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Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Elder Inman Letter February 17, 2014

I don't even remember this week.

This whole week was interesting and chaotic. But not a bad week I suppose. Congrats to Shane on his mission call to Chile! He better hang around Uncle Jimmy to learn some Spanish! Hahaha. That is great!
 
Monday after emailing, we played dodge ball with another set of Elders and the Sisters here in Powell. Pretty fun and tiring. Later that EVENING, we found out that our Zone Leader Training AND New Missionary Training were moved to the NEXT day at 9AM in Worland (2 hour drive), and that we were mixing it with the Wyoming South Zone...WHAT?! So we literally took maybe 10 minutes that evening to plan, cancelled a lot of things, and had our meeting Tuesday. It's always wonderful to be told an hour before going to bed that you have a 9 hour meeting the next morning that YOU are in charge of haha.
 
So Tuesday came, we drove out to Worland. Left about 6:30AM and didn't get home till 8:00PM. I was so exhausted. Although it actually went pretty well. Thank goodness for the Spirit! Elder Rasmusson gave a talk on Priesthood Authority and Leadership, and I gave a half hour discussion on Happiness. It is quite a difficult (broad) but interesting topic to study!
 
Wednesday we did some service for a new move-in to the Powell 2nd Ward. The Sisters cover that area, but we were moving several dressers, mattresses, and frames. That night we picked up a new Investigator named Mike Lindsey. He lives at home alone and has struggled believing in God due to the loss of his wife. To keep him busy, he builds 18-19th century guns. He also builds clocks for a hobby. Originally he had absolutely no interest in what we had to teach. We talked about the Plan of Salvation and gave him the pamphlet which he took interest in.
 
We shoveled an 89 year old's driveway. Her name is Ethel and she is not a member but has a best friend who is. She is devout Catholic, and is part native from the Crow Indian Reservation. Her memory is beginning to fade (she told the same joke twice), but we hope to teach her time to time. Incredibly nice. All of our other plans fell through, so we found an innactive member who lives alone and talked to us about aviation for 2 hours....I almost fell asleep. But we shared something from President Uchtdorf...because he's a pilot :)
 
Valentines Day was probably the most uneventful day of the week. Absolutely no one answered their door (or were not happy when they answered). So we spent the day looking for service opportunities. The only thing we found was picking up Dog poop at the Animal Shelter. Great day eh? Our shoes looked awesome afterward...
 
Saturday we spent about an hour tracting. No one seemed to be home then either. But we did end up getting to see some less-active families. One of them is an old couple who hasn't been to church in decades because they feel like there are some that go to church and are hypocrites. He claims that he is still living the Gospel, and the Lord will justify him for not going to church. That is a terrible argument haha. If a hypocrite is someone who does not live perfectly up to everything he/she believes, we are ALL hypocrites (in the words of President Uchtdorf). We got the wife to cry. We feel like she wants to come back but does not want disunity. Stubborn men!
 
Yesterday was pretty cool. We only had 3 investigators at Sacrament meeting. The Young's were sick, and we didn't get to see them all week so we went by in the evening and got there just as they were pulling in (the Lord's timing is legit!). Tracy (the mom) is retaining what she is learning in the Book of Mormon! Please pray for her and Dana Young (the Father). We also found a family that has lived in Powell for 13 years, and have managed to hide from the church. Leave it to the missionaries to find you! We talked with them for a long time. A nice old couple, kids married in the temple, and they said they have just been lazy. So we talked some sense into them and hope to see them soon :) Other than that, the weather has been beautiful (high of about 48), and we are all happy and healthy!
 
Congratulations to Torie on her band performances! I miss going to festivals and what not seeing both sisters perform. I actually really enjoyed those! I love and miss all of you! Thank you for all the sacrifices you have made in my behalf, and the prayers. They are definitely keeping me going. Have a great week!

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Elder Inman Letter February 10, 2014

Most Successful Week Yet!

