Chris’ Mission–Assistant to the President with Elder Christofferson and Elder Eric Johnsen

Well, all my dreams have come true. I am being transferred down to the office to serve as an Assistant to the President with Elder Christofferson and Elder Eric Johnsen. I am so excited. I have had the desire to serve with both Christofferson and Johnsen my entire mission. And now I get them both at the same time. And I get to serve around President and Sister Waite, and in the office, and at Michigan State University, and greet the new greenies as well as say goodbye to the departing missionaries. I get to travel around the mission to all the Zone Conferences and other meetings, work with transfers, and so many other awesome things. I didn’t think I could ever be so blessed. I have the two best missionaries in the mission as companions and things are going to be so awesome. I can’t wait to get there tomorrow.

This was a sweet area here in Midland, though. The members here are so cool, and I have really enjoyed it. There are a lot of people that I will miss. And the area is also a good one. We have just finally gotten this place really rocking. We are teaching a lot of good people. We went around and said goodbye to a lot of people today. Trisha and Stefan Sezenias and Emmitt Jenkins. He was so fun to teach. I am worried about him because he is getting some anti-Mormon stuff thrown at him. We talked about a bunch of things tonight. I just pray that he will follow the truth. We also visited many others including Bishop Jensen and his family, the Masons, etc. And we also called a bunch of others. It is always so hard to say goodbye. Elder Moon is also getting transferred, down to Saginaw so this area is being whitewashed. Elder McMorrow and Ostler are coming in so I need to make sure it is a smooth transition. Ostler won’t get here until Friday night or Saturday, so I am having Elder Moon stay here with McMorrow to show him around the next few days and hit our appointments while Saginaw will be in a threesome for a couple of days. This AP authority is already coming in handy.

Well, I’m outta here, but I'm so excited about my new calling and responsibilities. It is going to be so awesome. Also, I get to see Johanson again before and while he boards the plane. Sweet. Plus I will still get to come up for Stake Conference to Midland to see the General Authority, F. Enzio Busche; and to say goodbye to more Midland members and to see everyone from Cheboygan. I am psyched. Things could not be better. Wednesday, May 18

This was the sweetest day. I got on the bus in Midland at 11:40 and arrived in East Lansing at 3:15. It was a pretty uneventful bus ride. Elder Christofferson and Johanson and Foote picked me up. We had an awesome departing dinner prepared by Sister Waite. Only three are departing, but they will be so missed, especially Johanson. After our dinner, me and Christofferson ran around Lansing in the Action Van trying to care of some missionaries who were stranded throughout the town. We had one bus that broke down on the freeway and fouled up 3 missionaries travel arrangements. Since we had to take care of that, we were late to the testimony meeting but it was an awesome meeting. Olga and Sister Jane Weiss and Eve Oneal were all there and it was great to see them of course. We didn’t have time to unpack or anything tonight, so just pulled out our night stuff and got some sleep. What a day. Thursday, May 19

Holy Cow! What a sensational day. It was definitely the longest but most productive day I have ever had. We woke up at 4:50 getting ready for the airport scene this morning. We met at the mission home at 5:45, had some juice and doughnuts, and headed to the airport. It was so weird to be there and to see those guys getting on the plane. I was so choked up as I hugged Johanson and watched him walk away. I couldn't believe they were going home, but it was a neat experience to be a part of. When we got back to the Mission Home, President just talked to us in the Van for a long time about the mission and about our calling and responsibilities. I just get so excited talking to him. We helped them in the house for quite a while this morning, moving furniture around for Presidents new desk. Plus Sister Waite fed us the sweetest breakfast. I already see many of those motherly benefits that the APs get from Sister Waite. She is wonderful. We cruised home and cleaned our apartment spotless and unpacked and stuff. This place looks sweet. I’m sure it is the cleanest apartment in the mission. It is located in the living center at MSU campus and is great. It already feels like home. Then we headed to the office at 12:30 and started figuring out some of our office duties. We went over the “AP Responsibilities” sheet and made some assignments for the month on who was going to do what. Boy, we have a lot to do. I worked on the (scoop sheet) Master Zone Car list for most of the day and got all of that set up. It will be pretty cool working on a computer a lot. I just want to figure out everything fast so that I can be a good Assistant. We finally got out of the office at about 8:00 and grabbed a quick dinner at Burger King so we could get out and do some proselyting. We got to proselyte from about 8:30 until 10:00 and we had a good time. We found some really good people that we will start teaching this next week. The Lord led us to some choice people. So basically we worked for 17 hours today. That is definitely my longest day in the mission field, but it feels so good to just be in the service of the Lord and to serve with all my time and energy and strength. Nothing feels better than knowing that I have accomplished the tasks assigned to me by the Lord this day. I am going to love serving here in the office.  Friday, May 20

