#71 - Freezing rain, snowball fights and Christmas

It snowed this week! I have also learned that there is such thing as freezing rain! It is horrible ha! It snowed the beginning of the week and this weekend it rained and washed all the snow away so now it is just windy and cold again :P

On Wednesday we went out tracting and about 30 minutes into it we somehow got in a snowball fight with these two 12 year old boys in the middle of the street. It was a blast! Im sure people were looking out their windows thinking we were crazy haha. After the kids were tired of getting hit with snow, we talked with them and left them a Jesus picture. Before we jumped in our car to head out I grabbed one last snowball. I made the best ball I could, and at about 20 yards away I threw it up in the air hoping to hit near them. By some miraculous power, and on complete accident, I nailed one of the boys square on top of the head!!! He came back laughing luckily and then invited us to his house a few streets over to talk with his mom! We have now been teaching her and her 2 boys and they seem interested :) The Lord sure works in mysterious ways!!

We went singing at the nursing home this week. I am sure grateful that there were a few good singers in our group because the old people loved us singing for them haha. 

We are still working with Chuck! He is so ready for baptism!! He came to the Ward Christmas party and church and the members are already great friends with him. At church yesterday he asked about what to study for our next lesson. We helped him download the Gospel Library app and I showed him Preach My Gospel online! He will now be able to study the lessons after we teach them :) To help you understand how prepared Chuck is, this summer before meeting with us he went out to Utah for a month and went through all the church tours, the temple visitors center, and even worked in the bishops storehouse!! He has a lady friend in Washington who works in the temple each week and has told him if he wants to find a good mormon wife, which is one of his goals, he must be temple worthy! He is planning on going through the temple in one year. We are setting him up to go to all the single adult activities next month. His lady friend even sent him a leather bound quad with his name on it! We enjoy teaching and learning with Chuck!

On Thursday we received a member referral for a man who lives next to one of our former investigators. After trying by the referral we stopped in to say hello to Star and Chris, the formers. We invited them to our ward Christmas party the next night..... AND THEY CAME!! They also brought their family with them. Including that family, we had 10 people at the party who we are teaching! The members did a great job at inviting them back and 6 of those people came to church yesterday.

Last night we had our stake "Why I Believe" fireside where missionaries and members bring their nonmember friends to hear the conversions of the recent converts of the stake. It is amazing to hear how the each person was prepared by the Lord to find the church. They all spoke about how they had a friend who was mormon who influenced them for the better. I pray each of us can find opportunities to be a light to all. Miracles happen when we have the faith to open our mouth and invite.

Hope you all have a great Christmas week! Love you all!

Elder Coon

2909 Traditions Ct.

Franklin, IN 46131

#70 - Where is the snow?

This week we didnt work in our area as much as we would like with all the meetings we had. Elder Dyches from the seventy came to our mission. He is a powerful speaker! Here are a few things that stuck out from zone conference and mlc

-Converts never forget "their missionaries" and we should not forget them.

-"When obedience ceases to be irritant, that is when the Lord extols upon us power from on high."

-If a leader looks down in defeat, so will everyone around them.

-Repetition is the mother of memory

Yesterday we had stake conference! You know you have served in the stake for a long time when people are called and released from stake callings and you know about half of the people! I have served in the Indianapolis stake for 9 months of my mission. The people in this area have a special place in my heart! It was great to see all the members from Greenwood.

​Fun Facts

1. Every city I've served in/around on my mission has President streets, Tree streets, Number streets, and center/main streets. Not much creativity involved with grid planning I guess haha.

2. Caviar and ginger beer do NOT go well together. I dont recommend either of them hahah

3. Shout out to my mom for being super flexible!

Love you all, have a good week

Elder Coon

#69 -Time to start filling the font! This area is LIT

This week was supa sweet!!! Thanks for all the birthday wishes, it is so much better to be 20 years old ;)

This week has been a week of miracles! We have had multiple tender mercies each day. We have met a man named Charles but he likes to go by Chuck this week. He was a referral from a member in Washington! He is so prepared! The first lesson we put him on date for baptism. He isnt married but wants to marry a mormon lady so he can be sealed in the temple. We have a good time teaching him! The goal is January 7th! 

