¿Qué piensa de toda de la Nieve?

¡Buenos Días Fonzfam!

What a crazy week it's been here in Portland! Just like you, we've gotten a lot more snow than is normal, especially for this time of year. But unlike Utah it was less than an inch and barely in the high 20's. That's enough to get two snow days here and ground our cars until the roads clear up enough for travel. With the perspective of a Utah it was kind funny to see how people reacted to the snow. I hope that everyone stays safe with all those storms that you keep getting.

‎ As Elder Montague and I go through different things together during each week, we learn more of who we are and we can recognize why we were meant to be companions. We've had our ups and downs, but we've used the tools and knowledge to work through them. Every good day and every bad day we go through together, helping each other along the way. This has been a great companionship and although transfers aren't for another couple weeks I have a prediction that we won't be splitting up anytime soon.

‎Once again the temple has been a source of enlightenment and a great spiritual recharge. Because it had snowed the night before the temple grounds were blanketed in white. We were able to get some awesome pictures before it melted away after our session. This was the first time going since the end of August, which has allowed me to grow in a different way and gain a better respect for it. As always it was a great experience, but I definitely felt closer to my Heavenly Father than I ever have before. Our mission president has scheduled us to go through regularly over the coming year. Our next visit will be during some time in May which is going to be a fun month full of so many events that I'm looking forward to.

Rosa is progressing super well! We were able to watch the Restoration movie with her family this last weekend and they loved it! After we asked her if she believed that Joseph Smith was a prophet and she said that she KNEW it. She was also able to bring her kids with her to church again yesterday. There is definitely a refiner's fire when it comes finding, teaching, converting, and baptizing while having the faith to drop along the way. We handed out 25 copies of the BOM last week and were able to find and teach four new investigators. Our hopes are high and we constantly find ourselves bowing our heads in gratitude to the Lord for all that he gives us.

One of those miracles happened to us again last night towards the end of our evening. We had just tried this door and had gotten no answer, but it had put us in the right place at the right time to run in to Jake. He actually came up to us and asked us who we were and he explained how he's been looking for a way to follow, a religion to help him in life. We have never seen someone more pumped to learn more about the BOM than him. Although we'll be referring him to the Hedges Creek Sisters and not keeping him ourselves, we're glad that the Lord trusts us enough to literally put the elect in our path when we're diligently doing the work that we're here to do.

In 1 Nephi 3:5 I really like what Lehi says to Nephi about his brothers and the commandment to go to Jerusalem. The commandment isn't from Lehi, but it's coming from God. I like to look at this and compare it to today and how we are constantly receiving guided direction from our leaders called of God. Although sometimes we may not agree with what has been given, we can trust that our Father in Heaven knows what's best and we can faithfully follow them.

I love you all and pray for your safety in both the snow storms and the storms of the adversary.

Con Amor,
Elder Fonnesbeck