Well he made it to Farmington, ME and here is what he has to say about it.
Good Morning from Farmington!! I already LOVE it here! And guess what!? Guess who's cruzin' around in a chevy Malibu!? haha! I'm driving this 2007 Chevy Malibu and loving it. It's awesome! But we're in a Car Share with the Farmington 1 Missionaries...so we only have the car Saturday night, til Wednesday night...but being on foot is good, unless it's raining like it was Saturday. It's just so awesome here. This ward is the biggest ward in the state!! It's almost like a Utah ward!
We're supposed to be in at 4:00 on Halloween night, but we got permission to go to the ward trunk or treat so that should be a lot of fun and I'm way excited. The missionaries in Farmington 1 are Sister missionaries, and they were MTC comps, and...I came out with them haha! So it's fun to serve around them. It's Sister Abbott and Sister Wilden. Elder Bowen is cool. I think he'll only be here one transfer with me but we'll see. He's been here for 6 months and after this transfer it will be 7 1/2. So I don't think I'll be here long. But we'll see.
Yes, I heard Elder Nielson went home this last transfer and I'm not sure why. I hope everything is ok. He wasn't supposed to be home until next transfer so I don't know what the deal is.
I'm just excited to be here :) Things are good. Anyway, it's been a really good week. I hope you guys got my postcards with my address. If not, then I'll have to find a way to get it to you, cuz I don't have it with me right now. I can't believe I'm almost out of time. I can't think of much that happened this week. I'm still new to the area so I'm still trying to figure things out. It's an awesome area though and I think I'm really going to like it here!! I hope you all have a wonderful week and I can't wait to get a package!! I love you all very much!! Sorry this isn't the most entertaining email haha!! Have a wonderful week!!
Its always a relief to know that he likes his new area and companion. I'm sure they will love him! Sounds like he will be able to get to know some of the ward members on Halloween at the Trick or Trunk activity. I'm anxious to hear how the investigators are doing as he gets to know them. Just glad all is well in Farmington. We did get his postcard with his address and he actually lives in Wilton, ME but the area he serves is Farmington.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Oct. 19, 2009
We were anxious to get this email. We knew it was transfer week and he mentioned before that maybe he would be leaving Norway. So here is what he wrote:
Yes yes...I am getting transfered. It's a bummer but I kind of expected it. I was called last night by one of the assistants and they told me the low down. But, I do know where I'm going and who I'm serving with already. Cool huh!? Any guesses?? Well, it's going to be the name of a city that already sounds familiar, but I'm going to the.....Farmington, ME area!!! It's the Farmington 2 area, which means there's 2 sets of missionaries in Farmington, so I guess it's a good size town. It's just an hour or so North of here so it's not to far at all. I'll be serving with Elder Bowen. Anyway, it'll be good. I told the Young's last night and they were super bummed. Bro Young is making me a "last supper" to eat at 1:00 haha!! I'm going to miss them. I am excited though, that I'll probably be in Maine for the whole first year of my mission. If I survive in Farmington these next 2 transfers, it'll be mine, Ha ha!! I guess it's a pretty good size town too. So there will be lots of people to talk to. It'll be good.
So he is heading out of Norway ME and going to Farmington. There is a little town called Farmington just about 5 miles out of Kaysville where we live. That is why he knew the town would sound familiar. Its always hard to leave an area and the people you have grown to love, but its best for missionaires to keep moving on to different places. Their talents and testimony just might help someone else in another place. I know Ronnie will adjust well and will grow to love the people in Farmington, ME and his new companion.
