Crazy week full of miracles, home talk...and 8 year anniversary

hola como esta, padre y madre, Mi Hermana y mi hermano!! (For those of us who don't know spanish, this means...Hello, how are you, father and mother, my sister and my brother?)

Oh my P-days are too busy for me haha just so crazy. So this week was another one of those crazy weeks and man, oh man, they just kept me busy this week haha. We saw so many crazy things and so many miracles. A lot of cookies and tamales, the red hat society and a baptism. It was so crazy, and I am not going to even get into half of it. 
Felicia is one of the great miracles of the week. I felt prompted to know this area and it was not super bad, but then this one door was, oh man!! So we knocked and the grandma said, 'hi. Felicia your mormons are here' and Felicia acted like she knew us and I had never seen her before. Well, we get talking and she had pretty much been taught everything in the Irvine mission and she moved up here. She was going to be baptized but ended up moving here so we taught her twice this week and she has a date for January 7th now so that is pretty cool!!

Then Tara was our second miracle!! She was found in AG 1st ward but do to some personal issues she is coming to our ward. She is not a member but we were able to set her with a date for 28th of January and she is so excited to get baptized!!! This week was also full of tender mercies and just so many other things that it has been so crazy awesome. 

This week was also pretty hard. Well Friday was. So the departing missionaries had to share their testimonies and it was only me and I started to tear up while bearing my testimony. It sucks! Seriously, coming home does not excite me really all that much. I am more nervous and just not excited. I know that I will be able to apply my mission skills and do so many awesome things, I am NEVER going inactive, so that does not scare me. I am excited to work and give up old habits and start new great ones. I don't know, maybe because I just don't know what to expect. I don't want to be negative about going home. It will be great and I have so many journeys ahead, I just have loved my mission. Yea, so I am excited and not. That is how I feel about all that. 

Elder Routledge & Elder Shaw

We also hit 8 years as members this week, and dad hits his 2 years soon and Shel hits her 8 year soon, and Scott is just a stud ;)
It is so crazy how much our family has grown and I was really thinking about that this week. Just think how much closer we are, but mom, I fear lest you may be missing your journey because you are so focused on my journey. I love that you're my biggest fan, I just don't want you to neglect anyone else, dad, scotty or shel because of me, that's all. I just want you all to know how important you all are to me. Please know that I love you all so much and I can't wait to share with you all these experiences, but don't get lost in the world. In all things, turn to Christ and our Father in Heaven and be worthy of the Spirit. I love you all so much. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!!
Know that all of you are in my prayers
Love Elder Routledge 

Nativities, coastal driving....and meeting an APOSTLE OF THE LORD!!!

Life here was crazy this week. We had to drive up and down the coast 4 times this week (geez, that must have been tough!) for different meetings, and training and having....Elder Ballard and Elder Hallstrom...but I'll get to that in a bit. 
So...a lot of coastal pictures, it was cool. 

Nativity Event

We had a big community nativity event, hence all the nativities, it was a great week for that. (Answering some of my questions), Elder Mitra tells me about India every week and it sounds crazy haha. Jeanne was a girl I knew when I was here the first time around, I built a tree blind for her in January. Anthony does run the golf course and he is great. He and his family want to take me to Disneyland..haha..and he got me a Star Wars shirt for Christmas haha, I love them.
Man, I can just feel in your emails, you screaming, "5 weeks!" and everyone I talk to always say, "We know your mom, you know she can't wait to see you" haha. It's kind of funny, people I don't even know, know you. 5 weeks mom, that is all, hang in there for a bit. (Hmm....think I'm maybe a little too excited...haha). 

Beautiful California

Elder Ballard was life changing. When he first walked in, we all stood in such reverence and as we're all quiet, he is cracking jokes and talking the whole way up to the front. All of us missionaries got to shake his hand and meet him and Elder Hallstrom said, 'hi Elder Routledge' and asked if I was okay haha. His address was insane, mom. Both Elders talks were, but his literally made me cry the entire hour he spoke to us. He talked about so much stuff, missions and life and talking to everyone and being fearless and about how important it is to go home and not become worldly. 
I had plans to shave my head on the sides and grow a beard and all these things and I just don't have a desire to do any of it anymore. (Thank you, Elder Ballard!). I will say I am nervous because my back is not getting better and coming home limping off the plane is nervous to me. I am a bit nervous I might fall back into old habits, a few petty things, but he really helped me feel good and the Spirit that was there was like nothing I have ever felt. It was like Jesus was flicking me in the head saying, "Now do you believe it's true? Right there, look at that man, he represents me, as do you. Listen to him". It was crazy. He talked about how we are the same as them (Apostles), we just cover California and they cover the entire world. He told stories that made me weep. This email is not even coming close to describe the Joy and the Power of Elder Ballard. 
He is one of the less talked about Apostles but he, by far, is my favourite. He looked at us with the eyes of our Saviour and it was almost like he saw what we were going to be, like he saw what we were going to do and he smiled at us and bore testimony and he just made me believe so strongly that this is true and the only way. When I....when I see you, I'll tell you these stories, because email won't capture the fire he said them with. Have you ever felt so happy that literally all worries are gone? Well, when he was speaking I had not a single worry about anything, I had no fear, no regret and no sadness. It was, by far, one of the most amazing things I have and will ever experience in my life. 

That was my week. Lots of driving, service at Jeanne's, back pains and all the joy that could be felt as I shook the hand of an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
I love you all, I hope you have a great week and know that I know that this is the true church and baptisms is the only way we can live with our Father in heaven again. By righteous living and keeping the commandments we can receive so many blessings that would never come otherwise. 