I officially hit my year mark this week! Thank you family for the letter, it came on the exact day (February 6)! Still can't believe it has been that long. When I first got to the mission home I wrote a letter to myself and opened it...It had $80 in it and told me to start working out hahahahaha. I pretty much rebuked myself :)
 
So let's see...We coordinated exchanges this week. There was a companionship that needed a break from each other. So Elder Rasmusson went to Cowley, and Elder Wilson came down to Powell to stay with us for a few days. We started the exchange Monday night and then had District Meeting Monday morning. We had to leave early because I had a DENTIST appointment! Yeah. There is a member here who offered to give us free check-ups and cleanings. Turned out I needed it (it's been over a year). I have 4 cavities haha and they are from not flossing. He actually had me set up a return appointment and is going to fill all of them for free. That it a huge blessing.
 
Later on Tuesday we visited our eternal investigator. She has been investigating for 61 years and is still not baptized. Children are married in the temple. She told us that she needs more time...if 60 years isn't enough, I don't know what is! We were pretty bold with her and told her that she has been fortunate to have the Gospel for 3/4 of her life, yet has missed out on all the blessings of the Holy Ghost. She wouldn't set a baptismal date. I'm actually pretty worried for her that she is going to run out of time. The rest of the day was spent contacting referrals. We got into one house. I won't go into details about the family other than there are a twin brother and sister who have had the worst childhood I have ever heard of. They are 9 years old, but the sweetest kids I've met. We are going to be teaching them weekly :)
 
Wednesday was the BEST. Of the 6 investigators that came to church, we put THREE of them on baptismal date in one day!! The first was Steve Rackness. He is the husband of a very active wife and kids. We are taking it slow with him, but committed him to read 5 pages a day from the Book of Mormon with his wife, and to be baptized March 22! That was so exciting. Our last lesson of the night was with the Young's. After going through the discussions three times in the past, she has decided she wants to be baptized! We set a goal for March 26, but she said she would be baptized earlier than that if she feels ready. The hope is that Brother Young (her husband) could actually baptize her. So we are helping him get active again. Their son Lucas will also be baptized, but we found out he is 8, so he wouldn't count as a convert baptism. But that is ok :)
 
Service this week was pretty legit. There is a member here that is remodeling an old bowling ally. So the sisters and us helped stain wood for a few hours! I have never done it before but it is actually pretty cool. And will stain your skin like no other. I used paint thinner on my face to get it out of my skin haha. We then had a unique opportunity to bless a mother and her baby who aren't members. The baby needs open heart surgery but is too sick to operate on. I had the opportunity to bless the 1 year old son. Wow. What an experience. This baby just stared up at me the whole time in silence as I had my hands on his head.
 
I'm learning what it's like to drive in snow (with a small car). When turning right (slower than usual even), the car decided it wanted to go diagonal. So we almost played bumper cars with the car at the stop light. I pulled the emergency brake and we fortunately had a nice drift that straightened us out. Pretty fun! Later, we helped 2 cars get unstuck. Actually we helped GET one stuck first. We stopped in the road to ask this teenage girl if she needed help. By stopping, the car behind us couldn't get going again. So we helped them out too :) Three times this week it has gotten below -20. The coldest I've seen is -31 degrees! Your nose hair literally freezes. It's quite the feeling! Something kind of fun this week was we were looking for a less-active family. When we knocked on the door they thought we were carolers! They let us in and we sang to them haha. They came to church the next day!
 
I am so jealous you got to go to the Gilbert Temple open house. It looks beautiful! Congratulations to Torie on all of her successes! Tell Jesse to expect a letter from Elder Wilson. :) I don't know when it will come. Hope you all have a great week! I love you all!
 
The pictures were another service project we did. We helped a lady take down her Christmas decorations and put them into a secret underground storage. Pretty cool :)
 


 

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Elder Inman Letter February 3, 2014

Hump DAYYYY!

Wow. I hit my official year mark on the 6th, but I will be home in less than a year. That's really weird to think about! But kind of exciting as well. I am not trunky, it's way to early for that but it is a good feeling to count down rather than up if that makes sense?
 
