Chris’ Mission–Midland with Elder Moon

It was hard today to leave Big Rapids. I grew really attached to that place. Chris and Lori drove me over to Mt. Pleasant and it was a fun ride. But when we got there and it was time for them leave, Chris had tears streaming down her face and she couldn't say anything. I felt so bad and I couldn't say anything. I wish just for a second that I could have given her a little hug. But I just had to say goodbye. They are such awesome people. We will see each other again and I look forward to that time. We have built a strong friendship in this short time. She is a good friend. This was a very productive day. Last night I just got all settled in and unpacked and I finished that process this morning. The apartment here is a sweet one. It is good and roomy and it looks like I will be very comfortable here. Elder Moon is a good guy. He has had some problems lately and I guess he almost went home. So I just ned to be really positive and upbeat with him. Today we did a lot of planning and got acquainted with the area. Elder Moon has only been here for three weeks so he doesn't really know the area. We did some productive door knocking and checked call backs and taught one of our investigator family, Stefan and Trisha Sezanias. They are a great family and they should be baptized. We also had dinner with Joseph Smith and his family. They are really cool and we had a good time there, but his name trips me out. The city of Midland looks like a really nice place. It is more an upper class area like East Lansing. I think I will really enjoy it here. The members seem totally awesome from looking at the dinner calendar and from what I’ve heard. My zone has been filled with a bunch of Gents, but I’ve got some good missionaries as well. Elder Dickinson, my first son, if my district leader over in Bay City so I will get to work with him on trade-offs and stuff. I love that, and I will be very happy here. Friday, March 25

The past two days have been good ones. Saturday was filled with a district meeting for the Mt. Pleasant district. Elder Howell is the DL and he has a good district. It was a sweet meeting. The rest of the day we just worked in our area and got some good things accomplished. We taught Yvonne, who is projected but has a long ways to go to be prepared for baptism. We also had a really neat experience with a family, Sherry and Bill Zablocki. They have had the first discussion but it was a couple weeks ago. So we stopped by and they only had a few minutes. So I pulled out my thought book and shared, “What it means to know Christ” and a scripture - John 17:3. And I talked about that for a minute. The spirit was strong and I asked if we could have a prayer and he said it was his turn to say it. Then he said a beautiful prayer and plead with the Lord to help him in his life to do the things he knows he must do. After he finished, he started crying and was really touched by the spirit. It was so awesome and it may be the turning point in his life. We will teach and baptize him and his family. Sunday was great. The ward here is so impressive. I know I will enjoy my time here. I spent a couple hours preparing my trade-off agenda and my discussion for Zone Leader Conference. It was a good Sabbath. Sunday, March 27

Wow. What an awesome couple of days. We headed down and played basketball in Lansing and that was really fun. There were a lot of cool missionaries down there and we had a good time. Then on Monday night, we went Personal Contacting on the Michigan State University campus and that was a blast. I was with Elder Moon and he only opened up his mouth one time, but it was still fun. We got 8 PCs in a couple hours. Then Elder Johanson found us and then we had a blast. We talked to everyone and got 10 more PCs in a little over an hour. It was awesome - Johanson is a total stud. Its so fun to just go up and talk to people. Monday, March 28

Today was Zone Leader Conference and it was so sweet. We have some really good missionaries there , some great leaders and it was fun to be a part of it. The APs are Elder Christofferson and Johanson and the Zone Leaders are myself, Eric Johnsen, Rowley, Miner, and Raybould. And of courser companions were all there as well as were President and Sister Waite. I led a discussion on the Book of Mormon and it went very well. I’m glad I prepared well for it. Elder Miner gave a great talk on “Challenging and Testifying”. And the APs gave an awesome talk on “What Think Ye of Christ”. We discussed that for a while and then we watched a video. The same video about Christ that I’ve seen twice before. But it was just as powerful this time. I was really touched by the spirit, especially in the part after his crucifixion when he visits the awaiting saints in the Spirit World. The tears streamed down my face and I felt the greatest desire to be a part of that kind of an assembly some day. That is my greatest desire. And I only want to serve my Lord well and faithfully so that I can thank Him one day. I’m so grateful to be a missionary. I love it and I love the work. I have to raise my dedication level up a notch. Because it all comes down to what I think of Christ. And I love him. I love this gospel and I want to be a better “Challenging and Testifying” missionary. This was a great day. I accomplished much at the office and had a good time being with all of these awesome missionaries. They just strengthen my and build me up. I have some good friends in that group and some I really look up to. The past 2 days have just been awesome. I am so glad to be a Zone Leader again to have these experiences again. I missed ZLC the last 2 months. But now I’m back in the Mighty Midland Zone and we are going to rip it up. Tuesday, March 29

We were in Oscoda on Thursday and Friday for trade-offs with Elder Hunker and Izatt. They are good missionaries, but not awesome missionaries. It seems like they are limiting themselves on how well they can do. Their attitudes still need to be adjusted but they have improved tons in the past few months. One thing they are doing is working out and taking care of their health. I worked out with them on Thursday night, and I am beat still. I am way sore. Today was an awesome day. It was General Conference so of course it was awesome. We heard some amazing talks today. The first session was incredible and my favorite one so far. I love Richard G. Scott. He always pumps me up. Also, since Marvin J. Ashton passed away a month ago, they had to replace him in the Quorum of the Twelve. The new apostle is former presiding Bishop Robert D. Hales. So that process was neat to see. I know that these men are prophets of God. And I love them. I wish we were able to hear and see President Benson, but I know why he has such awesome counselors, President Hinckley and Monson. So the church can move forward. I feel for Pres. Hinckley. He is carrying so much on his shoulders and he is getting criticized by many. But I love him and know he has been called by our Heavenly Father. I sustain all he does. Saturday, April 2

I have been a slacker when it comes to my journal. I hate catching up, but I have to because this has been an awesome week. But I’m going to start with today and go backwards. Today, we put on the mini-MTC for the youth in the Stake and it went very well. I am beat, though because it has been a long, spiritual, exhausting day. I had a lot of pressure with being a leader of the missionaries and youth, teaching a class, and helping with the overall organization. But of course that is the way I like it. It started at 11:00 and we had a brief orientation. President Hoover was in charge and it was so good to see him again. I really admire that man. He led us in a couple games as groups to teach the importance of unity, leadership, cooperation, etc. Then we had a great lunch. Then Sister Patton and Seymour had a baptism which we all attended. Of course the spirit was strong there. We then had 3 classes. Elder Johnsen and McMorrow taught one on the first discussion. Elder Christofferson taught one on the Commitment Pattern. And I taught one on “Preparing for a mission/Life as a missionary”. It went really well. I felt really led in what I should say and the Spirit was really present. I love teaching, especially about missionary work. After the classes, we took the youth out door knocking for just about an hour. And get this, I went out with 3 young women. It was really weird at first. But I guess it wasn’t a big deal. It just tripped me out to not be with a companion. I was with Sister Jenni Ryder, Sister May, and Sister Handziak. We had a good time and got three call backs. So we had a very productive hour. After that, we had a very nice testimony meeting. The youth here are very strong and they all had a good experience today. It is so rewarding when they talk about how they look up to us missionaries and when they thank us for the spirit filled day they had. It was neat. Then we had dinner and that was our mini-MTC. I also got to play the piano today for the missionary experience as well as for the baptism. I enjoy that and it helps me to improve a lot. Today was also cool just to be around my food friends like Elder Johanson, Christofferson, Dickinson, and new studs like Elder McMorow and Malan. It was a sweet day.

