15 Aug 2016 - Final

One last time. It's crazy how time sneaks up on you. As I wrap up my mission a song comes into my head. It's "Your Gonna Miss This" by Trace Adkins. I can't believe it's all over tomorrow. It doesn't seem like I've been out that long. At the same time I've been out here for forever. Home life is kind of a blur, I don't remember what it was like back home. It seems like a far off dream.

Anyway this week was really good! On Monday we went and cashed in all of the coins I've collected over the last two years. It came out to about $76, but the coin machine took like 11%. So I got 60 something dollars back. I went and bought a new pair of shoes at Ross. There just walk around shoes, but there pretty sweet. So  for our activity we played basketball and volleyball. It was really fun. We have a sister in our mission who is going to play Division 1 college volleyball after her mission. She was on the other team. She is kinda scary when it comes to playing volleyball. But anyway she went to spike the ball and I totally blocked her and everyone started yelling and shouting. Then we started smack talking back and forth the rest of the game. It was really fun.

On Tuesday I had my departing interview. We talked about continuing discipleship, college, dating, and how my mission experience was. I love President Palmer so much, Sister Palmer too. We had a lesson with Lyna. We went over the baptismal interview questions. On the way back we ran into two other sets of Elders and we make s'mores in this lady's front lawn. Then we went and saw her pig. And yeah that was Tuesday.

On Wednesday we had a lesson with Jefferson. We taught him how to grow his spiritual crop.

C- Church

R- Read

O- Obey

P- Pray

It went really good and he paid really good attention. We also taught brother Neff. We read 3 Nephi 9 with him. Then we went to the McFarlane's. It was a good visit.

On Thursday I had "Trunky Temple Day." That's what all the missionaries call it. We went to the Salt Lake Temple. Then we ate a chuck-a-Rama. Then we went back to the mission office and had a testimony meeting. It was powerful. I was tired the rest of the day. We went on a mini exchange right before dinner until the end of the evening. I was with Elder Weller the DL.

On Friday we had district meeting. We gave a training on working with stake and ward leaders. We compared working without ward leaders to when Teancum goes to kill the Lamonite king by himself and then gets killed. Following that we had my funeral. That was pretty much our day.

On Saturday we had Lyna's Baptism! It was good. There was lots of people there. I gave the talk on the Holy Ghost and Elder Coleman baptized her. After the baptism I got changed and played basketball with the young men in the Marshallese branch. Most of them were non members. It was fun. Then one of our ward mission leaders took us out to Braza Grill for lunch because I'm leaving. Then we had a lesson with Tommy. We talked about his baptism. Then we went to the church to use the bathroom. We were both in stalls on opposite sides of the bathroom. Someone walked in, used the bathroom and then walked out. We didn't think anything of it. But when we got out and were leaving we saw the bishop and two cops. The bishop saw my shoes and bag under the stall in the bathroom and thought someone had broken into the church and was going to vandalize it. Then when we got it figured out and left we went outside and ran into another set of cops circling the building. So we got the cops called on us. Then we gave a lady a blessing and taught Bill Tate later that night.

On Sunday in the first ward we went to, the bishop had me stand up and announced I was leaving. Then we had Lyna's confirmation. Then at the last Sacrament meeting the Bishop announced I was leaving and then had me come up and bear my testimony. After dinner we had a meeting planing an event with some of the wards and then we visited the McFarlanes.

Love,

Elder Pleshek

8 Aug 2016

This week was good. On Monday we played basketball and soccer. After Pday we ate dinner with the Seastrands. We had burgers and ice cream.

On Tuesday we had a lesson with Keven. We shared a some scriptures and prayed with him. Then we went to visit Richard Thompson. He had lots of questions, so we answered them for him. He was really confused about the time line of the Book of Mormon so we helped with that too.

We also taught Diana and she almost died on us. She almost had an Epileptic seizure. So we stopped the lesson and got her a taxi to the store to pic up her medicine.

 On Wednesday  we had exchanges. Elder Thacker came to my area with me. We had lots of fun. We walked around the trailer park for a while and talked to some people. We also ran into the Sisters so we talked to them as well. Then we had a lesson with Jefferson. We taught him the Law of Chastity. He said he would live it. Then that night we went to Brother Neff's house and we got on the subject of the second coming. And then we went to the McFarlanes.

On Thursday we had a lesson with Lyna. We finished teaching her all of the commandments. We have one more lesson to teach her before she gets interviewed. We also had weekly planning. Other than that it was a short day.

On Friday we had Zone Meeting. We had some really good training about companionship unity, using scriptures and overcoming challenges. Then we had training on how to teach simply and a training about keeping Christ at the center of our lives. Then we went and got shakes and hung out with our district leader for our lunch hour. The rest of the day we worked super hard and knocked on every referrals door in the 7th ward.

On Saturday we cleaned the apartment and then had lunch with Erin. It was a good time, but it was super weird. It was like meeting someone in real life that you saw in a dream. That's what home feels like, kinda like a dream. Anyway then we had a lesson with Tommy Bean. We shared some stories out of the Book of Mormon with him. Then we had a lesson with Lyna. There was some commandments that we missed so we taught those. Then we had a lesson with this lady and it was super frustrating. She would question everything thing we said. We would tell her how she can know the truth and she would say, "but how do you know that's not the devil trying to deceive you?" So we would tell her. And she would say the same thing again. So we have another lesson with her on Saturday and we have some answers for her.

