Week 29

Friday: We went to go print something off for our investigators and we realized something was very wrong.... we didn't have our fob to get into the door. We must have lost it when it broke off the keychain! We will have to get a new one soon! We met a really cool less active guy who has never went to a YSA (young single adult Ward 18-30) so we invited him to go to that and meet with the YSA missionaries  and he said that would be good!

Saturday- Well today nothing too exciting till night time. We met a man named Tony Kerns. He is known as an eternal investigator. (Someone who always meets with missionaries but doesn't want to keep any serious commitments) He has been going to church for almost two years now with his active LDS wife. He still doesn't believe that God cares about him or is even there. We went there and we testified to him so boldly and left him with a commitment that if he read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it everyday for a week straight, that God would manifest an answer to him. We promised him in the name of Jesus Christ he would get an answer. He said "oh every set of missionaries say the same thing and I never get an answer!" He got mad and left the room. Personally I am not discouraged about him as my companion was.  He thinks that since he wouldn't keep the commitment we didn't do all we could. But I told my companion we did all that we could. We left him a commitment, promised an answer, and testified about it. We can loose sleep over other people's act of agency. They are entitled to do what they want, even if we know that it isn't for their best interest.

Sunday: Well we had a meeting with our high councilor over missionary work (a calling in the church that watches over missionary work for their area known as a stake) we talked to the 3rd Ward mission leader Brother Hansen and he said he talked to Bonnie Kerns and she said that Tony didn't want to talk about our discussion, but she told him that even though the missionaries where there, they were not the ones speaking. And that no missionaries have been that bold with him and left him with that type of commitment and promise. It was a nice reassurance that as missionaries and representatives of Jesus Christ we are given in the very moment what we need to say by the Holy Ghost.  It amazes me because it was a very powerful moment testifying and teaching Tony, but I Honestly can't remember what I said for most of the night. We can do all things through Christ and our Heavenly Father!

Short letter this week due to the long one last week.

Love you all,
Elder Ashby

Week 28

Tuesday: Well I had to drop Elder Alfonso off at the mission office and it was a sad moment. He goes home to Spain in a few days! At the mission office my new companion was waiting for me. Elder Gilchrist, he is from south Ogden and was doing a two transfer mission to see if he could handle it, and after the two transfers he decided to go on a mission and he wanted to stay here in the Salt Lake south mission.  This transfer we gained a new stake to cover, the copperview Stake. We met with our new high councilor over missionary work for the new Stake and tried to get a feel for how they ran everything.

Wednesday: Well we had district meeting in the morning so before that we went to dunkford donuts in West Jordan and had some donuts for my district. It was a good district meeting and was weird knowing that I am the new district leader. We had a lesson with Jaylee Peck, who our ward mission leader and bishop set up. So Jaylee has been going to church for a year now in a different Stake with a friend and wants to meet with the missionaries and be baptized. So we were trying to get a feel for how the mom felt about this being a less active member and her husband is not of our faith. She is totally okay with her decision. So we set up all our lessons and found a day that all her family could come to her baptism. As of now it is set for April 19th.  As we were teaching Jaylee, her twin brother Zack walked by and asked if he could join in on the lesson! We didn't know if it was appropriate to ask him if he wanted to be baptized so we will ask the mom at a different time. Well our dinner fell through and I had some childhood buddies on Spring break so we figured it all out and went out to dinner with them! It was great to see Braxton and Jacob! As well as see Jadon and Jaron again! We went to "The Pie" after dinner we finished our new posters!

Thursday: Well as one of the responsibilities of being district leader, I have to do baptismal interviews for investigators who are preparing to be baptized. So I need to do them for the investigators of the people in my district. Well second day as being district leader I had to do two interviews! The sisters in our district have a lot of prepared people. I did one for a guy named Ryan Saunders. And another for a girl named Maddy McFarland. Maddy was so prepared she was enthusiastic about everything and knew everything! After that we had a Zone expectation meeting about our new mission thing. We are doing march madness in teaching form. So we are trying to become better teachers about the gospel so we are having a mission bracket to see who is the best companionship to teach in the mission. After that we had a leadership meeting. At night we talked to as many people as we could that could possibly help Zack and Jaylee, we ended up talking to the primary president and will be teaching Primary on Sunday haha!

Friday: Well we were finishing putting up our posters and we realized something was very wrong........ we put the wrong phone number! For our first three #s we put 514 when it should have been 541! And we made like 40 copies! So we went in and Elder Gilchrist pulled off some magic and fixed it and then we printed off the good ones!

