Kennewick, Pasco, and now Richland.

Hello everyone! 

Well we just got our transfer call. And I am getting transferred. I am going to be serving in another English ward in Richland. So I'm not going very far. And after this I will have served in all three cities in tri-cities: Kennewick, then Pasco and now Richland! To be honest, I did not see it coming. I think I saw that every time that I get transferred  But I was really hoping that I would stay in this area. But I guess it's time to got again! I'm going to serve with Elder Malcom. I've served around him a little bit and he's really great. I'm really looking forward to serving with him. I was also expecting to train for these last two transfers, but I guess the Lord has different plans. 

  

This last Saturday, one of the wards in the zone put on a luau! And it was a huge missionary opportunity for everyone in the zone so we invited a bunch of our investigators to it. There was such a huge turnout. It was probably the most well attended event I've ever seen on my mission. There were SO many people there. We even had Cierra come and Heather and her kids came as well! It was so cool. They had a really good time and Heather told us that she wants to come to church!

Heather is doing really well. We had some amazing lessons with her this last week. We had the Bishop come with us to one and we talked all about the Atonement and finding peace and relief of guilt through the Atonement. It was such a spiritually powerful lesson, it was a very joyful experience. We showed Heather the mormon message, "The Will of God". It's one of my favorite ones and it really helped her a lot. It's going to be a bummer not being able to teach her anymore but she will be in good hands!      

Cierra is also doing great. We had a lesson with her this last week which consisted only of her asking us questions about what she had read in the Book of Mormon and us answering them. It was so great. Cierra is really getting into the Book of Mormon. She's not just reading it, but she's actually studying it and seeking to understand. All of the questions she asked were so good and showed that really does want to learn. I'm so excited for her and the decisions that she's been making. It has been such a thrill to see her change and grow over time by living the doctrine of Christ. 

Here's my scripture for this week: Alma 34:9

"For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made."

I am so grateful for the Atonement in my life. I have had to rely on it a lot these last several months and it gives me strength every day. That's one of the things that the mission has taught me the most. Relying on the Atonement to receive strength to accomplish the things that I normally wouldn't be able to without it. 

I hope that all of you have an amazing week. I love you all! 

Elder Scott  

Allergies

Hello everyone!

Another super busy week. Lots of amazing things happened and I'm really looking forward to this upcoming week. There's lots of new people coming out of the woodwork and it's a really exciting time for this area. So this next week should be great! 

My allergies hit me this week. Hard. It's always super annoying. Thankfully it's been raining for the past two days which have made my allergies completely disappear! Another reason to love the rain! But they are sure to make their inevitable return. 

One person I am particularly excited for is Heather. I can't remember if I've ever mentioned her or not. She is the mother of 4 kids and she was widowed about a year and a half ago. She and her family just recently moved her from California. We met her a couple weeks ago (she was a referral of a referral) and she was super nice to us! We even did some service for her repairing her fence. Yesterday we had an amazing lesson with her about the Plan of Salvation. Heather is one of those people is genuinely good to the core. And as she accepts the gospel into her life, it will only make it better. I'm so excited to continue to teach her. She has been prepared by the Spirit for a long time now. We're hoping that she will use her agency for the better to continue to progress. 

Another update on Cierra. She's doing pretty well. We had a lesson on the word of wisdom. And it kind of went well? I guess? I didn't start off very good. She told us that she was not willing to keep it. It was a tough lesson. We did all that we could to bring the Spirit to help her to understand. And finally by the end of the lesson that she would give it a shot. It was a big relief and it made me really happy. The Spirit is a very powerful thing and it's the only thing that can allow someone to understand. We're still going to do everything we can to help her progress, but as far as baptism goes, it will probably take a little bit longer than we had hoped for.  

Last week I mentioned the 9 year-old who we're teaching, Maleah. Well she's doing great! We were able to see her twice this week. She wasn't able to make it to church because she had other stuff going on with her family yesterday. But other than that she's doing awesome. It's been really fun teaching a 9 year-old. I've never done that before! It's really nice being able to teach things as simply as possible. Because that's the way that all teaching should be! It doesn't matter who you're teaching. But Maleah is really great. She's a really sharp girl so she's able to understand things really well. She's still preparing for June 11 for her baptism!  

Something super crazy happened in the zone this last week. One of the Elders had been in the hospital for the past couple of days. Elder Blake, a newer missionary, woke up one day and had a really weird pulse and he wasn't feeling too well. He got a blessing then went to the hospital. Turns out he had an atrial fib. Which is super uncommon for someone his age. They're still not really sure what caused it. But it's been pretty hard to see him have to go through that. He's still not feeling any better so we've been praying a lot for him and he could use as many prayers as he can get!

We had a super spiritual lesson with a less-active couple yesterday about prayer. Since then I've been thinking a lot about prayer. I'm so grateful for the blessing of prayer. It has helped me throughout my entire mission. I know that God answers our prayers and that He wants to hear from us. 

Here's my scripture this week: Alma 34:26-27  

"But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.

Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you."

I hope all of you have a great week! I love you all!

Elder Scott 

Happy Mother's Day

May is here! It's crazy to think that an entire year ago I was in College Place. It's interesting to compare about the kind of person who I was and how different I was! I just love the mission! Such a beautiful time of improvement and progression. 

This last week was INSANE. We had our Zone Training Meeting to plan for. Man, I thought that planning for District Councils were stressful. It's nothing compared to Zone Meetings. Having to plan out an entire three hours of training and other business stuff is super stressful. And so now it's a huge relief that it's all over and we get to focus more on the work and less time on planning stuff. The Zone meeting went super well though. Elder Johnson and I were both very satisfied by the way everything turned out. The whole meeting was about teaching in the Savior's way and not giving rote or memorized discussions but really teaching someone to help them understand. I learned a lot of things that I know that I can work on a lot! That's another thing I love about the mission, there is always room for improvement. So I'm really looking forward to this upcoming week because now we get to apply everything that we've been learning.

Another update on Cierra. She is just doing amazing things. She is making huge steps in her faith right now. This last week we were about ready to drop her and hand her over to the Erickson's. But then we were able to see her and we had an amazing lesson with her. And she is now preparing to be baptized on the 28th of this month! She also came to church yesterday and fasted and she got a priesthood blessing. I had the privilege of giving the blessing and it was so amazing. Because the Spirit spoke to me so clearly to me about what to bless her with and it was so obvious about what I needed to say. It was a really amazing experience. 

We've been doing a lot of finding this week as well. And one of the new investigators that we were led to is Heather. She's a young mother of four kids who just moved here from California to get away from bad influences. She has been so prepared to receive the restored gospel. A couple years ago her husband and her dad passed away. She has been really humbled and just wants to help her family. I'm really looking forward to teaching her again.   

I can't believe that it's Mother's Day this Sunday! Mother's Day is just so great. I love my mom so much and I'm so grateful for everything that she does for me. And it's also crazy that this is the fourth time I've called home. I can distinctly remember each time that I've skyped home. And now I'm gearing up for the final one. I know I sound like a broken record, but boy does time move fast! 

We had the opportunity to go out with our Bishop last Saturday and visit some people. We were able to see Cierra and we taught her about repentance. And Bishop Pierce's testimony about repentance was so incredibly powerful it's still resonating with me. It was exactly what Cierra needed to hear about how she can put her past behind her and change. I'm so grateful for the ability that we have to repent and change and do better each day.  

Here's my scripture for this week Alma 36:3

"And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day."

I hope that all of you have an amazing week. Have a happy Mother's Day! 

Elder Scott

It's pretty fun!

 

The Rose's (the members we live with) have a tramp. It's pretty fun sometimes.

New Joisy

Hello family!

So we had transfers last Wednesday! Another one come and gone. And I'm staying here in Pasco 2nd Ward! Transfers went really well. It was pretty stressful but so I'm glad that it was over but it was great! But something unexpected that happened was that Elder Cordon got transferred! I did not see it coming at all. He has less than a week and a half left and he got transferred. It's kinda weird that he's going to be home so soon. 

So I have a new companion! His name is Elder Johnson and he's from New Joisey. He's been out for a little over a year and he just great. Pretty much as close as you could get to a perfect companion. Oh yeah, and he's 6'6''. So, that makes my second companion who is taller than me... we still get along though. 

We've been able to see a lot of fruits from our finding efforts this week. We found a lot of new people to teach who are ready. So that's always be reaffirming that the Lord is guiding us in all that we do. We are also coming to discover a lot of part-member families in our ward. I love working with part-member families. Whenever I meet with them, no matter who they are, I always get such a strong feeling of how much they need the gospel to bless their family. And there are plenty to be working with in this ward so I'm really excited for that.  

Cierra is doing great. We're bringing her and her family over to the Barney's tonight for a family home evening which we're really excited about. This last week we had a very powerful lesson with her at the Erickson's home about the Book of Mormon. Everyone in the room bore powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Spirit was so strong. She could definitely feel it too and she's been reading everyday since! So she's progressing very well. 

 

The weather is so nice now! It was in the 80's everyday this last week. And it's supposed to get up into the 90's this week. Looks like it's going to be an early summer. But it's really nice too. I always get a really bad case of spring fever and just want to be outside!  

Yesterday at church I saw one of the best gospel principles classes I've ever been to. Our ward mission leader, Brother Erickson, taught the lesson and he did an amazing job. It was supposed to be on one of the chapters in the book, but about half way through he just said, "alright, close your books we're going to talk about something else." The lesson ended up being about listening to the Spirit. It was so powerful and the Spirit was there and everyone who was there was able to learn and be involved. That really added to my testimony of the importance of following the Spirit in all that you do. The Spirit will never lead us astray and He will always lead us to what is good. 

Here's me scripture for this week: Moroni 7:13

 

"But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God."

I hope that all of you have a great week! I love you all!

Elder Scott