Monday, March 29, 2010
March 23, 2010
Hello everyone,
Well well well...where do I begin? On Saturday Elder Hernandez and I were in the Mission Office for a big part of the day. We were planning trainings for Zone Leader Council that was held on Monday. That's where all of the Zone leaders come from all over the mission and are trained by us and the mission president. We did two different trainings together. One on Obedience and another on Priestcraft. We did the one of Obedience because President Olson wanted us to, but also because there has been a lot of leadership that is breaking mission rules...being "apostate". The training on Priestcraft was related to making the trainings/meetings that the Zone leaders give to other missionaries more effective. I'll have to send you copies of the trainings to help you understand better. I was a little nervous beforehand but both trainings went well and President Olson was happy with them.
We cover 2 wards in our area here in Ogden. We went to both wards on Sunday and I enjoyed them. We have 2 investigators with baptismal dates right now, and they were both at church on sunday. It's a mom and her 18 yr old daughter. They are way cool people...we are gonna help them paint their living room on saturday. I also get to go back to Brigham City on saturday for 2 baptisms of people that I taught in my last area. I'm excited about that. We did more planning in the office on sunday afternoon and then went out in the evening and visited people.
It's kind of a weird situation. I kinda have 2 companions. Elder Hernandez is the other Assistant, but him and I are separated with another companionship that we live with. Elder Mitchell and Elder Swisher are the other companionship. My other companion is Elder Mitchell. I'm with Elder Hernandez during Assistant responsibilities (Preparing trainings, Zone Conferences, Exchanges, etc), but during normal proselyting I'm with Elder Mitchell. It's gonna take some getting used to but it's all good. Oh guess what. Elder Hernandez and I get to go to a Mission President Seminar/AP Meeting at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake on April 16th. President even told us that they are going to arrange underground parking for us where the General Authorities park! :)
About General Conference. I get to go to ALL SESSIONS of General Conference. Saturday and Sunday. It's gonna be sweet! I'm way excited. Then I guess inbetween sessions we can just do whatever. It will be fun to go with some of the other missionaries. Who do you guys know that is going?
On Monday we took care of some more office work and then we went out and taught a lesson to some investigators. Ogden is sooo different that anywhere else I've served. It's a different kind of missionary work. The people here are dramatically less fortunate than most. It's sad, but at the same time, some people are way humble and open to the Gospel. As a missionary you can be way forward and up front with people here...you can just tell them what's up and it's no big deal. I'm gonna have to get used to it.
We have a car part of the time since we are split up. Our apartment is pretty nice but it is discusting. I can't believe that people live like that. I don't even want to sit on the toilet. Ugh. It's crazy. I've been wanting to clean but I haven't had time. It's fun living with another set of missionaries...there's never a dull moment.
We went to the Ogden Temple this morning. It was really nice to be in the Temple...I hadn't been for a few weeks. The 4 of us are gonna drive to Bountiful today to have some "Nielson's Frozen Custard." I guess it's really good. I keep hearing all about it, and since we have unlimited miles, we can drive there and not worry about how far it is. I need to go buy a belt today too because mine broke. :/
Zone Conference is coming up so Elder Henandez need to start planning like crazy. Planning trainings take quite a while if you want them to be good. Hopefully it will go well. We've talked to President Olson about what some of the core things are that we want to focus on so it shouldn't be hard to decide on what to train on.
Well I gotta go. I love you guys and miss you. Write me back soon. The church is true! Spread the Gospel. Keep the missionaries there busy!
~Elder Micheal Watts
Assistant to the President
Well well well...where do I begin? On Saturday Elder Hernandez and I were in the Mission Office for a big part of the day. We were planning trainings for Zone Leader Council that was held on Monday. That's where all of the Zone leaders come from all over the mission and are trained by us and the mission president. We did two different trainings together. One on Obedience and another on Priestcraft. We did the one of Obedience because President Olson wanted us to, but also because there has been a lot of leadership that is breaking mission rules...being "apostate". The training on Priestcraft was related to making the trainings/meetings that the Zone leaders give to other missionaries more effective. I'll have to send you copies of the trainings to help you understand better. I was a little nervous beforehand but both trainings went well and President Olson was happy with them.
We cover 2 wards in our area here in Ogden. We went to both wards on Sunday and I enjoyed them. We have 2 investigators with baptismal dates right now, and they were both at church on sunday. It's a mom and her 18 yr old daughter. They are way cool people...we are gonna help them paint their living room on saturday. I also get to go back to Brigham City on saturday for 2 baptisms of people that I taught in my last area. I'm excited about that. We did more planning in the office on sunday afternoon and then went out in the evening and visited people.
It's kind of a weird situation. I kinda have 2 companions. Elder Hernandez is the other Assistant, but him and I are separated with another companionship that we live with. Elder Mitchell and Elder Swisher are the other companionship. My other companion is Elder Mitchell. I'm with Elder Hernandez during Assistant responsibilities (Preparing trainings, Zone Conferences, Exchanges, etc), but during normal proselyting I'm with Elder Mitchell. It's gonna take some getting used to but it's all good. Oh guess what. Elder Hernandez and I get to go to a Mission President Seminar/AP Meeting at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake on April 16th. President even told us that they are going to arrange underground parking for us where the General Authorities park! :)
About General Conference. I get to go to ALL SESSIONS of General Conference. Saturday and Sunday. It's gonna be sweet! I'm way excited. Then I guess inbetween sessions we can just do whatever. It will be fun to go with some of the other missionaries. Who do you guys know that is going?
On Monday we took care of some more office work and then we went out and taught a lesson to some investigators. Ogden is sooo different that anywhere else I've served. It's a different kind of missionary work. The people here are dramatically less fortunate than most. It's sad, but at the same time, some people are way humble and open to the Gospel. As a missionary you can be way forward and up front with people here...you can just tell them what's up and it's no big deal. I'm gonna have to get used to it.
We have a car part of the time since we are split up. Our apartment is pretty nice but it is discusting. I can't believe that people live like that. I don't even want to sit on the toilet. Ugh. It's crazy. I've been wanting to clean but I haven't had time. It's fun living with another set of missionaries...there's never a dull moment.
We went to the Ogden Temple this morning. It was really nice to be in the Temple...I hadn't been for a few weeks. The 4 of us are gonna drive to Bountiful today to have some "Nielson's Frozen Custard." I guess it's really good. I keep hearing all about it, and since we have unlimited miles, we can drive there and not worry about how far it is. I need to go buy a belt today too because mine broke. :/
Zone Conference is coming up so Elder Henandez need to start planning like crazy. Planning trainings take quite a while if you want them to be good. Hopefully it will go well. We've talked to President Olson about what some of the core things are that we want to focus on so it shouldn't be hard to decide on what to train on.
Well I gotta go. I love you guys and miss you. Write me back soon. The church is true! Spread the Gospel. Keep the missionaries there busy!
~Elder Micheal Watts
Assistant to the President
March 19, 2010
Hey,
Alright so we finally found some time to take a mini-p-day. We only have a couple hours to email and go shopping and then it's back to work. Life has be crazy.
