ONE DOWN, 23 TO GO!!!
I know, I know. I'm a WHOLE WEEK BEHIND!! No worries, I love being able to let y'all know how I'm doing. I know I said in my last email there wouldn't be as much, but c'mon it was 11 days worth of stuff haha. This won't be any different (it's not even as many days haha).
Another fun thing I've realized is how often I have to shave. As per mission standards, we have to stay clean shaven while serving a mission. Now, I don't have crazy genes that make me shave twice a day, but I still have to shave about two to three times a week! It's not that bad though. I just didn't think it would be so frequent.
I did need to clarify something I kind of mentioned on accident and never explained it. One of my paragraphs last week had a short little thing in parenthesis that said
"(song lyrics)" or something along those lines. Basically there's a song that I really love, the bridge and chorus reminded me of Jesus Christ, so I changed the verses to make it more Gospel-centered. Wow I actually kept that simple, clear, and brief. Looks like all that practice at the MTC worked haha.
Before I start the week, really quick I had a thought to share:
Y'all, I knew you prayed a lot on the mission, but I didn't realize you pray THIS much! And I love it! It never crossed my mind that we can quite literally pray whenever for anything we do. It doesn't have to just be one and done in the morning/night and over the food we eat (keep doing that though). We can pray to our Father in Heaven for ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING, WHENEVER!! It's super cool to me that we do that. I've even lost count some days haha.
One of the other things we do as a mission, associated with praying, is something we call Miracle Prayer. Every morning at 10 am (excluding Sunday because we'll be in church at that time) we say a prayer to start the day before heading out and doing the Lord's work. We pray for miracles throughout the day, whether they be big ones, or as I like to call them, micro-miracles. It's fun to have that in the back of our minds so we focus on the good in the day even when the days are not so successful. I'd like to invite everyone who ends up reading this to join in Miracle Prayer everyday at 10 am. It doesn't have to be super fancy or specific. Just ask Heavenly Father to bring miracles into your life and the lives of your loved ones.
Tuesday 10/27
Okayyy, now that that's done I can start the week haha. I'VE BEEN A MISSIONARY FOR A MONTH LET'S GOOO!!! Now I only have 23 more to go hahaha. In all seriousness, I can tell it will fly by. So, I'm doing everything I can to enjoy the little things and take the trials in stride.
DC (district council) was held in the Union building this week. Y'all it's the coolest building you'll ever see. The main point of DC is to talk about how the week went with our goals, which friends are progressing, and how we can help each other in our efforts to bring people closer to Christ.
We finished up and headed to TacoTime for lunch. I'd never had it but it was pretty good all things considered. Poor Elder Heyward couldn't stop making a mess with his burrito. I think half of it somehow ended up on the floor. It's not his fault though haha.
Seminary was really fun as it usually ends up being. Helping the youth with their testimonies is so fun cause I never had that in my small town of Snyder. After that we contacted a wholeeee lot. We checked on a friend we were trying to teach but nothing came of that. There was a member family who lived nearby so we said hello before their daughter was to be set apart as a missionary!! It was fun to give some quick advice as she prepares to dedicate 18 months to the Lord.
We then had a dinner appointment with a member family. We had some amazing food and it was actually a pretty crazy dinner. I was being made fun of a lot by the boys in the family. It reminded me of home in a very good way. I was able to share a message about sacrifices and the blessings we can receive when we sacrifice what is asked of us. The mom had even made homemade bread and it was DELICIOUS! She sent us home with some as well. Made my day!
Wednesday 10/28
Comp study is actually so fun with Elder Heyward. We have some amazing discussions and we talk about some cool topics to prepare for questions we may get. We had to wrap up a bit early cause we have this thing that we do every week called Online Mentoring. A return missionary will Zoom Call us and walk us through some things to make us better missionaries. He actually served in Roseville, CA which is where Elder Heyward is from!! It was a fun little miracle and they talked for a bit, reminiscing. We talked together about friends we had and who we can focus on this week.
Lunch time!! We struggled for a bit trying to figure out what to eat, but I convinced my super awesome comp to do a Mix n' Match deal at Dominos. While we waited for the pizza to be ready, we went across the parking lot to TJ Maxx so I could look for a winter coat. Long story short, not a single store has sufficient winter gear, I got a $175 Calvin Klein jacket for $50 (what a STEAL) and it's getting colder at night so I bought a super comfy Oregon Duck blanket.
