Email from Elder Lofthouse 3/29/16

This week we got transfer calls..... As Always, you'll find out later!  

      So this week was pretty good.  After getting back from Tumbler Ridge last week we went to the Whitehead's for supper.  It was really good.  That night nothing exciting happened, but it was good.  

      Wednesday was pretty sweet.  We had a skype District Meeting, which I'm still not a fan of.  I just don't get the same amount out of them.  Maybe I'm not looking for as much.  Oh well.  After lunch we went to the Blake's place to help them move a wood stove.  It was massive stove, and we weren't able to get it up the stairs with the dolly that we had.  So we'll have to try again.  After that we went and had supper, and then we went and taught a lesson to Donna.  She's doing well.  It's great to teach her.  

       Thursday we shoveled snow for most of the day.  It was really wet heavy snow, not the powdery stuff that usually comes in Canada.  It was just gross snow.  After shoveling we went and had supper at Sister Winfield's.  Analyn was there, and we started the New Member Lessons.  It went well, and that's all that happened that day.  

      Friday was good.  We Weekly planned, which is tough to do before transfers.  You don't know who's going or who's staying or what.  It was still good.  After that we went and were going to go to the SPCA, but it was closed for Good Friday.  Canadians take Good Friday off, and Easter Monday!  How funny is that?  It's great.  We watched the MOTAB perform Handel's Messiah that evening.  It was really good.  

      Saturday was interesting.  We went to contact a bunch of less active members who we haven't met, and we met a couple of them who are interested in learning more!  Pretty cool, eh?  It was a lot of fun.  We set up the projector for the Women's session of Conference, and went and had supper.  it was really good, and we got to teach the Otto's a good lesson on our purpose in life.  It was a really fun supper.  We had Lamb stew, which was amazing!

      Sunday was really good.  Church was awesome, and there were a bunch of people there!  Mostly visitors, though.  A couple of the kids in the ward were baptized!  3 new members in the Dawson Creek ward in 2 weeks.  That's pretty good!  After church and the baptisms, we went to Heather's and gave her the sacrament.  Then we went to Jill's and gave her the sacrament.  It was really fun.  After that we stopped in at Johnathan's house to see how he was doing.  He and his family are doing good, he's just been busy.  We went to the Wheat's for Easter Supper, and it was really good.  It was a really good night.  

      Monday is when all the call came.  We were just finishing our workout at 7 in the morning when we got it.  Turns out, I'm going city-side.  I'm going to be a Zone Leader on the East side of Edmonton.  IT's going to be a real adventure, that's for sure.  It'll be good.  The day was basically spent saying goodbye to people and packing.  Tonight we drive to Grande Prairie, and then tomorrow we go on to Edmonton.  

       It was a really good week, and I'm really going to miss Dawson Creek.  I love it here, and I love the people.  I know that the Lord sent me here for a reason, and that it's done so it's time to move on.  It'll be an adventure in the big city.  

   Loves

Elder Rusty Lofthouse

 

"Have you tried a light bulb in the microwave?  No?  Try that one, but don't let it go too long!"

-Willie Leslie

Email from Elder Lofthouse 3/22/16 Baptism in Dawson Creek!

This week was awesome!  It was a really great week.  

      I don't have a ton of time this week, so I'll give you the highlights.  Tuesday evening, we drove to Alberta and exchanged with the Fairview Elders.  I went with Elder Chadsey to Fairview.  It was a lot of fun.  Elder Chadsey and I did a lot of stuff.  We helped out at a senior centre.  We played Cribbage.  I've gotten to be quite good at that game whilst on my mission!  Thursday we drove to Grande Prairie for ZTM.  It was really good, and I got to talk to Elder Wilkinson, one of my old companions, for a while afterwards.  It was a really good day.  Elder Hubner and I drove back to Dawson Creek that night.  Friday we cleaned out the baptismal font.  It was pretty clean, but we made sure it was good.  That's really all that happened.  Saturday was the really good day.  Analyn was baptized!  It was so cool.  She was so well prepared, it was amazing.  She soaked everything in like a sponge, and it was awesome to see her accept everything right away and make this step!  It was a really cool experience.  Sunday was also a really good day.  Analyn was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  It was awesome.  Now we just gotta find the next prepared person!  Game on!!!!  We drove out to Chetwynd on Sunday for supper.  I love going out to Chetwynd.  

