sometimes they take awhile.
The other one is I prayed about what I could do for my sister Natalie after hearing about the terrible day she had had a week previously. I had the impression all week I needed to go visit her in Logan. And I kept telling myself that I just couldn't do it. Saturdays are big days for me in planning for the upcoming week. Finally, late Friday night I texted her and said that Ash and I were going shoe shopping and wanted to come up and take her to lunch. And then I hit send . . . at 11:10pm. It was that late. I got a reply the next morning and Ash and I made a girl trip to Logan. It was impromptu and fun and like Natalie told me, "just what I needed -- thanks for coming up." I followed through with a prompting and that always gives me confidence that I'm doing what the Lord needs me to do.
Is is convenient? I feel like never.
Will the Lord bless my efforts? Always.
* * * * * * * * * * *
A family update: Kiersten and Jason have moved into the basement of Grandma and Grandpa Ellis's house.
The commute is a bit longer to school and work but this will enable them to save a lot of money. Plus they get to hang with Grandma and Grandpa. What a treat for them. Jason even got permission to hang Christmas lights and convinced Kiersten to climb a tree to hang some there.
They both quit Costa Vida. Kiersten is working with Jason's mom at a Curves workout place, and Jason has gone back to being a server at Olive Garden in addition to both going to school full time.
This has been the craziest week yet. There were so many changes made in our district, lots of meetings to go to, and it rained on us all week.
Every emoji represents something that happened. 🌧🌧 It rained on us 2 times this week while we were biking. The first time was on Friday, and we had to bike 5 miles to dinner and then to a lesson. We started biking and then it started to pour. In Utah, pouring rain is very different from it pouring rain in Florida. There was a layer of water about 3 inches deep on the entire ground. And we were biking into the wind and the rain. We got to dinner and it looked like we had just gone swimming in our clothes. So that was a fun experience.
🥩🥩 Halloween was also a fun day. No, we didn't go trick or treating. We weren't even allowed to be out after it got dark around 7. We did some service for a member earlier that day though and he was feeding us dinner that night. He decided to take us out to Longhorn Steakhouse. It was amazing. I got a prime rib and some really good macaroni and cheese. It was the best dinner I've had yet.
😳😳 That emoji is me on Friday. We have been living right next to two other Elders in the Palm Bay 1 ward and we have Palm Bay 2. Elder Blomstedt was our District Leader. On Friday, they got Emergency Transferred out and we got their area. We now have 2 wards, our area has more than doubled, we don't have a District Leader, and we don't have their area book. It's been kind of crazy for us, and next week will be even crazier trying to figure out what we're going to do.
🚘🚘 The good thing is that we now have their car! Yay!! We wont have to bike through pouring rain in our suits anymore. And we won't spend an hour to bike to the southern part of our area. And it's a really nice new Malibu.
🕘🕒 Because we have 2 wards, we went to 6 hours of church on Sunday. We were there from 9 to 3, and then we biked to a lesson. It started raining on our way back from the lesson, so we stopped at the church and studied there while we waited for the rain to stop. In total we were at the church about 7.5 hours. I don't recommend it, but it was still good to get to know some people in our new ward.
🐊🐊 The alligator emojis are just clickbait😁. We didn't actually see any this week. We did get 2 new investi"gators" though. The mom's a member and the dad isn't. 2 of their daughters want to get baptized and all we need to do is convince the dad. He's a really nice guy but he thinks they want to be baptized for the wrong reasons. We're becoming good friends with him which will really help though. We talked about alligators for an hour with him, and he said he might take us to see a whole bunch. Apparently there are 3 spots within 20 miles of us that are just filled with alligators. Maybe in the next few weeks I'll have some cool alligator photos and some cool people being baptized.
Spiritual Spiel
This week I read my patriarchal blessing a few times. I want to invite all of you that have it to read it and see what things are in store for you if you are worthy of those blessings. It really is specifically for you and everything in it can be yours. I hadn't read mine in a while and it was cool to see how true it is even though I just got it a few years ago. As always, check the google drive for more amazing pictures. This was my Halloween picture, I hope you're all jealous.😀
