Week 5: thankful for the work

Miscellaneous comments
* we bus or walk everywhere!!!!!
* the mission pays for our bus fares
* for groceries/ pdays we do get a ride with the other elders
* Walmart is the usual “depends on” where we go but pretty much walmart haha
* ward size is about 130 active/ 575 in active
* the other set of missionaries moved out on saturday the 12th
* some pizza stores that are also here are Little Ceasar, and Dominos
* I don’t need anything, just my winter coat, money for winter boots and that is about it! haha
*Yes we did have thanksgiving dinner at a members’ house! Haha

Q: Since there are so many less-actives , do you spend time visiting them?
A:Yea we visit a lot of less active members but we love them and rebuke them all at the same time! For all those who are less active members or thinking about leaving the church and you would like to lay down the law upon them share with them this scripture alma 24:29-30.

Q:how often do you go the mission home or does someone bring down the snail mail to you?
A: Depends on when Zone conference, training, or skills and interviews is.

Q:  Please let us know if there is anything we can send, or do for you. Would a conference ensign be a good thing to send? Or do you get it from the mission home?
A: Nah there isn’t too much you can buy me haha. Nah we get all the ensigns and jazz! 

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!!!

So to start off this week was pretty good! So last week There was one night Wednesday we were walking and knocking late at night! People were not to pleased how late we were out knocking on doors. We got rejected three times and decided to call her quits. The funny part of this while we were out tracking it was raining so my bag and pants were getting wet but after the rain stopped. My pants were still getting soaked! It was awful i was so cold! I was like man my bag is so water proof all the rain is being held in it! However later i found out my water pouch sprung a leak haha and got all week but nothing in my bag got wet just my pants! 

So we were over at Bro. Ulrich's house waiting to go to an appt. with Joseph and he shared with us some deep quotes that i found really profound! 

" Right now in my religion I am preparing to live with Jesus now that I am converting to Mormonism I am preparing to live with God." 

       We are all have divine potential and seeing this divine potential can help people overcome problems in this life and prepare for the next. We are to prepare to met God but also prepare to become Gods. All the Ordinances of the Gospel and the things we do the Father has done and the covenants we make will help us attain this divine potential. The concepts of Godhood is sometimes thought as a made up piece of Mormon Doctrine but it is scriptural, logically, poetically, proven and talked about by early Christian Writers. But ya I can talk forever about this subject! If you want more just let me know. 

Next quote was " Me lift thee and thee lift me and we both ascend together." 

And the last " A person advances in 2 years ton a mission that would take him 20 years off a mission. 

At zone training we talked about goals and how important members are to missionary work so continue to share the gospel with your friends and all those who you love. Everyone needs the gospel. Without members missionary work is not possible because it is only through the members that missionary work can be accomplished and done. 

An update on our Squirrel friends! There were some ladies that knew of Pet and Sarah and their friends( the squirrels) haha everyone feeds them and they say Pete is on drugs or something because he is crazy. We have now outfitted ourselves to catch the Squirrel with arrow of the nerf variety and darts hahah they are as good as caught. Back at our apartment we are trying to lure some in with peanuts! 

Elder Ward this past week was sick for 3 days! He looked awful! The life of a missionary whose sick sucks but the life of the missionaries comp who is not sick is even more boring. It involves a lot of sitting around as Elder Ganowsky put it. He is finally doing a lot better though! Which we are all happy about! It was so cool to see the priesthood power of God in action to help him to a speedy recovery. 

