I’m grateful to know that our Heavenly Father does hear us and knows who we are.

This is the picture from last week's baptism of Tahja Pacey Snooks.

Hello Everyone,

 

Another Baptism!!!!! Alysha Cook was baptized this Sunday at 5:00. She has been meeting with the missionaries for a very long time and finally got her answer! We met with her Thursday and set the baptismal date for that Saturday! Elder Curtis and I were scrambling around for people to come and help out in the baptism. We had it scheduled for 10:00 am Saturday morning. We went to the stake center to fill the fount and there is a hearse in the parking lot!!!! We go to the Relief Society room and there is the coffin! So we did some more scrambling and set the time for 5:00 the next evening. Needless to say, it was a crazy weekend! 

 

The baptism was amazing. The spirit was so strong and we had a great turnout from the ward. Brother Liljenquist, our ward mission leader, baptized her and Elder Curtis and I got to be witness and give talks. I’m going to be confirming her this next Sunday. She has two children, Shaylinn who is 9 and Marshel who is 5. Great kids and the highlight of Alysha's life. She is divorced and working full time but has found the light of Christ and will be a great asset to the ward! I love this little family so much and am so grateful for the opportunity of being a tool in the Lord’s hands.  

 

I’m being transferred. (That means I'll be moved to a different area within my mission.  I'll have a new companion and live in a different house.)  I’ve been in this area for 6 months!!! I can’t believe this is finally here! I knew it would come but I don't want it to be this fast!!! We have so many investigators and so many people who are looking for the Gospel. I don’t want to leave. This place is blooming and I want to be a part of it. But now that I am moving I will start the planting and the harvesting in another part of Idaho. I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve had here and for the lifelong friendships I have made.

 

My new companions name is Elder Olson. That is all I know. I will be serving somewhere on Lincoln Road near Idaho Falls. I’m not too far away from where I started so I will be able to go to the confirmation of Alysha Cook and to the Baptism of Karli Shmitt! I’m so grateful to still be able to have these opportunities in my life.

 

I found an amazing scripture while dong my studies. I was studding prayer and found a scripture found in Nephi's Psalm 2nd Nephi 4:35. Please read it and read it out loud.

 

“Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh.  Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness.  Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God.  Amen.”

 

It is so beautiful. The power and the feeling pouring out of Nephi as he cries unto our Heavenly Father is so moving. I’m grateful to know that our Heavenly Father does hear us and knows who we are. He loves us even when we do know why he would or when we don’t know why he would let us go through such trials that try our very souls, but He does. I so testify. 

 

Elder Eldredge

I Do Not Doubt Nor Will I Ever Deny

 

I’m sorry I didn’t write you last week. We went to Yellowstone! It was tons of fun and we got to go with Brother Rick Landon who is this super amazing member who has helped us out so much!!!! 

We got to go as a district with our Zone Leaders. It was so much fun. Way cool sights. I want to go back when I can stay longer and camp out, go hiking, see more stuff. We had to be back in our areas by 6:00 so we had to cut it a little short.

 

This week has been good, but the highlight would definitely be the baptism!! I got to baptize Tahja Pacey Snooks!!!! She is the sweetest little girl and I love her sssoooo much!!! The spirit was so strong as family and friends gathered to share in this amazing moment in her life. Her family has been struggling with being less active but now I’m hoping and praying that their testimony will be strengthened and they will find the strength to come to church. 

 

Question: How do you build you Faith in Christ? Why do you believe what you believe?

 

I would like you to really think about these questions and discus them with someone you trust. Make it a time of reflection. Search for the core of your answer and find out for yourself what it is for you and how you can improve.

 

These have been the questions on my mind. I do not doubt what I believe nor will I ever deny the feeling, promptings, and knowledge I have gained throughout my life. But it is a good way to reevaluate and find for yourself what you believe. 

 

Faithfully Serving

Elder Eldredge  

 

 

This past week I received contact from people other than Elder Eldredge.  They sent pictures and a few words.  Here's what we received.

