Week 91 - The Grind (7/23/2018)

Wow... this week has flown by again.... Last week on Monday was pretty dang cool! We went on a hike to Ketchum and it was beautiful! Breath Taking scenery!! Got home a little late, but we made it back to Jerome. It's a long drive!! Had a good night with a good lesson and some good contacting! 

Tuesday, was a little day of panic. We were trying to figure out plans for an appointment that we had later that day and it was a struggle of trying to find a family that could be there with us. We tried so many and we couldn't find anyone. We prayed about it and we were led to text one more family. Within minutes they responded to us!! It was a miracle and a huge blessing!! We got plans all set and we went to work. We decided to bike and it was a good bike ride. It was pretty fun! Had a great lesson that night with one of our Recent Converts and dang she continues to amaze us!! It's awesome!! Oh we also got transfers and I will admit, I was in panic cause I heard that there was going to be 6 Spanish Visa Waiters coming in. I didn't want to be transferred. The Lord kept me in Jerome though and hopefully I'll finish my mission here. 

Wednesday was quite a day as well. We had to push some things back because we had to do some errands and some things but it all worked out. Had some great time trying to contact some people and things like that. We went and sang at an old folk home which was fun. We then went and got some goodbye shakes which was pretty fun. We then went contacting and did some inviting to the Stake Pioneer Celebration and it was fun going out and inviting. The best part of the day thought was at night when we came back to the church building to update our records. One of the families that we are working with, GOT MARRIED!!! It was so awesome to see that!! We were pretty stoked!!

Thursday was the great miraculous transfer day!! We had some more errands to do that morning so we missed out on our weekly planning. Luckily we did it Friday. We went to Twin for Transfers and it was great seeing familiar faces and seeing all the missionaries. We came back pretty late and we just went to work! We tried contacting so many people and finding that it was ridiculous. We got to work though. We had a good lesson that evening with someone and it was amazing to see him change a bit. It was really neat!

Friday is when we started our weekly planning. We got part way through it and in between helping out missionaries with things. We went and did some service at the Food Pantry which is always really fun. We then came back and did some helping out with missionaries and getting phone calls. Did some study and we left and had dinner. We then went and tried contacting some people and had some luck here and there... Did some service for a family and that was pretty fun.

Saturday was a good day. I loved it. We got ready and we went to the church and tried to do some studies. As we were in our studies, the Spanish Elders asked for our help with their baptism. We helped them out and we tried to figure out some things. We would go back and forth in helping them out. We went back to our studies and they came in and asked if I could be on standby to play the piano and they also dropped that Harold Posadas and Miguel Marin were there! I got so excited that I booked it to see my former companions!! It was a huge miracle for me!! I missed serving with those two!! Talked with them and got some photos and we took off to go try people. Correlated with our Ward Mission Leader, went and tried some more people. Finally caught someone that we've been trying to meet with. Helped out the Spanish Elders again cause one of them locked their phone in a room that we only have a key for. We then did some more errands and then had the pioneer day celebration. They called upon us to serve food and it was some really good food! Loved it all!! It was a good event.

Sunday came and it was gone too quickly. Got up and left around 8 to go drop some things off then went to the church to plan and wait for our meetings. We were there from 8:15-3:20. Long day. Saw Harold and Miguel again which was cool!! Had another correlation meeting with another one of our Ward Mission Leaders and it was so cool to see how ready he is to work. Had an appointment at 4 and then dinner right after. One of the boys at dinner knew how to speak Spanish and we had a really good conversation. We were the only ones he knew what we talked about and it was so fun!! We did some planning for our week and for a discussion that we will have with one of our wards next week about missionary work. It was pretty cool. Got a lot of planning in with our Bishop and his counselors. 

It was a really good week this week and it flew by. Time for sure is definitely running low for me. It scares me at times. Well I love you all and a special Happy Birthday to my Mom today!! I love you all and I miss you all!! Take care and enjoy your week!!

Elder Ruesch 

Week 90 - It's Getting Hot Outside (7/16/2018)

Mowing a lawn

Well this week has been way too eventful!! Started out really good this past week with all the things we had on Monday!! Great Preparation Day as always! Had some good sports and we played this game called silly ball. Baseball with a tennis ball and a tennis racket and you run the opposite way. Had some really great contacts and we even performed some service for a family. Best part of the day was when we took our car into Ford to get it fixed!!!!................ And they told us they couldn't fix it cause the guy that can, quit! They told us our best luck would be in Burley! Well a trip to Burley here we go!

