Week #91

Hi Mom!

This week was a lot better than the last! We didn't see a whole lot happen last week but this week we have started to see some miracles. Last week was the phase we had to make it through in order to receive great blessings in the weeks to come. I found great peace at the temple and it helped me to be able to gain a little bit of motivation. It was a great experience!

Training is going okay. The trainer trainee relationship is one of the most difficult relationships. We have struggles sometimes but we are very open with each other and can resolve any conflicts that we have almost instantly. We'll for sure stay together for at least one more transfer but I have a feeling that Elder Ellsworth is going to be my last companion. I hope that I don't have to get a new companion and have to readjust. I told President Brown in interviews that I would prefer to end my mission here in Sandusky but also that I am willing to have a one transfer area at the very end if he needed me to. I would be pretty bummed if that happened but it's all good. 

The district is going pretty well. One of the Elders here I came out with. His name is Elder Miller. He's awesome! We get along really well and have a ton of fun together. Our district is slowly growing in unity. We're all friends but the sisters aren't as close with us this transfer as they were the last one. 

We haven't been able to meet with Heather again. She has been sick the last week and is still getting over it. When we called her, she said she still really wants to meet with us. She's earnestly seeking truth so it will be a blast to teach her. Yesterday, Elder Ellsworth and I walked a crap ton of miles, doing some tracting and contacting. We found some amazing people! On one street we found 3 families that were all interested and we have return appointments for later this week. We also found a Less Active member that just moved here and wants to get back into church and we found a guy that is really struggling right now. He's going through some pretty major trials right now and really needs God in his life. He recognized us as servants of God and was stoked to meet with us. Hopefully we'll be able to turn these potentials into investigators this week. We've been hurting on finding new investigators.

A sad yet powerful experience this week came when we visited with Caroline. We went by to see her last Saturday and I can't remember if I mentioned before or not but her mom lives in the same nursing home as her. Caroline's mother has struggled with her health ever since I have been here in Sandusky. Before we got down to Caroline's room on Saturday, a nurse stopped us and told us that her mother had passed away earlier in the day. I knew that Caroline was going to be taking it pretty hard. As soon as she saw us she started to cry. As I came up close to her, I dropped to my knees next to her wheelchair and gave her a hug. She clung to me and cried for close to 10 minutes. As this went on, all I could feel was peace. I knew that it was going to be okay. Since then, we've been visiting Caroline often to keep her spirits high. She's doing pretty well. She's a positive person so I'm sure she'll be fine.

All of our other investigators keep flamming or canceling on us which is super frustrating. It was a huge blessing to find so many amazing people yesterday though. 

I can't think of much else to mention. I wish I could call you and tell you everything! I guess I'll just have to wait a couple of weeks! I love you tons and thanks SO MUCH for the Easter package! Those quarters are awesome! You're the best mom!!!!! Have a great week!

Love,

Jack

Week #90

Hi Mom!!!

So sorry that I'm emailing you before you get to email me. I won't have any time to email tomorrow so we decided to today. 

This week was full of walking! We've been working hard to find new investigators and luckily the weather has been fairly cooperative. However, on Thursday it just rained all day long! Elder Ellsworth and I had been walking in it for hours, doing stop bys and trying to talk to people. We were going to take dinner at 8pm and just work all day long. It had been one of those days that drags on SO long! Well it was 7 pm, close to dinner time, and we had planned to go tracting. I was dreading it, not wanting to be wet anymore. I decided after knocking on the first door that I was going to try and lighten up the mood. Both of us were just about ready to call it quits. I saw this monster of a puddle so without taking time to think about the consequences, I jumped as high as I could and planted both feet firm in the center of the puddle. I probably sent a 6 foot radius of water in all directions. Elder Ellsworth and I almost fell over we laughed so hard! We continued to tract even though we were soaking wet! I made sure to jump in every single puddle I could on the walk home! Then we decided that we needed to take the edge off by going to get some buffalo wild wings for dinner. Good times! That's how we turn a crappy day into a memorable experience!

We picked up a new investigator this week which was great! Her name is Abbagail, unfortunately, today she sort of dropped us. She is still willing to meet, but only to hear what we believe, not out of the intention of joining. Hopefully she will change her mind. 

We also have a great potential investigator named Heather. I can't remember if I told you about her already or not but we found her through tracting. I saw this street called vine street, and back in Ashland there was a street called vine street. The only thing I remember about Vine Street in Ashland was that every single person we talked to on the street was either super angry or completely ignored us. I wanted to see if all vine streets were that way. So that's how we decided to tract vine street in Sandusky. Heather, the mother of I think 7 or 8 kids is so prepared! She has been searching for truth but hasn't been satisfied by what she has seen in other religions. She has turned to her own study of the bible. She was pumped when we told her about the Book of Mormon. She has some hang ups on "the whole Joseph Smith thing" but is willing to read and pray. We were going to teach her last weekend but she got way sick so we are planning to see her this weekend if she is feeling better. 