The past 2 days we were on trade-offs with Elder Dickinson and Malan in Bay City West. It was so cool to be with my son. He is so cool. But we spent a lot of time catching up and making future plans. We are going to hang for sure upon our return home. And he is a great missionary and a good leader. I am really proud of him. We were only there for one day so I mostly just had to do their paperwork. But it was cool to be with him.

I also learned Elder Howell’s song on the guitar. He wrote the following lyrics.

Wake up in the morning

Ya hear the alarm clock ringing

I’m tired and grumpy

My companion is singing

It’s a cold day in Michigan

Almost make ya feel like staying in

But the work must go on.

Knock some doors down

Find an awesome family

Teach the gospel

Open their eyes and they see

And the tears roll down your face

As you watch the change take place

There’s no place you’d rather be

The the telephone is ringing

It’s the President, you're leaving

Get packed - again

Why’s this happening to me - this time

A new companion

Trying to learn new faces

I’m in a new town

And teaching in new places

Where are the people who I’ve grown to love

I read their letters and it makes it tough

But there’s no place I’d rather be

Then you hear the phone

It’s the Prez, your going home

Get packed, again

How can it really be two years

This time … It’s time

Awesome song. I hope I can remember how to play it on the guitar. I want to learn that when I get home for sure.

Now let me jump back to Thursday night. We had a district leader conference in Bay City with all my district leaders. Elder Howell, Dickinson, Smith, and Hunsaker. It went very well. Elder Smith led a discussion on the Book of Mormon and Elder Howell led one on “challenging and testifying” and I got a discussion going on “What thin ye of Christ”. The spirit was really strong, especially as we talked of and bore testimony of Jesus Christ. It turned out just as I had hoped and planned. And most everyone there has a deep love for him and desire to serve him well. This was also my SLUMP DAY! I can’t believe it, but I have been out for 18 months. And it has been a great 18 months. I love my experience as a missionary so very much. It has been outstanding. And the last six months are going to be the best of all. I didn’t do anything to celebrate my slump day, but it was a great day. We were in Caro for trade-offs with Elder Smith and Elder Nielson. We got some good work done with them. We got a lot of PCs and a couple new finds and a discussion. It was very productive, plus fun. I always have a blast around Elder Smith. That’s another guy I will have to see when I get home.

Tuesday we had 3 appointments set up but we got dogged on every one. But we did our part and that is what we are called to do. So it was an alright day. P-day was pretty boring. The most exciting thing we did was teach a couple discussions and played the piano. And Sunday was great with General Conference and all. I love those GAs. This was a sweet week. Saturday, April 9

Yesterday I got to speak in Sacrament Meeting . I gave a talk on “How I prepared for my mission”. I enjoy speaking to people, and I think I did a pretty good job. It was a good experience. I get less nervous and better every time I do things like that. The rest of the day was good as well. We checked on tons of people with the Ward Mission Leader, Br. Wilson. And then we had a dinner with the Ryders. They are a cool family, and the daughters are really cute. We talked with them for a long time. It reminded me of home on Sunday dinners. Sunday, April 10

We didn’t have much to do for P-day. We got our shopping and laundry done of course. We also went to the mall and I bought a sports walkman so I can listen to music while I jog. I am definitely going to keep jogging every day. It feels good. We played the piano at the church and shot around in the gym for a while. Then I basically wrote a few letters. Elder Moon didn’t do hardly anything. Where I don't ever have enough time to do everything, he couldn't think of anything to do. I feel bad for him in a lot of ways. This was such an awesome day. Monday, April 11

This was such an awesome day. It was our Zone Conference here in Midland, and it is a day I have been worrying about and preparing for and praying for since I got called to this position. And all that preparation and heart felt prayer wasn’t wasted. It turned out to be a spiritual feast and one of the best Zone Conferences I have been in. I have been worrying a lot recently about how to make it a great meeting, and for a while, I though my fears might occur. The morning started out terrible. My building code to get into the church didn’t work, half of the zone was late, I put the wrong suit coat on and didn’t match. I was really starting to stress out. But things did come around. We had a great morning. Heard some counsel from President Waite President Hancock (who was just called to preside over the Utah Provo mission) and I did mission business and led a discussion on “Work”. While preparing for that discussion, I was having a hard time the day before. So I went into the bedroom and prayed to ask for guidance. And as I did, pure intelligence seemed to flow right through me. It was such an incredible experience. The Lord showed me, or reminded me, of things I knew and experiences I have had and I know that those are the things I was supposed to share. And I think it was a great discussion. The spirit was with me. I hope some of the missionaries benefitted from it. After lunch, we had a string of discussions from Sister Waite, Elder Howell on “challenging and testifying”, Elder Smith on the “Book of Mormon”, the APs on “Using Members”, and then myself on “What think ye of Christ”. They were all very well prepared and well presented. The spirit was so strong. I especially felt it during my discussion, only because of how special my topic is. I think all of those present were touched and hopefully will be better missionaries from it. I know I was touched and am better because of the great meeting we had. In my discussion, I asked questions like “What does Christ think of you?” and “What think ye of Christ?”. I shared scriptures and experiences and found out their answers. That really se the mood, brought the spirit in, and prepared them for what we covered next. I talked about “How we think of Christ determined what type of missionary we are” and taught them how and why we show him in this way by our attitudes actions, obedience, diligence, etc. I talked for probably 30 minutes about a lot of important things and it went so well. I’m so grateful for those experiences and opportunities because they help me to grow and progress and learn things about myself and who I want to be. I’m sure I learned a lot more than anyone else. That is why it is so rewarding. It was also very neat to see some of those missionaries whom we worry about as they bore humble testimony and were touched by the messages shared and expressed that. We fulfilled our purpose of Zone Conference. After Zone Conference was over, I hung out with Christofferson and Johanson. We visited a member (the Masons) and just talked. I love those guys. And I hope the three of us hanging out is a sign of things to come. They are awesome. I think that is one of the greatest blessings of being a Zone Leader. Being able to be in the presence of the best of the best missionaries. We had Stake Correlation meeting tonight as well, and I really felt grateful for the opportunity to associate with fine men such as President Waite, the APs, President Hancock, and Stake President Pulsipher. What a choice blessing. I learn so much from just being with them. I hope and pray that I can be servants like they are throughout my life. My greatest desire is to serve my savior faithfully throughout my life with all that I have, so that I can have their spirit and wisdom and power and the countenance of Christ. This was just an awesome day. The 2 days before Zone Conference were awesome as well. We had some great discussions, did some good door knocking, and accomplished some great things. I just want to do this work and do it well. I don’t want any regrets as I serve my Heavenly Father, through my mission and through my life. I love the gospel and I know it is true. I know Jesus Christ lives and loves me. I feel it a great honor to bear his name and to teach his gospel. I truly love this work. Thursday, April 14

The past 2 days we have been in Mt. Pleasant. They were some awesome trade-offs. We got some sweet work done. And I got to know whose Elders pretty good. Elder Howell is a total stud. We are going to have to hang out when we get home. He is awesome on the guitar and he taught me a few songs. It was so much fun. I am going to buy a guitar as soon as I get home. We also worked hard and had some good success. Me and Balderas got in a house door knocking and taught a sweet first discussion to a couple ladies. They were pretty interested. We also got some other good contacts, taught some good discussions, and had a good time doing it. We watched one video that was made by the church a while back called, “The Measure of a Man”. It was hilarious about a young man faced with all kinds of temptations anyhow he overcame them in the end. It was so funny. There were some hilarious lines. Saturday, April 16

