Season 7 Episode 6, May 30, 2016

Mom note: again, no new address given, hopefully there is one next week...... 

For starters I am being transferred. I am headed to the Hillbilly First Ward. Haha, not really, but I am going to a boony area. It is the Lacamas Creek Ward. It is bordering the Evergreen Ward. If that name sounds familiar, it is. It was where I started, but it is a completely different stake. So once again I am in an area that borders my old area. Haha. So my new companions will be Elder Vanleweuen and Elder Stone. I am in a trio again. Very interesting to say the least. We will see how long that will last. I don't think it will last very long. I will be keeping an eye out for Jordan. That is going to be so cool to be serving in the same mission as him!

We had a stellar week.

Monday-

We were on a hike so that is my excuse for a crappy email last week. We were hanging out as a district and have some really cool pics for it too which will be sent this week. We also saw one of the coolest sunsets ever.

We also got a call for a blessing. This was for Barbara. She is the 90 year old we baptized. She was failing in health. Angela calls and asks for a blessing for her. It was during our hike so we said we could in the evening. We gave her a blessing and the spirit was so strong. We both had a prompting that it was a blessing of release. We found out later that some catholic priest lady had come and gave a blessing that did nothing. But we gave a blessing, which was done by the proper authority, and this blessing  was what released her. So a crazy experience there. Barbara died that night after we left. It made me think of this scripture Alma 40:11-12.
11 Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. 12 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.

She was taken home to the God that gave her life.

Tuesday-

We had our final district meeting. After that we did some service. It wasn't too much, but for these people it would have taken hours. So we just helped them get a pool covering off. And get ther pool ready to use. The way the start of the week happened, you would think, yeah we could swim. Which we didn’t, but wanted to. It was hot. Then it poured down rain. Just can't predict the weather.

Wednesday-

We went on our last exchange. I was in the Butler Creek Ward. It was a very busy day. I was with a really new elder and we saw some cool things happen. We would just randomly get let into someone's house. We taught a bunch of crazy kids and mom about using Heleman 5:12 in comparison to the three little pigs.

12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty stormshall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. 

That was on the spot inspiration.These kids were just shooting everyone with guns and just being little boys.But, when I asked them if they knew the story of the three little pigs, they calmed right down. Way cool. It fits too. Building upon the rock which is Christ. You will have to read the story of the three little pigs and compare. Then we actually went to a AAA meeting. Wow that was sweet. That was the first time out here I have been but I will go again. The spirit was way strong there. The atonement I action is what it was. The program the church has is power. Great experience.

Thursday-

Not much happened today. We wrote a note to Angela to help her and her mom. So we did that and worked hard trying to teach some people.

Friday-

Again not to exciting. We stopped by a couple of less actives and then we taught a good lesson to a African family.

Saturday-

We had a way awesome day. We taught a way cool guy in the morning. We were worried because he was speaking Spanish to his friend but he spoke English well so we taught him. After this, we saw a Ferrari. I was surprised because the car pulls up next to me and I was like, man that is a nice car!  Wow a Ferrari here!!! So I raced it off the stoplight for about 1 second until it zoomed past me haha. We taught this guy who the first meeting with him, he dumped his beer on my leg as if to prove a point. So I didn't want to go back there. He actually wants to change which is good. He lives in a crazy trailer park. Let's just say it was a good laugh. This guy came walking past us...just completely naked and carrying a machete. Haha! a sight I will not forget. We actually taught this guys friend and they both came to church. So win win.

Sunday-

We had like 12 people come to church. It was awesome! We had a bunch of less active show up. We were shocked because the Ward was doing a celebration of 5 years of being a Ward.  This random guy came in and started talking to a member. It turns out that the member knows this guy from high school. We come over and introduce ourselves, and he says he wants to come check out our church. So we do what we should and show him around with the member. It was cool. God definitely doesn't do random. It has been a hard transfer but totally worth it. I am excited to go but also kind of sad. For this last transfer, I have tried to help Elder Potter gain a desire to study and truly just enjoy the work. It wore me out because I had to be so pumped all the time. Every time something happened I had to be excited. I am glad though,  it has helped me become better. I really do love it.  I have found that when you have a good study it will help in all aspects of the work; no homesickness, you will have the spirit. Our companion studies were tough because he didn't have a desire to learn at first. But it was a work in progress. He is doing a lot better now than he was before.

Elder Astle

Season 7 Episode 5, 5-23-16

This was a really good week. We were busy from the start to the stop. 

Monday-

We went to a park and played ultimate frisbee. It was a nice day for once. After P-day, we were doing some stop by's. We felt like we should go try down this street. We talked to a guy who was super interested. But, he was Spanish so we referred him to the Spanish speaking Elders. We keep finding these solid people and have to refer them. 