The next thing we had planned after lunch was volunteering at the thrift store we visited last Saturday. We helped with closing tasks like vacuuming and cleaning the store. She is so organized and neat it reminded me of how my mom likes the house back home (it never was cause I would never clean it haha). While we were cleaning we got to talk to another volunteer about why we're on missions, and basically just share a testimony because we can't teach while we do service. He's super cool and hopefully we'll see him next week as well. Liz was super nice and was thankful for our service. She even gave us a lesson on loving everyone cause you never know what they are going through and dealing with. I may need to work on that for the future.
When the store closed, we headed to dinner with the Stake President and his wife. I was able to get to know them better which is good since I'm still here for four and a half more weeks haha. We shared a message about the Iron Rod being the word of God in Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life found in 1 Nephi Chapters 8, 11-15. Along with the scriptures being the word of God, modern day Prophets and Apostles messages in General Conference are divinely inspired, meaning what's shared is the word of God. We must heed the words of the leaders of the Church if we want to be able to find true and everlasting joy.
Next we had a Trunk or Treat to visit in the 3rd Ward. As we were about to head inside to see the members, we called a guy who has met with missionaries before. He expressed some interest in meeting with us and we are gonna try and get him to church.
The Trunk or Treat was really good. We met with a couple and young daughter who the Sister missionaries found almost two years ago! They had never celebrated holidays before and they really enjoyed the activity. They're pretty busy but we'll get something set up with them. They're so cool!!
(Before leaving the building we went to shoot some hoops. I am proud to say as a non-basketball player, I NAILED three in a row including a half-court shot haha)
Thursday 10/29
We woke up, did our personal study, and went out to find rakes to do some “rake-tracting” where we go around asking people if we can rake the leaves in their yards. We kind of didn't get a rake because we were deciding which one was the best/cheapest haha. We went to the church to do comp study, and that lasted about 20 minutes before a member (the same family who has their daughter going on a mission) called us to help move a bed for their friend. After we did that we talked with the newly set apart Sister and talked about the MTC and Home-MTC. It was super fun and they even gave us drinks and a snack to go haha. She took a picture of us three and sent them to our mom's (I later learned that they talked for quite a bit after that).
After we ate our leftover Dominos for lunch, we headed to the Stake Center to weekly plan how to help our friends as we go about this next week. We also did a Device Accountability Check (making sure we're using our devices appropriately). It went well and we set goals for the next seven days. We planned and did the check with the hour and a half we had, then went to a new member to read the BoM with him and talk to him about it.
We had a cool moment when trying to find someone. We were knocking on a door to find someone who had been found but told the previous Elders or Sisters to come back another time. We knocked on the door and they said to come back on the weekend. As we were about to leave, we asked a lady who worked for the apartments (we didn't know when we asked) if she would like to hear a message. She said she was really busy with something but that her mom was a member, lived in Union, and might like a visit because she hasn't been to church in a while. We got her mom's name and thanked her before we left. We'll see what comes of it.
Before going to Institute for the week, we stopped by a former member (the mom) and checked on her son who we're trying to get to come to church cause he's been taught before. We saw they're kittens and the family is doing great.
Institute was really fun. We talked about saving ordinances, priesthood ordinances, celestial kingdom progression. It was a cool topic to discuss. And although I kinda forgot the specifics about it, I knew that what was being taught was true. Foosball after the class was intense. I went against Elder Heyward and we both had one of the YSA members with us. I ended up losing a close game and I wasn't that great of a sport. Guess I'm just too competitive haha.
Elder Jacobs and Elder Penrose went to Enterprise so it's pretty boring at night. Elder Heyward and I swapped SIM cards. Once a week you swap who is in charge of sending texts and calling people. I'm kinda scared of being in charge of the communication haha, but it will work out. So we did that and I was able to get some cool music/conference talk messages.
Friday 10/30
My parents and siblings will not be surprised by this, but I may or may not have been living out of my suitcase this past week haha. So I decided to wake up at 6:30, start a load of laundry, and get ready. As I waited for my clothes, I made a really good breakfast and listened to some conference talks.
We contacted some members to try and get in on some lessons that we had, then we headed over to the Stake Center to do comp study. After doing our personal part of the companionship study, we role played lesson one in Preach My Gospel. We had done role plays at the MTC already, and it was pretty awkward, but for some reason now that I'm in the field, it's a lot easier and a lot more natural to do. I could tell Elder Heyward has been doing this for a long time because his role play was absolutely amazing. He didn't even worry about time, which is what we did at the MTC. It was just nice and easy. I even threw in some curve balls to get him to think. His answers were spot on.