The past few days have been good ones. We have gotten some sweet work done here in our area. We had a good natured bash with our investigator Keith Woodason. He is a very knowledgeable guy and really challenges my wisdom and knowledge. So it was a fun discussion. We did some good door knocking today. The weather got up to about 70 degrees and the sun was shining with blue sky. I was loving it. Maybe spring is finally here. I sure hope so. We door knocked for about 4 hours because I just wanted to be outside. Oh yeah, for P-day yesterday we went golfing with Br. Chew. It was so much fun. I was out in shorts and a t-shirt and it was a nice day I played excellent. I shot a 42, so only 7 over par. It was possibly the best golf I have ever played. My chipping was what really helped me out. I was on target from short range. So I have the golfing fever and want to go every P-day. Tuesday, April 19

Transfers didn’t affect the Zone very much. We lost Sister Patton and Wakefield and we will miss them the most. They are some good missionaries. It seems like yesterday that we were all hanging out in the MTC and now they are on the way home. That is the biggest trip. I don’t envy their position right now, however. There is no way I could go home right now. I’m so glad I get to serve for 2 full years; 18 months just isn’t long enough. But it is hard to see them go, because that means my time is short. I need to really sprint to the end these last six months and really make the most of them. The mission just goes too fast. We have had a couple of great days here in Midland. We taught a couple discussions, got some good door knocking in, and just worked hard both days. The weather has been beautiful and I love being out in it. We have been shedding our jackets while we door knock and getting a little sun. That makes door knocking a little more enjoyable. Elder Moon hates tracking and we have been doing a lot of it. I really have to drag him out a lot, but he comes along. It is really hard to get him to do things, that is frustrating because it places all of it on me. But I feel like I am helping him some as well. I sure hope so. I do love being a missionary. I even enjoy tracting. It’s all in the attitude. Why not have a good time doing the work? I hope I can keep that attitude throughout my life. Thursday, April 21

The past 2 days have been sweet ones. We have been working hard and seeing some success. Both Friday and Saturday we got some good door knocking in and got some awesome call backs. Today we were knocking out a trailer park and found good people, but one in particular was a golden contact. I tried to help her start her lawnmower, and then she let us in and I explained the Book of Mormon to her. She is very interested and will read, and we have an appointment for the 1st discussion with her next Wednesday. I know we were out searching for her because a few houses later we got kicked out of that trailer park. But we found our contact. It was awesome. Yesterday, we finally got Yvonne on the stop smoking program. I hope she does it. She is in a very bad situation right now. She is pregnant, her boyfriend is an alcoholic and a jerk, her friend is living with her, and she is in a much worse state than Yvonne is. Her friend Amy is going through a divorce. And they are both only 18 years old. I’m so glad I have the gospel in my life. Tonight we had a “Know Your Religion” class taught by Dennis Largy from BYU. He did such an awesome job. He took the Book of Mormon and taught it from a different way than I have ever heard. I seriously learned so much and so many things and approaches I can use in my proselyting. The spirit was powerful as well. I love meetings like this one. He is an instructor at the “Y” and I am going to take one of his classes for sure. He has an awesome teaching style. I love to teach - that is still a possibility for my future occupation. A seminary teacher would be fun. If I can ever teach like Brother Largy, I will be content. That is a definite goal. One of the things Br. Largy taught us was about Lehi’s dream, 1 Nephi 8:5-12. This sets forth a pattern that is followed throughout the Book of Mormon and throughout history and everyone’s conversion stories. We go through these steps: 1. In a dark and dreary waste, 2. Pray for mercy, 3. Remission of sins through the atonement of Christ, 4. Great joy, 5. Share it with others. Look at King Benjamins people, Alma the Younger, Enos, etc. to see this pattern. The whole purpose of the Book of Mormon is to testify of Christ. How? It talks of him and reveals his enemies. And he showed tons of other things that will be useful and are very enlightening. I love the Book of Mormon and I know it is true with all my heart. Saturday, April 23

The past two days have been so awesome. It was Zone Leader Conference so we met the Traverse City Elders in Mt. Pleasant and headed down to Lansing. The new Zone Leader in Traverse City is Elder Tuckfield, and his companion is Elder McMorrow. They are both studies, and we had a good road trip with them. We got to Lansing about 1:00 and we all cleaned up President’s front yard and back and did all the mowing and yard work. It was pretty fun - I haven’t mowed a lawn for a long time. After that was done, we headed to a park and played some sweet football. It was such a sweet blast. I caught one touchdown pass and threw for two more. It was a beautiful day and I was out with my shirt off. It felt good and I got some sun too. After that we got ready and then PC’d on campus. I went with Elder Tuckfield and we did awesome. We got 17 PCs. We killed everyone else once again. I think that is so fun to contact out there. You meet some cool people. Then one of the members who lives next to the APs gave us a magic show. He did the sweetest job. I have no clue how he did any of the tricks but they were good. He pulled a bra out of Elder Johanson’s pocket, he stuck what I thought was a magic hat on my head, but was really a plunger and everyone took pictures and I had no clue. It was hilarious. His tricks were amazing. This was a sweet P-day spent with good friends and missionaries. One I will always remember. Monday, April 25

Today was just as awesome. It was ZLC so we all headed to the mission home and had a great meeting. Elder Tuckfield and Rowley both led discussions and the APs did some good skill training. It was once again a spirit filled, pump me up kind of a meeting. I learned a lot and it helped me to know some more things I can do with the zone. After the meeting, we got pictures taken and then we just talked forever. Me, Johanson, Christofferson, and Gardner were making plans for when we get home and just chatted about everything. I really started to get to know Gardner pretty well, and he is a stud. All those guys are. I talked with President for a while and then ran around to get all my office work done. We didn’t get out of that office until after 8:30. We got our stuff from the APs, ate dinner at Arby’s, and then drove home. Traverse City stayed in Mt. Pleasant and we didn’t get home to Midland until midnight. Dang. And then me and Mom talked for about an hour. He wrote his Stake President and said that he wanted to go home and now his Stake President is trying to get hold of him. It died to talk things out with him and help him out, but I don’t know if I helped too much. He says he is worried about a friend and he feels like he needs to talk to him and help I'm out. But I know there is a lot more to it than that. I just hope we can help him be happy and get him demotivated before he does go home. That would be tragic because he is a good missionary. Tuesday, April 26

This is possibly the longest time I have slacked in my journal writing. So I am going to do just a short recap of the past week. We had trade-offs in Oscoda with Hunker and Izatt and they were pretty lame. Those missionaries don’t have too much motivation but we did get some good work done. We also had trade-offs with Howell and Utley over in Mt. Pleasant. They were very fun. We played the guitar some and I am improving pretty fast. I am definitely buying a 12 string when I get home. I love playing. We also made a video on Howell’s video camera called “Good missionary, Bad missionary.” It was such a blast to make and the video is hilarious. I had an awesome experience door knocking on Sunday with Elder Hall. We hit a street and got one New Find on our second door. Then we continued and met a lady who let us in after a couple tries. Her name name is Anna May Monger, and by the time we left she had our testimonies, a Book of Mormon, and total trust in us. I played the piano for her and she wanted to give me the key to her house so I could come practice anytime while she was at work or something. It was an awesome day door knocking. Elder Moon has been having a really hard time lately. He has been really depressed and kind of dragging me down a little as well. But I need to dig deep at this time and really work hard and be positive so that we can keep him out here on a mission where he belongs. It would be tragic if he went home. I can’t understand him because right now I am going through the opposite - I am worried about how short time is and I could never go home right now. I love my mission way too much. I hope he finds it within himself to do the right thing. Wednesday, May 4

