Transfer 5, Week 3: A Birthday Party

Hey Everyone,
       How are you all doing? I am pretty good. This week hasn't been super crazy, but that is okay, Haha. Not a whole lot happened.
        We had exchanges with the Zone Leaders this week, that was fun. I got to go to Great Falls with Elder Allen. Just like old times at the MTC. It was pretty fun. We had a pretty full and busy day, doing service, a lesson, and some store contacting. Funny thing about the store contacting, over half of the peole we talked to live in Fairfield. So there was a pretty cool connection there.
        On Wednesday, we delayed District council to help with the food bank/truck that drops off at 10 am every other Wednesday. We didn't get started with our meeting untill around 2 pm because of it. It was fun, but very different time wise from what we were expecting. 
       Thursday, we made an ice cream lemonade cake, thanks mom, for Friday. It smelt very good, and it was hard not to eat it early. We also had inspections, and had a good time out in Augusta. 
      Friday was the big day. December 14th. Wow. I am 20 now. I feel so OLD. All we did was open the presents that I was sent, and weekly planned, because we weren't able to get it done on Friday. 
      Saturday, the only highlight was helping Br. Phinney with a light the world project for the neighborhood. 
      Sunday was pretty sweet. We had the oppurtiunity to go to the "Keeping Christ in Christmas" concert at the Sunriver Church building. The concert was supposed to take 1 hour, but it ended up taking a lot closer to 2.5 hours. It was great though to see all of the talents in the community and we got to hear a sweet gospel choir. It was a great night. 
       A quick update on John, because I'm sure you are all wondering about him. We are on hold as far as the baptism. President has to do some paperwork, and so the baptism is delayed until we get the approval. I hope we hear the news soon.
       Ok, Spiritual thought. You probably all know where I'm going with this, It's week 3 of Light the world. This week's theme is light your family. Try to view the video on lds.org, and see if you can come up with some ideas to light your family this week. 
       Thank you for all the support and all of the birthday wishes this past week. I appreciate it, and I can't wait for this upcoming week. 

All my Love,
Elder Sherwood

Pictures ... I only have pictures from the birthday packages, sorry, and 1 picture of our nice decorated tree.

Transfer 5, Week 2: Building Blocks

Hey Everyone,
     How are you all doing? I could be better, but all is okay. There is always still fun and exciting times ahead. Well, let's jump right into it.
     So, I am getting a really late start on this email, so it will have to be a quick one. Anway This week has been ok. Not the greatest, but definitely busy, with interviews, and stake Conference, and a few other fun activities. 
     Tuesday is where we start the highlights. On Tuesday, we were kind of in a rut. Nothing good was happening, so we decided to stop by the church, to quickly brainstorm a couple ideas. On our approach, we spotted a good looking Christmas tree in the Church Dumpster. It was in great condition except for 1 spot where there is a paint spot on it. But put that one to the wall, and it looks great. It is prelit, and is awesome. We put it up, and now just need to get some really cheap tinsel and ornaments. 
     We have been working heavily with John over the last week. He has made the decision to come closer to Christ. We had great lessons with him throughout the week, and he had his baptismal interview with President Larsen on Sunday. We are so excited for this upcoming week, since his date is the 15th (this upcoming Saturday).
     We had the Sunriver Christmas Party this week. We met with a new family who moved into the ward, they aren't members, but we feel that there is some potential there. I can't wait to find out more there. 
     Friday was kind of exciting. We were given the opportunity to go to Great Falls and participate in the Christmas stroll. Basically they shut down central, and everyone gets to go to booths and have a good time. We didn't have a booth, but we got to walk around, handing out pass along cards to a lot of people.
     Saturday was interviews and stake Conference. To save on miles, because of the Christmas stroll, we stayed at the zone leader's place overnight. Our assigned time was at 11 am, but as usual, president was way behind. Neither of us got in until around 1:30pm, so we ended up staying for Stake Conference. We spent the whole day in Great Falls. 
     Sunday was good. We finished stake Conference, and then waited for president to arrive in Fairfield for John's interview. 
     That pretty much sums up my week. Not a whole lot else to talk about. This week is week 2 of "Light The World". I would encourage everyone to go and watch the week 2 video, and think about how you can focus on lighting your community this week. 
     Thanks everyone. I look forward to hearing from you again. 

Love,
Elder Sherwood

Pictures:

Decorating Christmas sugar cookies at the Rushton's house.

