Email from Elder Lofthouse 6/21/16 Transfer Call

This week was super fun. Transfers calls happened, but That wasn't even the fun part!

Here is the district we're in. Sorry for the Jabba the Hut look.

 
So we did our regular p day stuff, and then we went to the McGuire's for supper. Brother McGuire is a member, but the two girls are not, and they're who we are teaching. It was awesome. They have such funny questions, and it really makes me think hard for a simple answer. After that we walked across the street and visited John.  He is super cool as well, but wants logical evidence of everything before he'll commit to baptism. So we'll keep on working with him. After that we drove to Vegreville to exchange with the Elders in Vermilion. It was a really fun day.

Wednesday was ok. Elder Killebrew and I were on exchanges here in Sherwood Park. So we walked most of the day, and didn't have really any lessons. We had one set up with a potential investigator, but it fell through. So we basically wandered the trails of Sherwood Park looking for people to talk to!  We had supper with the Audenarts. They are a super cool family. We exchanged back after that. It was a decent day.
   
Thursday was awesome. We had District Meeting in the morning.  It was good. We practiced answering people's questions. Then we went to Vivian's for lunch. We had some sauerkraut. I love sauerkraut. After lunch we went and helped the Patrick's move some stuff out of their basement. They're getting ready to move in a little while, and they're having a giant garage sale. So we moved stuff up for them. After that we went and visited Robin.  He's a less active guy living in a senior care facility. He's a super cool guy, and he knows a lot about almost anything. It was great. After that we had supper with the Boyd's. We had some excellent roast beef.  We had a lesson with Sister Reid after that. She's been a member for about three years, and we found out that she never had the new member lessons!  So we're going to start those with her. After that we visited Brother Kohn. It's always fun to visit him. It was a really, really fun day!
   
Friday was pretty good, as well.  We went to Dream Catcher and did some service. It was super fun. I love doing that. So we started our weekly planning and then we went and taught a lesson with Eli. It was good. We taught a good lesson on hope, and how it helps us. I loved it. After that lesson we got planning underway. It went ok. Not like last week. It didn't get done in one day. Sad..... We had supper with the Orr's. They're a super awesome family. It was pretty fun. After supper we went and tried by a couple of people, but nobody was home. We went and got frosty's with the Nottingham elders. It was pretty good.
   
Saturday was a lot of fun. We had coordination in the morning. We had a really good meeting. After that we finished coordination, and then ate ribs for lunch. I love ribs. After lunch we had a good chat with Brother Bexson. We had a really good talk with him. We'll go visit him later. We did have a really cool experience. We tried by a members place in an apartment building, but they weren't home. So we were on our way to the car, when a guy called out to us. So we turned around and went back. He was on the 2nd floor balcony. We had a really good conversation, and we tossed up a Book of Mormon. It was super cool. We exchanged contact info, so we're hoping to start teaching him soon. We had supper with the Minchin's. We had a really good hot dog roast. We did get eaten alive by mosquitos, but it was super fun. It was a really good day.

Sunday was pretty good. We went and stopped by some less active members to invite them to come to church. Nobody was home though.  So we had lunch and then went to church. There were 2 investigators there, but neither of them were anyone we were teaching. Haha. It was still pretty cool.  The Sisters brought their investigator and the Tagalog Elders brought their investigator. It was awesome. Church was really good. After church we walked to supper, and talked to a few people, you know, the normal stuff. The Atwood's are an awesome family, and we had some excellent steak. I love steak. :)  After supper we walked back to the church, talking to people along the way, and then tried by a former investigators place. Nobody answered there, either. Oh well, it was still a fun day.

Monday we got transfer calls. Elder Roundy is getting transferred, but with the new way President is doing transfers, we won't find out where until Wednesday!  I won't find out who my new companion is until then, either. :)  We went to the foodbank in the morning, which is always fun. I love it. After that we went and visited Brother Leaf, and we had supper with the Fixsens. After supper we visited Vivian and the Millers. It was a pretty busy day. This whole week has been fun!

This week we learned that it's always better to be busy than bored. God made us to act, not to be acted upon. We should take some initiative, and go do something to make the world a better place!  As the band Crown the Empire says "if we tried we could all change the world!" That is truth. We don't need to do something super huge to change the world, but it is the small acts of kindness everyday that make a giant difference.

Have a wonderful week!
Loves
Elder Rusty Lofthouse


No one will take the fall! We're all so comfortable with living in our sheltered holes! No one will take the fall! But if we tried we could all change the world!
-Crown The Empire

Email from Elder Lofthouse 6/14/16 Going Strong in Sherwood Park

Here's what happened this week.  Things are starting to pick up here in the north!
   
