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. 

Hives, Killer Whales and Weapons?

This week Elder Routledge was sick for 3 or 4 days...and then got hives :(

With that being said, he felt he had a good week :-)

Last week, you said in Relief Society they talked about our patriarchal blessings and to read it often. Well I read my Patriarchal blessing that exact morning so that was really cool. 

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in the apartment because I was really sick but I am feeling better. After I got a little better, I had a really bad reaction to something, so for the last 3 days I have had huge hives all over my body, but I got some medication for it so it's better. 

A toque??
Really?? 

But Thursday is the day I want to talk about. It was the best day of the week. 
We drove up the coast to Santa Barbara for Zone Conference and on the way I saw Killer Whales in the ocean just doing dives. That was really cool. I didn't get any pictures though as my camera was in the trunk (editor's note: Camera in the trunk?? Doesn't he know that his mother LIVES for photos??)

Birthday Boy 

Once there we had a 3 hour session, then lunch (which was pasta), and then a 4 hour session. The first session was President Felix and Sister Felix sharing some new rules for the mission and how we can better ourselves. We then had a session on table manners and how to use forks and stuff, it was very interesting (I'd like to point out that Elder Routledge was taught this sort of thing BEFORE he left for his mission ;-) )

The second session did not feel like 4 hours, it was like a big discussion with 70 missionaries. I also had to bear my testimony in both sessions and I did it so strong. I was not even nervous, I talked slow and was calm. My testimony is so much stronger after walking out of the meeting and I feel I know Jesus Christ so much better. 

Current Day Stripling Warriors
Elders Routledge, Hunt, Clarkson and Hidalgo 

On the drive home, we hit that wonderful California traffic I've have long heard about. The motorcyclists are crazy ! I saw like 10 of them and they just drive in between lanes and apparently it is LEGAL TO DO SO, I AM LIKE WHAT THE HECK! After a 2 hour drive we arrived home safely. 

Sunday we had a potluck after church and that was really good. The investigator family I have been talking about came as well and that was really sweet. 
It is a short letter as I have been sick, but I still gave it my all and tried to get out there and learn stuff, I promise you that. When we make the effort we really do learn so much. 

One more small thing before I go....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM MISS YOU LOVE YOU !!!!!

PS I am learning Spanish :)

These are some of the photos Elder Routledge sent to us this week. Not sure what to make of them, except, I sure hope those weapons are NOT real !! 

And I think I'd much prefer photos of Killer Whales in the ocean lol 

Don't even know what to say...

             

Think these may be fields of fruit

It's almost as big as he is !! 

Service, Investigators...and more Service

So my week was so good ! We have so many amazing investigators !

Monday we played district sports after sending our emails (editors note: mine by the way, was WAY too short!) and then we went to FHE at our Bishop's house. 

On Tuesday we did some service for a family that are a little less active. They were kinda rude, but well, service is service :)
That night we started our first Book of Mormon class for our investigators and it was really good. One of our 16 year old investigators, Veronica, came and loved it. 
Wednesday we had a big service project at the Senior Centre preparing food for a big function they had. We then did some more service for the less active family and this time, both my companion and I were shocked to see how bad they actually were acting. They just don't care about anything, but again, service is service. 

I mentioned earlier the less active man we've been helping. His name is Jared and we have started to teach his non-member girlfriend. She wants to be baptized but she is living with Jared and that's the issue. But I think we have come up with some good solutions and we hope that she will be baptized before April. It looks like that might just happen :)

The new haircut 

On Thursday we had our district meeting and I got a hair cut by another Elder. It's short but I like it lots. We did more service today, picking fruit from one of the member's fruit trees from her backyard. There were oranges, tangerines and grapefruit. 

Cool lizard Elder Routledge found 

The little bugs here are driving me crazy though ! There are so many bugs here in Cali and they like to crawl on humans and bite you. It's so annoying, but I love it. The heat is getting crazy though, like 80's and 90's but summers are like 110 so I hope I am not in Fillmore during the summer (should we tell him we've had -15 weather here??) 

Thursday night we had exchanges, where you get a whole new companion for 24 hours. It was so good. I had Elder Lee. He is so great, I just love him !!

Supper made by Elder Routledge

During our exchange on Friday we did service at the Senior Centre for a few hours preparing food, then they took us out to lunch. I had a heaping plate of strawberry pancakes. (I may need to tell him THIS is why he's gaining weight!). 

