I found out Saturday that I am getting transferred to the Kennewick Park Ward for my last transfer. When I was in Kennewick before I served in the Union Ward, so different area.
When I told the people in Ellensburg that I was getting transferred they were pretty sad. One family reminded me that I was coming to their house for Thanksgiving dinner 3 times then I finally told them that I was getting transferred. They said that it would not be the same with out me there and that they would miss me.
I finished reading Alma 42 today so I'm hoping that I'll be able to finish the Book of Mormon with 12 - 13 days left so I can finish reading "Jesus the Christ". I have 12 chapters left in "Jesus the Christ". We will see how I do with that goal.
We had one investigator at church yesterday and he seemed to enjoy it. We have a lesson with him tonight so we will see how it goes.
Well, that's about it for this week.
Love,
Elder Poling
Monday, November 17, 2014
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Nov. 10, 2014
Things are going pretty well. We have found more people to teach and have 3 appointments tonight and 3 different members coming out with us so we are seeing things pick up.
We haven't found anything out about the muslims that we found but we are planning on stopping by them a few more times, so we will have to see what comes of it.
Transfers are next week, which means that transfer calls are coming up this weekend. I'm pretty sure that I will be staying for another transfer. I would be surprised if I get transferred, but we will see what happens.
I will be sending home a box of clothes since we are not aloud to wear anything that has a logo on it outside of our apartment. So be looking for a box in the next couple of weeks.
Well, I hope you have a good day. I love you.
Love,
Elder Poling
We haven't found anything out about the muslims that we found but we are planning on stopping by them a few more times, so we will have to see what comes of it.
Transfers are next week, which means that transfer calls are coming up this weekend. I'm pretty sure that I will be staying for another transfer. I would be surprised if I get transferred, but we will see what happens.
I will be sending home a box of clothes since we are not aloud to wear anything that has a logo on it outside of our apartment. So be looking for a box in the next couple of weeks.
Well, I hope you have a good day. I love you.
Love,
Elder Poling
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
November 3, 2014
Things went pretty good last week.
I had my last interview with President until my exit interview with him. It's starting to sink in that my time is almost up, so I've got to make sure to really make these last few weeks count and find those that are looking for the joy the gospel can bring to them. It's great to have been raised in the gospel by such good parents to help me understand the gospel and to help me live it. I've learned a lot while I've been out. I've learned how the Gospel can change lives, how the Atonement can help people over comes their trials.
We have a potential investigators who is Muslim. In order for us to teach him we have to get permission from the mission president. We also have to find out if he is going back east, why he is in the U.S. and if he is a permanent resident. We need to find those things out before we can teach him.
Friday we had lunch at the Institute building where we were able to talk with our YSA recent converts and investigators.
That's about it for this week.
I love you.
Love,
Elder Poling
I had my last interview with President until my exit interview with him. It's starting to sink in that my time is almost up, so I've got to make sure to really make these last few weeks count and find those that are looking for the joy the gospel can bring to them. It's great to have been raised in the gospel by such good parents to help me understand the gospel and to help me live it. I've learned a lot while I've been out. I've learned how the Gospel can change lives, how the Atonement can help people over comes their trials.
We have a potential investigators who is Muslim. In order for us to teach him we have to get permission from the mission president. We also have to find out if he is going back east, why he is in the U.S. and if he is a permanent resident. We need to find those things out before we can teach him.
Friday we had lunch at the Institute building where we were able to talk with our YSA recent converts and investigators.
That's about it for this week.
I love you.
Love,
Elder Poling
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Oct. 27, 2014
Yesterday at church the young man that was baptized last week asked if he could hang out with us today. So he came out with us for a couple of hours and got to see how missionary life is really like. He also went to mission prep class later that night.
Yesterday we also helped someone move a pool table into a guys house and then helped a couple of girls change the radiator hose in their car.
The rest of the week was pretty normal. We did do about 5 hours of service Saturday doing some yard work.
We do have one investigator that we are working with that says the Church is true because the people that taught him know it's true. We told him that we will help him get his own testimony and he really liked that idea.
My shoes are really worn, in fact they started squeaking sometimes when I walk. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will last my to the end of my mission. There is no place here to buy a new pair a shoes that would be comfortable enough for all the walking that we do.
Well, I love you.
Love,
Elder Poling
Yesterday we also helped someone move a pool table into a guys house and then helped a couple of girls change the radiator hose in their car.
The rest of the week was pretty normal. We did do about 5 hours of service Saturday doing some yard work.
We do have one investigator that we are working with that says the Church is true because the people that taught him know it's true. We told him that we will help him get his own testimony and he really liked that idea.
My shoes are really worn, in fact they started squeaking sometimes when I walk. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will last my to the end of my mission. There is no place here to buy a new pair a shoes that would be comfortable enough for all the walking that we do.
Well, I love you.
Love,
Elder Poling
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Oct. 20, 2014
We had a baptism Friday and I was able to confirm him a member of the church, which was pretty awesome.
After church Sunday we taught a new investigator who had been taught on the west side for 6 months. He believed the church was true because he knew that his girlfriend and the missionaries teaching him knew that it was true. So we told him that we will work with him to get his own testimony.
Other than that it was just the normal stuff.
I love you.
Love, Scott
After church Sunday we taught a new investigator who had been taught on the west side for 6 months. He believed the church was true because he knew that his girlfriend and the missionaries teaching him knew that it was true. So we told him that we will work with him to get his own testimony.
Other than that it was just the normal stuff.
I love you.
Love, Scott
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Oct. 13, 2014
Things are going good here. We are having a baptism Friday! The guy that is getting baptized want to hang out with us today so I think we are going to shoot some pool with him at the institute building.
We had a few lessons with members that have turned out pretty interesting. We took out the Elders Quorum President to a lesson and we had an investigator bring up some concerns about deep doctrine, like does God have a God and how did he get his body? He told her to simply just focus on the basics of the gospel and to read the Book of Mormon with an open heart and she will the get answers she is looking for. That was pretty good.
We also helped a guy split some wood this week. When we started we were using a hydraulic splitter and everything was going good, but then the splitter ended up stopping and we couldn't get it running again. We ended doing the rest of the wood by hand. Man did our backs hurt for a while after that.
That's about it for this week.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
We had a few lessons with members that have turned out pretty interesting. We took out the Elders Quorum President to a lesson and we had an investigator bring up some concerns about deep doctrine, like does God have a God and how did he get his body? He told her to simply just focus on the basics of the gospel and to read the Book of Mormon with an open heart and she will the get answers she is looking for. That was pretty good.
We also helped a guy split some wood this week. When we started we were using a hydraulic splitter and everything was going good, but then the splitter ended up stopping and we couldn't get it running again. We ended doing the rest of the wood by hand. Man did our backs hurt for a while after that.
That's about it for this week.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Oct. 6, 2014
I had a pretty good week. We had a lesson with a couple of guys who just wanted to bash with us. One brought out an anti packet. We answered all the questions he had. We also answered all the questions from the anti packet that the other guy had. It was kind of interesting. We also invited them to church with us, if they did a lot of their questions would had been answered but they didn't come. As me and my companion watched conference we both agreed that it would have bee great for them to had seen conference. A lot if their questions and concerns would have been answers.
We also got transfer calls. I'm staying in Ellensburg as well as my companion. I think I will end up going home from here now for sure.
That's about it.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
We also got transfer calls. I'm staying in Ellensburg as well as my companion. I think I will end up going home from here now for sure.
That's about it.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Sept. 29, 2014
Things here are going pretty good for the most part. We had a training this week on how to do our weekly planning. They said that we should spend at least 6 hours planning our week and if we are not then we may be doing something wrong. We are to do our weekly planning on Fridays.
We also got together with 5 other zones and watched the documentary "Meet the Mormons". I thought it made us look like weirdos, that do normal things and live normal lives. I was also able to see one of my old companions that will be going home next week. It was good to see him before his leaves. He's excited to go home but sad at the same time. Oh, when we had our temple trip a couple of weeks ago I saw the lady that I lived with in Kennewick at the temple. Said said that she missed me and wished that I could come back and that I was one of her favorite missionaries.
There is a rumor going around that they are going to move the missionaries out of the apartment that we are living in and move us in with members (there are 4 of us). I'm guessing it would be to save money. We will have to see what happens.
We did so some service in Thorp for a less active member there and their son came to church Sunday, which was good. We are also planning on going to a town called Elem. It's a pretty small town. The elders up there are always doing service so I'll be able to help them.
