This week was long but good!  Monday we didn't have our P day so that was kind of rough.  When you only have one day off a week and you don't get it off it can be hard to get motivated.  

Tuesday was awesome though. We had a lesson with the Coulter family at the church and it was super cool!  Kaden and Katelyn (9 and 7) wanted to play some basketball in the gym after the lesson so we played a game with them.  haha  Then that night we had another lesson with Jake's friend Orion and played ball with them too which is always one of the  highlights of our week.  Orion is a straight homie and we always have good lessons with him. 

Wednesday we had a lesson with PJ who's getting baptized on the 22nd.  He's super solid!

Thursday we finally got a couple hours off.  We went to the Medford temple which was cool and we even stopped at In n Out while we were down there.  That evening we had a lesson with a lady named Sally, who is super awesome.  She loves us and she's super nice!  She should be getting baptized soon.  

Friday we had another lesson with Orion that also went super well.  

Saturday we had several good lessons and then we had Maria's baptism.  It was a great program and there were so many nonmembers there!  I had to dunk her twice though because her leg came up the first time,  but she survived so that's what matters right?  It was a super cool time though!  Afterwards we went out to get dessert with her and her sister and a few kids from the YSA ward so that was fun.  Her sister is awesome and hopefully we'll be able to teach her soon!  Maria's sister said to her "No wonder people join this church when the missionaries look like that"  lololol  We got a kick out of that.  After being on a mission for a while you just assume the name tag deters girls from looking at you.  haha  Sunday Maria was confirmed and it was great!

We also had another lesson with Jake and Orion and they brought their other friend Ethan. Ethan said he would pray about being baptized too!  It was an awesome lesson.  Jake Hancock is the sickest young man i've ever met!!  Then Orion calls us after church and says "What day do you think would be good for me to get baptized?"  So we all decided the 15th.  He's all in!!  So it'll be so awesome.  This area has so many good things coming up!!

 

This week was probably the craziest week of my mission!

First I just want to say WHY IN THE WORLD IS THIS THE SECOND WEEK IN A ROW THAT WE'VE HEARD ABOUT BECOMING GODS, HEAVENLY MOTHER, AND IF YOU COULD HIE TO KOLOB IN SACRAMENT MEETING WHEN WE HAVE SEVERAL INVESTIGATORS THERE?  haha  It's unbelievable!! But its ok, we're good at explaining.  LOL

Anyway, Katherine got baptized Saturday with her mom Debra!  We didn't think Debra would be able to because of a mix up last week but President Cropper came down Wednesday and interviewed her and said she was good to be baptized!  So Saturday was super cool being able to participate in their baptisms!  Also, Maria was interviewed last Saturday and is now getting baptized this Saturday!  So that makes two weeks in a row that we get to take part in a baptism, which is awesome!

We also had some good experiences this week with some new investigators.  We got a referral on Friday for a guy who's fiance is a member. He lives pretty far out so we called him and set up a skype lesson and he's now on date for April 15th.  He just quit smoking a couple weeks ago and he's super ready so I think he'll be really good to go!

Also, on Saturday, we were at the church to pick something up and we met this guy Codi, who actually has a lot of friends in So Cal.  He's super cool!  He's come to church with his friend before and so we taught him the lesson on the Restoration.  He wants us to come back and teach him and he said it feels right for him! So that was super cool and we'll be teaching him this week.  

We finally met with Orion again, who's the friend of one of the priests in our ward. He is super solid now!  We put him on date a couple months ago but he was super busy and we weren't able to meet with him.  But now we play ball with him and have a lesson every Tuesday and he said he feels like he'll be ready to commit to baptism soon.  We have at least two more people that should be baptized this transfer so that should be awesome and next transfer should continue going well too.  

So one of the craziest things that happened this week was that our investigator D called us up this week and asked for our help.  He wanted us to go to  drug court with him and tell the judge how  he's been doing well.  So we figured it couldn't hurt and decided to go.  So we get there and he ends up telling us that he relapsed earlier in the week and that he'll probably be in trouble and have to do community service hours.  We were like what the heck???  Then he goes up and talks to the judge and she tells him he has to go to jail for 30 days and they cuff him right then and there!!  We were straight trippin!!  Then the officer in the courtroom comes over to us and tells us he wants us to go visit his son and tell him what just happened and try and teach him.  haha    So I guess that's our story of how we lost our investigator for 30 days.  lol

This week was great!  We were able to stay busy and get a lot done.  

Tuesday we had MLC (mission leadership council) again.  It was a good one and it was definitely a motivating meeting.  It usually takes the entire day so the only other thing we did was a couple lessons that night.  

The next few days after that was really busy with, what seemed to be, constant lessons.  It's cool to see how our area is now compared to when we first got here.

Friday we taught the zone for zone training meeting.  It went well and there were some good topics.  Our zone is pretty tight so it sucks that transfers are today!

A couple cool things--We were able to go to Cave Junction on Saturday and we just drove down to the California border, so i've basically been back home pretty much. haha

Next cool thing is that our investigators are doing really well!  D is doing awesome with ADR (addiction recovery), Katie is still set to get baptized on Saturday, Maria is now set for April 1st because she's doing so awesome, as well as several others! One bummer thing is that D, Katies mom, was supposed to get baptized with her this Saturday but now she can't because she's been drinking.  Straight super disappointing but we are going to help her the best we can and Katie is a super good example to her so I feel like things will get figured out.  

