The work

     We moved our P-Day one day due to Memorial day. I hope your extra-long weekend was great :D So last Monday, we had a lesson with the English sisters; they were doing a hand off on this Hispanic family from Cuba for us. Cool! The spirit in the members' house with them was so strong! It felt like it does when I give blessings, like I'm spinning. It's almost overwhelming as to the strength; so amazing!

     I went on exchanges this week with both Elder Holderness (Tuesday) and Elder Mehew (Friday). They are companions, and are both super awesome! We had to do them both because of a correlation the companionship wouldn't be able to go to on Friday; we just split up to have representatives at the meeting from each companionship.

     On Tuesday, we went to a choir practice for the ward Priesthood holders. I recorded each of their parts on their phones for them to listen to and practice. They'd better be practicing! There's another practice tonight. I'll have to play piano because Elder Holderness won't be there. He was playing originally. 

     We had a Zone Conference on Wednesday. President taught a bunch about our purpose and getting rid of anti-responsibilities. I learned a lot. I feel like I'm gonna start taking off soon with converting people.

     I cut my hair again. Still have only touched the top about 3 times on the mission, but I trimmed the sides and back again. I'm getting good! What happens when I like what I do more than what my barber does?

     On Friday night, Elder Mehew and I stayed up until 1:00 talking. He told me a 40 minute humbling story about how he broke his back when he was 15. He was laid up for the most part of a year. He was doing squats in the weight room, and lifted with his back, which separated the bone from the muscle, allowing it to break after a hard swing playing baseball. He left it bad for about 4 months before getting it seriously checked out. It was just a hairline fracture, but left him in bad shape. It's an amazing story. He's such a patient guy. I really love him a lot.

On Thursday, I finished the Book of Mormon for the second time. Nothing too grand, but for me, it is big! I started it over again back in January. As I finished, I felt a strong spiritual confirmation that it was all from God. Such a wonderful book! On other Spiritual levels, we're going to the temple tomorrow with a third of the mission. I'm so excited. We have been studying our true identities, and sacrifice and consecration. I'm expecting to have an amazing time. And then, we'll go with the Martinez family after giving Hno the temple lessons, and do that on the 12th. 

     The work is slow, but good. I hope you are all feeling the love of our wonderful Father in Heaven. This is His church, and the gospel is true. I love you all,

-Elder Spjute

(A note from the editor)
Elder Spjute's actual birthday is the day after Christmas, but our parents decided when he was little to have a "party day"    to celebrate his birthday with a party and presents so he doesn't feel a loss from all the celebrating at Christmas time.  Elder Spjute's party day is on Memorial Day every year. This pic is from his party day on the mission. And yes, he ate the whole thing! Our sister Becky has a party day on July 4th. Her actual birthday is Christmas Day. 

    

Good week

This week was great, but also really sad. On the 31st of January, Elder Figueroa and I went with the bishop to visit Hna Portillo at the hospital and give her a blessing (she's the old stake president's wife). She just passed away last Sunday. Their family asked me to sing If You Could Hie to Kolob for the Funeral this Friday. It was a beautiful service accompanied by many tears. She was a wonderful lady. Everyone who spoke really praised her; it sounds like she's up in Heaven dancing and making friends. What a beautiful service they had. 

     It was just a musically successful week! On Monday, we had a lesson with a nonmember at a members' house, in which we sang a lot of hymns (by we, I mostly mean me haha). I started to get choked up as I was singing The Spirit of God. I could have sworn, I heard others singing with me, but none of the people in the room were. It was a sweet experience.

     We were thinking that if our investigator Agustin didn't come to church this Sunday, we were going to drop him for a while; he totally showed up with his family. It was the best! I was playing with his 5 year old grandkids through all of sacrament meeting trying to keep them quiet. What a handful! But they were so cute! I have a picture to send of me with the granddaughter, Leti; but right now, I can't find my camera cord. So cute. We had dinner with them after church. Hopefully they stay awesome and start to make the changes in their lives that they need. 