The lady we met while we were emailing a few weeks back is awesome! She loves the broncos haha. We have been teaching her and she should be at church next week and she is praying about baptism!

Last night we went by a part member families house. I have learned to be super bold especially if we are good friends. The conversation was on the topic of personal study. Bryant wasn't getting the most out of his studies so we gave him a few tips. We invited him to read about Joseph being sold by his brothers in Genesis. The conversation turned somehow to about his vision he had of the Restoration. We related it to 2 Nephi 3 when Lehi was teaching his son about the prophecy. While we were teaching and testifying, Bryants mother Ginene was sitting on the couch with us and her eyes were locked on us. We could see her wheels turning. After a few minutes she spoke up. She said while we were teaching she felt the Spirit for the first time touch her heart and tell her that these things are true. It was a miracle! We had the opportunity to set a goal for a baptism with her. The day is Valentines Day. It is amazing how the Lord works. 3 years ago her family, including her (now ex)husband and son, took the lessons. At that time she didnt receive her answer that she needed to be baptized but now after trials and humbling experiences she feels ready. It gives a whole new meaning to trusting in the Lord and his timing. Isaiah 55:8-9. Although she has some hurdles still to overcome, through the Atonement she will have the power to fulfill the will of the Lord.

Fun Facts

1. Dean "Dino" Lark (my gator in Plymouth) was baptized on Saturday! Woot woot!!

2. I found my camera so I will be taking pics this week!

3. I recommend buying 4-5 feet of pvc pipe + nerf bullets

#68 - Still in a coma after Thanksgiving

CONGRATS BLACKHAWK FOOTBALL FOR WINNING STATE!!!!!!!

It has been a super week! On Tuesday we had transfers and I am now companions with Elder Tanner from Gilbert! It has been great fun working hard with him!! 

Thanksgiving day was one to remember for sure!!! In the morning we went to Indianapolis to the IUPUI campus and had a massive game of football with missionaries within most of the state. We had a big football tournament. It was super nice to play. I went out the Monday before and got some sweet cleats and I am sure glad I did because everyone else had some too. I was toast for the rest of the week because of how sore I was. 

THEN THE FEAST.... or 2... or 3. YES we had 3 Thanksgiving meals!!! We had one at 2 o'clock, one at 4, and one at 6... Hubba hubba! I dont' remember the last time I had so much food haha. During the second meal, I looked over to see Elder Tanner doing the same thing I was, eating everything with a gulp of water ha! I am getting really good at pretending to eat a lot. The trick is to have a small plate of food the first serving and eat reaaaaally slow, then get up for seconds so it looks like you like the food.... haha and feed the dog who is sitting under you. When the member saw that we were done with our first plate of food he made sure to make us get a second serving. While in the kitchen filling a second plate of food I couldn't stop laughing at E. Tanner who was trying to psyche himself up to eat another plate by jumping up and down and doing the "Tongan Tuck." Oh we were sick after all those meals!! Good times!

Our investigator Ryan has been super sick this week but he is a saint because he hasn't stopped reading the scriptures! This week we hope to put him on date. We are building a good teaching pool here and praying to find a family!

Fun Facts:

1. We got hooked up with a brand new 2017 Chevy Malibu to drive! Nicest car in the mish :P

2. While calling potentials in the area book this past week I had a guy start talking trash and try to meet up to fight! Hahaha so if you see us in the obituary in a few weeks you know why... lol (i'm kidding mom)

3. My good friend Jimmy from Plymouth is on fire, he is preparing to serve a mission!

ya that is dope! wf is a powerhouse in football! ohh dang that is super sad the vette was ruined!

elder tanner is sick! he was trained in martinsville, then he got redmond who trained me in martinsville. he went to greenwood 2 ward, then i went to gwd 1 ward. we have kinda followed each other around our whole mission. but he is a good kid! we have fun!! we workout/play basketball in the mornings. the church is right next door to our apt. we both like the same sports. we are pretty similar. he has 2 brothers playing byu football rn. he will be going back to try and play. 

we get a total amount of miles for the zone and we distribute the miles. so usually each companionship has about 1000-1200 miles. we allotted our self 1250. 

