We're imperfect teenagers, I mean teachers

 (Elder Slade)

To the best friend friends and family a person could hope for!

Well, it's official, I'm getting transferred. I'm finally leaving Ammon. I've been here 7 and a half months. I am going to the other side of Idaho Falls to be with an Elder Clove. I'm excited for a change in scenery, but I'm also sad that I will have to leave all of the wonderful people I've met. This area has been a great area. I've learned a lot, and walked a lot of miles! My companion Elder Maunana, got news as well that he will be a District Leader! Let's goooo! He's going to do a great job.

We had a good week though! One of the people we are teaching named Erika came to church for the first time. The quote came from a lesson we had with her and her husband Zach. I meant to say we are imperfect teachers, but it came out as teenagers, which I guess is correct as well. We also found a new person to teach, named Lisa. Her husband is a member, but she is not. They are some of the nicest people!

The missionaries that live with us had a baptism for someone named Lenny this week. We invited Autumn to the baptism, and so we were able to go as well. If you walked by Lenny on the street though, you might be scared! He's covered in tattoos and has lived a pretty crazy life. But really, he is one of the coolest people. He changed his life and is solely devoted to Christ right now. It is amazing to see the change possible through the Gospel. His baptism was a powerful spiritual experience as you could feel Lenny's joy from being free from his past mistakes and being reborn. It confirmed my witness that it doesn't matter what you've done, how far you've traveled, how far you sink. You cannot descend lower than the infinite light of Christ's Atonement shines!

Love you guys!

Pictures:

1. Saying goodbye to one of the great families in this area, the Taylors

2. Lenny and all the missionaries at the baptism.

3-4. Elder Maunana and I

5. Putting away my desk will take a while this week. I've acquired quite the collection over the past few months.

Transfers!

 (Sister Putnam)

Hey, everyone! I'm being transferred tomorrow so I've had to spend most of the day packing so I cant really write a big email today. I'll tell you where I end up next week!

 

Sister Alyssa Putnam

S4 E3: Go Forth, Baptizing Fraternities

 (Elder Cummings)

What's up everybody! Hope y'all are staying warm and safe!

This week we were able to have a video call lesson with one of Elder Rands' good friends. This guy was taught by missionaries when he was younger and wanted to be baptized but for various reasons that didn't end up happening. But anyway, he goes to college in Georgia and after a week of college life, joined a Christian fraternity with 120 other dudes who have sworn off alcohol and premarital sex. If the Stripling Warriors are still alive they'd be found in this frat. These are guys are mega studs.

Long story short this friend of ours is a beast and loves the Lord. He wants to know truth and is willing to do all he can to find it. We can't wait to continue to teach him and help him learn more about Christ's Restored Gospel. Next step, we'll infiltrate this frat and teach all these stalwart guys our age who are ready to hear His message. Maybe...hopefully...God willing. Either way, this frat that we're about to drop into has reestablished some hope in my own generation😂

Listen to what Abinadi says to King Noah and his priests in the Book of Mormon: "Ye have not applied your hearts to understanding; therefore, ye have not been wise."(Mosiah 12:27). Ouch. Pretty harsh. But that's not why I like it so much. Something my companion Elder Rands told me this week(the guy's been out for 3 weeks now) is that "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing 100%". How often do we just go through the motions? How often do I go through the motions? How often do we now "apply our hearts"? If this life is a life to prepare to meet God, then let's not waste away our days. Apply your heart in all things. Have real intent in all things. Then when you fail, you don't have to worry because you can have faith that it was the Lord's way. That's something that I'm working on. Have faith and apply your hearts!

Elder Cummings

Sorry no photos this week!

S4 E2: koolkool its pretty kool

 (Elder Cummings)

大家好朋友！

So just yesterday we were about to start some companionship study after church and then we were like, "actually let's check the referrals we got this morning first". So we start sending texts to two of them, and then Elder Rands, the stud that he his, said, "Hey let's just straight up call Koolkool". So we did. We gave him a call, turns out his real name is Brian but his friends call him Koolkool...so we now call him Koolkool. We asked if he remembered submitting a request for a Book of Mormon and he was like "Man, you bet I did. With all this craziness going on and seeing where the world is going I need something like that". The man had only ever heard the name Book of Mormon and knew nothing about it, but I am sure was guided by the Spirit to find a copy of the Book of Mormon. We were able to talk to him and testify of the power that comes from reading the scriptures and learning more about God and His plan. Turns out he's working in St Louis for the next 1-2 months, but we're getting some missionaries over there and we'll stay in contact with him. God really is preparing people to hear the Word!