Tuesday we had a quick service project and we tried some people before we made the drive to Burley. Got there safe and sound and gave Ford our car. Took them awhile on the car, but they came back and told us that our Turbo was very well damaged and a whole bunch of other things that they fixed. So they were going to overnight the part and have it ready for us on Wednesday. By a miracle, we caught a ride with another set of Elders that were down in the area dropping stuff off to take us to Twin and we caught a ride with the Spanish Elders back into Jerome. Replanned our day, jumped on back and away we went! Had an awesome appointment with one of our families which was fantastic!! We then biked to the church for a correlation meeting and we then got a ride to go see someone. Didn't catch them home so we got dropped off at a gas station and we biked to see visit a referral. Met the family and wow can they talk. I think we only said like 20 words the entire time.

Fence we helped set up

Wednesday was a good day. Had a District Council meeting in Jerome which was good. We then had a good lunch. Then we made a quick call to the Ford dealership to see what progress they've made. Part didn't arrive yet so we went to our next appointment which was singing for the old folks. Really good time there. We got dropped off at the house and we figured things out, called Ford, and rearranged our schedule for things. Got picked up for a baptismal interview. Had dinner. And then went biking and visited with some families.

Thursday. What a day that was. We started our weekly planning and stopped halfway to unload a food truck. Got it all unloaded and we were tired and sore. Our arms hurt! We then finished our weekly planning session and got a hold of Ford to see what was up with our car. They told us that it was finished and we asked if they could send someone to come and pick us up in Jerome and bring us to Burley. They sent someone for us and we waited for them. Did a little studying and weekly planned some more. They came and got us and took us to Burley. Had a good conversation with the driver. Got our car and made the drive back to Jerome. Got their just in time to pick up dinner and then head to our 7:00. Had a good lesson and after that we started to review everything and then we got told our tire pressure was low so we went and got some air in it. Car probs

Cool photo I saw at the Ford dealership

Friday was another good day. Went to Shoshone for another District Council Meeting and we exchanged and I went to Gooding. That place is pretty small. Had some really good productive things that night which was awesome!! Had a really good appointment to close the night with!

Saturday we did some contacting and that was pretty fun. Then we drove to Wendell to exchange back. It was cool hearing how Elder Tauanu'u exchange went. We then did a little blitz with the Wendell Elders and that was really fun too! Came back to Jerome and we did some things and tried some people and appointments which was hectic and fun. Good night to say the least.

Sunday. Came and it went.. Had a lot of church and a lot of meetings. I was super tired. Helped one of the members push a car out of his driveway. Had our studies. Dinner. Went to an appointment and the guy wasn't there. We tried to catch some other people and the first one we tried we were able to catch them. It was super good timing too. Had a really good conversation with them. We then saw another guy which was awesome and we finished the night with one of our Bishop's talking about the work and what we could do to help out the ward.

Really good week this week! Also got a letter in the mail from the mission... I about cried when I got the letter. They were just reminding me that I go home soon. It's so weird to think that I go home soon. I still got time, but not a lot of time left. It's weird... Well, I love you all and I miss you all!! Hope you have a great week!!

Elder Ruesch

Week 89 - Firework (7/9/2018)

Elder Cooke, Elder Saunders, and myself

Well another week come and gone. I can't believe how fast time flew. It was insane!! On Monday we had a good playing some volleyball. We then had some really great appointments that night that were just stellar!! Ran into a familiar face at one of our appointments and it was pretty cool!! 

Tuesday we had a meeting that lasted a good while. Saw some familiar faces which was pretty cool. Made it back to our area just in time for our dinner appointment. We then went to one of our appointments, but they weren't there. Did some other things and we went on Exchanges!! Got to be with Elder Blaisdell again and it was awesome!!