     On Wednesday, for the first time in almost 5 months, I left my area for an exchange! I went to the Zone Leader, Elder Steed's area. That was a good time. We went to practice my song for the funeral, and that was a hoot! The lady playing for me was incredible on the piano. We made a recording of a song that she sent to my mom. Super fun!

     I've been growing a lot on the mission. In good ways and in fat ways haha. They say everything is bigger in Texas. That includes Elder Spjute. Nothing to worry too much about, just a couple too many meals with Hna Garcia. I love it here though! I've felt my testimony grow a lot in this area. I know this church is true. I've seen the blessings that come from it, and they are the reason I'm here. I love you all and hope you're week is wonderful,

-Elder Spjute

    

Happy Mothers Day

     So for today, my one of a kind, best, amazing mother gets a [day late] shout out. Mama, I love you so much! Thank you for raising me to the missionary and young man I am. I loved seeing you and the family yesterday; I'll never forget it! 

     So this week! I won't have too much to write, seeing as the family has already heard a decent amount from me recently.

     The good thing about being in a biking area is obviously the exercise. The other good thing is the lack of restraint on how much I sing out loud :D I can sing at the top of my lungs, and due to being on a highway, no one will hear me :) It's great! Also, I can take that time, about 30-40 minutes for a really good prayer. It's just great.

     This Wednesday, we had transfer meeting, which we had to take the other elders to due to their lack of car. I got to see Elder Rockhill, my trainer, for his last transfer meeting before he goes home. It was cool catching up to all my friends there. So many cool kids. Elder McKinley got replaced by a kid who had already been in that area. Kinda rare. Elder Huaraca and I are just plugging along.

     Haha one funny highlight: on Thursday, this guy in a truck called us over, obviously drunk; but we went and said hi anyway. All he said was, "I want you to read my chapter 91."  In Spanish, obviously. We had just established that it was Psalm 91 that he wanted before he had to drive off. Crazy thing is that the next day, we totally saw him again randomly cutting someone's lawn. Still drunk as a skunk, he asked us again, and we read the psalm. It was interesting, but not that interesting haha. Kinda funny. 

     On Saturday, we played volleyball with the youth from the ward after having a short lesson. It was a fun experience. After a few minutes, this group of Indians (from India) came to play against us, which was funny. It was a good time, and a decent missionary experience. 

     Well I love you all, and hope all is going well. Have a wonderful week. The church is true!

-Elder Spjute

I'm staying!

     Well today is transfer calls day. We went to Denny's as a district to hear who is going to leave from the area. I'm staying here with Elder Huaraca. Elder McKinley, Elder Mehew's comp is leaving, and so is Hna Price, who I've sung with a couple times. Should be a decent next transfer. 

     So Tuesday night, we had dinner with Hna Garcia. We told her not to feed us a ton because we had a lunch earlier in the day, so she gave us two sandwiches. It was perfect! Then, she brought out a 1.4 liter or so tub of ice cream. We ate all of it as to not have to carry it home on our bikes. After that, we were so full! Gees! She gave us a watermelon and a big bag of fruit, which Elder Huaraca stuffed in his backpack, and we biked 6 miles home. Yeah, it was intense. And it got pretty cold that night too, which was nice :)

     On Wednesday, we had interviews with President. They went really well. I spent about 20 minutes with him. I started to teach him the Atonement lesson, and he told me it was perfect. Also, he told me my Spanish was really good. Why thank you! He also told me that I should speak more English with Elder Huaraca because he needs to learn. We talked about how I need to figure out what is frustrating me (mostly with Elder Huaraca), and fix it. We've been working on it.

     For the rest of the day, I went on exchanges with Elder McKinley. We caught Alejandro probably drunk, hanging out with some interesting friends, with a cigarette in his hand. Lovely.

     On Thursday, Hna Garcia forced us to take a lot of money to help the missionaries with the bikes (because Elder McKinley had a flat, and they were walking). I gave that to Bishop, because it's a rule that we don't handle other people's money. But she is such a saint! She's totally going to heaven!

