Brian, Ryan, and Getting Your Hallelujah On

This week was crazy. There was a lot of intense biking, lots of working hard and a lot of success. We had two baptisms this week and it was very good. Jake and James just got baptized and we are very happy for them. In other news, I really am liking Fort Ord. This is such an amazing place to be a missionary. It’s great. It’s just my companion and me and the work. Oh and the two elders who live with us. We are not burdened down with having to go to the mission office for so many meetings or have to plan a p day every week. It’s great here. I love it. The work is going well.

 Spiritual: We taught a man by the name of Brian this week who does not look like he would ever be interested in the church. He has two lip piercings and a sleeve of tattoos. He was a high school dropout and just a tough character. In and out of jail and juvie all his life. He needs a fresh start. When we told him that the gospel could change his life and give him a fresh start he was almost in tears. He is going into the army and is looking for some sort of stability to support his family on. I started to tear up when I told him how my Savior, and his Savior suffered and died so that we could all have a second chance at life. I know that the Atonement is real. How incredible it is to know that despite my strange and somewhat unusual inadequacies the Savior will support me through them. Not only will he cleanse us from sin, but he will also help us endure through some of the non-spiritual consequences of our actions. I love both Brian and my Savior both for the lesson that everyone needs the gospel. Not just the good looking people. 

 Funny: When we were riding around Seaside we saw a man who looked like a total gangsta. His pants were saggin’ and he was riding low. Of course the first thing out of my mouth is a friendly "Hi! How are you doing today?" Trying to be as friendly as possible. He looked straight at me then ran over and yelled “I need to talk to you!” We were a little freaked out but we listened as he proceeded to tell us that he in fact wanted to come closer to God. He said that he was really feeling the Spirit and loved God and wanted to serve him. He asked if he could come out with us some night next week and we said yes! We set up a date to go visit people (in reality we are just going to take him with us to member’s homes and teach him) He was very happy and told us about how he went to church that day just to "Get his Hallelujah on." That has become the joke of the week. Let’s go tell people to go get their Hallelujah on! 

Where I am at: Fort Ord is a great place. I love it here. I am so happy to serve here! I might come home with the habit of saying my Yes Sir! and No Mam! I am happy to be here. It’s hilly, windy and sunny here. It’s a great place to serve. I love this mission. I love the Lord. I love you all!

The Military. That's what makes a boy a man.

Well here I am in the most coveted place on the mission. I have no idea what I did to get sent here but Heavenly Father loves me a lot! I am covering the Fort Ord Ward in the Monterey zone. Fort Ord is a military base where military men come to learn a new language so they can go spy on other countries. Oh my lanta. This is so different from anywhere else in the mission. The good thing is that because people are so transient here it results in a lot of new move ins and lots of potential for baptisms! I am so excited! There is a lot of work to be done here and I love it here already. 

Spiritual: Miracles are happening here every day. I have so many things that I could share right now. It’s awesome. We were visiting some less active members and when we knocked on the door and asked if the Ramsie family was there the lady said no. We looked awkwardly at each other then proceeded to apologize for disturbing her. She stopped us and told us that just that day she was talking to her mother and said that she needed to find a church to attend. She was actually at the park and saw us ride by on our bikes. She made a comment about maybe their church would be good. Later that night we knocked on her door. The Lord works in mysterious ways but they work well! We are very excited for her. She said she would be willing to take the lessons and come to church. We will be back for sure. Sister Edmond is a great lady and we have high hopes for her. 

Funny: It was really funny yesterday at church when the sacrament was being passed to see who was in the military because they passed with a march and stood at attention when they passed. It was really funny. It was also the loudest meeting I have ever attended. There were so many young families because all of the military people have a few little kids. I loved it though. Its amazing to see how I have been prepared for this area. I can relate with all of the little kids, the mexican landscapers and all of the military people (with my professional coprate background from Pleasanton) I am so blessed to be here.

