Service at the Jenni Museum and Food Bank

Cool metal sculpture 

Fun District Video Call

Fun District Video Call

Fun District Video Call

Elder Walker fit inside the Suit Case

Service at the Jenni Museum

September 30, 2019- Week 50

Monday is the usual stuff and preparing for the rest of the week. After a little bit we drove downtown to get some sweaters because why not haha. I got a Plymouth one and it is warm, perfect for the months to come. After we drove to Carver to meet up half way with Preston Wood to save miles. We then went to his house and met the YSA Elders there. While there I did something I thought I would never do... we played Dungeons and Dragons. It was definitely interesting and Preston gets really into it. It's alright just something I'd never play back home. After a little bit we helped bring up some Halloween boxes from the basement and Elder Walker could fit in one of the suitcases! He is skinny and flexible enough to do so. We left shortly after because P-day was over, and stopped by a member’s house close by.  They helped us out and made some dinner and we had a good talk with them both. To end the night we walked downtown. Monday night, it was dead!

     Tuesday morning right before we had studies, Bob's furniture came in and replaced my broken box spring! Now I wont feel a dip in the middle. After studies we went to go meet with Al, this time we really didn’t get a lesson in we just listened to him about his life and different religions he’s learned about.  Sherri came shortly after and we said a prayer with both of them. Right before we left Al said he wants to come to a Sunday service soon! We can’t wait for that. After we stopped by the Jenni Museum, we have a service opportunity to help them with the yard work. While there we had a little mini tour and we plan on coming back tomorrow to mow the lawn! After we did that we did some street contacting downtown until we had to leave for our first appointment with Eric. We had a pretty good lesson with him, but he seemed very distracted, but he loves the spirit we bring! We then had a couple of stop byes in the same area (the projects). We then made our way home for dinner and Elder James made some dang good chicken! To end the night we had a good lesson with Brother Gould and continued to read from the Book of Mormon. We are now in 2 Nephi so it's about to get confusing. We then went to the church to pick up some food a member had for us, and talked to the Young Men's Leader. The Young Men are doing archery tonight. When in the Easy home we stopped by Ollie and Peyton to check in on them, sadly no answer tonight. We did a few more stop byes while on the way home but sadly no answer.

     Wednesday was another fun day of service. While at the Food Bank all we did was start to weigh everything. They had an audit the next day and needed everything in the room weighed, so that's what we did the whole time, it was pretty fun. We played a game of guess the weight. While there they got a couple of food orders in and they decided to give it all away, so Elder James and I got a bag of food! After service at the food bank we came home to drop off the food, have a quick snack then we did service at the Jenni Museum, mowing the lawn took about 30ish minutes,  not long at all. The ground is above a natural spring so at some parts the ground was just mush. We then came home to have studies. Well I tried to take a small 5-10 minute nap turned out being an hour... guess I really needed it. We had a nice comp study, then went out to street contact. We noticed some older guys at the street basketball court so we ended up playing some "pross-ball" with them. We had a nice game going on and yes this was the first time playing pross-ball for me. We made some good connections with them. We had to go to make it to our ward missionary coordination in time. We had a good coordination to help our leaders get more involved and know what we can do to help. A Brother Volpetti took us out to dinner at “The Hideout" a pretty good diner in Middleborough. I had a delicious steak, but sadly right after I rushed to the bathroom and threw up, I have no clue why. After dinner we made our way to an appointment at the furthest west of our area. Turns out it was a set up, the kid we were reaching out to had no clue who we are, and when we called the given number the next day, we knew it wasn’t him. Later in the week we got a prank call from him. We then had our journey home for the night. 

     Thursday was finally interviews for the transfers and we had time to do some studies then we drove to the church to be picked up by the Brewster Elders. While at the Church we dropped off the table and chairs we borrowed for a Free Bible Stand. Interviews went well, President took notice and said I seem more focused on the work in this area. He always say’s to me, "you are a fighter" it's always funny to hear it. After all of us finished up interviews we went out to lunch at “Little Sally's”. It's a pretty famous place in the mission for the missionaries to eat at. I had a really good mac and cheese! On the way home we got dropped off and made our way to Sister Burgess home to help her move a couple things around in her house. She is getting ready for some surgery and will be using a Walker. With it being Thursday we came home and did a weekly planning session, it went pretty well. We made some good plans for the friends we are teaching. After we did a couple of more stop byes to people with interest and walked around downtown. At Dinner we just ate at the house to save miles, and we didn’t have anyone signed up. The last three hours of the night we met with Brother Gould and read from the Book of Mormon.  With the little time we had left we did a couple more stop byes and walked downtown. 

     Friday is always fun. After we had our studies we drive to the Chapel to have District Council. This week we did it over video call because everyone was out of miles. It still went really well! Most of Friday we did stop byes and a lot of street contacting  and that’s pretty much how Friday ended up. At dinner we watched the second Book of Mormon video, and it was so cool!

     Saturday was such a long day. We had studies, then we tracted down a long street we were hoping to talk to a lot of people but we talked to 1 person about every 7 houses. It wasn’t as much of a success as we hoped for. Later on we had a short lesson with Sister Conway and read a few verses from the Book of Mormon.  We then tried to do more stop byes with a few people we are teaching but no one answered. For the last little bit we walked downtown and the sins of the world were showing as we passed many bars.

     Sunday we are already out of miles, but we couldn't get a ride to Stake Conference up in Hingham.  It was a different Stake Conference for me. They released the presidency and called a new one. We heard all of there testimonies. The coolest part about today was seeing a few members from the Martha's Vineyard Branch! The last two talks were given by two members of the 70 that were there.(I cant remember the names). While on the way home we made stop byes with some members we didn’t see there, who are also on the outskirts of our area. We played some "volleyball" with a couple of the Fernadez kids, because they were all outside. We really just threw a volleyball over a fence back and forth, but still had fun!  After a few more check ins we came home for studies.  We had a small dinner and the Hovey’s said we could come over to pick some dinner up from them as well. We ended up talking to Al tonight and after talking for a little bit we had to go, but he said that one thing that he really likes about the church is no one gets paid. He said that is how they should all be. We also talked to Larry and Ollie but tonight wasn’t the best.  Larry just got back from the Hospital and wasn’t feeling good. To end the night we once again walked downtown, surprising had some good talks with strangers. As we were walking home we talked to Elizabeth, she is our friend we see every night walking her dogs. She was with a friend and told her "these two are so awesome!, they are going to come over to share a message soon. You should come over too!" That was super cool to hear a lady we haven’t even taught yet asking a friend to come over with her to hear a message about Christ!