Transfers are next week and I have a feeling that I will be transferred so we will have to see what happens.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
September 22, 2014
This week was pretty good. We found 2 new people to teach, but I'm not sure how well it will go. One doesn't want to read the Book of Mormon or any pamphlet and the other doesn't see a need for a prophet. So we have our work cut out for us. We will have to see what happens.
As I've said before my companion likes to go all day. We do a ton of walking. Sometimes it seems like we walk in circles, but because of all the walking we do I sleep good at night.
School starts tomorrow here which means that there will be more people to try and get to the YSA branch started again. I'm pretty excited about that.
It's been a pretty normal week.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
As I've said before my companion likes to go all day. We do a ton of walking. Sometimes it seems like we walk in circles, but because of all the walking we do I sleep good at night.
School starts tomorrow here which means that there will be more people to try and get to the YSA branch started again. I'm pretty excited about that.
It's been a pretty normal week.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Sept. 17, 2014
Sorry it took me so long to email you. We had temple p-day this week. This morning we made a dash down to the Tri-Cities and hit the 9:30 session. It was great to be able to make it to another temple session.
Things are going good here. For the most part my companion and I are getting along. There are times though that we just walk around in silence. We do stay pretty busy. We just go go go which is good. It is starting to really take a toll on my shoes. I think I'm gonna have to get a new pair before long.
I've been on 3 exchanges in the past 10 days. Tuesday I went on one with one of the Zone leaders and we went and tried to find some people to work with in Thorp but all we got was a warning that we need to be careful walking around there and that people shoot first and ask questions later. We took their advice and made sure we were careful.
Can you please send me my long sleeve shirts and sweaters, I don't want to be caught off guard when it gets cold. I don't think I will send home short sleeve shirts. They are kind of gross so I just keep one or two of the good ones and figure out what to do which the rest later.
Well, that's about it. I love you.
Love,
Scott
Things are going good here. For the most part my companion and I are getting along. There are times though that we just walk around in silence. We do stay pretty busy. We just go go go which is good. It is starting to really take a toll on my shoes. I think I'm gonna have to get a new pair before long.
I've been on 3 exchanges in the past 10 days. Tuesday I went on one with one of the Zone leaders and we went and tried to find some people to work with in Thorp but all we got was a warning that we need to be careful walking around there and that people shoot first and ask questions later. We took their advice and made sure we were careful.
Can you please send me my long sleeve shirts and sweaters, I don't want to be caught off guard when it gets cold. I don't think I will send home short sleeve shirts. They are kind of gross so I just keep one or two of the good ones and figure out what to do which the rest later.
Well, that's about it. I love you.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Sept. 8, 2014
As you know I was transferred and I've already had some crazy things happen here, but its been good. My companion and I get along but don't have too much to say to each other. We both did very different things when we were home. We have to try and get creative when we do talk. Although I think my companion thinks I'm getting trunky because he says I'm starting to talk more about things at home. I try and stay focused on the work that I have been called to do.
It was hard to leave Kennewick (I was there for 7 months). They lady that we lived with even cried when I left. She even told me that she did like me a lot and she would occasionally tell me that I'm a special missionary. She also said that I needed to come back and visit her. I'll admit that I do find myself wishing that I was back in Kennewick but then I have to remind myself that there is someone here that I need help so that has been my mission to find out who that is.
Ellensburg is growing on me. We stay super busy which is good. We do have a couple of investigators that we are working with. We found out that one of the investigator's dad is in jail, so things have been put on hold with him.
Ellensburg is a college town and the campus is in our area so there is a lot of opportunities there to find investigators.
That's all for this week.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
It was hard to leave Kennewick (I was there for 7 months). They lady that we lived with even cried when I left. She even told me that she did like me a lot and she would occasionally tell me that I'm a special missionary. She also said that I needed to come back and visit her. I'll admit that I do find myself wishing that I was back in Kennewick but then I have to remind myself that there is someone here that I need help so that has been my mission to find out who that is.
Ellensburg is growing on me. We stay super busy which is good. We do have a couple of investigators that we are working with. We found out that one of the investigator's dad is in jail, so things have been put on hold with him.
Ellensburg is a college town and the campus is in our area so there is a lot of opportunities there to find investigators.
That's all for this week.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
August 31, 2014
I got transferred to Ellensburg. It's a college town and the campus is in my area. I'm probably in one of the biggest walking areas in the mission. We do have a lot of members that are willing to drive us around because our area is so big. We also cover a town called Thorp, which is about a 10 minute drive from the highway. Luckily we get to use the other elders car on Thursdays so we can go to Thorp. We have a part member family out there that we are teaching. While out there on Thursday we found out that they roll their own cigarettes. We ended up taking a bag of tabacco from them before we left to help them quit smoking.
One of the 1st things we did when I got here was help a lady lay the floor in her house. That was fun. This past weekend was the biggest rodeo in the state of Washington and it was held here in Ellensburg. You can only imagine all the drunk people out walking around. My companion even got asked by a lady if he wanted to go back to her room with her for the night. We've also been mooned, so we try not to look around too much. I think most of this craziness with end after the rodeo is over. Oh, we also watched a guy throw a TV off his balcony and it exploded.
The less active member that I was working with in Kennewick for a long time was a little upset that I was leaving but he did say that he knows there is someone up here in Ellensburg That I need to find and help out. He even called me Wednesday night and said that he didn't realized how much he needed me until I left. He also said to call him every now and again to see how he is doing. After talking with him that night it sounded like Wednesday was a crazy day for him.
Well, that about it for this week.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
One of the 1st things we did when I got here was help a lady lay the floor in her house. That was fun. This past weekend was the biggest rodeo in the state of Washington and it was held here in Ellensburg. You can only imagine all the drunk people out walking around. My companion even got asked by a lady if he wanted to go back to her room with her for the night. We've also been mooned, so we try not to look around too much. I think most of this craziness with end after the rodeo is over. Oh, we also watched a guy throw a TV off his balcony and it exploded.
The less active member that I was working with in Kennewick for a long time was a little upset that I was leaving but he did say that he knows there is someone up here in Ellensburg That I need to find and help out. He even called me Wednesday night and said that he didn't realized how much he needed me until I left. He also said to call him every now and again to see how he is doing. After talking with him that night it sounded like Wednesday was a crazy day for him.
Well, that about it for this week.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
August 25, 2014
Well last Monday (my birthday) was a pretty good day. I had lunch with a family from Pasco. They took us to a place called Azteca. It was pretty good. It was also good to see the family again and to see how they are doing. They are surprised at how long I've been in Kennewick. They would like for me to come and visit after my mission. After lunch we went and played volleyball at the Stake Center. After we played volleyball we went with a few sister missionaries to Dairy Queen and got an ice cream cake.
Dinner at Neil's was pretty awesome. The elk was great. He had us over again last week. We helped him clean up the yard. He fixed dinner for us and we had broiled teryiake stake, corn on the cob with rice and watermelon. The ward had an activity that night, which was to help clean up around the high school. So that day was very tiring day. I fell asleep before 10.
The Ward that I am serving in is having a baptism. The lady getting baptized in not someone that we have taught. The sisters in another ward taught her, then she moved into our ward. She didn't want to be taught by the Elders so the sisters kept teaching her. She is the 2nd lady who either hates men or doesn't want be to taught by the elders for some reason. It does get frustrating when silly things like that happen.
It has been pretty hot here. The other day it was 107, but it's a dry heat. We make sure to drink lots of water and try to find the shady spots on the side walk to walk under. The other day we walked home from a p-day, the elders that normally eat with us showed up later in the car. They were complaining how hot it was and they had to walk from their car to the house. My companion and I just looked at them like really?
I found out Saturday that I'm getting transferred to Ellensburg. So Sunday in Priesthood the bishop had me stand up and tell of some of the highlights that I've had while I've been in the ward. After ward a bunch of people came up to me, shook my hand and told me that they appreciate me and all the work that I've done here.
That's about it for today.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Dinner at Neil's was pretty awesome. The elk was great. He had us over again last week. We helped him clean up the yard. He fixed dinner for us and we had broiled teryiake stake, corn on the cob with rice and watermelon. The ward had an activity that night, which was to help clean up around the high school. So that day was very tiring day. I fell asleep before 10.
The Ward that I am serving in is having a baptism. The lady getting baptized in not someone that we have taught. The sisters in another ward taught her, then she moved into our ward. She didn't want to be taught by the Elders so the sisters kept teaching her. She is the 2nd lady who either hates men or doesn't want be to taught by the elders for some reason. It does get frustrating when silly things like that happen.
It has been pretty hot here. The other day it was 107, but it's a dry heat. We make sure to drink lots of water and try to find the shady spots on the side walk to walk under. The other day we walked home from a p-day, the elders that normally eat with us showed up later in the car. They were complaining how hot it was and they had to walk from their car to the house. My companion and I just looked at them like really?
