The Sixth Seal Broke

I would ride my bike 5,000 miles and I would ride my bike 5,000 more. I kid you not, I almost rammed into a wild turkey. Good thing I didn't, that son of gun wouldn't have stood a chance against these chevrolegs! But anyways, let's get to the good stuff.

There's a pair of slacks I've had my whole mission which got ripped at the knee several months ago. I've toted them around for a long time and they've just taken up closet space. I decided this week that I would make them a pair of shorts. I didn't really know how to do it, but I knew I could do it. I cut the legs below the knee off the pants, then folded the jagged edge back to make it look neat. Then I took my needle and thread and started stitching the pants up to the best of my ability. An hour and a half later, I had a pair of Shacks. Short slacks ;) Boys!

We were just minding our own business, sitting outside with some member friends in the evening when the sky started to turn dark. It was very odd how quickly it faded away. Lightning frequently illuminated the air in searing purple and white light. We watched in fascination until it was too close. The friends bid us farewell and we escaped to the car. Things were fine and dandy until the lightning became even more frequent. Then all at once, thick sheets of rain rapidly pelted the car. Fierce gales of wind blasted past us, rocking the poor Corolla back and forth, pushing over trees and signs and anything else in it's wake. I white knuckled that steering wheel as we pressed on, shouting "Whoa!" And doing our best to see the road. Thunder bolts and lightning, very very frightening me! It became so intense that people started just pulling over and camping out. We braved the storm and finished our 7 mile drive back home, fighting our way through the demonic hosts of hell and dodging branches and more. The rest of the night was spent watching electricity violently surge through the air and strike the dank land of Spokane. 

We mosy our way onto the airforce base every Tuesday and volunteer from 10:30 AM to 1 PM. The airforce prints out a pass for us when we have an inside man come with us to the office. We received our passes and were good, so we proceeded on to the guarded gates. The guard takes our passes, frowns, and asks, "when were you issued these?" He showed that the passes were to expire at 10 AM instead of 1 PM. Two guards with large automatic guns joined his side and frowned at us. We explained that there must have been a mistake, it was supposed to be 1 PM. They had us pull forward, where we were blocked by a Barrier in the front and armed military police in the back. As I sat there pondering, I had a nice thought. Wouldn't it be really cool if when you were at the gates of heaven, if somehow a mistake was made, you could just sit there and wait without a shadow of a doubt that you were innocent of any wrongs. This was a situation that we could be afraid in, but I sat there, perfectly calm, knowing we had done nothing wrong at all. After 10 minutes, we received an all clear because the people at the office acknowledged the error over the phone and we were permitted to enter the base without bullet holes or a jail sentence. I know that I am not a perfect person, but I know the grace of Jesus Christ helps the repentant sinner be clean, and I aspire to be as calm as I was in that moment when I someday stand before the judgement bar of God.

One fateful morning, I received a call from the mission president and was asked to go off speaker. I was prepared to tell him that whatever he heard I did, I didn't do. He instead sorrowfully informed me of some terrible news which rightfully so could have debilitated me for the rest of the week. I kind of stood in the darkness for a minute or two in awe, then remembered a pep talk I used to give myself all the time. It is, "so what are you going to do about it?" I realized that just sitting there and taking the day off or even the next few days off would do nothing but allow me to soak in the depths of sorrow. A scripture in Alma showed me exactly what must be done. Alma 4:13 in my own words says "these people who had suffered something terrible could have sat and felt sorry for themselves, but instead they served each other. Because of it, they felt joy even in afflictions." I've learned from working out that pain is a minigame. When it hurts the most is when you can not quit. You must press on and finish, for when you feel the pain is where you grow the most. I slapped this situation in the face, got up and began to serve. We had one lesson planned for the day. Instead, I uppercutted fate and led me and an exchange companion on into three unplanned lessons and one new investigator. It was very gratifying to see that when I was willing to take some steps forward, the Lord added his strength to mine and led us to victory. Not only that, but as I've "lost myself in the work" I've found the pain diminish near entirely and I feel as good as I did last week. Now if only that worked for sleep.

We got our transfer calls, and I am peacing out of airway heights and entering the dank land of Lewiston Idaho. Commonly referred to by missionaries as Lewistank, they have a paper mill which makes the whole town smell like rotten eggs. It's always sad to leave a great companion and many friends, but I have been here for six months, and so I'm ready to go to my final area. 

That's about all the goods I'll be sharing for today. Catch me next week in Idaho. Or, in like 6 weeks in Utah, I guess. Bye!

We had to do service and luckily I had these clothes in the trunk of the car!

