Monsoon- Mesa Week #50

Hey Everyone!

Woah  I've been out here for 50 weeks? I had no idea😂 Man the weather this week was sooo nice. It has rained a ton here. Monsoon season decided to come early this year I guess. When it rains here it rains buckets! Yesterday we felt like we were driving in a river. Water was shooting out the side of our car, I felt like I was boating😂 And thanks to the cloudy skies and little break from the sun I did have a lot more energy this week. 

This week was pretty good considering that everyone is still out of town. Here is a little update with Al, he had a pretty rough week and so we went over and helped him around his house on Saturday morning. We talked to him for a while and got his spirits back up again! Then after we were done at his house he came to a baptism with us! He said he felt the spirit really strong there and so we are hoping he can keep that spirit with him as he continues to prepare for baptism! 

A brother from the ward took us to Chili's for lunch one day, I hadn't been there since I was home. Anyways he has been coming to church for 16 years, has a calling, believes that the Book of Mormon is true, and he still won't be baptized. He's a super awesome guy, he just needs some time I guess. So technically we could consider him an investigator but not really😂 one day he'll do it!

I did have a week full of great experiences! Not a lot of dramatic ones but little ones here and there. We are trying to be creative with our finding since we have 1 investigator to teach. President pretty much gave us the green light for anything we can think of that would allow us to talk to more non-members. He said we could even do a lemonade stand So we are thinking of activities/events that would allow that. Whatever it is it just has to be in line with the Las Sendas rules. We are thinking about doing a genealogy event, kind of a non-denominational feel to it so we don't scare everyone away. But that's still in the process of being put together. 

Thanks to my family for all of the support! It really helps me focus on my purpose and my conversion. I am currently trying to strengthen and enhance my testimony of the Book of Mormon and it has been awesome. I've learned a lot from what I've studied and I can feel the power that comes from it. I know that the Lord is helping me with that. Thanks to all for sharing your personal experiences with conversion!  We can never have a perfect testimony, that's why we have this life to build it and strengthen it as much as we can before the Savior comes again 

Sunday was a lot of fun! Everything was pioneer themed which was cool. Some sisters in the ward asked us to tell some pioneer stories in primary sharing time. So we dressed up as pioneers with our hats and bandanas and told stories! Haha it was a blast, I love primary! 

We also met with one of the high school seminary presidents and had a meeting with them. We are now helping kids get registered for seminary. It gives us an excuse to go into less-active families homes in a non-threatening way, sort of😂 Anyways it was cool to work with the seminary and feel the spirit that seminary teachers have. They are awesome!

Sorry I don't have lots of crazy experiences to tell haha. We are just trying to keep busy in the area. One day we will find someone else to teach! I know the Lord will help us!

Have an awesome week!

Love, Elder Findlay

Elder Findlay and Elder Karren
 at a members house for dinner.

Beautiful day!


This video is a little taste of the crazy rain we've been having!

Good Times! Mesa Week #49

Hi!

What a great week here in the city of Mesa! It was really nice as far as the weather goes. It was partly cloudy, a trickle of rain, and lots of thunderstorms! It had seriously been like 4 weeks since I had seen a single cloud in the sky😂 I don't know what it was about this week but I was just beyond tired every single day. The heat and the sun really take it out of you. I haven't been that tired since my first transfer. But it's a good feeling to come home exhausted knowing that you had a hard earned day! So many good things are happening within the wards that we cover that are going to bring forth much fruit! The Lord has really blessed us with opportunities to help members share the gospel with their friends!

I was able to go on exchanges with Elder Child this week! It was fun to be back together again, like the good ole times. We pretty much just picked up right where we left off. We both talked a lot about how much we had changed since we had been together. Even though it was only one transfer we both changed a ton! It was good to see the progress! We visited some awesome families and had good success with helping them share the gospel to their friends.

