Martha's Vineyard and my new Companion Elder Mulitalos

New Couch to match the other one

Delicious Lobster feast

This guy is huge

Our water bottles

A door bell that I thought was cool

Elder Mulitalos first Lobsters to eat

Family we are teaching Amy, Brooke, Bristole,& Brady

Week 23
Monday March 25th 2019
   Hello everyone , I hope all is well, this past week went pretty well. Monday was pretty good it was our P-day so we didn't do much but for dinner we finally had our Lobster dinner. Oh boy was it delicious!.  Turns out Elder Mulitalo has never had lobster so he really enjoyed it. As our P-day ended we had a lesson with Rodrigo and Warley. Rodrigo is so close to baptism and we can't wait for that. We invited them to pray about the day that they feel is best for them. He wants it to be this next month in April! It sure is going to be an exciting time.
     Tuesday studies went really well, I started by writing my testimony in Brother Polley’s journal, and it really made me ponder on what to write. I wanted it to make an impact to help them grow in their faith. Later on we went downtown to visit Art and Jeff a couple potentials we hope to start teaching. When we got there, they had company coming over so it wasn't the best time. On the bright side they did say we can come back another day for a lesson! After dinner we left for Brother Polley’s home so he could help us with a service project that needed a truck. While we got there we ended up doing splits. I was with Brother Polley and Elder Mulitalo was with President Bilodeou doing flooring in the Polley’s home. Going on splits was a strange thing but it was really fun! We had to get two couches for Amy and her kids, and it was an adventure. After we got the couches and started to drive to Amy's, one almost fell out! Luckily we got it fixed and made it safely. While we got there she gave us her old couch, apparently missionaries have been wanting it for a while, because it matches the couch we already have at the apartment. It was an adventure trying to get the couch up the stairs, but we did it!
     Wednesday was a shorter day, Elder Mulitalo was sick, so we stayed home all day. While at the apartment building we just watched church movies all day. We had to go off island that night. We left to be early but we missed the ferry, so we had to wait for the next one. As we got back to the mainland we got picked up by the Brewster English Elders then made the drive to their apartment. To end the night we socialized then went to bed for an early morning.
     Thursday was an early morning because we had to be at West Bridgewater for interviews. We had to be there at 10 and it's a 2 hour drive without traffic. As we got there we were a little early so we helped set up for President Mavromatis. At 10 he still wasn't there, then the Zone leaders said it was changed to 11 and no longer 10. For that hour we all did our personal studies. I was the first one for interviews and it went really well, I suggested that Martha's Vineyard should be a Sisters area. They could do more work in the winter and be more effective.  He said he would pray about it. We ended up doing a District Meeting with President Mavromatis and we got some crazy news for our District. They are taking a set of Elders out of Brewster and we are now in charge of two areas! Now we help both the Martha's Vineyard Branch and the Cape Cod Branch. We only go to Cape Cod once a week to help them. It's going to be a good change to help them as well, more work to be done. We all then went out for a quick lunch then we started out splits. I was with Elder Lemon for the day. We did a lot of walking and contacting a couple potentials of Theresa but it was good to get to know him even more! We then came home and had a late dinner of chicken, pork and rice.
     Friday we were still in Brewster so we could be at District Council with the Zone Leaders. They taught a great lesson on the How, the What and the Why of how to begin teaching.  It helps us understand why they want to meet with us and how we can best help them grow. We soon made our journey back home, it was later then usual so we did our personal studies and had dinner that the Oliveiras brought over for us, we ended the night by watching a couple more church history videos.
     Saturday was pretty busy. It was a later start to the day but we still got a lot done. After studies President Bilodeou picked us up for a meeting with the branch presidency. We were early so he took us out for lunch at A1 a local café and it was pretty good. After that we went to visit Brother Powell so we could have our meeting. It went really well,we discussed our friends that we are teaching and who to look out for. We talked about a man who was taught before but we had to red dot him because he didn't want anything to do with the missionaries. He called us and apologized and he said he wants to retake the lessons, from that I know he witnessed how the gospel lessons have helped him! After our meeting we did service at Brother Polley’s to help deep clean the yard, there were so many leaves around the sides, but we got a lot done. They then had us over for a late dinner. We had a good time and we talked about the importance of prayer, it went really well and Sister Polleys bore an awesome testimony on prayer.
     Sunday is always the best, I am able to take and help bless the Sacrament. This time as we starting to help the bread was already in pieces so it really confuses us but sacrament still was peaceful. For our talks we had a High Council member from the Stake come and visit us. He spoke on connecting with God and it was awesome it helped me to grow closer. We then had Elders Quorum and Brother Powell spoke on following the spirit and how it saved his life. On his day off he was prompted to go do a couple sessions in the Temple and while he was there his apartment burned down. He was so thankful for the Gospel and being able to have the gift of the Holy Ghost. That night we went over to the Brown’s home for dinner. The kids are always crazy but its still really fun our message was on praying to know if the Book of Mormon is true!
 