Really good drink

Wednesday was a hot day. We had a Ward Breakfast that morning and it was really good pancakes. We then had the rest of our day after a council meeting and some service to get to work. It was super hot cause we didn't have A/C... Our car is out of wack and doesn't work anymore. It still drives and it hasn't broken down yet. Fingers crossed! We did a lot of finding and ended up with nothing. People were probably out partying or something. Don't know why... We did have a really good appointment though which was awesome! This lady that we taught is so amazing!! She has a strong testimony about a lot of the things we taught and had all sorts of good questions! It was amazing as we testified of the Book of Mormon and God's plan for us, how much the spirit was there!! Saw some fireworks go off and it was pretty cool.

Elder Blaisdell and I

Thursday we re-exchanged and Elder Tauanu'u and I had our famous weekly planning session. He got home and he wasn't feeling good at all. He looked terrible. We stayed in until he started feeling better. He felt better and we went to our appointment that we had and wow it was awesome. This man that we are teaching just absorbs everything that we teach! Best part is how he answers questions!! It was amazing! From there we tried seeing people and finding some new people, but it's in the works haha.

Cool Sunset

Friday...It came and it went... We got up and we had another exchanged planned for that day so we went to Shoshone and had another Council with the other District and we exchanged up there. I came back to Jerome with another Elder and we made it back just in time for our service at the food pantry. Wow that place was jammed pack with people. We got to work and we were helping people out left and right. It was crazy good. We then went back home to drop off the Elders things and we got a phone call from some lady looking for some hands to load a truck. We made some phone calls and tried getting some help and we were able to have the Elders over in Wendell come help us out. Luckily they hadn't left Jerome from when they helped us cover the shift with us at the food pantry. We helped her pack and load her U-haul and we had a good time with it. We got a hold of some missionaries in Twin and sent them her way. Pretty good. We then had a bombtastic dinner. One of our Bishops invited us out to a family BBQ and wow the food was so good!! After that we tried some people that we've been trying to find and we caught them all home! It was a huge miracle!! It was a great day!

Cool Sunset

Banana Pancakes!

Saturday, we tried some other names before we re-exchanged, but nothing to our luck. Drove back to Shoshone and exchanged back. Made it just in time for one of our appointments. Had a good appointment and we went home to unload Elder Tauanu'us things and we got a text from one of our members if we could come help him out with some service. We agreed and he warned us that we'd be crawling under a porch, we still went through with it. We crawled under his porch and cleaned under it and then we helped install some crossbeams cause the original didn't feel to safe. It was quite an experience. Came out super tired. We then had a correlation meeting and then we took off toe get ourselves ready for the day again. Tried some finding and contacting after a companionship study. We then closed the night with a good appointment. 

Cool photo of a tree
after service

Sunday, we both woke up tired and sore. It wasn't the best feeling. Went to church and had long meetings like normal. Went home and had a snack and a quick study together. Went back to the church and I gave a Baptismal Interview in Spanish. It was pretty cool. Cool part about that is that we caught the lady I gave the interview for, at Wal-Mart today! Pretty cool!! We then did some contacting and met some really cool people. Had a quick dinner and then went out to one of our appointments. Had a good appointment, but at the same time, rather different. Came back and stopped by to visit someone really quick. We then closed the night at one of our Bishops house talking about the work in the area. He took us on a tour of his barn and it is pretty cool!! I loved it!

This week came and went. Too quick. A lot of fireworks going off this week too so that may have played a little bit into the lack of sleep as we kept hearing them go off throughout the night. Well... I love you all and I miss you all!! Hope you have a great week!!!

Elder Ruesch

Week 88 - Oh it is Wonderful (7/2/2018)

Baptism

Well....This week has flown by... It seems like that quote time flies when you are having fun, actually does exist in real life. Last week was pretty neat, it's almost all a blur, but luckily, it isn't (if that makes any sense). I guess I'll start off with our Preparation Day last week. We had a good activity of playing some hockey and it was fun. We then got to work that night as we were prepping things and getting ready for the baptism that we were going to have. Had a great visit with this one family and I'm so grateful that I can play the piano. They had this nice old piano and the subject of piano may have been brought up and so they asked if I could play. Needless to say I did and...wow. The spirit was there. It didn't matter how old that piano was or even how bad out of tune it was, the Spirit was strongly there. They asked me to play a few hymns (church songs) and I gladly did throwing in a little bit of my heart into it. It was really neat. 

