Coming Home!!!

Well, due to current circumstances in the world, my family has elected to come up to Washington on Monday, and pick me up and take me home. I will have served my mission for 1 year and 359 days. Close enough right?

I could tell you about my many spiritual experiences, the absolute greatest and best friends I have made, and I could tell you about how beautiful this place is.

I can tell you that on our own time. What I feel I need to say is what I have learned.

I for awhile was long in the dark. I relied a lot on my own ability to reason, and logically make decisions myself. I thought I knew everything. That I knew better. This frankly, made me absolutely miserable on the inside. Sure, I could put on a face. But in 2017, I decided to make small, little steps to come back to God. Baptizing my little Brother was a huge step. Being called on a mission, and make sacred Covenants in the Temple, solidified who I needed to be.

You can ask my trainer Brett Conk, I did not know up from down, left from right, or the Old from the New Testament. However, he was patient, and taught me what it really means to be a missionary.

You can ask anyone that served around me. Yes, I never really did master dignified language, I never perfected being obedient (tried as I might), I never truly was as good of a leader as I could have been.

But I did learn what God needed me to know. Jesus Christ is the Beginning, the End, and everything Inbetween. He is a God, and my savior and redeemer. It is through his Grace, infinite and eternal, that I can return to my Fathers throne and be counted worthy to dwell with my heavenly, and earthly parents. It is only through him and by him mankind may be saved. Obedience to his Gospel must be our top priority, as it is that eternal truth that brings happiness.

Thank you all so much. I Love all of you.

Going to the Temple!

Howdy world!

Second to last email. Wow this has been absolutely crazy. These last 2 years have been the absolute greatest thing for my life. I am definitely a way different man. I'm not saying it was enjoyable, but it was definitely amazing. If that makes sense.

I started off the week going on an exchange with Elder Olson. We went to the Tesla vehicle dealership! The guys there were super cool but did not want a Book of Mormon. We got to chill in the Model S, which is clearly the greatest vehicle on the planet. Elder Olson is a total stud, he rocks! We may have stayed up until 2 o'clock.

Wednesday we had a super spiritual district council about not being content. We talked about how Abraham was not content, and how he showed the character traits required to be exalted. It was awesome. 

Thursday was zone conference, and I was able to see so many of my best friends. Elder Harris, Sister Ballard, and so many other amazing people. I was able to bear my testimony for the last time in a zone conference. It was nice, and everyone said I am really good at "Hellfire and Brimstone". Lookout home ward!

Friday was cool, I was able to go to the Temple and it was great. We did Sealings and Endowment. It was great. We had another Lesson with Barbara which was awesome!

Saturday was great, we watched the Restoration with Barbara, and she got popcorn and chips. We met with the Olsons again, and they always provide super awesome insight on the Gospel.

Sunday we had missionary church which was great, they canceled normal church due to Coronavirus. So all the missionaries got together and we bore our testimonies. Sister Mounts and Sister Flake brought a friend!

Today we did a nerf gun 3 gun course which was dope, can't wait to do it IRL.

Love you all! I'll see yall in a few weeks! 

Angels Knocking Down My Door

Howdy All!

Had a super fun week. I started off on exchanges with the Lynnwood Spanish Elders, Meador and Williams. They totally rock and we had tons of fun. I went to Zumiez, and although they heavily market to weed users, their socks selection is unbeatable. It was fun. I also almost spent 30 dollars at bath and body's works (the men's products, they were but 3 get 3 free) but Meador reasoned me out of it.

We had tons of fun. Lots of laughs for sure. The next morning we went to Seattle for my root canal. It is nuts down there. We had a good time though as I was not nearly as high. Elder Meador's mom paid for dickeys and Pizza. What a stud. It was an awesome exchange. 

Wednesday was OK. I gave a District council on teaching skills. Ammon is really a great example to all of us, and in not just talking about melee combat. He is a great teacher.

Thursday we went to Habitat for humanity. Tons of missionaries were there. The Spanish Elders and YSA. We smashed more couches. The safety was questionable. We also went to panda express. We taught Barbara, and she somehow got on the topic of me going home. She tried giving me dating advice but I explained to her that it would not work. Dating in the 21st century is designed to be bland and sexual, not romantic and meaningful. She is depressed by that news and I told her it will work out, I'm sure an angel from heaven will just show up at my door, right?

