Christmas was just perfect!

It's been a really awesome week! Christmas was just perfect! It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought that it would be. I mean, I was able to talk to you guys, so what could be better!

We were able to meet with Rashel again this week, the one we have on date for baptism. We taught her the Restoration and we also introduced the word of wisdom. That was the very first time that I had taught it since I've been in the field. So it was a good experience! She drinks coffee and smokes, but she told us she wants to do everything that she can to follow Christ so she should do great! Later that day we met with Adolfo--a very avid smoker. And we taught the word of wisdom again! Haha so I was able to have lots of practice with it.

Something that kinda sucked this week was we had four of our investigators commit to coming to church this week...and none of them showed up. Pretty big bummer. Even Rashel didn't show up! She texted us before church and told us that she's been having lots of problems with her boyfriend, and that she and her daughter wouldn't be able to show up today. So be sure to keep her in your prayers. But we're very hopeful for next week!

Christmas day was great! We got LOTS of food. We went to our ward mission leaders house for breakfast, then to the Hassings for a late lunch/early dinner and of course for skyping! It was soooo good to talk to you guys and actually see you! My memory is kind of starting to fade... haha just kidding...

We got two other new investigators this week. We found them both yesterday! While tracting! One's name is Julia, she's a teenager but she was willing to listen to what we had to say and we were able to have a nice little lesson with her about the Book of Mormon. The other one is name is Lawrence. He's a super cool guy. He's met with the missionaries before and he has a very strong belief in Christ. And he is now reading in the Book of Mormon!

Something really cool happened with one of our investigators, Eric. He's pretty committed to the church he goes to now, and he only wanted to meet with us just out of curiosity and to learn more about the Book of Mormon. He's told us in the past that he doesn't really have an interest to know if it's true. But this last lesson we had with him we asked him again if he wants to know. It took him a while to respond. But the Spirit was able to communicate with him. And he told us that he has that desire to know if it's true. It was pretty amazing to see the change of heart that the Spirit can cause in someone.

It didn't snow at all before Christmas, but, I guess that's okay. This morning we woke up to a fresh blanket of snow!

Also, Elder Pullman and I BOTH survived transfers. We'll both be here in Omak for another 6 weeks! And I'm really happy about that! The only change that was made to our entire zone was one of our zone leaders was transferred. We'll both be here in Omak for another 6 weeks! And I'm really happy about that! The only change that was made to our entire zone was one of our zone leaders was transferred. I guess that's pretty rare.

Christmas was great! I can't believe I've already been out for four whole months! I love being a missionary and being able to see myself grow and mature. I'm so grateful for this opportunity I have to serve the Lord and be a representative of Him.

I love you all!

Elder Scott

I WAS dreaming of a white Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!! It's been a really great week. Everyone's just gearing up for Christmas day! And I love it!

A lot of really great things happened this week. In fact, something pretty amazing just happened about an hour ago. A member called us up yesterday and told us she wants us to meet a friend of hers today at 10. I mean, it's our p-day. But, we're not going to say no! So we went over there this morning kind of tongue-in-cheek. Her name is Rashel Stanley and she's absolutely golden. We talked a little about the restoration and the Book of Mormon. She loves everything that we talked to her about and she told us she's just so excited. She's preparing to be baptized on January 31. It was amazing how prepared she was to receive this message and it's already providing happiness to her life. 

This last Thursday we went down to tri-cities to the Colombia River Temple for our temple trip! It was so amazing! We did an endowment session there and I enjoyed it so much. I absolutely love the temple! There's such an amazing spirit there. Kennewick was Elder Pullman's first area, so he was really happy to be back. 

We were able to get two new investigators this week. And they we both on the same day and we found them from tracting! Woo hoo for tracting! One is named John. He's just been fired from his job and is going through a lot of pretty tough stuff. But he's very open to hearing the message! Another one is Esperalda. She's a Hispanic lady who's living with her boyfriend right now. She's very sweet and was very welcoming, and her boyfriend doesn't speak any English! So hopefully we can start teaching him as well. 

We were unable to teach Carol this week. She really wanted to come to church yesterday but a few days ago she slipped on her porch and hurt herself pretty badly. So it's kind of hard for her to get around. But we're going to see her tonight and check up on her and teach! So it will be great! 

