Monday January 16, 2017 Kamiah, ID

Well I’m almost not surprised about my sisters hands...life sounds expensive this week. How were the medical bills?

1. Do you need me to send socks? If so, how many?

1. Yes I would love some socks. Just a couple of pairs like 4 would be nice. Just plain black. If you can find athletic ones that would be great. They last a lot longer and are better on my feet. I mean like not dressy ones. Does that make sense?

2. Did anything happen with transfers?

2. Not too much. We are both staying which is nice and also means that I’ll spend the first 6 months of my mission in Kamiah. Also first 6 months! Can’t really believe that I’ve almost been out that long already! That’s 1/4 of my mission. I know it probably doesn't feel like it’s been that fast for you but it feels a little fast for me. But a really long time too. It’s weird. But if every quarter of my mission goes this fast then that would be crazy! Also the Orofino sisters are getting swept with Elders. And Grangeville is getting a new trainee. So it’s a lot of change in the district. Just not much for us.

3. What things have you been cooking for yourself?

3. Well when we get the chance to cook for ourselves we make a lot of different stuff. We cook pasta, chicken, I don’t know, all sorts of stuff. But that’s really only once a week if that.

4. Did you try the catfish? Or fish tacos?

4. Yes I tried the catfish. It turned out ok. It was decent but not my favorite fish. Maybe that was because I’m not a good cook. We made some tilapia too but not tacos yet.

This week has been pretty similar to yours. Just normal stuff going on. We have been teaching at the Mason’s house a lot because that’s where our “on date” is living. We also found a new investigator and I hope he will start progressing this week.

We did some service for Debbie also. We shoveled off her roof that had a ton of snow on it. That was fun. But not too much new stuff.

Well good luck on finding a car. Finding the car you want sounds hard. It’s hard to find one with that 3rd row of seats so good luck. Keep me updated. What color is the one you’re looking at? And tell my sisters to stop hurting themselves. Love ya!

-Elder St. John

 

Monday January 9, 2016 Kamiah, ID

Hey!
Answers to questions…

It was good to see your baptism picture. How is he doing this week? Do you have much more contact with the new members after their baptisms?

Mike is doing good. he is still trying to find a place to live. We try to have as much contact as we can to make sure they stay members but it’s hard sometimes because things get busy and we have new people to work with.

How has your weather been this week? Anything crazy?

Nothing too bad. But yesterday we had some freezing rain so all the cars had a sheet of ice on them and the roads were pretty bad. But nothing too bad.

Did you have to travel anywhere weird this week, or were you able to mostly stay in the area?

We went to Lewiston for zone training but that was about it. 

Ok first thanks for the recipes. A member gave us some frozen catfish so I thought I’d try it out! I’ll let you know how it goes. We have all those spices so no need to send them.

This week has been a pretty uneventful week. We went to the Mason’s and they had somebody new for us to teach. His name is Odie and he’s on track to be baptized in Feb.

So in our zone training, President had a few things he thought he would ask of us. One of those things was to improve this year. He said that we can’t expect to do better just by doing things the same way. So along with that he brought up a few things our mission could change. The one that I needed to fix was my socks. He brought that up specifically so I will be sending all my fun socks home. I might need some normal black or gray socks.

Earlier this week we had lunch at the masons (yes we spend a lot of time there). They made a giant hamburger. And when I say giant I mean giant. Like 12 lb of meat giant. It was a monstrosity. I took some pictures so you can see. Elder Chamberlain ate way too much and threw up that night on the side of the road. He’s ok now so no need to worry. He just ate too much.

Well besides that transfer calls are next Sunday. But I don’t think I’m leaving. So another 6 weeks here in Kamiah! One thing our mission is doing this year is having a topic to study every month. This month is repentance and it’s been way cool to see all the different scriptural stories of repentance.

Well I hope you survive the snow there. I think it’s really funny you got stuck in the same place I did last year. It was like the same time of year too! haha! Also suggestions for the car...don’t get a Dodge or a Honda crossover ever!!!! Subaru is the best by far. The Crosstrek is the only crossover I like. But it doesn’t have more than 5 seats. I think the Forester is bigger but I’m not sure. One thing to look at would be a Nissan Rouge. those are pretty nice. My preference would be to not go for a Ford but it’s whatever you want. Good luck finding a good one. The only thing besides those that I can think of are suv's but I know those are way expensive. Well thanks for your emails! Love ya!

