Transfer 8 Week 3

Hedgehog mug

It finally happened :( I turned 20, I'm no longer a teenager. Well it's ok, now I'm one year older and wiser too.

So it's been getting colder and more rainy here; feels like home I guess haha, it really does look like Washington right now, cloudy and a little rainy.

This week we had a couple of really great days where we just went around our area and met new people, mostly members of our Stake but it was really cool getting to know them.

We also met so many cute dogs. It was really awesome. I loved it so much. We got a little bit of hair on us but it was all good.
 

So we had our first district council as well and I think it went really well. Elder Fogleman and I biked there and back too. On the way back it was really windy and it almost knocked me over one time it was pretty funny. There are 10 missionaries in our district, so it's the biggest district that I've ever been in. They're all really great so far. And I'm sure it will stay that way haha

Every Sunday we have like a billion meetings and we try to go to as many wards and  participate in as many classes as we can.

Anyways I don’t have time to write much more, and I honestly don't remember all that much from this week. Just know that I had a great Birthday today and thank you to all who read my emails for just staying updated on my life, love you all.

Spiritual thought: Matthew chapter 16
24 ¶ Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

Many times it takes sacrifice to follow Christ and his example. However there are great blessings for those who sacrifice for the lord's sake.

-Elder Golden 

We keep finding these puzzle pieces

Flamingo attacking a skeleton

Helped unload these flowers as a service project

Elder Rawson- Spanish Zone

Elder Roland- Spanish Zone

Transfer 8 Week 2

HEY EVERYONE. This week has been so fun, interesting, and exciting. Here's some quick highlights for ya.

So we were out walking one day and we found this Lost Dog. He just kinda ran up to us and played. Super cute. But we didn't see anyone nearby, so I took my belt off, used it as a leash and we went off in search of his owner. We also called the phone numbers on his collar a couple times but without any answers from them. Since we couldn’t find his owner we dropped him off at a animal hospital that said they'd take him for the night and we messaged the numbers. They texted us later and thanked us a lot. Very cool.

Later that same day we bumped into a lady who was leaving her house in her car. She was a member in one of the wards we cover but we had never met before. We chatted for a second and she told us her family had grown pumpkins that year and that we could go and take one home with us. So we took the Pumpkin and carried it all the way home to our apartment where it now sits above our couch. It's awesome.

We met these super nice people named the Page family. The Dad is a member and served his mission in Croatia but they haven't gone to church in a while. He was so nice to us and even gave us some water and a ride to our next appointment. He was really great.

We also found some sort of secret tunnel underneath our chapel. It was so weird. They kind of just use it for storage but there’s a little ladder that goes down through a trap door. 

This week we also went on what we call an Inspired Walk with one of our members Brother Le Starge. We visited some people who we thought could use a nice warm hello and it was really nice. Then we went around a neighborhood with him offering to take out people's garbage to their street for them cause the trash was going out the next morning. We spent a whole hour doing that and it was something small but we don't know who it may have made a big impact on.

We also met this one guy Named Ian. He's our new Catholic Friend. He's so nice to us and keeps telling us that we're doing the Lord's work.

We also went and ate at In-N-Out. I found out you could get burgers with 3 or even 4 patties on it. I went with 3 and it was great! A nice balance between a big burger, and a nice sized meal.

Zone conference was this week as well and it was a cool opportunity to get to really feel the spirit, learn, and get to know some more people as well. That was one part of serving in Spanish is we didn't know the English missionaries as well. Partway through we went to the gym and had a fun scripture activity where they would give us a scripture reference and we would try to find it quickly. I didn't win. But I made it pretty far which was cool. Then we played bump, that game with the long line of people and two basketballs. I did win that. I was really surprised actually. I've never been much of a hooper.