I was able to have an interview with President Townsend on Wednesday morning and it was great! I love P-Towny, he's such a caring person. We talked a lot about my area. Since everything is gated it is difficult for us to find people to teach. We aren't allowed to knock doors or proselytize. I told him that the area has so much potential, we just need to be creative with the Lords help. I also said that I love the area a lot, which I really do, and that I know that there are some things I still need to do before I leave. I think he was kind of surprised, he said it would be difficult but if that's what I wanted he would leave me there for a while. So I'm expecting to stay here for the next few months at least! I'm really excited about that. Although there isn't much work going on, the members are amazing! Seriously these people have such a strong love for each other and the gospel. And I've grown to love them so much! There are a handful of families here that feel like family away from family. I'm such a blessed missionary!😝

Here is the latest with our investigator A. He is doing well! He did struggle a little bit reading and praying everyday this week so in our last lesson with him we read the Book of Mormon with him. It really helped him a lot when we were there helping him understand things he had questions on. But with time and faith he'll be able to understand it better, I know it!😁 Still on track for baptism in August!

We did help Matt paint the rest of his bus this week! It was actually really fun this time! It doesn't look as ghetto anymore. But we are still painting it that lime green color so it will stand out a lot. His dog Gonja kept getting bit by rattlesnakes so she just chilled under the bus the whole time, normally she plays with us. Its always a new adventure when we go to his place👍

So I know Jack went to EFY this week, Brother Holt (a member in Mesa) emailed me a picture with Jack and Brother Holts nephew in it! I was like Hey man that's my brotha! Small world, Jack looked like he was having a good time👍! And man he is so prepared for a mission! I can't wait to see where he goes someday. He has such a strong testimony, and he's really good at living what he believes. I look up to him a lot for that. 

You get to go tour the new MTC! No way!! I'm jealous of those new missionaries that get to stay there!  After being on a mission for about a year you just want to go to the MTC all over again. I loved it so much there! It was a super cool experience that I will always remember. I still feel like I was dropped off yesterday😂

Well Momma I have to say goodbye for another week😭 I love you sooo much! Your such a huge blessing in my life! I always pray for our family and I know that the Lord is taking care of you! Have a great week! I LOVE YOU!❤️

Love, Elder Findlay

The sunsets here!

Living it up in the Mesa mission

11 months in Mesa! Week #48

Hello again from Mesa!😎

Well, today is officially my 11 month mark... you're right! Super crazy to think I've been out for almost a year now. It feels like it but then again it doesn't feel like it. I'm super excited to see what the next year holds in store. I'm really looking forward to another year of learning and experiencing conversion in the gospel. Missions are sooo cool!😝

Speaking of learning I learned a lot this week. Small things but they made a big difference. One thing that I learned is that preparation in all things is key to missionary work and life! In my personal studies I was trying to figure out what I wanted to teach Al at our lesson that night. Al is getting baptized on August 12th, he's awesome! Anyways I was pretty stuck and was about to just move on to studying for myself. But I decided to spend a little more time on it. I actually ended up using pretty much most of my study for Al and it was so awesome! I felt so good about what I learned and what I could share with Al. Later that night we had our lesson with him, but unfortunately we couldn't meet in person. But thank goodness for technology! We instead had a skype lesson with him and it was great! I felt super prepared and the spirit was there helping us teach. It went really well, we basically talked about the importance of prayer and revelation. It was really helpful for him to understand and it will help him prepare himself for baptism!😁

"Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man." --D&C 84:85  ⬅️This is the scripture that kept me studying and preparing for Al. God always fulfills his promises😁

You're right about it being hot here. It has been really tough! After we get out of AC for five minutes we are already sweating a lot. We try to stay in AC as much as we can, but we are out and about most of the day. The last few days we have had some cloud cover, not like its making a difference but it's been nice. Plus the sunsets have been soooo beautiful here! 