When we finished comp study, we went to Walmart for some rakes and a couple of other things. It was crazy because it's not even Halloween, and the Christmas stuff is already being sold. As we were checking out, we got a referral and when we called nothing happened. It happens quite often, but we always check in case someone is truly interested in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Elder Jacobs and Elder Penrose took some amazing pictures at Enterprise which I'm super jealous about. They even got a video of them petting a deer. It just walked up to them like a dog haha.
Another thing we do on Fridays every week is Ward Emails. It's pretty time consuming, but very necessary so the members of the ward know how we're progressing with people and how they can help. It actually went by a lot faster because I'm starting to get used to the PMG app and how to use it. Along with that I know a lot more of the people that were teaching, which makes it easier for me to write stuff about them.
Once we finished up with the emails, we went to an address on a referral to try and meet with the guy. No one was there but we called the phone number and he answered. He's probably in a different house now because there was a lot of background noise and we didn't hear anything when we were at the house that we knocked on. He may come to church on Sunday, and he seemed pretty interested. We also stopped by another guy who we tried to visit on Wednesday. We knocked on his door and he answered, and we got to share a little bit about the Book of Mormon. He told us now wasn't a good time, but we could stop by any other time and share a lesson later.
We also had a lesson with one of our progressing friends, and we were able to get a member in on the lesson because we needed another male there. She wanted us to give her a priesthood blessing of healing and to dedicate her home. So the lesson was focused on Priesthood Authority, Prophets, and always relying on Christ. Elder Heyward dedicated the home, I anointed the oil, and the other member gave her the blessing. It was really cool to hear that she already felt a lot better after it. That's the power of the Priesthood with the help of Heavenly Father.
We went to the fourth ward Trunk or Treat for about 20 minutes, said hi to some of the members that I hadn't met yet, and ate some pretty good chili. We had to leave early though because we had volleyball with the YSA. We ended up having six Elders there, including our DL and a ZL (Elder Hall) who is here on exchange. It was super fun and this time every team that I was on pretty much won haha.
Saturday 10/31
Happy Halloween!! Elder Heyward and I slept in (once again) but we got ready quickly and did our comp study in the Stake Center. Elder Jacobs and Elder Penrose were in the FHC (Family History Center) where they did comp study, ward emails, and they looked at their family trees. It turned into a competition to see who could go back the furthest. Elder Heyward won going back all the way to 2100 BC, while I only made it to 820 BC when we had to go. I learned I'm a descendant of Scandinavian kings on my mom's side. Seeing how far back the line goes reminded me how grateful I am for my grandparents for doing our family history and digitizing records for other people so we can look back and have that knowledge about our ancestors.
We called a friend after lunch about trying to set up a lesson. We were able to set up a member lesson with her which was a huge miracle!! I'm looking forward to that lesson!
When we finished up finalizing the lesson, we headed back to the Stake Center for English Connect. We even had two new people show up, along with the other elders. We focused on how “by small and simple things great things will come to pass” (Alma 37:6). It's really fun being able to teach them this language, and how to persevere when we struggle and that it's okay to mess up. It's the same way in the Gospel. It’s okay to mess up, and we learn from those mistakes, but Heavenly Father loves the effort that we make when we continue to do what is right.
Apparently, there's a community trick or treat on one of the main streets in town, so we went down and talked to some amazing people in the town including some members (I also pet lots of dogs haha). While we were walking around and getting lots of candy haha, one of the Elders in the zone group chat asked about calling family because it's a holiday technically. One of the Elders responded by referencing 1 Nephi 13:22 ( I highly recommend reading that). We had a lesson scheduled at 7:00, (we have to be indoors by 6:00 since it's a holiday where people are outside a lot, unless we have an appointment scheduled), but he ended up canceling on us. Oh well, it happens a lot but we continue with the work. It was honestly a miracle that he even responded because he usually doesn't, so there's a positive (on our way back to the car after getting ready to head back to the house, I saw a car with a Texas license plate and just had to take a selfie haha. Never thought I'd see one this far north).
Dinner was provided for by a member couple who we've met before. They had some food from the Islander group in the 2nd Ward covered by the other Elders. They had some barbecue ribs, rice, what looked like boiled beef and a whole fish that was cut in half and split between two containers. I had the fish head, and it was actually pretty good but you don't get a lot of meat because there's a lot of bones haha. The only other good thing in the container was the ribs and it was amazing.
We got invited to a member's house for a Halloween party so we stopped by for a visit. It was really fun and we got to talk to a lot of the ward members and fellowship.
