Monday, October 23, 2017

Week 52 - Back to Boise!!! (10/23/2017)

So this week has been really awesome!! We got to start out our Preparation day with some good bowling and Elder Blaisdell and I really set a high bar! It was great. We then had our Preparation Day activity and I forgot my shoes and pics will depict what happened....

Tuesday we got to proselyte around Malta which was really fun. We walked a lot cause I didn't feel like driving at all. We made some contact with people which was great. We then went to Raft River and had a good lesson with a our investigating family and we read with them the famous chapter of 2 Nephi 31. It was really great and the spirit was strongly there.

Wednesday came and we went to Twin for a Zone Conference and it was very edifying as new things are coming our way and a lot of change. One of the things we got told is that all the Elders on our side of the Mission (Burley and Rupert Zones) will be heading to Boise to proselyte and invite people to the Meridian Temple Open House!! That was the most exciting news I heard that day!!

Thursday came and we built a log cabin for them. We got two levels of logs done and still have a long ways to go. We then planned had dinner and had two great lessons that night with Ethan, Ellissa, and Erik and then later the Millers. We had good meetings there and just wonderful spirits felt in both settings.

Friday, the day I waited for anxiously! We made our trip up to Boise and we left here around 6:45 and got there at 9:30. We started proselyting around the Boise South area and just went and knocked on as many doors as we could. It was fantastic. We then had a VIP tour of the temple and it was just amazing!! Words can not describe it! We then went and were given an area and tracted around Meridian. We hit up a whole bunch of houses and just invited as many people as we could to the Open House. We started at 2 and ended at 8:30. Non stop and it was great!

Saturday we got news we would be doing the exact same thing, but in the Boise West Zone, which was the Zone I started in!! It felt like sweet home being back in my Greenie area, but I wasn't exactly in my greenie area. We went on exchanges and I got to serve with Elder O'Connor who was in my first District when I got in the field. We had to do some convincing to let us be companions, but we got it worked out. We went into a subdivision and knocked out the entire subdivision. It was great. We had lunch in between cause we did start at like 10 had lunch then went back at it again and ended around like 5 for dinner. Then at 7:00 we made our trip back home. We got to our place at 10:04 and we crashed. I'm still tired.

Sunday we were tired.... We went to the Elba ward and had a good sacrament meeting as it was a farewell. We then had studies after church and dinner and then to close we had an amazing lesson with a new family we just picked up. It was a referral from someone in the Springdale 1st Ward (my previous area) and they are totally prepared. We got there and they have read up to 1 Nephi 9 in a week and they are just totally prepared for sure. They are the Taylor family and it's a family of 5. The dad is a member and the rest of the family isn't. But they are prepared!!

Well this week was fun and I loved going back to Boise. I truly miss my greenie area and I know for sure I'm gonna go back to serve in that Spanish Branch once more. I love you all and I hope you have great week!! Love you and miss you!!

Elder Ruesch Sosa

PS More pics to come next week..

1: Elder O'Connor and Myself at the Mission Office
2-4: Injuries...
5: A little girl gave me this in Boise





Monday, October 16, 2017

Week 51 - Trial, Error, and Success (10/16/2017)

So this week has been a really good week. On Tuesday since it happened to be our Preparation Day due to Columbus day (who celebrates that anyways?) we had some really good experiences that evening. We went out with one of the Ward missionaries in the Raft River Ward and we took everything by storm! We went and drove to some houses I have never been to before just because that would destroy our miles. We then went to visit this Hispanic Family Luis y Maricruz but they didn't answer the door so went down and talked with their neighbors and as we were talking they pulled into their home. We walked back their way and they let us in. He apologized for not being there at 7 like he said and we told him it was okay, we stayed around hoping you'd come back. We had a good visit with them and talked about the Book of Mormon and it's importance along with the key of the Restoration of the Gospel. We finished that night visiting with another Hispanic Family and talking with them. It was pretty neat as we felt the spirit and invited them to church.

