Two Weeks in One...and No Photos :-(

** This email is from this week, March 30, 2015 **
I got my suit and it fits super nice, I just love it. I have already worn it a decent amount already. 
So an overview, all of our investigators are doing really good, the guys I live with are good guys, and I am not dead. I am alive and well :)

The reason we moved last week was so the other Elders could move into our apartment. I still live at the El Paseo Address. 

** Elder Routledge sent us a hand written letter and challenged me to read Alma 24. He then asked me to tell him 2 things I learned and 1 thing I was going to apply. This is his reply to my answer ** 
Yeah, I like Alma 24 because they were willing to die to keep the Covenants they made with the Lord. They sat on the ground and were being killed and didn't even try to run. I love the faith they have, but man, if someone tried to kill me, I don't know if my faith would be strong enough to just take it, but see, they knew where they were going. Man I love it !

My week real quick. 
Monday - Shopping, writing home, sports. 
Tuesday - Lots of service (we had 4 1/2 hours of service at different places). We helped make and prepare food at the Senior Centre, helped a guy move, I got some cool things from that house---oh and I'm going to send some stuff home that I have obtained. There is a guy here that sends boxes home free for missionaries, so boom that's what's up. Then we helped our RS President pick fruit at her house. Grapefruit. It tastes like sour baby tears, so yea, it sucks. 
Wednesday - I had a really good study session on the Second Coming and in the last chapter of Gospel Principles. It was so good, it brought me to tears. 
After that we saw P., the member that received a new heart. He is doing good, up and about, so that is awesome. 
Thursday - We had President interviews. That is where  President Felix meets with us to see how things are going and if we need any help. It happens about every 3 months (It went well). 
Friday - We had to go to Oxnard to get our car fixed, because last transfer someone backed into our car when it was parked. I was not there, the other Elders were using it when it happened, but it's all fixed up now. 
Saturday - We had 2 baptisms this morining. The reason this is the first time you're hearing this is because they were being taught by the Sisters. Because we were in the zone, we could go. They were both so good, the spirit was so strong and I was able to see the two Spanish Elders I used to live with because they taught one of the families and came back to for the baptism. It was nice to see them. 

Crazy story of the week !!

We had just got out of a lesson and were walking, looking for one of our investigators puppy who got lost. This young 17 year old girl comes up to us and says teach me this (swear word) and we were like, okay. So we start telling her something and she'd start swearing and cussing us out. Then she would ask and say she wanted to learn more, then start cussing again. My companion thinks that she might have had evil spirits in her, no lie, he thought that. Seeing some of her tattoos, made me think she might be a Satan follower, so that was really freaky. Finally Elder Robinson said, "Enough. We will not be insulted no more. Goodbye". As we walked away, she followed us, cussing us out some more, so we got out of here fast. Well, that's my crazy story of the week. 

One more thing...The Church is starting a new campaign called, Because He Lives. It's to help spread the gospel. Go on Lds.org and look it up. 

Well, that's it for this week. I love you all and I'll talk to you next week. Muah :)


** This email is from the week of March 23, 2015 ** 

Monday was good, sports shopping and all that fun jazz. Tuesday we did some service at the H family's house (they had the rats) and we helped them clean up before they move. No rats this time, so that was good. So funny thing, I wore my jeans that I brought out and so now they are skinny jeans ! They were so tight I could barely walk, but it's cool, I got another pair that fits nicer. I can't believe they don't fit anymore haha. 

We saw R and his son and had a good lesson. He has massive, deep questions and we answered them to the best of our ability. He said he still wants to investigate, but his dad being a strong Catholic confuses poor R. 

A fun, cool thing, my companion and I showed up at the church for our Book of Mormon class, and there was a relief society dinner going on. We sat in on it, which I have to say it was a little weird being the only guys (other than 2 others) but there was free food so why not :)

On Wednesday we had a short lesson with V. She still wants to be baptized but has to just work things out with J first. 

