Monday, March 30, 2015

Lockwood - March 30, 2015

I'm doing great! We had a really great week this week and I really feel like I'm starting to understand how to do missionary work. Kind of funny but I think it's just because there is always something to improve on right? We were able to have an investigator come to church this week! I was so excited! I think he really enjoyed it. He has so much potential he just doesn't really know if it is true yet.

I really do enjoy Fast Sundays because I get to really ponder on things. We were also able to go to a baptism this Sunday and it was super great because I got to see an Hermana who was in my district last transfer. She's super cool. We also had the stake president come and talk to us about Scouting and the importance of it and why the church uses it so much. He said that the reason why is because it is very hard for boys to get a testimony of something when they are distracted by technology. You get them out into the woods and wear them down and then you can really help them to feel the spirit. It was really interesting. I really love Scouting. It made me happy because they asked all of the Eagle Scouts to stand up and the other Elders and I all stood up. Kind interesting how many people who get their Eagle go on missions.

That's awesome that Harrison is asking questions when he teaches! Honestly the best way is to just role play. It's a little strange at first but you just roll with it. It's a super important skill that can help a ton in the mission. Focusing on questions that make people think. I'm sure Harrison is going to be a fantastic missionary and I'm very excited for him! I'm sure that Jacob is hoping that he'll go Polish but I'm totally hoping he goes Spanish. Watch he'll be going to Germany or something.

Yeah I am super stoked for conference. It's going to be awesome. I remember there was a goofy rumor going around the mission at the beginning of my mission that they were going to extend the missions of everyone to three years. It was super funny when it didn't happen.

Training is going good. It's a little stressful sometimes. If I could have chosen I would have just been a regular missionary when I trained because I have to put the majority of my focus on the district. It's all right though. It's different from just being senior companion because now I have to help him learn how to really be a missionary. It's fun though.

So a couple cool experiences this week but I'll make it pretty brief. About a week ago we met this El Salvadoran man. He came to church this Sunday! It was super great! He even stayed for a baptism!

We also had a luau on Thursday which was super fun. Elder Wilder and I did the Hakka and I think that I did better than last time. Everyone said that they were surprised because I sounded like a Tongan. I lost my voice after though.

Love,

Elder Ressler

Monday, March 23, 2015

Lockwood - March 23, 2013

This week was fantastic! We were able to find a lot of people and had a lot of crazy experiences! It was a long week but it was a good week! Elder Wilder is doing great! He's a great guy. Investigators are doing great! I really love being a district leader. It's a lot of fun. Elder Ek texted us on Friday and we went to a great place called Whataburger! It's funny because the first time I had it was with him and we didn't know what to get so we got a plain hamburger and we didn't think it was super good. Then later we found out it's amazing! I loved talking with him. He's a great guy and everything seems to be going well. I had forgotten a lot about the things that had happened to us when I was being trained but just being with him brought back a lot of memories. Something I always liked about him was he was always really optimistic and really calm about things. I look up to him a ton. It was funny because when they were dropping us off we said goodbye and that we'd see him in four months and then he showed up on Sunday at stake conference. We got a great posterity picture too so I'll have to send it to you. That's awesome that you learned how to make Hawaiian sushi. Is it spam, rice, and seaweed wrap? It's good stuff!

Man sounds like the stake is getting really missionary minded which is awesome! That's really cool. I bet that it is getting everyone really excited about missionary work. We just had stake conference here and the last one that I went to we were all about missionary work and right now they are talking a lot about strengthening the family which is great. We had a lot of amazing talks and I think that it was awesome. I didn't really appreciate a lot of the things that the church has until I became a missionary. I'm really happy to be here. This week we had some guy trying to bash with us. Still lately I've been having a lot of great opportunities to bear my testimony about Joseph Smith and I really do know that he was called to be a prophet. I think that my mission is helping a lot. So we had a lot of crazy stuff happy this week that I thought I'd tell y'all about. 1. We were walking and we got called over by some drunk guys and it turns out this guy has a real strong desire to stop drinking. His son is also a former investigator so that's pretty cool. 2. We talked to this guy who was on his doorstep and he had us talk with his friend who turns out to be interested. He lost his leg in an accident, had two strokes, and forgot his Spanish so he is relearning it. 3.We saw a guy who was riding his bike with his dog slung over his shoulder. 4.Elder Wilder tried to jump a foot gap in the side walk and got a flat. 5.We had a zone conference and got something called a tiwi which monitors car speeds and should be getting iPads in a few months.

I have had a great time on my mission. I keep on thinking back to before my mission and I realize that I've changed a lot. I definitely know that this church is true.

Love

Elder Ressler

Monday, March 16, 2015

Lockwood - March 16, 2015

This week was great! I was able to go on exchanges with Elder Strong and we had new missionary training which was fun. 

Elder Wilder is doing great! I'm really enjoying my time with Elder Wilder. We are getting along really well. I'm super excited for Elder Ek to come and hopefully we can get a posterity photo. That would be really cool. Our investigators are doing really well and we are just finding a lot. We met this great guy from Honduras and I can see him having some potential.