We answered tons of questions she had and seems to be in Love with the Gospel. She loves the Presidents of the Church, and the Book of Mormon. She even said her relationship with Christ is growing!

Saturday we had a lesson with some of my favorite members. The Wildings. They totally rock and give me hope that good young people do exist. We had a lesson with Olson's as well, and they are great. They definitely give me a new perspective of everything. 

Pray for me. Love you all! 

Jimmy and Knee-C

Hey Everyone!

Tuesday this week was annoying, I finished my plan which is an absolute atrocity of a program designed to make you as trunky as possible. I am considering contacting the UN and filling it as a human rights violation.

The flip side of that is we had 2 awesome lessons. We had one with Barbra again and showed her the Rome Italy temple tour. She teared up and knew it was a sacred space. It was super awesome and she is trying to gain a testimony.

We had a lesson with our friend Allison and showed her the same video and it went super good. She had tons of questions and requested we talk about the afterlife next time. 

Wednesday I had a super fun instruction on symbolism in the Scriptures. We had two new members in our District! Elder and Sister Fiske who are senior couple missionaries. They totally rock.

Thursday I was on exchanges with my zone leader Elder Ashton. He is like super straight laced so I was pretty on guard. Heaven forbid I say heck or something. He is a great guy though so it's alright. 

Friday we had a lesson with our favorite members, Vivian, Jimmy and Knee-C. Knee-C actually isn't a member yet, we are working on it. They are black and come from a rough neighborhood so they have the best stories. One of them blew up an RV one time. Long story. 

Saturday we had the Macho chef ward party. We gorged ourselves on Food, and Rodney and Barbara were there! That Sunday Barbra came to church. 

Its been a great week. Renew your Temple Recommends and go to the Temple ASAP. The Restoration is here, and if you don't get on the train now, it will leave the station without you. 

Love you! 

Flying Metal Plungers

Hello World!

Super good news. Elder Swindlehurst and I are still together kicking Butt! We had a few awesome lessons this last week. We had two with Barbara, where we talked about Joseph Smith and some of the things he did that where """""sketchy""""" (Oh no he looked in a hat!! Oh no he practiced polygamy?!!!  What a bunch of baby's) and she said it all makes sense. She totally rocks and takes the title of Grandma. She demanded I come visit her with a pretty wife. I will try and meet those demands.

We also taught Anila, a Catholic refugee from Iran. She loves our gospel, especially as she is confused with the heretical Doctrine of the Trinty. We explained the truth. She likes it.

We had fun going to exchanges and seeing everyone. Elder Lowry is still kicking it! First thing he did is throw a metal plunger at me which was hype. Seeing Elder Eatough for probably the last time makes me weep.

We are still working hard at Habitat! Pray that we will continue to grind and work hard.

Love you! 

From Facebook

Never once does the Doctrine of "God will never give you a challenge you can't handle" show up in the scriptures. If this Doctrine were true, there would be absolutely no need for our savior. We would be able through our own works to overcome sin and pain all on our own, with nothing but optimism and a good mood.

This, of course, is blatantly wrong. No doubt those attributes can take us a long way. But the Book of Mormon teaches something different.

2 Nephi 9:7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more

No amount of our own works could save us from an eternal rotting, and our lives eventually through laws of entropy and sin crumble to its mother earth. Only an infinite amount of grace from the death of a perfect being could have the power for us to overcome, and become saved and exalted.

Don't ever just rely on yourself. Life is a challenge that no one can handle alone. No matter how tough you think you are or how good your GPA is, the Lord Jesus Christ has literally taken on every challenge, so that he can be with us every step of the way in our existence.

With Swoosh Again!

Hello all!

It was a wild week. We had a bonfire on P-day at the beach. It was awesome! That Tuesday morning I went and got half a root canal done, and will rap it up at the end of the month.

That night I went on exchanges with Elder Slack again. It was pretty fun, probably stayed up way too late talking about the Doctrine of the Kingdom. I have really enjoyed getting to know him.

The night after that I was able to go on exchanges with Elder Hatch. We were in the YSA ward and had a great dinner with Elder Eatough again. Me and him got along way good when I was the dictator of Bothell. It was a fun dinner, and me and Hatch are super tight. We taught an awesome lesson to a man they were teaching, and testifying of the Book of Mormon was awesome.

