August 1, 2016

Buenas Dias ‏

So how has it been in the land of the people of Oregon, South Carolina, Rhode Island, nueve Mexico, Utah and anywhere else I happen to have forgotten? Good? Well I hope it has been good. As for us it has been one of a busy week, but also slow at times as such it proved tedious in parts.

This whole week has been very hot and humid. Which is fine the only problem is that I am my fathers son which means that while I get a rather attractive tan rather than just a solid burn like dad does, I do happen to sweat quite profusely. But that is just a minor inconvenience. Tracted we did and we found quite a myriad of different people.

With having a greenie it proves interesting with door contacts in Spanish. For example we knocked on a door where a nice man answered. Elder Hernandez began only to be interrupted where the man explained he didn't believe anything he was saying. To which Elder Hernandez responded in Spanish "Si oh perfecto, es exactemente como asi" which is roughly "oh yes perfect, it is exactly like that". From that point the man began to bash on us so I interrupted and talked with him for a while till it was obvious he was not interested. After we left, Elder Hernandez asked me what happened (he had the impression he was super interested, which he wasn't) and I explained. But a lot of fun experiences like that happen, which reminds me of my good old days of being trained as well.

One of the cool experiences we had was finding a young women who has about 8 kids all together, like a village. But she was super nice and we talked about the church only to find out her family in Chicago are members and that she had gone to church several times but her husband had been against her going. But we have schedule to swing back to her house this week.

We now have set up service at the ymca every Tuesday and Fridays, which is great because that will keep us busy.

But other than that not much else has been happening of super significance.

This week we will have interviews with the mission president which will be fun.

But that is all on the eastern front. Now I end this letter with my love to you all.

July 25, 2016

Padres, amigos, o otros personas ‏

Well week one with the new greenie, verde, or kid seeing that I have almost 3 years on him. Boy I am getting old. But this was a fantastic week with all sorts of fun tracting, visiting members, and hunting down less actives.

But I will start with how we began Tuesday when I met my current companion and also my last companion. We left early in the morning around 7 just to get to our meetings on time. When we got there we had several meetings getting us ready for our new trainees and then we met, for the very first time. We had some lunch later and then went to visit some people, and then that was the day. So now here is some background on Elder Hernandez.

He was born in Guatemala but grew up in several different places till finally settling down in Alaska where he grew up the vast majority of his life. And he is as of right now trying to learn Spanish. So far doing not too bad for his first week but we got a lot to work on.

We have been working pretty hard this week. The tracting has been pretty rough with how hot it is and the heat which makes it nasty. But on the positive we met a ton of people and had decent success.

Over the weekend to our big surprise we had a awesome branch activity with food salsa tortillas and drinks so ya it was awesome. Then we had church where we both gave our testimonies and several of the members came up to me afterward to thank me very much and explained how much they enjoyed it which was very nice.

Then we had dinner last night with the Fierros who are one of my favorite families in the entire branch they are awesome where we laughed, and help make the meal. Though to be fare I distracted the kids and Elder Hernandez helped more with making the bread. But either way it was awesome.

That was the week, it was fun and busy and I am excited for what comes next.

July 5, 2016

FELIZ DIA DE LIBERTAD POR LOS ESTADO UNIDOS (because I dont know what to call the 4th of july in spanish, is it just the Cuatro de julio o algo no se) ‏

Well this is going to be quick we have a early appointment today and so I am writing as swiftly as possible. Though with my writing capabilities that is not saying much.

So this week we had a few exciting things happening. The first might be the funniest so I gonna kick off with a service we did on Tuesday.

So our branch president told us about a man by the name of Doctor Will Miller who was moving his office out of his Baptist church to another across the river at the college who could use some help with moving. I volunteered us right away and called and talked with him over the phone and through text to get it set up. I also enlisted a couple of our fellow elders to help with moving some of the furniture. Here is the kicker. Dr. Miller is a world renown speaker, and comedian who use to do stand up comedy with a bunch of nobodies like Jerry Seinfeld, Brian Regan, Robin Williams, and a slew people like that who he keeps on a regular correspondence. So we were dealing and helping out with a kind of a big deal guy if you know what I mean. But we get there and the first thing he does is walk up to I and start hugging me and joking with me and telling me stories like I was some long lost friend. Truly a humble, kind, and gracious man. And boy he is funny, he left the comedy job several years ago but he still has a few jabs that will get ya. So we helped take stuff down and moved it to his house where we met his wife who is one of the sweetest ladies you could meet in Lafayette. We took a half hour break of just talking and eating donuts before we went to his sisters house to drop off a couch and afterward he took us out to lunch to this very good country style restaurant. Truly the best compliment I can give and one he rightfully deserves is a good man full of faith in our Savior. He was also very kind to give us a book called "Refrigerator Rights" which I have read a chunk and it is a rather good analysis on the new social behavior of the world and socialization.

Truly a blessed opportunity to meet a wonderful child of God. And get this before we had even done the service he had gone before his congregation and his Facebook to thank the LDS missionaries for their generosity in helping him. Truly a humble and cool guy.

But on to the next business which happened Wednesday where I had to travel again to do another baptismal interview (my goodness it seems half the time I do interviews) to this lovely lady. I wont mention her by name and I did ask if I could share this story with my family. So during her preparations to be baptized she needed to quit smoking so she and the sisters decided to fast, and she received a blessing to strengthen her. Part of her blessing included that her choice to follow the savior would bring blessings to her family. Well that night she had a dream with her father laying in a bed (her father had passed away years ago) and a room full of people she could not recognize. She came to the side of her fathers bed and her father asked her to help him. That was it. She woke up the next morning and called the sister missionaries to tell them her experience. Several weeks before this she had learned about baptisms for the dead and had a funny feeling about it. And then with her dream she understood immediately and she said that was her answer that she was on the right path. Her and I had a special moment when we talked about those other people in her dream the ones she didn't recognize but didn't feel bad feelings about. I told her that while I don't know for a certainty I felt impressed that those were her family, her ancestors, those on the other side who have been waiting for her to choose the gospel of Jesus Christ so that she could do the work for them and her father. A very spiritual moment where we finished the interview with her crying and the sister missionaries wondering what was going on and ya just a great moment.

This Monday with the 4th of July we had the great privilege of going to a town called Walton with the sisters of Logansport and a family that I had taught a little during my brief stint in Logansport. It was surprisingly well done, afterwards we traveled around the various booths and stuff they had set up ate some popcorn and got some funnel bread some good stuff. After that we traveled with the Sisters to a members house where we ate some rocking chili. If you remember from previous emails Sister Sheppard, her son Ryan, and boyfriend Stoney the southern redneck. It was awesome they are some of my favorite people in Indiana, especially Stoney we hit it off so much. But after that we headed back to Lafayette and went to bed with fireworks going off, and ya a pretty nice 4th of July.

And that is the week. Full of fun, spiritual and nice times.