On Sunday I bore my testimony twice. It was a pretty regular Sunday. We also had a lesson with Diana. She is doing better. Well that was my week.

1 Aug 2016

This week was great! On Monday we had an all day pday, because everyone was celebrating Pioneer Day and we aren't supposed to be in large crowds we got the day off. We went shopping with our district leader. And then we got back and filled up water balloons for an hour to take to our activity. Our activity was Zone Olympics. It was district on district. The first event was throwing water balloons at the Zone Leaders. Everyone took a turn throwing a water balloon. If you hit them your district got a point. Then we had a water balloon toss and the last event was a soccer tournament. We ended up getting 2nd place. Then we had a huge water fight. Once we ran out of balloons we just filled up the buckets and dumped them on each other. Then we hung out in the church building until 8pm.

On Tuesday we had a lesson with Jefferson. We taught him the Plan of Salvation. It was a good lesson and it was also very interesting. He has I think 4 younger brothers and sisters. They were being loud so our member saw some cupcakes on the stove and called all of the kids over to eat the cupcakes. So that helped. The funny part is that the member that went with us didn't even live there and had no idea what the cupcakes were for. I love serving in the Marshallese branch! It has been one of my favorite places to serve. They are all so hilarious!  Then we had a lesson with Richard Thompson. It was actually really good. He read the Book of Mormon between our visits.

He had lots of good questions for us. The Lord has really been humbling him. He even asked about church! After dinner we had a lesson with Bill Tate. During our lesson his son showed up. That was good, because he talks about his son a lot and it's good to put a face to a name. So that was Tuesday.

Wednesday was pretty uneventful. The whole day was open so we did some finding. Then after dinner we went to my last area to visit the Thaxton's. I found a suit in the apartment that doesn't fit anyone so I burned it at the Thaxton's. It was a good excuse to see them. We had ice cream afterwards and they want to take me out to dinner before I leave.

On Thursday we went to Bountiful for the whole afternoon. We took the mission van this time which is what we will probably be taking from now on unless someone borrows it when we need it. If that happens we get to take the truck, so we hope people use the van more. The mission van is one of those big 9 passenger ones. So the lesson went good. We taught the restoration and put the dad on date for August 27th. Then that night we went and helped Sister Neilson with her back yard. We dug up cinder blocks and made a wall out of them against the fence. We sprayed a lot of bugs with Raid.

On Friday we had district meeting and it was really long. It was long because during accountability the two senior couples took 20 minutes each. They talked about everyone they are teaching and they had to tell a story about every person they are teaching. And the story's weren't even related to what their concern is. We were only supposed to talk about one person and what their concern is. Then we went to In-n-out for lunch. Then we went and set up a lesson with Keven for this next week. Then that night we visited the McFarlanes. That was a good visit.

On Saturday we had a lesson with Tommy Bean. We read out of his children's Book of Mormon with him. We read about Nephi and Lehi in jail. Then we went to Lyna's house to teach her. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and the word of wisdom. She is really shy, but she is opening up to us. We also taught Jefferson, we taught him the word of wisdom and Law of Tithing. He agreed to live both of those. Nothing happened that night.

On Sunday we had a pretty average day. We dipped out of church early to go and see our recent convert Diana. Her son kicked her out and she is living in a small RV thing from the 70s. She was having a tough time, but then when we showed up she was happy as could be and was thanking God for her trials. I wish I could be more like her. She didn't come to church because she was feeling down, but she told us that she would never miss church again and nothing is going to keep her down. So it was awesome to see her. She always makes my day better. Then in the evening we went to a musical fireside in Taylorsville. It was really good. There was a gospel choir made up of Polynesians called "Devine Heritage" they are really good. You need to YouTube them. So that was my week.

25 Jul 2016

This week was great! On Monday we hung out as a district. We played Spoons, basketball and Volleyball.

On Tuesday we went to Bountiful to teach a Marshallese family. The lesson was really good and we have a return appointment this week. I got to drive and it was pretty exciting. Then we stopped and got Slurpees from 7 eleven. The rest of the day was contacting.

On Wednesday we had a lesson with Diana and then we had another one with Jefferson. Then after that we did a Zone blitz. It was long and hot. Then that night we went and visited the McFarlanes.

On Thursday we had weekly planning. Then we had a lesson with Lyna a Marshallese girl and her family. She is active and so is her family but Lyna's records have been lost and they don't have enough information to recreate them. So she has to be re baptized. So we taught her the restoration and put her on date for August 13th.  In the evening we had a lesson with Bill Tate. It was a pretty good lesson. We talked about faith with him.

On Friday we had district meeting. It was pretty good. Afterwards we ate pizza. Then we had a lesson with Tommy Bean. We read with him about baptism in the Book of Mormon. We are just preparing him for his baptism. He has already been taught everything. Then afterwards we had another lesson with Jefferson. We read in the Book of Mormon with him. Then we went to dinner and I ate a bunch of zucchini. That probably won't happen again. And that was our day.

On Saturday we had a lesson with Keven. We read scriptures with him too. Then I had a meeting with President Palmer. He says he wants to meet you and Dad when we come out in October. Then we burned my old ripped up suit with a family in Taylorsville. I also stepped in a hole and hurt my ankle.

On Sunday there was a lot of church. Jefferson didn't come to church so we have to push his baptism back a week. But yeah that was my week.

