You don't want to know how many miles we used...

So this week was insane! We had Interviews, Thanksgiving, three exchanges, and gave talks in Sacrament meeting. Needless to say, we are tired....still. 

Tuesday was a great day! We had district meeting, which was a lot of fun and enlightening. We also had the interviews all day long. President Chesnut changed the way that interviews work. Now ever Sister Training Leader gets 30 minuets to train each of her companionship's that she covers, and the Zone Leaders get 30 minutes to train each companionship of Elders. So we did 8 thirty minute training! We started at 9 and finished at 5... That honestly took a lot out of us to do so many. We were really tired afterwords, but we were so glad that we had done it! We got to know the zone sooooo much better. We were able to laugh with them, cry with them, and teach with them. We loved every moment of it! And then that night we were to go on exchanges with the Washoe Valley Elders. I was with Elder McGee and we had a TON of fun together. It was just like old times when we were in the same district back in Fallon! We had "Pillow Talk" till midnight and we talked every spare moment of Wednesday! We talked about just every subject imaginable. It was a lot of fun to be with him again. We got to talk with everyone we saw and I was able to answer some of his questions with regards to his responsibility as a district leader. 

Thursday was Turkey day. It started off with a zone breakfast at the Wanless home. Strange side note: Their nephew is in my Grandparents Ward. But we ate lots of food. Had a "snowball" fight with large cotton balls. We had two dinners. One at our bishopric members house, and the other at a families house who is in a nearby ward. The bishopric member lived in Cold Springs, so I got to point out to Elder Wegelin all the cool stuff up there. Thursday night we started an exchange with The Marina Elders. Elder Schloemer came with me into the YSA! 

We saw tons of miracles on Friday! So turns out, walking on campus on Black Friday does not work. There is no one there at all! But we talked with everyone we could and taught a super sweet Plan of Salvation lesson to our investigator Chloe. They had some whiteboards in their living room, so I got to draw the plan out, and got to draw a gate and a straight and narrow way(Run on sentence I know). It was a ton of fun! She understood it and we were able to answer her questions about works and necessity of baptism super well. We were panning on one member present, ended up having four! Including the ward mission leader. It was a solid time! Then we ended that exchange and began another one with the Skyline Elders. I was with Elder Jones in his area. So we did a little flip flop Elder Wegelin and I.

We saw good things happen with Elder Jones too. We enjoyed the time getting to know each other better. I was able to answer tons of misc questions about every subject! We talked with everyone and had fun doing it! 

Sunday was a good day too. We gave talks in Sacrament meeting about the #LIGHTtheWORLD campaign. The ward has responded super well to it, and we will be leading the FHE tonight with a cool activity involving balloons and pass along cards. 
We also got to teach 3 kids who were from the local community college who had to observe a church service for a world religion class! It was a lot of fun! And one of the kids was actually interested too! He kept asking question after question and his friend made a remark about how this is the most he's talked all year. And he said something about actually being interested in this. 

Also, we got to have a lesson with a less active named Cii Maama. He is a tongan guy who wants to come back to church It was a pass off with the Sisters because they had been teaching him in the Tongan ward, but he wants to go to the YSA ward. It was a slap in the face for him with some of the scriptures used, but he loved that. We talked about the "Holy Habits and Righteous routines" that Elder Oaks had mentioned in the Face to Face. We will be meeting with him again tonight. He is excited to work with us. In the language of our Ward Mission Leader, he is a "homie". 

Also got a new temple recommend. Now I have a Nevada Reno Mission one! 

The Lord does provide! We love this work and it never stops!

22 Months

This week was great! We had a lot of just good days. Those kind of days where you go home and you feel pleased with what was accomplished. We had a lot of good contacts this past week. More less-actives who are allowing us to come back and visit them. We've been seeing a lot of miracles with that aspect. I'm really enjoying my time here. It is a good place to be a missionary. The Bishop has his focus's and I like them. We are trying to align our will's with the Lords, and the Bishops. We wish to be the best missionaries that we can be! That is what we are shooting for! 

So being able to watch the Face to Face last night was AMAZING!! It was first of all, super funny! Elder Oaks said so many things that made the whole congregation laugh! I loved it! The Apostles are not stoic robots. They are real people with real emotions and real thoughts. I loved the insights that they had! As I look to the future, I saw the answers there that I needed. They truly are Apostles of the Lamb. The YSA's of Reno and Sparks gathered with all the Missionaries in those zones to one building in Sparks. So we watched the broadcast with our missionary friends and our ward members. Super strange! 

So we had this HILARIOUS thing happen. We have this investigator named Richard who used to have a problem with hard core drugs. This past week he almost slipped again because he reached out to his drug dealer. However, earlier in the week he had prayed that all temptations would be removed. And they kinda were? So he reached out to his dealer, they set up a time to meet, and Richard gets there. 10 minutes go by and the dealer isn't there so he calls him. Turns out, the dealer had gotten HIT BY A CAR on his way to come. So the temptation was kinda taken away? But that was one of the coolest answers to prayer that I've ever heard! So that is how Richard avoided doing hardcore drugs this week...