                     Moroni 10:3-5
          "3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
     5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

     This is probably the most shared scripture by any missionary. It is an invitation and a promise. As you take the time to act on Faith and read The Book of Mormon. PRAY about it, so you can know for yourself if this Book is true. I KNOW without a doubt it is Thee most true and correct book there ever is, I have prayed about it more then once so I can continue to know by the spirit that it is true. So please don't take my word for it, pray about it for yourself so you can have a personal testimony in this wonderful book that truly does testify of its truth, I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Another Transfer on Martha's Vineyard with my new Companion Elder Mulitalo

cool instruments on the ferry

Our home in Martha's Vineyard

Elder Lemon & Halsell Transfer Day

Goats we saw while tracting

My new Companion Elder Mulitalo from Lehi Utah

Goodbye party for Elder Foutz

Remy the dog

New District Elders Knowlden, Lemon, Goodman, Mulialio, Newberry, Halsell

Sailor the Dog

Saying Goodbye to Elder Foutz

Saying goodbye to Elder Foutz

The Ferry Ride

Making my Dad Jealous

A fence made out of ski's

Huge Lobsters

March 18, 2019

     Well it's a new transfer and I have a new companion, Elder Mulitalo! It was sad to say bye to Elder Foutz, he is an amazing missionary and he will do great in his new area! Monday was a pretty crazy day as we did an extra deep clean of our whole house, inside and outside of all appliances. I did most of it so Elder Foutz could pack, but we got a lot of work done. That night we had dinner at President Bilieaus home and we had lamb curry, it was pretty dang good. Not too long after dinner we had more people from the branch come over to presidents home for a small going away party for Elder Foutz. We had lots of fun. I was with the dogs but still really fun!
     Tuesday was another long day of saying Elder Foutz last good byes, just making sure he could see all the wonderful people he taught while he served here. We visited less active/part member familys. Only Zack (a kid we are teaching) and his father Tim were there, the girls came within the hour. While waiting for them, I found out Zack wants to learn how to wrestle! It was real fun. Teaching him a few moves and letting him practice them so he could get better.
It was a good afternoon while waiting for the bus to go say goodbye to Amy we talked to a girl with 2 really cute dogs and she has similar religious beliefs. She is a Jehovah's Witness, but she said she really respected us. We hope to see her again soon. It was a hard night as I found out my puppy Crissy back home had passed away,  we have been best friends for 7 years, but I know she is in a better place now. We walked home from Oakbluffs and we were skipping rocks, while doing that Elder Foutz lost his ring. Luckily he didn't care too much about it. For his last dinner on the island we had Lachosas. We then went to bed early to prepare for the long day for transfers.
     Wednesday, the last day with Elder Foutz, well only the morning. We had a quick morning as we had to be at the ferry at 9am. As we got back to the mainland we said our last goodbyes to the Leaders leaving. Most that day I was in a trio with Elders Halsell and Lemon. Our first priority was to get me a new phone, because the sim card wouldn't work with my old one. We went to 2 places that morning but no luck for the phone I needed. After that we went to the chapel to do a lesson over Skype, it was pretty cool as the man we taught now has a baptism date (He is in the Brewster Elders area). After that awesome experience we went to Best Buy to finally get the phone. While we got everything and went back to the car, they gave me the wrong case and screen protector. We now had to go to another store for them. While at the new store we found someone new for the Elders to teach, I just knew that was not a coincidence we had all this trouble. We then went back to the ferry to meet my new companion (who was with the Portuguese Elders).  My new companion is Elder Mulitalo from Lehi Utah. We then made our trip back to the island. That night we had some food and he unpacked and we had a late study session, then went to bed.
     Thursday, we had a good companion study, and got to know each other even more. After that we left room Oakbkuffs, to do contact attempts and to introduce Elder Mulitalo to the friends we are teaching in that area. We had a couple good contacts we were told we could return another day to give a lesson. Later on I finally got my full prescription from the other day it was never sent in. That night we went to the chapel to visit the youth activities, and Elder Mulitalo met most of the youth and the leaders. To end the night we did our weekly planning to go over all our friends we are teaching and how to best help them.