Look Mom!  A Crawdad!

Hike with some of the guys

Me and my Shacks

A Pie In July

Oh hey everybody. Are you all having the best July of your life? There isn't smoke everywhere, so that's nice. Unless you're in Spokane. These people saw too much "dragon tales" as a kid and now they are always puffing smoke. But, anyways.

I had an exchange with a zone leader today, and it was a really amusing time for me. We exchanged right before dinner, and three minutes before it ended, he went to use the bathroom. I got my bike ready and had my helmet on. 10 minutes later, I was sitting on my couch. 40 minutes later, I was laying on the extra mattress. I eventually fell asleep! I slept for an hour, and he was still dying in the bathroom. It was so bad and constant we didn't go outside at all, so I put our DVD player by the bathroom so we could both watch Mr. Kruger's Christmas. The next morning, he was doing alright, so I put on my bike helmet and ready to go, and screams, "my hair!" He didn't want to ride bikes because his hair would get messed up. I told him it was a 2.1 mile walk, but he was persistent, so a walk it was! We have a good lesson, and when it's over, I say, "ok, we are going to be late exchanging back, so we have to jog. Ready? Go!" And he just screams "my shoes!" I guess he was wearing a really fancy pair of shoes he could not scuff, so we had to call the other elders and tell them we would be like an hour late. It was honestly a hilarious exchange for me. 

We are always going around, talking to people and doing cool stuff. It's a bit less common for people to tell us this, but once again, someone was telling us that they could see light emanating off of us. He said it wasn't a figure of speech, but he could physically see the light. I thought that was neat. 

This week was a bit harder on me. Maybe it was because I don't have a lot of time left. Maybe it was because of sleep deprivation. All I know is that I spent a few days kind of depressed and quiet. I found it interesting that those terrible feelings left whenever I was teaching the gospel and helping people. It's been harder to teach lessons with everyone cancelling lately, but when we were able to have them, I felt much better. I guess the gospel really does bring peace.

There is a family who just moved into our ward, and they have so much stuff!! But we brought 8 other Elders, so we got the job done. Mom and Dad are members, 11 year old girl isn't baptized because a missionary told her when she was seven that she didn't need to be baptized. So here we are! Dad tells us that she doesn't like missionaries and she never lets them teach her, so give it your best shot. I strung my sweet spiritual bow with two arrows at once. She loves art, so I talked to her about it for a while, then made a promise to return the next day with a brand new canvas for her to paint on. She was so happy! We then got in, had a 20 minute visit, shared a fun video and really made it entertaining for us to be there. Our innocent lil 11 year old had no idea being with missionaries could be so much fun. I also told her we'd bring like 3 other 11-12 year old girls to meet her, and now she is hooked. That's the story of how we added an "impossible" person to our teaching pool.

If you haven't noticed, I love teaching and being with younger kids. I'd teach them my whole mission if I could. One day as we were slopping through the dank streets of Airway Heights, these three kids see us across the way, and the boy is holding a container a mysterious blue liquid. He shouts, "wanna feel this stuff"? And I instantly agree and mosy my way on over to meet my three other new kid friends. They made a really thick slime and just couldn't wait for us to give it a feel. We hung out with them for like 30 minutes. They were so sad we had to go! We came back a couple days later and they were so excited to see us. I guess it's really just up to their parents now, but they would love for us to teach them some "Jesus stuff".

I dont have much else to say. We got three new people to teach this week, one person came to church for the very first time, I held a baby bunny, and I made us another delicious crock pot dinner. The field is yellow, all ready to harvest. 

Lookit the baby bunny

The field is ready to harvest

Because I can

A train picture for mom

Sunburns and Other Turns

This week was just great. Wait, I changed my mind. I don't need to write an intro. 

So some family invited us over to their home for dinner one evening. It was fun and games until they unveiled the meat that would be in our tacos: fish. Unlucky!! We could choose from fish sticks or shrimp, and I've had an unlucky history with both of these. I was willing to give it a shot, so I threw two fishsticks into my taco and doused it with cholula sauce. To my pleasant surprise, it was bearable! I didn't go for seconds, but I was able to get two whole fish sticks down the hatch. Maybe it was because I said a prayer to God, asking Him to make them tolerable to me. In any case, there can be miracles!

What luck! A few months ago, we passed a trailer, and even though we didn't say anything, the guy sitting outside told us that he was good. We got a referral to that exact trailer, unveiling my favorite kind of person to teach, a native American! I absolutely love to teach them about the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are so humble and willing to learn. She really absorbed the message of the restoration of the gospel. We left her as she felt the spirit strongly. She enjoyed the message so much that she smiled the whole time and could feel of it's truth. Yes.

