Week 77. Back into the flow of things

 hey Everyone. Trying to get this one out faster than last week's. So without further ado, here are the highlights:

Ana - this ysa member is 6'4". I never thought I'd meet a girl that tall. She was super cool and a bit sad I was taller. But she has this cute Dog with an Instagram. Poc below if you want to join. 

Mos - he's the eccentric guy that just started coming, we had a great lesson with him and he's always good at participating and you can tell how much he loves the Gospel. He'll be ready for baptism soon!

Back on Bike - just for the day. I went on exchanges with Elder Stokes and got to ride bike again. We visited a Russian member who really likes art, that was cool. And we passed off this African Book of Mormon, I don't know the actual language, to this members caretaker. She was pretty grateful. It was a great time and Elder Stokes is a cool guy. 

Anotha one - the next day we went on exchanges again and I stayed in YSA with Elder McCreary. The day was pretty all over the place but super fun. We got to talk to this convert that had left the church. He was super open and we had a great discussion. It was awesome. Then he destroyed me at chess. He literally didn't move half his board. I hope he's able to find the truth again. 

Then the next morning I got to go on another run! It was super awesome and I took some pics. 

Elders Conference - so awhile back there was a sisters conference, and the Elders were feeling a bit left out so they finally had one for us too. Sadly, it wasn't the whole mission, but the topics were great and everyone loved it. One of the best meetings ever. 

Baptism - after the conference we went straight to a baptism in the ASL branch. It was super cool to witness and see the joy on her face and all the support she had. Love this work. 

Bam - I thought we had a super good lesson with her. We talked about 3 Nephi 11-14 that she had read and then read 3 Nephi 17 and talked about our relationship with Christ and how He heals us physically and spiritually. She liked how both our religions holds the eternal truth of bettering oneself. And that led into a good conversation on the Gospel of the Fulness of truth. She seems to feel the Spirit but is still scared of leaving the path she knows. Prays for her please that she can take her leap of faith. 

Member Meals - I just want to say that the members here and the food the make are amazing. It makes me realize that I need to upgrade my cooking skills

Spiritual Thought - I had this cool thought. Mosiah 24:15 

     And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.

And I thought about the Pioneers and their hard struggles. I can't imagine getting through what they've did, and they were able to because of God. 

And although I'm not afflicted with bondage or an impossible trek, I am still able to call on His name for help through my own trials. And I know it's the same for you.

It's been pretty cool this past week of the amount of people that have reached out asking for prayers. It's a wonderful testimony u can share just by asking for help. I love this Gospel and I love you guys. Have a great weekend!

Pics

Week 76. Seattle: everything's great, except the driving

 Hi everyone! There's a cool spiritual thought at the end so go check it out, if I didn't explain it well enough maybe you could send me an email and I'll try again  jk, unless... but here's the highlights:

Japanese English convo - so there's this place in Seattle, a conversation table, where we talk with Japanese students to help them learn English. Idk how it started but my first time going there was 1 Japanese dude and 2 other Americans. Both of them were friends that missionaries in the past had talked to but hadn't seen in a while so we got to talk with them too and invited them both to volleyball and church. Dylan came to both and we will probably see Chase next week 

FHE - dinner was amazing! It was soup with homemade bread and I had like 3 bowls and probably a whole loaf. It was great. Then institute afterwards was so fire. We talked about faith, hope and charity and related it to exaltation. I wish I had taken notes. 

