Mansfield OH #5

Hello family,

It's great to hear from you and to hear about what's happening in the world that is the western United States. Sorry to hear about Rocky and his run in with tree sap that must have been really sticky. Also that the weather is getting so warm and that dad is getting the worst of it from working out side. I am however very happy to hear that Emma got a job a that she will be making her own way now. She is getting so old and responsible, what's happened to the little girl that we all knew 10 or so years ago. Anyway happy to hear that despite laziness all is well back home. 

The mission is going well and lots of good things happened this week. Like we got three people to come to church. I am like on cloud nine right now that they came. So Joe, Debbie, and some guy of the street came to church. Also an extremely less active lady named Amber came. What was really cool was after Joe told us that he felt the way that he knew he was supposed to feel at church and that he wanted to come again. Sunday was such a blessing all around for me. The talks that were given were all about member missionary work and there importance in bringing others closer to Christ. So we might be getting more people to lessons now or more member referrals to go see people. Also on Sunday I sang again in the choir for a missionary fireside which was a lot of fun even though I can't sing parts very well or read music. 

So we also had exchanges this week so I went with the district leader to his area and had a great day of finding. We met this nice Jehovah's Witness and had a great long talk with him. He was really nice and even said we could come back because he didn't know anything about out religion. So that was awesome.

Other than that this has been a slow week with very few lessons to really note. At the same time we had great success on Sunday and that is the day that is the most important. Oh and by the way the movie is mega mind ( I had to get help). My movie knowledge has gone away I new the quote just not what movie it was in. Sad day😭

Speaking of sad day no one but you and Grandma Young email me! I even emailed Jackie and Hope and got no response. What's up guys? Have you forgotten about me :) JK I'm good but seriously. It's been awhile.

Anyway all is good and I have been having a good time even though it has been raining a lot lately and it's been kind of chilly out side. So I'm going to get a light rain jacket that has vents so I don't die of heat from biking with a coat on. My other one is to warm even without the fleece on the inside. I am also going to see if I can't find a case for the iPad that is waterproof because I had to take my iPad out when I was all wet and I thought I was going to fry my iPad. I was under a covering when I did it though so I was trying to be very careful. But it would be nice to not have to worry about that stuff.

So also time for me to beg and I hate it. But could you send me some garment tops because I have an uneven amount of tops and bottoms and its driving me insane. So could you send me some or if you want I can order some off the church website. Let me know.

I love you all and I want you to know that I love you and appreciate all that you do for me. I pray for you and think about your wellbeing all the time. I want you to know that I know that the church is true and that our Heavenly Father loves us all. That he is the same yesterday and today and forever. That we have a prophet on the earth again because he is same and because he loves us. That he wants us to share what we have with everyone so that his kingdom can grow. Love you and wish you a happy week.

Love Elder Young

Mansfield OH #4

WOW that sounds like a good time mixed with some bad. I hate stomach pains so much and I can imagine needing to see a nurse then being in a wheel chair for the rest of the day, that must have sucked. My goal is to be healthy too. But the way my weight has been going up I may be in a wheel chair when I get off the plane ;) oh and I got my blood pressure checked at a members house that had a thingy majig that takes that stuff. Anyway I have slightly higher blood pressure than when I left. Sorry to hear about dads Father's Day and getting a nose bleed, that's no fun.

So this week was really good, well towards the end it was a lot better. So we have been trying to focus on all the current investigators that we have. So we have mainly been running around trying to meet them all and to have lessons. I will tell you of the memorable parts of the lessons that I can remember. So the first one was we got a call from one of the less actives in the ward and she told us to come to the library because she was getting a weird feeling about some guy. So jumped on our bikes and made the 2 mile trip up and down hills to go help her. When we got their this guy was sitting across from the table from her talking to her. This guy looked scary so I completely understand how she felt. She even had pepper spray on the table and ready to go, I don't get how this guy didn't get the hint. Anyway he left and we had a lesson out side of the library.

Now that I think about it a lot of the lessons I can remember having were with less actives because none of the investigators were home. So most of this week was traveling on bikes in the humid heat up hills. Any way the other lesson was with another less active Misty, who just had someone close to her die. She was someone that Elder Jones taught with his last companion. So we have not so much been teaching her but just making sure she is ok. We have been obviously though been talking about the plan of salvation. That has been helping her and I know it's what she needs and is what we should be doing. 

So that guy that we have been teaching that I didn't know his name. Well we finally found out what it is and it is Ryan Sheldon and he is one interesting person. We had a lesson with him about feeling the spirit and it went as good as to be expected. Then afterward for some reason that I can't remember he started chasing Elder Jones around the street. It was really weird and I just stood there and watched, because Elder Jones was way faster than him. Anyway he then calmed down and we had a normal good bye hand shakes and we left. I really don't know what to think about our lessons with him.

So those were the fun lessons that we had and the ones that I can really remember right now. So on Saturday we were given the area book app. So that means we have been taking our paper teaching records and have been putting them on our ipads and that has been a royal pain. I hate that app. Enough Said On That Matter. So ya that has been my life so far.

