Josh's Journey

I'll be finishing up my mission tomorrow and will be flying home Tuesday. Things came together and J was able to baptized on Sunday. We were so excited and she was super ready to make that covenant. Have a great week and thanks for your prayers! Here are some pictures from the last couple weeks I know that Jesus is the Christ and He lives today. You can pray and learn that for yourself! Try it!

  Monday night we had a lesson with L and W which went great! Afterwards we were walking home and we saw two people next to their cars with a bunch of stuff on the sidewalk. It turns out they were leaving where they lived so we helped pack everything they needed into their car. Tuesday we helped a lady move. Fortunately we has called a member who we have been meeting with to help us out which was inspired since he used to work at a moving company and was super helpful and there wasn't many of us there. There was a total of 5 of us so it took a while but we got everything. In the evening we had another lesson with L and W where we talked about the 10 commandments. Wednesday we went on exchanges. I went with our district leader Elder N. We did service helping clean things up after the massive rain storm Sunday caused some flooding. We also had a lesson with a lady from Congo who was super super smart. We talked about the Plan of Salvation and when we talked about us forgetti...

  Who sent super short emails.  Today we were super busy so this will be short. Today we watched the movie Witnesses which talks about the story of the 3 Witnesses to the Book of Mormon  which was really good. I was surprised how good it was. Then our ride didn't show up to take us back for around 30min so our whole day has been all over the place. Tuesday and Wednesday we had lessons with people we are teaching. We invited them to be baptized on the 21st this month and they accepted! Please pray for L and W that they can be able to be prepared by then!  Thursday we worked taking down a cinderblock wall which was a fun work out. They had built it and realized they did it wrong and so we took it down. Saturday we helped out with another yard sale for a little and ended up getting zucchini and tomatoes from someone's garden which was awesome. Sunday we had church and in the evening it dumped rain. It was the biggest storm I have seen in the 2 years I've bee...

 I procrastinated this email so you get a shortie.   Highlights: - Bought a nice blender for 40 bucks - Set up some exciting lessons - Had pioneer day fireworks - Had a dry margarita (see below) - Helped set up a garage sale - Had a great zone conference  - Helped watch landlords dog which pooped on the floor in their house (not in ours 😅 ) - Talked to people who we haven't been able to get in contact with - Chatted with the Salt Lake City Mission President who was super cool   Quote of the Week: "I can be a cardigan marshmallow " (it was something along these lines)

Monday night they had a BBQ across the street and a the police came and did a presentation and gave tours of some of their vehicles. They also would cuff you if you wanted.   Tuesday we crashed a youth activity and the young women were doing a salon so we joined in an get masks and had my toenails painted.    Wednesday we rearranged our bedroom a little to give more space for our beds which ended up working out well. In the evening we had an ice cream social with one of the wards we cover and we got to chat with the and met a lot of people. They also had a ton of left over ice cream so we now have a stash of ice cream at the church whenever we want it.   Thursday we went to this homemade ice cream place in downtown bountiful which as really good ice cream. In the evening we were on a walk to visit people and it started thunder storming which I enjoyed since we haven't had any rain in a couple months and I love thunderstorms.   Friday we had District Coun...

 I'm staying in southern bountiful for my last transfer (6 weeks) with Elder S! I was hoping to stay so I was glad to see that.   Short email this week 🤷 ‍ ♂️ but here some highlights. Tuesday: went on a couple walks with members and got some delicious shaved ice. We also got to chat with someone thinking about serving a mission about mission life.   Wednesday: we went to a youth activity and they were playing kickball but the based were slip and slides into inflated pools which was a great time (no we didn't go on the slip and slides and ruin our clothes).   Thursday: had an awesome district council where we all shared our testimonies and the spirit was super strong. I also got an answer to a question I'd been praying about for around a month or so during Elder K's testimony (funnily enough it had nothing to done with what he actually said but he brought the spirit which then gave me my answer). Afterwards we had Elder K's "funeral" since he is ...

Hello! I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend! We are in the middle of a heat wave and dry spell so we didn't have many fireworks for safety reasons. I am so blessed to live in a country and enjoy the freedoms we all have here. I am particularly grateful for the freedom of religion that paved the way for the Restoration of Christ's church on the earth. God's fingerprints are all over the founding and protection of this nation. Truly In God We Trust.   Tuesday we had meeting with half the mission to meet President and Sister Johnson. We got to know them and their kids. When we got back we went to a youth activity and played pickleball and capture the flag with the youth.   Wednesday morning we had interviews with President Johnson so he could get to know us better (more on the interview later). After that we helped 2 families move before beginning to close our missionary apartment and opening up a new one which lead to an exhausting day.   Thursday we had Di...