The past two days have been great. Saturday we spent some time in the morning at the office and ran some errands for Sister Waite in the afternoon. She is expecting her mother and a few others from her family today so we were helping her prepare for that. Then we had to head to Midland for Stake Conference. We almost drove up about 45 minutes early, but instead we decided to do a bit of tracting to fill that extra time and I’m sure glad we did. We found an awesome guy named Bryan. We visited with him for about 20 minutes and have an appointment for the 1st discussion on Tuesday. It showed me once more how important that extra mile is in proselyting. When we do more than is expected of us, the Lord really helps us out in our work. Elder Busche shared a story about that in our missionary meeting this morning. He told about a city of about 40,000 in Germany that had been tracted out for 3 full years. Finally they were pulling the missionaries out of that city. The missionaries were in the train station and had about 30 minutes before the train left. The one missionary said, “let’s go tracting”. Well, the other one thought he was crazy and didn’t want to. The great missionary said, “lets do it anyway”. So they crossed the tracks and tracted out about 4 houses. On the last house, there was a man relaxing, tired from work, not wanting to be bothered when a knock came at the door. He told his wife to send whoever it was away. As she was doing this, the man heard an audible voice in the room which said, “This is the most important message you’ll ever hear in your life.” When his wife came back, he told her to call them back in. She did and he asked them what they had. And the missionary in tune with the spirit said, “This is the most important message you’ll ever hear in your life.” They had to run and grab their train so they couldn’t teach them, but soon that man was taught and baptized and became the leader of a good sized branch in that hard-hearted city. This teaches me that we must always go the extra mile and follow the spirit. There are angels on the other side that want to help us, but first we must be spiritual enough and committed enough to deserve that help and then it will come.

Now back to Saturday afternoon. We headed up to Midland and attended the 7:00 adult session. It was really good. A lot of Cheboygan people were there. Over the weekend, I visited with the Weiss’, Debbie Weiss, Jane Dewitt, Suzy Mercer, Truesdales, Volz, Williamstons, Eve Oneal, and Diane Bourrie. It was so great to see everyone. They are the greatest people. After the session, Olga took us all out to the Sweet Onion for dinner. She is such a loving and giving person. We had a fun dinner and then stayed over in Bay City. Sunday morning began with our missionary meeting at 8:30, and then the general session at 10:00. This was a landmark day for Midland. They split the Stake into the Midland Stake and now the Traverse City District. Also, Sault Ste. Marie was added to the Milwaukee District to strengthen the Upper Peninsula. President John D. Hoover is the Traverse City District President. I knew it would be him. HE is one of the most enthusiastic, spiritual, and loving men I have ever met. He will do a great job, but there is a lot of work to do in that district to prepare it to be a Stake. It was an exciting conference with all the changes being made. Plus it was great to hear from a General Authority. He taught me so much about love and power and the gospel. He started out saying, “I rejoice in Jesus Christ”. He did a fantastic job. After conference, we visited for a long time with everyone and got invited over to have dinner with the Ryders. They are a cool family. We also got the extra car from Sault Ste. Marie because they gave that area to the other mission and so we had to drive it over to Grand Rapids. Eric Johnsen drove all alone behind us in that car. We finally got back to East Lansing at 7:45. Our 8:00 appointment cancelled on us so we went and visited with Sister Waite’s family. We had a great time talking with them. It was a lot of fun. Her mother is 94 years old but she looks great. We finally started totals at 10:15, way too late, so we didn’t get done until midnight. This office schedule is crazy, but it feels good to be anxiously engaged in the Lords work. Sunday, May 22

AP life sure keeps me moving. P-day yesterday was pretty alright. We played some basketball, my first in 2 months. We also had to work in the office for a while as well even got some sweet proselyting in tonight. It was a fun day, but I am way sore from ball. Today we had the trial of our faith for this week. We did teach one guy the 2nd discussion. That went well, but the rest of the proselyting was pretty fruitless. Tuesday, May 24