Where I am at: Fort Ord is incredible. It’s really fun to serve on a military base because that is were a lot of good strong members live and there is a lot of transition so there is a lot of baptisms. It’s the perfect place to be serving! I love it here! 

All is well here in the new paradise and I am so lucky and loved to be here where I am. Elder Fisher is an incredible missionary and a true friend. The obedience level is high and the miracles flow like butter. I love this new area! I still miss Pleasanton but I am loving this new place as well. 

Going, going, gone

Hi family! Oh Pleasanton. I will miss this place. I am in fact getting transferred and it has been so rough. I really don’t want to go but it feels like it’s time for a new adventure. This is exactly what the Lord wants me to do right now so I am going for it. I have no idea where I am going to go. It should be very interesting to find out. Tomorrow I should know. 

Spiritual: This week it was amazing to do a final go-around to all of the recent converts and less active members that I have worked with while here in Pleasanton. How interesting it is to me how it truly takes time to change. Change does not happen overnight. It was an awesome experience to visit Alex, our 33 year-old beast of a bachelor who lifts weights and ballroom dances. Wow. The first time we visited him he was in the mentality of trying to figure out if he could fit church in or even if he wanted to do this whole church thing. What an incredible journey he has taken so far! He has changed a ton. He has outgrown all of his shirts from so much weight lifting, and the spirit in his home has developed. It has changed from a feeling of “When are these missionaries going to leave” to a feeling of “How can I come closer to Christ?” Wow. It is so incredible that anyone can change. It will take time and be hard for sure, but the humble penitent soul will change for the best as influenced by Christ. It’s hard to leave Pleasanton. There are so many role models here that I want to emulate for the rest of my life; so many heroes here. I love Pleasanton. 

 Funny: Last night when saying goodbye to the P3 bishop the family handed me a guitar and so we had a musical family home evening where we all sang made up verses to I Hope They Call Me on a Mission. It was so much fun! They had a tradition where they all knelt around the ottoman and said a prayer before we left. It got kinda awkward when Elder Moesser had to hold hands with the bishop and pray. I thought it was funny. haha 

 Where I am at: Well, yes indeed. Transfers. It’s been a busy few days packing and saying my goodbyes. It’s time to leave. I spoke in Pleasanton 3rd Ward about studying the scriptures and how it relates to Facebook. Oh it was an awesome talk. It was so perfect to talk about something everyone had in common and everyone knew about. It was so much fun. The bishop got a kick out of it. 

 Well, all is good here and I am anticipating a wonderful next area. I am excited and apprehensive. I felt like I have done all that I needed to here in Pleasanton. Now it’s time for real missionary work! There is no way that that was part of the mission. It was way too fun. 

yes. yes i am driving in a 68 La Man that was super suped up. 

Feeling like family, wait- they are family

This week was a really good week. The Temple was so amazing! Wow! I got to see the newest of the new. Wow. I was blown away. There were so many more things that I did not understand, but it was so incredible. Conference was a comedy of errors. I didn’t get to watch a ton of it because appointments kept falling through. It was a rush when I did get to watch it though. I found it interesting how many times obedience was brought up in conference. My favorite talk was definitely Elder Bednar’s about the Load. It was a fantastic talk and a very touching conference. 

It’s coming closer to the final days of Pleasanton. It is so so sad, I have really gotten attached to this area. Oh it’s the home land. 

Spiritual: We had an awesome lesson last Tuesday night with Rena. Rena is the friend of a member and has been wanting to join the church for a long time and now finally the time is right. She is vibrant, full of life and loves the Lord. It was so much fun teaching her this past week. It was a wonderful lesson. She spent the whole lesson referring to the church as "our church" and "our religion." Oh she is so golden! There are many times in my mission though when I have seen a fulfillment of the prophecy that there will be opposition in all things. Rena has Chrons disease. She also has some other severe health issues and is just struggling to even get up the strength to go on. She is only 45 and is going through so much. It was incredible to be able to promise her and come to the realization for myself that the gospel of Jesus Christ can provide a Rock of support for whatever problem may arise. The atonement of Jesus Christ was so infinite and so complete that it can heal, strengthen and uplift in ways that nothing else can. The strength provided is so powerful and so real that it only is understood by those that have experienced it. Wow. 

