Snow on the First Day of Spring

 

The work is moving forward fast!!! We are teaching so much and I’m loving it!!! There is a lot of "over aged youth," that is, kids over 8 and under 18 that have not been baptized. So I’m teaching little kids too!!!

 

My body has finally given in and is letting me ride my bike without any pain!!! I’m finally conditioned enough to keep up with my companion!

 

Elder Stephens is great! He’s really knowledgeable and a great teacher. I’m learning lots!!

 

The weather has been a little crazy. It snowed on the first day of spring, then the sun came out, then it snowed again!!! It’s been fun biking in the snow and getting all bundled up.

 

I am so grateful for all of your support and love! Thank you so much for your prayers!

 

Elder Eldredge

"To Feel God's Love For His Children"

Wow!!! Being in a bike area is harder than I thought it would be!!! But the Lord has strengthened me and I know threw him all things are possible. Even if it is biking 5+ miles a day!!

My Companion, Elder Stephens and I are doing great! He’s a great guy from Tennessee and a great teacher.

We have 8 investigators and a ton of less-actives that we are helping come to Christ. I love them all ssssoooo much!!!

The food is great here!!! Lots and lots of potatoes!!! The members here are great. Its kinda like Utah but not quite as extreme. Its kinda funny knocking doors. You never know if it’s going to be a member or not!

I can feel the power given me to be here on my mission. I know that this calling that I have gives me power to keep going and to feel God’s love for His children. I don't want to lose this gift God has given me. To be honest I’m scared to go home and lose this mantel. I look forward to these next two years where I can serve the Lord, full force.

I am In Idaho Falls!!! It’s a really old city, very rich in Mormon history. The Idaho Falls Temple is BEAUTIFUL!!! My companion (Elder Stephens) and I went and did a session. The paintings are amazing!!!

We cover 3 wards; the Township, Victorian Village, and Thayerwood. Sunday was great. In the Township ward a Sister gave her fare-well talk. There was an Area 70, Elder Kim Clark, who gave us a promise that if we get on our knees and pray, God will place those who we can talk to about the gospel in our path. I’m giving a talk next Sunday on missionary work and will totally be using that!!!

Elder Stephens and I have 8 investigators. We were white washed (we are both new to the area and have to learn everything pretty much on our own), so these investigators were kinda handed down to us but we have a few baptismal dates and we are helping them work towards that. Idaho Falls has really rich areas and really poor areas. We have no investigators in the rich area and all 8 in the poor. They all live in trailer parks and very small, very dirty houses. It emphasizes the reason Christ went unto those who are poor in spirit and meek and lowly of heart. They are the ones humble enough to listen to what we have to say.

Being in Idaho definitely has its perks. Every night we have a great dinner with great members. Thank you Mom and Dad for feeding all of those missionaries.

Thank you all for your prayers. I am eternally blessed to have you supporting me.

"If God is with us, who can be against us!" 

Elder Eldredge

A Letter From Sawyer's Mission President

 

Your missionary has arrived safely in the Idaho Pocatello Mission. Upon arrival, we had an orientation meeting and personal interviews to get further acquainted.

Sister Brinkerhoff and I are pleased to have the opportunity to serve with your missionary and are dedicated to helping him fulfill a successful, honorable mission.

We are hopeful you will write or email letters of encouragement to your missionary weekly so he will continue to feel your love and support as he loses himself in the work. We encourage your missionary to do the same, focusing on the positive aspects of the mission.

Faithfully yours,

Marvin T. Brinkerhoff
Mission President

A Phone Call From the Airport

Sawyer flew from Salt Lake City, Utah to Pocatello, Idaho on Tuesday March 12.  He was able to call us from the airport.  He told us he was going to the airport at 7:30 am, so we all made sure were together to receive the call; Lori even drove over to the house to be here.  When we hadn't heard from him by 10:00 am, I called the church travel agent who booked Sawyer's flights and asked her when his flight took off.  She told me it left at 11:07 am, noon our time!  So we kept waiting.

