Last update!

This is crazy that I'm even writing this right now!! This week has been so good and a great way to end the transfer!! Here are a few amazing things that have happened this week! 

--Elder Woolsey (the zone leader in Traverse City) got transferred down to Lansing to be assistant to the president. Because of that, Elder Mowrer and I got put into a trio with Elder Nelson in Traverse City! It has been a hectic, stress inducing last week but so worth it! We've been covering both Kalkaska and Traverse City. There have been so many miracles and it was such a great way to end the mission! 

--Faye Carmouche! Faye was someone we found in Traverse City a couple of days ago. Faye is an absolute miracle! Here's the story…Earlier that day in Traverse City we had been knocking in an apartment complex where we found a couple new friends! We were also visiting a previous referral! We knocked on the referral's door many times and she didn't answer. We even tried the back door but to no avail. Elder Nelson and Elder Mowrer wanted to go back to the car, but I felt impressed to go across the street and finish knocking some doors we didn't get to earlier. So, instead of going back to our car, we went across the street. We passed a few doors and we decided not to knock on them for some reason and decided to instead go to the very last doors at the apartment complex. This is where Faye enters the picture! As we approached Faye's door she came walking out pretty quickly and seemed to have just been in an argument. Right when she walked up to us we asked if we could talk to her and she immediately started crying. We tried our best to comfort her and tell her how much God loves her of course! She thanked us, and then proceeded to tell us that a few moments before running into us, she had just gotten off the phone with her friend Gabe who is a member in the Manistee branch! She also told us of some friends she had in the Traverse City branch and some experiences with the church throughout her life. She told us that she was about to go on a walk because she needed to clear her head. So of course we decided to walk with her! Eventually, we found a pavilion with a little table and started teaching her the restoration! The lesson was really good and she really grasped everything and could tell her gears were turning! Towards the end of the lesson we asked her if she would pray to know if the Book of Mormon was true, and she looked at us and said "I think I already know the answer, yes!" After this, all three of us Elders felt the need to invite her to be baptized. I invited her to be baptized and as I was inviting her and before I could even finish, she already had her phone out and was putting her date into her schedule! She obviously accepted! It was such a spirit filled moment! God is so good and Faye is amazing! July 8th will be an amazing day for her! 

--Kami was baptized last Sunday the 11th! I had the opportunity to baptize her and it was so special! So many people were there to love and support her, including her sister Hope from the Cheboygan branch! Kami is a true disciple of Jesus Christ and will be one of many youth to join the Kalkaska branch! She needed the gospel and the gospel needed her! She's definitely had a rough life but this Covenant will make her life so much better! Such a cool way to end my mission! 

I can't believe how fast my time here in Michigan has gone by. It was the best two years of my life! The things I've learned and the testimony I've grown are things I never would've had if I had decided not to serve. I'm excited to start a new chapter of my life while sad that this one is coming to a close. I know that God will continue to lead and guide me in all that I do. I love the people of Michigan and this will always be a second home! I'm grateful for the friends I've made along the way, whether it be missionaries, companions, members or those I've taught. Each one has impacted my life for the better! I love my Father in Heaven as well as His son Jesus Christ. I love my family and can't wait to see them again. I also love my family from Michigan, I can't wait to see and visit them again one day!  Love you all! 

The end is nigh

Well everyone! I hope you are doing well and enjoying the beautiful weather! So far the last transfer has been really good, even though there's a lot of emotions involved! I'll catch you all up on some important events that happened recently! 

Our friend Kami Jarvis has accepted a baptismal invitation and is going to be baptized on the 11th of June! It's gonna be a wonderful day and a great way to end the mission!! Kami is a wonderful soul and is so willing to learn and grow, as well as build her relationship with Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father! Something cool happened a few weeks ago at the Traverse City District Conference (like stake conference but for a district), Kami and Hope have had a rough life, Hope is 18, Kami is 16. They both have been separated multiple times due to their parents choices and stuff within the family. They hadn't seen each other in 3 years, but the conference is what brought them together! It was such a blessing for them! They have such a close bond and it was cool to see the church bring them even closer! I'm so proud of Kami! 

