26 January 2015

Elder Rasmussen here again...Ya know, just chillin' here in Minnesota.

So This week was an interesting one, we had one of the people we're working with fall off date for baptism.  I had only met him one other time so while it was disappointing, it wasn't as hard for me as it was my companion. My companion on the other hand had a rough time with it. He has been working with this kid for quite awhile and really wanted to see him be baptized.  I believe he will get there, I'm not sure when.

The weather here has been crazy warm in the 30's and 40's--everyone here has been saying how lucky I have been. I guess the Lord has been looking out for me cause he knows I don't like the cold. People here are walking around in shorts when it's 40 degrees outside.

I had my first real success with tracting the other day.  We were looking for potential investigators and we ran into a kid who was going to college here. He let us in and we taught him about the Book of Mormon and the restoration of the gospel. We are going to meet with him again this week and teach him about the Plan of Salvation--hopefully it will go well.

Adventure for the week:  The other day we were in a home teaching a young man (he lives with his grandparents) and in the middle of the lesson his grandma yells out,  "DID THAT CAT JUST PEE ON THE COUCH?!?" (They have like 5 cats, I think) The cat that peed just happened to be on the same armrest as my arm, of course, and so I quickly removed it. Grandma walked over (and I assumed she was going to clean it) but all she did was spray some Febreze on it and said, "I believe in Febreze!....it can get rid of any smell. I bet you didn't even notice that I had 5 cats because you couldn't smell them. (Yes, we could smell them.) Then the thought hit me, "Did she really only spray Febreze on it and walk away? Wonder what I'm sitting on?...oh well." I guess every time a cat uses the restroom in the house, all you have to do is spray Febreze on it. No need to clean it up or disinfect it if you can't smell it right? The rest of the lesson went pretty well except for the occasional random swear word that be yelled at the top of grandma's lungs.   Those lessons are always fun.

That's super crazy that Katelyn Summers is getting married. I don't feel old enough to get married; feels like i'm still 16. I can't even imagine that right now, good thing I'm on my mission so I don't have to worry about it for awhile.

Noah apparently is a stud? I guess a lot girls like a sensitive guy? Ha! That's pretty sweet; good job Noah. I'm not really jealous...that's not the type of lifestyle I wanted before my mission. I'm pretty happy with my high school experience (except my senior year).  Ok, perhaps I'm a little jealous because he can get near girls and give them a hug and stuff. Ain't none of that happening out here with me, but ehh, I'll get there one day.

As far as missing things....seeing the opening credits of Downton Abbey, but I'll reunite with it one day. Hope you all have a great week!

-Elder Rasmussen

19 January 2015

Yoo hoo, Family!

So this week as been super crazy! I have been moved around so much this transfer I don't know what to think anymore haha. I will be staying in Marshall (as far as I know) for the rest of the transfer, unless something else crazy happens. I was on exchanges with the Zone Leaders when we got a call saying that some changes needed to happen, so after driving from Brookings, SD to Huron, SD (where I was dropped off to spend the night with some other elders while the Zone Leaders went on to Pierre) I had a great experience in Huron.

Huron is a very interesting town. 60% of the population is from Taiwan and hardly any of them speak much English. We were invited into a person's house to teach them and we sat on a rug and ate rice and some sort of chicken with our hands. It was a pretty cool experience, I couldn't understand what the heck they were saying but I learned a few words and had a good time. They all love Mountain Dew (some of the other missionaries brought it over to their house and we had it with dinner...they all went crazy for it). Looks like I finally got my wish to serve with Asian people! The other Elders did most all of the talking...I mostly just watched and listened. One pretty interesting thing happened while we were eating. I was sitting there enjoying my rice, and what I believe was chicken, when there appeared what looked to be a small cockroach walking across the floor. Now, I'm not sure that they have cockroaches up here, but that's what it looked like. Then, as I looked to my left, I saw that there were many bugs on the wall, so it's very possible that I could have eaten one and not even known about it--extra protein and fiber! After we ate dinner, we sat down with them on their rug (they don't use chairs or tables) and had a lesson. It was cool to see what it may be like to serve in a country where the people don't have much in the way of material things. The people are so polite and humble, and even though I didn't know what was being said, I could feel the spirit during the lesson.  It's so wonderful to have the spirit connect us all as human beings, as brothers and sisters, despite our differences.  It's also wonderful to have the spirit testify of truth.

Yesterday, we ate with a member who shares his house with a few other people. They were very "granola."  We had Thai food and most of it was vegan except for the pork which was only eaten by a few of us. While eating the meal, I instantly thought of Dad, and how much he would probably enjoy being there--soaking up all the granola-ness. One guy had dreads and and was super chill, the others were very much the same...very eco-friendly people.

