Another one

Sup

So this week was decent I guess. Time zips by insanely fast out here so I honestly don’t remember much of what happened. We had a zone conference which was hype. Got to see my boi’s Elder Goodman and Elder Kimball which was hype! They are good lads. (Te quiero elderes )

But yea I don’t have much to say this week in terms of stories because we had a zone conf in springfield and an exchange in effingham that took up a lot of time this week. And pretty much everybody we’re teaching is ghosting us right now haha so that's been real fun. We get lessons set up, and then when we text to confirm the lesson, they cancel. So we’ve decided we’re going to stop confirming lessons and just show up . 

We invited a handful of people to get baptized this week. They all said no haha. But it’s whatever!

We also shoveled a ton of snow this week because there was a huge snowstorm. We put out a service ad and it blew up with people wanting to utilize us so we spent a ton of time shoveling. My back will never be the same. 

Also our heater has been malfunctioning so we woke up the other day and it was below 50 degrees in our apartment.

Also our washing machine is broken and I’m not on my last pair of clean clothes so send some prayers this way please

Also after 7 months in the field, I decided it was about time to buy a suit, so I went to Kohls and got a suit. The best part is, I was able to get like 150 dollars off! I just had to give them my social security number

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But yea there’s some logistical things.

Now for a spiritual feast hosted by me-

We did a lot of teaching as usual this week, but not a lot that are worth sharing. One of them though was Dusty! She is so awesome. We met with her again and she told us how whenever we meet with her she just feels so much peace and stuff, and then we leave and she gets sad again. We told her that it’s not us that she likes talking to, but instead it’s the Holy Ghost that is speaking to her through us. Anyways, she’s making speedy progress and me and Elder Powell are both super hyped for her. She has been prepared by the Lord.

We were in a lesson yesterday and this chica said she could never join our church because of all the questions that she would need to have answered. I then told her that there really is only one question she needs answered, and that is if the Book of Mormon is true. If it's true, nothing else matters. The Book of Mormon holds everything in place. And it’s so true you guys! Don’t spend all your time on the unimportant questions. Figure out if the Book of Mormon is true, and every other question you have will be answered.

100% of the time, if you read the Book of Mormon seeking to know if it’s true, you will get your answer. And to tell you the truth, that answer most likely won’t be an angel you see or a voice you hear. Why would God send an angel or a voice to tell you something that he’s already had someone else write down in the book right in front of you? I’m willing to bet that you will never get the answer in the way you expect you’ll get it. That goes for those we’re teaching as well. I have not had anybody who truly seeks for it not get their answer. 

So, when people tell me that God hasn’t told them the Book of Mormon is true, I’m like 

“well have you read it?”

“no”

“”

I’ve had so many lessons like that and I just want to pull my hair out. More than ANYTHING I just want these folks to know it’s true, but I can’t do anything if they won’t humble themselves and read it. We had a lady the other day tell us she’s not reading it because “she’s Christian”. I about fell out of my chair when she said that. LIKE WHATTAHSDFASDFHASF

I just finished the BOM again and the number of times it goes off about Jesus Christ is innumerable. If you are a christian, you will believe in the Book of Mormon. 

I know people have gotten their answer of the Book before reading it, but come on, if you want to know if it’s true, you HAVE to know what you’re praying about! And you can’t really do that unless you’re reading it. 

Way back before the mish, I really struggled with getting my answer. And guess what!? I WASN’T READING IT. So, I read it, and then I got my answer. My answer has never been where I’m praying and then I hear a voice or anything like that. It’s always been while I’m reading it. I just feel my heart burn and I know it’s true. I’ve also seen the good the book does for people, and that to me is a sure witness of it’s truthfulness.