We had a pretty fun district Pday last week! We met up in Traverse City, made pancakes and waffles at the church, then went to the bay and played some beach volleyball at some public courts! It was super fun and a great time for the whole district! Just wish I would've had sunscreen because I got BURNT! My face was literally a tomato for the next few days haha! After that we got some ice cream at a place called Moomers which is super popular up here! Then we were kindly invited over to a members house in the Traverse City branch! They grilled up some burgers for Memorial Day and it was a great time! After that we came home and had a lesson with Kami which was awesome! 

We also got to go and support Kami in her track and field competition! She throws the shot put and is really good at it! The competition she was in was apparently really tough to get into and is usually full of juniors and seniors… She is a freshman! She placed 7th and did super well for a freshman! We also got to meet her mom and stepdad there. They were super appreciative that we were there because nobody really goes and supports Kami. They are super nice and supportive of Kami especially when it comes to meeting with us and being a part of the church! They aren't religious much but I have faith that Kami and her sister Hope can change that someday!

I had exchanges recently with Elder Gray! We've been companions twice and its always a great time being with him! We were in Manistee for the day and it is a beautiful area! The cool/crazy thing about the Manistee branch, is that they were recently formed into a branch after being a group for many years. They don't have a church building and meet in an old gutted out K-Mart… super interesting but if it works, it works! What a blessing it has been to serve my last few transfers here in Kalkaska. The people here are truly amazing and I am so grateful for the friends I have made and know that God placed me here for a reason. This has definitely been one of, if not my most impactful areas. I have learned so much from the amazing branch members and friends I've taught. Kalkaska truly is sacred ground, and the hand of the Lord is very prominent in this part of his vineyard. 

I'ts sad how each day on my mission keeps going faster and faster. As I am writing this, I have 1 more full week as a full time missionary for the Lord. It is actually really sad to have this wonderful journey come to and end, but I know that God will continue to guide me in what lies ahead. After this I have one more update I'll do, then I'll be home… SO CRAZY! If you know me, I'm not normally an emotional person, but there have been and will be many tears shed when it comes to leaving this wonderful experience. These 2 years have been by far the most influential years of my life. My life's trajectory has been changed for the better all because of my Savior. I love Him and I'm so glad I was able to be His full time servant. I know that as I continue to serve Him the best I can I will continue to be blessed and guided. The amazing thing is that so will you (whoever is reading this)! D&C 82:10 "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise" I pray that we will always remember this and be obedient to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ! I love the Lord. I love my Father in Heaven. I love the people in Michigan. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen. 

The start of the End...

Hey everyone!! I hope you are all doing well and that this last week was awesome! Probably a shorter update this week but I'm gonna try my best to get a weekly out every week before I'm home!! 

This last week was the last of the transfer. I will be staying in Kalkaska for my last transfer and will be receiving Elder Mowrer who is just out of training! He was actually trained by my old companion Elder Wilchek which is cool! It's interesting because Elder Mowrer and Elder Driggs are just swapping areas. Elder Driggs will be heading to Midland.

We had exchanges this week as well! I was in Traverse City for the day which was fun! I got to conduct a baptismal interview for the Traverse City Elders friend which was so cool! Those kinds of experiences are always special! Also, our new member Diondre got me and Elder Driggs pretty nice water bottles as a gift! He's so awesome, and I'm so grateful that I was able to meet and teach him! He'll be flying out to Utah in October so we're going to hang out, go to some temples, and try to get tickets to General Conference! So if anyone knows how to get tickets… let me know!! 