I found out Saturday that I'm getting transferred to Ellensburg. So Sunday in Priesthood the bishop had me stand up and tell of some of the highlights that I've had while I've been in the ward. After ward a bunch of people came up to me, shook my hand and told me that they appreciate me and all the work that I've done here.
That's about it for today.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
August 18, 2014
Last week after pday we went and made letter openers out of horse shoes and it was pretty sweet. We also go to play with a forge and really hot metal. Then we had the usual. We found out that one of our less less active members moved so now we only have 2 people we are working with so it gets a little rough at times.
We had Stake Conference this week. It was my 2nd one I've been to since I've been in this area. That makes it seem like I've been here a really long time. Some of the ward members have starting asking when I go home and not when the next transfer is. So I think they want me to stay.
During conference they talked about member trust and members working along side with the missionaries. One of the Gospel Doctrine teachers that was sitting in front of me, turned around and patted me on the leg and said "Poling, I want you to know that I trust you with anyone that wants to hear the gospel." That was good to hear.
Last night we stopped by our less active member that we've been working with for a while and trying to get him to come back to church (the one that talked to Pres. Ware). We talked him out of getting a tattoo and while we were talking to him his dog peed on my shoe. The less active member ran inside and got some paper towels and some bleach. While he was cleaning my shoes he said "I hope you know that this is the closest thing you will will to having me wash your feet". :).
Things are going pretty good with him. We had dinner with him Tuesday night. We had Elk steak, Pheasant and crab legs. Which was really good. While we were there he gave me 2 knives and a wet stone that had been passed down from father to son in his family starting with his great great grandpa who helped settle South Dakota. He told me that he considers me family and that the only way he could really show how much he appreciated me and all that I've helped him with is to give me something that means something to him. I was a hesitant taking it from him because it had been in the family for so long and had been passed down from father to son for generations. He also said that he does not plan on loosing contact with me after my mission.
That's about it for this week.
I love you.
Love,
Elder Poling
We had Stake Conference this week. It was my 2nd one I've been to since I've been in this area. That makes it seem like I've been here a really long time. Some of the ward members have starting asking when I go home and not when the next transfer is. So I think they want me to stay.
During conference they talked about member trust and members working along side with the missionaries. One of the Gospel Doctrine teachers that was sitting in front of me, turned around and patted me on the leg and said "Poling, I want you to know that I trust you with anyone that wants to hear the gospel." That was good to hear.
Last night we stopped by our less active member that we've been working with for a while and trying to get him to come back to church (the one that talked to Pres. Ware). We talked him out of getting a tattoo and while we were talking to him his dog peed on my shoe. The less active member ran inside and got some paper towels and some bleach. While he was cleaning my shoes he said "I hope you know that this is the closest thing you will will to having me wash your feet". :).
Things are going pretty good with him. We had dinner with him Tuesday night. We had Elk steak, Pheasant and crab legs. Which was really good. While we were there he gave me 2 knives and a wet stone that had been passed down from father to son in his family starting with his great great grandpa who helped settle South Dakota. He told me that he considers me family and that the only way he could really show how much he appreciated me and all that I've helped him with is to give me something that means something to him. I was a hesitant taking it from him because it had been in the family for so long and had been passed down from father to son for generations. He also said that he does not plan on loosing contact with me after my mission.
That's about it for this week.
I love you.
Love,
Elder Poling
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
August 11, 2014
Things here are going pretty good. I went on exchanges with our district leader this week. We had one less active lesson and then people to try by. We also went to a baptism and the Pres. Ware showed up. I talked to him for a little while after it and he thanked me for being persistent as I have been with our less active member and the things I've done to try and get him reactivated. I'm hoping he will start coming back to church soon. He's even said that he almost came to church this week. So things are going good with him. He's having us over for dinner tomorrow and is going to cook us Elk and snow goose that his dad shot in SD, so I'm excited for that.
The rest of the week was pretty normal, all our appointments canceled and then we had a mini missionary come out with us. We wore him out walking around. He said that he felt like we walked all to the way to Egypt so the next day we made it a little easier on him. We pulled some weeds in the flower beds for Sis. Splatts which needed to be done.
Not much this week.
Thanks for the birthday package.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
The rest of the week was pretty normal, all our appointments canceled and then we had a mini missionary come out with us. We wore him out walking around. He said that he felt like we walked all to the way to Egypt so the next day we made it a little easier on him. We pulled some weeds in the flower beds for Sis. Splatts which needed to be done.
Not much this week.
Thanks for the birthday package.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
August 4, 2014
This week has been alright. Its still been hot. Highs in the 90's to 100's so we drink lots of water. We are still having a hard time finding investigators that are actually ready to hear our message so that's a bummer.
The other day we had a lesson with a lady and at the end of the lesson we asked if we could come back and talk about the Plan of Salvation and she told us no and that she hates men. I think we are might send the sisters over to talk with her.
Our less active member that wanted to meet with the Mission President finally met with him. Not sure why he wanted to meet with him but from talking to Pres. Ware it went well. President told me after they had talked that our less active member thinks a lot of me and that I've helped him out a lot and from talking with our less active member he said he that Pres. Ware has seen me mature a lot as a missionary here in Kennewick and that I'm doing my best missionary work here so far. So our less active member asked Pres. Ware that if I'm doing my best work here then why transfer me. He said that Pres. Ware didn't say anything to that but I think it put the thought of keeping me here a little while longer in his mind. I might be here for the remainder of my mission which would be kind of cool. We will have to see what happens.
This morning we had a Zone meeting. It was okay. I think they just repeat the training information so it sometimes makes it hard to pay attention. I guess we all learn something different when we are retrained on things.
Well, that's about it for this week.
I love you.
Love,
Elder Poling
The other day we had a lesson with a lady and at the end of the lesson we asked if we could come back and talk about the Plan of Salvation and she told us no and that she hates men. I think we are might send the sisters over to talk with her.
Our less active member that wanted to meet with the Mission President finally met with him. Not sure why he wanted to meet with him but from talking to Pres. Ware it went well. President told me after they had talked that our less active member thinks a lot of me and that I've helped him out a lot and from talking with our less active member he said he that Pres. Ware has seen me mature a lot as a missionary here in Kennewick and that I'm doing my best missionary work here so far. So our less active member asked Pres. Ware that if I'm doing my best work here then why transfer me. He said that Pres. Ware didn't say anything to that but I think it put the thought of keeping me here a little while longer in his mind. I might be here for the remainder of my mission which would be kind of cool. We will have to see what happens.
This morning we had a Zone meeting. It was okay. I think they just repeat the training information so it sometimes makes it hard to pay attention. I guess we all learn something different when we are retrained on things.
Well, that's about it for this week.
I love you.
Love,
Elder Poling
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
July 28, 2014
This week was kind of a slow one.
We had our investigator drop us because his girlfriend moved out and they are no longer together. The only reason he was taking the lessons was because of her. Sunday we had 2 less active members to church so that was good.
One of our less active members that we have been working with and recently got his recommend has moved. We told him that when he gets moved we will have his records transferred and to talk to his bishop to see when they are going to the temple so he can go and do baptisms with them. Hopefully everything will work out for him.
Thursday we did service work for another of the less active member that we have been working with. He is meeting with the mission president this week so hopefully all will go well. He asked what he should do to prepare to meet with Pres. Ware and I told him to get a blessing from his dad, he said that was the best thing he could have ever heard and that he doesn't know why I do what I do to get him to want to come back to church, but says that it's working perfectly and that Heavenly Father is really working through me to be bold and push him just enough not to offend him but to make him do what he needs to do. I am hoping that he will start coming to church soon.
Also this week we are having a member of the Stake Presidency go out with us on Thursday night to visit some people. I'm pretty excited about that. I've worked with Pres. L before and he's the one that let me burn my old worn out holy pants at his house.
That about all that I have.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
We had our investigator drop us because his girlfriend moved out and they are no longer together. The only reason he was taking the lessons was because of her. Sunday we had 2 less active members to church so that was good.
One of our less active members that we have been working with and recently got his recommend has moved. We told him that when he gets moved we will have his records transferred and to talk to his bishop to see when they are going to the temple so he can go and do baptisms with them. Hopefully everything will work out for him.
Thursday we did service work for another of the less active member that we have been working with. He is meeting with the mission president this week so hopefully all will go well. He asked what he should do to prepare to meet with Pres. Ware and I told him to get a blessing from his dad, he said that was the best thing he could have ever heard and that he doesn't know why I do what I do to get him to want to come back to church, but says that it's working perfectly and that Heavenly Father is really working through me to be bold and push him just enough not to offend him but to make him do what he needs to do. I am hoping that he will start coming to church soon.