     

                   Article of Faith 8

  

  "8 We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God."

  

     The scriptures are so powerful, as I read in them everyday I learn more of the love the Christ has for not me only but for everyone. We should read daily and pray to know the truthfulness of the scriptures. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Week 49 fun on the pier

P-Day District fun

Looking towards Boston

on the pier

P-day with our District

The pier

Elder Barbosa 

Love the Lobster

KKaties Burger Bar famous in Boston

Week 49 Sept 23, 2019
  Monday was our District P-day so after we got all our stuff done we traveled up to Hingham to meet up with the Sisters in the District. We had lunch at Walburgers, a famous burger joint in Massachusetts. After lunch we all made our way to Webb State Park to have a little hike, check out the beach and plays some games. While at the beach we saw Boston in the distance. After all that we made one last stop for Ice Cream at Dairy Queen.  While in line we witnessed a car accident and the Cops were already there. It almost got out of hand! After we got back into our area we had a quick dinner and left for the night. We had a good lesson with Brother Gould and continued to read from the Book of Mormon.  We then did tracting and street contacting for the rest of the night.
     After our studies on Tuesday at 4:00 we got picked up by Brother Volpetti to go visit a couple of members. Before we started he took us out to lunch at Ninos Deli, this time I got a meat ball sub. The first member was Reed, he lives in a Retirement Home and was so happy to see us. We sat and talked for a little bit along with the others that were at the table as well. We later visited a Sister Hudson. We got to know her more and helped Brother Volpetti give a blessing. I always feel so much spiritual power in Blessings! After that, Brother Volpetti dropped us back off at our place and we made our way to visit Eric and his friend Jimmy. Both have strong Faith in Christ and the Bible. Eric does seem more willing than Jimmy but after our lesson about the Plan of Salvation,  Jimmy said he needed to pray about it. Honestly that was so cool to hear, because we want the ones we teach to pray and know for themselves! Eric said he read the Book of Mormon and that he really liked it as well! After the lesson they let us know that they really trust us compared to missionaries in the past because we are patient and willing to listen. After our lesson with them we made our way to the church to print off a few things, then made our way to a late dinner with a part member family, the Lecarda family. We talked to the husband who isn’t a member. He is a really cool guy and even comes to church every week.
     Wednesday was a day of service. Today we went and helped out at the Food Bank and it was a weird day. It was back and forth between busy and really slow. At times we just stood around and the other times we were moving a lot. After we got back I just passed out for about an hour, while I slept Elder James did his studies. He woke me up using his duck call but he didn’t get the reaction he wanted, lol.  We had some companion studies then did some street contacting Downtown. We then made our way up to the Chapel for Ward Correlation. It went pretty well, and after he took us out to eat at "KKaties" its rated Massachusetts number 1 burger joint.  I got the biggest burger they had, it's called "The Rock" and oh boy was it good! After dinner we had a good lesson with "Al" about the Restoration. This time it went really well! He is hard of hearing and he was able to hear us pretty well in this lesson! After our lesson we did some street contacting downtown, but sadly it was dead, and really empty.
     Thursday, was the day we do weekly planning, so we were inside the apt longer than usual. We had some good studies both personal and companion study. We then had our weekly planning session and talked about how we can help our friends in their faith. We had our first appointment cancel so we cleaned the house to stay productive until our next appointment.  We met Chris, he is a less active member and has had health issues. When we got there we just talked and got to know him and how we can help.  We had a good talk and said a prayer and left to the Cala Family home. We helped with cleanup in the basement.  This time we started to water and bleach mop the floor from the water that flooded the basement. We also started to help organize the basement as it got cleaned. They had dinner for us for helping out. We shared a message on Eternal Families, and it really helped the non-member brother that was there. After visiting them, we stopped by the Salmons to help move a few things and take some items to the dump. They have one wild dog there! We then left to “The Projects” and a couple other stop byes before coming home. To end the night we walked downtown.
     Friday was District Council and we had a really fun time with some “get to know you questions and miracles”! The lesson was put on by the Hingham Sisters about "why commitments"? I learned a little on how I can better help the ones we teach. We had a little dessert to celebrate Elder James 19th Birthday. After that we started our exchanges, I was with Elder Barbosa in Plymouth.  We first came home to eat lunch. We then made our way to “The Projects” and meet with Helen. She instantly brought up Revelations 22:18 but then contradicted herself by using different Bibles... people like that confuse me. (That scripture says don’t add or take away to the Bible, why people don’t want to read the Book of Mormon). She was kind and she said she would pray for our safety. She doesn't know too much about what we believe but in the prayer as we left she said let the truth be known to each of us. I thought that was pretty cool, it gives us more reason to have the spirit help teach her. We then made a couple more stop byes by a few potential contacts in the area. One asked to come back that night the other didn’t give us a time. We then made our way to the visit Ollie and Peyton. We had a message about Christ helping us in our trials and we also talked about the Plan of Salvation. Next time we go over we will go in more detail with them all! Before we left we watched a Book of Mormon Children's Video with Peyton to help her better understand. We came home after that and walked downtown, and there were a lot of tourists. We met about 5 Germans, a Russian and a lady from the Ukraine. We then ate dinner at the Lobster Hut. I had some good ol New England Clam Chowder. We finished and walked out on the long rock path (some call it a Jetty others a Dike) it was long! But talked to some really cool people while on the walk. After we did a little more street contacting as we made our way back to the car. We then went to meet Jessica but she still wasn’t there. To end the night we met with the Lecarda Family to share a message. Brother Lecarda isn’t a member yet and is also from Brazil. He had a good time talking to Elder Barbosa because they are both from Brazil. We shared the video "migration: a yearning for home". Just like animals in the wild travel across the world to be where they can survive, we too must do what we can to spiritually survive and come closer to our Heavenly Father.
     Saturday after we got ready we traveled to exchanges back with our regular companions. When we got back to the apt we had a little time to do studies and have a little lunch.  We made our way to Sister Burges to help mow her lawn and trim down some bushes and vines. After we finished, she wanted to take us out to lunch because she had a coupon for Woods Seafood. It was her and her daughter along with Elder James and I. We each got some steamahs (clams) a Lobstah and some clam chowdah, It was super good! I didn’t get any of it on me until I was eating my side of fries and ketchup for onto my shirt... I was so close! After we came home to change my shirt, we had a lesson with Al and Sherrie. We talked about faith and prayer to know the truth. We helped give Sherri a Blessing of comfort, she has had some struggles at work. It was awesome to see the faith she has in asking for help! With not to much time left we made a few calls and had dinner.  We met with Brother Gould and finished up reading 1 Nephi! We talked about having faith in and trusting our leaders that they are helping us come closer to Christ. We then met with Sister Conway who lives in a nursing home. She was happy to see us there. We also shared a wonderful message with her about trusting in God when we have trials. We didn’t have too much time left for the night but we wrote up an email to the Ward Council  to keep them informed/updated on the progress of our week.
     Sunday morning I began to type up my email for the week. While on the way to Church there must have been something in the back of my throat because I just about died from coughing. Unfortunately I didn’t have water in the car. When we got to Church we help greet the members as they walked in and we were asked to help with Sacrament.  We helped bless this week and it was pretty fun. In Sacrament we had two great talks on missionary work. The first talk was great, it was all about developing Christ like attributes! The second hour was how we can be more effective in sharing and studying with family at home. After church we were asked to bring Sacrament to a couple members who were sick and couldn't make it to Church. They were Brother Gould and Sister Conway, both were extremely happy to be able to take Sacrament. We then had a little time to come home and eat lunch before our next appointments. Sadly the first one needed to cancel because they were still gone. We then did a few stop byes with less active and people taught in the past a few even gave us a time to come back! We were a head of schedule a little bit so while we had about 20 minutes left until dinner so we listened to a talk "Feed my Sheep by Elder Holland" for a little bit of studies for the day. We then had breakfast for dinner with the Wood Family, and we had a lot of fun with them.  Later we were able to have a part of Ward Coordination with Sister Wood and got to know how we can help her as the new Relief Society President. On the way home we got a call about a new referral at the edge of our area. We called him and plan to meet Wednesday night! For the last little bit of the night we walked downtown and had a couple great conversations with some people. We even have a new friend who has interest!

