56 - From Concern to Comfort

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day! It impresses my how different this Memorial Day was compared to last year. Reflecting back, I remember last Memorial Day being an emotional roller coaster, as well as a pivotal point in my mission. 

This year it seemed to be strikingly inverse. I stood with confidence while tracting, unlike last year. I was the one comforting as apposed to the one being comforted. 

It is striking the difference this year has made on my character and my ability to be a missionary. I always had the capability, but now I have had experience under my belt and have become more of what my Heavenly Father wants me to be.

So the weather! 

Has been absolutely wonderful!

So wonderful that you see kids at dinner playing in the mud, cuz that's just what you do in the summer time!

Nice and mud caked. It's the best.

And with the great weather came a great Luau!

This Luau has been being planned for quite some time. 


This is the third time I think that the wards have put this on. 

It was absolutely a blast!

Serving food is a great way to put your card into the hand of the people! 

I would say "If you're a member, give it to someone who's not!" 

They don't call it a passalong card for nothing!

It was a super fun night!

And SOOO many People!

In the beginning of the week, we drove all the way to Bismarck, about four hours away, for a zone conference. 

It was long but good, and hey! 

It was in Bismarck! 

And I got to stay in my apartment again!

 

But it will be the last time because Elders will be living in this apartment now. 

Weird. 

But I made some contributions to this apartment!

And the mission home is in Bismarck now which is weird.

And guess what?

We got to go to the temple! 

It was awesome! 

This is my third time on my mission, but Sister Barrett's first time!

Dan -- DUDE!

Darn, so little time. Now, a story.

So remember dude? Well, I have a story about him.

One awesome Sunday he got up in fast and testimony meeting and bore his testimony. While he was up there he said that this was the first time that he was every baring his testimony. He said that he's done a lot of bad stuff. He's screwed up a lot. And he didn't believe in God that much. But one day he came home and he sat on the couch and the T.V. was going, commercials playing, and he got annoyed with all the noise that is in this world, and he turned it off and just sat there in the silence. And then, as clear as day, a feeling came over him, and he wanted to cry. God spoke to him right then. He now knew that God was real, and that he loved him. Just in that moment of silence.

We were teaching him a lesson later and this concern came out.

"Remember when I bore my testimony on Sunday and I felt that God loved me? Well, I was a little high on weed. So I don't understand, if it brought clarity to me, why is weed, just in moderation, a bad thing?"

And I was prompted of a story.

"Dan, I'm going to tell you a story about some people in the Book of Mormon."

"And now behold, I have somewhat to say concerning the people of Ammon, who, in the beginning, were Lamanites; but by Ammon and his brethren, or rather by the power and word of God, they had been converted unto the Lord; and they had been brought down into the land of Zarahemla, and had ever since been protected by the Nephites.

"And because of their oath they had been kept from taking up arms against their brethren; for they had taken an oath that they never would shed blood more; and according to their oath they would have perished; yea, they would have suffered themselves to have fallen into the hands of their brethren, had it not been for the pity and the exceeding love which Ammon and his brethren had had for them.

"And for this cause they were brought down into the land of Zarahemla; and they ever had been protected by the Nephites.

"But it came to pass that when they saw the danger, and the many afflictions and tribulations which the Nephites bore for them, they were moved with compassion and were desirous to take up arms in the defence of their country.

"But behold, as they were about to take their weapons of war, they were overpowered by the persuasions of Helaman and his brethren, for they were about to break the oath which they had made.

"And Helaman feared lest by so doing they should lose their souls; therefore all those who had entered into this covenant were compelled to behold their brethren wade through their afflictions, in their dangerous circumstances at this time," (Alma 53:10-15)

These people, they wanted to go to go and fight for the people who took them in. They were moved with compassion. They had the right motives, and other people were fighting, right? But it was a covenant that they personally had made with the Lord. And they knew that if they broke it, they would likely be pulled back down, because it was a weakness. So then, what is the right thing to do? 

They knew the right thing was to keep their covenant that they made with God. And God made it possible for them to prosper AND for them to keep their personal covenant, and you can read on about how that happened. And it was hard, but it was possible. It may be hard for you to feel the spirit sometimes without having that little high. But is it worth going against the word of the prophets? You need to decide what your personal covenant is.

"That made a lot of sense," he said, contemplating. "Thank you."

I felt the spirit working through me SO strong in that lesson.

Unfortunately the elders teach Dude now because he's in third ward. He's a little concerned about having Elders, but I'm sure they will do a great job. Dude is well on his way to cleaning himself up. He comes to church faithfully and the desire is so present! So cool.

Well darn it, I'm out of time and I had more to say, another story. ...We only have an hour instead of the usual two hours while it's summertime. It's lame. But oh well. Till next week!