Saturday: Well we were trying to meet some new people on our new stake so we were driving around and we saw some people trying to pull a tree out of the ground with a truck so we got out to see if they needed any help. As we got out of the car and were walking over the chain broke and the half that was attached to the car went right through the back windshield. Not the best first impression haha. We helped Elder Harvey and Gehrett make some cool posters to put up in their buildings. They cover the young single adults in Riverton so we made a drake album themed poster. Later in the day we were driving and we drove past a little girl who was very sad and selling something at a stand. So we turned around to see what she was selling. Well, she was selling rocks......... for $2, $5, $10, and $20 and these were just normal Rocks. I had two dollars on me so I bought one to cheer her up. My companion didn't have any cash on him so he was going through his wallet and he said, "I have a $10 gift card to Smiths." She took that thing in a heart beat haha! At the end of the day we found someone else who was taking a tree stump out and he let us help him. It was fun to swing an ax around and to get out of nice cloths haha!

Sunday: Well sadly Jaylee and Zack didn't come to church, their little sister had a birthday party and went to the zoo. We still taught primary and did a memorization game with the first presidency and apostles! It amazes me how the little kids knew them so well!

Monday: Well we didn't have a normal Preparation day/Monday they changed it because we are going to the temple on Thursday so we will do all the usual stuff then. We met a guy named Anthony who was LDS and converted to Catholicism and we were talking  to him and it sounded like the only concern was he liked to drink. So we will continue to fellowship him and love him. He was a very nice guy and talked to us for a good amount of time. We will go over to his house and do service on Friday!

Tuesday: We had district meeting and the Zone leaders had some where else they had to be, so it was just us and sisters. Due to missionary rules we needed another person there, so they brought their recent convert Maddy to it! She was baptized on Saturday! Later on in the day I had another baptismal interview for the sisters! This mans name was Dario Morales, he is from Venezuela and moved to Utah not too long ago! He was very prepared as well even despite the language barrier.  (His English was pretty good)

Wednesday: Well we had a lesson with the Pecks at night. We taught Zack and Jaylee and we figured out Zack wants to be baptized as well!  So they will both be baptized on April 19th! It was pretty cool because they had extended family over, and Zack was giving the closing prayer and his aunt came over and helped him!

Crazy long weekly email!

Hope all is well with everyone!

Love,
Elder Aaron Ashby

Pictures this week:

Childhood friends: Jacob, Braxton, Jaden and Jarron

Temple Trip

Cowboy Aaron

Our latest poster

Week 27

Tuesday: We had a Zone meeting. It was really good and had a lot of
great trainings. Afterwards we had a house inspection. I don't think
I've ever seen someone so critical in my life. The house was probably
the cleanest I've ever seen it and we got comments like, "of there is
some crumbs over in the corner." "Your sink isn't shiny enough." "Your
shoes aren't in a perfect line." It amazed me at how nitpicky they
were about everything. At night we went to go visit one of Elder
Alfonso's recent convert family. They were a fun and crazy family.

Wednesday: We made a new Zone picture with photo shop. And then had a
meeting with our new high councilor over missionary work.

Thursday: We started exchanges with the Zone leaders on the morning
after Elder Alfonso had his departing missionary interview with
president Lansing. Elder Mestre had to go to physical therapy at 1 for
his back so Elder Harvey and I had to go to their house for their home
inspection. Let's just say they were a lot nicer haha! We went to work
in their area which is a huge area because they are designated to the
YSA (young single adults) so they cover Riverton, Harriman, Bluffdale.
Bluffdale is out of our mission so it was pretty fun to go outside the
missions and to work there! After dinner we went to go contact two of
my childhood friends. I think I found a reason for being called to the
Salt Lake South mission. Just a reminder to all those who aren't
familiar with missions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, we volunteer to serve 24 months as a man, and 18 for girls. We
are called by a prophet of God to a mission without knowing us. But
through the wisdom and power of God he is given revelation to place us
where we need to be. We could be called to almost anywhere in the
world. And I've been blessed to serve in my home mission. So we get to
my friend’s house, who have been going through a rough time and not
making the best life decisions. Nobody answered the door, so Elder
Harvey asked if I wanted to call him. "Hey Jadon you home?" "Yeah"
"come open the door it's Aaron." They were downstairs and they
answered the door in about 5 seconds haha! We started talking to them
and just seeing how they were doing. Shortly his dad came in and we
had a good conversation. We wanted to share a message but Silvia
(their step mom) wasn't home so we told them we had to go do something
real quick and then we would be back to share a message. We went to a
half-way house where other missionaries are teaching someone. There's
was a lot of YSA age people there and we picked up a few new
investigators. After that we headed back to their house. The whole
time I was thinking what can I share that they need to hear? My mind
came to the only answer, the atonement of Jesus Christ. So we started
off the lesson by stating our purpose for being there and it wasn't to
hang out but it was for the benefit and welfare of their souls. We
shared the message of the plan of salvation, or in other words, our
plan and purpose in this life. With an emphasis on the atonement and
how we can use it. It was a real powerful meeting. I was telling them
about short term happiness vs long term happiness and how we need to
do the things that bring us true happiness. I started crying as I was
expressing how much I loved them and wanted the best for them and how
I want them to be happy. Other began to tear up as well. Their father
who is a return missionary said he saw the difference and change in me
in just a short 6 months. I have changed so much, and so happy I
decided to help those who need to feel of the saviors love.

