October 3, 2016 - Week 25

​Hey Everyone!!!

So I'm back in Richland!!! It is so cool to be back here again, my area is on the opposite side of my first area but I still see all the people I knew when I was here last and I am still decently familiar with my surroundings. I am still a District Leader which is AWESOME! I love it!

My new Companion is Elder Gwilliam, he is from Visalia California (near Frezno). We are in the Hillsview Ward. Our area is SO Wealthy it is Ridiculous, so much different than anywhere else I have been. The area is supposed to have a car but because of another Elders health problem we share it with them and mostly don't have it. He may have a pinched nerve in his back and is getting an MRI today, he might be going home at this point which would be way sad. It is Elder White who lived with me in my first apartment while I was getting trained. Pretty sad. 

The only problem with not having a car in this area is that it is called the Hillview ward for a reason...

Plus it is a huge area.

We live with some pretty awesome Members. We live in "The Dane's Dome". It is the GREATEST Apartment in the whole mission. I hope i never have to leave it at least for the next 6 months. The Danes are super awesome and the apartment is so nice. I only have a few pix right now but Ill get more later.

We aren't teaching a ton of people right now but we did just get some cool new people. Last Week Elder Gwilliam and Elder Jones (his last comp) tracted into a guy that said they could come back for dinner this week. The Dinner was awesome. His name is Zack, he lives with his girlfriend Karissa and have a son together. He also switches days on having is two daughters over that he had with and EX. After the amazing dinner we set up a return appointment to watch General Conference with them sunday morning! it was so cool.

Not a ton much else to talk about, I have kinda just been on auto pilot following Elder Gwilliam while I try to get my feet back on the ground.

Here some pictures of me saying goodbye to Elder Snelgrove, Taylor and Korhonen

Pictures of the Dome

and A box of junk a member brought by :)

Love you all! 

Elder Strong

Here some pictures of me saying goodbye to Elder Snelgrove, Taylor and Korhonen

Pictures of the Dome

A box of junk a member brought by :)

October 3, 2016 - College Place Apartment Pics

​Here are those Pictures I kept meaning to send but never did...It was an ok apartment. 

There are Definitely better and definitely worse.

September 29, 2016 - Week 24

Hello Everybody!

So we had a pretty great week this week but first, here is some news!

I am going to be transferred! They are sending me back to Richland to serve in the Hillview ward! My new Companion is Elder Gwilliam, I am pretty excited to get back to Richland! However, I am not excited to pack, or leave Elder Snelgrove, or to leave Walla Walla, but oh well! Such is the life of a missionary I guess! 

This week we found a guy named Roy, he is a huge SDA and he does something called Call Porting, which basically means he has a garage filled to the brim with SDA literature that he goes door to door selling or gives to missionaries he thinks are mislead...He is an alright guy. We taught him a lesson on the Restoration but we didn't get very far before he just sat there and tried to bash with us. He means well but they just need to know that there is a lot more to church than which day you go to it.

This week we finally met this guy we had been trying to meet for a while. Their family are all active members except the father. He will not be baptized "until his mother has passed away". And because missionaries in the passed would not get passed that, they always pushed too hard so they haven't allowed missionaries through their doorway for a long time. They Mother loves to give us eggs though, she gives them to us all the time and this time we got through the door. We only talked Fishing, Hunting, Blacksmiths, and Falconry the whole time but hey, we got in. 

This week a member sent us over to her friends home, she lives on her farm called Frog Hollow Farm. Guess what religion she is? YUP, SDA. We came over and volunteered some time on the Farm. We spent two hours pulling dead Tomato plants, It was pretty awesome.

Well, Thats what I got for ya this week! 

Love You all!

Elder Strong

September 19, 2016 - Week 23

Hey Everybody!

So this week was kinda weird and off, we had a lot of  Missionary Meetings and such so it didn't feel we got out and worked as much as usual.

Monday we met with a Recent Convert who has gone less active because he is the only member in his family and it is hard for him to travel because he is in a wheelchair and nobody wants to help him. We going to be meeting with him at least once a week for sure, hopefully we can soften the hearts of his family.

We haven't been able to meet with a lot of our prime investigators so we have been doing just a ton of finding and working with members to get some more people to teach, it is going pretty well. The ward is getting more and more exciting about missionary work.

I got to go on exchanges with Elder Black this week! It was so fun! He is such a great missionary, It makes total sense that he is a trainer. He has been doing a really great job in the ward he is in. It was a super good exchange. 