I hope you have all had a wonderful week and a excellent 4th of July. And you all better of blown something up since I cant.

June 27, 2016

Estamos Aqui ‏

Well many fun and exciting things happened this week and it kept us fairly busy.

We had the opportunity to visit with a less active this week specifically this week who was fairly surprise to see us. After talking with him for several minutes he explained that he was moving to Ohio and didn't know how to find the church there. So we took his computer and search for the nearest Spanish congregation in relation to his house and were very happy to see one that is only 5 minutes away from his house. So that was very cool, and since I had his address I am going to send a email with some of his info to the local elders so we wont lose them.

So that was pretty cool.

This last Wednesday we had a lot of meetings and interviews I needed to do. We first traveled to Lebanon where I interviewed two people for baptism. One was a young man who is in the army reserves, very nice guy and very well prepared. The other was a wife to a active member who was actually fairly nervous about the interview. But she is also someone who was very well prepared and a delight to talk to. They both passed so fear not. After all these interviews we traveled back and had a meeting with President Cramer and his councilors about some of the less actives and prospective elders. So a busy day.

With the two people I interviewed being baptized on Saturday I decided to bump our district meeting to Saturday so that as a whole the district could stay and watch their baptisms. D meet went very well, I made it more of a get to know each other and then finished with a couple goals and a spiritual thought. Then we went to get lunch (Wendy's) and came back to help set up the baptism. The baptisms went very well and everyone felt the spirit so strongly. After all this fun stuff it was late so we went home swung by a couple people and then finished with dinner that night. I was tired after all that and had a wonderful nights sleep.

Sunday was also very nice nothing super crazy we had church, and had dinner with our branch president which was fun. And then the day ended. I collected all the numbers for the district and called the Zone leaders made fun of them for a couple minutes gave them the numbers and finished the night with a piece a cake that was given to us by the members.

So all in all a good week.

But that is the news of the week, as always I love you guys and miss you and hope all is going great. I love you guys.

June 20, 2016

feliz dia de padres ‏

So we had a final fare thee well to our beloved President Cleveland and Sister Cleveland. It was labeled as a zone conference but in reality it was the fare well. It was a day of mixed emotions as we said goodbye. He gave a wonderful talk about honor and "returning home with honor." Very emotional very spiritual just a very nice day. It happened on tuesday, and we finished with some snacks and then went home.

But yep the end of a era has begun and a whole new one begins with President Carlson. Both exciting and interesting times till we see what happens.

This week was good with some of the lessons and meetings we had. We had the opportunity to meet a less active whose husband is not a member (his name is Russolfo) and had a chance to talk with him and get a feel for where he is at. Its interesting with him since he comes to church almost every Sunday so we will see.

We tried to get into contact with a handful of less actives but this week we didn't have as much success. Though we did have one minor success with getting in contact with a single sister through a surprising medium, Walmart. We went there to pick up something or other (I don't remember) and we bump into this sister where at first I was like hmmm she looks very familiar but then like oh I know you. It was pretty funny and we worked out times when we could come and visit so that was awesome.

We also tried to visit with a recent convert by the name of Miguel to help him prepare his talk but unfortunately he was busy with work. So instead I talked with him from the phone during a lunch break to go over some things and found he honestly really didn't need any help hahahaha. He has been a member for about 4 months and he was better prepared than most of the members who have years as a member. So Sunday came and we got to listen to his talk which was fantastic (talks were all about Sundays dads). I wont lie I started to miss my old man, like on mothers day for mom, I had a moment of missing dad. Meh ya know he is a pretty cool guy so its natural for anyone to miss him, though he did sucker punch me almost everyday of my life and will undoubtedly continue to do so.

But Sunday ended with a lovely fathers day lunch activity where we had quite a lovely spread.

And I have just remembered something very big that happened as well. We got a call from one of our member who specifically asked to talk with me to tell me her father had just passed away. So we talked for a few minutes and then I worked out that we would go to her house to water the plants and take care of them while they go to Mexico for the funeral. So please keep the Carlos's in your prayers.

But and as a final thought I wish to express my gratitude to our heavenly father. He has the ability to care for all the world and yet the willingness to focus on the individual. This is accomplished through many ways but one of the keys is through our earthly fathers. So I wish to give a shout out to the old man Gary (that's weird his name is dad) for all that he has done for his daughters and his random son in the mix. But on that note another shout out to mom for putting up with all us crazy people.

June 16, 2016

Hola ‏

Well some interesting things some less than interesting things happened this week. Some highs and some lows but meh that's life.

This last Tuesday we had the Transfer meeting. But before we left for that a pair of sisters asked if I could give them a blessing which we had to do early because we had the meeting so it was looking like the beginning of a long day. But it was good and we left on our merry way to Indianapolis where I had a district leader meeting where they just discussed our new responsibilities of work. Then we had the transfer meeting where we got a emotional farewell from President Cleveland since this was his very last transfer meetings. We are going to have one final farewell with him later this week and so I will let ya know how that is. But after the meeting we hooked up with our friend Elder Baird since he was going home, we grabbed lunch and then hung out till it was time for him to go. After all that we went to visit a guy by the name of Uncle Buck who is a crippled veteran non member guy who the missionaries found. He is pretty cool and fun to talk too. After that we made the long journey back to Lafayette and then got some dinner and went out to try to visit some people.

Boy we were tired after all that fun stuff.

So we discovered a couple things with less actives and part member families. So the elders quorum president mother is a fairly active member but her husband is not a member. His name is Rudolfo and as far as we know he has never been taught by the missionaries. So we are going to see what we can do and work with him. He comes to church almost every time with his wife so there could be something.

We also have a family who originally left the church because they were offended over a stupid thing but now may be the time where we can get in with them and try to figure out how to help them so we are very excited for that.

We got a referral from one of our members of a lovely lady by the name of Maria who has talked with missionaries before but never had anything super solid. We are going to start working with her starting tomorrow.

This last Sunday was really a good sacrament meeting. President Cramer gave a wonderfully funny and spiritual talk. It was really good.

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-07-006-the-hope-of-gods-light?lang=eng

June 6, 2016

Hola VOY TENER 6 SEMAMAS MAS AQUI EN LAFAYETTE ‏

Well lets start off with some good news I have another six weeks in Lafayette with elder ryan. We got the calls Saturday and we were both fairly sure we would both be kick out but then we thought about it more and it made sense for us to stay one more time. So we are both very excited to have one more to go.

And that is not all. I am now a district leader. I started laughing when President told me that and then it sort of died after I realized he was serious. Elder Ryan and me had a pretty good laugh about it. So now I am in charge of helping people in Lebanon (sisters) and Crawfordsville elders.

But that is still not all we recieved more news about how we will finish the last 12 weeks of our missions. By training new Spanish missionaries! While I would of like to have avoided it, it has unfortunately happened that I will train funny enough a replacement for me. Some what excited somewhat nervous and confident, not a bad way to go out. Now Pres Cleveland made it sound like I might train here which would be a long time for anyone to be in an area which also means I would finish up here in Lafayette which isn't a terrible option its just a long time. But that could change.