Transfer 5, Week 1: Transfers and Souvenirs

Hey Everyone,
     How is Everyone doing? Are we excited for Christmas? Well, this week has been really slow. I don't know when it will all end. But hopefully soon... 
     So, like I said, this week didn't have a lot happen, but there were several exciting things. so, let us get right into it...
     First of all, we had our first lesson with Jon. He is a referral that we got from the Helena Elders, and he has some potential, so we are excited to continue to work with him. We had a good lesson with him on Monday night, but he wasn't able to get to church, or make it to the chapel tour we had set up :(
     So the souvenir, So I can't remember whether or not I talked about this last time, But last week when Elder Lunt and I were working with Br. Contway, he gave us both a 20 lb block of Bronze (wrth about $60). Well, I had decided to turn mine into a souvenir, instead of exchanging it for money. I'll add a picture of the finished product.
     John, our other investigator is doing well, preparing himself for the 15th. We have started to plan out what he wants for the service, and got the interview set up. Other than that it has been just reviewing the lessons, to make sure he feels ready.
     The rest of the week seemed to just drag on and on. No matter what we did, there was always something that would fall through. It was really frustrating. 
     Friday included the trainer call, and some service with the food bank. That was pretty good. Nothing new to report here. Sadly Friday was probably the most productive day of the weekend. UGH!! I hate these weeks.
     Saturday, the pattern repeated, even though it was the "Light the world" kick off. We had stuff lined up to serve, but then it all fell through because the weather turned bad, and everyone canceled. We tried and tried, but nothing worked. 
     Sunday was a nice highlight. We had the Christmas devotional on Sunday for those of you who weren't able to view it. It was really good, and lightened the mood of the week. Afterwards, we helped move a new family into the ward. That was a lot of fun.
     Well, that is about it. Sorry for the short email. We are hopeful to see better. For a spirtual thought this month, it seems easy. I don't have them downloaded yet, but I encourage everyone to watch the "Light the world" week 1 video, and think about how this week we can all follow the example of Christ and Light the world in this Christmas season.
I am excited to hear how things are going, but until then, I'll see you later.

Love,
Elder Sherwood

Pictures ...

The finished souvenir

Transfer 4, Week 6: Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey Everyone, 
     How are you all doing? I am doing great. I learned yesterday that after Wednesday this week, I will be the "oldest living" missionary still in the zone. Anyway, I'll come back to that later. 
     This week has been pretty good. We didn't have a whole lot happen, but what did was absolutely fantastic. So, this may be a little shorter than normal, but it will be great. 
     On Tuesday, after our lesson with John, we acquired a cd player from a member, so that John could listen to the Book of Mormon. It was great.
     Wednesday was the last district meeting of the transfer. It went really well, and we really enjoyed it. We had to quickly leave afterwards and head to our haircut appointment. It was great. After dinner that day Br. Phinney played me in Stratego instead of chess. For those of you that don't know, Stratego is like commanding an army. It was also my first time playing, so I lost pretty badly. 
     Thanksgiving was fantastic. We had dinner at the Heagy's and the Garners. We played some football, and had an all around good time. I love Thanksgiving. 
     Friday got interesting, Br. Contway called us around noon and asked for some help moving some stuff from his old house. We went, and moved his stuff and he gave both of us a 20 lb brick of Bronze. (Br. Contway makes bronze sculptures) It was a great gift. He said that Bronze is worth about $3 per pound, basically $60 each. Elder Lunt decided to sell his when we got the chance, But me, being me, decided to make a memento out of it. I've shined it up and engraved stuff into the 20 lb brick. All that I have left is polish the scratch marks out and color the words so they stand out. It looks really cool, and will be a great but heavy way to remember the area if I ever leave. 
     While working on it something crazy happened. Ever heard of Metal poisoning? Well I don't think I have that, so it's ok. Br. Contway didn't think anything would go wrong, so I just wore a face shield, But it seems that a dust mask would have been a good thing to have. I got a bunch of flying metal shavings up my nose, as a result, my nose has been on fire the last few days. Oh Well, Worth it.
     Sunday was good, and pretty normal. We had Church, gave 10 copies of the Book of Mormon to a youth leader to give away as Christmas presents, and tried to talk to some people. We finally got transfer news around 10:50pm.
     So, back to what I said earlier about transfers. Yep, you guessed it, I am staying in Fairfield until at least after the Holidays. After this next transfer, I will be only 6 weeks behind the longest time any missionary has spent in this area. (9 months) But anyway, I am now the missionary currently still in the zone that has been here for the longest amount of time. So, I am the "oldest Living" missionary. Haha! Oh well. I don't know if I'll ever leave. 
     Well, I think that just about wraps us up for the week. I forgot to say this three weeks ago, when the mission office emailed this to us. For the holidays, the mission office requests that ALL post (letters and packages) are sent straight to the apartments. It saves a lot of trouble around this time of year with so many packages coming in, so a reminder my address is:

309 1st Ave North Fairfield, Montana 59436

Just send everything straight here. Thanks, and I'll talk to you all later.

Happy Holidays,
Elder Sherwood

Pictures:

Elder Sherwood, Elder Lunt and Brother and Sister Contway.

