Week 12 - Richland, Washington

We had a longer week this week because of Labor Day,(preparation day was moved to Tuesday due to the holiday) which makes the weeks feel a little weird. Our preparation day was moved so that we would be able to talk to more families during the holiday weekend. 

Other than that the week was pretty normal. The family history centers were closed this week so we were not able to do very much family history work during the hours of 1-4 instead we went to the mission office and help out there for some of that time and we also cleaned a lot. Our basement is probably the cleanest it has ever!

We had a lot of meetings this week. which took up a lot of time - but they are fun to go to. This week we had Zone Council and District Council and both of them focused on having number goals to make the missionaries more accountable to their leaders for the work that they are doing in their areas. I really like this because I think it will make me more motivated to work the hardest I can. 

We also had exchanges this week, which was really nice because I was with a missionary that could work for the full day. We had a ton of success working the full day as well. We had quite a few people who said that they would like us to come back and share a message with them and their families and we found one guy that wants us to help him with family history work - it is cool to see that people are interested in the things that we are learning. We had another fireside this week and we had a nonmember show up so that was nice. We talked about the Book of Mormon and the Bible and compared them and shared how they help support each other. 

In other news: This week I also made a tie, which turned out pretty well! 

That was about all that happened during the week. Other than the little fact that he has been dealing with a medical issue.  He just told us that a few weeks ago he had a ruptured cyst that he went to the Urgent Care for and was put on a course of antibiotics.  He said, "I must have forgotten to mention that ...".  Yes, he did!  It has not improved and after a second Urgent Care visit he was told it is a Pilonidol Cyst that must be surgically removed in order to heal.  Afer consulting with the Mission President and other powers that be ... it has been decided that he will be come home for surgery + recovery - 4 weeks or so - and then go back out to serve.

Spiritual thought:

 33 And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then  cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.

I like this scripture because it it pretty plain in saying that we need to be continually repenting because we are not perfect.  We are always making mistakes but through the atonement we can be forgiven of those mistakes and we don't have to worry about carrying around those sins anymore.

- Elder Sugden

I also got a letter from him thanking me for the packages of cookies, ties and notes.  Before he left he said he didn't need packages, that he would make his own cookies!  I can't help myself, so I still sent stuff ... but he's come a long way in 3 months :)  He added that he thought I'd like to know that, "The other Elders in my zone are jealous because of how awesome my mom is and how she sends me a lot of packages."  

Week 11 - Richland, Washington

This week was a little shorter than usual and that kind of threw me off, but that is all right. (from having a temple day last week)   Elder Aydelottle was feeling a little better so we had more of an opportunity to work … but we had little success in the things that we tried to do.   Eventually we will be more successful.

We had stake conference this week, which was really cool.  All of the speakers did a great job in preparing their talks and the spirit was super strong at the meeting.

We have had the opportunity to introduce people to family history and offer to help them learn more about it - it is cool to see the excitement they have about learning more about their ancestors and we are excited to see that people are interested in the things that we are trying to do to help them come closer to the gospel. I was able to do some family history work on my own and it is cool finding people that you are related to and adding them to your family tree and I can not wait to help the people in this area find their own ancestors and get them excited about the gospel.

This week we finished making our Jesus wall and we are pretty proud of that!  It took about all of our old ensigns to do it but that is all right.

Since we are inside for extra time everyday I have made it a goal to finish the Book of Mormon this transfer and so far it is going pretty well. I am about half way through the Book of Mormon already and will probably finish it soon.

The members in this area are still great!  They feed us great meals and we are very thankful for them and their willingness to support us and the work that we are trying to accomplish in the area.

We had another lesson with some of our investigators this week and we were able to teach them about chastity, tithing and prayer.   They are already doing the things that we taught them so that makes it easier for us, which is nice.  We are really glad that they are willing to do the things that will bring them closer to the gospel.

Spiritual Message:

This week I want to share part of a talk from Gordon B. Hinckley 

Increased faith is what we most need. 

Without it, the work would stagnate. 

With it, no one can stop its progress.

As we go through trials in our life ... we should try to remember that we are never given something we are not able to handle so the trick is to try and figure out what we can learn from the things that we are going through so we can build that faith in Christ so that our testimonies will never be shaken.

Love,

Elder Sugden

 Mail

Dinner

Week 10 - Richland, Washington

Elder Aydelotte and Elder Sugden

Men in Blue

This week has felt really long but that is probably because we had a couple of extra days because our preparation day was moved to Wednesday because we had a missionary temple trip.  The temple was great and we were able to go through for some people that Elder Aydelotte found while we were doing genealogy work - so that was really neat. We have been told to stay in during the hours of 12 to 4 so we have been doing genealogy work during this time and it was nice to find people that we could take to the temple. We are hoping to be able to teach our investigators how to do genealogy work and get them interested in the church that way.  I got to see the Elders and Sisters that I came out with this week and it was really neat to catch up with them and to see how they are doing and just talk with them.

