I've Got a Front Row Seat!

Today at 1:07 PM

What an insane week. I think I say something like that every week. But man, this week was pretty crazy. We saw so many miracles happen and so many incredible people were prepared and were put in our path. 

 

One crazy thing that has happened was last Monday we had two set appointments that night and they both fell through. And to make matters worse, Elder Shugart hurt his ankle during p-day and he could barely walk. So it was shaping up to be a pretty unsuccessful night. We decided to try another potential, and they weren't there. We had no idea what to do. But then this potentials neighbor came out and sat on her front door step. So we went and talked to her! Her name is Nikki and she's one of the nicest people I've ever met! She's living with her mom and she's pretty new to the area and she told us specifically that she wants to find a good church to go to! We had a really good lesson with her on her front door step and we set up a return appointment for the next day. Then as we were walking back to the car (at this point I was literally carrying Elder Shugart), Nikki's other neighbor was sitting on their front porch! So we went and talked to them. It was a super nice family, Erica and Daniel, that have met with missionaries in the past. So then we had a great lesson with them too! So what was looking like an unsuccessful night, turned out to be just amazing! Our return appointment with Nikki went very well too. And now she's on date for baptism! And our return appointment with Erica and Daniel went very well too.

Then it doesn't stop there! A few days later, we received a media referral for a girl named Dharma who lives here in College Place. It was her dad who referred her, he lives in Tennessee. He was telling us that she was living in Spokane for a while but just recently moved back here. And while she was there in Spokane, she was meeting with the missionaries and was being baptized on the 23rd of May. He was also telling us how she has had a very rough upbringing and has been involved with some pretty bad things. We first met her last Thursday. And she is so great. We asked her if she still wanted to be baptized on the 23rd and she said, "Well, of course!" We realized that was in less than a week and a half. And it seemed like she already knew a lot so we were just going to trust in those Spokane missionaries;) She came to church yesterday with her grandma who she's living with. And she had a great time! she already knew a lot of the young women in the ward. We also were able to see her last night. We planned on going through the baptismal interview questions with her. And after that, it's definitely not going to happen this Saturday. We've set a new date for her for June 20th. It's already been such an amazing blessing to teach Dharma. She told us a lot last night about her troubled past and about how much she wants to change. And Christ is going to help her do that! We have another lesson with her tomorrow and we're so excited for it!        

The Zone Leaders we live with got a call the other day from one of the teachers at Walla Walla Valley Academy (this is the  Seventh-Day High School) and asked us to give come to his class for an hour. So tomorrow morning us and the ZL's are going to teach two classes full of Seventh Day Adventist's! We're all so excited! He's given us about 15 minutes of sharing what we believe and then 45 minutes of Q&A. Pretty crazy. The teacher though has very good intentions. He told us that he'll definitely make sure that it won't get out of hand at all--so we'll see! 

There was a non-progressing recent convert in our ward named Robbie. He was baptized about a year ago and he pretty much went anti right after he was baptized. We've been meeting with him a few times within the last few weeks and we had an amazing lesson with him last Friday. We started to teach from the very beginning: The Restoration. He realized that he needed to make changes. His life has really taken a turn for the worse. But he definitely wants to gain that happiness back. We asked him to say the closing prayer. After he addressed his Heavenly Father, he could barely speak. The Spirit had overcome him so strongly--something that he hadn't felt in a long time. After his prayer we all gave him a big hug and he was so grateful for us being there for him. And then he came to church yesterday! Which made it even better!

Lots of so many amazing things happened this week. We've been so blessed to be able to teach all of these people. We have been seeing so many miracles every single day. And I've got a front row seat! 

I love you all so much! 

Elder Scott 

By Small And Simple Things

Hey everyone!

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day! Because I know that I did! It was so great to be able to talk to my family! Especially since everyone is so spread out throughout the world right now it made it even better that were able to reunite once again. You guys are the best! 

Well, once again, Bob came to church! But also once again, he missed Sacrament. It's been pretty frustrating with Bob. We've been doing all that we can for him and he's still not able to make it on time. And he's so ready! He has such a strong testimony of this gospel and of the Book of Mormon. So we're just really praying that he will be able to use that strong testimony to enable him to act. Otherwise we'll have to drop him--which would be so hard! So please keep him in your prayers. 