Friday: was probably one of the most fun days in the mission! Elder
Alfonso got the opportunity to go to the Salt Lake Temple so I spent
the day with the Zone leaders after we dropped him off at the Midvale
tracks. Elder Mestre has been in his area for 7 months and never went
to the west mountains which are in their area. Elder Harvey thought it
was a waste of time. But since I was added to the mix we had the odds
in our side and wanted to go to the mountains! So we went over to
basically the copper mine and butter field canyon. We eventually found
a house, it was a  less active man but was really nice with us. He had
three pigs just roaming around in his front yard so we had to stop! We
decided to take a back road and I couldn't believe my eyes! There was
a group of YSA age people! And another YSA guy by a truck while his
dad was on the phone. The group went off on a trail before we could
get out of the car to talk to them so we talked to the guy by the
truck. We figured out he has a Christian background and lives in Iowa
and was visiting. He has never met with missionaries before. We shared
a mini version of the restoration and gave him a Book of Mormon. He
said he would read and pray about it! But wasn't ready to meet with
missionaries in Iowa! In the middle of nowhere we found someone! The
Lord always provides a way for his people! Elder Harvey was pretty
humble after that experience haha! To add to it there was an albino
turkey with two chickens by the guy we gave a Book of Mormon too!

Saturday: we had to fill up the baptismal font for a elderly lady who
was excommunicated and was being re-baptized.  It's pretty cool to
think that no matter what we do in life, Jesus Christ' atonement is
for us all! After that we went out to eat lunch with elder Alfonso's
aunt and uncle from Layton. We had some good conversations about
multiple things. At night we went to go visit one of Elder Alfonso's
old Ward mission leaders in the Spanish Ward in daybreak.

Sunday: We got a text from out Ward mission leader who met with a part
member family and one of their daughters wants to meet with the
missionaries and be baptized! We will have an appointment  with them
on Wednesday!

Today: I figured out I will be staying in my area, but will be
covering another Stake. My companion is Elder Gilcrest. He did a trial
mission here because he has Asperger’s and wasn't sure if he could
handle a mission, but will stay here to finish his mission. He came
out when I did. He's from Kaysvile, Utah, crazy to think two Utah
natives will be serving together in a Utah mission! And I will be the
new District Leader!

Pictures of this week...

Week 26

Tuesday: Elder Alfonso asked me to conduct district meeting again, but because he doesn't think he could handle it because it was his last district meeting as a missionary. At the end of the district meeting I got a little mad. I never expressed it or showed it but on the inside I was a little mad. Everyone was saying things along the lines of, "Elder Ashby you're gonna be the next AP or Zone leader next transfer!" (AP- assistant to the mission president) This has been going on for a few weeks now, it may seem like a good thing to be complemented and to have others think I am capable of leadership positions but it's like don't you have better things to do than to gossip about my abilities. I'm just a missionary doing what I'm supposed to do.

Wednesday: We got a call from the Zone leaders and we ended up talking about what was discussed in MLC (mission leadership council) and President Lansing said that we don't really get any new missionaries until August so he isn't going to transfer people as much until that point. Which is scary because I know for a fact I will have a new companion next transfer (March 14) so hopefully I am with someone I like because I will probably be with them for awhile. We brought the sisters In our district churros because Sister Fossum has never had a churro before!

Thursday: We had interviews with the mission president in the morning.  Mine was as usual 5 minutes when they are scheduled for 15. It's weird because every leadership person I've ever been with has told me that President Lansing likes me but we never really talk about anything in the interviews so I'm a bit curious. We had RTC with the 12th Ward mission leader again. We went and taught two less active families. One happened to be a teacher at Westvale Elementary (my elementary school in West Jordan) Ms Davenport. I don't really remember her but I guess she must have been a teacher I didn't have. She teaches 4th grade and I asked her if Ms Daniels still taught there and she does! (My 4th grade teacher) and I told her to tell her I said hi. We will eat with their family next week so we will see if she told her! Elder Alfonso had to interview the Zone leaders investigators Kyle for his baptism.  We figured out Kyles mom isn't a member and is in our area so we will go to the baptism to contact her there.