Since we were planning on driving a lot the next day, we filled up the car and bought windshield wiper fluid since we were low. Once we got back to the house we reported our miles, and set our prayers for the night. Elder Heyward and his last companion started something where they would put together a list of people they were teaching and members who they would pray for every night. We continue the tradition, and we add names as we continue to meet people and talk with them. It's really nice to be able to constantly try to bless them with our prayers and faith, and we always hope that our faith is enough to bless them.
Once we went inside after the prayer, we decided to play a little card game before going to bed. It's called Latter-Day Sillies and it's pretty much an LDS version of Cards Against Humanity. We had lots of good laughs and we may have stayed up a little past bedtime haha.
Sunday 11/1
My first Fast Sunday in the field!! And boy was it a powerful one. We had a busy schedule planned out between the wards and the branch that we had to visit. The 3rd Ward was the first that we visited and we were the first ones to bear our testimonies since we had to head over to Union after. I went first and shared personal experience and a message on looking for the Light of Christ in others. It doesn't matter how people act or what they're going through, if we look for the good in people, then we will find it. Something one of the Elders in my MTC district told us was to “be quick to assume good” and I really love that cause it goes along perfectly with that message. Elder Heyward also gave a wonderful testimony about miracles that he's seen in his life.
When he finished with his testimony, we booked it to Union so we wouldn't miss the Sacrament meeting. Elder Heyward went up first this time, sharing something similar to what he did with the 3rd Ward. And then it was my turn to share. I'll keep this version shorter.
The Thursday before I was set apart as a missionary, things from my past were brought up (things I am not proud of and didn't want to be reminded of) by people that I knew in high school, and I felt like a horrible person because of it. I didn't feel like I was worthy to serve a mission. I was yelling at myself because I was a fraud, and was in a horrible state of mind. I took my car from work early, and was going to drive until something happened. I had the prompting to go talk to an off duty police officer about it. I shared what I was experiencing, the Sheriff's Office got involved because they were worried about my safety, and then eventually I talked to a mental health advisor about it. Well, the time came for my dad to pick me up from the mental health place because I didn't have my car with me. He had to leave work and hurry back over there cause he had some patients waiting. We walked into his office and he closed the door, and I'm thinking, “Great, I'm going to get in so much trouble.” As I'm about to sit down, he tells me to stand back up. I turn around, and he gives me the biggest hug ever. I could just feel God's love for me pouring out of him and I needed that. I talked to him about what was happening and he said, “Son, I'm not disappointed in you because of what you did (though he was very worried about me). I'm disappointed that you didn't talk to me first.” I felt really bad that I didn't talk to him, but as I reflected on this experience I realized that this is exactly how Heavenly Father feels whenever we don't turn to Him and our struggles. This is what He feels when we turn to the world to cope, and not to Him for peace. And that's what Heavenly Father is there for. He wants us to talk to Him. He knows what's going on in our lives, but He still wants us to tell Him, because He wants to help us. And we can only do that if we talk to Him through prayer.
After I gave my testimony, so many other members shared their testimonies and it almost felt like they were speaking directly to me and said things that I really needed to hear. One of the testimonies was from a primary girl who simply said that Heavenly Father loves all of his children. And I just about lost it. Sometimes just the simple testimonies that bear the most truth can hit you with the spirit in the most powerful ways.
The YSA branch was more familiar. Being in a small town living in a branch, it was a lot more comfortable for me to speak in front of them. Even though they're all older than me and I was the youngest one in that room haha. I shared a quick thought on Elder Holland's talk “No Place For the Enemy of My Soul”. The focus of my remarks were on the fact that every time we do something that we eventually regret, we always ask “what was I thinking?” The answer is you weren't thinking of Jesus Christ. And it would help a whole lot if before we make a decision that we might come to later regret, we think of how much it might hurt our loved ones, or even Jesus Christ who bore all those sins and how much we're making Him suffer. I loved that because a lot of times we feel like what we've done cannot be forgiven, but that's not true. And so having that reassurance in the back of our minds that repentance is always possible, even if we make a mistake, is something that I always want.
I also heard a cool testimony on trials. The gist of it was that Heavenly Father personalizes our trials because only we can learn from them and no one else can. So whenever we compare trials, stop thinking of it like all this person would handle it better. Because maybe they wouldn't learn from it like you would.
We ended up going to the 4th Ward's Priest Quorum where we talked about education and the importance of learning. I shared something that I learned in the MTC. Basically, for a lot of people you don't have to know everything when going out on a mission. The point of the MTC is for us to strengthen our testimonies and conversion to Christ, so that we can then better bring others closer to Christ. There's also a scripture in 1 Nephi 11:17. It reads, “And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.” We don't need to know everything to be happy or to be successful. All we need to know is that God loves us and that we can find joy, true joy in Jesus Christ when we live the commandments given to us. That for me, is enough and it’s all I need to know.