After that I went in exchanges with Elder Wright, who was Elder Eatoughs companion in Bothell. He is super tight-laced so it was funny poking him and testing his limits. He is super inspiring though.

We had a great lesson WITH Barbra again! She really is like another grandma, she said we are her grandkids. While coming to Stake Conference this Saturday, she explained that she was going through some tough times, and we recommended going to the Temple. We will find out how she enjoyed the gardens.

I love you all! Me and swoosh will be together another transfer.

Love ya! Pray I don't go crazy!

A Wild Week!

Wow, what a wild week!

Tuesday morning we went all the way down to the Devils Spit Can, I mean Seattle. We woke up way early so we could be there on time, but still did not make it on time. Luckily Dr. Baker was super kind and merciful to me about it. That was a week ago, and this morning I got a preparatory root canal, meaning I will get a full root canal in about 3 weeks.

Later that day, we dropped off our investigators letter to our mission President, and got a Suprise third companion. Elder Davenport! He was going home in a few days so it was logistically better for him to be with us his last few days. It was fun, he was in my first district almost two years ago.

I went on exchanges with Elder Davison in Olympic View, and we were able to teach there investigator Tom. He is recovering from addiction, and it is beautiful to see his testimony of Jesus grow. We also went to the Harley Davidson dealership again, and man, I am really considering getting one. They look sick, and I don't think I could be more patriotic. 

I am doing great! I love you all so much, thank you for all your prayers!

A Baptism!

Hey all!

It has been an amazing week! We had the opportunity to see Ethan get baptized this week! It is so cool being able to be part of an amazing conversion process of a young man. He is 14, and picked a good time to be baptzed, that's a rough time of life! It was great to be part of that circle where he received the Holy Ghost. The Spirit was so strong!

I had a fantastic district council about how the Book of Mormon prefigures the second coming almost perfectly from Alma to 3 Nephi, and we went over all the wars and signs and stuff. It was awesome! I greatly enjoy it.

We went down to Seattle to visit Elder Neilson so we could get his signature. Place really looks like a heck hole. So glad I don't have to serve there! I totally love those Elders though.

We had transfers on New Years! I am still Elder Swooshes (Swindlehursts) companion which is great, and I got to see a ton of my favorite Elders. I have Elder Wright in my district! He was Elder Eatoughs companion in Bothell, it's super good to have him!

I am doing awesome!

I hope all of yall have a greta week! 

Love you! 

Super Sick

Sick weekly

We had a pretty annoying week. Tuesday was pretty awesome! We found a really good friend! She has kind of been an investigator for a very long time, however, I guess she never got into the Book of Mormon. She committed to read all of 1 Nephi before Tuesday.

Wednesday I woke up and was super, stupid sick. President Auna insisted I stayed in an instructed district council for me.

Sorry, it's nothing much, but ya, that has essentially been an awful time of waking up and going back to bed. 

I have been doing better though! I hope I can write a better email next week!

Love you all!

Mission update this last week

Pros

-Ethan got baptized!
-Met some great people
-We have an amazing district and zone!-The Infinite Atonement is an amazing book-Lots of time to read-Blanket capes
-Me and Elder Swindlehurst have yucky coughs
-Have to get a root canal
-Locked in the apartment for 3 days (hopefully, today is the last day)

Cons

Wednesday was by far the worst, as I did not have the energy to even read, but could not sleep due to the pain of the headache. So I simply laid down in my bed, trapped in my brain with my own thoughts. I had a lot of time to reflect on what I so often tell people I believe, and consider if I truly believe it. Does God keep his promises? Does God love us? Was Jesus the son of God?

I pondered this for a while. However, like always, the Spirit confirmed, not loudly, not overtly, but very calmly and quietly, that yes. I am no liar. I know what I say, I mean it, and believe it. Jesus truly loves and saves, even when it's dark, painful, and hard. His light is always there, his word is always kept, and his blessings never cease

Thank you to all the amazing people I have met! So many will be my friends forever, and as I wrap up these last two months of my mission I pray that I will heal quickly, and finish strong!

From the Washington Everett Misson

Good Afternoon.  Can you believe that your missionary is just weeks away from flying home? Crazy how time flies. 