-Elder St. John

 

Monday January 2, 2017 Kamiah, ID

1.Did your baptism happen yesterday?
1. Yes it went really well! I’m very proud of the progress he has made. It was hard work to get him there and I’m glad he made it.

2. Were you allowed to do anything different last night for New Year's Eve? Probably not, just thought I'd ask.

2. Nope.

3. Are you allowed to wear any cool socks with your suits or just when you're at your apartment?

3. I can wear my cool socks when I want to. I don’t all the time.

4. Are you doing pull-ups every day now?

4. I do pull ups really often now. And they’re great.

5. Any new investigators to tell us about?

5. Well the next investigators we will work on will be a small family. Their names are Ashley and Cody. I’ll keep you updated on what happens with them.

6. I saw on the Facebook page that you were at the mission home this week. Tell us about that?

6. Yup for the new missionary meeting. It was a really good training. The trainers got a q and a with Pres. so that was really cool. We got some really good help and reminders of what makes a good missionary and a good trainer.

7. When you drive to Spokane, how long does it take you?

7. From Kamiah it takes like 4 hours. From Lewiston it takes 2 and a half.

Well this week has been snowy and good. The work is starting to pick up again despite the bad weather. We had Mike’s baptism and then we found a couple new people.

So this new year will be my blackout year. Or the full year that I’ll be on my mission. Crazy! One whole year without any family or friends but one full year of intense spiritual guidance and blessings. So I’m excited to see what this year brings.

I’m sorry you were sick. You need to drink more orange juice. I still buy that every week.

Ok so I have a few questions.

 

1. Ask the Heflin’s if they know a family with the last name Morse. I met an elder that is from Tucson and he knows Riley. 

2. How do you cook catfish?

3. What’s the recipe for our really good fish tacos?

Well thanks for your emails! Have a good week. I’m off to play marshmallow dodge ball! 

-Elder St. John

 

Monday December 26, 2016 Kamiah, ID

Hey! So yeah it’s hard to think of things to write about after we just talked. I’ll try and take more pictures. By the way, I know I mentioned this but that calendar you sent is way cool! I love it!

Our church was canceled. There is a lot of snow here. Thank heavens we have a good truck or we would get stuck so many times.

I have emailed Brittney and Grandma Bonnie and I will email Tyler and Grandpa Mark in a second.

You would really like the house I face timed at. It’s beautiful. Like a Mapleton house. well I’ll send some pictures and stuff. If you don’t have any questions for me I guess this is it. We have to go to Spokane on Wednesday for a meeting and then we will be having a baptism for Mike on Saturday. So an exciting week planned!

-Elder St. John

Monday December 19, 2016 Kamiah, ID

Hey not too much time today and sorry I’m late emailing - just had a crazy schedule today. So...

1. Can you give me a firm ish time for our skype call coming up on Sunday!?

1. Umm I would say somewhere around 5 or later...but not too late so between 5 and 8 here time. Not Utah time.

2. Did you receive any packages this week? I sent the last of the fun Christmas stuff - cookies!

2.Yeah!!!! I got the cookies. Thank you sooo much! Made my week that much better. I’ll send pics.

3. We'd like to know what your rules are for Christmas. Can you play games with the members? Do you spend all day at one family's house?

3. Well I don’t know all the way yet. I’ll know on Wednesday. I don’t think we are allowed to play games. We can only go to set appointments which will be dinner and then another dinner...I’ll explain on Sunday.

4. Did you have more contact with your investigators this week or was it another week of meetings?

4. Yes! So we actually worked this week. We have had a lot of contact with Mike. He will probably get baptized the 31st. We are way excited for that! Pray for him to stop smoking!

5. Do we have any pictures of your Christmas tree & presents? Proof that you haven't opened them all yet?!

5. I’ll send them in one second.

Not too much time this week but it was cold snowy and long. We finally got our truck back from being worked on in Spokane.

oh! I found someone who used to live in Birdseye like forever ago and so that was weird. Of all places I found someone from Birdseye in Kamiah Idaho! Weird right?

This past Saturday we had an awesome Christmas activity called journey to Bethlehem. They take you around to different rooms and show different scenes of the nativity like the shepherds and the wise men and evil King Herod. It was super cool and a great missionary opportunity. Makes me miss Christmas at home when we do stuff like that.