Sooooo knowledge of how I am finishing my mission and where I might finish, training a greenie, and going into leadership. Lots of fun stuff.

This week has been pretty good, been staying busy.

One of the major highlights was when this Sunday we saw a former investigator by the name of Daniel come to church. It was great to talk with him and reconnect. and now we are working with him to have a time to visit.

We also had a ton of less actives show up which was great to go talk to them and visit.

We had the great privilege to also go in search for a hospital that I couldn't remember where it was exactly to give a blessing to the daughter of one of the members (gall bladder problems if I translated correctly). But it was very special often we go months without the opportunity and so its always special to have that chance.

Unexpectedly we got called on to teach elders quorum cause the elders quorum president just kind of disappeared hahahaha, so we had that great honor. We focused on the restoration and what it meant or why it was significant in there lifes. It got very spiritual and I think it went very well.

https://www.lds.org/liahona/2016/06/our-father-our-mentor?cid=HP_WE_1-6-2016_dPFD_fLHNA_xLIDyL1-A_&lang=eng

May 31, 2016

Lo siento pero tengo casi veinte minutos mandar esta email ‏

Well what a busy week lots of service again and this week we actually manage to find a couple good potentials out in the lovely world of Lafayette.

Some highlights. We had to go Logansport to give a blessing to a sister who wanted one due to a surgery she was going to have. She asked me specifically cause I got close to the family and ya. It was good she cried, but told her not to worry that it would all be fine. She had the surgery Thursday and is now recovering.

We also had the chance to talk with a man by the name of Alberto who works at the ymca (where President Cramer works) we got to talk with him and while we will have to wait to find out if he is super interested but we have his number and address so we shall see.

This previous Sunday we had the wonderful opportunity to teach the third hour at church with President Cramer concerning la obra misional or the mission work that members could do. One of the biggest things we emphasize was that mission work is accomplished by the small and simple things. These things can be as simple as talking to them, inviting them for dinner, helping with service or simply being a friend. We focused on those concepts due to the misconception that in order to do mission work it has to be something big like sharing the plan of salvation or explaining the atonement. In truth the work can be much simpler and easier and at times more impactful at times. President Cramer shared some stories and ended the class with the invitation to have the members discuss together what they could do to have more of those missionary opportunities.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/media/session_0_talk_6/3810258133001?cid=HP_TU_24-5-2016_dPFD_fGC_xLIDyL1-B_&lang=eng

But alas I must depart, I hope you guys continue to have a fantastic week.

May 25, 2016

Hola amigos y familia y tortugas y otras personas ‏

Hey everybody how has it been going. Its been pretty good here. We have been staying busy searching and hunting for those who are ready for the gospel.

But one of the big things we had this week was a zone conference. It came to us quickly this last Tuesday. We had President Cleveland there and we learned a lot. One of the big things that was emphasized was referrals, and invitations to church. The last few months the mission as a whole has drooped a little with numbers investigators at church. It was a long day of meetings, it was really good but it was long lasted till about 4 O'clock and then afterwards we had to stick around to get some temple interviews. Its pretty fun to say that I got coach Clevelands signature now. While I was waiting I got to talk with Sister Cleveland a little bit and that was fun and even got to talk with President Cleveland a little bit more as well and ya a pretty good day. Afterwards we had dinner with the family Cervantes which was fun and tasty. Fried chicken, tortillas, pinto beans, and home made salsa, and some rice.

We had plans to do some service for a sister in the branch but unfortunately there was a change in plans as she had to go down to Mexico to visit her ailing father (he is almost done) but she got to visit him and it was very emotional. If you could keep the Carlos's in your prayers that would be very much appreciated. 

Fear not though we still had a chance to go and do some service this time at a farm like house. I mean the house is located in the middle of no where, and we had a fun time though there was a ton to do. From picking up branches and logs, to digging up plants, and moving tons of bricks. But at the end we feasted on the delicious food of pizza and root beer. The service all together lasted about 4 to 5 hours so it was a good chunk of the day but it was fun to do something different and a bit dirty.

This Sunday we had a excellent sacrament meeting, sadly no investigators at church but it was excellent from the talks and the classes. 

Overall a good week. We taught a fair amount of people and have a potentially solid investigator who lives in a town about 20 minutes away whose name is Miguel. I will report more on that later when we get our next lesson in with him.

May 16, 2016

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2010-06-0070-mothers-and-daughters?CID=HP_MO_9-5-2016_dPFD_fMLIB_xLIDyI-2_&lang=eng

Dear people,

How are ya?

This week we stayed busy with working with one of our investigators whose name is Pedro. He is from Mexico and is energetic and almost always excited. We are trying to arrange him to have someone come and pick him up for church.

We also had the great chance to visit the Ramirez family. They are a active family though the father tense to have trouble with staying active. We have talked with him about receiving the priesthood. But they are awesome and are just going through some rough times so please keep them in your prayers.

This week we had the great opportunity to go Logansport to go visit some less actives there that I had gotten to know. So we first met with the Watt's who are a older couple, then we went to visit the crazy rednecks Sister Shepard and Stoney (he is hilarious) and then we had some dinner with the Dools a single sister who has three kids. Overall a good trip and we were able to help the other sister missionaries who are working there make some connections with people.

So fun fact about Hispanics they don't celebrate mothers day on the day we normally do but rather on the 2nd Saturday of the month so we had a awesome fiesta this Saturday with hamburgers, salsas, soups, but most important thing of all a ton of carne asada. Though it was excellent mom still has the edge when it comes to the carne asada, I think it has to do with how mom marinades it. But after all the food the kids and some of the adults cantando canciones y cosas asi. But we also had the chance to talk with this very nice young lady, has two young boys and is a friend to one of the members. She has known very little about the church but we had the chance to give her a book of Mormon and talk with her about it.

So overall a pretty good week.

I hope things are continuing to go great.

May 9, 2016

Well the highlight of this week was mothers day but I will get to that in a second.

This week we found a mix amount of success we have been staying busy though which is the key.

Saturday we had a massive service opportunity. So the Spanish branch put on a big auction of pies, and other sweets for the stake to help raise money for girls scout camp. So they had a meal prepared and it was a lot of food and then they had some dances and music and then the lovely auction. We had the job of setting up tables, bringing food, and then serving the people. It was pretty fun and we had a lot of success probably around 300 people from all over the stake showed up perhaps even more.

Either way it was really successful and fun and it was a great activity for the branch to do.

Well lets get onto Sunday shall we. Sacrament meeting was rather excellent we had the opportunity to hear from one of the young women who gave a excellent talk and then we had Sister Cramer give a testimony overall it was a excellent sacrament. Then we had a our classes which proved just as good. And discussed a few more activities and stuff. After which we went home for some lunch and then afterwards tried to visit a few people and then went to dinner with our branch president. We ate hamburgers and sausage and all sorts of good stuff. After which we proceeded to facetime.