Also this week we are having a member of the Stake Presidency go out with us on Thursday night to visit some people. I'm pretty excited about that. I've worked with Pres. L before and he's the one that let me burn my old worn out holy pants at his house.
That about all that I have.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Thursday, July 24, 2014
July 21, 2014
This past week was transfers and transfer week always seems to be long for some reason.
It has been hot here. Yesterday we saw on a bank that it was 110. There is no one outside to talk to when it's this hot. They think we are crazy for being outside, but a few random people have given us popsicles. We do go to the church to cool off when we can.
The temple envelope that I sent home was made by Mama, the lady we live with. We couldn't find the OKC Temple so she put the Dallas Temple on it.
One of the less actives we have been working with now has his temple recommend and wants to do baptisms. He will be moving at the end of the month so hopefully we can get him to the temple before he moves.
I feel that working with less active members is frowned on as missionaries because you are not baptizing, but it is part of our calling. We have several less active members that we are working with. We did have a few less active members at church. I guess they are not really less active anymore since they are now attending church each Sunday.
My shoes are a little worn as you can tell from the picture I sent you a couple of weeks ago. One pair is shot and will probably throw them away because they are just too hard to wear. I will may need to get some new jeans. My Levis have at least 4 patches on them. Doing service work can get a little dirty. I also had to get me another pair of slacks. We retired a pair at the Stake Presidents house.
Well, that all I can think of.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
The temple envelope that I sent home was made by Mama, the lady we live with. We couldn't find the OKC Temple so she put the Dallas Temple on it.
One of the less actives we have been working with now has his temple recommend and wants to do baptisms. He will be moving at the end of the month so hopefully we can get him to the temple before he moves.
I feel that working with less active members is frowned on as missionaries because you are not baptizing, but it is part of our calling. We have several less active members that we are working with. We did have a few less active members at church. I guess they are not really less active anymore since they are now attending church each Sunday.
My shoes are a little worn as you can tell from the picture I sent you a couple of weeks ago. One pair is shot and will probably throw them away because they are just too hard to wear. I will may need to get some new jeans. My Levis have at least 4 patches on them. Doing service work can get a little dirty. I also had to get me another pair of slacks. We retired a pair at the Stake Presidents house.
Well, that all I can think of.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
July 14, 2014
Not much this week. It's been pretty hot here. It's been over 100 most of the week, we are doing are best to stay cool. We had a few less actives members and an investigator at church this week. We were excited to find out that one of the less active members that we've been working with got his temple recommend and is planning on doing baptisms this week. The work we have been doing is beginning to pay off.
We got our transfer call Saturday. I am staying here along with my companion. I've been here since the end of January and really like this area. Most of my district is also staying, which is good because we all get along super well. We also heard that they will be changing up some of the districts. We are hoping that they do not change ours because this is one of the Elders last transfer before going home in 5 weeks. We are really wanting to stay together since we are all so close. We will have to see what happens.
That's about all.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
July 7, 2014
This week was pretty good. We had 2 less actives come to church Sunday, we have 12 less active members that we are working with. We seem to find them all over the place. We also found 3 new investigators this week. One investigator wants to get baptized so he and his girlfriend can get married in the temple so they look promising.
For the 4th we didn't do much. We went to a pancake breakfast then went and did some things around the house. We had a lesson at 5 then came home since we had to be in by 6. We did watched a few fireworks but nothing too exciting.
Yesterday we had dinner with a family and they had a non member family over as well. The member family had met the non member family over the weekend. We shared a Mormon message about the Restoration. They had lots of questions, which we were able to answer. They seemed pretty interested.
I wrote you a letter Saturday and I don't want to repeat too much.
That's about it.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Here are my shoes. I may need to get some new ones.
For the 4th we didn't do much. We went to a pancake breakfast then went and did some things around the house. We had a lesson at 5 then came home since we had to be in by 6. We did watched a few fireworks but nothing too exciting.
Yesterday we had dinner with a family and they had a non member family over as well. The member family had met the non member family over the weekend. We shared a Mormon message about the Restoration. They had lots of questions, which we were able to answer. They seemed pretty interested.
I wrote you a letter Saturday and I don't want to repeat too much.
That's about it.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
June 30, 2014
This week was alright. Most of our appointments fell through which was a bummer and all the people we tried by we not at home either so it made for a long week. We did do some service with our ward and helped a couple of missionaries with some of their investigators and members, so that's always a plus.
We had a couple of less active members at church yesterday and had a new less active member that we are working with that came and we are hoping that we can get him active again.
I had an interview with Pres. Ware, he told me that the ward here really needs me and that I'm doing a great work as well, helping a lot of less active members come back to the fold and this is where I need to be.
The week before we spend part of the day with a councilor in the stake presidency and helped put up the fence in mama's back yard that had blown down. We also mowed her lawn as well.
Last week we had a softball game, I think I told you about, the less active member that we have been working with came and I was really surprised. He couldn't stop smiling. He told us that we were fulfilling our purpose and that he only came because were were there. He later called us that night and told us that we had tricked him. He thought he was having an interview with the stake president instead of the mission president. He then thanked me for all that I've done for him to get the ball rolling for him to get active again and that he couldn't figure out how we always know how to help him. He also said that after the softball game he went to talk to his dad and was looking through some old boxes and found his old mission stuff and on the inside cover of the 1st book he opened was his patriarchal blessing, which I had ask him to read. He said that now time for him to take action and to be active and take the necessary steps to turn his life around and that somehow I've been able to get to him and that I have only lived 1/2 as long as him and have done 1/8 of what he had but he turns to me for what to do to get his life on track and for advice. He also said that I'm a great man even all 20 years of me and that the two of us will have to figure out what action to take next for him. He also wants me to come back and visit so we can go camping, fishing and rafting after my mission.
It's made me feel good when he told me how I've been impacting his life.
That's all that I have.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
We had a couple of less active members at church yesterday and had a new less active member that we are working with that came and we are hoping that we can get him active again.
I had an interview with Pres. Ware, he told me that the ward here really needs me and that I'm doing a great work as well, helping a lot of less active members come back to the fold and this is where I need to be.
The week before we spend part of the day with a councilor in the stake presidency and helped put up the fence in mama's back yard that had blown down. We also mowed her lawn as well.
Last week we had a softball game, I think I told you about, the less active member that we have been working with came and I was really surprised. He couldn't stop smiling. He told us that we were fulfilling our purpose and that he only came because were were there. He later called us that night and told us that we had tricked him. He thought he was having an interview with the stake president instead of the mission president. He then thanked me for all that I've done for him to get the ball rolling for him to get active again and that he couldn't figure out how we always know how to help him. He also said that after the softball game he went to talk to his dad and was looking through some old boxes and found his old mission stuff and on the inside cover of the 1st book he opened was his patriarchal blessing, which I had ask him to read. He said that now time for him to take action and to be active and take the necessary steps to turn his life around and that somehow I've been able to get to him and that I have only lived 1/2 as long as him and have done 1/8 of what he had but he turns to me for what to do to get his life on track and for advice. He also said that I'm a great man even all 20 years of me and that the two of us will have to figure out what action to take next for him. He also wants me to come back and visit so we can go camping, fishing and rafting after my mission.
It's made me feel good when he told me how I've been impacting his life.
That's all that I have.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
June 23, 2014
I wrote you a letter which contains most of the week so I don't want to repeat anything.
The less active member that we have been working with is having an appointment with the mission president so I'm excited to hear how that goes. We are also talking the less active member out tracting with us some time. We will see what happens.
We had an Elders Quorum softball game last week. We had so much fun. We smoked the Elders Quorum. I forgot how much fun it could be to play baseball. We were also able to get the less active member to come out to the game. He has a lot of fun. We were happy that we were finally able to get him out to an activity. His Home Teachers came over and visited with him, while they were they we walked by his place on our way to an appointment and he flagged us down and said that it went really well and that he was glad that they came over to visit with him.
That's about it. Most of my week is in the letter that I wrote. You should get it in the next couple of days.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
The less active member that we have been working with is having an appointment with the mission president so I'm excited to hear how that goes. We are also talking the less active member out tracting with us some time. We will see what happens.
We had an Elders Quorum softball game last week. We had so much fun. We smoked the Elders Quorum. I forgot how much fun it could be to play baseball. We were also able to get the less active member to come out to the game. He has a lot of fun. We were happy that we were finally able to get him out to an activity. His Home Teachers came over and visited with him, while they were they we walked by his place on our way to an appointment and he flagged us down and said that it went really well and that he was glad that they came over to visit with him.