Well, today was one of the weirdest Zone Conferences I have been to. We didn't have a very good morning. Some of the missionaries came without the spirit and with a grudge in their hearts and during our skill training they were goofing around and it wasn’t very productive at all. Well, President Waite took it for as long as he could but finally he got up and reproved everyone for a couple hours. It was very timely and much needed for many of the missionaries. I’m glad President Waite did it. It was very effective and totally turned our meeting around. After he was done, he called upon some to bear their testimonies and then I asked Elder Smith to offer a prayer for us so that we could have the spirit with us throughout the rest of the day. And the rest of the day was fantastic. We had some great discussions and instruction. And the spirit was really with us. As testimonies were being shared, I really felt the spirit and really enjoyed it so much. It was such a turn around from the morning that we had. It turned out to be a very uplifting and spiritual meeting. I love Zone Conference. I also got to hang with the APs once again. They are my hero. I really respect and look up to them a lot. They kept hinting about me going AP, but I don’t know. I would love to serve with Elder Christofferson and around Pres. and Sister Waite but I don’t know if it will happen or not. I love this gospel so much - and I love the ministry of Jesus Christ. It is so awesome to be a missionary. Thursday, May 5

Today is Mothers Day so my parents called quickly last night to figure out the best time to call today. It was so good to hear Mom and Dad’s voices. They are the greatest parents. Mom just talked away - she was very excited. They told me about Kim’s wedding and Carol’s wedding and the sharp contrast between a temple marriage and a worldly wedding. There is no comparison. The temple sealer before he started talked for a while and said that “President Benson told them all that the Savior often walked the halls of the temple and even peeked into the rooms to see what was happening. So those of us in the temple can truly say we have walked where the savior walked. What a fantastic blessing to go to his house to receive covenants, to get to know him, and to be sealed as spouses and families for time and all eternity. I feel so blessed to have and accept this knowledge in my life. It is true. Recently I have felt very overburdened by all my responsibilities and challenges which I face as a Zone Leader. Trying to please the people in the ward with baptisms, as well as President Waite, trying to set the example for the Zone and helping them to do better, trying to help Elder Moon to love his mission and want to stay by always being positive and enthusiastic about the work even while our investigators really aren’t progressing. Trying to please my Heavenly Father by bring choice souls unto him, and also trying to be happy with myself and what I am accomplishing. It has been very overwhelming and I started to slip into a little depression. But as I pondered upon this recently and looked at my blessings and all that I have, I have no reason to feel as I do. The Lord is with me because this is His work. I have the spirit with me because I am being a righteous and obedient servant. And my testimony, knowledge, and sense of inner peace continue to grow. During sacrament meeting today, the thought came to my mind that as in George Currant’s dream with carrying wood from the coal shed in his missionary tape that I love, “I can carry more”. As Matthew 11:30 says, “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”. If I will put my total trust in the savior and do all in my power and yet rely on him, surely my burden will be light because he will take it upon himself and I won’t have to carry it. What a blessing. So I am resolved to just do more and give it my all and let the Savior handle the rest. I don’t need to worry about anything except having the spirit with me, and the rest will work itself out. I’m grateful to go to church and partake of the sacrament each week. I really feel the spirit today and learned a lot as well. Now I’m going to call home. Sweet!

Well, it was so sweet to talk to my family on the phone. I ended up talked for nearly 4 hours total, but it was a blast. Everyone sounded very good, it was so nice to hear their voices. They were having a Mothers Day celebration over at our house so I got to talk to Grandma and Grandpa Polson, Hub, Robin, Pat, Amber, as well as my family. It was awesome especially to talk to Hub for a minute. I got to talk to everyone in the family for quite a while. Me and Dad tentatively planned out our little post mission tour for when they come out to pick me up. That is going to be a blast. It was pretty weird to talk to them and then say, see ya in a few months. I won’t talk to them until I see them. Weird. I don’t know how it is all coming up so fast, but it is. P-day was pretty cool. We watched Liz’ video and then just played the guitar at Elder Hall’s place for much of the day. I love playing the guitar. I also played the piano for a time at the church and started writing a song. Tuesday was an alright day. We worked hard but didn’t get too much productive stuff done. It was kind of a frustrating day, but they will get better. Tuesday, May 10

We were on trade-offs in Bay City with Elder Dickinson and Malan and they were pretty sweet. I worked with Dickinson on Wednesday and we thrusted. We taught a sweet 6th discussion to Jenni Jones and door knocked and checked people and just had a good day. Dickinson is a total stud. Today I had to take Malan to the hospital because he fracture his wrists. So I spent much of the day there. It’s cool being with those guys, we had a good time. And we had a sweet burn on Wednesday night. We did the triple burn action celebrating Malan’s 6th month mark, Dickinson’s hump day, and my Slump day. We burned a tie, 2 shirts, and 1 pair of pants. They burned great out on the beach at the bay. It was awesome. Tonight we had our Stake Correlation meeting and it went very well. President Pulsipher is a spiritual giant. He totally inspires me. He was the only big wig there. President Waite is in Washington DC and President Matt Harding is in Texas. So it was me, the APs, and Br. Ostergaard with President Pulsipher. But it was a good meeting. The stake is going to be split here so exciting things are going on, but we didn’t get too much scoop. It will be awesome to see how it all works out. This may be the last time I get to hang with Elder Johanson on the mission. Dang, he is such a stud. I’m going to miss that guy a lot. It was hard to say goodbye. I totally got choked up. It would be awesome to see him one more time, which would happen if I went to the office. They gave me some more hints that I might. I totally play it off, though. I don’t want to aspire but I would love it, especially serving with Elder Christofferson. This was a good day. Thursday, May 12

I can’t believe it is Friday the 13th because today was an awesome day, one of the best in a while. We totally thrusted from 9:30am to 9:30pm. We were fasting also and I just had the spirit with me so strong. It feels so good. We taught Penny the second discussion and projected Yvonne Rosenbrock again after the 5th discussion for the 29th of this month. They were some good discussions. We also split with Dan Hall and Harry Chew and got some good door knocking. Hall and Moon did the whole side of Rodd St. (a big street) while me and Harry only got to about 5 houses because we got a call back and then got into a house and had a good discussion with an MSU college student who is intelligent and sophisticated. She was so cool and we have an appointment for the 1st discussion. We also had a good time checking call backs and setting up future appointments. Awesome day. And the coolest thing is that I have written my song. It is called “I am Here” and it is sweet. Not to brag or anything, but it is seriously a good song. Friday, May 13