  Tuesday nothing too crazy happened. We went to a young men's activity and played chair soccer which a lot of fun.   Thursday we had District Council which was good. We talked about repentance and how we can apply it better to us and teach it to people.    Friday most of the day we spent at a mission wide conference since it is the last one before our Mission President goes home and we get a new one. The whole thing was super awesome as President Call went through and talked about some of highlights of some of their favorite trainings they have given. We ended up talking a lot about Christ's Atonement and change. I will miss President and Sister Call. They were excellent examples of diligence through pain and power in teaching and in the priesthood to me. They also showed incredible love towards each other (which I hope to emulate to my future wife) and towards us. President Call taught me so much about how the Priesthood works and how God runs His kingdom here ...

  Tuesday we set up service with the young men in one of our wards and we went and had that. We ended up tearing out grass and some bushes. I may or may not have broken a sprinkler head (which means I have broken at least 3 of them that I can remember on my mission).   Wednesday we ended up doing a bunch of service. We helped two people move (in 100° heat which was not super enjoyable. After that we went on walks with two different members which was a good time.   Thursday we had district council. Our District Leader was sick so Elder K lead that. We talked about working with stake and ward leadership and we were able to have some good brainstorming and discussion. We also had a great lesson with J (who we talked to at church last week) and her friend from P. We had our lesson all planned out and when we started my companion and I both experience what the scriptures call "a stupor of thought". We felt like we needed to change what we talked about and ended up talking ...

 Highlights of the Week: - we helped put up some drywall which was interesting. I know how to do that now. - spoke in church which went amazing. Definitely the best talk I have ever given even though I ended up having to skip a 3rd of it due to time constraints. - did lots of walking around in 100 degree weather - looked at chalk festival submissions which were super cool - had a mission devotional with President Dallin H Oaks of the First Presidency. He shook all of our hands which was super cool that he would take the time to do that. He also taught a lot of amazing lessons to us. One was that our generation is a "me" generation that is full of entitlement but also that because we were serving a mission we had separated ourselves from that. Another was about the importance of the sacrament in the repentance process. The while time he was there I felt a strong peace that was the spirit testifying of what he said to be true. Quote of the Week: "you can bear y...

 Tuesday we had transfers and Elder H got transferred out. I stayed and my new companion is Elder S who is from North Pole, Alaska. Transfers took forever so we didn't end up getting people moved until about 3:30. After dinner we had a walk with a member of our stake presidency and we met some of his neighbors and chatted with them. Later we went with our landlord to someone we hope to start teaching soon and their sprinkler system was not working so we (and by we it was mostly our landlord) fixed it. Wednesday we tried to give the car to the missionaries who were assigned to it but they didn't have their tiwi card yet (allows them to drive missionary vehicles) so we took them to take the test to get one before taking them home. We later went on a walk and met a couple where the wife has cancer and we talked to them and asked them if they needed anything. We had a good visit with them and they were super nice.  Thursday we walked outside to actually take the car to the oth...

 Today is crazy with transfers so short email this week. Happy memorial day! Thank you to all those who have served, are serving, and will serve to allow us the freedoms we have today! The highlight of the week was definitely Thursday so that's what you get. It started off with District Council and interviews with President Call. One thing I brought to him were things that I am struggling with. As we talked more, he helped me realize that I am doing much better than I think I am and to keep trying. That was super nice to hear and realize. After District Council, we had a lesson with someone we are teaching that went super well. We read an account from the scriptures about Elijah hearing the Lord in a still small voice and talked to him about receiving answers to prayers. It was amazing since my companion and I were on the exact same page the whole time. More than once he said the exact words that I was about to say that I was thinking. During the lesson, Maas360 (the softwar...

  For the past couple months, my companion and I have been playing basketball in the mornings. A couple weeks ago I sent a picture of the hoops taken off one of our buildings, we started going to the other one near us (because Utah be like that) and we showed up and they were refinishing the floor and our third building is about to get work done on it as well. Result: our mornings previously full of exercise have been boring as of late. Tuesday we decided to switch around our schedule. Since the afternoons have been super hot and nobody is outside we decided to go on our walks in the morning before it gets hot and in the evening when the sun starts setting and things cool down. On one of our walks we met this guy who does wood working and he showed us his shop and some of the stuff he has made which was really cool. He does it was a side business but has had a hard time because of the pandemic. Wednesday we had a really good meeting with our stake presidency and high counc...