This was a weird one as the next time I will be talking with the family will be at home. But 5 and a half months await me before that so I try not to think to much about it. To say it was enjoyable is putting it mildly. It was great to see the parents, grandparents and all the sisters. To say I love and miss you all is a understatement.

May 2, 2016

HELLO we are partying and working hard here in Lafayette. When we first got into the area I checked our miles we are allotted for our car and found that the return trip alone to get back to our apartment made us go over are monthly allotment. Keep in mind that we dont get more miles till the end of the month. So I had to call our Zone leaders and explain what had happened and ya got it all sorted out. But that being said it forced us to walk everywhere which is difficult because the areas we tract or knock doors mostly are within 5 to 8 miles away.

Buttttttttt thats part of the work so its all good, its been cold and wet here. That does add a different pace to everything which is fun to do. 

Week one with Elder Ryan in Lafayette and we are already pumped for the next 5 weeks of working here in Lafayette. Sometime I feel like that just because people are friends it does not mean they will work well together. However luckily enough I and elder ryan I feel are being and will continue to be a great team, we are both very excited.

Lafayette has changed greatly, as I was trained here I did not believe I would ever get a chance to return to this area. However I have seen a few things that are perhaps reasons why I am meant to be here.

A recent convert by the name of Franklin while progressing to the temple has been having trouble attending church for the full three hours. He says that it is because he has work and other things to do, however unfortunate for him is that I taught Franklin and prepared him for baptism and I know what his schedule is really like and his quirks he gets into. We have already begun to start working with him on that requirement and continuing to progress to the temple.

The other involves a family who before I left were very active in the church and while dealing with some problems were making strides to overcome their challenges. Well I learned that they are slipping into inactivity. The good news is is that I got to know this great family very closely before I left, including some of their issues they are going through.

So in short I have seen evidences suggesting why I might be back, and I look forward to finding more of what the Lord has prepared I and Elder Ryan to do and accomplish during our time here.

That has been what has been going on for the week. Lots of exciting things are coming along.

http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/his-grace/finding-your-purpose-in-life-does-faith-matter?cid=HP_FR_29-4-2016_dMC_fMLIB_xLIDyI-1_

April 25, 2016

Well what a uneventful week until now. We stayed busy but we have had several problems with getting our investigators back on tract and just trying to keep things together.

About two weeks ago I had the opportunity to get a interview with our mission president (Cleveland) where he told me a few things about the future of my mission and one of those things was that I would leave Columbus. Well that was a given due to six months of service in Columbus. But then this last Saturday the most unexpected thing happened, the thing that was least likely to happen in terms of area and companions.

First off my new area is Lafayette which should sound familiar because that is where I first began my mission in Indiana. So I am returning to my first home. There is some very awesome reasons why this is great. Firstly I know the area, secondly I know the members, and thirdly it is a fun area to be in. Now lets move onto something a little more amazing.

I will be serving with Elder Ryan. Elder Ryan was my companion in the MTC and has been one of my closest friends in the mission. Since we first came out to Indiana we have tried to convince President to let us work together and so it has come to be.

To say to the least I am excited, and more enthusiastic about this transfer than any other.

It also means I will have the chance to visit some of my converts, and perhaps even visit some of the less actives in Logansport as that is also in our area.

So many amazing things are happening. And I apologize for how short this email will be but I have to take care of a few more things before I leave.

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2016-04-1000-lifes-drama?category=mormon-messages-2016&lang=eng&cid=HP_TU_19-4-2016_dPFD_fMRMN_xLIDyL2-3_

The Hardins

April 18, 2016

Wow what a week. We had several appointments fall through but we had plenty of service.

Tuesday we mowed lawns for about 2 to 3 hours and that was difficult but fun. It was nice just to do grunt work.

Thursday we helped with junking. Thats where we cleaned up scraps of metal and stuff so that it can get recycled. We have a older member couple who do it all the time and we go regularly to help, that one is very fun and its nice to do something different.

Friday we helped move boxes, and other miscellaneous items around.

Saturday we helped build a fire pit, and then celebrated with about 3 birthday parties that day.

So in terms of service we were very busy, unfortunately in terms of teaching that has been on a bit of a downer. Most of our solid appointments fell through.

But that happens and it just means got to keep working on. However my time in Columbus is done. 6 months or so of working here and it is coming to an end. So I leave not this tuesday but the next and this saturday I will learn where exactly I will go.

To say to the least I am sad to leave Columbus but at the same time am content to move on. However that also means I have to get the area ready for the two new spanish elders who will be coming in to work here. Ugh lots to do and never enough time to do it.

So I have been studying Elder Stevenson talk concerning Where Are the Keys and Authority of the Priesthood?

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/where-are-the-keys-and-authority-of-the-priesthood?lang=eng

I hope that as we continue into the future we can continue to study the words of the prophets and leaders and apply there teachings

More Pictures April 11, 2016

Some Military Pictures April 11, 2016

April 11, 2016

Entounces tuvimos una semana ocupado pero tambien difficiles.

Well the week was busy but we found ourselfs occupied with a lot of different activities such as service.

One of the service opportunities involved was mowing lawns for a older hoosier couple members who have been under the weather. Their names are Todd and Laurette. Their story is very special as they have been members only for about a year and a half. Todd was online one day and happen to chance upon a video from the church which led to website where it kept bringing a pop up for if you want a bible. Well he clicked it and the missionaries were on there way. They had been searching for the church for years and had been praying for.

As of late we have had the opportunity to knock various streets and talk  with a number of people but have not had quite as much success as we have had before.

I suppose its best to say its been a long week, lots of work but nothing of much report to say.

As for our main investigators:

David and Angela have been going through a lot of sickness and health issues and have been canceling our appointments which is frustring and worrisome if their desire is no longer there.

Kathy has been going through some personal problems and we have not been able to meet with her very recently but are going to try to get back into contact this week.

As for Ann she only meets with us when she is with David and Angela so we have to work with them to get that through.

But we all are doing great. Surviving and persevering. As of right now I will probably be leaving columbus but that wont be for another 2 or so weeks so I will report back on when I have more news on that.

But I have been studying the recent conference talks. Specifically Elder Wadells talk which I have enjoyed more now that I have had to study.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/a-pattern-for-peace?lang=eng

Well I love you guys and miss you so much. Everything is going well and I hope your all enjoying life.

April 4, 2016

Bienvenidos por la opportunidad leer esta carta o algo asi ‏

It is a rare opportunity for missionaries to simply have a time where we can sit and relax and be edified. Sundays are those days on a weekly basis, however with meetings and demands in the schedules we can sometime find it to be a day a little stressful. This weekend we had the marvelous opportunity to listen to our beloved prophet, seer and revelator Thomas S. Monson. We had the blessed chance of listening to the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to his various servants among the seventies, and other general authorities.

