Lynn and being parched

Hey family!

This week has been incredible! Everything is going great except for
the heat. It's weird that August is the hottest month out here. It
seems like it's usually when everything starts transitioning into
winter back home. That is Wyoming though. But luckily I'm getting used
to the weather, besides that is what gets people to interact
with us. Sometimes we have to be more sly about it to test their good
nature. We use the "we have been walking for a while and are parched.
Could we get a drink?" That works almost every time. And as we do so
we constantly are having 30-45 min lessons with each person. This
method works!

The first door we knock on in this  apartment complex let us right in.
Lynn is her name and she is an old school teacher from Alabama.
So she pretty much taught us how in
today's world a lot of things are wrong with the way it is run. We get
that a lot. We just smile and teach what we know. While we were
teaching her the Restoration we found something. I was making myself
comfortable and by doing so I sat on a book, I pulled it out and handed
it to my companion not looking away from Lynn. He picks it up and asks
her why she has an our Heritage book produced by the church. Lynn is
prepared and it's incredible! Her son is a member and she has been
kind of curious about the whole organization of the church. We left
her with a Book of Mormon and a commitment to read but she said that
we left too little of an assignment. So we ended up just saying that
if she reads the chapter she can start from the beginning and read as
much as she would like. That's not it though, she then wanted to make a
contribution toward the church. Another person wanting to give me
money for the church! That is awesome.

The work is amazing and the Lord is so good.
I've recently found a lot of strength knowing that
through my Savior Jesus Christ I can really find the answers and
strength I need to really progress the way my Father in Heaven would
like. It's amazing to know of the love and patience He has for me
and the rest of His children as we do what we  can and
we can know of the gospel's truthfulness found in the church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I love my family and I miss you
Love,
E. Archibald

guys!

Beth Hellsinger

Hey family!

This last week has been great! Elder Kelly and I are getting a lot better at being unified and it definitely shows. He stumbles I pick back up. I stumble he picks me up. And sometimes when that doesn't happen it's kinda funny haha. 

But the highlight of the week is centered around Beth Hellsinger. She is the mother of two investigators that we have and at first she had no interest at all. So we shrugged that off and continued to teach her sons. But as we did so she began to be interested. We didn't know this until this last week when we dropped by unexpectedly with a random fellow shipper that happened to relate very well with them. Beth expressed that she has these thoughts that she needs to read the Book of Mormon but didn't know why and it kept on coming back. It's been incredible to see how God has slowly prepared her to make these commitments and steps to draw closer to her Heavenly Father. She knows that by reading and praying it does exactly that. I know that because the Spirit was so thick in that room we were swimming in it! 

This really shows me that everything really does happen for a reason. Just look back in time to an event in your life that altered your plans for that day or that summer. I look back to when I broke my arm. I am here on my mission because I broke my arm. When I see my scars I see the step that God had me go through to be here in this place now. 

It reminds me of the story of the man and the bush. When the the man is the gardener and he cuts down the bush because the gardener knows that the bush needs to be. The bush is very unhappy at first but thanks him later because it was what was best for the bush in the end. As Latter Day Saints we are able to see much wider than just a peep hole of our existence. We understand our purpose and plan that God has for us. So all we can do when bad things happen is know that God has a much larger plan for us. 

Lean not unto thine own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5 

He always provides if we are doing our best.

-Elder Archibald

Lily and Eliouse

Hey family! 

This last week has been pretty amazing. Elder Kelly and I are continually teaching and trying to find time for some letter writing haha. Work is going great! It sounds like the missionary work back home is going great also! 

This first picture is with our investigator Lily. She is Chinese and can cook some bomb food! As for the teaching she has really progressed. A while back she prayed to ask if God could help her with interpreting and understanding. A month later she could understand 1 Nephi 8. Lily is set to be baptized on August 30th. 

The second picture is of last weeks baptism and it was amazing! The first in the ward for two years. Kinda crazy. Everything in the baptism worked out perfectly and I was actually asked to be a spotter because she felt more comfortable with me in there. The one thing that stuck out to me while we were teaching Eliouse was that when we put her on date for baptism we promised her that her sick sister that was in the hospital would be there. And she actually made it. Everything lined up perfectly and it ended up being the best baptism that the mission presidency has seen in the mission. 

The last picture is of the hike that we went on today. It was up to the top of Beacon Rock. It was pretty sweet! You could see the entire gorge. It was pretty fun but the humidity and sun was pretty hot. But so far I am loving Vancouver. Not a big fan of Portland but Vancouver makes up for it. The weather here is amazing even though it rains almost everyday from fall to spring. 

I have learned so much this last transfer! The people we meet and are bringing closer to Christ and his teachings. It's amazing to have the opportunity to help others and bring them through the trials and tribulations that they have. We wouldn't be able to do this without Heavenly Father's help! It's an awesome feeling to know that God has our back as long as we are doing what's right. 

Love you!

E. Archibald 

Eric Christensen and a change of heart

Hey family!

This week has been incredible! 

Elder Kelly and I have been pushing as hard as we can to bring as many people closer to Christ through baptism. The one thing I've noticed in the midst of all this is that my love for each investigator is amazing. One investigator named Eric Christensen showed up to church for his first time two weeks ago and again this last Sunday. Right when I saw Eric I was so excited because this man is changing his life. When people progress and start changing I see how much the gospel really will change their lives and it's incredible. There are few things that are better than sharing the gospel with someone and helping them to become the best person that God wants them to be.  