GUESS WHAT! we drive a 2017 Malibu! it is a suuuuuper nice car! we have a good set up that is for sure! we get some special perks when our good friend elder redmond and heimuli are aps haha.

no haven't heard from anyone out of the unusual lately.

#67 - Time to pull out the BIG JACKET!

Shout out to teaching someone while emailing haha. Right now we are talking with a lady named Sharron. We were sitting here emailing and this lady came and sat on the computer next to us! We struck up a conversation and now she is a new investigator! She loves family history and cant wait to take the discussions. We have more knowledge and happiness! I love to tell people that if they are an honest seeker of Christ they will find further light and knowledge of Him as they learn with us. :) The first appointment will be on Wednesday. Woot woot!

Transfers are tomorrow! I will be staying in Franklin!! My comp Elder Morgan will be heading wayyy up north for the winter. He will be in Elkhart! That is where the Amish have carts pulled by their elks! ;) My new companion is Elder Tanner and he is from Gilbert! Shout out because Elder Tanner's family lives in Katie's ward! Our zone will be split as well, which is good and bad. Good because we can get closer with the missionaries, but bad because we wont be in touch with the ones we are losing :/

We had a super good lesson this past week with our investigator Ryan. He is in his 50's and super into the Book of Mormon! We had left him 3 Nephi 11 to read and when we came back he practically recited to us what he read! He is searching for an answer and trying to pay special attention to the promptings of the spirit. To end the lesson the member said the prayer, and as we said amen Ryan jumped into the air beating his chest. "I felt it! I felt it!" He had recognized the Holy Ghost warm his heart while the member prayed for the Spirit to let him know these things were true. It was a tender moment for Ryan, and I am grateful for the power of the Holy Ghost.

Fun Facts:

1. It is freezing! On Friday it was in the 70s and we were loving life, but now it is down in the 20s and 30s and its too cold for me haha.

2. My old mission President Cleveland is announcing for the BYU basketball games I heard!! Oh ya!

3. I have set a goal to stop cracking my knuckles :) 

4. I am pumped for the turkey bowl this week... nuff said

Dad,

Good lesson! i will have to use that lesson, of course without a shocker haha. 

good luck with the advertisement! hopefully it helps get your name out there!

we will be heading to 2 dinners tonight. my comp is getting transferred so we will be saying goodbye to people today. Thursday we will be going to a members friends home for lunch and a less actives home for dinner. the hills, the less actives, are a super nice old couple. in fact they are the stake presidents parents!

the teaching pool is growing. we have a guy named Ryan that we tracted into. he is loving the book of mormon. we will have another lesson with him Wednesday night and hopefully put him on date for baptism. we have Gabe, he is a member referral from brother black. nice guy but not crazy about the gospel, polite but we will see where it goes. he is a music teacher at the college here. and Emily, we tracted into her last week and she is excite to find a new church. there are about 10 other people that we have found lately. president has a goal for missionaries to find 3 new investigators each week. we laugh because if we only find 3 a week that is a bad week! we average 

about 6-8. 

great fast!! i know that you will! keep your eyes open! the person you meet and invite does not have to be someone you are close to! it can be anyone you meet!! Elder Oaks gave a great talk on that this past conference:)

#66 -Slaying Satan in Indiana!

Weeks seem to be flying by!! We have been going to different churches all around town this week trying to go to different bible studies and getting creative in finding more people to teach. Dont tell the pastors, but our goal is to preach to a whole congregation and convert them all! That would be a dream!! It is funny to see the different reactions we get from each pastor. We will see how it goes!

