October 15,2018 Hurricane Michael

This week was full of miracles! On Saturday night, we felt inspired to knock on a door while we were Inetting. It was getting late and was already dark out. We knocked on this door and a lady answered and we invited her to watch the 1 min sacrament video. She agreed to watch it and she was super interested in coming to church. She didn't have a ride so we started building a member team. Our branch mission leader picked up her and her 2 kids and brought them to church. We had a member sit by her in sacrament. She came with us and met some of the branch Missionaries in gospel principles. The primary music person invited her 3 year old go with her into primary and the primary welcomed her by singing the welcome song and she left super happy. Also in relief society, a member sat by her who has a young kid as well and became really good friends with her. The member invited her into her home with us for dinner on Wednesday! She is probably a 3-5 week baptism! It was a super awesome week! 

Another Sunday Miracle is Brian came to church! He said he wanted to come and wasn't too sure about coming because of his medical issues. He said if he did come, it would only be for 30 minutes. When we were pulling into the church parking lot, we saw his truck and were super pumped about it! He met quite a few members and said he enjoyed church! After church before he left, we asked him if anything stuck out to him or if he felt inspired. He said he was going to come next week and felt good... but later that night, we got a call from Brian and he said he was thinking about church and some of the things he learned and felt super good and inspired. He also told us that he had started to pray every night and morning and has noticed a huge difference in his life! It was an amazing Sabbath! 

Some sad news and crazy news that happened is we went to see Jennifer. When we got there, she said that her boyfriend had beaten her with a bad and had gone to prison! That was a shocker! She showed us some bruises and explained what happened. She is probably going to move to lake city soon so that was sad news. 

Another thing that happened this week was Hurricane Michael. I was not effected by it besides 30 minutes of rain and a little wind. We went to Lake City with the other elders and spent the day there doing missionary work. It was a good time! After, we have heard some about the condition of the Hurricanes path and it isn't good! They need a ton of help and resources. They have lost all cell service, have no gas, hardly any structures within miles of the beach are even standing.... We were told that for about 80 miles, there isn't a single standing pine tree. People don't have any transportation or resources. Every store is closed! It may take months to get power back because the whole power grid has to be rebuilt. It is a time to definitely be grateful for everything we have as well as a time to pray for those who don't and to do everything we can to serve. I hope that they will let us Missionaries go down and do some service but who knows! 

Last of all, we got to do some service on Saturday. We "mowed" Brian's lawn with a motor less lawnmower. In about an hour, we had finished a 15'-50' section! Haha it was super fun though and we enjoyed it. This week was amazing! Miracles have not ceased! I also would challenge everyone to pray for the people affected by Hurricane Michael. They need the prayers! I love you all and hope you have an amazing week! 

1. Broken Bridge

2. Me dunking pinecone

3. Bass

4. Dunk Gif

5. Catfish

6. Food! 

 

October 8,2018 Conference

This week was a good week. The highlight was for sure conference. I loved all of the talks. I loved the focus on ministering in the Saviors way and doing it out of love for the savior. I got to watch the first half of the women's session and loved the talk by Joy Jones on living for the savior and serving him in everything we do. Another awesome thing that happened is we found a family of 3 and they are super elect. They have more kids but only 3 have met with us so far. Probably one of the biggest miracles of all happened Sunday evening. Ronald and Jennifer came to church! We haven't been able to get anyone in church since we got here and they finally came to the last session of conference. It made me so, so happy! 

I really loved President Eyring's talk on trials. It is so true that everyone has tests and trials in our lives. It is through Jesus Christ that we can get through these trials. I know without a doubt that it is through obedience to the commandments and our devotion to god that we will find strength through the Holy Ghost. I know that as we write Christ's name in our hearts, we will be able to overcome the world. I along with President Eyring, encourage everyone to take Christ's name upon them and have the burdens of this life lifted from their shoulders. 

Alma 7 

        11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

14 Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.

15 Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism.

16 And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me.

I love you all and encourage you to review and reflect on the conference talks. There is so much to learn from them and I know as we constantly return and reflect, we will be enlightened spiritually and blessed. I hope you all have a great week! I love you and am so grateful for all the support and love I feel from each one of you.

Big Spider

Elder Elgaaen & Elder Josse

Temple Trip

 

October 1,2018 Temple Trip

This week was a good week. We didn't have a lot going on work wise but we had a really eventful week. Some things that happened were interviews with president Lee, sleepover in Gainesville, Temple Trip, Lots of Service, and the transfer call. 

So in my presidents interview, it went pretty well. We talked about the work in the area and how it was going good. Elder Adair and I both have been working hard and have seen tons of awesome miracles. Later that day, we traveled down to Gainesville so we didn't have to drive super early to the temple trip. We met up with Brother Girard and went to dinner as well as to the Gators Football stadium. It was a good day. 