This week was busy with visiting various members to help remind them that the Conference was this week and that it would be broadcast at the church or on byu tv, and the internet.

One of the less active members name is Chris. He has gone through multiple divorces and is currently trying to gain custody of his children. Due to bad financial choices, and choices in general he is finding that he will have to move out and live with a friend for awhile. He is a man who we have visited multiple times always with the same result of him ranting about his ex wifes and how he would like to do horrible things to them. It finally got to the point where I cut him off and told him straight off that the purpose of us being there was to help him grow closer to Christ. That his hatred of his ex wifes and of God (blames him for all his problems) will keep him exactly in the unhappy and miserable position he is in. I instructed him to pray to allow the hate be tempered and leave, and that when he has done that honestly and truthfully we will come back and talk.

We also had the great opportunity to visit some of our investigators (david and angela) where we discussed some of their needs. The big one was reading the Book of Mormon. After some discussion Angela came up with the idea of taking it to work and reading during her break as she typically would just sit and eat and that is it. We gave her that encouragement and emphazided the blessings involved with doing such.

My goodness we had a ton of service this week from mowing lawns, to blessings, and moving a 1000 pound piano. To say to the least we were very busy and tired almost every night.

Now onto the big discussion of general conference. I loved it. Saturday sessions we spent with a family called the Shoafs, we then went a little earlier to the priesthood session because they had icecream and watched the priesthood session at the church.

The following day we watched the morning session with another member name kim and her non member husband steve. Afterwhich we went to a pitch in (every brings food) at the church and finished the final session there.

What a wonderful conference we had. I must say that I am bias in the thinking that I believe the Priesthood session was of particular excellence. But throughout it all each session and each speaker was amazing. Dad has commented that the quote of the conference was  "there is no perfect woman and even if you did find one, why would she marry you?" from President Uchtdorf. However my vote goes to another quote of his where he quotes a German line and follows by saying "for those of you who dont speak the celestialize language it means..."

Truly all the talks were amazing. I wait to say which one was my favorite and most significant for me until I have more time to study and reread them. I suppose that can be my challenge to you my friends and love ones, conference has ended but that does not mean the talks have lost their spiritual significance. Probably I will try to study 2 or 3 during this week, and then the following week study another 2 0r 3 and so on and so forth. I wish to invite you all to that challenge for these truly are the words of those called of God to deliver these powerful messages.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04?cid=HP_SU_3-4-2016_dPFD_fGC_xLIDyL1-B_&lang=eng

 

March 28, 2016

Feliz Pascua ‏

Well this was a very special week. It is the week of easter where we celebrate Christ rising from the tomb and the assurance of living again.

This week was one of a busy nature.

So I want to share the story of finding the investigator Jaime and her family. A month and a half ago we were searching for a referral who has no interest what so ever in listening to us which was a unfortunate. However we decided to knock doors around the referral. We knock into Jaime's door where after talking with her we found out that they had just recently moved there and were looking for a church to attend. Well we set up a return appointment for next week and proceeded. Well her son broke his foot and had to be taken to the hospital. So we reschedule for the following week. But then they were out of town. Reschedule for following week then they were all sick and etc etc. Needless to say after a month and half we finally got to meet up with them this week. We had a wonderful discussion and are striving to work with them.

We also had the opportunity to meet a very nice young man (17) name Nickolai. He is dating on of the members daughters and came to church this last week where he not only enjoyed church but loved it. He is unique for being a type of person who truly is searching and wanting to find the gospel and he is only a teenager. However just on the onset is he facing opposition. His mother who says she is a devout baptist though she doesnt go to church or read the scriptures is fighting him about his desire to learn more and go to church. But we have talked with him and he is going to talk with her and work it out.

Now real quick note about Easter. We combined the spanish with the english ward because the children were singing. It was a beautiful service. Later on we went to the Shoafs family house to eat lunch. They are so fun, hard core farmers. After that we went to eat dinner at the Fairbanks house where it was more of a party/dinner lots of people. Then we finished the night with some of the other missionaries. Truly a fun easy day.

A message we were sharing with people this whole week naturally was the atonement or christ's sacrifice for us. We used a scripture from the Book of Mormon Alma chapter 7 which I will put at the bottom of this email. But the scripture talks about the importance of what Christ did for us, and also that while his death is a important part his resureccion is something we focus and rejoice in. Because he lives we to can live. If we have faith in him, and follow him we have that promise of eternal life with our Heavenly Father and our families.

So as a challenge for you all this week and since it is already past easter its a little late but oh well. This week take a moment to pause and consider personally why easter is so significant in your life. Or even why is the savior so significant in your life. Specifically your life not everybodies life in general but in yours.

 

March 21, 2016

Bienvenidos la carta de Trapp ‏

 Well it has been a fun week. Full of exciting and interesting things going on.

First off with investigators.

Kathy Parton is the friend to David and Angela the old hoosier couple I have talked about in the past. Kathy has gone through a lot. She and David and Angela came to church this last sunday and loved it. Kathy wants to be baptized as soon as possible but we explained to her that we needed to teach her a few more things and then we could work towards that goal.

Funny enough we have a new investigator by the name of Ana who is another friend of David and Angela came and listened to one of our discussions where we talked about the plan of salvation. She rather amusingly sort of stole a Book of Mormon from a hotel and so when we offered her one she explained why she already had one. But we are going to start working with her, she also came to church this last sunday.

Sorry that this email is going to be short and quick but truth be told we havent had too many crazy things happening.

We have been staying busy and are striving to find new investigators.

We are excited for the future. We have a new plan for improving the work for the Spanish which involves me going with Brother Nehring who speaks spanish and visiting the hispanic less actives.

But thats the exciting stuff of the week I love and miss you guys.

March 14, 2016

Viva la vida ‏ 

So before I start off may I just say what a very wet week it has been for us. Almost every day we got rain which isnt bad I love the rain.... however it does make tracting or knocking doors quite a aweful experience. Plus in my experience here in Indiana people have more reason not to answer since it is raining. You would think some sympathy were in order but nope. But thats what Indiana is like and thats why we always have a long list of less actives, members, and various investigators to go and visit.

Now on to the week.

The trio of investigators David and Angela (married) and Kathy (friend) are doing good still however they had to cancel our appointment due to reasons. I am thinking it is health related however it could be something different which would indicate growing disinterest. We will have to just wait and see with them. Still alot of potential but at the same time a little worrisome.

So we met again with our lovely hispanic man hector. Our last lesson i gave him a Libro de Mormon to read with Moroni 10 4-5. Well he read that and then he went a little beyond that and read the first three chapters of Nephi. He had so may questions about Nephi and Lehi and alot of confusion why in the world Nephi would go back to Jerusalem when he thought that the people were trying to kill him and so many things. Really very interested in the book of mormon and wanting to learn it all. I invited him to baptism with a specific date in mind (april 2) which he agreed to but then asked how we would get him baptized since he was leaving in two weeks to go to mexico for about a month. Well that threw quite a wrench into the mix. He had talked about before going to Mexico for month long trips but he had told me that the next one wouldnt be till June. Well its a bit sooner than that so now I have a new plan. Thankfully the church is world wide and literally we have missionaries everywhere. So I am going to get down all his information and address and send word to the missionaries down south about Hector. In this regard I am truly excited because also he is going to be with his friends and family so there might be quite a few more people who might be interested.