Like I said, tomorrow we're going to the temple. I'm so excited to have some time to soak up the spirit. It is much needed right now. I'm feeling a little beaten down and the temple is what I need to recharge my batteries! We're going to the 11 am session and the 1 pm session. So excited! 

In closing, a wise joke from my companion....

- What did the buffalo say to his son when he went to college?

"Bison"

HAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!!!!

Love you Mom! ! I can't believe April is almost half way over! I feel like its still March. That just means that I'll get to talk to you before I know it! Have a great week!

Love,

Jack

Week #89

Hi Mom!

This week was definitely an interesting one. The move went well. We finished unpacking yesterday so it took forever. I was so used to just packing my suit cases and calling it good but we had to move all our furniture and everything as well. It was so worth it though! Our new apartment is about 54 times better than our last one. We have a lot more open space and it doesn't have 10 years worth of missionary crap every where. Our new location is much quieter. Our last apartment was uncomfortably close to a rail road track which was unfortunate. My body eventually figured out how to sleep through anything! But now we can hardly hear the soothing blare of a train horn off in the distance. I would say the only down side of our new apartment is that we have to pay a fortune for laundry! It costs a buck 50 for a wash and a buck 50 for a dry! Oh well, I didn't want to go to college anyway.

We have done a lot of finding this week. I always have so much fun talking to different people! We tracted and contacted for many hours yesterday and I had a blast. Elder Ellsworth and I were so beat by the end of the day. I fell asleep in a matter of seconds. My feet still hurt from walking haha! I don't know if I told you but I have a goal to wear a hole in the bottoms of my brown shoes that you gave me last christmas. I think I'm getting close bit it's going to take a lot of walking in the next 4 months! 

Some of our investigators are still struggling with keeping appointments but some are doing better. Denitra is one of the ones that is doing better. We FINALLY got to meet with her AND her daughter Lauren. They both want to learn together. I think that they will help each other keep commitments and really progress. Denitra has so many questions and hungers after understanding so she's fun to teach. Lauren just sits back and takes it all in. Our lesson with them was good. We went over the Restoration with them which brought up a lot of questions but also answered a lot. Denitra might take a while to teach because she wants to understand perfectly. I think that will help her want to read and learn on her own which would be great!

On Saturday, we went and did some tracting in between sessions. I was so fired up from conference and determined to find someone to teach. We knocked on this one door with who knows how many kids inside. When Heather, the mom came to the door, she was very willing to talk to us. She has been searching for the truth for a long time. She has stopped going to church and has been reading the bible on her own to find answers. Her story reminded me exactly of Joseph Smith's. We told her that all her questions can be answered from the Book of Mormon. She was stoked to read it! We're going to see her this Saturday and teach the full Restoration to her which should answer all of her questions. She's amazing! 

We have a few other potentials that we've got. Elder Ellsworth has been really good at being real with people and making an instant connection with them which has really helped us to find more potentials. Like I said, finding is blast for me! I love it! When the weather gets even warmer and Cedar point opens up, there are going to be so many people to talk to! 

Love you so much mom! Can't wait to talk to you in a few weeks! I miss you guys like crazy! It will be even better to give you a hug in LESS THAN 4 MONTHS! I already have marked on my calendar for the 27th of July "give mom a hug!" Looking forward to that! Love you! Have a great week!

Love,

Jack

Week #88

Hi Mom!! 

This week was so much fun! Elder Ellsworth and I are having a great time together! He's a great kid! I think that he is the least home sick person I have ever met! He's 21 and is from Utah. He has already spent many years away from home so he's pretty well adjusted to that aspect of the mission. He's one of the most energetic people I've ever met haha! He's sometimes hard to keep up with! I love it! We work so unbelievably hard. We've been doing tons of finding. Elder Ellsworth has been getting the hang of contacting and tracting. It's so fun to see him grow and change! it reminds me so much of when I was being trained. But like I said, we get along really well and have a blast together!

As far as investigators go, we have been struggling with meeting all of them. We still get to see Caroline pretty frequently but other than that, it's pretty spotty. Caroline is doing great! We're working on getting her to read more consistently from the Book of Mormon. We're taking it slow with her. She's going through a hard time right now but hopefully, we can help her eventually work towards baptism. 

Robert is doing okay. We are cracking down on smoking with him. He wants so badly to live the word of wisdom but can't shake addictions. I think we're going to try and do some of the addiction recovery program with him to help him fight addiction. He's such a solid dude! 

The weather is starting to warm up so more and more people are outside. We've been talking to EVERYONE trying to find those that are prepared. We are seriously working so dang hard! I sleep like a rock every night because of how hard we're working each day. 

We went on exchanges with the zone leaders yesterday we had a great pillow talk. That's just when we talk as we lay in bed. We stayed up and talked way too long! We didn't get to sleep until 2:30 in the morning! I was so dead the next day. I now firmly believe that red bull was a divinely inspired creation. Without it, I wouldn't have gotten through the day! 

I'm excited to be with Elder Ellsworth. We are going to make this area blow up! It's going to be sweet! 

Love you so much mom! You're the best! Thanks for helping me out with school! 

Love,

Jack