The next morning, we headed down to Orlando to the temple. It was super great! We were able to spend some time outside looking around because some of the missionaries got stuck in traffic and were running behind. We had a super great time in the temple and I learned a lot and felt such a strong spirit. It was also really good to see Elder Josse, Elder Ivie, and Elder Welsh from my MTC District. We had a good time together. The sad part was it is a tradition to go to the only Café Rio in the south after the temple trips. We however were on the wrong side of the mission and so we weren't able to go which was sad. We still had a good lunch/dinner! The temple was probably the highlight of my week. You can feel such a strong spirit there and it's just an amazing place to be! 

The next day, we went to Lake City and did service for a good while. We helped at Catholic Charities and then mowed a lady's lawn later. It was a fun time but sad because some of the awesome people in the district are probably were going to get transferred. We had transfer calls Saturday night and Elder Adair and I are both staying in Live Oak! It is going to be awesome! We are excited and have seen tons of miracles from being in this area and look forward to seeing more! 

On Sunday, we had a cool experience with a part member family. We were able to talk with a member (doesn't speak much English) and meet his son who translated for us. He hasn't been to church in a while but would love to come back. Also his son isn't a member and is super elect! He said he was interested in taking the lessons and coming to church. Also he said he wanted to come play basketball with us on Tuesday night. It's been a great week! I love the Gospel and love every one of you! Have a great week!

Pictures...

1. Sickly cat

2. Gators Football Stadium at night

3. A Person were teachings house!!! Eww

4. Elder Adair and I in the Stadium

5. Elder Welsh sleeping while going to the temple trip. Haha 

 

 

September 24, 2018 Fish

This week was a good one! I got to go on an exchange with one of the assistants to the mission President. We focused on teaching church and were able to find 2 people and teach 5 lessons in the short time we were together. I also got to go out with 3 different members and had some good lessons. On Friday and Saturday we were able to do some service for a few people we are teaching and help one of the members move. It was also the primary program in church and that was super good too! Last Monday and today I got to go fishing as well. It was super fun. Last Monday, I only caught one big bass and a small trout but today I was able to catch a lot more. I caught about 5 bass and also caught a speckled catfish. It was super fun.

On the spiritual side, we taught Ronald and Jennifer again and although Ronald is a little flakey or not ready to commit to coming to church, Jennifer is! She said that she is going to come next week if we get her a ride! We told her that we can do that no problem. She is super elect and could probably get baptised in 2 weeks if she wanted to and fully understood the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We also set a baptismal date with Jimmy. He is super ready as well and has 100% committed to living the gospel so he will be worthy to be baptised. He is amazing! 

Just a challenge.... Read through the last general conference to prepare for the upcomming one. The power that comes from modern day prophets is amazing! As I have tried my best to learn and grow from conference more than just durring conference, It has been a huge blessing and I have felt the spirit so much! 

I love you all and am greatful for everyone who supports me through email, letters, and prayer! I love you all and pray for you! Keep the faith and remember to always put your trust in the Lord! 

 

September 17,2018 Good Lessons!

This last week was a good week. We were pretty busy with meetings, tradeoffs, and lessons but still had a spirit filled week. Probably the highlight of my week was all the lessons we were able to teach. A lot of times, we set lessons and people will cancel and we end up finding people the whole day which isn't the best! This week almost every lesson went through and we spent most of our week teaching. We were able to give a blessing on Monday last week and it was super spirit filled. We were able to teach a lesson to Jimmy and his family who we havent been able to set up a good time since we got here and we have another lesson with them tonight. We were able to go out with a few members and they were able to fellowship some of our people and invite them to church. It all in all was an amazing week!

One crazy thing that happened is I went to the dentist to get my filling replaced. The dental office is part of a Dollar General building which was weird. We went in and I filled out paper work and they gave me a tour of the place. When they took me back to my room, they gave me a tour of the place which was weird and there really wasn't much there to see. I sit in my chair and the dental assistant is Hispanic and doesn't speak a lick of English. She took x-rays of my teeth with a super ancient machine and she prepped my mouth for the filling. When she was doing this, she was having me hold her machines and tools as she went back and forth between each side of me. She didn't know too much of what she was doing or at least it seemed that way. After she finished prepping me, I sat with my mouth open for around 45 minutes before the dentist came in and did the filling. She left the sucking hose hanging out of my mouth and I was able to snag a picture while they were gone. It was a crazy experience but at least I got my tooth fixed! Haha 

This week I was reading in Ether and there was a scripture that really stuck out to me... 

Ether 12:

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

We are given weakness so we can become strong. As we are humble, we are able to grow from our weakness. Christ knows us perfectly and as we turn to him, we can grow from our shortcomings. Hope you all have an amazing week! I love you tons and are so greatful for my mission! 