Also, this week our whole teaching pool besides like 3 people have gone off the map so that was kind of crazy. It was really disheartening for a bit knowing how much they are missing out and wondering if we could've done anything differently to have helped them accept the Gospel However, God heard our prayers this week and we found 8 new people! We're back to business thanks to the Lord! Please keep Dominique, J'nell, Jethro, Luis, Betty, Reginald, Regina, Jun, and Tasha in your prayers!

I've been thinking about the power of the Book of Mormon but let me preface it with some thoughts:

For those who struggle to accept anything but the Bible, good on you. Hold fast to that testimony and trust you have in it, don't let the whirlwind and the craziness take you away from God and the Word. But think about what the last verse of the Gospel According to John says and implies, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." (John 21: 25)

The Book of Mormon is a testament of just a few of the "many other things which Jesus did". It testifies of him, the Living Christ, and has only brought me closer to the knowledge and understanding that he is my Savior. It provides solace in times of discouragement and strength in times of need. Christ invites us, "learn of me". From the Bible I have learned more than any other book about the ministry and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. From the Book of Mormon I have learned more than any other book about His Atonement and infinite sacrifice for me and for you. Knowledge is power. "Know the truth, and the truth shall make you free"(John 8:32). Please, read from the Book of Mormon. And I'm not just talking to nonmembers. Please read it if you're not, daily if you can. If you can't, then make time. "May we ever choose the harder right, instead of the easier wrong".

 

I'll just leave y'all with one of my favorite Book of Mormon scriptures, 2 Nephi 10:23-25

"23 Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.

24 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved.

25 Wherefore, may God raise you from death by the power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting death by the power of the atonement, that ye may be received into the eternal kingdom of God, that ye may praise him through grace divine. Amen."

Elder Cummings

Colorado! That's a funny word!

 (Elder Slade)

To the best friends and family a person could hope for!

Happy Valentine's day! Hope you had a fantastic day! This week's title came from a member family we visited. They had the cutest little girl there that yelled, "Colorado! That's a funny word!" when I told them where I was from. I thought it was pretty funny.

We had to drop, or where dropped by, a lot of people we were teaching this week. A lot of them were not progressing. It hurts to leave them because of how much potential I see in them and how much I know the gospel will bless them. I love them. I love the people in Idaho! My love for the people has increased a lot recently. Whenever I feel the love God has for me, I realize that he has that same love for everyone, because we are all children of God. He is our loving Heavenly Father.

Even though we had to drop many people, we did see a miracle. We got a referral from some Salt Lake City missionaries. A return missionary referred us to his cousin named Dre and we started teaching her yesterday! It was a great blessing, and I think we can really help her and her family.

Love you all!

Pictures:

1. Taking a selfie for a mission wide zoom call

2. Elder Maunana made sardine ramen the other day. It looked like one of the nastiest things.

SNOW!

 (Sister Putnam)

 

Hello, all!

Monday: District Hike

We went on a hike on monday as a district for the last pday before Elder Knapp went into quarantine, and it was really fun, the scenery was really nice and I wished I'd taken more pictures.

Tuesday:

We had a social media meeting in the morning and that was really fun. We also had bishop's storehouse. Oh also I got flowers from an admirer! 👀 (lol my parents admire me, it was them)

Wednesday:

We had district council on Wednesday, and afterwards we taught a seminary lesson, so that was awesome!

Saturday: Into the Unknown

So it snowed on Friday evening and it snowed overnight.  We aren't allowed to drive if it's snowing in this mission, so we were stuck at home.  Of course, we went out and made a snowman with the Sisters in the hotel. I've never made a snowman. I didn't know what I was doing. But we did it anyway and we used candy lifesavers for the snowman's eyes. After thawing out inside, we went back outside with the elders and the sisters in the hotel and had a snowball fight and that was awesome cause I didn't know how to make snowballs so I mostly just yeeted snow powder from my arms at the faces of whoever I was trying to hit, or I would kick the powder up. It was awesome!