18 Jul 2016

This week was great! On Monday we went shopping and then we went to get Elder Coleman a haircut. We went to the Hispanic ladies house again. And the daughter that got offered to me was there. It was kind of awkward. Then we went to our Zone activity. It was supposed to start at 1:45, but everyone was 20 minutes late so we sat outside waiting for everyone to show up. Only half the zone showed up. We played basketball and we also played a game called tiger. Then on our way home from the activity we stopped at 7 eleven with the zone leaders so we could get a free Slurpee. Then we dropped off my stuff off at the Thaxton's. After that we went to visit the McFarlane's.

On Tuesday we got a referral from the Salt lake mission for a Marshallese family in bountiful. So we might be able to borrow the mission van to go up there. We were talking to President Palmer and he said we might get a car in the coming weeks. So I'm excited for that. We had a lesson with Tommy Bean. It was just a short lesson. We have taught him everything so we are teaching home everything that will be on the interview. Then we had a lesson with the Kinere family. They are Marshallese. They are a part member family, the dad and their 10 year old son are non-members. The dad isn't quite ready yet, but the son Jefferson is. We taught him the restoration and put him on date for August 6th. Then that night we had a lesson with Bill Tate. He bought us Pizza so that was cool. We talked about repentance with him.

On Wednesday we had Zone Conference. It was really good! I learned a lot about centering my life on Christ. At the end of the meeting President Palmer had all of the departing missionaries that were there come up and sit on the stand. So one by one in the order we sat we would get up and give our departing testimony. They started on the opposite end so I was the 3rd to last to give mine. My Zone leader Elder Clyde went right before me, him and I were the only department missionaries that cried when we bore our testimonies. After the meeting I had a lot of people come up and tell me that I made them cry. I'm glad I have so many friends. I'm going to miss them so much. It became a little more real for me after the meeting. We ended the night by visiting the McFarlanes.

On Thursday nothing really happened except for weekly planning.

On Friday there was no district meeting because we had Zone conference. We had a lesson with Keven. It was really short. We gave him a large print copy of the Book of Mormon and talked about why the scriptures are important. Then after dinner we biked to Taylorsville to contact some Marshallese potential investigators. We started at 6:30 and when we stopped biking it was 8:30. The only breaks we had were when we stopped to knock a door which was twice. Since we were in Taylorsville we stopped at the Seastrand's house. I know them from when I was in the Taylorsville South Stake and Elder Coleman met them because he took their son teaching when he was in the YSA. So we got a ride home from their son. It was much needed.

Saturday was also a slow day. The highlight is when the Sisters gave us ice cream. The whole day was just contacting. We were supposed to have two lessons, but they both cancelled. Before we headed in we left a box of junk on the Sisters doorstep and then we plastic wrapped the box so that it would take forever to open.

Sunday was very churchy. We got to bless the sacrament in one of the wards. There were some really good talks in church this week! We ate dinner with this Samoan family and I got so full. They sent us home with more food than we ate at dinner. Then we had a meeting with one of our Ward mission leaders. That was pretty much our night. That was my week.

11 Jul 2016

This week was great! On Monday we got haircuts. We got them from a lady in the Spanish branch. We can't speak Spanish so the Sisters came with us.  While Elder Case was getting his hair cut the sisters were talking to this other lady who was there. Then I heard them all laugh and one of the Sisters turned to me and said, "She thinks you’re handsome and she wants to present her daughter to you." So the lady handed me her phone and showed me a picture of her daughter. I wasn't sure what to say so I didn't say anything. I've never been offered anyone's daughter before. After that we went to Donut Falls. It was really crowded, but it was the 4th of July so we expected it would be. It was a lot easier this time through and there wasn't any near death experience, so that was good. I didn't go all the way up to the falls cuz it got kinda steep for my liking. So I chilled with Sister Martinez and we watched everyone climb to the top. On the way back to the car we saw this family and they had a girl with them who was around 10 years old. She saw a chipmunk and said, "Look a little rat!"  It was really funny. 

The Zone leaders gave us a ride home to change our shoes, because they were wet from walking through the water. Then we met at the zone building and played games until 9. I got sick at around 7:30. It's probably because I ate 3 double cheeseburgers and then played basketball right after.

Transfer day! We got Elder Case all packed up and shipped him off to Grantsville. His new companion is Elder Bowler. He is the Shortest Elder in the mission standing at 5'4" and Elder Case is 6'9". So that's pretty great. They dropped me off at the new zone building and I waited there for like an hour for Elder Coleman. He had to take a detour through Magna so his companion could pick up his new companion.

We eventually got back to the house and unpacked and then went off to some lessons. We taught a lesson to a lady named Amanda Powers. She is a non-member who is engaged to a less active member. We taught her the restoration, but when we got to the end of the lesson we felt impressed to hold off on inviting her to be baptized. And that was our first day together.

On Wednesday we taught Tommy Bean. He was supposed to have gotten baptized on Saturday, but he wants his grandpa to baptize him. His grandpa isn't super active so he met with the bishop and they agreed that the grandpa would be ready next month. So he is getting baptized on August 20th. The grandparents are also starting to work towards the temple again, so that's super exciting. Then that night we met with brother Neff. It was a great lesson as always. We talked about scripture study.

Thursday was pretty uneventful. We had weekly planning and that finished a little early so I did some additional scripture study. We had Cafe Rio for dinner so that was good. I love Cafe Rio it's like my favorite place to eat. Then we visited people for the rest of the night.