So here's what happened. On monday morning at about 7:50am Elder Onon and I were getting ready for the day when I got a call from President Olson. It was unusual because transfer calls weren't until the next day. I answered the phone and he asked me if I had a place where I could talk in private. I went into one of the bedrooms and at this point I was getting worried. Things started running through my mind because this wasn't normal for President to call like this. I was trying to think about what he could be calling for and all I could think of was if someone had died or something. Anyway, he told me that he wanted to call me to be an Assistant to the President and asked me if I would accept. Of course I accepted, but I was shocked. I didn't expect it at all. We talked for a few minutes, and then the call ended. I stood there not knowing what to say lol. Right after the call I got down on my knees and prayed to Heavenly Father and asked him to help me as I try to fulfill this calling. I was told by the current Assistants that I would be getting picked up the next day at 9:30am, so I had to pack, say my goodbyes, and teach lessons all before the following morning. On Tuesday morning, the Assistants, Elder Hernandez and Elder McDaniel (who I replaced) picked me up. We traveled to the Ogden Tabernacle where upon arriving we had a meeting with President Olson. Soon after that the new group of missionaries showed up. We greeted them as they got off the bus and helped them carry their luggage into the tabernacle. We had lunch with them, and then we had an orientation with the new missionaries and President & Sister Olson. The office staff did their trainings, and then after that we took the new missionaries out on the streets of Ogden!!! It was fun. I remember my first day out on the streets. All of it brought back a lot of memories from when I was in their shoes. Now I'm on the other side of it. The greenies had their interviews with President, and then we all went to Presidents home for dinner. Following the dinner we gave a training/orientation, then we had a testimony meeting. The Spirit was strong and I really enjoyed it. After it was over and when the greenies went to bed, we went upstairs with President and Sister Olson and we picked out who would be the trainers for each greenie. While we were doing that, President offered up drinks/snacks and it was fun haha. They have a big stash in their garage of all kinds of drinks, etc. Then Sister Olson has a big candy stash. The evening went late and I was exhausted. On wednesday, we had breakfast at the Olson's, and then we were at the Tabernacle for most of the day. We gave Zone Leader, District Leader, and Trainer trainings for a good part of the day, and then the greenies met their new companions. We went to lunch after that and then came back and did some office work. This whole thing is really weird for me because I've never been a district leader or a zone leader, and now I have to train all of them. Elder Hernandez and I are the Assistants, so we will be doing Zone Leader Counsel trainings, Zone Conference trainings, and going on exchanges with Zone leaders all over the mission. Not to mention the office work that we will be doing. I think this is the first time ever where a missionary has gone straight from Senior companion to Assistant without anything inbetween...and only being out 9 months. It's gonna shake things up fo sho. President Olson says that there is no ladder in the mission...and he is definetly getting that message accross with me lol. I'm excited about the calling to be an Assistant, and I know that Heavenly Father will help me as I try to fulfill this calling. After we got done with some office work, we had dinner at the Olson's again with the departing missionaries. We had a shrimp pasta with salad, baguette bread, and homemade ice cream and cookies for dessert. Sister Olson is an amazing cook. Later that night we went out visiting some of the people that we are teaching. On thursday we had breakfast at the Olson's again :) and then we took a missionary that was going home around to say goodbye to some people. After that, Elder Shepard, one of the office missionaries took us to lunch (indian food...it was pretty good), and then we updated the transfer board. It took a long time but it looks great. I became van certified so that I can drive the big van when needed too. We had dinner at our apartment, and then we taught a lesson to one of our investigators. We committed her and her mom for baptism and they both have baptismal dates for April 10th! It was way sweet. I hadn't taught anyone for like 4 days so it was a little weird lol. We live in the apartments right across the street from the Temple, and we have a brand new Subaru to drive. We live with 2 other missionaries in the apartment, who are kind of like our companions too. Elder Hernandez and I will be together when we have responsibilites to take care of as Assistants (Exchanges, Zone Conferences, meetings, etc) and then we will be split up with the other companionship at the other times. It's something new that President Olson is doing, so we are still trying to get used to it. It's kind of like we have multiple companions all at the same time. This morning we had a zone study, and then after we email and go shopping, we're gonna pick up our other companions, Elder Swisher (he came out with me), and Elder Mitchell. We'll have lunch, and then Elder Hernandez are gonna start planning Zone Leader Trainings and Zone Conference. It's gonna be crazy. Since I've been an Assistant, I've already started to hear all the crap about other missionaries being disobedient, etc. Some missionaries are acting differently around me now...sucking up, asking for things. But there are some perks that I'm pretty excited about. I get to go to General Conference!!! Not only that, but each and every session! :) I also get to go do the Salt Lake City Temple trip at the end of the transfer too. I'm way excited about it! All of this has just been happening so quick. It's awesome but overwhelming at the same time. I feel inexperienced, some might feel that I'm not qualified, and maybe I'm not, but I know that God will help me do anything. I can do this. It might be challenging and hard at times, but I know that this will be a great thing for me and I will be able to learn so much. Being and Assistant is very different from what I was doing before. You have a different view of everything...you see a different side of things and of the missionaries, and your "in the know" when it comes to the mission and what's going on. I'm thankful for the opportunity that I have to serve my Father in Heaven and to serve my Mission President and fellow missionaries. The next few months will be an adventure. President Olson told me that this is a calling. I could be doing this for 3 months, or maybe longer...there isn't a time limit. We'll see how it goes. "Life is a rollercoaster, you just gotta ride it!" I'm on the ride and all I can do now is ride it, work hard, and have fun. All I can say is that I'm tired lol. I better get used to it I guess.
I have 2 baptisms on March 27th of people that I taught in Brigham City that I'm gonna go back for...I'm excited. Hopefully we will find some good success in the few wards that we cover. I think Elder Hernandez and I, and then the other companionship combined only cover 3 wards here in Ogden. Our areas are way ghetto but cool at the same time cause some of the people are crazy haha. There is a lot of welfare given by the church in our areas, and there has been a lot of success in the past so hopefully we can keep that success going. It was hard to leave my last area in Brigham City cause there were so many great people there, and I really grew to love them. I took pictures before I left so I'll have to send them to ya when I get a chance. I miss Elder Onon too but it's all good. I know I need to be here right now and I know that it will be great.
I love you all so much and miss you tons. I really mean that. I know I say it every time, but it's true...and the meaning is always the same. Just cause I say it all the time doesn't mean I'm not any less sincere. I am so thankful for you all and I keep you in my thoughts and prayers often. I hope that you are continuing to do missionary work and are keepin' those missionaries busy. I hope that all of you are doing well. Write me back soon and send me some pictures!!! :) I hope that I didn't forget anything lol. Oh about our apartment. The apartments that we live in across from the Temple are pretty nice, but ours is filthy. It's gross and it's gonna change haha. I'm gonna be doin' some cleaning as soon as I have a chance cause it's just gross.
Holla back at me soon yo! The church is true! Peace!
~Elder Micheal Watts
Assistant to the President
Alright so we finally found some time to take a mini-p-day. We only have a couple hours to email and go shopping and then it's back to work. Life has be crazy.