He goes on to write:
This week was awesome though. I don't have much time but I did want to tell you about one awesome thing that we did. On Tuesday, the assistants called and told us that Elder Thompson (a traveling Zone Leader who just works with different companionships throughout the mission) would be staying with us for a few days. I've heard a lot about Elder Thompson but didn't know him so I was excited. So, we went and picked him up on Wednesday. He's such an awesome missionary!! He's from Louisanna and has an awesome accent!! He just joined the church a year before he came out, and he came out with Elder Pugmire, so he's only been a member for 3 years. He's almost 27!! So anyway, on Friday, the Zone Leaders sent out a competition to see who could get the "most awkward" contact. Our mission president wants us to be talking to +10 people (unplanned) everyday. So that involves a lot of awkward contacts. Well, the Zone leaders decided that they would have a competition for it haha!! So Friday night, Elder Thompson, Elder Pugmire and I were standing by the car and we saw this huge "corona" beer truck getting ready to pull out of the parking lot about a hundred yards away. So Elder Thompson realize that stopping this 18 wheeler beer truck would win us the competiton hahahaha!! So Elder Pugmire was digging in the car for something, and Elder Thompson and I started sprinting towards this Corona 18 wheeler!! It was great! I turn around and to see Elder Pugmire running after us but we were so far ahead. Anyway, by now the beer truck has already pulled out and started driving so we're chasing the beer truck!!! And waving our arms like mad...sooo...he pulled over hahaha!! He rolled down his window, and we were able to talk to the Corona man for a minute...and won the contest haha!! It was soooo funny and soooo awesome!! It was just a good week!
Just thinking of them chasing down a beer truck made us giggle. Glad to know they were the winners. :) I'm curious to know what the other awkward contacts were!
So thats it for the experience in Norway, ME. On to a new adventure in Farmington, ME.
Yes yes...I am getting transfered. It's a bummer but I kind of expected it. I was called last night by one of the assistants and they told me the low down. But, I do know where I'm going and who I'm serving with already. Cool huh!? Any guesses?? Well, it's going to be the name of a city that already sounds familiar, but I'm going to the.....Farmington, ME area!!! It's the Farmington 2 area, which means there's 2 sets of missionaries in Farmington, so I guess it's a good size town. It's just an hour or so North of here so it's not to far at all. I'll be serving with Elder Bowen. Anyway, it'll be good. I told the Young's last night and they were super bummed. Bro Young is making me a "last supper" to eat at 1:00 haha!! I'm going to miss them. I am excited though, that I'll probably be in Maine for the whole first year of my mission. If I survive in Farmington these next 2 transfers, it'll be mine, Ha ha!! I guess it's a pretty good size town too. So there will be lots of people to talk to. It'll be good.
So he is heading out of Norway ME and going to Farmington. There is a little town called Farmington just about 5 miles out of Kaysville where we live. That is why he knew the town would sound familiar. Its always hard to leave an area and the people you have grown to love, but its best for missionaires to keep moving on to different places. Their talents and testimony just might help someone else in another place. I know Ronnie will adjust well and will grow to love the people in Farmington, ME and his new companion.
He goes on to write:
This week was awesome though. I don't have much time but I did want to tell you about one awesome thing that we did. On Tuesday, the assistants called and told us that Elder Thompson (a traveling Zone Leader who just works with different companionships throughout the mission) would be staying with us for a few days. I've heard a lot about Elder Thompson but didn't know him so I was excited. So, we went and picked him up on Wednesday. He's such an awesome missionary!! He's from Louisanna and has an awesome accent!! He just joined the church a year before he came out, and he came out with Elder Pugmire, so he's only been a member for 3 years. He's almost 27!! So anyway, on Friday, the Zone Leaders sent out a competition to see who could get the "most awkward" contact. Our mission president wants us to be talking to +10 people (unplanned) everyday. So that involves a lot of awkward contacts. Well, the Zone leaders decided that they would have a competition for it haha!! So Friday night, Elder Thompson, Elder Pugmire and I were standing by the car and we saw this huge "corona" beer truck getting ready to pull out of the parking lot about a hundred yards away. So Elder Thompson realize that stopping this 18 wheeler beer truck would win us the competiton hahahaha!! So Elder Pugmire was digging in the car for something, and Elder Thompson and I started sprinting towards this Corona 18 wheeler!! It was great! I turn around and to see Elder Pugmire running after us but we were so far ahead. Anyway, by now the beer truck has already pulled out and started driving so we're chasing the beer truck!!! And waving our arms like mad...sooo...he pulled over hahaha!! He rolled down his window, and we were able to talk to the Corona man for a minute...and won the contest haha!! It was soooo funny and soooo awesome!! It was just a good week!
