Tubas, Pinons, and Tactical Forces

Funny: there were some crazy things going down in Pinon when we went there for our District council. There were some active shooters and so the FBI used the church parking lot as kind of a base. Well I guess they must have thought that we were part of them when we came out in our dark suits because we had a police officer ask us what we would like him to do... we didn't really have an answer but one of them missionaries invited him to come to church that Sunday.

Spiritual: I am very sad to leave the amazing people here. We had a lesson with the Allen's who are so very close to baptism. During the lesson they both really opened up to us. She told us that she had finally prayed with real intent. She asked God to help her know if this really is the true church. She then opened up the Book Of Mormon randomly and it flipped to Ether chapter 12. Her prayer was answered and when she shared that experiance with Donovian (her soon to be husband) he told us that he always knew that their was a right and a wrong church and that he finally felt that what we were talking about is true. The changes they have made in a relatively short time have been incredible. When we met them they weren't sure that there was a God and she had only heard of Jesus Christ a few times. Conversion changes you!

Where I am going: sadly my blessed time in Window Rock is over. But thankfully I am still going to be on the rez. I am headed to that great town of Tuba City. I will be a district leader and training a new missionary and whitewashing. It will be very fun and I am very excited. Most of the members in my district are covering Hopi land so we will get to experience a new culture that from what I have heard is very rich in Book of Mormon parallels.

Elder Uchtdorf

Funny: One of the families we are teaching have these big pigs. We were over helping with a wood haul and one of the pigs were sniffing around at Elder Naisbitt's shoes and bumping him as he was trying to split the woods. He eventually got a bit tired of it so what do you do? Well the obvious answer was to ride it like a bull. He sadly did not make the full 8 seconds but that pig sure never came back.

Spiritual: This week was probably one of the most spiritual weeks of my life. We had a mission conference where Elder Lynn G. Robbins and Elder and Sister Uchtdorf came and spoke to us. It was incredible. Here are some of the Highlights:

Elder Robbins:
• Let the Scriptures offer the invitation for people to come to Christ.

• Get rid of the false yes. If they are not going to come let them tell you no. That allows you to answer their concerns better.

Sister Uchtdorf:

• Personal preparation, example, and dedication allow us to be like Angels of Glory.

• Expect to see fruits from your labor.

Elder Uchtdorf:

• Enduring to the end takes time. It does not happen all at once.

• Once you (and the people you teach) feel forgiven, let it go. Don't dig into memories you don't need to dig into.

• Listen for understanding not just for what you can respond to. Trust that the spirit will fill your mouth if you are listening with your ears and your heart.

• Your power is limitless if you let prayer be a focus and you keep your visibility unlimited.

There were many more things we mentioned but for the sake of keeping the email semi short these were some of my favorites.


Where I am at: Life is going great. After getting spiritually empowered by Elder Uchtdorf we are having a great time Lighting the World. People out here respond a little bit differently to the concept of service than they did in the city. We have had to adjust our lesson plans so that we can help them understand that service doesn't always mean giving away their stuff but it can also mean giving of their time and talents. It has been really fun to see the joy that had come into their lives as they see that there is a lot of joy to be found in serving other people. I am very grateful for the people in this area. They have taught me so much about what true Charity looks and feels like.

I love you all

Lucky Chucky and Elder Cook

Funny: this week we went up to Lukachukai for an exchange. They ended up doing their day of service a few days earlier because they were going to get a lot of snow (they got about a foot) we went with them and hauled 6 truckloads of woods. It was a lot but the funny part were the people who came with us. The Navajo people are really big teases. They taught the senior couple Elder some Navajo. They were supposed to teach him how to introduce himself as a white man but instead they taught him to introduce himself as a left hand (the words are very closely related). Bahaha it made me feel less bad for accidentally talking about my saliva instead of my father.

Spiritual: there was a special devotional last Friday with Elder Cook and he talked about some really incredible things. Some of the things he talked about were:

• Building Zion in your heart and in your home.
• 
  
• What happens in the home is so very important to children.
• 
  
• Being critical will kill Zion in the home or companionship
• 
  
• Who do we see in others and who do others see in us. The God faring man or the critical man.
• 
  
• Those in spiritual camouflage are tempted much more than those who are open with their religion. Be an example
• 
  
• Honor the sabbath, have fun while being respectful. Having joy in the home will get the Gospel principles across better.
• 
  
• He also explained part of what being a "special witness of Christ" means
• 
  
• It was a great devotional and a ton of revelation was poured out on all of us.

Where I am at: This week has been a roller coaster. Due to a series of unfortunate events Elder Robison is leaving to Grant's New Mexico to take care of a situation down there and my new companion will be Elder Naisbitt. We also got 4-5 inches of snow! Which is more snow than I have gotten on the rest of my mission. It was really fun but it killed our Sacrament meeting attendance. Hopefully there is more snow on the way!

love ya'

Elder Black

Gobble, gobble, quack?

Funny: This week the Navajo Nation Zoo introduced a new animal into their zoo. It was maybe the most crowded I had ever seen the zoo. What was this new rare animal they added? The Duck. Yes, very exciting. They had a new (I think it was a mallard) duck on display. It was the talk of the town. It is interesting being in a place that some people have never seen a duck because there are no ponds or lakes for miles.

