25 May 2015 - Church in a Methodist Ship!

This was a super awesome week for me! 

We had the opportunity to go to Pipestone...(we now cover that area as well) and meet the branch down there. They are very missionary minded and are giving us lots of leads to contact.  The only trouble is getting down there.  Our area goes as far north as Appleton MN, as far south as Jasper MN; as far East as Redwood MN, and as far West as Ivanhoe MN--it's a huge area and there is a lot of work to be here. 

The Pipestone branch building is sweet. It is an old Methodist church (I believe) and the roof is actually built out of the hull of a big ship so it is a very unique building from any other I have ever seen. The building also has a giant basement with a fireplace, and an upstairs level.  The baptismal font looks like a giant bathtub--It is honestly the coolest building I have been in. 

We had an awesome experience this week.  A woman came to church wanting to know more. We took her on a tour of the building and talked about baptism and priesthood authority. She said, "This is the church I would like to attend" and wanted to know even more so we set up a time to meet with her and her family. We are really excited about teaching a whole family, neither of us have had that opportunity thus far.  Miracles are starting to happen here in Marshall.  Transfer calls are coming up tomorrow, which means that if one of us leaves we will be in our new area by Friday or Saturday. I have mixed feelings about what is going to happen. I'll make sure I let you all know next week!

You asked about gum/mints?  You could send mints, I guess; we aren't supposed to chew gum because it can look "Trashy" or "Disrespectful" so no need to send that =)

That's good that everything is going well back home. I'm so glad that Summer is here and that we can actually do things outside without walking around like a marshmallow because of all the cold weather gear we had to wear. We had a pretty good Memorial Day.  We had a branch BBQ and got to chill with the branch members for awhile, that was nice. I had to unofficially say good-bye to everyone in case I get transferred--I don't know if I will see any of them again or not. I'm really hoping for a change. I'm getting tired of having the same things happen everyday. But all in God's time, I suppose. 

I love you all a ton Have a great week!

4 May 2015 - Sour Cream is the new Whipped Cream and Birdseye!

Hello everyone!

I had quite the week this week...we had a few funny things happen.  First off, we were at a member's house eating dinner and we were eating dessert. Well, of course they practically made us have seconds, so we took it. We had pound cake with raspberries and whiped cream! It was really good until I got to my second helping. Part of the main course was potatoes with sour cream as a condiment.  So thinking that I was putting whipped cream on my dessert, I actually put sour cream on in error (they were in similar, unmarked containers).  As I spooned it on, I was thinking, man...this whipped cream got really thick all of a sudden. I took a big ol' bite of dessert and just stopped. My companion looked over at me with a weird look and then I spat it out on the plate. All eyes were on me as I said, "Sour cream does not taste as good as whipped cream!" Everyone around the table erupted with laughter as I downed two glasses of punch to keep from gagging and throwing up. 

Another thing that happened to my companion was that a bird thought he looked like a good target and hit the mark!  As we were walking along my companion said, " I think someone just spat on me." I looked over and he had bird poo falling from his cheek and onto his shirt.  I lost it laughing.  Needless to say, he was pretty upset that he got crapped on so we went back to the apartment so he could change.

My first meeting with the new Mission President in Sioux Falls, SD was alright but didn't go as I had hoped.  He seemed annoyed after interviewing my companion, and as a result, I didn't feel like my interview was very positive either.  Honestly, I left feeling discouraged and sad, but I'm over it now.  The only really big change in rules is that the new mission has a  Mo-Tab only rule for music, at least for now.  It's kind of a bummer, but I'll adjust.  Love you!  Elder Rasmussen 

27 April 2015 - New Mission Call / "Area Trunky"

Hola!

So this week was rather exciting...we got our new mission calls (a letter from the current mission president officially announcing the change) in the mail. We are going to meet with our new mission president tomorrow. I'm pretty excited to meet him. It will be interesting though, considering I will only serve with him for 2 months before the new mission president replacing him comes in July.  Kind of cool that I will have three mission presidents.

I still don't know about the transfer cycles yet.  If the transfers are too late, I may end up coming home a transfer earlier than expected. With the transfer cycles being different in the new mission, I'll likely either get to serve for an extra transfer period, or come home one early; we will find out in the coming months.

I'm doing well out here in Marshall..my companion and I are doing well together but I'll admit I'm getting very "area trunky" -- I'm ready to move on to something new. I'll miss the people I have met here, but I hope that transfers will send me somewhere else!  While the week was rather exciting in some ways, in other ways, it was one of the longest of my mission...for some reason it just seemed to drag.