Well, I will most likely be back in Marshall on Wednesday, but for right now I'm in Brookings. The weather here recently has been super nice, it has been sunny and up in the 40's--that's the best weather I have seen since I have been here, so no complaints there. Those are my adventures of the week!

I'm happy to report I haven't been sick so far. Though, no surprise, I'm ready for winter to be over already.  I'm tired of gloomy days, and cold temps.

Haha Mom, that's crazy that you saw a naked man running in the road late at night when the temps were in the 20s.  That must have been one of the craziest things you have ever seen?!? I do have a question for you, why on earth would you spend good money learning how to decorate cookies??

Love you guys a ton! I'm doing good, and having fun! 

-Elder Rasmussen

5 January 2015

Hail, from Minnesota!!

So sorry that I was unable to write to ya'll on Monday. I was on the transfer train (AKA a giant 15 passenger van) for two days. I arrived in my new area yesterday evening and things are going well. We got a phone call at 10:00 p.m. the night I arrived saying that I would be put into a different area to help out another missionary...so I was in Pipestone, MN, but now I'm in Marshall, MN.  Not sure at this time whether Marshall will be my new area or whether my stay here is just temporary.

Marshall seems to be a lot like Sheridan which is cool, but it's a lot colder here. I'll finally have a reason to use all of the winter gear I was given! Marshall has a population of about 14,000 people and from what I can see so far, the average age in Marshall seems to be older...a lot of senior folks here.  And yes, the people here do have that wonderful Minnesota accent..even though they don't think they do.  My new companion is Elder Lete. We are getting along great so far! I've only been here a few days so I'm still trying to get a grasp on everything. 

One of our good church investigators in Sheridan was baptized! I got to confirm her a member of the church and my companion baptized her. It was an awesome blessing to experience before I left the area. I'll send some more pics soon.

So that's my really exciting news for the week.  The people here are very friendly and just like the movie I watched with Dad before I left on my mission ("New in Town" with Renée Zellweger and Harry Connick, Jr...in fact, Marshall is not too far from New Ulm, where the movie is set to take place) something similar happened to me. I woke up today and looked outside...it seemed sunny and there wasn't any wind.  I thought, well this won't be too bad...people probably just hype the cold up cause they need an excuse to complain. I walked outside and in about half a second was like, "HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL!!"  My nose hairs froze in a matter of seconds and when I touched my bike to put it on the bike rack it burned my hand because it was so cold. Burned by the cold...one of the strangest things I have ever experienced! That's all that has really happened here so far,  but I'm sure that something exciting will happen in the upcoming week! I'm happy that everything is going well at home; I love you and miss you all!

-Elder Rasmussen

22 December 2014

Hello, Hello Again!

So this week was pretty sweet! I mentioned last time that one of our investigators was trying to quit smoking. So far she is doing very well and has only had two cigarettes in the past few days! She is doing really well, and has even mentioned she wants to move up her baptismal date.  It is truly awesome to see how the Gospel works in peoples lives.

So about the tiara picture, I was not pleased to pose in that picture but I did it anyway. It was going to happen sooner or later. I will have to tell you guys the story of how I got my nickname and all that jazz when I call home for Christmas.

Something really awesome happened with the "He is the Gift" initiative that the church has released. We have seen a ton of success, and more interest in the church since the video was released. The Bishop in our ward invited a co-worker over and we shared a Christmas message with her and the family. After sharing that message, we felt prompted to teach her the about the Restoration. It was such a cool experience she really felt the spirit. She committed to read the Book of Mormon and come to church next Sunday. We will be teaching her this Friday and we are super excited to meet with her again. So for any of you who have not seen the "He is the Gift" video, you should go to Christmas.mormon.org and check it out!

Sheridan is now full of people who have come to visit for the Holiday season.  While at Walmart today, we had a bunch of church members stop and talk to us about where they were from and why they were here visiting for Christmas. One of them actually invited us to go to lunch with them (and their friends) as we walked in the door. We gladly accepted! (Cort was right, it's one of the best feelings in the world as a missionary when someone offers to pay for your lunch.) Their friends are an Amish family which they bring into town so they can get groceries and stuff. They were super nice and each had a great sense of humor. I felt sorry for them because a lot of the people in the restaurant were giving them weird looks and saying things about them. I felt compassion for them because I know what it is like to have people just stare at you like you are some type of alien because you are dressed up in a suit and have a name tag on.

I'm super happy that I'm out here on my mission!