  Tuesday nothing too crazy. We were supposed to have our weekly meeting with a member of the Stake Presidency but we forgot that he was out of the country and told us that he couldn't make it. We got an email later reminding us that afterwards and we were like that explains a lot. Wednesday we had service doing yardwork with a group of young women. After we had a meeting with our high councilor over missionary work and talked about how we could get ward councils more involved along with some other things. We also went on a walk to a creek in our area near a park and there were lots of people there trying to avoid the heat. Thursday we had District Council and talked about teaching in the saviors way and looked at the recording of Jesus and the woman at the well and talked about the things He says and how He taught her. After we went to fiiz since we figured after would be better than before and then having the drive thru being super long again and being super late. In the even...

 Miracle of the Week: This past Sunday was Mother's Day. The true miracle of this holiday is the influence my Mom has had on me. Her love and caring have been a constant in my life that I have relied on. Among the other amazing ways she has influenced me, one is she instilled in me a love of music. One of my earliest memories is at church during hymns her telling me the words to say before singing them along with everyone else. That along with putting us to bed with a classical CD that I still recognize songs from to this day. Her diligence and love for Jesus Christ is another influence she has had on me. She has demonstrated for me as well as those around us wherever she is. She shows her love for Christ by obeying his commandments in word and deed. I love you Mom!  Tuesday we had a walk with one of our relief society counselors over missionary work which didn't go as planned. We showed up and we started walking to someone she wanted to visit. We got there and they weren...

Tuesday we were invited to play pickleball with a ward mission leader and someone we hope to start teaching which was pretty funny. The ward mission leader was clearly way better than anyone of us but we had a good time. After that we ran home, changed and went to a lesson with someone we are teaching. He feels peace and comfort when he reads the book of mormon but isn't recognizing that that is an answer from the spirit to some of his questions which was a little frustrating. Other than that I can't complain too much. Wednesday I completed my journey through teenagerhood and turned 20. My first birthday present was my second covid vaccine shot which we felt the effects of later that day. Also, Elder and Sister Starkweather, a senior couple I served with in Roy, drove down and took my companion out for lunch and we had excellent Philly Cheesesteaks. We went on a walk with some ward missionaries which was a lot of fun. Thursday we were absolutely destroyed by the vaccine. I ...

 Tuesday we had a lesson in person with someone we are teaching which we had been trying to get to happen for a while. The lesson went really well. As we talked we asked how he felt when he read the Book of Mormon and he said when he reads it he feels peace and comfort and we talked about how the Holy Ghost witnesses of truth to us. He has a testimony of the Book of Mormon but doesn't realize that is what it is which was pretty amusing. Wednesday we went and did more shoveling to help with the pool remodel. It was super windy so there was a lot of throwing dirt only to have a quarter of it fly back in our eyes but we persevered. We also had a lesson with a family who their daughter is getting baptized next year and talked about what it means and did a magic trick to help explain. Thursday our water was turned off for some renovations which was awkward when we had service taking out a gate post which had about a 4ft by 1ft thing of concrete it was stuck in. We got it out af...

Brought in an old picture Quote of the Week: "pretty much it comes down to if it's funny, I'll allow it"   Miracle of the Week: On Saturday we went on a walk with one of the ward missionaries in one of our wards (the lady who we almost set her house on fire) and one of her neighbors who is serving a service mission around where they live. It was a great experience for and couple reasons. First, the reason we had the lesson that almost set the house on fire was that she had asked us to teach about the atonement and forgiveness for one of her sons who was struggling with it. After we had the (slightly disastrous) lesson, as we found out while on the walk, he was able to u understand it better and felt free from his burden of guilt. That made me feel great to know that despite my shortcomings and the mistakes I make while serving God. God can change peoples lives by using me as His instrument. The other was that the neighbor who is serving a service mission had such ex...

This week was super special because we were able to watch General Conference. We were able to hear the words of the Living Christ through his prophets and apostles. We were instructed, chastened, uplifted, counselled, and felt the love of God through His servants. One of my favorite talks was given by President Dallin H Oaks who spoke about the Constitution and about Gods influence on it. Another was from Elder David A Bednar who spoke on teaching correct principles and having us use those to govern ourselves. The Prophet Russell m Nelson spoke powerfully on faith and how to increase its power in our lives. If you were busy or couldn't watch, it can be found at churchofjesuschrist.org Short highlights of the the week: Wednesday: got first shot of the Pfizer vaccine. Did 2 and a half hours of service digging a pool. Thursday: did service pouring concrete. Had District Council. Went with a member and met some of her neighbors.  Friday: did service trimming trees. Recovered fr...