That's about it. Most of my week is in the letter that I wrote. You should get it in the next couple of days.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
June 16, 2014
As you know last Monday was not our p-day so that threw everything off. We were able to find some service to do, which was good. We did some yard work with some missionaries, we took down a fence at a members house and then had dinner with Mama (the lady we live with).
Tuesday was our p-day and we were able to go to the temple. We went to the 8 o'clock session. We we go out of the temple we had lunch, then a member from Pasco took us to the driving range. After we were done at the driving range. That evening we stopped by some more people.
Wednesday morning some missionaries came over to do their laundry, then we went to lunch, while we were at lunch one of the less active members we've been working with called and asked if we could come over and help him put together a car part and also that he needed to talk to me, so after lunch we went over to his place and helped him and while we were helping him he asked why bad things happen to good people. I asked him if he had read the book of Job, he said that he had. I told him that some times our trials are to test our faith and if we show that our faith is where if needs to be then God will bless us more. He then asked how long our trials last, I told him that it's different for everyone. Some trials are easier and not as long while some are harder and last a lot longer and that it's the small and simple things that make those trials easier to bear. He then went to explain that he is tired of Satan railing on him and wishes that he would let up long enough for him to get his feet back under him as far as the gospel goes and that as long as he is with his girlfriend come back to church because she is not willing to come to church. He then went on to explain that he went to his nephew's baptism and it took 2 1/2 hours to get his girlfriend to go and that it was like pulling teeth. So he has decided to break up with her so he can be happy and feel the presence of the Holy Ghost in his life again. I offered to give him a blessing, he feels that his dad should be the one to give him one. Hopefully he will one soon. He thanked me for being so stubborn and persistent in coming over and trying to teach them and doing service for them. He then gave me a big hug and told me that I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I came over, but is glad that I keep coming over. It was good to hear the impact that I've had on him from going over and doing countless hours of service.
Thursday we stopped by a few investigators and was able to get in with one of them. We taught her the importance of reading the Book of Mormon and by reading a little bit everyday will help her stayed focused on Christ. We also had a lesson with a less active member and read 2 Nephi 11-14 with them. They mentioned that they want to go to the temple and be sealed. We told them what they needed to do to prepare themselves to go to the temple. After dinner Thursday we had a member take to a couple of people. We did get a return appointment with one, talk to another person that we have been trying to get in contact with for 3 months. We got a referral from a part member family and was able to get a return appointment with them.
That's about my week. Things are going good.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday was our p-day and we were able to go to the temple. We went to the 8 o'clock session. We we go out of the temple we had lunch, then a member from Pasco took us to the driving range. After we were done at the driving range. That evening we stopped by some more people.
Wednesday morning some missionaries came over to do their laundry, then we went to lunch, while we were at lunch one of the less active members we've been working with called and asked if we could come over and help him put together a car part and also that he needed to talk to me, so after lunch we went over to his place and helped him and while we were helping him he asked why bad things happen to good people. I asked him if he had read the book of Job, he said that he had. I told him that some times our trials are to test our faith and if we show that our faith is where if needs to be then God will bless us more. He then asked how long our trials last, I told him that it's different for everyone. Some trials are easier and not as long while some are harder and last a lot longer and that it's the small and simple things that make those trials easier to bear. He then went to explain that he is tired of Satan railing on him and wishes that he would let up long enough for him to get his feet back under him as far as the gospel goes and that as long as he is with his girlfriend come back to church because she is not willing to come to church. He then went on to explain that he went to his nephew's baptism and it took 2 1/2 hours to get his girlfriend to go and that it was like pulling teeth. So he has decided to break up with her so he can be happy and feel the presence of the Holy Ghost in his life again. I offered to give him a blessing, he feels that his dad should be the one to give him one. Hopefully he will one soon. He thanked me for being so stubborn and persistent in coming over and trying to teach them and doing service for them. He then gave me a big hug and told me that I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I came over, but is glad that I keep coming over. It was good to hear the impact that I've had on him from going over and doing countless hours of service.
Thursday we stopped by a few investigators and was able to get in with one of them. We taught her the importance of reading the Book of Mormon and by reading a little bit everyday will help her stayed focused on Christ. We also had a lesson with a less active member and read 2 Nephi 11-14 with them. They mentioned that they want to go to the temple and be sealed. We told them what they needed to do to prepare themselves to go to the temple. After dinner Thursday we had a member take to a couple of people. We did get a return appointment with one, talk to another person that we have been trying to get in contact with for 3 months. We got a referral from a part member family and was able to get a return appointment with them.
That's about my week. Things are going good.
Love,
Scott
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
June 9, 2014
This past week was kind of slow because of transfers. I got a new companion, I served around him in Vancouver and Pasco so things are going good. We are work well together and trying to find those that need us, so that's a good thing.
Yesterday was kind of a weird day because it wasn't pday. Today we went to the temple this morning which was good. Yesterday we did a lot of service. We helped a lady fill in the trenches left from getting a new sprinkler system put in and then we went to another elders apartment and help them out with some things and worked on a '76 Ford. We were trying to figure out the wiring for the horn. We also went to a members house and helped them take down a chain link fence, which didn't take too long. So yesterday was a good day.
We taught a lesson to one of our less actives what want to go to the temple again, then we met with another less active member who want to go to the temple weekly, so that was great to hear.
Saturday we did more service and while we were waiting to be picked up I ripped a hole in the crotch of my jeans, which I was bummed about. I was able to get them patched. I think that the 3rd time I've had to get them patched so they are just getting broke in. Hahaha.
Well, that's about it.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Yesterday was kind of a weird day because it wasn't pday. Today we went to the temple this morning which was good. Yesterday we did a lot of service. We helped a lady fill in the trenches left from getting a new sprinkler system put in and then we went to another elders apartment and help them out with some things and worked on a '76 Ford. We were trying to figure out the wiring for the horn. We also went to a members house and helped them take down a chain link fence, which didn't take too long. So yesterday was a good day.
We taught a lesson to one of our less actives what want to go to the temple again, then we met with another less active member who want to go to the temple weekly, so that was great to hear.
Saturday we did more service and while we were waiting to be picked up I ripped a hole in the crotch of my jeans, which I was bummed about. I was able to get them patched. I think that the 3rd time I've had to get them patched so they are just getting broke in. Hahaha.
Well, that's about it.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
June 2, 2014
This week was pretty good. Our investigator that was in jail got out, she still wants to get baptized, so that's good. She was at church Sunday and was very active in answering questions during Gospel Principles. We also had a less active member that has been out to church for the past 5 weeks. He is trying to get an interview with the bishop so he can go to the temple to do baptisms. He's really excited about that. We have also talked to him about the Priesthood and are working with him on reading the sacrament prayers so he can bless the sacrament (he struggles with reading).
Transfers are this week. I will be staying here but my companion is getting transferred. My companion that I will be getting I've served around when I was in Vancouver and in Pasco.
That's about all for this week
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Transfers are this week. I will be staying here but my companion is getting transferred. My companion that I will be getting I've served around when I was in Vancouver and in Pasco.
That's about all for this week
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Thursday, May 29, 2014
May 27, 2014
This week was pretty good for the most part. We had 2 less active members come to church and one wanting to go to the temple as soon as possible, so we will be working on getting him ready to go and have him talk to the bishop.
We went on exchanges this week. I was with Elder Crane and stayed in my area. While on exchanges we went and saw one of the less actives that we have been working with, when we go to his house he was standing in his front yard in his underwear washing himself in tomato juice because he got sprayed by a skunk fishing. It was funny to watch. While he was washing himself off we just sat around and laughed. He was a good sport about it.
The lady we had on date to be baptized ended up getting arrested for not paying some fines. She is in jail now but wants to be baptized as soon as she gets out.
Yesterday we went and hiked around Zintel Canyon then went to a Bar-b-que then that evening we had dinner with mama.
That's about it for this week.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
We went on exchanges this week. I was with Elder Crane and stayed in my area. While on exchanges we went and saw one of the less actives that we have been working with, when we go to his house he was standing in his front yard in his underwear washing himself in tomato juice because he got sprayed by a skunk fishing. It was funny to watch. While he was washing himself off we just sat around and laughed. He was a good sport about it.
The lady we had on date to be baptized ended up getting arrested for not paying some fines. She is in jail now but wants to be baptized as soon as she gets out.
Yesterday we went and hiked around Zintel Canyon then went to a Bar-b-que then that evening we had dinner with mama.