We met a family of converts in our ward this week too. They were converted for a lot of reasons and through a lot of finding efforts that we use all the time. They were a part member family, they were tracted into, and they allowed lessons because the missionaries always volunteered to do service for them. It was awesome to meet and talk with them.

Well that is about it. We are looking forward to a lot of great things like General Conference and a ton of ward activities coming soon. Its going to be pretty awesome.

Love You!!!

Elder Strong

Our Posterity at Zone Conference

I made homemade Peanut Butter

Service at the Food Bank

The mess left after making Peanut Butter

September 13, 2016 - Week 22

Hello Family and Friends!

We had a super good week this week! On Wednesday the YSA Elders had a baptism for Terrance and because I interviewed him we got to go. We also brought our investigator Donna to get her excited to be baptized herself. 

Then on Saturday E' Toupo was baptized. It was so cool to see all of his family come out to the baptism and his Father who hasn't been to church in years came to watch him be confirmed. Toupo's Grandpa said he saw him cry so we are getting pretty psyced for him to get back into activity. He did the first part of the confirmation prayer in English until after he said "recieve the Holy Ghost" then he did the rest of it in Samoan. It was pretty awesome!

This week week we have also been meeting with a guy named Don. He is SDA (seventh Day Adventist) but he loves reading the Book of Mormon with us so we are getting closer and closer to teaching him the discussions.

This week we found a Part Member Family that loves to give us eggs for free. The husband is the non-member because his Mom asked him not to. We will just have to keep being good friends with him until she is de... a  person who changes her mind.

So now that I am a District Leader I am way more involved in the numbers side of everything and this week our District as a whole improved so much! It was so awesome.

I love being on a mission! During the baptism while E' Toupo and his Grandpa were changing, me and Elder Snelgrove did the "half-time show" and bore our testimonies on how the Gospel of Jesus Christ can change peoples lives. I love being able to watch as those I teach grow and change and become better people through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I love it so much! 

Well that is about it for this week, Love you all!!

Elder Strong

New Planner 

 E' Toupo's Baptism

September 6, 2016 - Week 21

Hello everyone!

This week was pretty good but it has only been 5 days since my last email so not a whole ton of stuff to write about. 

Because I am the District Leader I interview investigators being taught by the missionaries in the District when they get close to baptism. Last night I interviewed a kid named Terrance who will be baptized tomorrow. He has had a rough past and now that he got kicked out of his parents home he wanted to change his life. He is 18 so he is getting baptized into the YSA ward, it has been really good for him to get to know a lot of people and get fellowshiped pretty well. 

Saturday we will be having a baptism for a 9 year old we have been teaching. His parents are members (the dad is super less active though) but because he is 9 he will be a convert to the church so it'll be pretty cool. He is Samoan so the culture of the family is great, the baptism and Confirmation will be in Samoan.

So right now being a District Leader is starting to get crazier and crazier, i have been going to these "secret meetings". Also there are a crap ton of people about to get baptized so i have a crap ton of interviews and baptisms to do. It is exciting/scary/confusing/amazing.

Well, like I said, not a ton of stuff going on. It is Elder Taylor's birthday today so we had pancakes for breakfast...I'll be eating chili dogs all week for lunch...Elder Snelgrove cooked 2 pounds of Black Beans at once for some reason...I have gotten into the habbit of making steak rice burritos for lunch just cause it is cheap, good luck cholesterol... That is pretty much it.

Love  you all!!!

Elder Strong

August 31, 2016 - Email just to dad

Hey Dad!!! 

So it still kinda pisses me off that they can't be bothered to email you guys when we go to the temple, but that's why I never replied. 

Being a District Leader is friggin sweet! I get to call anyone in my District plus the zone leaders when ever I want so it makes things work a lot smoother for us, pretty cool. I love everyone in my District, they are all great, the Sisters have been struggling with staying productive and getting work done but other than that they're great missionaries, just in a slump. The real sad thing about them is one of them is in their second transfer of training so it stinks that she already has to go through an unproductive faze this early but I think she'll get through it ok.

Go cart would be sweet, especially and electric. If you do it, independent suspension would be cool, but then it would be heavier and probably taller, I don't know how achievable it is but, would be cool.

Plus if it is electric, it'll be silent so people won't think your just another redneck, especially if you have it Powder Coated but that is probably more expensive than it is worth.

I think I have decided that if I end up being an engineer instead of my restaurant, I want to work for Tesla. So if that happens, I'll hook you up.

That is pretty sweet Brendan got called to Spokane!!! No one else told me that. All Nancy has told me so far is that he is terrible at emailing.

Love you!!!