I was reading in the book of Philippians, and there is a part where Paul is saying, he is torn between the idea of dying and being with Christ or staying and teaching the people on earth. I was really impressed with what he said, because it reminded me of my own mission. It's been tough as heck, and I've had recommendations to go home and get the help I need for my sleep multiple times. I've always just looked at that option and known that I should stay out here and fight my way through the fatigue. One day, I was so tired I couldn't even really reply to Elder Willis, I just followed him around. Well, when we finally got someone to answer a door, newfound strength overcame me and I was able to come alive and testify, helping us get another new investigator. Shortly after, I reverted back to my tired self. It's interesting that even though it feels impossible, when we do the work of the Lord, He provides a means for us to accomplish what he asks of us. I'm not citing that scripture. Anyhow, I, like Paul, would love to return home and rest and be with my family I haven't seen in almost two years, but I'm still needed out here, so I'll fight until the end.

Being a missionary is so weird. I've started to notice that some people have started to just like confess every crazy thing they've done or have had happen. I was talking to a bishop this week and realized we share the same perspective with sin. When someone comes up to me or him and confesses, we both generally think "I don't care that you did all that." And that's in a nice way. The reason we don't care is because the atonement is infinite and Christ can help turn the bad things you've done into a learning experience to help you grow. As long as you are willing to repent, no one really cares, and that fear you have from coming forward and saying you've done something bad comes straight from satan. Therefore, I say unto you, all 35 people who read these, shake off the chains with which ye are bound and come unto Christ. Give satan no more power over you to submit you to the yoke of bondage. Be ye free!

And that's all I really have to say for this week. It was a swell week. Maybe this next week will be even sweller. Maybe.

Doing service

Elder Willis and me at church 

Two Months Left For Me

I sure hope everyone had a great Independence Day! One interesting thing to me is that Nephi in the Book of Mormon saw in a vision America obtaining freedom from England in 1 Nephi chapter 13. Anyhow, if you wanted, you probably got to enjoy some nice fireworks! We had a major tree blocking off our view, but I was able to see some through two other people, so that was a blessing! 

As we were slopping through the city streets of the town of Spokane, we decided to peruse over to a particular apartment. One series of knocks later, a woman slides open the door along with her cute 18 month old daughter. This woman was taking the lessons and wanted to be baptized two years ago, but stopped taking the lessons because she went on bedrest five months into her pregnancy. She then moved from Cheney to here. We started teaching her again along with her brother in law and her less active husband. What a sweet blessing it was to find someone who had been hoping to once again make contact with the church. I love how God can lead us to his children in what seems to us like complete chance. 

One of the biggest things that stuck out to me this week was a lesson we had with a father who is engaged, and has been for years. When we asked him why he hasn't married her, he explained, "in my culture people don't stay married. It always ends in divorce, and it's too much work." I just sat there, almost heart broken, listening to how he says that you just can't have a happy family. I testified to him that it is possible to have a happy family. I told that man, "when I marry my wife, she'll be my queen, and I'll love her so much, I'll work to make sure that we can be together for time and all eternity." Who am I to talk about marriage, having never been married myself? What I do know is, a marriage takes work, and it isn't a walk in the park, but the privilege of starting a family with the one you love is one of the greatest blessings in existence, and a relationship touched by the hand of Jesus Christ can make it to the end and beyond. It is possible to have an eternal marriage, and with both members of the relationship working together, it will happen. 

Well. It's not very easy to write up a whole new email when you've only got three days worth of stuff, and not all of it is incredibly notable. I suppose I can share a funny story. We were walking around a woman's trailer, taking down all of the "no trespassing" signs as she requested. Well, we have giant dandelions up here, and if you kick them hard enough, it knocks off the bit that will eventually sprout tons of pollen and other nasties. I kick one and my shoe flies into the air and lands on the roof of the trailer. I had to mosy over to the front door, then reach to the roof and shimmy across by my fingertips until I reached where my shoe was, then pulled it down, and we finished the job as if nothing had happened.
So that's it for this week. Another successful week, we found five new people to teach. We refilled the fridge, rode bikes, visited friends and wrought miracles in the name of the Lord, and our loins were girt the whole time. 

Woah, A Thursday Email

Contrary to what you may believe, I did not forget to write to all of my friends this week. Our Pday was moved to today, July 4th! This was risky business in behalf of our stomach. Last P day, our debit cards were not refilled, and so we were low on money. Elder Willis was broke entirely and used some personal funds on some important food items, and I had little money left. We bought what we could and rationed as best as possible. It would be longer than usual before our next grocery trip, and the fridge certainly showed it. The shelves became more and more bare by the day, until that fateful morning when we discovered there was nothing left, aside from condiments and some butter. 

