¡Hola Fonzfam!
Winter storm Maya has been a fun one to deal with these last few days. Out of our entire mission our zone was hit the hardest with the snow and ice. It was only 5 or 6 inches, but it caused almost everything to shut down. When the roads get as icy as they are, our Mission President has to ground the mission cars. When you're area is big enough for the rest of the mission to fit in it...twice...not being able to drive becomes a nightmare. Luckily the part where we live is the most populated so walking around is doable. Things have warmed up though as the rain is coming down, melting all the snow and making things icy. We've seen only a couple of totalled cars on the side of the highway. One was this jeep that had it's tire wrapped around the barracade. We've been blessed with protection as missionaries over this past week let me tell you.
These last 11 months of serving in English congregations have been incredible. From Alder Creek YSA to the Meridian Park family ward to here in Mt Hood YSA, I have made so many memories with so many people who have become my friends. Last night we received some of our transfer news and it looks like I'm going to be a District Leader again in a Spanish congregation somewhere. Tonight after 9pm we'll find out the specifics of who I'll be with and where I'll be serving next. This could easily be my last area with only three transfers left. I know that each place I serve is where the Lord needs me.
Last week I told you about the experience of meeting Robert at the anti-Super Bowl party. Well we went back Thursday and at first we thought it was going to be a pretty uplifting opportunity for him and his family. Although when we went back it wasn't so. He wouldn't really let us talk and he kept going off on everything he knew about our faith from his outside perspective. He said he learned that we serve missions to get privileges from the church, and we shook our heads and told him that we saved money and pay our way to serve a mission. The only reward is the blessings we're promised for us, our loved ones, and those whom we serve. Unfortunately the conversation didn't last long after that as we quickly understood his intentions. He and his wife are really good people, they really are. But a difference in beliefs and an unwillingness to open up to more understanding isn't going to get him very far. It was a learning experience that has strengthened my testimony in my beliefs.
It was Chinese New Years on Tuesday and so we hit up Panda Express to celebrate. We know it's not real Chinese food, but it's still really good regardless. Afterwards though, in our finding, we were in the Arden Apartments once again feeling things out on where we needed to go. There was this one door in our notes that stuck out to us that came as inspiration to Elder Anderson a week earlier, but no one had answered then. That night we went right for to it and met Jada and her little daughter. She was really open to us and without hesitation accepted our invitation to come back this next week. We were pretty surprised by this but after our conversation we knew that meeting her that night was not a coincidence. She texted us later that night thanking us for stopping by because it was just what she needed. It was inspired by the Lord. Now I'm really excited to find out why she is so willing to meet up with us.
Wednesday afternoon was rough. Not only was the air fridged, but nobody was really home or out and about. This made things discouraging as we headed in for dinner empty handed. But God knew what was up. After dinner we hit the streets and complexes again and found both Stephanie and Louis right after each other for the other family ward Elders to teach. Then we were blessed with Berenice who is just awesome! She is going to be a solid person to teach and become a friend with. The rest of the night we saw even more miracles with talking to this other YSA guy named Jake who was down to meet up to learn more. He doesn't have the biggest belief in God but he said he's looking for more purpose in his life.
As YSA Elders we're always looking for ways to find more people to teach within our specific demographic. One idea we tried out this last week worked out pretty good. We created a short survey on "Spirituality" to share with students at Mt Hood Community College. We weren't allowed to walk around, so they set a table up for us to sit at and we called students over as they walked by. Similar to the chalkboard in the past, we dressed up in our normal clothes and went by our first names. If people asked who we were with, we told them that we were missionaries for our church. Most were pretty open with us and we got tons of responses. Basically we created the survey to sift through those who would be interested in meeting up to learn more and even try out church. We found a half dozen new people who were interested in what we had to share in an hour or so! It was really fun and super effective and so we hope more good things will come from these new people God has prepared.
This past weekend was our Stake Conference. Elder Ghent of the California Area Seventy came to speak and provide some direction for the congregations out here. All the sessions were great, but attendance was noticeably lower because of the weather. Anyways, in the last session he said something that was profound to me and I would like to share it with you guys. Each of us have had different spiritual experiences that have solidified our testimonies. While serving my mission I've been blessed with countless opportunities to recognize God's hand in my life and in the lives of those around me. These experiences are sacred, and they are blessings that our Heavenly Father is willing to give to help us know that He is there and we are following His way. These are things that we cannot forget. And this is the point that Elder Ghent made: in times of trial and uncertainty, your recorded personal witness of the Spirit will be an anchor to will help you safely get through. In my journals I've recorded as much as I can about these spiritual witnesses. This is something I highly encourage each of you to do. Reflect on the day you were baptized. Maybe you recently received a blessing by the Priesthood. Describe how you felt as you were receiving your patriarchal blessing, and even what you have learned from it so far. Have you had any miracles in your relationships? All of these things testify of the love Christ and of the reality of His gospel. I promise that as you do this, you will be even more prepared for the storms that will come your way. I love you all so much. I really do. Enjoy Valentine's Day this week and go ahead and serve someone you love:)
Con Amor,
Elder Fonnesbeck
Winter storm Maya has been a fun one to deal with these last few days. Out of our entire mission our zone was hit the hardest with the snow and ice. It was only 5 or 6 inches, but it caused almost everything to shut down. When the roads get as icy as they are, our Mission President has to ground the mission cars. When you're area is big enough for the rest of the mission to fit in it...twice...not being able to drive becomes a nightmare. Luckily the part where we live is the most populated so walking around is doable. Things have warmed up though as the rain is coming down, melting all the snow and making things icy. We've seen only a couple of totalled cars on the side of the highway. One was this jeep that had it's tire wrapped around the barracade. We've been blessed with protection as missionaries over this past week let me tell you.