      Today we went to Tumbler Ridge and went hiking.  It was really beautiful..... and I got to see the Mountains Again!!!!!  It was awesome.  Hiking out in nature really solidifies my testimony that God is real and He loves each of us more than we could ever imagine.  Alma 30: 44 puts it best.  I know that God lives.  I know that God loves us.  I know that if we follow the example of Jesus Christ, and try to emulate him in everything we do, we will be able to gain Eternal Life.  

Have a wonderful week!

Elder Rusty Lofthouse 

 

P.S. God wasn't kidding when he said "It was very good" (Genesis 1: 31)  

Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world

-Harriet Tubman

And because I missed last week, here's another one!

We'll be the voice for the voiceless, We're giving hope to the hopeless!

-For Today

Email from Elder Lofthouse 3/15/16 What Just Happened?

This week was sure interesting..... It was a lot of fun, though!

      Tuesday we helped Sister Acord load a trailer, and she's off.  She's moving, and there was a lot of stuff, but we got it all loaded!  We had supper at the Whitehead's and then had a lesson with Analyn.  She's super excited for her baptism this week.  It's going to be a lot of fun.  We had a meeting with Bishop that night for a finding idea that will happen in the next week or so.  

      Wednesday was cool.  We had district meeting.  It was really cool, and then sister Winfield made lunch for the whole district!  It was awesome.  We had Pansit, which is a really good Filipino dish.  After district meeting we went and had a lesson with Brenda.  She's doing good, we just want her to come to church!  It was a really good lesson.  That's the only thing that was exciting that happened.

      Thursday was cool.  We had lunch with Joe at DQ.  It was really good, and then we went and helped Sister Winfield out a little bit.  It was awesome.  We helped her rearrange her front room, and then we had a discussion about gospel topics.  Pretty good stuff.  We had supper with Willie and Bev, and we were able to teach one of Bev's friends that came for supper!  She's excited to learn more.  After supper we went and saw Mark.  He's doing good, and we're meeting with him again tonight.  

      Friday was pretty fun.  We weekly planned, and then we went to the SPCA.  It was a lot of fun.  After that we went and helped Shannon paint Kahlon's room.  It was just in need of a fresh coat of paint. It was really good.  Nothing too crazy happened after that, but it was a good day.  

      Saturday was the crazy day.  We drove out to Cotillion yet again to help Tag some Bison.  Bison are big, but you don't realize how big until you're right up next to it putting a tag in it's ear.  It was crazy.  In the afternoon we drove back to Dawson Creek, and had the baptismal interview for Analyn, and then we went back to Cotillion to finish up tagging.  It was great.  We got a bunch of ground bison to take home, so we won't have to shop for a while!  It was a really fun day.  

      Sunday was ward conference.  The Stake Presidency was there, and they gave really good talks.  It was a really good day at Church.  After church we had a potluck, and then we went and gave Heather the sacrament and had a lesson.  It was really good.  The rest of the day nobody was home, nobody's ever home on a Sunday!  It was good none the less.

      Monday was Pi day!  Sadly, I didn't have any pie!  We went to the salvation army thrift store, and there's a new manager!  We got to meet him, and then we did our stuff.  After that we had lunch, and helped Brother Otto put up a new wall in his house.  It was really fun.  We were asked by the Stake Secretary to put Windows 7 on the Family history centre computers, So we were going to, but we got a text from the Sisters in Fort St. John telling us that a member from there was in the hospital and wanted a blessing!  So we went and gave her a blessing, and then we taught a lesson to another guy who was in there.  He's willing to give the Book of Mormon a chance, and he wants to learn more!  It was incredible.  AFter that we had supper with the Leslie's and Shannon and her kids and Sister Winfield.  We had a pretty good lesson after.  We headed out to the Ward's after that for a lesson, and then went to bed!  It was a really busy day.  