Just thinking of them chasing down a beer truck made us giggle. Glad to know they were the winners. :) I'm curious to know what the other awkward contacts were!
So thats it for the experience in Norway, ME. On to a new adventure in Farmington, ME.
Oct. 12, 2009
We didn't think we would get an email from Ronnie since is was Columbus Day and we thought the libraries would be closed. He wrote and said the libraries were open and he was happy to be able to email us. Here is what else he said:
This week was AWESOME!! I had Zone Conference on Thursday and LOVED it! It was sooo good to see all my friends and also see Elder Nielson and Jared Bussell. (They are from his Bangor, ME area) Jared's papers went in the other day so he should be getting his call soon!! I'm stoked for him. Elder Mcgiff (a retired doctor who's mission call is to be a doctor for missionaries), was there. He gave us a lot of advice on staying healthy and also advised us to get a flu shot. I just might, ...but we'll see. The other cool thing was, we got to talk to him one on one if we had a concern about our health. Well, I decided I would talk to him about my left elbow. My elbow has been bugging me for the last couple months, nothing terrible, but I couldn't do a lot of push ups, and sometimes just moving it wrong hurt it. I was kind of curious if I had a small case of tennis elbow. Well, I was right! He said it sounds like I've got a little Tendenitis going on and that I needed to get a band, that takes off a lot off pressure on that tendent. So I bought one at walgreens and it's made quite a difference! So, I'm in good health other than a small case of tennis elbow. No worries :)
I'm glad to know he only has a little elbow problem which I know he'll be able to deal with until he gets home. I hope he gets through the flu season without getting it too badly. The big thing is the Swine Flu, so hopefully he won't get that!
He goes on to say:
We've had a good week though. We found a couple new investigators (no one really solid I guess) but we'll see how it goes when we go to their return appointment :) The weather here is really cold this week!! There's a storm rolling in tonight and Sister Young said that it could possibly be SNOW!! I'm not looking forward to it, but it really has beeen cold. The leaves will probably lose all their color here in the next couple days. But it's been fun seeing all the color!! NOTHING like the fall in New England!! I'm so lucky haha!!
He wrote a few personal things to the family and let us know how much he loves us. He is a great son and we love and miss him so very much. We are so grateful he is out serving a mission and loving it and doing a great work.
This week was AWESOME!! I had Zone Conference on Thursday and LOVED it! It was sooo good to see all my friends and also see Elder Nielson and Jared Bussell. (They are from his Bangor, ME area) Jared's papers went in the other day so he should be getting his call soon!! I'm stoked for him. Elder Mcgiff (a retired doctor who's mission call is to be a doctor for missionaries), was there. He gave us a lot of advice on staying healthy and also advised us to get a flu shot. I just might, ...but we'll see. The other cool thing was, we got to talk to him one on one if we had a concern about our health. Well, I decided I would talk to him about my left elbow. My elbow has been bugging me for the last couple months, nothing terrible, but I couldn't do a lot of push ups, and sometimes just moving it wrong hurt it. I was kind of curious if I had a small case of tennis elbow. Well, I was right! He said it sounds like I've got a little Tendenitis going on and that I needed to get a band, that takes off a lot off pressure on that tendent. So I bought one at walgreens and it's made quite a difference! So, I'm in good health other than a small case of tennis elbow. No worries :)
I'm glad to know he only has a little elbow problem which I know he'll be able to deal with until he gets home. I hope he gets through the flu season without getting it too badly. The big thing is the Swine Flu, so hopefully he won't get that!
He goes on to say:
We've had a good week though. We found a couple new investigators (no one really solid I guess) but we'll see how it goes when we go to their return appointment :) The weather here is really cold this week!! There's a storm rolling in tonight and Sister Young said that it could possibly be SNOW!! I'm not looking forward to it, but it really has beeen cold. The leaves will probably lose all their color here in the next couple days. But it's been fun seeing all the color!! NOTHING like the fall in New England!! I'm so lucky haha!!