     Friday, we went off island for District Council. On the way there we had a super bumpy ride and it was pretty sketchy, but luckily we survived it! For our lesson we learned how to teach when we find and find as we teach. As we testify of the truthfulness of the Gospel we ask if they know anyone that would want to learn more. For the role play we did a simplified lesson on the restoration, to help us say what is most important. As we arrived home we were both extremely tired so we ended up taking a nap longer than expected. That night we tried to call the Church Office Building to get a hold of the Family History Center to help a lady we hope to start teaching.
    Saturday, was a pretty awesome day, we taught Art again and he still wants to learn more. He is the first new person I have taught while being here. By the end of our lesson we could tell he was pondering on what we said. We made it home and we decided to call EVERYONE that was listed as someone potential to teach, it was probably about 50 people. We did drop/stop teaching a lot because they sadly did not want to meet with us. On the bright side we did get a few people that want to meet with us soon. That night we decided to go to Oakbluffs to remind our friends about Church tomorrow. We just barely missed the bus so we started our long walk there. On the way there President Biliduea asked if we could talk in Sacrament Meeting tomorrow and let the spirit guild us. We gladly accepted. As we made our way to see our friends we first stopped by Zack and Melissa. We are trying to help Zack understand why church is so important and I taught him another move, that he really liked. We then met Rod and talked to him, but sadly he had a meeting he needed to be at so he couldn't be at church. Last we stopped to see Becky but she has sick, and was getting ready for bed. We ran back and barely made it to the bus home for the night.
     Sunday, was a really good day. In Sacrament Elder Mulitalo bore his testimony and introduced himself to the rest of the branch. I gave a talk/spiritual thought on trusting in Jesus Christ. I truly opened up on how this past transfer was hard for me and that I did want to move to a new area. Through lots of prayer and studying, even a couple blessings helped me. I even said I did start on medication to help me, and how maybe I was put in this area so I could start on Medication to help me throughout my life. I learned to put my absolute and full trust in Jesus because he knows why I am here. A lot of people complimented me on what I said and because I opened up, I spoke and testified from the heart. While getting ready for Sunday School Brother Powell asked us of we liked Lobster and if we have ever had them before. He then asked of we had the cooking tools required to cook them. Later that day he brought over two live Lobsters and we were not expecting it at all. It was fun to see them though! We then left with President and his wife to visit an older lady who was a potential. We got to know her and she said Elders have always helped her with service but not once have any of them shared a message with her before. I knew right there she is the one I needed to find here. I grew up to be very service minded but to remind the ones I serve about how it is service to God as well. We left her a Book of Mormon and she is super happy to start reading it and start to have lessons. We then left to the Browns home for dinner and had their St. Patrick's Day traditional Ruben Sandwich Dinner. It was really good. They gave us some for the road home. Whenever we come to dinner they invite their neighbor Tom over so he could have a spiritual thought from us. Its always good to see him, and that was the end to a long but amazing week.

                      Alma 57:27
   "27 Now this was the faith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually."
   
    I am so glad that I was raised into the Gospel. As I grew up I learned what is right and what is wrong. I have had a lot of hardships in my life that made me question God and why these hardships happened to me. Another scripture 2nd Timothy 4:7-8 has taught me a lot about keeping my Faith no matter why fight I go through. As I keep my faith in him and understand that he knows why I have these hardships, they are there to help me grow. This is how i have learned to have absolute Trust in both God and His Son Jesus Christ, in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

  2nd Timothy 4:7-8
     "7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
     8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing"