 

August 8, 2013

 

A text from Sister Annie Braithwaite to Wendy:

 

"Your sweet son and his companion, Elder Curtis, came for dinner tonight.  He left an insightful spiritual thought before leaving.  Thank you so much for sharing him with us!  He is a remarkable example."

 

 

Our cousins the Dunyons were driving through Idaho Falls and got permission from the Mission President to pay Elder Eldredge a visit.  This has got to be one of my favorite pictures ever of them on their bikes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharlyn Dunyon wrote: "The visit was great!  We met him at a member's home and then they rode with us to Walmart and back.  They had two dinner appointments that night and so we didn't get to take them out for food.  Also we tried to get them some groceries and they kindly declined. 

 

"He looks great, is happy, and a joy to be with!  Just what you would expect!  It was a pleasure to be able to make that stop!  His companion is very nice and he and Scott talked a lot about Texas.

 

"It's like looking at you (Mikel) when we look at him.  You have done a great job.  Scott got to see him for the first time since he was five."

 

 

 

Who Am I?

Sawyer wanted to share this video with all of us, and I thought I'd add a couple pictures of him as a child: I am a child of God

A week filled with the temple

8/5/2013

 

What an amazing place. this week was focused around the temple. 

 

We took Tahja, the 9 year old who is going to be baptized on the 17th, and her family to the Temple Visitor Center. We had an amazing experience and got to walk around the temple and touch the granite wall. We spoke of how families can be together forever and how baptisms for the dead work, and why we do it. They had a little scavenger hunt that we got to do and had lots of fun! Tahja told us how she wants to go inside someday and we got to explain to her that she can when she is of age and worthy. It was an amazing experience.

 

We have also been working with a recent convert named Braiden. He is an amazing kid. (Do I say amazing to much? I don’t care, missions are amazing.) He went to do baptisms for the dead last Friday and had a great time and really felt the spirit. When we went to visit him he said he had a few questions and I said what better place to talk about the temple than at the temple! So we went to the Temple Visitor Center again with him! We walked around with some Sister Missionaries who could answer all of our questions and did a great job explaining things to us. Another spirit filled afternoon. I love this Gospel! 

 

Karissa Myrdal was baptized on the 1st of August and was confirmed the following Sunday. Elder Curtis got to baptize her, I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost and I got to do the Confirmation. I’ve been in the circle before but this time I got to do the blessing. It was amazing. I’m so grateful for the power of the Holy Ghost and the Priesthood. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much and has given us so many tools to come back to him.

 

Whether we know it or not, our father is always there. He loves you and wants to hold you in his arms again. Let’s try our best to return to him by becoming like him.

 

Elder Eldredge 

 

You don't know how strong you are or what you can do till you go through it - or until someone asks you to squeeze an egg.

 Elder Eldredge and Elder Scullion at a soup kitchen.  They served over 180 taco salads that day.

 

 

On July 24 we celebrate the arrival of the Mormon Pioneers entering the Salt Lake Valley.  At the Pioneer Day celebration the Elders attended they met a descendent of an Indian who met the Mormon Pioneers in the 1800's and joined the church.  Yep, he came dressed in his regalia!  So Cool!!

 

7/30/2013

Elder Curtis and I have been working hard and getting names this past week and it’s obvious the harder you work the more God will help you in his work. We have 3 Baptismal dates!!! Karisa Myrdal on the 1st of August. Tahja Snook on the 17th. And Sharron Hill on the 24th!!! And tomorrow we are planning on setting another one with Karli Shmitt to help her prepare for her baptism!!! 4 people the Lord has led us to and is allowing us to be the tools in his hand to bring them back to him. It’s amazing the power of being a missionary is. I’m so grateful to be out here and able to help people. It’s amazing!

Another highlight. Tahja ask if I would baptize her!!!! I’m so flippin excited!!!! She is so great and has been growing and growing in the gospel. I love seeing the light in her eyes! I’m so excited!!!

