Week 67 January 27,2020

Rhode Island Jamestown under the bridge

Rhode Island District Central Fall/Cliff

Happy Birthday to Elder Pulu

FHE at the Navy Base

FHE at the Navy Base

Yummy Lobster

 Once again it was a pretty fun P-day, with it being a Holiday the Library was closed so we didn’t do that this week. After we had lunch we went to the Chapel and I was able to call and talk to my Parents and my little Sister, that is always fun! A little bit later the Central Falls English and Spanish Elders came down because they wanted to look around Newport. (Elder Grimsman, Elder Foster, Elder Acker and Elder Barron). With them we ate lunch then made our way over to the Cliff walk in downtown Newport. It was pretty fun and I was small enough to hide in a couple of areas. We also saw a family from Egypt and they took some photos for us. After the walk we went back to the Chapel and Balled up (played basketball), it was pretty fun to have an actual game going on! (I was able to score some points)  After they left we still had some time left so I called home again and talked to the family. Our appointment for the night canceled so we had dinner and stopped by a couple less active members. With one, we had a lesson on the Plan of Salvation and that was pretty cool to help him remember Gods Loving Plan for each of us!
     Tuesday we got up early and then made our way to the Chapel for an hour to play basketball/ workout. I'm not helping the best so I just really sat down for most of it. When we got back we got ready and had studies. After studies we made our way to the Salvation Army for our weekly service. It was a smaller week then most, so it went pretty quick. After we had to go get a new Navy Base pass for Elder Johnson, his expired. On the way we took the wrong turn and we went over the Pell bridge into Jamestown (not our area) we then eventually made it back. We first had to go home for his license and when we got home I made a lot of calls trying to see my options for getting my bottom retainer fixed. We will be getting it done Thursday. We also called to set up an appointment to get our car looked at and fixed tomorrow! We then after making those calls made our way to the Post Office. We then had our lesson with James and watched another Book if Mormon video with him. We then came home for dinner. We went to the Library to make a scripture study flyer for our Book of Mormon class. It went pretty well, this week was smaller but it was full of good insights. To end the night we met with Mike and talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Baptism! He said he would be interested and we asked him to pray about the Book of Mormon and we will be helping him out on this amazing journey of his!
     Wednesday was a longer day, but it went well. We had our studies. After my personal studies I ended up passing out on the couch, I must have been pretty tired! When I woke up we had lunch and shortly after made our way up to South Kingstown (out of our area). We went to a Chevy Dealership and had our car inspected which took 2 hours and will need to come back for a part they ordered. While there we just sat around and waited and couldn't do too much. I was on the Gospel Library app for a little bit as well. While we were there they had Wi-Fi and free snacks. We then came home had a little later dinner at Chilies with Brother and Sister Jones.  Brother Jones loves Corny Jokes. Turns out so did our waitress, to say the least there were a lot of them said. After dinner we had a lesson with Jackie about Patriarchal Blessings. She just recently got hers so it was a nice little refresher for her. We went to visit Emilce a less active who wants to return soon. We talked with her about Temples and we want her to be able to talk to Bishop to see what she would need to do to go! It is super exciting she also has some family interested in learning more! We hope to start teaching them soon.
     Thursday right after we got up and ready we once again drove to South Kingstown because I had an appointment with an Orthodontist (Ferry Orthodontics) because my permanent retainer broke while I was flossing last Saturday night. After I filled out paperwork they got me back right away. It was a quick fix Dr. Ferry just recommended the wire back on my tooth. I was done within 15ish minutes.  We then drove back home to have our studies. I read Jacob 4-6, the allegory of the Olive Tree. Oh boy was it a long read but always really fun! After studies we went to the Library to work on our scripture study page we made and trying to get the final touches on it. After that we made our way to the Chapel for a lesson with Dante. With him we went over the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 5 steps to coming closer to Christ. Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost,  and Enduring to the end. It all made sense to him and we also set up a baptismal date with him for next month!!! Little by little he will get there. We then came home for dinner and relaxed a bit then made our way to see Noel and Luara. With them we also went over the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was pretty cool and it was such a great lesson with them. Noel usually talks a lot and Luara is fairly quite. This time it was the opposite Noel sat back and listened, be had some great insights. Luara talked a lot and asked a lot of good questions as well! They both really want to know and learn together. We almost set a date for them to work towards but they want to talk about it together and make sure its something they can do at the same time! When we got back home we called Chris Pulu (my trainer) because it was his Birthday! Shout out to him and all his hard work he does and the example he set for me as a missionary! It was fun because Elder Johnson and I were his last 2 companions. He trained me for two transfers in Madison then went to Ashford CT with Elder Johnson.
