Transfer 10 Weeks 3, 4 and 5

So sorry that I didn't have time to write last week, it was pretty busy but just know that I have been good and we're having lots of fun. Let me give you a recap on what we've been up to these last three weeks. 

Week 3 
So last week some craziness was going on. We had zone conference on Tuesday which was a lot of fun. Elder Hanosek and I changed the topic of our training the night before because we were #inspired.  Our training was pretty simple but I thought that it was really cool and pretty powerful. I felt the spirit while we were doing the training and a few people told us "good job" afterwards, so we must've done a good job. Then they gave us these tiny little Jimmy John sandwiches for lunch... so we ate those then went and ate more afterwards. Some Elders who we gave a ride to have a cow at their house. Yes that's right, a cow. Their landlord is raising a cow and his name is Big Mac. So I took some pictures with him and he's really sweet. 

Thursday we had to say goodbye to Elder Arce :( he left to go home to Texas so that he could start school. But he's such a great guy and we will miss him LOTS. 

Then on Friday we get an email from our mission President telling us we have a mandatory whole mission meeting the very next day. So everyone was freaking out and trying to guess what it was going to be about. I was pretty relaxed about it for the most part, I knew whatever it was it was going to be good and that it would be inspired. 

Friday nights our ward puts together an indoor soccer night. So we go to the church gym and play 4 on 4 or 5 on 5 soccer. It's crazy how good they are at soccer. Those darn latinos cross me up and make me look un-athletic. But it's a lot of fun and there's a lot of fun people there to talk to. And we get to practice our Spanish as well. 

Saturday morning we arrive nice and early. We were some of the first ones there and we take our seats right at the very front. The meeting finally starts after everyone trickles into the chapel, and we get right into it. All we were told beforehand was that it would be about hastening the work here in our mission. Well they had some really good things to say and then they finally told us what it was all about. We were told we would be starting a new schedule for our planning and studies. Previously we would plan at 8:30 in the morning. Now we will plan at night as soon as we get home, which should be at 9:00 p.m. We previously would start our personal study at 9:00 a.m. and it's been pushed forward to 8:00 a.m. and so forth with our companion study and language study. The new schedule will now give us more time for our missionary efforts throughout the day. I was pretty excited to hear about the new changes and to implement them in the upcoming days.  After the meeting we went to Cracker Barrel and ate lunch. It was really good. I ate a lot.

Sunday we had a really good time at church. Their were some fun speakers and we talked to some of our fun people there. Then that night we went to a baptism that some of the sisters in our zone had.  It went really well and a lot of people from their ward showed up to support. There were even some sisters from the Temple Square mission because they originally met and passed off the guy, Diego. So that was kinda crazy. It was cool chatting with them. 

Week 4
So I can’t remember which morning, but Elder Hanosek my companion and I went to the hospital. A couple weeks ago he got his finger kicked while we played soccer hahaha. Well it was pretty decently swollen and it hurt for a little while. So we went and got it x-rayed and it was broken. So they put him in a finger splint and he has to wear it for a whole month. He still plays Basketball pretty well with it on though, he's a true baller. 

Wednesday we had our Gospel Scholarship meeting with one of our Former Mission Presidents Counselors. His name is President Hill and I love him so much. He talked about our Missionary Purpose as found in Preach My Gospel. 

Thursday a couple of missionaries that we know here in the Spanish Zone left for their original assignments in Argentina. It was sad to see them go but we're really happy they got to go. 

Week 5
Kind of a long story but Elder Hanosek and I are trying to get a new word to catch on. The word is "wope". Yiu use it when something is good or cool, for example, "hey there Elder Hanosek, that new tie is lookin wope!" It's gonna be a big thing soon, I promise. 

We had some real fun stuff happen this last week. Last Monday we had new cameras put in our cars, they're like dash cameras and are to keep us safe. They keep track of our speed and stuff. We aren't exactly excited for it but we will survive. 

