What a week!!!

It has been a great week. I was able to go on exchanges with elder Vernon. Which I loved. That guy is a boss. I really like him a lot and he makes everything fun yet we really are busy and get a lot done at the same time. He’s so great. I love getting that change and being able to have that change in a companion after so long and or area as well. It’s nice. So while elder Vernon was here we were doing our daily planning session at the end of the night and we sat down and we were planning on how many new investigators we wanted to try and get the next day. I though it was possible to get one. Elder Vernon looked at me and said I think we can get six. I was like whoa! That’s a lot but I agreed. And when we knelt down to pray we specifically asked our heavenly father for six people that would be receptive and willing. the next day before we exchanged back we went out and knocked on 3 doors on those three doors we came in contact with a family of 5 and two other girls that wanted to hear what we had to say and were really open to listening and learning. it was so great that right then and there our prayers were answered he didn’t let us down as he really never does he’s always there and always going to answer our prayers if we ask in faith he will be there for us to always depend on. 

 It was cool because we had planned on meeting with our investigator Kim Reese this last week but she was having people come over and redo her basement so things were way hectic at her house and she ended up canceling on us the night before. So then we decided that we would go tracting and while we were tracting lo and behold Kim Reese pulls up and offers us a ride. She wanted to take us out to lunch so we were able to get some food and even though we thought that we wouldn’t be able to this week we were able to teach her and make contact with her. It was so great. She told us that she was glad she saw us because she had really been stressed out with the renovation and we really helped calm her down and she said she just felt something so different the second we got in the car. It was really awesome to hear her say that.

So every Tuesday we go and volunteer our services at ivy creek assisted living home for the senior citizens. We help with their craft hour. It is so great to hear all the stories from all their lives. They really are so great. Plus they are always commenting on how cute I am so of course I love going there. I love hearing the truth! But anyway this last week they were talking about marriage and a bunch of the old ladies started getting very sad and teary eyed. Their husbands had just passed away recently for most of them. So one of the staff members noticed and quickly changed the subject by having us missionaries tell a little bit about ourselves and why we're here. Usually we aren’t allowed to really talk too much about it without getting kicked out so it was a surprise to me. But we talked about ourselves and our purpose. And these little old ladies loved it. After that they spent the next half hour or so asking us questions and us answering those questions. They were all so sweet and by the end of it nearly every single one of them had told us that they had no clue all we sacrifice to be here and that they had been told things about the "Mormons" but after what we said they found out that those rumors they had heard were false. They were so interested in our message. and a couple of them even started asking us more about our church and wanted to know more about it so it was so great and we were able to plant that seed in some of them and really help them come closer to their savior Jesus Christ. After that one of the ladies her name is Barbra asked us to come to her room so she could show us something. She had received an email from her friend a video of a news clipping.

This video was a news clipping from 2007 about a girl in Tennessee who was going through cancer. She was going through all the treatments and found out that the Mormon tabernacle choir was performing in her city on their tour. She really wanted to go but was unable to do to her treatments. One of her family members wrote to them asking if a few members of the choir could come and see her. They never heard back. But one day they went on a little walk outside the hospital and when this little girl walked back into the hospital the ENTIRE Mormon tabernacle choir was there waiting for her. They sang all of her favorite songs just for her. It was so amazing to be Abe to feel the spirit from that. and to really see how that made that girls life so happy at that moment that even though she was going through one of the hardest times of her life those simple songs helped her forget and just be as happy as she could be. It was so great. The spirit was so strong. And Barbra knew that’s what she was feeling. In getting Goosebumps just writing about it.

 Well thank you so much for all you do I love you

Love elder Ross

nerf war

This week we were able to have dinner with two of our investigators. It was so great! They both are so amazing. One of them her name is Kim Reese. She should already be baptized. She really knows so much and loves the "Mormons" but she is too scared to take that leap of faith and enter the waters of baptism. She still has so many questions she says. And the other night when we were at her house she asked us questions over and over again. Which is good, but also you don’t know every little detail about the church before your baptized. I mean I am still learning every day and heck everyone is still learning every day. So it’s just the act of showing her that through baptism she can really follow her savior Jesus Christ and also can gain that constant companionship of the Holy Ghost that can help her learn even so much more. She is so ready. Just nervous.
It is so hard living in the mall of Georgia. Especially since we are on bikes it wouldn’t be as difficult if we had a car but we don’t and we understand that but it is so hard having to travel so far to get anywhere. And to top it all off we are dead at the bottom of the area so we are literally the furthest you can go before leaving the area. It makes it very difficult to do anything really. It would be so great if we could move somewhere in the middle of the area then we would be closer the members and the houses and we would have an even medium of our radius of the area to our apartment. That is the end of my little complaining session.
It has been great though. The other investigators that we had dinner with are absolutely so flipping great. They love us and we love them. They had us over and fixed us a thanksgiving dinner. They are willing to listen to what we have to say and listen when we do teach. But they have also came out and said we are Baptists. I hope that they can have open minds when we teach them and really listen to learn not disprove. They are so great and I know that what we have to share can really bless them and make them so much happier and that is all I want for them.