We witnessed a truly amazing miracle this week with one of out investigators. About a month ago we met this one guy named Steve. We were out with a member and our appointment fell through. So the member just took us around to people he knew! We went to this one house and he remembered going there with the missionaries to meet a guy named Isaac. Instead Steve answered the door and told us that Isaac didn't live there anymore. So we just taught Steve instead! It was a pretty short lesson, just a little info about the Book of Mormon. So we gave him a copy and invited him to read it. Since that encounter, we hadn't seem him until this last Wednesday. When we pulled up to his house, he we sitting out on his front porch and he was so happy to see us. He told us that he is now in the book of Jacob and he absolutely loves it. And he even watched The Testaments! We had another lesson with him on Saturday about the Restoration and the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Spirit was so strong during that lesson and the Spirit definitely hit Steve very hard. He told us that he knew it was true. We've invited him to be baptized twice now, he definitely wants to, but he doesn't want to set a date. It's been such an amazing miracle to see what has come of something small and simple and giving a Book of Mormon and inviting them to read it. Steve is so incredible. And we just can't wait to see where it goes! 

We had another lesson with the Huntley's this last week. We had a pretty amazing lesson with them about the Book of Mormon. We still didn't see Brett at church but we did hear some good news from Sister Huntley. She told us that Brett was in a pretty awful mood that day. And he was telling her that she should tell us not to come over. But she didn't! So we still went over and had a great lesson with him and his family. He has now committed to read in and pray about the Book of Mormon. And afterwards Brett was in a great mood! So we were happy to hear that the Spirit was able to be present in his home and soften his heart.

We also had an incredible lesson with our new investigator Coby. Out of everyone that I've ever taught on my mission, he has to be the most solid one ever. He's already going on scout camps, paying tithing, and talking about getting the priesthood! He's such cool kid. 

You guys are the best! It's crazy how quickly time is going passed. But it definitely motivates me to just keep working harder! Thank you all for your love care and support. 

Love you all!

Elder Scott

    

Feeding the Hurley Cow

The Low Hanging Fruit

Hello everyone! 

We had another great week full of lots of amazing things! So just to let you guys know, Elder Shugart and I are both staying here in College Place! Which wasn't really a huge surprise, but it's still a huge relief! We're both really excited for this next transfer. 

Bob came to church again! It was still very frustrating though, he showed up for the last 10 minutes of sacrament meeting...again. But for the rest of church was great! He really enjoyed it so much. The ward is doing an amazing job at fellow shipping him. He feels so welcome and he's learning so much. We had a super good lesson with him this last Saturday. We've taught him everything that's required for baptism, so now we just have to help him to continue to strengthen that testimony that he has. We watched one of the conference talks from last October, "I know these things of myself" by Elder Craig C Christensen. It was one of my favorites and it helped me so much with my own testimony and I knew that it would help him with his. When we watched the talk with Bob, the Spirit was so strong. Afterwards we asked him to reflect on his own testimony. He told us that he believes the Book of Mormon is the word of God and also that the Prophet Joseph Smith truly was called of God. That just made us so happy to hear. It's been such an amazing privilege to be able to teach Bob. We're just praying that he'll be able to show up ON TIME next week. He's doing great! 

Tonight we're teaching this one 13 year-old, Coby. We've never met him before, but apparently he's been going to church in Walla Walla 2nd Ward for the past few months. And he has NEVER met with the missionaries! And his fellowshipper family has finally decided that they want him to meet the missionaries! But they just found out that he actually lives in College Place boundaries--so we get to teach him! Like I said, we've never met him so we've only heard about him, but from what we have heard about him, he's definitely one of the most prepared investigators I've ever seen! He's been going to church faithfully and to all of the mutual activities and firesides for the past several months. We're so excited to start to teach him. We're going to set a baptismal date for him, and we just can't wait! 

We've also started teaching this part-member family. And the husband, Miqueas, came to the Spanish branch yesterday, and loved it! Afterwards he told us that he wants to be over at his house every Thursday. How could we say no to that? 

We're both so happy to be able to stay here in this area. So many amazing people to teach and to find. 