Tuesday was pretty fun. Our usual preparation day consists of cleaning the apartment, driving to the office to get mail and supplies for everyone, shopping, emailing and playing sports with the other missionaries in Sherwood Park. It's a lot of fun. After sports we went to the Cahoon's for supper. They're an awesome family. It's always fun to go over there. After supper we went and visited Vivian. She's doing well, and we got to meet her grandson, Brad. It was a super fun night. After that we drove to the chapel and exchanged with the Mandarin Elders. Elder Sun came with me to Sherwood Park.

Wednesday was awesome. Elder Sun and I had a really fun day. We walked around a bunch, and tried to talk to people, but no luck. After that we went to a volunteer appreciation lunch that the people at the foodbank put on for us. It was really cool, and there was a lot of people there. And there was really good food there. After that we went and again tried to contact people, but nobody would take the time to listen. It was pretty sad.  So after supper we went and exchanged back, and then we went and gave one of the Nottingham Elders a blessing. It was a fun day, even without any outward success.
   
Thursday was long.  We had MLC most of the day. We got to the church around 8 in the morning to set up. Then, from 9 am until 3 pm, we had MLC. It was really good. This one marked President Manion's last one. It's going to be pretty sad when the Manions leave. They're such cool people. After MLC, we took down all the stuff.  We didn't get out of the church until almost 4. So we almost spent 8 hours at the church. After that we stopped by people, and knocked some doors. We met a really cool guy who said that we could come by again sometime!   We'll see where that goes. We had supper with the Lamberts. It was awesome, and then we went and visited Brother Kohn.
It was a really good lesson about charity. Good day!
   
Friday was interesting. We went and helped out at Dream Catcher. It's always fun there. We usually feed the mini horses, clean he Guinea pig cage, clean the chicken coops, and clean the rabbit hutch. It's not the cleanest thing ever, but it's pretty fun. We decided to go to Cora for lunch. It's a breakfast and lunch place.  It was awesome!  I just love breakfast food, though...:) After lunch, Elder Powell and I went and taught a lesson to Eli, an investigator that Nottingham was passing over to us. She's super cool, and loves having us come and teach. After that we went and helped do some yard work for Annlee, one of the Nottingham Elders investigators. It was also fun.We had supper with the Guzman's, and had a really good lesson on missionary work. We also were able to talk to the Cunninghams for a few minutes and invite them to church!  Overall it was a pretty good day.

Saturday was excellent!  We had coordination with Brother Lambert in the morning, which is always good. We went and visited George as well. We were going to help him out, but it was raining pretty good, so we went and visited him. We had a really good discussion about why we have trials. Trials are for our gain! (2 Nephi 2: 2) After that sweet visit we went with Elder Powell and Elder Kemeny to Red Robin. Iam pretty sure that Red Robin is in my top 3 favorite restaurants. Because bottomless fries!! :) after Red Robin we went and did our weekly planning. Surprise, surprise, we got it done in one sitting!! Miracles do happen, people!  We went and had supper with the Poulins after that, and then we decided to walk to go visit people, and we got caught in the rain.  Whoops. It was awesome. I love it when stuff like that happens.  We're just a couple of 20 year old dudes, walking down the street in the rain, trying to share a message about Jesus Christ with people. How cool is that!?  Sadly, nobody was available. Oh well. It was still an awesome day!
   
Sunday is always the best day.  We had time before church to stop by a couple people, and we were able to set up a lesson with a guy named Dennis!  I'm stoked for it. After that we went to church.  A couple of weeks ago a guy named Frank came. He came again this week, and stayed all three hours!  We got his contact info, and we're going to meet with him later this week as well.  We went to the Bates for supper, and they had a bunch of family and friends over. It was awesome. After supper we went and saw the Millers. We shared a good message about prayer. All in all it was a really good day today.
   
Monday was a really fun day.  We went to the food bank and did a whole bunch of heavy lifting. It's always the best. For lunch we went to the Nottingham Elders place for lunch and had steak.  I love steak. After lunch we went to help George. It was awesome. We helped till the garden, and then we helped him mow the lawn, and more yard work. It was fun. After that we went to the Hardings for supper. They're some of the coolest people ever. I love them. After supper we went to teach a lesson, but they weren't home.... :(  We visited Vivian, and talked with her for a while. I love Clarkedale. This area is super fun, and all the people are super awesome.
   
This week was awesome. There were so many cool experiences we had. I know that Jesus Christ truly loves each one of us. If you need some confirmation of that love, open the scriptures!  Go out and look at the beautiful world around you.  Think about how wonderful it is that we have a living prophet on the earth!  Think about your wonderful families and friends that you have.  The Savior knows each one of us personally and individually. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. I know that He loves you. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Loves from Sherwood Park
Elder Rusty Lofthouse


When I hear your cries praying for life, I will be there.
-Black Veil Brides

Email from Elder Lofthouse 6/7/16 Zone Conference

This week was a little crazy. We ended up driving to Edmonton 5 times in 4 days!