Plus, use your head. Joseph Smith. Love that man. But yea let’s think about this: third grade education, doesn’t know zip squat, had no notes while translating, translated it in less than 65 days, doesnt ever contradict itself, supports the Bible perfectly, only grammatical changes to the first edition, never had to have help from his scribes to pick up where he left off, the book is written in the style of many different authors, has archeological evidence supporting it, has 11 official witnesses testifying of the gold plates, plus several other non official witnesses, plus the millions of people who have gotten their answer of the book, and the list goes on and on and on. But even more impressive than all of those things is how powerful the Book is in it’s testimony of Jesus Christ. No evil man could write that book, and no good man would have written it unless he had been commanded by God to do so. 

I know in both my mind and my heart that the Book of Mormon is true, and it answers all my other questions. When I struggle with a principle, I just ask myself, “is the Book of Mormon true? Was Joseph Smith a prophet?”. And then it’s all good. Every other question becomes unimportant.

So just don’t forget y’all that Jesus Christ is the savior of the world and the scriptures testify of that. 

I’m just gonna stop myself here haha. I could go on forever but just don’t forget folks that the closer you are to the savior Jesus Christ, the happier you’ll be (hence why the Book of Mormon is so important because all it does is testify of the savior)

Actually my last thought-

So we did a ton of driving this week. We were driving and listening to Homeward Bound by TabCATs. This is one of my all-time favorite songs (especially as a missionary). Anyways, I was enjoying the lyrics thinking about home. In my mind I was just thinking about my life up to this point and how fast it’s all going by and what it will be like to go home someday. Then, I had a thought come in my head saying “that’s not really your home”. As I was thinking about that, these lyrics came up in the song-

“If you find it’s me you're missing

If you’re hoping I’ll return”

At this point, I started to get all teary eyed and had to look at the window so Elder Powell wouldn’t see my manly whimper. It just hit me so hard that this song is like our relationship with our Heavenly Father. I had the strongest feeling in the world that my Heavenly Father misses me! He misses me and he’s “hoping I’ll return”. It was a powerful moment. Just remembering that whether in the mission field or not, I am on this earth which is in and of itself, it’s own mission field, and that God is hoping I will make it back home to him. Then I had another thought that God wants us all to get back to him so badly. I know we can all make it if we try!

CIAO <3

Los Amo

- Elder Wride

7 months today - 🌨Polar Vortex Vibes🌪

Sup tweakers

It’s yo Elder comin’ at you with yet another update on what is going on in my super interesting life. Yippeeee hope you enjoy. This week was kinda neat I guess. It’s freezing though. I don’t really know what a polar vortex is, all I know is that we’re in one. It’s so cold that we took some boiling water and when we threw it up into the air outside, it turned instantly into snow. It was pretty icy. But yea let’s hop into what is going on in my life I guess

More Tweaker Talk

Dusty

Spiritual Thought

More Tweaker Talk

Tweakers are probably my favorite part about Paris. They just crack me up big time. We were in a lesson with this couple talking about tweakers and they told us that they saw a tweaker just banging his head against a pole outside and me and Elder Powell just died laughing . But yea tweakers are cool. So we were driving, and I saw a tweaker and the Holy Ghost was like “you should go talk to him” and I was like “plz leave me alone” so we kept driving. Then I felt guilty and was like “yo elder powell wanna go talk to that tweaker?” and he was like “okey” so we drove back to talk to him. We actually ended up pulling over to the wrong guy, but it was good. The guy we talked to is named Cody. We asked if he wanted to hear a message of peace and hope and he was like “sure” but we didn’t have a BOM on us so we just told him God loves him and stuff and asked for his info so we could contact him tomorrow. Long story short, next thing we know, we were in his house. He is a neat fellow. He does have some word of wisdom issues (bviouslyoerb) but the spirit was super strong in his lesson. 

During his lesson, both his mom and his grandma came down to listen to us. It was freaking awesome. I was there, testifying of Jesus Christ and all three of them were just watching us with so much attention. I felt on top of the world in that moment haha.

The lesson was good, but it did get pretty terrifying for a second. Not to hate on Paris, but it is a really run down town, especially where Cody lives. The whole area is just pretty sketchy. And it was like 8:30 so it was getting real late. So we were already a bit uneasy about everything, but then it got wack. While we were there teaching Cody, his grandma was standing behind him so Cody couldn’t see her. During the lesson I saw that she had a little notepad and was writing something there. I didn’t think much of it until she flipped the notepad around so I could see what she had written. 