He wrote a few personal things to the family and let us know how much he loves us. He is a great son and we love and miss him so very much. We are so grateful he is out serving a mission and loving it and doing a great work.
Oct. 5, 2009
Here is what Ronnie said this week:
Hello!! How is everyone this morning?? I hope that this email works out and actually sends this time!! Ha ha. Wasn't conference just awesome!!! I absolutely LOVED Elder Hollands talk!! Oh man...he just rocked the world!! All the missionaries here were just awe struck at his talk. Elder Binford told us that after his talk, he leaned over to their investigator that came (who isn't terribly solid), and said, "I know you want to be baptized right now...but you're going to just have to wait a few days." I thought it was great! The other talk I really liked was Elder Hales talk on Saturday, where he just picked apart the trinity. It seems like lately we have run into a few people who quiz us and ask us questions...they're usually baptist, but the say things like, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" "ummm yeah...", "Do you believe he is God?" "yeah...""There is only ONE God, God the Father, God The Son, and God the Holy Ghost, they're one!" I've just never understood how people are so blind, and it was just cool to hear Elder Hales bear testimony of three seperate and distinct beings. Conference was awesome!!
I know he is getting more out of Conference as a missionary sitting in the church wearing his suit than when he was at home in comfy clothes and snuggled up in a blanket! :) I'm glad that his testimony is strenghted as he listens to the apostles and prophet.
He then goes on to say:
Well, we're still teaching Bailey "Bo", but they'll probably move the date back a little bit. I don't know if I'll be able to see the baptism though. The way things are looking, I'll probably be booted at the end of this transfer in 2 weeks. I'm really bummed. I love it here and I love the Youngs who we live above!! Bro. Young is always teasing me, and I'm always teasing him haha! They're just so awesome!! Their dog, Sage (a golden retreiver) is always out on the porch when we get home, and always out in the morning when we get up to excersise....just to see us!! I'm going to miss her too. Anyway, I've got to get running, but I hope you all enjoyed conference!! :) It made me giggle a couple times thinking that we were all watching it together!!
I started reading 2NE 29 this morning...page 110 :) I love it! I just finished the Issaiah Ch's the other day which is a relief cuz I never knew who was talking!!
Sounds like all is well in Norway ME and maybe only a couple more weeks there. Its hard to transfer out when you have a baptism coming up. I'm am grateful for the Youngs taking good care of the Elders. Its good to be transferred though so you don't get too comfortable with the members. I'm glad he made it through the tough chapters in the Book of Mormon, now the rest is easy!!
Hello!! How is everyone this morning?? I hope that this email works out and actually sends this time!! Ha ha. Wasn't conference just awesome!!! I absolutely LOVED Elder Hollands talk!! Oh man...he just rocked the world!! All the missionaries here were just awe struck at his talk. Elder Binford told us that after his talk, he leaned over to their investigator that came (who isn't terribly solid), and said, "I know you want to be baptized right now...but you're going to just have to wait a few days." I thought it was great! The other talk I really liked was Elder Hales talk on Saturday, where he just picked apart the trinity. It seems like lately we have run into a few people who quiz us and ask us questions...they're usually baptist, but the say things like, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" "ummm yeah...", "Do you believe he is God?" "yeah...""There is only ONE God, God the Father, God The Son, and God the Holy Ghost, they're one!" I've just never understood how people are so blind, and it was just cool to hear Elder Hales bear testimony of three seperate and distinct beings. Conference was awesome!!
I know he is getting more out of Conference as a missionary sitting in the church wearing his suit than when he was at home in comfy clothes and snuggled up in a blanket! :) I'm glad that his testimony is strenghted as he listens to the apostles and prophet.