Merry Christmas! This month is going by so fast - it needs to slow down. This was a great day out proselyting and in the office. We were in the office for most of it until about 5:00. Then we threw down some dinner and headed out among the people. We got about 19 Personal Contacts and found some good people to teach. We said prayers a couple different times asking Heavenly Father to allow us to teach and he definitely answered our prayers. The last door of the complex we were working in, we came across a Sunday School dinner party from the Trinity church. They invited us in and just asked questions for over an hour. There were 3 couples - Jeff and Elisa; Bryan and Karen; Paul and Mary. They asked really good questions and we did our best to answer them and we bore powerful testimonies a lot because we had to hit them with the spirit. And the spirit was definitely present. It was a really good experience for me. They were so nice. They even fed us pie. I just know that some of them felt the spirit and are going to call us to teach and baptize them. I pray so much that they will see how much more the gospel of Jesus Christ has to offer. I love this work and I know that it is true. Wednesday, May 25

Another great day. This morning before we went to the office, we practiced a song which we are going to sing in sacrament meeting on Sunday. The song is “How Great Shall Be Your Joy”. We are singing it with the University sisters, Blank and Reher. We worked in the office for a few hours and then got a lot of proselyting in. It was awesome. We taught Justine the 1st discussion and the spirit was very strong. She is from Camaroon and has been duped by a religious leader before who stole a bunch of money from his followers. So she is hesitant to commit but I’m sure she will come around. We will keep teaching her when her husband gets home. Her children were adorable also, I got a picture with her and her boy.

We did a lot of door knocking and finally found someone who is golden. We tried to follow the spirit as we were driving to a place to door knock. We felt led to make specific turns and ended up at an apartment complex. We were kind of distracted while we were working, talking about sports in between doors. Then we decided to say a prayer and get refocused. On our next door, we met a young couple by the names of Dai Wei and Li Qing. They are awesome people. We taught them the first discussion and it went very well. They want to know what they can do to follow Jesus. Dai Wei, who speaks limited English, said our closing prayer by following the four steps that we taught him. As he began with “My Father in Heaven”, the spirit was just so strong. It was awesome to hear his very first prayer and how excited he was about it. I wanted to go and give him a hug. We are teaching them again on Saturday. It is awesome to be serving with Elder Johnsen and Christofferson. It is nice to teach with veterans because all the pressure is not on me. But I can rely on them to teach the correct way. Because we all know what we are doing, the discussions always go smoothly and the spirit is always very strong. I love both of those guys. Thursday, May 26

The Lord just continues to bless us so much each and every day. I spent most of the day in the office. Elder Christofferson and Johnsen left for about 2 hours to go to a couple appointments. So I got a lot of things done there. Tonight we got to teach the 1st discussion to the Jamil family. They are Raj, Celina, and Angshoo. They are a great family and it was an excellent first discussion. The spirit was so strong and they recognized it. They asked some of the best questions. I think the are well on their way to entering the waters of baptism. It is so great to see how much the Lord blesses us because of our obedience and hard work. He truly is keeping his part of the covenant. I just need to continue to keep my part. This work is the greatest. In the office, we prepared a lot for Zone Conference by determining what areas we are going to focus on. Our big focus is on Obedience. I also made up an Obedience checklist that we will share with everyone. We will have a good ZLC and Zone Conferences. Friday, May 27

This week definitely ranks as one of the best weeks of my mission. We got some proselyting in and the Lord truly poured out his blessings upon us. Today, we taught Li and Dai the 2nd discussion and projected them for June 12. It was a very spiritual discussion, we all felt it strong. And they both asked some great questions and answered our questions very well also. It was the sweetest. I already love them both so much. Their faith is growing fast. Then we did some office work all afternoon and got some good things done. In our goals for this week, we needed one more discussion at 5:00. And the Lord blessed us once more as we were able to teach one of our call backs the 1st discussion. It turned out really great.

At the first of this week, on Monday morning, we set some goals that were very reliant upon our Faith because we only had a couple appointments set up. But we exercise our faith and set those tough goals and then set out to achieve them. Ether 12:6 definitely applies to our week because we went through a total trial of our faith the first couple of days. Everything was looking pretty bleak after Tuesday as far as accomplishing our goals for the week. Plus we had to be in the office most of the time each day. It’s not like we could go out and proselyte for 10 hours a day because of the necessary office work we have to do. But, because we exercised our faith, and because we are 100% obedient, and focused on the work, and because this is the Lords work, he blessed us immensely and we accomplished or exceeded all of our goals. The goals we set were high and here is what we accomplished.