So yeah, to answer a few of your questions...I too was worried about my package because you said it was going to be there on Thursday and it wasn't, so I thought someone had taken it or something. But as it turns out, they came to deliver it on Sunday (I thought there was no post on Sunday?!?..Harry Potter's Uncle Vernon lied to us!) and I wasn't there to get it, so they took it back to the post office. I picked it up today and I now have it so, THANK YOU!

I talked to the members whose house we are going to for Christmas..I WILL BE CALLING AROUND 11 so be ready! Make sure to tell Austin, I will tell him as well so hopefully he will be able to come. I guess I will keep this e-mail short so we have more to talk about on Christmas!

-Elder Rasmussen

15 December 2014

Hey there!

So this week was a very good week for Elder Edwards and me.  Two of the wonderful people we're working with have set dates for baptism.  We feel the dates they have picked are inspired and it is amazing to see them as they work hard towards those dates everyday. I hope that I will be around to see their baptisms--there is nothing more I would rather see than for these two wonderful people to be blessed by the covenant of baptism, but I also feel that my chances of staying here another transfer are slim.   

Everything in Sheridan is going really well, while there are days we struggle to find new people to teach we have been blessed to be able to teach almost everyday--both people who are investigating the church and members we don't see often at church.  We are going to start a 15 step program with one of our church investigators, which is a smoking cessation program.  My companion has seen it work successfully a couple times in the past, so I'm really excited to be able to share it.  

My companion is going to receive his "trunky (going home) papers" soon, most likely in the next week. He only has 2 1/2 transfers left which, right now, I can't even comprehend. He doesn't seem too excited to go home.  If you think about it, the life of a missionary is pretty sweet...money "magically appears" in your account, you don't have to worry about bills, gas and a car are paid for, and sharing the gospel is your only real responsibility.   

One of the people we have been meeting with asked us, "So did you guys ever do anything fun before your missions...like, did you have normal lives?" I responded by saying, "Oh yeah, during the summer my friends and I would find a nice shady tree, and read scriptures all day long..we loved talking about the doctrines of the gospel and how it applied to our lives.  There is nothing better than staying up all night feasting on the words of Christ!"  She looked at me in shock and asked, "REALLY?!?   That sounds horrible!" My companion and I burst out laughing, thoroughly enjoying that we had her going for a few moments.  We confessed that we did plenty of "normal stuff."  Nothing quite like a little missionary fun.  

We went over to a member's house today to give a blessing and he said, "Hey Elder, come try this suit on." So I did and it fit perfectly!  It's a brand new suit and is freaking sweet! I felt so happy and fortunate with his generosity.  It was a custom-made suit looks pretty expensive, so I'm super stoked that he would offer it to me. This family is easily one of the coolest families in the ward.  He said he wore it once and that was it, he said he was too big to fit in it now. I'll wear it on Christmas so you guys can see it when we Skype.

I love you guys a ton! Looking forward to Christmas day!

-Love Elder Erik Rasmussen

8 December 2014

Hello Everyone!

This week was an awesome week! Elder Edwards and I are doing great here in Sheridan, Wyoming. We have been able to see a lot of success in our area this past week and are able to see how the Lord is blessing us with opportunities to teach and meet new people.   In our last meeting one of the people we're blessed to work with told us she knew that the Book of Mormon was true, which was a great thing to hear. She is super solid in the faith and now just needs to take that last leap of faith into baptism! I'm so excited for her and for all these good people and for the blessings that they will begin to see should they choose to be baptized. Another one of the people investigating the church is coming to services every week and said she knows now that she wants this in her life and knows it will bless her. I'm so happy for all the progress she has been making and it is sweet to be able to see her faith continue to grow and her knowledge of the gospel as well. When we go over for lessons she can pretty much teach them to us which a really cool thing to experience.  A couple of other good people are also doing well so we feel very blessed right now to be working with such wonderful people.

We ran into a nice brother at McDonald's the other day, we started talking to him and said he wouldn't mind if we stopped by.  We stopped by one night and they (he and his brother) were watching a football game. We asked if it would be a good time to teach him and he said, "Ah man, not right now...me and my brother are smoking and drinking, so not right now...plus we are watching the game!" My companion said, "Dang!...we better let you go then, we wouldn't want to interrupt the game!"  We asked when a good time to come back would be and after giving his response his brother said, "Yeah, and you guys can come help us move a couch too!" Then he proceeded to say, "We are all God's children, he loves all of us...even that little white kid back there!" (Pointing at me). We all just laughed and told him we would stop by another time. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to meet with him yet but I'm hoping that we will be able to soon!