                        Alma 29:9                                         
   “I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy"

     I am honored to be a Disciple of Christ, to be called to serve him full time in the mission field. I am proud that he has faith in me to be an instrument in his hands for his great and eternal purpose, to help others find Christ in their lives. Its not all about baptism,  it's simply helping others recognize and help their faith strengthen in Christ and his Gospel. As I have seen repentance in my own life I have felt so much relief and ask for the help and strength to be better each and every day. I want others to have that Joy in there life as well! I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Plymouth Boat Harbor

Working at the Food Bank

Shark Jerky

Plymouth Mass

Phymouth Boat Harbor

At the boat dock in Plymouth, MA

WEEK 48 SEPT 16 2019

     So far this week while street contacting we have met a couple of interesting people with their own personal beliefs. The first was an atheist, and he was super kind and asked us a couple questions about what we believe so we got to know what he believes. He said from science we know we come from dirt, then eventually we evolved into humans. The weird thing was he still believes that Jesus Christ lived and was an extraordinary man. It gave me an interesting perspective on what some atheists believe. The second man was a preacher, and he just got back from Africa teaching people. He said just like Muhammad, Joseph Smith saw the devil and not God and Christ. He brought up the fact in the Bible it warns us of false prophets, and that's what Joseph smith is. Later he claimed to be a prophet then Elder James and I got real confused. All I can say is in the end we will be where we are most happy.