35 Personal Contacts

7 Discussions

8 New Finds

2 Projected for Baptism

These were the exact goals we set except for New Finds, where we only set 5 as a goal. This was definitely one of the greatest weeks of my entire life. I have truly never been happier in my whole life because I am doing what the Lord would have be do and his spirit is with me all the time. I love my mission and the sweet experiences I have been blessed with. There is no place I’d rather be. (Even St. George, where my family is right now) Saturday, May 28

We had a good P-day today. We got to play some basketball, a game of softball, and we had a sweet barbecue over at President Waites house. It was a good Memorial Day. We had some of the Zone Leaders here tonight and me and Christofferson took Elder Howell out. Our appointment dogged us so we prayerfully went door knocking. We tried to go by the spirit where the Lord wanted us and we said an extra prayer asking him to help us teach. And on about the 6th door we got in and taught a 1st discussion to a very nice family. It was really awesome. Sunday was a good day also. Li and Dai attended church and really enjoyed it. All of us missionaries sang the song “How Great Shall Be Your Joy”. I think we did a good job. The student ward here at the Institute Building is pretty nice. I am going to enjoy it here. The whole day was pretty good. We got all ready for Zone Leader Conference and for Wednesday’s Grand Rapids/Muskegon Zone Conference. And we fulfilled our goal of proselyting every day and got some good PC’s as well. Monday, May 30

Today was Zone Leader Conference and it was a great one. We have some awesome leaders in the mission right now, some very powerful Zone Leaders. Our focus today was on Obedience and it went very well. We fixed up a sheet which set the Obedience standard as missionaries. So now every missionary will know what it means to be 100% obedient, and it will be much easier to find out where they need to improve. It is all laid out in front of them. President Waite talked for a long time about obedience and how if a missionary won’t be obedient, he will go home. It is the missionary’s choice, be obedient or go home. This is really going to help the mission so much. I feel good about this approach, and it is backed by the General Authorities. A few missionaries might go home, but many will straighten up and the mission as a whole will be much stronger. The spirit was very strong today and my testimony grew as did my knowledge and desire to serve and my love for the work. Also, President Ezra Taft Benson died yesterday at 2:45 SLC time. He was a great prophet and I love him a lot. He was really the only prophet that I have known because of my age when he became the prophet. But I know that he was a true prophet and I am grateful for all that he has done for the building up of the kingdom here on Earth. He is now back with his wife and all the prophets and with Jesus Christ himself. He has served our master well and will be greatly rewarded. I love and appreciate him. But work in the Lords kingdom will go on, because it is his work. Tuesday, May 31

It is already June, the time is going by way too fast. This was a pretty good day. We were in the office the entire day until evening. President and Sister Waite and Eric Johnsen were over at Grand Rapids for Zone Conference so it was just me and Christofferson. We had 3 appointments set up but none of them were home. We taught a new lady though, Shannon Major. She is way prepared for the gospel. It ended up being a good day. Wednesday, June 1

This was one of the longest days of my mission but it was sweet. I got up at 4:00 and got all ready for the day. President and Sister Waite picked me up at 4:45 and we headed up to Traverse City for Zone Conference. It was a fun trip. Sister Waite is just like Grandma Polson. She had a big sack of goodies for us to all snack on as we went. We got there at about 8:00 and had an excellent Zone Conference. There are only 14 missionaries up there, but they are some powerful ones. Elder Tuckfield is the Zone Leader and he is doing a great job. And the District Leaders are very powerful ones, Elder Stoker and Elder R. Wright. Elder R. Warren went to Alta, graduating in 1992, and is Tuckfield’s companion. He is awesome as well. It was good to be up North again and to be with a powerful zone. President Hoover was there, the new District President for Traverse City. He is truly one of my heroes. He spoke to us for about 45 minutes and he got me all pumped up. I love to hear him speak. He talked a lot about attitude and how vital our attitude is. We also heard talks from the 2 district leaders and of course President Waite took a long time on Obedience and other things. The spirit was with us all the day long. After Zone Conference, we had our Traverse City District Correlation meeting which went very well. President Hoover is not wasting any time but wants to get this District moving immediately. He has a lot of goals and plans and faith that they will come to pass. He is a man that I want to be like because he is like Jesus Christ. What a righteous man. Our drive home was long. We left at about 8:00 and stopped in Clare at the Big Boy for some dinner. It was good. A short time after we left Clare, President pulled over and I took over in the drivers seat. It was wonderful to just be with President and Sister Waite. They are so loving and caring. And so fun to be around. I got to know them a lot better because we were together all day. I love them both very much. They are doing an excellent job in their position and I am glad to be helping as an Assistant. Friday, June 3