     Friday morning we got ready ate breakfast and made our way to go pick up the Narragansett Elders for District Council. We waited for 10 minutes, it gave me time to clean up the car and throw some stuff away. We then made our way to the Warwick Chapel and we were actually on time! When we got there the training was done by the Sisters on "how to find people to teach". It went really well, it was more like a discussion but there were a lot of good ideas shared that we hope to improve the coming weeks! After District Council we made our way up to the Warwick Mall for Panda Express (Chinese New Years). It was fun to talk to the District a little longer and eat at Panda Express again. We then made our way back to the Elders apt to drop them off and come home. We had enough time to change out of our suits then head on over to see James. Brother Evan's was there to join us. We talked about Tithing and Fast Offerings. Why we do it and what it is used for, and the blessings that could come from it. After we came home for dinner and relaxed until we had to go to FHE at the Navy base. It’s typically a 10ish minute drive but there was an accident on a small street going in and we got backed up for 30ish minutes, it took a long time to get in. When we got in we had lots of fun, we played the game 7 wonders with a couple of the navy guys. I had lots of fun with it.
     Saturday was a late start for the day, we after getting ready had our studies. I read from Jacob 7 until Mosiah 3. It was really fun and it helped me gain a better understanding of those chapters. After that I read a chapter in the Bible and a couple YA weekly articles. After that I ended up passing out on the couch for a little bit. When I woke up we had lunch then did weekly planning. With us already talking about our friends through out the week it was a pretty short one. This one was probably the shortest one I have had on my mission, but it was still highly effective. After planning we dropped off our laundry at Brother Stableys home then went to the post office to send a couple packages home. We then went to the Library and did facebook Finding until we had to go to dinner. We then went to Atlantic Grille in Middletown and met up with the Horne Sisters Kayla and Alora. Alora is in the Navy and her sister came with her to hang out. They are both super cool and have a strong desire to share the Gospel. They said to get what ever so I decided to get a "Lobstah" to make my Dad jealous.(This is Larry and I am so jealous of eating Lobster…Yummy) After them we  met up with Lloyd and helped him with the come follow me for the week and came home for the night.
     Sunday after we got ready we made out way to Church and there was a lot of cars! With it being Ward Conference there ended up being a lot of visitors from the stake. We heard from Bishop Crocket and President Rehon (Stake President). When the Evans got there they invited James to sit with them. It was cool to see them take him under their wing. After Sacrament meeting Sister Evans talked to us about inviting us and James over for a dinner soon! In both  talks in Sacrament and Sunday School it was all focused on recognizing the Lords hand in our lives. After Church we came home had a quick lunch then made our way to Brother Stableys for a little FHE. When we got there we started out with a spiritual thought and he shared with us an article from a missionary awhile back from the Munich Germany Mission. It was an experience of a professor of theology at a Catholic School who was converted.  She used the expression of "my soul hungered and the truth will set you free". Later a couple of Elders in the mission got permission to have 2 hours to teach our beliefs to a class at a Catholic School where the men were learning to become priests. Somehow the former theology professor came and taught them with the missionaries.  A year earlier she was there teaching that same class something she didn't have full faith in.  But because she was converted she knew that what we have is a spiritual feast! ( I'm sorry I know it's not the best explanation) after that he had a friend end up coming over as well and he was a super cool guy. We played a fun Star Wars table top game until we had to go to dinner. After we finished a couple of rounds we made our way to dinner with the Vest family.  The two boys weren't really doing well so we didn't see much of them but with the parents we shared President Nelson's last talk to help prepare them for April 2020 General Conference. To end the night when we got home Elder Johnson did call ins with the District members.