Tuesday we drove to the office and got supplies for everybody. It was good, and that's something we do every week.  After all the fun stuff that happened, we went to the Leaf's for supper. It was really awesome. We then went to visit John.  He's kind of going through a rough time, so if you could keep him in your prayers, that'd be great. We had a good conversation.  It was a pretty good night.

Wednesday was pretty fun. We had zone conference, so we drove to Edmonton in the morning to set up. We Sherwood Park got there at 8 am and we didn't leave until 4 pm. It was pretty good. We had a lesson set up with Aaron, but he cancelled on us.  We got stuff ready for stake coordination, went and had supper with the Lamont's, and then we drove back to Edmonton for stake coordination. It was pretty good, but it's still not my favorite. I'm not a fan of meetings. It was still a good night.

Thursday was pretty good. We went to help some less active members move out of a restaurant. It was awesome, we got to move out a whole bunch of food from Dimaggios. It was awesome. We took it all to the church and started to sort it for people who needed it. They did give us a bunch of food. I got a gallon, let me repeat, a GALLON, of Frank's Redhot. How cool is that? After that we had interviews with President Manion. It was our last interview before he goes home. Sad eh?  After interviews we went and tried to visit people, but nobody was home. Later in the evening we drove to Edmonton to exchange with Forest Heights. I stayed in Sherwood Park with Elder Fonnesbeck.

Friday we had some fun. We went to dream catcher in the morning and did all that normal stuff.  It was fun. We had lunch at Dimmaggios.  It was really good. We had wanton soup and all that stuff. After that we had a lesson with the Wendover's. It went really well, and they love reading the Book of Mormon with us. It was fun. After supper we drove back to Edmonton again to exchange back!

Saturday we had coordination in the morning, and then we went to help set up for a family reunion. We had a lesson set up with Jordan, another investigator, but he also cancelled on us. It was pretty sad. Not much else happened on Saturday. It was a pretty sad day.

Sunday was good. We had church, which is always fun. The rest of the day wasn't too exciting. We had supper with the Wellers which are a couple of my favorite people ever. They're great. The rest of Sunday was spent walking around trying to talk to people.

Monday we went to the foodbank. It's always fun helping out there. After lunch we went and visited Alan. He's doing well, so that's good. We went to supper with the Simpsons after that, and then we helped Addie out with her yard some more. It's been a long project, but it's looking pretty good!

This week was pretty good. I learned something this week. Prayer is real.  It works. God wants us to talk to him, no matter what situation we are in. Whether we are rich or poor, smart or....... Not so smart (like me), or whatever, God wants to hear from us. I love it. I hope you all take advantage of this wonderful gift throughout your life.

Love y'all!
Elder Rusty Lofthouse


Watch your back, look over your shoulder. This war is meant to be fought
-The Devil Wears Prada

Email from Elder Lofthouse 5/31/16

Hey!  This week was pretty good, so that's good. Here's what happened.

Tuesday evening we had supper with the Jeffries. There a cool family, and then we knocked some doors.  Knocking doors is always interesting. After that we drove to Edmonton to exchange with the Assistants. I went to Southgate with Elder Merica.

Wednesday was awesome. Elder Merica and I had a great time on exchanges. We met a guy tracting who said he wasn't interested, but when we asked why, he let us in so we could explain to us why he wasn't interested.  We ended up leaving him a restoration and committed him to read it. It was awesome.
 
Thursday was fun. We had district meeting in the morning, which is always fun. It was a really good meeting. After district meeting we went and tried by a bunch of people, but no one was available. We had supper with the Mabey's and then we had a meeting in Edmonton.  It was was a Just Serve committee meeting. It was awesome.  We're going to be trying out some projects from off the website. I'd really recommend checking out the website.

Friday we went to Dream Catcher and did our usual service. After that we went to George's to help him out. We raked leaves and trimmed trees. It was great fun. I love going to help him. After that we ate supper and the. We went and tried to talk to people. It was a pretty good evening.

Saturday we helped George move a piano!  It was pretty good. After that we went and helped the Nottingham Elders out with a move, which basically took the rest of the day. We had supper with the Anthonidura's. They're an awesome couple. We are a bunch of pizza. After supper we had coordination with Brother Lambert. It was a good meeting.

Sunday was great. We did our weekly planning before church. We went to church, and it was awesome. The theme was family history. It was awesome. Family history and temples are necessary for each other. After church we had supper with the Moneleones. They are also an awesome couple.  We went and had a lesson with the Guzman's Sunday night. It was a great day!

Monday was fantastic. We helped out at the foodbank in the morning.  We moved crates of canned goods up some stairs and stacked it on shelves that we helped build last month. After lunch Elder Roundy and I went out to the range roads to try and contact people. It was a lot of fun. After that we had supper with the Orrs. They're a fun family. After supper we knocked some doors and met some cool people. It was a pretty good day.
     
This week was fun, but next week will be even better! Have a good week!
Elder Rusty Lofthouse

When I hear your cries praying for life, I will be there.
-Black Veil Brides