Pictures:

1. We ate at bigwood and I got a steak! It was awesome!!! 

2. A super sketch vending machine that has rappers and empty things as the display. 

3. Grilling with the boys

4. At the sketchy dentist

Big Trees

Elder Adair Photo bombing my picture

Guy sleeping in church

Check out the plate in the window

Elder Elgaaen

 

 

September 10, 2018 The Swat

This week was a good one. We had some cool miracles happen and really felt the spirit. This week, we had some conference which is always a spirit filled meeting. The focus was on using all the tools we have been given. We also talked about being organized and doing everything with order. The Lord works in order and that is how his church is organized so as we show the Lord we care by taking care of the tools he gave us we are blessed. It was also stake conference which was another meeting filled with the spirit. The stake President talked about the Lord's work being hastened. The Lord is ready to give us personal revelation but we are what can hold that back. We need to put in the work to see the miracles and guidance we need. He challenged everyone to attend the temple, have the Missionaries in your home, and read out of The Book of Mormon in the next 6 months. As we do these things we are opening our hearts to Receive revelation and spiritual guidance. 

Some awesome things that happened this past week are: 

1. We found 4 awesome new people to teach

We had a great week of finding new people. We tried by some potentials that were further away trying to clean area book up and be organized. In doing so, we were able to find 4 awesome people. 

2. I played some kids in basketball

When we were knocking in a area, there were some kids. One of them was wearing some Stephen Curry basketball shoes and so I asked if he liked basketball. He told me he did and he was better than Curry. I asked him to show me how good he was and then after a few shots, recited to humble the kids. Haha or just play them in a short game. We played to 3 and I won but we had a good time. I'll send a video or two of us playing. It really made the kids interested in what we do and they wanted us to come back and share more about Christ. 

3. A 7 year old kid was spreading the word

So we were working in an apartment complex and there was a little kid that asked who we are and so we told him that we shared a message about Christ. We offered to give him a pass along card and his friend wanted one too. We gave them one and started on to the next house. The kid zooms around the corner on his scooter and asked us for 4 more cards because some more of his friends want them. We give him the cards and he goes on his way. We are talking to a lady and the kid comes up to us again. He asked for more cards! We give him 20 cards and then he presumes to scoot over to the neighbors house and knock on his door and start talking to him and give him a card. Then he says, on to the next one and goes to the next house. Haha it was super funny. Me and Elder Adair were like we should probably go before people think we put him up to it. Kids are awesome! Haha

4. A members kid got baptized 

One of the members kids got baptized. The service was awesome and he had a lot of support. Bradley (the one getting baptized) knows a lot about the Gospel. It wax funny when the lady was giving a talk on the Holy Ghost. He was answering all of her questions before she even finished asking. He is an awesome new member! 

Well, I hope you all have an inspiring spirit filled week. Continue to read the scriptures, participate in missionary opportunities and make the temple your goal. I know as you do you will learn and grow spiritually so much. You all are awesome! Love ya a million!

 

Elder Adair and Elder Elgaaen

Patrick Patterson & Jacob Elgaaen

 

September 3,2018 The Beard

 

Hello Friends and Family!

My first full week in Life Oak is complete! This week was a very interesting one and a lot of crazy stuff happened. There were also many miracles. So on Monday night, we had a lesson with one of our people and we were talking about the restoration. About 1/2 way through the lesson, we could see she wasn't completely focused and so we brought up Family History. She was super interested and excited to participate in doing family history work and is planning on coming to the Family History Class on Wednesday. 

 

On Tuesday we went to an area and were knocking on a few doors. As we were going around, we met some awesome people. One in particular was Teri. We knocked on her door and she told us she had met with the Missionaries in the past and knew a member that lived close to her. We fell prompted to offer her service if she needed any and she accepted. We went by on Friday and were able to help her clean her porch. After helping her, we shared a scripture and she really opened up to us about how she has been going through some hard things. We shared a little bit of our message with her and promised her that it could help her find joy in her trials. She is super elect and open to learning more. Later on Tuesday, we found Jennifer and Ron. We were trying to find s member of the congregation and found them. They are super desirous to be baptised and act on the message we shared. We went back Friday as well and they had read from the Book of Mormon and were excited to learn more. 

Wednesday was a weird day. A lot of crazy things happened and Elder Adair and I laughed a lot. We met a blind guy who is a member and he was super nice. He is in a wheel chair and his care giver brought him to the door. He listened to a scripture we shared and then we were leaving and his care giver had left somewhere in the house. So we closed the door and he just sat there. It was kind of weird. We also met a lady who had a full on beard. It was super crazy and pretty gross. Then just to put a cherry on top, we met a guy who thought that a rock formation called devil's something in Arizona is a giant tree trunk that when giants came to the earth, they cut it down. He believes that giants would bring different races of people to the earth as their slaves to mine resources and that is why there are lots of different types of people on the earth. He was pretty crazy! He also said that there were two creations and that Adam wasn't the first man on the earth. After today, I am so glad that I know what I know about the restored fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is such a blessing that each of us need to remember to not take advantage of and be so greatful for each day. 

Well, I hope you all have amazing weeks. Remember to look for the blessings in everything we do. I love you all and am greatful for every day! I am greatful for my testimony of Christ. This is one of the most essential things to being eternal happiness. I love you! 

 

Spider eating spider

Spider

The Elders

Tracting in the rain

Water Pressure