Thursday we had service and a short lesson with N. I mowed the lawn for another member, L, and it made me home sick. I miss mowing the lawn at home so much, weird eh? But hey, it was cool to get out the service clothes :)

On Friday I went on exchanges again. They happen at least 2 times a transfer, just to mix things up to help you learn. So that was fun. Boy your gonna love this day. 
So I went to Ventura to the avenue which was interesting. A little background on the Avenue. So it is the most gang area in our whole mission. Multiple killings weekly and the biggest drug dealers in the whole mission. So the Elder I was on exchanges with told me stories of having been shot at ! Well, kinda. The car behind him was shot at. But Guess what ? The Lord protected us because He is the best. 
I was on the ocean all day. Like probably 10 to 20 feet from it almost all day so that was sweet. And we taught some really cool people on the Avenue. It is like little Mexico there. Mexicans everywhere and the Elder I was with spoke both Spanish and English so he took over for most of it, but he is a sweet dude. 
The coolest thing was this guy we met. We walked up to this house and his wife is investigating. He totally had a sweet bike, like a rad cool red street bike that could easily go 170mph. So I was looking at it and he says with broken English, "Oh nice eh, you wanna drive?" I told him that I can't and he said he'd get the keys. I said that it was okay and he was like, "I get you a helmet and keys, wait here". 
I met the guy one time and he was going to let me drive his bike and I was thinking YES...but told him that I was an Elder and can't drive it. He told me to come back when I could to take it for a drive. It was sooo cool ! That transfer was the best. 

Sunday night we all camped out in the living room, just cause, and it was great. We rode our mattresses down the stairs. Oh mah, its so much fun being an Elder. 

A Slow week, "Real" letters and a New Companion

Email was short this week, as it was a slow week, but here are the highlights (and there were no pictures this week, so I'm just adding some of the ones from previous emails---Tammy)

This week was slow, so you're not missing much. 

I am getting stamps and I am going to be sending real letters home along with my emails. So yea, tell Mama, Jared and everyone they will get some soon. 

This week was not great, we just had a lot of dropped appointments, but it picked up on Sunday. We still have two with a date, but a lot of the people we taught had other plans. I promise it all worked out and we are back on track. 
I taught like 3 lessons this week so nothing great, but we gave 4 blessings to people and that was really cool. 

My new companion is from Idaho and he is a huge baller and very good (I believe this means he's really good a basketball). He has been out a long time and has 4 months left. His name is elder Robinson and he is great. I am still getting to know him, but he is a life long member who wanted to come out, so he did. This week had its ups and downs as all weeks do, but the guy I am with and the other 2 Elders are really good guys. They are English speaking and the Spanish sisters live in Santa Paula and they are covering Fillmore as well now, so there are only 6 of us in our district because the Sisters are covering both area's now. 

Zone Conference - Feb. 19 

OH MY. So that rat thing, I told Liz (one of the members) and she bought me a stuffed rat as a joke. It was so great. I named him Winston and he sits on my desk. He is all white hahaha. 

Saturday we find out if we are being transferred, then the following Tuesday is when we go to our new areas. I was not sad about being the only one not leaving, just empty haha. But the new guys are so cool, and we are getting along. I am still junior because I am still in my first 12 weeks, which is a form of driving. Senior drives, that's really about the only difference. 

Californian Sky in March 

Okay to show off a little, so I read 6 chapters a day sometimes more, I love it, I soak it all in hahaha, just yeah, well for you, read as much as you can and MOM make time for the Lord. I know you are, just keep trying, your the best mom, and I love the pictures, so keep it up :). (I mentioned to Kevin that I was going to try to read 6 pages a day so that I can try to keep pace with him....and he's still kicking by butt :) ) 

Shelby had mentioned to Kevin that she got a new iphone this week. This was his answer: 
Please keep going to church, you're doing so well and you're making me so proud and hey, AN IPHONE, DA HECK LUCKY. Well, hey I got Jesus haha so that's all I need....okay that's sounding prideful, so sorry :)  

Well I love you mom so much. I love what you are doing. I love you dad, Scott and Shell. I gott write some hand letters to send home. I love you soooo much :) I'll talk to you next week. 
Love you much :)   

Exchanges, Temples and...Rats???