Elder Driggs and I also made a video this week of us singing a song which was pretty fun to make! So make sure you watch out for that on Facebook! It's my first time trying something like this but I was willing to get out of my comfort zone for the Lord! :) We also had the annual trout festival here in Kalkaska which is apparently really popular! Which means a lot of drunk rednecks! How fun! It was like a really bad Strawberry Days basically haha. Utah has way better festivals! They also did fireworks like right outside of our apartment and it sounds like a war zone 😁

It's definitely a weird feeling when talking about this being my last transfer. I remember at the start of my mission 6 weeks was a LONG time, but now it seems like a blur. So much has happened over the last 2 years! Some hard times for sure but it has all been so worth it! I wouldn't trade it for the world! These 2 years have definitely set up the rest of my life! I have been able to see the importance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not only knowing about it, but living it daily! It's something that I've seen change my life and the lives of those I've taught! It helped solidify my testimony that Christ lives, that He is the only begotten of our Father in Heaven and they love each and every one of their children here on Earth... including me which is sometimes probably hard haha! This gospel is true and this is Christ's New Testament Church Restored to the earth and because of that we have modern day prophets and the priesthood power to bless God's children! 

I love you all and hope you have a great week!! I'll see you soon! 

Kalkaska update 2.0

Hello everyone!! I hope you all are doing well! It's been a few weeks since the last update, but I thought it was time I'd update everyone! (Also my parents keep begging, so it would be good 😊) 

This transfer has honestly flown by!! Almost like every transfer on my mission haha. Kalkaska has been so good and I love it here! Such good people and a great branch!! 

Recent Updates:

• Diondre was baptized and confirmed on the 15th! He's so amazing and his baptism was even better!! A great story is also attached with his baptism. So, his baptism was on Saturday, but the night before, we fill up the font a little over half way, so that it doesn't take forever to fill on Saturday. So Friday night, we made sure it was good and it was right where we wanted it, but Satan was definitely ready to throw a curveball. We woke up the next morning, got ready and headed to the church and got there around 9am. His baptism was supposed to start at 10am. This is where the curve ball came. When we got to the church and checked the font, it was bone dry… this caused a little panic but luckily we were able to think quickly. President Kimball got a garden hose, hooked it up to the faucet in the member custodial closet, ran it across the hall, through the women's bathroom and to the font. When I tell you that this hose could not have been 1 inch shorter, I MEAN IT! What a blessing that was. It was definitely a miracle that the font, which usually takes 4 hours to fill, was able to fill in about an hour and a half! We ended up having to start a little late but it worked out perfectly! Diondre invited about 15 family members and friends. It was awesome to have that many non members at his baptism and just shows his level of commitment to the Lord! President and Sister Heap were also able to attend which was so awesome, especially for Diondre! I was able to confirm him which was also a special moment I'll never forget! 

  
  

• We got to drive down to Ann Arbor recently for a doctor's appointment that Elder Driggs had! It was so cool, but honestly so weird being out of the mission boundaries. I could definitely feel a difference and when we got back it felt really good! It was a 7 hour round trip though for only a 30 min doctor's appointment that was required to be in person. The hospital was on the University of Michigan, so we got to see the campus which was fun! It's actually a really nice place and way bigger than any campus or hospital I've been to. Fun times!! 

  
  

  
  
  

• I officially have my return date which has changed a little bit back and forth over the last little bit. Sadly as well as happily, my mission will be coming to a close on June 14th. It's crazy how fast time has gone by, but I am so grateful for the opportunity I've had here to serve the Lord. I am also excited for the opportunities that are upcoming in my life and know that my service as a full time missionary has helped create an amazing course for my life! 

  
  

• We found a huge cow statue which was fun! Don't know where it came from but hey, had to snag a picture with it! 

  

  
  

• We're teaching two highschool aged kids at the moment which is really cool because the branch doesn't really have teenage-youth. They are both so awesome and love the gospel and more importantly the Lord. One of them is Kami. She is 16, and is sisters with a recent convert named Hope in the Cheboygan branch a couple hours from here. It's actually really cool because when I was in the Soo, I did Hope's Baptismal Interview! Kami and Hope are really good friends with some members in the Gaylord branch and they've been super helpful with teaching them! Kami is planning on going to Girls Camp here in a little bit, which is sweet! The other kid's name is Jack. Jack is awesome. He's 17 and loves learning more! We've only had two lessons with him, but he loves what he's learned so far. Our last lesson, he told us that this is something he wants to pursue, in other words he wants to be baptized at some point and loves the Book of Mormon! The only thing that is standing in his way, is that he is afraid his family won't be okay with it and may even disown him. It's super sad and a hard situation. Please keep Jack in your prayers, that would mean a lot! 

