Week 58 - Demon Caster + Lunch with Family

Hello Everyone! Hope you're all doing well. This week has been really good!

1. Run-down

2. Highlights

3. Demon Caster

1. The area is doing ok. We came in with 3 friends we were teaching. One of them is actually in the other Elders in our apartments area so we sent that record to them. The second one is going to be sent out to Oceanside because he actually lives there, which leaves us with 1 person. The one non-member we've met with a few times is named Connor. Things have been good. We taught him the Restoration and also read 3 Nephi 11 with him. He also came to church on Sunday! He's not working right now though and is also homeless. We're working on getting him into the LDS Employment services which would be good. But, he's also YSA, so we passed him off to the Missionaries in the YSA ward because we thought it would be better for him. So, right now we don't have any friends that we're teaching. Hopefully we'll meet some new people as we continue to meet with members, go to parks, knock on doors, find on facebook, etc. The bikes have been ok, but it's been kicking my butt. We haven't biked that far from our area yet. To get from one side to the other takes literally an hour and a half, with what google calls "very steep hills". We've only biked around this side of our area with moderate hills and it's been pretty bad. It's a little humid, and after a 12 minute bike ride to a member lesson, I am sweating really badly. Maybe I'm just out of shape. I'm hoping that either a miracle happens and we get a car, or I get used to it soon, or we could just always ask members for rides. I don't know, but I think our area is way too big for a bike. I think I included last week the fact that our area is bigger than some car areas. Anyway, sorry for the rant. My new comp is Elder Rainhart from Boise, ID. He's doing really well so far, and seems to be loving it. It's really good to hear him talking a lot about the things he's enjoying day to day. I also love being in an apartment with another set of Elders. It's so much fun to be around more people and we've had a lot of laughs already.

2. Here are some highlights of the week.

- We had a member lesson on Wednesday, and the youngest daughter was getting baptized on Saturday. We invited them to think of someone they could invite and they did! They invited us to come as well and it was fun. The non-member coming didn't lead anywhere, but hopefully they felt the spirit. 

- We also had the ward chili cook off and trunk or treat this week! It was fun, but after being there for a long time for the set up and the party, I was pretty beat by the end of it. It was still good and we got to meet more of the ward members there. 

- The biggest highlight this week was having lunch with my aunt and uncle! My extended family has been in Newport this week, and my aunt and uncle were coming down to the San Diego temple to perform baptisms. I talked to the MP, and we were able to meet up for lunch! It was really fun to be with family again for a little bit. It was initially kinda weird to see them again, but after a while it felt like I never left.

3. We were visiting some old records of people previously taught this week. At our first visit, it was the wrong address for the lady we were looking for. The guy said he didn't know her, but while we were talking, I noticed inside that he had a picture of that painting by Harry Anderson of the second coming.  It's the one that I'm pretty sure is in every church building. It's the one where Christ is descending from the clouds in a white robe, and there are tons of angels around him. It's a pretty popular one, and I guess I thought it was exclusive to our church or something. I asked him about it and that led to a very long discussion. Basically, this guy is Christian, and is somewhat familiar with the church, but believes the church to have the doctrine of demons. He talked to us about a lot of things like Joseph Smith, Kingdoms of Glory, etc. He said he had done his research and knew what he was talking about, and while some of the things he said were correct, he also had a lot of partial truths, and complete lies. I guess that's what you find on the Internet. He also told us about his church and how they cast out demons, perform healings, and speak in tongues. It seemed like he believed that our church is not true unless we have people screaming as demons are coming out of them because of the power of the holy spirit in our church services. He was probably the most nice and gracious anti I have met, but it was still a little weird. Near the end he asked if he could say a prayer with us. He grabbed our hands and in a circle he gave us a prayer and a blessing. During the prayer he prayed that demons would be cast out of us and that we would realize our false doctrine. It was a nice gesture, but nothing really happened. We said goodbye and put it in the notes to probably not go back.

Love you all! Thanks for all your love and support.

- Elder Wride

Pictures:

- Picking up my Greenie

- Lunch with Family

- Halloween Party (Elder R was trying to do a last minute costume as a vampire)

Week 57 - New area from Ground Zero, on Bikes, and with a Greenie

Time is zoomin by. I hit 13 months this week. 