We had the primary program yesterday in church. I haven’t seen one of those in a long time. It was nice to see all the kids and how excited they were to say something in the microphone. They are flipping hilarious. I really enjoyed it. It was very entertaining but at the same time. I didn’t know that I could get so much from a primary program. Those kids taught me so much it was great.

So a member gave elder Barrett and I nerve guns for his birthday. And the Spanish elder saw them so they wanted some. The other night when we got home we went over to do our laundry at the Spanish elder’s apartment that’s where we do it. And then we started shooting each other and it turned into a huge a nerve gun war and we were running around jumping and screaming. Then it got around 10 so we stopped and quieted down and about 15 minutes later we get a knock on the door it was two police officers. I guess someone in the building heard the screaming and yelling and jumping and thought that someone was being hurt or abused so they called the cops. We told them what we were doing and that it was late so we stopped. The policemen laughed and said you are awesome. Then they left. It was a pretty eventful night. So we took some pictures to remember it because out of consideration for others we don’t want anyone else thinking someone is being beat to death again.

I love you all thank you again for all your letters and the love that comes with them.

 

LOVE ELDER ROSS

 

 

 

Life is Good!

This week was just wonderful. On Tuesday, We were able to go on exchanges with the zone leaders and Elder Thomas came over to the Hamilton Mill area with me. In simple terms he blew my mind. He is an amazing missionary. He taught me so much in such a short time. I though my mind was going to explode. I really didn’t want him to leave when the time came because I felt that he had so much that I could use and I just wanted to get what he had. He is a great missionary. We stayed so busy that day and it was such a great feeling. We were going to check on this recent convert who hadn’t came to church in a long time. When we got his house no one answered the door so we then decided that we would go tracing around the neighborhood. the first house we came to this young adult man answered the door and he said that he would like to learn about Jesus and wanted to call us and schedule a time to come back so that was great and before we left his house we asked him if he knew anyone else in the neighborhood that could use our message or is in a time of need. He pointed out two houses and told us a little bit of what each of them were going through. So we then went to the two houses the first was a young lady and her family. They had been going through a rough time and were interested in hearing our message so we talked and decided to come back after our dinner later that night when her mom would be home.
Next we went to the other house that the gentleman had pointed out to us. It was a young man about 18 years of age. He was very interested and had a lot of questions for us. So he invited us in and began asking and wondering. So he said flat out to us that he had been raised Presbyterian his whole life but if what we had to say was true and this really is the true church then he wanted the truth. He didn’t want to be living a lie anymore. So he was going to keep an open mind about everything. And wanted us to come back again. He took a book of Mormon and even said the prayer before we left. And he has been reading and praying about it.
Then we went to our dinner. At dinner we asked the member we ate with if he would like to come with us to this investigators house which he excitedly agreed to. We went and taught a lot to them and they all wanted us to come back this Tuesday. But being able to see the member come and him actually testify of everything we were saying was so great. You could tell that they were more receptive to the members testimony than they would’ve been to just ours. Members are so great. And they offer so much more to investigator. I know that if he wasn’t there the meeting would’ve been totally different. And would not have been in anyway as effective as it was. It was such a great day that day. Plus we got to ride our bikes so much that day. Which I loved so that’s always a plus.

On Saturday it was Elder Barrettes birthday and so it seemed like every single member in the entire ward wanted to feed us so we went from house to house and the members fed us all day it was crazy. I never have been so full of food in my entire life. I was about to explode I swear. Not a good time that day. The members are so great though. We helped this member stain his fence that day as well it was good to do some service. But the funny thing was this guy that we helped he looks exactly like Edward Cullen. Not even joking and so crazy he kept saying things from twilight and making us all laugh. He was hilarious. It was way fun. Made doing service a blast which it always is though.... right?

