Lynn baptism set back, Elder Mohler and Minion hats

Hey!

 

Holy moly!

The week has been incredible! We were supposed to have a baptismal service for Lynn Barnett but some stuff happened and got pushed back a week. What I mean by stuff is that her family didn't know about the baptism and they couldn't make it here soon enough. So we are having a ton of her family here in town for the baptism. It's going to be a great day. Teaching Lynn has been a privilege. She knew it was true right from the beginning. They must be from the tribe of Ephraim. She is so open to the gospel and change. When we asked her to live the Word of Wisdom she got right up off of her couch and dumped out her tub of coffee. She has been drinking coffee for over 30 years and just stopped cold turkey! Lynn is incredible!

 

I had the opportunity to train the district this last week and it went pretty well! I trained on the approach we take when talking with people on the streets or at doors. It's pretty crazy how many things you have to do to get a really good conversation rolling. To get both parties fully interested and interacting in the ‘convo’ is hard to do sometimes with the gospel. And that's why we have trainings. I love this opportunity to serve not only the people in the ward but the other missionaries around me. 

 

As for the seminary part, I will send a letter to you in the mail just because that's cooler. That's too bad that your getting released mother! At least now you can pick up early morning swimming and some mid afternoon racquetball to train for some more Olympics! Seriously it would be so much fun. Time flies and your chances are ticking away. That's what I've learned. The time we have to achieve. Our dreams or goals is short and if we don't start now it might now put get done. 

 

Training Elder Mohler had been great! We are getting along a lot better now. The first two to three weeks with every new companion is kinda rough and then you get into the flow of things and it goes great. We are tearing it up here in Columbia heights and love it. A lot of the pictures we take are with Fred Swink. He is by far the coolest member I've met on my mission.

Training new missionay Elder Mohler, teaching seminary

Hey! 

Sorry this week's letter is going to be a little shorter than usual. We have been really busy.

It was an incredible week all together though. We had the opportunity to find, teach and this week baptize! Lynn Barnett is planning on being baptized this Friday and it's going to be incredible. She has come a long way and believe it or not we tracted into her about 2 months ago. Lynn is from Alabama and she has an awesome personality. The mission brings a lot of different experiences and feelings into motion. It's pretty cool to see all the different life styles and how the gospel can bless them in their own way. 

Me, Fred and Elder Mohler

First week of training a new missionary has been great and will continue to do so. We actually had the chance to teach early- early morning seminary yesterday morning. It was at 6:10. These kids are wild but then again they were half awake as we taught the restoration up until the First Vision; the climactic part that wrecks people with the Spirit. Haha it was awesome. This week I will have the chance to train missionaries and go to the temple. It's gonna be a great week! Here's an awesome quote to spice things up a bit. 

"The nature of God is a circle 

of which the center is everywhere 

and the circumference is nowhere." 

 

We love Ghetto Ice Cream Trucks

Losing Weight ---STRANGE

District Leader and Adversity Quote

Hey family!
This last week has been incredible! On Wednesday we had transfer
meeting and I received my new companion. I am training Elder Mohler.
He is a stud and he is going to be a great missionary after these next
two transfers. The reason I say that is because this ward and the area
are incredible! We have the opportunity to work closely with the
members everyday as we go to lessons and testify of the truthfulness
of our message.

Tonight we actually had this sweet experience. Today was p-day so we
weren't able to go proselyting until later but it was an awesome p day
leading up to a more exciting night. So to start our night off with
tracking. The first three doors were kind of rough with no one
interested. So we walk up the to fourth door and low a behold we have
someone who actually will listen to what we have to say. We ended up
teaching him the restoration and applying the message so well to what
he needed. As we were wrapping everything up we extended the baptismal
date for the 4th of August. He accepted! It's truly incredible to feel
and share the powerful message of the restoration on doorsteps. And to
feel that Spirit anywhere and everywhere is also incredible. It has
really opened my eyes to the way we think and perceive things. Its
amazing when we can teach someone when there is something hectic going
on in the background and still feel the Spirit as strong as ever.
There are definitely those times where it's a little different but
that's why God gave us adversity. It makes us work harder for those
moments and appreciate them more when they come. I read this sweet
excerpt on adversity today it reads;