Tuesday-

We had some really good lessons. We taught this guy who we have on date, and he is definitely going to make it to baptism. We had a couple of really cool lessons during that day. One was with our African family. They are getting it a little bit more. We are going to help them learn some English. Yeah, me teaching English, haha!! Should be good!!!

Wednesday-

We had one thing after another fall through. But, we worked hard and were able to teach a cool lesson. We were able to help this guy understand faith. Then we met a member and at first they were unsure of us coming by so we just showed them that we are there to serve. We saw the one eighty (the turn around in attitude).

Thursday-

We had a good day. We taught Angela. That was good because they are going through a rough time. The grandma we baptized is dying and only has a couple months left. She held on until she was baptized -what a trooper. Then we had a good correlation with our Ward mission leader. He is sweet. He just wants to help everyone. 

Friday- 

We had a Ward party. It was a family history based party. Nobody that we invited showed up. But we did have a good time there. 

Saturday- 

We were on exchanges. I went to the Butler Creek area. It was a good day. We taught a bunch of lessons. We were teaching this lady, and once we finished the sky started to dump the rain. It was coming down in buckets. We finished the lesson and we saw the rain come, and then it came even more. We ran from the door to the car. It was about 60 yards away. It took about 9 seconds. We just got pounded with rain. We were soaked. It truly was funny. It wasn't supposed to rain that day! When we went in it was clear. But it was a good time. 

Sunday-

We didn't have a lot of people come to church. It was kind of sad. But we did get random people there. They just showed up so that was cool. Our guy on date came so that was the most important. 

Elder Astle 

Season 7 Episode 4, May 16, 2016

Well, it was a crazy good week. We have been loaded with stuff going

on. So we will start from the beginning.

Monday-

We had a fun Pday. We went to the park and played ultimate frisbee. Perfect day for it. Then we had a service project. We stopped by this family in the Ward earlier this week. We asked them if we could do anything for them. They said we could help weed. So we did and from 6-9, we weeded their garden.

Tuesday-

We had a zone meeting. Our Ward mission leader was out of town and we

haven't seen him. So we stopped by. It turns out he has a son who is working his way back into activity in the church. He hadn't been to church for 2 years. A miracle happened and we just talked with them for a second. We taught a

few good lessons. Then right at the end of the day we taught a lesson

to the Kabales. They are an African family. We read with the mom from the

Book of Mormon. She is understanding it. It was great. Then we weeded

another yard. We had to stop because there was a ton of mosquitos. The

member didn't want to fight them anymore. So we did about 3/4 of the

yard.

Wednesday-

We had our interviews. They are always a good time. President Taylor

is leaving in two transfers so it was his last interview with me. We talked

for a bit then he says, "You have been out how long?" I said, "About 10

months." He says "That is what I thought. You know what is happening,

right? The transfer going home is a large chunk of missionaries who

were superstars. The weight of the mission is going to be on your

Shoulders now. It is time to take it and run with it."  Kinda a cool

thought. I am curious to see about what he does next transfer. Haha!  But anyway, we had a crazy day. I was on an exchange with our district leader Elder Brase. He is a champ. Coolest guy and a great missionary. We stared off teaching some dude in the church parking lot. Then we went back and taught another guy and put him on date for baptism. That was sweet. His name is Shane. He just doesn't want to “go to hell”.... Those are his exact words. So, we told him how to avoid going there. Haha!  The we taught a crazy Brazilian lady.  She is crazy and energetic. Then we just worked hard and had a good day.

Thursday-

Nothing too exciting happened this day. We just had some really cool lessons.

Friday-

We taught this cool family. They have been through the ringer. They were

so crazy to teach because they had little ones running everywhere. But they promised us they would be at church. Then they weren't. Such a bummer. We taught Osha. She is a totally different person after her baptism. She is so much more happy than before! It is awesome!

Saturday-

We did some service in the morning and had lessons after that. So we

stayed busy.

Sunday-

We were kinda bummed that we didn't get any of our investigators at church. But we will. We found out some of the details on why they weren’t there.  We will get them next time. Overall we had a busy  and good week so  I have no complaints.

Love,

Elder Astle

Season 7 Episode 3... May 9, 2016

Happy Birthday Kori! Wow the big 21. (Alex is teasing Kori since she turns 23 and he knew that on Sunday when we Skyped)

Good to see you on Mother's Day. (So great to see Alex and talk to him for a little over an hour!)  We had a really good week.

Tuesday-

We had a stellar district meeting this week. Our district leader is a beast. He’s a former assistant to the president so he knows his stuff. We talked about our purpose. It was nice. Then after that, we went to a less actives house. We have seen him make a really big step. We have seen him come to church this week. Which is nice. Then we had a meeting with the elders quorum president. It was good.