P.S. We are going to have a baptism on Saturday! She is so ready! So you'll be getting pictures of that next week!

55 - Serving ALL of Williston!

Sorry, I think my card reader decided to give up on life. I'll have to get a new one next week so I can actually send pictures, cuz I've got some cool ones.

This week has been pretty crazy. We got the transfer call on Monday, Sister Edwards spent the following days mostly packing and saying goodbyes, and we drove to Dickinson on Thursday morning to drop off our companions at the transfer train. We went back to Williston and in-between two dinners and a lesson cleaned out the kitchen fridge and cupboards! I have been just itching to do that! It felt good to de-junk our kitchen. Especially with only having two sisters live in the apartment now, we don't need that much in there.

Speaking of the apartment, we also got a call on Friday from the mission office saying that the lease is almost up at our place and that we need to keep an eye out for a one bedroom apartment. I guess they aren't planning on putting another set of sisters in Williston for a bit. We just don't have enough sisters coming out right now to support all the areas that did have sisters in them is the problem.

So Sister Barrett and I are companions and we... really didn't know what area we covered. We tried to figure it out before the companionships all changed. We called the zone leaders, President, and we were unable to come to a conclusion of how to divide up the areas. There were just too many variables. And everyone wanted to be in third ward. Ray is in third ward and only sisters can stay at the Boone's, too many girls and not enough guys, and both sets of Elders have a Spanish speaking companion and third ward is the only ward that has a Spanish group. And President Anderson says it is logical seeing as there are now three companionships, to have one companionship per ward. But then there would be a Spanish speaking elder not being used when he could be. Not to mention all the attachment you grow to the areas you have worked in, and yeah. It was just a mess. So on Saturday the Zone Leaders were able to come down and help us figure things out.

But during that Friday Sister Barrett and I decided to make the most of the situation and do work in all three wards! We hunted down names on the ward list, all three of the ward lists! I was quite epic, it was a good day. We didn't get in with anybody, but we met a nice lady and we set up a return appointment with someone, so it was still fruitful and good to be out and about.

Saturday we spent basically all day at the church. It was the Family Discovery Day, a family history day open for the community. And we met a nonmember that was drawn there, and the Lord really made it possible for him to be there and to get started on finding his ancestors, so that was cool to see.

Right after, we met with the zone leaders to decide what areas we would cover.

So you know how the apostles have talked about how all things that are done in the church and that they decide upon must be unanimous, and how they are all men of various and very different opinions and backgrounds, and how that makes it no easy feat? Yeah, that's exactly how this meeting went, only with eight missionaries instead.

It took over an hour of discussion. Many points were raised. President Anderson was called two different times. And it seemed that with every idea posed, there was a point brought up to make the idea no good anymore. President wanted to have us each in one ward so we could proselyte on Sunday, but we had been doing fine serving in two, and we brought up that we cut studies in order to get the full proselyting time because we attend two wards, but he brought up that working with two different bishops is not what he wants for us, and just back and forth. And we wanted to still go up to Ray. But they elders brought up something reassuring. They work with a couple who just got baptized and that couple lives just fifteen minutes out of Ray, so the Elders could stay with them if needed. That brought me peace.

The power of prayer is real, because after getting off the phone with you and discussing things a little more, we determined we NEEDED to say a prayer and as we knelt, Elder Adair offering it, Elder Bewall received revelation during the prayer and he told us what came to his mind and it made so much sense. The Sisters would serve in first ward, (Sister Barrett's ward), one set of Elders would have 3rd ward and they would teach anyone who was in 1st ward who needed Spanish, and the other set of Elders would cover 2nd ward, and they would teach anyone who needed Spanish in either 2nd or 3rd ward.

We all were at peace and we said a fervent prayer of gratitude! I'm so grateful for revelation and the organization of this church!

In the moment, the changes and figuring out our area couldn't happen fast enough! It felt like we were in limbo for awhile! But it was figured out pretty quickly in retrospect and perspective and we thank the zone leaders as well as you for helping us figure out what to do about our areas.

It's crazy to think that I served in all three wards, and to think that I totally and in a weird slow way got transferred. It's just been progressively. I mean, I am serving now in a completely different area geographic wise, I'm in a different ward, we are keeping the phone that I wasn't using and giving that one back to the mission office, AND we will be getting a new apartment. So I totally got transferred. Yet I still see the people who I served with last transfer all the time in passing. Weird. But awesome too.

I'm at peace. It'll take a bit to pick up the investigators that the elders had that we have jurisdiction over now, but things should settle in time. I'm just glad that now everything is figured out!

54 - Districts, Dinners, and Transfers

We went out to eat with the person who heads 1st international bank and trust, aka, Sister Edwards dad. 