Exchanges are on Tuesday...and I am staying in Fillmore !

Monday was GOOD. We had a zone activity. It was zone dodge ball, so like 30 Elders and Sisters in big gym so that was really sweet. That's all I got to say there. (So glad he has so much to share with his family at home lol ;-) )

So Tuesday..TEMPLE DAY !!!!! Monday night I planned on setting my alarm for 5:15am but set it for 4 instead so I was up really early but it was okay since I was so excited. We left at 6am and got to the Temple about 8am because of the traffic (it was so bad!)

LA Traffic

The Temple was so beautiful. I loved it so much and the grounds were just gorgeous. There was a nice pool in front of it and the sun was shining on it, oh man, it was great. 

Inside was huge. The sessions hold like 200 people I think they said. It was massive. And the Celestial room was BOOM WOW JUST UHHH WOW. (I think Elder Routledge was impressed by the inside of the LA Temple). 

After our session, we went to see the Visitor's Center and I saw a HUGE statue of Jesus. It was so cool and I got lots of pictures so don't worry, wipe that sweat drop off your forehead. (First of all, I don't sweat ;-), Secondly I very rarely worry....yeah, right :-D )

Elder Hunt and Elder Routledge

Wednesday was just a regular, busy day. We were doing service at a less-active members house, cleaning out a shed/closet in his backyard. We opened it (after it hadn't been opened for 3 years!) and there were rat droppings to the galore. Like piles. And so we continued on as the family was moving and had to go through it. Well the rat (or rats?) ate all of the stuff in there and the dad had a lot of collectible items in there. He was a little mad but it was okay UNTIL...we found it !!! I heard my companion go, "mmm...ahhhh" very quietly like it was nothing, just a quiet, surprised sound, nothing big. Then I looked down. And BOOM, I saw a rat dart across my foot !! I kicked my feet in the air and pushed past boxes, almost knocked Brother H. over and screamed so loud !! Then, if that was not bad enough, the 9 yr old girl comes out and says, "Who was screaming like a girl?". I told her it was a rat and she looked at me and said, "Oh, please. The rat's here are nothing. The rats in New York are like dog sized", then I got a "pfft" and she went back inside. THEN to make matter worse, my companion and Brother H were dying laughing. So ya, that was fun. Other than that, a slow day :-D 

Ventura County Fire

City of Fillmore Fire 

I am getting fire patches from every place I serve in and some of the firemen I've met want some Okotoks fire patches. (This is mostly for Larry, but I thought this was a cool idea that Kevin had. To get fire patches from everywhere).

Thursday we did a blitz in Santa Paula and I made a cool discovery. So Elder Deam I were walking down the street and we see a little kid. He asked us if we had the mail and we said no. He asked what was in my bag. I told him church stuff and opened it. He then stuck his head inside and I was like, wow, what the heck and so I pulled out a Restoration pamphlet. He was like, "Oh it's Jesus" and I said yes, it is and then he said, "I need to learn about Jesus too" so I gave it to him and he was very happy. 
The next cool thing was I met a family whose last name is Harker ! And guess what, they were from Alberta, Calgary, Lethbridge and Cardston so that was cool 

Friday was good but sad. We had weekly planning and went to ihop again and taught a girl named Daisy. It was sad, though, because my companion got a call to be a Zone Leader. We don't know where, but it means he is leaving and I really like him. He is a good guy. 

Saturday we got our transfer calls. I am staying in Fillmore but Elders Hunt, Clarkson and Hidalgo are all leaving, so I am the lone wolf in Fillmore. My new companion is Elder Robinson but I won't meet him until Tuesday.  

We taught another investigator lesson and then went to a member's house so Elder Hunt could say goodbye and I got to hold a wild lizard. That was cool.

