February 27, 2012

Well, transfers have rolled around and I am staying for round 2 here in the 1st ward. Elder Russell got moved to Thorton and I now have Elder Jones to be my buddy. He is quiet. Really quiet. Like he even talks quietly. But he seems like he is willing to work and do a good job, so I am ok with this. I have been asked by president to break him out of his shell and make him "senior companion material". I feel like I will relate to him well, so I am not worried about a disconnect and since I came out of my shell not long ago, I think I am up for the challenge. Pray for him and I am sure that things will go just great. The work is still picking up but we still have a ways to go before I will be happy with where we are. We are moving to another house int he ward but this one has a walk-in basement and promises more privacy. Hopefully the Sumners will be cool to be with.

Not much besides that. I love, love you all. Thanks for being so great!

February 20, 2012

Well this week has been a bit upside down. Not sure that I could label it any one thing. I enjoyed myself, but it felt like things were stalled out. The majority of this week was spent trying to see potential investigators that never seemed to be home and making calls that were never returned. From the standpoint of work, nothing really got done which would have torn me up earlier in my experience, but as Ammon of old said, all things are swallowed up in the joy of Christ. It is interesting to me that I have reached a place where things don't really bother me, especially when it comes to the people, but I am not apathetic. I care about them without letting them get to me.

It helps that I am finding a happy balance between being serious and taking some time for fun. I remember so many times when I would be stressing out about homework and Mom would pull me form it and tell me to go run or do anything else to de-stress.I also remember when she would have to pull me away from a game and get me back to work. I have ended up doing that a few times with Elder Russell in both ways. 

It is starting to dawn on me  how much time I have left and I really want to make sure that I take advantage of it. I'll keep pushing, but you guys keep praying because I feel them.

February 13, 2012

Reid is happy and says things are going well. He doesn't want to think about what classes he will take in August or who his roommate will be because he is too immersed in the work. The roommate issue can wait and I guess he will have to be happy with the classes his dad chooses for him! Reid figures his release date will be August 13.  He is loving his mission so much he can't bear to think it will end.

February 6, 2011

Elder Russell

How did you survive the blizzard? We had a mission wide no drive policy in effect for Friday and Saturday. We may have conveniently forgotten about that detail when the occasion needed us too. :) But we were mostly inside. It was a storm like the ones that we deal with all the time back east so I was un-phased, but I have seen some of the other missionaries drive and I can see why President asked us as a collective not to venture out. The Mitchells were cruising the Caribbean all week, those lucky dogs.

Elder Russell is a good follower. If I am obedient, he is. He is still pretty new in the field and is at a point where he is transitioning out of being a college kid into becoming a man who's got to make big decisions. He knows what is right and wants to do it, but still feels the temptation to take the easy way out. 

Things were a bit odd this week with the winter storm shut down. Our ward is not walkable and with the surrounding area already tracked for the most part it was kind of a day off. If it was any indication of what it will be like to transition back to the real world, this is going to be as uncomfortable as they say.

Luckily, Saturday, the 3rd ward had a member that needed help fixing up their house and they live close to where we do. We had a good time doing random things that needed doing and after completely painting the basement I now see the beauties of a spray gun.

I can also say after this strange time off that I NEVER want to play another game of Risk. Ever...despite my strange aptitude for rolling the dice.

What is better is that the days leading up to the shut down were spent setting up appointments for the days that ended up being cancelled. How strange. At least we found more people to teach.

January 30, 2012

As far as the work goes, I am glad to be here in the 1st ward. Bishop Bashford is on fire for missionary work and that is really helpful. We have been getting a lot of referrals recently and that is pretty exciting. We have not been able to get a hold of them but that is not too surprising considering how busy people are. We are working wit this couple, Robert and Carmen. Carmen feels the Spirit super easily and recognizes it. Her testimony is solid and she wants to get baptized more than anything. All she has to do is to get off of parole which is in about 40 days. Robert, on the other hand, is someone I resonate more with as he wants to taste the fruit before planting the seed. He is a bit unsettled but the fact that his girlfriend has wonderful spiritual experiences and he has not yet recognized an answer. I love that family because I feel the Lord working so hard to help both of them. I promised him some impressive blessings if he would read and pray better. Now it becomes a matter of letting him make the choice...

We have another lady that we are working with that just got baptized before I got here. Debbie is a nice lady that has a rock solid testimony but has one little issue. She hallucinates that her house is full of biting mites... She does not make that much money and what little she has goes towards pesticides and she has arranged to move into a new apartment in  the 6th ward. The bishop and us have agreed that is is a problem that just needs to be waited out as she is convinced the new house is bug free. She just has to make it a few more days. It is interesting to see a bit of what it is like to be in the bishop's shoes working so closely with him. Those do not look like comfortable shoes.