I have definitely seen the Lords hand in my life this past week! Like I said I'm learning more and more every week I'm here! I love it! Thanks for everything Momma! I love you so so much! Thanks for all of the love and support from everyone back home! The gospel is true! It changes lives and I know it! Have a great week!  

Love, Elder Findlay

One of those beautiful Arizona sunsets

Our bishop shot this in Africa...Crazy!

Al has some hedgehogs:)
They are weird little things!

New shoes that hopefully wont burn my feet
off on the hot Arizona ground!

Happy 4th of July! Mesa Week #47

Hello!!

Man I had such a great Birthday! Thanks for the package Mom! I loved the clothes and sunglasses! And you can't go wrong with a spray bottle down here. Also Uber Eats=👍 The guy came to the door and with his Japanese accent asked "excuse me sir, are you Elder?" Haha I said yeah that's me😂 "Your mother says happy birthday!"  And then he ran off haha!! It was awesome. That day we helped Matt paint a new coat of green on his bus. It was so hot while we were doing that. Matt got on top of the bus and just dumped buckets of water on us😂 It was a nice cool off. He also had me weld some bumpers together ha, hopefully they stay together. I have only welded one other time! That night we met with Troy, he is a priest. We've been teaching his girlfriend. Anyways he's been meeting with us because he wants to get out on a mission soon and wants to get more familiar with the work. So we have been teaching him about the preach my gospel and he has been coming with us to dinners with members. Its been pretty awesome. He and Emily got me a massive cupcake for my b-day haha! They are the best!

Saturday was a miracle! We were at the end of our night and we had a lesson with Al. He has been meeting with missionaries for a really long time. We taught him about the importance of baptism. We need to exercise our faith by following Christ's example and be baptized. We shared a scripture from D&C about it and it really struck him hard. After coming to church the next morning Al is now on date to be baptized on August 12th!😁 we are super excited for him! Right after that Jack Knight called us. Last week he returned home from the Federal Way mission in Washington. And yes he knows Grandpa! Anyways he called us up and said "Hey Elders you want to have a lesson with a non-member at my house tonight at 8?" And I was like bro you still on a mish😂 Ha, I know that the Lord is blessing us because of our diligence and hard work. The girl we taught was Jules. She is going to be a senior this year and she is super fun! We taught her the first lesson about the restoration of the gospel. She was pretty nervous about it but she seemed to understand a lot. She even said that she would get baptized if she finds out that the Book of Mormon is true!! We invited her to pray but she wasn't comfortable doing that yet so she said she would practice. We'll see what happens this week!

The 4th was pretty fun! Me and Elder Draper were on exchanges in my area. We had district meeting that morning which was really good. Our mission is super inspired! Haha I'm sure the other missions are too, anyways we talked a lot about having the faith to find, teach, and baptize in this area. It has a reputation for being  more difficult. But that doesn't stop us from working hard! The people are there, we just need to find them😁 We knocked a lot of doors of less actives and former members. We only got in one house the whole day. So we did a lot of online proselyting. It love it sooo much! Its the best! I'm still figuring out how to do it but it's coming along! There is so much you can do with technology, especially in missionary work! Its such a blessing to have. I absolutely love this video, this is what we are doing with online proselyting in our mission. Things are changing!😁👍

Later that night we really didn't know what to do so we went up to the top of Las Sendas mountain and looked over the whole valley to see the fireworks. It was a sight to see. The real reason we went there was because a ton of people go up there every fourth. So we basically street contacted a bunch of people while watching fireworks. No new investigators but, seeds planted👍 I was glad to be back with Elder Karren when I got home. We have such a blast!  He's soooo good at being a missionary. Sometimes I still feel like a greenie!😝

All in all things are going pretty well here, I love the people, the area, and the difficulty of a mission! Thanks for everyone's support and prayers! I love all you do for me! I love you momma! Have a nice cool week in Utah😎

My birthday breakfast

 I am spoiled... thanks mom

my Zone... yep.

Our View

Happy 4th of July!