Noah on a Mission

Last Monday we had a crazy night for one reason; one of our investigators was sick and we had leftover chicken noodle soup from a ward potluck. The problem was, we seemingly would have to walk it all the way over because we have no car. Elder Knowles felt like that would not be a good use of our evening, however, but still wanted to get the soup to the investigator. The solution? Carry the big pot of soup as we bike. Yep. Elder Knowles rode full-speed carrying a big, heavy pot of soup while biking hands-off the entire way. It was an amazing feat. And we saw the blessings right away: because we did it quickly instead of walking, we found some street contacts who were really excited to talk to us. If we hadn't biked the soup over to the investigator, we never would have run into them. Really cool. It was also the first night I truly felt like representative of Jesus Christ, which a missionary is supposed to be. The family we street contacted that night is pretty cool. W...

This third week went by quickly, and yet each day feels like an age. Though nothing super interesting has happened, I'm learning each day. The most interesting thing was an exchange with Elder Dowse, another two-transfer missionary, my companion Elder Knowles's last companion before me. He's on his second transfer. Where before with Elder Taylor I went to his area and was led around by him, this time the Elder came to my area and I had to lead him. It was nerve-racking to be the one in charge of the day's efforts where normally it's Elder Knowles leading me. Almost everything we set out to do fell through anyway, though. But we got to teach two lessons that went fairly well. Some stuff Elder Knowles has taught me is how missionary work really doesn't stop when you  get home. It's every member's responsibility to welcome every investigator and every new convert into the fold and try to retain them. If converts don't stay members of t...

This second week has been the hardest, but it's looking up already. I had several days wherein it was incredibly difficult for me to comprehend the thought of doing this for two whole entire years. Talking with President Walker has helped me to take it one day at a time. I don't yet know exactly how I'll be feeling at the end of the two transfers in Vegas, but if it all goes as the last few days have gone, I think I'm going to be just fine. We were allowed to watch the funeral of President Monson several days ago, which was a new experience. I remember learning of Gordon B. Hinckley's death nearly a decade ago, but not watching a Prophet's funeral. We're a church led by unmistakably remarkable men. I went on an exchange with Elder Taylor two days ago. He currently serves in an area much nicer than mine, and drives a car where we ride bikes. Changing things up for a day was great, and I learned a lot from him. First, about how the Las ...

January 8, 2018 Dear family and friends, This first week has been everything you'd think it would be. It was crazy and spiritual and exhausting and stressful and amazing. The first person I ever talked to on the street took a Book of Mormon! She had waved us down while we were biking. She asked for a book, so we gave it to her, and then she told us she didn't want to talk because she was intoxicated. Welcome to Vegas! We've been doing a whole lot of street contacting, ministering almost exclusively to the black community. I've been amazed by how many people are even willing to listen to us or to have a conversation about God with us. It's cool to see what happens when you try and connect with people instead of closing off. People really aren't that bad; those who reject us are never even overly rude. We've already met our fair share of crazies, though. One guy tried to educate us about how Jesus never actually existed and he's ...