So here's what happened. On monday morning at about 7:50am Elder Onon and I were getting ready for the day when I got a call from President Olson. It was unusual because transfer calls weren't until the next day. I answered the phone and he asked me if I had a place where I could talk in private. I went into one of the bedrooms and at this point I was getting worried. Things started running through my mind because this wasn't normal for President to call like this. I was trying to think about what he could be calling for and all I could think of was if someone had died or something. Anyway, he told me that he wanted to call me to be an Assistant to the President and asked me if I would accept. Of course I accepted, but I was shocked. I didn't expect it at all. We talked for a few minutes, and then the call ended. I stood there not knowing what to say lol. Right after the call I got down on my knees and prayed to Heavenly Father and asked him to help me as I try to fulfill this calling. I was told by the current Assistants that I would be getting picked up the next day at 9:30am, so I had to pack, say my goodbyes, and teach lessons all before the following morning. On Tuesday morning, the Assistants, Elder Hernandez and Elder McDaniel (who I replaced) picked me up. We traveled to the Ogden Tabernacle where upon arriving we had a meeting with President Olson. Soon after that the new group of missionaries showed up. We greeted them as they got off the bus and helped them carry their luggage into the tabernacle. We had lunch with them, and then we had an orientation with the new missionaries and President & Sister Olson. The office staff did their trainings, and then after that we took the new missionaries out on the streets of Ogden!!! It was fun. I remember my first day out on the streets. All of it brought back a lot of memories from when I was in their shoes. Now I'm on the other side of it. The greenies had their interviews with President, and then we all went to Presidents home for dinner. Following the dinner we gave a training/orientation, then we had a testimony meeting. The Spirit was strong and I really enjoyed it. After it was over and when the greenies went to bed, we went upstairs with President and Sister Olson and we picked out who would be the trainers for each greenie. While we were doing that, President offered up drinks/snacks and it was fun haha. They have a big stash in their garage of all kinds of drinks, etc. Then Sister Olson has a big candy stash. The evening went late and I was exhausted. On wednesday, we had breakfast at the Olson's, and then we were at the Tabernacle for most of the day. We gave Zone Leader, District Leader, and Trainer trainings for a good part of the day, and then the greenies met their new companions. We went to lunch after that and then came back and did some office work. This whole thing is really weird for me because I've never been a district leader or a zone leader, and now I have to train all of them. Elder Hernandez and I are the Assistants, so we will be doing Zone Leader Counsel trainings, Zone Conference trainings, and going on exchanges with Zone leaders all over the mission. Not to mention the office work that we will be doing. I think this is the first time ever where a missionary has gone straight from Senior companion to Assistant without anything inbetween...and only being out 9 months. It's gonna shake things up fo sho. President Olson says that there is no ladder in the mission...and he is definetly getting that message accross with me lol. I'm excited about the calling to be an Assistant, and I know that Heavenly Father will help me as I try to fulfill this calling. After we got done with some office work, we had dinner at the Olson's again with the departing missionaries. We had a shrimp pasta with salad, baguette bread, and homemade ice cream and cookies for dessert. Sister Olson is an amazing cook. Later that night we went out visiting some of the people that we are teaching. On thursday we had breakfast at the Olson's again :) and then we took a missionary that was going home around to say goodbye to some people. After that, Elder Shepard, one of the office missionaries took us to lunch (indian food...it was pretty good), and then we updated the transfer board. It took a long time but it looks great. I became van certified so that I can drive the big van when needed too. We had dinner at our apartment, and then we taught a lesson to one of our investigators. We committed her and her mom for baptism and they both have baptismal dates for April 10th! It was way sweet. I hadn't taught anyone for like 4 days so it was a little weird lol. We live in the apartments right across the street from the Temple, and we have a brand new Subaru to drive. We live with 2 other missionaries in the apartment, who are kind of like our companions too. Elder Hernandez and I will be together when we have responsibilites to take care of as Assistants (Exchanges, Zone Conferences, meetings, etc) and then we will be split up with the other companionship at the other times. It's something new that President Olson is doing, so we are still trying to get used to it. It's kind of like we have multiple companions all at the same time. This morning we had a zone study, and then after we email and go shopping, we're gonna pick up our other companions, Elder Swisher (he came out with me), and Elder Mitchell. We'll have lunch, and then Elder Hernandez are gonna start planning Zone Leader Trainings and Zone Conference. It's gonna be crazy. Since I've been an Assistant, I've already started to hear all the crap about other missionaries being disobedient, etc. Some missionaries are acting differently around me now...sucking up, asking for things. But there are some perks that I'm pretty excited about. I get to go to General Conference!!! Not only that, but each and every session! :) I also get to go do the Salt Lake City Temple trip at the end of the transfer too. I'm way excited about it! All of this has just been happening so quick. It's awesome but overwhelming at the same time. I feel inexperienced, some might feel that I'm not qualified, and maybe I'm not, but I know that God will help me do anything. I can do this. It might be challenging and hard at times, but I know that this will be a great thing for me and I will be able to learn so much. Being and Assistant is very different from what I was doing before. You have a different view of everything...you see a different side of things and of the missionaries, and your "in the know" when it comes to the mission and what's going on. I'm thankful for the opportunity that I have to serve my Father in Heaven and to serve my Mission President and fellow missionaries. The next few months will be an adventure. President Olson told me that this is a calling. I could be doing this for 3 months, or maybe longer...there isn't a time limit. We'll see how it goes. "Life is a rollercoaster, you just gotta ride it!" I'm on the ride and all I can do now is ride it, work hard, and have fun. All I can say is that I'm tired lol. I better get used to it I guess.
I have 2 baptisms on March 27th of people that I taught in Brigham City that I'm gonna go back for...I'm excited. Hopefully we will find some good success in the few wards that we cover. I think Elder Hernandez and I, and then the other companionship combined only cover 3 wards here in Ogden. Our areas are way ghetto but cool at the same time cause some of the people are crazy haha. There is a lot of welfare given by the church in our areas, and there has been a lot of success in the past so hopefully we can keep that success going. It was hard to leave my last area in Brigham City cause there were so many great people there, and I really grew to love them. I took pictures before I left so I'll have to send them to ya when I get a chance. I miss Elder Onon too but it's all good. I know I need to be here right now and I know that it will be great.
I love you all so much and miss you tons. I really mean that. I know I say it every time, but it's true...and the meaning is always the same. Just cause I say it all the time doesn't mean I'm not any less sincere. I am so thankful for you all and I keep you in my thoughts and prayers often. I hope that you are continuing to do missionary work and are keepin' those missionaries busy. I hope that all of you are doing well. Write me back soon and send me some pictures!!! :) I hope that I didn't forget anything lol. Oh about our apartment. The apartments that we live in across from the Temple are pretty nice, but ours is filthy. It's gross and it's gonna change haha. I'm gonna be doin' some cleaning as soon as I have a chance cause it's just gross.
Holla back at me soon yo! The church is true! Peace!