Interviews

Tuesday was quite a day. We had an appointment early that morning and we took off one end of our area. We then came back and grabbed a quick lunch then had interviews with our mission president. Had a really good interview with him. Made me happy to hear that I can actually still teach people in Spanish if I find them. That was really awesome to hear. After that we drove to Glenns Ferry to do an exchange with the Assistants and I went up to Boise with one of them. What a drive. Got up there and immediately got to work. It was really neat. It scared me when he told me we were going on Splits. I kinda freaked out cause I did not know his area at all. Luckily he made it easy for me. I ended up going with the Ward Mission Leader. Had a good night with some really great visits. 

Floor Hockey

Wednesday we got up and had a District Council (I'll explain later). Really good seeing a District come together and really discuss what the needs are of the District. We then ran some errands and made our way back to Glenns Ferry to exchange. We then made our way back to Jerome. Had a really night the rest of that night and it was pretty great. We were getting all ready for the Baptism and figuring things out. Turns out, Missionary Work is a lot of planning (haha more like stress). Luckily we got plans all out and we were set for tomorrow. 

The gift I was given

Thursday, what a beautiful day. We got through our weekly planning session and it was really good with all the plans that we made. It was very well needed. We then had a quick break and got to work for a bit. We then made our way back to the church building to get prepared for the Baptism. It was such a Spiritual Experience. Did some run throughs of the songs that I would be playing on the piano. It was pretty nerve wrecking. But we made it through. It was wow breath taking. The Spirit was so strongly there it was incredible, I really don't have words that I could put to it. After the Baptism was over a girl came up to me after the Baptism and asked if I was Elder Ruesch. I of course just said yea that's me. Turns out she served in the Rancho Cucamonga Mission and was pretty close to my Stake!! She served in the Hesperia Stake and did some work with the YSA!! It was pretty cool talking to her and the coolest part was that she knew someone that I knew!! It was awesome!! As we were leaving the Baptism, we asked the girl that got baptized if she had thought of anyone to confirm her and give the Gift of the Holy Ghost. She took me off guard when she had asked if I could do it. I said yes a little surprised though, but like I said, I just couldn't find words. Probably because I can't English...

Me and the Sunset

Friday was quite an interesting day. Went to Shoshone for another District Council and it was awesome!! Came back after that and did some service at the food pantry. It was funny, started talking to a Peruvian in Spanish and he had no idea what I was saying. It was pretty funny, but a little difficult to get on the same page being that we know different Spanish... We then had some studies and got to work. Had a good contact with a guy and we may be doing some service there. We then had dinner which was pretty good. We then had some good time to go out contacting people. Sadly didn't catch who we were looking for at home. But, it's the life.

Saturday was a pretty neat day. Had some good early meetings and we even got to do some service for a member. Demolition, my kind of thing. We then got down to business and went on a finding spree hoping to find someone home. Sadly, didn't find anyone. Next time though. And then we did! There was someone that we tried getting a hold of and it turns out, his phone got shut off so he could never get a hold of us. As we talked on the porch he was hoping that we would come by. Good timing that we did. We then made our way to the church to do some studies and had some thighs rescheduled. Then made our way out to dinner. Had a really good dinner and I think right as soon as word gets out that I can play piano, I may be used a lot. Our dinner just so happened to be the Choir Director and she kinda put my skills to the test. Had me sight read a lot of broad way and musical songs. Which I was okay with. Helps, I need the practice. After all that we drove out to the middle of nowhere to contact some families and we caught one of them home which was nice, but the rest were out of town. Worked our way back into town and had some good contacts to close the night. Pretty fun.

My watch glowing

Sunday was a great and wonderful day. Woke up and had an early meeting. We then had church from 9-2. Really spiritual. Also got to confirm our now new member a member of the church and it was so amazing. Words just can't really express what I want to say. She's so awesome and I know that she'll do great things. Had all this church and we were exhausted. This girl also gave the both of us a gift with a letter and it was so amazing. I love getting that feeling that there is a reason for why you're somewhere. I just love getting that feeling. As long as I don't get transferred out of here...again. After that we had a good time contacting people and it was fun. Had an appointment and it went well. Made our way back to our dinner and it was really good. We then tried some names then had our studies. Then concluded with another meeting. Really good night and it was fun.