     Friday was crazy! We did like 7 hours of service for this black woman, who Elder Figueroa and I helped out back in January. She was moving. We had a meeting with the zone in the middle of the day. It was definitely pretty humbling. I just feel like I don't really know what I'm doing haha. But it doesn't change a whole lot. I just got more instruction, I guess. After a pretty stressful day, we had a good Correlation meeting at our Ward Mission Leader's house. I love them! Also, I love Elders Mehew and McKinley. They make my patience possible haha. 

     But really, I do love this church! And I wouldn't give up this service for nothing! Don't worry, that is grammatically correct in Spanish, at least. Have a wonderful week. I love you all!

-Elder Spjute

A good week.

     Hello everyone! I hope y'all's week was awesome. I've been bearing the heat with a smile and a bike helmet. We've been biking so dang much lately haha. It's definitely a growing experience. The sweat is almost humbling. As in it would be, if I wasn't used to a lifetime of that haha. On Wednesday, we probably biked around 30 miles. Intense! 

     This Monday was kind of a tough day. After P-Day, we went to visit Alejandro, who had an evangelical or Pentecostal friend over who just tried to bash on Joseph Smith. Woo. He texted us later that night saying he wasn't going to come to church anymore, but felt better in the Pentecostal. Also he told us he didn't need us to come over anymore. Lame! We pretty much let him go for a while.

     Then, on Wednesday, we texted the nightly scripture to a group on our phone, which we hadn't removed him off of yet. He responded in English, "Who's this?" He'd erased us! Then he proceeded to say in English, "I thought I told you I didn't want to hear from you any more remember?" Then he went on accusing us of racism and not respecting him as a friend. All the while, I was sure it was the lady from Monday, so I said to give him his phone back. He called and chewed me out for not knowing he spoke English as well as he did. I convinced him we want to be his friends, and keep talking about the gospel, but he said not if we used the Book of Mormon. He only wants to hear the Bible. He could use some heart-softening prayers.

     The next morning, there was a service project that the whole district of missionaries went to, and I was still in a poor mood. I didn't sleep well, and was just super bummed out. The power of service of the fellow-man cheered me up so well though :) Love it! 

     I got to give a 9 year old kid named Jesus a baptismal interview. He totally should have been baptized this week, but there was no building to do it in, and they really want his dad to be worthy to baptize him. He needs to stop drinking coffee. But the interview went really well. He was a cool kid. 

     On Saturday, Elder Huaraca went on splits with Elder McKinley to go to a baptism for a person they both taught. I stayed in Elder Mehew's area, and we walked due to lack of functioning bicycles and member transportation. Walking is hard!!! Man, you get sore fast! It was a good/humbling experience. We met this 17 year old and started teaching her. Before we left, I said (in Spanish), "just remember that my name's Elder, and his name's Elder." She replied, "Son gemelos?" Yes. Yes, we're twins... Elder Mehew was like, "same mom, different dads." ... "oh." Man, Hispanics always think Elder means we're brothers. Our last names are different! Too funny.

     Well, I hope you all have a great week. I love you all tons, and am grateful for your support! The church is true!

-Elder Spjute

      

Rain

     Hey everyone! I had a decent week full of trials. No worries, just mission stress. Gotta love it! But yeah, I'm runnin out of time, so sorry if this one doesn't turn out so long.

     First things first, we had two days of crazy storms. On Friday, it was raining, thundering, and lightning-ing a ton. We had a correlation meeting with the whole district in the Martinez' house. After a particularly close bolt of lightning, the lights went out. After considerable amounts of screams, we worked the rest of the night in electric lantern light. It felt like camping :)

     The next day, we were out biking, thinking it wouldn't rain. We were as wrong as sin on Sunday. We were about a 20 minute's ride away. By the time we got to a bridge close-ish to the car, we were soaked completely. I took off my shoes to dump out the water. Didn't help much haha. We almost got stuck in the car trying to get out of the grass we parked in. It was intense.

     Tuesday was a really good day. We had a District Meeting that went really well. For the first time in the area, we didn't have it all in English. We did half English, half Spanish. It was perfect. I actually shared my testimony in English, which was so cool! Afterwards, I had an exchange with Zone Leader, Elder Steed. It was good fun.