These last 11 months of serving in English congregations have been incredible. From Alder Creek YSA to the Meridian Park family ward to here in Mt Hood YSA, I have made so many memories with so many people who have become my friends. Last night we received some of our transfer news and it looks like I'm going to be a District Leader again in a Spanish congregation somewhere. Tonight after 9pm we'll find out the specifics of who I'll be with and where I'll be serving next. This could easily be my last area with only three transfers left. I know that each place I serve is where the Lord needs me.
Last week I told you about the experience of meeting Robert at the anti-Super Bowl party. Well we went back Thursday and at first we thought it was going to be a pretty uplifting opportunity for him and his family. Although when we went back it wasn't so. He wouldn't really let us talk and he kept going off on everything he knew about our faith from his outside perspective. He said he learned that we serve missions to get privileges from the church, and we shook our heads and told him that we saved money and pay our way to serve a mission. The only reward is the blessings we're promised for us, our loved ones, and those whom we serve. Unfortunately the conversation didn't last long after that as we quickly understood his intentions. He and his wife are really good people, they really are. But a difference in beliefs and an unwillingness to open up to more understanding isn't going to get him very far. It was a learning experience that has strengthened my testimony in my beliefs.
It was Chinese New Years on Tuesday and so we hit up Panda Express to celebrate. We know it's not real Chinese food, but it's still really good regardless. Afterwards though, in our finding, we were in the Arden Apartments once again feeling things out on where we needed to go. There was this one door in our notes that stuck out to us that came as inspiration to Elder Anderson a week earlier, but no one had answered then. That night we went right for to it and met Jada and her little daughter. She was really open to us and without hesitation accepted our invitation to come back this next week. We were pretty surprised by this but after our conversation we knew that meeting her that night was not a coincidence. She texted us later that night thanking us for stopping by because it was just what she needed. It was inspired by the Lord. Now I'm really excited to find out why she is so willing to meet up with us.
Wednesday afternoon was rough. Not only was the air fridged, but nobody was really home or out and about. This made things discouraging as we headed in for dinner empty handed. But God knew what was up. After dinner we hit the streets and complexes again and found both Stephanie and Louis right after each other for the other family ward Elders to teach. Then we were blessed with Berenice who is just awesome! She is going to be a solid person to teach and become a friend with. The rest of the night we saw even more miracles with talking to this other YSA guy named Jake who was down to meet up to learn more. He doesn't have the biggest belief in God but he said he's looking for more purpose in his life.
As YSA Elders we're always looking for ways to find more people to teach within our specific demographic. One idea we tried out this last week worked out pretty good. We created a short survey on "Spirituality" to share with students at Mt Hood Community College. We weren't allowed to walk around, so they set a table up for us to sit at and we called students over as they walked by. Similar to the chalkboard in the past, we dressed up in our normal clothes and went by our first names. If people asked who we were with, we told them that we were missionaries for our church. Most were pretty open with us and we got tons of responses. Basically we created the survey to sift through those who would be interested in meeting up to learn more and even try out church. We found a half dozen new people who were interested in what we had to share in an hour or so! It was really fun and super effective and so we hope more good things will come from these new people God has prepared.
This past weekend was our Stake Conference. Elder Ghent of the California Area Seventy came to speak and provide some direction for the congregations out here. All the sessions were great, but attendance was noticeably lower because of the weather. Anyways, in the last session he said something that was profound to me and I would like to share it with you guys. Each of us have had different spiritual experiences that have solidified our testimonies. While serving my mission I've been blessed with countless opportunities to recognize God's hand in my life and in the lives of those around me. These experiences are sacred, and they are blessings that our Heavenly Father is willing to give to help us know that He is there and we are following His way. These are things that we cannot forget. And this is the point that Elder Ghent made: in times of trial and uncertainty, your recorded personal witness of the Spirit will be an anchor to will help you safely get through. In my journals I've recorded as much as I can about these spiritual witnesses. This is something I highly encourage each of you to do. Reflect on the day you were baptized. Maybe you recently received a blessing by the Priesthood. Describe how you felt as you were receiving your patriarchal blessing, and even what you have learned from it so far. Have you had any miracles in your relationships? All of these things testify of the love Christ and of the reality of His gospel. I promise that as you do this, you will be even more prepared for the storms that will come your way. I love you all so much. I really do. Enjoy Valentine's Day this week and go ahead and serve someone you love:)
Con Amor,
Elder Fonnesbeck
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| Do you want to build a SnowElder? Cuz we did! |
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| This was our view from our window Saturday morning. This is the MOST snow I've gotten while on my mission! |
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| We had a funeral as a zone for Sister Sisson who will be returning to Cache Valley this week. |
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| Happy Chinese New Years! |
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