I'm going to see snow!

Funny: Last Monday we went on a Dam tour (haha). It was the best. Bishop Anderson is the head of security and he told us a bunch of stories about a tradition that someone has where they throw a cat off of the bridge every year. He also took us down to the depth of the Dam and we got to see all the secret stuff ;)

Spiritual: We have had a great week here in Page and Echo Cliffs. We are working with a less active named Norm who finally showed up to church. He hadn't been in 18 years and he came twice!! It is incredible because the first time we met him he was very certain that nothing was going to get him to church.

Where I am at/going: my time here in Page is done. I received a call on Saturday from President Adams he has called me to be a District Leader! About 20 minutes later he called again and said that he had only offered the 1st half of the assignment. I am also training in a trio! I am leaving later today for Farmington where I will then go to Bayfield Colorado. It'll be strange to see snow and trees again. But I know that it is where I am meant to go!

I love you all so much 

Elder Black

Greg, Greg, Greg

Funny: The people we meet in Greenhaven are possibly the funniest people you will ever meet. One of those people is Greg. Greg has done so many drugs that he doesn't even know what’s going on. We went and saw him on Wednesday and he commented how he believes he is the new prophet. He then explained to us how dinosaurs came about. Whenever God thinks it opens a new dimension which is where each species of dinosaurs came from, each one is a thought of God. But the dinosaurs want to be in our modern world so they shrunk themselves down and fly in spaceships through time, that explains Aliens. He told us that this is what makes sense to him and that he is going to write it down all formally like the scriptures are and then send it into Salt Lake to get published in the Book of Mormon. So, if you all get a LDS update that's why ;)

Spiritual: Out in Big Water we have an atheist investigator who really doesn't want to believe in God but we taught him the Plan of Salvation only using questions and by the end of the discussion he told us that he knew there was a God. It was incredible to see the power of asking questions with the Spirit.

Where I am at: It is the end of the transfer and I suspect that I will be voted off of the island. I have really loved my time in Page 3rd Ward and Echo Cliffs branch. This week we had a great time talking to all the people out here. It also rained!!! That's the first time I have seen moisture here in 4 months. The Weiss family came to church and so did most of the less actives we have been inviting. We also finally got a Ward Mission Leader (it has been 9 weeks without one). Things are looking up for this area and I am grateful I have a chance to be a part of it.

I love you all

So Many Churches

Funny: Once again the curse of going to a mission so close to home hits again, we were eating lunch and I noticed that the dad there was staring at me. He pulled out his phone and started flipping though some pictures. He finally found the one he wanted and showed me it. It was of last year when I was teaching BB Guns at scout camp. Haha. They recognized me and the kids could not believe that, they stared at me for the rest of the meal with awe.

Spiritual: We had a week of anti-Mormons. On Wednesday we went to Green Haven and it seemed as though every door we knocked had someone there who had just been dying for the chance to tell us the faults in our religion. But through the power of the Holy Ghost we could not be confounded. It reminded me so much of the story of Alma. They pulled out everything they had on us and could not get us to say anything that could be taken negatively. It was so neat to think about it afterwards and see that.

Where I am at: We went to Echo Cliffs and got lost twice for about 30 minutes each. There are so many dirt roads and we scaled some serious mountains. I am sold on trucks, they are the best! Also, if you would like to know what other religions are in Page just google map Holy Curb in Page AZ. There are about 14 different churches there. and more just down the hill. The work is great. We put the Weiss family back on date for February 17th and we really feel that they will make this one. Other than that, we are just working hard and loving every second of it.

Keshmish!

Funny: Out in Echo Cliffs we were followed by some horses. We were tracting in a little compound out in the middle of nowhere and these horses followed us till we got back to the car. We think that they were wild but they sure liked people. It was funny to feel like we were being stalked by a horse.

Spiritual: We met this grumpy old man in page who the first thing he said when we opened the door was "I'm catholic and that's that" we had earlier decided the no wasn't a good enough answer for us so we talked to him for a while then showed him the Light the World video. The transformation in front of us was remarkable. He teared up then started bawling. He asked us where he could find more of these videos and we were able to teach him a bit about our church and he invited us back. 

Where I am at: We picked up 23 new Investigators this week! It was insane! We are really excited for all of them and they all have promise. We are enjoying the 50-degree weather (today is in the 60s) and we are just loving life. I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and remember the reason for the season.