We had to stay in a couple of days at the end of last week because Elder Aydelotte had some really bad headaches so I was able to do a lot of Book of Mormon reading which was good and the area we live in is the cleanest I think it has ever been he has been deep cleaning each area during their down time - I bet he never thought he'd do that to pass time :) but I get really bored just sitting in the basement with nothing to do, but it will get better hopefully. It's been pretty hot up there (high 90's and 100's) and they have had smoke from some fires in the area - Ben says he is doing fine drinking gatorade, but his companion has been getting migraines and that is why their schedule has been modified.  This week we also made a Jesus wall with pictures of Christ that we found in old copies of the Ensigns and we think that it looks pretty awesome but that is just our opinion. He's been pretty crafty so far on his mission - it must run deep in his blood!

One of our ward members had a pancake breakfast and invited all of their neighbors over.  It was awesome for us because they invited us and had us cooking all of the pancakes so we talked to everyone that came and they were all super nice to us - so hopefully they are more receptive when we talk to them next time. It’s just nice that the ward members are willing to help us with our missionary work.

This week I got a few messages from some of the families he has had dinner with - Bonus messages!  One was worried that he wasn't eating enough, but he said she just prepares tons of food and he is eating fine. So thankful for the members taking care of him up there!

picture sent to us by a member

We had another fireside on Sunday and we were able to share a good message with a less active member and help a missionary who was leaving this week prepare a little for what it is like to be a missionary. We are glad that we are having success with the firesides.

We haven't gotten any new investigators this week but we did have the chance to help an investigator from another ward move in so we are hoping to continue her teaching. This week we ran into a couple of anti-mormon people and it is so funny when they start talking they always contradict themselves and the spirit is never there when they are talking. These two things have really helped my testimony grow because it just reaffirms that our church is the only true church - which is so nice to know.

We had a little photo shoot before we went to the temple so there are going to be a lot of pictures this week which I am sure will make my mom really happy.  Yes it does!

Spritual Thought:

1 Nephi 29:10

“Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need you suppose that I have not caused more to be written.”

I really like this verse of the Book of Mormon because a lot of the people we talk to don't understand that we believe in the Bible and the Book of Mormon … and that we need the Book of Mormon to help clarify the things that are found in 

the Bible not replace them completely. 

Thanks for the letters and packages!

Love,

Elder Sugden

A few extra pictures:

a little cooking ... cute apron from the Krause Family!

Week 9 - Richland, Washington

This week was a little more normal than past weeks so that was nice.

We had to drop one of our investigators because he printed us up some anti-Mormon material and just wanted to argue those points with us. We left on good terms though - he said we could stop by for water if we needed to so that was nice.

We also had a follow-up exchanges this week so I had another day with Elder Routabush. We stayed in my area so I got to take control of the area which is always fun. He is about to end his mission and he is getting pretty excited about that!

We have been dropping by a lot of our potentials this week and none of those have lead to anything, so that was a little disappointing. Now we get to try and find new people – and that will be fine.

On Wednesday we had District Leader Council and that was good. We talked about having missionary discussions with people during dinner so that we keep the discussion related to the gospel and not on ourselves. One of the things that we do for that is help families make a family mission plan. We encourage them to pray about someone they think could use the gospel and we help them figure out ways to share it with them.

Later in the week we had a lesson with one of our potentials and we are working on bringing the spirit to the lessons because right now she just wants to know things for informational purposes.  We are trying to change that. She is super nice, and takes care of her 96 year old mother. She is awesome!

On Friday we found out that we will be tri-panioning (Love these mission words) with another missionary on Monday and Tuesday in between transfers - so we had to set up our apartment to fit 3 missionaries.

Church was good this week. We got invited to one of the member’s farewell this week so we went there and gave him some advice and a ugly tie so that he could have one for the mission field.

We got our transfer calls and I will be staying here with Elder Aydellote. I'm looking forward to getting to know new people and working with the same members in this area. 

Spiritual Thought:

1 Nephi 19 

16 Yea, then will he remember the isles of the sea; yea, and all the people who are of the house of Israel, will I gather in, saith the Lord, according to the words of the prophet Zenos, from the four quarters of the earth.

17 Yea, and all the earth shall see the salvation of the Lord,saith the prophet; every nation, kindred, tongue and people shall be blessed.

I read this in the Book of Mormon while I was studying the other day and I really liked it because it lets everyone know that no matter where you live or who you are that everyone will be blessed and that everyone should be looking for those blessings in their own life.