I don’t know why in the world she made the handwriting look so terrifying, but it was spooky. It gave me the same vibes as from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when possessed Ginny Weasly wrote “eNEMieS Of tHe aiR bEwARe”. At first glance, I thought the note said something like “RUN” or “GET OUT” or “HES NOT SAFE” or just something wack like that. So at a glance, I was about to grab Elder Powell by the ear and sprint out of there as fast as I could. 

The note didn’t say any of those things, but it did say “HE NEEDS HELP” which was still pretty sketchy. I saw the note before Elder Powell did, so I started freaking out and then Elder Powell saw it and I could tell he kinda started freaking out too haha. But, we survived haha so don’t worry. The next day we called Cody’s gma and asked her more about what she meant by writing that and she said he’s really into drugs and drinking and all that stuff and it’s having a really negative effect on their household. She said she had been praying for help and then Cody came back from the bar and told her about our encounter with him. So that was cool. 

But yea Cody is pretty sweet. He really wants to get baptized and come to church and all that stuff but we’re gonna try and take it slow and figure out how to help him with the Word of Wisdom more. Also I’m not 100% sure he understands what we’re teaching, because after teaching the plan of salvation he was like “so we’re in the pre-earth life right now?” and I was just like , Haha but in all honesty I think there’s potential there. He is already grinding on the Book of Mormon so we’re happy about that! He also really wants to come to church. Anyways yea it was fun. Love sharing the gospel

Dusty

Okay so this is totally awesome! Late one night we were just calling people who have been taught previously in our area book and we called this chick named Dusty. Well the Lord decided to make it happen for us that night, because Dusty was shocked when we called her. We asked if we could teach her sometime and she was down. She told us more later that she has been going through a superrrr hard time lately. She was in her bed crying and praying and questioning God’s existence. Then, RIGHT then, we called her. I could tell on the phone that she was shocked haha but she was REALLY shocked. Like every time we see her she’s like “I don’t think y’all realize how crazy that was”. So basically we’ve started teaching her, and lemme say, she is ELECT. She has never really been too interested in the missionaries in the past, but after we called her at the perfect time she is all in. We taught her the restoration first and the spirit was tan poderoso. When we recited the first vision she like jumped up and was like “that gave me goosebumps!” and during the rest of the lesson she would mention how warm she felt and point to the goosebumps on her arms haha. So that was pretty freaking lit!!! I was super happy about that. Since then we’ve taught her the plan of salvation and the word of wisdom/law of chastity and she is already living BOTH of them! Like whatatatat!? That never happens, especially out here. So yea she is an awesome lady and I’m super hyped for her. 

ALSO, fun fact, I've always kinda wished my name was Dustin so people can call me "Dusty". So I already had major respect for her. But I'll probably name one of my kids Dusty so it will be good. Or maybe I'll name him/her "Bumpy" to fit better with my last name.

Spiritual Thought

Last night, I had the worst dream ever. Oh man it was bad. In my dream, I was back home, like I had never left. Apparently I had just woken up from a coma or something and I was freaking out. I looked at my watch to see what day it was and it was July 14, 2022. I about fell over. 2 years had already passed!? I then started saying missionary swear words like “fetch” repetitively and went to my mom who was downstairs and was like  “what the heck happened” and she said I was on my mission and while I was in Paris I got in a mountain biking accident and have been in a coma for the past year and a half. So, I was mad. First off, what the heck was I doing going mountain biking!? That is so apostate. But what was even more distressing is that I had failed. I had gone out on my mission wanting to become the man of God I know I can be through serving others, and I had missed out on it. I was stuck in this dream for a while too. I just felt so sick. I couldn’t believe those two years were already gone and I was home. More than ANYTHING I just wanted be back in Paris Illinois, talking to tweakers and getting rejected by peeps.