This was a good day. It was President Benson’s funeral and we watched it by satellite here at the Stake Center. It was a very nice service. Elder Packer, Monson, Hinckley, and Hunter all spoke and did a fantastic job. It was very spiritual and reverent. We will miss that great prophet of the Lord. We did a lot of office work today and did some teaching. We read from the Book of Mormon with Li and Dai. They are so awesome. They are still progressing right along, and it is neat to watch that. The spirit there was very strong and we expressed our love to them after which Li said, “We love you too”. The spirit hit me so strong when she said that. Tears welled up. Everything still looks great for their baptism on June 12. Saturday, June 4

Church was great today. Li and Dai came again and stayed for the entire block of meetings. They met a lot of the members and I think they feel much more comfortable today. It was great. Sunday evening we taught them the 3rd discussion and that was sweet. They continue to soak the gospel right up. We have to teach them all the rest of the discussions this week, so the spirit has to be present to help them understand. But it is going well so far. We also watched “On the Way Home” and they enjoyed it. Especially when it showed them getting baptized. Their faces just lit up, their eyes got big, and they were intent on that screen. I love that show. Sunday, June 5

This was a great P-day. We had meeting at the office this morning and got our stuff done. Then we rented some rollerblades for the afternoon. It was so fun. The entire Lansing zone all rented them and we cruised around MSU campus jumping stairs, shooting down the ramps in the stadium, and having a blast. Tonight, Christofferson taught Li and Dai the 4th discussion with the Tufts. They said it went well. And Johnsen and I went to see the Jamils. Celina and Angshoo were there so we shoed them the Joseph Smith story cartoon. They both liked it and learned a lot. So we had a great evening. Monday, June 6

I don’t think I’ve had a bad day since I came to the office. We had to do a lot of work in the office the past 2 days. On Wednesday, we got talking to President about transfers and stuff and that took forever. But it is so cool to sit and talk with him. I don’t mind the office work much, as long as we continue to get out and teach in the evenings. We have been doing that and teaching some great people. The highlight, of course, was teaching Dai and Ching (she wants us to call her Ching and not Li from now on). We taught the fifth discussion and they totally loved it. We were kind of worried about their financial situation and tithing, but even if we asked for 50% of their income, I think they would agree to pay it. They are the greatest and they continue to just soak up the gospel. It is so fun to teach them. Our area continues to do well. We just need to get some more people into the baptizing and fellowshipping pool. Wednesday, June 8

Today was the Midland Zone Conference. President and Sister Waite picked me up at 7:00 and we headed to Midland. It is so fun traveling with them. Sister Waite had her goodies and President Waite had his jokes. We had a great day together. The Midland Zone needs to repent. There are a lot of goof offs up there and they distracted a lot from the meeting. But despite them, we had a good conference. Elder McMorrow is the Zone Leader. He was very nervous but he did a great job. Stake President Pulsipher spoke to us for about 90 minutes and talked about the plan of our Heavenly Father and how it has developed and continued since the creation of the earth. There really is a plan for all the things that have happened. And we also have individual plans for our own lives meaning that we are where we are for a specific purpose. I have been called to Michigan for special reasons, I must be worthy to always have the spirit so that I will find those reasons and fulfill my purposes. This is true while on my mission and throughout my life. Our whole purpose is to “Align with the spirit”. He challenged us to write a mission statement to determine why I am here. And also a vision statement to determine where I am going to be. He taught us many great principles. And the rest of conference was good also. It was a long one, but spirit filled. I also had to get up and wing a talk on Joseph Smith again, but I like to do that because it helps me to get better at speaking. We also had a good Stake Correlation meeting. I drove home again. What a sweet car. I listened to a tape for Mission Presidents with President Hinckley and Elder Packer on it. It was a great day. Thursday, June 9