We had a few powerful lessons this week. We found a man named Scott who is suuuuper knowledgeable in the New Testament. We had a great lesson.... not sure how to describe it other than it was intense. We gave him all we had! Teach, testify, invite, and repeat. Each time we did this we could see him wrestle the spirit, if that makes sense. His wheels were turning, and it made sense to him! He didn't end up taking a Book of Mormon, but the lesson sure strengthened my testimony.

We taught the most mormon looking family ever last night!!!! Their life was centered on Christ! We were so impressed, and they weren't even members. It was so spiritual! They asked the perfect questions! Both are Sunday school teachers at church. It was one of the best lessons ever. We left them a Book of Mormon to read. I pray with all my heart that as they study it, the Spirit with soften their hearts to its message. They would be prefect for the church, and the church would be perfect for them. Sadly they didn't want to set another appointment but we will try to stay in touch with them. I would say we left a pretty good impression on them.

We have a dinner tonight with Brother Black and his friend! This will be the first dinner where a member has brought a friend to meet us. We are pumped for it! We pray it will go somewhere!

Zone conference this week went great! Focusing on planning, following the spirit, and acting dignified :)

The supreme achievement of life is to find God and know that he lives.

​Fun Facts

1. The town is having a parade in December and we are hopefully going to get some members together and decorate a float for it! 

2. Today we are going to make blow guns. We are getting pvc pipes and nerf bullets... 

3. Every once in a while I catch myself during lessons quoting scripture like it is my own words.... and after I say to myself, "Well that was weird.." 

4. The word is Tronald Dump won the election... lesser of two evils?

#64 - Weekly email

On Wednesday night we invited a bunch of guys from the ward to play basketball! We have a goal to start finding more people to teach through the ward.... so we have set plans to get their friends to the church for activities! Next week we will have a ward movie night, watching The Work and the Glory. Basketball night was a hit! A few inactive members came to play :) This week we have a plan for our investigator Tim to come out! We met Tim this week. He is in his 30's, has 2 boys, and loves sports! Too bad we are so out of the loop on that one haha.

For halloween we went out to our ward mission leaders home and chopped some wood for him. After we went in and had dinner with them. While walking past a dark room I saw the outline of.... a ping pong table!! I haven't played in ages! It was fun to hit around a bit:)

We had a super good lesson with a lady named Lesley this week! She loved the Book of Mormon! Her kids are going through catholic school right now but she doesn't believe that stuff for one second haha. But her husband is catholic so she supports them. Hopefully she will be coming to church next week!

While we were having a lesson Bryant and his nonmember mother the topic of hair came up... And next thing we know we are out side with clippers cutting Bryant's hair hahaha. It was long and needed a cut so hopefully he liked it! It was a good idea because this week was his first time blessing the sacrament :)

#63 - Watch for the Book of Mormon

Monday night we were at a members home for dinner and the husband mentioned how him and his companion on his mission were the bible and book of mormon! We had a flash of inspiration and did all we could to make it happen. We both got a massive piece of cardboard and made huge box out of it. Then spray painted them and fixed them up to look like books :) And of course this was all done in 4 lunch breaks haha. On Friday night we had a ward party. And it was a hit! My face was sore from smiling at all the cameras that night.

Saturday we took Bryant to the temple to do baptisms! He was so funny! The whole drive up and back he was reading to us the Book of Moses :)).  He did the work for his grandfather. After we took a walk around the temple. He will be a kingdom builder. I hear Jimmy (my investigator in Plymouth) blessed the sacrament for the first time yesterday, makes me happy!!! 

We gave a family a church tour on Tuesday! It went really well. They couldn't attend church this Sunday, but are planning on coming for next week. They are trying to decide over us or a Baptist church here in town... If they are searching for the right reason they will have no problem trying to make that decision :)

It is interesting to learn about others beliefs. While talking with a couple people on Thursday about what they believe, I was reminded of Joseph Smiths first vision. He was told that all their creeds were an abomination to His sight; that they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof. Many don't think God works miracles today. I testify that he does perform miracles. He know and cares for each of us. They believe IN Jesus, but don't believe Him. And if you don't believe, it is because you don't understand the scriptures for they truly testify of a living Christ. 