I got transferred after 4 months in Lakeside. My new area is Olivenhain, near Carlsbad. And, I am training again! I do not yet know who my new companion is, I wont find out until later tonight. They're flying in today and will spend the whole day with President and Sister Merritt, and then later tonight we will meet for dinner, and head to our areas. I am excited to train again because it will be a new experience with a new companion, and it will be cool to just see how things go. I'm a little worried though because we will be in a brand new area (The ward, and the neighboring ward used to be double covered, but this ward was more neglected). President called and said it would basically be from Ground Zero. Plus, since I'm training I need to show the new missionary all the ropes. Also, we are on bikes! Our area is pretty big. Bigger than a lot of the car areas which I think is lame, but oh well. We live in the top corner of our area so it will take a while to get from one end to the other. It'll be a little tough with that and all the hills, but I am trying to go in with a good attitude. I just took a look at the areabook and it's a little concerning. We have 46 unreported events that I know nothing about because I just got here. I guess I thought after training Elder Johnson I would be able to chill for a little bit, but the Lord had something else in mind. I really just wanted to mainly just have a companion where we can both go head in and work hard. I hope my greenie has greenie fire because it's time for the grind. So, all in all, it might be hard, but I am actually really excited to start over in this area and to get to the grind. Also, I'm in a 4 man apartment just like in the Best Two Years which will be so sick!

I also got new shoes this week and they are pretty squeaky. Mostly because of my orthotics I think. Anyway, the Young Men asked me to help pass in Sacrament on Sunday. I was trying not to squeak and it was pretty hard not to laugh. I got a few comments by members after. They were giving me a hard time.

We also had a cockroach attack us. Actually a few weeks ago, but I forgot about it and then was just reminded of it since Elder Johnson sent me the picture. I'll include the story for content purposes. The night before General Conference, I was laying down in bed while Elder J was finishing his prayer. We then got up for comp prayers and I noticed this weird thing on the wall by the closet. I put on my glasses and saw that it was a cockroach! (I think). Luckily we had some cockroach spray. I had to stand on a chair to reach it, and put on a sweater for protection. It did not like the spray and jumped at me. I screamed really loud and probably disturbed the neighbors (It was like 10:40 or something). We battled for like 10 minutes until I covered him white in the foamy spray and the carpet. The foam evaporated or something and he was still crawling around like crazy. I put some books on top and we left him there overnight. He was dead in the morning.

It's really cool for me to see how I've grown as a missionary. Looking back, I had a lot of things I struggled with that I've simply moved past now: Homesickness, laziness (to some extent), and not having an enthusiasm for the work or the people. But as time and work have gone on, right now I'm at a point where I really just want to teach people. My greatest desire right now is to have one of those moments where you teach someone about the Book of Mormon, and the Restoration, and the spirit is so strong. It all just clicks for them and they have a desire to learn. I wish those moments happened more often. But that's honestly what keeps me going. When I make that my focus and my goal, it makes it so much easier to get through the moments where I don't want to work.

It will all be well. I don't have much else to say. I love the joy this gospel brings, and I hope to make the most out of the rest of my mission! Love you all!

- Elder Wride

Pictures:

- Took pictures at this bench again

- Cockroach

- Burritos

Week 56 - Conference + Tracting

Hey Everyone! Hope you had a great conference weekend and that the rest of your week went well. It's already October which is wild.

Our week was pretty good. Pretty fast but here are some highlights:

- General Conference is literally a holiday as a Missionary it feels. We go over to member houses if we can, they'll typically have food there and it's just a good time. We'll still get some work done between sessions so it's not a complete break, but a lot of the day is taken up. Especially on Saturday. But I really enjoyed conference. I need to review all my notes because I haven't done that yet. But I remember how good I felt listening to the talks! It's so awesome. 

- Been doing more Tracting and its been good. I like the approach we use where we'll ask them if they can help us with a survey about God and family. We'll ask a bunch of questions like "Do you believe in Jesus Christ as the son of God?" "Would you like to be happier than you are now? What would make you happier?", and a bunch of other ones. I think.my favorite is "If there was another book of scripture written by ancient prophets that testifies of Christ, would you read it?". The questions almost always spark a good discussion and it's super easy to transition to the Restoration. Good stuff. We haven't found anyone new this week though. 

- Getting used to Contacts. I like them pretty well. It's made me realize how big my eyes become when I wear glasses. 

- The works going ok. We haven't met with a lot of our friends this week for various reasons. Still hard sometimes when you feel like people aren't progressing, but it's on the Lord's timing. We've been able to coordinate a lot of inactive work with the ward and I think that's been really good for building member trust. Our champion is one member, Brother Lochridge. He's coming to church pretty consistently now and is getting in the Spirit of it. He said back when he did construction, he was the super dependable guy who would get up every morning and show up at 5 AM or so, and that there's no reason he can't come to church at 9 am, for 1 hour, once a week. We've been going over the missionary discussions and he remembers a ton! He's super excited to get into the Saints books and learn more about church history. 