On Friday I studied D&C 106 and 107 for my studies. It was really good! Then we headed off to district meeting. The Sisters were 15 minutes late. We did a small intro thing with everyone. I told everyone that I had been out a little over a year, and then everyone laughed at me. It was a good district meeting, but it felt weird not being the one giving the training. I didn't think I would miss being district leader, but I actually do. I miss the extra opportunity to serve others and checking up on everyone and asking how there day was. I feel like a mantle was taken from me. Oh well maybe it's just to give me a taste of what going home will be like. 

Then we went to Cafe Rio for lunch. After we went and taught Keven about prophets and scriptures. It was a short lesson. So we actually didn't have dinner this week and neither did the Spanish Sisters so we all went and ate dinner at one of their members houses. It was pretty good. I'm not used to eating Hispanic food. Not much happened that night.

On Saturday we had a morning workout with the Zone. We did Zumba. It was interesting. Then we got home and left at 8:30 to go help the District Leader with a service project. We mixed and layed concrete. I've never done that before, it was cool I guess. Then until dinner we visited Bishops and Ward Mission Leaders. We have some great support here. All of the auxiliaries seem to love us. So hopefully we will have some work spread evenly around the stake. We had another lesson with Rose. We teach her at Brother Aini's house. He is from the branch and he is on the high council. So we really can't move on with the lessons a whole lot because she hasn't prayed about the Book of Mormon yet. So we went a little more in depth about prophets and the scriptures and why they are so important. She said she would read and pray about it before our next meeting. It was a really good lesson.

On Sunday we gave talks in the 7th ward on missionary work. It's weird to think that this could have been the last talk on my mission. Everyone seemed to have liked it. I wasn't super prepared for my talk because I was going to put finishing touches on my talk Sunday morning but I ended up redoing the whole thing. It turned out good though. Then we went to the Marshallese branch. After Sacrament meeting we were talking to Brother Aini and he asked us if we like teaching Marshallese people. We said, "Of course. We especially love teaching the Marshallese people."  He got this really excited look on his face and said "Oh, I will get you two or three more people to work with then!" And then he went over to this lady in the branch and asked her for referrals for us! He was so excited. So I guess all you have to do is ask. Then we went to 3rd Ward Sacrament meeting. After that we had a lesson with Diana. She now lives in an RV so that's kind of interesting. But there are no signs of her giving up hope. She gets so happy and thankful at everything we say. We told her we would get her a gospel art book so she could picture things better and she said thank you so much and started to cry. She is awesome! Then on Sunday night we got 5 referrals from the Marshallese branch for people that come actively but are not members. So things are really starting to look up!

4 July 2016

 This week was great! On Monday we went and hiked Bell Canyon. It was super fun and really hot. There was a stream that was close to the path in some parts so we had a few water fights. When we got to the top there was a waterfall. So we went up the trail that took us up to the top of the waterfall. The creek runs through the woods and then goes to the rockface and then falls. So at the edge of the woods there was a big rock where the water comes out. So the Spanish Sister climbed on to it. The rock was covered in green algae and Sister Martinez slipped and her companion caught her. So one of the Elders went and grabbed her iPad out of her hand and then dragged her off the rock. So we almost lost a sister in the falls. When we were on the was back home Sister Martinez realized she left her iPad on top of the mountain. So the Zone Leaders went back to get it. It took them 2 1/2 hours to climb up and get it and come back down.

On Tuesday I went with Elder Hunt in his area on exchanges. We woke up in the morning and he was sick. So we didn't get out until 2. It was a slow day. We didn't have any lessons, but we did service for one of his Bishops who just had his wife pass away. They had like 10 kids and the youngest is a year old. So it felt good to help.

On Wednesday we had a lesson with two young recent converts after lunch. Then we had a pass off lesson with the Spanish Sisters. We taught a recent convert who wants to attend the English Ward. So that was fun. Then that night we taught Brother Neff. We had a lesson on service, it was really good! He is so excited to do his calling. Then after that we went and visited the McFarlanes. That was really fun.

On Thursday we went and visited Diana before we had weekly planning. She wants to be a missionary so bad. She is telling all of her friends about the Gospel. Then we had weekly planning. That went as well as can be expected. Then we had a lesson with Keven. We taught him about prayer and scripture study.  Then we had dinner and went finding the rest of the night.

Friday was awesome! We had a really good district meeting this week. We were doing accountability and then we went way off of what I planned. We started talking about what the Lord expects of us. So we decided to go back to the basics and make goals that are simple, but powerful. Then I gave a training on enduring to the end. Elder Andersen who is one of my ZLs said it was the best district meeting he has ever been to. So I thought that was cool. After lunch we did a Zone Blitz. Everyone in the zone went into two areas and got a list of people to visit. We didn't find any success on our list, but other people did. 

Then that night we met with our Marshallese investigator Rose. The lesson was super powerful and the spirit was really strong. It was probably one of the best lessons on my mission. She wasn't hesitant to accept any of our commitments. We taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We talked about the Holy Ghost and read Galatians 5:22 and explained what the Spirit feels like. Then I asked her if she was feeling those things right now and she said she did. So I asked her if she would like to feel like that all the time and she said yes. At the end we invited her to be baptized. And she said no. I was legitimately shocked! She told us she was feeling the Spirit and it seemed like it was going to be the perfect lesson and she just shot us down. I was so sad on the way home.