I have set a goal to be bold. Alma 38:12. Boldness shows your faith. I love reading about Abinadi and how even when all the people are tearing him down and fighting against him, he stood strong to what he knew was true. We can do all things through faith in Christ. But if we are to have faith like prophets of old, we must believe what they believed, know what they knew, and live as they lived. We must be obedient and show our light to all the world. 

I went on an exchange with Elder Bigelow this week. He is a great kid! We found 2 new investigators in his area. Both named Patricia! I am excited to see where that goes. It seems we always see miracles on exchanges.

Fun Facts

1. We gave Mormon 9 to a Muslim guy to read. If you know anything about Muslims that might make you laugh.

2. For halloween tonight we will be going to a members home to have a bonfire! I am stoked.

3. Our mission president is cracking down on rules in the mission. No going to gyms- even an apartment gym! It seems my traveling weights are becoming more and more valuable hahaha.

4. My ponderizing scripture this w​eek was D&C 24:12 btw

we will be at our ward mission leaders house having a bonfire tonight! great job katie!

what missionaries have come home early? it is tough to see a missionary leave the mission as well. in our ward we have president hilton, the counselor to our mission president. this week president Carlson went to a mission president seminar so hilton was running the mission. he told us of how he received a call late Wednesday from an elder wanting to go home. he said he has worked with him the last few days and is hoping the elder will stay out.

adjusting to mission life is a great booklet! i don't seem to get homesick. if i do get discouraged i usually take time to workout and burn energy or study my scriptures. i am enjoying the work!

#62 - Be confident in Christ

This week was we week of exchanges!! We have gone on 3 exchanges in a little over a week! haha by the end of his week we were so exhausted but it was rewarding!  Went on exchanges with the Spanish elders in columbus and the Indy 1 elders. In Spanish land I felt a bit out of the loop, especially since I kept saying bueno not bien.... (apparently bueno means sexy...) I tried super hard to understand what they are saying.... haha #wheresthegiftoftongues?? 

Went out with a missionary who just came out a few weeks ago. He is really trying to focus on knowing what to say to people. He can be pretty shy, so to help him i had a few ideas to add to his "tool belt" to what to say. 

1. If you don't know what to say, testify to what your companion said.

2. Be familiar with some inspired questions.

3. Learn to say short phrases. "We are here to be spiritual guides." "The Book of Mormon is the evidence of what we have said. As you read, ponder, and pray I know you will learn that it is the word of God." How to begin teaching point are a great place to start.

Those are a few pointers he will hopefully be working on in the future! But he is really stretching and growing, I am proud of him. 

“Finding by the Spirit is as important as teaching by the Spirit. As in teaching, your efforts in finding will be effective if you are guided by the Spirit. Have faith that you will know what to teach and what to do to find those who will receive you.” (PMG p. 156) Our area is busy! We have been consistently finding so many new investigators the past few weeks. It is a challenge to sift through to find who is truly ready to be baptized, but with the Lords help we are doing it! We had a goal of baptism invites this past week, we invited 8 to baptism! Each lesson should be directed to help them progress to BAPTISM! If not, what are they progressing to? This next week I pray to put someone on date.

I have set a goal to be better at studying my ponderizing scripture each week. The last few week I have really seen a difference as I apply each of these scriptures.

2 Nephi 4: 35

2 Nephi 33: 10-11

Mosiah 23: 10-11

Alma 57: 21

Here are a few talks that I have enjoyed studying this week!