Then what we did was cool. We went to a local park and drew the Plan of Salvation in chalk on the sidewalk and got a few new investigators from it, so that was sweet.  

 After we taught Robert and Vicky again (They are the family that is wanting to get baptized all together) and they fed me a big birthday dinner and we shared a good message and everyone sung Happy Birthday to me, so it was a good day. I also got lots of cake haha. 

Sunday was church and I had another birthday dinner at Sister P's. Then we went to another sisters and they fed me more. It was a blast and Elder Hunt said goodbye. He has a few more people to say goodbye to, but we are having a big camp out in the living room for our last night. 

It was good until the fight. 

So...just to be clear, I am okay and I am telling you this just so you know that mission life can get crazy. And this is my crazy story of the week. 

So last night I went to go check my clothes in the dryer. The dryer is broken so it takes like 3 hours to dry. Well Elder ?? had my clothes out and I thought they were done but they were still damp so I commented that they needed to go back in. We started to argue a bit and then he pushed me away. So I stepped in to get my clothes and he just LOST it. He grabbed me and threw me at the garage door (That's where our washer and dryer are). I bruised my arm and cut my side. Well Elder ** got made because Elder ?? attacked me. Elder ?? is huge and so is Elder **, and so Elder ** stepped in and then he got attacked. Elder ** fell to the ground and Elder ?? jumped on him. After that I grabbed Elder ?? and pulled him off and sort of pushed him to the side. He got up and relaxed finally and I told him that my clothes need to be dry so he said "fine" and took off. 
I am okay, so no worries there. We all made up and it's all cool, just my cool story, so ya. 

**So, I was a little freaked out when I first read this. Okay, a LOT freaked out. It seems like things got very heated, but these young men were able to work things out between themselves. This has made me realize just how difficult a mission can be. Missionaries leave EVERYTHING behind to serve for 2 years (or 18 months for Sisters). They are with someone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They do not have the option of taking a break from each other. Missions can be very fulfilling, forming life long friendships and changing lives, but sometimes they can be hard. With that being said, I am so grateful for a son that made the decision to serve a mission. I am grateful for the Elders he has served with so far and the things they have taught him. I wish these young men nothing but happiness and success as they continue serving - Tammy**  


I mentioned in a previous email that I have been struggling a bit. It was just because it was a new change. I am doing so well. It is still a little weird but I promise I will tough it out. Sometimes I get a little trunky (A term used that refers to being a bit homesick) and I think about home too much sometimes. A few things I see make me miss home, but don't worry. I am surviving and I promise you I am not hurt or sad, but doing so well. I have hard days, everyone does and sometimes I miss you all so much, I want to come home, but I won't. As for the little tussle, I am okay, I promise :)

Well, on that note, I have got to go now, sooo I love you Mom, Dad, Shelby Scott and everyone else. Muah and I'll talk to you next week an I am staying in Fillmore :)  Goodbye for now. 

Cold Weather, Biking...and Heart-felt Testimony

Some scary looking clouds 

This week was sooo much better. The whales were so cool, man I love it here in California but it actually got cold. It rained a lot since I have been here and it actually got cold, like 0 Celsius cold, nothing froze nor any frost but man chilly haha. (Might have to send him some pictures of Canada. In February. With -24 temperatures)


  
SOOO GUESS WHAT??!!!
Well, because it's my birthday month, President Felix said we were allowed to go to Los Angeles to go to the Temple so tomorrow guess where I am going :):):) Yep, i am going there tomorrow so I WILL tell you all about it next week when I get home. I am so excited to go. 