      This week was really good.  I learned a lot.  I think I learned most of all that serving people is good.  You don't have to have any reason for it, just go and serve!  It's a lot of fun  You get to see other people become happier, and it helps you be happier as well!  It is the best way to help yourself become more charitable and more Christ-like.  I guarantee it!  

Have a wonderful week.  

Love

Elder Rusty Lofthouse

Email from Elder Lofthouse 3/8/16

 Sorry for the early email this week.  We're going to help somebody move, and this is the only time we got!  This week was crazy awesome. I loved it. So Tuesday we did p day and had a lesson with Analyn. It was awesome, and she is super excited for her baptism in a couple of weeks!  It's going to be fantastic!  After all the relaxing stuff happened, we went and had supper with the Otto's, and then we went and saw Shannon!  She is doing really well, and she and her kids are reading the scriptures every day. It's awesome.

Wednesday was pretty awesome. We went and visited Joe and had a pretty good lesson on recognizing answers to prayers. After that we drove up the Alaska highway s little bit to try and contact Brenda, but she wasn't home. So then we went and visited Heather and Dennis. They're doing well, and we had a good lesson. We had supper with the Wry's and then we went to have a lesson with Donna. It was awesome. We read Alma 47 with her. It was really good.

Thursday was a really fun day. We had a Skype district meeting in the morning. I still am not a fan of the Skype stuff. It had snowed, so we went and shoveled Heather's place, and then we went and shoveled sister Winfield's walk. After that we had another lesson with Analyn. It went really well. Again, she's stoked, I'm stoked, it's going to be amazing. After that we went to Willie's to help him shovel off his roof. It didn't take too long, and we had supper with them after. Then we went and had a lesson with David. We were able to resolve some concerns and it went really well.

Friday was fun. Weekly planning happened in the morning, and then after lunch we went to the SPCA to volunteer. It was great, I love going there. We went tracting after that, and it was really fun. We met a couple of people who we're going to try by again. It was really fun. We had supper, but then nothing exciting happened.

Saturday was the best day. It was so fun. We drove out to Cotillion, Alberta, to help Brother Travis sort some bison on his farm. It was a ton of fun. Bison are really big!  And surprisingly they can jump fairly high,  one of the bulls tried to jump the fence, and got most of the way over, but got his foot stuck in the fence. So we had to cut the fence to let him out. It was an adventure.  After sorting we had lunch. After lunch we had another adventure. Peter, one of the Travis' neighbors, asked us if we could help him out. He's also a bison farmer, and one of his bulls kept jumping the fence, and wrecking it. He asked us if we could help him find it and butcher it. So we went and found it, Robert, another friend, shot it, and then we got to help skin and gut it. It was AWESOME. It took about 2 hours to skin the whole thing. After that we had supper with the Wry's and that's basically it for that day.

Sunday was good. Church was great!  After church we went to the Otto's and gave sister Otto a blessing. After we took the sacrament to Heather and Dennis. We had a good lesson with them, and then we drove out to Alberta again for supper. It was great. I love small farming communities. Everybody is really friendly and it's just great. We drove back to town and had a lesson with Amber afterwards. It was a pretty good day.

Monday was fun. We went to the Salvation Army and volunteered. It's always fun to go there. We had lunch, and then we went and helped a lady named Carrie move. It was great, and it didn't take super long. Then we went and helped Willie shovel some more, and then we had supper with Shannon. We had a really good lesson with them on the priesthood, why it is important, and how it helps us. It went really well. After supper we went to the Ward's and had a lesson about the baptismal covenant.  We talked about what kind of promises we actually made. It was really good.  After that we went to bed.