All approved by President of course.

And here are a couple of not very good photos of our district.

Well, first thing's first, transfer calls happened this morning. (They were not on Saturday like usual, which was a little lame, but anyways!) 

These are the changes. Sister Edwards is going to Fargo, North Dakota, which was my trainer, Sister Easter's, first area. 

Sister Schoenfeld is going to Schadran, Nebraska, or however you spell that. And what's happening with the other two who live in the apartment?.....

SISTER BARRETT AND I ARE GOING TO BE COMPANIONS! 

I'M SO EXCITED! 

And she's going to be Sister Training leader, only over one set of Sisters, which are the sisters in Minot two hours away. 

I've always served closely with the Sister Training leader, but I've never been her companion! 

As Sister Training leader's companion, you are left entertain yourself at least twice during the week while the Sister Training leader has phone calls with the Zone leaders and with the other sisters that she's over. 

I'm pretty good at entertaining myself and supporting my companion. 

And Sister Barrett is SO stinkin' cute and she and I get along fabulously and I am so so so excited to be her companion come Thursday when our companions take off for their new areas. 

A more awesome picture of our awesome district. :)

We are going to be combining our areas, but we will meet as a district sometime this week and make solid decisions on whose area should be whose. 

There are going to be two sets of elders and now just one set of Sisters... but I don't want to cover area in all three wards and attend nine hours of church if I don't have to! 

So we will see what happens there. 

I really enjoyed my time with this district.

The weather was so nice at the beginning of the week! 

We had a super awesome day of warm refreshing rain on Wednesday! 

It got a bit cold after that... but that's ok. It still warmed up in the afternoons. 

We went to Ray to work again this week. 

We taught three lessons and there are some people who we haven't really been able to teach, but we figured we could always make them Mother's Day cookies!

The sugar cookies tasted almost exactly like the sugar cookies my mom makes for our annual Christmas caroling party.

Oh, and Williston Band Day happened this Saturday, and, such a teenage forgetful boy thing to do, Sister Boone's son needed to be at the school in Ray to go and perform in the band day and Sister Boone had NO idea about it until that very morning! So plans changed last minute and we went to the Band day to watch him perform. He plays percussion. But they performed early... But we saw him afterward, so that was good and important, to at least show that his mom went to support him.

Happy Mother's Day everyone! We went back to Williston for church, which was super good and I'll totally talk about more Sunday churches later when I have time, just know that tons of people came to church and it was great, and then we went right back up to Ray. 

We face-timed our families, and it was so great. My family is awesome.

And then....

The awesome Mother's Day BBQ we've been planning! Again, hosted at the Boone's house in Ray. 

It was SUCH a great turnout! 

Three less active families, some active families in Williston, two less active individuals, and a couple nonmembers came, as well as the Bishop and his family, so they had the chance to meet everyone! It was super good.

We also met two new less actives this week that aren't on the ward list because their records are in Idaho/Utah respectively because they travel back and forth because they are oil field workers, and we committed the one to come to church on his week here, which is the 24th, and the other one we invited to church and he came! And he has been reading his scriptures and wants to meet with us very much and wants to become worthy to receive his patriarchal blessing and exercise the priesthood and things like that, so we are seeing him in Ray tomorrow! Thank goodness for awesome members who give us rides!

I met two other less actives this week who we have teaching records for, but I've never met, and one of those less actives also came to church on Mother's Day! It was a great day! It was just great and I'm out of time otherwise I would go into more detail.

Boone Family

A shout out to the Boone's! 

I'm so grateful to them for everything! 

For letting us stay at their house, for their girls coming out on splits with us, for having awesome BBQs, and just being so awesome! 

Thank you thank you! 

Till next week!

53 - The Sabbath is a Delight

It's May now and spring is here! 

Look at all them dandelion flowers! 

And that weeping willow is getting its leaves back fast! 

Did you know that weeping willows loose their leaves here? 

It just doesn't get cold enough in Arizona! 

They look like ghost trees with their leaves off, their little wisps still hanging down and blowing gently in the wind. 

Should have taken a picture of one before leaves came back, sorry.

It's been really nice recently though, and we even went to a park and studies outside today because the sun was shining.

Aw, Thanks, Sisters Barret and Schoenfeld

Oh, also, when we came back from Ray last week, we opened up our closet doors and mine looked like this:

Sister Barret and Sister Schoenfeld are so nice!

Sister Edwards spent a good portion of time recovering from sickness this week. 

We spent basically two whole days inside. 

During that time I wrote some letters of appreciation to three Sisters who are leaving for home at the end of this transfer. 

Sister Springer, Sister Dennison, and Sister Sumsion are all ending their missions May 9th. 

They are all great sisters.