On Saturday we had another Zone blitz. We found one person that said we could come back. So that was cool we helped some other missionaries find some work. The rest of the day was finding. Then we got transfer calls at about 9:55pm. Elder Case is going to Grantsville and I am staying and will be senior companion to Elder Coleman. I am so excited! Elder Coleman is one of my best friends. So I was really happy about that. Our Zone got dissolved so I'm back in the Granger Zone. I also got released as a District Leader, I'm sad about that. I really loved that calling. It gave me a chance to serve more  people and it helped me grow to love my district members more. But this last 6 weeks will be a blast and I am going to work my absolute hardest.

Sunday was pretty regular. We bore our testimonies in the first meeting we went to. The second sacrament meeting we went to was long. Three people bore there testimonies and left 10 minutes. A lot of it wasn't even testimony. That kind of upset me. But yeah that was our week.

27 Jun 2016

This week was good. On Monday we played basketball and we watched the movie Risen. It was ok, I wasn't very impressed. I don't know if I just didn't like it or I've been on my mission so long that my opinion on movies has changed. I enjoyed playing basketball more than the movie.

On Tuesday we taught Diana the rest of everything. Then we set a time for her baptism. Then we went to the mission office to pick up a bunch of stuff for the Sisters. After that we taught the Vigils. They are an older Catholic couple. They are really nice and they like us, but they aren't progressing very fast at all. We talked about the Book of Mormon with them.

On Wednesday we had another lesson with Diana. We went over the baptismal interview questions with her and made the program for her baptism. She asked me to baptize her and she asked Elder Case to confirm her. After that lesson we had another one with Tommy Bean. He is back on date for July 9th. I hope he makes it. We taught him the Word of Wisdom. Then after dinner we had another lesson with brother Neff. We talked a lot about service. Brother Neff is an amazing guy.  He wants to go through the temple so bad. All of our lessons cancelled after that.

On Thursday we had Diana's baptismal interview. She passed with flying colors. While we were waiting for the interview to be done we were outside and I dropped my iPad on the concrete and it landed right on the top right corner. But it didn't crack the screen. It just left a little dent. I was so lucky. Then like 5 minutes later Elder Case dropped his and his screen cracked. So after that we went to lunch at Burger King and then went to weekly planning. The rest of the day was slow.

On Friday we had district meeting. I did an hour training. I didn't think that was possible. So I got up and told everyone to ponder about how much of their time and effort they are giving to the Lord. Then I told them to put that in a percentage and when they figured out their percentage to come to the front, write it on a price of paper and then throw it in the bucket. So after everyone did that I averaged all of the percents and wrote the average percent on the board. So our districts percent of time and effort we were giving to the Lord was 71%. Then I talked about that for a little bit. Then I wrote the grade we were. So in school a 71% is a C-. Then I gave everyone 10-15 minutes to go and find a room where you can pray by yourself and ask the Lord what you need to do to raise your percentage. Then we came back together and we set a goal of what percentage we wanted to be as a district for this next week. We set a goal of 80%. The rest of the day was contacting.

On Saturday we had the baptism! It was super spiritual. Diana just has an awesome spirit about her. That was the longest I've ever spent in a font. She can't use her left arm and her legs don't work very good so Elder Case help me baptize her. When we finally got her situated she told me that she couldn't bend her knees. I just remember thinking "aw crap." But it all worked out ok. She couldn't hold herself up in the water because she didn't have her cane. So I was supporting her all the way up until I gave the prayer. When I had my hand raised I could feel her slipping backwards, so I said the prayer really fast. Then I put her in the water and my wrist didn't even get wet, because she can get hurt so easily. So I didn't put her under very far. It took a long time to get her back out of the font and she had to go up the stairs backwards. But we did it and when we got her to the top she hugged me and said, You're my brother now." It was such a cool experience. Then that night we met with our Marshallese investigator Rose. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and she asked lots of good questions. We also committed her to come to church.

On Sunday we had Diana's confirmation. Elder Case did a really good job. Unfortunately Tommy Bean was the only investigator who came to church. During our last sacrament meeting at 1 we got a text from the Spanish Sisters that said, "We got robbed." So yeah, the Sisters and their landlord got robbed while they were at church. Not a whole lot got stolen, but everything got messed up. I was really worried about them until I could call them after Sacrament meeting. So yeah that was my week. It's so weird to think that I have less than 2 months left.

20 Jun 2016

This week was good. On Monday we played basketball, soccer, and spotlight. It was fun.

On Tuesday we taught Keven, the care center dude and then we taught Richard Thompson. Our lesso with Richard was really good. The lesson with Richard went really good. We talked about the Book of Mormon.

Then that night we went to teach Amber and pass her off to the YSA sisters, but she didn't show.

On Wednesday we had a mission tour with Elder Wilson of the 70. It was really good and I learned a lot. We had a fun time and we learned how to make the Book of Mormon sound fun to our investigators. After that we ate dinner at Golden Corral. Then we went and visited the McFarlanes and we had a fun time.

On Thursday we had weekly planning and then we were supposed to have a lesson with a family from Iraq, but they weren't there. On the way there Elder Case got a flat tire. So we had Elder Lambert from the office come and pick us up. After dinner the rest of the day was contacting.

On Friday we had district meeting as usual. It was pretty much just a follow up on the mission tour. I had everyone look for a cupcake in the Gym. Because I was talking about feasting on the words of Christ.
 