~Elder Micheal Watts
Assistant to the President
March 2, 2010
Hello,
I hope that this email finds everyone doing well. It's been quite the week for me. Early this past week I got a call from the Assistants to the President. They invited me to attend a Leadership Training that would be held on Thursday, Feb.25th. I didn't say this to them on the phone, but I was thinking to myself, 'Why do they want me to come to a leadership training for all the leaders in the mission? I'm not in a leadership position.' I accepted and said that I would be there. It was a 4 hour training in Ogden for all of the leaders and a few select others...one of them being me (They told me to leave my companion in Brigham City with another missionary while I attended the meeting). I really enjoyed it and I learned a lot. I thanked President Olson for inviting me...and while we were talking, we were kinda joking around about why he would have invited me, and he told me that he had his reasons. Hmm. Since then, I have been able to attend a District Leader Training with our zone leaders and the 2 district leaders in our zone. We all talked about the training we recieved in Ogden, and talked about what to train missionaries on in the future. I went on an exchange yesterday with my district leader Elder Marion and during our exchange we planned a training for the district that we will be giving together tomorrow. It's gonna be sweet. I'm interested to see what will happen this coming transfer. President told me that I would only be with Elder Onon for one transfer so we'll see what happens.
I got a blessing earlier this week from my zone leaders. It was interesting because in the blessing it said that if I worked hard and was obedient, that I would be healed. So guess what I'm doing? Haha. Working hard and being obedient! Not that I wasn't doing that already but ya know. :) I went to the Chiropractor and he told me to do some stretches at home and that it should help. He told me to get a work out/body ball to use so I got one yesterday. Bro. & Sis. Parsons bought it for me. :) She is the Relief Society President and that are way cool. She even fixed one of my suit jackets for me. The liner of the jacket was wearing and coming apart so she fixed it up for me. I'll send you the part of the liner that she replaced for me so that you can see it.
We committed 2 people in one day this week to keep the Word of Wisdom. It was way cool because one of the guys that we committed you could tell had a hard time doing it, but after the lesson, we walked out of his apartment with 2 big bags full of a coffee maker, coffee, tea, ciggarettes, and an ash tray. It's awesome to see people make steps like that in their lives to come closer to the Savior. We started teaching a few new people this week and picked up a new date last night. The work is going well and I am enjoying my mission.
President Olson called us this week and told us that we had been invited to a luncheon by the Mongolian Delegation who is coming to Brigham City today. They are coming to look into opening some kind of branch associated with Utah State, and are having a luncheon at Maddox. A group of people are coming from Mongolia and they want my companion Elder Onon to be there. We are going there in about an hour and I think Elder Onon is pretty excited. We'll try to get pics and send them to you. It should be interesting for me since I don't speak the language at all.
We have 2 baptisms coming up this weekend for two little 9 year olds. One is named Bridger Eddings and his baptism is on Saturday, and then the other is Lily Pickett, and her baptism will be on sunday. I'm excited...we haven't had a baptism since I've been here so it will be nice. We have 6 set up for this month so hopefully everything will go well for the people that we are teaching so that they can make their baptismal dates.
Well I better go. I love you guys and miss ya a lot. I hope that everything is going well. Your in my thoughts and prayers daily. We went to the Ogden Temple this morning and did a session. It was nice to be inside the Temple and feel the Spirit that is there. It had seemed like it had been forever since we had been to the Temple, but it had only been 2 weeks. You guys should go to the Temple as often as you can!!! How is the missionary work going in the ward? Pray for missionary experiences, not just opportunities! Remember that you must prepare yourselves to do missionary work, which includes daily prayer and scripture study, and weekly church attendance. God is preparing people for the Gospel all over the place, but God isn't going to put someone that is prepared for the Gospel in the hands of someone that isn't prepared to share it. Do what you need to do to get prepared so that you can be a part of this great work, bring people unto Christ!!! I love you all and hope to hear from you soon. The church is true!!!
~Elder Micheal Watts
I hope that this email finds everyone doing well. It's been quite the week for me. Early this past week I got a call from the Assistants to the President. They invited me to attend a Leadership Training that would be held on Thursday, Feb.25th. I didn't say this to them on the phone, but I was thinking to myself, 'Why do they want me to come to a leadership training for all the leaders in the mission? I'm not in a leadership position.' I accepted and said that I would be there. It was a 4 hour training in Ogden for all of the leaders and a few select others...one of them being me (They told me to leave my companion in Brigham City with another missionary while I attended the meeting). I really enjoyed it and I learned a lot. I thanked President Olson for inviting me...and while we were talking, we were kinda joking around about why he would have invited me, and he told me that he had his reasons. Hmm. Since then, I have been able to attend a District Leader Training with our zone leaders and the 2 district leaders in our zone. We all talked about the training we recieved in Ogden, and talked about what to train missionaries on in the future. I went on an exchange yesterday with my district leader Elder Marion and during our exchange we planned a training for the district that we will be giving together tomorrow. It's gonna be sweet. I'm interested to see what will happen this coming transfer. President told me that I would only be with Elder Onon for one transfer so we'll see what happens.
I got a blessing earlier this week from my zone leaders. It was interesting because in the blessing it said that if I worked hard and was obedient, that I would be healed. So guess what I'm doing? Haha. Working hard and being obedient! Not that I wasn't doing that already but ya know. :) I went to the Chiropractor and he told me to do some stretches at home and that it should help. He told me to get a work out/body ball to use so I got one yesterday. Bro. & Sis. Parsons bought it for me. :) She is the Relief Society President and that are way cool. She even fixed one of my suit jackets for me. The liner of the jacket was wearing and coming apart so she fixed it up for me. I'll send you the part of the liner that she replaced for me so that you can see it.
We committed 2 people in one day this week to keep the Word of Wisdom. It was way cool because one of the guys that we committed you could tell had a hard time doing it, but after the lesson, we walked out of his apartment with 2 big bags full of a coffee maker, coffee, tea, ciggarettes, and an ash tray. It's awesome to see people make steps like that in their lives to come closer to the Savior. We started teaching a few new people this week and picked up a new date last night. The work is going well and I am enjoying my mission.
President Olson called us this week and told us that we had been invited to a luncheon by the Mongolian Delegation who is coming to Brigham City today. They are coming to look into opening some kind of branch associated with Utah State, and are having a luncheon at Maddox. A group of people are coming from Mongolia and they want my companion Elder Onon to be there. We are going there in about an hour and I think Elder Onon is pretty excited. We'll try to get pics and send them to you. It should be interesting for me since I don't speak the language at all.
We have 2 baptisms coming up this weekend for two little 9 year olds. One is named Bridger Eddings and his baptism is on Saturday, and then the other is Lily Pickett, and her baptism will be on sunday. I'm excited...we haven't had a baptism since I've been here so it will be nice. We have 6 set up for this month so hopefully everything will go well for the people that we are teaching so that they can make their baptismal dates.
Well I better go. I love you guys and miss ya a lot. I hope that everything is going well. Your in my thoughts and prayers daily. We went to the Ogden Temple this morning and did a session. It was nice to be inside the Temple and feel the Spirit that is there. It had seemed like it had been forever since we had been to the Temple, but it had only been 2 weeks. You guys should go to the Temple as often as you can!!! How is the missionary work going in the ward? Pray for missionary experiences, not just opportunities! Remember that you must prepare yourselves to do missionary work, which includes daily prayer and scripture study, and weekly church attendance. God is preparing people for the Gospel all over the place, but God isn't going to put someone that is prepared for the Gospel in the hands of someone that isn't prepared to share it. Do what you need to do to get prepared so that you can be a part of this great work, bring people unto Christ!!! I love you all and hope to hear from you soon. The church is true!!!