                      Jonah 3:5
    "5 ¶ So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them"

     For those of you who don't know, this is the story of Jonah and the Whale. Long story short God commanded Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh to tell them all to repent. He was scared because it was a wicked city and he ran. He hopped on a boat and God made it storm so he got thrown overboard and got swallowed by a whale. While in this Whale he did a lot of repenting and asking for another chance to right his wrong. When the Whale spit him out he was close to Nineveh so he did what God had commanded him to do.  All right now, I love this part, after the city repented they all wore these sack cloths meaning that they were all equal to God. As are we, all of us are Equal in the Sight of God, and he loves each and every of us the same. We all come from different backgrounds and different cultures and situations but that will never change the fact that, you are loved by God. Just like the King and citizens of Nineveh, you can be forgiven and you are loved. We are all equal to Him in his eyes. As you may feel that all these people around you may be righteous and may be "the greatest of them" they are as equal to the sinners who would be considered  "the least of them" . I too am trying to see others as God does, we are all children of God and yes we are all Equal in his eyes. I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Rhode Island week 66

Rhode Island Bridge

Rhode Island District Bowling

Service

Rhode Island Beach

Rhode Island Exchanges with Elder Stokes

Kelly- Rhode Island

Rhode Island District Bowling & Cards

Week 66 Jan 20th 2020
     Monday was actually a pretty fun P-day, it was spent with the District. After I woke up I was able to call home and talk to the family (Mom, Dad, little Sister) that's always fun to do. My little sister was able to go to the Temple for baptisms for the dead, for the first time and she loved it! She wants to go more often and I am so happy for her! After that we went to the store and then made our way up to Narragansett, we got in their car then we went to Kingston bowl. It was pretty fun we were with the sisters as well. (Sister Stratford, Sister Duesett, Elder Burrows, Elder Stokes and of course Elder Johnson and I). In the first game I got my personal record of 76, I am not that good but I wrestled for that same reason. In the second game I almost got a Turkey. In the last frame I got two Strikes, it was so dang cool! We then went our to lunch and Panera bread. After Panera bread we went to the Narragansett Chapel to play spike ball.  It’s basically a mix between 4 square and volley ball. It's pretty fun. We then went to the apartment club house and played a game of pool then a the card game Scum. To end the night we came back to our area and had a lesson with Noel and Luara. It went really well and we were able to share the restoration lesson! Slowly but surely we are building their Faith!
     Tuesday, per usual every Tuesday after we got ready we made our way up to the Salvation Army for service. It's always fun to go because of the workers/volunteers. There ended up being a lot of meat we needed to get into the freezers. This tine we had to use the 2 extra (backup) freezers. It was a lot of fun trying to pack it all in. Last week Gina (a worker) said that they have a lot of extra light bulbs. I ended up asking if we could have a few for our apartment. She gave us a whole box! Luckily we only took 2 rows of them, but still it ended up being around 100 light bulbs. When we got back home we changed and made a couple calls then went to the library to meet up with Brother Card. With him we went over "Look not Behind thee" and helped with a personal mission plan. He has a lot of great ideas and is truly missionary minded. After visiting with Brother Card we made a couple calls to set up appointments. We then went over to the Jones home for dinner. They told us if we ever need dinner just give them a call and they will help us out. They ordered us some Pizza from Dominos, after dinner we went to the Chapel for Book of Mormon class. If it gets any bigger we will need a bigger room! We want that to happen, that would be so awesome. After our Book of Mormon class, some of the youth were playing some basketball in the gym so we joined in and had a lot of fun.
     Wednesday was pretty plain and simple but we kept busy. We had studies and lunch then we made our way to the library to update area notes. We then went to visit Roseanna and we taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She gave us lunch and it was Marshallese food, it was pretty good. We went back to the library to finish up area notes then went to visit with James.  We had Brother Evan's join us for the lesson on the Word of Wisdom, he was pretty much okay with it and just had a few questions so he can better understand it. We then went out to dinner with the Stuart family. We had Home made chicken noodle soup and home made rolls, it was really nice to have a real home made meal from scratch. After we drove up to the Warwick Chapel and Elder Johnson had an interview for Baptism that he had to do. It was pretty quick and we then made our way to the Elders apt. We waited for them to get back and then we started our exchange. I came back to Newport with Elder Stokes and Elder Johnson stayed in Narragansett with Elder Burrows. When we got back it turns out Elder Stokes still had the Narragansett keys... we tried to save miles but I guess we will have to go back in the morning.
