Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy!

Whats up fam!

Let me tell ya right now.......this week has been one of the craziest weeks of the mish! A lot has happened so I will tell you what I remember.

We had mission council last Tuesday and then the rest of the week we drove around to each zone in the mission and did a little instruction in the meetings. On Saturday we went to Searcy with President for their stake meetings. At the evening session they were calling recent converts of the stake up to bear their testimonies and one of the ones that was called up was Jessica Cooksey. Some of the greatest joy you experience on your mission is when you hear people you taught bear their testimonies! It was way good. After they were all done President Berkheimer called me up to bear my testimony of missionary work. It was weird because I am not even serving in that stake but it was good!

The next day we went to the sunday session of that stake conference and it was way awesome. They called Grandpa John Sherwood up to bear his testimony. They were going to bring the microphone to him but he refused and walked up to the microphone himself. He is exactly like Grandpa Larry. That evening we drove to Jackson Tennesee which is the far east corner of the mission to do a question/answer fireside with non-members. It was an awesome experience. Jackson is about 4 and a half hours away from Little Rock ad we didn't get done until 8 so we made the drive home but when we were about an hour away we were almost empty on fuel and it was 10:45 pm. So we pulled into a one gas station town in the middle of no where called Carlisle and decided to wait an hour and 15 minutes until it wasn't sunday anymore so we could buy gas. There is a Kodak moment for ya......A Fijian,  a black guy, and a red-head sitting in a parking lot in the middle of no where Arkansas. Really weird but it was awesome. We got home at about 1 in the morning! Crazy week but it was awesome!

Missing the Van keys on Transfer Day

Hey Family!

 

So there is a lot to catch up on from these last 2 weeks! They have been crazy. I have now almost seen the whole mission with Elder Armstrong and President Wakolo. We have driven so much these past 2 weeks. From Jackson Tennesse to Danville Arkansas down to Camden and everywhere in between. But it has dang fun!

 

So I am assuming you heard the transfer van key story? I knew once it hit the mom blog there was no hopes of keeping it from spreading. But ya it was crazy! The morning we were supposed to get all the departing missionaries from Presidents home to the airport. First off we set our alarm for 5:15 and it didn;t go off so we woke up and 5:30. So we were rushing to leave for Presidents and halfway there I realized I had forgotten the van key. So we had to go all the way back to the apartment and I ran in there and grabbed the key and ran out then we made the 20 minute drive to Presidents. By this time it was 6:20 and there flight leaves at 7:10 and the airport is 25 minutes away. So when we got to the mission home i rushed to the van and where all the missionaries were waiting and I went to put in the key and.....it wouldn't fit. That was the worst feeling ever. I grabbed the wrong key! I grabbed the truck key instead of the van. They are both chevy's so they are identical. Anyways, we unloaded the trailer full of luggage and put it all in Presidents mini-van and SUV. There was 7 departing missionaries so you could imagine the amount of luggage. obviously it didnt all fit in the back so everyone had suitcases on their laps. Elder Armstrong jumped in the mini-van and I hopped in the SUV and we headed to the airport. By the time we left the home it was 6:30. So lets just say both of our mph was rarely under triple digits the whole way to the airport. We were hauling. So we got there and the workers said they probably wouldnt make the flight. But then an angel of a lady stopped everything and made everyone move out of their way in the lines so they could make. It came down to the final call for the flight but every missionary made it on time. It was intense.  

Anyways, everything else has been going good. Yesterday we drove all around southern arkansas with President doing baptismal interviews and at the end of the day we broke our fast at the mission home. Sister Wakolo made us rotti, tapioca, talapia, and octopus! Yes I ate octopus. Sister Wakolo made it special for me last night just because I told her I would never eat that. Last week we had transfers and transfers is always crazy. Things are getting busy in the ALRM but I am learning a lot and having a good time. Thanks for the letters family and for all of your support.

 

The long road trips with President have been awesome. Armstrong and I just ask him question after question about every topic ever. Its crazy the amount of wisdom he has. He knows a lot but more importantly he lives everything he knows. Presidents influence has already changed my life. Thanks again family for everything.

Hey Fam! 

 

So this week has was crazy and it went by fast but here is the highlight reel!

We had 3 different zone conferences in 3 states! It was busy and crazy but it was fun. Elder Armstrong and I instructed on being obedient to the white handbook and to spiritual promptings. 

When we were in Memphis we took the Wakolos to eat their first Mexican food! It was hilarious hearing them try to pronounce the words! They couldn't believe that you get all you can eat chips and salsa before the meal. ha ha It was wild. 

