New Area!

Hey all!

It has been a pretty crazy week. I have thoroughly enjoyed it! My last few days in Stillaguamish was fun, and I am so excited to be here in the Meadowdale ward! The Meadowdale ward is so great! It's like I'm back in my training area. Weed shops and drug abuse, it is an area ripe for missionary work!

On Thursday, we had a super awesome experience. We were out visiting potentials, and we ran into a man named Craig. He is an ardent Atheist. However, we managed to get on a conversation about the Spirit and how we can obtain more knowledge. We talked about the eternal nature of man and how every action we have has consequences. He was actually super interested in our message, and we are going to have a great conversation with him on Tuesday. 

Our apartment complex is awesome! We have an auto hot chocolate machine, and a sports complex underneath the building. I will be jacked ginger by the end of my mission 🏋️‍♂️

I hope y'all have a great week! My amazing mother is having surgery, so please keep her in your prayers.

Love you all! 

Have a great week! 

Brian Got Baptized!

Hey all!

Great week! By surprise, Brian got baptized! It was the most beautiful and tender baptism in my life. I bore the strongest testimony I ever have, and saw him cry as his new family embraced him. He went from smoking and working a worthless job to overcoming addictions and becoming more than he ever imagined. He is one of my closest friends, and I love him dearly. I am convinced he is one of the reasons I came out.

We were visited by Elder Pearson of the 70 at a half mission conference. It was amazing! He did not have a filter at all though, and told us how the brethren feel we can improve as a mission. He had a lot of fire. It was fun seeing some of my best friends there, including Elder Thompson and Elder Lee, for the last time. Today, they are returning home from 2 years of inspiring service to the Lord.

I am getting transferred out of Stilly. This has been a great ward, and I have learned a lot here. I am excited for the challenges and experiences being a District Leader in another area will show me! I am excited to instruct again, and I plan on being the best man I can be.

18 weeks to go. It has been awesome, I will do everything I can to keep it going. 

Love you all! 

Snakes

Hello all!

Fascinating week. We were able to do tons and tons of service, including digging up a cement fence post and moving it. Rebuilding the whole thing with good old hammer and nails. It was awesome, and I feel like I might actually be useful someday! Made me way excited.

On Friday we had a crazy fun service project moving hay and covering them with tarps so they stay dry. It's really teaching me the importance of good stewardship of that which has been delegated to you. It was a great and helpful reminder to me. 

I listened to a talk recently about snakes. I know, how does that relate to the gospel? The snake has many very widely varied interpretations in the gospel. Something fascinating to me, is that a very large amount of your brain is dedicated and designed to detect nothing but snakes. The lower half of your eye is tuned to detect snake camoflauge. Of course, this is due to our ancestors having to be very concerned about the genuine threat they posed to us.

Although we need to remember the fact that the scriptures are literal stories, we also need to acknowledge the fact that God communicates in types and images as well. Snakes are terrifying, they are unpredictable, and are opposite in almost every way to humans. They represent chaos, and the unknown. Adam and Eve of course were the first victims of beigg exposed to this chaos. Upon being exposed to the chaos of the unknown by the snake, they realized the postion they were in as helpless, naked humans. They needed to be together and rely on God, to escape the enevitable pain and suffering caused by the serpent.

They set a great example for us. Eventually, we need to band together as family's to defend against the assaults of the Adversary. 

Love you all! 

Have a great week. 

Happy Halloween!

Hey all

This week was pretty spooky! We were unable to go to the old people place which made me super bummed out. Everyone there had the flu. However, Halloween was super awesome. We played a super fun bored game called "Betrayal in the House on the Hill" which was hilarious.

We went up to Darrington and helped the Marsh family clean out their garage. I am really learning to appreciate service more and more as I continue to serve in this area. Unfortunately there is not a lot of finding new people to teach, so it is pretty unconverntional. 

OK Halloween morning, our car warned us that the tire was super low psi. We found a fat nail in it, took off the tire and put on the boot. It looked retarded. It was fun though!

Have a great week all. 

I love you so much! 

5 more months to go!