     Well Thursday morning after we got ready we drove up to Narragansett and gave them their keys then drove back down to our apt. When we got back we had breakfast and studies. After we had studies we went to McDonalds and had lunch then made our way up to Tiverton. We had our first appointment get pushed back an hour so we did a couple of stop byes and we checked out an antique shop. I got a couple cool coins, one being a 1943 steel penny and the other a unique 50cent piece. We then had our lesson with a less active member. We watched the first vision and talked about praying to know for himself the truth. We once again did some stop byes up until dinner. We ate with the Harkers and we were able to share the “Look not behind thee” video and help them make a family mission plan. When we asked if there was anything we could do we were asked to bare our testimonies on the Book Of Mormon. It was not what I was expecting but it was a really cool experience to do so. Earlier today as well we were able to hit a beach and it truly was peaceful. After dinner we made our way back to Middletown and had a lesson with Emilce a less active member, we watched 1 Nephi 3-5. She really did enjoy that and we plan on meeting her next week as well! To end the night we stopped by someone who Elder Stokes taught when he served here in Newport. (I replaced him) it was different but he was happy to talk to them.
     Friday morning after Elder Stokes and I got ready for the day we made our way up to Narragansett. He then got changed and we all made our way up to the Warwick Chapel for District Council. I had todays training and it was on setting realistic goals. I used a metaphor of baking a cake and using that to go through a process to set goals, that we can better achieve, It was pretty fun. After I did have to clean up and that took a little longer then expected but that's okay. For lunch we went to Wendy's as usual then back to the Elders apt. We then came straight home had enough time to change then head over to see James. Brother Evan's joined us once again. Today we talked about Temples and with that we watched the Rome Italy Temple walkthrough. When we asked him what his thoughts were he responded with "when I am baptized I want to go so I can come closer to God", and that was pretty dang cool to hear! After that awesome lesson we came home for dinner then made our way to the Navy Base for FHE. Turns out Elder Johnsons pass has expired so he got "vetted" aka background checked. When we got in and up to the room where all the sailors were we played a few games then we eventually came home.
     Saturday we kept pretty busy. In the morning we had our studies. We then took our laundry over to Brother Stabley’s then came home for lunch and then weekly planning. After that we drove up to Tiverton and tried to go to the library to hang up a flyer for the Book of Mormon Class we have. They closed early so unfortunately we didn’t get to do that. We then made our way to the Mcormicks for dinner and our message. We watched the video in their downstairs theater and it was pretty dang cool! They set some awesome goals for their family mission plan! When we went outside after our lesson it was Snowing so that was pretty cool! We did stop-byes on the way back to Newport for our final lesson with Lloyd. When we crossed back over the bridge there was much less snow. For our lesson with Lloyd we talked about Nephi 8 about the Tree of Life. When we got back to our apt I had to make a snow angel, that was fun too!
     Sunday morning as we got ready and made our way to Church, and as we got outside all the snow was gone and it was pretty warm. Before Church started we met with Brother Jones and we had a small coordination then eventually Sacrament started. We had two really good talks, first one by Sister Sykes on the Book of Mormon and the second one by Sister Mello on helping others see there potential. Sunday School we talked about Nephi 8 the Lehi’s dream with the Tree of Life. It was pretty cool, we heard lots of feedback from a lot of the members. When we finally got home we ate lunch, relaxed a little bit. I wasn’t feeling to hot so we stayed at home and then had studies and ate dinner at home. Afterwards we made a few stop byes then went to Brother and Sister Jones home. While there he made us a snack and we helped make a list of members we (missionaries) have talked to in the past that have a new number or address and we will have the Ward Clerk update it soon! When we got back to the apt the Narragansett Elders were there... Elder Stokes forgot his toothbrush, tooth paste and his retainers while he was here on exchanges. All in all a busy but good week.