District photo

Transfer 4, Week 5: Another General Authority

Hey Everyone,
       How is it going for all of you? Is it getting any colder down there. It certainly has here. We've seen our first sub zero temperatures. I guess that means winter is coming early. Brr. It was really bitter old. I'm not sure how I'm going to survive. Haha. Well, let's get rolling.
        This week has been full of us planning and preparing for yesterday. As you who have gotten my last email, we were helping to plan Jaden's Baptism for the 18th. I'll come back to that subject.
         I think I would have to say that this past Monday was the most wasted Preparation Day of my mission so far. We had a hard time getting things going, so we didn't get to having our preparation day fun until around 4 pm. Part of that included trying to locate the River's Edge sisters, because they left their phone at Sam's Club. We spent the greater part of the afternoon searching for them.
        Inspections were this week as well. We passed, of course. Nothing new there, but I guess it is always nice to have the Blossoms come over and talk to them.
        On Wednesday, we didn't have District Council because of zone conference the following day. But we did get to have 1 final lesson with Jerry before he leaves for the holidays. Then we were invited by Br. Phinney to help teach the Sunriver Youth Chess. That was a lot of fun. I love chess, and I even learned a lot about how to plan out a good game while I was there, so that was great. Afterwards we ran back up to Fairfield for Jaden's Baptismal interview and then spent the night at Two Rivers in preparation for the zone conference the next day.
      Thursday was pretty great. We got to go to Helena all day long. (9 am to 4 pm). For those of you who don't know. That's a 1.5 hour drive from Great Falls (2 hours from Fairfield), so we got back pretty late. We had the privilege of meeting with Elder Nielson of the Seventy. He was on a mission tour, so we got to hear from him. It was a great meeting, full of new experiences and amazing instruction given. There were also many tears shed because this was the last time many of the people in the zone would see their first zone leader. Elder Ritchie had left to Wyoming last transfer, and now Elder Wheeler was leaving the following day to go home. We will miss him. And I hope that all will be well for him. 
      Now back to Jaden. Jaden was Baptised and Confirmed yesterday. It was a really great service, and I am so happy to see this happen for him. It was great to be a part of this six year wait for him. I'm sure he also is very happy. 
We, Elder Lunt and I, also had the chance to give our first talks on the mission. They weren't hard. the topic was preparing for a mission since it was Sam Rammel's last week before he enter's the MTC. (We don't call them Farewells anymore.) I am so grateful that I have Elder Lunt with me, because I was reaffirmed today that I am not an orator.  But he is. So it helps that we are together, since he isn't really good with technology, and I am probably way too big of a techie. Naw, there is no such thing.
      This week has been rather busy and full, which is probably why it went by so quickly. It was awesome, and I can't wait till this next one. I hope all is well back home, keep it up and don't get discouraged. And I hope you all have a Great Thanksgiving.
Till Next Week,

Love,
Elder Sherwood

Pictures:

Jaden's Baptism

I forgot to send this last week. Elder Wheeler burned some outdated pass along cards.

I think the house is getting frostbite.

Cool snow drifts blowing on the road.

A great meme I was sent.

Transfer 4, Week 4

Hey Everyone,
        How are you all this week? Was the week fun? Are you all excited for Thanksgiving? I know I am.This week has been really cold, but also pretty exciting. 
         So, to start it all off, on Monday we had interviews with President Larsen. They went well, although I have a really strong notion that I am leaving after this transfer :(. We'll see how it goes. Anyway, interviews ended up taking literally all day long, so while we were waiting, we played card games and watched "Coco". It was pretty good. 
         Then we had the transfer dinner that night. This was fun! President Larsen joined us for the the evening, and it turned out to be a pretty cool night. After a night of spiritual highness and instruction President Swensen wanted to show President Larsen something cool, so naturally every missionary followed. We went out to a shed, and President Swensen showed us a cannon he was making. So cool. Then we all, President Larsen included, coerced him into firing it off. It was a Blast! Literally! I'll try to send the video. 
         We went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders this week, from Monday to Wednesday. Elder Wheeler came to Fairfield with me, and Elder Lunt traveled to Great Falls. It was a awesome. Elder Wheeler forgot his tiwi card, so we not to drive around as much as possible. We stayed in town on Tuesday and worked while Elder Wheeler did a little reminising to me. 
        District Council went well again. I did my first vehicle inspection, we are supposed to do them at each district council. OOPS. It was good. I'm still learning. Afterwards, we had a pretty good lesson with Jerry, and then I beat Br. Phinney for the second time in a row at chess, while we discussed the ward. This time playing Lord of the Rings Chess. I won't let him tear this streak down.
        Jerry is still a nice strong new member. He is progressing, and is happy that he is now a member. We've been starting the review process, and hopefully we can get another review lesson in there before he leaves for 2 weeks to North Dakota for Thanksgiving. 
        It's been snowing constantly since Wednesday. We got a bit of snow after we shot off the cannon, which turned into a temporary good laugh about it being ash, but it was too white for that. The snow has been on and off, But I would guess that we have at least a couple inches right now. It has been cold, but it's supposed to get warmer this week, but I don't think the snow will leave before we are given more. 
         John, our other investigator we have had for a while took a very big step this week. One of the bills in Montana was I-185, which would raise the cost of Tabacco by $3, making a pack of cigarettes $10. It would also raise taxes in other areas to compensate etc... Anyway, John had made a goal to stop smoking completely by Nov 6th, Election day in case the Bill passes. It didn't. But John still kept to his goal anyway. He is smoke free once again. Hopefully this time for good. I have faith that he will keep up the good work. He is also reading on his own. We had a lesson with him on Saturday in which we reviewed a few principles, and he asked several great questions, resulting in John being on Date to be baptized on December 15th. What a great birthday present that will be, since my birthday is the 14th. I am super excited for him, and I know that he can do it.
          Sunday seemed to last forever, yet go by very quickly at the same time. We were planning on spending church in Sunriver, but the church building had their sewage line freeze, and the sepitc tanks won't be able to reset till Tuesday. So as to avoid any issues with the bathrooms not working, church down there was canceled. We went to Fairfield ward conference instead. We totally forgot this was ward conference weekend. Elder Lunt and I walked into the building, heading for ward council, when the whole ward leadership was in the chapel, so we sat down for the early meeting, and got to have an extra hour of church. We did some service setting up for the thanksgiving festival on Tuesday, and then headed to Sunriver for Lunch at the Rushton's place. We Read the Book of Mormon with Jerry, and learned several good teaching demonstrations/ideas from the Croxfords. It was super busy.
          The other good news is that the youth investigator, Jaden, I'm pretty sure I mentioned him last week, has gotten permission from his dad to be baptized. So we will be having another Baptism on the 18th of November (this coming Sunday). I'm so excited for that one. 
           Well, I think that just about wraps up my week. I hope yours was good as well. I am super excited for zone conference this week in Helena. I hope to hear from you. 