I got to have an interview with the mission president this week as well and that was so great. He is such a nice guy and shows so much love to every single missionary out here. It was great to be able to sit down with him and have a one on one conversation with him.

Everyone I meet always asked me about my family and then I go off on a rant on how amazing my family is so all better feel special. Amah I sure do love you all and hope everything is going great. Keep writing letters it is so great to get letter in the mail. And hearing from people just makes my day. I love you so much!

 

LOVE ELDER ROSS

 

 

 

It has been so nice lately. We really have been having so much fun and getting so much work done. It feels like we are always so busy just running from one place to another trying to keep appointments. It is hard but it is so great and wouldn’t want it any other way. We have really been finding people like crazy and finally it has paid off we have got a bunch of new investigators this last week. And a few of them have turned into progressing investigators which just says that they are following the steps and keeping commitments towards baptism. It’s amazing to be able to see that change come across someone in such a short time. To be able to see them grow and become so much happier in their life’s. It’s great. We have been having some success but it is disappointing when you meet those people you just freaking love and adore them and just want them so badly to do this because you know it will help them but just for some reason they don’t want to take that next step. That is so hard. We have had a couple of people who have chosen that and it breaks my heart. But at the same time we don’t give up and the lord works in mysterious ways. So one day one day. We just keep being examples and always invite and give them the opportunity. Don’t ever take the opportunity away from them. It’s important that every day we are examples to everyone around us no matter where we are who we are with or what time of day. Always strive to have that Christ like example with you and be that. just like Ammon he was there to serve and he showed what he was capable of by being an example and serving others and the king lemony was so astonished at his actions more than his words which in turned helped convert him and a whole nation. Being an example goes so far our actions go much further than our words.

 

 Yesterday at church it was very hard to go. We aren’t allowed to watch football so I didn’t know the score to the games but right when I walked in all the dang BYU fans came up to me and gave me so much crap about the TEXAS game. At first I thought they were just kidding then they showed me the score I could not even believe that it was possible for BYU to beat TEXAS. I am still mad about that today. I can only imagine brother lonely now.... I am so heart broken. I have talked this game up for years. Enough about that I am getting sad just thinking about it. And I just found out the Steelers lost yesterday... gosh dang it!! :(

 

I love you so much. How’s everything going? How’s life? School? Work? How was Labor Day? I love you all.

 

Love Elder Ross

RED NECK GPS

THIS IS A MISSIONARIES IDEA OF GPS

 

 

I KNEW ELECTRICAL TAPE WOULD BE HANDY - BUT COME ON THIS IS GENIUS..



LOVE IT!!

This week has been so great! We were able to go back to Lilburn for a zone conference. My first zone conference. There wasn’t anyone from my MTC district there but I got to meet so many new people it was great. Also there was so much said there that really helped us work this week. I learned so much from that zone conference it was so great. Truly inspired by the lord of what was said.

So we were tracing a lot this last weekend and we actually got a lot of success from doing it. We first came across this guy with a family. He was nice as usual. And we asked if we could share a message of Jesus Christ with him he was very excited and asked if we could come back another day because he had family coming over. So we gladly made an appointment to meet with him and his family again and we will be seeing them this week to teach them and answer their questions.

Then we were in a different neighborhood and we came across a Spanish family luckily they spoke some English and they asked us to come back as well. So we gladly set up a time to come back. So yesterday we walked for hours up hills to get to this families house after church and we got all the way there and he had company and asked us to come back next week.... I was heartbroken after walking all that way. I tried to have a good attitude and the lord showed me that I was supposed to be there at that exact time. As we began walking out of this neighborhood we came a crossed a guy changing his brakes. We started talking to him asking if he needed any help and what not. And then he started asking us about our church he had seen our building and was wondering what it was all about, he had been wanting to come to church and check it out. I and my companion were like WOAH! Umm yes you are always welcome to come. We gave him the time and he gave us his contact information. we invited  him to church this next week and said he could go with us so that he would know someone and so this next week we are going to call him on Saturday and give him a friendly reminder and we hope and pray to see him at church. That would be so great.

Also this week we were out knocking doors and we came a crossed this guy who happens to be a Baptist preacher....he talked to us for over an hour right there on his door step he gave us pamphlets form his church he gave us books he wrote for his church he was quoting scripters at us telling us how his church was true and ours was wrong. It was funny though because he would quote a scripture and totally take the meaning of it out of context so then after he did this for a while he would quote scriptures and he ended up proving himself wrong because all his references began to go against each other in the way he was saying them.