Praise the Lord, it was only a dream, but I am still shook by that feeling of regret. That terrifies me. The thought of not giving these two years all I’ve got. It was a good reminder to me that this time is going to fly by so fast. So, I wanted to end with a scripture that is fire. It says in Jacob 7:26-

“...the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream…”

I’m definitely getting those kind of vibes right now. I know this time will be over soon and I don’t want to mess it up. 

So yea that’s my weekly. Hope you are all doing well in the midst of this polar vortex. Stay sober! The gospel is where it’s at. How can it not be true? 

Te quiero muchisimo <3

➡️bowling update + other neat things⬅️

 Hello all of you fantastic people who are on my weekly. Hope you are all having fantastic weeks as normal human beings. Missionary life is a weird time, but also a good time. This week started off suuuuper rough like all the weeks lately haha but it ended up being decent so that’s fun. Missionary life is full of ups and downs. So imma just share some funny stories to hopefully make some of you happy and then share a spiritual thought about missionary work I guess. Hope you enjoy

Bowling Update

I’m cute…?

Flabby arms

Nightmare

Teaching

Transfer News

Spiritual Thought

Bowling update

Since everyone is asking, bowling last week went pretty decent. 

The first round was not so good. I couldn't figure out if I wanted to use the 11 pounder or the 14 pounder and the lanes were oiled way too much so it just wasn't going well. By the end of the first game, I was totally defeated. I sat in the back of the room ashamed of my existence. I had Elders ask, "wait, weren't you like a pro bowler?". The pain was too great, insomuch that I became "exceedingly sorrowful" (Alma 31:31).

I mean I still bowled decently compared to the fact that the bowling average is like 70 but still I was disappointed in myself. Before the mish I took a bowling class, went bowling after school almost daily, and have bowling ancestors. It was as if I had let everybody I loved down.

But luckily, after many prayers, on the second round I popped off a bit. I decided to just full send it with the 11 pounder and I did pretty good. Still not at my 243 level, but I was proud of myself. I got a couple videos of some of my strikes but the video won't attach so rip. But yea, don’t worry folks, I still got it! ‍♂️

I’m cute…?

This story made me sad. Either last week or the week before I mentioned that I got a super dope trench coat that I was very proud of. Well, if it looks ridiculous, nobody was telling me so I thought it looked good. So there we were, at walmart getting some tasty items. I was reppin’ my trench coat big time and felt pretty cool. As always, I was waving and saying hi to people. Then, out of the blue, this chick waved from all the way across the store at me, without me even waving first. I was shook. That NEVER happens. So I was a little unsettled and then a couple minutes later she walked past me. She giggled at me and then was like “YOU’RE CUTE” and then walked away giggling. My masculinity was greatly damaged in that moment. I turned to Elder Powell and was like "the heck was that” and he just laughed. So I guess maybe I look like a total clown in my trench coat that I thought looked good. But that experience was pretty traumatizing and since then I’ve had a hard time feeling comfortable reppin’ my trench coat in public. Elder Powell said that on a scale of 1-10, 1 being a raggedy homeless man’s blanket and 10 being super fly, it was no more than 6. That offended me too. I thought it was like a 9 at least.

Flabby Arms

Here is another tragic story where my self esteem was again reduced. So we had exchanges and I went with my boi Elder Galan. Elder Galan is like 5’4” and 180, but it ain’t muscle (sorry elder, but it’s true). I’m like 5’11 and 170 of pure muscle. Haha jk that’s not totally true either but I’ve been working out more or less and I’d say I’m pretty fit. Actually while I’m thinking about it, I have grown out of my suit coat and can barely button it anymore haha. So if anyone has any extra suits or something don’t hesitate to donate them. 

Anyways, we were playing a board game with two kids we’re teaching, Collin and Baileigh. Somehow we got on the subject of who was stronger, me or Elder Galan. For some reason everybody started ganging up on me. Collin and Baileigh who are both 9 and 11 said that I have “flabby arms” and that I am “weak”. Meanwhile, for some reason, they thought Elder Galan was “strong” with “big arms”. I was offended by those statements. I was like “hahahaaa I disagree” and they were like “yea Elder Galan could beat you up” and I was like “alright that's enough kids”.