The Lord looks out for us haha

I love all y'all and each y'all! 

Elder Miner

NRM

P.s. the Dealer survived being hit by a car and he threw away all the drugs! 

YSA Miracles

So a crazy thing happened this morning! We went out of our apartment to load up our car for the day, and DAVIN LYMAN(Chandler's first companion) came up and gave us hugs and said hello! His parents were with him and it was just crazy. I wan't expecting it and it was awesome to see him again! Also pretty strange to see him in street clothes... 

We had a really neat thing happen this week. Two weeks ago we were contacting on campus and this lady said hello Elders (which usually freaks us out). In a very short 45 second contact we learned that her name is Rachel Mallon, she had just started her freshman year, she was from Vegas, and she hadn't been to church since living at home. We got her number and then she had to run off. This past week we met with her and two other sisters from the ward and she connected super super well with one of them! They became fast friends and have a lot of the same backgrounds. Rachel came to church this Sunday with that new friend, and met just about everyone I the ward at the linger longer after church! She participated in the lessons, met the Bishop, and is now integrated into the ward! What also was good is that her name was on a list of less-actives that the Bishop wanted us to find Her phone number was wrong on the list and her address was incomplete. So there would've been no other way to find her except for the way we did The Lord truly provides a way! 

We've seen other miracles this week too. We have an investigator who told us yesterday at church that he would like to be baptized this weekend. So we shall see how he does with the interview questions tonight. So that might be happening. His name is Robert. 

But the work is moving along in this half of the YSA ward. We are seeing good things happen here. Reno is just a great place to be a missionary. I've been able to perform to baptismal interviews in a week, and Elder Wegelin has performed one. So the missionaries around us are doing great in their own areas! 

We are on what the ward lovingly calls the "YSA diet". We don't get fed a ton here, but they just called two people to specifically be the dinner people for the missionaries. So we will see how that goes! 

I love all y'all and each y'all!

Elder Miner 

Reno Zone

YSA Reno

This week has been great! Elder Wegelin is awesome! I really enjoy being his companion! We are having a lot of fun together and we are teaching well together too. It is a little weird to be teaching only people who are really our age. I've gotten so used to teaching and talking to people who are two or three times our ages, and it has been an adjustment to talk to people who are our age. Being on UNR campus is even odder! It is strange to see a bunch of college students. I enjoy being able to relate to the people better with the things that I know. And since I went to a semester of college before the mission, I can kinda relate to the college students in some aspect. Even though I am only 20, I've been looking at virtually everyone around me as if they were younger than me. I look at 60 year olds and think that I am on par with them. That's just how it's gone. And now suddenly I'm back at it with the millennials and it is the strangest thing ever! 

But there are a LOT of good things that come from working the YSA ward. We can wander around campus for an hour and set up 2-4 appointments and find less-actives out of no ware. The dark hours essentially don't affect us because college kids never sleep. We can be effective at literally all hours of the day. The only down side to being here is that the driving around is a pain. We cover 1 and a half stakes, and it takes a long while to get anywhere. But I love it. 

We found new investigators this week! Both of them being very very solid. One is a lady who's name is Sammy. She grew up Jewish, but has no understanding really of any religion at all. She is dating a member and they have been attending church off and on for a couple of years. And we were the first missionaries to meet with them as of this past week. She is super excited to learn and to grow! And then another man named Daniel. He has investigated before and knows EVERYTHING. He moved and his Mom has health problems so he didn't get baptized before. But now he is stable and ready to learn! We are super pumped!! 

The zone seems good too! A lot of new missionaries to meet, but a lot of familiar faces too! 

I love all y'all and each y'all

Elder Miner 

Elder  Wegelin making bacon

making bacon

Reno YSA

So I will be transferred to the Reno YSA ward. I will be serving with Elder Weglin. 

I saw another Elder do this, and I thought it was cool so I'll do it too

Mission Breakdown:

4.5 months in D'Andrea ward in Sparks

4.5 months in Spring Creek 3rd ward

4.5 months in Ely 2nd and Lund wards

4.5 months in Fallon 3rd and 4th ward

4.5 months in Cold Springs and Silver Lake wards in Reno North

this leaves about 3 months for the Reno YSA ward

As my time here in Cold Springs and Silver lake draws to a close, I feel sad and excited. I am so excited to serve in the Reno YSA ward. But I love the people here. I will come back. I will see the people that live here. I love this place. I have a lot of memories that I will cherish that come from this place, and this time with my companions. I have had 3 companions here! That will be a lot of conversations to remember. I am so grateful that the Lord sent me here. I truly have enjoyed this time, and I've felt that I have grown since coming here. I am not the Elder who left Fallon. I left Fallon tired, slightly defeated, and unsure of what to expect. Now as I leave Reno North for Reno, I feel confident, excited, successful, happier, and with a better understanding of who I am and what I have been called to do. I will take those tools that I have sharpened in the north and bring them to the south ready to go! I'm also excited because down in central Reno it's about 10 degrees warmer! 