Tuesday was REALLY GOOD. We had iHop for lunch and it was really good, but boom, miracle. Some lady we talked to before we sat down, paid for our food. The people here love us and when they see us, they smile and it feels so good :)

The family I've been telling you about are doing so good. They are keeping all the things we ask, they read and pray as a family. The dad said he wanted to be baptized but he wants to wait for his family to be ready so they could all do it together. They are just so into the lessons. They come to church every week and the dad and his brother-in-law come to all the activities we hold and we gave a Spanish book of Mormon to the mom and the next day she said 'Yeah, I already read a chapter' :)
I think very soon they will be ready for a baptism, but hey, in the end, it's not about baptism, it's just about helping them increase their faith in Jesus Christ and that's what I have learned. Baptism is great, but sometimes, just a simple lesson can do the most so we do teach the importance of baptism, but do not force it on them. And mom, I have found being a convert helps so much and telling our story about dad, they get happy. Man, I just love being a missionary, and I am reading Our Heritage and I can feel my testimony grow. (I am SO proud of this young man. It's tough to be sad about Kevin being gone when he is growing and learning so much)

An amazing view of the ocean. 

MOM, I know this is the true church. I have struggled lots on my mission so far, but the lessons and the tracting makes up for all the bad days. I want you to try to keep reading (scriptures) and I promise you it will help. I love this gospel and I will say I have thought about coming home, then I read the scriptures and I think, wow, I can NOT do that to them, meaning the people the Lord has put me here to teach. I know the church is true, I KNOW IT. I know the Book of Mormon is true and that I am called to serve her for a reason. 
I love and miss you so much, but keep encouraging everyone to do the best and when in doubt go to the scriptures. 
Look up D&C 31: 3-5. This is what I read today and it helped a lot. 
    3 Lift up your hear and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is come; and your tongue shall be loosed, and you shall declare glad tidings of great joy unto this generation.
     4 You shall declare the things which have been revealed to my servant, Joseph Smith, Jun. You shall begin to preach form this time forth, yeah, to reap in the field which is white already to be burned. 
     5 Therefore, thrust in your sickle with all your soul, and your sins are forgiven you, and you shall be laden with sheaves upon your back, for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Wherefore, your family shall live.  
  
Wednesday I did an exchange with the Spanish Elder who lives upstairs in our apartment and we had a really good day. I learned how to testify in Spanish and how to close in Jesus name in Spanish so that was really neat and cool. I will keep learning Spanish and don't worry, I do it on free time, not during actual working time, so I am not wasting time. We stay very busy (That comment just made me smile). 


We rode bikes all day til supper at like 6:30 and I got a good work out and taught a lot of people because I was with the Spanish Elder. A few lessons I just sat back and listened to them talk away, trying to pick out as much as I could haha. He is a good Elder, he goes home in about 6 months. 



Thursday we had our district meeting and that was good. It was very spiritual and the one Sister gave a really nice talk. After we had lunch and did service for a member who had a heart transplant. He is doing good and we actually got his daughter to investigate the church so that's cool. 
That night we had a sports night and played basketball. I suck so bad. There was one of the Bishop's counselors there and he is like 50 and smokes in bball. I felt so bad I will learn though. 
After that we took one of the kids in our ward out to a lesson. He is going on a mission after high school, so a few months. We took him with us to see an investigator, Alex, he is doing really good. We can see a lot of progression there and he told us that we are an answer from God. 

Ocean view 

Friday was weekly planning and then we went to Ventura to see the zone leaders and I saw the ocean again.  We have begun teaching an 11 year old, who has committed to a date for baptism, so that's cool. 

Sure glad he got his Driver's License before he left :)

Saturday I was on another exchange, with Elder Deam this time and it was a really good day. We went to iHop again :-)
After we went to the ward mission leaders house and he showed us all his guns (do not touch the guns, Elder Routledge !!) and he has over 1000 rounds of ammo and he is almost 70 and is in the same shape as dad (great shape). 
Then we had another lesson with the less active member and his girlfriend and they invited us to Six Flags but sadly, we had to say no cause we're missionaries but I told them I'll come back and then we'll go haha. 

Well it's time to say goodbye for now until next week. I'll tell you all about the Temple and take lots of pictures. I miss you all and love you all so much. 
Jared, Brandon and Austyn miss you and love you soo much. 

Talk to you later.