Crash! Bang! And BAM!

Call up the Undertaker and order some flowers because you’re gonna die when you hear this; some things actually happened this past week!

So for starters, on Monday night, we had to come back to the library to look for Elder Berthelson’s planner that he left here and when we were leaving, I managed to get in a small fender bender with a car in the parking lot. It turned out to be not a bad situation at all, which was very lucky. I’m not too happy about it and definitely not proud. But I thought I would just let you all know. And for those of you who have lost track, this accident brings us up to number six.

On a happier note, we got a new investigator this week! He is a nine-year-old boy in our ward who hasn’t yet been baptized and needs to have the missionary lessons before he can get baptized. We had an appointment set up for Friday evening but had to cancel because our dinner appointment ran late and it turned out to be the parents anniversary so we decided it would probably be best to just reschedule. I’m excited about teaching him but I think it might be a little difficult simplifying the gospel for a young kid but we will surely see!

Church yesterday was the craziest thing I may have ever experienced in a house of God. First of all, President Pehrson decided to surprise us by showing up at our ward. Due to the location of the church, right off Main Street and the 2,000 plus motorcycle rally for fallen officers going down that street, traffic was backed up for a while and most people were late coming to church so we started about 45 minutes late.

It was also a missionary farewell; the old kind of farewell where the WHOLE family speaks. At the end of Sacrament, the bishop said that we would be canceling Sunday school and going straight to third hour and that we would also be ending church about 20 minutes early. No complaints there from me, I just thought it was weird.

When I talked to President Pehrson yesterday, he told me that I would be staying in Trumbull for a while which made me very happy. I am really loving this ward and this area and I’m making so many friends here. Like the Sisam’s, a really cool young family that we got close to this week. They fed us one day and invited us to come back on Saturday to do some service for their neighbor. It was a lot of fun and they are a BLAST to be around.

Overall, things are going really well for me. Every day brings new challenges and blessings and as I work my hardest and take things one day at a time, I know that I am doing what I need to be. I have a full day of letter writing planned so if you haven’t heard from me in a while, I will get to it soon. I promise. Thanks for all the love, support, and prayers!

Keep On Keeping On

What a week! Nothing really new…again. Surprise! We have just been doing lots of work with the members in our ward and stuff. The big news of the week (drum roll, please) is that we were able to have lunch with Emily’s family yesterday. It was really nice and her mom said that she would like us to come back. I think we are making some real headway there so please keep praying for her and her family! Other than that, nothing new. But think of it this way, no news is good news. For instance, I did NOT get shot at this week. If I did, you would for sure be hearing about it.

I said this week that something good must be on the horizon because el Diablo is working very hard to get me discouraged. I have been missing home quite a lot and haven’t seen our efforts yield great fruit lately. I am reminded that it is easy to get discouraged. It is easy to complain and it is easy to give up. However, the easy thing to do and the right thing to do are hardly ever the same thing to do (according to President Pehrson). It takes determination to press on in the face of adversity. It takes humility to accept the circumstances you have been dealt and to then adapt them to meet your needs, and it takes courage to do the same thing everyday, having FAITH that one day, the same thing will yield a better result.

As I said, I know that great things await me as I press forward with faith. Although this week was rough, I really am doing well. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere other than here and it is so easy to see the ways that my family and myself are being blessed. Thanks for the prayers. Please keep it up. I love you all!

Nothing New

I know you hear this a lot from me, but I’m being completely serious when I say that NOTHING new happened this week. Elder Berthelson was down with a virus for a good chunk of our time and so we didn’t spend a great chunk of time out in the streets (which was a refreshing change of pace). It did make me realize, however, that without finding, there is no teaching. We didn’t have a bad week by any means, just slow and lazy, I guess you could say.

We were able to meet with our investigator, Gloria with a guy in our ward. It went well but we are a little nervous that she won’t keep commitments. We are going to have to teach her the importance of every commitment we leave her (like how important it is to read, pray, and come to church). Right now, she just doesn’t see the importance of it and the blessings she can receive from them.

Emily didn’t make it to church yesterday. She was at her aunt’s in Massachusetts. Her family also rescheduled dinner on us for next week when Emily’s boyfriend from Colorado will be in town. Things still seem to be going well there though. Their family is going to have dinner with our Ward Mission Leader’s family and I guess they are planning on talking baptism. I can’t wait to see how it turns out!

I just want everyone out there to know how much I love you. Thanks for your support and your letters and everything else! I can’t imagine life without amazing people like you in it! Take care!

What a Week!

Let’s start with the bad. Exchanges were this week and our District Leader, Elder MacLennen came to Trumbull with me. We had a lot of fun and I think he is such an awesome Elder. Anyway, we knocked on this door and a lady there was incredibly rude. She told us to “get lost” along with more “hot sauce” words. It was hard to take but… Life goes on.

Next, we went to stop by a woman in the ward who was baptized 25 years ago and has never been to church. She talked to us for a minute and said, “my husband is on his way home and he hates Mormons. I’ll tell you when I see his car and you can make a quick getaway”. We didn’t think too much of it until he pulled in the driveway, jumped out of his minivan and started screaming at us. “Get the Hell out and don’t ever come back!” Once would have gotten the point across but he seemed to think it necessary to repeat these spiteful words until our car was far enough away that the only thing I could hear was my heart about to pound its way out of my chest.

On a lighter note, Things seem to have taken a turn for the better for our friend, Emily. She bore her testimony last Sunday about how badly she wants to get baptized and even though she can’t right now, she knows that someday she will be able to. It was very powerful. We fasted for her yesterday and when her mom came to pick her up from church, we got to talk to her for a few minutes. She was very friendly and invited us to dinner this week. Hopefully this will help with her situation! Please pray for her!

Yesterday I taught Gospel Principles and Prayer. It went really well and I actually enjoyed teaching. More of the same old same old again. We didn’t get to teach Kim this week and she didn’t come to church which was hard but hopefully we will get with her soon.

I hope you are all doing well and most of those letters I promised will be going out today so be sure to check your mail boxes! I love all of you and thank you for your love and support!

Short and Sweet

I feel as though I should start with apologies this week. There is much I feel bad for. First, I'm sorry this wasn't sent out until Friday. I know how much all of you look forward to reading my updates on Monday evenings as part of your Family Home Evenings. Second, I'm sorry that what you are about to read is an account of a less than exciting week. I try me best, but some days just lack that certain spark of excitement. Finally I want to apologize to many of you for not having heard from me in so long. I want to make time to write each of you but so often, the time is simply lost. It is so hard, in part because I am getting so many letters from all of you! I love hearing from all of you. It helps keep me going. Please just bear with me. Keep writing and I WILL write you back. Those are my apologies. Forgive me? Good.

As I mentioned earlier, last week was just so....vanilla. It wasn't bad at all, just nothing outstanding. In fact, I just asked Elder Berthelson what we did and neither of us can remember. Just the same old. Tracting... service at the food bank... more tracting...

For now, just look at the pictures and look forward to the upcoming weeks email because there will be more to talk about there. I love you all and hope you are doing well.