5 October 2015 - Fishers of Bluegill, fishers or men, four is the new five.

Greetings!

This was a rather slow week for my companion and I, but there were a lot of cool things that happened as well. On Monday for P-Day, we got to go fishing with a member, and that was a ton of fun. I caught five fish, most of them Bluegill. I tried for large mouth bass (see, bass! a shoutout to you Animal Crossing players) and catfish, but I couldn't seem to get any luck trying those. 

This week was also a little crazy with transfers going on and such. It was fun because I got to see Elder Eastin, whom I had previously served with. He stayed with my companion and I and we did a lot of catching up and reminiscing, he finished up his mission so we also got to drop him off at the mission office and to say good-bye to some other Elders that we knew from the SDRCM. Most of the elders that I know are going home; it was a little hard to say good-bye (and felt a little strange) but I'm glad that they get to go home and move forward with their lives. 

General Conference was great! I loved being able to sustain three new apostles and to hear them speak. Though the passing of the other three was sad too see, I'm grateful God has called three new men to help lead and guide his church. I sustain them with all my heart and I know that they are men called of God. My favorite talk was by Elder Renland.  To me, he seems very humble and fits the description of what an apostle is. I'm looking forward to hearing more from him. 

Last Tuesday, my companion and I met someone who, I believe, may be the most interesting man in the world. He was an older fellow with a long scraggly beard, from the deep south.  At first, or at quick glance, you would likely think he is homeless. He called us over and we began to talk to him.   He proceeded to tell us about all of his adventures and what he had been doing for most of his life (now, I'm not sure how much of his story was true) —going to different countries all over the world and seeking out as much knowledge he could about God. He also told us that he "Goes around seeking out all the fake Christ's, Enoch's, and Elijah's." He “defeats them using scriptures and other stuff.“ Anyway, he was telling us that he has found 5 people (as he held up 4 fingers) who he believes could really be those men. I thought that was rather funny and it was pretty crazy to hear all the stories that he told us. Now, he could have been just a crazy guy from the south, but even if he was, it was still an awesome experience. One of those times that I probably won't forget and a journal entry of a life time.

Mumsy’s Questions:

1. Yup! We watched conference in the homes of three different members. 
2. Overall yes, I’m enjoying the city more than the really small town when it comes to missionary work..although there are some things I miss about not being in a small town.

Well, it's good to hear that Jacob made it home safely! I really enjoyed the picture they sent me, I'm looking forward to the day that I can reunite with the Anderson's and share my stories with Jacob. Hey, I was wondering if you ever finished sewing those slacks? Suit season is almost here! Well, love you guys…have a great week!

Elder Rasmussen

28 Sept 2015 - "Ras and Fergie"

Hello Everyone!

This past week was a pretty good one for my companion and me. We were able to find a new investigator, whom we talked with about the restoration. It was a great lesson, she committed to read the Book of Mormon and Pray about it and Joseph Smith. We are planning on meeting with her this Saturday to follow up. I think It's going to be an awesome lesson. 

We have been working really hard on weeding out all the good people who have moved from the ward but are still on the directory.  We have had some great encounters and some not so great ones. We have driven probably 60 miles or so just trying to find people, but it has been really good for our companionship. It keeps us busy and we have lots of time to talk and think about what we can do to improve the area. 

I'm excited for General Conference next week where we get to hear from a living prophet of God, and his counselors.  This week is going to be an interesting week, I think. It is transfer week and a lot of the missionaries that I know are going home. I'm starting to turn into an "old missionary,” which seems really odd because it seemed like forever I was always the one who had been out the least amount of time. My trainer (Elder Johnson) and another companion I served with (Elder Eastin) both go home. It will be sad to see them go, but I'm excited for them to go home and start school or whatever it is that they are doing.

Mumsy’s Questions:

1. No, I'm not expecting anything to happen with my companionship this transfer. I’ll probably stay here with “Fergie”…that’s what I call Elder Ferguson. I don't know how he feels about it, but I have some members also calling him that so it's kind of fun. Although you never know with transfers, so it’s always a bit exciting.  
2. I do miss playing games actually. I don't have a ton of time to think about them but when I do it's normally kind of like, "Oh man, it would be fun to sit down and play that right now and then take a nap!…oh well.” Then I start working again.
3. Probably watching Conference it at a member's home or the church.

Thanks for letting me know that Taylor is engaged. How exciting for him! She sounds like a good gal. I'm excited to meet all the new peeps when I get home. Speaking of which, Jacob gets home on Wednesday.  As I mentioned previously, this week will probably be a bit hard for me knowing that he is home but oh well, I'm happy for him and hope he has fun! If you see him, say hello for me! 

Well I love you all! Have a great week!

Love, Elder Rasmussen