Would you take a minute & fill in the information below and e-mail it back so arrangements can be made?   😊 

1.    What Airport would you prefer?  *(OR Indicate if you would like to pick up your missionary). 

2.   Stake President’s name, address & phone number:

3.   Your mailing address & phone number.

 Thank You so much. 

We were so excited to get this email! It means Elder Burt is coming home soon! After I replied with the correct information I got this reply:

Thank You for your info. And Your Welcome, Elder Burt is a great leader with a smile.  He will be missed.

Ryan and I knew that already, but as a parent you love hearing fantastic things about your children!

Merry Christmas!

My Christmas was absolutely amazing! Thank you everyone for all the awesome presents and things I received. I promise if you sent me a gift card it's already spent and have been used for popcorn and clothes.

My favorite gift was the replica of Joseph Smiths ring I received from my mom. What's funny is that I thought I asked for it, but I guess I didn't. What's super awesome is that Mom was prompted by the Spirit to get it for me anyway. It has a black circle on it that represents eternity and the nature of man. 

Our on dates are doing great! We have a kid named Ethan being baptized this weekend which is super awesome. Totally came out of nowhere. I am looking forward to it and am so proud of him for making this decision.

Please pray we will continue to find success!

Love you all!

Smashing Couches!

I know it's not a traditional way to celebrate Christmas, but smashing couches at Habitat for humanity has been a fun and great way to serve!

Merry Christmas!

Raccoon Problems!

Howdy all!

It has been an amazing week! It has also been way totally weird. Elder Swindlehurst saw a nude person which is on par for Seattle. We saw a guy get tazed by 3 cops outside our apartment. Poor guy probably shouldn't have been breaking into apartments.

I had a pretty crazy experience with our alcoholic investigator. We were having a really deep spiritual conversation on the atonement of Jesus Christ and the power it brings. We talked about the cross and ressurection. He asked me what my testimony was. 

I looked him in the eyes, pointed at his half gallon box of wine and said "these chains that are binding you can be completely removed". He cried, and we had to go. Hopefully he will actually remember our convo.

We also have a major raccon problem on our back porch. I drilled one of them from 10 yards with my nerf gun. Hopefully my border control techniques will hold.

Love you all! 

A Wild Week

Howdy everyone!

We had a wild week! We started off Monday night by going by to see a women named rose Okullu. She has an unbaptised son named Barack Obama Okullu. We had a really spiritually intense convo and we cried as we prayed. She struggles so much being a single mom. We had a lesson with him, and put him on date to be baptsied. It was so awesome and unexpected!

Tuesday was pretty cool too. We were walking down the street and a van veered off the road into a driveway. There was a trailer in the middle of the road. Both wheels busted off the rusty old trailer, because he was hauling scrap metal. It was a Russian immigrant who was super nice. We found the wheels like 500 feet in a ditch in front of the wreck. We helped him out as much as we could to get the trailer off the road. He thanked us for helping and said we were sent by God. We gave our card, and told him to call us. We will see what happens!

We also had interviews that day and had the opportunity to personally interview everyone in our district. It was fun. 

I gave a District council on the importance of Temple Covenants. The Spirit was way strong, it was awesome. 

Later in the week, we put a man named Rodney on Date! He randomly texted us saying he wanted to meet, and then we had a sweet lesson with him.

I had a wack exchange with Elder Slack. We stayed up until 2 talking about deep Doctrine, I woke up, drank an energy drink, and we barely survived. It was wild. We tracked a lot, and found a goat that got loose. We tried taming it, but the owner came out and we ran.

It was crazy! It has been so awesome though. I love you all! If you are wondering what to get me for Christmas, I love Old Spice products and socks!

Love you all! 

Have a great week! 

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! 

Slow Week

Hello all!

Pretty slow week. We had a pretty good time driving around I guess. Unfortunately not a lot of people answered their doors. However I did go on exchanges to Arlington which was fun. We had an awesome lesson with a guy named Duston. He is progressing pretty good, and the Spirit was super strong as we talked about commitment. Hopefully he will end up going somewhere.

We also had a fun time at interviews with President Auna. He is so inspired. I love talking with him! It looks like I am going to be in Stillaguamish for the next 8 weeks. I look forward to it! I feel like there is a lot of work to be done.

Nothing much happened. We had another lesson with Fred, but we are not able to put him on date yet. Please pray that we will be able to put him back on date.

Love you all! 

Have a great week!