Tuesday we went on exchanges with the AP's Elder Gray and Elder Bramble. It was actually the 1 year anniversary of the day Elder Gray and I became companions last year. So that was fun. I was with Elder Gray for the day and we were in his area. We visited some cool people and walked around from house to house. One guy gave us chocolate, and another older couple got us brownies and hot chocolate, so sweet, the people and the treats. 

 

Wednesday we had a really powerful evening. One of our members called us up and said he wanted to go visit some people with us. He had someone in mind but it didn't work out. So he said okay let's go visit this other member we know. So we go over to his house and they are the two best member missionaries that we know. They start bouncing all these ideas off of each other, and now pretty much were gonna set up a weekly class where we will do a training with our members on how to naturally share the gospel with their friends, and how they could invite them to come to church, or to talk with us, the missionaries. We got really excited and now we have so much energy and motivation. 

Ok well I really don't have too much energy left to write haha sorry. So let me give you a quick run down of the last few days. We went on exchanges with some of our District Leaders, first we went with Elder Jorgensen and his Companion Elder Morse. I was with Elder Jorgensen and we had a good day. He's a really energetic and go get 'em type of guy. A real full sender. He's served as a Zone Leader before and has a lot of good experience. We met some cool people and ate some fire Carne Asada Fries at my new favorite restaurant Señor Pollo's (which translates to Mr Chickens). Then the next day we got permission for Elder Payne and Elder Hammer to sleep over for our exchanges since they live kinda far away. It was a lot of fun. I was with Elder Payne, who I’m just getting to know as we are both pretty new to the Spanish North Zone. He was originally assigned to serve in Madagascar, Malagasy speaking but got temporarily reassigned here and President decided to put him Spanish Speaking and he's killing it. We had a good day and had some really nice visits with some people. Then we got home a little after 9:00 and we saw Elder Hanosek giving Elder Hammer a haircut because apparently President Johnson told him he needed one hahaha. 

Ok so today for p-day we got to gather as a whole zone and play some fun games and stuff together. Elder Hanosek and I came up with the idea of making an Escape Room for everyone to do. We spent HOURS, like legitimately hours planning, preparing and setting up two identical escape rooms in this church building. And then we finally announced it, split them into teams and gave them the backstory and everything they needed. Well, they finished it in like 10-15 minutes and one of the teams didn't even do it in the right order. Oh well. It was really funny and elder Hanosek and I had a lot of fun setting it up. A lot of people thanked us for being creative and putting in that extra effort to help them enjoy this time. 

Well I love you all so much. I would love to leave you with some powerful scriptures I came across recently. I have read them many times but they hit me differently recently. 

In Moroni 10:32-33 it says:
32 "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.”
33 “And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot." 

As I sat there and read it I was blown away by the power that those two verses held. I knew without a doubt that this was the word of God, that through Prophets I am able to study these things today. I know I'll never be perfect in this life, but with Christ, and through His power and the Grace of God I can be cleansed of all my imperfections. 

I love you all, stay wope

-Elder Golden 
 

Transfer 10 Weeks 1 and 2

Well hello Everyone! I hope you've been doing very well. I want to update you on what's been going on these last few weeks and how much fun life is when you're serving the Lord. 

WEEK 1

So the first few days of the transfer we were so excited. Both Elder Hanosek and I were new to the area, we were in a new house, we were just ready to go. We went to MLC, a big old meeting with some of the leaders in the mission. We talked about how we would all help the missionaries, how to inspire and motivate them and to really get the best out of everyone. Which reminds me, President and Sister Johnson have named this tranfer "The Best Transfer”. 

At the meeting we talked about numbers, we talked about how some missionaries focus on numbers and that's not good. Then there're other missionaries who don't care about numbers at all, and who hate them and don't want anything to do with them and that's not good either. We read some scriptures together; my favorite may have been 3 Nephi 18:31 "But if he repent not he shall not be numbered among my people, that he may not destroy my people, for behold I know my sheep, and they are numbered". Here we can see that the Lord numbers his people, he doesn't focus on the numbers though, he focuses on the people. So as missionaries we need to be aware of and welcoming towards the numbers but we shouldn't get carried away into it, and that's a balance that I am trying to find myself. 