All My Love,
Elder Sherwood

Pictures:

Cool ice pattern on the car.

The zone with President Larson with the cannon.

The cannon

Firing the cannon.

Transfer 4, Week 3: When You're Down, The Only Way To Go Is Up

Hey Everyone,
        This week was in no way like last week. Not much happened there, but this week, we seemed to be going everywhere all at once. Was your week like this as well?
         Well, let me jump into the meat of it all today. So, our original plan for preparation day was to stay in Fairfield to save on miles, but that was interrupted  by an appointment to get the brakes checked on our car. So we had to go down to Great Falls, to see if the car needs new roaders, since our front ones were very groved. But it ended up being a dud, as we were told by the mechanics that the grooves we had were reqular from driving on dirt roads so much, and that if we replaced the roaders, the grooves would be back in a month, so there were no worries. 
        Tuesday seemed to go on for a very long time. I don't think I will ever say that tracting doesn't work, but it can be painfully less effective. We didn't have anything scheduled, so we tried to go visit a few people, but got shut down pretty quickly. All of a sudden, we have no plans, and several hours to use. So, yep you guessed it, we tracted for many of them before emailing a few missionaries from this ward for referrals.
        Wednesday ended up being fun, but I am sad I have to miss two Halloweens. For those of you who don't know, Halloween is easily my favorite holiday. I love dressing up and having fun with decorating, scary pranks, movies, etc. I love Halloween, and am always excited for it to come around. But, as a missionary, we can't do all of that. For example, we are not allowed to dress up (go figure), we don't really have any decorations, we didn't have any candy to hand out, we don't have any Halloween music, and to top it all off, we aren't allowed to proselyte past 6 pm, because they don't want people to confuse us with the Trick or Treaters. AUUGH!! It really makes Halloween not as much fun, But it's ok, Only 1 left. There was nice bit of excitement when we got an email from the assistants, telling us that we are approved to watch the Disney movie "Coco" for a week. Yeah, I had never seen it before, and I have to say that it was pretty good. 
         Thursday was very instructive. I learned a lot about how to properly fill out a baptismal form, since we had to help the zone leaders fix a couple errors in Jerry's. It was pretty good, and I learned a lot. We also got invited to Dinner in Great Falls at the Mackenzie River Pizza Co. It was really good.
       Saturday was one service project after another. We helped Br. Contway buck some hay, and move it into his storage areas. They were a lot heavier than the last time we helped. It was pretty great. Afterwards, we went and helped Br. Schenk with the Christensen's yard. I drove the riding lawn mower, and ate up many patches of leaves, moving them away from the house. It was a lot of fun. 
        To end the week, Sunday was pretty exciting. Church this week was a regional broadcast for the North America Central Area, It covers a fair bit of Canada, and most of the Northern states, from Wisconsin to the Idaho Pan handle. Anyway this conference was talking a lot about the area's plan for 2019, which includes putting an emphasis on the Sabbath, Ministering, Temple work, and Missionary work. The General Authority over the proceedings was Elder Holland. Yes!! I know we're not neccessarily supposed to pick favorites, I guess I need to repent in this aspect, because Elder Holland is my number 1 apostle. Anyway, He talked about the gathering of Israel, and the importance of missionary work. I'm excited to see if it brightens the fire in the members here. After the meeting, we got a pleasant surprise from Sister Krogue. So quick back story: There is a teenage boy who isn't a member who lives with his Mom and stepfather. He wants to join the church, but his dad has said no for a long time. Well, Sister Krogue came up to us and told us that she is planning on asking for permission from her ex husband again for their son to be baptised, and hopefully the answer will be a yes. I am so excited for him, so Yeah!!!! After Dinner, Bishop gave us a bunch of referals, so hopefully we will start to get somewhere.
        Over all this week has been pretty good. I have learned a lot, and Elder Holland always brightens my life. My spiritual thought kind of goes off of what Elder Holland said. He talked about the importance of the gathering of Israel, and with that, according to President Swensen, the stake president here. These 4 topics that I mentioned earlier are of the most importance to the general authorities right now. With Missionary work always on the mind of our church leaders, shouldn't it also always be on our minds as well? We should all be out there constantly looking to assist in bringing someone closer to Christ, whether that is a friend, neighbor, or whoever. This work is important, and we need to stay focused on the task at hand, and not be distracted with the things of this world.
         Well, I love you guys, and I hope your Halloween was pretty great. Mine was alright. I hope to hear from you soon. Keep the fire alive.