So, the best part about covering two wards is... TWO CHRISTMAS PARTIES!! Haha we had our other party this last Saturday. None of our investigators showed up... again. But, remember that grandma, daughter and grandaughter who were stranded in the Walmart parking lot and showed up to the other ward party? Well they live in the other wards boundary, so we invited them to this party this past Saturday. And they showed up! We were also able to find where they live and they are very interested in learning more about the church. So we are going to start teaching them this week! 

There is this sweet sister in the ward, Sister Rassmussen and she is just awesome haha. This last week she each gave Elder Pullman and I a hand knitted scarf. She had been working on them for the past for months! And I love it.   

I'm really looking forward to Christmas. The members here are so generous. We've been invited over for three meals on Christmas day. So once again, mom, you don't have to worry.  

It's been snowing a little bit, but not enough to make it stick. It's mainly just been raining. I was really hoping for a white Christmas... oh well! 

I absolutely love Christmas! Especially being a missionary! It's so important to always remember the reason for the season and the love that the Savior has for us. 

Merry Christmas! I love you all!
Elder Scott

Picking up the Pace

Hello Family!

Thankfully the weeks are picking up their pace again. We're staying busy and working hard! We experienced somewhat of a "heat wave" this week. It went up to around 35 degrees which actually made a pretty big difference when we are out tracting. Much better than being out in the single digits. 

We received some pretty bad news last week. We've been volunteering at the elementary school weekly ever since I got here. Normally that's very against the rules! Because we're supposed to working with kids at all. But the school district superintendent is also on the stake high council. And he was able to get permission from President Ware himself. So we've been going every Tuesday helping the little kids read. It's been so awesome! We've been able to meet so many people and plant so many seeds. But this last week, we had one of the senior couple missionaries come and observe us. And we were told that we would no longer be able to continue with the service project. Pretty big bummer. But the couple missionaries told us how great of a program it was and how much missionary work we were doing. It's just that rules are rules! 

We were also able to volunteer for the food bank again this week. This time we went to a grocery store and sat at a table and accepted all of the food donations. It was lots of fun and we were able to talk to a TON of people! 

We got one new investigator this week. We were knocking on doors last week and this woman answers the door with her husband and immediately invites us in. Her name is Marsella and she is very very kind. And she speaks Spanish! When we went inside she told us they were pretty busy but said we could come back on Friday at 4. So guess what we did... We came back on Friday at 4! And we had an amazing lesson about the Plan of Salvation. When we got to know her a bit more, she had a lot of questions about the afterlife and our discussion really helped out a lot. Unfortunately, her husband at the time wasn't very interested in joining in on the discussion. But we'll work with that! She's really great and I feel so blessed to be able to have all of these people fall into my lap and be apart of their lives. 

Good news and bad news about yesterday. The good news is that Tom came to church! The bad news is that Rosemary (his wife) did not. Apparently last week they went through a VERY rough patch with their marriage. So Tom is kicked out again. We haven't been able to contact Rosemary at all. But Tom is still making a lot of good choices. He's relying on Heavenly Father and the Atonement to help him through this time. Keep them in your prayers! 

Last Saturday we took our investigator, Eric, on a church tour. It was a really cool experience because I've never done one before. So it was really fun and it had a very strong Spirit. Until... we invited him to attend church. After the tour we asked him if he will come with us to church this Sunday. And he said, "...I'm okay. I'm happy with my church." But we're not giving up on him yet! He's already read to Jacob in the Book of Mormon. So he'll come around!

So we just heard some CRAZY news. The Washington Kennewick Mission is being split! Again! About a year and a half ago they created the Vancouver Mission out of some other missions in Washington. But now they are making ANOTHER mission it's called the Washington Yakima MIssion. It will be split this July. And the area that I'm in right now is in that missions boundary. So I have no idea what mission I'll end up in. But either way, it's pretty exciting stuff!

It's been a great week! I continue to learn so much everyday and I'm so truly grateful for this opportunity that I have to be a missionary and bring eternal happiness to others. 

Love you all!

Elder Scott 

 

The Work is Hastening!