The past few days have been pretty sweet. We have been working our butts off and it just feels so good to work hard and to have the spirit all the time. And the work is going really great. On Saturday, we had a good discussion with Emmitt Jenkins. We watched the Prodigal Son and taught the third discussion. He is really enjoying our visits and progresses all the time. We also found some pretty good people while door knocking. So it was a very productive day. Sunday was good also. Nobody showed up to church again, but it was an excellent service. Br. Mullen gave an excellent talk on the Lords Dream Team and we had an awesome lesson in Priesthood about Integrity and Honor. Also in Priesthood, they asked me to read Proverbs 6:16-19 as part of the lesson, but I accidentally read from Chapter 5 which talks about “let her breasts satisfy you, etc.”. It was very embarrassing but hilarious. We taught a really good 1st discussion to Jenni (MSU student) and her father Bob. They have very intellectual views about God, so it was an interesting discussion but it went well. And during the evening we went to Bay City and I interviewed Elder Adam and Alder to try to get those guys pumped up about the work. They have really been slacking off lately. But hey have the potential to be very successful. P-day was pretty average. We played the piano for a while, roamed the mall, did some checking on referrals and that was about it. But Tuesday was a much better day. We worked hard all day and got some good things accomplished. We taught Sheila Gibson and checked the entire area book and did some unsuccessful door knocking. It was a beautiful day out, it is warming up a bit and the sun was out. So I had a really good time all day. It just makes me feel good to serve Heavenly Father well. We got dropped by a couple people, though. And we got a new referral from someone who is already a member but just wanted a free video, so that was kind of lame. So I guess it wasn’t the best of days but I’m just happy because I am doing what I know I should be doing. This work is awesome. Transfers tomorrow? Tuesday, May 17

Chris’ Mission–Big Rapids with Elder Gurr

I need to start doing better with my journal writing. I have been slacking big time. My greenies name is Elder Dax Gurr. We have been together for 3 days and he is a total stud. We get along very well and will do well together. He has a very strong desire to serve well and teach the gospel. He can’t wait to teach but our appointments keep falling through. But we will get it going here. It is awesome to be training again and we are doing everything right. We get up at 5:55am, go to bed before 10:30pm, and we are working hard. We have done a lot of door knocking and walking around the past 2 days but it has been very cold and unsuccessful. But I know if we stick with it that we will be blessed. I am 100% obedient and willing to give all that is required to be a successful missionary. Today has been an awesome Sabbath. We taught seminary this morning and just talked about our missions and how awesome they are. I was hoping for the spirit to just pierce the should of those young men and it did go well. But they are pretty normal teenagers. It was cool to talk about my mission and its effect on me, before and after it started. Sacrament meeting was very good. I seem to be enjoying it even more all the time. I taught the lesson in Gospel Essentials and it went great. I prepared it well and because of that, it was an awesome lesson. I talked on the atonement and it was really beneficial for me and I hope for the others in the class. I am so grateful for the atonement and its effect on my life. I love Jesus Christ so much and appreciate his love for me. The rest of the day has been good as well. Me and Elder Gurr talked a lot about the MTC and the prophets and apostles and the spirit has been with us very strong. I also studied 3 Nephi 11-15 tonight as well as Russell M. Nelsons talk at the Parliament of World Religions. He is such a stud. He was so bold in his talk but the spirit was so strong that as I read it, I knew he is a prophet called by God. I also listened to Truman G. Madsen’s talk on Joseph Smith as a lecturer and counselor. Joseph Smith is my hero. We talked a lot tonight about having the power of the Lord to speak with us. My goal is to truly have his countenance and spirit all the time when I speak his words for him. I love this work so much. Sunday, February 27

Well, I don’t know what’s going on. I am working my butt off and things just aren’t going well at all. We got dogged again today on our appointment - we still haven’t taught anyone since the arrival of Elder Gurr. After we got home this afternoon, I was totally depressed. But we headed out to do some tracting and a lady walked by us right as we got to the sidewalk and I PC’d her and she was interested. Sweet. I guess the Lord really was just testing me because as we continued to go out, the first three people we talked to, we got PC’s out of them. They were blessings from above and just totally boosted my spirits. I was feeling so down and upset but I’m ready to go again. I know the Lord is in charge and if we keep it up, he will totally bless us. I seriously just have to thrust, but have faith in the Lord. I can’t do it without him. We are being 100% obedient and working so I don’t know why we keep getting dogged. I must just be a trial of my faith (Ether 12:6) but I will pass the test. Tuesday, March 1

Well, we are passing the test. On Wednesday, we had a sweet companion inventory where we set some good goals and talked about the work. It was really good and then we went out and did the work and totally got blessed. We went out just contacting people not he street and the first 10 people weren't interested. We weren’t having any luck and it totally sucked, but we just kept going showing the Lord we would persevere and he blessed us. We had tons of success the rest of the time walking around campus and got 12 PCs. It was totally sweet. And it felt so good. We were having the best time talking with people. And we also went out today and got 5 PCs. My fear is always hard to overcome until I just do it and open my mouth. And then as soon as I have talked to a couple people, the fear is gone. I have talked to a couple people, the fear is gone. I really do enjoy it and we meet some neat people and some interesting characters. On guy, as soon as Elder Gurr started talking, said “Get out of here, you bible thumpers. We needed to be humbled. I kind of laughed it off, but Gurr was pretty upset. He just isn't used to it yet. But some of the other people ran into were way cool. We helped one guy carry a trunk across campus and into a dorm and he PC’d us after we offered to help. It was really cool. Contacting at the college is pretty fun. On Wednesday night, we also taught Terry and Jessie Jones and the Wards and both went very well. We finally got to teach a discussion. We will challenge both of them to baptism on Saturday. They are some great people. Tomorrow is Lori Spires baptism. I am really excited and she is all ready. Thursday, March 3

Today was awesome. It was Lori Spires baptism and it went very well. I got to baptize her and confirm her and I also sang a song, so I was pretty busy. And I can’t believe I went through with it and sang a solo. I almost didn’t do it, but I’m totally glad I did. It was a good experience and I actually got a lot of compliments. And the baptism nd confirmation went awesome as well. I love using the Priesthood so much. It is such a privilege and once again, I could clearly follow the promptings of the spirit as I blessed her. What a neat experience and what an awesome day. Afterwards, Lori took us and Christine and Linda and Emily out to Casey’s restaurant. What a sweet day. Friday, March 4

Today I have been out for seventeen months and what a way to celebrate. We had our Zone Conference down in Grand Rapids and it was the best one I’ve had. Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone was with us and what an amazing man. Most of the day was filled with him speaking to us and I was in awe once more of the power and spirit that he had, that all the General Authorities have. He was truly amazing and what a blessing it was to sit at his feet to receive more of the teachings of the savior from him and to feel of his spirit and to receive a blessing as a group from him. It was so neat. He taught us principles ranging from meekness to being a powerful “Challenging and Testifying Missionary”. Meekness he defines as not weak or lowly, but being “an absolute submissiveness to God”. I like that and as he talked about it, I truly desired it so much. I want to be able to say, “Not my will, but thine” each time I go through one of my own Gethsemane’s. I want to be a challenging and testifying missionary; one who has no fear because my faith is so high. And one who will boldly, with the spirit, always tell people how it is. That is a powerful missionary and I want to be that powerful. I feel like I should record all these principles in here so that I can refer back to them after. “We can be perfect in many things”. Perfect in tithing, in sacrament attendance, etc. And then we just keep adding to the list as we continue to conquer things and be perfect in them. And concerning humility, “Greatness is not in us, but through us”. Powerful. “85% of all success is due to attitude”. “Only the mediocre person is at his best.”