     Nothing too big happened Monday, besides at lunch I was opening a can of tuna to make lunch and it fell in the sink perfectly. Now, I'm going to head straight to Tuesday. After the morning schedule and lunch we went out to start the day of finding. We first went to Hood Rd but we didn’t get much luck so we went to finish up tracking on Settlers Street. After about 4 houses we were told to go check in with the front office and sadly we can no longer tract on that road, due to it being private housing. While there we made a few calls to our friends and set up a couple appointments. While making calls, we got a call from the Cape Cod Branch President. He asked if we could stop by the Beth Israel Hospital in our area to give a member a blessing. Luckily we had time to help out. First we had a lesson with a friend in the projects, and we read from the Book of Mormon because he didn’t have too much time when we came. Later we met up with a friend of his to see if he was interested as well. We had a great conversation about Faith and even said a prayer with him. After visiting with them we came to the Hospital to give a lady a blessing. She just got out of surgery and was so grateful we could make it. After we came to the Church to meet Sister Young (Bishops wife) Because she brought us some dinner. While we waited we played some basketball. The rest of the night we had a couple lessons along with some stop byes and street contacting.
     Wednesday morning we went and did some service at the Food Bank. We helped make some ready to go packages and set ups along we helped with some projects coming up.  Later we came home for some studies then went to a less active members home to help them with some service. For helping they gave us lunch and we ate with them. They are the Cala family and Sister Calas brother lives with them and he isn’t a member. We hope to start teaching him soon. After lunch we helped weed wack/edge and mow the lawn. After we were going to help them bring stuff back into their basement from a previous flood and when we went down there was even more water on the ground! We then had to vacuum and clean it all up. Apparently a mouse chewed a hole in the water back up hose. After we got it all cleaned up Brother Cala showed us his Steam Boat, unfortunately it caught on fire so he will looking to get it refurbished. After we finished with them we left to the church and prepared for ward coordination meeting. We are hoping for a lot of good stuff to come soon for member missionary work. After Brother Volpetti took us out to Rio Steakhouse. It is a Brazilian Churrascaria. We had a lot of fun there, and like Tucanos back home they had a sweet pineapple, this one had cinnamon sugar on it. It was really good but Tucanos is so much better! After dinner we made a few stop byes and walked downtown.
     Thursday felt like a detour in our plans. After studies our first lesson had to be rescheduled due to her needing to go to the doctor. We decided to go tract down Sooner Street and with it being the slowest time of the day, not much luck there. As we were on this road. Our appointment with a less active had to be rescheduled as well. We did a lot of tracting and stop byes with people taught in the past. After dinner with a family in the ward we left to an appointment with Ollie and Larry, When we got there Larry wasn’t there but we still had a great lesson with Ollie and two of her granddaughters, Peyton and Blu. The girls really enjoyed the message and we ended up teaching Ollie and Peyton! As we were getting ready to leave, Ollie is the one that asked when we will be over next. I thought that was so cool to hear! She even said this is something we need right now. After that awesome lesson and walking downtown for the last little bit I came home and was able to video call home to join in on my little Sisters first lesson with the missionaries! It was super fun to join in with them, as I said the closing prayer I felt full of love from my Father in Heaven and from the Spirit of the lesson, tears came to my eyes.
     Friday morning we had a good study session then we made our way to District Council. We had a guest come and give the lesson, his name is Phil and he talked about Personal Revelation. I really enjoyed it and learned more about how I can feel and understand the Personal Revelation I have gotten. After the lesson we came home for a quick lunch then made our way out for the day. We then tried to go meet a couple of our friends but sadly they weren't home. With this extra time we had, we left downtown and set up a table and chairs and gave away free Bibles.  A lot of people passed us in the 1.5 hours we were there but only one person ended up taking one. We ended up having a really good talk with him as well! As it was coming time for dinner we took down the little stand of ours and made our way to dinner. On the way up we hit some more houses of past people being taught but not too much luck, We even did some tracting. We had dinner with a couple we are teaching, they are both super kind and have a desire for baptism. After our dinner we shared a message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After them we hit a few more houses on the way home but not much luck there.
     Saturday went pretty well, and I probably had my favorite studies today from this week. I had a deeper study of apostasy and the restoration. This past week I've been asked a couple times "why did God wait so long?" As I read about it, I was reminded of the talk "why the 1830s" so many things happened between Christ’s death and Joseph Smith helping in Christ’s restoration of His Church. One thing that was happening at the time was an excitement for religious freedom, and as churches were forming Joseph Smith prayed to ask God what was His church. From there and the events that happened he restored Christ’s Church that was established in the New Testament once again to the earth what is now "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints". It helped me to have better insight and knowledge to know how to better answer in the future. After studies and lunch we made way to see Brother Gould and read 1 Nephi 20 with him. This Chapter goes on about being in a fiery furnace. Christ is always in there with us keeping on eye to make sure we can learn what we need to from our trials. After a great lesson with him we did lots of stop byes and tracting up until dinner. We didn’t get much luck but had some great conversations with some people. For dinner a member made us some lasagna that we picked up and cooked ourselves. After dinner we did more stop byes and had a lesson with Sister Conway and we read 3 Nephi 11, when Christ came to the Americas. When we got back to our place we had a little bit longer so we walked downtown and we ended up checking out an exotic Jersey place. I love jerkey so I bought Mako Shark Jerkey, and it is definitely different but it's still good!
     Sunday was a pretty good day as well! Once again we helped with Sacrament I passed while Elder James blessed. There were two really good talks about missionary work again, because for the ward it is missionary month. After church we came home to eat lunch and make our way to see Oliie and Peyton. When we got there they were pretty busy then we rescheduled for the upcoming week. After a short message we came home for personal studies. I was pretty out of it and had a hard time paying attention, it didn't help to much that I was reading Genesis in the Bible. Our next appointment canceled as well so we even had time for comp studies. After studies we made our way out for the night. We made a few stop byes at in active members houses and a few past people taught. We then had dinner with the Weber family. They have 3 wild boys and a younger daughter. We had a fun time getting to know them and the kids. Our message was on repentance and enduring to the end. After dinner we stopped by Bishops house and shared the “come and help, come and stay” videos. They also talked about someone whose been on their mind and we are going to reach out to them shortly! We made more stop byes for the night and came to an older run down house that looked abandoned... while knocking the door we saw two raccoons run from the side of the house, one of them went under the car. When I went to go check a couple minutes later with my flash light luckily it was gone. While I was looking some pass along cards fell out of my pocket and sacred the crap out of me because it made a scratch sound, I thought it was the Raccoon. To end the night we walked downtown and we sat by a homeless man and talked for about 20 minutes. He has had a crazy life and he said he is so happy to be an American, He is free to be himself. He was also a little crazy but we had a good time. Just another crazy week in the Plymouth area.