Monday's P-day was pretty sweet. Originally we wanted to watch Ephraims Rescue as a zone  but decided we didnt want to establish a tradition of Elder/Sister movie parties...so we didn't haha. Instead we played games like "Signs" and other interactive games. Elder Rasmusson and I were fortunate to come across a 5 gallon bucket of Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. We cut it into 9 sections and had an ice cream carving contest between the 9 companionships there haha it was awesome!
 
 
 
Fun story about Monday:
On our way out of the house, Elder Rasmusson realized that he left the car keys inside. We locked the door on the way out and realized that the house keys are also on the car keys.. SO, we tried breaking in a number of ways but had no success. The members we lived with weren't home, so we had to be pretty creative. After praying about it, we decided to try the cat/doggy door. I was definately too big for it, so Elder Rasmusson tried it and got stuck! After getting him loose he tried head first. Didn't work. But then the thought came to go head first with one arm in, unlock the door from underneath, and open the door! He managed to do it and I pushed the door open while Elder Rasmusson was sweeping the floor with his torso haha. He was still in the door xD Pretty funny.
 
 
That evening, we actually travelled up to Billings with the Sister Training Leaders for Mission Leadership Council. This is my first offocial one, although I presented the phone reports to the mission leadership council previously when I was in Rimrock. We stayed the night in Billings and left for Helena at 4:30AM. The meeting mainly consisted of how we can improve as a mission while implementing things in our specific zones. I was actually in a frustrated mood, because I feel like many ZL's are way to prideful and abuse their leadership. We got back to Billings at about 9PM.
 
Wednesday Morning we drove back to Cody, WY to our District Meeting. I was SO tired! We took up probably an hour of the District Meeting implementing new iPad rules that were established at the Council. After District Meeting, a Sister asked me to give her a blessing. I had no idea what for but that was the coolest part. After the blessing, in tears, she said it was the best blessing she has ever recieved. I have a testimony of the power of the Priesthood. That God speaks to his children not only through prayer, but through other people. I don't remember one word I said in that blessing, but that is because it was not me. My mouth was opened and filled. So that was awesome. We also picked up a 3rd companion Wednesday. His name is Elder Ashcroft and has been out 19 months. He is with us for a special reason that I won't divulge, but be praying for him :) He has actually been awesome to have around and is pretty funny!
 
We double booked dinners by accident...I had "Hawg Heaven" which was a pound of pulled pork, and then forgot about the other dinner we had which was chilly and homemade cornbread. I couldn't move. Other fun things about Wednesday, we have begun volunteering at an animal shelter. All the dogs there are $45 WITH shots and neutered. I wanted to buy one! Anyways, they also had a cat room...a literal cat room of 32 cats. We filled their food and water dishes while Elder Rasmusson cleaned all the litter boxes. I HATE cats.
 
Thursday and Friday we helped a lady move and clean her home. Nothing too exciting. Friday we met with Beau ...I don't remember if I have talked about him or not. Beau is a member of the church but is very skeptical. He knows the answers to his own questions but lacks the motivation or the trust in God to follow them. We committed him to read and pray with his family for a week straight, no exceptions, and his desires would change. He accepted and we'll see.
 
Saturday I sheet-rocked! It's been a while since I've done that! We helped an inactive man sheetrock his home. He's really weird but I enjoy working. It is a break from the stresses of missionary work. The highlight of Saturday was visiting the Rackness Family. Sister Rackness is an active member but her husband is not a member. They had us over for dinner and we taught the first discussion. Brother Rackness is a super nice guy but might have a few hang-ups.
 
Seahawks huh? Super-bowl Sunday is a terrible day for proselyting haha. Either no one was home, or everyone was and we were not invited. However, we had SIX investigators at church and are planning on putting 2 of them on Bap Date this week! Pray for us!!!!!! I am doing well here, and Elder Rasmusson and I are a sweet companionship! He went to BYU, is majoring in Physics, and is from Reno, NV. We get along awesome.  
 
I am so jealous you get to go to the Gilbert Temple open house. Not fair! I miss the temple so much. Jensen and Shane are shipping out soon?! They were 16 and 17 when I left! Ahhhh! Tell those two to email me. They both haven't written or emailed me once! Love you!
Pictures of Mission Leadership Council