We got to spend Friday and Saturday working Little Rock and it was sweet! We taught Stephanie and her family again and we had a break through lesson with her! She really opened up and started crying and a lot went on but we ended up teaching her about eternal families. At the end of the lesson she told us she knows she needs to get sealed to her family! That is music to a missionaries ears! I have really grown to love Stephanie and her family. 

On Sunday we made the morning rounds to get people to church. We went over to our investigator Angels house and She looked depressed and she told us she was not going to church. So we talked to her a little bit and I invited her to pray and ask Heavenly Father if she needs to go. So she did and halfway through her prayer she stopped for a really long time and before she even said Amen she looked up and said "He told me I needed to go." and she just got up and got ready and left! It was sweet!  

On Sunday night we went to Searcy where Pres. Berkheimer was having a welcome thing at his house for the Wakolos. It was good to see all my searcyites again! Man I miss them! I got to see Chris and Jess and Brandon and the whole ward! It was such a good week! This week we have 2 more zone conferences in Little Rock and Conway and next week is transfers! Time is flying!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

I hope you had a good one! Thats awesome/dangerous that you talk to all these moms of missionaries! I know how moms love to talk about embarrassing stories and share baby pictures and what not. 

This past week was good im sure. I dont remember any of it! We did go to memphis a couple of times though. One was for another Book of Mormon fireside and the other time was to do a baptismal interview! Elder Armstrong and I got to spend a little bit more time in our area teaching and it felt great! O so I got one story for ya: Last monday night we found out we had to drive to Jonesboro to pick up a car. I dont know what the deal was but the city was overrun with mosquitoes. We left the 2 car doors open for like 2 minutes and they were filled with mosquitoes! Really it was bad. So we killed as much as we could but we had to drive all the way back with those little demons flying everywhere in our car, and we didn't get back until 1 that morning.

It was a good week though and we have an investigator who is making good progress. She just gets anti really bad from co-workers. They just tell her she will get brainwashed if she keeps meeting with us.

This week we have specialized training meeting in Searcy Arkansas, Memphis Tennessee, and Southaven Mississippi. 3 states in 3 days! Crazy stuff. The good part about this is that we get to spend a lot of time with President Wakolo and his family. President Petersen and President Wakolo could not be more different! But they have both made a huge impact in my life!

Thanks for everything family!

Well happy 4th family!

Thanks for the pics of cash that you sent. It was funny because when I was opening the package an elder asked if ya'll sent me some cash and I said yes. Alright well now that I have already started this email with a lame joke I guess I will just tell ya'll about the week.

It started of last p-day playing some 2 step dodge ball and I accidentally gave a sister a black eye. ha ha It was bad.

So we had mission council this week and Armstrong and I decided to focus on teaching by the spirit. It was a good meeting! Pres. Wakolo really knows how to bring the spirit in.

So after council every zone always has their zone meetings. Pres. Wakolo wanted to go to all of them. He also is not a fan of driving because in Fiji you drive on the other side of the road and the other side of the car. So this week we have pretty much drove all around the mission with the Wakolo family. Its been pretty fun though.

They love fruit in Fiji so Sister Wakolo makes sure we get our helpings of it. On Friday we went to 2 zone meetings but after that we were invited to a ward party for the 4th! There was bbq, fried catfish, and a bunch of homemade ice cream! We had a sweet firework show too!

On Saturday there was some dudes playing basketball on a court under an overpass so we stopped and played some ball with them! We met some cool guys that we are going to start teaching and....Armstrong and I have an undefeated street record. 

Despite all the driving and the lack of doing real missionary work it was a great week! The Wakolo family is so awesome.

Thanks for the package and the letters and all the support! 

i cant wait to meet cash!! Man I can tell he is a stud. I love the picture of kate shooting ol' betsy. makes me proud!

 

Best Week Ever!

I AM AN UNCLE!! That is crazy! I can already tell little Cash is going to be a stud at everything he does. I can already tell he has his oldest uncles good looks and charm. On Wednesday right before a teaching appointment with President Petersen he texted me and said "congratulations you are an uncle!" I was pretty dang excited. I can't wait to meet him! 

So as if my newly found title as uncle Rulon didn't make this week the best week ever, it was followed by a load of other crazy experiences. I will be really brief with each one.

1. We taught the last lesson of President Petersens mission with him, Sister Petersen, and President Beheshti (our stake president) in his home. It was a great experience! The spirit was their really strong and she told us she recognized what she felt. We are teaching her again tomorrow.