That's about it for this week.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
May 19, 2014
Things are going pretty good. We had 3 less active members at church Sunday. They seem to be wanting to make a change their life and it's a rewarding feeling to know that they know what they need to do to get their life back on tract and that they are seeing the blessings that come from living the gospel.
We had exchanges this week as well. My companion did what we planned for him to do so that was a good thing. We are going on exchanges again this week as well. We will see what happens and who will go where.
My companion was not feeling well over the weekend so this weekend was kind of slow. After church Sunday we came home so he could rest and I read a book on Porter Rockwell. I enjoyed that. We went our with a Priest from the ward but didn't stay out too late so my companion could get some rest.
Thursday we had Zone Conference. We went over the policy's for helping people understand things better. It was helpful. I did make it to the Distribution Center while I was there since it was closed Monday when I went. So that was good.
Well, that's about it for this week.
I love you,
Scott
P.S. Since I've been here in Kennewick I've been told that I will be a General Authority, a Bishop, and I'm the Ward Mission Leader when ours is out of town.
We had exchanges this week as well. My companion did what we planned for him to do so that was a good thing. We are going on exchanges again this week as well. We will see what happens and who will go where.
My companion was not feeling well over the weekend so this weekend was kind of slow. After church Sunday we came home so he could rest and I read a book on Porter Rockwell. I enjoyed that. We went our with a Priest from the ward but didn't stay out too late so my companion could get some rest.
Thursday we had Zone Conference. We went over the policy's for helping people understand things better. It was helpful. I did make it to the Distribution Center while I was there since it was closed Monday when I went. So that was good.
Well, that's about it for this week.
I love you,
Scott
P.S. Since I've been here in Kennewick I've been told that I will be a General Authority, a Bishop, and I'm the Ward Mission Leader when ours is out of town.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
April 28, 2014
This week was pretty good. We had transfers this last week. I will be staying as well as my companion. We had a Zone breakfast at the stake presidents house. We were able to meet the new missionaries in the zone, so that was good.
We spent a lot of time walking around this week because all our appointments fell through which was a bummer. We did some service work for the less active member. We also helped a member tear down her metal shed.
Oh, we got flagged down by a lady who had a beard and while she was talking to us she started foaming at the mouth. She also mentioned that she had a crush on a 19 year old boy, so we tried to end the conversation as soon as we could and get her to the right missionaries.
Well, I love you,
Love,
Scott
We spent a lot of time walking around this week because all our appointments fell through which was a bummer. We did some service work for the less active member. We also helped a member tear down her metal shed.
Oh, we got flagged down by a lady who had a beard and while she was talking to us she started foaming at the mouth. She also mentioned that she had a crush on a 19 year old boy, so we tried to end the conversation as soon as we could and get her to the right missionaries.
Well, I love you,
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
April 21, 2014
This week was pretty good. We got transfer call Saturday, both my companion and I will be staying in Kennewick. The Elder that cut the tip of his finger off was made district leader. I think he will be mine. I'm excited for him.
I got the Easter package. I loved the nuts in the bull nut sack, haha. Thanks for sending my short sleeved shirts. I will be needing them. I have a package ready to send home with some winter clothes that I won't need for a while.
We had a lesson on Friday with an investigator that was being taught by the missionaries in Pasco. She says she wants to get baptized but wants to read the entire Book of Mormon, the Old Testament and New Testament. I had her read Mosiah 18:10. After she read it we sat in silence for about a minutes then she said that all the reasons she gave for not getting baptized where silly. She does need to get married first.
Things are going okay with the less active member. He did get a DUI. They gave him a work release. We have been going over to his place and doing service for him.
I went on exchanges this week. I helped a lady clean out her sprinkler system. Some people from Pasco came and took us to lunch at a place call "The Rock". It's a burger and pizza place. It was pretty cool. They told both of us that we would have to come visit after our missions.
When I got back from exchanges I found that my companion didn't do anything. Him and his companion for the day slept in and didn't leave the house until 3:30. I had left a list of things for him to do so I was disappointment.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
April 14, 2014
This week we did a lot of service which was good. We helped a less active member paint a bathroom then we ran some crown in it. He also mentioned that since we have been coming by him and his girlfriend are thinking about coming to church again. Before we left he asked us to say a prayer, I did. He also said that I was the first person to pray in their house for more than a year and a half and that I would be the missionary to get him to church again. So I think I may be staying here for a while, but will have to see what happens. His girlfriend also said that they better not transfer me or she will be really upset and would have to talk to the mission president about transferring me. Haha
This week I also frayed the crotch of my pants. With all this walking that I've been doing I will have to get another pair of pants, we are also putting the miles on our shoes. We are seeing a lot of good things come out of our investigators so that is good. There are 5 that are real receptive to the gospel. They all say they need to look into new things in lift that will lift them up and make a positive effect.
Well that's about it for this week.
Love,
Scott
This week I also frayed the crotch of my pants. With all this walking that I've been doing I will have to get another pair of pants, we are also putting the miles on our shoes. We are seeing a lot of good things come out of our investigators so that is good. There are 5 that are real receptive to the gospel. They all say they need to look into new things in lift that will lift them up and make a positive effect.
Well that's about it for this week.
Love,
Scott
Monday, April 7, 2014
April 7, 2014
This week was a pretty good one. We had a baptism Saturday between Conference Sessions so that was pretty cool. We have another person on date to get baptized on the 26th. We do have some obstacles to over come. We will have to see what we can do to help.
We did a lot of service this week We helped lay down some mulch, helped someone move, helped a lady with her flowerbeds and I also moved the yard for the lady we are staying with.
We got a media referral on Thursday and contacted them that night. We got 3 new investigators out of it so that was cool. They have had some contact with the church before and all were really interested in the message we shared with them.
Well that's about it for this week. Oh, one of the Elders here cut the tip of his finger off while doing dishes the other day. There was a really sharp knife in the bottom of the sink and he sliced his finger on it while he was cleaning up. He now has a big gauze wrap thing on it. They say it could take up to a month for it to completely.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
We did a lot of service this week We helped lay down some mulch, helped someone move, helped a lady with her flowerbeds and I also moved the yard for the lady we are staying with.
We got a media referral on Thursday and contacted them that night. We got 3 new investigators out of it so that was cool. They have had some contact with the church before and all were really interested in the message we shared with them.
Well that's about it for this week. Oh, one of the Elders here cut the tip of his finger off while doing dishes the other day. There was a really sharp knife in the bottom of the sink and he sliced his finger on it while he was cleaning up. He now has a big gauze wrap thing on it. They say it could take up to a month for it to completely.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
March 31, 2014
Things are going pretty good. We had three investigators at church Sunday. Saturday night we found out that one of our investigators has decided to go to the Baptist church this week. We will have to see how that went and if they notice a difference between the two churches. Sunday at church they had a special training from the Stake on "The Family - A Proclamation to the World", which was good.
We had interviews with Pres. Ware. While we were there, Sister Ware told me that I was doing good with my companion and also said that I'm going to make a good husband and father.
We did some service with a less active member. We helped him move some things to his dads house.
This week we also went on exchanges. I went on exchanges with Elder Crane. I served around him my first 9 months of my mission so it was fun to be able to catch up with him. All our appointments that we had ended up canceling on us so that was a bummer. Maybe next week will be better.
We have a baptism scheduled for Saturday. I'm excited about that.
I can't think of anything else right now. The weather has been in the 50's and 60's, so it's been nice.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
We had interviews with Pres. Ware. While we were there, Sister Ware told me that I was doing good with my companion and also said that I'm going to make a good husband and father.
We did some service with a less active member. We helped him move some things to his dads house.
This week we also went on exchanges. I went on exchanges with Elder Crane. I served around him my first 9 months of my mission so it was fun to be able to catch up with him. All our appointments that we had ended up canceling on us so that was a bummer. Maybe next week will be better.
We have a baptism scheduled for Saturday. I'm excited about that.
I can't think of anything else right now. The weather has been in the 50's and 60's, so it's been nice.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
March 24, 2014
Things are going good. We found 3 new investigators this week. 5 of our investigators came to church Sunday. We also have a baptism planned for April 5. Right now it is planned between conference sessions on April 5 so that's exciting. We got members to fellowship all of our investigators so that was great.
Things with my companion are going okay. I just have to remember to be patient with him.
Things are going pretty good and the work is going on.
That's about it for this week.
Love,
Scott
Things with my companion are going okay. I just have to remember to be patient with him.
Things are going pretty good and the work is going on.
That's about it for this week.
Love,
Scott
Sunday, March 23, 2014
March 17, 2014
I got my new companion. He told me upfront that he has asbergers and ADHD. I'm glad that he told me up front, so that will make it easier to handle and get a long with him.