                  3 Nephi 13:14

     "14 For, if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you"

     In life we go through many troubles and we get hurt or offended. We have done the same to others but it was in our best interest. Life is crazy and we want to help other best we can. When some one is different than you we shouldn't judge them, they are on their own journey for themselves. We are all children of God. As we forgive others for what they have done to us, God will forgive us for what we have done to others. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Fire Alarm & Chicken Feet Soup

Our District at Lighthouse Inn

Fire Alarm at our Apartment

Me and Brother Tuttle

Plymouth Exchanges

Duck Pond

Chicken Feet Soup

Week 47  Sep 9, 2019


     Monday, today was my first P-day in Plymouth. The first thing I did was sleep in because we keep pretty busy here. After I woke up and got ready for the day, I started to write up my past two weeks of emails because I needed to catch up. After I finished the first one we started our wash and went shopping. After we finished getting groceries for the week, we came home and put our cloths in the dryer and got our personal debits then went back out. I had to get a new pair of shoes because I felt like I was walking on steel blocks! Elder James got some protein powder for his morning workouts. We then came home to relax for the most of the P-day. I was still writing my emails to catch up. After I finished and actually relaxed we went out to Peaceful Meadows Ice Cream Parlor, and IT WAS BUSY! With it being Labor Day, Plymouth is a pretty good tourist town, so lots of people were in the area. We came home for dinner then went out for the night. We went to this place nicknamed "The Projects". A lot of people there have been previously taught, so we did some stop byes to see if any were still interested. We did get a few appointments set up for the week. It did start to rain pretty badly so we made a run for the car. We updated all the contacts we did while in the car then made one last stop for the night. We drove to them as they were just a few minutes down the road. They’re an older couple and we plan to meet with them again with in the week. We then made the drive home for the night. As I got home and finished in my journal for the night I started to write letters for the friends I served in my last area.

Tuesday, today was a pretty good day but all four of our appointments ended up not being there. After studies, we met up with Brother Volopetti so we would be able to go into the house to teach a few lady’s. Sadly the two appointments we had needed to reschedule. We then decided to go meet a couple of members. One was an older gentleman who lives in a nursing home but goes to church with his daughter in the Hingham Ward. He was about to have lunch so we let him know we will come another time. With there still being some time before our next appointment he took us out to lunch at Ninos, a little Italian deli. We all got some homemade sausage subs with peppers and onions. After lunch we met with Sister Newcomb, a newer member to the Church. We talked with her to see how she was doing. We also talked about a talk she is preparing to give in Sacrament Meeting. She is super excited because it will be on her year mark of being a member. While there I was sitting on the floor playing with her 3 little shiatsu puppies. After visiting with her, we met a old friend of Brother Volpetti's Luis.  She is a widow and her husband was a member of the ward. After visiting with her we got dropped back off at our car and made it to our next appointment with Sister Gauthier. She is less active but loves family history work. She does it every day in her free time. With the little extra time we had before dinner we walked around downtown to hand out pass along cards. After dinner we went to this place called "The Projects", there is a lot of people there who have been taught in the past so we decided to go revisit. We did get through a lot of them and even had a few return appointments from it! It soon started to rain pretty bad so we ran back to the car to report about the contacts we made. The last thing we did was meet with another older couple close by to check in on them and share a short message. We then got a return appointment with them as well!

Wednesday the first thing we did for the day was go to the Food Bank and help with service there. We stocked the shelves and helped with putting things in date order. After we finished we came home to do studies and have lunch. I started my studies earlier then Elder James, and as I finished and waited I took a nice 20 minute nap. After companion studies we went to visit Al, but was not there so we went to visit with Brother Gould to read the Book of Mormon with him. We had a good lesson then came home to get the car to go tract down settlers road. One of the first houses we visited was a crazy old lady who kept asking what we want and repeating about her kids the same story. She just went on and on and on. She took up most of our time so we could only knock a couple more houses then come home for dinner. We went back to the projects for a couple of lessons we had planned and they didn’t answer, so we then came home to drop off the car. For the last little bit we walked downtown but it was pretty dead and we didn't see anyone.
Thursday was Zone Conference and the Brewster Elders came over so we could drive together. It was about an hour drive and we ended up getting there earlier then expected so we went to eat at McDonald's then come back to the church. While at Zone Conference I was asked to be the Chorister for the music, and yes it wasn’t the best. Luckily I only had to do it for two songs, but it was a really fun experience. President Mavromaitis talked first about becoming more converted to the work and how as we are more converted we can better help others come closer to Christ. Sister Mavromaitis then talked about "The Book of Mormon experience" a display and a global experiment to have random people off the streets read 1 page of the Book of Mormon and highlights references to God and Jesus Christ. While President and her talked, missionaries were taken out of the room a few at a time to get flu shots. No one expected it. After Sister Mavromaitis talked,we then had lunch, and it was Hawaiian Haystacks! They were pretty good. After lunch we came back and did role plays to demonstrate how we would do the Book of Mormon experience. It will be weird because when we do it, we will be in normal clothes, no name tag, and using our first names. Even for us missionaries it will be an experience. We had a more training on urgency, diligence, accountability, and being bold with baptism. It all helped us to ponder how to be a more successful missionary going forward. After Zone Conference we came home to drop off the Brewster Elders, then went straight to the chapel for missionary coordination with Brother Volpetti. We discussed the work we have done and the progress of our friends. We ended up going to Dominos because the Woods ordered a Pizza for us. We had a later dinner but we kept busy for the last hour of the night. Sadly once again downtown was pretty slow. Skip forward a few hours its 11 PM and we both are sleeping, Elder James wakes me up because the complex fire alarm is going off! As we make it outside a Brazilian who speaks no English is trying to explain what happened. We had two fire trucks show up and assist the situation. Turns out he and his friend were cooking and it went off from the smoke.

Friday morning came quick because a member of the Brewster Branch invited the District for Breakfast at the Lighthouse Inn. So we got there about 8:15 and talked to him. We were the first ones there, and while waiting we went to the beach to take some pictures and just walk around. Soon after the other missionaries came and we then sat down to eat. It was an all you can eat buffet, and we had a pretty good time there. After breakfast we got District pictures taken then went to the Cape Cat, it's an apparel store that member owns. He let us all get a shirt for free but I already have one so he let me get a hat instead! After that we went to a library that had a conference room and had District Council. The lesson was on being more converted to the work. The role play was practicing the Book of Mormon experience. From there we started our exchange with the Brewster Elders and I stayed in Brewster with Elder Despain. The first thing we did was drop off my stuff at the apt and call sister Wilde back, because she had a couple questions. We went out to lunch because we both were pretty hungry and did a stop by with a man they are teaching, but he wasn’t there. On the bright side we talked to his neighbor and he was the one we set up a time to come back next week.  We decided to head to Mashpee area to meet a couple referrals. Both were not there and one seemed to have been on the process of moving. With the extra time before dinner we decided to meet less active members in the area. We then met and talked to Mark. He always loves to talk to missionaries and loves the family values the Church teaches but sadly isn’t active. I know and have faith he will return one day! After him we went to dinner with the Blake Sisters. One made a Jamaican appetizer the other made the meal. The appetizer was chicken feet soup. I was not a fan of it, but luckily the meal was pretty good, it was ground beef, bacon, potatoes and cheese. While cleaning up I was asked to entertain the kids, luckily I know a little bit of magic. We had a little bit of time left so we tried to drop off a Bible one of their members but he wasn't awake. So we decided to walk down Main Street, but no one was around due to the storm from the hurricane. To end the night all we really did was write in our journals and go to bed.

