In The Field

Elder Hindes and I in "The Field"

 

 

 

10/28/2013

 

Hi Everyone!

 

Keneshi was baptized this last Saturday and was given the gift of the Holy Ghost this past Sunday. It’s been amazing working with him. He soaked in the Gospel like a sponge!!! It was soo cool watching him change his life and repent of just a few things and work his way back to our Savior. He is 12 years old, a foster child, Native American, and one of the smartest kids I know!!! He is so willing and open and wanting so bad to know for himself what he should do.  I’m so grateful to be out on a mission and to be able to have a front-row seat to people becoming better!!! It’s such a blessing!

 

I love y’all!!! Thank so much for you love and prayers!!! 

 

Elder Eldredge

 

 

This is Elder Rowley and I.  We weren't companions, but really hit it off.  We plan on being room mates at BYU if I go. 

 

 



 

 

 

 

Egg Nog, Frost and the Warmth of the Spirit!

Elder Hindes and I got packages from home ON THE SAME DAY!!

 

10/21/13

 

First off...Happy early birthday Mikella!!!!! The big 18!!!!! I’m so proud to by your big brother. I often feel inadequate to be such an amazing angel’s big brother! You have always been so loving to everyone around you! You have always been an example of the peacemakers!!! My sister always stood up for me when I was getting in trouble. Even when I deserved to be punished my sister would ask for another chance for me! How amazing is that! Even when I was being mean to her she would still stick up for me. Thank you Mikella for being a Daughter of God that all can look up to, someone who will point them to Christ and show them the way to Him. Happy Birthday lil' sis :)

 

This week was good. Elder Hindes invited one of our investigators to be baptized and he accepted! And we are going to be helping the goal of 100 baptisms for the month of October! His name is Keneshi. He is a Native American foster child. His parents that adopted him are members and he has been going to scouts for a while. He is 12 years old and soaks in the gospel like a sponge! He is very intelligent and his family is really helping him move forward. They are helping him read and pray and asking him questions and answering questions when they can. It’s great working with this family.

 

It’s definitely getting cold up here! Every morning there is frost on the ground and when we ride our bikes and the wind is pushing against us it gets real cold! But with the cold comes the holiday season! I got myself a carton of pumpkin-spice egg-nog!!! It’s wonderus! I’m very excited for the season spirit to work within the members and hopefully reach out and share the great story of Christ and of the Restoration. With this season also comes the primary programs! This last Sunday we attended a primary program and I almost cried! I had never gotten emotional during a primary program! All it is is little kids going up and saying a line or two and singing songs! But there was a few times the spirit really spoke to me that what they were saying was true. They talked about how we are children of a King, a King who created this world for us, a King who sent messengers to lead and guide us called prophets, a King who sent a prince, His son, to atone for our sins and show us the way, a King who still today loves us and wants our success. It was very sweet. They did a great job!!!!

 

11 months... I miss her so much. I’m sorry, y’all probably get annoyed with me saying this every month. But she, Madeline Rose, was the light in my life. I will never forget. She has become a part of me that will always be there. She will always have a place in my heart. I cannot wait for the day to come when I will get to see her again. I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, that she lives on. Not on this world, but in the next. She is doing her Father’s will. She is teaching those who were not able to receive the blessed word and gospel of Jesus Christ. I’m so proud to say I KNOW her. The Plan of Salvation is real. Christ is the center of it. Because of him, I can find peace in this life and in the life after this.

 

Your missionary,

Elder Eldredge

 

He Is Always There

 

 

 

10/14/13

 

Hi Everyone!

 

This week has been crazy! Transfers! I lost Elder Olson, and gained Elder Hindes! He is my "son!"  In the mission we do this dumb "lineage" thing. Elder Stephens is my "Father" because he trained me and Elder Hindes is my "Son" because I’m training him.  He’s a great guy! He hails from Saint George, Utah, sings opera, and has a girl friend going on a mission soon. He is 18, likes to talk, and is very good at remembering things. He remembers names better than I do and I’ve been here 6 weeks!!! We get along pretty well. He is having a hard time with the lessons so we spend a lot of time studying those, but he is really good at relating to people and their personal experiences. I’m excited to start working with him!

 

Investigator update: 

 

Echo Neilson: She is doing well but hasn’t come to church yet! We were going to get her baptized on the 2nd of November but now it will have to be the 9th. She is a great girl and absorbs the gospel like a sponge. 

 

Kinichi Chicon: He is a Native American foster child. I’m way excited to start working with him and getting to know him. We haven't taught him yet but he has been attending church for the last month and has been going to scouts and young men activity. By the sounds of it he is a solid investigator. 

 

Being a trainer is difficult but rewarding. It’s great seeing Elder Hindes use the things we had disused that morning during studies in the lessons we teach that day. I thought I was praying a lot with Elder Olson, but now that I have the responsibility of another Elder, I’ve been praying even more!!!! I need the Lord’s help, I need his guidance and strength. I’m so grateful to have someone to turn to and receive what I need and not what I want. Its humbling knowing he is always there watching and helping us every second of the day. The Creator, The Savior, The Lamb of God, is my best friend, my third companion. I give thanks every day.

 

Romans 8:31 “What shall we then say to these things?  If God be for us, who can be against us?

 

Elder Eldredge 

 

Greeny Fire

 

10/7/2013

 

We got transfer calls this week but before we got the call Elder Olson and I got a call from the “Assistants to the President” (AP). They asked us if we would be willing to train!!!! Elder Olson will be leaving and going to Pocatello, entering a new area, and training!!!! He’s a stud! I will be staying here and training. I’m really nervous about being the example needed to raise a strong new missionary. But with the Lord’s help, I can do anything. I’ve been praying for him and hoping that he is a strong Elder who is ready to work and has that "greeny fire" that Elders can have coming out of the MTC. I hope to catch some of that fire and get a kick-start back into my mission. I’m so grateful for this opportunity to serve and to be trusted with a new Elder. Please pray for us that we might do what the Lord will have us do.