Jonah had a surprise visit from our young mens president, Spencer Nelson when he played Santa with our Christmas gifts. It was a fun jolt for Jonah, but he did a good job at taking it in stride, but he wasn't sure who they were calling Jonah!

We loved being able to skype with Jonah on Christmas. He really loves being a missionary and is working hard, learning a lot, and his testimony is rock solid. He sounds great and loves serving such a broad array of places and people. It is the perfect mission for Jonah. 

Alma 18

Funny: We had an Book of Mormon moment in Big Water this week, we were teaching this old Navajo named Lee, we asked him if he believed in God and he said "I don't know what that is", I don't know what inspired me but the next sentence out of my mouth was "Do you believe in a Great Spirit?" he said "Yes", we then proceeded to tell him that "the Great Spirit is God". The conversation then continued to use the same lines that Ammon used in Alma. At the end of our discussion we asked if he believed what we had said and he said "Yes, because you told me". It was so funny, it was almost straight out of the scriptures.

Spiritual: We added up all the points that the seminary has for #LightTheWorld and almost 20,000 acts of service have been done. It is so incredible to see people’s hearts soften this Christmas season, it really is the season to tell people about Christ.

Where I am at: As a zone we picked up 76 new investigators in the last 2 weeks! 16 of those have been ours. We are really happy with the work and I love Elder Kahle and Elder Hunt. They are both spiritual giants. We are so focused on the work that we didn't even realize Christmas was next week until we went to Walmart haha. I love you all and I know that God loves you too.

The "What If"

Funny:  Elder Hunt is a total lady killer. At our ward’s Christmas party there was a pair of twins who sang a song. Later that night they came up to us and both admitted that they had been staring at Elder Hunt the whole time. haha.

Spiritual: This week we have really decided to depend on the Spirit. We decided to ask God that if there was someone in the house we were looking at we would get the thought "what if?" On Tuesday we were out in Greenhaven tracting some apartments. Several times I would be staring at a door then I would turn to move on and that thought of "what if" would pop into my head. Every time I followed that prompting there was someone there who was interested in our message. As a result, we picked up 8 new investigators and plenty of potentials. God knows where the elect are and he will guild you, but only if you put a bit of planning and work in first.

Where I am at: I am with Elder Hunt and Elder Kahle. Elder Hunt is from Idaho Falls, and Elder Kahle is from American Fork, Utah. They are both stellar missionaries. I love them both so much. This week we had a lot of success. We finally had investigators at church. The Weiss family showed up and we were over joyed. Thy are doing so good and we are excited for their baptism. We also are now unstoppable because we are in a trio. As such we have gotten into a lot of houses that we normally wouldn't have. It has been great. The weather here has cooled down, in the evenings we do put on sweaters ;). We have loved being here and we hope that we get to stay as a trio for a while.

I love you all

Elder Black

Bikes, Baptisms, and Transfers

Funny: This week we found two old bikes and decided to take them out for a day. We only went a few miles to our area and we were exhausted. Haha, it was good to get some good exercise but the bike I was riding didn't quite make it. We lost the seat on the way there and the back brakes on the ride back. So, it'll probably be a while till we do that again.

Spiritual: This week was amazing. We went to one of our investigators the Wiess family and they had totally changed. They were so open to us, we taught the Plan of Salvation and committed them to be baptized on December 30th. We are so excited. After seeing such a rough transfer it really was comforting to see that God is watching over us. It is amazing how the Lord prepares you for the people. Elder Barnard and I really were humbled this transfer, but God loves us and really cares about all his children even those that you meet that you think will never have a change of heart. I know this because I was that person.

Where I am at: With the new transfer I will be getting two companions. I am going to be with Elder Hunt (who I used to go on exchanges with once or twice a week #Zone Monkey) and an Elder Kahle who I am really excited to meet. Elder Barnard is moving to 1st ward... again. He will have been in Page for 11 months after this transfer! This week we have met a lot of drunk people who decided to preach to us the truth. They all are so close but are just missing a little bit. Do you remember a few weeks ago where my funny was the guy who was naked? Well we went by and... he again opened the door naked. I think the people out in Greenhaven just don't think clothes are necessary. The weather down here has been fantastic, we spent all week in short sleeve shirts and even got a bit too warm. It feels like summer down here. I am excited for the new transfer and I am grateful for your letters.