Things are going really good. Still been settling in with my new companion and responsibilities, but things are going well and I’m getting used to doing missionary work a different way. This last Sunday they switched ward mission leaders on us so I’ve been dealing with that and helping him get used to his new calling so that’s been a little stressful.

Well I don’t have too much to say and there is a lot of red underlined words in this email but I don’t have the patience to right click on them all and fix them so good luck. Well love ya! And see you on Sunday!

-Elder St. John  

Monday December 12, 2016 Kamiah, ID

Hi there!

 

1. How's your new companion? Tell us about him and how things are going...

1. My new companion is good. His name is Elder Chamberlain and he is about my height and a ginger. He is awesome and so willing to work hard. He is from Saratoga Springs and was home schooled. We get along good and are excited to work together.

 

2. How was your first week of being district leader, a trainer, etc.? How are you feeling about the situation as a whole?

2. First week was good. A little overwhelming but good. I feel good about the situation and I’m excited to serve in different ways.

 

3. Any updates with investigators? 

3. Not too many updates this week just because of the crazy schedule we had. We spent maybe two days in our area so we didn’t get too much work done.

 

4. Did you get any packages from us this week? And perhaps take any pictures?

4. Yes I got the package with the pull up bar and Christmas tree. Sooo awesome! Thank you. Also got a big box with a bunch of presents in it and put them under the tree. I can’t wait to open them! It’s killing me not to peek at what they are. Also got a package from grandma and grandpa St. John. So I will email them a thank you.

 

This week has been crazy. Lots of driving and way too much confusion and meetings, but we were supper blessed to travel in safety the whole week. The meetings were good and I learned a lot. So really not too much to update you on.

 

But! I have the best member family ever (the Degroots) they bought me a coat! I know it was way too nice of them but they wouldn't take no for an answer and she loves to shop and spend money so they just got me one. It’s nice and warm. I’ll send a picture of it. maybe. But yeah not too much about this week. Elder Chamberlain is getting used the area so that is good. But yeah it’s snowy and wet so wish me luck.

Love ya!

 

-Elder St. John

 

Me (wearing my new coat) with Elder Chamberlain

Monday December 5, 2016 Kamiah, ID

Hi! 

1. I've been looking at the weather in your area and it seems like it's pretty cold. Are you sure you don't need a better coat/boots?

1.The weather hasn’t been too terrible. It’s been in the 50's mostly and drops lower in the night but not too bad. I’ll look for a better coat, but there’s not anywhere to buy one so I’ll let you know.

2. Did you get the gloves and hats?

2. I did...love them all. They’re very nice to have so thank you.

3. You have transfers today! Please make sure you tell us if you're staying or going. And if you're going I need your new address asap to send a few Christmas things...

3. So yeah transfers are a little crazy! Elder Stoddard is leaving. I’m staying here. They are making me the district leader and I will be training a new missionary as well. That might not sound crazy to you but I just finished my training and now I’m training so it’s crazy! I’m way excited for it though. It will bring some new adventures. So I’ll have to go up to Spokane on Tuesday and on Friday this week. So lots of traveling and meetings this week. 

4. How is your investigator Tyler doing? I liked hearing about him last week.

4. Tyler is doing good. He is still super solid and really searching and coming to church and wants to get baptized, but his church that he goes to right now is crazy. They are super anti and hate us. But he is freaked out by them because they follow him and watch him and stuff and have really weird rules so yeah he wants to leave. But he rents from a member there so he’s scared if he leaves that they will kick him out of his place and he’ll get treated badly. So yeah crazy stuff there. Pentecostal churches are weird.

Well my week was mostly normal and lots of running around. We had a temple trip on Thursday and that was way fun. But a lot of driving. The temple trip was with two ward members that drove us up. The temple is called the Spokane temple and it’s super small. Only one endowment room. 

Then we had zone training on Friday so more driving. Then transfers and that exciting news. I hope my new companion is cool. I really can’t believe they’re letting me train. I feel like a new missionary still and so it’s kinda weird.

Christmas time is coming! They put up a bunch of lights in our town and so that’s fun. I miss having our house all decorated and stuff. Nobody goes all out inside their house like we do, except for the Degroots. They have like 4 full sized Christmas trees in their house.

So for Christmas skyping we need to coordinate a time to do that. What time works best for your schedule on Sunday? Also it sounds like we have around 40 minutes to talk so keep that in mind. Well not much else to update you on. I’ll keep you posted about my new comp and things like that. Love ya!

-Elder St. John