We also got a referral from a member in the area.  They said they had helped him get his car out of a ditch or something and that the guy was really humble (He's from Africa).  Were super excited to teach him next week! 

Okay, I love you all, hopefully this was a shorter email than usual. I hope to hear from you soon!

Sister Alyssa Putnam

Confused Stonks

 (Sister Putnam)

 

Hello, all! So much has happened this week, it's insane!

Monday:

I talked to the fam, and that was awesome! We also went to the mall and WinCo, typical pday activities. After pday we went over to Bishop's house and he talked about how important it is to be genuine, especially as missionaries.

Tuesday: Spaghetti Sandwiches

We had a lesson with Kristen! Wow that seems so long ago. But yeah we had a lesson with her, and it was great. We read 1 Nephi 1 with her and she is loving the Book of Mormon, so that's amazing!

We went to bishop's storehouse and while we were there a member of our ward texted us and said "hey, I'm feeding you tonight, what would you like for me to bring to you." and we were like "ummmm..." and while we were still deciding, we got another text from a random number saying "how about spaghetti sandwiches from dairy queen?" and then another one from the same rando numero saying "Spaghetti pizza?" "Spaghetti is yummy with anything" so we were like "um okay let's call her and see what's going on" so we call her and she picks up and it was an old lady with a southern accent. If you've ever heard me do an old person impression before, just imagine that. The interaction went like this:

Her: How about this, you bring the buns and I'll make the spaghetti and we'll eat at my house!

Us: um we can't go into member houses right now

Her: okay, well then we can eat on my back porch!

Me: *mentally prepares myself to have to force myself to eat spaghetti smashed between to bread slices in front of this old lady who thinks that's a good thing to eat*

Us: Isn't it kind of cold to eat outside right now?

Her: I think you just don't want to eat spaghetti sandwiches with me! *hangs up*

Us: 😬😬😬

Well, we went back to where we were before, with the other bishop's storehouse volunteers,  and they were all just laughing and we were like "lol you heard our end of the call didn't you" and they were like "um...yeah...that's the end of the call we heard...riiiiiiight..."

and we were like "what?" and turns out brother Davis, who works there, had texted us, but his number wasn't saved in our phone, so we just got pranked, or as Elder Delis said, "he played you like a fiddle!" On the district call that night we found out he'd accidentally texted the Elders we split a ward with first. So, the Elders texted him back like "oh we love spaghetti sandwiches, what time tomorrow will you be dropping them off?"

Wednesday: Confused Stonks

On Wednesday we went on exchanges and said goodbye to Elder Zalesny who is going back to Chile. Then we got Teriyaki and went to district council and then we tried to have a lesson with Jazmine but the internet wouldn't work, so we rescheduled. A member brought us dinner and then Sister Madsen wanted Churros so we went to Azteca and we were about to go inside and then lo and behold Brother and Sister Tennis (from back home in Saudi) came out and greeted us. Turns out Sister Madsen and my mom and Sister Tennis had all conspired to meet up there and that was awesome!

Sunday: Stake Conference

We had stake conference! We tried to send the links to Reba and our new friend Connie, but the link wouldn't let Reba in, so that was really disappointing. She was excited for church :(.  So we sent her the notes we took, even though that's not half as good as going to church. We had our last District Come Follow Me with Elder Knapp since he's going into quarantine next week so that’s really sad. We had a couple of lessons with ward members last night and that was awesome!

okay see you all later, I'll try to add a bunch of more pictures later!

Sister Alyssa Putnam

You guys make the best cookies!

 (Elder Slade)

To the best friends and family a person could hope for!

The title this week was from a man who ie the father of a girl we are teaching. We made them cookies and stopped by and gave it to them. The reason I think it was funny is because it was just from a tub of cookie dough you buy from walmart. (That's the way to go! I usually just grab a spoon and go at it!) Apparently we are good at cooking them though!  We have made a lot of cookies lately. I solemnly declare that food is the way to people's hearts!