Today, we taught 3 awesome discussions. This morning, we taught a new lady, Chris Bicknell. She has had a lot of contact with the church, good contact. And now she wants to get her life in order. She was taught a couple years back and almost joined, but a bunch of things got in her way. But now we will teach and baptize her. Christofferson was at the Lansing Zone Conference so me an Johnsen taught her. Then we did a bunch of work at the office until about 5:30. We worked on phone bills, they are the biggest pain to do. Some of the bills were outrageous. President is upset and a couple missionaries are in big time trouble. Tonight we got to teach Ching and Dai the 6th discussion and it went wonderful as usual. They are so fun to teach. Elder Miner then interviewed them for baptism and Johnsen and I went and taught the Jamil family. We only got through the first 3 principles of the 3rd discussion and it took us nearly 2 hours. They continue to progress slowly. They have developed testimonies of Joseph Smith and of the Book of Mormon, but they don’t want to limit themselves to one religion. But soon they will realize that their really is only one religion. Friday, June 10

I like it when I experience new things. Today we taught a man named Jim the first discussion in a coffee shop called Espresso Royale. When we called him a few days ago, he said to meet him there, so we did. He is a pretty cool guy and it was a pretty good discussion. With that discussion, we made it 10 for the week. That is one of the highest number I have ever taught in one week. That was our goal also, it sure felt good to accomplish it. Tonight we showed Ching and Dai the Joseph Smith Story cartoon. They really liked it. Then we showed them family pictures and just got better acquainted. They are so awesome. I can’t wait for their baptism tomorrow, and neither can they. They are learning so fast, they will be strong members. They cant wait to meet our parents when they come out either. That will be fun. Today we also had our transfer meeting. It was an awesome meeting. We begin with prayer and then just start moving people around on the board. As Aps, we have a lot more say that what I would expect. When I make a suggestion, it happens. President totally trusts us and our knowledge of the Elders and Sisters. So we just try to follow the spirit and give suggestions and everyone voices their opinion on it if they have one and if we are in agreement, the change is made. We are making a lot of changes this time. So we moved everyone around, wrote the changes down and then changed back. No we will all ponder and pray over the changes this weekend and finalize it all on Monday. Christofferson says that President Waite will come back with a lot of changes as he works it over . It was a neat experience to be a part of that meeting. Saturday, June 11

This was one of the sweetest days of my mission. It was the baptism of Ching Li and Dai Wei and it was so special. As I look back at how we met them and how their teaching went, it is obvious that the Lord has been preparing them for this day for a long time. We were totally led by the spirit in our initial finding of them. And it was one of the easiest teaching discussions I have been a part of. We first found them door knocking just 17 days ago, and now they are baptized. A 17 day conversion, and they went to church all 3 Sundays during that time, made some friends with the members, heard all the discussions, and most importantly developed a strong faith in Jesus Christ and a testimony of his restored gospel. It was such a privilege to teach them and to be a part of that conversion. And I had the opportunity to baptize Ching Li. It was so wonderful to watch their glowing faces as they came up out of the water. Ad as they received the Holy Ghost and were confirmed, they became even happier. The spirit was so strong and it was just a beautiful service. It is times like this that make it all worthwhile and give me a longing for it to never end. I do love this work with all my heart and wouldn’t trade my time as a missionary for anything in the world. And I have a great love for Ching and Dai. We have developed a friendship that will last forever throughout the eternities. And Dai will be a future leader of the church over in China. President Waite received that inspiration while in the circle confirming Dai. And then President took just a minute to talk about that. He was inspired I know because the Holy Ghost confirmed it to my heart. It was just a beautiful day, one I will never forget. After the baptism, we had a Priesthood meeting here in the Stake which was pretty good. Then we did totals over at the office. The mission is doing really well. We have had 20 baptisms in the first 2 weeks of June and the rest of the month is looking good as well. I thing we should get 50 baptisms this month. We need to get that many and then maintain it as a standard for the mission and then raise the standard again. But before all that, we just need to hit 50 baptisms this month. I think we can do it. Sunday, June 12