Corn maze map

Elders Blackwell and Gray at the pumpkin patch

Well those were some cool parts from our week. Something I read in the book of Matthew was really cool though. In chapter three it says,

"16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"

 

 

This passage describes Christ's Baptism and I just really felt the spirit when I read it this week. It reminds me that we all need to follow Christ's example in all that we can. It's not always easy, but it will always be worth it.

Love you all and see you next week

-Elder Golden

P.S. I get home in exactly one year. Kinda sad, kinda exciting.

Transfer 8 Week 1

Elder Folgleman

A bike seat is not as comfortable as the drivers seat... but I will live. Just so you all know, we have been biking everywhere in our area, up hills, down hills, up the road, down the road, over bumps and all that fun stuff.

My new companion’s name is Elder Fogleman; he is from New Hampshire and he has been awesome. We have already bonded quite a bit, and we really get along quite well.

We were at our church building on Saturday and I opened a door to the outside and this massive colony of bugs fell out of the door frame and onto the floor of the chapel. It was really nasty. They were crawling all over the place and we went and got a vacuum and it took us almost two hours to suck them all up. We looked it up later and they were called box elder bugs and when the weather gets cold they crawl into the door frame to get warm and it said the best way to yet rid of them was with a vacuum, so I guess we did alright. It was quite possibly the strangest thing that ever happened to me on the mission.

We've also had a couple of meetings during this last week and we went and discussed how to best help missionaries in our zone find more success. The meetings were long compared to my previous meetings in the Spanish zone, but I'm still adjusting to a lot of differences.

We are also going and trying to meet all the people in our Stake, the Leaders, the members and especially the friends that the last missionaries were teaching. It's been busy but really good. Also I'm not used to having more than one ward because of my time in Spanish, so we have 7 wards, 7 Bishops, 7 correlation meetings every week and yeah it's craziness so far. 

My MTC companion Elder Hanosek

So this week I was reviewing a few of the talks from General Conference and I really enjoyed reading one by Elder Rasband called "The Things of My Soul”.  He listed 7 things that will help us in life.
1. Love God the Father and Jesus Christ our Savior.
2. Love thy Neighbor.
3. Love yourself.
4. Keep the Commandments.
5. Always be worthy to attend the Temple.
6. Be Joyful and Cheerful.
7. Follow God's living Prophet.

I really like this list because I know that when we do these things it leads us to more good and become more like our Savior. If we strive to do what is right we can have the spirit with us to guide us through these crazy times.

Well everyone I just want to say I love you all and I hope you have a fantastic week.

-Elder Golden

Transfer 7 Week 6

Well everybody I'm about to update you on the life of Elder Golden.

This week we had General Conference. General Conference is when we get to hear from the leaders of the church and they give talks and it's really spiritually uplifting and overall a great time. We spent most of Saturday and Sunday watching it. I really enjoyed it and the messages that were shared. They were full of wisdom and inspired advice for listeners all across the world.

Elder Locke leaving for Mexico

Now for an update on the changes happening here for the new transfer. Because it is the end of this transfer, some people are transferring to their original missions and others are going home, such as my companion Elder Heller. That also means new people will be coming into the mission in this new transfer. So here's what will be happening to me.

I was called Sunday night and asked to be a trainer, meaning I would train a brand new missionary. I said yes, and that is exciting news. But when the transfer board came out it said I would be serving in an English zone in an English district in an English area with a brand new English companion. I am not happy or excited for this. I really love serving in Spanish. I want to stay in Spanish. But for some reason we don't always get what we want. I'm going to try to grin and bare it. I will do everything in my power to enjoy myself once the transfer starts. But so far I've been pretty down about it and I don't see any positives. I feel bad for having such a bad attitude but this is just how I feel. Please pray for me. I need it. 

My companion Elder Heller

I know God has a plan for me, and if I trust in him and his plan I will come out better for it on the other side. President Johnson has already named this transfer the "Faith Transfer" so I'm going to do all I can to put all the faith I have in him.

Well I love you all and I hope you have a great week. Remember to love your God with all your heart, might, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.

-Elder Golden