Miracle moment of the week: We have been teaching a woman named Autumn for a while. Just recently, her washer stopped working and she desperately needed a new one. We encouraged her to pray about it. Meanwhile a member in the ward, Sister Coletti, had gotten a new washer and dryer several months ago, and kept her old ones in her garage. She had wanted to trash them and throw them in the dump for a while and had several opportunities to, but something seemed to always get in the way of it. Autumn went over several times to wash her clothes at Sister Coletti's but only after Autumn started praying about it, just one or two days later, did the clear impression go through Sister Coletti's mind, "The washer and dryer are for Autumn." We were able to help move them, and now Autumn has a washer and dryer that now work!

It seems like a simple story, a mere coincidence. But I know, and have faith in, a God that cares about us and loves us. Just as a loving Father would, he listened to Autumn's prayer and answered it. God is in the details of out lives. He cares about the things we care about, because he loves us, and we are His children. God knew that Autumn would need a washer, and so he kept Sister Coletti from trashing them.

I love you all! Hope you all have a great Valentine's Day! In this time of love and gratitude, I hope you can all remember and feel of the one who has the greatest love for us all. The one who layed down His own life so that we might live again. Namely God's only begotten son, Jesus Christ.

Pictures:

1. "Look! It's the ocean!", is what Elder Maunana said as he saw this giant puddle in the parking lot of one of the apartment complexes we cover.

2.Every morning we head to the church to exercise. It's pretty fun!

3. The tub of cookie dough!

S4 E1: A good ol' Crawfish Burrl

 (Elder Cummings)

Hey y'all!

Don't have a lot of time so I'll be quick. This week was awesome, my new comp Elder Rands is an absolute beast and the best greenie I could ever ask for. He makes training so easy and he pushes me and makes me a better missionary and that's all I can ask for. He's also a scrumptious cook and I didn't even ask for that so that’s wonderful.

One day this week we were calling a member that we hadn't talked to or seen in a long long time and we're just like "Hey! What's up how are y'all doing? How can we help?" And chatting it up. The whole shebang. Then she was like "Well...do y'all like crawfish?"

Next thing I know is I am biking, leaving Elder Rands in the dust on our way to his very first Crawfish Boil. Or as I learned from a drunk guy, pronounced "Burrl". Two r's or you're saying it wrong. It was awesome we get there, chat it up, get to know everyone and start chowing down on some handpicked Guatemalan crawfish. Though I guess you can't really chow down on crawfish. Sucking down on crawfish sounds weird so let's just say we were feasting on crawfish. Considering Elder Rands had just cooked some homemade fried chicken we were both amazed we ate so much and hadn't had the meat sweats yet. Good times.

Just remember y'all, Paul's message to the Corinthians, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase"(1 Cor 3:6). I have seen in multiple ways this week, too many to describe full, that planting seeds is a very real thing. The sister that had us over for the burrl only had us over because during Christmas time some missionaries in uptown New Orleans remembered their names and made their kids' day. A man we know, once swore to never talk to a missionary again, but after we did service for his daughter a couple times, he now contacts us and has us over to help him from time to time and is so much fun. It happens, we are tools in the Lord's hands. And then, eventually, when the time is right, people are in a position to fully and wholeheartedly accept Christ and His Gospel into their lives. We can plant, someone else can water, but in the end it's all thanks to God. 

Changing through the Savior's atonement

 (Elder Slade)

To the best friends a family a person could hope for!

This week was great! We had zone conference, and a man named Shane Littlefield, from the church's missionary department, came and taught us. I learned so much! Most of all, I just gained an enthusiasm for improvement. I've been finding joy in making goals and putting all my effort into achieving them. If we set goals, and make plans to achieve them, we can see real improvement and change! Through the infinite virtue of our Savior's great atoning sacrifice, we can repent, change, and become better! As we come closer to Christ through change, we will be filled with joy! I am so grateful that I can be out here teaching this gospel and message of change to people.

Because of the trainings at zone conference, we decided to set a goal to put Autumn, someone we are teaching, on date for baptism. So after zone conference we visited her and committed her to make a goal to get baptized on March 13! We also found 2 new people to teach this week. Their names are Larry and Dina, and Dina said she would try to come to church this coming Sunday! The Lord is blessing us!