~Elder Micheal Watts
March 9, 2010
Hi everybody,
We had a great p-day last tuesday. We went to the Ogden Temple at 6am and then at 12pm we went to Maddox for the Mongolian Delegation Luncheon. It was about 1 1/2 hours long and I can tell Elder Onon had a great time. He was in da zone! I ended up visiting with the employees from Utah State cause everyone else only spoke Mongolian. Elder Onon talked to them the whole time and I think he enjoyed it. He said it was a little weird for him cause he hasn't spoken Mongolian like that for a long time. They gave each of us a pin from Mopngolia to put on our jackets which was kinda cool.
Today we went to the Odgen Temple again for a session. It was way early so I'm pretty tired. After that we went to Wal-Mart, and now we are here doing emails. After this we might go have a Nerf War with some other missionaries, and then later we are having dinner with the Illum's. They are a sweet family...pretty young with a few kids, we are looking forward to it.
We had 2 baptisms this weekend. Bridger Eddings, 9 yrs old, got baptized on Saturday and then confirmed on Sunday. Lily Picket, 9 yrs old, got baptized and confirmed on Sunday. They asked me to do the confirmation which was cool. Elder Onon baptized her. We were also able to attend an 8 yr old baptism on saturday...one of our ward mission leaders kids. It was a big day for his family because one of their kids got baptized, they blessed their baby, and they had one of their kids sealed to them in the Temple...all in one day. Cool huh? So overall we were able to participate in 2 baby blessings, and 3 confirmations all in one weekend. It was awesome. All of the services were very nice and the Spirit was strong. We have 2 more baptisms coming up on March 27th. One of them is named Brayden Hunsaker, he is 19 yrs old, and the other is Jon Bishop. He is about 60 yrs old. We committed him for baptism the other night, it was way cool. When I got into this area, everyone told me not to push him or pressure him, and that he only wanted to meet once a week. His wife is an active member, and I guess he's been involved with the church for 40 years. He has been coming to church for months and has been meeting with us. A while ago he went on a church history tour with some member friends, and I think that is what really got him, and what really built his testimony. Anyway, Jon has been ready to get baptized for a long time, and I wanted to commit him. Elder Onon and I talked about it, and we decided to commit him for baptism. We told the fellowship ahead of time that we were going to do it, and when we taught the lesson we did it. Something you need to know is that during the previous lesson, I knew he was ready, but Jon didn't think he was. We decided to go over the baptism interview questions with him, and I think that helped him realize that he was ready. So back to the last lesson where we committed him. We taught the Gospel lesson, and during the baptism part we talked about the interview questions, bore testimony, and committed him to get baptized on March 27th. When we asked him, he said, "Okay lets do it." We were so excited! Ahh!! Haha. It was a miracle. His wife was way excited too, and the next day in church he was telling everyone about it and how he was gettin' baptized. We are working with some other people to help them reach baptism but those are the 2 that are the closest. I'm lovin' it.
English lessons with Elder Onon are going okay. It's hard sometimes because he is kind of set in his ways about how he wants to study. I think I've been able to help him but there is always room for improvement right?
Transfers are a week from tomorrow so don't send anything to the house until after I find out what is going to happen. Interviews are tomorrow so hopefully President will tell me what he's thinkin'.
We haven't had a shower in our apartment for almost a week now. Every time we want to take a shower we have to go upstairs and use the members shower. It's not very convenient, especially since we can only do it during certain times. The Barkers are having some work done in the basement and are having some sheetrock replaced around the shower and in the kitchen. Because of what they are doing, the threshhold of the shower is torn apart so we can't use it. The whole thing really needs to be re-done, so the Barkers are trying to find someone that can do it for them without spending a lot of money. We are going to do some painting for them after everything is done getting worked on. Hopefully it will get finished soon cause I want my shower back lol.
Hahaha that's funny that you made a green dinner for the greenie in the ward. I never got one of those, that's cool though. You guys will have to make sure you break 'em in and keep dem missionaries busy!
I've got a new motto. "Pray for it, expect it, work for it." Elder Onon and I pray for miracles every day and they happen. We have a miracle every day, and it's because we pray for miracles, we expect miracles (which goes along the same lines of having faith), and we work hard for the miracle. As we do those things, miracles happen. It amazing. God loves us so much, and he wants to and is willing to bless us, but we have to hold up our end of the deal if we want him to hold up his end of the deal.
Well I better go. I wish I could write more, I'll have to try and write some letters later today. Tell Jenni and Dad I'm sorry for not emailing back today. I'll write letters and get 'em in da mail tomorrow. I love all of you so much and I miss ya. The church is true! Spread the Gospel. Pray for missionary experiences, not just opportunities! Miracles happen every day. "Pray for it, expect it, work for it."
~Elder Micheal Watts
We had a great p-day last tuesday. We went to the Ogden Temple at 6am and then at 12pm we went to Maddox for the Mongolian Delegation Luncheon. It was about 1 1/2 hours long and I can tell Elder Onon had a great time. He was in da zone! I ended up visiting with the employees from Utah State cause everyone else only spoke Mongolian. Elder Onon talked to them the whole time and I think he enjoyed it. He said it was a little weird for him cause he hasn't spoken Mongolian like that for a long time. They gave each of us a pin from Mopngolia to put on our jackets which was kinda cool.
Today we went to the Odgen Temple again for a session. It was way early so I'm pretty tired. After that we went to Wal-Mart, and now we are here doing emails. After this we might go have a Nerf War with some other missionaries, and then later we are having dinner with the Illum's. They are a sweet family...pretty young with a few kids, we are looking forward to it.
We had 2 baptisms this weekend. Bridger Eddings, 9 yrs old, got baptized on Saturday and then confirmed on Sunday. Lily Picket, 9 yrs old, got baptized and confirmed on Sunday. They asked me to do the confirmation which was cool. Elder Onon baptized her. We were also able to attend an 8 yr old baptism on saturday...one of our ward mission leaders kids. It was a big day for his family because one of their kids got baptized, they blessed their baby, and they had one of their kids sealed to them in the Temple...all in one day. Cool huh? So overall we were able to participate in 2 baby blessings, and 3 confirmations all in one weekend. It was awesome. All of the services were very nice and the Spirit was strong. We have 2 more baptisms coming up on March 27th. One of them is named Brayden Hunsaker, he is 19 yrs old, and the other is Jon Bishop. He is about 60 yrs old. We committed him for baptism the other night, it was way cool. When I got into this area, everyone told me not to push him or pressure him, and that he only wanted to meet once a week. His wife is an active member, and I guess he's been involved with the church for 40 years. He has been coming to church for months and has been meeting with us. A while ago he went on a church history tour with some member friends, and I think that is what really got him, and what really built his testimony. Anyway, Jon has been ready to get baptized for a long time, and I wanted to commit him. Elder Onon and I talked about it, and we decided to commit him for baptism. We told the fellowship ahead of time that we were going to do it, and when we taught the lesson we did it. Something you need to know is that during the previous lesson, I knew he was ready, but Jon didn't think he was. We decided to go over the baptism interview questions with him, and I think that helped him realize that he was ready. So back to the last lesson where we committed him. We taught the Gospel lesson, and during the baptism part we talked about the interview questions, bore testimony, and committed him to get baptized on March 27th. When we asked him, he said, "Okay lets do it." We were so excited! Ahh!! Haha. It was a miracle. His wife was way excited too, and the next day in church he was telling everyone about it and how he was gettin' baptized. We are working with some other people to help them reach baptism but those are the 2 that are the closest. I'm lovin' it.