Today was really cool. We went to the old Ohio State Reformatory, which is an old jail here that has had a lot of deaths and other weird things. Its also famous because it has been used for movies like the Shaw Shank Redemption, Air Force One, and some movie with Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell. It was really cool old run down jail that has a lot of history of violence and death so why not go there for p-day. It was also funny because some people that were there that were from Georgia got locked in some of the cells in the solitary confinement. It was funny but they got out fast and everything was good. So that was my day.

I love you all and I hope you have a good week. Continue to be cool and to read your scriptures and pray morn and eve because it will strengthen you. Also if you have not been reading the General Conference talks I highly recommend it. Love you all. Bye

Elder Young   

Mansfield Ohio #3

Captains log whatever star date whenever. Everything is going good hear in Mansfield Ohio even though I have to bike everyday. My legs are getting huge, when I'm done here I will have thunder thighs, or pillars of marble as Elder Jones calls his. You can't go anywhere here with out going up or down some hill, it's quite annoying. Anyway despite this trial we have a lot of good investigators.

It was kind of weird though one night we decided to visit this one family that we have been teaching. When we got there we learned that the less active, Amber had gotten into a fight with re mom. Then after we had been talking for a little while with Joe, who by the way is awesome. Amber showed up and chaos followed so we slowly slipped away before something really crazy happened. The result was that Amber got kicked out of her moms house, but they are all still willing to meet with us. In fact we checked on Debbie and Joe the next day to see if everything was okay, and Joe really appreciated that.

That's what is big in my life right now so you are all updated on the life of an Elder Young. Glad to hear that Emma and mom are having fun in California sight seeing and all that. Wish I could be there to see all those things. Instead I get to melt under the Ohio sun. I don't think I have told you this yet but it's still light here until 9pm.

It's weird and there are now lighting bugs at night, the trees look like flashing Christmas trees.

Well dad I'm sorry to hear that you were not able to go with them to California and to see those things. You will be blessed for your hard work for supporting your family. I want you to know that I love you and appreciate your work because it has given me the chance to serve a mission. If it was not for your selfless work to support us all, I would not be serving the lord in Ohio. I love you more than what i can express on this email. I wish you an early happy Father's Day and hope that you have a great day. I miss you all like the sun misses the flowers in the depths of winter. I love you all and pray for you daily.

Love Elder Young

Mansfield OH

 Well this week started off on the wrong foot. On Monday the assistants to the President called and said that our car would be taken and we would become a full time bike area. So Tuesday morning two of the senior missionaries came and picked up the car and left us to fend for our selves. Then later that day Elder Jones broke one of the valve stems on one of his tires while filling it with air. So now he is using one of the other missionaries bikes.

The week got better though on Wednesday when we got our iPad Minis that have been sense promised. They have been interesting to use and I still don't fully know how I will use it in the work yet. We are suppose to do this training thing for the iPad and complete it before Friday which is hard because we have to bike to a place that has free internet.

One fun thing about the iPad is that I have been given permission to look at my emails anytime I want, as long as it is not a distraction. I just can't respond until Monday. So I am currently writing this email on Thursday after lunch, and will update it through the week.

So we just got in from a long day of biking. One great lesson and one I'm not so sure about. The good one was with this lady name Angie. It went well and she asked a lot of good questions, and opened up to us a little to much. But that only gave us another reason to point her to Christ who can help her with her struggles. The other lesson was iffy because we don't even know his name. He however took a Book of Mormon and promised that he would read it before our next visit.

Now I have been very bad at writing lately because well I didn't have enough time. What happened cliff note style is this. We have been biking around our area like crazy Mormon missionaries on the rolling hills of Mansfield Ohio. We had a funny experience were we went to the wrong members house for a dinner appointment because we wrote down the wrong address on accident. Well Elder Jones did I just follow him like a lost puppy because I don't know where I am going. Any way we went three some odd miles in the wrong direction. Then we passed the street by a mile and some on our way back. In the end they came and got us in there truck.

Several cool things have happened this week. We found two very cool people both ironically with the same first name Joe. One is a great uncle to one of our less actives who has not come to church sense she was baptized. We also teach her mom and son. Anyway her great uncle is just staying for a week or two but he has been prepared to hear our message. The other Joe we met at a convenience store when Elder Jones was getting a drink. He stopped us out side and said that he had seen us around town and wondered what we believed. He said what really caught his attention was when he saw a group of missionaries pray over there food at a restaurant. So got his phone number and gave him a Book of Mormon and a Restoration pamphlet. I can't wait to set up an appointment with him.

That has been my week, oh yah I almost forgot. I popped yet another bike tube! So I will have to get that fixed this Monday, so this week I have been riding one of the other Elders bikes. There are three missionaries assigned to this ward. Two Sets of Elders and one set of Sisters. It's new and kind of cool at the same time to have so many missionaries in one ward.

Transfer!! Mansfield OH

Well I got transferred as was to be expected after being in one area for like 6 months. I was transferred to Mansfield which is the northern most area if I am not mistaken. My new companion is Elder Jones, and he is from Alpine Utah. He is my second companion from Utah. So the transfer meeting was really fun and full of energy because 75% of the mission was there. It was really weird at the end when the last trainee was called he started doing this weird yell as his trainer hugged him. I felt so bad for Elder Hill, training that kid his last two transfers. Anyway I'm sure that he is a good guy he was just very excited. 

So Chance is married huh. That's so weird to thing about. I am of course extremely happy for him, its just that I can't see my self married right now and we are the same age. That's so cool to hear about Julie and Halley. So when is Jackie's next baby coming? JUST KIDDING ;) That's so cool to hear all the fun things happening back home. 

Well I like this new area and it is a lot bigger and got a lot my people. So we have a full time car and I was made the designated driver. So now I am getting that driving experience that you wanted me to get. We also bike a lot here from what I have been told by my companion. So I will have thunder thighs when I leave this area because there are hills everywhere and they are steep. I also have been given the opportunity to weigh myself and I am almost 160 now so that means I have gained close to 17 pounds on my mission! I am not the twig of this companionship I am the shortest still though.

Well anyway I am having a good time in my new area and I am having fun with my new companion in Mansfield Ohio. I love the work that the lord has called me to do here in the Ohio. I can say that the lord has called my to "The Ohio", as it is called in doctrine and covenants, and to spread his word and to be a representative of our Lord and Savior. Keep it real family and always look for those opportunities to share the gospel with others. Try using the churches new electronic pamphlets, to download them look in the app store for LDS pamphlets. I think that's what they are called. I hope you are all doing good and have a blessed Day.

P.s I got the new towels and they are so much nicer.  

Last email from Reynoldsburg.....Possibly

Sounds like you had a busy week this week. Not only that but a fun crafty one with visitors to boot. Sounds like I missed some fun stuff. What is it a month or two Dallin turns one years old? How crazy! We are old. Its funny that all the members that are in their 30's think that I am so young and little. Funny how someone is always older than you and has a little more experience than you. Last week was really slow. Elder Bradley has been under the weather a lot, so we have been spending a lot of time at the apartment so that he can get some rest. So I have not seen very many of our investigators especially with Memorial Day coming up. People don't want to talk to you when they are on holiday.

Anyway so this week I will most likely be transferred to a new area on Thursday. I will know tomorrow when they make the calls to tell people that they are leaving. Elder Bradley got a call and he will be training a new missionary for the next couple of transfers so about 3 and a half months. On the 3 of June we will get Ipads. We learned last week that we will become one of the new testing missions. Sounds to me like they got a lot of it figured out, but there are always bugs in things.

It was cool to learn that they are trying to make technology make things easier on the missionary. They have plans to make it so that the instant you get your call letter you are being trained and prepared to enter the MTC and the mission field. The Apostles are making a big focus right now on how to train members on how to use technology in a way to stay safe from the harmful things on the internet, and to be missionaries. It was cool to learn that they know that some will have trouble with this new tool, but that they said that they benefits out way the risk. That we need to become our own filters and make up our minds and know what we will do when we face had things online.

That was the highlight for me to have that training and to have that discussion that we need to focus more on our purpose as missionaries. To not be distracted by what my President called a shiny new toy. I hope that you all continue to be safe and have fun. That you also stay focused on what is important and that you know what you want in your life. I know that this mission is doing just that for me. I love you all and pray about you all the time.  

Love Elder Young

Reynoldsburg, Ohio

Wait mom is wearing my reading glasses? Or did she get her on pair? You all are going blind. Soon Jackie and hope will need glasses as well. We are no longer the "Young" family. We are now the old "Young" family. Tell mom she needs to go see an optometrist so her eyes don't get worse by looking through the wrong prescription. 

Sounds like you are all busy as usual but no real change to the days events. You really need to change, whats up with that. You guys are getting boring, JK ;) there will be no food.

Ya there is a member here who's name is John Perfect. He is a less active member that I have been slowly trying to reactivate. He is also the one who made the walking stick for me. I just asked him in a joking way that he needed to make me a walking stick, because he had just made one and he was telling me about it. So he said ok, and with in a week I had a new walking stick free of charge.

It was fun making the food at his house. It all turned out really good, really, really good. The ribs were made the way they were suppose to be, fall of the bone tender. It was spiced just the right way and were so full of flavor. The mushrooms were also really good even though there was a lot of crab meat in it. It was because of all the butter and crackers.

This week was really slow. Not very many people met with us and we were walking so we were not able to get around very fast. We however were able to get two of our investigators to church. Ones name is Kaik-Pai (he is from Lybia), he really enjoyed himself and I think he will come again. He has been taking lessons on and off sense 2007. The other that came to church name is Randy. We have actually yet to teach him a lesson. He just wanted to come. I also think it has to do with the fact that we gave him a white shirt and a tie after he told us that he felt uncomfortable coming to church with them. He also had a good time and said that he wanted to come to church again. So I am really excited to teach him and get to know him a little better. 

We also met with a girl name Haley, she to has been taking lessons for a little while. Her parents are members weirdly enough. I think that we can also have good luck teaching her.

That's all I can think of that is new in my life other than the fact that I will be transferred on the 28 of this month. I hope you all continue to be safe and healthy, not more sickness! Love you all.

Love Elder Young