Our investigators are doing good. We met with our investigator that really wants to get baptized but is on parole. He is probably our most solid investigator right now. He also asked if we could watch 17 Miracles, we told him that we would have to get permission from Pres. Ware. We did get permission to watch 17 Miracles so next time we meet with him we will watch it.
We also did some service this week with the guy who knows Elder Bednar and Pres. Uchtdorf. He mentioned that Elder Bednar would keep a football in his office so that he could go and throw it with random students during his lunch break.
Saturday my zone had breakfast at a member of the Stake presidency's house, so that was pretty cool. When we left there we went and saw one of our investigators. When we got there all he wanted to do was argue with us so we ended up dropping him. We then went to a less active members house to do service. While we were there we cleaned out a trailer for them to get ready to sale. He told us that he believes that 90% of any ones mission could be done by any missionary but 10% of it can only be done by you. He also told me that he is part of my 10% and that it would take someone like me to get him and his girlfriend to church and to reactivate him. He told me that I'm probably more effective as a missionary doing service than I am knocking on doors as far as making an impact on people. Every time we have left he told I'm making an impact on his whole family. So that made me feel good. He also said that there is a reason why he didn't have the other missionaries that come through the ward come over as much and spend time with him. He said to him there were just guys in white shirts and ties. I'll have to figure out how to manage my time to be effective in finding people and in helping him and his girlfriend.
That was a cool ending to my week.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Our investigators are doing good. We met with our investigator that really wants to get baptized but is on parole. He is probably our most solid investigator right now. He also asked if we could watch 17 Miracles, we told him that we would have to get permission from Pres. Ware. We did get permission to watch 17 Miracles so next time we meet with him we will watch it.
We also did some service this week with the guy who knows Elder Bednar and Pres. Uchtdorf. He mentioned that Elder Bednar would keep a football in his office so that he could go and throw it with random students during his lunch break.
Saturday my zone had breakfast at a member of the Stake presidency's house, so that was pretty cool. When we left there we went and saw one of our investigators. When we got there all he wanted to do was argue with us so we ended up dropping him. We then went to a less active members house to do service. While we were there we cleaned out a trailer for them to get ready to sale. He told us that he believes that 90% of any ones mission could be done by any missionary but 10% of it can only be done by you. He also told me that he is part of my 10% and that it would take someone like me to get him and his girlfriend to church and to reactivate him. He told me that I'm probably more effective as a missionary doing service than I am knocking on doors as far as making an impact on people. Every time we have left he told I'm making an impact on his whole family. So that made me feel good. He also said that there is a reason why he didn't have the other missionaries that come through the ward come over as much and spend time with him. He said to him there were just guys in white shirts and ties. I'll have to figure out how to manage my time to be effective in finding people and in helping him and his girlfriend.
That was a cool ending to my week.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
March 10, 2014
This week was a good one. We found a new investigator that wants to join but he is currently on parole. It looks like he has another year until he is no longer on parole so this will be a long term investment and will need to do some fellowship.
We also did some less active work and went and hit some baseballs. The less active member and his girlfriend and her kids were there. So we had a lot of fun with them. We also stopped by some people. So it was a good week.
My companion is all packed and ready to go. I will be with the missionaries that serve in the ward next to mine until I get me new companion on Wednesday.
I will probably be sending home some of my long sleeve shirts soon since it's starting to warm up along with some other things.
We also helped a couple of people move this week and while we were moving them I ripped a big hole in the seat of my jeans, but the lady we live with said that she can fix them.
That's about all that I can think of.
I love you.
Love, Scott
We also did some less active work and went and hit some baseballs. The less active member and his girlfriend and her kids were there. So we had a lot of fun with them. We also stopped by some people. So it was a good week.
My companion is all packed and ready to go. I will be with the missionaries that serve in the ward next to mine until I get me new companion on Wednesday.
I will probably be sending home some of my long sleeve shirts soon since it's starting to warm up along with some other things.
We also helped a couple of people move this week and while we were moving them I ripped a big hole in the seat of my jeans, but the lady we live with said that she can fix them.
That's about all that I can think of.
I love you.
Love, Scott
Thursday, March 6, 2014
March 3, 2014
This week was pretty good. We had zone conference which was pretty good. We had some good training. They talked about teaching and the commitments that we leave with our appointments.
We stopped by some less actives in the ward. One that we stopped by in a part member family. He know some deep doctrine but doesn't come to church and his wife is not a member. We will have to see if we can get him to start coming back to church.
Friday night the Elders Quorum had a pinewood derby which we were invited to. They fed us steak which was really good. There was also a less active member that came and brought his girlfriend. We talked to him for a while. We found out that he served his mission in Frankfort Germany. He mentioned he had dinner with Pres. Uchtdor a few times. He also attended Ricks and was on a first name bases with Elder Bednar. It was cool to here his stories.
This is my companions last week in the mission field. Come Monday I will be in a three-some until Wednesday when I get my new companion.
Thanks for all you do for me. I love you.
Love,
Scott
We stopped by some less actives in the ward. One that we stopped by in a part member family. He know some deep doctrine but doesn't come to church and his wife is not a member. We will have to see if we can get him to start coming back to church.
Friday night the Elders Quorum had a pinewood derby which we were invited to. They fed us steak which was really good. There was also a less active member that came and brought his girlfriend. We talked to him for a while. We found out that he served his mission in Frankfort Germany. He mentioned he had dinner with Pres. Uchtdor a few times. He also attended Ricks and was on a first name bases with Elder Bednar. It was cool to here his stories.
This is my companions last week in the mission field. Come Monday I will be in a three-some until Wednesday when I get my new companion.
Thanks for all you do for me. I love you.
Love,
Scott
Monday, February 24, 2014
Feb. 24, 2014
This week was a long one. All are appointments that we had scheduled had canceled so there wasn't too much that got done. We did have a great lesson with a less active. She wants to come back to church so we are working with her.
The elders in the ward next to us bought some balut eggs (half developed duck eggs). We cooked them before we ate them. They were pretty gross and give you terrible gas.
Today for lunch we are going to the mission home and having lunch with Pres. Ware. It's a tradition that he has to have lunch with the elders after Stake Conference. I'm looking forward to that.
I love you and have a great week.
Love,
Scott
Feb. 19, 2014
Sorry it took so long to finally email you.
This week was pretty fun, though the beginning of the week was pretty boring. Tuesday we had our zone meeting then we went to see if we could stop by and visit with some people.
Thursday night someone who served his mission here in Kennewick a few years ago came back to attend a funeral. He stayed with the lady we are staying with. We visited with him in the evenings while he was in town. It cool to hear what the mission was like a few years ago.
Friday we went to the High Priest Valentine's social. We spent most of the night there. Saturday we had Stake Conference. The Saturday night evening session the mission president spoke on the members helping the missionaries. Sunday there were some really good talks on the Atonement.
Monday was p-day. The libraries were closed so I was unable to email you Monday. We did go bowling and played some basketball.
Tuesday one of the elder in my zone was sick. I went with his companion while my companion stayed with the sick one. We went to an appointment that they had scheduled but they ended up canceling when we got there because of some family matters, we did give him a blessing before we left. We went to their next appointment, someone who is having some health problems, so we gave her a blessing too. Before we left her house she gave us some food which we took back to the apartment. They had some hot sauce called "Da Bomb". I decided to try it. It was so hot that it made my eyes water and I couldn't talk for 15 minutes. One of the elders looked at the bottle of hot sauce and it was 1.5 million on the heat scale. I won't be doing that again. That night after dinner I stayed in with the sick elder while my companion went out.
So that was my week and why it took so long for me to email you.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
This week was pretty fun, though the beginning of the week was pretty boring. Tuesday we had our zone meeting then we went to see if we could stop by and visit with some people.
Thursday night someone who served his mission here in Kennewick a few years ago came back to attend a funeral. He stayed with the lady we are staying with. We visited with him in the evenings while he was in town. It cool to hear what the mission was like a few years ago.
Friday we went to the High Priest Valentine's social. We spent most of the night there. Saturday we had Stake Conference. The Saturday night evening session the mission president spoke on the members helping the missionaries. Sunday there were some really good talks on the Atonement.
Monday was p-day. The libraries were closed so I was unable to email you Monday. We did go bowling and played some basketball.
Tuesday one of the elder in my zone was sick. I went with his companion while my companion stayed with the sick one. We went to an appointment that they had scheduled but they ended up canceling when we got there because of some family matters, we did give him a blessing before we left. We went to their next appointment, someone who is having some health problems, so we gave her a blessing too. Before we left her house she gave us some food which we took back to the apartment. They had some hot sauce called "Da Bomb". I decided to try it. It was so hot that it made my eyes water and I couldn't talk for 15 minutes. One of the elders looked at the bottle of hot sauce and it was 1.5 million on the heat scale. I won't be doing that again. That night after dinner I stayed in with the sick elder while my companion went out.
