This week was a blast! We got to do all sorts of fun things throughout the week - particularly visiting people and feeling the spirit while doing so - but also some sweet service and a great fast and testimony meeting.
So, I'm just going to get right into it, since ya know... you're probably curious about the subject of the email and that's not until the end :P So, Monday was pretty sweet after emails last week, since I got to play a little tennis Australian style with a couple sisters in the ward, and then we just had an awesome evening visiting with people and trying to do all we can to help them read the Book of Mormon. It turned out to be a pretty sweet day on Tuesday, after my handmixer broke... we had to go to a nice families' home to make cookies for class, so that was a blast. Plus, we had an awesome member out with us in the afternoon and had a few spiritual visits, which was quite enjoyable. It's always nice to be out with members, especially when they aren't super uptight and worried about if we get in with people, but just enjoy being out trying to help people. Eventually it was time for dinner, which was super delicious and a blast since we got to have it with another awesome family... yeah... we're just super blessed here with tons of awesome families! I can't be grateful enough for all they do to help us, but it's pretty sweet. Finally it was time for the scripture study class - and we had like 16 people there! It was pretty sweet, and the treats were well worth the effort to make (they were chocolate chip cookies with an oreo inside them), especially since they were almost as delicious as the spiritual feast we got to have talking about conference :) We talked a lot about what President Monson counseled us to do - focusing on temples and doing our duty and following Christ, but we also had lots of good input as to parts that particularly hit people. A question President Uchtdorf asked in Priesthood session has been on my mind a lot: "I wonder if our organizational and personal goals are sometimes the modern equivalent of a Potemkin village. Do they look impressive from a distance but fail to address the real needs of our beloved fellowmen?" As I've been pondering that I've been reminded of a verse in Matthew 16 which says: "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." Ponder that for a little while and let me know what you find! I'm still working on applying that to my personal goals, but you'll probably hear more about it at a later date.
Wednesday came and went with a blur, as did Thursday, we had some sweet dinners, some good service opportunities, and a few good visits, but nothing super worth going into detail about as of right now... that's what a journal is for ;) So Friday came and we got to have district meeting and then I was on an exchange in Guthrie South for the rest of the day - it started off pretty typical... not really, but it's the same way last Friday started - cutting down trees for a recent convert family and having a blast doing it. We're using axes... don't worry... they're not as dangerous as chainsaws, right? They're definitely slower, and we've not been told we can't like we have with chainsaws, and we haven't had any injuries - except blisters - so it's worked out pretty well so far! It's quite a good time though, and then the family we were going to have dinner with called and asked if we could help them clear a part of their yard that was overgrown and so we headed over! We spent a good hour helping them, and then decided to stay another 15 minutes before going back to change... and ended up finding and killing a Copperhead! It was pretty exciting, and very entertaining since we didn't know it was a copperhead at first... until after we'd killed it at least. We chopped the head off, and then Elder Wilcox picked up the body and Elder Rasmusson picked up the head (... he didn't know what it was...) and they somehow got the head to bite the body... it was pretty gruesome. But, it was fun and a nice picture opp! So, there's a couple pictures attached of us being crazy! We also did get to have a nice visit later that evening, and had a good chat about patriarchal blessings and temple and family history, so that was sweet.
Then we got to Saturday and we got to have lunch with Sandy and Michelle - plus we watched a sweet video about the conversion of Wilford Woodruff, so check it out! VIDEO! We also had the privilege of going out with Dallin Cutler, since he was in town for his wedding reception and called us up to see if he could. So, that was a fantastic time, and it was great to see him again! We had a pretty solid visit with a couple and also were able to try a few other folks. So, that was sweet! That evening we got to go out to dinner with a fantastic family, and they took us out to the boundary - a super delicious barbecue place in our area. Then we came back and got to visit with a couple other folks before calling it a day! Sunday came, and we had a pretty fantastic day! We got to have a very good fast and testimony meeting, and then we headed out and tried a few people and ended up tracting a little bit before dinner. Dinner was with a super neat family, and then the husband came out with us to see people and we caught a couple single sisters! It was neat to be able to visit with them, and we ended up giving both of them a blessing - for different reasons, but the spirit was super strong. So, that was a pretty awesome way to end the week! I hope y'all have a great week! Love y'all!
'Til Next Time,
Elder Jordan Nielson
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