So they were plastic cupcakes that are hollow. They are pretty much those plastic Easter Eggs. So I had everyone find an egg open it and introduce the scripture to another companionship in a way that would make then excited to read it. So that was fun. After that we went and picked up little ceasers for lunch. Then we had a lesson with Diana and taught her the word of wisdom and the law of chastity. Then we taught Tommy bean about scripture study and prayer. Then we had dinner and our other lesson with Amber got canceled. So then we went and taught a lesson with a Marshallese lady named Rose. It was a really good lesson and the spirit was there and she agreed to meet with us again this week. Hopefully we will be able to put her on date and get her baptized.

On Saturday I went on exchanges with Elder Dolan in his area. All of our lessons cancelled so we spent the day finding and then at night we went to a Ward party. We also talked a lot about college. So I have a few ideas about college now.

On Sunday we went to church from 8:30am to 4:30 pm. It was a long day.

Then we got a bunch of Father's Day stuff from the Marshallese branch.

So that was our week.

13 Jun 2016

This week was good. On Monday for a zone activity we played basketball, volleyball, and a game called spotlight. It was really fun. We have a sister in our zone, she is actually one of the sister APs., who is really good at volleyball. My team stomped the other team. It was a really fun p-day! I also let Elder Coleman cut my hair, but he messed it up. He cut the top too short and shaved my part line. Then that night we started exchanges with the Zone Leaders.

On Tuesday we had a lesson with the Vigils. They are an old Catholic couple that we read the Book of Mormon with. Then we had a lesson with Keven. We taught him the Plan of Salvation. He was involved and asked some good questions. We are still trying to determine if he is all there mentally or not. After that we went and visited a man named Richard Thompson. For the rest of the night we went contacting. Elder Andersen and I had a lot of fun. Some dude gave us home made bread.

On Wednesday we taught a guy in the care center named Craig. He has been less active for probably over 40 years. He read the Book of Mormon half way through in the last couple of months. He pretty much taught us the restoration. He has a sincere desire to come back to church. At the end of the lesson he bore his testimony to use on the Book of Mormon. Then we taught Tommy Bean a really quick lesson. Then we had dinner. After that we visited the Neffs and the McFarlanes. 

On Thursday we had a pass off lesson with the Spanish Sisters. There was a woman who wanted Sisters but then later said she was fine with Elders. Her name is Diana and she is as golden as they come. We taught her tithing and she was numbed out that she only had to pay 10 percent. So then we had weekly planning. After dinner we went and visited Bill Tate. We read in the Book of Mormon with him and discussed it. We read 3 Nephi 11. We focus on how Christ let everyone touch him one by one. 

On Friday we had district meeting. I gave a training on resolving concerns. Then we had a senior couple bear their testimonies because they are finishing their mission. Afterwards we ate at Chick-fil-A and some lady paid for us. After lunch we had a lesson with the Flores family. Their two sons were baptized almost a month ago. Then we taught a girl named Amber the restoration and put her on date. We are going to pass her off to the YSA sisters though.

 On Saturday we played basketball with Elders Dolan and Hunt. After that we had studies and went to a lesson with Diana. We were answering some of her questions and we talked a lot about faith. She would get baptized right now if she could. Then we had a lesson with Keven and we taught him the gospel of Jesus Christ. We still aren't sure of his mental capacity. The rest of the night we went contacting.  

On Sunday only half of the people showed up that we thought would. It was sad. We weren't able to teach Bruno because he is out of town for a few weeks. So we went visit people the rest of the night.

6 Jun 2016

This week was good. Last Saturday we played basketball with Elders Hunt and Dolan. Then we went to a baptism for a girl I used to teach in the Granger Stake. It was good to see people from my old area. Then we met one of our investigators. His name is Tommy Bean. 

On Sunday it was filled with a lot of church. Then we had Bruno's lesson at temple square.  We finished up the last lesson with him.

On Monday we climbed up to the Living room. It's a mountain by the University of Utah. It's called the Living room because there is a bunch of furniture made out of rocks at the top. It was super fun. I was so tired on the way up and it was so hot and I was so sweaty. The way down was a lot more fun. Then we played basketball afterwards.

On Tuesday I went on exchanges with Elder Hunt and he came to my area. We played basketball in the morning with the zone leaders and then came back and showered and had studies. Then we had a meeting with the zone leaders about what our districts need. We talked a lot about how we can get the members to help us. Then we went finding for the rest of the day and then we had a lesson with Bill Tate and we met with this guy named Kevon. He is in the care center by the hospital. We shared a short message and set a return appointment.

On Wednesday we met with Kevon again and taught him the restoration. He is really excited to learn more. Then we met with Nelson Neff and the McFarlanes. We talked about the temple with Bro Neff and then we practiced the restoration with the McFarlanes.

On Thursday we went to the mission office to drop of my traveling home form and then went to lunch with Elders Hunt and Dolan. Then we did weekly planning and then went to a lesson. We taught Brian the restoration. And then went finding for the rest of the night. 

On Friday we had district meeting. We had trainings about getting the members excited about missionary work. And then I gave a training on how we can help ourselves be better missionaries. Then we went to Burger King for lunch. Then we went to a service project with the sisters. Then for the rest of the night we went finding.

On Saturday we played basketball with the other Elders. Then the rest of the day was filled with finding. The Sisters called us and asked if we could give their investigator a blessing. So we did.