They gave us some really good lunch at this meeting too. I think it was like taco soup, or tortilla soup... whatever it was called it was delicious. We ate that, and talked some more with the other missionaries and the Leaders. 

Then we planned for another meeting called ZLC which is where we meet with our Sister Training Leaders and our District Leaders. We held it at a local library in a conference room and it was very fancy and official feeling. We discussed similar things with our District Leaders as we did at MLC. We came up with some fun, fun ways to excite the Zone. Someone suggested "if we meet our goals in the zone then the Zone Leaders have to eat a Ghost Pepper" which did not excite Elder Hanosek or myself much, but we did think it was funny and a lot of people would probably be on board. We also came up with the fun idea of making necklaces, or big chains (like bling), to give to the winners of weekly challenges that we come up with. Fantastic Idea.

That night we went out and did some awesome missionary work. We met this one guy who sat us down and talked our ears off for like an hour and a half. We finally got out of there and had to hurry up and drive from Roy down to Layton because we were going to spend the night with the AP's and go on exchanges with Elder Arce because he's now one of the AP's but served in our area last transfer so he was going to show us around and help us get to know people in our area better. We happened to kind of get stuck in a snow storm however, the storm interfered with our GPS big time and it took us an hour and a half to make a 20ish minute drive (with a quick stop at McDonald's). We bought 20 McChickens and the three AP'S (Yes they are in a trio), their two roommates, and us two ate all 20 of them in like 10 minutes. We went to bed late because we got there late from the storm, and then woke up early the next day to get a good start on the day. We worked out, drove back up to Roy, got ready, and then we had a few meetings. One in the morning about drivers stuff, cause they're gonna be putting new fun technology in our cars woohoo. And then we had a few district councils to go to, but then out of nowhere a mandatory zoom meeting was called by our mission President and it was all about Covid Safety, there's been quite a few outbreaks and some spikes especially near us. We were told to be aware and ready for any quick changes. We got done with that, went to our district council and halfway through the other two AP's said they were on their way to pick up Elder Arce because they had to quarantine Then President texted us and said that MLC (which meant us and the STL's) all had to go quarantine too. So we left partway through the district council. We got home, chilled there, and then President called me and my companion personally. He said, tell your whole zone to go to their own homes, and to quarantine there until Monday (this took place on a Friday) and to text him once everyone was home. 

So the whole mission was quarantined. The next day we had 4 or so meetings. And the AP's issued a challenge to see who could teach the most lessons that day over the phone or through zoom. That was a lot of fun. There were over 1300 lessons taught in the whole mission that day.

Also I was woken up in the middle of the night by a firework that went off. I could've sworn it was like 3 inches from our window it scared the Heaven out of me. 

The next day was a Sunday, and my companion had the fun idea to challenge everyone in the zone to build a fort and see who's was the coolest. So we built a pretty wicked cool fort in our living room. We put our mattresses I it and even slept in it for 3 or 4 nights. It was fun and it was a cool way to keep everyone from going crazy and to enjoy quarantine a little bit. 

WEEK 2

We finally got released from quarantine on Monday, except those who were sick and had symptoms. We went grocery shopping, and I might mention we live with 4 other Elders, so six of us in 1 house and no fridge space. Like literally my companion and I each had a mini fridge for all of our food. So we finally got a new regular sized fridge for him and I after a few days. But before that, I stored some stuff outside to stay cold and accidentally froze my milk a little bit. 

We also went and bought some chain from Lowes; like real thick chain that is not used for jewelry but we thought it would be funny. Then we went to a craft store and got some stuff to make fake bling with like foam and gold spray paint. Then we made the chains over the span of a couple days. It's really cool not lying. I'll add some pictures. I also bought a hard hat cause I thought it was really funny. Sometimes I'll wear it in the car cause #safety. 

 

We went to the Temple on Wednesday morning and we were running late and almost missed our session. Then when we got out we took a bunch of pictures but it was raining and it was getting us so wet hahah. 

Also this week we had a couple of really great lessons with both members in our ward and non-members in our area. We've really been praying a lot recently and seeking guidance on who to talk to and where we are needed. So we've been feeling the spirit a lot. It's been great. 