Saying Goodbye to Elder Foutz

Dinner MV

District Council

District Council

District Council

High Water Mark 1954

District Council

District Council

Kicking Ice 

Only Pay Phone on the Island

Service fixing the Greenhouse

Service Shoveling Snow

Only Pay Phone on the Island

Ripped Pants doing service

Wet Pant Walking in the rain

Waiting for the bus by the shore

Week 21 3-11-2019
      Hello everyone, I hope all is going well! This week has flown by real fast and the transfer is almost over! This past Monday we did a deep clean of the apartment just so we had something to do that day. It snowed all day and we couldn't really do anything else. That night we had dinner with the Bilodeau family, we had breakfast for dinner and it was pretty good!
     Tuesday was a great day as well, though it was really, really cold. While doing my morning workout, I listened to a really good talk from Elder Bednar on "The Priesthood Man" he talked about how we should all have examples and role models in our life that should show Christ like attributes. As I strive to be that way each and every day. It was really cool to hear, because in my personal studies I am focusing on Christ like attributes! Later on that day we went to Oakbluffs to do some contact attempts but sadly no luck. When we were heading back to the bus we were stopped by a guy on a mo-ped. He first passed us and drove back to see and talk to us. He wanted to know about when and where we met for church, and we even gave him our number.
     Wednesday, we got our hair cuts today, Elder Foutz cut mine and he cut his own. Both really good looking styles. We went and did more contact attempts with people taught before I got here and I met Becky. She is a wonderful older lady who is just like a grandmother to the missionaries as she says. She has two wonderful and cute dogs who just love attention. We just had a short conversation before we had to leave but we talked about how God is in all things in our lives.
   Thursday, while waiting for the bus Elder Foutz drew a plan of salvation share in the sand. When the bus came we traveled back to Oakbluffs for our appointment with Rod, but it was a longer walk. On the way to his house we just kept kicking balls of ice back and forth to each other to pass the time. While at Rods I had an amazing opportunity to give him a blessing of comfort. I even started to tear up in the middle of it. I know that he felt the spirit as I felt it so much. It was just full of Heavenly Fathers love for him. I love every chance I get to use the authority of the Priesthood. After him we had dinner with the Polleys family, each time we go it’s always fun to get to know them more.
     Friday, our last District Council of this transfer was real fun. The morning was pretty relaxing until we just missed the bus to get to the ferry. After that we had to run and not stop to get to the ferry on time so we can make it to the mainland for our District Council. We just barely made it as the last car was pulling in, and boy was I exhausted. Our District Council was awesome. We had a lot of personal discussions in it. While there we had a good talk on our mission purpose and what it means to us personally. We then talked about being a successful missionary, and how it is about the work you put into it and not the baptisms you can get. To end our journey from this transfer together we all bore our testimonies, and said our goodbyes to Elder Barney who is going home after his long 2 years of serving the Lord.
     Saturday, well today we had transfer texts come in and I am staying here on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard for another 6 weeks at least! It is going to be good now that it's getting warmer. Sadly though, Elder Foutz is leaving and he is such an amazing missionary and a great companion. He'll do great in his new area. Later on we taught someone new, and we hope to meet up with them again this weekend! After our appointment we went to do service with Brother Powell at the Norton Farm. We helped Jamie Norton with his green house and fixing the panels that fell out. I ended up ripping the back of my pants, haha, oh well guess I learned to always wear Jean's during service. It's okay though Brother Powell offered to get them sewed up for me. With Elder Foutz leaving we went to say his goodbyes to Rod, and he was sad to see him go. Luckily I'm still here, so he  knows and trusts me. After him we missed the short way home so we had to take the bus the long way. It wasn’t too bad we had a great conversation with John the bus driver. He talked about him and his family, even his religious beliefs. We then had the opportunity to share our beliefs with him, it was awesome.
     Sunday, ahh Sunday, I always love Sunday, it's the day of the week I can partake of the sacrament. Sacrament meeting was pretty good Elder Foutz gave his farewell testimony and said his goodbyes to the Branch all together. After his testimony we had two great talks, one was about hope and the other on the Atonement of Christ. I loved both of them, they just so happened to be two of the things I am focusing my studies on this go around in the Book of Mormon. For Elders Quorum we had a great lesson on a Christ centered home and how essential it is for kids to grow up that way. After church we went to say goodbye to Becky and she gave Elder Foutz a blanket to remember her and the vineyard. For dinner we made our journey to The Brown Family’s home. We had really good pulled pork tacos. We had a fun time talking with them and we even got a cute sticker for the back of our name tags from the girls. The parents gave both of us a picture they took in frames they made so that we can remember them and that we served here on Martha's Vineyard. At first being here was a real struggle but it’s definitely growing on me, and the members are just amazing.

                  2nd Nephi 22:2
   "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation."

