Email from Elder Lofthouse 11/24/15

Sorry for not emailing last week everybody. It was a crazy couple weeks!  

  Let me explain.  No, that takes too long, Let me sum up.  So two weeks ago I was in Yellowknife, just having a ball!  It was awesome.  We were working hard, and we were teaching lots.  Last week on Monday I received a call from President Manion.  He told me I was leaving Yellowknife, which was sad.  Turns out I was leaving the next day, so I had to pack and say goodbye to everybody in the space of about 24 hours.  So Monday I ran around with a chicken like it's head cut off, but I managed to do everything I needed too.  It was good, but sad at the same time.  

      Tuesday I said goodbye to more people, and then we picked up Elder Wood, Elder Holden's new companion.  I said goodbye to Elder Holden, and then I went through security and got on a plane back to civilization.  At the airport in Edmonton I saw President and Sister Manion, and I got to meet a couple of the new Missionaries.  It was pretty cool.  I got picked up from the Airport by Elder Jenkins and Elder Spragg, the missionaries serving in Beaumont, which is about 15 minutes south of Edmonton.  I spent the day with them, and it was pretty fun.  It was really weird to see more than just my companion though.  

      Wednesday was the really interesting day.  We drove up to Edmonton for Transfer Meeting.  After only seeing my companion for 18 weeks, it was actually kind of nerve wracking to see that many missionaries in one place.  I did get to see Elder Anderson again, and a bunch of the people I served around in Red Deer.  It was pretty fun.  After Transfer meeting, Elder Pollard, my new companion, and I, went to the Mission office to get a new car.  We gave them our truck, and got a Nissan Rogue.  It's a pretty sweet ride.  After that, we picked up Elder Thomas, the new Zone Leader in Grande Prairie, and Drove up.  We spent the night in GP with the Zone Leaders.  It was a pretty good day.  

      Thursday we had a Skype district meeting.  It was really fun.  Again, it was kind of weird to see other missionaries, but I'll get used to it again.  After that we drove from Grande Prairie to Dawson Creek in British Columbia.  It's a pretty sweet town.  Here's a little bit about my New companion.  His name's Elder Pollard, and he's from Australia.  The southeast part.  He said he's about 1 1/2 hours outside of Melbourne in Victoria.  So that's cool.  He's a super awesome guy.  It's going to be a fun companionship. In the Evening we had supper with Sister Wilson.  Nanden, one of our investigators, lives in her basement, and he joined us.  After supper we had a lesson, and we committed him to baptism!!  It was super exciting.  It was an Excellent start to a new area.   

      Friday we started out with Weekly planning.  It went fairly well, but we had to break it up through the day because we were so busy.  After Lunch we went to the SPCA for volunteer stuff.  We go in there, and we train dogs.  How cool is that!  We worked with a puppy named Duke.  He's super cute.  I'll send a picture next week.  After that we went and visited a Recent Convert named Heather.  She's awesome and we had an excellent lesson on Obedience.  Later that night we had supper with the Otto's.  They're super cool.  Brother Otto likes to collect antique stuff and he told us, the creepier the better.  haha  It was awesome.  It was fun.  Later that night we tried to stop by some Less Active members.  Nothing happened, but it was a fun day.  

      Saturday we went and helped Brother Otto move a wood stove.  We drove out to the Ward's house.  They live about 15 minutes outside Dawson Creek.  It was really fun.  We had an excellent lesson on our divine potential as children of God.  It went really well.  After that we decided to do some Tracting.  It was excellent.  We got a return appointment for next Saturday!  It was great.  We had supper with the Ward mission leader that night.  It was pretty fun.  After that we went and tried to teach a less active member named David, but he wasn't home.  His son James answered.  He's a super cool kid, and I think next time we go over we're going to invite him to investigate.  

      Sunday we got to watch the re-dedication of the Montreal Temple.  It was incredible  I love the Temple.  So after that we went and we had a lesson with an investigator named Court.  He's a super solid guy, but the lesson was heartbreaking.  He knows that the church is true, but his fiancee is very against it.  So he told us that he can't meet with us anymore.  It was really sad.  He did say he's going to continue to study the Book of Mormon and Pray every day though.  I just pray that his fiancee's heart will be softened and she will have a desire to be baptized as well.  it was awful.  after that sad moment, we drove out to a town called Chetwynd.  It's about an hour and a half away from Dawson Creek.  Guess what I saw while we were out there..... MOUNTAINS!!!!  It was awesome.   I love the mountains.  Anyway, we went about 30 minutes further to a place called Moberly Lake to teach a less active member named Nellie.  She's awesome, and her son is starting to show an interest in the church.  So that's going to be fun.  After the lesson we went Tracting in Chetwynd.  We Got a return appointment for Friday!  It's great!  Then we drove back and went to bed.  

