Monday July 23, 2018 Spokane Valley, WA

Monday July 23, 2018

1. Are you hanging tough through your last transfer? Working hard, not losing interest?

1. Oh yeah. I’m doing just fine. Don’t worry.

2. Have most of the Elders you came out with gone home now?

2. Not yet. The earliest they leave is in like 2 weeks. There’s a couple that go in the middle of August and then me and the couple Elders with me. I think there will only be 4 of us that fly into Salt Lake. Elder Jackson is one of them.

3. We have our ward newsletter for August coming out next week. They always like me to send in a picture and a little synopsis about how you're doing. With this being your last message is there anything in particular you'd like me to include? Words of wisdom? And a picture of yourself?

3. I’ll try and type something down below.

So this week was crazy and fun and just a great missionary week. We had transfers on Thursday and then we spent the whole day rearranging our apartment and getting things figured out so that we could just have Elder Robb and I live in it. So, we have a bunch of extra shelves and tables and stuff because our apartment got changed from a 4 man to a 2 man. We have a lot of extra room now. So that was exciting and then the rest of the week we worked and Sunday night we saw a miracle…

We have this lady we are teaching that has been super hard to meet with. We called her and she said she could meet that night at 8 which was in a half an hour. So we called our good member friends who are our fellowship for her and they dropped everything and came to a lesson on the spot. They are awesome. We had a super good lesson and we put her on date for baptism! So things in this area are starting to look up. It has taken a lot of patience to find people who are ready but God puts them in our path on His timing not ours.

As for a little message… I want everyone to know that our God is a God of miracles. He has always worked through his imperfect children to change our lives and the lives of those around us. Moroni 7:35-37 states:

35And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I 

have spoken unto you, and God will show unto you, with power and great glory at the 

last day, that they are true, and if they are true has the day of miracles ceased? 

36 Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the 

power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth 

shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?

37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain.

The day of miracles has not ceased! I have seen miracle after miracle in my life and I know that our Father in Heaven’s hand is always stretched out to guide us and help us. He won’t ever leave us alone. He just waits until we are ready to let Him in. It is through the power of his Son’s Atonement that we can be cleansed and return to live with him we just have to trust Him. We have to have enough faith to act. To be able to make changes in our live that bring our will in line with his. Then we can be ready to make covenants with him. Binding promises that hold us close and give us the strength and power to overcome the struggles of this life. If we live that way we will be healed of our sins and become better than we can even imagine. It brings me great joy to live the Gospel I don’t know what my life would be like without it. 

Love ya!

-Elder St. John

Monday July 16, 2018 Spokane Valley, WA

Hi Mom -

This week was good. We worked hard and found a couple new people to teach. 

We got transfers today and Elder Robb and I are staying here in this area. But they are sweeping out the other Elders in our zone with sisters. They are also combining our zone with another zone so I will be in a district with 3 sets of sisters and just Elder Robb and me. So...looks like I will be running a relief society. Haha

So I enter my last 6 weeks. First off it doesn't feel real yet. And second off I'm super excited for what lies ahead.

-Elder St. John

Monday July 9, 2018 Spokane Valley, WA

1. How were your meetings with the new mission president?

1. They were great! He is awesome! Super youthful and excited about the work. 

2. It looks like he has kids that are young - did you get to hear from them?

2. Yes, he has a 16 year old a 13, 11, 7 year old with him.

3. What was the best thing you ate this week?

3. Probably some grilled chicken or something. Nothing too exciting. I think I had pizza like 3 times this week.

4. What was your favorite thing you studied recently?

4. So lately I've been studying the Book of Mormon and looking for examples of faith and prayer and it's pretty cool!

5. Did you do anything for the 4th of July?

5. We met our new president and that was pretty much it. 

So this week was good. We had mlc on Tuesday and the mission president tour thing on Wednesday. So that made this week feel a little short. 

We had an awesome miracle last night. So we tried this person that we have had a lot of trouble getting in with and miraculously we got in and taught their family. It was amazing. It doesn't sound like too much of a miracle when I say it like that, but if you were in my shoes you would understand how great it was. 

I have seen so many miracles every day it's crazy. I know the Lord leads his work. I have been changed by the things that have happened here.

-Elder St. John

Monday July 2, 2018 Spokane Valley, WA

1. How was saying goodbye to Pres & Sis Dymock?

1. It was kinda sad. But you know how I am with goodbyes. They don't bother me that bad. 

2. What is your first impression of the new mission Pres.?

2. I couldn't tell ya, I haven’t met him yet.

3. When are the next transfers?

3. July 19th is when my last transfer starts.

4. Are you pretty sure you'll just stay where you are til the end?

4. I'm pretty sure I will but you never know. 

5. What was the highlight of your week?

5. Hmmm👇

Well I'll tell you what. So emergency transfers happened right. The elder that got to our apartment is Elder Kritter and he got there on Tuesday. We had exchanges with the assistants on Tuesday and then on Wednesday Elder Kritter was just meandering his way out to work and BANG his knee just exploded!!! Dislocated (it's called a supulation) but they took him to the er and found out he has a tumor in his knee that's twice the size of his knee cap. Don't worry it is benign so he might not even get it removed. So I know I'm weird, but I find it super fascinating and so that was the highlight of my week. 

Besides that, my week was fine. The work is a little slow but not bad. Our area is tiny so it's pretty repetitive. 