Love,
Elder Sherwood

Pictures:

Yay! I have 1 picture!

You can't really see it, but I am standing on the back of Br. Contway's trailer as he is driving around.

Transfer 4, Week 2: Sometimes, It's Quiet

Hey Everyone,

       This week has been really quiet for Fairfield, Montana. How has your week been? I hope that it has been nice and full of crazy stuff. Well, let's jump right into it.

        To save on miles, for preparation day, we chose to stay in Fairfield. It ended up being a laid back day, but we didn't really get anything done. It got kind of boring by the late afternoon, but everything turned out ok, so we were all good.

        This past Wednesday was my first District Council as the District Leader. It went pretty well. It seemed like a normal district council for me, but afterwards I was given compliments of how great of a meeting it was. So I guess that I'm doing something right.

        On Wednesday, the youth were going to the Mortuary in Great Falls and invited us. We told them that we could only go if there was a nonmember going as well. Well, the youth stepped up to the challenge and brought a nonmember friend, so we got to go to the Mortuary with them, and get a cool tour of the building.

      Friday got interesting, So... We went out to try a few people, and there was this creepy kid in front of the house that we wanted to stop by next. So, we drove on past the house, wanting to avoid any unpleasant feelings or looks. We ended up a little way off from where we were aiming to go, So we made the best of it, and tried the few people that were kind of out there, way beyond where we would have normally gone. Sadly no one was interested, but hey, at least we tried. When we got home that night and checked our miles, we were a little shocked, and had a good laugh at how many miles we drove that day, and didn't know it.

     Saturday was rough. We had a lot of disappointment happen before things got fun. We planned on visiting a few people including Kim, and a prospective Missionary, but no one was home. There was a divisional football game on, but Fairfield was blowing them out again, so no one was really at the game for us to try to contact. So, we decided that we would head down to Sunriver a little early, to see if we could brainstorm some ideas. The Valley Trunk or Treat party was on Saturday, and they usually have a lot of Nonmembers at this celebration, so we thought it would be a great oppurtunity for us to meet some people. Before the celebration started, Elder Lunt and I were in the Relief Society Room trying to brainstorm a few ideas on how to get the members more involved and the youth excited in doing missionary work. I was reflecting a lot on this during this time frame, and it became a little bitter sweet. All I'll say is this, other than the times where you need a little alone time, I love having a companion. To have someone there to help lift you up, when you fall down is such a great blessing to have.

      Anyway, we had the Halloween Celebration which was a huge hit. There were so many nonmembers there, it was ridiculous. It was a missionary's paradise, there were so many people, and it was a really fun night.

      Well, that pretty much wraps up my week. This email seems a lot shorter than normal but that's ok. I hope that you all are doing great. Keep up the good work, stay strong. Happy Halloween on Wednesday, and I'll talk to you all again, next week.

