Week 69: Stockton is Dope!

Hey y'all! 

This week has been absolutely fantastic!! Stockton is an interesting area. The main city only has about 1800 people in it, but the ward has about 200 active members! It's awesome because lots of the members out here know everyone, and they always know someone we can go visit or something that the missionaries were doing in the past that we can pick up doing again. 

There's this section of the area called "the ranch," with a whole bunch of polygamists. It's sorta weird because they believe in Joseph Smith, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Book of Mormon, but polygamy and divine priesthood authority is what separates them from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We had a member refer us to go visit his brother, who is practicing polygamy. It was really odd because it's like teaching a member... but not!!!! 

My companion, Elder Haines, and I think that Stockton is about to explode with the Work!! It seems like it has all of the necessary ingredients (and more) to bring a lot of people to Christ. I honestly wouldn't mind serving the rest of my mission here! It really is a great place. 

We do lots of service here. We helped this guy feed his chickens and move the cages around, just some backwoods hobby for him. We volunteer at a local senior center washing dishes, bring some music and dance around and work! All of the old people love "their boys." 

We had the ward Halloween party and primary program at church this last week, it was really good for me to be able to meet all of the members. There are about 3 families that have tons of members in this ward. I get confused so easily! This ward is the best! 

Well, good luck to y'all this week, have a good time!

Love,

Elder Eliason

 Elders Eliason and Eggleston

 Fall

 Fall 

 and Fall

 and more Fall

 Webb City, MO

Elders Haines and Eliason

Week 68: Transfer Week

Hey y'all!!

This week has been killer!! We have been able to get lots of work done and teach lots of lessons. We were able to help at the Baptist dinner again, as well as cut and split wood, pick up TONS of hedge apples (osage oranges), take down a TV antenna, volunteered at a food pantry bagging cans and bags of noodles for a big commodity giveaway.  It is a great opportunity to show people that we are just here to help like Christ did. 

I'm moving to Stockton, Missouri, population 1800 and something haha! I hope it will be a great area, and it will be a good experience.  I've heard that there are lots of polygamists there, so it will be interesting!

I'm sad to leave Parsons, it's been a good time with some really good people. It's felt really good to work in a really small branch, hard at times, but good.  I have really felt like I am an instrument in the Lord's hands these last 6 months.  It's been hard to say goodbye, but it will be a cool experience wherever the Lord sends me.

Sorry  I don't have more to talk about.  I will have more next week!! 

Love y'all!

Elder Eliason

PS My new address is:

1214 S Blake St. Apt 13 

Stockton, MO 65785

 We carved pumpkins after district meeting this week. Ours is the guy from nightmare before Christmas.

 We had a competition and ours won, of course ;)

Week 67: Weekly ;)

This week was fantastic!!! We worked hard and got lots done. It's definitely cooling off!! This morning we got out of the apartment and it was 35 degrees with 85% humidity. And wind. I've heard that this winter is going to be a long one! 

I can't believe it's already the middle of October!! I'm still trying to figure out where March went :) 

One quote that has kept me going at rough points on my mission is "Don't count the days, make the days count." I feel like if I can just make every day count, then it won't matter what anyone else thinks, because I know, and the Lord knows, that I did my best, no matter how many days or weeks or years it takes me to become what the Lord wants me to become. 

Welp, I love y'all! 

Elder Eliason

 

 Exploring

 "Montana" - a township in Labette County, KS

Sunset

Week 66: Service for the Win

This week was fantastic!! We did lots :)

Tons of service this week:

Tuesday dug some fence post holes for the elders quorum president and primary president.  

Also on Tuesday we started the "Stop Smoking Workshop" with a man we are teaching.  I was pretty excited to see what would happen, we sometimes move furniture for him before or after a lesson, it seems like cigarettes fall out of everything haha.  They were EVERYWHERE!!

But when we taught him about the workshop, he understood it and committed to follow all 15 steps, most of which fall under 3 categories: stopping the cravings, filling the body with wholesome things, and, most important, involving our Heavenly Father.  This system is what can help us "put off the natural man."  We need to stop the bad, replace it with the good, and involve the Lord and rely on Him and His grace.  That is the pattern to become a Saint through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

General Conference was amazing as always!! We are so blessed to receive direction every six months from a Prophet of God to the world.  

We also served food at the local First Baptist Church in town. They serve a hot meal every Thursday at 5:00 sharp.  It was good to rub shoulders with people of all different faiths.  I was serving this pasta stuff next to a lady from that Baptist church, and it was wonderful to talk for an hour plus!! She asked lots of questions about our beliefs, our missions, and my family.  Service is wonderful! A lady from our congregation came to that dinner, and her daughter in law needed help that evening moving!! So we were able to help her as well. 