We had a meeting with the newly set apart ward missionaries. We gave a quick 5-minute lesson with them about our purpose as missionaries, and for them to review the principles and PMG chapter 3 lesson 1. When we finished up with that we headed to Union because we had a youth fireside about relying on Christ in our everyday lives.
We watched an eight minute video about how burdens help us gain spiritual traction, and that we need to go through trials so that we can grow closer to the Savior. Elder Heyward shared some personal experiences about relying on the Savior, and I shared a conference talk by Elder Gary E. Stevenson called “Plain and Precious Truths” that went along with what I shared in Union for Sacrament meeting. Elder Stevenson talked about how when he was called to serve as an apostle by President Monson, the inadequacy he felt was overwhelming. President Monson shared similar feelings when he was called as an apostle by President David O. McKay, and told (at the time) Bishop Stevenson, “...the Lord will qualify those whom He calls.” I love that line, because being on a mission, we don't need to worry about being perfect when we serve a perfect God. Elder Stevenson continued by talking about how instead of focusing on what we can't do, focus on what we can do. And that is to testify of the plain and precious truths of the Gospel. “God is our [loving] Heavenly Father. We are His children. … He weeps with us when we suffer and rejoices when we do what is right. He wants to communicate with us, and we can communicate with Him through sincere prayer…Heavenly Father has provided us, His children, with a way to … return to live in His presence. … Central to our [Heavenly] Father’s plan is Jesus Christ’s Atonement.” I'm so thankful I was able to speak to the youth about my experiences and how they can better rely on the Savior through their trials.
We were a little late to dinner because we were talking to a lot of the youth at the fireside, but we made it there in time to eat. It was white chicken chili at a member's house (the same one we went to last Sunday). I was super excited about dinner, not only because it was our first meal all day and it was 7:00 p.m., but because none of the chili at the chili cook-offs were white chicken chili, and that is by far the best chili out there haha. We had lots of fun talking with the family and just connecting with each other. Three of their boys were at the fireside and when they were asked to share what they learned, they didn't say anything. I guess we're just horrible teachers haha. So instead I shared a message on the spot, similar to what I shared at the fireside.
Back at the house, I think Elder Jacobs ate too much Halloween candy. He was doing some crazy stuff when we got back. It was hilarious though. All four of us missionaries even tried kicking a small basketball into a small hoop near the kitchen. We spent about 10 minutes straight doing that, but we eventually made it in the goal, went crazy, and even got it on video haha.
Monday 11/2
P-day once again!! Honestly I felt like I didn't do anything all day. The other Elders were coming up here to La Grande because we went to Baker last time. They didn't show up till noon, so the four of us elders went shopping. I am happy to mention that I only spent $30 on food this week (I still had lots of food from the $80 I spent two Thursdays ago haha). When the other Elders showed up, we grabbed some lunch, looked around a store for about 30 minutes, got our food, took it back to the Stake Center, ate our food, played volleyball, and called family.
When they left to go back to Baker (including Elder Penrose since he was doing an exchange), we went back to the house for a little bit. Elder Jacobs and Elder Evans had a priesthood blessing that they went to give, but they needed a third male present, so we joined them at the hospital to do that. Before giving the blessing at the ICU, I realized just how precious life is, and how much we take for granted sometimes. It was a very humbling experience for me to be there. Elder Jacobs gave a wonderful blessing and we headed back to the house.
FHE (Family Home Evening) was that night as well, so we went back to the church and did that for about an hour and a half. We did some volleyball and basketball. It was lots of fun, and I'm better at basketball than I thought I was, haha.
(On another note, since being set apart, I told myself I would not miss a single day of journaling. HAHAHAHA, yeah that was not going to happen. So, I will be typing up about the day as it goes on. That way I can just put it all together and send it out in the email. This will be my new journaling haha)
Y'all, I love hearing how your weeks are . I am reading every single one of your emails so please don't stop emailing. Even though I may not be able to get back to you personally, it brings me a lot of joy to hear from you all.
I am so sorry again for how late this is. I'll hopefully be sending this week's email later today but if not, you get it next week haha. Until next time, God loves you!!
Lots of love,
Elder Hough
PICTURESSSS!!
Elders Heyward & Hough, Sister Davis, and her mom, Kelli Davis
Something he didn't think he'd see in Oregon any time soon!