I also gave a haircut to my companion last night. He's looking pretty good. And my companion is gonna give me a haircut tonight if we have time. Plus we have zone conference tomorrow and my Mom said my hair’s looking bushy so I guess I need it hahah. 

Well we have to go now but I miss you all and I hope you are doing well. I pray for you often and would love to hear from you. Remember that God loves you. Have a great week. 

-Elder Golden 

Transfer 9 Weeks 5 and 6

So we've had some really busy and fun weeks recently. In the last two weeks we've gone on 6 exchanges with other Missionary companionships. We have gotten a lot of snow, and I've been pretty cold. 

On our exchanges I got to go with some awesome elders. I was with some of our District Leaders, Elder Morse and Elder Hurley. We also went on exchanges with the AP's so I was with Elder Bramble who was so much fun. Then this week I went with Elder Newell a brand new missionary, Elder Ohlendorf, and Elder Barker. We had a lot of fun spending some time with these other Elders and getting to work with them.  

Then this week we had some amazing things happen. Our friend Brendan got baptized and that was such a blessing. We also went to the Temple. Both were so much fun and such awesome spiritual experiences. 

Christmas was so much fun too. We got to go Christmas caroling with our district. We even tried to carol to President Eyring and Elder Uchtdorf but neither of them were home :( 

We also just found out about transfers and I'm finally going back to the Spanish Zone. I’m really excited. My New Companion is actually my MTC companion Elder Hanosek.  I'm very excited to work with him out here in the field; he's so much fun and I've been hoping to serve with him for a long time now. We're going to be Zone Leaders in the Spanish North Zone, and we will both be new to the area we are serving in. Lots of exciting adventures. 

One of my FAVORITE scriptures this week was the chapter 3 Nephi 1. It was the story of the Birth of Christ but from the other side of the world on the American Continent. There are many similarities to the perspective of the people in the land of Israel but I love it so much because of the faith the people in the America's had. You should definitely give it a read. I bet you'll enjoy it. 

I love you all so much and I hope you have a great week. CHRIST LOVES YOU

-Elder Golden 

 

 

Transfer 9 Week 4

Hello Everyone, I am currently writing you from my seat in the nail salon. Me and my companion, Elder Kimball and Elder Barker are all getting pedicures and it's so great. 

So this week has been quite exciting. We had some great teaching opportunities with our friends. We shared some messages and got to know them better.

 

 

We also went on exchanges with some of our District Leaders in the Zone this week. I even left the mission with one of them. Don't worry, it was approved. Let me explain. They are Marshallese speaking missionaries; they serve with people from the Marshall Islands and their boundaries have been extended up to Ogden which is technically another mission. So we went up there and it was so weird being somewhere else. It was really impressive seeing him teach in a totally different language and with this group of people. That was a lot of fun. We also went with another one of the District Leaders who is going to fly out to his original mission in Mozambique which is in Africa but they speak Portuguese there. He's excited but we're sad he's going to leave. 

 

 

It also started snowing super hard on Thursday and it dropped like 4 inches in the first couple hours. And it just kept dumping all day and through that night. They plowed the roads and kept plowing all day so that they stayed clear and safe. Then it stopped snowing partway through Friday. Some of it has started melting away but it's still up on the mountains so it looks really pretty. 

We also had this really cool service project where we took 5 companionships to this special needs organization and we helped them in their classes to make Christmas ornaments. It was so much fun. They even opened with a prayer and hymns which was so fun. Then we went to hang all of the ornaments they made on these little trees and then they turned around and gave us the trees to keep for Christmas. It was the sweetest thing. 

We also had a Christmas Devotional and Elder Quentin L. Cook from the Quorum of the 12 apostles came and visited our mission. We heard from him and his wife. They shared about Christ and the importance of Christmas and how important it is that we're representing Christ at this time. 

He then bore his testimony of the Savior and I have never heard a testimony quite like it. I felt the spirit so strongly and I was so incredibly touched. 

I want to let you all know about the love that the Savior has for each and every one of you. I love you all and remember Christ during this Christmas season. 