1. The Book of Mormon- a Book from God by Tad R Callister

2. The Profile of a Prophet by Hugh G Brown

3. The Prophet Joseph Smith: Teacher by Example by President Monson

​Quality missionary work is not easy, but it is extremely rewarding.

it was a great week! sooo busy and tiring but great! 

truman has changed so much from that first week! i remember he sat next to me in sunday school and had a bunch of scruff. i thought he was 30 haha. great job truman!

oh that is a good lesson! what is that shocker called!? do you think i could order one somewhere? or maybe get one sent out so i can use it in trainings?

i enjoy going on exchanges! it really opens your eyes to what other areas are like! and it forms really good friendships. i see so many good things that they do, and some things to correct. sometimes it is hard to give loving criticism haha :P

i also enjoy going to different district meetings! i take notes on what each district leader does well and after we talk about it. i like when they have role plays that involve the district. for example: they volunteered me to get up in front of the district and role play how to introduce, read, and expound on a scripture passage. it was pressure but great growth! i also liked when a district leader took time to have a "district study" where he picked a chapter to read in the book of mormon and popcorned reading it and discussing the chapter. one dl, for opening exercises has one person come up with their white handbook and read from a section something that they notice the district can do better at. if the district is humble they take the advice well! hahaha.

we cook burritos with beans, rice, (i add chicken), and other good stuff. i also like to eat stir fries. you cook a bunch of vegetables up and then add a sauce of: peanut butter, soy sauce, oil, chili flakes... 

have any other ideas of food to cook?

wow! go Quinnelly! tell her hello for me! i'm sure alice is hot stuff! go Courtney! 

i'm glad you got the message from that lady haha! i'm doing pretty good with the journal. probably write 3 or 4 times a week. it is a challenge because usually from 9:30 to 10:30 we are running around the apartment trying to do everything to get ready. d

d

our schedule goes like this: 9- come in and review the day and plan for the next day. 920 eat. 930 workout. 950 shower. 10 get ready for bed 1015 prayers 1030 be in bed. before i go to bed i will read the book of mormon. the rules say be in bed by 1030 so sometimes in order to stick to the rule we have to write in our journal in our bed.

area is doing well. we are working super hard! we have buckets of potentials but no one really clicking. we invited 8 people to baptism last week! our goal is to talk about baptism everyyyy lesson. that is why we are here!

no zone meeting this week but we have a ZL conference call tonight so that will be fun.

#61 - "Don't smash little boy!"

I recieved an email this week saying that Jimmy was baptized! He is now a full blown member of the Plymouth branch! There is one more priesthood holder in Plymouth! I was blessed to find and teach Jimmy. The difference between him and many others we have taught who fade away is that he was humble enough to receive answers from the Lord and act on the answers, and he was searching to be closer to God. He will be a beacon to all who are around him! He mentioned to us even before he was baptized that he wanted to be worthy of the Priesthood and that he wanted to go to the temple. What a powerhouse!!! Last night Jimmy's family met with the missionaries and have all committed to read Book of Mormon and they are willing to be baptized if it is true. I am grateful for the example Jimmy has set for his family.

We help out at a food bank and they gave us two huge boxes of TOFU!! Not sure how to cook it but Elder Morgan says he does... it doesnt have much taste to it! 

Somehow while we were reading with a new member this week about Joseph Smith the topic moved to the different types of angels. He started on about the angel Michael and a bunch of other things. Needless to say we cleared up some of the misconceptions he had by telling him about the names of Adam and Noah hahaha. It blew his mind and he loved it! And he has set a goal to read the whole Book of Mormon :)

I went on an exchange with Elder Hensley this week! We helped a member move some furniture up and down stairs. The member was from Brazil! She is hilarious!! The quote of the day was, "OH! Don' t mash little boy!" (talking about me).

Scripture of the week is Philippians 3:8, all things are but "dung" unless I have a testimony of Christ.

My ponderizing scripture is Mosiah 23:10-11!

​

#60 - Exchanges, Ambulances, and Transfers

What a week! We were headed to visit an investigator when a recently returning to activity less active who lived a few doors down came out a said hi! He's an enthusiastic 19 year old who loves the Gospel, and God. We decided to take him with us to the lesson.... and it will be the last time we do that! Hahah well... probably not but it was a riot! At the doorstep of the investigators apartment, we asked him if he'd ever been to a lesson with the missionaries before. Nope. He hadn't. That's fine, we said, we might call on you to testify a few times and to be friends with the lady. The second she opened the door, before we could get a word out, he told the overwhelmed investigator that he was a member of the mormon church, lived a few doors down, that it was his first time at a lesson, that he was so excited to teach her all about the church, but if she didn't want him to be there he could leave and go home. He then he began to walk away. Hahaha the lady was almost in as much shock as we were as he was walking away! 