Love,

Elder Sherwood   

P.S. Sorry No pictures this week. I failed you :(

💀😭😭😭😭😭

Transfer 4, Week 1: The News You've All Been Waiting For

Hey Everyone, 
       How are things right now back home? Are you all still groovy and having fun with life? I hope so, this week has had a couple new adventures that were long awaited for, so not to hold the suspense any longer, I'll explain what's happening.
       First off, Transfer News. Yes, I'm pretty sure everyone was anxious to hear if I would be in a new area or not. Well, The Answer is................ So, quick story, there is an Elder by the name of Elder Leach. He was in Fairfield for 9 months, or 6 transfers. It looks like at this point I may become the new Elder Leach. Yep. Back to Fairfield for another 6 weeks. But good news though, I have been given a new responsibility. On top of being a trainer, I am now also the District Leader. Crazy, huh?! Currently, I am tied with the other District Leader, Elder Wilcox, for how long we have stayed in this zone, 4 transfers. So who knows what will happen after Thanksgiving. One thing that will be little different, is that up untill this point, we had no sisters in the zone, as long as I've been here. But now we have 4. A companionship in each district. This will be a new adventure.
       Then the other exciting news. Yes, Jerry was baptized this past Tuesday. It was a very exciting day for many many people. We had a nice service, and then I got to perform the baptism. It was such a great honor and experience. Who knew that in my first area I would have help find, teach and then also get the honor to baptise someone into the church. My first baptism on the mission was one I got to perform. It has been a long time in the making, but is so great to finally have Jerry entered the waters of Baptism. He has wanted this for about 4 months, and now he has the chance to work towards being sealed to his family for all Eternity.
      Anyway, on with the rest of the week. Transfer news didn't end up coming until monday evening. We got ours right before we pulled up to dinner. So President Larsen has great timing there. It was pretty sweet, and I am excited for this next transfer. Most of Monday night was spent visiting people, or preparing for Tuesday. 
      After the Baptism on Tuesday, we got the opportunity to host Elder Francom for the day. It was pretty fun. His Companion Elder Ronbinson had to take the car into the shop, and so, there wasn't any room for Elder Francom to stay down in Great Falls, so we got to have him third wheel for a day. It was a lot of fun. We tried a few people, including Kim, with little to no success. Then for dinner, we had the oppurtunity to go to the Contways. I love this family, so we jumped at the oppurtunity to do so. It was pretty sweet. Br. Contway showed us how he colors his bronze sculptures, so I was so happy to be able to see that.
       Wednesday was really full of activites. Br. Allen, when we helped him move, gave us some money to buy beakfast at the cozy corner, so we had breakfast there before studies and later going down to great falls to drop Elder Francom off. Afterwards, we tried to visit a couple people, but I had a horrible headache, so we finished up, and I then took a nice short nap to feel back up to par. We ended the night after dinner with Br. Phinney by helping out at Grant's Eagle Project, building an extension to the Vaughn Elementary School Greenhouse. 
      Saturday went OK. We had decided to visit a couple people, then go to the community Dinner put on by the fire department. Our hope and goal was to talk to a few nonmembers while we were there, but we ran out of time, and no one really started o show up untill after we were heading out towards our next appointment. So, that was a bust, but at least we tried.
      Sunday was interesting and disappointing. Jerry wasn't feeling very good, so he wasn't confirmed this week, but we will get him. We had lunch with the Rushtons, and she gave us Rattlesnake to eat, that was pretty interesting. After we did our studies, we headed out towards dinner, because they are a little ways away. After all that, I got to make my first ever set of district calls and reports to the zone leaders. I was a little nerve racked, but it was good.
      Overall this week has been a pretty good experience. We had many exciting new challenges and struggles, but also many fun times. We have learned a lot this week about each other. Oh, and I just remembered what I told Elder Lunt the other day. I said, " You should feel lucky, your my first Companion to last more than 6 weeks with me." Haha.
       Well, I hope that the week was pretty good for all of you, and I hope that you are all safe. Keep up the good work, and I'll talk you next week. 

Love, 
Elder Sherwood

Pictures:

Bronze coloring process. I really enjoy how I caught the spark turning into a propane flame.

Bronze coloring process

Bronze coloring process

Bronze coloring process. Final product.

My rattlesnake is eating my sudoku puzzle.

Elder Ritchie, Jerry and me.

Elder Lunt, Jerry and me.

Transfer 3, Week 6: A Much Too Early Winter

Hey Everyone,
       How are you all doing? This week has been great for us here in Montana. Cold, but great. There are so many exciting things that will be upcoming, so no need to dawdle right?
        To Start, How about that Weather... 😱😭.While it has been around 60 degrees outside for all of you, Nice t-shirt weather, and a beautiful open sky. It has been no warmer that 40 for most of the week. It snowed much of this last week, and has been pretty cold and different. I have a couple pictures below of what we got by one morning.This was way to early for it to be this cold. I wasn't expecting something like this untill December #UtahWinter. But, it's supposed to be in the 60's for the next week, so I'm keeping my hopes high.
       So, because of General Conference, the dinner calendar did not get passed around this week. Meaning, you guessed it no dinners for us. I know, it's such a weird thing to think about. But that is what has happened for the last 2 weeks. (the week before we were in Augusta, so it didn't get passed then either). So, as a result, I'm hoping to have lost a little of the weight I have gained so far on the mission. It was a little rough of a week that way. 
        Anyway, lets get into the meat of the email, the good stuff. On Monday, for Preparation Day, we as a zone, (except River's Edge) went on a quick hike to the "Sluice Boxes". It was a pretty fun hike. We had to hike along the cliff face several times, and then played with some rocks by the river. It was a pretty good time. 
         I'm getting super excited for Jerry's Baptism which will happen tomorrow. He is so ready for it, and I so happy for him. On Wednesday, we had a visit with Jerry in which assuming he came to church on Sunday, planned out the baptismal service. It will happen on Tuesday at 1pm. Whatever happens with transfers, we're probably going to be at the church almost ALL DAY tomorrow. Jerry has asked me to be the one to baptise him. Then assuming he doesn't get transfered, Elder Lunt will perform the confirmation. So this will be a very exciting time for me. My first Baptism of the mission, and I get to perform it. I'm so excited.
       On Thursday, we had to do a lot of driving. So, Jerry's baptismal interview was on Thursday. We had to drive down to Great Falls to pick up the District Leader (Elder Hayes) because they have loaned their car to the Portage Sisters for the past month. (and for another 2 weeks). Anyway, so we had to drive them up to Jerry's house for the interview, which Jerry passed, YES!!!. We also got haircuts from Sister Helms, which is always great. It felt so good to have it done. Now Elder Lunt and I look pretty sweet.
       Friday and Saturday were bitter sweet. When we heard that we might have to go up to Browning for Halloween, we decided that we should walk or ride bikes for the day, its an extra 200 miles that weren't planned for. We decided to walk around and try a bunch of people. Around 5:30 pm, we went and assisted with the move of the Allens. They are moving to Dutton, which is in the Choteau ward. I am sad to see them go, but luckily Br. Allen will still work at the library in Fairfield, so I'll still get to see him. Br. Allen Gave us 2 Susan B. Anthony dollar coins each for helping, so I guess I have a momento to remember him by. We also helped them put the final truck bed load into their truck Saturday morning, and Br. Allen gave us about $25 to get something to eat. I guess I know where we are having breakfast on Wednesday, Cozy Corner Cafe.
        For dinner on Friday, yep the one day we had a dinner, we had Captain Crunch French Toast with the Frosts. It was so good, rich, and filling. I could only put 1 piece down. But it was worth it. 
      Sunday was such a great day. First of all, Jerry came to church. He Did It!!! And he drove himself. He is all set to be baptized now. We are going to have one. Otherwise, after studies and all that jazz, we had a great lunch with the Kolste family, which by the end, was almost the whole Kolste clan. There were easily 20+ people in that room. It was so crowded. We also tried to visit a few people on our way to Great Falls to spend the night at the Zone Leaders place, because they offered us Pie and Ice Cream. It was a pretty good week. 
        Now, what you are probably all wanting to know and anxious to hear. Transfer News. The news is that We Haven't Recieved Anything Yet. We were expecting it last night. But the Assistants told the Zone Leaders not utill Monday Morning. And as of this moment of me writing this email, we still haven't heard anything. I am hoping I don't get sent anywhere yet, But who knows. I want to find out, whether or not I need to say goodbye to people. UGH!!!!
        Well, How have the discussions been about Conference so far? It truly has been a revelatory Conference. I can't wait to hear what they do next. It will be so cool to have 2 hour church, and that hour of study at home. 
        I hope you all have had a good week, and continue to have fun. In case of any transfer, I would wait to send any type of mail until I let you know of the correct address, if I'm transfered. Well, I can't to hear from you all. Till next week.