Have a great week

-Elder Golden

 

Transfer 9 Week 3

So this week went by pretty fast. Last Monday night we went out and talked to this one guy named Shaquil for a while. He wasn't too interested in hearing from us, yet talked to us for like an hour at his door. He was smoking and playing video games right when we got there and it made us laugh. We enjoyed talking to him but he said some real interesting stuff. 

We also met another guy this week, Johnny; he was a character as well. He had us help him move some stuff in his apartment and stick some stuff in his safe to keep it protected from robbers. Pretty funny. They were boxes of old coins. He gave us some bottles of protein shakes which made me laugh too hahaha. He also said he fell on his hip a couple of weeks ago and it's been bugging him ever since but hasn't seen a doctor about it yet. 

We've also been working with members of our ward to go out and do some work with us recently. They have been a big help. 

Also something funny happened today. We were asked by some Elders to pick up their bikes from the mission office to get repaired. We got to their apartment and they weren't there and the door to the apartment was locked. So we went around back of their apartment building and I jumped up and climbed up to their balcony and the door on the back was unlocked. So I went in and unlocked it and we laughed cause right over the fence was a school and the kids were out for recess and probably saw me breaking in. Pretty funny. 

We also had a big meeting this week for the leaders and they fed us pizza during the middle of it. I ate a lot. But we talked about some really cool stuff and President Johnson inspired me and really touched me with his testimony of the Book of Mormon. He is a very spiritually powerful man. We are lucky to have him as our mission President. 

Oh another funny story from me breaking in somewhere today. We were in the parking lot at the mission office and throwing a frisbee, and I accidentally threw it over a fence and it went down like a three foot window well. So I see there's a gap in the fence and run around and get it. Right as I get in their backyard our Mission President and his wife Sister Johnson pull into the parking lot, see me, roll down the window and asked what the heck I was doing. I told them and they just laughed at me. I retrieved it and eventually went and apologized to the house owners and they said they had no clue but that it was fine. 

Well I have to head out now, but I want to let you all know that I love you, but more importantly God and Christ love you. Speaking of which, here is one of my all time favorite verses

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

-Elder Golden 

Transfer 9 Weeks 1 and 2

So two weeks ago we had transfers. They're usually pretty busy but this one was especially hectic. We were in the car a lot, driving around, running errands, going to meetings and whatnot. Our first meeting was the day after transfers, on Wednesday and it was a couple hours long but they gave us lunch after and it was really good. The meeting was all about how we can help all the missionaries have a good time this transfer and to help them reach their full potential. 

Then the next day we drove another companionship of Elders to the mission office for new missionary orientation. We also took a lot of old junk from our apartment and dropped it off there. Including a mid 1920's cash register. It was really funny, all the office missionaries (who are in their 60's or 70's) were laughing at it and they said they grew up with one's newer than that. But we gave it to Elder Lowe who is in charge of Finance and he loves it. 

On Friday we had Zone conference which was really cool. It was our zone combined with two other zones but they made me conduct it. That basically means I got up at the microphone and said "hi everyone I'm Elder Golden, I'm conducting this meeting and President Johnson is presiding, here's who's saying the opening prayer and here's who's singing a hymn" and simple stuff like that. But zone conference was really good. We felt the spirit and learned a lot. One of my favorite parts was President Johnson was telling us this story of how he had to fill in for someone and play in this Pro-Am Golf Tournament. He played as the amateur but the professional he was partnered with was really kind and coached him up because he wasn't playing well at all. Eventually he started to get better and better as they kept playing in the tournament. Eventually President told us that he started getting frustrated because he didn't hit the shots exactly how he wanted them, and this professional told him as they were walking,"we're not looking for perfection, we're looking for progress". He said the same thing applies to us, we don't have to beat ourselves up for not being able to do every single little thing right, we need to strive for improvement and progress instead. 

Then on Saturday we had ZLC with all of the District Leaders and the STL’s; we planned for the zone a little bit and how to help them the best we can. We thought about struggles that we may all be having and how to combat those struggles and solutions to help us be better missionaries. 