That is some of the major exciting stuff that is happening with us as of right now. We are always looking for new investigators and are striving to get some members to quit smoking. Those would have to be the major goals of the week.

As for a spiritual thought you may remember the videos (like 2 mins long) the church puts out for easter and christmas. Well the one for this easter season is here.

En espanol: https://www.mormon.org/spa/pascua

In English:

https://www.mormon.org/easter?cid=HP_SU_3-13-2016_dMIS_fSPC_xLIDyL1-A_

Soon enough it will be on youtube, or probably be on youtube the next couple days. Heck it might already be on there. EIther way its a great way to show people what we believe. And so as a official challenge to my family, and friends your challenge is to share this video with one NON member friend. Considering how the whole world has a smart phone of some capability this is relatively easy.

But thats my challenge to you guys.

March 7, 2016

Como Estado ‏

 So this has been a fantastic week.

I believe I have talked about David and Angela in the past. They are a older couple who invited there friend Kathy to sit in with our discussions. Well to make it short they are all on date for baptism and there is alot of potential for them. We had a wonderful lesson with them where we talked about Joseph Smith's vision where Kathy said she wanted to be baptized, and Angela was similiar in that regard. David is wanting to learn more but he is also on board and has even commented how this makes sense to him.

Hector is a hispanic man who we have been working with a lot. We are going to try to put him on date. He is a man from Puebla, Mexico. He moved to the US California when he was 28.  He moved away because of trouble with his family.

We have also been busy with trying to work with the less actives, and getting them back on a solid schedule of attending church.

But other than that we have been busy with just knocking doors and trying to find missing members and stuff like that.

As a spiritual thought the First Presidency has released a wonderful topic called "learn of me."

https://www.lds.org/liahona/2016/03/learn-of-me?cid=HP14FPM&lang=eng

But as always I love and miss you guys and hope everything is going well.

February 29, 2016

Tenemos casi siete meses mas ‏ 

Well we have had a few miracles this week. This is going to be another short one because we might have to leave early for appointment. I know right appointment on our day off but this one should be pretty fun.

But thats besides the point lets get started with the miracles.

As we were getting ready to go to a appointment we had a little extra time to burn so we decided to do some tracting. First door is a bust but the second door we meet this very nice Hispanic man named Hector who invites us in after a couple seconds. ANd while he does have a decent accent he speaks English very well. We had a wonderful gospel discussion which switched to Spanish (much to the dismay of my gringo companero). We have our next appointment set up for Tuesday. Hector moved to the US when he was 28 (he is 60 right now) and lived in California with his family till his divorce. He moved to Indy only a few years ago. We are very excited for the future with him.

Our next miracle happened with some hoosers. So this is a story about David and Angela a older couple (60's). We met david a few weeks ago who told us to come back and when we did we met angela who told us they were sick and we needed to come back another time but that she had been trying to get in contact with us and had a friend (Kathy) who would like to be part of our discussions. Well we planned for this last Saturday where we did have a wonderful lesson. When we talked about The First Vision Angela said she got chills from what was said, and Kathy then told us a experience where she was in a coma and saw a angel or jesus but that he looked just like he did in the picture of the Vision we showed them. They not only agreed with everything but loved learning about it all. So now we have it worked out to see them every Saturday. We are very excited to see what the future will hold.

But I have to end now with my love and thanks going your way. Keep having fun and enjoy the beginning of spring.

February 22, 2016

Pues estamos acerca de Marzo, tiempo esta corriendo ‏

Well we have several big highlights this week and I must say we have had so many fun things happen this week and one or two weird things also. So we will start with the weird things.

So we met with a less active who full heartedly believes in the gospel but is a little weird. He proceeded to go on a rant about how much he hates when missionaries talk about the bible and book of mormon..... ya it was a awkward hour long discussion. So we left a little befuddle and a little worried because we have to make another appointment with him.

But moving on.

The sister missionaries in our district have a pentecostal investigator who invited them to a youth activity as a deal that he would go to church the next day. Well they got scared about it because I had to explain what Pentecostals are and so they called us and kind of one of those moments where its like "gosh dang".

So we went and it is quite what I knew it was going to be. No offense to them but it is not quite right. We had the vast majority of people crying and then laughing, then swaying, and drooling (no joke) yep that was quite a way to end the night.

But moving on.

This last saturday we had the wonderful opportunity to take a elderly recent converts Todd and Loretta they are in there 70s to the temple to do baptisms for the dead for the very first time. They drove us and I was up in the front seat so me and Todd talked alot. We get there and we wait for a few minutes before entering right away Todd and Loretta are loving it. Well we didnt specifically baptize and confirm them because there were just so many people. Afterward they couldnt stop talking about how strong the spirit was and when they would be coming back to do more of their family names. It was a wonderful experience.

So a very good week.

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-04-0250-president-thomas-s-monson?category=topics/love&lang=eng&cid=HP_TU_2-16-2016_dPFD_fMLIB_xLIDyI-2_

But as always I love you guys and miss you. I hope your all doing great.

As always I love and miss you guys a lot.

February 15, 2016

Lets kick this email off with a happy valentines day. We got a couple inches of snow to celebrate our day. But I will get into our Valentine day fun later.

This week had many ups and we were kept busy. Lots of driving.

So monday we got to meet with the Lopez family who I dont think I have mentioned before. The wife is american and doesnt speak spanish and there 4 kids while they look hispanic do not speak very much in spanish. Mr Lopez speaks only a little english or purely in spanish. So I have been teaching him, and he has a lot of potential. I have talked with him several times and now I think he is ready to learn more.

We are continuing to work on several of the less actives in the English ward who are doing a great. They are coming to church on a regular basis and are really trying to make a big effort to change.

One of the recent convert families we are working on to get to the temple this saturday to do baptisms for the dead. They are this very nice couple named Todd and Loretta. They are older couple like in their 70s. There story is amazing as they were online one day and somehow ended up on LDS.org where after a little pop up ad came up offering a free bible. They kept clicking no till finally after the 5th time they clicked yes. Well missionaries showed up and invited them to come to church. They were very open minded about it so they went. Its there that Todd said that for the first time in his whole life, and they had attended so many different churches but this was the first time he had ever felt the spirit.

We are also launching the ward mission plan which is basically all the members will pray for three names and for missionary opportunities with them.

So with this Sunday we had dinner with a family of redheads who are awesome. There names are the shoafs. They live almost 25 or so minutes away so they gave us a ride back which was good because inbetween that time we had a snow storm. When we got home they were just getting ready to ground cars but we decided to try to make it out to a less active who we had schedule which luckily enough we did and then got back home safely. Elder Walton wasnt feeling very well so he just went to bed and I finished the night watching a movie (17 miracles).