The rest of the day was beautiful and then that evening we got 3 new investigators, taught 4 lessons and 2 member lessons, did 3 hours of service and then met with the family I talked about last time. 
Everyone in that family wants to be baptized !! (They just want to know a bit more first). The 9 year old boy said he dreams about Jesus and that Jesus tells him he is doing the right thing. The dad, Robert, said he does not have a desire to drink or smoke anymore and the spirit brought him to tears and if you saw this man, you would not think that he would ever cry. The other son is jumping for joy because we invited him to mutual. This whole family is just great !

Scripture Study...and selfies !!

Afterwards, on the way to Ventura, Elder Lee and I had a great talk and the spirit was just great. 

On Sunday, one of the Elders was able to baptize his dad while he was on a business trip. There was an exception made to see his dad so he could baptize him, so I was thinking, get Scott down here so I can baptize him haha. It was so good and it just reminded me of baptizing dad. I am reading 'Our Heritage' and there is a quote by Joseph Smith when his dad is baptized. It says" Praise to my God that I have lived to see my own father baptized into the True Church of Jesus Christ". 

Stay strong and know that I am loving it here and I have never been so happy in my life. Love you all. Muah. Talk to you later. 

Shirt made for Elder Routledge by an investigator

Lessons, Food and Emails

Can you believe I have been out a month tomorrow ? crazy huh. 
The weather here is nothing below 70. It rained yesterday but it was still so warm. It is so nice here and I am learning so much. I just can not believe I am here and I am learning as much as I am. I really have learned the Book of Mormon in such a new way. 
It's so crazy and the food, oh man, it's soo good here !! They have something called Tritip and it's like a certain type of beef but so good. There are fruit trees everywhere and I would stop and pick them but sadly it is a federal offence because that is someone's source of income but man, there are millions of them and that's not a lie! 
And everyone loves seeing us, they wave to us all the time..well most of them do :)

Elders Hidalgo & Clarkson

Typical, silly Elder Routledge

So this week I have some bad news to report :(

I am getting fat, believe it or not. I have gained 12 pounds in 3 weeks and I am starting to get a belly. It's crazy. I don't like it, so I have picked up my workout. 

My week has been busy but pretty boss. We've had many lessons and some new investigators. I learned a lot from my morning reading in Mosiah on Tuesday, so that was cool. There was a knock on our door and holy cow, when I saw who it was I died laughing (No, it was NOT his mother !). It was the Jehovah's Witnesses ! It was so funny because we were each teaching our own doctrine and man, it was great. We bore our testimony (or started to) but they left :) 
I felt bad though, cause we asked them questions about God and they really didn't know the answer. My companion and I were trying to get them to take a Book of Mormon, but they wouldn't.  
Later that night we visited with a Christian man. He does not want to be baptized but he just likes having us over to feed us so that was cool. (hmmm...maybe THIS is why he has gained 12 pounds!!) 

Elder Routledge's desk 

Wednesday was pretty cool. I hit my 3 week mark (3 weeks already?!) and that felt cool. Later that night, I had a very spiritual scripture study that helped me out and I found scriptures in the Bible that talk about the latter days so that was sweet. Otherwise it was a slow day :)

On Thursday we taught 3 lessons with a 91 year old woman. She likes us young men around as she is lonely so we went to visit her. She is pretty cool and we were able to share a small message with her. The young girl we are teaching is progressing but her mom is the challenge. We have not been able to make any progress with the mom, but it is still going pretty good and she still wants to be baptized. We also met with a whole family. I can see the whole family being baptized in a few weeks.  


Friday was good as we taught 2 lessons today. One was with a girl who has the same issues as the other young girl we are teaching. She wants to be baptized but her mom won't let her. Later that night, I had a really good talk with one of my room mates and it was cool because he really helped me. I have had a hard time being away from home and I was feeling pretty homesick and upset but he helped me and I have been feeling much better now. I am doing really good. 

Elder Routledge and Elder Hunt 

On Saturday we had 2 more lessons, 1 with the less active man we've been meeting with and then 1 with a less active family which was really cool. Sunday I had church in a very small ward. The family that we met with earlier in the week came to church so that was sweet. 

