Facebook Madness!

This week we spent pretty much the whole week getting our zone Facebook page up and running.  It has been insane.  We probably have spent 5ish hours this week on the phone with the Assistants to the Mission President figuring things out.  We are hoping this week to have a video of the whole zone reciting parts of the Living Christ.  It's going to be super cool. 

Yesterday we went to Lansing to get a picture for the Facebook page, but we weren't able to because of bad weather.  We ended up going and picking up some Jimmy Johns!  And on the way there were just two ducks sitting in the parking lot of downtown lansing.  So that is why I tagged a picture of ducks!

So we have started doing something kind of fun with the Elders in our zone.  A lot of them don't have a lot of teaching appointments so we have scheduled half-hour teaching visits with them all.  We have written down who we are acting as for each companionship and it's a lot of fun!  It's something different that makes it so missionaries have something to look forward to!

We were finally able to have a lesson with Erin this week!  We have had several text message conversations with her, but we just haven't been able to have one over video.  On Thursday we were able to.  We invited our Bishop to join and we had an awesome lesson.  He was able to connect to her really well!  She expressed an interest in coming closer to God so we are hoping the Book of Mormon helps out with that!

Pictures
-Ducks in downtown Lansing
-By the capitol building!

Isolation!

Last P-day we were playing basketball. I may have been winning 6-4 and poor Elder Davis Rolled his ankle.  Because of that, we couldn't really go for any walks for a couple of days while he was recovering.  One day I said we were going for a drive and I saw a green patch on the GPS.  So we went there.  It ended up being a graveyard of another faith.  It was actually super cool they had gravestones that the death date dated back to the 1800s.  The coolest part was the memoir to Jesus Christ at the very end [of the cemetery] to Jesus Christ hanging on the cross.  I was so shocked to learn that they didn't recognize the suffering Christ did in the garden of Gethsemane or the Resurrection.  Those two things are so incredibly significant to the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  It made me grateful to know that in the Garden of Gethsemane that Christ felt all my sorrows and on the third day he rose from the grave so I can also rise from the grave!

Wednesday morning we decided to make a "stop motion" video.  Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into!  We ended up only being able to finish up the storyline and making a stand for our phone.  The next day we were able to figure out exactly what animations we wanted to make. Friday we were drawing and taking pictures for about 5 hours,  But hey, we were able to finish all the pictures and we are hoping to be done with them tomorrow!

On Saturday night we were calling through our Area Book and we hadn't had much success, but we decided to make one more call before 9 o'clock came. Our new friend Erica answered and we were able to have a very powerful lesson on the Atonement!  It has amazed me even though we have been stuck in the apartment!

Pictures
-Working on our stop motion video
-The sunrise
-Out for a walk

I Think Week Three of Isolation? (Actually 4 Weeks!)

Although we were in isolation we have been able to see some amazing miracles!  On Thursday night we were calling through our Area Book and we must have been doing it for 2 hours when we called Amari.  She answered and it was a super bad approach, but when we asked if she would like to hear a message she said yes!  So we had a lesson on the restoration right then and there on the phone!  She loved it and we have continued to text her videos and scriptures and she responds in 5 minutes!  That never happens.  It was amazing! 

We also got an awesome referral for a lady by the name of Erin.  We have been trying to get in contact with her for a while, but the other day she texted us out of the blue asking how we were doing.  We were able to have a short conversation over text messaging. Ever since then when we text her scriptures and videos she is always excited to read/watch them.  She even replies and tells us what she thinks of them!  Even though we are in isolation miracles are still happening!

Another awesome miracle we saw this week we were going through groups here in Lansing and we found a bible study group.  One of the people in the group asked why there are so many bad things happening in this world because of Adam and Eve.  We were able to send him 2 Nephi 2:22-25 and he said that it answered his question!

Pictures
-Elder Davis and I (if you're wondering why our hair is long it is because all the barbershops are closed😁)

I'm alive!

We had a good week and I'm alive.   Here's a picture of Elder Davis and me and our steak dinner!

Week 2 Of Isolation

NOTE:  This is last week's e-mail (Mar 30) that didn't get sent, so you get two e-mails this week!


This week was wild.  We had transfers and my new companion is Elder Davis.  It was crazy how they did transfers.  They had every single person who was getting transferred drive to the Lansing stake center.  We were instructed not to leave our cars.  They came one by one and transferred us.  We got to the church at 7:00 and we didn't get home until about 10:30 it was a wild time.  We have been doing lots of online proselyting and making videos, calling through our area book, lessons with members, and everything else you can think of. 

Because we're in Lansing we have been the local hotel for missionaries going home.  We have had 3 different missionaries spend the night in our apartment this week. 

On Sunday we had so many meetings that we ended up being on conference calls for about 7 hours.  Needless to say we had to charge our phones multiple times that day. 

I want to share my testimony of prayer.  Earlier this week by some crazy accident the glass that covers the camera on my phone shattered.  I called the phone repair store and the guy told me to check to see if the camera still focused.  I did and it wasn't focusing.  I decided to say a prayer.  Later that night I tried it again and it was focusing.  I was so relieved because it would have been more expensive to fix the phone than the phone was worth.  It may have been a small problem, but God is aware of us and is always willing to answer our prayers.  Now it may not always be in our timing, but God will answer it when we are ready for it and when it will be best for us!

pictures
-Out on a walk with Elder Davis, and Elder Astle.