                      Alma 39:14

     "14 Seek not after riches nor the vain things of this world; for behold, you cannot carry them with you."

     As we go through life, the only things we take with us with is our knowledge. This is one reasons why I have chosen to put money I have earned to go on cruises and trips with my family. I will always honor and cherish them, and I will be able to take those with me after this life. In a world so focused on here and now, the newest phone, the nicest car. In all reality that doesn’t matter. Let us all try to make things that are pure and wonderful in this world and make those memories to hold and Cherish. I love you all so much and thank you for the memories we have made together. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
 

Testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ

Elder Brayden Knowlden in Rhode Island

Week 65 January 13,2020
  Well its Monday and as usual nothing to different today. After we got up  & ready, I was able to call home and talk to the family. I always love to do that, it's fun to talk to my little sister Kaylee. We then went to the store came home for lunch hit the library then the Church for the rest of the day. When 6 o'clock came along we went home and changed had a small snack then left to see Noel and Luara. They weren't home when we got there but after a few minutes they showed up. We talked with him and got to know how we can best help and Noel opened up about some personal stuff that's going on in his life. It was really spiritual and we both were prompted by the spirit to share a video with them.  We talked about the video and it was what they needed at that time. I am so grateful for the promptings of the spirit!
     Tuesday morning we got up and made our way to the Chapel to work out and shoot some hoops in the gym. It was pretty fun, I did a nice work out and I hope to get better like I used to be at working out. We then came home, changed, had breakfast and went back to the chapel. I had my doctor’s check up over Skype and all is well! We then made our way to Salvation Army for our weekly service. Turns out the food truck came an hour early so we didn’t have to bring too much in when we got there. We still had a lot of frozen meat we had to fit into the freezers and surprisingly we got it all to fit!  We helped with organizing and unboxing stuff in the pantry side, then took a lot of boxes out to the recycling dumpster. Brother Jones asked us for help to get it patted down. (We got into it and jumped on it to make more room) I had a little Extra fun and I ended up getting on top and jumped on in, it was pretty dang fun! We then had some lunch, helped a little more then came home. We had a good lesson with James on the Restoration but this time in English. He seemed to really like it and it made sense to him. We then had dinner with Brother Incze (En-za) we were able to share the “Look not behind thee” video and set a mission plan for him. We then went back to the Chapel for our Book of Mormon class, the first one of the year! We had 3 people show up!
     Wednesday after we got up and ready for the day, we were able to have studies and lunch. We then had a good lesson with James on the Book of Mormon! He is in 2 Nephi (the Isaiah Chapters) and we need to help him through them. Later we did some calling to set up future appointments.  We then met with the Mendes family and they are from Brazil. With them we helped set a family mission plan and watched the video "Look not behind thee". They are such a missionary minded family! He is currently going to the Navy Base to become an instructor back in Brazil. Before he leaves he wants to give everyone in his class a Book of Mormon in their native tongue! We will help him out with the languages we have and can get for him. We then came home had dinner and we were back on the road. We met with Jackie and her daughter to set up a family mission plan, it went really well! To end the night we met with a less active member and had an amazing lesson with her. We will now be meeting weekly! And hopefully soon she will be back at church. All 3 of her kids want to go but it's hard with no car.
     (Next few days will be shorter due to time I have to write)
     Thursday was a long day, we had interviews with President and it went really well, he seems to trust me and he is glad to see the hard work going on down here in Newport. We also have great companion unity! For lunch we hit “Chick fil A” then came home. When we got back home we did weekly planning and we did it at the clubhouse with wifi.  Then had dinner with the Evan's and also shared the video " look not behind thee" and made a family mission plan for them. We then went to the Library and I got into a study room and I was able to call my Sister Jessica and wish her a Happy 36th birthday! To end the night we met with Dante, it went well and he even reads the Book of Mormon. Next step is to get him to Church.
     Friday after we got ready we picked up the Narragansett Elders and drove to the Warwick Chapel. We then had a good training and sharing testimonies. We then had lunch at Wendy's and came home. We did our studies and I wrote up my testimony on Standing as a Witness of Christ. To end the night we had FHE at the Navy Base.  Basically just board games for them. It's always pretty fun.
     Saturday morning, went to the Church and we had Ward Missionary Correlation. It went really well and was super effective! We then came home and had studies. We then had an appointment with James and shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with him to help prepare for Baptism. We then met a new friend who by doing Facebook Finding. She is super cool and so willing to learn, we shared with her the “Gospel of Jesus Christ.”  She so felt the spirit, and I saw tears of joy and of peace come to her eyes while in the lesson. Next week she wants to bring her daughter for her to learn as well! We then ended up meeting with Roseanne a lady who has been taught for a long time an "eternagator" we hope to help her out more with her faith and getting her to Church! We then drove to see the new family in the ward the Chiditers! They are super cool and we will be able to get to know them a lot while we are here and we are super excited! On the way we passed a super cool beach but sadly most of my photos of the week got erased. To end the night we drove to see the Gallagher family. And oh boy, are the kids crazy but a super fun family. We did a couple of magic tricks to entertain the kids and with them we also made a Family Mission Plan!
     Okay no Sunday, almost there. I always love that I am able to partake of the Sacrament weekly! We had a couple of great talks the second one was by Brother Jones. He talked about coming back after 15 years of wondering.  In the second hour (Elders Quorum) we talked about Helaman 5:12 building our rock foundation in Christ. We then came home and had lunch and studies. We them went to Brother Stablys house and had FHE with him. We played a fun board game! We then had dinner with the Hancock family and with in the past 2 weeks got 3 new pets. We then had a good lesson with Brother Mottrom on prayer.  He wants to enter the Temple and he is working to quit smoking. He gave us his lighters to help him out! To end the night we watched the YSA devotional with Elder and Sister Christofferson.  We watched it with James and he liked it!

     Here is a poem and my testimony on standing as a witness, Both by me.


     "I was pondering a question upon what I have read. "How can I be a witness until I am dead?" This Book of Mormon from prophets of Old. They teach and testify that Christ’s Love is worth more than silver and gold."-Elder Brayden Knowlden