Wednesday we had our District Meeting and it went really well. We talked a lot about happiness and what makes us happy and how we can do all things in a happy matter. We then cruised up to Elba and remained there for the day. We studied and came up with a language plan to help grow our Spanish. We then did a lot of service. It was pretty fun. After service we went to Almo and met this family that is pretty awesome! They have a dinosaur!! It's pretty wicked!! We then had dinner and then went out with our Ward Mission Leader in the Elba ward to visit with a family. We had a really good visit there as we talked about how our Heavenly Father knows each and everyone of us and acknowledges our existence (Alma 26:36-37). 

Thursday we had our wonderful weekly planning day. We planned hardcore what we will do with all of our investigators, recent converts, and less actives. It was really intense planning session. We then went to Raft River and did some visits there. We got to meet with some people and invite them to the Temple Open House in Meridian which is exciting. We then had dinner with a Hispanic Family and it was really good. Makes me miss my mom's cooking. We then had a Baptismal Interview for Erik and Ellissa. They Both passed!! It was exciting. Got to talk with the Zone Leaders about it and they were blown away by how intelligent the two kids are. We then went and visited another Hispanic Family and had quite a good visit there as we shared the Plan of Salvation clearly and very simply. 

Friday! We started off doing some service for a family and had a good time pounding in fence posts. We had our studies and then went with a future missionary (he's preparing his papers) and visited with some widows of the ward. Had some good visits there and in one of them we actually gave a Priesthood Blessing. We then tried to see some families that night, but a lot of them were leaving for the football game that night. We went and met a family and we just swung by said hi and the Husband loves hearing the piano, so I played a little bit for them. We then swung by the Dairy and set up an appointment with one of our investigating families and made our way back home. 

Saturday we did the normal routine to start off the morning and we visited with a single guy and had a good visit. He really loves the missionaries and as we shared our message with him he was in tears. He showed us his library and told us to pick any book we wanted, except for one book which was a huge and old copy of the Book of Mormon. We visited with him as he shared all of his experiences and all these cool things. We then went and tried our appointment, but they didn't answer so we saw Luis y Maricruz instead. Invited them to the Baptism that was happening later that night and to church. They said they'd come to church, but to the Baptism they were unsure about it. We then had dinner and from dinner to the church building to get things ready for the Baptism. We got things ready and people started showing up and it was a huge turn out! It was awesome!! This baptism was the highlight of the day as both of their parents were there and a whole bunch of people came to their baptism. It was really spiritual and breath taking. 

Sunday we attended a whole bunch of meetings in the morning and I was exhausted. We had church and Erik and Ellissa were confirmed that day in church and it was awesome! Luis y Maricruz showed up and that was great. Had good classes in Spanish which was awesome. We then had correlation with our Ward Mission Leader in Malta. Did our studies since we didn't get to then walked to dinner. Had a good walk and tried some doors on our way there. Had an awesome dinner with an amazing family. They have a son that is serving in the Mesa Arizona mission and they told us how he is doing and it was pretty cool. Got to play the piano for them and Elder Blaisdell got to shoot some hoops with the kids. It was great. We went back to our car and to an appointment, but they didn't answer. We ended up talking to these people that were standing outside and found out one of them is a member who lives in Burley. He was baptized in Logan with his Wife and they now live up here. Had a good visit with them. We then tried some others, but had little success. We went and saw this guy we've been hearing about who's name is Mauricio and he is a really cool guy. We invited him to the Temple Open House and he wants to go and he asked us, "can you go?" We told him we could, but don't have anyone to go with yet. He said well, you're coming with me. We were so excited upon hearing that!! It was great!! 

This week has been a lot of trying and failing as we tried some people, but weren't home, but we found others who were. This has been an amazing week as we jump into this next one. I love you all and miss you all! You're always in my prayers and I hope you have an amazing week!! You're all awesome!!!