It's been a really great week! Definitely not as slow as the last weeks have been. Which is always good haha. We were able to teach a lot of lessons this week. Which I'm so happy about! Since I've been here we've really been struggling with getting as many lessons as we can. But this past week we're able to teach more than double the lessons we usually do! 

We had our ward Chirstmas party last Friday and we were very much looking forward to all of our investigators showing up and having a great time! But then, not a single one showed up. Huge bummer. So Elder Pullman and I were feeling pretty down on ourselves. But then something really cool happened. A sister in the ward came up to us and told us about how she met a mom and her daughter in the Walmart parking lot (our church building is literally in the Walmart parking lot, so it's really easy to tell people where it is!). The sister told them that they were having a Christmas party in our church and that they were more than welcome to come in and enjoy some good food and great company! We didn't really think too much of it, but then a few minutes later, in walked an older lady with a walker, a mom, and her daughter. It was them! They came in looking a little confused and nervous. But they found a table to sit at by themselves. We immediately ran over to greet them. Such nice people, and so very humble. They were obviously very destitute and in need of a good meal. At the very beginning of the party we were able to get the ward to show the new video the church put out, "He is the Gift." It brought in such a special spirit. And they all loved it! We were able to get their address and were going to meet with them this week. According to the older lady they live WAY out in the boonies. She's one of the mountain ladies without any electricity or running water. At that moment I was so happy to know that our church can provide relief for the people who need it. They had a really good time, and their little daughter, Monica, participated in the primary program! So even though none of our investigators showed up, it was still a really great day! 

Another amazing thing happened this week! We were out knocking on some doors in the reservation. We decided to go around this cul de sac that we've never been to before. By the end of the round we realized that every single house told us that we could come back. Not really sure if anything will come of it, but still awesome! Also, at the very end of the cul de sac we got a new investigator! His name is Efrain. And he is a very awesome guy. He finds the Book of Mormon very interesting and he really wants to know more about it. He speaks pretty fluent English but he's a little more comfortable with Spanish. So I guess I'll be able to practice my Spanish a bit more! 

Speaking of speaking Spanish, we had another lesson in Spanish this week! Haha and I never thought that I would be saying this but I'm pretty grateful for it. I was able to understand a lot of what was going on, and it really boost my confidence. It was with one of our investigators, Zulema. She's a senior in high school. And the only problem with her is that it's hard to tell how serious she is. Because on one hand, she's already read from 1 Nephi to Helamen, and she comes to church pretty often. But then on the other hand, she says she "doesn't believe in it", and she has a bad history of trying to flirt with missionaries... not good haha. So we'll see where that goes!

I've come to really hate dogs. Everyone and their dog has a dog here. And they are almost never trained. Some people on the reservation have half wolf dogs. They are literally half wolf. I have no desire to own one! 

As it gets farther and farther into Winter, its gets dark very fast. Like right around 4 o'clock. Which makes it pretty tough on us when we're knocking on doors. But it's still the greatest here in Omak! 

Once again! Everyone needs to visit christmas.mormon.org. It's an amazing video about why it's so important to remember why we truly celebrate Christmas. And that is Christ! The birth of our Savior. Every time I watch it, it brings such a special spirit. And from that alone I've been able to receive such a strong testimony of the Savior. I'm so grateful for this opportunity that I have to represent Him and to share His gospel. 

I love you all! Merry Christmas!

Elder Scott

Too Much Food!

Remember how I said last week it was cold? Yeah, well it's nothing compared to this week. Most of the snow has melted, and usually we have sunny days and clear skies. Except it's absolutely freezing! A few days it was about 7 below zero, and that was without the wind chill! Pretty crazy! But in a way, the cold is great. Usually people are a bit more sympathetic towards us and let us in, or they're the exact opposite and are even more irritated. Either way it's never a boring day! 