Love you guys! Hope you're doing well!

Sorry, not very many pictures this week.

1. A picture from a few weeks ago of us cleaning the dishes for someone we teach.

Week 9: The Wild Card Week

 (Sister Putnam)

 

Hello, everyone! I'll try to make this email kinda shorter than the last few haha.

Tuesday we went to Bishop's storehouse and got to work with Elders Wilkey & To'omalatai & it was a lot of fun. Elder To'omalatai knows Portuguese and that's similar enough to Spanish that he and I were able to communicate with him speaking Portuguese and me speaking Spanish, so it was really fun to practice. There was one order where the family ordered a ton of meat so I loaded the meat into the box and as I put it on the cart I was like "I wOnDeR iF tHeSe PeOpLe ArE vEgEtArIaNs." and another family ordered like 6 gallons of milk and I was like "I bEt ThEy'Re LaCtOsE iNtOlErAnT." Both times Elder To'omalatai busted out laughing and Elder Wlikey & Sister Madsen were like "bruh."

During lunch we got a phone call from our Zone Leaders, Elders Iketau & Wright (who are in the same hotel with us) & Elder Iketau was like "Hey, Sisters. Did something happen to your hotel room?" and we were like "um, no...." and he was like "Okay, come upstairs, we have something to tell you." and we were like "Oh um okay..." and we were concerned like, Was there a break-in, did someone's room get robbed? Well we went upstairs & the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders were like "lol so your room contract ended like 20 minutes ago, don't worry about it, we've contacted the mission office, but if someone comes to clean your room, then say no." and we were like "this was the thing you were so ominous about??" so yeah that was awesome.

Also, we decided to prank the Elders in our district. (we were going to include the sisters but then found out that they were getting a trio that night and didn't want to come off as mean to the new sister so we're planning on heart attacking them sometime this week instead shhhhh don't tell anyone) We got Jello and put a pass-along card into it and also goldfish. The goldfish crackers separated in the liquid and it looked so gross. Our plan was just to leave it at our District Leader's doorstep, but when we got there we realized their front door was in a hallway that was blocked by a locked door and so we had to call them and be like "um lol can you come outside we have something for you just pretend you didn't know it was us lol" and they were like "okay." So they came out & we presented it to them and they were like "what the heck" and busted out laughing so we're glad it was received well. Then we got permission to go and prank the other elders' apartments and so we went to Elders Call and Delis' apartment & put memes we'd printed out all over the door, then we knocked and ran and hid behind a car to watch their reactions and they didn't come out so we were like "okay they're probably in a lesson, they'll see it later" and we went to the Elders Wilkey & To'omalatai's apartment & started decorating the door with Nicolas Cage pictures and we were almost done and then our phone started ringing and it was really loud and a basic missionary ringtone so we ran away & left the last two nic cage pictures on the ground & answered the phone and it was Elders Call and Delis and they were like "you're suspects in an investigation we're having" and we're like "Whaaaaat???" And they're like "Yes. You put memes on our door." "Um why would you think it was us?" and they were like "why are you whispering, you're acting sus" And we were like "Um we're not acting sus" and they were like "well sister Putnam is a meme queen so we know you put the memes all over our door" and we were like "um no we didn't lol" and they were like "yes you did" And we were like "we have to go lol bye" and then we went & finished putting the Nicolas cage pictures on the door and knocked and ran and hid and then we heard the door open and then a "what the heck?" and then a bunch of laughter and elder wilkey came & looked for us & found us and that was fun. Of course there was a spiritual message involved. "Don't let Satan cage you up with sins."

Friday: We got robbed

So we did our last service project with Elders To'omalatai & Wlikey before going into quarantine (Elder To'omalatai is going back to his OG assignment in Brazil). We were supposed to go help a guy unpack his house and so we pulled up to his house and the elders were like "yeah this guy's name is Amaan, right?" And we were like "No, it's andy".  Turns out it was the same guy the Elders helped last time.  We helped him unpack his house and he has a ton of stuff. it was super crowded in there, we were like "I think he's a hoarder." And we cleaned up his kitchen a ton, he has like 100 pots and pans and he's the only one living there. After we helped him clean his house we invited him to attend church.  Later that night we went to say 'goodbye' to the elders before they went into quarantine (we'd still see them on the district video calls every night for the next two weeks) and then we got home and they called us and said "so president said Elder To'omalatai is getting transferred tomorrow morning to go into quarantine with someone else who leaves for his OG assignment at the same time, and a trainee is getting transferred here." So we were sad because he's super fun and so yeah we got robbed.