So there is a little cliff hanger that I left and that is because our teaching tool just got updated. Preach My Gospel, which is basically a guide that was intended to help missionaries learn how to teach and all this other stuff, got updated and it is no longer just for missionaries. It is also for every member of the Church. It is so awesome and we've been challenged to read it everyday. It is awesome seeing all the changes that are in it. It is really remarkable. If you have the time, I'd encourage you to read it. It's amazing seeing what advice it gives all members of the church. I know I've learned a lot already. This week was just awesome and I'm excited for the ones that are ahead of me!! I love you all and I miss you all!! Take Care!!

Elder Ruesch

Week 87 - What Do I Know...? (6/25/2018)

Well this week has been super crazy!!! I have no idea where to begin. Well, I guess I can start on Monday. What a day that was. So things got crazy and we ended up going on a three day exchange. Things worked out by the third day, but we didn't get much work done in our area. We went into the other Elder's area and worked hard!! We had a few appointments in ours that we kept and Elder Tauanu'u and I flipped a coin to see who would take those and I got the toss. Had an amazing lesson with one of our investigators on Tuesday and it was such an amazing lesson!! Can definitely say, she is so prepared. It was awesome! We then worked in their area for Tuesday and Wednesday and it was a complete grind!

Thursday came around and we were back together, it was awesome! We had our weekly planning session and it was really into detail as we got to work on adding plans to our investigators. It was awesome! We then waited around a bit for the other Elders so we can talk with them and it turned out to be a really good moment for all of us. We then went to an appointment we had set and we just talked and had a great time talking about missionary work. It was neat. Booked it back into town for another appointment and it fell through. So we went on a finding spree and didn't find much. Some dirt... We then had this really awesome lesson to close the night with a family who just recently met with missionaries and is interested. We talked for a long time with this guy cause he had a lot of questions. At first he was pretty skeptical about me, but then started to like me as we talked. He was really nice too, cause he said he had a lot of dogs and cats in his house and Elder Tauanu'u said that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to enter since I'm allergic and he was like that's alright we can talk outside! Super nice guy. We talked and he whipped out 3 guitars and he started jamming. Let's say, we knew what to talk about from that point. Talents. It was a really nice conversation. 

Friday came and it was Zone Conference. It was a great day!! Our Mission President announced that Zone Olympics are making a comeback and we are playing soccer!!! Time to get myself back into Soccer Shape!! (lol). It was a really good Zone Conference and we enjoyed all that we learned. As we were leaving we had some car problems and it wasn't good at all. We got it fixed though which was great. We made our way back to Jerome and had some good contacts and some good things that we did. It was fun.

Saturday was a great day. We had a meeting in the morning with some service, it was awesome!! Got a lot of good things done and we even got to pick some strawberries!! Afterward we made our way back home to change and eat and we had a good little comp study and we got to work. Went on a contacting spree. After that we had some really great lessons. We had one with a couple and wow they dropped some huge surprises on us!! One that they are getting married and two they've been thinking a lot about the husbands baptism!! It was so awesome to be there for that. And the next great lesson came an hour later with one of our other investigators. She is so prepared, it's awesome! We taught some commandments and wow she's prepared. We were able to set her on baptismal date for June  28th and she's super excited!! After the lesson she asked when we could meet again and we had an appointment with her on Sunday!! Best thing about Saturday was at the lesson with the couple. The husband said the closing prayer and in his prayer he thanked God for letting Mexico win another game!! I was cheering for joy in my head when I heard that.

Sunday was jam packed!! From 7:30-2:15 we were in meetings all day. We were about exhausted!!! After all the church meetings we went home and had an early dinner. Then we had our Facebook video chat with the same investigator. We taught everything else she needed for baptism and she is super excited for it!! It's awesome!! After that we tried some people and found some people we'd been trying to look for!! It was so awesome just seeing how the spirit could direct us!! It was an amazing day to say the least!!

Well that's my week in a nutshell! This week has been super great and a good learning experience for me. You all may not be able to notice, but I've been struggling with English. I know weird right. I grew up with it, but at the same time, I have grown up with Spanish too. I'm back to that internal conflict where I have no idea what I'm saying in English. A lot of the time, I have to reword things several times before I get it right. Crazy... It's getting better though... I think. Well I hope you all have a great week and enjoy things!! I'm going Mexico all the way for the World Cup!!! VIVA MEXICO!! 