      Monday was great.  We went and did service at the Salvation Army Thrift store in town.  We just do whatever they ask us to do that week.  This time we hung clothes and sorted Christmas items.  It was pretty good.  After lunch we went and picked up a cake that Heather got for us!  It was pretty cool.   We did go tracting later in the day, and we were able to set up an appointment with somebody for tonight!  So we'll go back and I'll let you know how it goes this week!  At the end of the day we met with Amber, a less active member.  She's cool, and we're teaching the steps of the ARP.  It's a great program.  It was a really fun day.  

      The past few weeks have been crazy.  It was kind of stressful leaving Yellowknife and coming to Dawson Creek.  At the Temple Dedication on Sunday it made me realize something.  Life is like that!  It's stressful and we don't usually know what life's going to throw our way.  However, God has given us a place to go to "escape" from the world, if you will.  The Temple.  It is a place to go to find answers to questions, to escape from the stress of day to day life, or just feel some peace!  I love it.  We learn so much and it's the best thing ever.  I know that Temples are where we can gain our deepest blessings in this life.  For those of you who are close to the Temples, go often.  It's a great blessing that I feel we take for granted sometimes.  I know I did back home!  For those of you who cannot go to the Temple yet, I encourage you to do whatever it takes to get there.  I know it will bless your life.  Temples are truly the House of God on the earth.  

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

Elder Rusty Lofthouse  

God will take you as you are at this very moment and begin to work with you.  All you need is a willing heart, a desire to believe, and trust in the Lord.

-President Deiter F. Uchtdorf

Email from Elder Lofthouse 11/10/15 Walking in a Winter Wonderland

This week was snowy, cold, and a little amazing.

Tuesday we had a lesson with Leo. It was really good. We taught about the plan of salvation. He accepted everything, and accepted our invitation to read the Book of Mormon!  Woohoo!  It was a really good day.
   
Wednesday we played balloon badminton. It was awesome. Tasia, the staff member we work with there, got all the residents to target Elder Holden and I. So they were all trying to hit us in the head with the balloons!  It was kind of awesome. After that we went and had our own personal training meeting with the zone leaders. It was really good. And now we don't have to waste time skyping in to the meeting!  Yay! It was a pretty good day.
   
Thursday we went and we delivered the food kits. Then we went and had a good visit with s member who is struggling with some wow issues. I made a deal with him. He has to stop, and I have to lose weight. We check in every night to see how the day went. So that'll be fun. After that we went and got flu shots. It was a pretty good day.
   
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday can all be described in one word. Bleh.  I got sick. It wasn't fun. I hate being sick. And November seems to be the worst month of the year for me. So the end of the week was not as amazing as we had hoped it was going to be. So yeah, I slept, ate, and read my scriptures for all of the weekend.
   
Monday was pretty good. We had lunch with Brother Taylor and Brother Sutherland. It was awesome. I love meeting with those two. They just have so much knowledge about the gospel and about pretty much everything. It just goes to show ya what experience can teach! It was good. Later in the evening we had supper with the Cooper's. It was super good, as always. While we were heading back to our apartment, we saw the lights!  I love Yellowknife. The northern lights putting you to bed.... It's incredible. Pretty good day.
   
This week was long and hard, but I learned a lot from studying this week. Maybe not learned, but I was reminded about several things. The biggest one for me was in 2 Nephi 31:21. I know I've shared this one before, but I love it. There is NO OTHER WAY to gain exaltation then through Jesus Christ. Obedience to all the laws and taking part in all the ordinances is the only way to gain peace in this life and eternal life in the next. It's really simple when you think about it! God has given us everything we need for success. He doesn't want us to fail. He wants us, his children, to succeed and come home!  It's not hard so JUST DO IT!  Have a most wonderful week!

Hugs and Handshakes
Elder Rusty Lofthouse

Email from Elder Lofthouse 11/3/15

This week was the first of 2 weeks we will have without a senior couple..... Halfway there!  The members up here are taking really good care of us.  So nothing bad is going to happen!  And we won't starve, that's for sure, eh!
 
Tuesday was good. We had p day!  It was fun. In the afternoon we went and had a worship service at Avens. It was a lot of fun. We watched some of Music and the Spoken Word. It was really good. After p-day we went to the Milnes for supper. It was awesome. We had an awesome lesson with them afterwards. Later in the evening, we were able to visit the Clarkes. They are an awesome family up here in YK. We had an awesome lesson with them. We should be meeting with them next week. Overall it was a fantastic day!
 