Love,
Elder Sherwood

Pictures:

Brother Pearson selfie

Selfie with Andrew Wambach, who is going to Brazil on his mission in February.

Brother Phinney with us.

The snow on Wednesday.

Beautiful sunset from Sunday night.

Transfer 3, Week 5: A Most Revelatory Time

Hey Everyone,

        How was General Conference for those who watched it? It was great for me. So many cool and new exciting times are going to happen from here on out. Also, can you guys believe that it's already October? This year has just flown by so quickly. Well, let's jump right into the action.

        First, exchanges. We went on exchanges with River's Edge this week. It was a good time. I went down to Great Falls, with Elder Hayes, and Elder Leach went to Fairfield with Elder Lunt. It was an interesting 3 days. We had no car in Great Falls, since the Portage Sister were borrowing the River's Edge car. So, it turned out to be a lot of walking for us over the next three days. It was good. We did some service for an art gallery/museum/school. And had a great time learning a new way of finding using Facebook. Thanks Elder Ritchie.

         We had another great visit with our new investigator Kim. We ran into her as she was checking her laundry, and it turned into a mini lesson, where we got to know a lot about her, and we testified of the Book of Mormon. Kim loves to talk. It seems like we don't get to make many comments on any matters because she just keeps going. But it was both good and instructive. Let me tell a story about that. 

         So, while we were there, Kim was talking like crazy. She talked about her family, past religion, beliefs, the whole nine yards. We kept up, trying to testify all the time about what she was saying. There was a lot more of a conversation that could have been had, but she just kept going. When we did get an opportunity, I was about to jump in, and testify about family, and how God loves and has a plan for all of us, (basically going into a short lesson) Elder Lunt beat me to it. But, he didn't talk about that, he set a return appointment, and recommitted Kim to read  some of the Book of Mormon, before we came back on Tuesday. Auugh. It was a tiny bit frustrating, but we missed the opportunity. So afterwards, we kind of had a great teaching moment between Elder Lunt and I, as we discussed the importance of testifying of the truth whenever the opportunity appears. Oh well, at least we have a great return appointment.

         Friday started off nice and hot. We had both of our weekly ward correlation meetings that day. Fairfield was at 9:30am and Sunriver was at 5pm. During this day, a lot of good happened. We had a great visit with Jerry, and set up our General Conference viewing schedule with him. We did the same for John, and then to end the night, we went to the football game, and talked to a few people, including the Garners, a family with interest, and set up a possible opportunity of a dinner appointment. Which is very exciting. I love the Garners, they have so many good connections with the ward. They are truly ready for the gospel if they can find the time to add it into their lives.

       The weekend was a great experience for a lot of people. Not just because it was General Conference, but a lot of other exciting things happened as well. General Conference was so crazy. We watched it on Saturday at the Fairfield Church building, the first session alone, but the second with John. And he really enjoyed it.  Sunday, we watched both sessions with Jerry. Br Phinney had watched Saturday with Jerry, and Jerry is now hooked to BYUtv. It is so great to see his testimony growing.