Sunday was pretty busy with church and meetings and whatnot. That night we met with our Stake President and his family and we chatted with them for a little while, got to know them and discussed the missionary work in the stake. We also got permission to eat Thanksgiving dinner with whoever we wanted within our area, and a family in one of our wards offered to have us over. So we told them yes and thank you, and we'll see you on Thursday haha. 

Then last Monday was P-Day and we were so busy. We had to go pick up mail from the mission office and drive all over dropping it off. Not so much fun. And that's why I didn't have time to write an email last week sorry :(

This last Tuesday we went and did service with this family from one of our wards. They were going to paint their neighbors kitchen while their neighbors were out of town for Thanksgiving. So we went and scraped old wallpaper off the walls, sanded the walls, cleaned them off, and by the time we did all that it had been almost two hours and we had to leave. We got a lot done though and it made a big difference. We didn't get to help them tape, put down primer, or paint but we did get to have a good time and make some stuff happen. That night we met with the whole Stake Presidency, and we talked to them about missionary work in the stake and what we were doing and what our plans are for the future. They also gave us blessings which was really cool. They blessed us to be able to do the Lord's work and to serve how he would have us serve. It was very powerful. 

So two weeks ago we had transfers. They're usually pretty busy but this one was especially hectic. We were in the car a lot, driving around, running errands, going to meetings and whatnot. Our first meeting was the day after transfers, on Wednesday and it was a couple hours long but they gave us lunch after and it was really good. The meeting was all about how we can help all the missionaries have a good time this transfer and to help them reach their full potential. 

Then the next day we drove another companionship of Elders to the mission office for new missionary orientation. We also took a lot of old junk from our apartment and dropped it off there. Including a mid 1920's cash register. It was really funny, all the office missionaries (who are in their 60's or 70's) were laughing at it and they said they grew up with one's newer than that. But we gave it to Elder Lowe who is in charge of Finance and he loves it. 

On Friday we had Zone conference which was really cool. It was our zone combined with two other zones but they made me conduct it. That basically means I got up at the microphone and said "hi everyone I'm Elder Golden, I'm conducting this meeting and President Johnson is presiding, here's who's saying the opening prayer and here's who's singing a hymn" and simple stuff like that. But zone conference was really good. We felt the spirit and learned a lot. One of my favorite parts was President Johnson was telling us this story of how he had to fill in for someone and play in this Pro-Am Golf Tournament. He played as the amateur but the professional he was partnered with was really kind and coached him up because he wasn't playing well at all. Eventually he started to get better and better as they kept playing in the tournament. Eventually President told us that he started getting frustrated because he didn't hit the shots exactly how he wanted them, and this professional told him as they were walking,"we're not looking for perfection, we're looking for progress". He said the same thing applies to us, we don't have to beat ourselves up for not being able to do every single little thing right, we need to strive for improvement and progress instead. 

Then on Saturday we had ZLC with all of the District Leaders and the STL’s; we planned for the zone a little bit and how to help them the best we can. We thought about struggles that we may all be having and how to combat those struggles and solutions to help us be better missionaries. 

Sunday was pretty busy with church and meetings and whatnot. That night we met with our Stake President and his family and we chatted with them for a little while, got to know them and discussed the missionary work in the stake. We also got permission to eat Thanksgiving dinner with whoever we wanted within our area, and a family in one of our wards offered to have us over. So we told them yes and thank you, and we'll see you on Thursday haha. 

Then last Monday was P-Day and we were so busy. We had to go pick up mail from the mission office and drive all over dropping it off. Not so much fun. And that's why I didn't have time to write an email last week sorry :(

This last Tuesday we went and did service with this family from one of our wards. They were going to paint their neighbors kitchen while their neighbors were out of town for Thanksgiving. So we went and scraped old wallpaper off the walls, sanded the walls, cleaned them off, and by the time we did all that it had been almost two hours and we had to leave. We got a lot done though and it made a big difference. We didn't get to help them tape, put down primer, or paint but we did get to have a good time and make some stuff happen. That night we met with the whole Stake Presidency, and we talked to them about missionary work in the stake and what we were doing and what our plans are for the future. They also gave us blessings which was really cool. They blessed us to be able to do the Lord's work and to serve how he would have us serve. It was very powerful. 