Elder Galan just looked a lot more muscular because he was wearing a poofy jacket which made his arms look a lot bigger than they really are. Meanwhile, I was just wearing a light sweater. Anyways, it got to the point where I felt I needed to arm wrestle Elder Galan in order to win the respect of the children.

So, right there, I was like “come on elder let’s go. right here right now”. He was hesitant at first (for obvious reasons) but then we started arm wrestling. This is where the story gets real tragic. I was literally WINNING. I was CRUSHING him. His arm was bent backward and I was totally about to wreck him. Then the kids looked at Elder Galan and were like “are you even trying?”. Like WHAT THE HECK! I actually start to prove my athletic abilities and their first thought is that Elder Galan wasn’t even trying? I was super mad. Elder Galan was totally trying! Anyways, I was about to win but then the kids got mad because they wanted to play the board game so Elder Galan quit. I would say that that was a forfeit.

Overall, it may have been the lowest point of my mission. Haha jk I’m fine but I am confused why they think I have “flabby arms”. Oh well! But dw Elder Galan is my boi and I love that elder muchisimo. Even if he's smaller than me.

Nightmare

Another thing...I had a nightmare this week where i was chilling on the side of the road with my spikeball pro and this car came and ran over my spikeball pro set. I woke up instantly. And yea that’s the whole story. Scary stuff!

Teaching

We had a lot of pretty good lessons this week which was good. Mission life is teaching me how to be a disciple of Christ, but it’s also just teaching me life skills that will help me a lot in the future. In one lesson the kids were being really loud and annoying haha but I’m good with kids and was able to use that skill pretty well to still have fun with them but also get spiritual. The mom of the family told me later that I’m gonna be “a good dad” and that I’m “quick on [my] toes” with my jokes. So that was cool to hear! Just realizing that the work is super important, but it almost seems like God is just as concerned with building disciples. He cares about my success right now as a missionary just as much as he does about me as a father someday. But yea other great missionary stuff this week was that with the help of an awesome member, Collin and Baileigh have started coming to church! So we’re really excited for them and think that there’s potential there. Overall, the work is going good and we have a lot of people that we’re working with.

To be totally honest, I don’t know that I’ve yet had a lesson on my mission where the veil is super thin. Like I guess I haven’t yet had a lesson where it seemed like they processed everything I said. Most of the time, we just share the message, they enjoy it, and that’s kinda it. Still waiting for the lesson where they're just like “oh my goodness that makes sense! Also I think I remember you from the pre-existence!”, but still haven’t gotten there. I guess what I’m saying is that I really truly wish I had some super spiritual thing to tell you about a lesson we had, but it’s all been pretty chill. I have been teaching a lot of lessons, but honestly still feel like I haven’t taught that person who “is kept from the truth because they know not where to find it”. I just want to see the gospel click in their countenance ya know? But, there are some people I’ve been thinking about that I think are pretty elect. I’m just waiting for a good chance to swoop in. 

While I’m thinking about this, I often do wonder why God doesn’t just send me to the person’s house who is elect. If I’m here to baptize, he could certainly make it a whole lot easier for both of us. Long story short, yes he cares about the conversion of others, but he also cares about my conversion. The mission is supposed to be building me just as much as it’s building them. I’m supposed to come out here and struggle, because that’s how I am gonna grow. Like I talked about a while ago, he just wants me to push the rock, and he will move it in his own due time. 

Transfer News

So, tomorrow is transfers. Me and Elder Powell were both pretty certain one of us was gonna get transferred, so we told a lot of people that we’re teaching as well as some members that one of us would be leaving and people were sad so we had a couple people offer to take us out to eat. One guy who is an amazing member took us and got us each 22 ounce steak. It was freaking tasty! But now it might be awkward because they announced yesterday that neither of us are leaving Paris haha. So yup. Thanks for the steak though! Haha me and Elder Powell get along good though so I’m not mad about it. But yea 18 weeks is a long time to be with one person literally 24/7. But hey it’s all good haha and we’re gonna survive. Paris is a party.