We hardly had any time to do anything today on our P-day, but it was still a good one. We played basketball over at the church and it was so fun. Most of our day was spent in the office. We had our office meeting at 8:30, then we finalized transfers with President until about 12:00. We made a few changes from Saturday, and we all feel better about them now. We are making about 30 transfers or so. I think they are all good. At 12:30, we went and taught Chris Bicknell the 2nd discussion. It went so well. The spirit was strong and she is just golden. We projected her for June 26 so we will have another baptism in June. I am excited as heck. She has been prepared well to join the church at this point in her life. There was no hesitation when I invited her to be baptized. I love it when we sacrifice a little bit and then see the blessings that come. The discussion just made my day. Sweet, another baptism coming up. Monday, June 13

I only have 4 months from today left on my mission. That is crazy. It is going so fast. Today was the Kalamazoo Zone Conference so President and Sister Waite and Elder Christofferson were there. Me and Johnsen had to just get ready for transfers tomorrow. Much of my day was spent figuring out the transportation schedule for the Action Van as well as those that will have to ride the bus. I think I’ve got it worked out pretty good. We decided to use the Action Van to complete as many transfers as possible by driving around the mission. It is going to save us a ton of money. Tonight we stopped by to see Dai and Qing and showed them a Book of Mormon cartoon video. They are still doing awesome. Everything is going good here. The next few days are going to be hectic. Transfers, here we go. Tuesday, June 14

Transfer call day. We were up at 5:30 and at the office by 6:50. We had our prayer, finished up a couple of transfer moves and then started making calls. President calls them and announces the transfer and then we get on and tell them the travel plans. It took us about 2 hours to make all the calls. I think everyone sounded pretty happy about the changes and I feel good about them all. After we got them all done, Christofferson and Johnsen went and picked up the 2 new mission cars from Campus Ford. They are Ford Escorts, both with about 10 miles on them. We get to keep the blue one. It is awesome driving around a brand new car. While they were gone, I was bombarded with phone calls. I constantly had someone on the phone and someone on hold for me. So as soon as they got back, we got out of the office and headed over to President’s house. He cooked us waffles there, I ate about 8 of them. It was awesome, and then we took a little 30 minute nap. Then we headed home and Christofferson started to pack until 3:45. We cruised out to the airport to pick up the greenies at 4:10. It was cool to pick them up and to spend the rest of the day with them. We took them back to the office and Elder Jenks and Elder Wilson gave them some orientation. Then I went through the New Missionary packet with them and got all the necessary paperwork take care of. And by that time, they were starving so we got them over to Sister Waite for dinner. It was an awesome dinner, of course. Then we had a sweet testimony meeting and after that we had a little meeting with President and made the assignments of where they will go tomorrow. It was a wonderful day, but very tiring. And tomorrow will be the same. It was really neat to watch the greenies and to see their insecurity yet excitement about the work. It seems like just yesterday when I was in their shoes. It was weird to be on the other side of that process this time with the new missionaries and with the transfer calls. I love being an assistant, so many choice opportunities are ours. It was awesome. Wednesday, June 15

Today was definitely an experience. This was our transfer day and I was the driver of the Action Van for moving people around. It was pretty cool but it was a long day. The van’s air conditioning wasn’t working, so it was a hot and muggy day also. I started out at 7:15am after a quick breakfast at Sister Waites. We first went up to Saginaw where I dropped off Jenkins and picked up Harman. Then in Midland, I dropped off Christofferson and 3 greenies and picked up Hunsaker, Izatt, and Adam. Then I picked up Moore in Mt. Pleasant. Then we cruised over to Muskegon and dropped off Hunker and Adam, and picked up Hall. Then to Grand Rapids where Harman got off and B. Johnson, Powell, and Calhoun got on. In Kalamazoo, I dropped off Sister Walker, Powell and Moore. Then over to Battle Creek where I left Izatt. Then it was back to Lansing. The Jackson Elders met me there to pick up their new guys because I was running short on time. And all the other companions met me there at the office also to get their new companions. Overall, I drove 450 miles today. It was quite the road trip but it save the mission tons of money. It cut out 22 bus tickets. So it was definitely a worth while trip. I was glad to do it. Tonight was the departing missionaries evening. I missed the dinner because of all the other things I was taking care of. But I was there for the testimony meeting. The missionaries who departed are Biehler, Larsen, B. Johnson, and Butterfield. None of them were powerful missionaries and it was a weak meeting. The spirit wasn’t anything like last months meeting. Also, there were only like 5 people there to support them. I guess, by their fruits shall ye know them. Thursday, June 16

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