Spiritual: Miracles happen on exchanges. I had the great opportunity to be with Elder White (Black and White, what a power companionship). We were driving down a dirt road in the middle of nowhere when the Spirit told both of us to turn down a dirt road. At the end of the road was a house with a hogan next to it. We knocked on the door and an old lady opened the door. She was taking care of her grandkids and was trying to teach them about Jesus Christ. There was no 3rd male so we had a lesson on the doorstep. It was a spiritually invigorating lesson. The Spirit made it so very easy to see those kids in white or with a missionary name tag. It was a tender reminder of the Spirit and the power that is in this work.

Where I am at: This week we had a very good Thanksgiving, we had so much food that they almost had to roll us out of house. It was bliss ;). We are also getting very excited to Light the Rez. The ideas are flowing and this next week we are going to have a hot chocolate booth (maybe with frybread as well) at the flea market and hopefully we will have a ward service project. It is very exciting. We are doing well down here and working hard.

Love ya'
Elder Black 

Holy Mashed Potatoes Batman!

Funny: we had our ward Thanksgiving party this last week and it was amazing. More returning members and people we are teaching were there than active members! They had a lot of food though and after they were done where did it all go? To the missionaries of course. We had a very full fridge so we thought it would be a good idea to donate a pan of mashed potatoes to the other wards party that was happening the next day. Yesterday we were in their house talking to them and they opened the fridge and there in all its glory was our pan of mashed potatoes that the other elders had gotten as "leftovers" from their party. Haha, it is a literal game of hot potato.

Spiritual: This week was a lot of meetings and exchanges. One of the exchanges that I was able to participate in was with the assistants. We had a great time and I came away from it with lots of ideas for Light the World. One of the messages we shared was with one of the ward missionaries. We shared a video that the mission department came out with about Light the World. We were discussing it afterwards and it was so amazing to see the fire that came into their eyes as we discussed ways to help serve those in need. It was as James puts it "true religion and undefined before God". What a great time to be a missionary.

Where I am at: it was a lot of meetings this week but thankfully we are in the clear for a little while. We are all getting very excited for the Light the World campaign. We have been brainstorming ideas of how to spread it out here on the Rez. It should be a super fun adventure! For Thanksgiving we are planning on going on a hike and then eating a ton of food and then staggering home to play Monopoly. It should be good!

Enjoy your turkey and frybreads 🍗

Faith and Funerals

Funny: this was the first week where we spent more time doing something other than chopping wood for service. What did we do? We spent 4 hours burying a cat... the lady we were burying it for had a spot picked out but the problem was that it was all rock. We spent a long time with pickaxes in hand trying to dig out a hole deep enough to stuff a cat in. The funeral itself was really unfortunately funny. She brought out the casket that the cat was in and just as we were lowering it down into the hole it broke and poor old fluffy (who had formed to the box having been dead for over a week) fell the rest of the way. The lady couldn't bear the thought so she left and we filled in the hole and read the scripture she asked us to. This all happened in Elder Robison’s first day in the area. Welcome to the Rez 😉

Spiritual: this was another week filled with miracles. On Sunday we got a call after church from a person we are teaching. We asked us if we could go visit his wife and children. We grabbed our senior couple and the Relief Society President and we were off. We had a great Spirit filled lesson and as we returned home the Relief Society President turned to us and told us how happy she was that she is going to be her friend when she gets baptized. It was remarkable to see the faith that was built as we took members with us.

Where I am at: we had the great opportunity to go to a devotional from Sister Aburto, the first counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency. She gave a spiritually powerful talk about how we need to have strong relationships with not only our family on earth, but also with our ancestors. She talked about making the dinner table sacred by having those good relationships and by learning the Gospel at home. It was an answer to prayers for a family we invited. We also found someone to teach us Navajo so that is speeding up exponentially. 😁 Also, next week are all our meetings and exchanges in Farmington so we only get 1 day to work in our area, so it'll be an interesting week.

Hey There Hot Dog

Funny: this story is actually from last week but it is a good chuckle. At our ward Halloween party, we were allowed to wear costumes. I dressed up as a cowboy. It was actually a really fun party and they had a lot of food. One of the items was mummies (hot dogs wrapped in croissant dough). We were also in charge of a game so right before I had to go help with the game I grabbed one of the mummies as I was walking away one of the old ladies grabbed my arm and told me that it looked just like me... I'm not sure if she meant the cowboy outfit or the hot dog. Forever I am going to look in the mirror and picture myself as a hot dog in a cowboy hat.

Spiritual: oh, how grateful I am for those ward leaders who listen closely to the Spirit. We had the opportunity to go out with our Relief Society President to go deliver some food to a family in need. She told us that normally she would just go alone with her husband but she felt that we needed to come along. While we were visiting we learned that some of them were not members and that they were all looking for spiritual guidance. They live far off the main road and we would never have been able to find them otherwise. What a wonderful miracle that sprouted from a ward member who was magnifying her calling.

Where I am at: sadly Elder Hunt is leaving to go back to page. It has been an awe-inspiring time and I am sad to see it end. I will be getting Elder Robison and I am excited to get to know him. Good things are coming here in the Window Rock 2nd Ward.