Also, I believe the best service I was able to render to people this week was teaching the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  That is the service that really helps others.  Without the Restored Gospel, I would be lost, afraid, and confused.  How grateful I am for a loving Heavenly Father who honors his promises, blesses us with Prophets and Apostles, and covenants with us for our benefit!!  He truly is wonderful.

Love,

Elder Eliason

Praying mantis

                                      Elder Johnson schooling up some children on the blacktop

Week 65: Stayin' alive

We are moving apartments for real this time so not a lot of time to e-mail :/

This week was really good! We are focusing more on growing trust with the people in this area, service is a great way to show that you are a hard worker and can get a job done!! On Friday morning we went with a member here who needs to put up 600 feet of fence for his cattle.  We were able to dig some holes and put some cut up telephone poles in the holes, then fill with concrete.  It was hard but good!! Elder Johnson got some blisters, I, fortunately, did not :)

It's getting cooler here, which is good.  Lots of good experiences with people we are teaching!!

Enjoy some pictures! :)

Love,

Elder Eliason

PS My new address to the new apartment is:  

Elder Eliason

201 McKnight Dr. Apt 204

Parsons, KS 67357

                                                                                                                 50 Cent corn dog day this week @ sonic. This has been the best trade deal in the history of trade deals. Yes, Elder Johnson did put ketchup on a doughnut.  (and he puts peanut butter on pancakes...smh)

post hole diggin'

            pretty sunset- and cows                                 

Week 64: Close Encounters of the Drunken Kind

This week was super cool! We went down to Bentonville for a missionary meeting and it was quite a good experience. I learned a lot about motivation and general missionary skills.  

We have been knocking on a lot of doors outside of the city, it's always interesting to see the people who live out in the boonies.  Also sometimes very effective, not a lot of the outlying cities get tracted.

We met some really open people!! One guy just moved into this town of approximately 481 people, with his wife and small baby.  He has gone to church at different denominations, but it never seemed like home to him.  He has since been looking for a church that will feel like family to him.  We were able to talk about how families are super important to us and explain a bit about what we do as missionaries.  

We tracted into a lady in that same town, she looked pretty rough around the edges, but as we talked to her, she explained to us that it's her daughter's birthday, and she had just ran away with a boy.  We could tell that she was experiencing a lot of internal struggle and pain, and so we shared Alma 7:11-13 with her, about what Christ has done for each of us.  I think it consoled her, and she accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon.

I know that the Lord has a plan for each one of us, and as we try to follow what He wants for us, we will be blessed.  

In that same town, we also talked with a drunk man, as we were walking down the street late at night, on Saturday. We saw something stop at the intersection that we were walking away from.  (Most of the people in this town use golf carts or side-by-sides to travel in the city.)  He called out to us, and so we walked over to him.  You could smell the alcohol on him, and it was hilarious to talk with him.  He gave us some very nice remarks about how sharply we were dressed, told us that he's not going to quit smoking or drinking (we didn't say anything to prompt that response), and that he's more in tune with God than most preachers "round these parts."  He offered us a ride home on his golf cart (which had a large supply of alcohol on the seats, which would have prevented the three of us to sit on the cart), I kindly declined, and gave him a pictures of Jesus with an invitation to order a free Bible on the back.  He loved it so much that he said he would put it on the window of the local Barbecue joint, (he worked for the owner).  It is so much fun to talk to everyone you see:) haha

Well, there are lots of pictures, so I'll shut up.

I love y'all!!!

Elder Eliason

Possums and railroads and car shows, oh my! (Also sunsets)

                                                             

                                       

Week 63: Weekly E-mail

Hi! 

The Mission Department is trying a new finding technique in our mission, so while we were on an exchange we went to the college campus in this one town, which has about 5000 students, armed with a giant whiteboard and some markers. 

We got permission to go in street clothes, go by our first names, and with no missionary tags. We posed a question, "What is the most important message that you can share today?" 

It was really successful! We definitely got a better reception than we would have in white shirts and ties. We got some really good gospel conversations, and we helped people think about the most important things in their lives. I loved it!

One thing my trainer said is "If you aren't having the best day of your life, what ARE you having?!"

soooo...

This is the best transfer ever!! Every day is the best day!

My appreciation for the Lord and His Work has grown so much in the last little bit, and I know that gratitude can really help us find blessings, especially in the cases where the Lord doesn't give us what we want. 

For example: someone who is chronically ill learns patience, empathy, and resilience. Someone who is blind develops a heightened use of the other senses in their body.

Well, I hope you have a great rest of your week!

Have the best day EVER today!!

Love,

Elder Eliason