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.