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT

Here’s some food for thought-

The other day we had a lesson with a couple we’re teaching and I asked what questions they had/what was holding them back from progressing like they should. They then asked about coffee and tea, and how they think it’s silly that we can't drink it. They talked about all the health benefits and stuff from drinking them and how they really aren’t that harmful. In the moment, I wasn’t able to give them a satisfying answer, but throughout the day I thought more about it, and I had an epiphany- (btw in 9th grade I had a short segment on morning announcements called “Ethan’s Epiphany”. It was super cringe and I apologize to anybody who remembers that)

Okay but here is my epiphany haha.

The truth is, if you were drinking coffee and tea and stuff, you would probably be fine. Your kidneys probably won’t explode, your health would probably still be decent, and life would most likely still be good. I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t think God’s issue is really about the tea and the coffee. Instead, it's an issue of obedience. It’s a test. Heavenly Father wants to see if you love him more than you love coffee. 

And that doesn't excuse the importance living the commandment because of the health benefits, but really I think God just wants to see if you'll listen to him.

And I think this idea applies to many other things. God tells us to do something that seems silly, and yea overall we’d probably survive without listening to something little like that, but really the whole idea is that God wants to see if you love him more than everything else. He wants to see if you’ll obey the little things just because he asked. And with that obedience, comes the blessings. “Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven.”

So I’d invite you all to just obey the commandments of God because you love him. He can see the whole picture. I guess to be frank, you don’t know squat. But he does. So listen to him!

That’s about it folks. I hope you somewhat enjoyed the longer email because I’ve been slacking off a little bit lately. You are all fantastic humans and I hope you are making good choices out in the big bad world. Remember that you are a child of God!!!

Adios hermanas

Beyblades are cool

What’s up weekly

So this week was decent. Better than last week for sure. The mission is full of ups and downs. Pero estoy sobreviviendo y todo van a ser bien. I got a dope trench coat which was cool. Also sorry if I seem a little stressed out in this email. We’re bowling as a zone today for P-day and I am high-key terrified. I've been talking smack about bowling since day one and flexing my 243 high score but have a feeling I’m about to have the biggest choke of my life and look like a fool. Anyways, my bowling career may be coming to an end, so please keep me in your prayers. 

Beyblades

Spiritual Stuff

Beyblades

So one of our good friends Mikey who we meet with occasionally invited us to go and play beyblades with him at his church.  Of course we were like “heck yea!” because who doesn’t love playing beyblades? (if you don’t know what that is go look it up). And of course we thought it would just be a good opportunity to bond with him and talk more about the Gospel. Anyways, me and Elder Powell were both super hyped to absolutely clap everybody in beyblades (and share the gospel) except we got to the church late and they were just finishing up their game portion of their youth night. So by the time we got there they started doing their church Bible study. So me and Elder Powell just went and chilled in the very back and watched their Bible study. Sometimes I forget how noticeable with the way we dress haha. Anyways, one of the kids near the end of the study asked the guy who was leading the study “are we not going to hear from our guest speakers?” and then her and everyone else looked at us. I guess some of them thought we were guest speakers or something. Anyways it was all quiet for a sec and then Mikey was like “no those are the elders. They just came to play beyblades”. It was just a super funny/awkward moment. We’re chilling in the back of the room all dressed up like we’re supposed to be some keynote speakers, and then we got exposed because we were only there because we thought we were gonna be playing beyblades. Haha anyways it was just kinda funny.