         A miracle had happened this week because of Conference. So, I know I've talked about how Jerry needs to come to church. Well he is only 1 attendance away from baptism, and then we'll continue to help him afterwards. Anyway, because of that, Elder Lunt and I got to thinking about his date. It was originally set for Oct 20th, but we talked about it, and with Jerry, and Br. Phinney, the Ward mission leader, and we decided why wait so long after Jerry comes the third time to be baptized. Br Phinney is actually going to be out of town from the 18th to the 24th, so we agreed to move the date up to the 14th or the 16th(next Sunday, or Tuesday) if he comes to church on the 14th. Jerry agreed that he would like that, and so we will set the final date and time on Wednesday in our lesson with him. I am so excited for him. He has been waiting a long time for this, and it's finally going to be here.

      That's was one of the little miracles that happened this week. The other happened Sunday night. So, let me tell you about that story.

           So, there is a recent concert family in our area who are coming up on their year mark. It's the Contways. Br. Contway has been out of town in Oaklahoma for a ride for about 2 weeks, and before he left, he had joking asked us to drop by and see how Sis. Contway was doing. Well it was Sunday night, around 8pm. We were trying to figure out who to visit before heading home, when the Contway's name popped into my mind. Knowing that Sister Contway was alone, we thought we would just make a quick door stop visit. That was the plan until she had us come in. The moment we entered the house, we felt something strange. I originally thought that it was a guilty feeling for being there without another priesthood holder. But as the conversation went on, Sis. Contway asked us if we could feel something. We said we could. She then immediately went on about how she had been troubled recently, and that there had been an unseen spirit trying to hurt her faith for the last little bit. It immediately registered in my mind what we were feeling at that point. Satan was attacking her at this pivotal point in her conversion, and Sis. Contway neither liked it, or knew how to get rid of it. So, she asked us to pray with and for her. I voiced the prayer, petitioning for strength to be given, and for the spirit of God to comfort and protect her from Satan. And immediately the bad feeling left. It was a little miracle, and the first experience I've had casting out an evil spirit on my mission. Sis. Contway couldn't stop thanking us for what we did. After the visit ended, we quickly got in contact with the bishop about this experience, and found out who her ministering sisters are, so they can come in and continue to strengthen this great family.  I am so glad that we followed the spiritual prompting last night to go see the Contways. It truly has turned out to be a miraculous experience, one that has changed my life, and renewed my dedication to the Lord, knowing that the Lord has a need of me at all times, that way we can touch the lives of those we teach and minister to.

        Well, I think that'll do it for the week. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be out here on a mission. I love being here, and I love helping bring others to Christ. I hope you hear from you guys soon. 

Love,

Elder Sherwood 

Pictures:

Exchanges selfie with Elder Hayes

How we watched conference. How about you?

A beautiful sky with the sun behind the clouds.

A funny meme Brother Phinney sent us.

Transfer 3, Week 4: When It Rains, It Snows.

Elder Sherwood and Elder Lunt

Hey Everyone, 

          How's it going? This week has been actually pretty ordinary, so no need to be upset by the shorter email. Anyway, let's get right into it. 

          To start off, it's been chilly this past week or so. It has been getting colder, and it has rained a lot this week. It has been in the 30-40 degree range for a while. I pulled out my thicker coat, and it even showed this week. Ugh. Snow should be happen in September.

           Like I said, nothing super exciting happened this week. We had a decent week in Fairfield, Montana. We had some lessons with John, invited Kim, the new lady we found with Elder Ritchie last week to the Harvest Dinner, and Jerry returned from North Dakota again, so that was a plus. 

          We got to ride the the 1917 ford model T again this week when we had dinner with the Watsons, so that was fun. 

          So, we kind of had 2 dinners on Wednesday. There was a Harvest Dinner put on by the Fairfield Ward for the community that night, and we had dinner prior to the Harvest Dinner with Br. Phinney, the Sunriver Ward mission leader. It was great, but Br. Phinney loves to talk, so we ended up being late to the Harvest Dinner. But it was well worth going. We didn't get to meet everyone that attended, but the ward council said that there were easily over 300 people served, most of which were non members. It was a great night. 

       District meeting was on Thursday this week, because mix was this week, so we accommodated with the zone leaders. It was a good, as always, no discussions this time, but we definitely got a lot out of it.

     Sadly, one of my favorite families moved away this week. The Lee's moved to Kalispell, Whitefish area to be precise. It was so sad to see them go. I'm going to miss them.

       On Saturday, we helped the Hatch's move some stuff, then played ping pong for a little bit. It was a pretty fun time. 

        Lastly, on Sunday, we had the opportunity to have church in Augusta. The Fairfield Ward does this once a year, do it was kind of fun to go to church in a different location. 

        Well, that pretty much sums up my week. There is a lot of possibility here, but not too much moving at this point. Oh well, hopefully next week will improve. 

       I guess a quick spiritual thought. As I have been doing my studies this past week, and with General Conference coming up this next week, I have been reading a conference talk each day. I know that we can receive many blessings from studying the words of the prophets, and it really helps prepare our minds for what they may say.

         Well, I hope you are all doing well. Keep it up, and I'll talk to you all next week.

Love,

Elder Sherwood

Pictures ...

First Snow

I'm cold!!

In the Model T

Some sweet clouds.

Something is burning ...

Elder Anderson conference photo. I am in the second row on the floor, the 10th person from the left.