Wednesday was fun. We went and played balloon badminton in the morning. That's always fun. After that we went and had lunch with Brother Sutherland and Brother Taylor. They're awesome. Every time we visit with them, I learn so much!  It's awesome. After that, we got a call from Stephan asking us if we could help him out!  So of course we went. We went to a snowmobile dealership to pick up a key and a kill switch tether for him..... We ended up only getting the key.  The kill switch tether, which is literally a piece of rubber, cost $55. The key was only $11. Then we drove out to Vee lake to help him. It was fun. There's about 4 inches of ice on Vee already. It's kind of crazy!  So we helped Stephan get some cabinets and then some gas for his generator. It was really fun. After we helped Steph, we went and got wings with him. They were really good, as always. It was really fun. After wings, we went and stopped by Brother Hudson.  He really frustrates me sometimes. We know he's home, we see him in the window, but he won't come answer the door!  I just don't understand. We'll just keep trying. After that we went to the Greenwood's and said family prayer with them!  The members up here are the coolest people ever. I love it up here in the north.

Thursday was excellent. We went and dropped off the food kits after studies, and then we went and did some Facebook. After lunch we went to Avens again to help set up for a birthday party. Then Tasia, one of the staff there, found out I could sing, so we stayed to help sing the songs. It was pretty fun. After that we went and met with Brother Milnes. He's a great guy. It was a really good visit. After that we had supper with the Gray's. We had some excellent salmon. After that we watched a stake broadcast on how to teach like Christ did. It was awesome, and there was a lot of good points that I've never thought about a whole lot. As a missionary, I should be teaching like Christ all the time.  But there's always room for improvement.

Friday was super fun. We skyped with President and Sister Manion in the morning. It was really good. Elder Holden and I got rebuked for not being down to our weight goals yet, though. But it was good. I love the Manions. They're the best. After that we went to avens for the 4th and final time this week. We went and set up, and then played some Halloween bingo with the residents. It was awesome. Elder Holden won a prize for the goofiest costume. Haha. He's such a nut, but he's awesome. After that we went and we are supper, and then we got some sweet haircuts from Steve. It was a really good day.

Saturday was a blast as well. We went to the Purcell's in the morning to help Mike clean up a little bit. It was great to see him again. He's a great guy. After that we went and had lunch with the Milnes. Sister Milnes made some tuna sandwiches with some really good soup. It was delicious. After that we went and helped clean the church. The Hunts used to do it every week, and Sister Milnes asked if anybody had done it yet. We said no and she said she'd do it.  So we went and helped her. Then we went and visited Brother Hudson. We had an awesome lesson on the atonement and how it helps us in our own lives. I think the biggest thing he got from it is that we have to give out burdens to Christ, he won't just take them. Which is totally true. Because it was Halloween, we had to go home early, to avoid all the crazies. It was a good day.

Sunday was great, as usual. We went to church and heard some great testimonies. I've noticed a difference in the branch since I got here. Everybody is more open and the branch is more unified. It's awesome. After church we went and set up an appointment with Rob and Tammy. They're a couple of potential investigators we haven't seen in a while. After that we went to the Self's for supper. It was really good and a lot of fun. I'm so glad Sister Self chose to be baptized. It's great. After supper we went to Everett's for a lesson. We had a great lesson. It was pretty much just a testimony meeting with the missionaries. But it was awesome. He really enjoyed it. It was a great day.

Monday was interesting. Last week we went in for an oil change, but they only rotated the tires. So we had to go back in for an oil change. So that happened.... Again.  Then we got a call from Sister Greenwood asking for our help. So we went and turned out she needed us to go to the store to get her baking soda and zucchinis. She baked a cake I think. She wouldn't tell us. After lunch we went to the friendship centre down town to see if we could do some volunteering there. The lady we talked to sent us down the street to see if they needed any help in their outreach program. So far nothing, but we're working on it. We had supper with the Cooper's. I love them. They're an awesome family. It was a really fun night.
   
This week I learned (more like relearned) about the importance and power of prayer. We had an awesome lesson in Sunday school about prayer, and it was a good reminder to what prayer is and why we pray. Prayer is communication with our Heavenly Father. It's kind of amazing that God, an all powerful, all knowing being, wants us, as insignificant as we are, to talk to him!  He's ready to give us all these amazing gifts and blessings. All we gotta do is ask!  It's quite simple really. We ask, and then do everything in our power to make whatever we asked for a reality. If it's something worthy and righteous then God will do what we can't on accomplishing the task we have undertaken. I love prayer. It's more than just me talking to God, he talks back!  If you sit and listen for a few minutes after you pray, you will receive an answer. It's a 2 way communication. And it is awesome. I hope you all have a fantastic week!  Love ya!

Hugs and Handshakes
Elder Rusty Lofthouse

Heroes get remembered, but legends never die
-The Sandlot (Babe Ruth)