We were able to have four new investigators this week. Carol, Eric, Mark and Karen. Karen is the grandmother of a less-active girl we were asked to visit. And we were finally able to visit her and the granddaughter a few days ago. Mark is... interesting. We knocked on his door a week ago and he seemed like a really cool, chill guy who was really interested. We went back yesterday and it definitely wasn't as good haha. He basically was ranting on and on and on about the government and he was getting pretty upset. We weren't really getting anywhere and it definitely wasn't helping with our purpose, so we just had to leave! Hopefully our next visit will be better. Eric is a very nice guy. We knocked on his door a few weeks ago and he said we could come back but we've never had the time to since he lives so far away. But we finally visited him a few days ago and we had a really good discussion about the restoration. He had a lot of really good questions. The only problem with him is that he'e pretty devote to the church he's going to right now. So we'll see how that goes. And our other new investigator, Carol, is absolutely amazing. We had two lessons with her this last week, and both of them were awesome. A few months ago there were some pretty crazy forest fires about two hours south from Omak. Carol lost her home to one of the fires. And she lost everything except for a few pairs of clothes. So she's living here in Omak for now in a little rental home. She's trying to find another place but of course we want her to stay so she can hear the gospel! She's been so prepared. Her husband passed away a few years ago and she is so incredibly humble. When we were talking about how she lost everything in the fire, she just said, "it's just stuff." She's so awesome! And she got along very well with the members we brought with us to the lessons. In the first lesson we had with her we invited her to read the restoration pamphlet and the introduction to the Book of Mormon. When we followed up in our second lesson she told us she had read all the way to 1 Nephi 6. Amazing! She definitely has the desire and she's humble. Unfortunately, she didn't come to church yesterday. But she's pretty shy, so we think things like meeting a bunch of new people all at once seems pretty daunting. But I know that over time she'll be given the strength to come to church!  

Thanksgiving was great! We had two huge dinners on Thursday. And I could barely eat another bite. Our first dinner with the Thompson's, they were telling us that this was their first Thanksgiving without their mom or other family. And it was great because it was also mine and Elder Pullman's first Thanksgiving with being with family too! So it all worked out great. 

We were unable to meet with Tom and Rosemary this week. Always pretty busy. But we have a set appointment with them this week so hopefully it will be great!

Some bad news about the Sorensen's. For a few weeks now they've been rescheduling and rescheduling our appointments. A few days ago when we went over there, Brother Sorensen told us that their lives are pretty hectic and he will let us know when they want to start back up again. So that definitely wasn't too fun. After that we went over to Peter's and he was actually there without his grandma! Yay! But then Peter told us that he read through the pamphlet and said that it just wasn't for him. But we're not giving up on them! Especially with Peter. I really see a lot of potential with him. But I'm definitely getting used to rejection out here. And it's all part of the missionary experience! 

I'm not sure if I've told you guys about Jack Payne at all. But one day we were out knocking on doors and this guys answers and says, "Oh! You found Me! I guess I better start coming back to church." He was actually a member. And he told us that he would definitely start going to church again. That happened about a month ago, and Brother Payne has been to church every Sunday since. We were talking with him the other day and he told us how grateful he is that we knocked on his door. He knew that he needed to come to church, but he just needed that extra push. Brother Payne is awesome! 

Things are great! I'm loving it here! The church is true! 

Elder Scott

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

This week thankfully wasn't as slow as last week. And a lot of really great things happened! Last Friday we had a zone conference. Being the farthest north it was a bit of a drive getting there. But we had a member of the first quorum of the seventy speak to us. His name is Elder Arnold and he is truly an amazing man. A lot of what he told us has stuck with me and has really made an influence on the work. One of those things was beginning with the end in mind. Whether we're just knocking on doors or meeting with an investigator, always have in mind their potential of who they can become. Picture them in the baptismal font, or even in their temple clothes. It's given me a whole new perspective of the people we teach and I've developed a very deep love for them. Granted, this much more difficult to do when someone slams the door in your face. But I'm very grateful for Elder Arnold and his inspired message that he gave to us.