So anyways we've been busy here and there and everywhere in the name of the Lord. One cool person we've started teaching is a Muslim woman whose name is Kholoud. Her name is super fun to say, since it's difficult for people who only speak English. We had so much fun meeting her and talking about Christ and her culture and more. She showed me my name in Arabic and I showed her hers in Japanese. We asked if she could speak some Arabic for us, and so she said in Arabic, "thank you God for sending me these two handsome young men!" Man, we just had the greatest time hanging out with someone whose religion is closer to Christianity than you may think. She may not be "Christian" but I can see from the bounteous miracles in her life that "God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in". 

One day as we were slipping through the city streets, a couple had been discussing that they loved God and that they really wanted to return back to church. Just imagine their surprise as two young men in white shirts and ties show up at their door, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ! They are a young couple who moved recently and just had no idea what church they should attend, though they have been fond of ours since they have family members who have joined the church. We were able to return back the next day and share some more with them about how faith in Christ will bless their lives more than anything. (My definition of faith in Christ is to believe in him enough to do what he says. Most people up here believe in him but don't follow him.)  Anyways, they are going to mosy their way on down to church this week. Nice.

One day, we were waiting in our car for just a few minutes and contacting people through technology since our investigators weren't quite home yet. This 14 year old kid just prances on over and asks for a bible! I asked if he was referring to the "Mormon bible" or the actual one, and he wanted the Book of Mormon. We were able to just sit down with him and talk all about it and how God loves all his children. He said that he hadn't been baptized and he wanted to be, and he wants to join our church. I kinda just laughed to myself at how much the Lord has been blessing us lately. He doesn't live here in our area, so two missionaries near Moses Lake are about to receive what many people call a "golden referral." 

Break time for the biggest thing I learned this week. I was watching Elder Herem and just reflecting on how far he has come and stuff. He is a district leader now and just led his first district meeting. When he was being trained, I used to just throw tasks on him which seemed terrifying and unachievable. I knew he was capable of doing everything I asked, even when he didn't. I was then looking at my week, and how God had asked us to do impossible things. Days where we had headaches and leg cramps and no food and it was too hot and people were mean. We could have just called it good and went to the apartment and sat around, but instead, we went out to work. We didn't know where to go or who to talk to, but we went, using as much of the spirit as we could feel through our suffering, and every time we persevered, we found someone who needed us and "our burdens were made light, that even we could not feel them." Since I was a "father" to Elder Herem, I was able to understand why God would make everything so difficult. Like God did with me, I never left Elder Herem by himself in those situations. I only needed him to try, and once he tried, I would join and together, we forged legends. So now I understand, God will from time to time test our faith and put before us tasks which seem impossible so that we will have an opportunity to grow. As soon as we put one foot in front of the other and press on, he will add his power to yours and help you overcome the enemy. 

There is a widow woman of the Lutheran faith who is the aunt of one of our dear widow members, and they are next door neighbors. Like President Monson, I love to go over and visit the widows and help them feel friendship and love and all that jazz. We come over two to three times a week to get a drink of lemonade, even if we aren't thirsty, then spend some time on them deck and share spiritual thoughts with them. We have helped her with service many times and even helped the Lutheran one too. She has heard enough of our little messages and felt the holy ghost enough that she has decided that after all these years, she "better listen to those missionaries!" And so we have started going over and sharing the actual lessons with them. It has been a dream going and reading from the Book of Mormon and sharing the restored gospel with her, and seeing her brain put together these missing pieces and understand even better who her father in heaven is. She has enjoyed it so much that she also will be coming to church this week. Nice.

This email is getting long, so I'll just sum up with we found two more people, a brother and sister who moved from Hawaii. My Dad had talked about Hawaii and surfing enough for me to slip my way into their hearts, coupled with my love for spam and rice. They love us and we have a blast each time we see them. So that's 6 for the week! Other news: I reached my mission goal of 100 consecutive push ups, took more pictures with people's pets, learned how to ride my bike while standing and not hold the handlebars, made an incredibly tasty chicken in a crock pot and grew even stronger in a love and knowledge of our savior Jesus Christ. That's all for this week! Hopefully no one's Dad sets off a firework that blasts across the street and lights the canal trail on fire. 

Behold my crock pot dinner

Look Ma, No Hands!

I found another little kitten

Me and Elder Willis doing service