Elder Ruesch

Week 86 - The Shoe and The Swim (6/18/2018)

Buenas Tardes Familia y Amigos! This week here in Jerome has been pretty crazy!! Have had some different weather here so it has been strange. Start off with Preparation Day last week, we had the nice opportunity to play some floor hockey and it was incredibly fun and we were all sore when we finished. We then got to work and had some amazing appointments that night. We had a great Family Home Evening with a family as we talked about Spiritual Strength and Physical Strength relating it to the story of Samson! It was awesome!!
Tuesday was quite a day. There was a meeting for the District Leaders and me and my companion were with their companions. Needless to say, I went back to Spanish!! And best of all, I was with Elder Blasidell again!! We had rocking time contacting so many people. Had one that the lady talked and then started yelling at us haha it was funny. We worked all day and then his companion came back and we unexchanged and I was back with Elder Tauanu'u (pronounced Taw-wa-new-ou). It was a great day.

Wednesday we had a wonderful District Meeting and we went out for lunch at a Mexican Restaurant here in Jerome. Great food. We then had some quick studies and we went and did some service. We sang to some old people. They had a piano and I was initially going to play and the rest of the Elders and Sisters sing, but we changed and I joined the choir and we went accapella. It was wonderful. We then went and got to work trying to contact some people and some names as we got to working. It was pretty fun. We then had to do some errands and I got to see some familiar faces and heard some stories of how things are going down in Rupert. Pretty cool. We then had two great appointments that night and it was awesome as the spirit was in both of them!! It was amazing!!

Thursday we had the classic planning session and boy was it long. It was really good though as we planned for all of our people and helping them come unto Christ more. We had pushed everything back a little later cause we went over in planning and figuring stuff out so we were pushing through some things. We then got to working pretty hard and had a great lesson with one of our investigators. Funny story, he was looking for his Ensign that we had given him to read a Conference talk. He starts looking for it and his wife comes in and starts to yell at him for wasting our time. He was digging through his drawer for it and his wife came in. He tried explaining it, but she wouldn't let him so he sat down and we pulled our phones out and read with him. We were dying of laughter and we joked about it afterward. We read the talk with him and wow it was so powerful. After that lesson we had a Facebook video chat lesson and it was really awesome!! I love the tools the Lord has given us to teach the Gospel. It was a really great lesson. We then had some meetings to close our night and it was awesome!

Friday was interesting. Drove all the way to Shoshone for another meeting and it was a long drive there. Had another great District Meeting and it was so awesome hearing all the missionaries share their miracles with the work they are doing. We then came home late and we had to rush over to do some service at the food bank. It's been pretty nice helping others and a good opportunity for us to meet new people. I was able to use my Spanish a bit to help out some Hispanics that came in during our shift. We then did our studies and had some good proselyting time as we got to work. We contacted a lot of people and tried finding some people it was crazy how fast the day went. Poof it was gone just contacting.

Saturday was such a miracle. Someone that I taught in Buhl was getting baptized and I had asked for permission to go back. Our Mission President gave the go ahead under certain conditions. First being that we had an investigator go and Second being that we get a ride to there for it. We were able to get the first one and worked on the second one. We were able to invite one of our investigators the night before and they said they would go. We just needed a ride there. So we called and worked in trying to find someone and we eventually did. It was by a miracle. We made it to the baptism and it was awesome seeing this little girl get baptized it was awesome! Another great thing was, that this was our investigators first baptism, ever!! She really enjoyed it! After that we came home and we got busy at work. We had another meeting and then we got down to business and started on a finding spree. Found some people and had good contacts. We were able to catch one of our investigators that we've been trying to find for quite some time. It was awesome! We even helped in jump starting her car! We then had some really great appointments to close the night which is always great!