English lessons with Elder Onon are going okay. It's hard sometimes because he is kind of set in his ways about how he wants to study. I think I've been able to help him but there is always room for improvement right?
Transfers are a week from tomorrow so don't send anything to the house until after I find out what is going to happen. Interviews are tomorrow so hopefully President will tell me what he's thinkin'.
We haven't had a shower in our apartment for almost a week now. Every time we want to take a shower we have to go upstairs and use the members shower. It's not very convenient, especially since we can only do it during certain times. The Barkers are having some work done in the basement and are having some sheetrock replaced around the shower and in the kitchen. Because of what they are doing, the threshhold of the shower is torn apart so we can't use it. The whole thing really needs to be re-done, so the Barkers are trying to find someone that can do it for them without spending a lot of money. We are going to do some painting for them after everything is done getting worked on. Hopefully it will get finished soon cause I want my shower back lol.
Hahaha that's funny that you made a green dinner for the greenie in the ward. I never got one of those, that's cool though. You guys will have to make sure you break 'em in and keep dem missionaries busy!
I've got a new motto. "Pray for it, expect it, work for it." Elder Onon and I pray for miracles every day and they happen. We have a miracle every day, and it's because we pray for miracles, we expect miracles (which goes along the same lines of having faith), and we work hard for the miracle. As we do those things, miracles happen. It amazing. God loves us so much, and he wants to and is willing to bless us, but we have to hold up our end of the deal if we want him to hold up his end of the deal.
Well I better go. I wish I could write more, I'll have to try and write some letters later today. Tell Jenni and Dad I'm sorry for not emailing back today. I'll write letters and get 'em in da mail tomorrow. I love all of you so much and I miss ya. The church is true! Spread the Gospel. Pray for missionary experiences, not just opportunities! Miracles happen every day. "Pray for it, expect it, work for it."
~Elder Micheal Watts
February 23, 2010
Hi everyone,
We had zone conference this week in Logan. It was my first time there, and on the way we drove past the Logan Temple...it is really pretty. I can't wait to do a session there. I'll have to start going there once they start remodeling the Ogden Temple. Did you hear about that? Look it up on the church website. I didn't expect the church to completly change the Ogden Temple but I'm sure it will look great. The site where the Brigham City Temple will be is right down the street from where we live. It's right accross the street from the Tabernacle. The church has bought some additional land and will be tearing down structures to make more room for the Temple grounds. Construction probably won't start until later this year. At each zone conference, vehicles are inspected. I knew that this was going to happen, so I made sure that our car was cleaned up. The members that we live with, the Barkers, work at a car dealership, so we took our car there and Bro.Barker had them clean the engine and wash the car for us. We cleaned the inside and then did a few touch ups. Our car was the overall winner out of all the other cars. Holla! Haha. :)
Okay so about my headaches. The mission doctor, Dr.Nellis, hasn't been very proactive about helping me, so I decided to ask around and talk to doctors myself about what is going on. I've talked to many different people and from that I decided that maybe the cause of my headaches is coming from my neck or back. Dr.Hoopes is a Chiropractor here in Brigham City and his services are free to missionaries. I've heard good things about him from members, and so I decided to go see him...Sister Olson also encouraged it. He took a look at me and massaged my neck area and is pretty sure that the problem is coming from my neck, etc. My muscles are tense and he says that it causes muscles to contract and cause headaches. He wrote down a bunch of stuff but I don't understand any of it lol. Pretty much my neck area is jacked up and so he is helping me with it. He's been massaging my neck and doing some other things to try and help me, and so far it's working. I've seen him twice and I've hardly had any headaches since. A few here and there but I'm getting better. I haven't gotten a blessing yet, but I will try and get one soon. Thanks for your prayers and for the drugs you sent me mom. Haha.
I had a great p-day last tuesday. We went to the Temple early in the morning which was nice since I hadn't been in 2 weeks. After that we came back to Brigham City to do emails and shopping, and then we went back to Ogden to a place called Fat Cats. There we were able to go bowling and do bumper cars for free. It was a lot of fun. We even went indoor skydiving, but we had to pay a little bit for that. We got it half off and they gave us a dvd of it for free too. It was a fun p-day...I'm not sure what we are going to do today, but hopefully we will be able to get together and do something.
Haha okay so I learned a new song this week. It's called "The Chastity Song." It's kind of like "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," but it's a little different. It goes like this. -Head shoulders no no no's, knees and toes knees and toes, head shoulders no no no's, eyes ears mouth and nose.- It's pretty much a song that says what is okay and what isn't okay to touch lol. While you sing the no no no's part you go over your abdomen with your hands, which means that those parts of your body...private parts, aren't okay to touch. It's kind of like the Bathing Suit Rule. You don't think about, look at, talk about, or touch anything covered by a bathing suit. We use these rules and songs to teach little kids the Law of Chastity. Haha I think the song was pretty funny, hopefully it made sense.
Alright so having a companion that you are with 24/7, you definetly find out their favorite things and the things that they do the most. Some things that I've noticed that are Elder Onon's favorite things are: He loves soda...he drinks it allll the time. When he chews gum, he chews with him mouth open and smacks it around. He really likes Michael Jackson and his song 'Thriller.' He says the word 'dang' a lot, and he loves the Hacka. It's some Tongan song and dance. Haha anyway it's just funny the things that you notice about someone when you are with them allll the time. He is a great missionary though and I am really thankful for him. I think it's so cool that he is a convert, and that he joined the church only 3 years ago. His english is improving, and we are having success.
Funny story. I was looking at my District Leader, Elder Marion's pictures, and there was this girl that looked really familiar. Well come to find out, the girl in the photo album is Sister Black. Kelsey Black is one of my good friends from college, and her sister went on a mission. Elder Marion was with Sister Black (Kelsey's sister) in the MTC and took a picture with her. It's such a small world.
So pretty much the Donovan family is one of my favorite families here in this area. Bro.Donovan is an artist and has a studio that he works at. Sis.Donovan doesn't work I don't think, but one of their daughters just came home from a mission, and their boys are approaching mission age. They are a way cool family, and are very missionary minded. We are going to their home for lunch on sunday and will probably be teaching a lesson. The Donovans said that they are trying to find someone for us to teach for sunday after lunch. It's music to my ears to hear that members want to help in the work.
We are having some great success in our area. We've picked up 3 new investigators this week and 5 new baptismal dates for March. 4 of those baptismal dates we picked up yesterday! It was amazing. I'm excited about the work and we are definetly seeing miracles. Heavenly Father is blessing us fo sho!
We didn't make it to the Temple this morning...we didn't have a ride. It's all good though. We were still able to do our studies and prepare lessons for later tonight. I found a couple cool quotes this week that I thought you might like:
-"Enjoy the little things in life because one day you may realize they were the big things."
-"Don't ask God to make your life easier. Ask Him to make you a stronger person."