Elder Featherstone shard a story about how he healed a little girl and she talked about him as the “friend of the prophet”. What a beautiful thing to be called. And he shared many other stories which were awesome. He talked about David who had “a heart like unto God’s heart” who slew Goliath but later took Bathsheba and committed adultery and became a coward. I want to be a Spartan missionary - one who can work harder, sacrifice more, and serve better. And as President Kimball counseled us to “Get your lions share of baptisms”. I will do that. He also taught us that the devil can never duplicate the sweet feeling of peace. And asked that we promise this and not the “burning of the bosom”. And since the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion, we must put the pressure on it because that makes the arch (the Church) stronger. Elder Featherstone also got very deep into a lot of subjects such as eternal marriage, the celestial kingdom, our divine potential, etc. At this point, my notes began to get neglected because I was so intent on his words and the spirit was so strong. He basically took us on a tour of the Salt Lake Temple on the upper floors and talked about the different rooms, their purpose, and a little of what goes on in them. Rooms where the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve meet, the last Supper room, and the Holy of Holies. It was so neat as he talked about them. I can’t wait to go to the temple again. He talked about the top General Authorities, past and present, and shared personal experiences with them. I love those men with all my heart. He also answered many of the questions that have arisen in my heart as of late. “Seek and ye shall find.” There is no way for me to capture all his words or his spirit here in my journal. But I love Elder Featherstone and I am grateful for the time we had together. He is a great man and a chosen servant of God. After he concluded, we had a brief testimony meeting and I went first. I just had to share my feelings of my love for the gospel and for missionary work. I do love it with all my hart and I feel so privileged for the opportunity I have to be a part of it. Days like today make it so worthwhile and rewarding. My greatest desire is to serve my Father well throughout my mission and throughout my life. I will endure to the end so that one day, I can be a powerful speaker and teacher of truth. Jesus Christ lives and this is his church. Amen. Monday, March 7

The past few days have been good ones. On Tuesday, we did our laundry, got our haircuts, and worked out at Knopfs. That was fun. I benched 215, which is pretty good. Then we headed over to Midland with Sister Savard and Jeni and had an awesome time over there. We got there right at the conclusion of their Zone Conference so I got to talk with all the missionaries who I’m friends with. Elder Johanson, Erik Johnsen, Jake Smith, Biehler, Georgianna, Sisters Patton and Wakefield, and my first son Elder Dickinson. It was awesome to see all of them. I had a good time talking with everyone. I could have spent hours and I almost did - but Gary and Jane Weiss were there also and they took us out to dinner. It was the best to spend time with them. I really love that family. Then we went back to the Stake Center for the fireside, and it was excellent. Elder Featherstone did such an awesome job. I really enjoyed it. And so did Lori and Christine Spires. They were both there and he made them feel really special. So that was neat. And Lori made a trip to Lansing on Wednesday to visit the LDS bookstore. She got a few books, a CTR ring, and pictures. It is so cool to see how much they are really accepting the gospel into their lives. They are great people, but Elder Gurr thinks they are both in love with me. Which is probably true. We have done quite a bit of door knocking this week, and Wednesday we also taught a new guy who we found door knocking. He was old and couldn’t hear very well but it was good practice for Elder Gurr to teach him. We taught Terry and Jessie Jones the third discussion on Wednesday night and also got started teaching the Wards the second discussion. We are going really slow to make sure they understand the atonement and what faith is and so on. They are doing very well, however, and their attitude and ability to learn improves every time. I got a tape from Mom today. It was really nice to just have her talking to me. She told me about a lot of things. Brett Barratt was just sent home early from his mission. I guess he was taking a lot of medicine and he kind of went crazy. I feel really bad for him. I can only imagine how hard it would be to not finish my mission. I guess he went home on February 14 but was in a hospital in Utah Valley for about 3 weeks before he went home. And Pat and Dale didn’t tell anyone about it. I hope he is OK and can move forward in a righteous way. Thursday, March 10

The past few days have been very good ones. We have just been doing a lot of tracking and finding to get our teaching pool moving. It has been fairly successful. I know we will see some fruits come from it. Saturday and Sunday we had Stake Conference and it was very good. We attended all sessions, the Priesthood Leadership session where we learned about building zion in our areas and how to accomplish that. The rest of the conference, the theme was centered on “Hold to the Rod” and we heard many good talks about it in the adult session and General Session on Sunday. All meetings were enjoyable and I found ways in which I can improve. I also got to practice being an Executive Stake Clerk in all sessions. I counted all the people for Brother Rowell. It was pretty cool. Today we spent time at the Heards for dinner and Sister Heard is not treating Lori very well. They don't get along. I hope I can always treat people as Jesus Christ would treat them without judging them. That is very hard to do , and I do have a lot of Pride to struggle against, but I can do it with the help of Jesus Christ. If I can look past my prejudices enough to see things from others point of view; then I will be a positive influence to all those I contact and I will do as He would do. I will work on it. Sunday, March 13

P-day this Monday was pretty fun. We played some good hoop - my shot is dead on - and we also went to Knopf’s and worked out. Us and Jordan had a good time. Then we had Family Home Evening at the Rowells and played Celestial Pursuit. Of course I won, I rule that game. Elder Gurr got really sick and was either in bed of on the toilet all day on Tuesday. I felt really bad for him. He is in a lot of pain, but is getting better. Wednesday was an awesome day. We had district meeting down in Grand Rapids and it was a good one. My district is pretty sweet. We got the car finally, after 3 weeks without it and cruised back home. Elder Gurr still wasn't feeling great, but we drove over to the campus and got our 5 PCs anyway. We found some really choice people in a short time. The Lord was leading us. We got 4 and then headed back to the car but it was freezing so we stepped inside the building to warm up. We had promised ourselves we wouldn’t get back in the car until we got our 5th PC. And when we walked out, there was a guy waiting for us tying his shoe. So we talked to him and he was interested, so we walked down to this house right then and taught him the first discussion. It was awesome. Then we cruised home and Brother Smith took us out and we taught Terry and Jessie Jones the rest of the 3rd discussion. And we taught the Wards a bunch of the 2nd and 3rd discussions. It went very well with them. We talked a lot about baptism and authority and they learned a lot. We had to really hit the authority and the immersion issue because they are Catholic. But after a lot of talking by me and reading a lot of scriptures with them, I feel we were able to resolve a lot of their concerns and get them closer to a baptismal commitment. They are a great family and I love them. I hope and pray that they will see the light. I think they are getting there. Wednesday, March 16

Things have been going pretty well here. We taught a new guy on Thursday. His name is Anthony and he is very interested. He is a stud. Also on Thursday, I got my teeth cleaned at the dental hygiene school. Lori Spires is in the Dental Hygiene program so I was her patient for 4 hours. It wasn’t fun but it needed to be done. Today we taught Lori and Chris part of the first new member lesson. They are doing well. We had a great dinner at a part member family tonight and I think we made a good impression on Charlie, the nonmember. Friday, March 18