Sunday was a day! We got up and ready for a lot church. Had some great surprises with people coming to the 2 wards and the branch that we cover. It was awesome!! Even a great Fathers day. Got talking with a lot of people at church and even had some great lessons at church too. It then started to rain. We thought it would be a great opportunity to tract cause people will probably let us into their homes. So we parked and we walked. I didn't get soaked, but my feet and shoes did. I had my handy umbrella and as we are walking my foot is making a "squish" sound kinda like a duck. I came to realize that my shoes have holes on the bottom and right where the heel is, it lets in a whole bunch of water. And my feet were swimming. I was soaked. We came home after 2-3 hours of tracting and I changed my socks and my shoes. It was quite an experience. It was a good day though. Got a lot of referrals. 

Today we went to Twin and I got myself some "new" shoes from DI to last me till I finish my mission. Hopefully, these will hold up. Well I love you all and I miss you all! I hope things are going great for everybody back home!! It has been an awesome transitory week for me!! Hope everybody stays safe!!

Elder Ruesch

Week 85 - ZEBRAED!! (6/11/2018)

So this week has been crazy!! I'll explain the title later in my email.

Last Monday we had a great Preparation Day just chilling at a park, it was awesome! Right after that we got to work and tried contacting some people and it was pretty great contacting done. We also tried saying goodbye to one of our investigators cause she's moving and she did move. It was sad to see them leave. 

Tuesday was a good day of working hard!! We met a lady on Monday and we offered to do some service for her Monday night and we came back on Tuesday to help out. She was so very grateful for what we had done. She had sent texts to us of appreciation, it was all really nice. We then went and took a photo with our investigator and fellowshipping family. It was neat to say goodbye again. After that we went to an appointment that we had to cancel because we couldn't get anyone to come with us to that appointment. Afterwards we did some more contacting and we then had a lesson with a lady and it was really neat being able to testify of how our Heavenly Father will help us in all our trials. Luckily we had another lesson in the vicinity so we walked from house to house getting to our next appointment which was really great as well. We just got to know this lady since we've been trying to contact her for a month and even before I got to Buhl the Elders have been trying to get a hold of her. We finally did and got to know her. We then booked it from their to our dinner and then had a great appointment to close the night with one of our investigators. It was a really great appointment as we talked with her about what she wanted with this life and how she would progress by following the commandments our Heavenly Father had given us. We came home after that appointment and we awaited the call of transfers. We were in watching the Face to Face with President Nelson when the call came in...and I was told I was leaving to go to Jerome!! I pulled a one and done in Buhl and made my way to Jerome!! The reason for my title is this... I'm no longer teaching in Spanish!!!!!! I'm in a pure English Area... I cried...

Wednesday, I got to packing my things in between all the appointments that we had. We did a lot of service that day and it was pretty great! It was awesome being able to serve. We tried a lot of people and we even had a great lesson with a lady and it was awesome! We then had dinner and we even helped our dinner out with some service. We installed an A/C unit into their window. It was quite a tight fit. I then got to packing my things again and then we got a call from my good ol trainee Elder Blaisdell in Jerome, telling us of a family that is moving into the area. So we got a hold of this family and helped move them in. It was pretty cool as it was the last time, I'd be using my Spanish :'( 

Thursday was a good day. Got up and finished packing and said all my goodbyes to those I got close with in the 6 weeks I was there. We then made our way to Twin Falls and I met my companion and helped out some of the other missionaries get settled and situated and then we went to Jerome! So far I've been loving it here. I'm not used to solely English, so that'll be a transition for me. But something before I go to far. Our mission President caught me and my companion, which by the way is Elder Tauanu'u, and had asked him if he knew Spanish. He said no, and Mission President said, "Pay attention, you've got a good teacher." and walked away. We were confused and we have no idea what he meant by that. We got to working that night and it flew by.

Friday we had our weekly planning session and it was really great. Afterwards we helped out at a food bank here in time and it was pretty fun. I actually got to use my Spanish there. We then went and tried a few people, then had to run some errands. Got things settled and we went on a grid teaching. We had a party that night and we were trying to get people to that party and it was really neat getting people to it. It was a work in progress, but the party was awesome! So far I've been blessed with awesome members in every ward I've served in. 

Saturday we got to working pretty dang quick in the day! We had a meeting in the morning and we then started to get things going for investigators as for rides to church. We then helped out the Spanish Elders with their trash cause someone stole their trashcan. Who does that?!?!? We then had a good lesson with one of our investigators and he has really changed according to Elder Tauanu'u. So that's pretty cool. We then had inspections and we later tried contacting some people in the area. Had dinner and then we tried some people after that and we met a guy to finish the night which was awesome!! He just moved here from Riverside California and he had a great experience with the church down in Riverside. It was awesome!! He was a miracle find for sure. 