I found one of those deadly spiders in our garage. Well, they really are not that bad, (well, that makes me feel much better...NOT !!) but my and my other roommate were trying to capture it, but accidentally cut it in half :)

Well, I have to go as time is short. (I have about 20 people emailing me, including Hannah ! That was cool to hear from her. Thank you for your letter mama, it was nice!) I miss you all so much. 
Keep sending me the good news and keep smiling :) :) :)

Love, 

Elder Routledge

Ocean, fruit trees and...spiders?

Apparently there was an issue with the lds server on Monday and because of this many, many moms (and dads) were waiting and waiting (and waiting some more) for emails from their beloved missionaries. 
We were no exception. After checking all day and then most of the evening, and still not receiving anything, I began to get a bit discouraged (and sad !) 
Then suddenly an email arrived !! Yeah !! It contained 5 pictures. Awesome !! But nothing else :-(  No comments, no idea what pictures were about, nothing. 

Finally, on Tuesday morning (5:31am to be exact) the long awaited email arrived!! Here are excerpts from Elder Routledge's first email from California. Enjoy. 

It was really good leaving my district but also hard. After talking to you, though, I was good. I got on the plane to Santa Barbara and went to a really small airport, like ant size small. It was crazy small. (I think the airport might have been a bit smaller than LA lol). 

President and Sister Felix 

We were met at the airport by the Mission President and his wife and they are soo nice. They took us to go to a picnic on the ocean beach. 

Man, it was so cool seeing the ocean. It was soo beautiful and the sounds were amazing. The food here is pretty good. 

Then after the ocean lunch, we went to a really high mountain and saw all of Ventura. It was crazy and the the view was amazing. After we went back to President Felix's house and studied and had a big dinner there and stayed at a members house that night. 

View overlooking Ventura

 

Tuesday was transfers and time to find out where I was going to serve and with who. My companion's name is Elder Hunt and he is 6'6", so really tall, but the tallest elder we have is 7'3" and man was I small beside him. I live in a city called Fillmore and I serve there, Santa Paula and Peru. It's very nice and man, oh man, you can drive for 20-30 miles and all you see are citrus trees. Oranges, lemons, limes and strawberry's as far as you can see, and then in the background is all green mountains. It is so gorgeous. I can not see the ocean, but the view I do see is just as good. 

I live in Fillmore with 2 Spanish Elders. They live upstairs and I live down. 

Oh, your going to hate this. There are poisonous spiders that can kill you with just one bite and they found one in my room, so I tiptoe through the apartment haha (why, oh why did he have to tell me that ??!! Now I have to worry about earthquakes and spiders???) 

Well, I am okay now, but at first I was a little scared. I thought I should give you some scary news and they are about the size of your thumb or bigger, but hey, I am not dead yet haha wink wink (Oh, that boy of mine !!) Our apartment is very clean and pretty nice. 

Elder Routledge and Elder Hunt 

On Wednesday, I did some service at a Senior Centre. It was fun and I got free food out of it. The people were great. They have ghost chili peppers here adnd I am going to eat one. Today we went walking and found a few new investigators and we had a member dinner. Oh man, they reminded me of you guys making all kinds of jokes with us and cracking up the whole time. It was great. 

Thursday I taught a young girl. She is cool and wants to be baptized but she is only 16 and needs her moms permission but she won't say yes and sign the form but we will keep trying. Another guy we are teaching is a less active named Jared. He is so strong and him and I really connected and we are helping him to come back to the church. He is a good dude and he came to Stake conference this weekend.

Looks like a fun bunch of Elders and Sisters 

Friday we went on a blitz, which is when you do a short companion exchange. I rode a bike and talked to 4 people, one took a book of Mormon and the other 3 really listened. Oh, they have donut shops everywhere here, I LOVE IT. 

On Saturday, oh man, we went to our ward mission leader's house. He lives on a huge hill that overlooks the whole valley. It was so nice up there. We had lunch and we saw the view and it was great. This guy has his own shooting range up there and his own mountain. It was a great day. 

There is this really big cow who, from what I've heard, likes to lick cars and chew on car antenna's which is strange. Stake Conference was this weekend and it was a good weekend. My companion was sick this week, so it's been a slower week, but man oh man, it goes by fast! 

Tell everyone back home I love and miss them. Say hi to my boys, yep my boys, Jared, Brandon, Austyn. 

 

yes, that is Elder Routledge in the BACKGROUND