Friday: The sisters in our district were having some problems throughout the day. Sister Fossums recent convert from last transfer stopped going to church and talking tot them all the sudden and it really affected her and made her pretty sad. We stopped by to drop off some paperwork for them and they were on a call so we had to wait.  When the call was over Sister Kirkpatrick came out and talked to us and told us it was Sister Fossums old companion who taught this girl who stopped going to church. They wanted to go visit the recent convert and see what was up with that. A lot of Sister drama basically. But gotta help where help is needed.

Saturday: Well, In the morning we went to the stake youth baptisms.  One of the high councilors daughter was being baptized and they invited their neighbor Peter Guo, who happens to be George Guo's dad (our former investigator who had to stop meeting with us because his parents wouldn't allow him to anymore) we tried to talk to Peter after the baptism but every time we were about to talk to him a member would have the need to talk to us. We probably had 4 people talk to us in our attempt to make it over to him. Sadly he left before we could talk to him. Later in the day, Elder Alfonso being District leader wanted to meet as a district to go over some stuff and to see how everyone in the district was doing. It was mainly for the Sisters who have been going through a rough time. I personally don't think it was very necessary to meet. At the end of the meeting and figuring out how everyone was doing Elder Alfonso wanted to hear everyone's conversion story. So everyone gave their story and it was pretty cool to hear everyone's conversion story, but it took 2 hours so not sure if that was the best use of our time on a Saturday. After the meeting we had to fill up the baptismal font for the Kyle's  baptism. The YSA (young single adults) building didn't have a baptismal font so they had to use someone else's. Since he is in our stake boundaries but in the YSA Ward we did it at our building. We didn't have dinner and neither did the Zone leaders so they brought us Pizza Hut before the baptism. The baptismal service was pretty good, a lot of people showed up which is amazing because there was like 20 people from the YSA Ward there on a Saturday night! Sadly Kyle's mom who would be in our area didn't go because she was sick.  After we cleaned everything up the sisters called and asked for a blessing. We drove over to the institute building at Salt Lake community College where they were at. Sister Kirkpatrick asked for a blessing but didn't really say why. It was interesting because we assumed it was for Sister Fossum who has had a rough week emotionally.

Sunday: Nothing too exciting.

Hope you all have a great week!

Love,
Elder Ashby

Week 25

Tuesday: We had our usual District meeting, but Elder Alfonso asked me to conduct the meeting. I was asked to give a training on our purpose as well. I asked everyone three questions. 1. What is your purpose here in SLC? 2. Why are you here? And 3. What are you willing to do to fulfill your purpose? It was a very good discussion. Everyone shared their answers and most of them were answers from the heart.

Wednesday: We were supposed to have a lesson with a less active family with an Unbaptized kid but nobody answered the door.... we will try again in the near future.

Thursday: We went to the stake center to print off names and address of people in our area for the district blitz. A blitz is when all the members of a district work in one persons area to help them out. We have had a thought time finding people to teach so we did it in our area. Sadly we didn't get any new investigators out of everyone's efforts but we got the YSA (young single adult) Elders and Sisters referrals.

Friday: Nothing too exciting until night when we went to the stake center to play pickleball. I tried to be on the non member's team as much as I could to talk with him. We talked a lot about pickball and I call him "master" because he is crazy good. He is always willing to give me advice and tips so hopefully our friendship will open the door to talk religion with him. Elder Alfonso was playing a game and the other team barely hit it over the net and he went full speed and slid into the net and took it down, it was the funniest thing.

Saturday: We went to go visit the sisters in our district because one of them seems to be a little depressed and we got them a treat to make things all good. Seems like she is doing better. We got a call from the AP's (the assistants to the mission president) and you never know what they are calling for... they asked how we were doing, and then got the the main point of their phone call. They wanted to know how Elder Alfonso makes his crazy posters and what software he uses. Man was that a relief. Elder Alfonso's grandparents drove down from Layton Utah to pick up his bike and all the things that he won't be able to fit in his suit case when he flys back to Spain. They took us to In&Out Burger afterwards. They are pretty cool people.

Sunday: We went to the 12 Ward and shortly after the meeting our ward mission leader wanted to meet with us to go over some stuff. He previously sent us to a house where he heard that they wanted to meet with us but when we went their son said that nobody in the house was interested. But apparently his younger sister has been going to church in a different Stake for some time and wants to be baptized. So our ward mission leader and Bishop are going to try to visit them and see where they are at and if they are ready to meet with us!

Monday(today) we went to Classic Skating as a district. It was pretty fun going back to where I had childhood memories. I met someone working there who was in my ward in West Jordan when I grew up. (Tony Peligrino) had a good time trying to learn how to skate. I was pretty bad but got decent at it towards the end!

Love you all,
Elder Ashby