I am so glad was raised in the church and I know the truth. I am so grateful that we have the fullness of the gospel not just a little of it but we have the entirety of it. I can’t imagine my life without it. It has given me so much and continues to give me everything each day. While talking to this preacher he refused to take a book of Mormon. And it got me thinking we were willing to take and read every pamphlet he gave us. I was willing to do that because I have already found the true church and absolutely nothing could shake my testimony of it not even a pamphlet or book of another church once you know the things I know nothing could even come close to shaking this testimony, and then I thought of him how he wouldn’t even take a book of Mormon and that goes to show how powerful the book of Mormon can be and how true the church is that he must have known or been scared that if he read it maybe he would like what he read or get that feeling the it is true and he had been wrong all along. That he would get that confirmation that the book of Mormon is the word of god. Which it is. It is so great. Just my little thought for the week. But read the book of Mormon if you already have read it again. Pray about it pray to know if it is true again even if you already have then you can feel that wonderful feeling of the truthfulness of it once again or for the first time. It is such a great feeling, that you will always strive to feel every day.

Thank you for all the love and support I get from you! I love you! I am doing so great and am loving every minute. Hope everything is going great I love you!

Love Elder Ross

 

STILL IN HAMILTON MILL

Thank you so much for all the love and support!!

 This week has been amazing! I was able to go to Lilburn to the mission home and go to a follow up meeting with all the new missionaries that came out with me. it was nice because I got to see all my friends from the MTC and I have really missed them.my companion has really been a struggle for me but this week has been the turning point we got to work through some things and now we are doing so much better. We actually talk laugh and enjoy each other. It is so great. We were able to get so much more done this week and we even found this hidden neighborhood. We call it Narnia. It is within walking distance of our apartments and we had no clue it even existed. We felt a prompting to take this trail behind our apartment and it led us straight to this neighborhood it was way exciting. We traced a little bit of it so far and in the little we did tract we got a new investigator and we are scheduled to come back this week... i will let you know how it goes and I am so excited. This isn’t a small neighborhood either so it will keep us busy for a while.

 The ward members have somehow found out about my deathly fear of snakes and they think it funny to take pictures of monstrous snakes they find in their backyards and give them to me. It is horrible. They think it is hilarious. One of the families their kids actually caught one while I was there and I refused to leave the house until they had hid it deep in the forest. It has been so nice weather here this week so rainy and cloudy which usually isn’t good weather but the humidity has been gone and it has been pretty cooler so I love it reminds me of home and it is great.

 It seems that everyone from Georgia gets mission calls to Utah and almost all the missionaries out here are from Utah so we are pretty much just swapping kids is what everyone tells me. And back home people talk about going to college here and there and in different places. But here if you go to church you go to BYU no exceptions. Almost every single kid here that has graduated this last year or no matter how long ago has and or is going to BYU it is crazy. They all get accepted too.

We had this meal I got help make it’s called a low country boil. pretty much you have a big pot on a fire and you put water and spices in it and get it boiling then you put potatoes and corn on the cob and carrots and sausage and shrimp and anything else your heart desires once all of them are cooked you strain the water out and then you just dig in and eat all you want with your hands it is so freaking good way easy and a great thing for like a family cook out. They just poured it on a big plate on the table in the backyard and everyone just sits around and talks and eats and has a great time doing it.

We started helping to teach a mission prep class for some of the young men in the ward. On Sundays. It’s weird for me because really the only mission prep class I had was the MTC I didn’t really go to a specific class. But at the same time compared to these boys I was Thomas s monsoon. So we are trying to help them build their testimony and giving them the resources so that they can find it for themselves and learn through the spirit which always the most efficient and the way you learn the absolute most.

this last week, well the last two weeks I guess we have been working on this very less active guy and trying to get him to come back to church wave gone andvisitied him and yesterday he finally came to church. I was so happy that was just as good as a baptism in my book. He said that he really enjoyed it and that he didn’t realize how much he was missing and just by those simple 3 hours he gave he could feel just a new spirit about him and he felt so much more alive and happy. I almost jumped out of my shoes and was close to running around the church in excitement.

I love you so much! Thank you for all you do! Keep the letters and emails coming it really is like Christmas morning when I get a letter. Or email. It’s so great. Hope everyone is doing great. Love you all.

Love Elder Ross