June 22, 2015

Hello all!

Last week was very busy, so I didn't have much time to write in my journal, therefore this email may be kind of small.

Monday: I downloaded some piano music to learn and got time to play the organ! It's really hard. We also contacted a referral.

Tuesday: My companion (a district leader) was doing exchanges, so I had a different companion in my area! We did a lot of service: weeding and digging holes for trees (I got super burnt on my neck), finishing the patio for the part-member family (see picture), and cleaning up trash in a yard. We then had dinner (spaghetti!). We had a very good lesson that evening with another part-member family and I played some quidditch with the YSA branch! That was super fun!

Finished laying my first patio!

Wednesday: We had a lesson in the morning then had zone training meeting. We talked about extending commitments and a lot about using our iPads safely. We had to do our studies in the afternoon, then went to missionary night in the evening with the YSA branch.

Thursday: Another exchange, but I went to a different area. We went to map out the hike for girls camp, then made a lot of visits to less-active and other members

Friday: I don't really remember what we did in the morning....but in the afternoon we did service! We mowed a non-member's lawn and sprayed it with weed killer. He is pretty much flipping a house, but he is only here on the weekends, so he plans for it to take two or three years to complete. In the evening we had temple cleaning! It was so fun!

Cleaning the Snowflake Temple was so fun!

Saturday: We had a lesson with someone referred to us. Two people we're teaching (brother and sister) had their baptismal interview! Their baptism will be this week. We taught a lesson to a less-active, did some weekly planning, then handed of a investigating family to another set of missionaries. They are a great family and it was sad to hand them off.

Sunday: Meetings and church until 4. We then made visits, planned and discussed the baptism program for the brother and sister with their family, got some great sweet-and-sour chicken from a family, then went to put in numbers at a member's house whose family is super funny and entertaining.

Monday: Today I'm not doing much. We were going to get the Area Book Planner app today (it will be our area book and planner on our iPad), but we won't be getting that until tomorrow. I'll probably go play the piano, catch up on journal writing, and sleep, haha! We went on a 30 minute run this morning...it was rough.

For spiritual thoughts throughout the week: keep working on/strengthening your testimony [of Jesus Christ and His gospel teachings]. To maintain our testimony we must make sure we are praying and reading the scripture daily, because our eternal success is based upon our small habits (i.e. praying and studying the scriptures). As we do so we will learn his teachings and find direction for our lives. If we remember the Lord through life's trials, it will be easier to push through them!

I hope you all are doing well! I love you and miss you all!

-Elder Morgan