Funny yet touching: It was a dark and warm night when we went contacting. It was late enough that some strange characters are out but not late enough that the missionaries need to be in bed. We were out talking and there was this lady dressed in black at a bus stop. Being as it is my nature; I went over to her and started talking to her. She didn’t respond. I prodded a bit and after a while she finally turned with tears in her eyes and proceeded to tell us that her boyfriend had just left her and she was here alone. She thanked us adamantly for stopping to talk to her and was very grateful for our company. She was so grateful that she grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously squeezing like there was no tomorrow and said "My name is Jessica. Never forget me. Never." I was a little take a back. It felt so wrong shaking her hand for a solid 45 seconds but try as I might I could not relinquish her vice grip on my fingers. I don’t think I will forget her anytime soon. I believe I helped. What a difference you might make to someone. Just talk. If you feel the Spirit, don’t give up talking. It might bring someone comfort. 

Where I am at: Rena is progressing (When she is not sick) and Jeet is progressing well. Jeet has a baptismal date for May 26. Unfortunately he is moving to San Francisco. NOOOOO!!!!! Oh well. He will be baptized up there. haha Life is good and the work is moving forward. Transfers are coming up here soon. I will be leaving my home and traveling somewhere new. NOOOOO!!!!! haha We will see what this new adventure has to offer. I love you all and am so happy to hear from you. Love you all! 

 Ammon went on exchanges with the AP's and was able to have dinner at his dad's cousin's house. He said that it was so fun and that they were super nice and made him feel right at home.

The Book of Meowrmon

I hate to break it to you but the marketing lies. Disneyland is not in fact the "Happiest place on earth." The happiest place on earth is Pleasanton California.

Spiritual: Last night we met two cool kids sitting outside on the porch in the more ghetto area of Pleasanton. They were chillin’ outside eating pistachios and we went and asked if we could have some. They obliged and we then partook. We ended up teaching them the message of the Restoration. In the middle of the Joseph Smith finding the gold plates I felt off. I looked at the kids and I got an impression that they were just not buying it. I acted. I let Elder Moesser finish then I confessed to them that that story is pretty crazy. It is not easy to believe. I testified that they would have to find out for themselves if that story was true. The way to do that would be to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. I was moved to talk about how important it is to find out if this story is indeed true. How important it is not just at a personal level but on a higher community level. They both committed to read and pray to find out the truth. I have read the Book of Mormon and I know it’s true. I know that this church is Christ’s church on the earth today. How important this knowledge is for not just me, but for the world at large. This is what I know and I still have to reconfirm every day to make sure that it is still true. I cannot leave you with my knowledge, just my testimony. You have to find the knowledge for yourself.  

Funny: We met the cat lady of all cat ladies this week. She rescues cats and she was actually trapping some strays behind our apartment complex. We went over to talk to her and we told her about a kitten that had gotten lost in our complex. She was heartbroken. She has a very close connection with cats and was so sad that it was lost. She proceeded to tell us about the 40 cats she lives with and loves to death. She also took a moment to teach us how to attract a lost cat that we might come in contact with. The first step is to make yourself look very small, crouch down, pull out your small bag of cat food and open it up. Then place the food about ten feet in front of you and back away slowly meowing. She had us practice the meows with her until she was satisfied. I do not think she is married. I could be wrong though...

Where I am at: Oh Pleasanton. It’s so nice here. It’s rained a fair amount this last week and it’s so green! The end of the period of Pleasanton is drawing near. I will be very sad to go. Elder Moesser is completely healed from his eye epidemic. All is well in this beautiful place. I love you all!