WEDNESDAY WAS CRAZY, let me tell you about it. So we woke up and got ready for our day and picked up some Elders in our zone to go do a service project. We got there, did some service for a few hours, and then got some lunch and took the elders back home. While we were dropping them off one of the Elders in our zone was goofing off and wrestling around in their apartment. They ended up falling pretty hard and hitting their heads. It was pretty scary and the one Elder got a seizure from the impact. We gave him a priesthood blessing and he stopped seizing. We called our mission nurse and she told us to take him to the car. He had calmed down and was just laying unconscious and rolling over every once and a while. So I carried him to the car and we laid him down in there and drove to the hospital, and as soon as we got there he woke up and asked what happened. We told him he had bumped his head and passed out so we took him to the hospital, to which he replied "wow I don't remember that". So after a couple hours at the hospital and a CT scan later he was cleared to go home and rest. We had left for service around 9:45 and got back to our house at 6:45. It was pretty crazy. He's doing better now and we're happy that nothing too serious happened to him. 

The next day after that was Thanksgiving which was really good. We had a meeting in the morning then went to do service with our whole district. We raked a LOT of leaves then made a leaf mountain. Afterward we went and saw an older gentleman out raking leaves by himself so we stopped and helped him really quick. Then we got changed and went to eat dinner. Dinner was sooo good and I ate so much. The family who had us over was so sweet and said they really enjoyed having us. The turkey was apparently smoked for a long long time so the flavor was really great. 

This Sunday we were asked to speak in church. I spoke about strengthening faith and testimony through scripture study. I thought I did a pretty good job and lots of people thanked me for my thoughts. Also last night we had a great lesson with this family we know. They were really receptive and it was really great for everyone involved. We hope that we can continue meeting with them in the future.

Well everyone I've got to go; we're getting busy again. But I love you all and you are in my prayers. 

A verse I read this week in my studies said," But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God"
Alma 26:11 

Have a great week everyone! 

-Elder Golden 

 

Transfer 8 Week 4, 5 and 6

 Hi everyone, this is the longest I have gone without writing to you all and I'm sure you really missed my updates. Well some pretty exciting stuff happened and I will give you the best recap that I can.

Week 4
This week of the transfer we had a lot of fun. The wards in our stake had a lot of activities so we went to a few of them to try and meet more people. They of course gave us a lot of candy. Elder Fogleman gave all of his candy away to kids at the activities (he's pretty healthy) and I kept mine and ate it  (I did it because I wanted the kids to stay healthy... you don't have to call me hero but you can if you want to).

We also met one of the cutest dogs that I ever saw. His owners called him a Cavapoo (a mix between a King Charles Cavalier and a Poodle) and it looked like a teddy bear. He was very tiny and I was worried if I sat on him he would die, but he was so adorable. On the way to district council that week we were running a little late. We were on bikes because as you can remember I don't have a car :( I got to an intersection and turned around to make sure my companion was ready to cross with me, but he wasn't there. Turns out the nut that keeps the axle and front tire attached to the bike had fallen off so he stopped to make sure he didn't crash and die. So we called everyone at the meeting and they were already there of course and updated them on the situation. Elder Kimball and Elder Barker have a car so they came and picked us up and we were half an hour late to our meeting. But Sister Nagel and Sister Passey brought donuts so that cheered me up. We also did like a billion hours of service, ok not really but we did a lot of service. On Saturday alone we did service for 3 different families, totaling right around 6 hours. It was great. Also because of Halloween that weekend the Mission required us to be home by 6:30 on both Saturday and Sunday. Apparently some people in Utah dress up as Missionaries on Halloween but they make trouble. So to keep us safe and for accountability reasons we stayed inside. 

My district

On Sunday we got out of a lesson at 6:25 ish and actually ran home, which now that I think about it probably looked really suspicious but that's in the past now hahaha.