I'm going to send you my zip drive with more pictures on it so keep an eye out for it in the mail.
I hope that all of you are doing well. I love you and miss you. Your in my thoughts and prayers daily. Keep me updated on the missionary work that is going on there at home. Keep those missionaries busy! I hope to hear from you soon.
~Elder Micheal Watts
We had zone conference this week in Logan. It was my first time there, and on the way we drove past the Logan Temple...it is really pretty. I can't wait to do a session there. I'll have to start going there once they start remodeling the Ogden Temple. Did you hear about that? Look it up on the church website. I didn't expect the church to completly change the Ogden Temple but I'm sure it will look great. The site where the Brigham City Temple will be is right down the street from where we live. It's right accross the street from the Tabernacle. The church has bought some additional land and will be tearing down structures to make more room for the Temple grounds. Construction probably won't start until later this year. At each zone conference, vehicles are inspected. I knew that this was going to happen, so I made sure that our car was cleaned up. The members that we live with, the Barkers, work at a car dealership, so we took our car there and Bro.Barker had them clean the engine and wash the car for us. We cleaned the inside and then did a few touch ups. Our car was the overall winner out of all the other cars. Holla! Haha. :)
Okay so about my headaches. The mission doctor, Dr.Nellis, hasn't been very proactive about helping me, so I decided to ask around and talk to doctors myself about what is going on. I've talked to many different people and from that I decided that maybe the cause of my headaches is coming from my neck or back. Dr.Hoopes is a Chiropractor here in Brigham City and his services are free to missionaries. I've heard good things about him from members, and so I decided to go see him...Sister Olson also encouraged it. He took a look at me and massaged my neck area and is pretty sure that the problem is coming from my neck, etc. My muscles are tense and he says that it causes muscles to contract and cause headaches. He wrote down a bunch of stuff but I don't understand any of it lol. Pretty much my neck area is jacked up and so he is helping me with it. He's been massaging my neck and doing some other things to try and help me, and so far it's working. I've seen him twice and I've hardly had any headaches since. A few here and there but I'm getting better. I haven't gotten a blessing yet, but I will try and get one soon. Thanks for your prayers and for the drugs you sent me mom. Haha.
I had a great p-day last tuesday. We went to the Temple early in the morning which was nice since I hadn't been in 2 weeks. After that we came back to Brigham City to do emails and shopping, and then we went back to Ogden to a place called Fat Cats. There we were able to go bowling and do bumper cars for free. It was a lot of fun. We even went indoor skydiving, but we had to pay a little bit for that. We got it half off and they gave us a dvd of it for free too. It was a fun p-day...I'm not sure what we are going to do today, but hopefully we will be able to get together and do something.
Haha okay so I learned a new song this week. It's called "The Chastity Song." It's kind of like "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," but it's a little different. It goes like this. -Head shoulders no no no's, knees and toes knees and toes, head shoulders no no no's, eyes ears mouth and nose.- It's pretty much a song that says what is okay and what isn't okay to touch lol. While you sing the no no no's part you go over your abdomen with your hands, which means that those parts of your body...private parts, aren't okay to touch. It's kind of like the Bathing Suit Rule. You don't think about, look at, talk about, or touch anything covered by a bathing suit. We use these rules and songs to teach little kids the Law of Chastity. Haha I think the song was pretty funny, hopefully it made sense.
Alright so having a companion that you are with 24/7, you definetly find out their favorite things and the things that they do the most. Some things that I've noticed that are Elder Onon's favorite things are: He loves soda...he drinks it allll the time. When he chews gum, he chews with him mouth open and smacks it around. He really likes Michael Jackson and his song 'Thriller.' He says the word 'dang' a lot, and he loves the Hacka. It's some Tongan song and dance. Haha anyway it's just funny the things that you notice about someone when you are with them allll the time. He is a great missionary though and I am really thankful for him. I think it's so cool that he is a convert, and that he joined the church only 3 years ago. His english is improving, and we are having success.
Funny story. I was looking at my District Leader, Elder Marion's pictures, and there was this girl that looked really familiar. Well come to find out, the girl in the photo album is Sister Black. Kelsey Black is one of my good friends from college, and her sister went on a mission. Elder Marion was with Sister Black (Kelsey's sister) in the MTC and took a picture with her. It's such a small world.
So pretty much the Donovan family is one of my favorite families here in this area. Bro.Donovan is an artist and has a studio that he works at. Sis.Donovan doesn't work I don't think, but one of their daughters just came home from a mission, and their boys are approaching mission age. They are a way cool family, and are very missionary minded. We are going to their home for lunch on sunday and will probably be teaching a lesson. The Donovans said that they are trying to find someone for us to teach for sunday after lunch. It's music to my ears to hear that members want to help in the work.
We are having some great success in our area. We've picked up 3 new investigators this week and 5 new baptismal dates for March. 4 of those baptismal dates we picked up yesterday! It was amazing. I'm excited about the work and we are definetly seeing miracles. Heavenly Father is blessing us fo sho!
We didn't make it to the Temple this morning...we didn't have a ride. It's all good though. We were still able to do our studies and prepare lessons for later tonight. I found a couple cool quotes this week that I thought you might like:
-"Enjoy the little things in life because one day you may realize they were the big things."
-"Don't ask God to make your life easier. Ask Him to make you a stronger person."
I'm going to send you my zip drive with more pictures on it so keep an eye out for it in the mail.
I hope that all of you are doing well. I love you and miss you. Your in my thoughts and prayers daily. Keep me updated on the missionary work that is going on there at home. Keep those missionaries busy! I hope to hear from you soon.
~Elder Micheal Watts
February 16, 2010
Hey!
Thanks for the packages!!! I got one from mom & dad, Alicia, and Jenni...they were great I loved it. It was fun to get them for valentines day and I love all of the things that you sent me. We had a good valentines day...probably the best you could have on a mission lol. We went to church in the morning but we were late because of our coorelation meeting. We were in the foyer waiting for the sacrament and I knew that it was being passed because it was way quiet. Anyway, we kept waiting and they never brought it out, so while they were doing the water I decided to go up to the chapel door, open it, and ask the kid why he wasn't bringing it out. He told me that they weren't going to because the Bishop thinks it's a disturbance. I couldn't believe it. We decided to leave and go back for the next wards sacrament meeting. We eventually were able to take the sacrament so it's all good I just couldn't believe it.
My toe is doing great. Dr.Nellis put a piece of gause underneath the toenail so that it could grow out and ever since it's been great. The only problem I have now is my headaches. I've been having them pretty consistently every day multiple times a day for the past 3 or so weeks. I've talked to the Dr. about it but he isn't doing anything about it. He told me to put heat/cold on my neck, take tylenol, etc, but that isn't gonna fix the problem. I'm drinking water, getting enough sleep, and I'm not that stressed, so I don't know what's going on. I'm concerned about it...I'm gonna try and find another Dr.
The weather here is nice...not too cold, but there is still snow on the ground. It rains and snows once in a while but it doesn't stick. Wow 70 degree weather sounds amazing! Lucky. Haha. I'm glad to hear that your taking care of your car mom. Our car is pretty dirty right now. We went out to Corinne and drove on some dirt roads when it was wet so it's wayyy dirty on the outside. We're gonna wash it and stuff before we go to zone conference on friday in Logan. It will get inspected there so we have to make sure it's lookin' good.