Sunday was full of church, but Bruno was sick and couldn't make our lesson. So we went and visited members for the night. 

I am loving training, Elder Case is a super funny guy. He is on a two transfer mission because he has slight anxiety issues, but I can't tell at all. He could have gone straight out. But yeah that was my week.

Another Official Letter

30 May 2016 Memorial Day

This week was great! On Monday we played basketball and tiger. Then we made the rounds so that Elder Paul could say goodbye to everyone.

On Tuesday we went to the zone building to drop me off. I chilled with the other Elders there until 11 when I had to go to the new missionary and trainer meeting. So we meet with President Palmer before our new missionaries joined us. Elder Case is my new companion. He is 20, from Spanish Fork, and he is 6'9''. So the first day we had a few lessons set up. Elder Case did really well. 

On Wednesday we had a district workout. That way everyone could meet Elder Case. We played tiger. There was a lot of finding. We had  a lesson with Felica Williams and her family. Then later we had a lesson with Brother Neff. We talked about temples and family history. The church came out with some pamphlets for the fifth lesson so we tested them out.

On Thursday we had weekly planning. I did it pretty much by myself, because Elder Case didn't really know a whole lot of people. Then that night we took them to visit the McFarlanes. We had a fun time. They are super cool.

On Friday we had district meeting. We had some get to know you games. And then I have a training on being a successful missionary. Then we had lunch at Subway. Then we had a lesson with the Newman family. Then the rest of the night was finding people. 

I'm out of time, but I will write about the rest of my week next week. We climbed a mountain today so that took up a lot of time.

23 May 2016

This week was great! On Monday we played with these big ball things that you strap yourself into and run into each other. It was really fun and there were only a few injuries. One sister got leveled by Elder Clyde and another Sister took an elbow to the face and it broke her glasses. Sister Martinez wanted to face off with me so we ran at each other and I knocked her on her back. It was funny. After that we played basketball, volleyball, and Tiger.

On Tuesday we had a lesson with Richard Thompson. We talked about the Book of Mormon with him and then invited him to read the introduction.

We also did some service for a widow. We helped put bricks along her fence so the soil wouldn't wash out when it rains.

On Wednesday we had a meeting with the Sisters to discuss the trouble they were having in their areas. It was about an hour long. We talked about ways we can improve and help our areas pick up. Then we were supposed to have a lesson with a nonmember, but he ditched on us.

Then we went to visit the McFarlane's. They threw me a birthday party just because they felt like it.

On Thursday we cleaned the apartment for a little bit, because we had an inspection on Saturday. Then we had lunch and did weekly planning.

We finished early because I needed to run to the mission office to get some baptismal forms so I could conduct an interview. After that we went to visit a lady named Felica. We talked to her for a little bit, and then went to dinner. After dinner we went to the stake center to give a baptismal interview.

On Friday we had a district breakfast at our stake president's home.

Then we had studies together. Then we all headed off to district meeting. I had both sets of Sisters train. The English Sisters taught about asking inspired questions and the Spanish Sisters taught about listening. I wrapped up the meeting with a training on resolving concerns. Then we had district lunch at Chick-fil-a. Later in the afternoon we met the English Sisters at the stake center because Sister Harper needed a blessing. After that the Spanish sisters tracked us down and gave us some cake. I don't know why, but they always give us there extra food. Then we went to dinner. We ate dinner with a part member family. The wife is active and has a stake calling, her husband is a nonmember. He isn't super interested, but he is a really nice guy. Before we left we asked them if there was anything we could do for them and the wife asked us to dedicate their house. So I dedicated their house.

Saturday was an interesting day. It started off normal. We had our apartment inspected and then we went to the Sisters baptism to drop off the baptismal forms. It was a pretty average day until about 8:55pm. We were visiting the McFarlane’s again and we were about to leave, when we got a call from the Spanish Sisters. I answered and all I heard was talking, so I figured they butt dialed me. Then they called us again and Sister Riding said quietly "we are outside of our house and there is a drunk guy, can you come save us?" So brother McFarlane sped us over to their house. By the way brother McFarlane works in security so he was the right guy to be with. So we get there drive by then do a U turn and pull up and they hop in the car. Then the drunk guy came right up to the driver’s side window. Brother McFarlane rolled down his window about an inch and said "have a nice night." Then the drunk dude said something in Spanish and we said we don't speak Spanish. Then he rolled up the window. The drunk dude then started playing with the wind shield wipers on the car and slapping the windshield. As soon as he let go we sped off. We did another U turn and headed back towards the Sister's house because we wanted to let the Elders quorum president know about this. The Elders quorum president lives right next to the sisters and he is a big, muscular Tongan who works at the jail. He was outside of his house talking to someone when we pulled up. Brother McFarlane rolled down his window and said "Stan this guy is harassing the sisters." Then the Elders quorum president got this mean look on his face and walked over to the guy and the drunk dude tried to give him a beer. Then the drunk dude threw a beer can on Brother Moleni's (the Elders quorum president) lawn. He made him go pick it up and then we helped the sisters go home the back way. Then we got transfer calls that night. Elder Paul is going to Taylorsville and is going to be senior companion in a trio. I am staying here as District Leader and I'm TRAINING!!!!!! He is a trial missionary, but I don't care cuz I'm training! So I freaked out about that for like an hour. And I'm also white washing the Sisters out of there area.