  
  

• We had district Pday in Traverse City which was super fun! We got breakfast, went bowling, then played some card games at the church! It was a great time and nice to be with other missionaries in my district! 

  
  

  

  
  

• This week is the last week of the transfer, which is crazy! We will be receiving our transfer news on Saturday, so we'll see what happens. My guess is that I will stay here and this will be my last area and that Elder Driggs is leaving. But we'll leave it up to the Lord!! 

  
  

• For a spiritual thought, I want to invite the person still reading this to either start reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning or if you already are at the moment, start again right after you finish. But, before you start reading, pick something that you want to focus on as you read. As a mission, we just started reading, and we are focusing on Faith, Hope and Charity. As I have done this so far it has been so cool to see the things that have stuck out to me and hit me in other ways than before. I promise that as you purposely plan what you're looking for before you study the scriptures you will be guided to hear what you need in your life at that certain moment. 

I love you all and hope you have a great week!! 

First update from the VILLAGE of Kalkaska

Hello everyone! I hope all is well!! I am sorry that I am absolutely terrible at consistently writing weekly updates, but just bear with me a couple more months and I'll be able to tell you all the amazing things happening face to face!! It’s crazy that the mission is coming to a close! Just to make you all aware, my official date to come home is July 1st! I’m excited but at the same time sad because this has been such an amazing life changing experience! I am also pretty stressed to actually be an adult when I'm home so that will definitely be a hurdle haha!

For those that didn’t know, I was recently transferred this last week to Kalkaska Michigan! I truly loved the people and the area in Spring Lake, but the Lord needed me elsewhere! Many of you won’t know where Kalkaska is, but it is back up North! Not as far as the Soo was, but I’m still pretty far up here! I’m 30 minutes East of Traverse City! Anyway with the sadness and stress of transfers, I was honestly pretty scared about going up North again especially after the first experience I had in the Soo where it was really tough. This was especially the case when I looked up Kalkaska only to find out it is listed as a VILLAGE because it is so small! BUT, as we all know, GOD IS GOOD ALWAYS! He definitely has blessed me!! Kalkaska is such an amazing place! It is best known for its trout museum haha! It is BEAUTIFUL here and the people are crazy nice! I've made some jokes that the people are so nice that it's like one of those horror movies where once you visit, they never let you leave… haha i know that's not the case though! The branch here is literally amazing! They run things better here than some wards i've been in here which is crazy! But it's not about the numbers as much as it's about the people! The Branch President, President Kimball is the GOAT and the members are so tight knit and involved!! President Kimball has us over for dinner with his family every Sunday night, and every Wednesday night for our branch game night! On top of all of that, the apartment we live in is actually pretty nice and the people that live in our complex are the nicest people ever!! So, overall, I am absolutely loving it here! I can’t believe I was bummed initially about coming to Kalkaska...Thank goodness for repentance!! Also my companion, Elder Driggs is awesome! He has been out for a little over 4 months, and is from Bountiful Utah! 

COOL MOMENTS FROM THE LAST LITTLE BIT:

• Right before transfers, I had a cool experience where I received a massive answer to my prayers! Almost my whole mission, I have been praying to know what to do with my life after the mission, just because of some things that are said in my patriarchal blessing! Long story short, we were in a lesson and My companion at the time Elder Harrick said something that totally made my mind space out, kinda sad that it was during a member lesson, but God was trying to speak to me haha! While I was spaced out, one word popped into my head and that was “coding”. I had no clue as to why that popped up considering I have never thought about doing coding, but it did! So after we got home that night I prayed for confirmation about it and it was confirmed! So it looks like I'll be doing something with coding in the future. Maybe like software development or software engineering or something like that! Anyway another miracle is attached to this!! Fast forward to transfers, and Elder Driggs and I are driving back from the transfer van to Kalkaska, he asked what I was planning on doing after the mission… of course I'm now excited because I can tell someone that I know what I am doing with my life! God definitely has a way of doing things because when I told Elder Driggs he couldn’t believe it because he is planning on doing the same thing! GOD IS GOOD!