This week I read about Zeezrom in the Book of Mormon. He was a wicked lawyer and very cunning man. He questioned Alma and Amulek to snare them, BUT after witnesses of Christ bore testimony he could not deny, and he started asking diligently to know and in turn, had a change of heart and was baptized. You just have to diligently seek and ask and you will find. That is the Lord's grand promise to us.

I bear testimony that this is the ONLY true and living church on the face of the earth today. I know it. I promise you it is, please just ask. 
I love you all so much. Have a great week and I'll talk to you all soon. 

Love Elder Routledge

Transfers, Egg Nog...and Miracles

Mom, this week could not have been better! 

I was back in the Santa Maria 3rd ward this week, so I got to see all of my old favourite members, so that was awesome. I am staying with Barb and Dan and my other SM1 ward homies and I have Elder Shaw as my new companion. I know him pretty well, so that's going to be cool. 
I got to be with Elder Du Plessis his last week of the mission as his companion, so that was cool. I also figured out how to send pictures with the new camera haha. 

I wanted to say, mom, how much I love and cherish our relationship. A lot of people dont' have what we have. I love you more than words can describe. You have raised me to be the man I want to be and the man God wants me to be. You have supported me ever since I first drove you crazy. Man, I really am amazed at how far you have come and how much you have grown. I love you with my whole heart and I am going to get down to the dirt and dig my last t6 weeks. Mom, I hope you know that you make me so proud and I hope I can make you and others proud, even with all my flaws. 

Monday was our Pday with Elder Mitra so we made Nachos and had some good conversation with him and our district. We joked around and had a blast and also saw Barb and Dan that night, and mom, THEY SPOILED US LIKE CRAZY, giving us all kinds of treats. I love that family so much. It was a good day for us. 

With Elder Mitra at the ocean

Tuesday was a bit harder. We took Elder Mitra to Santa Barbara really early and we had some time to kill before we took him to the airport, so we went and got some beach photos before he left. Then we sent him off to fly 20 hours to India and it was pretty sad, I really liked him, he was a great companion. Then we went and saw Anthony and that was pretty cool. They are another family I love. 

Wednesday was cool. We taught a girl we contacted the day before and she was pretty cool. We taught her the first lesson and it was good. She has the funniest pugs, it was pretty fun watching them just run into things or run around. 

Thursday was cool. We went out to Jeanne's farm and pulled weeds and I found a frog haha. I love her as well and she just adores me, haha, it's so cool, I love this area. It was a fun morning, and later that day we had Elder Du Plessis' last interview with President and that was pretty cool for him...kind of. 

With his new frog friend 

I also go to do a baptism interview for a family I tried to work with when I was here the first time and the husband was LA (less Active) and is now active. The wife was very anti-mormon and is now getting baptized, so I did her interview and that was really cool. We had a great dinner with Barb and got me a full carton of Eggnog. She doesn't know this...yet haha, but I drank it so fast that I almost got sick haha. Man, Christmas time is the best!

I kind of mentioned a family we picked up last week, Marissa and her family. Well the dad is a LA member and we asked the mom, Marissa and her two daughters to commit to be baptized January 7 and they said yes!! Dad is hopefully going to get ACTIVE AND DO IT!! That was pretty cool. We also picked up two kids we're teaching now and one of the kids was in a car crash and lost his hand. It was sewn back on so he has a sweet scar so I am excited to teach them. 

Friday was just as busy. We had our last district meeting and that was awesome. Everyone bore testimony and it was just so cool. It was a pretty cool meeting. So...this is where it gets insane, so...

Elder Du Plessis

Sister E. is the older woman I was teaching. She decided to come back to church when I was here the first time and I was dying to see her. Well, we thought we would stop by because she fell away again, and I wanted to see her. We went by and she was upstairs and her husband said, "Not now" and she yelled from upstairs to call first and don't just stop by. I told him who I was and we left. We got a call later that night from our WML (Ward Mission Leader - He is friends with Sister E) saying she was crying when she found out it was me at the door and she didn't come down. She asked me to come back. 

On Saturday at the SM3 ward Christmas breakfast I see her (Sister E) and we talk, kinda hug and she said I have to come over and see her on Sunday (just wait for that insane news). Both the SM1 and SM3 parties were great and we had Becky get baptized today. It was just great. 

Sunday...are you ready for this...So I get to go to two wards and bear my testimony twice. Once in my current ward and once in my old ward and see all my old homies as well as my current ones, so cool!!! 

Jukebox...& a toque?

Now the lesson with Sister E, just to make you realize how crazy this was, this was the only lesson on my mission where I cried. She told us why she stopped coming back these past few months after I left and some other stuff she had to endure. While I am crying bearing testimony to her why she needs to come back and how I dream of going to the Temple with her one day, she starts crying. She is softening up when she tells us that one of the missionaries went by and said she was not worth their time among other things. I was so angry at this missionary for dropping Sister E when she needed us the most and honestly I had to forgive him which is still so hard for me. It broke my heart to see how hurt she was. Mom, I love this woman more than anything. She is my mission miracle, and I am pleased to announce that she has decided to come back to church again and I gave her the biggest hug and we left. 
This has been so crazy and one of the BEST weeks I have had in a long time with transfers to all the miracles, it has been great. 

I love you all and I hope you have a great week. MUAH. Have fun together and please know how much I love and appreciate and adore you all at home. MUAH

Love Elder Routledge