"Adversity is a reality of life. Without adversity we could not
understand or appreciate joy and contrast to sorrow, righteousness in
contrast to wickedness. Often, the problem is not so much the
situation itself but rather our attitude toward the situation and the
events and relationships around us. Howe view the situation is the key
to dealing with adversity. Perceiving things from a higher perspective
invariably leads to greater understanding and frequently to the
discovery of effective solutions." Also ( 2 Nephi 2:11)

I love the mission and the opportunities that I have had out here.
It's truly changed the way I perceive things and will continue to do
so as I continue on. God truly does live and he does know each and
every one of us and does watch over us. He makes that known every
single day! We aren't looking hard enough. My challenge to you is to
pray to witness God's hand in your life daily.
Is he really there?
Find
out for yourself.
He's waiting!
Love,
E. Archibald

Growing through our trials and District Leader

Hey family!

This last week has been an incredible one! It really has showed me
that I can do hard things. Throughout all of it I've really come to
understand the importance and power of prayer. It's really incredible
to teach investigators this and see them really witness it for
themselves.

We went and saw a recent convert last night that had been
sick for the past few weeks and she asked us for a blessing. I was
picked to do the initial blessing after the anointing. As I laid my
hand upon her head and started to speak I could feel the spirit so
strongly and I comforted and aided her with her afflictions. But there
is more to the story. I've recently been asking to be more charitable
and thoughtful to our investigators and the people we
administer to. This blessing was a clear answer to that prayer.

So on Wednesday this week my companion and I went to a leadership
meeting. You may ask why? I have been called to be a district leader
for a few missionaries. It's going to be great but there is more. I've
also been called to train a new missionary! It's going to be great!
It's going to be a little different at first but I'm sure he will do
good. I actually don't know who it is yet but I will find out on
Wednesday.

God does not want us to be comfortable. He wants us to continually
grow and make ourselves better and if we aren't then God is going to
change that. That's why he sends us trials, and gives us callings.
With the knowledge of this it brings peace and comfort to us as we
face our trials and take on these callings. It's because we know that
we don't have to face it on our own. We can be inspired and aided not
only by others but by our Savior. Where we fall short, H
know this to be true.

Shoutout to Travis! Have fun up in Washington or Oregon! It's such a
sweet place. If you go to Oregon be prepared to say. Hmmm interesting.
Haha have fun!

The pictures are pretty recent. And there will be more of elder Kelly
and I and then the new companion. Miss you!
E. Archibald

e fills in. I

Chris Campos and Lynn (Great Chemisty)

Hey!

This last week we had a baptism for Chris Campos! He is nine and about as smart as a 13 year old. That is true most of the time. I say most of the time because we have to bribe him with candy bars if he gets the questions right. He seems to answer every one of them at that point.

This last week we ended up seeing Lynn four times. She is a new investigator from last week. I'm sure I mentioned it in my last letter but I will recap just in case. She is from Alabama and was a chemistry teacher. She has been so prepared and we happened to tract into her last Saturday. We met with her on Tuesday and committed her to be baptized on the 13th of September. She already knows the Book of Mormon to be true and the church to be true as well. Where has this woman been and why is she not baptized already. We call her a platinum gator! We ended up leaving her with a commitment to have a church tour on Thursday, attend a baptism Saturday, and the confirmation on Sunday. She is seriously incredible and I do not know what to do. Just teach her and work towards baptism. Usually there is a huge concern but she is already past all of those. As far as we know haha. 

This week I've learned a lot about the word CHANGE. It's an awesome word isn't it. The opportunity to alter the outcome of our actions by changing something we do or think about. As we change to become like our Heavenly Father our thoughts change. They change from negative to positive or from a little positive to something higher than that! I've seen this multiple times as I have gone out and proselyted amongst everyone. It's an incredible process! 

I thank all of you for your support and love!

E. Archibald

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