The past few days have been totally awesome. Saturday and Sunday we got some good things done. For Sunday School, I prepared a lesson about “a mighty change” and how important that is as well as how to accomplish it. It went very well except Linda Heard wasn’t there and much of what I prepared was directed at her. But it was still great for Lori and Christine. They are both doing very well, they continue to progress and grow in the gospel and I am just very pleased with how much they are applying the gospel to their lives. They are awesome and I’m so glad that I was a part of their conversion. It is so rewarding to see. Sunday we also listened to a Book of Mormon fiction story about “Samuel, Moroni’s young warrior”. It was very good, but not as good as Chris Heimerdinger stories. P-day was awesome. We played basketball for like 3 hours and it was so fun. I was unconscious again playing out of my head. We kept wining in a 2 versus 3 format. No one could stop me. We also played some soccer out on the wet field. That was also a blast to get a little reacquainted with my soccer skills. Then at night we had Family Home Evening with the Rowells and had a short lesson and then played Celestial Pursuit again. The Rowells are awesome. Tuesday was a very hectic but sweet day. We didn’t have time for lunch. We were late for our dinner appointment and late getting home because we were out visiting people so much. We had a Satellite broadcast in the morning from the MTC. We heard from Joseph B. Wirthlin, James E. Faust, Richard G. Scott, M. Russell Ballard, and David B. Haight. 5 apostles. What a meeting. I was really uplifted and I learned so much. Their main focus was on the Book of Mormon. They want us to use it more effectively and more often. There is also a new media program that they are beginning that will focus on the Book of Mormon and will also let people know that we will deliver it. I think it will be very productive and it will really help us out. After the missionary broadcast, we cruised up to Eagle Village and talked about their program using Family First video. The people there are really great and we could get some good contacts from them. Then we visited the Fry’s for a time. They are doing so well. They are just eating up the gospel. He will be the next Branch President I think. Then we had dinner the Hoerters. We home taught the Stewards with Brother Hoerter. Then we taught Anthony the 3rd discussion. He is a total stud and he is learning quickly. If he wasn’t leaving for Texas next week, we would have him baptized very soon. But hopefully he will join the church down there and bring his family with him. Tuesday, March 23

Well, I’ve been having a feeling lately about transfers and the unexpected did happen. I am being transferred over to Midland. It is a total shock because I have only had one month to train Elder Gurr. But I guess they need my leadership because I will be the Zone Leader over there. So I am pretty excited about that. I am the only Zone Leader with a normal companion. It will be a real challenge, but an awesome experience. But it is hard to leave this area. I have made some very close friends in my short time here. And I really do love the people. I feel bad about only having one month to train Elder Gurr. There is so much more I need to do to teach him, but I’m sure he will do great. And I feel that the work will continue to prosper. There are a lot of good people here that need the gospel. We visited the Wards and the Jones boys tonight and they all wanted to know i I could come back to baptize them. I sure wish I could, and maybe we can work something out. That would be so neat. But as long as they get baptized, that is all I really care about. It is hard to leave all the new converts but I feel good about the strength of their testimonies. Christine gave me a couple very nice cards and a goodbye letter to that me for my role in her life. It was very touching. And Lori also wrote me a nice letter to thank me. It is these types of things that make all the hard work so worth it. To see how much the gospel influences the lives of those who accept it and apply it. I’m so grateful to be a part of that and to see its effects. I will really miss Christine and her son Dillon as well as Lori and her son Michael. But I will see them again for sure. They are such sweet people. Well, my stay in Big Rapids was short but very productive. I will always remember the good times and the great people here. And I will definitely miss it. Wednesday, March 23

Chris’ Mission–Big Rapids with Elder Maday

Well, here I am. It has been a long couple of days. I got everything all finished up as far as packing and I got on the bus at 1:50. I had to transfer buses in Grand Rapids and from there I rode with Elder Bischoff and Packer. They are both pretty cool, but they seem to be gents. Maday was here waiting for me with the Ward Mission Leader, Br. Broderick. He is a nice guy but he and his family and kind of weird. We had dinner with them and a correlation meeting. They talked forever about people that haven’t been taught for 3-4 months. I was almost laughing at some of their conversations. There hasn’t been much obedience or work going on here for a while. Elder Maday is pretty cool and seems like he wants to be obedient and work - and that is what is going to happen here. It seem like there is a lot of potential.

The apartment here was a total dump. There was crap all over - I seriously couldn’t live in it. So we have been cleaning all last night and all day today. But the effort was well worth it. We converted a garbage room into a really nice weight room with a nice weight set, bikes, our ironing board, etc. It is now our inspirational room because we basically wallpapered it with motivational posters. It looks awesome. And every other room is 100% better. Everything is spotless and organized and ready to rock. I won’t let Maday be a slob anymore. I can’t stand being unorganized. But he likes the change a lot too. Tonight we ate with Sister Savard. That is the coolest thing about this area, that Jeni and Donna live here. When Maday called about dinner she asked who the new companion was and he said it was a surprise and she said, “Its Elder Johnson”. She called Sister Weiss up in St. Ignace right away so Sister Weiss called her house when I was there tonight and we talked for a good 45 minutes. It was so awesome to hear her voice. She is the greatest. They are coming through to go to the temple and we are going to see each other for sure. I can’t wait to see all the St. Ignace people. I love them . Well, I gotta head to bed, I won’t be disobedient at all because I am here to rock this area. Friday, January 28

I think I am really going to like it here. Church today was really great. There was a missionary farewell for Mike Stewart. All of the members are really neat people and they are very interested in the missionary program. We are going to do so much good here that they will be asking us to slow down. We had a great companion planning session today and set some really good goals for the month of February. We are seriously going to rock here so hard. I am excited and so is Maday. This is the first time he has every been obedient and I am also going to work him to the ground. And the neatest thing today was that we committed Christina Spiers to baptism. She came to church and said she was ready and we set her date for February 20th. So that is really exciting. We had given her much of the baptism challenge last night but she said she wasn’t ready even though the spirit was present. And we didn’t pray because the atmosphere wasn’t right. But she had hit her head earlier and was having a lot of pain, so I gave her a blessing . I blessed her that she would heal quickly and without pain. Well, the pain went away and that was the thing that changed her mind about baptism. What a neat experience to be a part of . I am so grateful for the priesthood and that I am a worthy holder. We also invited her sister Laurie to hear the discussions. She came to church and we are teaching her the first tomorrow. Sweet! Sunday, January 30

My first P-day in Big Rapids. It was pretty cool. We spent the entire day with Jordan Rowell. He is a total stud. He took us out to Big Boy for an all you can eat breakfast. Then we did our laundry at his house while I watched my video from Liz. It is an awesome video. We also played “Life” and ate a pizza and just hung out there. We also got to play some hoops at the church. But nobody else is any good so it wasn’t much of a challenge. But still fun. Tonight we had dinner with Sister Heard, Lori and Chris, and watched Nephi and the Brass Plates. Then we taught Lori the first discussion and it went extremely well. We planned out the all 6 discussions and they will all be taught before Chris’ baptism on February 18. I am excited. Monday, January 31

Wow, it’s already February. We started it out pretty good. We went out PCing people and got one really good solid PC. But that was our only one. That is one area that I will have to really help Maday with. He didn’t talk to a single person., but he did start saying hello to people - that’s a start. We taught Marlin and Zea Fry tonight. They will be baptized on February 19 and they are beyond golden. They are the most prepared people for the gospel that I have ever met. They are so cool. It is an honor to be able to teach them and see them join the church. I am seriously so impressed by the quality of the people in this area. They will be a great addition to the branch. Tuesday, February 1

The past 24 hours have been awesome. Right as I was finishing my journal last night, the Hart and Ludington Elders showed up to stay over for Zone Conference. It was so awesome to see Elder Wright and Douglas again. They are both really good friends. And their companions, Elder Barnes and Nelson are both pretty cool also. We had an awesome time last night. They didn’t show up until 10:30 and we didn’t get to be until 1:30. But is was fun to talk and catch up. Today was Zone Conference and it was a really good one. It was weird to not be in charge and to just sit back and enjoy. It was nice. I also got to see Sullivan and Biehler, which was really awesome. And I read Misty’s letter to him which cleared up a lot of things that happened to her. She is down in Ohio and seems to still have a strong testimony and a desire to go to church. She is a neat person. I also talked with President some and with Elder Raybould a lot about my release as a Zone Leader. They were both beneficial talks. I feel much better about the whole thing. It is just nice to know where I stand with President. And President just told me the Lord wants me here - so that is good enough for me. But it is possible for me to train again soon and possibly be called as a Zone Leader again, so that is comforting. They both really built me up during Zone Conference a lot, and President told Maday that I almost went AP. So I guess I can feel better about my release and everything that has been going on. Now I am going to rock this area. Wednesday, February 2