He then goes on to say:
Well, we're still teaching Bailey "Bo", but they'll probably move the date back a little bit. I don't know if I'll be able to see the baptism though. The way things are looking, I'll probably be booted at the end of this transfer in 2 weeks. I'm really bummed. I love it here and I love the Youngs who we live above!! Bro. Young is always teasing me, and I'm always teasing him haha! They're just so awesome!! Their dog, Sage (a golden retreiver) is always out on the porch when we get home, and always out in the morning when we get up to excersise....just to see us!! I'm going to miss her too. Anyway, I've got to get running, but I hope you all enjoyed conference!! :) It made me giggle a couple times thinking that we were all watching it together!!
I started reading 2NE 29 this morning...page 110 :) I love it! I just finished the Issaiah Ch's the other day which is a relief cuz I never knew who was talking!!
Sounds like all is well in Norway ME and maybe only a couple more weeks there. Its hard to transfer out when you have a baptism coming up. I'm am grateful for the Youngs taking good care of the Elders. Its good to be transferred though so you don't get too comfortable with the members. I'm glad he made it through the tough chapters in the Book of Mormon, now the rest is easy!!
Sept. 28, 2009--handwritten
I knew there had to be a reason why we didn't get an email on Monday, Sept. 28th. Apparently he tried to email us but it didn't go through so thankfully he sent us a letter through the postal mail.
He said he went on exchanges with Elder Janson. They were in his area which was Cormish ME and part of it was in New Hampshire. That was the first time in NH since he flew out there in Feb. He got to see his first "New England covered bridge". He says the Fall colors are EXPLODING and the 2nd week of Oct is the prime week of Fall. He said he is what the New Englanders call a "leaf peeper".
He went on to say they still only have 3 strong investigators but are working hard to get more. He said they talked to a lot of mean people this week, but they'll contiune to work hard. He is excited to watch General Conference coming up.
He is doing well and for that we are very grateful.
He said he went on exchanges with Elder Janson. They were in his area which was Cormish ME and part of it was in New Hampshire. That was the first time in NH since he flew out there in Feb. He got to see his first "New England covered bridge". He says the Fall colors are EXPLODING and the 2nd week of Oct is the prime week of Fall. He said he is what the New Englanders call a "leaf peeper".
He went on to say they still only have 3 strong investigators but are working hard to get more. He said they talked to a lot of mean people this week, but they'll contiune to work hard. He is excited to watch General Conference coming up.
He is doing well and for that we are very grateful.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Sept. 28, 2009
We didn't get an email on his p-day. Not sure why, there are many reasons we could think of. We aren't worried, sometimes this just happens. Stay tuned, maybe a letter will be coming in the slow mail.
Sept. 21, 2009
This was a good week for Ronnie. Here is what he said in his email:
Happy P-day family :) Guess what today is for me?? Happy 8 months day! :) Time is cruisin' wicked fast and I can't believe it's been this long!! I'm glad time is going quick though...but I'm glad work is getting done too. So this week hasn't been to shabby. The Book of Mormon assignment is a lot of fun, and I sometimes read it the whole hour of study. President Jensen has asked us to only take the first half an hour to study so we can study other things, but I sometimes just keep reading and lose track of time. It's fun though. This morning I read 1 NE 16-18. So I'll start 18 tomorrow. It's been a lot of fun. Wednesday I went on an exchange with Elder Bingham in Auburn, ME. It was weird being in a big city again, and it just seemed noisy to me, but I liked it. There were a lot of people to talk to. The exchange went well and Elder Bingham is the man! He's one of the Augusta, ME zone leaders.We invited 102 people to learn this week but no luck really. We're only down to a few investigators. We had to drop some within the last couple of weeks. We're teaching this one guy and his son but he's been taught since last year, and hasn't really progressed at all. He may be getting dropped soon too. We're teaching this one couple that we found a couple of weeks ago named Ryan and Jessica. Just a young unmarried couple. But when we knocked on the door and told Jessica who we were, she just said, "do you wanna come in?" No hesitation, so there's got to be a reason for that. We're teaching them tonight so we'll see how they're doing. I also haven't told you about Bailey "Bo", He's just a 9 year old boy that we're teaching. I keep forgetting about him, cuz his Mom, and his other sibilings are members, so I forget that he's one of our investigators. But, he's getting baptized on October 17th!! And...he asked me if I would baptize him this week. So I'm looking forward to that. He's a good kid and is loving to learn! He likes coming to church and everything too. It's fun teaching him. Yesterday was Stake Conference in Cape Elizabeth, ME (down by Portland, ME) it was a good meeting and I got to see a lot of the missionaries in the nearby areas. I looove Elder Binford! He was there and he's sooo funny! He's in my district and you probably have a picture of him. He's from Salt lake and came out when Elder Schow did so he's only a transfer older than me. He is training this transfer and I get to go on an exchange with him next week. But anyway, at Stake Conference, one of the Stake Presidency members was released and sustained as the new Patriarch. I don't think I've ever seen a patriarch sustained? It was neat though. Anyway, this week has been good.
