Thursday, May 28, 2015

Elder Peterson, Andre, Pauline, teaching in the prison

Hey mom! 
Sorry about the past week! I will make it up somehow! Congratulations Brynn! 36 seconds has got to be a world record or something. I'm sad I can't be there to see him grow up for a few months but I will catch the walking and talking stage I think. Welcome to the family kip! 

Happy birthday dad! You turned 30 for the 25th time right? Im pretty sure my math is right. You look good in the photos! It's been a long time. And it won't be too long until I'm back home. 8 months from the 22 I will be home and it just keeps counting down. Crazy. As for the rain up here, it has only rained about twice since I've been here. We had a flash flood warning but that didn't happen. Luckily where we are we don't see rain very often. Vancouver and Portland see rain but we are a bit further away in the mountains. 

Right now my companion is Elder Peterson. We were actually companions in the MTC right at the beginning. So it's been fun as we have been working together. I'm continuing to learn more every day. The Lord seems to humble me in every situation possibly haha. It's interesting. Elder Peterson is from Burley Idaho. So he grew up on a ranch and is the 13th of 14 children. He kind of reminds me a Bailey Keetch but not sure who I could relate him to back home. I hardly remember anyone back home. I've got a lot of names on my mind haha. But everything has been going great! This week we are so so busy. We are planning a few trips to attend meetings down in Vancouver and also we are starting up a meeting for the 2 wards we cover. A member missionary meeting. We all meet together and have a district meeting with the members of the ward and practice ways that we can do missionary work with our friends and also just easy ways to talk about the gospel. We are pretty excited about it. This will be our first meeting but we will see how it goes and get back to you this next p day. Along with all the meetings we are seeing a boy named Andre. Him and his mom are taking the lessons along with some Old Testament reading just to give him a basic knowledge of God and the scriptures. It's been so much fun working with them. Recently we have invited his mother Pauline to read the Book of Mormon because we were originally there to teach Andre and she has been asking slot of questions. She actually has been keeping her commitment to read and hopefully soon we can start getting her to come to church with her son. Little miracles like those are continuing to happen all around Elder Peterson and I. This last Sunday we had two couples approach us and ask us if we can teach the lessons to their non member relatives. OBVIOUSLY we said yes. Even though we are getting pretty booked. The Dalles 1st and 2nd Ward are the best I've served in so far. So much work to do here and it's great. We are also teaching people in the prison. I wanted to share a little about a guy named Belander. He has been in for a few months now until he gets a final say on when he goes to actual prison. We have been working with him for a few months and the genius is doing great. He has read the whole Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants once and is going through it again. He is making some great progress. It was pretty funny, about a month ago Elder McDaniel and I had to split and teach two at the same time and Belander got in the subject of women. He pulled out a picture of his "x" and he told me about her a little. She had tattoos everywhere just like him. Belander has a tattoo on every part of his body. It's awesome to see that change that has come as he has met with us. Anyways, he eventually told me that he wanted to date a Mormon woman when he got out. And I asked him why. He said that it would be good for him to have that kind of influence in his life and they just are different. He really has come to like the ensigns I think. So that day I left him with the woman of the Old Testament. The Ensign haha. It was pretty funny. 

This past week I was able to read a little article by Elder David A. Bednar and he spoke of the enabling power of the atonement. He used the example of Nephi when his brothers bound him. And how he prayed not for his circumstances to change but that he might be empowered to overcome and change the circumstances he was in.

1 Nephi 7:17
17 But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound.

Nephi understood the enabling power of the atonement and how God really is able to help his children. We are here to learn and grow through the experiences of mortality and so if he was to take them away from us without giving us that opportunity of experience it would defeat his purpose. Instead he allows us to see that with his help it is a lot easier. Not that the burdens aren't there but that with him we can accomplish more. I know that to be true! I see it every day. 

Love ya mom! 

Elder Archibald

Friday, May 15, 2015

Mother's Day appointment

Hey mom! Sorry I wasn't able to write to you individually this week. Dad and Michael got one so you should be able to hear from them. I've got a lot of things to share with you we will just have to share them next Sunday when we skype. I will be available at 4 pm my time. I believe that is 3 your time but I'm not sure. Things are going great. The transfer is finishing up and everything is looking good. I'm going on 16 months soon. Crazy! Well love you. Everyone looks so happy. I'm sorry to hear about Connie dummer. And I'm glad Zach is still looking as young as he used to. It's going to be great to see them with a new baby. I'm crossing my fingers for a boy! 
Keep these questions in this email in mind as we skype. There is a lot happening! 
Love you! 
E. Archibald

Tracting in the Dalles

Hey dad!
Sorry I haven't replied in a week or two! Mom just needs a lot of
attention you know. Haha things are going great out here. We are just
working on finishing up the transfer and getting thing situated with
my companion. He is headed home this transfer and so you know, he is a
little trunky. A little excited to go home haha. That's alright
though. We stay focused and work hard still. This last week we had a
luau for the church and there was a tone of people that showed up. We
had a total of about 42 non members show up and about 6 of our
investigators. It worked out really well.


This Saturday we had a pretty cool experience. We were tracting this
neighborhood and every single door was a nope or I'm atheist or
whatever they could come up with. And the. We came to this door and
rang the door bell and this big guy came to the door and we were
excited to see him and all he said was. Come on in. That is music to
our ears. "It's about to go down." Haha that's what goes through our
heads. As in the spiritual bomb is about to be set off. And it really
was after we found out who he was. He is an excommunicated member that
has struggled seriously  with the word of wisdom and is doing all that
he can to get away from it. Not going close to bars, secluding himself
and all these other things. He had been praying for the past couple
months to have God help him with his issue and low a behold we show
up. We were the first that had knocked on the door for the past 6
months. And so he was surprised to see us. As we continued to talk we
had found out where he was at with his spirituality you could say and
we began to teach him about the power of the atonement. how that power
is at times the only power that will enable us to overcome the trials
in this life. Also that it is the only things that will ultimately
prepare us to receive all that our Heavenly Father has in store for
us. He said he was praying and reading the bible but things haven't
changed. Mosiah 3:19 states what we need to do. This is what we shared
with him.

19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall
of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the
enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and
becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and
becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love,
willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict
upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

As we do this we are able to live worthy and openly receive the spirit
of the lord within our lives which purifies and sanctifies us. As the
people heard this sermon from king Benjamin they heard his words and
gave place for them in their hearts and this is what happened. Mosiah
5:2:

...because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a
mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more
disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.

We told him that as we submit to our father the blessings of heaven
are bestowed upon us. And that all that is wrong in this life will be
made right. The spirit was so strong as we testified of the atonement
and the love that our Heavenly Father has for us. That spirit allowed
us to move the mountain within his heart and commit him to work his
way back to Christ.

A lot of awesome miracles are happening and hopefully will continue.
Thanks for all that you do and I love you!

I had some questions about health stuff. Do we as a family have
prostate problems or bladder problems? I've been having trouble with
my bladder and I'm seeing the urologist for the second time on
Thursday. Just so you know. Idk if you've had that issue before or
something. Other than that things are great. I'm working on just
gaining as much knowledge about everything I possibly can. I wish I
would have read a lot a lot more. I would recommend getting Thomas out
of the video games and reading because from what we see with kids and
video games it's ridiculous. It doesn't do anyone any good to play
games. Though they are fun they aren't good. Anyways! Thanks for
everything have a great week!
E. Archibald


✌️ I leave with you !