23 February 2015 - Frozen

Well..it's been a cold week here in Minnesota.

Probably the coldest weather I have ever experienced. It was down to -40 the other night with the windchill! I'm so ready for spring!  I have never really liked winter anyway, but now I'm just trying to hold on until spring gets here. I'm tired of putting on 3 coats and two pairs of gloves and multiple pairs socks…with thermals…just to walk outside.

Enough of the cold! My new companion is named Elder Eastin. He is from Arizona and is pretty cool. We have a lot of the same interests so we get along well. His mannerisms and speech make him a mix of cousins Logan and Trevor. We are pretty similar in terms of the things we want to complete while out on our missions, so it's easy to work together. We teach very well together and are already seeing success.  We have someone on date for March 22nd, and we are excited to see him be baptized..even though it’s a few weeks away.

This area has been challenging for me and I’ve been struggling—feeling like I’m in a bit of a rut.  Honestly, I wouldn't mind going somewhere else next transfer. Don't get me wrong, Marshall is a great place but it seems like things are soooo slow here.  Imagine that, me who loves “small town” and “slow.”  I don't mean to complain, but I just needed to get that out.  Whew!  Guess I’m just still trying to get the area down and wondering what I'm supposed to do while I'm here…what I'm supposed to contribute, who it is that I’m supposed to meet and help/learn from.

So after recovering from my bad bout with Burger King, four days later I got a cold so I'm now just getting over that. It's been a rough couple of weeks..but now everything is back to normal.  No more crazy transfers or exchanges so that's good. I can finally focus on the area and get back into the swing of things. 

Please let the Brandelmyer's know that I'm sorry to hear that and that I send my regards.

Glad to hear that Noah is a lady killer!  Seems like he is spending a lot of time at dances and stuff…nothing I would have ever wanted to do. I certainly would not have wanted to spend my money on all that.  Blegh!

I hope things are still going well at home. Have a good week. Love you!

-Elder Rasmussen

9 February 2015

Greetings!

So you know how when you go on a mission say...in the middle of the U.S., and it is supposed to get super cold? Well, so far, that has not been the case for me. It has been in the 40's most of the winter but then, here and there, randomly dropping to 2 degrees the next day. 

We went to a Catholic Church service this Sunday with one of the people we've been working with. It was a very unique experience for me since I had not been to a Catholic service before. It was good to see how people of other faiths worship, and good to see some of the similarities and differences in Christianity.  We had an investigator come to church with us this Sunday, and it was awesome to have him join us.  He is super close to baptism, just trying to work some things out.

Elder Lete and I had the opportunity to go to the Bismark ND Temple. We went on P-day and a member drove us the 7 hours it takes to get there from here--it was a really good experience. We didn't get any sleep because neither of us could sleep in the car very well. It was well worth it though. We got to do temple work for a lot of people. The best part was sealing the families together..it was an awesome experience. I didn't think that I would ever get the chance to go to the temple on my mission, feeling like I'd likely never serve in ND.

Valentines Day this year will likely be like any other day. I mean, back home I don't think I ever really had a "Valentine" but there was always that hope/thought in the back of your head that someone might give you something anyway. (A Charlie Brown moment.)  This year there won't even be that.  Haha!

Transfers are coming up next week, my companion and I are thinking that he will get transferred out because he has been here for 7 months...guess we will see what happens. I have no idea if I'll stay here or not, there is a lot going on with where missionaries are serving and for some reason, I don't feel like I'll stay in Marshall--just have to see. 

Mother and family...you will never escape my socks! I have placed them all over the house in spots you would never even think of looking, then one day you'll do some deep cleaning and voila!  Hahaha! You are now forced to do so!

The 3D image/ultrasound pic of Caitlin's baby looks as she would say, "totes fat," which is good because even if the baby is homely, chubby babies are cuter than non-chubby babies, right? =) Haha!  JK, I'm excited to see him.

Thanks for the package it was awesome to receive!  It's easy to feel alone out here because we are on the outskirts of our mission and the closest missionaries are 2 hours away.  It was very nice to feel that my companion and I are cared for and remembered.  I feel like my patience has really been tried lately and the so the care package was a nice pick-me-up and reminder to be forgiving, patience and understanding with others. 

Dad will be pleased to learn I am picking up the local accent rather well, and learning all sorts regional substitutes for words--like "ooofta" is something you say when you get hurt. Question...does Laurie happen to have a brother/cousin that lives in Marshall or the surrounding area? There is a Spitzenburger on our ward list--just curious. 

Well, It's time I get going. Love you all a ton and miss you,  Hope you have a great week!

2 February 2015

Greetings!

Well, another week has come and gone out in the mission field. This week was a rather slow one where missionary work is concerned unfortunately, but it was also very fun. We had a Zone Conference in Sioux Falls on Friday so that took up our entire day. It was awesome to go to and feel the Spirit as mission leaders conducted training and helped inspire us to improve our missionary work. I was able to see a lot of people that were in my MTC group and other missionaries that I served near in my previous area so it was really fun to reminisce about some of the memories of Sheridan and the MTC. I have some pictures to send, but unfortunately the computers that I have been using don't have an accessible USB port, so I haven't been able to send any.  

Yesterday was a bit of a challenge finding productive things to do. With it being the Super Bowl, we figured everyone would be watching the game so as we went door-to-door, we expected people would get mad at us for disrupting the game and their Super Bowl parties.  To our surprise, we actually met and talked with a few people who said they wouldn't mind us coming back another day. Things with our pool of people investigating the church are going well. We are hoping to put a young man on date for baptism this Thursday and another one on Saturday. Hopefully everything will work out and we will be able to see them progress.

So apparently the groundhog saw his shadow? (What a surprise, not!) Has there ever been a time where he doesn't see his shadow? I feel like there have only been two times in my life where the ground hog has predicted early spring--and I think you all know how much I love the winter! =)

Adventure for the week:  The other day we were teaching a lesson to an a guy investigating the church and all of a sudden, right as we finished the opening prayer, his roommate decides to start playing his guitar and singing along with his screamo music. It was a very interesting lesson as we pretty much shouted the whole time.  It was hard for me personally to feel the spirit with "HJSSILEIUAIWPQIWHRA!!!!!!!!!!!!" going on in the background (cause that's pretty much what screamo sounds like to me) but the guy we were teaching said he had a great experience, so I guess that's all that matters! It will be interesting teaching him if his roommate feels the need to rock out during our next lesson about the Plan of Salvation.

That's awesome that Noah did well with his swim meet. That's too bad that Calvin didn't do as well as he wanted to, I really do miss him and Chandler quite a bit. Church was always fun when the two of them where there.

So when is Caitlin's baby due again? It seems like people have baby showers just to get free stuff, but hey, whatever works. It's odd that you mentioned that you were thinking a lot about me the past week because I was thinking a lot about home. Last P-day I was pretty down, one of those days where you just think, "why am I here again?" and want to go home, but I got through it and I'm doing better now. It's important to not let things get you down for long.  Serving in Marshall is a bit harder for me than it was in Sheridan (I think because I don't feel as much of a connection to the people here yet, so I think that may be part of my struggle) but it has it's good moments too. Don't worry about me, I know that I will be able to push through it with the help of the Lord. The people here do take good care of us though, so that's good.

I don't think I NEED anything, but I wouldn't mind some letters from my siblings because I haven't had any since 2 weeks before Christmas!  (Just saying.)

Love, Elder Rasmussen

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