We are so grateful that Ronnie is enjoying the reading of the Book of Mormon. He reads for an hour, how cool is that?!! Sounds like he is busy teaching and attending meetings. One thing we know about Ronnie is that he is a very "people person". He loves talking to people, he loves meeting new people and he loves the missionaries he is serving with. He is making friends wherever he goes and we know with his personality he makes people comfortable around them.
We love getting his letters. He is happy and healthy and serving well. What more could a parent ask for?!
Happy P-day family :) Guess what today is for me?? Happy 8 months day! :) Time is cruisin' wicked fast and I can't believe it's been this long!! I'm glad time is going quick though...but I'm glad work is getting done too. So this week hasn't been to shabby. The Book of Mormon assignment is a lot of fun, and I sometimes read it the whole hour of study. President Jensen has asked us to only take the first half an hour to study so we can study other things, but I sometimes just keep reading and lose track of time. It's fun though. This morning I read 1 NE 16-18. So I'll start 18 tomorrow. It's been a lot of fun. Wednesday I went on an exchange with Elder Bingham in Auburn, ME. It was weird being in a big city again, and it just seemed noisy to me, but I liked it. There were a lot of people to talk to. The exchange went well and Elder Bingham is the man! He's one of the Augusta, ME zone leaders.We invited 102 people to learn this week but no luck really. We're only down to a few investigators. We had to drop some within the last couple of weeks. We're teaching this one guy and his son but he's been taught since last year, and hasn't really progressed at all. He may be getting dropped soon too. We're teaching this one couple that we found a couple of weeks ago named Ryan and Jessica. Just a young unmarried couple. But when we knocked on the door and told Jessica who we were, she just said, "do you wanna come in?" No hesitation, so there's got to be a reason for that. We're teaching them tonight so we'll see how they're doing. I also haven't told you about Bailey "Bo", He's just a 9 year old boy that we're teaching. I keep forgetting about him, cuz his Mom, and his other sibilings are members, so I forget that he's one of our investigators. But, he's getting baptized on October 17th!! And...he asked me if I would baptize him this week. So I'm looking forward to that. He's a good kid and is loving to learn! He likes coming to church and everything too. It's fun teaching him. Yesterday was Stake Conference in Cape Elizabeth, ME (down by Portland, ME) it was a good meeting and I got to see a lot of the missionaries in the nearby areas. I looove Elder Binford! He was there and he's sooo funny! He's in my district and you probably have a picture of him. He's from Salt lake and came out when Elder Schow did so he's only a transfer older than me. He is training this transfer and I get to go on an exchange with him next week. But anyway, at Stake Conference, one of the Stake Presidency members was released and sustained as the new Patriarch. I don't think I've ever seen a patriarch sustained? It was neat though. Anyway, this week has been good.
We are so grateful that Ronnie is enjoying the reading of the Book of Mormon. He reads for an hour, how cool is that?!! Sounds like he is busy teaching and attending meetings. One thing we know about Ronnie is that he is a very "people person". He loves talking to people, he loves meeting new people and he loves the missionaries he is serving with. He is making friends wherever he goes and we know with his personality he makes people comfortable around them.
We love getting his letters. He is happy and healthy and serving well. What more could a parent ask for?!
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