¡Ya es el Verano aqui en Oregon!

¡Hola Fonzfam!

Although there were some rough patches this last week, for the most part we have been extremely blessed with success and miracles! The weather was great all week long. The sun was out and shining, giving me that awesome tan that comes so naturally;) Because of the humidity the mid 80's to low 90's felt hotter than it may have actually been. My shirt collar is evidence of that! But with all great things, they must come to an end. Beginning Friday the storm finally came and brought the temperatures down 40° and Saturday we had torrential rain as part of a thunder storm(which we don't ever get here in Portland). This upcoming week looks great and it makes me really excited for the summer months ahead!

This week we decided to try something new for finding. We took an Arobie Ring(basically a frisbee) down to the Clackamas Community College and threw it around in between classes to attract some of the students. As students passed us we offered for them to try it out, which a few did. Of those who did we asked them basic questions and turned that into a gospel discussion. We were able to get some numbers but no return appointments. This same week, one of those students we texted responded and we were able to meet with him(Mitch) and share the message of the restoration. He is really cool and open to learning more. What a miracle it was that that method actually worked to find haha! We'll see now what we can do with Mitch to help him understand the gospel better and come closer Christ.

At the beginning of the week our mission President had set a mission goal of finding 100 new investigators for the week. With transfers we all knew that this was going to take a lot of work because usually transfer week isn't as productive. Through our district leaders we decided to set the goal for us at 10, being optimistic and attainable. Saturday night we were bombarded with miracles that every companionship had and we counted all the news and found out that we had achieved our goal of 10! Over the next 24 hours there were still miracles that happened and by reaching our goal we have 10 new people to teach! Because of everyone's diligence and hard work, things paid off. The next step is to help these people come closer to Christ through repentance and baptism, while finding more along the way.

With all the excitement from the missionaries, this zone is picking up some speed. We're heading in the right direction and all we have to do is keep moving forward. But over the past couple weeks my companion and I have been going through a hard trial. It has pushed and pulled at us in many different ways, but the cool thing is that we both haven't been shaken because of it. Referring to Helaman 5:12, we have been able to find peace and hope through Christ being our rock on which our foundation is built. Through this trial, we have seen others who were affected who's foundation isn't centered on Christ. The pain they are going through makes us sad, but the joy we know they will be able to feel will come from Christ who suffered for those kinds of pains. It is a step by step process but as we root ourselves deep in the gospel, we'll be able to overcome any trial, or whirlwind, that comes our way.

Mother's Day is only a couple weeks away and I'm getting really excited for our video call again! I wish you all the best as school continues to get closer and closer to the end. I love you. I miss you. Keep doing incredible things!

Love,

Elder Fonnesbeck