     I have been pondering about this question "How can I be a witness of Christ"? Well first, what exactly does it mean TO BE a witness? In the dictionary it states that a witness is a "Testimony by word or deed to your religious faith". With that being said I want to stand as a witness of the truthfulness of this wonderful Book, "The Book of Mormon". Through reading it, my love for the savior and understanding of his love me us has increased so much! I know that I am not perfect and I have doubted it in the past, but I know for a surety that Christ truly does love me. He loves each and every one of us, and because of that he once again called a prophet in the 1820's after many years of confusion. That prophet's name was Joseph Smith. I know that a few of you may not agree with me, the Church, or may have fallen away but I want to stand as a personal witness to you all, that I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true Church here on the Earth today! I have gotten to know many people from so many different Faiths and a lot of them love the Bible, but they don’t have a full understanding of what all of Christ’s teachings are. This is the reason why we have The Book of Mormon here today. It is here for that added witness of Christ and His Gospel! In the Holy Bible (KJV) 2 Corinthians 13:1 it states, "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." This is why we have both the Holy Bible and The Book of Mormon-Another Testament of Jesus Christ. These are the mouths of "two or three" it talks about. These Books are for each and every one of us to help testify of our Savior Jesus Christ! If you have not read the Book of Mormon and have a desire to come closer to Christ I promise you that if you read it, you will come closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. I hope that you will act on faith and do what you can to come closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. I know that I am doing what I can every day to feel his love and help others feel it too! I know that my Savior loves me. I know that my Heavenly Father loves me too. Because of that he has sent his Only Begotten Son to atone for each and everyone of our sins, and for our trial's, our troubles, our pains and for our afflictions of every kind. Because of this he can give us added comfort in times of need. He also has done this so that we can once again live with our Father in Heaven and have Eternal life. I know I still have so much more to learn but until the day comes that I will see my Father in Heaven, I hope that I can stand as Witness of His truth in all my days. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Happy New Year 2020