Elder Ruesch Sosa

1-4. Baptism
5-6. Dinosaur​





Friday, October 13, 2017

Week 50 - Baptism? Baby?? Blessing??? (10/10/2017)

Well this week has been a real intense and crazy week!! I don't even know where to begin! So I'll just start from the beginning. On Monday we had a little hiccup with our three progressing investigators, Ethan, Elissa, and Erik. They were confused as to what Baptism really is and the commitment we make with it. So we explained that to the best of our ability and it went pretty well. We challenged them to have an answer for us by Monday(yesterday).

Tuesday we had our District Meeting since the Sisters had a meeting in Boise they had to attend so we had our District Meeting talking about what we will do differently cause of all the great Conference talks we heard. It was pretty awesome as the Question "Therefore What" was posed to the District. We then went to Raft River did our studies and then went and tried to contact some people. It became very noticeable that it will be very difficult to contact a lot being in a small community during Harvest season....But I can truly testify that the Lord does put people into our Path. We went and knocked at a house and they didn't answer the front door so I went to the Back door and before we got there we saw a guy standing outside in the wind with this big heavy jacket on. We approached him and started talking with him. We gave him a copy of El Libro de Mormon para leer y el nos dijo para regresar Domingo. It was pretty good as Elder Blaisdell was the one that got to give him the Book to read. We then had a slow afternoon after that point as no one was home as we went around knocking. We had dinner and then went to see the Millers. We get there and Mike is in a panic siphoning gas out of their non functioning car and putting it into the Truck. He told us Lena wasn't feeling well and he thinks that she may have a bladder infection. We gave her a blessing and after Elder Blaisdell anointed, Mike found his Debit card fro gas and then we helped Lena get into the car and they booked it to the Hospital in Burley. We went back to Raft River and an hour and a half later, we got a text with a photo with a baby. Lena gave birth to a baby boy!! It was quite remarkable!! It was really great way to end the night.

Wednesday was pretty cool as well. We got to tour Almo and Elba with the Ward Mission Leader of those wards cause we now cover those wards too. We have a general idea of what to do up there, but still trying to figure it out. 

Thursday was a very busy day. We went and tried meeting with Gregorio who is one of our progressing investigators in Malta. He told us to come back later at 1. We weekly planned then went at one. He told us to come back at 2:20 when his roommate is gone. So we drove a mile away, parked the car and studied for that time till we could go back. We were also told that morning we would have interviews with President Bartlett and ours were at 3:45 and 4:00. Well we got in and started talking with Gregorio. We went over Baptism and explained what it is and the commitment that is made. He is the most humble person I have ever met and also just so loving. He doesn't feel ready, but he totally is. We challenged him to have an answer by Sunday for us. We left his house and drove all the way from Malta to Rupert. We got there 30 minutes late, but we were good since the Zone Leaders went ahead of us. We had our interview and then made our way to Raft River. Had dinner and then went and visited some families. We had a great and all over the place lesson with a new family, but hopefully they felt the spirit testify to them of what they needed to hear as we tried to invite the spirit.


Friday was a very slow day... as I like to call it, a diligence day. We went all over trying to meet people and talk to people, but no one answered their door. Knocked so many times it was crazy. We got to know our neighbors though which was pretty good...

Saturday was the same thing. Nothing we tried came to our success. We met one guy outside cleaning his car and this is where the diligence payed off. We talked with him about the Book of Mormon, his family, and the Temple Open House and how all of these are all tied back into the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was wonderful as he took our invitation to read from the Book of Mormon and invited us to come back. We then had the struggle again of finding people to teach. We went with a member to visit this one family and as we arrived, they were leaving to go to a Birthday Party. We left from there and tried some others to them telling us to come back. We then went to a Less Active and I think we found out what Birthday Party they were going too. We got there and talked with the family. Had a good visit with them and helped them out with setting up for the party. Really cool party. I miss the Hispanic parties to be honest.... We then had dinner and from dinner we went to see the Millers. Got there and we saw the baby and how they were doing. Gave them some gifts and gave them a spiritual thought. Made our way out and back home. 