Exchanges - went on exchanges with Elder Twitchell. He's an awesome Elder who has been in Seattle for all 7 months of his mission so far. He's cool. So we did cookies and got to talk with a lot of cool people, had a lesson with our friend Kat and two awesome members and it was fire, played some pool and won if you saw my Facebook post, and got to play volleyball that night. It was a great day 

MLC - first one as a zone leader, it wasn't too different and it was a spiritual high as always. There were a lot of cool thoughts but the 2 things I liked the most was Elder Harkness gave his testimony on the Atonement, Jesus as our Advocate, and striving to do better because of Him. And President Oakes said that the mission is supposed to help you learn to decompress, destress, and go to the scriptures, to God, to find peace. Because that's the only lasting source. I liked that 

Caitlin - she's been coming to church for a while but had never had an actual lesson with the missionaries. So we finally had one, answered her questions, taught the Restoration, and she shared her testimony how she loves the church and feels peace even though she doesn't know a lot about it. It was super cool and we talked about baptism and set it for April 22. She has some struggles to overcome but she's so optimistic and it's awesome 

Mos - he's a bit eccentric. He's been taught before he moved up here and believes in the church. He still needs to learn but he wants to and it's great. He's fun.

Spiritual thought: this is something I learned at institute that I thought was amazing. The Question: Was the Great Apostasy a blessing or a curse? To help explain, our teacher talked about winter wheat. Wheat planted before winter, that starts to sprout right as the freeze comes, killing the tops. But the roots continued to grow and spread, and by the time spring came around the wheat was ready to grow. It had a jump start and grew faster and more abundantly than any wheat planted that spring. 

It's the same with the world. Jesus Christ and the Apostles planted the seeds and helped them grow, until they were all gone and the church lost their leaders. The freeze happened, no prophets meant no guidance to keep things true, but the roots, the foundation of a Savior who sacrificed His life for us did. Yes, there were many churches, and many differing ideas, but people believed. Then when the time was right the seeds began to sprout and were ready to receive the sunlight, the true and everlasting Gospel of Christ. And now, we are all growing fast, and we are helping others grow, so we can all reach up to the Sun and live with God again. 

I love y'all 

Here's the pics, sorry I will take more

Week 75. A little late, but still good

 Hey Everyone, some crazy stuff happened this week. Here are the highlights:

Last p day - just wanted to mention how awesome the missionaries I serve with are. I had my breakfast and dinner paid and provided by someone else. They are awesome. Shout out, complete. The other thing was how we went hard on some games. Basketball til we all died,

Codenames and they thought my hints were terrible but we still won (the 2nd time), and extreme spoons which is like normal spoons but you have to run to a different room and find them. It was pretty fun. 

Volleyball - only had 3 youth show, but the reason why I wanted to share it was because I saved a ball that was going out and it sailed over the net and right into the basket. Coolest thing ever. We should've won right there. 

Miracle - y'all probably wondering if I do missionary work, after spending the first half of my email like that. But don't worry, because I do. 

After DC both me and my companion had the prompting to visit this one lady, Jackie, that we haven't seen in 2 weeks. So we go over and she's home and starts talking! We meet her "domestic partner" (they aren't married yet) and he starts sharing his story and asking us stuff and it was so cool that God set that all up. I really hope the best for them. 

Robbie - since she's getting baptized this Thursday we met a lot last week. Had the interview and went over the program. Some awesome members invited her and us over for dinner and we got everything ready and explained for the big day. 

There is just one slight problem...

Transfers - Transfer day is the day before her baptism and she asked Harkness to baptize her and he's been here for 5 months, so we thought he was leaving. But with a sudden plot twist we find out that Harkness is staying and I'm leaving after 3 months. I was so surprised. Things have been all over the place these last few days for multiple reasons. 

But President is doing it differently so you don't have to wait til next email to find out where I'm going... I'm going to Seattle! YSA and ZL. Super nervous but that isn't even the craziest part. The craziest part is that a member has offered and will be picking me up from Seattle to attend the baptism. The Crandalls are studs

Spiritual Thought - The Lord's got your back. He's going to help you so much that sometimes you may not want it. Like going to a new place, leaving the things or people you like behind. But He does it because He can see the big picture. He can tell how much you need it to grow and how eventually you'll love it just as much or even more than where you were before. 

It's going to be a little uncomfortable, but trust in Him.  

Love y'all 

No pics.