We see a lot of family problems out here. Tons of people who don't talk to their family members or who have siblings that struggle. I'm so happy that I was born into such a tight knit family.

Bike is doing really well. It's not like a brand new bike but it works really well and I'm hoping to get my other one fixed up really soon.

It's kind of weird being a missionary because we get to know the bishops and leadership pretty well. The Denver Harbor Elders usually get super tight with the Galena Park ward's bishop he's one of my favorite members. Our Bishop here is pretty great but it's different because he doesn't really have much communication with the missionaries. Mostly we talk with the ward mission leader which probably is how it should be anyways.

Yeah I'm getting down to the end of the mission. Just before we came here to email I was talking with Elder Monson (no relation by the way) who is a little further along in the mission and he told me that I'm at the point where I decide if I'm going to be trunky or not. I decided that I'm tired but I still want to do my best with the time I have left.

Love you tons!

Elder Ressler

Monday, March 9, 2015

Lockwood - March 9, 2015

This week was great! I'm doing fantastic! We had a really great week this week! My area is a little rainy right now but I'm still having a lot of fun. Here the weather is going back and forth and lot. This week I actually went to this crazy leadership meeting and it was funny because I felt like I was in congress.

I love having mom's food but I think it will be a change from what I've gotten used to. I just realized that I won't be eating Mexican Food every day after my mission so I'm going to have to treasure it here. I'm going to tell Elder Ek to scout out some good taco trucks for when I get home. We'll probably have to go to one after I get back. I had a crazy realization today. We were doing our laundry and I realized how much time has gone by. I've had some amazing experiences on my mission and I've been blessed so much. It's been great so far and I can't wait to see what happens during the rest.

I was super tired for the whole day (Daylight Savings) but I like it being light at night too. It is better for us too because then people don't ask what we're doing out so late when it's only 6.

There are a lot of really nice people and I really love this ward. It's cool too because I am right next to Broadway 2 and I get to see a lot of my recent converts:) As far as funny stories this week we had a crazy thing happen. We were biking along this bike path that goes through our area and we saw a guy on a park bench. We go up and talk to him and it turns out that he's a drug addict who was in a gang in El Salvador who was questioning if God existed and we testified that he did and we all started crying. We've tried to get back in with him but haven't been able to yet but we'll keep trying!

We had a lot of great experiences this week. Some of which include: us praying to find a family of six and then finding them, running into the cousin of a member who said he'd like to listen. It was really amazing how many miracles we were able to see. There are a lot of great things happening right now and I'm very happy to see all of the miracles.

That's great that Harrison is on his way!!!!!!! I'm so excited for him it is ridiculous. He is going to love going on mission. It really is life changing. I'm hoping that he goes Spanish speaking and I'm sure that Jacob is hoping Polish but we'll see :)

I love being a member of this church. I really do know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that Jesus is the son of God. I know that we are all children of God and that he is calling out for us.

Love you,

Elder Ressler

Monday, March 2, 2015

Lockwood - March 2, 2015

This week was really good! We are working a lot on finding new investigators and it's been going really well. We just met this guy from Mexico who said that he really wants to change his life because he has been addicted to drugs and alcohol for a long time and he really wants to stop.

Right now I'm using the other Elder's bike that I bought and it is working great! I'm really excited and hopefully everything will work out. As for my bike I'm going to try to transfer that over. I'll let you know what happens :)

That's great that Harrison is working on his mission papers! I'm so excited for him! He's going to be a great missionary. That's great that he got accepted to BYU! Wherever he wants to go will be awesome.

This week we were tracing along this road and a young guy opened the door and invited us in. At first he took it all really well but we really didn't have a good feeling about him. When we got to Joseph Smith he said he thought that he was a false prophet and then he prayed for us to know the truth. While he was praying we got some really bad spirit vibes. Then we offered him a prayer in return. I walked out feeling a little creped out but with a super strong confirmation that Joseph Smith really was a prophet and the Church is true. Kind of funny because I think his plan back fired. Honestly it strengthened my testimony instead of wavered it.

Training is great! It's a little different because you pretty much teach them everything about missionary work. I'm lucky because Elder Wilder already knows a lot but you pretty much have to help them become a missionary because the MTC teaches you hardly anything! Either that or I just didn't understand because it was all in Spanish ;)

It's weird to be training because it's almost like everything is a put on me. I don't mind it though. I'm down for whatever. Elder Wilder is great! He's really funny and really easy to get along with.

Si voy a cumplir 20! Es cierto padre soy viejo! Yo tengo muchas canas en mi pelo y no se que voy hacer. Estoy muy animado a hablar contigo en Espanol! Vas a ver que hablo Spanglish.

That's great that you guys are doing some missionary work! That's awesome! I actually heard that a mission in Utah is about the highest baptizing mission in the world. I'm not sure how factual that is but that's what someone told me.

Love,

Elder Ressler