Good Bye College Place!

It's pretty insane, but, I'm getting transferred to Kennewick East. I seriously did not see this coming. I was almost positive that I was going to stay here in College Place. But I guess the Lord needs me there. What's even crazier is that we're being doubled out! Elder Shugart is getting transferred all the way up to Leavenworth. That means that he's going to be in the Yakima Mission and it looks like I'll being staying in the Kennewick Mission. Crazy stuff! Oh! And what's even more crazy is that we've also both been called as district leaders in our new areas. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that. I seriously have no idea what to expect. And this new area is going to be 100% Spanish which I'm also pretty nervous about. These last two areas I've been in have also had a lot of English work, but now it's solomente Espanol! So I could definitely use some prayers this week. But more than anything I'm just so excited. It's going to be so tough to say goodbye to this area. It's been incredible here. Especially the people. I love the people here so much and it's been an amazing privilege to serve here.

We met some amazing people this week! Just in time for us to leave... We were walking down the street one day and there was a lady who was carrying this big huge thing (not really sure what it was), so we went over to see if she needed help and it was this hispanic lady who told that she was already a member! She used to go to the Spanish Branch but now she works every Sunday. But anyways she called out her kids from inside the house. We had a really great lesson with all of them. We found out that two of the three kids are baptized and her youngest son, Carlos, isn't! We the next time we say them we set a baptismal date for Carlos for July 11th. He's a really cool kid and we're really excited for him.   

We also met this other girl named Emmy! It was a referral from the second ward Bishop and  we met her last Monday. She's twelve years old and she's been going to young women's in second ward for a while now. But she finally went to church for the first time last week. So they sicked the missionaries on her! She lives in College Place boundaries so she'll be going her, but she didn't have any problem with that because she already has lots of friends in College Place! We also were able to set a baptismal date for her for the 11th. She's so awesome!   

We haven't been able to make any more contact with Steve. He got back from his trip last Saturday. We've been pretty annoying to his family haha. We've been calling him a lot, going by his house, sending his fellowshippers to go by. But I guess he's still just recovering from the surgery. We're not really worrying about him at all though. He's the most solid/golden investigator ever. That's going to be one of the hardest things about leaving this area. Not being able to see Steve's baptism. My new area is pretty close so it is possible that I will be able to come back to see it. I really hope so!  We're going to go by to try and teach him again tonight. Pray that we will be able to see him!  

I gave a talk yesterday in the Spanish Branch. Boy, was I nervous. I barely had any time to prepare it so it could've been a lot better. But it was a good experience. I spoke on the importance of families. It was a really amazing principle to study on. It really made me grateful for my own family. About how loving and supportive they are. And especially the examples that they are to me about the happiness that we can receive by living this gospel. Love you guys! And happy Father's Day!

 

Thanks for everything!

Elder Scott

p.s.For now, just send ya stuff here... 

8202 West Quinault Ave. Suite D

Kennewick WA 99336

Teaching at the University

Elder Shugard and Me at the Temple

Alma 7

Jun 8 at 12:18 PM

Well, it feels like I just emailed you guys because it was only Wednesday since the last time we did! So I guess there's not too much that has happened since then. But it's still been really great! 

Good news and bad news about Dharma. Good news is is that she's now living permanently in College Place! The bad news is is that it's out of our area... Pretty big bummer. But it's all good! Because she's in 2nd Ward and our roommates cover that ward and they're great missionaries. They've already taught her twice since we've passed her over.  

Steve is great! He's off on his trip to Seattle right now for his crazy eye surgery. We had another amazing lesson with him this last Saturday though. And we gave him the Book of Mormon on CD for his trip. He's super excited to be able to listen to them, especially since his wife will be driving and she'll be forced to listen to them! Steve has been nagging at his wife this entire that he has been taught to have her involved too. We're praying that her listening to the Book of Mormon will help soften her heart. He told us something really cool the other day too when he was telling us about his reading in the Book of Mormon. He said how is now in Alma and when he read Chapter 7, he had to read it three more times! And each time had broughten him to tears. He told us that he feels so wearied down by his trials sometimes--especially with his physical ones. But to know that Jesus Christ has suffered those things and much, much more brought peace to his soul. He's still very excited for his baptism--and so are we!   

We were asked by our mission president to bear our testimonies during fast and testimony meeting of the four essential truths, which are: Jesus Christ is our Savior, the first vision happened, the Priesthood has been restored, and the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It was a great experience. I shared an experience that I had during our Zone Meeting this last week. At the beginning of the meeting we all read in unison "The Living Christ". It was such special experience for me. I could barely make it through reading it because the Spirit was so strong. I have a testimony that Jesus is the Christ and he is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. 

And I am especially so grateful to be one of His representatives. To serve God's children and help them closer to Christ is an opportunity that I am so grateful for.

Thank you all for your love, prayers and support!

Elder Scott     

A Testimony That Lives On

Hello everyone!

Hey sorry I'm a few days late. I forgot to let you guys know last week but this week we had our temple p-day. So we're emailing today instead of Monday. 

Not too much has happened. Or at least I can't really remember anything right now. 

We've dropped most of our investigators. There came to a point that a lot of them just weren't progressing at all. Of course we kept our solid ones. But most of them are OUT! So we're leaving a lot more time for some good ol' finding this week. 

