Josh's Journey

  Tuesday we went on exchanges so Elder V could pass someone off too other missionaries and I went with another missionary to an in person lesson. They mentioned that they thought Utah wasn't the mission field and the next 15 minutes we talked about how God is bringing people to Utah to hear the gospel which I thought was pretty funny.   Thursday we had service where we trimmed bushes and cleaned up around a chicken coop. In the afternoon we did more filming for our video this time with the sister missionaries which was a lot of fun. Then on the way home we grabbed Dairy Queen.   Friday we had District Council. It was really good. We talked about humility and something that was brought up was how all the Christlike attributes are connected and how part of conversion is gaining those attributes little by little. Also we talk about being in tune with the spirit and also that instruments have to be in tune. Only when in tune can the desired outcome happen. We did ...

  Monday night and Tuesday night we had east winds that hit 120 mph is some parts of the mission and got to 100 mph in Farmington. As a result we lost power from Tuesday morning to Wednesday morning. Also we spent most of the week helping clean up. When we got outside it looked like a hurricane had come through. Since we were cleaning up a bunch and didn't have time to make food we ended up having Cafe Rio/Costa Vida 3 times in 3 days which was pretty funny but also really good so no complaints here. Also we were freaked about the food in our refrigerator and freezer going bad but fortunately everything that I am aware of survived. We were in district council talking about having charity (the pure love of Christ) and a missionary who has been out for maybe a month said something super awesome. He quoted a scripture and explained that when if an action we are thinking about taking falls under faith, hope, or charity we will always we be "abounding in good works" which ...

 Tuesday we had 2 lessons almost back to back with people who served as mission president and companion which was really awesome. In the evening we had a devotional with the youth of one of our wards. Unfortunately not many showed up but it went really well. We talked about recognizing the blessings in our lives from the Savior and His church and then sharing those so others can have those too. The spirit was strong and it was especially strong when we talked about Christ's suffering and about what He is able to do because of that suffering. Wednesday was super hectic. We sold 2 bikes that my companion was getting rid of before he goes home, helped record part of a video, decided a day for K's baptism, bought ice cream, and I taught a lesson on an exchange. We taught K the Plan of Salvation and compared it to a special mission to earth and back to God again. Friday we had Zone Conference which took up most of the day. We talked about the why of missionary work. President C...

Tuesday morning we went to the pharmacy at walmart which was exciting. It's pretty funny when something like going to pick up a prescription is an adventure. We also went to one of our church buildings and did work from there for a large chunk of the day. Wednesday all of our lessons cancelled which was actually pretty funny. When we were waiting to see if the last one would show we were like are we going to complete the sweep? We did have a meeting with a bishop and talked about how we can help the youth out and made a bunch of calls to set up lessons and service. Thursday had a meeting with all the members of the Elders Quorum and introduced ourselves before sharing a little lesson with them. We also had another lesson with K and talked about the Restoration. When we talked about the Priesthood he was like when can I get baptized which was super awesome. Friday we went up to the mission office it was nice to see some people we wouldn't normally see. In the afternoon we ...

 Tuesday morning we went and did service for a part-member family. We moved a bunch of their branches into a truck so they could be taken to the dump. After we had a lesson with them and talked about prayer and how we are told to pray always in the scriptures. We challenged them to pray together as the husband was going into surgery the next day. In the evening went and had popsicles and chatted with a girl and her mom and got to know them. Wednesday morning we went and did service where we ripped out grass from a yard (not the one in the pictures below). While biking back went on Lagoon trail and we saw bison and elk which was exciting. Thursday we had a lesson with a boy named K who is super awesome. He has a short attention span so we always have to keep things short and interactive. We talked about the 10 commandments with him and taught them using hand signs to represent each commandment. His mom loved it which was really great. Friday we did service for the people had p...

Saturday was crazy. In  the morning we had Multidistrict Council but due to technical difficulties we started over 30 minutes late and we just partied till everything was working. After we went for lunch to a sushi buffet and someone paid for us which was super awesome. The sushi was fabulous and so was their edamame. Then we went and had a meeting with a Ward Mission Leader who walked up and was like "Elders, I have 2 familes who want to be baptized". I was like well tell me more. In the evening we were calling members to set up lessons with them and one person when we asked said "i'm trying to think of a polite way to blow you guys off" and it was probably the funniest phone call I have ever participated in. They asked if their mom had asked us to call and we said no. We ended up not scheduling a lesson. Later we ended up calling the mom and set up a lesson with her and she said that the person we had talked to earlier would be coming up to visit when we sched...

Not much happened on Tuesdsay. I was exhausted from Pday so I was pretty tired and sore all day. I did make spicy beans and rice which turned out well. We had a bunch of lessons which was nice. We had a meeting with a bishop who was very impressed with us. He said that though we sometimes feel like we aren't doing anything, we are doing things that have never been done before and are like the first missionaries who often felt like they were failing. Although in lots of ways we are doing things wrong, we are learning things for the future missionaries which was really nice to hear. Wednesday we had District Council and talked about how we can make lessons not boring for us and for the people we teach so we can keep up out energy and excitement. After we had cinnamon rolls that some sister missionaries had brought. At the end of one of our lessons we mentioned that Jesus loves us and is our brother and a little girl there's eyes went huge and she asked does God too? When we sai...