Also, there's actually been some sunny and warm days!!!  It's the freakin greatest!!  It felt like Christmas!!

So all in all it was a good week, and as for transfers, it's like a straight miracle!  Elder Hatch and I are staying together for a third transfer so we'll be able see the baptisms we've been working towards!  It should be a great transfer!

This week wasn't too exciting but there were a few noteworthy things that went down.  We did a lot of service this week, helped a couple people.  

Tuesday and Wednesday we did some service for a part member family. We helped them move, and oh my gosh, it took a long time! They had a bunch of heavy stuff too, so I'm buff now!

Then Elder Hatch and I were tracting when we saw a lady chopping wood in her front yard.  We offered to chop the wood for her.  It ends up that her husband is in the end stages of cancer.  She was already hurt from chopping wood before but she had no choice in order for them to stay warm.  She had just prayed for help when we showed up!!  So that was really cool!  We are now chopping her wood for her every week and teaching her too.  

We also had zone conference this week with the Roseburg zone.  It was pretty good.  After conference we had a lesson with Maria, a girl that one of the YSA (young single adults)  girls brought to church last Sunday and she's freakin awesome!  She's on date to be baptized on April 15th and she's stoked to have found something that makes her happy!

On Friday we also had a lesson with Mary Ann and she is now on date for the 15th as well.  The six we have on date right now seem pretty solid--at least three of them are, for sure!

Transfers are coming up this week.  We'll know on Friday which one of us is staying and which one is going.  I thought for a second I would be the one leaving but I highly doubt it now.  President said in his email that I'm doing well and it seems like he's going to have me stay.  I'm just concerned about who my new companion will be.  I'm due for a difficult companion so I'm praying it won't be rough!
Stay Solid

Today

The one day of no rain

Yo, hope everyone had a good week.  This week was a decent one for us. We didn't have many super exciting events but we did have some cool things happen.  

First, one of our investigators who went to jail, just got out and is now feeling a little more sincere, realizing that he is running out of chances in his life.  He's a homie even though he needs to fix some things in his life.  He came to church and seems like he's headed on a good path.  

Also, we used this week to go see many of the people that live on the outskirts of our area so we had many adventures doing that.

We also had a really cool experience of giving a blessing to one of the guys we were teaching because his health had rapidly become worse.  He passed away shortly after we gave him the blessing and it was an eye opening but positive experience.  

Other than that, we've just been doing stupid stuff in between all the work to have a little fun.   For all of you that might have had the slightest inclination that i've matured while on my mission--that is false.  I still do many stupid things.  I just don't want you to be disappointed when i get home :)
stay Solid
Love you guys 

 

This week seemed long and somewhat frustrating for some reason.  

Tuesday was a good day though. We had interviews with President and it was good.  I always enjoy when he comes to talk to us.  He's going home in the summer so it'll be sad to see him go.  

Wednesday we went up to Eugene to do exchanges with the AP's which was cool but a little frustrating just because its more time that we weren't working in our area.  We spent a lot of time driving this week though and luckily I get my driving card back in 3 days!!  Well we'll see when I actually get it back, hopefully its soon.  

Other than that, this week was pretty average.  We've been trying to find more people and we're doing alright and hopefully some of them will start progressing. Well hope you have a good week
Stay Solid

February 13, 2017

This week we didn't have much time to be in our own area because of meetings and exchanges but we were still able to get some good things done.

Tuesday we had the mission leadership conference and it was really good.  We drove up to Eugene to pick up the Roseburg zone leaders to ride with us so it was a good time.  We were 10 minutes late though and President Russell called me up the moment we walked in to have me talk about how we've been able to do well and the goals we were able to hit.  Its weird talking to missionaries who have been out much longer than me but its whatever. The conference was good though and i learned a lot.  

Wednesday we did an exchange with the Riverside Elders and they're real homies so it was a good time.  

Friday, Elder Hatch and I taught zone training meeting from what we were taught on Tuesday and it went pretty well.  Teaching people is becoming easier and more natural so thats a good thing.  

Sunday we had a good lesson with one of the friends of a recent convert.  He's super awesome and we put him on date.  So we have 6 people who should hopefully be getting baptized soon so we'll see if they stick to it.  After church we had a rough lesson that just straight killed me.  We are teaching a less active family that consists of the parents, their son and daughter, and the daughters two children.  The daughter, A, lost her husband a few years back in an accident and was left to raise her kids alone.  The whole family is really depressed and angry about the situation, understandably.  They said they have prayed for years about it and feel that God has abandoned them.  Elder Hatch and I studied a lot to know what to teach them but it just felt like nothing we said to them was really working.  They were really upset so it was difficult for me.  I hope they took in some of what we told them though.  They'll be on my mind a lot this week until we meet with them again.  They are just a super nice family and I hope we can help them to be more happy. 

Other than that I'm just trying to keep up and not be as tired all the time.  lol  Hopefully all of you are doing well and I love you guys. Thanks to everyone that emails me!
Stay solid