Talmage Mission

Good Morning! Someone is disrespecting chickens. I am not pleased, but they aren't my chickens so I can't do anything about it. The chickens in focus are contained in a cage so small they're almost standing on each other. There were a lot of chicken interactions this week, come to think of it, but chickens were not the best thing to happen this week.  We baptized a young man named Kutler, he's super committed to the gospel and the family has great support from their ward. We started teaching him the second day I was here, it was a wonderful experience to see him get baptized. I had the privilege of doing the confirmation, that was a really special spiritual experience.  I won't mention every exchange I do, but this one left Elder Fiame and I together for 48 hours. The first day we worked in my area, and the second we split even further with our Zone Leaders. I was in La Verkin, Toquerville, and Pintura throughout the day. I enjoyed seeing a new area and learning fro...

Good Morning! We've had some wonderful weather this past week; many days the temperature barely broke 90°! I consider that a success, today's high is like 82°, but it feels somewhere around 66° this morning. We took a hike on a nearby rise, it was pretty cool. You could see the St. George Temple and a good bit of the city from up there. My companion and I still get along quite well, he's surviving the consistent questions I have and helping me learn and think for myself out here, rather than following with glassy eyes. It's very appreciated.  Elder Bailey was sick Monday evening, some heat exhaustion combined with a dramatic water intake left him out of it for the rest of the day. So I soloed two Zoom lessons. I did pretty well, except I never shared a spiritual thought in the first one so we couldn't count it as a lesson. Oh well, you learn from your mistakes!  Another cool thing was I went on my first exchange this Thursday! We share the apartment with Elder Sarge...

Good Morning! The first order of business is to inform y'all where I'm at. I have been assigned to the Washington Stake, plus four YSA wards. My trainer is named Elder Bailey, and he's an Assistant to the President and Co-District Leader (because reasons, I'm not sure.) It's been super interesting to work with him, as he's a very obedient and spiritually focused missionary. I hope to pattern much of the rest of my mission off of Elder Bailey's diligence and spiritual witness when he's teaching.  All three of my flights went pretty well last week! I helped this Cuban gentleman navigate the DFW airport, it helped me practice some of my basic Spanish skills. I'm not the best, but the situation worked quite well. I think my suit and tag were the reason he approached me in the first place. Also, if you want a boost in confidence, just wander the SLC airport in a suit and tag. I had four people say "Hey Elder" in about four minutes. I later ran i...

Good Morning! The day has arrived. Tonight I get set apart as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and rejoin my fellow servants of the Lord in my two year calling. I'm so excited, I'm freer and more prepared than I ever have been! Half of you will remember my very first email, sent on Halloween night. We've come a long way since then, and it's been quite the journey.  Have you ever sat in the grass and watched the stars? Can you remember that feeling? Stars are so spectacular; they populate the night sky like nothing else, and in the proper conditions, are one of the most breathtaking sights visible from Earth. Despite their glory, they can feel out of reach, nothing more than a hazy speck amid the dark expanse of space.  There is a song titled "Lela's Stars". It's a somber little piece, but it turns the idea of a distant star to something as relatable as a distant dream. The artist who sings that song implies his own jour...

Good Morning! I must say I'm a bit nervous. It hit me yesterday that I'm home for one more week. Just one more! That's an exhilarating yet bittersweet realization. I'm excited to leave, Utah feels like the place to be. But I'm a bit nervous about my capabilities, and how quickly I'll pick up the missionary way of life.  My advice to my friends is to be confident in yourself. You know your capabilities, but God knows them even better. With that in mind, you can do whatever you work for. Probably the best advice I heard on this topic was "remember to be kind to yourself."  I know I can serve a full and worthy mission. I just need to swallow my own words and do it.  A friend of mine who's serving in Dallas recently stated that he "missed social interaction with other missionaries". To be honest, that's something I've missed too. There were a few weeks where I felt, socially, adrift. That has since remedied itself in part as I've ...