Week Forty

It's been quite a busy week! Since Elder Stegeman got transferred we got to go drive down to Manchester on Thursday. It was a great time, but I forgot to take pictures with the homies there. Saying goodbye to companions is always kinda sad, but starting new adventures if fun. 

Anyways, my new comp Elder Butikofer is pretty cool. He just came from Lamoille Vermont, so he's already used to a more rural area. So he wasn't too shocked when we pulled into our town.

The thing that made this week real busy was the transfers. We went around and said goodbye to all of the members and investigators we had, so that took a little while. There are some really awesome people out here. Since the branch is so small they get really attached to the missionaries, so they get really sad when you leave. We stayed with Randolph on Wednesday night, it was a great last night with the legendary district. I'll miss Elder Staley and Elder Stegeman. 

Oh yeah and this past Thursday I hit my 9 month mark. So that's crazy. Time is going by realllly fast! It was weird seeing one of the sisters I knew pretty well go home. I was sitting there thinking, and then I realized that they were at the same point I am right now when I first met them!😂

We gave one of our investigators a priesthood blessing this past week for a test he had the next day. He said when we first put our hands on his head he thought it was weird. Then he said he just went with it and tried to feel God. Then he said he felt this wave of peace run from his head down to his feet. He was able to sleep that night and he wasn't expecting to. So that was pretty awesome. 

I guess I can say I'm thankful for the Dare program they put you through in elementary school. Also don't trust a hillbilly wearing full camo. Btw my kids are doing good! They just barely got new cousins as well. 

Have a good week! 

At transfer day.

My old district and my wrap.

Me.

My old zone on a p day.

One Year Ago

One year ago I opened a letter that changed my life in ways I couldn't imagine. I couldn't imagine all of the people who have let me into their homes to share a message that is life changing. I couldn't imagine the love that people could have for some random 19 year old kid from across the country. I couldn't imagine actually wearing a white shirt and tie everyday for this long, but here I am, and I love it. I am grateful for this call to serve, and I LOVE the people of New England!

Week Thirty Nine

We got transfer Calls yesterday and I get to stay in Colebrook! Elder Stegeman is leaving though. I'll be getting Elder Butikofer, I served around him my very first transfer in Rockland, so it should be a good time. 

I guess the most interesting thing that happened this week was an exchange in Laconia. That was a good time. We were visiting a lot of less actives, and a few investigators. One of their investigators has a sheep farm, so we went and had some fun with them. Unfortunately I didn't get to hold a baby sheep :(

This week we were out walking around Groveton, and we bumped into another lady who had gone less active after moving here. She was pretty awesome! So we set up an appointment to visit her, and her daughter. She wasn't even listed on our records so it was a blessing that we were even able to bump into her!

Also the past few days the weather has finally warmed up! We got into the high fifties for the first time since February! So that is exciting for the work! It's a blessing to finally have warmer weather, because it brings out a ton of people we don't usually see out normally.

Anyways I know this next transfer in Colebrook is gonna be awesome! I'm glad to say I have found a few of the people I know I was sent here for. It makes me happy to realize that God does have a reason for everything. Have a good week everybody! 

Some of our sheep homies.

This is a mural about the North Country.

The snow from earlier this week.

We had a fire a few nights ago.

We ate outside.

We ate inside this building.  It was eh.

Week Thirty Eight

Holy cow it was a crazy fun week. I don't even know where to start. I guess I'll start off with some surprising news. I was expecting only 1 baby goat, but now I have TWINS! So that's awesome. Of course I named one M Russell Baaallard, and the other I named Gordon Baah Hinckley. They'll be great additions to the family.

I'd like everyone here to know that miracles are still alive and well. I have not only felt the hand of God when holding my two kids, but this week I've been trying literally everything people will give to me. So you already know I had fear in my eyes when the Elders in my district pulled out a big container of nuts. If any of you know me, you know that I HATE nuts. I go to the point of telling people I'm allergic to peanut butter just so I don't have to eat any. But I decided to be brave. And I just gotta say one thing. WHY DIDN'T Y'ALL TELL ME PISTACHIOS WERE SO GOOD? Like I was genuinely surprised when I ate one. Those things don't taste anything like what they look like. And yes I ate some peanuts.

So besides holding more chickens, kitties, puppies, and other random animals, we have been teaching people. This week we were out teaching with our Branch President, and we got to our final stop. This final stop is his sister, she is not a member.  We will usually read with her, but this week we planned on having one of her friends over. Very tragic backstory with him. He's been married for over 50 years, and his wife got Parkinsons and dementia. Now she's in assisted living, and doesn't even recognize him. He still visits her each day. Anyways we decided we'd teach the Restoration, because he said he's always known Mormons, and they were always good news, and he wanted to know what's up. It was the most powerful restoration lesson I've taught on my mission. He was asking sincere questions, and trying to figure out how it applies to him. When we began teaching the Book of Mormon, our branch president gave one of the most powerful witnesses that it was true. Everything was going great, until he asked "So do I get one of these books!?" That's when we realized we forgot it in the car......., back at the branch presidents house. So we finished up the lesson, and he prayed for us, and we went and got a copy of the Book of Mormon. When we returned to the house, we knocked on the door and he answered. We exchanged a few words, and I told him how important the book was, and what it mean to me, and gave it to him. He took it, and with a gleam in his eyes from the tears he said "I think this might be what I've been looking for my entire life." We shook his hand and went back to the car to see the branch president crying tears of joy. I think we may have found the key to his sister. I don't know if you've ever walked through humidity. We had the same kinda deal. The Spirit was so strong you could literally feel it in the air. It was crazy powerful, and I will never forget that moment.