But those are the highlights and all the really big things happening this week.

As always I love and miss you guys alot.

February 8, 2016

Well now here we are working hard to find more investigators and to progress the ones we have. But I do have some very fun highlights which I think you will all enjoy.

So when I first came to Columbus back in August we had two baptism and one of them was a young lady by the name of Jessica she is 18 years old or so and her mom is a member but has been inactive for probably like 25 years and has wanted nothing to do with the church. Well during my first tour of duty here I challenged her that if I hate really hot chiles she would have to come to church. That challenge was accepted and I had third degree burns on my mouth and felt sick the rest of the day. Well she agreed to come to church and then never came. Flash forward to this week about 5 months later I talked with her this week and told her the new time for church (9 oclock) and that she owed me. She gave me a maybe. Well that saturday night I get a text from jessica saying that they are coming for sure. Well that sunday to my shock there she was, with our small congregation and everything. I asked Jessica later if her mom liked it and another fantastic thing is that she did. Jessica explained that while her mom didnt give specifics she did say that she felt something and that she is not sure what it was but that she felt it. Also that she wants to come next week and perhaps make this a regular thing.

In other news we have a less active who has finally gotten her patriachal blessing mailed. Well as a little background she has been having major problems with smoking, this has been a problem her whole life. Well she called us up because one of the things in her blessing was a very specific warning concerning those things, specifically that if she falls into that temptation that it would be a difficult one to leave and so on. When we went over there to talk with her about it she was in tears. So we are working on her with that and she has now a firmer knowledge that heavenly father loves her.

I also had the privelage of meeting a hispanic man by the name of six toes. Yes that is his name and no I dont know why. He is being taught by the other elders because his wife is american and only speaks english. He speaks fairly ok english but its obvious that spanish would be better for him. He is quite a interesting guy.

But those are some of the highlights of this week. This Saturday we will be traveling to the mission home to get our brand new car which is kind of fun. We like having a new car, plus its a fusion so its just about the nicest car we can get on our mission.

We also have a returned missionary for LA california who will be helping the branch with the mission work. His name is brother cox and he is pretty nice.

Well those are the highlights for the week. As a closer because I dont think I have I will talk about mi companero elder walton. He has been out for about 8 months, is very relaxed, and is a big fan of playing basketball. He is from Utah and while a bit short is really a good guy and we get along fairly well.

February 1, 2016

So. First things first our current address is correct we are still living with the Nerhings. I am now working in the 2 ward of columbus and the spanish branch. How that works is a little complicated.

The spanish branch has its sacrament meeting during the time that the english have their meeting. I go to the spanish meetings and play the piano/bless the sacrament/prepare sacrament/teaching the classes. Meanwhile my companion (elder Walton) goest to all the english meetings.

Makes things tricky, but funny enough President cleveland is actually going to give me my own personal phone to help balance out working both the branch and ward. Kind of fun that I am the only missionary getting his own phone for the work.

My new companion is Elder Walton we get along well and have a fair amount of fun.

In terms of the work itself. We are focusing mostly on the less actives for the spanish branch, just trying to focus on that and the part member families. The same goes for the English ward. Though recently we have found new people that will be good potentials so we will see how things develop.

I have had the privelage this last week of meeting a good chunk of the english members. It will be a lot of fun to get to know them and to work here.

But those are the highlights of the week.

As always I love and miss you guys.

Gary & Nancy Post

This is Gary and Nancy

Last week we received a phone call on our answering machine in Spanish.  As Nancy was in Rhode Island watching the Brown girls, I had to hold the phone up to the answering machine for her to hear.  It turns out it was from a Sister, Corrina Munez, in Columbus, Indiana.  She wanted to tell us what a good missionary Elder Trapp is.  So, Nancy called her back and Corrina told us that when Elder Trapp was originally transferred out of Columbus (this is his second time serving there) her family was sad and cried.  But then he was transferred back and they were so happy and excited again to have him back.  She said he always taught with the spirit and brought the spirit to their home.  They loved having him there and teaching them.  By the end of the call, both Nancy and Corrina were crying.

This is not first time we have had a member call us and tells us what a wonderful missionary and young man Elder Trapp is and that we should be proud of how he is serving and representing the Lord.  We had two contracts from Logansport with the Ward Mission Leader calling and telling us that Elder Trapp was, perhaps, the finest missionary he has ever worked with.  Another family sent us a very nice letter and homemade candles telling us about how special Elder Trapp is and what a positive impact he had in their home.

Anyway, it sure wonderful to hear that Ryan is doing the Lord's work to the best of his ability and impacting people and lives.

January 18, 2016

Well well well. Its been a interesting week full of exciting announcements, interviews, and the work.

Lets kick off with some highlights of what will be happening with the branch.

They are going to keep it for now. We are going to be joining partly a english ward that will offer its youth program or primary and youth and also other classes of english for the mixed families of english and spanish. We will have our own Sacrament meeting and adult classes in Spanish. This way we have a better retention rate with the few members we have and still provide all the classes for the kids. As for how long this is going to last that is up for discussion. But now we have a clear goal in mind and that is trying to get the less active members to return, that would be the real big goal the branch has. Kind of like consolidating the few numbers we have and working on fellowshipping of those who have left. So very exciting and we will see how the future will unfold with this new effort.

Now onto other news. We had interviews with our Mission President and that was fun, interesting, and short. Usually me and Pres dont talk very long. He talked about the branch and how he knows the struggles of the area and how difficult it is. He mentioned how I may go back to English as a possibility and I tried to argue my case of being companions with Elder Ryan (fellow oregonian) expecially to finish off my mission. He just laughed and wrote his name down on my paper so who knows. He said I would have another 6 weeks here which I think he is telling the truth but who knows he changes all the time.

As for this week, it was very cold. Monday we nearly froze and then tuesday we froze but with snow. After that the temperatures increased a little but was still a bit chilly. But apparently warmer weather was just a quick thing because then we dropped back down to the 20s and now today we have a lovely 6-8 degrees to keep us on our toes. But that all good.

In terms of the work we have been meeting a little success but are still trying to find new people. Our man Franco who we found not to long ago is being a little hard to find now. Kind of a bummer but it happens. And like I said earlier the branch wants a focus on the less actives more so we will be going on the hunt this week for them.

Things are good here.

January 11, 2016

This was quite a week ending with a Saturday at 50 degrees then dropping to 20 degrees with a couple inches of snow.

In fact this monday we are at 13 degrees with clouds.

But lets kick this off with some interesting highlights.

I and Elder Wright have been knocking alot of doors and checking up on potentials. Funny enough we have had very little if any success in those regards. Either we knock the door and they just have no interest, or they say they do but they are just trying to be nice. As for former investigators we go to their houses and they have moved away, usually back to Mexico.

