Week 20

Hola everyone! How goes it?

This week wasn't too eventful, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't a jolly good time!

To start the week off great, our car that we had the first week of the transfer was taken away, because a new wave of reassigned missionaries came in and "they needed it more" pfft alright. Welp now we have to ride bikes to get around and I can't help but look like the most generic stock-photo missionary you've ever seen, and I WILL get pictures next week. So that's funn.

Also, a lot of the wards in this mission are starting to have church meetings... FINALLY! So just yesterday, Elder Chelson and I rode our bikes to church, and finally got to see what the people in our area look like (jaja) cause we normally do just phone calls all day, and it didn't hit me that I don't usually know what the person on the end looks like. It was also the VERY FIRST church service that I've gone to since arriving here in Utah - I got here March 10th and the churches closed just a couple of days later. It was also the first church service that I had EVER gone to that was held in Spanish! And I understood it whaaaa?! Ya I'm basically native now.

So recently, as part of my studies, I took on the the challenge to annotate the entire Book of Mormon and underline key principles like anytime it mentions the Doctrine of Christ or a deception of Satan and stuff like that. And it has helped to study more thoroughly and see more of the blessings we can receive in our lives. 

One thing that stuck out to me this week was in the book of 1 Nephi 11:22 when it says that "the love of God... sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things, " and later in 1 Nephi 15:36 it states that God's love "...is the greatest of all the gifts of God."

I have thought to myself beforehand what the greatest thing ever might be. This scripture simply states that it is the love of God. And then I thought to myself, "Dang, I wish I had that gift", to which I received an overwhelming confirming feeling of the love that God has for me. In fact, God loves literally every individual one of you. One of the first things that we teach people is that God is our loving Heavenly Father, and we are his children, and that he loves us with a love that we cannot even comprehend. And we have this love because we chose to follow his plan and come down here to live and progress on this Earth.

The greatest gift and the most desirable thing ever is the love of God. And we all have it.

And the second greatest gift and second most desirable thing is my love. And you all have it as well 😉 I love you all! Stay safe, have fun!

Elder Terry 

Fotos:

1) The Libro de Mormón annotation challenge 💪😤👌

2) While biking back from the church, we found a street with my name on it... I mean whaaat that's not my name uhhh 😅

3) I made a thicc pancake 👌🥞 Elder Chelson's hand next to it for comparison.

4) We also spotted a mailbox that was leaning and we laughed about it for like a half hour. 

Letter from Mission Pres - District Leader

Week 19

Hey all of you lovelies!

Hope you all had another great week! Cause I sure did! The title of this email is actually a little pun, cause in Spanish, "tiempo" can mean "time" or "weather", and this past week, I've sure had some crazy times and seen some crazy weather.

So for this next segment of the weekly news we will turn the time over to meteorologist Elder Terry, with the weather. So this week we have seen possibly every biome known to man in only the past seven days. Earlier in the week, we had seen highs of up to 96°, and breaking news, the air conditioning my new apartment was broken the entire first day of the transfer. But that's not all! Just a few days later, a lightning storm hit, joined by a heavy rain, wreaking havoc all over mid-Utah. Those who endured the storm were blessed with one of the brightest and fullest double-rainbows that man has ever seen. And just today, in the Utah mountains, snow and hail pursued. That's all for the weather... stay safe and don't forget a sweater.

This week has also been crazy because of all the changes that I mentioned last week. We got a new apartment, which has got to be one of the biggest apartments in the mission cause it has two floors, a balcony, a bunch of couches, a bunch of closet space, and would make for a really good game of hide-and-seek. And it's also crazy cause there are only two of us living here, when it could easily fit another companionship... but I ain't complaining. 

I also got my new companion, Elder Chelson! He's from Kentucky and he has been in the mission field for about the same time as me. He actually was assigned to serve in Ecuador, but while in the MTC, the Corona Virus took effect and he only got two weeks of training before getting kicked out and reassigned to the SLC West mission. He is one of the funniest people I've ever met - I've probably laughed more in this past week than the past two transfers. He is making missionary work super fun, and because he never had learned Spanish before the mission and only had two weeks of training in the MTC, I am super excited to teach him everything I know! 

I was assigned to a different area as well - the Springhill ward! Both Elder Chelson and I are new to this area so there's a lot we need to learn and a lot of phone calls that need to be made to meet every single person in the ward.

And finally, I'm a District Leader now! That just means I not only have to focus on myself and my area, but also everyone else in my district. But I was blessed first of all for a district of only three companionships including Elder Chelson and I, as well as some of the bestest most coolest missionaries ever. The district consists of Zone Leaders - Elders Clark and Bartolo, Sister Training Leaders - Hermanas Ruark and Rogers, and Elder Chelson and I. This next transfer is gonna be so much fun! 

That about does it for this week! I love all of you, and I love hearing from you as well, so send some emails on over here! 

Elder Terry

Fotos:

1-4) DOUBLE RAINBOW ALL THE WAY! We had just finished a call, and I looked out the window and I couldn't speak - I was just like 😫 cause this was legitimately the brightest rainbow I've ever seen. We ran outside in the rain to get these pics. 

5) Elder Chelson and I lookin guapo. And gosh Elder Chelson is such a Chad 😍👌

Week 18

Buenos días everyone!

I hope everyone has been doing swell this past week! Missionaries are very uninformed when it comes to the news... because we can't watch the news... so I'm pretty oblivious about what's been going on with the riots and all. All I can say is stay safe and love one another, cause love is what helps us to overcome any trial we may have ❤️

And on a brighter note, just yesterday we asked one of the people we are teaching, Jaime, to be baptized!!! And he said YES!!!! WOOOO!!! We kinda already knew he would say yes, cause from the start he already knew the Book of Mormon and the Gospel of Christ to be true, but still, WOOOOO!!! It's the same person that I mentioned in last week's email about one of the coolest lessons I've ever had. In these past three months, this area hasn't seen a baptism, not to mention anyone that was progressing enough to put them on date for baptism either. We put Jaime on date for June 20th, which is just in a couple weeks!

The sad news though is we have transfers tomorrow, and I'm leaving the area, so I won't be able to keep teaching Jaime, but hopefully I'll be able to attend the baptism. This transfer is gonna be wild cause imma get a new area, new apartment, new calling, and I'm going to be getting, yet again, ¡un nuevo compañero! (man it feels like I'm getting a new companion every week jaja). His name is Elder Chelson, and I don't know a single thing about him wooo! But I'm sure he's gonna be fantabulous and I'm super hyped!

Also, I was super duper surprised to receive the calling this next transfer as a District Leader! Especially considering this will only be my 3rd transfer in the mission... I'm still a greenie for goodness sake!! But I guess I was being prepared for this since both of my previous companions, Elder Clark and Elder Turner, were both District Leaders as well. Speaking of which, Elder Clark and I are going to be in the same district, except he will be my zone leader.

That about does it for the week :) Hope you all stay safe and make use of all this time at home all day! 

Elder Terry

Fotos:

1-4) Guess who went on another hike 👌 We hiked a couple miles uphill to Lake Blanche, and basically ran down the hill on the way back. We couldn't gather with a group with more than 6 people, so it was just our new trio with the new Zone Leader trio

5-7) The absolute legend, Elder Merkley, brought a golf club and golf balls up to the top, and we all got a turn to take some swings. Pay no attention to the golf ball that I completely whiffed jaja

8) A wonderful view... the background looks nice too ;) 

9) Rock skippin'

10-12) The trio squad

13-20) A bunch of cool nature pics from the hike