2. We picked up President Wakolo from the airport!! Thursday afternoon we went and picked the family up, Pres. and Sister Wakolo, Glen (17), and Jasmin (10). Let me just tell you our first experience with our new Fijian President. We walked past some people in the airport parking lot and said hi to them. Then when we were on the other side of the lot, President Wakolo grabbed a book of Mormon and literally ran across the whole lot to give these people a book of Mormon. I have to admit it was my first experience watching a 47 year old Polynesian man run down a person in a parking lot to give them a blue copy, so I was pretty excited. We spent the whole day with the family getting to know the mission a little bit.

3. On Friday President Wakolo came out teaching with us. Right before we went to pick him up our appointment we were pumped for fell through. But on your mission, when things fall through, its because something better is about to happen. And it did! We went to an investigators house right after that. It was a couple we are trying to get married so they can get baptized. The man is a big black dude. In our lesson with him, President walked up to him, grabbed his arm and said "look me in my eyes," in his broken English. The man was shocked and looked up and President said "If you were a man, you would marry this woman." It was really bold, and I was nervous, but the man almost broke down in tears and he said he knew what he needed to do. They are getting married in 2 weeks. We had a lot of insane experiences in those couple hours of teaching with him. I will tell you the rest in a year or so.

4. The book of Mormon play was in Memphis this week. Me and Armstrong went down on Tuesday night for it. Basically what we did is got a lot of missionaries and stood in front of the orpeum theatre (President called it the great and spacious building) and invited people to our open house and gave them pass along cards. It was a neat experience. We went down on Saturday and sunday with Pres. Wakolo and his family to it too. It was pretty neat. Being on beal street in downtown Memphis late at night is a crazy experience! For the most part the play ended up being a great finding opportunity. I got called a polygamist a time or two but other than that we had positive reactions. 

Thanks family for all you do. It would take me all day to tell of the experiences I had in just this week. Just know that I am grateful for the prayers! 

   I cant believe Christie is having her baby!! Man I am excited for that little guy!!

Sorry I am writing so late. I didn't have a whole lot of time to write today but Sister Petersen told me that if I didn't write my mom she was going to beat me up. This last week was great! It was transfers so that's always a doozie! It was a big transfer to but everything worked out just peachie. We had a baptism a couple of days ago which was nice! Very spiritual. Elder Armstrong and I got a total of 2 days to work in our area this past week, Saturday and Sunday. But we still had some great experiences! One of my favorite people we are teaching right now is a girl and her 4 kids. She has the same personality as you mom so you can only imagine how wild our lessons get! Last night we re-taught her the restoration. She had a lot of questions because she has been receiving some pretty thick anti from her friends. The spirit was there though and it  helped us know what to teach. I want her to get her answer of the Book of Mormon so bad. She told us how she wants to change and she wants something better for her family. She loves how this gospel is centered around family. Family, please pray for this woman to receive an answer!! I feel like something is going to happen soon. We have another appointment with her on Friday and guess who is coming with us......PRESIDENT WAKOLO! He emailed us a few days ago and asked if he could come out teaching with us on Friday! It will be sweet. I am really going to miss President Petersen. We are going to teach with him at our Stake presidents house on Wednesday. We are teaching a girl named Rita! It should be a wild time.

 

   Today President and Armstrong and I had one last 3 point shooting competition before he left. He killed us. For an old man he is a baller!

 

   A couple of weeks ago I prayed and asked Heavenly Father what I needed to learn or understand in order to grow and progress more and boy was I taught a lesson. These past 2 weeks were hard. I felt frustrated, inadequate, and ineffective the whole time. I didn't know what was going on. I felt like I have been on a hamster wheel. Running and working hard and getting absolutely no where. Both in proselyting and in my calling in leadership I just felt like nothing I was doing was helping anyone. I constantly made goals with myself on what I was going to do the next day to be better and nothing was getting any better. right before the baptism I had these same feelings again and I finally just prayed and told Heavenly Father I would do whatever he wanted and however he wanted. I just wanted to know what to do! Rarely has this ever happened to me but almost immediately I felt the spirit and I knew exactly what I needed to learn. That it wasn't my work and I shouldn't try to do it my way. I know this sounds stupid and obvious but I don't think it ever seeped in until that moment. The savior promises us that if we let him, he will  " go before our face, he will be on our right hand and on our left, and he will send angels round about us to bare us up." D&C 84:88   This promise is real. Everyone who knows me know I am a stressor and that I get nervous. But fear is opposite of faith. We should always trust him to keep his promise.

 

   Tomorrow we go to Memphis where the book of Mormon play is. Armstrong and I and a few other missionaries will be standing in front of the theatre talking to as many people as possible. Thursday we pick up President Wokolo! Should be a good week!

GOOD LUCK TRUSE! See y'all later.