Since my comp is a district leader he has to do exchanges with every missionary in the district and I get to go teach with the other comp and go to there area or have them come here. So my comp and I haven't actually taught a lot of people together but all the other Elders in our district know our investigators better then he does. lol He is hard working and trying to get everyone in before the end of the transfer he has to serve with 9 different people so it makes a lot of exchanges. We also do the Zone leader exchanges so Elder Dite from Czech Republic served with me and we had an awesome day. More about that later. But ya so its been cool because I have served with Elder Cowley who we had a lot of fun with and talk to a bunch of people. Elder Minors and I went and did exchanges from Monday to Tuesday! We Taught so many people on Tuesday. We also got new bikes so we rode them around on Tuesday all over our area! It was a cool day outside and the Falls here are so beautiful! The bike was hurting my legs though ahah there were multiple times where i was trying to start riding but the seat is wayyyyy to high to touch my feet to the ground so I would usually fall. Elder Minor's is a great teacher! He loves this work and is such a kind hearted quiet guy! We had lots of fun talking and reconnecting as he was my childhood friend! It was filled with good times! We even made some yummy grilled chicken with honey garlic noodles! Elder Koceja on his exchange with the Zone leader Elder Jensen tackled the west side of our area and Elder Dite and I tackled the East. Elder Koceja was at this one house and was trying to flick a spider with his finger but he thought the spider stuck to his finger and was still on it. Freaking out he feel off the stairs and landed in a flower pot and ended up hurting his ankle. At least it is better now! But when we heard the story it was quite humourous. When the Zone leaders came down We had 6 missionaries staying in our apartment. It was really squishy. Elder Dite and I picked up a lot of new people and talked to a lot of people! He is such a cool guy and has a huge heart! He is so kind and has some problems still with English but a real solid missionary! I loved serving with him for the short time we did! We had a lot of laughs and solid lessons that day. 

Elder Ward and Ganowsky moved out on Saturday so we spent the morning helping them move out and we all chatted having a good last conversation together as room mates! I will miss them. It is sure a  lot quieter in our apartment now they are gone and we can focus more haha. After they left we realized one our apartment is finally ours for the taking and two we did not have any food and three it was a mess. We spend the afternoon cleaning it moving our desks around. cleaning the walls and as i was doing this in the kitchen i accidentally did not know my own strength and was washing a wall and put a small hole in it! Whoops. But now our apartment is beautiful and my bed is three mattresses high and fun to climb into. But now I can finally rest easy we are living in a pretty clean apartment but I am sure throughout my mission we will have bad ones that I will do the same thing in again. 

So our current investigators are Joseph who is progressing by reading and praying we are trying to get him out to Church but we fear he will not come! He is being silly but we love him and will keep trying! He has a baptism date for Nov 10. Then there is Grazyana who has been taught before she is from Poland and is really nice. She is catholic and loves the bible. She is very smart and intelligent about the gospel and different doctrines. She loves the gospel and it is great talking to her and getting to know her more and more. We talked about the Plan of Salvation yesterday and she loved it all! She even came to Church last Sunday and the ward is doing great with fellow shipping her. Elder Dite knew her language so they had a heart to heart that I had no idea what they were saying haha i felt weird because i really had no idea what they were talking about. But the spirit has been strong every time we have talked to her and taught her she has a date for November 10. Then we have Mark who is from the Middle East and is a real good chap! He works a lot and loves what we are teaching him he has a lot of questions and has a baptism date for November 10 possible the week after because his works takes him away from church and a lot of his time. Rob is unfortunately not progressing. Then there is Vernoica who Elder Dite and I found and taught to she had a lot of questions about religion and wanted to know what happens after death. She loved reading the book of mormon and is wanting us to come back and teach her more! Then there is Becky and her daughter who are both looking for a religion to follow and join and wants to find the right one! They are gonna be golden. Then there is yea thats pretty much all Ken said he did not want us to met with him anymore :( it was a very sad phone call from him but we have planted the seed for the future. 

Thanksgiving was so delicious we had on Sunday three meals one at the baptism, then one at the Ogdens who made a huge meal for us!! I was so full and then At the Ianni's who made another big meal both families have Filipino backgrounds so means a lot of delicious food! haha We were so full that night I felt awfully sick but it was good food! Then the Monday we had lunch at the Ogdens again and we had a table full of everything you could imagine! They made all of it pretty much from scratch! We ate so much good food this weekend! I love being a missionary cause you get fat yet you work your butt off!!! 

Well we are working hard and I have had so many spiritual experiences and my testimony of prayer is being strengthened everyday as we find those who are seeking the gospel. For any who want to know of the truthfulness of this Church and of the Book of Mormon ask and it shall be given. I testify this Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints is the true church and contains the fulness of the gospel. It is as it was in the time Christ established his Church as the quote this gospel is helping me to prepare to live with God and I know that this is true. 

Anyways Good bye!!!! I love you all!! Till next Monday! pce and God bless!