I really have loved Elder Coronado. He is someone that will be a friend for life. We had pretty good unity from the moment that we were put together. Our unity in lessons and during street contacts is very good. Elder Autrey brought something special to this mix too. The three of us saw miracles daily. I will miss them a lot. But I am so excited to be with Elder Weglin now! This is kinda weird because we know each other already. When we were at the mission office last night to look at transfers we had joked around before we went inside that I would be his companion. And then we went in, looked at the paper, and there we go! New companion right there and everything! I am so excited for what this next transfer will bring! I am excited for this final area It will be a good one. I am ready to work and hit the ground running. My zone has a lot of people that I have served around before. I am super pumped to see them again!

I've got to say too, we LOVE biking! We have seen miracle after miracle doing it! We went up to Cold Springs this week and biked around for maybe a total of 5 hours? We filled out 2 pages of potentials!!! And they are solid potentials too! We set up return appointments and gave out Books of Mormon! Biking Brings Miracles. I will forever have a testimony of that. I am curious to see how much biking we can do serving in a YSA ward... 

Going to the temple this week too was AWESOME! I love the temple and the spirit it brings! It was good to sit there in that session. I felt as though the eyes of my understanding were opened. I saw the significance of the temple in a new light. I think I am beginning to understand why the general authority's say to go often! 

Well, I love all y'all and each y'all!

Elder Miner

Briawna Got Baptized!!!!

So i really don't want to write a ton today, I am really tired. 

 But this week was very good! Briawna Sims got baptized and confirmed!!!!!! That was a very special time! So much ward support for her. She spoke at the Why I Believe fireside and spoke straight from the heart and spoke true doctrine Her testimony was powerful!!!! 

We had 3 investigators at church. Lots of less actives. Found a family of 5. 4 of them are non-members. One of the non-member daughters came to church with her member mom. They really enjoyed the spirit that was at the meeting. I'm sure witnessing a confirmation helped a lot with that. The less-active mom was in tears for almost the entire service! 

Exchanges with the Assistants. I was with Elder Tolbert again. He is a good man, and a good example. 

So in other news, because people asked, our mission will be receiving smart phones sometime in march-may of next year. SO LUCKY ME I GET TO AVOID IT! And I am being serious about that too. I don't want the tech. Give me a paperback Book of Mormon, a paper map, and a paper ward list and watch the miracles happen. I am glad that I get to avoid the tech.  

But I love all y'all and each y'all!

Elder Miner

It snowed!

Briawna at her baptism

Ups and Down

This week was good! I went on exchanges with Elder Clark into his area. He is a pretty dang good Elder, and I love him a lot. We had such a good time together. We got to help investigators, and we had a HUGE miracle happen. We were finishing up some training, and we got a call from the Stead Elders asking if we were busy. All we had planned was to try some unknown Less-Actives, so we said no. We ended up going with a member of their ward to visit his sister who had a dying lady in her home. This woman, Teressa, was a member, and we gave her a blessing. Mostly of comfort for what will be coming in the next few days. But afterwords we were talking to the Sister, who told us that she was a less-active herself. She said that she needed to start getting back into the church and that her and her husband needed to get sealed. Her husband isn't a member! So they gave us the go ahead to come on back and begin teaching. And on another note, they are trying to move up to Cold Springs with us! So that was cool that I was able to be there with them at this critical moment. 

We had a few ups and downs this week. We had two investigators drop us. Their main reason was because of medical stuff. But I think that the wife just didn't want to change. She also had questions about Joseph Smith, but we didn't get the opportunity to answer them before they pulled away. 

Briawna Sims baptism was postponed. It will be this Thursday at 7 pm. This has ended up being a good thing, because a TON of people were able to meet her at church yesterday. We are thinking that about half the ward will show up! They really want to come out to support her! Also we have the Why I Believe this Sunday too. We are getting prepped and ready to go for that. 

But speaking of church, we had four investigators there: Chris Hammond, Lora Wilson, Myah Dressback, and Briawna Sims. We also had 9 less-actives there: Sister Cook and kids, Sister Huston and kids, Carlos Castellon, Sister Beach and her daughter, Brother and Sister Shaff, and Brother and Sister Andrews. It was a really good week for church attendance! Tons of people were able to come and feel the Atoning power of the Savior through the Sacrament. And this was spread between both wards too! But mostly into the Silver Lake ward. We are so very excited for Briawna this week. She will do so good in the church. This gospel has already changed her life, and it will continue to do so! 

I love all y'all and each y'all!

Elder Miner 

Sunset in Susanville