Greenie Power

Funny: Yesterday we visited a PM family where the husband hadn't gone to church in over 30 years. We walked in and within 3 minutes of us being there he said "yep, I will be in church in about 2 weeks". Haha, we probably sat there with the deer in the headlights look. We asked him why he was coming back and he said it was because he wanted to see bishop (his old boss) fall out of his chair. Funny things happen in Big Water Utah.

Spiritual: This week I went on an exchange with Elder Haderly. He is brand new and is a spectacular missionary. We had a lot of success, we got to visit a PM family who Elder Barnard and I had been trying to get into for a whole transfer and it went so well. Neither of us had taught the restoration (outside of the MTC) but we went for it and at the end of the lesson she said she would be baptized! It was amazing to see that even though we are still very new and don't know very much the Spirit will do the hard part for us.

Where I am at: We are really beginning to have some success, we have picked up 10 new investigators in the past 2 weeks which for our area is huge. We also are beginning to teach some really powerful lessons. We still usually drive 50-100 miles a day but we are really making good use of our time otherwise. Today we are planning on going out to Big Water to make arrowheads with some rednecks. We also were driving and saw Kayne West, I guess he was staying at the Amangiri resort out here.

The Church is true, God loves you and I do too.

Boom, the Work Exploded

Funny: On Tuesday all our appointments fell through so we went out to Utah and we were knocking on a potential whose name is Ron. As we were knocking I heard Elder Barnard mutter "oh no" I turned to look at where he was looking and Ron was sitting there staring at us completely naked... He had the deer in the headlights look and went and hid. It was really funny we laughed about it for a long time.

Spiritual: This week was really rough until Saturday. We had seen no success and had lost a lot of potentials. but on Saturday we decided to be bold but with love. We ended up picking up 5 new golden investigators. 4 of them just left different churches and are looking for the true church and the last one is just interested in our religion. It was so nice to see that all our hard work does pay off.

Where I am at: I am staying in Page 3rd for another transfer!!! We moved housing but I am so happy to be staying. Other than that, our lives are just the normal crazy. I find as the mission gets farther on I talk a lot slower and say "oat" which is the Navajo equivalent of yes/ok/yeah. This work is fun and we are excited for the new transfer.

It was a great surprise to get a text from our friends the Watnes. They were vacationing at Lake Powell and ran into Jonah at a burger joint. We were so glad to get a treat in the middle of the week.

Temple Week!!!!!!!!

Funny: A few weeks ago Elder Barnard and I were talking and I mentioned that I felt that there was someone in our area that had a ton of referrals. Elder Barnard gave me the look of doubt and made a comment about how that doesn't happen. Well lo and behold we were at our ward mission leaders on Wednesday and his wife came to us with a list of about 8 referrals. Haha Elder Barnard was speechless. His face was the actual funny part.

Spiritual: This week we have been focused on and studying how to become a consecrated missionary and so a goal we set was to give the credit to the Lord. As we have done this we saw an investigator whose name is John turn from someone who just wants to Bible bash into someone who actually wants to learn about what we are talking about. It was such a big miracle.

Where I am at: we got to go to the Snowflake temple yesterday! It was incredible, we actually saw real grass!! We had a fantastic experience and were all spiritually uplifted. We also spent a lot of the week out in Echo Cliffs. our area goes from cliff dwellers to the Gap (Google it). The work there hasn't been touched in a few decades and is ripe for the picking so we are excited to introduce people to the gospel.

 We got this photo from a kind member who was passing through town.

Baptism Week!!!!!!

Funny: This week 1st and 5th wards also had a baptism. They told us that after the baptism a recent convert got up and testified to everyone that he knew that the Book of Mormon was true and he knew that Moses built the ark. haha. Oh well, the intent was still there.

Spiritual: Monika got baptized this week. It was very small, she wanted as few people there as possible so there was only about 6 of us there. It was so amazing, there is no experience that is quite like that. It makes the mission worth it.

Where I am at: We got to go to the Upper Antelope Canyon today and do some sightseeing. This area is so pretty. Every time I look around I find something beautiful. The ward members are finally beginning to trust us and so we are getting more referrals. The work continues and I am just grateful to be a part of it.

Sorry this week is so short.

Elder Black

The Week of Meetings

This week was zone conference and General Conference. That meant that there was only one day this week that we did normal stuff all day. It went by so fast.

Funny: We visited the house of a man who was a referral from his neighbors. He came out and was super friendly to us. He was so nice and complimentary about our work and welcomed us to Page. He was so charismatic and kind that we didn't even realize that he wasn't interested until we got back to our car. We didn't even have a chance to say we were missionaries because he was just so nice to us. It was the kindest door slam that we have ever had. haha

spiritual: We met this old lady who lives out in Big Water. She is a Lutheran and didn't want anything to do with us but she agreed to sit outside and talk about Jesus. As we talked she would bring up questions about the church. They were actually really hard questions but as we watched she would ask the question. Stop. And then answer her own question. She taught herself the Plan of Salvation without us having to say a word. It was amazing to see the Spirit testify of the Gospel without us doing anything.

Where I am at: I have realized how grateful I am this week. This first area is hard. So far I have not been able to use a single one of my strengths. None of what I thought I was good at applies here. Because of how big our area is and how few people we have I can't even work "hard" in the traditional sense. Everything I had practiced for and prepared for now doesn't apply. We haven't taught a single traditional lesson. For this I am so grateful. I have learned so much about myself, I know that God tries each of us according to our abilities and desires. I also know that he loves us enough to push us down.

The Gospel is true, the book is blue. God loves each of you, and I do too.

Elder Black

When I asked him if he was feeling discouraged this was his response: I know that it came off as discouraged and I figured it would, but actually I am loving it. It is such a stretch for me. I am having so much fun being able to really give my all with no pride. It has been such a blessing to be shot down. I hope it continues.

I am so happy to be here. It is so opposite of what I expected. My companion is great but we don't have anyone to teach. The people are open to listening but don't have a desire to change. It is so opposite to what I wanted. But I know that this is where I am supposed to be. I have really learned to trust God and have the faith to let me suffer. It really comes down to that. God needs me to change so that I can become more. I know that this is the best way and I am so grateful to be experiencing it now.