I'm so grateful for the chance that I have to be a missionary. And to serve as one of the Lord's servants. Yesterday the gospel principles lesson was the "Church of Jesus Christ in Former Times". And it just was such an amazing reminder that this truly is the church of Jesus Christ. This is His church. And we get to be apart of it. 

Next Sunday is Mother's Day! I can't wait to Skype my family! 

I love you all so much! 

Elder Scott

Bob Came to Church!

I just realized that today is my eight month mark! That's one third of my whole mission. It's crazy how quickly this time is passing by. It definitely motivates me to work even harder and never waste a single moment!

Bob came to church yesterday! It made us so happy to see him there finally. He seemed to really enjoy himself. He was very involved in the classes and asking really great questions. It always seems like whenever we have an investigator at church, the lessons always seem too veer off into super deep doctrine nonsense. And that's exactly what happened yesterday with Bob. But, he's heard worse things from his roommate, Boyd. So Bob is still going strong! 

We also had another one of our investigators from the Spanish Branch come to church too! His name is Donaciano, and he's a really amazing guy. He's had a pretty ugly past with drugs and alcohol. But he's been making some incredible changes in his life. He's been coming to church and reading in the Book of Mormon. So we've been really blessed to have all of these amazing investigators to work with. 

We did some service this week for the Huntley's! It was pretty enjoyable stuff. Working with chickens, goats, cows, and of course the sheep! They're just so awesome. They're still reading the Book of Mormon as a family. But Brother Huntley is pretty hard to read at times. He's not a very expressive person. So it's hard to tell how much progress he's making. But we're having dinner with them tomorrow so it should be a great lesson!

We're getting transfer calls this Friday. I will be more than likely staying. It's insane how quickly these transfers are going by. It seems like every transfer I'm in is the one that goes by the fastest! 

Thank you so much for all of your love and support. I know that this church is true and this gospel truly blesses peoples lives. 

Love you all!

Elder Scott 

Huntley Farm

SDA Field Trip

I'm truly starting to understand the phrase, the weeks feel like days. Every single week here just seems to go by quicker and quicker. And it's pretty hard to keep up! But the work is progressing and it's such a joyful ride.

We had an interesting turnout at church yesterday. Like I've mentioned in the past, the majority of the people here in College Place are Seventh-Day Adventist. And there is even an SDA High School. Apparently they have a "World-Religions Class", and a part of their assignment is that they have to observe three different religions. So yesterday we had basically a high school field trip at sacrament meeting. In total there were about six or seven students. And thankfully, we heard some of the best sacrament talks we've ever heard, they were both from the stake. One of them talked about the enabling power of the Atonement, and the other talked about the power of receiving a testimony through the Holy Ghost, specifically about the Prophet Joseph Smith. So we knew that all of the students were in good hands. Only one of them, Quentin, stuck around for all three hours though. Afterwards we talked to him for quite a bit. He had a lot of questions about some things. Even though he was there only for a school assignment, it was still a very cool experience to teach and to be apart of. At that moment I truly felt like one of the Lord's representatives.  

   

We've been able to get quite a few of our investigators on date for baptism this week. It's been a huge focus in our zone. All you have to do is invite! It's going to be an action packed next couple of weeks maintaining all of these amazing investigators!

We were able to meet with the family I mentioned last week about the sheep, the Huntley's. We watched the Restoration with them and had a pretty candid talk with Brother Huntley and if this is what he wants to pursue right along with his family. It was a great lesson. The Spirit was very strong and we were able to say what needed to be said. We did learn that his conversion is going to take a little longer than what we hoped. But he'll definitely come around.  

Bob was not able to make it to church yesterday. And for the first time ever on my mission, the investigator actually had an okay excuse not to come to church. He had to take care of some pretty serious and personal matters. So we will have to move his date back a little further, but everything should work out okay though. Bob is such a great guy and so hilarious. We were able to teach him the Word of Wisdom this last week and he completely accepted it--and more! He told us that wants to give up eating chocolate too. We're both so excited for Bob and the changes that he's been making in his life. Keep him in your prayers. 

I love this gospel and I love this church! Every single week as a missionary, my testimony grows stronger and stronger. I'm so grateful for this chance to serve as one of the Lord's representatives

Thanks for all of your love prayers and support. It continues to strengthen me everyday.

I love you all! 

Elder Scott