Sunday was a regular day. We went to church and had a lesson with Bruno. Except our ward mission leader’s cousin is in town and going to the MTC and she speaks French so we had the lesson at his house. It was good; we talked about the priesthood and eternal families. So yeah that was my week.

16 May 2016

This week was really good! On Monday was a regular proselyting day. I'm not really sure what happened. I can't remember it at all. We didn't teach any lessons so we just went finding.

On Tuesday we had P-day. We went to the Bountiful Temple. It was so beautiful; probably the most beautiful Celestial room I've ever been in. On the way back we were riding with the other DL and we didn't get off on the right exit so we were headed towards Las Vegas. Lucky we found our way back to West Valley. Then our district went bowling for a little bit and then we went to a church and played a game called Tiger. It was so much fun. I scared one of the sisters really bad. 

 On Wednesday I went to a meeting with the ZLs and the STLs to discuss what we were going to train on at zone meeting. My subject was The Book of Mormon: another Testament of Jesus Christ. Then we went to teach a dude named Richard Thompson. He had been less active for about 40 years. After that lesson we went to Brother Buttars house so that we could get some papers he wanted to give us. While we were in his office he opened his closet and I saw his gun safe. So we started talking about guns and he let me hold his revolver. It was pretty cool. Then after dinner we went and taught Brother and Sister Neff about the fall of Adam and Eve.

On Thursday we had weekly planning and then we read the Book of Mormon with Brian. I also prepared my training for zone meeting. Nothing else really happened. 

On Friday we had zone meeting. I trained second. I took up 45 minutes and I was only supposed to train for 30 minutes. It's ok as the meeting still ended on time. I started by asking a series of questions. Like why is the Book of Mormon precious to you and why do you love it? Then I placed a Book of Mormon to one of the Elders. I took it out of a box un covered the Book of Mormon, because it was covered by bubble wrap, then took it out of the plastic bag it was in, put some gloves on and then picked it up and gave it to an Elder and asked him if he would take my most prized possession. Then we had some discussion on how we can testify of the Book of Mormon simply. Then we had two people bear their testimony on the Book of Mormon. 

On Saturday I went on exchanges with elder Hunt. We taught a few lessons and we played basketball for four hours. It was a good day.

On Sunday we had 2 ladies show up to church and ask if they could start meeting with the missionaries, so we have a lesson with them tonight. Bruno got sick so we went to a fireside because our night was free. 

Transfers are next week. I get my call on Friday.

10 May 2016

 This week was great. On Monday we climbed Donut Falls. It was really fun! We went as a Zone and on the way up and down I led the pack. We went around this corner that was by this stream and if you slipped you would slide down the hill and into the stream. Elder Coleman and I had to help some sisters go around the corner so they wouldn't slip. Sister Martinez almost slid down the hill, but I caught her. We had her hold onto a stick and we dragged her up the hill. I was in the first group to come back, so we climbed some little hills while we waited for everyone to get back. Then we stopped at In-n-Out and then played basketball.

On Tuesday I started a game in my district. It is a street contacting challenge. The point system is 1 point for talking to some random person on the street or at a door step. 2 points for giving a Book of Mormon away and 3 points for getting a return appointment with someone you contact on the street. Later in the day we ate lunch with Elders Hunt and Dolan, and then had a lesson with the McFarlanes.

On Wednesday we went and helped the McFarlanes get situated with their furniture and stuff. We had another service project as well. We helped one of the widows in our area weed her back yard. It was as fun as weed picking gets. Other than service it was a pretty slow day.

On Thursday we had weekly planning and then we had our interviews with President Palmer. My interview was good; we talked about Elder Paul and about how my area is doing. He said that we will probably not stay together this transfer.

On Friday I was on exchanges with Elder Dolan, I was in his area. It was raining all day, but we were inside when it was down pouring. While we were out contacting people we came across a group of drunken guys. We walked over to go talk to them and one of them flipped us off. We asked him if you wanted to talk and he said no, but we went to talk to him anyways. As we were walking up he kept asking us if we would like a shot of rum about four times. We had to turn him down. Then we played basketball with them. As we were walking to the hoop one of them stopped and said I should probably take this off before I play. He turned around and there was a big gun on the side of his belt. But basketball is fun because they were all drunk. Then we ended the exchange that night. We also had a good district meeting that day. It was focused on finding people to teach. Sisters Harper and Thetford gave training on developing the faith to find. Then Elder Pleshek gave the training on talking with everyone. We played a game where everyone had to talk with another companionship while the other companionship was doing something.

On Saturday I was on exchanges with the zone leaders. I stayed in my area with Elder Clyde. Our whole day it was empty so we contacted the whole day. It was pretty fun though we had lots of fun together. Elder Clyde talked a lot about things I can do to help my district. We talked to 38 people just on the street. And that was pretty much our day.

On Sunday we had church is normal and then I FaceTime home. After I was done face timing home I ate dinner with the Lang family. During dinner I was talking with their son and daughter-in-law. They asked where I was from and I told them Wisconsin, and then I asked which part. I told them that I was from the Green Bay area. Then their daughter-in-law said oh I have a friend from Gresham. Then I excitedly said that's where I'm from, and she said her friends name was Tara Hoffman, and then I said that was my cousin. She seemed pretty excited about that. Then we had a lesson with Bruno, we taught the word of wisdom and the law of tithing. We also talked about why He needs to be baptized again. I think we helped him realize that he needs to be baptized again by the proper authority.

So that was our week, and today we went to the Bountiful Temple.