Saturday: Reba!!!

So, remember how Reba disappeared into the void last week? Well in looking for her on Facebook, I found two accounts who had lots of the same past profile photos, but not the one we'd initially contacted her with, and this week one of them disappeared so there was just the one. I figured those two were the same person, but wasn't sure if it was our Reba, but I figured, a friend request can't hurt. So I sent a friend request, and like 5 minutes later she dm'ed me "Yay you found me!" and so that was awesome! Apparently her other FB she was using got hacked and she'd tried to find Sister Madsen and I but she couldn't. Well we talked a bit, and she said "nobody else cares about me so why would God." and I said, "You have kids, right?" And she was like "yeah." And I asked "Do you love them?" And she said "I would die for them." And I said, "How likely are you to stop loving them?" And she said "Never." And I said "That's how God feels about you." And she was like "Really?" And I said "yes. And you don't have to take my word for it. Do you want to find out for yourself?" And she said she did so I asked her if she remembered how to pray and she asked me to teach her again, and I sent her the instructions on how to pray, and I asked her to pray. I told her to ask God in that prayer to tell her how He feels about her. "Will you do that?" I asked her, and she said, "yes right now." So we gave her some time to pray and about 15 minutes later she texted us saying she felt a lot better. We asked her to write down everything she felt in her journal so she could remember it. So that was awesome, because now she knows God loves her.

Sunday: fast & testimony meeting

Well, we had fast & testimony meeting, Reba came to church and she asked us over text what a testimony was so we explained it to her, & we told her that this particular meeting was one where anyone could talk and say their testimony. Afterwards she said she loved it & how she really wanted to talk about her experience the night before. She wants her testimony to grow! I'm so glad we were able to find her!

Haha, so this email was not as short as I'd hoped but I hope you all like it! I love hearing from you all, Until next week!

Sister Alyssa Putnam

S3 E5: Death of the triad, Birth of the Greenie (and the cycle continues..)

 (Elder Cummings)

大家好！

So, we dropped off Elder Pratt on Wednesday and now he's in South Korea...so that happened. My old comp(and my trainer) Elder Christensen also left back for Chile the same day. Apparently if you want to get to your original assignment you just gotta be my companion first.

Because of Elder Pratt leaving I got combined with the Spanish Elders that we share the apartment with so that was epic. We were working both areas for the week so we had lessons and appts back to back to back, English to Spanish to English to Spanish. That was wild but it was awesome to be so busy.

That being said, the Triad had to end eventually. Transfers are tomorrow so we'll have 4 elders here again and.......I'll be training!! I'm so so pumped to be able to show someone the ropes in the mission. I dont really know what I'm doing all I know is that I wanted to train so bad this transfer and it's actually happening. I don't know anything about Elder Rands but I can't wait to meet him tomorrow!

Also, because this was the end of the transfers, some families felt that they should feed us before some of us leave. So I will have had 2 dinners a night for 4 nights straight after our 2 dinners tonight. That was a lot of nights and a lot of dinners but I'll just say I will have had 8 dinners since Saturday after I go to bed today. I'm bursting

And finally, Regina got baptized this last Saturday!! This was by far the highlight of every thing I have done so far. I've had the wonderful opportunity to teach her from the beginning. I've seen growth and change ONLY possible through Christ and His Atonement. Tell me I'm exaggerating and I'll tell you you're wrong that's the end of the matter. Regina has pushed through all opposition waging from unemployment to terrible family problems. It was a humbling experience to be able to be a part of that growth and change. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for those willing to let God prevail like Regina is. Words can't express how grateful and happy I am because of Regina's choice, and the blessings that she has received because of it.

Have a great week y'all!

Elder Cummings