English lessons for Elder Onon are going alright. I'm really trying to get him to use complete sentances more often. He pronounces words better than before so that's good. We've been making flashcards so hopefully that will help him.
Our apartment is nice. We live in a members basement. It's an older home, but it is in good shape and is clean. We have our own back entrance and have a place to park our car as well. We have a living room where we study, a kitchen (there isn't a dishwasher or an oven), a bathroom, and a bedroom. There is a laundry room in the basement as well that we all use as well. It's nice and the best part about it is that it smells good and it's clean.
We went to the Ogden Temple this morning at 6am. We haven't been in 2 weeks and it seemed like forever! It was nice to be there, to feel the Spirit in the Lord's house, and to see other missionaries as well.
We have a dry cleaners hook-up in our area so we get our suits dry cleaned for free! It's nice lol. There's some food places where we get discounts etc. too so that's nice.
We picked up 2 new investigators this last week. Both were miracles...members gave us a call and told us that these people wanted to be taught and get baptized. One is a 9 year old boy named Bridger Eddings. His mom is a member and his dad isn't and isn't interested, but Bridger is way smart and wants to get baptized on March 6th. The other investigator is Brayden Hunsaker. He is 19 years old, and is dating a member in Honeyville. He has been coming to church for a few months already and definetly ready for baptism. His date is for March 6th as well. Things are starting to pick up in our area. We have a few lessons coming up to teach new people so hopefully we will pick up some new investigators and baptismal dates. We are teaching Sis. Wardle still. We've taught her 2 times this week and things are going well. She came to church this last week, and she is reading the scriptures and praying every day. I'm way excited about it. Even though she's already been baptized and everything, It's still awesome to be able to help someone gain a testimony of the Gospel. We won't get a baptism out of it but I don't care. Our purpose is to bring people unto Christ, not just non-members. Hopefully things will continue to go well for her.
On Sunday Elder Onon and I were able to go back to Clearfield to go to Jason Yarington's baptism. It was awesome. I'm so thankful President Olson allowed me to go back for it. The service was very nice, the Spirit was strong, and I could tell that Jason was truly happy. Turns out, one of their 9 year old kids isn't baptized either so the missionaries there might start teaching her too. Maybe by the time she is ready, Jason will be able to baptise her.
Hey can you have Jenni send me some more pictures off my laptop? More from college or something? I found out that we are allowed to listen to burned cd's so can you guys send me some music? I asked Jenni but idk if she is going to do it or not. Just send me a variety of stuff. Do what ya feel.
Well I better go. We still need to go shopping and clean. I love you and miss you all so much. Your in my thoughts and prayers daily...and I put your names in the Temple this morning when I went too. Write me back soon!!!
~Elder Micheal Watts
Thanks for the packages!!! I got one from mom & dad, Alicia, and Jenni...they were great I loved it. It was fun to get them for valentines day and I love all of the things that you sent me. We had a good valentines day...probably the best you could have on a mission lol. We went to church in the morning but we were late because of our coorelation meeting. We were in the foyer waiting for the sacrament and I knew that it was being passed because it was way quiet. Anyway, we kept waiting and they never brought it out, so while they were doing the water I decided to go up to the chapel door, open it, and ask the kid why he wasn't bringing it out. He told me that they weren't going to because the Bishop thinks it's a disturbance. I couldn't believe it. We decided to leave and go back for the next wards sacrament meeting. We eventually were able to take the sacrament so it's all good I just couldn't believe it.
My toe is doing great. Dr.Nellis put a piece of gause underneath the toenail so that it could grow out and ever since it's been great. The only problem I have now is my headaches. I've been having them pretty consistently every day multiple times a day for the past 3 or so weeks. I've talked to the Dr. about it but he isn't doing anything about it. He told me to put heat/cold on my neck, take tylenol, etc, but that isn't gonna fix the problem. I'm drinking water, getting enough sleep, and I'm not that stressed, so I don't know what's going on. I'm concerned about it...I'm gonna try and find another Dr.
The weather here is nice...not too cold, but there is still snow on the ground. It rains and snows once in a while but it doesn't stick. Wow 70 degree weather sounds amazing! Lucky. Haha. I'm glad to hear that your taking care of your car mom. Our car is pretty dirty right now. We went out to Corinne and drove on some dirt roads when it was wet so it's wayyy dirty on the outside. We're gonna wash it and stuff before we go to zone conference on friday in Logan. It will get inspected there so we have to make sure it's lookin' good.
English lessons for Elder Onon are going alright. I'm really trying to get him to use complete sentances more often. He pronounces words better than before so that's good. We've been making flashcards so hopefully that will help him.
Our apartment is nice. We live in a members basement. It's an older home, but it is in good shape and is clean. We have our own back entrance and have a place to park our car as well. We have a living room where we study, a kitchen (there isn't a dishwasher or an oven), a bathroom, and a bedroom. There is a laundry room in the basement as well that we all use as well. It's nice and the best part about it is that it smells good and it's clean.
We went to the Ogden Temple this morning at 6am. We haven't been in 2 weeks and it seemed like forever! It was nice to be there, to feel the Spirit in the Lord's house, and to see other missionaries as well.
We have a dry cleaners hook-up in our area so we get our suits dry cleaned for free! It's nice lol. There's some food places where we get discounts etc. too so that's nice.
We picked up 2 new investigators this last week. Both were miracles...members gave us a call and told us that these people wanted to be taught and get baptized. One is a 9 year old boy named Bridger Eddings. His mom is a member and his dad isn't and isn't interested, but Bridger is way smart and wants to get baptized on March 6th. The other investigator is Brayden Hunsaker. He is 19 years old, and is dating a member in Honeyville. He has been coming to church for a few months already and definetly ready for baptism. His date is for March 6th as well. Things are starting to pick up in our area. We have a few lessons coming up to teach new people so hopefully we will pick up some new investigators and baptismal dates. We are teaching Sis. Wardle still. We've taught her 2 times this week and things are going well. She came to church this last week, and she is reading the scriptures and praying every day. I'm way excited about it. Even though she's already been baptized and everything, It's still awesome to be able to help someone gain a testimony of the Gospel. We won't get a baptism out of it but I don't care. Our purpose is to bring people unto Christ, not just non-members. Hopefully things will continue to go well for her.
On Sunday Elder Onon and I were able to go back to Clearfield to go to Jason Yarington's baptism. It was awesome. I'm so thankful President Olson allowed me to go back for it. The service was very nice, the Spirit was strong, and I could tell that Jason was truly happy. Turns out, one of their 9 year old kids isn't baptized either so the missionaries there might start teaching her too. Maybe by the time she is ready, Jason will be able to baptise her.
Hey can you have Jenni send me some more pictures off my laptop? More from college or something? I found out that we are allowed to listen to burned cd's so can you guys send me some music? I asked Jenni but idk if she is going to do it or not. Just send me a variety of stuff. Do what ya feel.
Well I better go. We still need to go shopping and clean. I love you and miss you all so much. Your in my thoughts and prayers daily...and I put your names in the Temple this morning when I went too. Write me back soon!!!
~Elder Micheal Watts
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