 

Elder Olson has been sick the last 3 days. He thinks he got food poisoning! I’ve been eating the same things he has and I’m fine! But I’m not going to argue with a guy who is throwing up every 2 hours all night!!!! Ya that was a crazy experience! Luckily it was over conference weekend so we weren't missing out on any appointments. And those that we had we could reschedule. 

 

Conference was great! I really enjoyed President Monson’s talk. He spoke of people going through hard times.  Here’s a link to his talk. 

 

 President Monson's Amazing Talk  

 

I’m so grateful for a living prophet who guides us and leads and lets us know what our Lord would have us hear. Prophets have always been a part of how God speaks to his children. Adam was the first prophet and he, too, gathered the inhabitants of the earth and spoke to them of God’s will. But as people reject the prophets and lean on their own understanding and replace God with other worldly things, they reject the teachings and sometimes kill the very man God sent them to come back to him. Prophets have always either prophesied of Christ, or spoken of his teachings.

 

When Christ came to the earth, died for all of our sins, was resurrected, and returned to His Father, he left the church in the hands of the 12 apostles. But the rejection of Christ and his teaching drove the 12 away and eventual the priesthood (or power of God given to man to serve and do as he would) was taken from the earth. Today, we have a prophet who hold the very same power given to the 12 apostles of old. Threw the restoration of Christ’s church back on the earth threw Joseph Smith. I know this is true. I have prayed about it. I’m so grateful to know that my Heavenly Father loves me enough to bring back His word to the earth so I wouldn't have to walk in darkness and confusion. 

 

I’m looking forward to this new chapter in my mission. I’m going to miss working with Elder Olson but I’m excited to start training.       

 

Thank you so much for all of your support

Elder Eldredge

 

 

Seeing The Mercy and Love God Has For Us

9/30/13

 

This week has been great! The highlight would definitely be when Lia McMurtrey was baptized! Her father was able to perform the ordinance and stand in the circle at her confirmation. It’s amazing watching the light of Christ enter into someone’s eyes. It’s such a gift to be a missionary and help others feel of His love for us.

 

Funny story. So we show up 2 hours early to start filling the font for the baptism and find that the water heater is broken!!! Elder Olson and I are frantically trying to figure out if we have done something wrong because it wasn't warming up! We called our ward mission leader and he didn't know what to do. So we called the bishop and he didn’t know what to do!!! So we had a cold font! Lia will never forget that! The spirit was still very strong and we were able to get one of our investigators to come to the baptism!

 

A small miracle happened this week. Elder Olson and I had dinner with a wonderful family named the Vandykes. 5 awesome kids ranging from 14 to 2. Brother Vandyke has been out of a job for a number of months and has been looking very hard to find a new one. After dinner and a lesson, Sister Vandyke asked if one of us would leave a blessing on their home. Elder Olson gave an amazing blessing and asked that Brother Vandyke would find a job soon and be able to support his family. The next day, Brother Vandyke called a job he really wanted and had been calling for quite some time. And he got it! It’s a small miracle, but a miracle nonetheless.

 

Investigator update:

 

Echo Neilson: 9 yr. girl with a lot of life in her. She comes from a rough family but was brought into this family to lighten everybody’s life. She is all smiles even when hard times are around her. She has a very short attention span but I’m grateful to be teaching her and helping her. Please pray for her father to let her get baptized.

 

Ron Lapp: 50's. A great father. but not a member. All of his kids are baptized and his wife has gone through the temple. But he is really hard headed. Please pray for his heart to be softened and to let him feel of Christ’s love for him.

 

Kristie Zemlicka: 30's. Her new husband is a less active member. She doesn't understand why she should stop drinking coffee when other people go and eat fast food and call it good for the Word of Wisdom. She also doesn't feel like she could live up to the Mormon standards. She is a great lady and a wonderful mother. She is all smiles and loves having fun. Please pray that she will search for Christ in her life and come closer to him.

 

Thank you for praying for me and for our investigators. Prayer is real.

 

It’s definitely getting colder and the wind has really picked up. It’s crazy trying to ride a bike down a rocky path with the wind fighting you the whole way! But we did it and we do it on a daily basis.

 

 

I wanted to share something I learned this week. I’m reading "Jesus The Christ" and in the second chapter is explains why a savior is necessary. But to start everything off he talked about agency and the gift it is. Talmage talked about how God knew us in the pre-existent and how he studied us and really got to know us. So much so that he knew that when a decision had to be made, he knew what we would make. Thus he knows how we will end up, how communities, nations, and the world will end. It’s really amazing! Now because he knows this he also can prepare us for decisions others will make. Example: Many of us were shown signs, hints, or spiritual promptings before Madie died. This shows the mercy and love that God has for us and how much he cares for us. This is how I believe God works in our lives. He has the ability to do whatever he wants. But he will NEVER stop us from using our agency. God could have saved Madie that night. But for whatever reason, and yes he must have a reason, He didn’t.  I now realize that it’s not me who should be looking to forgive God, but I need to ask for his forgiveness for what I have done towards him and give thanks for trying to warn us and guide us. He loves us. This I know.

 

Scripture of the week:  D&C 95:1 “Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you whom I love, and whom I love I also chasten that their sins may be forgiven, for with the chastisement I prepare a way for their deliverance in all things out of temptation, and I have loved you.”

 

Fighting for the truth,

Elder Eldredge