  
  

• We are teaching a guy named Diondre at the moment! He blows my mind!! He is the definition of an elect son of God! He is on a date for baptism on the 15th of April! He is always so excited to learn and grow his relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ! He’s also so respectful and understands the sacredness of certain things, even to the point where he wouldn’t take the sacrament at church or watch a video about temples until he had cleared some stuff up with President Kimball! Literally you never see a friend doing that while they're still being taught! If you didn’t know him you would think Diondre is a lifelong member! The branch is in love with him! Oh and also, he's ONLY 21!! It’s insane! I am so glad I got to meet and teach him! 

  
  

• Right when I thought winter was coming to an end, and I could start sending my winter clothes home… Kalkaska decided to drop like 8 inches of snow! It was insane! So it looks like I'll be keeping my winter clothes out here a little bit longer! The day it snowed, we decided to stay out of the apartment and go outside to work! We ended up making a video for facebook which actually turned out to be pretty good! It's about the Book of Mormon and you can find it on our mission page for Michigan called “Come Unto Christ in Michigan”.

  
  

  
  
  

  
  

  

• I mentioned earlier that every Wednesday, our branch does a game night and we invite all the people we are teaching! Before our game night starts we have a gospel principles lesson taught by Brother Hoover, our branch mission leader! Brother Hoover is awesome and so personable! Before every lesson, Brother Hoov goes around the circle and asks how everyone's week has been since the last time we met! As we were going around the circle, he got to a couple recently baptized members, Barbara and Dave. Barbara answered and said her week was good, then it went to Dave, and he said “wait I have something to say” then he stood up, got on one knee and PROPOSED to Barbara right there at game night!! It was the craziest thing and everyone was shocked and so happy for them! What a way to start off a gospel principles lesson! Anyway after our amazing lesson by Hoov, we ate some amazing chicken fajitas that Sister Carla Shaefer made! They were soooo good and we got to take home ALL the leftovers! Then we played some games to end the night! Such a wholesome branch!! 

  
  

  
  

• On Sunday, we went to the Kimballs for dinner and it was amazing! They made homemade chicken noodle soup and rolls as well as some killer brownies! It’s sad, President Kimball is in his mid 30's but has problems with his Kidneys and recently just had a kidney transplant. Not fun at all, but he’s so helpful and joyous no matter what! Sister Kimball is actually from Alpine, and went to Lone Peak and Mountain Ridge (My High School and Middle School)! It was cool talking to her about home! They have 5 kids, the oldest is 12 and the youngest is a year! Another cool reason they moved here, was because they were visiting for one week and came to church here in Kalkaska and after church President Kimball and his wife both felt strongly that they needed to be here and that the branch needed them! So they went back to Idaho, packed up in 6 weeks and moved here! So crazy but so amazing! They also have such a cute labradoodle named Koda, and a rescue bunny named Bruno! So Cute! Such an amazing family!

  
  

• There's also the Thomas family! They’re one of those families where like all of them live around here! Some of them just recently moved here from Montana so we were able to help them move on Sunday! Callie Thomas is super cool, she is our age, and she is a recent convert and the only member in her family. She’s currently taking a break from BYUi so that's why she's out here, but she’s definitely a homie! It’s always nice to have members in areas like this that are around the same age and can relate to us haha! Nothing against old people though, they’re great too!

That’s all I have for this week! I am super grateful for the opportunity I have to serve here! I am so grateful for God answering prayers, blessing me, and comforting me so much while I've been a missionary. I am sad that my mission will eventually come to an end. I wish I could wear this name tag for eternity! Luckily I can still serve when I am home! For those that are struggling to know if God answers prayers, just know that he does! Keep pushing forward through whatever it is that you’re going through. Be patient. Know that God lives, that Jesus Christ has felt what you’re going through and knows how to comfort you. Seek his comfort as you are awaiting your answers. It WILL come! GOD LOVES YOU! 