Saturday morning came pretty quick as well. After my shower, Elder Despain was cooking Pancakes for Breakfast. We then got a text asking to meet up at 9 am to end exchanges. I then got packed and ready to head back to Plymouth. We met about half way and when I got back we started to have studies. After I finished studies I passed out on the couch and woke up to Elder James using a shoe shine brush on my nose, oh boy did it feel weird. After I woke up we cleaned the house to prepare for President to come over tomorrow. From there we stopped by Brother Gould to check in on him and read the Book of Mormon with him. He had some really cool insights to share. To save miles we walked for about 2 hours doing stop byes of people with interest to see if we could set up a time to return. A few said no so sadly we wont be returning any time soon, and for a few we will return within a week or so! On the walk back home, we sat by a pond to look at the ducks flying in and swinging around. Elder James really liked it because he was a duck hunter back home. We also had a good conversation with a man who loves life and always wants to learn what others believe. The walk was longer then we expected so we had a late dinner. To end the night we stopped by a few less active members and then street contacted. We then got a call from President saying he wouldn't be able to make it to Sacrament Meeting tomorrow. Him and Sister Mavromaitis were supposed to be giving talks.
Sunday morning we woke up to Bishop calling and asking Elder James to give a talk because President had to cancel last minute for a meeting. When we got to Church we helped bless the Sacrament. With Elder James having a talk he stayed on the stand and I went down and sat by a member. All the talks today were pretty awesome and all focused on member missionary work. Even the second hour (Elders Quorum) was that way too. It was all pretty cool. After Church we were asked by Brother Volpetti if we needed a ride to get to the missionary training conference in Cambridge. Luckily we were aloud to go! We then came home for lunch and studies then we got picked up. The whole meeting was on member missionary work and simply inviting others to come and see, come and help, come and stay. To end the night we had to quickly eat dinner, then the last hour we went to members and 1 family who is interested on our records. We then set up a return appointment for this Thursday! It's been a pretty busy week but it all went well!

1 Nephi 19:9

"9 And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men."

Christ went through a lot, and he suffered a lot of pain. Not just physically, but also spiritually, mentally and emotionally. He did this out of absolute and pure Love for each and everyone of us. He did this and came down to earth for this reason to suffer the pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind. He knows that what ever we go through He is there to help comfort, because He has felt it too. He knows that heart break, he knows that job loss, he knows all of it. All because the Love he has for the children of men. You are never lost, you are never alone, but more importantly you are never to far away from the love He has for you! I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Happy Birthday Brayden is 20 years old