I'm looking forward to Mother's Day and being able to talk to everyone. The fact that I get to see this so called "baby" Caitlin and Bryce had is also something I'm looking forward too.  Maybe seeing him will finally help the whole thing seem more real to me.

My companion and I are going to be doing a lot of outdoor service this week which I'm pumped about.  The weather is super nice and I'm glad I'll be doing things other than knocking on doors all day.

Caitlin/Mom...regarding your "camping" at the Zion's Trail Ragnar Relay--oh my, I feel so sorry for you...a whole weekend with no internet, or T.V.  You poor souls! I can't even imagine what it must have been like!!!  Come on, you two...try 2 YEARS without!  Yeah, now it makes you want to treat me with a little more respect now doesn't it? =) haha! (face-palm) A whole weekend....pffft!

Love you all! Have a great week!!

20 April 2015 - So long, President and Sister Anderson

Hello everyone!

Sorry I couldn't write yesterday. Our zone had it's last Zone Conference in Sioux Falls and so it shifted our P-day from Monday to Tuesday.  

Currently I'm in Brandon SD; we are spending the P-day with some elders that we both know. This Zone Conference was the last one we will have in the South Dakota Rapid City Mission--on April 28th we will be officially apart of the Omaha Nebraska Mission. We still haven't met out new Mission President yet, but they said that he will come up to our Zone in May.

It was sad to say good-bye to President and Sister Anderson, they truely were like my mission parents and the helped me out a lot. I learned so much for them and I'm sad to see them go, but I'm also lookling forward to the change and meeting our new mission president.

Things are going well for my companion and I..looks like this will be an extended transfer because of the mission split so we will have what about 2 extra weeks tacked onto this transfer. Well, it's been a pretty slow week as far as missionary work is concerned, but I bet this next week will fly by with all of the changes that are happening.

I love you guys a ton and I'm glad that everyone is doing well. It was great to hear from Chandler Smith and I'm looking forward to meeting him again. Hope you all have a great week!!

-Love Elder Rasmussen

April 13 2015 - Disappointed we weren't Amish.

Hello... hello again!

So my companion and I had a pretty funny experience the other day...we were helping out at the local food bank and were walking people through the process of obtaining food.  At the end of one of our runs, we were talking with the guy whom we were helping and he asked us about who we were and what church we were from. As we told him that we were from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, he said, "I'm not sure I know that church," so we responded with, "Have you ever heard of Mormons?" He said, "Ah, I have!...you are the guys who have multiple wives, don't believe in electricity, and use a horse-drawn carriage, right?" My companion and I just looked at each other and said, "No sir, I think with some of those things you have us confused with the Amish" (except the multiple wives part, I don't think the Amish do that). He looked a little disappointed and said, "Well, thanks anyways," and walked away. We quoted that good man for the rest of the day.

Spring looks like it is here, all of the grass has finally turned green and the trees are starting to bud. All I can say is, it's about dang time!

Well, it's official I'm now apart of the Omaha Nebraska Mission as of the 26th of April.  I'm not sure where my next assignment will be, but I know that I'll be staying in that mission.  I'm not sure how it's all going to work out, but we believe that the Omaha Nebraska mission's transfers are a week behind us...so looks like I'll be out on my mission for 2 years and 7 days (I'll likely get an "extra week!").  I'm pretty sure we will find out more of what's going to happen as the transfer gets closer.

I know my E-mails are getting shorter...there isn't as much to talk about as I'd like because the work is slow right now and it's hard to think of other creative and exciting things to share. 

You asked about how often we cook our own dinners?  In this area, we make dinner probably 3-4 times a week, luckily my companion likes to cook and is pretty good at it so we don't have to eat Ramen every night.

Well of course Noah got a nice golden tan on his spring break getaway, the kid has the Nigerian tanning gene. Was he excited for his 7th birthday? Did he get a rocking horse and some new coloring books? No wait, since he's the baby, a brand new sports car? Crazy to think that he is already 7 (teasing Noah that he'll always be 7 just never gets old for me).

Well I hope you have a great week!

Love, Elder Rasmussen

April 6 2015 - Easter--Christ the Lord is Risen Today!

Hello Family!

This was an interesting Easter...in many ways it seemed like a pretty average day. We watched General Conference at the Church and then we were out working the rest of the time. Somehow, it didn't really feel like Easter without ham and sour cream potatoes--Elder Eastin and I had Ramen noodles at our apartment...yum!  Overall It was a decent day, I guess all that matters is that we remembered the true meaning of Easter. 