Another really amazing thing happened that day. Coming back from the Zone Conference it started to snow... hard. A two hour drive turned into a three hour drive. The roads were slick and we could barely see. We could see an oncoming car in the distance, as it got closer, our car slowly started to slide towards it until we were completely in the other lane. Thankfully Elder Pullman was driving and I just had to hold on and brace for impact. But in the nick of time our car was able to stop sliding and get back into the other lane. It was scary. After that we were pretty startled. So we pulled over to the side of the road and said a prayer. I could immediately feel the comfort that everything will be okay. When we finally made it back to Omak we did some tracting. The first door we knocked on this middle-aged woman named Dina immediately invited us in. She gave us hot chocolate and we talked with her and her husband, Steve. She already knew a lot about the church, she even brought up questions about garments and what goes on in the temple. They were sooo kind to us. We had a discussion about the plan of salvation and the purpose of the temple. We gave them a Book of Mormon and we have a scheduled appointment to meet with them again. Two new investigators! I know that our Heavenly Father protects His missionaries, and we were meant to make it home safely so we could see them that night. 

We had Tom and Rosemary come to church yesterday! It was really good to have to them there finally. Rosemary is an elementary school teacher and it was the primary program, so she recognized a lot of the kids there and so that was really good for her. They are still having a lot problems with their marriage. A few very close calls when one of them wants a divorce. We're doing all that we can for them, and hopefully they will come around. Keep them in your prayers!

We are having Thanksgiving at a the Thompsons (they are the one's whose mother just passed away). They always give us a lot of food anyway! So don't worry Mom I'll be fend plenty. We were also invited to go to another Thanksgiving dinner later in the day with one of our investigators, Jessica and her less-active husband. But we found out that we have a 6 o'clock curfew on Thanksgiving. Which is a huge bummer. We were really looking forward to that because she's making a lot of progress. But if it's what the Lord wants, we'll do it! 

We were finally able to get some members out with us to some lessons. Which we've been struggling with a lot. Not a whole lot of people in the ward who are willing to do that. But we had some great lessons with the members, so hopefully we can keep that up! 

Omak is finally a winter wonderland! Everything is covered with snow! And I love it! 

Being a missionary is the greatest! It's also the hardest, but it's also the greatest! My testimony of this gospel and of the Book of Mormon continues to grow and develop each day. 

Oh how I love to be a missionary! 

Elder Scott

Transfers! But we are staying! Fewww!

Have a great week. Man, this week has been a pretty slow one. Which is pretty odd because so far being in the field time has flown by! But this week has definitely been very slow. Most of our set appointments fell through. Which is very frustrating! But we're really hoping this next week is going to be much better.

Last Tuesday we had specialized training and interviews from out mission president. President Ware is an incredible man, and he is very inspired. He seemed to know the answers to my questions before I even asked them. Everything he told me has gotten me through this week, and it will for the rest of my mission! I've been so blessed to have him as my mission president. 

We tracked into a guy named Joel. He lives in California but he's visiting his brother for a few weeks. He invited us in and we talked for a bit. He use to go to school in Syracuse and he had talked to missionaries there before. We talked about the restoration and gave him a Book of Mormon. Even though he's leaving back to California pretty soon we're still very hopeful for him and his brother. 

We were also able to see Tom and Rosemary. There was a point when they were making a lot of progress and coming to church, but they're slowly starting to come to a halt. There's quite a few things they're having trouble with grasping--Joseph Smith and modern prophets mostly. But we're going to work our hardest to make sure they progress! 

There is a less active/recent convert we've been seeing, the Thompsons. Their mother just passed away a few weeks ago. They had a funeral service yesterday. They invited us to come, and the service was really nice. But man, I've never felt so many stares in my entire life. It was held in a baptist church, and the second we walked in, everyone turned their heads toward us and it seemed like it didn't stop until we left haha. But the service was a great opportunity to talk to a lot of people. And to let them know that we're there to support the Thompsons. So that was nice! 

It's getting sooooooooooo cold. And it's really odd because each day is a sunny, bright, clear day. But it's freezing! It definitely brings it's blessings though. We can already see a difference in the way people react to us knocking on their door haha. People are much more likely to let us in when it's 20 degrees outside. So I'm willing to put up with it! 

We got transfer calls last Saturday. And... Elder Pullman and I are both staying!! Fewww! It's was kind of expected, but it was still a relief. 

Even though this week has been pretty tough with appointments falling through and it being REALLY slow. It's during these times when my testimony grows the most. I can see Heavenly Father helping me and guiding me. I'm so grateful for His hand in my life. My testimony continues to grow each day! The church is true!

Thank you for all of your prayers, love and support. I love you guys! 

Elder Scott