Something really crazy happened the other night, we went over to a member's house and started eating dinner when one of their kids started choking on a piece of fatty bacon. His dad ran over to him and tried the Heimlich but I don't know how well it worked the kid eventually just threw it up, that's when the dog proceeded to eat what he threw up! That's my crazy story for the week. =)

It feels kind of weird being on a mission during Christmas time.

The holidays so far haven't felt different/special the way they used to because our days are so much the same as missionaries.  It's also very hard to contact people because everyone is with their families and don't really want to be bothered. I'm thinking Christmas will be more fun for us though. I'm excited to be able to talk to everyone! When you said that all you want to do when it gets cold outside is eat and hibernate it reminded me of that sign Caitlin and I saw that said "Don't feed the Mom" I got a good chuckle out of it!

Questions:

1) Yeah, I got the advent calendar! It's fun to see what the item of the day is.  I have enjoyed all of them so far.

2) Yes, we did get to watch the First Presidency Devotional; it was really good! A member invited us over and we watched it on their projector which is huge so it was pretty sweet! 

3) My shirts are great I have only ironed them like twice. Once when I first got to Sheridan and another time because I left them in the dryer. They only get wrinkled if I don't hang them up right away.

I'm pretty sure that Austin is going over to the Anderson's so hopefully we will be able to call at separate times so that he can talk to both Jacob and me. Let me know if you find out when Jacob is calling and I will do my best to call before or after that. The member's that invited us over are having us for dinner So I would guess that I will be later in the day, but I'm not entirely sure. I love you guys a ton! I'm getting excited to talk to y'all.

-Love Elder Rasmussen

1 December 2014

Hello!

 I'm glad to hear that Thanksgiving was good! My Thanksgiving was pretty fun.  We went over to the Gilbert's house--they had 7 of their 10 children there, most of whom also have kids so the house was packed, but it made me feel like I was back home in Parowan for Thanksgiving. The food was really good...she makes a mean turkey dinner and we ate with gold plated forks, spoons, and knifes, so that was pretty cool. They also have these way cool goblets, complete with their family crest and name. I felt like a king dining in a royal hall, even though we were in a small house..it was a good day. Everyone loved my turkey tie!

My new companion is way sweet! He looks a lot like "Uncle Bill Sutherland" to me for some reason; I'll send you a picture of him and perhaps you'll see why. He is from Riverside California...which sounds like is about an hour away from the beach, mountains, Disneyland, lakes, and much more.  Sounds like a great place to live.

I'm really happy I get to stay in Sheridan for Christmas.  We've been invited over for Christmas dinner by a family who is also graciously allowing us to Skype at their house! I'm super excited to go over there.  Their son, Josh, has super nice computers so we should have a pretty good connection while Skyping. I'm excited to talk to ya'll!  I would like Austin to be there if that's alright with you guys? I told Cort to pass the info on to him, I have no idea what time I'll be calling or anything, I suppose we will figure that out as that time gets closer.

Noah better not get too comfy, cause when I get home...oh boy am I gonna have a good time. I'm going through scaring withdrawls...my companions haven't reacted nearly as good as Noah does. So I'm really excited to get to scare him some more! =)

That iPad dream seems to be sticking with me...it all seemed so real, I was pretty upset with Noah.  Who drops a brand new iPad in sand right before his brother is getting shipped back to his mission?!? I haven't heard anything about the missionaries in our mission getting iPads yet, I guess we could get them anytime from this month to next July when we get a new mission president. 

I'll keep an eye out for the package; I have been thinking about some possible Christmas gifts. One that came to mind was a USB so that I can safely have a second storage device for my pictures and such. I feel like I've previously asked you for something else as well, but I can't think of what it is at the moment so I'll keep thinking. I'm not sure about the Christmas packages, I'll talk to the family who is having us over and get back to you on that. 

Q's:

1) It's pretty cool to be a district leader's companion; it's all I have known so I don't know what it would be like to not be one, but it's pretty cool I guess.  You certainly get to see how leadership in the mission works.

2) Yeah, our car is fixed..no more only walking in the snow! =)

3) I may possibly need another bag/suitcase. I could probably squeeze everything together--cause I'm a guy and know how to pack everything into what I'm given, but I suppose another bag wouldn't hurt. The only thing I'm worried about is paying to get it home when I'm done out here. Not that that is anywhere near but..money, money, money.  Just trying to be frugal, dontcha know?

Ah yes, the Amazing Race! I love that show.  When we go over to people's houses and they have their T.V.s on, it's hard not to listen/look at it when it's talking about a cool new movie or video game coming out. I mean, it's a lot easier now than it was at the beginning of my mission, but still getting used to that.

Glad to hear that everyone is doing well! I love you guys thanks for all you do!

Love,

-Elder Rasmussen (Eri-Eri-ERIK)