The past few days have been very frustrating for me. Elder Maday has been sick and I’ve been rearing to get out and thrust. It’s making me really mad because he seems to be pretending most of the time. He just doesn’t seem very sick to me. Thursday we didn’t do much, but Friday I dragged him out and we got some solid PCs and taught two discussions so it turned out to be a great day. But today, he wouldn’t get out of bed and complained all day until dinner tonight. I did get a lot of scripture reading, but I didn’t like being inside most of the day. But he said he was feeling better tonight, so hopefully it is over. I finally got mail here. I got a letter from Mom and a very comforting letter from Dad about my transfer and stuff. And Liz sent me a Valentines package that is totally awesome. She is awesome, I hope things continue to improve and progress with us. Saturday February 5

16 month mark. Holy cow. I can’t believe I am 2/3 done with my mission. It has gone by so fast. And the coolest thing is that I got to spend the day with Sullivan at zone P-day so we got to celebrate together by beating up on each other at hoop. It was a sweet P-day. I am worn out and sore, but it was well worth it. We also had an awesome district meeting and watched the seminary video about Christ and his final days. It is the same one we saw at the Bourries last summer - the one which I have been searching for ever since. It is the sweetest video ever. It portrays the Garden and the Crucifixion so well and i was just overpowered with the spirit as we watched it. I love my savior so much and am so grateful for the atonement. I would be lost without it. I also got the opportunity to bear my testimony - it was a great time to be able to share my feelings of him. Tonight, we taught Lori the 3rd discussion and it went very well. She is progressing right along and looking great for baptism. We will get her projected on our next visit. I love the 3rd discussion, teaching about the priesthood and the restoration and modern day apostles. Also, Sunday was a good day. Church was great and dinner at the Thompsons was awesome. Monday, February 7

Things are going very well here. We’ve had some productive days. And the area is really picking up. We started teaching Marcus, the son of a member, who has been in some trouble. But he is a cool guy and that is going pretty well. We taught Chris Spires the 6h discussion and she is very ready for her baptism. She has a strong testimony and it’s really neat to see her progression in such a short time. We also found a new family, the Wards. They are awesome. We showed them the Family First video tonight and will be teaching them the 1st discussion next Tuesday. They are a great family and the father really wants to make some real changes. He is worried about his teenage boys. So here comes the gospel of Jesus Christ to the rescue. We also talked to Tammie Jones tonight, an inactive member who will start coming back. And we are starting to teach her two sons this Saturday so that will be really cool. I am amazed at the blessings that are jumping out at us. This area is so ripe - we should do a lot of harvesting here. Thursday, February 10

It is lunchtime now, but I just had to write in here about my studies this morning. My prayers as of late have tended to be mechanical and one-way and repetitious and this has really bothered me. So for a time now I have been planning to study about prayer and I finally did so today. I studied the scriptures some and the Bible Dictionary, but then I really went through Stephen Covey’s book about prayer. And I learned so much. I have to do better in every stage of prayer. 1. Prepare 2. Express 3. Listen 4. Commit 5. Believe 6. Do. I feel I was lacking in almost every area. I want to improve my relationship between my Heavenly Father and I know this is the basic way I will do it. I know it will help. Friday, February 11

The past 24 hours have been awesome. Last night we taught Lori the fourth discussion and projected her for baptism. It was totally awesome. Except Chris really wants a private baptism. I thought they would like to do it together. But it is awesome that Lori is getting baptized. That will be on March 4 and it is exciting. Now we have 5 projections - Sweet! And this morning we started teaching Terry and Jessie Jones, the sons of Tammie Jones. Terry is 10 and Jessie is 8. They are awesome kids and will be fun to teach. And Tammy will be coming back to church now. Things are going extremely well. I love this work. Saturday, February 12

We are in the middle of trade-offs right now. Elder Powell and Elder Hyde are here. It is really nice to be on this side of the trade-offs in my area, doing what I planned to do. They have been very productive trade-offs. I was with Elder Powell today and he’s not as bad as everybody says. He is a pretty good guy and a good missionary. We had some success today down in White Cloud. We were trying to find one referral and the street was a dirt road and hadn’t been plowed. But we drove down it plowing the snow out of the way. It was crazy. Then we couldn't go any further so we were walking through snow trying to find this house we weren’t even sure existed. But just when I was about to turn back it came into view and we had a good visit with a new family that we will start teaching. Getting home was even harder, but we got it done. Then we taught a new black family - Tony and Paula Mclellan. They are really great and have a strong faith in Christ. It went very well and they will be fun to teach. We had a great day. Tuesday, February 15

We got the Baptismal Interview done for Christine and Lori Spires today. They are both doing great. Then the biggest treat of all, Olga came down and took me out to a Chinese restaurant . She is so awesome. She drove 4 hours down and 4 hours back just to take me out to dinner. She is so selfless and I love her a lot. She is so fun to visit with. We also went to the Patten’s tonight and Marianne is still all set for her baptism this Saturday. Sweet! Wednesday, February 16

Well, what an awesome day. It was the baptism of Christine Spires and it was totally awesome. Everything just went perfectly. Elder Maday got to baptize her and it was his first time performing a baptism as well as his first baptism on his mission so it was a sweet experience for him. I got to confirm her and that was rad. I love using the priesthood. I don’t think about things to say anymore, I just let the spirit direct. I mean I had no clue what to bless her with but I went on for a long time. What a neat experience. Every time I use the priesthood, my testimony of it grows. I’m so glad I am worthy and can use it properly. But the baptism was awesome and Chris will be a strong member. Today we also talked to a new family who we will start teaching tomorrow so that will be cool. It was a great, great day. I love baptisms. After the baptism, we ate dinner at the Heards with Chris and Lori. While there we watched Labor of Love and Called to Serve. I love those movies. They strengthen my resolve to be the best missionary possible. Friday, February 18

Another great day to wrap up an incredible week. We had 3 baptisms today. Marianne Patten and Marlin and Zea Fry. It was awesome. The program went smooth and the spirit was strong. They will all be strong members, especially Marlin and Zea Fry. They are just incredible. They fit in so well and are so excited about the gospel. And the branch loves them. We got to teach the Wards today the first discussion and that went pretty well. The gospel could really help them out if they accept it and live it. We had some time between appointments today so we got a little door knocking in on a very desolate and slippery street out in the middle of nowhere. We didn’t have any PCs but it just felt good to be out working. After the baptism, we had a sweet companion inventory and got some more things discussed that will help Elder Maday and our companionship. Saturday, February 19

Wow I love it when righteous desires come to pass. We just got our transfer call and Maday is outta here. He is lucking out though. He is going to serve in Sault St. Marie - America with my first green Elder Dickinson. Dickinson is a total stud and my companions keep serving together. And the best part is that I get to train a new missionary again. I am so psyched about that. President is really pleased with the work going on here and I am getting rewarded with a new greenie. I am so excited about that, being able to train again and I am going to keep working so hard. We will be baptizing every week very soon. This is a sweet opportunity and I’m very grateful for it. Wednesday, February 23