I loved General Conference! I really loved Elders Holland, Uctdorf, Ballard, and President Monson's talks. It really encouraged me to keep going and gave me the spiritual uplift that I needed to get through the next 6 months until the next one. It's awesome to know that we have a living prophet on the earth today who leads and guides us. It brings so much comfort to know that we are being lead by a man ordained of God who receives DIRECT revelation from God and can speak on His behalf. My testimony of the living prophet was really strengthened this week as I studied and pondered the importance of a living prophet. The songs, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing", "Praise to the man", and "We thank thee O God for a Prophet," really stuck out to me this week, and I have probably driven my companion crazy with the amount of times I have listened to them. I'm realizing, in a new way, how powerful music can be and how much the spirit is invited when songs of praise to God are sung. I'm so grateful for the resurrection of the Living God and all the blessings it brings to my life!

Goatman24 is, without a doubt, the BEST name for any game center account possible. I don't know why Noah is mad, it's a classic people...love his name!

You mentioned it's time for Youth Trek again this year...Trek was one of the worst and funniest experiences of my life.  They put me in the Gluten Free group?!?...come on!  I felt like I was doing all the work and back then I was as weak and skinny as a Noah!  Brother Boyd Roberts and I were doing all the work, the rest of them just complained about their blood sugar and the lack of Mtn. Dew.  The highlight of Trek was causing Emrey and Haley Johnson to laugh by sticking a blade of grass in Cort's ear and making him think it was a bug..those were the days! 

Spring is starting to get here over in Minnesota..it's now 46 degrees on average which I guess is a whole lot better than -10 but it's still very cold for "Spring"

Have a great week everyone! And Happy Birthday Noah..congrats on finally turning 7!!  ;)

30 March 2015 - Stayin' in Marshall

Greetings!

So I'm staying here in Marshall for another six weeks. My companion is also staying; there weren't any changes made to our area. This means I will very likely be part of the Omaha Nebraska Mission when the boundary changes happen later this month.  

Well, after our baptism last week, it seemed like this week was just not as productive. Though Elder Eastin and I did what we could, things kept happening that really discouraged us. But hey, it's a new week with new opportunities. We are both looking forward to a better week with lots of teaching (hopefully). We have been working with another investigator who hopefully will be baptized in the upcoming month. He is progressing very well is working to stop smoking.  Smoking cessation is something that seems to be a common thing that people need to conquer.

So for the first time in my mission, we had a guy go out of his way to openly confront us. He pulled over in his car and started out with, "Jesus Christ is the Son of God!" This caught us a bit caught off guard and we were hopeful that he wanted to talk to us.  My companion and I stopped and replied with, "Yes! He is!" Then everything went down hill from there. He then proceeded to tell us that the Bible was the only thing that testified of Jesus Christ, and that we were crazy for believing that "Crazy Ol' Joe Smith" was a prophet and finally that the Book of Mormon wasn't true. We didn't argue with him and simply invited him to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know whether it was true before making such statements (he said he hadn't read it).  We then testified of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith as a prophet of God. He didn't like that too much and drove off while saying "You boys are being mislead." I yelled back "No, I don't think we are." Now, I probably shouldn't have countered his last comment, but I was sick of him bashing on us and going out of his way to do so.  My companion and I just chuckled as we continued down the road to go knock on some more doors. It's interesting how we let our humanity get to us at times and become confrontational when it comes to religion. I'm sure the Savior wants us all to do better.

Now you guys listen up...I don't want any more grief about falling asleep the day I went home to get my tithing!  I don't want to hear any more about this matter! =) Haha! I can totally see Noah "head-bobbing" on the stand as he attempts to stay awake through one church meeting.  He better learn to fix that or he is going to get a ton of crap from his companions and the ward members he serves with.  Even is everyone else is sleeping, missionaries can never get away with it--and he will be harassed. 

Elder Eastin and I are getting along well.  He LOVES to talk far more than I do, but overall we are a great companionship.

We finally got in contact with Lauri's brother.  We stopped by their house and shared a lesson.  He and his wife have a one-year old who is already walking and is the biggest baby I have ever seen.  Caitlin would think she is, "Totes Presh!" It was awesome to be able to meet them and share a message. You can definitely see the family resemblance in the two of them.

Well, I hope you all have an outstanding week and I'm getting excited to talk to you in a month on Mother's Day!

-Love Elder Rasmussen