Sunday was a good day at Malta. Good testimonies and had a good Spanish Class. I love going to the Spanish class they are awesome. We did our studies after Church and hit slow again trying to contact people. We talked with a family and shared the Temple Open House and what the temple really is and it was pretty neat sharing it with them. We then had a Priesthood Leadership Meeting and we were trained on how we can better focus our efforts and the Hispanic population here in the Stake. It was one thing they stressed on a lot. We then ended the night with a Recent Convert and just visited with him. 

Monday was pretty cool as we spent the entire day before dinner in Elba just talking with people. It was pretty cool. Every door we knocked on let us in. Very unusual. We then came back to Malta to have our lesson with Elissa, Ethan, and Erik. We talked with them whether they had their answer....and Elissa and Erik are on board for Baptism this Saturday!! It's exciting!!! We taught everything that was left to teach them. It was a crash course, but well understood and guided by the spirit for sure cause we had no idea what to expect. We then ended the night with this cool guy we just knocked the door of and met. Hit it right off with him. 

This week has been crazy! I love it though!! I wouldn't trade any of this for anything in the World!! This work is so important and I truly testify of that with all of my heart!! This has been great and I love you all and miss you!! I hope everything goes well for you all and that you always remember to look up towards your Father in Heaven who has all answers for you!! Take care!!!

Elder Ruesch Sosa

1-2. My Desk
3-4. The District
5. The First Vision Mural in Almo Bldg.






Week 49 - Training!! (10/2/2017)

Whew this week has been a blast!! So to start off with Monday. We had our preparation day activity and it was fun! We then went and had dinner and then off to a fantastic lesson with Erik, Ethan, and Elissa. They are so prepared!! They blow my mind every time we go over and share our message with them it's awesome!! We then visited with one of the active Hispanic families to see if they can help us acquire some information about how we can improve helping out the Hispanics here in the area. 

Tuesday came and it was the day of transfer calls. So excited I could hardly contain it! We went and did studies and then tried to see some people before dinner, but had little success. We had dinner and then went all the way to the corner of our mission to see the Miller Family. We had a great visit with them as we set goals to achieve. We then made it back to our place just in time for Transfer calls and they told me I'm staying in Malta....and.... TRAINING!!! I was so excited!! We found out some other things too and we now cover 4 wards!! Elba, Almo, Raft River, and Malta! They added two more wards for us! 

Wednesday was a day of packing for Elder Marin. He packed and I just read a whole lot to prepare for General Conference! We then tried some people, but they told us to come back another day. We then closed the night saying goodbye to some people.

Thursday, the great transfer day! So we drove to Twin Falls cause I had to be there for a training meeting. We got our training and they called us to go meet our companions. As we walked in we saw all the greenies and I was scanning through to see which one could I possible train. As I looked I saw one that I felt for sure would be the one I'd be training. And as they called my name and his, I knew I got it right. We went got his stuff did some shopping for him and we went straight to work. We found a new family that night and set a baptismal date with them which was really amazing!



Friday, we did a whole lot of planning finding out where we'll be for conference and introducing Elder Blaisdell to the area and missionary life. We had dinner and tried some people and invited them to watch General Conference and hopefully they did.

Saturday! The first day of Conference! We were spiritually edified as we watched Conference and partook of the wonderful knowledge that was granted unto us. We did a little training then watched the second session. We tried a few doors, but found no one. We then had dinner and watched the Priesthood Session! Oh how amazing conference was. 

Sunday was great!! We watched Conference again with some really awesome families. Correlated and had a huge lunch in-between sessions and then went and proselyted! We found 3 new people as we went and tried out some doors. It was a great experience for the both of us to find new people to introduce the Gospel to as they took our challenge, which our challenge came from the Prophet, whom received it from our Heavenly Father, to read the Book of Mormon the spirit truly touched them as they took the copy we had and shared with them.

This has been an amazing few days and I'm totally excited for the rest that come!! I hope you all enjoyed your week and are enjoying the moments you have with those that you love. I truly love you all and miss you all!! Have a miraculous Monday and week!!

Elder Ruesch Sosa

1. Elder Marin and I
2-3. Elder Blaisdell and I