We went on exchanges this week with the Randolph Elders, and blitzed the area (both sets of Elders in the same area). Usually you'll have one set that has a little more teaching, and one that does a little more finding. I was put with the finding companionship. Elder Staley and I found a lot of people. One of my favorites was an old lady who was almost all blind. She was walking her cat. The cats name was Joey. He was pretty awesome. But she was amazing. I gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon and asked if she would be able to read it even though she was basically blind. To my surprise she said yes.

Anyways I hope you all were able to have a good week. Byeeeeeeee.

The twins, M Russell Baaaallard and Gordon Baah Hinckley,

 at only 3 hours old, with their proud Papa.

This one is M Russel Baaaallard

With some of my chicken friends.

Cutest little puppy.

Dank food at a members house.

(dank = really good)

Scenery pictures.

Week Thirty Seven

Man this week I felt like Steve Irwin out here. I swear it was like I was on a safari everywhere I went. I chased geese around. They're angry right now because it's like mating season so they're acting tough, they didn't want to be held though. Caught a duck, and a few chickens and held kitties. They were cute lil guys. The deer out here are getting brave too. I got down and started making that noise you make with your tongue to call dogs, and waved one over, and one of them actually started coming towards me😂 It was all fun and games until he saw Elder Steggy and decided it wasn't worth it and ran back to all his other deer brethren.

Besides that it was a great week. We started it off with a fun zone conference. I got to play with some Legos. We learned how to work with members. It was great and all, and I was excited to start involving them more. Then I realized we already involve our members a lot. They definitely get their fair share of missionary work up here in Colebrook. All 25 of them.

We found a lot of cool people this week. There are a lot of people out here that are recovering heroin addicts. They tell some of the best stories ever. A lot of them speak about how they stopped, and it usually involves a miracle. One of my favorite ones was from a man who was living the street life out in Boston. Then his girlfriend gave birth to his first daughter, and he told us the second he heard his newborn take her first breath and cry, he changed. He dropped it all, and knew that he had to take a different direction in life. 

It's crazy how 1 second changed his life. It made me think of all the things we could change in our lives in 1 second. A lot of us get mad or angry or lose patience, and don't realize that it's a choice to be those things. One of the things I've learned on my mission is some extreme patience. Besides a never ending winter, people out here in New England live a very laid back lifestyle and aren't too adament to change it. I was beginning to get a little frustrated because I'd been working so hard and I had not been seeing any results out here, and I'd see my friends stories from foreign countries say "oh yeah we met Jose last week. He came running up to us and told us he had a dream that he needed to speak to us", And then they'd say something along the lines of "here's a picture of us baptizing him this week." 😂 That was getting old seeing those every other week, and I began to wonder what I was doing wrong, or why God would put me in the circumstances I'm in. I still don't know why I'm out here running around in the country of the North Woods of New Hampshire, but I do know that it is my choice to wake up every morning ready to serve the Lord; no matter where I am. 

Anyways, been working with a woman named Nikki for awhile now and she told us that she wanted to get baptized. We baptize people here in the rec center, so that should be really fun.

Oh yeah and I'm going to be the father of a new baby goat that I will be naming M Russell Baaallard. There are sooooo many baby goats right now. I'm turning into a farmer up here. Have a great week people.

Dank mac and cheese.

In the chicken coop.

Kitties.

Taking in the view.

Zone activity.

The weather out here in New England has been pretty crazy the past week. Here are some pictures of the last few days. You could be outside wearing a short sleeve shirt taking in the sun talking about your exciting summer plans, and the next day shoveling snow.☹️ Just like New England's weather, our lives can be crazy and sometimes unpredictable. Unexpected things can happen. Lucky for us we can find more peace in our lives through the Savior. When we center our lives around the Savior and his teachings you can find greater comfort then you ever thought you could. Now this doesn't mean that all of your trials and hardships will be gone. They're still part of this life, and they always will be, but you can find peace with the knowledge that God see a much bigger picture than we do, and the Savior is there walking beside you every step of the way.

Week Thirty Six

Had a lot of good fun this week. We changed things up a little in our finding and found some new people this week. 

I hope all of you had a good Easter this year. Easter in Colebrook was great. There are a bunch of churches out here, so most people went to an Easter service. That's one of the funny things about people. Most people will say they are a certain religion, and then not give us a chance, but they only attend the services of their religion about twice a year. So that's nice. 

I guess I can tell you about one of the new ways we found this week. We were originally planning to do a booth in front of a small store in town... But there are like only 7 people who live in Colebrook, so we decided it would be better if we came to them. So we got a big whiteboard and dragged it around town. We stopped everyone on the street. We even went inside small stores, and got all of the people inside of them to come out and sign the board. It was a great time.

General Conference was great. I've got a lot of studying to do once it comes out in the Ensign. I hope y'all had a great Easter and have a great week ahead. 

 Taking the whiteboard around Colebrook.

Easter breakfast at the church.

(Thank you to Charlie for the pictures)

Our branch getting to ready to watch Priesthood session in a store a branch member owns.