But we finally had a little miracle Saturday. We knocked on a former house where we were greeted by a completely different hispanic man who spoke perfect english and immediately invited us in to talk and get out of the rain. His name is Franco and he is perhaps one of the nicest and humblest people I have met in a long time. He earnestly is trying to get closer to Jesus and has been working hard to change his life for himself and his family. We now have his number and are going to try to hook up with him when we can.

We also had a lot of service involving moving a english member family out of their house. Funny enough the husband is from Utah but the wife is from accross the pond in Jolly good ole Nottingham England. That took multiple hours and days because they had a lot of stuff.

So many lovely exciting things going on. This last Sunday we had a very small congregation come and that is including the two high councilors. Some of the core members are extremely worried about what the future will hold for the branch. With talking with the Branch president and his counselor I know that they are having a very big meeting thursday with the stake presidency to decide the future of our little branch.

But its all good. We also had to take a long trip this last Sunday (hour long drive) to some less actives who are kind of going off the deep end. They are married but they dont like each other and the only reason they are staying together it seems is because of their son and future baby. Plus the husband now wants to go off and become a preacher which was a bit of the random they threw in. Gah one of those situations where we just have to have our branch president come and talk with them. But they are really nice people who are very good they are just a little crazy.

But those are the highlights for the week and what has been going on in the life of elder trapp.

As a spiritual thought and suggestion. I would strongley recommend watching the World Wide Devotional. The speakers were Elder Nelson and his wife.

https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/watch/worldwide-devotional/2016/01?lang=eng

January 4, 2016

Well I will start with what we did for New Years Eve and New Years Day.

New Years Eve we had district meeting where I did a well applauded training about charity and love a christlike attribute. I organized a survey of incredibly random and funny questions. After they all answered their own questions they had to guess and vote on how each person answered their questions. It was fun and they enjoyed it, I then related it to communication and getting to know one another. And whether it is with your investigator, companion, or other members in your district by communicating and getting to know one another we can develop greater understanding which leads to greater love. After the district meeting we went to Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate together. Then we all departed with us going to the library for 30 minutes of family history, and then trying potentials. Now time to talk about a miracle.

As we had a fair amount of miles that day to use. I felt impressed that we should instead go and try to find a less active couple by the name of Carlos and Elizabeth. The only information we had was the towns name and that they were living in government housing. So with that we proceeded. We went to the library and looked up where government housing was in this little town which nether of us were very familiar with, we got a address and proceeded from that point. After probably a little more than a hour of traveling we arrive at the government housing which had more several buildings with who knows how many appartments in them. We got out and elder wright feeling inspired wants to try a specific apartment. A nice lady answers and after asking her if she knew Carlos or Elizabeth she said "oh ya Elizabeth is in the back I will get her." The very first door, in a town neither of us had ever been before, with nothing more than a rumor where they were. Elizabeth came out and we had a very nice discussion and now have a appointment with them on thursday. President Miajongos is coming with us to the appointment. After that we went home and enjoyed a nice lovely relaxing evening.

New Years Day we didnt do much. We relaxed in the morning and took naps around lunch time. After that, Elder Wright wanted to go on a shopping spree so we went to a nearby outlet and some other places. After that we came home and had plans to go to a party but instead just stayed and hung out with the Nehrings. We had a nice dinner of chinese food and then watched the Cokeville Miracle one of the few approved films they let us see. The rest of the night was one of taking it easy.

But those are the days of New Years. There is a lot of stuff we still need to do in terms of the work but we are making headway. Slowly but surely.

 We are striving to work with our small group of investigators and may be losing some soon. Time will tell.

But as always I love you guys and miss you. I hope you have had a wonderful New Year. As a spiritual thought with the start of something new. Think back on the story of Lot's wife in the old testament. As they were leaving Sodom before its destruction they were instructed to "not look back." However Lot's wife did and she was turned into a pillar of salt. From a quote I believe from President Uchtdorf he said "the reason Lot's wife turned to salt was not because she looked back, but because she looked back with longing." The lesson being that we can not continue forward to a happier and more brightful future if we continue to look back on the past with "longing."
http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/new-years-look-not-behind-thee?cid=HP_MO_12-28-2015_dPFD_fMRMN_xLIDyL1-A_

December 28, 2015

Well this was the week of christmas and now we are entering the week of the new year.

This last week had its ups and downs though the biggest challenge was staying busy. We had a lot to do and very little time to do it in. With how quickly it gets dark here it makes the work at times difficult but now the weather is starting to look a little nasty in the upcoming weeks. 20 degrees and possible snow.

But lets focus on the days of Christmas for this email.

Christmas eve we went out and had a wonderful lesson with a recent investigator with a member present. It was spiritual and the investigator understood it very well. Unfortunately that was the last of our success that day. We knocked and visited everyone we could but due to the holiday every one was either not at home or way to busy to talk with us. As a side note we were instructed to work till 5 and then call it a day. So after having very little to no success we tried our back up plan of doing family history only to find the library closed. With that we had nothing to do so we returned home to plan for Christmas and the following days. That night we went with the Nehrings doorbell ditching (we left treats and stuff). Then we returned and just hung out and played some games and ate a lovely pizza dinner.

Christmas: I woke up early around 6 and decided to sleep in till about 7. A whole 30 mins of sleeping in felt really good truth be told. I knew that the young kids in the house were planning to wake us up around that time to so I decided to beat them to the punch and went up stairs and listened to scriptures for a few minutes with them. Elder Wright was still sleeping downstairs where all the presents and the present opening activities would take place. The little kids were really begging me to tell them what I had seen santa bring them for Christmas. But I was good and didnt tell them about the turtle and the stuff stockings and all the little toys and such. Well Elder Wright came out for a bit to watch and participate in opening of presents. It was a lot of fun. After that I helped clean up a bit and then had planned to go and sleep some more but instead helped cook breakfast. I was in charge of the hashbrowns, and we had a glorious meal of english pancakes (like swedish but ours are alot better in my opinion, though they were tasty), bacon and other items. After all this we took it easy played some basketball, went on a bike ride, and finished the night with about 15 minutes of a musical christmas carol and stopped the film to eat a turkey dinner. After this elder wright wanted to go play more basketball with the missionaries at the church which we did near the end of the night.

So overall a very merry Christmas for us here in columbus. But I left out something of key importance. And that was calling and facetiming mom, dad, bobbie (brownites), christina (the muffles), nicole (laughmanites), and shannon (the dukes). Truly that brought the christmas spirit more than anything else. And home felt very close to me. This Christmas has helped emphasize how much I miss you all, and love you. This is also a significant Christmas because it is my final one here in Indiana.

2016 rapidly approaches and as we get near this point we prepare to make resolutions of doing something. My resolution that I want to make is to finish this year going out strong in the work I do. That doesnt mean it is going to be easy rather it is a goal I want to do.

I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas and will have a happy new year. I love and miss you all very much.