 

Funny story. We were at the Strebels home for dinner and a lesson. We gave a cool object lesson and then Sister Strebel wanted to show us a cool science project she did with her kids. She handed me an egg and told me to try to squeeze it. I was sitting on her couch in her living room. I asked "are you sure?" She said " Ya! You can’t do it, its really cool!" So I asked again, and she said go ahead. You can probably guess what happened. I squeezed and it exploded all over the place. In her curtains, on her couch pillows, everywhere! She was so embraced. She explained that she had tried breaking the egg for 5 minutes and could not do it! After we tried cleaning up I looked down and saw the mess that was all over my pants! I kept looking and it was on my shirt, my tie, and my name tag!!! Lots of laughs were had and lots of cleaning!

 

This past Saturday my Grandfather’s funeral was held. I’m very sad I missed it, but I learned something new about myself during this time. Death is almost a time to celebrate. It’s a time for mourning and growing closer to family members. But death is a stepping stone. It’s progression. It’s a new opportunity to grow in a place where there is no pain or sickness. My grandfather suffered with cancer for a very long time. Now he is a spirit working with the others who have passed on to help those down here who need it. I once read a poem writen by President Gordon B. Hinckley. It goes like this.

What Is This Thing That Men Call Death?

What is this thing that men call death?
This quiet passing in the night?
‘Tis not the end but genesis
Of better worlds and greater light.

O God, touch Thou my aching heart
And calm my troubled, haunting fears.
Let hope and faith, transcendent, pure,
Give strength and peace beyond my tears.

There is no death, but only change
With recompense for vict’ry won.
The gift of Him who loved all men
The Son of God, the Holy One.

 

The Plan of Salvation, or the Great Plan of Happiness brings a state of rest to those who have lost a loved one.  Here is a great video that explains this great plan.

 

http://www.mormonchannel.org/more-videos?v=1838710831001 

 

This life is hard. But this plan makes it worth it.

Serving faithfully

Elder Eldredge

I Know It With My Whole Soul

 

7/22/13

 

We’ve got a baptism coming up! Karisa Murdal!!!! She will be baptized Aug. 1st (Yes on a Thursday, it’s when she has a day off) and then confirmed on the following Sunday!!!! I’m so excited for her to become a member of Christs’ Church and to fully accept the truth into her life.  It’s been amazing seeing the light of Christ shine brighter and brighter in her eyes in the past month we have been working with her. She has said herself that she has felt the spirit more and has received more and more blessings. Her children used to get sick a lot, now they are better. She has been finically burdened and it is becoming lighter. It’s amazing the things God does for his children to show them the light.

 

Another great update! Tajah Snook (the one I asked Gabe to pray for) came to church this week!!!! We have really worked on building a trust and friendship and helping her see the truth. Sister Snook, Pamela, is a less active and I have seen the Light of Christ come back into her eyes as well!!! I’m so excited for this family!!! We hope to have Tajah baptized sometime this next month!!!

 

My new companion!!! Elder Curtis is great! He is 21 from Houston!!!! Believe it or not he actually lives 15 minutes away from me!!! He went to Kline High school and knew Madie. It’s crazy that we ended up together. Another crazy thing is he has been out only a week longer than me. So he and I will probably fly home together!!! Crazy!!! Elder Curtis loves playing Soccer and is getting his major in Computer Science.  He hopes to work for Intel when he gets home. He is the youngest of 5 children, the first 4 being sisters!!! Poor guy! He became less active and went through a hard time in his life. But he knew he needed to serve a mission, so he got his act together and went to work. I’m very excited to be working with him.

 

Since Elder Stephens is gone and I’m the one who knows the area it’s been pretty stressful trying to fill our days and keep working. I made a promise to never go home early. I have heard too many 8:50 pm miracles to go home early. There is work out there and we are doing it through the members. This last Sunday we did a "Search and Rescue" in the Township Ward. All the leaders of the different organizations got together and were given names to go find in the ward. We got to go with Bishop Polson and the ward secretary (sorry I don’t remember his name) and try and find them! In the end we got a ton of names to go visit of people who were interested and wanted visitors! It’s amazing how as soon as the wards start working the work of salvation, God gives us people to bring back to him.

 

I know this is the truth. I know it with my whole soul.

 

With all my love,

Elder Eldredge