Our week has been well. I'm betting this is my last week in Lakeside because we have transfers next Tuesday. I'll keep you posted next week. Have a good one guys! Love each if you :)

- Elder Wride

Pictures:

- Tracting 

- Picture in front of the church

Week 55 - I Don't Know What to Title This

Hello Everyone! I took the time to actually right an email this week

One cool moment that happened this week was when we were out trying to visit less active members. We ended up in a familiar neighborhood and I remembered another inactive lady that lives there that we tried to visit a few weeks ago, but she didn't answer. I hesitated at first to visit her again, not for really any reason. Just because we already stopped by, and still had other visits planned. But I decided we'd just see if they're home and they were! She's an older lady living with her daughter who takes care of her. She's been super ill and that's why she hasn't been to church. She said she saw our card that we left a few weeks ago and she wanted to call us to give her a blessing, but was feeling too sick and never got around to it. She asked if we could give her one right then and we did. It was really cool and she was super grateful. I just thought it was cool that we caught her at a good time because her health is really hot and cold. I'm so glad we decided to go by. I am trying to get better at always being open to the spirits guidance because I have the tendency to not think about it when we already have a planned schedule. 

Our friends are doing ok. We haven't met with a lot of them recently. We were supposed to meet with Jeannie who we met last week but she has people in town so we'll have to reschedule. Our other friends have been rather silent which is a little sad.

I'm doing well enough. Sometimes it's hard for me to have the right mindset and focus, but the best cure for me has been those awesome Missionary moments when you see someone be touched or affected by the gospel. The spirit is so awesome and you can feel it so strongly at those times. So that's what I'm trying to focus on because lately I've felt like I'm just getting by. But those kinds of moments make it worth it. I just wish they were more often and that there were more people who are willing to let God prevail. So many people simply don't seem to care. I think a lot about Alma 29 and wishing that everyone knew what I knew. Sometimes I feel the urge to just shake people by the neck like "How are you not getting this?" This is important! And it's the most important thing they'll ever hear. My mom told me "Everyone chose Christ when they saw clearly". But now, so many people don't see clearly and don't open their hearts to it. It's really sad how many people don't know about the Gospel. 

If you Hey to know what I'm thinking about, that's what it is. I love the Lord and I love what this Gospel brings. It's hard but it's worth it. I love you all!

Pictures:

Week 54 - Just Some Photos

Hey Guys. I almost didn't write but I still rally didn't want to break my perfect streak. All I have today is some photos. Things have been crazy and I wish I was able to write a whole email but it's getting late. Just know that I love you so much and they this work is true!

Week 53 - Late Scrambled Thoughts

Sorry for the late email. I need to go to bed in a few minutes but I wanted to keep my streak alive of sending an email every week. Here are some quick highlights:

- Had exchanges with the ZLs this week and it was really good. President Merritt has had us doing overnight exchanges again and it was my first one. Went from 9pm-9pm Fri and Sat. I learned a lot and it's nice to have a mix up every now and then.

- We've set a goal as a zone to implement two initiatives to increase productivity and avoid routines. There's been a culture in our missiom of doing all our studies in the morning and lunch, and then we begin going out and about around noon or so. Because we have Personal, comp, and additional study for training, it can make the mornings not as fun. So, we've been working towards doing 2 hours of work before lunch, and shooting to have lessons scheduled for 8 (Because it's harder to do normal finding during that time). We've done it for a few days and I feel like it's had a big impact so far for me and my mood. 

- Spiritual thought would be Mosiah 26:20. It was just a scripture I needed at the time that I read it and it's stuck with me. I've really felt just the power that comes from covenants. We have made covenants with God, and he with us, and we just need to hold faithful.

Much love

- Elder Wride

Week 52 - 365 Days

I have officially been a Missionary for 1 year now. Sept 5 was when I got set apart and today would've been my first morning in the MTC. Wild stuff. 

I honestly don't have really anything to say this week. Some highlights could include:

- There was a fire on Wednesday between El Capitan High school and Highway 67. We live right next to the high school so that was fun. We weren't in our apartment at the time but we saw it from where we were. The school got evacuated and there was a helicopter going around and trying to put it out. The roads nearby were blocked off too. Don't really know much else about it. The school didn't burn down and there wasn't a ton of destruction. Just some shrubbery I think.

- It's been really hot this week. In the 100s. I feel like it hasn't been too terrible. I normally like the cold over the heat but I've adjusted to the warmth here a little. I still would prefer the cool, but I think the weather here is making me more of a wuss for when I return to Utah and Idaho winters.

- I also just got contacts today. Been trying to get them for a few P-days buy my eyes haven't been cooperating. But today they finally got used to having contacts put in and taken out. 

- My Spiritual thought is this scripture I came across that I really like. It's 2 Cor 4:15-17 "(15) For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. (16) For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. (17) For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;". I like this scripture because we go through a lot of afflictions in life. But in the span of eternity, our whole life is but for a moment. And if we endure it well, it works for us a far more weight of glory. The truth is we just need to hang on and cling to Christ, and all will be well.

I love you all very much. I didn't take any pictures this week but I'll be better. Here's to year 2!

- Elder Wride