     While doing my studies this week I have been looking up scriptures that bring up Christ like attributes. As we trust in the Lord just as he trusted in our Heavenly Father. I love this verse a lot, and if we do have trust in him, even if it's small and we are just starting to trust in him. HE WILL and He IS our strength. He will give us the strength to get through the challenges and trials each and everyday, all it takes is trust.  The promise we have for trusting in Him is an Eternal salvation and the opportunity to live with our Heavenly Father again. This verse also reminds me of hymn #89 "The Lord Is My Light" such a wonderful hymn. I hope you all take the time to go listen to it.
I say these thing in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

A Slow Week

A cold day of tracting

Painting Polley's home

Author Chris Knowles

Bro Powells Bulgarian Horse

Bro. Powell's Bulgarian Horses

Add caption

Service with Brother Powell's Bulgarian Horses

More Bulgarian Horses

Bro Powell's Bulgarian Horses

George the Wild Peacock

Bulgarian Horse

George the Wild Peacock

Solved the Rubik Cubes

Week 20 3-4-2019
     It is already March, can you believe that? The past two months have flown by. This past week is the slowest week out of the year on the Island, because school is on a spring break, so a lot of people go on vacation. Last Monday we got caught doing some service for a friend of Brother Powell.  While we were there we brought wood from the horse pen into the house so they can have good ole firewood to heat the house. The Horses were Bulgarian horses and were about 8ft tall they are HUGE! A wild Peacock named George has been staying at their house 4 years. That's how most of P-day was spent. For dinner we ended up going to brother Powell’s home and we met his mother who he helps take care of. On the way home we were walking on a dark road, we past another lady walking the other way, and her dog scared me so much!
     Tuesday we met a guy named Chris Knowles who is an author of 15 published books. He wanted to know more about our beliefs just so he can have a better understanding. We do hope to see him again soon. After that we rode our bikes over to OakBluffs where we had to go over the bridge. While we got to the bridge it was super, super, windy. We then proceed to go see some potential friends to set up a day to come back and teach a lesson. On the way back we stopped by Rods house but he was still sick so we didn't stay long, it was good to see him.
     Wednesday, we started the day out by moving around the study room for a new look, and I really like it. We went out biking and looking for someone potential to teach but no luck, we were trying to hurry to beat the storm and get back in time for dinner. It started to snow around 4 so we left home early because we were biking. That day I got my new glasses because my old ones broke back in Madison,  haha.
     Thursday was a slower day just like this whole week has been. We did most of our work from home today because of the weather, but for dinner we went to the Polley’s home and we had a good time getting to know each other more and growing our friendship.
     Friday was the first day of March and a great way to start the month. We had district counsel and it helped us learn how to better understand where our friends are in their progress towards baptism. This day we stopped by all of our friends and seeing how they were doing, we have a few appointments set up this week and I can't wait for them. I also got my 4x4 rubik's cube in and Elder Foutz and I had a fun time trying to figure it out, we actually did it! We did go see a few friends that were taught before I got here and we plan to teach them again soon.
     Saturday we spent all day doing service. While at the Polley’s old home we are helping fix up so they can rent it, I did a lot of spackling and it was real fun. We also did a stop at the island dump to drop of a load of trash from the renovation. While we were painting we listened to a few awesome talks from past general conferences, it was tons of fun. That night Elder Foutz and I started to watch "the Safety Zone" new videos for all missionaries to help them to stay safe from both spiritual and everyday harms. They are pretty great, full of good insights and comedy relief.
     Sunday, even better its fast Sunday. One thing I've been able to help with while serving here in the branch is blessing the Sacrament, it's always fun to do. Even better every Sunday I can partake of the Sacrament to remember my own baptismal covenant. With it being Fast and Testimony meeting, I went up to bare my testimony on revelation. My current studies have been on the atonement and repentance and I have learned so much from it, and how to have more faith in Jesus Christ. In Sunday School, we talked about focusing on having spiritual blessings and not focus on the earthly possessions. After church we had a real fun linger longer and I got to know the Brown Family a little more. We also spent more time trying to watch the rest of the Safety Zone.
   
      Doctrine and Covenants 8:2-3
     "2 Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.
     3 Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground."

     Revelation always comes at the time of need. With the Gospel being restored so many things have happened that has furthered the work of Christ. We may not no why it is there, and it might not make sense in a worldly view, but I know that even we ourselves can have our own personal revelation to better us and our families. That's what is so amazing about the new come follow me program in the church, it is there for us to come closer to Christ and focus on what we need most. As a missionary I am praying and doing my studies to get the revelation needed to better my area I am serving in. I love that our Prophet and Apostles are able to have revelation to help out all of Gods Children, Amen