     Last week, or so, I bought some Wahl hair clippers (good ones). Man, they're awesome. I trimmed up the back and sides of my hair on Wednesday night. It's kinda fun. There's an ear guide that tapers it pretty well. I enjoy it. Much cheaper than barbers. 

     Alejandro seems to be settling down as far as the extremes go. He just really needs friends. He said he's gonna go to a Pentecostal church, but keep coming to ours. He just knows the people in the Pentecostal one better. He calls us about every day just to chat. It's really funny. Saturday night, we were talking about Nintendo and video games he likes. It just cracks me up. He's a 30 year old man, by the way. He says he's gonna convert everyone here; they're gonna have to build another church! Haha I love him! 

     Well, we're hoping to see some more baptismal dates coming up soon. Thank you all for your support. I love you!

-Elder Spjute

Fantastic week!

     Oh man, so many different things goin' on. I love it! So for starters, Alejandro called us last Monday, saying he was done with the church. He was being too tempted, and didn't know what he was doing when he got baptized. LAME! We struggled with him throughout the week. He called me on Saturday morning to tell me he's going to stay in the church, and keep working out his salvation. I think it might be some significant bi-polar. Nonetheless, he's doing good now. He's so funny; he just calls to chat with me a lot. We talk about vacations, his job, and pretty much whatever. He is a good guy, just has some demons. I think when he gets a little stronger in the church, his testimony could change some people's lives.

     On Tuesday, we had a first lesson with this guy named Mingo. He told us he'd been praying for guidance on how to pursue the gospel, learn from the scriptures, etc. He told us we were the answer to his prayers. he hasn't accepted a date yet, but we'll be seeing him later today.

     On that same note of progress, Leticia, who had been dreaming about us teaching her, accepted a baptismal date for the 2nd of May. Woohoo! We just need to get her coming to church, then she's good to get dunked!

     Elder Huaraca and I don't necessarily teach with the unity that we need. he likes to tell stories, give examples, and talk for long periods of time. That was becoming a hindrance that I hadn't paid much attention to. But I learned from a really good exchange with Elder Mehew in my district that it was because we weren't doing enough role plays. Long story short, I love exchanges!

     Elder Mehew and I had such a blast Saturday morning to Sunday morning. We just laughed a ton, but man, it was awesome. I found out that he and Elder McKinley, his companion are having a pretty rough time, so I get to help out with that. In the past, exchanges were supposed to be every transfer, but they've moved them to every month. I think there are a decent amount of struggling companionships. I know that exchange definitely helped me be a little more happy in my companionship. I realized that if I'm speaking Spanish all day, I can get kinda cranky, so I have been using a bit more English :)

     It's been getting hot. And darn humid! We had a lot of rain this week. But nonetheless, we biked a ton!

     Lemme tell y'all about the food we ate on Thursday. It started at 5 at Hna Garcia's. She comes out with a plate of rice and pico de gallo. Then 3 large homemade tortillas. Then about a pound of steak. Then at least a pound of chicken. Then a half pound or so of pork. Then a large bowl of watermelon. Then a second helping of steak. Then a roasted ear of corn. GOODNESS! It just kept coming! It took about 70 minutes to eat. After, we left, Alejandro called us to come eat at a taqueria with him. He wouldn't let us order small. At about 6:30, we had more food. Oh. My. Word. Then, we had a lesson with the Martinez family at 8:00, at which they fed us delicious tacos. We went home with about 3 days worth of food in our bellies. Ouch.

      But oh man, the gospel brings joy! I love it like crazy. I, at this point of my life, want nothing more than to share it with those who haven't tasted of the sweetness of this incredible gospel. Amo mucho a mi Salvador Jesucristo, y se que es solamente por cause de El que pueda tener esa gran paz y felicidad en mi vida. Les comparto mi testimonio que la iglesia de verdad ha sido restaurado por el poder de Dios. Lo testifico en el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen.

-Elder Spjute