Love,

Elder Sugden

>>In our email exchanges, Ben sounds like he is doing well, going with the flow and keeping a positive outlook.  The members there are really good to the missionaries - feeding them meals and dropping off treats for them.  That makes my mom heart happy!  He has also requested that we send all of the ties he didn't bring ... he's a little obsessed with having different ties.  I guess if that's the only thing you can do to change up your outfit from day to day then it's understandable :) 

Treats from nice ward members

...another homemade planner cover

Week 8 - Richland, Washington

Elder Sugden and the blue glasses, again!

This week went pretty well. We are having a lot of success and it’s so nice to see how hard work is paying off.

This week we had 4 different lessons and its awesome that we have the chance to teach people the gospel and help them understand that this is the true church. This week we also had the chance to take one of our investigators on a church/temple tour.  It was such an awesome experience and she really liked the things that we shared with her. One of the things that she really likes is the organization of the church and that no one gets paid for their efforts.

This week was a little crazy in the sense that Elder Aydelotte had a bunch of meetings that he had to go to, so I was left in charge of the area while he was gone. We also had exchanges with the zone leaders and we had a mini missionary come out with us for 2 days. So this week had a lot of moving parts and just stuff like that.

Elder Sugden, mini missionary & Elder Aydelotte

We found a couple of people this week that just let us into their houses and just wanted to know more about the gospel and it was cool to have the opportunity to help them learn more about what we believe in. We had another one of our firesides this week and while no less actives or investigators came it was still a good opportunity to teach the members of the ward.  The teachers quorum came and we had the chance to answer some of their questions and talk with them about things that are nice to know before you go on your mission.

We also had Zone Leader Council this week and they talked about the different languages of love. I thought of when my mom tried to talk to me about those and I thought it was funny how they have followed me to the mission field. [nice to know he was sort of listening to all my life lessons ;)]

Transfers are coming soon and its crazy to think that I have almost made it through my first transfer. It feels like it was just yesterday that I got out into the mission field and I can not believe how fast the days go by - I thought they would feel like really long days - but its is the exact opposite of what I was expecting.

Something that my companion and I did this week ... because why not, is we both shaved our legs ... so that was interesting. It makes my scars on my knee look better, so that is cool, I guess. [I will have to ask about WHY they thought this was a good idea! and I will spare you all the picture! you're welcome :)]  We also captured a spider and are trying to decide what to do with it [umm...smash it!] and that is pretty much all that happened this week. [I guess you get creative with your down time when options are limited]

Spiritual thought:

This week I want to share part of a talk from Dallin H. Oaks the title is "What Think Ye of Christ"

The Apostle Paul wrote that we should “work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philip. 2:12.) Could that familiar expression mean that the sum total of our own righteousness will win us salvation and exaltation? Could some of us believe that our heavenly parentage and our divine destiny allow us to pass through mortality and attain eternal life solely on our own merits?

On the basis of what I have heard, I believe that some of us, some of the time, say things that can create that impression. We can forget that keeping the commandments, which is necessary, is not sufficient. As Nephi said, we must labor diligently to persuade everyone “to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” (2 Ne. 25:23.)

As a missionary this really stuck with me because in our area the members help us so much in our missionary effort. Our area is not the biggest and everyone knows who the missionaries are and it is so helpful when the members invite their friends over because it helps gain the trust of those people and they are more likely to listen to the things that we talk about.

I hope that you will look for friends to share your beliefs with as Elder Oaks talked about.

Love,

Elder Sugden

Week 7 - Richland, Washington

This week has been has been really crazy but in a good way!

It started on Monday when a family had us over for dinner and they brought 4 of their non-member friends.  We were able to teach them a little lesson at the end and then open it up for discussion which was really cool because even the non-members felt comfortable sharing some of the ways that they have seen Christ in their own lives and we were able to relate that to how Christ helps everyone in their lives.

The next day we were able to meet with one of our “potentials” that we found while walking around.  We had a lesson with him and he was open to the things that we taught.  He said that he wants to come to church with us some time and then he told us we could come back some time this week to have another lesson.

On Wednesday another one of our “potentials” said we could stop by and share a message with him so we went to his house but he was not there but … on the way there we met a guy who was shooting squirrels with a pellet gun and he invited us in.  We were able to teach him a lesson and he had a lot of questions about the Godhead, we were able to talk about his concerns and had a really good discussion about the church and we set up a time for another lesson - so that was good.

The next day we had a member ask some people he knew if they wanted to take the missionary discussions at his house and they said yes!  So we went over there and taught them a really good lesson. At the end of the lesson we asked them if they would like to get baptized and they said that they would … so they will hopefully be baptized in a month or so.

So those four days where pretty crazy and it was cool to see how hard work and patience pays off. 

The next day was less exciting we just did our weekly planning and some street contacting and later that night we were able to help a member move one of his non-member friends.  