So we’ve started to go to this youth night thing and it’s been a really good opportunity to talk to people from another church and see the light of christ in everybody. It’s been a good bonding time. Last night at the youth night I played and sang “when I was your man” in spanish for a kid and I think I made all his dreams come true. He really enjoyed it. We also played spoons and I don’t think my adrenaline has been that high in a long time. We did a more intense version where instead of putting the spoons in the middle of the table we put them on different tables around the room, so when we all went to get spoons it was complete chaos. I almost shoved Mikey’s dad to the floor as we were both going for this one spoon. I also totally smashed by leg against a table as I hurled myself over it to get this one spoon. Anyways, it was super intense! But yea I love being on the mission and being able to build good relationships with people not of our faith. They are some amazing people. 

Spiritual Stuff

In terms of spirituality, I feel like I am changing a lot as far as just who I am and also about my relationship with God. I’ve had a ton of spiritual insights this week, mostly on just like missionary work. I can’t tell you guys about all the spiritual stuff going on haha, but I’ll try to give you a quick one real quick. I was reading the testimony of Joseph Smith about the Book of Mormon, and this line really hit me. Joseph Smith says how the angel Moroni warned him that Satan would try to tempt him to use the gold plates to get rich, and that this was no bueno. Moroni told Joseph that, in Joseph’s own words, 

“I must have no other object in view in getting the plates but to glorify God, and must not be influenced by any other motive than that of building his kingdom; otherwise I could not get them."

This hit me SO HARD. In missionary work, we have so many other things that try to influence the decisions that we make. A lot of missionaries are influenced by their own self interests, and their personal gain. But it needs to be about the people! So when I read that my two primary influences should be 1) to glorify God, and 2) build the kingdom, it just hit so hard. I think I need to do a better job of not being motivated by anything besides my love for the Savior. So that was cool.

But yea that’s it for this week sort of. Email me if you can. I might not be very good at responding to y’alls emails today because we’re bowing real soon and if I bowl horribly I’m going to be depressed the rest of the day and might not email back very well haha. But I always love hearing from all y’all. Love you guys so much, and I hope you have a fantastic week!

Week 27

 Hey y’all

First off, just wanted to say how much I love you guys! I just spent a good 20 minutes looking at every single one of y’all on my email list and thought about each one of you. Miss you guys! I honestly totally forgot 90% of you were on my email list so I’m sorry I’ve been spamming you so much with emails haha. I feel bad. But yea just wanted y’all to know that I thought about you today and you’re awesome. 

As far as my journey out here in the boonies, this week was pretty bad.  Probably one of my worst on the mission. May have shed a few tears but It’s all good because I’m a man and I’ve moved on.

Had some good lessons this week. Got a really solid referral from a member and have been teaching her. Her name is GG haha. At the end of our lesson I asked if GG wanted us to make and bring her some brownies (because that’s how we do it out here in Paris) and I guess she’s hard of hearing because she thought I was asking her if she would make and bring me some brownies haha. So I said that and her eyes got really big and she was like “I’ll be darned! I never thought I’d hear something like that from y’all!” and I was like “huh” and then we realized she was confused. But after she understood that we were the ones who wanted to make her brownies she was just as surprised, and was like “I’ve never heard of that before! Boys making brownies for old ladies” and we were just like “hahaaaa” and yea it was weird but good. So we’re gonna take her some brownies soon. 

But yea most of this week was just more lessons and stuff. Invited three people to be baptized, but none accepted. One didn’t understand the question, another wants to be baptized but said he’s going to jail any minute (like most people who live here), and the last guy didn’t respond haha. So yea. There’s mission life for ya! Just pushing the rock and hoping that the Lord will move it someday. It’s kind of exhausting though sometimes. So yea really nothing too exciting. 

One last thought though...my best friend out here on the mission has been the Book of Mormon. Literally could not survive without it. So I’d invite you all to read it. 

Have a good week you guys! I’d really like to hear from you guys about what’s going on in y’alls life. Every week you get an email from me ranting about whatever’s going on here but I actually would love to hear what’s going on on your guys’ end so reach out to me if you can!

Adios

PICS

1) Tags

2) Weird Frog Chimes

3) Lesson with GG and Sister Thompson

4) lil bro

5) meme