This week we have mlc tomorrow so I will meet the new president there. And then we have a mission tour where President Thompson will go to the whole mission and meet everyone. So it will be busy and a lot of work but it will be good. Well I love you and I’m glad to see Logan home and doing well. Say hi for me! 

- Elder St. John

Bikes in the apartment

 We flipped an Elders desk. It was pretty funny!

 Spokane

Monday June 25, 2018 Spokane Valley, WA

1. Tell us about "The Villages" that you live in? How big is your apartment, what color is it, is your bed comfy etc.(We googled his address & it showed he lived in a big apartment complex called the Villages – turns out he doesn’t live there)
1. What the heck do you mean by villages? It's just a normal apartment nothing to special. Everything there is just mediocre just like every other missionary apartment.

2. Do you have any furniture in your apartment besides the used desk you found and your beds?

2. Well we have a table our desks and dressers some shelves. 

3. Have you talked to any of the other tenants of your apartment complex?

3. A couple of them. Most are kind of sick of talking to missionaries. 

4. Do you go to the nearby Fred Meyers to buy your groceries and other necessities?

4. Nope we just go to Wal-Mart.

5. Have you gone to the Five Guys near you? and if Yes, how was it? If no, Why not?

5. We have not. Mostly because of time and money. 

Well so crazy story this week. One of the elders in my apartment just got et'ed today! (Emergency transferred) along with some other elders in the mission so that was fun. Other than that, we had a great week we found 4 new investigators! And we are working hard.

Yesterday we had stake coordination meeting. I don't know if I told you what that is. But we meet with the stake president the mission president and the high counselor over missionary work. So it's a sweet meeting.  But that was on Sunday and it went forever long! Like almost 2 hrs., which is pretty long. 

So I get to see President Dymock as President Dymock for the last time on Tuesday for a temple recommend interview. I will miss him a lot. He has taught me so much. He flies out on Saturday. And President Thompson gets here that day as well. It should bring good change to the mission, but we will miss him a lot. 

Well thanks for the good email. Logan gets home this week which might be the second most weird thing ever. But I guess that time had to come. I also got the allergy pills today so thank you very much! Love ya!

-Elder St. John

Pday in Coeur d'lane

Monday June 18, 2018 Spokane Valley, WA

1. When does your current mission president leave to go home?

1. He leaves not this Saturday but the next. 

2. Do you have a big meeting to meet the new one or does that just happen at zone conferences?

2. So we have zone conference this Tuesday and then we will have a mission tour next week to meet the new mission president. 

3. Who are the Elders you share an apartment with and how long have they been out?

3. Elders Brinkerhoff and Williams. 1 year and the other 9 months. So basically, I'm ancient. 

4. How are the two wards that you're serving in different from each other?

4. One has a ton of youth and the other doesn't and that's pretty much it. 

So this week was good. To start, last p-day my companion just happened to dislocate his pointer finger playing a dodgeball sort of game. That was pretty fun because he trusted me to put it back in place for him. That was pretty cool.  

Well we are just doing the normal work here as usual. I don’t really have much to write about like normal. Pretty much cuz there aren’t things to say. I guess one thing is that we have been doing service for this guy in his yard and he is super picky. But it’s kinda fun because its service.

There is a lot of member support here. I feel like I’m in a Utah ward. It’s pretty great. The members take super good care of us and we get dinners like every night. One family gave us 2 lbs of shrimp to take home because we had been craving shrimp! There are a lot of wealthy families here. It’s different. But a good different. This week should be good. We have a sports youth activity on Saturday so I might get to play some sport of some sort.

So funny story… the other Elders called us saying there was a free desk on the side of the road and they needed us to come pick it up for them. So, we spent like 20 minutes trying to fit this desk into our Corolla which was going to be impossible! At the best time a member decides to roll up in a truck and offers to take it to our apartment. So now we have an extra desk in our apartment just sitting in the hallway. So that’s fun.

We had stake conference this weekend which is always fun. I feel like I’ve been to like 6 or 7 stake conferences on my mission. I don’t know if that’s normal or not but it was good. This week they talked a lot about the sacrament and how to honor it and prepare for it. They also said some bold statements of how to treat other people it was a good time. 

Well that’s all I got. I don’t really know what you are expecting me to say each week when I have been doing literally the same thing for like 90 weeks. But I love you guys! Hope you have a good week!

-Elder St. John

 My companion's finger

All the stuff we got from Panda Express today

Monday June 11, 2018 Spokane Valley, WA

1. How did your transfer go?

1. Great!

2. I guess that means you left before your scheduled baptism? How did that go?

2. The date got moved so it hasn’t happened yet.

3. What's your new address?

3. 15719 E. 4th Ave. Apartment 15 Spokane valley. 

4. Do you live in an apartment/house? With another companionship?

4. Apartment with another companionship.

Well this week has been good. I got transferred to the valley, Sullivan and Ridge Crest wards, with Elder Robb who was trained by Elder Jackson in St. Maries. It’s a blast! He is super cool, from Logan and does cool stuff. It’s going to be a blast.

This week there is not too much to say, and I really don’t have much to write about so I’m just adding fluff to this email so you don’t get bored. 

The valley is nice. It’s got a lot of members who are super cool and fun. Elder Robb is a hard worker and we are teaching quite a few people. If you remember my companion Elder Horman he was trained in this area 2 full years ago. It’s an interesting place to be. I’m excited to work hard here and finish strong. 

Well love ya!

-Elder St. John