Wednesday-

So this was a wild day. We got like 8-9 phone calls about the baptism we were having on Saturday. There was a mix up in the schedule so we were working out the details. There were three child of record baptisms taking place on Saturday and we  didn't want to impede those. So we called around and moved ours to 10 am. Shortly after, we got a call from the bishop and he said the other baptism was at 10. So we moved ours to 11:30. We did it later because the 10:00 baptism was a Tongan baptism. I knew they would have a feast after. But, they didn't!Then, after all the calls rescheduling and changing back we got things settled. We also were teaching a part member family he is so stubborn. He won't be

baptized just because he thinks it is hypocritical. We will try again but it is so frustrating.

Thursday-

We had a good day. Everything canceled on us but we worked hard. We found this old guy who just doesn't go to church because of health reasons.

Friday-

We had a good day. So it was our planning day. We also had a fireside up in Vancouver. We couldn't drive ourselves so we are calling people and asking if they could take us to the fireside. Everyone was either bailing on us or was out of town. So as a last resort we tried somebody who said he would. Very strange man. He is a very strange man. But he took us so it was cool. We went to go

see Johnny Miller, he was the fireside speaker. That was pretty neat. He is good friends with President Taylor. I didn't realize President was that good at golf. Miller was a beast. He talked about his career and tied it into the gospel. It was

cool.

Saturday-

We sealed the deal with Osha! She got baptized Saturday. It was really good! She was really happy. I haven't seen her smile before. After her baptism she was Beaming! It was a very good day. 

We taught this guy who is in a trailer park and he dumped his beer on my leg.... that was great.

Sunday-

Good Sunday! I got to skype home so that was nice. Overall it was a really good week.

Season 7 Episode 2, 5-2-16

Mother’s day Skype will work. We will do it at 7 our time so 8 for you. Same

way we did for Christmas. We had a very busy week.

Tuesday-

My comp was sick. We were heading out the door when he was feeling sick. It was right after our lunch so from 1-9, I was inside basically by myself. So I watched some goats for little bit. Our view of the balcony is  of a trash park. It has 5 boats, 1 jeep, 1 hot tub, 2 washing machines, 1 forklift (that is actually new), a sketchy van, 2 goats, and 4 geese (those are the most annoying things in the morning). It was a very long day.

Wednesday-

We had a really good district meeting. Then right after, we went on an exchange with the district leader. I stayed and got Elder Holloway. He has only been out a week. We headed right over to the hospital to give a blessing to a guy. Then after that we headed to this less active’s house. He started off nice, he said he has had a rough past. Then he started letting it all loose. He was pulling out some anti. The spirit left so fast. It left us both with this nasty, disgusting feeling. I

felt bad because Elder Holloway has only been out a week. We bore our testimonies and left. I was just mad that he did that. Starts off all nice and then turns into that!!! But, Elder Holloway wasn't shaken. After that we went to visit a guy who is in a part member family. He is a lot stubborn! We actually helped him out this time. Then we headed over to the Kabales. Oh man that was an interesting lesson. They are from the Congo and don't speak very much English. And, they were way too distracted for us to teach. We then went to the Koch family. Their daughter is nine and is going to be baptized on Saturday. We just went over the interview with her to get everything ready for the baptism. Then we gave a blessing to this lady in the Ward. We found out Sunday that she had massive back pain and after the blessing she had no pain.

Thursday-

We had a good day even though the appointments we had fell through all day. We had a good lesson with a less active lady and her son. He was recently ordained a teacher. We talked to him about the sacrament, and really what power he holds. It was good. His mom mentioned that she loves us coming over to visit. It gives her some motivation to come to church which he has been doing on his own. She bore her testimony which is good.

Friday-

We planned and planned some more. We also taught a cool lesson to an atheist. He was actually wanting to search for who God is. He just doesn't know where to find it. He also said that if he is an atheist, then what that means after this life is... just nothing. It is a sad world those people live in. Just dark and confused. We gave him a Book of Mormon. He said he would read it and pray. Hopefully that goes somewhere.

Saturday-

I was on an exchange with the zone leaders. I was kinda nervous

because Elder Potter stayed. He has only been here a week and I hoped he could get around. But it was good. It was more a business day for us. Our lessons fell through and we worked on the area book. Then we had a baptism interview for Osha Koch. She passed and everyone is set for her baptism.

Sunday-

We were surprised when the Swingles walked into church. They canceled earlier because they were sick so we weren't expecting them. Lesson learned... always expect your gators to show up. It was fast Sunday and that usually makes me cringe. The people in this ward are so weird. Testimony meeting goes south very quickly. We are always ready to bring it back when we have to. Then we taught the Kabales. We just read a bit of the Book of Mormon with them. It was good  and they were able to understand it better. We then went to the Crandalls. I love this family. They are so cool. She was recently baptized and we are teaching her. She is from the south and makes the best food ever. I have eaten some weird stuff there but is the bomb because it tastes good. She won't let us teach her until we eat. (I figured out one of the reasons he loves this family!) We had a good lesson with her then headed to a few place before the night was up. Overall I would say was a good week. Next week should be sick. I will sent the pic of the goats. We usually throw bread at them.