Sunday was a day jam packed with meetings. It was crazy. We bounced between wards and the one YSA ward we cover.It was crazy! We were able to make some contacting which was pretty awesome! We got appointments all set this week and we closed our night with one of our Bishops talking about the area. It was pretty cool!!

So yeah that's my week for you here in the Jerome area! It's weird that I only got to be in Buhl for one transfer, but I guess I am needed here for a purpose. Don't know what yet! I love you all and I hope you all have a great week!!

Elder Ruesch

Week 84 - Time Flies! (6/4/2018)

Mission Tour

Wow has time flown here in Buhl!! One transfer down here and it has been awesome!! Best part of this week are all the milestones!  June 5th, 20 months in the field, June 7th, 20 years old, June 8th my brothers graduation!! It's so awesome!! Shout out to you bro for graduating!! Well this week has been a real busy one. We got a lot accomplished. 

Wednesday we had Mission Tour, which is basically where an Apostle or a Member of the 70 comes and sees the mission and how it is doing as a whole and then gives a huge training to help us missionaries out. We had the opportunity of being with Elder Taylor of the 70 (he gave the Am I Child of God talk this past General Conference). He taught us how we can find more people and teach tons better and teach the way Christ taught. It was an eye opening experience and it was really neat!! We learned a lot that we applied that night in one of our lessons. We decided to use the scriptures a lot more this past week to help us in teaching and we saw some huge blessings by doing that simple thing. As we taught using the scriptures a whole new atmosphere was present in the room and it was awesome! I wish I could say it was a huge success story, but not all stories end up like that. 

Got to see Elder Blaisdell again

Thursday as we all know is the famous planning session. It was awesome how much we got done in that planning session. As we were planning it was down pouring so hard! We booked it back to our house and and got all dried up. While at the house, we did our studies and then we tried to do something a little different. We decided to call a whole bunch of former investigators (those that were taking lessons from missionaries, but haven't in awhile) and we talked with those that answered to see if they would like to have us come back and share a message with them. A lot said no, but we had a few that said yes. It was really awesome. It stopped raining after our dinner so we used that to our advantage and we went and met some new people. We had an appointment that fell through cause they were sick, but we did get an amazing contact out of it a few houses down. We then had our wonderful English class....but no one showed up :( I used it to prepare for somethings later in the night which was pretty cool.

Friday we went on Exchanges with some Elders in Twin and I went to his area. It was pretty fun. We did some service in the afternoon loading a dresser, a mattress, a box frame, and a frame. We got it all in and the people wanted us to help unload it and they said it was only a few miles down the road. Turns out, it was more than that. We almost ended up in Buhl. It's funny looking back on it. we then had some great lessons that night and an amazing first lesson as we taught this lady for the first time. She felt the spirit, we felt the spirit, and the member felt the spirit. It was awesome. One of those good moments in a missionaries mission. 

Saturday we exchanged back at a baptism and we came back to Buhl. That day we just went pure contacting and by the end of it all, we were tired. Had dinner which rejuvenated us, but back at we went. We met this cool guy to close the night whom we've been trying to visit for awhile, but he's been gone. We finally got to meet him and it lasted quite awhile going back and forth talking with him about his beliefs and the Gospel. It was really cool. 

           

Sunday was such a great day. Went to church and had tons of meetings like normal. We had time to squeeze one of our studies in and then off to a lesson. Had the lesson and then dinner. Then after dinner we squeezed in another study before another lesson. They were a no show, so we went contacting again. We met a really cool family after staying pretty diligent and it was neat. They had us in and we got to talking with them and it was great as we got to know them and share our personal testimonies of the Gospel. Of course though, we forgot one of our studies and that is what we ended yesterday night with. It was coo. I also got asked to play a musical number for one of the wards we cover. It's a packed day that day cause there is a missionary "farewell" talk. It'll be pretty cool to see what I come up with.

This week has been awesome and I've been enjoying every minute of it! I love you all and I hope you have a great week this week!! 

Elder Ruesch