They next day we stayed in, I figured out using the ward list, a map and our GPS all the less actives in our area and made an organized list so we can track them down and bring them back to the fold. It was awesome, but I feel that the reason that it got done so fast was because my companion was so sick. 

It's never fun to be sick.

The good news is, she was better come the weekend; therefore, for church, yay!

Speaking of church, there are some awesome things that have happened in church that I have just not had time to mention yet.

My very first Sunday, the Bismarck Temple President and his wife came and spoke and the wife was telling a story. The Temple was understaffed that day, and no one seemed to be coming in anyway, until this African man walked in. He was a regular. He came and did baptism's very often at the temple. He had a family name- his grandmother. He wanted to have his grandmother's baptismal ordinance done. Well, only females are to be baptized for females and males for males in harmony with the truth of gender being a huge part of our divine nature, and there were no females there, except for her, the temple president's wife. She hadn't done baptism's in awhile! She usually helped others with doing baptisms if anything. She got dressed in white and her husband as well and her husband baptized her for this African man's grandmother, and how wonderful of an experience that was.

This was in Bismarck. He was African and he was a regular. I couldn't get the question out of my mind. Was is the man who was baptized in December of 2013? Who had such a dynamite testimony and brought all of his friend and acquaintances to church and just wanted to share the gospel with everybody? Was it him? I love him? Is it him?

I asked the temple president and his wife afterward and they confirmed my suspicions!

It was Daniel! Oh! I love him soooo much! Seriously, he is the reason for like, so many of the baptisms in Bismarck! And I was able to see him baptize his friend, his first baptism that he performed, and it was sooooo cool! Plus hearing the baptismal prayer in a Liberian accent is just super cool too.

And there's another story... but darn, I'll have to tell it next week.

Back to the present.

This week was actually stake conference for the Minot Stake.

We all stayed with the Minot sisters, who live in a member's modified attic. It was cramped, but it was fun, and the most like a 'sleepover' I've ever experienced on my mission for better or worse. haha. That moment when the lights are out and people just decide to keep making comments because we all know that no one reeeeally wants to sleep. haha.

This really does mark that I've been on my mission for a year because stake conference was my first Sunday in Bismarck, and that was the Stake Conference where it was announced that the stake was splitting into the Bismarck and Minot stakes. So Here I am again, back in Minot, only this time conference was held at a big center which was part of the Holiday Inn instead of at a sports stadium.

Stake Conference at the Holiday Inn

They even had it on their big electronic activities board which I find humorous, but awesome.

Conference was great. It had an emphasis on Temples and the importance of Sabbath Day observance, giving the sabbath to the Savior. It was pretty crazy- Sister Edwards was actually asked on the fly to give her testimony! When she walked up, they whispered to her that they would like her to speak about the first vision and recited Joseph Smith's experience and that she had two minutes. She began, trying to catch her breath that her nerves robbed from her:

"I saw a pillar of light... exactly over my head... above the brightness of the sun..... which descended gradually until it fell upon me. ....When the light... rested upon me, ..I saw two personages...... whose brightness and glory defy all description.... standing above me in the air. ....One of them.... spake unto me, calling me by name.... and said, "This is my Beloved Son, hear him!""

Her testimony was powerful and touched many. It turns out President fed them four names the day before of missionaries who could bare there testimony about the missionary purpose.

But something that I will always remember about this stake conference is seeing this little boy.

Kyle has Spina Bifida, just like Marshall my brother, :)

This little eight, soon to be nine, year old boy has Spina Bifida and reminds me a lot of my brother Marshall. I saw him before conference started and went up to him to say hi. After sitting back down, I became pretty emotional, just with the similarities causing my heart to miss Marshall very much. After a member that I knew well asked me if something was wrong, I could not hold back the tears. But I eventually calmed down (and the priesthood blessing that my companion suggested I should get probably helped) and things are a'okay. Plus I get to see Marshall and the rest of my family this upcoming Sunday on the Skype call home for Mother's Day! So that will be really nice.

After we got back home, we had a lesson with Dude watching "On the Lord's Errand," a documentary about Thomas S. Monson, the prophet on the earth today. It's wonderful! You need to watch it!

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2009-09-01-on-the-lords-errand-the-life-of-thomas-s-monson?lang=eng

And after the lesson we had dinner, with a member who lives just outside the city and they have horses! We got a small tour of their outdoors!

Horses really are beautiful creatures.

Well, that's it for this week. Next week I will know whether or not I'm staying with Sister Edwards another transfer or not. 

She feels like she's going, but you never know! 

Till next week!

P.S. (Pic) Look at this cute little bat just hangin' out on the wall under the balcony of a member's house! So cute!

P.P.S. May the forth be with you.