This week I want you all to read Ama 47, and think about how Satan uses the same strategies. Amaleckiah couldn't get Lehonti to come all the way down the mountain, but he got him to go down just a little. Satan works he same way. He won't get you to do something crazy right off the bat, but he'll get you to come down just a little at a time. Don't let him!  We must be strong, and never lower our standards for anyone, or anything!  I know that if we strive to follow Christ's example, we will have power over Satan. I know that Jesus Christ is the son of God, and I know that Christ is our savior. He is the perfect example for us. I'm trying to be like Jesus, and it hope you all are as well.

Have a great week!
Elder Rusty Lofthouse

My will is at God's hand, never within man's teeth.
-The Devil Wears Prada

Email from Elder Lofthouse 3/1/16 Exchanges...Again!

This week was pretty good.  We had some good things happen!

      Tuesday was awesome.  We emailed in the morning, and then we went and helped Jonathan, one of our investigators, move into his new place!  It took literally all day!  WE helped from 12-8, with a supper break at the Whitehead's.  It was really cool, and His wife wants us to come over for supper.  It's going to be awesome.

      Wednesday we drove up to Fort St. John for district meeting.  There was an accident on the highway, and so it turned a 45 minute drive into a 2 hour drive.  Needless to say, we were late.  We had a really good district meeting, and then Elder Moeller and I drove to Fairview on exchanges.  It was really good, we had a lesson with one of their investigators named Charity (cool name) that night.  It was a really long day of driving.  

      Thursday Elder Moeller and I did a ton of driving and teaching.  We drove to Spirit River, and taught a couple of lessons and went tracting.  After that we drove back to Fairview and did a volunteer shift at the hospital.  We just sat around and talked to Old people while there was music playing.  It was awesome.  One of the ladies I was talking to told me that I should get up and sing!  IT was hilarious.  After that we drove back to Spirit River for supper and a lesson, and then we exchanged back.  

      Friday we did weekly planning in the morning, and then we went and helped Jonathan move some more stuff.  It was really fun, and I think we'll be able to start teaching his wife now!  After helping him, we went to the SPCA and helped out there.  It really makes me want to get a dog.  I love it there.  We had supper with the Wheat's after that, and that's really all that happened that night.  

      Saturday was fun.  Well, kinda.  Not many people were open to listening about the gospel, but we did what we could.  Nothing too crazy went down.  

      Sunday was great.  Analyn came, and Jonathan and his wife came!  Church was really good, and we had a lunch with Heather and Dennis.  It was awesome.  After lunch we came and had a lesson with Analyn.  It went well, and She really wants to go to the Temple!  I'm so excited for her to be baptized!  After that we had supper and then we tried by a couple of more people, but nobody was home.  

      Monday was good.  We went to the Salvation Army and volunteered there.  After that we had lunch, and then we shovelled the walk at the church.  After That we went tracting.  I ran out of Mormon.org cards to give people, so I ended up giving somebody a Plan of Salvation pamphlet so they could have our number.  It was awesome, and who knows?  Maybe they'll read it!  AFter that we had supper at Willie's, and then we went to the Ward's and had a good lesson on the Holy Ghost.  It was a really fun day.  

      This week I found the Institute manual for the Presidents of the Church class.  So during lunch and after we plan at night I've been reading this.  I love it.  All of the Prophets who have been called in this dispensation are great examples for us to live our life by.  They are all truly Prophets, and theyre counsel and wisdom can bless us in all aspects of life.  We just have to follow what they say!  I know that if we listen to President Monson, the current Prophet, we will be secure and protected from the "Fiery darts of the Adversary".  I know that He has been called by God to lead us.  

    Love you all, and I hope you have a wonderful week! 

   Elder Rusty Lofthouse

So Save yourself because the tide is rising high, it's sink or swim, it's hit or miss, what will you pick? So take some action, don't let the undertow grab hold. It's sink or swim, it's hit or miss, man overboard!

-Falling In Reverse