On Sunday we had the opportunity to introduce 7 investigators to the ward and I've never been so happy in my life. This following week is gonna be a doozy but we will keep you posted next week.

That's pretty cool that you get to be the usher for the temple! Maybe in the future you could move to Utah when your retired and work there! That would be something. It's incredible to see the amount of organization and work that goes into running this church. Think about it; missionary work which is a huge matter,  temple work which is also another huge thing. I could go on but that's a huge subject.  

Hope Fossilfest was fun and stuff. I forgot it was happening this weekend until it was Sunday morning. 

Love you guys!

-Elder Archibald

Eric makes it to church

Happy late birthday to my mother!

 

I think I know how old you are but I don't want to shoot myself in the foot if I'm wrong. Your birthday was a very special day. We had 4 out of 6 of our investigators that are on date and at church this Sunday. It's been amazing to see them progress. I've never been so happy when I see someone striving to get to church no matter what. I guess I will explain. So we have been teaching this guy named Eric and he is a very busy guy. He drives trucks everyday and we have been teaching him for a few months now. He desires to be baptized and read the Book of Mormon but when he reads he gets dizzy and he has trouble making it to church because of work. So we focused on how we could help him. We got him a CD copy of the Book of Mormon and planned a way that he could make if to the last hour of church. It's music to our ears when investigators are making progress! So we are sitting in elders quorum and we look back and see Eric. He is out of breath and still has grease on his arms and camo pants on. It was pretty funny but that wasn't my concern. He made church a priority and came just to catch a little of church. Maybe all of this was because we gave their kids a snickers bar the day before haha. 

Hmm mom. I want to share the first memory of you in my head. I just remember laying on your lap while you held a bath towel over my head that was gushing blood. Haha random thought but here is a better one. Remember the photo shoot when I was like 6 or something? Because i do. I remember you made me wear my shorts up to my hips and us Archibald kids have high hips! I looked ridiculous! At least that's what I thought back then.

I would like to thank you for the example that you have been to me and helping me with my mission. This is the best thing that has happened to me and the hardest so far. I hope you had a great birthday!

 

Love, 

Elder Archibald

Happy Birthday! I'm Twenty

Hey Brother & Sister Archibald,

Just wanted you to see your missionary son celebrating his 20th birthday!!

Elder Archibald and Elder Kelly live with us.  (Thank you so much for sending a box with "Happy Birthday" on the outside!  It put us on alert to ask just when that birthday was coming up and bake a cake.)  The ward mission leader, Brother Allen Rhyasen, lives three doors up the street from us and he dropped in during dinner to bring Elder Archibald a birthday present - candy treats, Mountain Dew, and Book of Mormon CDs they could give out to investigators.  The elders left quickly after birthday cake and ice cream to get on to their next appointment for the evening.  They are working super hard and currently have 7 investigators on date for baptism, I think.

Just a birthday update for you,

Sue Lowe

Brian, Josh and Jordan--following the Spirit

Hello family! 

It is my birthday and I'm going to be twenty. That is pretty weird and it's even more weird that I've almost been out here for six months. Time flies when your busy. 

The miracles are amazing on this end also! We have been working really hard to find people to  teach and this week we have really focused on bringing them closer to Christ and God more than just teaching them about our church. That's our whole purpose, because with that knowledge or relationship it will lead to action-which leads to accepting the church. This week we found these two teenagers when we were tracting and at first they didn't let us in. They said, "Thanks for stopping by but we aren't really interested." Then we asked to just come in and have a prayer and blessing upon the home and it worked! When we got in we had a small talk to break the ice then taught them some of the plan of salvation. Brian and Josh, the two teenagers, are so humble and open to hear a message they want us to come back. This week has been another incredible one that's for sure. 

I would have to say the highlight of the week was Thursday. That day we took the traveling assistants to the president out for a day and show them what we were working on. We loaded the day with teaching appointments and less active visits and it was going to be an amazing day. So when the plans actually started working out it really showed me what kind of missionary I could become. The assistants are pretty inspired and know what questions to ask. With that said, we ended up running into a kid named Jordan--actually the first door that we had knocked on and it was coincidence that Jordan had been praying to find something that would help or that could bring him closer to his Heavenly Father and we knocked on the door just after that prayer. First we become their friend and just share from the heart, nothing written down or why we were there, addressing concerns and inserting principles into an average conversation. Jordan is the definition of solid and we ended up leaving him with a Book of Mormon and a commitment to read. 

The Lord continues to bless us missionaries with people to teach. It is amazing! It helps to realize how a lot of the time you have to really be in tune to the Spirit so that you can ask inspiring questions instead of something you said before because it gets robotic and boring. I would like to thank you so much for those of you that are praying for me and my investigators. I can definitely feel those prayers.
That's awesome that your helping the missionaries out with proselyting and teaching. And yes I do agree with you on the blunt question of 'will you follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized' on the first lesson but it sets the expectation and no one is confused or beating around the bush. It's really amazing when you do go though because they see how important it is right off the bat instead of three lessons down the road. 

You are doing a crazy amount of missionary work now! That's exciting! Idk if I am just noticing it more around or what but the work has been increasing everywhere dramatically. It's definitely the sign of the times. Thank you for the package also! It was awesome and fun to follow. Everything was needed and is awesome. Could you thank the young women for sending me a box with a bunch of letters and candy. That was also awesome. Love the support ! 

I gotta go so happy Fourth of July and birthday mother! It's crazy how old we are getting. I will send you pictures every week. It's probably the best thing to do so.

Love ya,

E. Archibald