When he finally called, it was wonderful to hear his voice.  He told us he was very excited to get to Idaho, and told us about something he'd learned while in the Missionary Training Center.  He said that he always thought he had to sort all his thoughts into three baskets: thoughts from Satan, thoughts from himself, and thoughts from the Holy Ghost.  He learned that all that was good, came from Christ and all that was bad came from Satan.  Anything good, all credit should go to The Savior.  Understanding that, he didn't need to worry about figuring out what came from him and what came from other sources. 

It was funny, because when we said goodbye to Sawyer at the airport, there were no tears, but when Sawyer told us the plane was boarding, the emotion tightened my throat.  I am so proud of him, and his sacrifice for The Lord.                                 ~ Wendy

Seeing God's Hand

I leave for the mission field this Tuesday!!!! I’m so excited!!!! I can’t wait to get out of the MTC and hit the mission field!!! The MTC is great but I’m ready to get to the real thing.

I love my District. The other day one of our sisters really wanted a blessing but felt like she could just push through it. But then one night before we went to our rooms, we were going around and saying ways we had seen God’s hand in our life. (You guys should try that instead of apple/onion!) Once it got to her she burst into tears and told us how she had been telling herself that she didn’t need one. So of course we helped her out and gave her a blessing. Elder Bush gave it. In his one blessing I learned so much about the Priesthood. Although he is a little weird and socially awkward, he gave an amazing blessing. I have learned to love him and count him as one of my friends. We then had two other sisters want blessings and two of our elders gave their first blessing to them. :) It was amazing!!!! I then asked for one and got one form Elder Downey. I have a lot of respect for Elder Downey. He is 22 and a convert. He has a girlfriend and was going to get married, but God told him he needed to serve a mission and his powerful testimony is truly inspiring. I’m really sad to be leaving my District and all of us going to different places in Idaho. I really hope some of them are in my area or someday become my companions. They are amazing Sons and Daughters of God.

 
Well I miss you all and am so grateful for all of your prayers. God be with you till we meet again!!

Elder Eldredge

Our First Letter From Sawyer

 

 

Hey guys!!!! I miss y’all so much!! But it's sssssoooo awesome here!!!! It’s like seminary gone crazy!!! Think of the best class you ever had in seminary then make everyone want to be there and everyone putting in there two scents and building the spirit!! It’s incredible.

I have never felt the spirit as much as I do here. I have never prayed so much in my life!! We pray over literally EVERYTHING!! It’s so awesome. I’ve never felt closer to God other than in the temple. I know this is our loving Heavenly Father’s church!!! It’s incredible the power the people here teach with. I really wish I could share this feeling more fully with you!!!

I love my companion and I love my District. I have been called to be District Leader!!! Second day and I got a calling!!! My job is to help in any way I can with anything they need. I get the mail for everybody, if someone needs a blessing it’s my job to make sure they get one. It’s also my job to make sure heath is up and moral is high. I love these Sisters and Elders so much!!!!

My companion left early this morning due to repentance problems back home. I’m really proud of him. It took a lot for him to come to me and tell me he had a problem. I was able to help him get to some priesthood authority and get everything all figured out. I’m praying that one day I'll see him out in Pocatello and find him with a name tag on his chest again. But now that my comp is gone I’m with two other elders. Their names are Elder Farnsworth and Elder Bush. Farnsworth is from Arizona. He’s about the same height as me but played football in High school. Great guy. He’s reading the Book of Mormon for the first time here in the MTC. Elder Bush is an interesting fellow. He has ADHD and is constantly taping on something. I’m praying to love him more and know what I can do to help him. 

Guys the Chuch is true!!! I feel like shouting HAZA FOR ISRAEL every time I see an Elder hold the door for a Sister or the spirit testifies of the truth of what is being taught. I feel like crying all the time it's ridicules!!! I love this Gospel with all my heart!! The Restoration is real, God loves you and has put us in families so we can learn more fully of his love. God loves us so much he brought prophets to the earth to teach His gospel. He sent His son Jesus Christ to atone for our sins and die for us so that we can one day live again. He gave us His power so that we could help one another. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know this is the truth.

 

NEVER STOP PRAYING!!!! It is our link to our Heavenly Father and is essential to our own, daily, conversion.