Quick Update

Okay, busy, busy, busy P-day.  Laundry, dry cleaners, hair appointment, bike shop for repairs, etc. etc., but I'll give everyone a quick update.  In short..this week has been SUPER GREAT!  We are working super hard and ALWAYS trying to pass along a Book of Mormon and talk to everyone. 

Just to give you a taste of how great its been...

• We set an important appointment today... a hair appointment that worked perfectly! Haha. 
• We've been working with a few new investigators and we set a new baptismal date! Yayyy!   
• We have another investigator who really wants to study the book of Mormon and was proactive in setting meetings with us. Gotta love that.  
• We gave bug spray to some recent converts who needed some.  We had some on us and we brought it on time perfectly. Haha
• I found 5 dollars on the floor! Tithing pays off. 
• And we got mail in the mail box!
• Super great week! 😎

Is been raining a lot recently here, but nothing can put a damper on our parade!

This week has been full of blessings and miracles because..... we are striving to be obedient and always working really hard. Its the Lords time. What a blessing to be on a mission! I love it!

Here are some pictures of our area... Not too shabby

Love, Elder West

Sierra Vista

"Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are fallen!"
-3 Nephi 9:2

Normally in the scriptures when someone writes down a word multiple times, it means you should pay attention. Repentance is a key part of our existence, Satan knows this. When we choose not to repent but continue to live in our sinful state, Satan laughs and rejoices. Do you want to make Satan happy? No! So stick it to him and change, is what we tell investigators.

My new area is awesome!!! I absolutely love it here! Sierra Vista is a little bit like "banishment" here.  The area is far south of Tucson, closer to the Mexican boarder and it is totally different than Oro Valley.  There is a lot of poverty and drugs and "tweakers," but the people here are humble... what more can you ask for a missionary?

My new companion is Elder Downey and he is a stud!  He is still a 'greeny' and this is the only area he has served.  He has been in Sierra Vista for about five months so far. We are fearless with making new contacts as there are so many people to talk to. We cover multiple apartment complexes near where we live, and unfortunately there is a lot of drugs and sketchy people. But everyone has been pretty nice to us and they are used to seeing the missionaries. What a change this is from the middle /upper class area of Oro Valley....and I am not upset at all.

We helped a non-member move from her apartment complex to another building last week.  While we were helping her she told us that a few nights ago she was sitting on her porch drinking iced tea (remember she is not a member... YET 😊) and she watched someone get shot right in front of her! I guess this is why she is moving.  Of course drugs run through this area constantly because we are so close to the Mexican border.

There are a lot of kids in the apartments out here and they enjoy talking to us. Basically all of the kids here love the missionaries. Many of them are living with their single Moms with split homes with no idea who their Dad is. Monogamy is not much of a thing in Sierra Vista. We've been talking to some of the young kids and some of the girls even came to church on Sunday! They came alone, so they sat with us during Sacrament meeting, and wanted to play with my tablet and take pictures (see below). They're so funny!

I'll send a few pictures of the kids and area; it will give you a good idea of the kind of life it is out here. Oh, and I'm in a bike area again too, so I'll be enjoying the exercise.

Until next week!
Love, Elder West

Kids during Sacrament Meeting

Cactus and Transfer

Hi everyone.  Sorry in advance for the short message, but it’s sad to say, I will be leaving the La Cholla Ward and Oro Valley area and I’m so busy with my second transfer.  I will be heading to Sierra Vista, AZ to be a District Leader.  Pray for me, I will need it.

Last week during one of our service projects we had a funny thing happen. While we were at our weekly service at Catalina State Park, a series of unfortunate events occurred which involved a few cactus's (or cacti). There are many different kinds of cactus, so bear with me. 🌵

During our regular work activities at the park, one of the Elders in our District was investigating and playing with a cactus.  While he was messing with it, one of the bulbs came off.  Elder Remus, my companion, walked by and somehow seemed to get it stuck on the toe of his shoe. He didn’t want to pull the thorny bulb off his shoe with his bare hands, so he began to shake and kick his foot, hoping to dislodge it. He was successful, but accidentally kicked the spiky bulb high in the air behind him. As it flew through the air, it managed to land right on the thigh of our Zone Leader's leg! Now the needles on a cactus don't stick like Velcro, they literally stab into you like a needle.  Many of us saw the flying cactus bulb land on his leg, but there was a quiet pause before this poor Elder let-out a loud whine of pain. He stood up slowly, trying not to move a muscle, but every movement only seemed to intensifies the sting. He was weeping and wailing, not letting any of us touch it. Our District Leader tried to help along with four of our service Sister missionaries.  But they couldn’t stop laughing from the exaggerated expression from our poor Elder. Then to add to the crazy events, while our District Leader bent down to look and see if he could help, he sat back on another cactus and got needles in HIS rear end!  Haha…needless (no pun intended) to say we had a few screaming Elders, and many laughing Sisters.  It was hilarious.  BTW, I had the pleasure to help remove the needles from our District Leaders backside.  Very memorable. 😊

Hope everyone enjoys their day today, I know I have!  As always, read the Book of Mormon!!

Love,

Elder West