A river we stopped by

A Monarch Butter fly that I saved

The real Plymouth Rock 

Elder James from Weber Utah

Plymouth

Week 46 Sept 2nd 2019
I'm now 20 years old!
     Today we got texts and turns out we are both leaving the area! I will be serving in Plymouth Massachusetts! We both were not expecting that to happen at all! We then left to see brother Kim to get our haircuts because we both needed them. After haircuts we went to the Roger's to start our laundry and then went to Kentucky Bell for lunch. At KFC they have a mac n cheese bowl with chicken in it, I had to try it out.  I ended up really liking it! We then came back to the Roger's for the rest of the day. We finished up our laundry, and they had a special dinner for me for my birthday. Brother Roger's made, home-made meatball subs, and they were so good! For dessert he made his famous chocolate melting cake! For my present they even found me my own ceramic cake bowl to make it in my new area!
     Tuesday was a super busy day, and very long. First thing we did was to pick up some totes from the storage unit for Elders in Waterbury Connecticut. They needed them to start packing up and getting ready for a new apt. After we went to the New Haven area again to pick up the PVC from last week. We had help from the YSA Elders to load up the truck. While at the Yale Institute I saw Brother LaRose from my first area of Madison! It was fun to catch up with him. After we got all loaded up we made out way home, we stopped at Burger King for a quick lunch break because we were hungry. We then made our drive another 2 hours in traffic to get to a late dinner with Sister Flynn and Sister Buchman, we ate at Pho Dakao and said our goodbyes. After we had to still unload the truck at the storage unit then we made one last stop bye with the Floyed Family. We said our goodbyes and let them know that we hope they continue to take lessons with the new missionaries. We came home and we were both really tired, I packed everything up so it would be easier in the morning to leave. Eventually I passed out because I was pretty tired.
     Wednesday after we woke up, we finished packing the rest of what was ours. All I really needed to pack was bedding and bathroom supplies. We brought up the new bunk-bed and got it ready for the missionaries coming in to set it up. After we made our way to see Kyle and have one last lesson with him and prayer and scripture studies. He them talked to me for a little bit to let me know how I did, what he liked and how I could work towards being the best missionary I can be. We then went our separate ways, after Elder Kilpack and I went to the Roger's one last time because he forget a couple things at their home. We came home and packed up the truck and got ready for the new transfer. We made our way to go say our last goodbyes to Brother Paganella and his wife. He sure will miss us. We then went to lunch at Chickfila and saw a bunch of other missionaries there as well. Every transfer day it's the place to be. After lunch we went to the Weston Chapel and we got all of out stuff transferred into our new vehicles. My new companion is Elder James and he's from West Weber Utah. Once again I have another companion who is over 6'. I wonder when I will be the taller companion haha. We then made our way to Plymouth, my new area. It took a little bit longer because it was during traffic along with it raining. When we got back to the apt we brought all my bags in and I did a little bit of unpacking. We then had dinner, and we made chicken and rice. With me being new to the area, I followed along with Elder James and we went to a couple of houses to check in on them.  For the last hour of the night we walked downtown Plymouth.  It was fun to walk so close to the ocean, I even saw the famous Plymouth Rock. It was a lot smaller than expected! While in downtown we handed out cards for a free Book of Mormon. We then came home and I finished up unpacking and went to bed.
     Thursday morning was pretty slow I did a small workout but then I was still pretty tired then lay down on the couch for a little bit. I then ate breakfast and got ready for the day.  At 9 we started to do studies, and I learned a lot of things for myself that I am pondering on. After studies we had lunch and then we started weekly planning.  It went pretty well and I’m trying to get to know the people better. Later we had a lesson with a new person we are teaching.  He is an older gentleman and is hard of hearing.  We had a lesson on the plan of salvation.  He expressed concerns he had and is waiting until he is ready to come to church.  After visiting with him we had a few more stop-byes and then ward missionary coordination. I met two members of the ward while there. After coordination our ward mission leader took us out to dinner at the Lobster Hut, it as he said it the "Lobstah hut". It was pretty good. I got Fried Lobster Tail and Shrimp! After he dropped us back off at the Chapel and we hopped in the car and drove to our apt. For the rest of the night we did some stop-byes with some members in the area. Once again the last hour we spent walking downtown.
     Friday we had a quick daily planning session then drove to the West bridge Water Chapel for District Leadership Council. While there we talked about being more bold in asking people to be baptized. We talked about how we can be better at it. After that we talked about the daily schedule and what it should look like along with a couple of stories to apply to missionary work. We then had a two hour break before District Council. We decided to go get some Chickfila for lunch, we then came back to the Chapel. In District Council we discussed the same things as in DLC. We stopped by the Woods family for dinner. It was fun to get to know more of the members and talk with them. Brother Woods made us Bratwursts and it was some pretty good stuff! We then came home and did some more stop-byes on the way. We met with an older couple in the ward with the last name Mormann, it will take a minute to get used saying that! We got to know them more and shared our testimonies with them. After that we came home to drop off the car then we walked the town for the last hour, and we were officially out of miles for the month. Lucky tomorrow was the last day of the month.
     Saturday was such a long day and we did a lot of walking. After we did our studies and had lunch, we walked for about 30ish minutes to a housing complex and we tracked there for about and hour in a half. We didn’t have too much luck, but we left our card with a few people who seemed somewhat interested. After we knocked about 100 houses we made our way to visit a member who lives in a nursing home. We shared a message on the restoration with her. After visiing with her we walked home and hit a couple houses on the way there. While at home we got a few more hand out cards and walked close by for a little bit. We then came home for dinner and went back out for the night. While downtown, we talked to a man while we sat on a bench and did daily contacting. He wasn’t really interested in a lesson but we talked to him about religion. He too is a part time missionary for his church and he’s studied religion in school. After dinner we walked to visit a part member family, on the way there we passed by a really cool river/stream and had to take some pictures.  We then visited the Sawyer family, and shared a message about the restoration with them. After them we made our walk to downtown and passed out more cards as we walked around.
     Sunday was a pretty good day, and it was fast Sunday so the only thing we really did was get ready for the day and plan for it. We then made our way to Church, the first thing we did was print out a dinner calendar for the month. After that we stood by the doors to the Chapel and greeted everyone as they walked in. We ended up helping pass the sacrament because they didn’t have a lot of youth due to it being Labor Day weekend. With it being fast and testimony meeting and me being the New Elder in the area I got up to bare my testimony. In the second hour we read from 1st Corinthians and we talked about spiritual gifts. After Church we came home for studies then left to be at a lesson. When we got to our appointment she wasn’t home, so we did some stop-byes with a couple people who were close by. We then had a lesson on come and see/come and help with the Mormanns. They also provided us with some home made chilly that was really good! After them we made our way to the Salmons family for our official dinner. While there Brother Salmons thanked me for my testimony. This is what he said “I'm not sure a lot of people were paying attention but you have a strong testimony and I really liked it. It was simply what you believe and not a story" that really made my day! They live on a cranberry bog and there were a lot of ducks walking around. Elder James went up to make them all fly away. We then went home to drop off the car, then met with Brother Gould a less active  member who we read the Book of Mormon with. After we read with him we walked around down town and had no luck at all. This area I know will be a tough one!

                 1st Nephi 15:8

     "8 And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?"

     At times when we question what is going on we should remember this from the words of Nephi "Have ye inquired of the Lord?" I know that God will answer all of our prayers, they may not come right away but they will come! Have patience and remember to ask God the questions you have and need help with. He will answer you. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Last Week in Framingham

