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.