Third Week in the Field

It's my third P-day and it's been absolutely crazy do far! We've had a very eventful week and I have some cool stories to tell!

So the first of which is we usually like to find new people every week and we have a goal of ten, but the stressful thing was that we hadn't reached our goal and it was Thursday! We had found one new person. But we said a few prayers and right when we got into our area we found four new in a span of 10 minutes and then another four 5 to 10 minutes after that! So guys... prayer works just sayin'..

The next cool story I have to thank my Mom for lol. When I was a kid I watched the Bible animated videos and one of them was the story of Lazarus and the rich man. And in this story they refer to the spirit world as the bosom of Abraham and so now years later we were meeting with a member of the Baptist church and he asked about the spirit world and if we believed in Abraham's bosom because of the story of Lazarus. Everyone had no idea what he was talking about but at that moment l had a quick snippet of the animated video enter my mind and I quickly answered his question and was able to answer the rest of them after that!

We met with a member and were able to go to an animal park and see a western show too!

This crocodile is 16 feet long!

Fort Hays - this is the site of the movie set for Dances with Wolves.
I am still waiting for some short sleeve shirts - it is hot here!

2 is Better Than 1

 It's been two weeks in the field and it's been amazing! We have a few people coming to church and we have been knocking doors and doing public contacting. My district and zone have been amazing though! For those that don't know the mission is divided into districts and then there are so many districts in a zone. We have lots of fun on our p days (preparation days that happen every Monday). We play volleyball and go to the gym. We have also had many meals with members and are getting to know the Canyon Hills Ward members.

There are so many Christlike people and they have such an energy about them that brings the strongest spirit! Me and my companion have had a lot of fun teaching and getting to know new people. Out here people love to just talk to the missionaries so there's never a dull moment.

We went on exchanges, which means that me and another missionary switched places for a day. Here I am eating dinner with the Zone Leader, Elder Dalton. A kindhearted couple in the ward treated us to steaks!

Week One in Rapid City

I met my trainer on my drive down to Rapid City, SD last week. We had a fun drive down and I got to know Elder Petersen and other missionaries that were driving down with us as well. After a few drop offs of other missionaries, we made it to our area, got our car and headed to our apartment where we met our two roommates who are really awesome people! My trainer was originally supposed to go to Samoa, so he studies the language each day for 2 hours. He is finally going to Samoa in August after spending 14 months in the North Dakota mission.

We live in a newer apartment complex and this is the view from the balcony.

We started proselyting the next day and it was an amazing experience. We found someone new, got yelled at by a basher, and got defended by a non-member all in a span of 5 minutes! We've been proselyting daily and it's been awesome. We met an older woman and she is super sweet and is interested in learning more about the gospel, but she is getting kicked out of her home and will be homeless soon. There are a lot of poorer people in our area and it is a struggle for them sometimes.

As a District, we went to Mt. Rushmore for the day. My companion is in white shirt and our district leader is to my right.

Rapid City, South Dakota

I have arrived in my first area - Rapid City, South Dakota!

The mission headquarters is in Bismarck, ND, so it took as five hours to drive to my area.

I am in an apartment with three other missionaries and we are getting to know each other.

Here is my address:

1466 Catron Blvd #234

Rapid City, SD 57701

Some cool things about Rapid City:

* It was named for the limestone spring stream that passes through the city

* Founded in 1876 for a group of disheartened prospectors that had come to the Black Hills in search of gold.

* It is South Dakota's second-largest city with a population of 76,000+ (largest city is Sioux Falls)

* It is the gateway to Mount Rushmore

I have arrived!

 I have arrived safely in North Dakota! Thank you for all of your prayers and well-wishes as I start this new journey.

Week Two MTC and Off to South Dakota

 Week Two at the MTC was amazing. Things I did this week:

* Played the Cello for Sacrament Meeting for my Branch

* Watched the Stadium of Fire fireworks with my District from our Classroom. Great view of LaVell Edwards Stadium from the MTC!

* Had a Fourth of July Ice Cream Social

* Participated in many uplifting and spiritual devotionals and lessons

* Showed my family around the MTC and the amazing pictures they have here. Here is a photo of our District with the Branch leaders in front of one of the pictures.

Last Night at the MTC:

We had to get up at 3:00AM to get ready to go to the airport. Here we are on the bus to the Frontrunner in Provo. From there we took the Frontrunner to the Trax to the Airport. Thank you FanX for teaching me how to ride public transportation to Salt Lake City!

More Pics from Week One at the MTC