Week 5
We had a Zone Unity Day on this Monday. I also refer to it as Zone Sports, cause we get together and play sports. We also include a spiritual aspect but we spend most of the time playing. We played this game called set me up which is pretty much a big game of dodgeball but we had two balls and if you get hit you kneel down where you got hit but you can get back in by throwing a ball and hitting someone, or by tagging someone who's not out yet and then they're out and you're back in. It was crazy and crazy fun. I went all out but I don't think I ever won, I was in the last couple people every time then I would make some silly but very funny mistake and get out. During the week we met with a lot of members in our wards that we had not met before. It was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed sharing messages with them. I also took a driving test in a 12 Passenger van.

I will elaborate more on that later but it was really fun. We also started doing a District prayer every morning at 6:40 in the morning over the phone. It's a great way to start the day and to make sure everyone else is awake. During the week we went on exchanges with Elder Barker and Elder Kimball.

Elder Barker

Elder Kimball

 I was with Elder Barker and we started by walking around with rakes and finding houses on the street that needed some raking. So we would do what we like to call a rake and run where you just rake their leaves up nice and pretty and then leave. Elders Fogleman and Kimball had a crazy spiritual experience on exchanges. They went to this family's house that we have been trying to contact for a long long time and they were able to share a message with them. The Mom apparently described it as an answer to prayer. They even came to church on Sunday. The first time in 12 or so years for the parents. 

  

 

Also one of my BIGGEST achievements this week was that I hit my one year mark since I had been set apart as a missionary. On November 2nd 2020 I was set apart; November 3rd was my first full day as a missionary (which I spent running errands with my Mom {I <3 you mom}) and then November 4th I started the online MTC. Which means I have been sending you emails for a WHOLE YEAR! Isn't that so exciting?

Week 6
We Started off the week by going and picking up the 12 passenger van and driving it back home. Because on Tuesday we woke up at 5 in the morning, picked up 10 Elders and went to the Temple. 

We got there at 6:30 and it was great. We absolutely loved it and had such a powerful and spiritual experience. Let me just tell you, I had a GREAT time. Also throughout this week we got to go and meet more fun people from the wards that we serve. We get the opportunity to share a short message about the gospel with them and they are always very thankful. One sister even offered me a big glass of fresh squeezed grape juice and she sent me out the door with a bottle full of Vitamin D capsules. It really has been a blessing coming on a mission. I also got to play a harpsichord for the first time in my life and it was pretty cool. It was pretty much the most beautiful instrument ever (it was a handmade all wood 50 year old harpsichord I might add) and it even sounded pretty nice as well. I also conducted my last District Council this last week and it was great. We played a scripture game and I gave out fruit snacks as a prize. We had a good time and it was a good transfer together as a District. 

Because this was the last week of transfer we are now moving into a new transfer. I am staying in the same area, but sadly my greenie Elder Fogleman is getting transferred to Roy, about as far away as it gets, and we are both sad. I got called as a Zone Leader which was kind of sad because I really wanted to finish training Elder Fogleman. But it's ok I will have a great time with my new companion and we are going to have an amazing transfer together (on Tuesday). We're excited but it is going to be a very busy first week. We have a lot to get done.

Well everybody I have studied a lot of really great things over the last three weeks and would really like to share with you the most important event that ever took place on this Earth, the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I really love the way it is told in the Gospel of Luke, in chapter 22 it says:
39 And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.
40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, buy thine, be done.
43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Through the Atonement, Christ's suffering and Sacrifice for us, we are able to Repent of our sins and transgressions. If you know me, you know that I am far from perfect, I make lots of mistakes and do lots of dumb things. However, God knew that none of us could be perfect and he sent us a Savior, His only Begotten Son, so that through Him we could find forgiveness.

In Alma 19:36 it says, ”And thus the work of the Lord did commence among the Lamanites; thus the Lord did begin to pour out his Spirit upon them; and we see that his arm is extended to all people who will repent and believe on his name.

The Lord is waiting for us, He never forgets us, all we need to do is turn to Him and take his hand.

I love you all and I hope you have a great week.
-Elder Golden