On Saturday my companion was sick so we stayed inside the whole day. We watched all of the church videos and just about anything else we could to pass time. I did a lot of personal study and worked on a talk that I thought I would be giving. 

Sunday is the only day that stays fairly similar week to week so nothing too exciting happened and they told me I did not have to give the talk that I had prepared. We also had our first fireside in the other ward we cover.  At these firesides they show a “Mormon Message” video and share some scriptures and just talk with the people that come. It was really cool because we had a less active member come to church for the first time in a while and someone in the ward invited her to come to the fireside.  She actually came, and we where able to help her see that she would still be accepted in the church even if she had not been for a while. 

Another thing we had to deal with this week unrelated to missionary work was my companion washed all of his white shirts with a blue pen so we spent most of Monday finding shirts that he could use for the rest of his mission. We also had interviews with the mission president this week and that was cool.  The mission president’s main message to Ben was to keep working hard and learn all he could from his companion.

Spiritual thought: 

“and more over, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God.  For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never ending happiness.  O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.”

In church we talked about how to be a disciple of Christ and this scripture came to mind … because not only can we look upon others that keep the commandments but we can also think back on the times when we ourselves have kept the commandments and blessings that we saw in our own lives.  Something I think needs to be remembered when talking about this is that we get blessings for trying to follow the commandments. We will not be perfect – the Atonement makes up for that - but as long as we are trying to follow the commandments we will be blessed for our effort.

Keep trying!

Love,

Elder Sugden

Blue Suit Trio

Elder Sugden and his soccer ball!

A member gave us a giant zucchini!

Week 6 - Richland, Washington

Zone Conference

Another week as a missionary is done. This week, again, was pretty similar to last week in the sense that we are still doing a lot of finding but we are getting so close to finding an investigator and hopefully it will happen next week. During this week we talked with a lot of different people, which was nice. There were even a couple of them who seemed like they liked talking to us! He told Sam that there are a ton of people playing Pokemon Go and they try to talk with them.  He said the Pokemon Go players spend a lot of time around the church and the temple because they are both gyms, or something like that.  We found someone who said we could come back sometime this week anytime after 5, so we are hoping that he likes the message that we share with him and that he will hopefully be our first investigator. We meet a couple of people in a park yesterday that were playing soccer with their family and we talked to the two moms who were just watching and they were super nice. One of the ladies broke her arm while she was playing soccer a couple of weeks ago and we gave her a phone number and told her to call us if she needed help around her house and we are hoping that we can do some service for her to help her out. We also met a really nice lady who asked for our number first incase she needed it for service or to help with her mother-in-law that lives across the street because the mother in law has some memory problems and she will leave the house and just wander around and not know how to get back to the house. If we can help that may get us in the door - but we will see where it goes.

The members in this area are great!  He is in the Temple Meadows and Badger Mountain Wards. They feed us really good food, which is really nice. They also try really hard to find people to invite to the ward parties and stuff like that. I think a lot of them have a hard time talking about the gospel to there closer friends, so we are trying to give them ideas during the dinner we have with them, so they can feel more comfortable talking with other people about the gospel. This week we also talked with a lot of part member families.  We have found a couple of service opportunities that will hopefully allow the member’s of their wards opportunities for contact with them as well.

I had another exchange this time I went out with Elder Hatch. We worked really hard, again, for this transfer, which was nice. I think we were able to accomplish a lot. We found a dog that had gotten out of a back yard and we were able to find where it came from and return it - so that was cool. We spent time at a place we call the ARK.  It is a place where people with special needs come to do activities. We spent 3 hours there making ice cream in a bag, doing yoga and coloring with them. It was an awesome experience.

We are seeing the area start to progress from the hard work and are hoping that we see some more of that this week. 

Spiritual thought:

This week I read a talk from Gordon B. Hinckley that I really liked. It was called "The Times In Which We Live" and the part that really stuck out to me was this: 

Our safety lies in repentance. Our strength comes of obedience to the commandments of God. Let us be prayerful. Let us pray for righteousness. Let us pray for the forces of good. Let us reach out to help men and women of goodwill, whatever their religious persuasion and wherever they live. Let us stand firm against evil, both at home and abroad. Let us live worthy of the blessings of heaven, reforming our lives where necessary and looking to Him, the Father of us all. He has said, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10).

This talk was given right after 9/11 but I think it still applies today. Bad things are still happening all around us but we need to look past that as members of the church. We need to see the potential that people have and try to get them to reach it! That is why I am out here as a missionary. When we are walking around we can look at them for the people they are right now or we can try to see them in a way that we can reach out and try to help them gain a knowledge of the church, and help them grow spiritually and reach their potential.  

Love,

Elder Sugden

Morning Study Time