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