Brother Rodgers

District P-Day

District P-Day

Framingham Church

Floyde Family & Jewel the Dog

Paganella's

Sister Rodgers

Sister Buchman

Tacos from Taqueria

Goodbye Elder Kilpack

My Apartment in Framingham

My Apartment

Sister Flynn

Kyle who we were teaching

District P-Day Party

My Apartment

District P-Day Party

District P-Day Party

Sister Buchman

Week 45 Tuesday Aug 27th 2019
   
Monday, ahh today was our District P-day! We decided to start up around 12 noon time. We met at our apt complex because we have a tennis court, basketball court, a soccer field, and a volley ball pit. When the Sisters got there, we still needed to go get the meat for lunch, along with picking up a couple supplies from the Waterfalls. The first thing we did when we got back was, have a small water balloon fight. After the water balloons we played some volleyball for a while, and it was pretty fun even though we didn't start off that good. Shortly after we were all pretty hungry so we decided to make lunch out by the grills. It took a little time for the food to get cooked so while we waited we shared stores about our experiences on the mission, along with painting rocks. At the same time we all had some time to call home and talk to our families. It started to rain a little bit so we about called it a day until we decided to play a mix of volleyball and tennis "Tenniball". After a few games of Tenniball we went to Dairy Queen for ice cream. We had to leave to get to dinner with the Waltches. While there they had a friend over, so we were able to share a short message with him, it was pretty awesome!
     Tuesday we woke up and left pretty early for a move up in Revere. We were opening up an apartment so we met the Rasmussen’s at the storage unit to load up the trailer. After it was loaded we were on our way! We hit some traffic but we got there earlier than expected so we went out to breakfast at Taco Bell then met the other missionaries at the apt to bring everything up.  There were 8 of us, so it went pretty quick, a lot faster than expected! While there we also got some supplies for the English/Haitian-Creole Elders. We made our way back and dropped off the trailer at the Weston Chapel. We went to visit the office missionaries to drop off a few receipts. We were able to talk with Elder Wilde to see when a good time was to come work on the trailer brakes, we decided to do it tomorrow morning! We then came home and picked up a couple boxes/packages to send home. While at the post office my card got declined so I needed to send it home another day.  After all that, we went home for some studies. We got pretty hungry later on and we decided to go try a Mexican place downtown.  We ate at "Taquira Mexico" and honestly it was the best Mexican food I’ve had here in New England! I ordered some tacos and oh my goodness they were good! After dinner we did some stop byes in an area close by, then came home for the night.
     Wednesday morning we met up with Elder Wilde to work on the brakes for the trailer.  We ended up jacking one side off and checked out the wheel. It seemed to be working so we took it apart to look at the brake pad. It looked pretty beat up, turns out the three other brakes have been cut! The one tire has been doing all the work. After we found out the problem Elder Wilde said he would look/ call around to see how to get them fixed. After that, we made our way to the post office to send my package home, luckily it went through this time! We then went out to lunch at Chickfila. We came right before lunch time so we waited a couple extra minutes to get our food. We ended up getting free hash browns because they had extra left over from breakfast. We then came home did studies along with weekly planning to save miles. After all that, it was time for dinner and we then went back to the Mexican place with the Buchmans. They had their less active son join us again and it was pretty fun to talk with him. After dinner we had a lesson at the library with Sister Flynn, and the Buchmans helped us out. After our lesson we did a couple stop byes on the way home and met with a couple in our apt complex.
     Today was a pretty long day, we first woke up and had to go to the storage unit to pick up some PVC (displays)
We brought it all the way down to New Haven, we dropped it off at the Yale Institute. On the way there, we stopped in Groton to have lunch with a couple missionaries we knew, then we made our journey to Yale. When we got there we had a member and a couple missionaries there to help us out. It took a few trips to get everything up stairs and in the room they wanted it. We also set up one of them to show them how to do it. After that, we made our long trip home, and yes it was in traffic. We did get back to Framingham at 6, and we had a smaller dinner with Francis, and shared a message with him. To end the night we drove to the Chapel to have a lesson with Kyle again! It was good to catch up and see how we can continue to help him in his conversion.
     Friday, first thing, we got ready for District Council and then we made our journey to the Franklin Chapel. This was the final District Council of the transfer and the Foxboro Sister’s were in charge of the lesson. We talked about developing Christ Like Attributes, and had a pretty fun role play to go along with it. Elder Kilpack and I went out to a Chinese place with the Franklin Sisters, and I didn’t like it too much. I ordered chow main noodles and I got like a soupy thing with onions, I wasn’t to happy, but luckily I had rice with it. On the way home we stopped by the dry cleaners to pick up my second suit  After all that, we came home to change and we had a small move, we took four bed frames to the Lawrence Elders and we also picked up a bunk bed and a mattress. After we dropped it off at the storage unit we met Sister Wilde because she picked up my package from the Mission Office. It was my Birthday Package and it was full of party supplies and delicious snacks. On the way home we stopped by Charline but she wasn’t home. We then came home for the night.
     Saturday We actually had a pretty fun activity with the ward. We went on a hike at Callahan State Park. We walked pretty fast and past alot of the members to see them all. At a pond in the middle of it, we stopped and waited for alot of the other members to catch up. While there I held a hurt butterfly and I put it on a tree so it would t get stepped on. Near the end of the hike, Andie came over! Unfortunately it was after it all but it was still good to see her. After the hike we went over to the Rogers for lunch and for a party they were hosting. It was for all of the foreign exchange students in the area, along with the host families. While there we were able to talk to a few of them, and also play some yard games with the kids. We had a pretty good time. We came back later on in the day for dinner and a lesson with the Rogers.
     Sunday morning we were expecting to get transfer texts but what we got was, we will get them tomorrow morning, stuff still wasn’t finished up. I said some goodbyes because I knew I was leaving.  One of the talks in Sacrament went really well, it was about acting on the desire to help others. As we help others we are being Christ like and showing love for others. We ended up helping out in Deacons Quorum because one of the teachers was out of town. One of the Deacons was in charge, and he talked about preparing now to be a good husband/father. He ended a little early so we gave a short message on Priesthood. After Church we had Ward Coordination meeting with Brother Mason, to let him know about the week to come. After that we had a short lesson with Sister Flyyn to help her prepare for a talk she was asked to give in Sacrament Meeting. After Church we came home for studies and we also moved some stuff around to start to get ready for a 4 Elder apartment. We didn’t do to much, we then had dinner with the Roger's and we had home made burgers and they were sooo good! After dinner we had a short lesson with them then went home for the night. It was a pretty busy week but we had a lot of fun!

                   1 Nephi 11:17

     "17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things"

     As I read this it really made me ponder for myself. I know I do not know everything there is to know about the church and Christ’s Gospel. I do know that God loves each and everyone of us. He has made a plan that we can all return to live with him again. If that isn’t pure love and I don't know what is. As I am a missionary, I do my best to help others learn more about what I believe but the best thing I can do is simply Love them. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen