Sister Kallie Graves Back to Missionary Letters The rains came down I signed up for classes this week. That sentence in itself is a joke, so enjoy :) General Conference was this weekend and I really liked President Nelson's talk on Sunday morning about faith. He told a story of 2 groups of islands. They both had a massive conference to go to and both had a massive storm that would ruin it. They both fasted and prayed for the storm to stop. In the first group, the storm stood still and the conference went on without any rain or problems. In the second group, the rains continued despite their cries to heaven. Yet they still went to the conference and sat in the downpour. Who had more faith? Those at the conference. Will you be at the conference? Love yall Sister Graves Ps my homecoming will be on April 25th at 11am Pacific Standard Time in Mesquite, NV at the Littlefield chapel at 3260 E Old Hwy 91 LITTLEFIELD, Arizona 86432 United States. Just if anyone wanted to come. Previous Letter Next Letter

Sister Kallie Graves Back to Missionary Letters Standard works At church this week the man speaking was sharing a story about his Russian neighbor. This is what the man speaking said, "My neighbor came to me and said, 'I feel the Spirit but I'm atheist.' Only 50 years of communism can get someone to say that." We got a good chuckle out of that. When I had only been out for a whole 3 months on my mission, I made the decision to read the entire standard works. Flash forward one or two months (or 13 months), and I turned the page to my final page of my final book. I have now officially finished the entire standard works. If I had to sum up everything I learned, it would be this: All things denote there is a God. Everything. Everything from the trials to the sunshine to the relationships to the thoughts we have. God is such a big part of everything The scriptures are true. God exists. He is there and he is aware of you. I invite everyone to read the scriptures. Why? Because they are true and if you don't believe them or if you don't believe in God, then read the scriptures and look me in the eye and deny it. Previous Letter Next Letter

Mesquite Nevada Stake 21 hours ago 1 min Elder Francis and Sister Elspeth Kuta 9 0 Post not marked as liked Mesquite Nevada Stake Dec 31, 2023 2 min Millicent “Millie” Wade 24 0 Post not marked as liked Mesquite Nevada Stake Dec 31, 2023 2 min Obituary for Raymond Lynn Peterson 20 0 Post not marked as liked Mesquite Nevada Stake Dec 17, 2023 1 min New Bishopric for Old Mill Ward, East Stake 37 0 3 likes. Post not marked as liked 3 Mesquite Nevada Stake Dec 16, 2023 1 min Elder Scott Sperry 25 0 2 likes. Post not marked as liked 2 Mesquite Nevada Stake Dec 16, 2023 2 min A Christmas Message 26 0 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 Mesquite Nevada Stake Dec 15, 2023 3 min Good Tidings of Great Joy 14 0 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 Mesquite Nevada Stake Dec 14, 2023 1 min Elder Coleman West Returns 22 0 2 likes. Post not marked as liked 2 Mesquite Nevada Stake Dec 11, 2023 1 min Elder Shane Zarate 21 0 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 Mesquite Nevada Stake Dec 10, 2023 0 min Youth New Year Party 14 0 Post not marked as liked Mesquite Nevada Stake Dec 8, 2023 1 min Rodney Pollock Obituary 47 0 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 Mesquite Nevada Stake Dec 1, 2023 3 min N. Bruce Bodily Obituary 35 0 Post not marked as liked Mesquite Nevada Stake Nov 5, 2023 0 min Bell Ringer Volunteers Needed 12 0 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 Mesquite Nevada Stake Nov 5, 2023 1 min Elder Don and Sister Loretta Asay Return 15 0 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1 Mesquite Nevada Stake Nov 5, 2023 1 min Burdens to Blessings 23 0 Post not marked as liked Mesquite Nevada Stake Nov 4, 2023 1 min Sister Ari Gardner 24 0 1 like. Post not marked as liked 1

Elder Braxton Poole Back to Missionary Letters I can bear testimony of the reality of Jesus Christ and all that he has done and is yet to do. I am going to be moving forward in life and will be returning home from my mission. It was after careful and prayerful consideration along with much discussion with medical advisors and my mission president. I love serving the Lord and I will never forget the great blessings that come from being in His service. I am grateful for everyone who followed and supported me on this although short lived, wonderful path. I pray for the opportunity to return at a later time and continue my service. A short recounting of what went on during my previous weeks: We stayed inside, called people, took naps, went on walks, watched movies (approved ones), played a board game when appropriate, worked out, read, and listened to music. It was pretty basic and that continued on everyday. I can't remember much of what happened really, but I remember how hard it was to enjoy this work that I love so much. Bringing others to salvation is one of the greatest works we can do in this life. I can bear testimony of the reality of Jesus Christ and all that he has done and is yet to do. I am going to be moving forward in life and will be returning home from my mission. It was after careful and prayerful consideration along with much discussion with medical advisors and my mission president. I love serving the Lord and I will never forget the great blessings that come from being in His service. I am grateful for everyone who followed and supported me on this although short lived, wonderful path. I pray for the opportunity to return at a later time and contiue my service. I want to focus on the blessings of the gospel as I move forward in life. The reality is that it may not always be fun, but it is always worth it. My testimony has grown tenfold of what it was prior to my mission. I love Heavenly Father and I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am grateful for all that they do for me and all that they have done and are yet to do. I promise that all who want to grow closer to Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father can do so by reading The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. It was translated by a Prophet of God. The promise present within the book is, that all who read and pray about the message contained within and do so with a sincere heart, having real intent, and faith in Christ, can and will receive a witness of the truthfulness of the things written by the power of the Holy Ghost. I love all of you and pray that you will have this great opportunity! Elder Poole Previous Letter Next Letter

Elder Ethan Leavitt Back to Missionary Letters Buenas 🙌 welp here I am. Sending another email after like 6 months lol. I made it to Argentina great. I had 3 flights. I left Portland at 1 made it to to Atlanta in 4 Hours and then ran to the next gate because I was going to miss my flight. Was on the Plane for more than 10 hours, hardly slept lol made it to Buenos Aires fine, had a native who work for the church help us buy tickets and check our bags and so and so. My next flight for Buenos Aires to Córdoba was like 1:30 minutes. But made it here just fine haha can't believe I'm here. Definitely feel like I'm still in the US but no one speaks English and idk just weird. But yeah met my comp he's a Native Argentino. Doesn't speak English, has a thick accent and talks really fast lol. But I understand almost every thing he says so thanks to the Gift Of Tounges! Right now we cover 2 areas LAS FLORES Y HOGAR 3 it's pretty safe over here. The President suggests not taking your phone and any belongings with you when working because you will be robbed. My comp was robbed 2 weeks ago.... lol but that's because the thief saw he had a phone. So yea. The Peso to American dollar is like 100 or something but if you brought cash you can change it with these dudes standing outside the bank for over double the price! So I'm loaded now lol. But all is good 👍sad to leave my friends in the states and I hope they know I love them ! ❤ I hit a year in the mission in 10 days so that's exciting! Love yall 💓 lowkey prolly will forget to send a northern email for a while...... Previous Letter Next Letter

Elder McClain Easton Back to Missionary Letters walking in Faith Good morning, I'm sorry it’s been a minute since I sent an email. Life has been amazing lately. Thomas is on date for baptism on the 10th. Which is pretty awesome, and I made him propose to his girlfriend which was a big step. He's come a long way. I keep on having flash backs from my mission. I'm not ready for it to be over. We had 6 friends come to church which was awesome! They all seemed to enjoy it. It's taken me 3 transfers. But the work is finally really moving forward. I'm so happy to be a part of gathering Israel. It really is a blessing. I'm just trying to learn as much as I can and help as many people as I can. I hope yall had a great Thanksgiving. We almost did have a Thanksgiving feast😂😬. It seemed like everybody had strep throat. Luckily everyone was better, and we had some really good turkey. I have a funny story for y'all 😂There's a 74 year old grandma that we've been teaching she's a sweetie and she really likes me, and I think she wants me to marry her granddaughter. She had us over to meet her and her family. It was really awkward. It was really funny. Their granddaughter's family said they approved of me 😆🤷🏼‍♂️. I've been pondering how much I have to be grateful for. Serving in the projects has really changed the way I look at things. It's crazy to think how far we have come and how much we have changed. The gospel has brought a mighty change in my heart. It has helped me better understand who I truly am and how important the decisions I make are. I have learned that people can truly change through the atonement of Jesus Christ. The atonement truly does impact everyone's life. It really is a blessing to be a part of this amazing church. I found this conference talk the other day and I really love it. It's called But if Not... by Elder Dennis E. Simmons. It has really helped me to except God's will over mine. He says this in his talk, "They knew that faith is more than mental assent, more than an acknowledgment that God lives. Faith is total trust in Him. Faith is believing that although we do not understand all things, He does. Faith is knowing that although our power is limited, His is not. Faith in Jesus Christ consists of complete reliance on Him." I love that last line. It has helped me strengthen and grow my faith. I will be returning home on December 15th and this will be a step of Faith for me. But I'm excited to see yall soon! Love, Elder Easton P.S. I REALLY NEED YOUR HELP! Thomas is scheduled to get baptized on the 10th. But he tested positive for covid on Sunday. Will you please pray that he will be able to get baptized on the 10th. Thankyou! Previous Letter Next Letter

lder David Vogel Back to Missionary Letters Elder Vogel the Younger– Piqua, Ohio Up and Up If we look at my time in this area as your stereotypical storybook, the last few weeks would be when everything goes wrong. Now we’re in the part where everyone is trying to adjust to their new normal that will hopefully end in a happy ending for everyone. Working backwards we can start with today. We have finally been able to meet with Carla & Glenn again after almost a month. We explained our normal lessons with them to Elder Harrison. Also how Glenn likes to bring up things like zodiac signs, the civil war, politics, wickenology, and general very interesting personal things. We had a short lesson with them tonight because Carla wasn’t feeling well (not covid) but he still managed to bring up every single one of those subjects. It was a very good introduction to Glenn for Elder Harrison. We really aren’t going there for Glenn. Carla is the one who can really benefit from the Gospel, but we can’t teach one without the other. Every time we try another outlet to teach Glenn he just shoots it down, Read the Book of Mormon, doesn’t read well, listen to a talk, loses interest, watch a video, “not a video guy”. It’s at the point that he only wants to learn by word of mouth. I would love to think our words are enough for conversion but that just won’t cut it. Yesterday we met with Brother Wheeler again. I say Brother Wheeler because he is a member but I’m still at a loss of how. Going over there is always very civil. It’s when we start messaging him that things get tense. I don’t care much for conflict, but Elder Harrison has spent his entire mission listening to recordings of a member lawyer bashing with random missionaries and hadn’t gotten the chance to interact on this level yet. The texts started flying. I don’t think either of them are actually reading what the other sends. As it stands we’ve made some progress with him. He still has a testimony of the Book of Mormon and still studies it. He even bought us pizza and some other snacks. We’ve been trying to get him to come to church for the past two weeks. He gives the same response every time. “It’s repetitive.” He attends the German Baptist Church because of the sermons. Maybe we’ll be able to bring things back around? After missing a month's worth of lessons with April we got into contact with her again as well. She wasn’t answering our calls or texts so instead we just knocked on her door. She was happy to see us but very tired. She is currently working a 72 hour work week and caring for her very pregnant daughter. So she doesn’t have any time to really meet but she does want us to keep texting her Scriptures to read and videos for her to watch on her breaks. The last thing for Sunday was we stopped at the other Elders apartment for a farewell zoom call to President and Sister Ensign. They have officially been released as our Presidency and we now have President and Sister Maguire. I know very little about them. While we were on the call the other Elders started having some technical difficulties with their phone so we were laughing too hard at them to really hear what was going on. We have an in-person meet and greet with them on Wednesday so I’ll get filled in there. After the call it was pitch black outside but we thought it would be a good idea to go disc golfing with the other Elders anyway. It was interesting, I couldn't really worry about how you threw because you couldn’t see where you were throwing. So we went out with flashlights. We didn’t lose any discs, and only one person got hit with a frisbee. That person was me. But in my defense it’s hard to defend against a frisbee trying to take out your knees when you don’t know it’s there until after it’s tried to cripple you. We did get to have an awesome lesson with Brenda Wooten. The past two lessons we’ve had to teach her through a window because she’s on lockdown for chemo treatments. For some reason when we went that day they let us in. Which was cool but it did mean the lesson we had planned got thrown out the window. Mostly because the moment we sat down she said she wanted to read with us. So we did. We read the introduction, the three witnesses, the eight witnesses, and the other introduction. She loved it. Halfway through reading she stopped and said that it never made sense to her why it would end at the bible. Brenda, you are doing our jobs for us. Spiritually she’s doing really well. Physically we’ll leave it to her doctors to decide. On Saturday we went and helped Brother Osborne split firewood for the winter. Missionaries are not supposed to operate any form of power tool or heavy machinery. So we didn’t. We just kept putting the logs underneath the big metal spike and the members pushed the lever to operate the heavy machinery. That took us a good three hours and after hauling wet logs around for that long I was in dire need of a shower. Instead Brother Osborne took us all out for pizza. So apologies to the 3joes pizzeria staff but I wasn’t going to eat with mud all over my arms so I very carefully washed up to my elbows in the bathroom before eating. Really good pizza though. The next morning was the first time in a long time that I woke up with truly sore biceps. Service is truly the secret to success in many things, including gains. Saturday Evening, we had exchanges with the Zone leaders, 90% uneventful. Until we were walking down a street in the dark and saw a house with a six foot cross lit up on the side. Not made of lights, a well made, wooden cross with spotlights on it. You know we knocked on their door. We met Johnny. Long story short, after sharing the restoration of the Gospel he told us that not only were prophets necessary, he was one. So he invited US to “go into our private prayer closet and ask God if there is more for us to know." It was a strange moment if there is more for us to know, you are definitely not the person who will tell us. But you are not wrong about there being more to know. Ohio is fun. Probably the only noteworthy event for the week was on Wednesday we attended a luncheon for all the Fish volunteers. During which they had a raffle and all three of us won something. I donated mine to the next ticket drawn but the Elder Harrison got $20 to Frickers, and Elder Flamm got a week of free meals. Also at that luncheon, which was being held in another church, we met the pastor of the church. Very friendly guy asked us over to talk theology and play board games. We can’t say no to that so we’ll see where that goes. I'm realizing that these letters are not very smooth but I'm okay with that. The week wasn't smooth. But, things are looking up. We will put it to the people who have been sufficiently humbled to receive the word. Hopefully Elder Vogel Previous Letter Next Letter

Elder Keith Rushton Back to Missionary Letters Watermelon Mtn. Dew! Hello everyone! I hope it has been a good couple of weeks since my last email! The holidays are over and we're jumping right in to a new year! I hope this one isn't as wack as the last one 😂 It has been a surprising past few weeks! This past Thursday was transfers, us 4 elders in Roch 5 weren't really sure what was gonna happen with us, but we knew Elder Alcorn would leave for sure. We were right on that, he got shipped off but Elder Soter and I both got transferred as well! We left Elder Blaylock down there to get 3 new companions and we all went our separate ways. I am now in the Andover area in the Anoka zone, Elder Alcorn is in Shingle creek also in the Anoka zone so we'll get to see each other a little every once in a while! And Elder Soter is with some Zone Leaders in Minneapolis until he flies down to Africa on the 21st! Pretty exciting stuff! So with our area, the transfer boards showed i would be in a trio with Elder Sowards and Elder Lott, but on Thursday we got a bit of a surprise! So one of the Elders in the Roch 4 area, Elder Wright, was called to the Congo mission in Africa and he was supposed to fly down Thursday morning, but before he could check his bags, they got word from his mission that they're closing it down cause an elder there got covid. So Elder Wright ended up getting put with us 3 here in Andover and will technically be my companion until he actually gets to leave. We aren't sure when that will be but it could be anywhere from 2 weeks to a whole transfer, but probably only 2 weeks! So we had to split up our ward and area between the 4 of us, which luckily went pretty smoothly! But regardless of the surprises I'm pretty excited about the situation! These are some good guys and i think we'll have a good time! The area has lots of good members and quite of few investigators we can teach! I have some pretty high hopes for this transfer and i doubt I'll be let down! And this apartment is bigger and nicer than the Roch 5 apartment! 😂 The covid restrictions up here are still pretty much the same but we just got word we can eat inside of restaurants that are open now! But only with our household and one other missionary household in our district, but still that's way better than having to ask to do 4 separate orders in a drive through! 😂 We still do church through zoom up here as well, hopefully the in-person stuff can come back soon! I hope you all haven't had too many issues with covid and it all just goes away soon! Recently in my studies i have been looking at all the different names or titles that Christ has, it has been really cool and definitely helpful so I would recommend taking a look at that in the Bible dictionary, but there was one name with a scripture connected to it that stuck out to me! So the name is Captain of Salvation, and the scripture I'd like to share is Hebrews 2: 9-10 "9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. 10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings" These verses as well as the rest of chapter 2 of Hebrews are very interesting to me! It really focuses on how the Savior was sent to the earth to experience our sufferings, to go through our pains, and pay the price for our sins! Christ held a high position in the premortal life and by coming down to earth the way he did, spending time with the people He spent time with, and being the humblest example, He condescended to the lowest of lows so that He could then rise above all things and fulfill the plan that was made on all of our behalfs! He felt everything we have or will ever feel, paid the price of everything that we will ever owe, was killed for our sakes and rose again to then become the Captain of our Salvation! This allows us to go through our lives with the ability to receive enough guidance and strength to get through it all, and ultimately return to our Father in Heaven with the price of all our mistakes already paid for! Christ is our Savior! His purpose has been fulfilled and He has shown us the way! All we have to do now is follow Him! I love you all! I'm so grateful for you all and the support i have from you! I am so grateful for this time that I have to be a missionary for the Lord Jesus Christ! I am so eternally grateful for His gospel and the numerous blessings that continue to flow because of it! I hope you all continue to come closer to your Father and Heaven and His son, your Savior! Stay safe and have an excellent week! ~Elder Rushton Previous Letter Next Letter

Sister Maleena Felshaw Back to Missionary Letters howdy partners Hey there The main thing I want to mention is the denver GIVING MACHINES!!! It was such a cool experience to help out at the giving machines this week! If you have one near you, go! We also witnessed some very interesting things happen but I mean we were in downtown denver so that's to be expected. But yeah twas another good week & I hope yall are doing well. You can write me if you'd like. Thanks. Previous Letter Next Letter

Elder Jaxon Snarr Back to Missionary Letters Week 93: Quarantine, 22 Month Mark Hey Everybody! Tuesday - thrift shopping and hanging out! Wednesday - we did personal study and then we had district council! We did an ice bucket challenge and then went to lunch! Someone paid for all of our meals! We did companionship study and contacted some people! We had dinner and then had a lesson with Kenna! Then we got told we had to quarantine! Thursday - quarantine Friday - quarantine Saturday - quarantine Sunday - quarantine Monday - 22 month mark! We did our studies and texted some people! We had lunch and did some service! We texted some people and had a great dinner! Then we walked around! Tuesday - mini golfing with the district 2 Nephi 32:9 I love you all! Funny Moment: The Sisters pranked us and said we are going to have to quarantine for longer! Spiritual Moment: it was nice to be quarantined and be able to keep up my personal study! Elder Jaxon Snarr 180 Columbine Dr Casper, WY 82604 Previous Letter Next Letter