So that was my week and why it took so long for me to email you.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Feb. 10, 2014
This week was a pretty good week, although it was rather cold. It got down to around 5 degrees last night. We've really had to bundle up to stay warm and the wind made it even colder. Some of the coldest days were on the sunny days.
Friday it started snowing and Saturday when we woke up we had 4" of snow on the ground. We called the other set of elders that are in our ward to see if they wanted to go have lunch with us. We meet up with them that morning and ended up shoveling snow for 5 hours then had lunch and shoveled more snow. Saturday night it snowed again and we got another 4" of snow, so with all the shoveling that we had done on Saturday it looked liked we had made no progress. Church was cancelled Sunday due to the weather so we went and did shoveling. Needless to say I'm a little sore and my back hurts. haha.
This week we taught a less active whats called the 15 step program to quit smoking. He is very excited about that. We had him crust his cigarettes and then took them from him. As far as we know he is doing pretty good. We will see him on Wednesday to follow up with him and to see how he is doing.
We found a couple of investigators last week. We are teaching them the Restoration and will show them the Restoration dvd and answer any questions they may have.
That's about it for this week.
Love,
Scott
Friday it started snowing and Saturday when we woke up we had 4" of snow on the ground. We called the other set of elders that are in our ward to see if they wanted to go have lunch with us. We meet up with them that morning and ended up shoveling snow for 5 hours then had lunch and shoveled more snow. Saturday night it snowed again and we got another 4" of snow, so with all the shoveling that we had done on Saturday it looked liked we had made no progress. Church was cancelled Sunday due to the weather so we went and did shoveling. Needless to say I'm a little sore and my back hurts. haha.
This week we taught a less active whats called the 15 step program to quit smoking. He is very excited about that. We had him crust his cigarettes and then took them from him. As far as we know he is doing pretty good. We will see him on Wednesday to follow up with him and to see how he is doing.
We found a couple of investigators last week. We are teaching them the Restoration and will show them the Restoration dvd and answer any questions they may have.
That's about it for this week.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Feb. 3, 2014
Well, I made it Kennewick and so far everything is good. When I left Wenatchee there were 4 inches of snow on the ground. My companion and I shoveled 2 driveways before I left.
My companion I have now is from Utah and will be going home at next transfer, so this will be the second companion that I will send home. I've heard a lot of great things about the ward that I'm in. There is a member here that is from Norman, he told me that he would only let me in his house is if I was a Sooner fan. So we talked for a while.
Saturday we found a new investigator and they came to church on Sunday, that was pretty cool.
It's suppose to get down to the single digits this week so it will be a cold one and I'm in a walking area. It's a good thing I have my thermals and compression shirts.
As far as the Superbowl goes, we were at a members house that didn't care to watch the game so we read scriptures with them and played mexican train. It didn't get too crazy when the Seahawks won, there was a cannon that went off and that is how we knew that the Seahawks had won.
Well, that's about it for this week.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Jan. 27, 2014
This week was alright. I haven't received the letter that you mailed. I guess the mail runs slow sometimes.
Well, Saturday night, I helped the Stake President break into a car that had its keys locked in it. We weren't having any luck unlocking it with a coat hanger. The Stake President turned to me and asked me to give a prayer, so I did. After saying the prayer he was able to get the car unlocked on the first try. Then he turned to me and gave me a high five and said "that was all you baby". It was pretty funny.
I am getting transferred Wednesday. I will be serving in Kennewick. I'm excited about that. I've heard that my new companion really likes ice cream, I've heard that his mission is almost over. I have started packing and I'm not sure if I'm going to get everything to fit in my suitcases. I may have to use some boxes that I have. It's amazing at what you can accumulate.
We did meet with one of our investigators. This one his dad is a polygamist and so is his brother. His brother has 5 wives. Anyway, our investigator has been reading the Book of Mormon and things are looking good there.
That's about it for this week.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Well, Saturday night, I helped the Stake President break into a car that had its keys locked in it. We weren't having any luck unlocking it with a coat hanger. The Stake President turned to me and asked me to give a prayer, so I did. After saying the prayer he was able to get the car unlocked on the first try. Then he turned to me and gave me a high five and said "that was all you baby". It was pretty funny.
I am getting transferred Wednesday. I will be serving in Kennewick. I'm excited about that. I've heard that my new companion really likes ice cream, I've heard that his mission is almost over. I have started packing and I'm not sure if I'm going to get everything to fit in my suitcases. I may have to use some boxes that I have. It's amazing at what you can accumulate.
We did meet with one of our investigators. This one his dad is a polygamist and so is his brother. His brother has 5 wives. Anyway, our investigator has been reading the Book of Mormon and things are looking good there.
That's about it for this week.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Jan. 20, 2013
Things are going ok. It is a little challenging right now.
We have found a couple of people to teach. We found 3 a couple of days ago. Things are improving. I did find out that a few years ago this area had 40 baptisms over 3 years, the last baptism they had here was last April.
My companion and I and the sister missionaries that cover the ward next to ours went to do some volunteer work at a soup kitchen. While we were helping we got asked to take our name tags off. We told them that we had to keep them on so people would know that are missionaries for the Church. They told us that we either had to remove our name tags or leave, so we left. One of the sisters couldn't believe that we had got kicked out of doing service work for not removing our name tags. So that was kind of fun.
Well that's about all that I can think of.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Jan. 13, 2014
This week was went by pretty fast. We attended the temple, which was a blast. We fit 12 elders into a 10 passenger van. We also went to Far West and check out some of the scriptures there. We stopped at Costa Vida to get something to eat on the way home. When we got home we went to our dinner appointment then tried to find some people.
There is not much that happened that I can remember. Saturday one of the Spanish speaking elders that covers our ward as well was sick so my companion stayed with him while the other Spanish speaking elder went to me. I taught a lesson in Spanish then went to teach the Methodist family that we have been working with. A member of the Stake Presidency went with us to that appointment. Things were going pretty good. We taught the gospel of Jesus Christ then they pulled out an anti Joseph Smith packet, answered a few questions for them then we decided to leave. The member of the stake presidency told us after we left that we taught what we were suppose to so they made me feel good.
Today for p-day we went with our zone leaders and looked at some watches and some cologne. One of the elders ended up buying a watch which was pretty expensive.
Tonight we have a dinner appointment then we are going to teach a member family the lessons because they want to have the lessons. She is a life long member and says that she doesn't know much about the gospel and thought this would be one way to learn more.
That's about it for now.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
There is not much that happened that I can remember. Saturday one of the Spanish speaking elders that covers our ward as well was sick so my companion stayed with him while the other Spanish speaking elder went to me. I taught a lesson in Spanish then went to teach the Methodist family that we have been working with. A member of the Stake Presidency went with us to that appointment. Things were going pretty good. We taught the gospel of Jesus Christ then they pulled out an anti Joseph Smith packet, answered a few questions for them then we decided to leave. The member of the stake presidency told us after we left that we taught what we were suppose to so they made me feel good.
Today for p-day we went with our zone leaders and looked at some watches and some cologne. One of the elders ended up buying a watch which was pretty expensive.
Tonight we have a dinner appointment then we are going to teach a member family the lessons because they want to have the lessons. She is a life long member and says that she doesn't know much about the gospel and thought this would be one way to learn more.
That's about it for now.
I love you.
Love,
Scott
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Jan. 6, 2014
Not much to mention this week.
We are working with the members a lot more than we did before so hopefully we will gain the trust back of the members. We have 12 families that said that they would invite someone to take the lessons. I think we are on the right track. Only time will tell.
For New Year's Eve we played pool in the basement of where we live. New Year's Day we tried to stop by and visit with some people but strangely no one was home or they were hung over from the night before. Haha.
Transfers are in a couple of weeks. I still think that I will be transferred . We will have to see what happens.
Thanks about it.
I love you. Stay warm. It sounds like it is cold there.
Love,
Scott.
We are working with the members a lot more than we did before so hopefully we will gain the trust back of the members. We have 12 families that said that they would invite someone to take the lessons. I think we are on the right track. Only time will tell.
For New Year's Eve we played pool in the basement of where we live. New Year's Day we tried to stop by and visit with some people but strangely no one was home or they were hung over from the night before. Haha.
Transfers are in a couple of weeks. I still think that I will be transferred . We will have to see what happens.
Thanks about it.
I love you. Stay warm. It sounds like it is cold there.
Love,
Scott.
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