She invited him back and you can guess how the lesson went after that! He began to teach her a wonderful mix of mormon doctrine, non-denominational principals, and a mix of his own philosophy! It was one of those lessons. He ended the lesson with a prayer in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (that was a first to me)!

As we were leaving the lesson the investigator stood up a bit dizzy. This didnt seem right to the less active member (I'll use Steve for his name)  and she sat back down quickly because "her blood sugar must be low because she felt like she would pass out." Steve went into full doctor mode, checking her pulse, her sugar, her eyes, the shakiness of her fingers, and anything else he could think to check. Then determining that she was truly sick, he called an ambulance. When the paramedics got there we were all sitting sheepishly on the couch while he told her that her blood sugar levels were perfectly normal, and that nothing seemed to be wrong. She went to the ER anyway. It was one of those lessons. We still love Steve, but we'll be more careful on who we take him too. Totally our fault.

We went on exchanges with the assistants this week! I was with Elder Wimmer. He has lived all over the world, his father works for the government. When he left he was living in Sweden. We had a good time working together. We talked with a very nice lady named Crystal who said we could come back the next day! When we returned the next day she had made us soup! Oh it was so good! After eating with them her husband turned to us and began to innocently ask us questions about the church. Within a few minutes we knew it was too good to be true.... he was a scholar in the study of "cults" as he calls it. We know how to defend our church and our Savior but sometimes the situation does not call for it. This was one of those times. We left as soon as we could. 

Lessons I have learned from my experience with bashes:

1. God is the ultimate source of truth, not the bible!

2. When the Spirit leaves, we should too!

3. The trinity is confusing and not found in the bible :)

We are finding many people with a lot of potential, and working to sift the wheat from the tares now! Hopefully we will find someone who will stick :)

Transfers are this week! I will be staying here in Franklin another 6 weeks! Probably a while after that too haha. Good thing I like it here!

We are really beginning to feel a connection with the ward! More involvement in the work= more miracles!

"Joy is one of the inherent results of repentance." Dale G Renlund

#59 - Conference is here...

General Conference is always an uplifting week! For the Sunday afternoon session we watched it at a part members home! Skylar is a returning less active and Allie is investigating the church (about to get baptized:). The conference was so powerful. Every few minutes we would pause it and have a discussion about what was being taught! I've never watched conference that way, but it was sweet! They have a cute 3 year old son named Soren who is a dead eye with the rubber band sling shot :)

I loved President Monson's simple talk on the word of wisdom! 'Take care of your body.' It is so true! We feel better as we eat healthy and stay active! God has given us the gift of agency, and when we take care of our body and avoid addictive substances we can use our agency to do that which is good.

We had a great zone meeting on Friday and ate at a gross Chinese buffet after ha:)  This transfer was a bit off, and we are having another zone meeting next week haha. It should be fun! 

We are teaching 2 exchange students, one from Germany and one from Japan! It is super challenging to teach simple enough for both of them to understand but we are having fun teaching them! Lea is 16 years old and Mizuho is 14. 

We have a return missionary in our ward that we have been working a lot with. This past week we visited a inactive member who was a friend of Micks. His name is Bryant, and he is 20 years old! Bryant is so solid! We are going to begin to have some lessons with him. When we were talking with him he mentioned that he wanted to have the spirit back in his life. He wants to get back to blessing and passing the sacrament and serving others! When Elder Uchtdorf was speaking during the priesthood session I looked over at Bryant and he was grinning ear to ear. He was loving every minute of conference. I am very pleased with how much Bryant has been growing. The gospel truly will bring joy and happiness into our life. 

Doctrine & Covenants 1:38:

“What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”

Fun fact:

1. 15 years ago yesterday, I broke my arm