Steve is still doing very well. He still hasn't come to church though because of health issues. He can barely leave his house sometimes. He told us a few days ago that he's having this crazy eye surgery next week and he's going to be in Seattle all next week. So that's kind of a bummer. But he's still so solid and we're so excited for his baptism. We also were able to give him a blessing for health for his surgery. As I was giving him that blessing I could feel so much love that Heavenly Father had for him, it was a very amazing experience. 

We got an unfortunate call from Coby yesterday. He told us that he wasn't sure if he wanted to continue meeting with us anymore. He just didn't know if this was the path that he should take. What made it really awful was that a few weeks ago he was more than ready. And he wanted it too! But a lot of things just got in the way and he hesitated. It really goes to show that when someone is ready for baptism, then do it! 

Dharma moved--again. But not too far. She's still within our zone but the place she's staying right now should only be for a few more days. Her mom informed us that she should be moving in with her grandpa who lives in College Place! So hopefully that will happen soon so that we can start teaching her again and get her progressing towards her date! 

Last week we graduated from the High School... to the University. After we taught the class at the high school, one of the university professors contacted us and wanted us to come and teach in one of his classes! It was actually a lot better than the high school. They were much more respectful and asked really amazing questions. What was also really amazing was being guided by the Spirit. There were times that they would ask a question and I would have no idea. But I would pray for the Spirit to guide me to what to say and my mouth was filled. Very amazing. The Spirit there was so strong. Especially when Elder Shugart and I taught about the first vision. It was hard not to get emotional because the Spirit there was just so thick. 

Well the temple was great! As always... And actually for the first time I saw a different video! Each time I've always seen the same one. It was an amazing experience. I always love going to the temple and feeling the incredible Spirit there. 

It was pretty sad hearing about Elder Perry. We found out a day later at church and realized that when he did pass away, Elder Shugart and I were giving the time of reverence for a baptism in the district. We played a Mormon Message on the Restoration with Elder Perry. I remember his testimony giving me so much strength at that time. It's amazing to see these men who are called of God who have such strong testimonies that it continues to live on, even when they leave. 

I love being a missionary! And I love serving others. There are so many amazing things happening in this area. And it's an incredible opportunity to be apart of it. 

Thank you for your prayers, 

Elder Scott

So........ how does a big guy like me get dunked?

Boy have we seen some miracles this week! It's so incredible to see the Lord's hand in this work. And the amazing ways that He's preparing the people in this area. It's such an amazing privilege to be a apart of it.

Teaching at the high school was a really cool experience. And a lot of fun too! It was so interesting because I was only a few years older than most of them. So I could really identify with them. Surprisingly the group that we taught (because our Zone Leaders also came and taught a group) didn't ask too many tough questions. They were all very respectful and asked great questions! What was the best part about it was the Spirit that was there as we testified of the Book of Mormon and the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Spirit was so strong there in that class room and it was impossible to deny. Another awesome thing that happened was that we put out about 15 copies of the Book of Mormon and all the main pamphlets out on a table. As all of the students left, all of the copies were gone in about ten seconds. That was so awesome to see. So now there's a bunch of Seventh-Day High School kids walking around with the Book of Mormon! There were definitely a lot of seeds planted that day.     

We had a zone conference this last week and it was super great! My MTC companion, Elder Turley, was there! It was so great to see him again. And another crazy thing that happened. We got a training from this one guy from Salt Lake that's head over all of the fleet vehicles in the world in the church! And they installed these monitor things in our cars that tracks everything, speed, seatbelts, etc. It definitely makes driving way more nerve racking.   

Unfortunately, we had to drop Bob. There came to a point where he refused to put in the work necessary. Hopefully this separation will be only temporary and he'll recognize the difference in his life without the gospel.

Dharma is doing great though! She's reading in the Book of Mormon everyday and she's loving it!   

We saw Steve last Saturday. That was definitely the highlight of the week. The time that we had saw him before that we had bugged him again about setting a baptismal date. He gave us the same answer, he wants to be baptized but just doesn't want to set a date. So, we invited him to pray about it. Pray and ask your Heavenly Father if baptism is the thing that you need to do. We followed up with him on Saturday, and he told us that he had a story to tell. He wanted to continue listening to the Book of Mormon one night but he lost his spot (he has to listen to the audio because he has super bad eyes). So he just clicked on a random chapter to try and find his spot again. The "random" chapter he clicked on was 2 Nephi 31. This chapter outlines the doctrine of Christ: faith in Jesus Christ, repentence, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. Absolute miracle. Steve also knew that him stumbling across this chapter was no coincidence. We then asked him if he took that as his answer that if he should be baptized. He said, "I know it is, the Lord if guiding me down this path." It was so amazing to hear him say that, and then he continued on to say, "So... how does a big guy like me get dunked?" Haha I loved that. We set a baptismal date for him for June 13th. Steve is an amazing man and it's been such an amazing blessing to teach him. His barrier is definitely going to be his physical health. He is one mighty man in a Spiritual sense, but definitely not so much physically. In fact he was unable to make it to church yesterday because he had some more health complications. So please keep him in your prayers!

Elder Shugart and I were able to both give talks in sacrament meeting yesterday. The topic? Missionary work! It was super great. Hopefully we got the ward excited about missionary work. 

It's so amazing to see the people whom the Lord has prepared. It makes me so happy to be an instrument in the hands of God. I love being a missionary! 

Love you all!

Elder Scott  

          

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