Have a great week! I love you all! Never hesitate to reach out! 

Finally an update!! (You're welcome mom and dad 😁)

Catching up!!

Nov. 14th update...

Hello everyone! I hope all is well!! It’s been a little bit since I last updated everyone, so here are some quick updates! 

• This week is the end of the transfer, so we got our transfer news!! I will be leaving the Soo and i’ll be heading back to Spring Lake!! I served there for 3 weeks, when Elder Wilchek went home, and I was with Elder Elliott, and Elder Johansson! Spring Lake is amazing and I am so excited to see old friends form that area!! It will also mean that I'll be able to see some old friends from North Muskegon since it’s only about 20 minutes North!! I will be in a trio again!! My new companions are Elder Hunter and Elder Hansen! I know both of them pretty well and I am super excited to be with them!! I am going to miss the Soo and some of the friends I have made up here, but Spring Lake is where I need to be at this time and I think it will be a really good move for me!! I will also be district leading again which I am so excited for!! I know most of the Elders and Sisters in my district already so I am super pumped!! 

  
  

• On the 10th, we had interviews with President Heap! We had interviews the same day as our district council, so the Heaps were at our district council which was pretty fun! Interviews went pretty good. It is always nice meeting with President!! 

  
  

• We had to push Dillans baptism back a couple weeks which kind of sucks, but that’s just me being impatient haha, he’s going to make it, there's just some things in his life that need to get settled down then he will be ready! He’s so awesome and we are so excited for him!! 

  
  

  
  

  Dec. 26th update...
  

  
  

  Hello everyone!! It has been a while since I have posted an update! I hope you all had a great Christmas!! 

  
  

  • I have absolutely loved it here in spring lake!! I'm so glad I'm back!! My companions Elder hunter and Elder Hansen have been amazing!! Especially Elder hunter because that man can cook!! Elder Hansen was moved up to North Muskegon for a couple of weeks because another elder had finished his mission! We are now at the end of another transfer, but luckily I am staying here in spring lake with Elder Hunter! Only a couple changes are happening within my district which is nice! 

  
  

  • When I got here in spring lake 6 weeks ago. We had a lot of people on date and a lot of people progressing but this transfer has been tough when it comes to our friends. We have dwindled from 5 on date to just 2. And the friends that were on date have ghosted us. It's the tough part of being a missionary, but hopefully they come back around eventually!! Dale and Arthur are the two on date right now for the 31st of December!! They are amazing and they'll be a great help to the spring lake ward!! I'm so excited to see them make their first covenant!!

  
  

  • We've been getting hammered with snow. One morning we woke up to 7 degree weather that felt like -14 because of wind chill… talk about cold!! Because of that it's been harder to get out and find new people. We've been snowed in a couple of times, so things have really slowed down. But they'll get going again in no time!! Hopefully the snow will let up soon so we can get back to it! 

  
  

  • For Christmas Eve, we went to Ron's house. He's a member of the ward. It was a stressful night but we had a good time nonetheless!! The food was really good too!! For Christmas day we went to Sister Woods house!! She's a single mom of 3 kids, but her kids were with their dad for Christmas day. So we went over and hung out with her!! We made a really good dinner and played some fun card games!! It was a good time!! Another cool thing I had the opportunity to do for Christmas was serve my wonderful companion, Elder Hunter. About a week before Christmas, he had told me that his family was struggling and that he probably wasn't going to get Christmas presents. So with the help of my parents, I was able to go out and get him some things so that he felt loved for the holidays! I was able to get him gift cards to go and get some new clothes, as well as a boatload of candy! I am so grateful I was able to help him out! He deserved it! 

  
  

  • 3 Nephi 1 was something I have been studying lately because of Christmas!! Give it a read!! Also Alma 34 is another that I have really enjoyed as of late, if you're like me and need an increase of patience, Alma 34 is the chapter for you! 

  
  

  • I'm doing really good and enjoying my time serving the Lord!! I can't believe I only have 6 months left of being a full time missionary!! Love you all and I hope you have a great week!!