The Beach in Newport Rhode Island

Rhode Island District

Elder Chidister and Knowlden

my worn out shoes 

Rhode Island Church Sign

Trash bag fixed the blinds

Elder Johnson and Knowlden in Rhode Island

Week 64   Jan 6th 2020 
With it being the week of transfers, Monday was not P-Day. After we woke up, we went over to Brother Stableys, and had our studies there along with doing our laundry, that took forever! It was nice though, we were able to both do our wash for our bedding! That literally took most of the day. We had a small break for lunch and we went to Walmart because I got new shoes, the old ones didn’t look so good. I also finally got a phone case and a screen protector. It was very much needed. After dinner we had a short visit with Brother Walker. We were able to read from the Book of Mormon with him, and he really did enjoy that! We came back home and walked over to see Mike, and have a lesson with him. Funny enough whenever we visit him it is always raining. When we got there we watched another Book of Mormon video with him and talked about it. We watched 1 Nephi 7, when Nephi and his brothers go back to Jerusalem for the second time. This time they went back to talk to Ishmaels family and bring them into the desert with them. The main reason is so they could have wives and raise generations to come! After our lesson, right at 9pm T-texts came out and I will be staying here in Newport with Elder Johnson!!!
     Tuesday was the P-day of the week and we did the usual. Shopping, hanging out at the Chapel, emails at the Library, and of course calling the Family. That is honestly my favorite part! Later we made it to dinner with Noel and Luara. We officially had our first lesson with them! We went over the lesson on the Plan of Salvation and they really did like it! They are definitely going to be closer to Christ in their lives. One thing that I was able to do before we left is leave a blessing on their home. During the blessing tears just came to my eyes because I could feel the spirit enter even stronger into there home! After that wonderful experience we came home, I wrote in my journal and we played card games until midnight because you know…… "Happy New Years "!!!
     Well it is now January 1st 2020, a start to a new adventure and a new Decade! Today was the first day of the new transfer, and what great way to start to be with an amazing companion in an amazing area of Newport Rhode Island! There are miracles to come soon! Sadly though it was a slower day. After studies we made our way to the Chapel and set up one of the rooms to fit our "Book of Mormon Class", we redecorated and cleaned it up. We are really excited for it to start up next week! At the Same time we called people taught in the past to see if they would still be interested. We are updating them because a lot of numbers no longer work. We did get a couple who, said to call back in a week or so because it still is the Holidays. We came home for dinner then went back to the chapel to work on area notes and make more calls. There are a lot of people that have been taught! That's basically what we did all that day.
     Thursday we kept pretty busy as well. After some studies we made some calls and went to the Library and did a little bit of Facebook finding.  At the same time I made a new list of people taught in the past to call and see if they would still be interested I'm hearing a message on Christ and His Gospel. We made our way to the Chapel and added a couple of things to the Book of Mormon class room, and made a few of those calls. We then had a lesson on the restoration with Dante a friend of Tionnas. It went well and we will teach him again next week!  After that we came home for dinner and then made stop byes with less active members. We tried to visit one who goes to Salv Regina (a college in downtown Newport). While downtown we saw a lot of the Mansions and the infamous Cliff walk. We hope to do that sometime this transfer.  To end the night, we had a good lesson with James and his parents. It was cool because his dad joined this time! We ended up watching "The Restoration" video in Cantonese (恢复). After that we talked about it a little more and help build their testimonies before they fly back to China this upcoming Sunday.
     Friday morning came early, and it became a long day. We drove up to the Providence YSA Elders apt, so we could carpool with them to West Bridgewater for DLC. We were there for 2 hours and talked about how we can continue to do better this up coming transfer. After DLC we went out to lunch at Chick-fill-a and it was so good, it has been over a transfer sense I ate there. We then drove down to the Warwick Chapel to discuss the same things. After District Council in Warwick, we went with the Elders to the Malls foodcourt because we found out that they had Panda Express there! By far my favorite fast food restaurant in the mission! After we ate and talked to the Elders, we came back to Newport then went to the Navy Base for FHE night.  It was a smaller night due to the holidays but it was still really fun!
     Saturday was another long day. In the Morning we had Missionary coordination and that honestly went really well! After we came home had studies and the rest of the day wasn’t as fun. All of our appointments ended up canceling or being rescheduled. Basically did a lot of calling again and stop byes. Nothing to spectacular but we got through it! At night I was trying to fix our bathroom blinds and ended up breaking it... soo I fixed it with a black trash bag.  We also got a call around 10:15 ish we missed it but it was from a member who is blind all she wanted to know was the time. It was cute but funny.
     Sunday, and the first one of the year! After we woke up and got ready we made our way to Church.  We were talking to Brother Jones and he had a pin on his tie with the Letter K. His first name is Ken, and I joked and said that would look better on me because I am Elder (K)nowlden. Suprising me he gave it to me and I am truly grateful for his kindness. We heard a lot if great testimonies and we actually heard the whole bishopric give testimonies to was pretty cool. I also had the opportunity to bare my testimony it is always a good feeling to share it with others. In second hour we had Sunday School and Brother Wood led the discussion on the introduction pages of the Book of Mormon, that was also really cool! After Church we talked to a couple of family's and set up times to come over and share a message with them. We also had a good lesson with Brother Mottrom (a returning member). We talked about the importance of Sacrament and he said this was the first time he’s taken it in a while, and he really did enjoy it and felt that he was needed there. We then read the intro page to the Book of Mormon. After we had our lesson with him we went to the car and started to talk with brother Gallagher. He is a super cool member and has an awesome beard. While talking with him we noticed on his phone he was looking up "How to grow a Beard?" We thought it was pretty funny because he already has a nice one. We then came home had studies and after a little bit I took a nap on the floor in front of the heater. When I woke up we went to go visit Brother Stabley for a message, we are now planning on going over on Sundays to share a message with him! We then came home and we finally had dinner, the second best part of Fast Sunday, the first is obviously partaking the Sacrament. We did a couple stop byes then came home for a lesson with Mike. We went over the Restoration with him as a reminder of the reason we have the Book of Mormon. 

                       Jude 1:21
    "21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."

     We should always Love God because he loves us. He sent his son, our Lord Jesus Christ to atone for our sins so that we can have that Eternal Life. I am trying to do what I can to come closer to him and show the Love I have for him by the service I do by helping others see the Love Christ has for us. Because of him we can all have Eternal Happiness. I say these things in the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen