Service at the Minton’s house.
This is their back yard (pictures from the week before)
Apparently 20 years ago missionaries helped build this. Mr. Minton said they built probably 90 percent of it. There are some Sister missionaries that grew up with horses so they were overjoyed to groom and pet the horses. The Mintons have also had missionaries come to have p-days (preparation days) here and have had two commercials filmed here. Really cool!

















It turns out that Aldi’s grocery doesn’t open until 9 so we went over to Stater Bros. for the few groceries we needed. We have a lot of leftovers from members and from the munch and mingle at the Single adults ward. They just send it home with us.

(I think I’m actually on week 20 so I may have miscounted a week or two somehow.)

This is really more like a talk so feel free to skip through it. Also I just kind of wrote it down as things came to me.

It started from a personal study where I was learning about what leadership is and what makes a great leader and I read this talk.

From a talk by Elder James E. Faust.

“Ever since I was first in Egypt in World War II, I have been interested in ancient ruins. There is a fascination in observing why some columns still stand and others have toppled over. Very frequently those still standing do so because they bear a weight on top. There is, I believe, a parallel principle in leadership. Those who stand faithful to their priesthood, or Covenants with God, are often those who bear some weight of responsibility. Those involved are those most likely to be committed. So a successful quorum leader will want all of those in his quorum to have an opportunity to serve with some kind of calling appropriate to the circumstances.”

I also tied it with this scripture.

Accompanied with Ether 12: 27 (why we have trials)

I read this talk by Elder James E. Faust titled “These I Will Make My Leaders” and I instantly related this with testimonies of those in the church. Those whose testimonies still stand are those who have been tested and tried and weathered by the trials and storms of life and have stayed on the path, who have turned to God for support and trusted that he will deliver them. He always delivers those who are faithful. The timing might not be when we want or what or how we would like but if we are patient and have faith we will be delivered. (Have faith and God will deliver you “Ether 12: 12”). There are times of hardships and trials but with Christ there are also times of rest and rebuilding or reinforcement so that the pillar doesn’t crush under so much weight. There will be times of rest so we aren’t crushed.
Trials aren’t normally enjoyable or fun. In fact, most of the time they are really hard but if we weather out the storms of life with a good attitude and trust that God will deliver us we can overcome them. Trials are supposed to stretch us but this is how we learn sometimes.
Some of my most sincere prayers have been those when I am having a bad day or some trial, whether big or small, comes my way.
It is also important to keep a good attitude and be patient when faced with opposition.
Long suffering is one of Christ’s attributes and is one that I am working on and will continue to for the rest of my life.

“We must always attempt to correct the problem and overcome the trial, but instead of asking “Why me?” or “What did I do to deserve this?” maybe the question should be “What am I to do? What can I learn from this experience? What am I to change?”
Excerpt from a talk by Elder James B. Martino, titled “All Things Work Together For Our Good”

You have probably heard me mention this over and over again but please allow me to say it once more. “Perspective is key!” Rather then complaining and asking “why me?” We can change our perspective and see trials as a learning opportunity God has given us to grow our trust in and testimony of Jesus Christ and his comforting and delivering power.

As we turn to God in times of need we can not only strengthen our own testimonies but also improve our relationship with Jesus Christ and Our Father in Heaven.

My experience.
On the mission I have had many bad days and I couldn’t really do anything about it but I have noticed that they haven’t overcome me even when they seem long or hard all I needed to do is just keep moving forward.

Learning and growth
Whether on a mission or not, you and I will definitely have bad days and trials while on Earth, that is just part of life. It is something that we can’t and shouldn’t cheat ourselves of and the learning that can come from it. I’m sure it was the same before we came to earth. We probably were aware of, if not all, some of the mortal trials we were going to have and will have but we still chose the path of learning rather then a path were we are cheated of agency and eternal progression. Let us not cheat ourselves of these learning experiences we as mortals understand as and call trials by giving up and turning away but instead ask for help and strength and if there is doubt or fear with an upcoming trial that is okay even the Savior had fear before he suffered in the Garden and died for us. Some day we will look back and see what we called trials as key pivotal learning experiences that we couldn’t have grown without. Call upon Jesus Christ for strength and yoke yourself to him. There is no stronger pillar that can help you hold the weight of a theoretical building or in other words strength you in trials and comfort you and reinforce you through the storms of life.

When you have trials come into your life plead and ask God for help and he will! Even Jesus had trials that he didn’t want to go through when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. He took upon himself our sins and afflictions. He didn’t want to do it but he knew that he needed to for us. I would love to think how much better trials would be if we followed that example and go through trials with the perspective of learning and with a knowledge that these trials are necessary learning experiences that will help us to progress and become more like God. Most times trials are scary or undesirable but if we trust in God he will help us through it. In the Garden, Christ also felt what it is like to feel alone or abandoned in his trials but God sent an angel to comfort him (Luke 22: 43). God will send help for us if we trust and he won’t ever give us any trial that we can’t handle. And with the help of Jesus Christ, our Savior, we will come out of the storms of life with more knowledge and a firm testimony of God and Jesus Christ as long as we choose to turn to God and not turn away and blame God as a lot of faithful saints have done. If we don’t keep our testimonies strong and blame God when bad things comes our way rather then seeing trials as learning experiences, though hard, that we can learn and grow so much from we will surely lose our testimonies as well and fall away. Just remember that when bad things come our way that God is in control and if we endure we will be blessed. There might be some scars aquired along the way but Jesus Christ can heal us.

My testimony
I know God loves us and also Jesus Christ, more then we are capable of comprehending. I know that trials are supposed to strengthen our faith and it truly has strengthened mine. I know that God allows trials to be in our life, not to punish us or harm us, so we can learn and grow to some day become like Him! (Romans 8: 16-18) (2 Nephi 9: 18). I know that God is in full control of everything and that He can deliver me through anything in his timing as long as I put my trust in Him. I know God loves us and is our Father in Heaven and I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

This past week has been slow at times and very productive at other times. This week has been very good overall. We did some service, had president interviews and made a few new friends to teach.

Transfers to my new area!

Pictures from my week.

This is all for now…

I love you all!
-Elder Ian Shaw.

Overall this week has been pretty good. We made two new solid friends and
our friends Elizabeth and Richard surprised us when they showed up for
church!

Love you all!
-Elder Ian Shaw.

Hello friends and family! These are some pictures from my week.

This week has gone by fast, as have all the other weeks prior. I have
already hit day 100! I honestly can’t remember what we did early on in the
week but I do remember these past few days. We met a man named Isaiah from
helping him move an older woman from our apartment complex and he is really
prepared. The woman is also interested but not as much as Isaiah. This week
we had the possibility of a total of 10 people to show up to church, some with
their families however only one of our friends showed up. Jesse was the
only one. Ever since we met him he has consistently come to church with us.
He is on baptismal date (my first baptism!) but it got postponed a few
months because of some circumstances. We also met with our friend Gail. She
is an older woman originally from Canada. She isn’t too interested in
church but is fine with hearing about our church and having a good chat
with her. Gail and I have a lot in common. She was raised in a big family
too and we have a lot of other similarities that really make a wide doorway
of opportunity with teaching in a more natural way. We also met a young man
named Jamie. We were on our way back to the apartment when he walked past
us and we asked if we could say a prayer or read a scripture with him. He
said he was too busy but to our surprise he came back a few moments later
and kindly said if we could do it quickly he would like a message. There
are so many prepared people out there! This week has been a good week. Many
lessons have canceled and we had to pause a few but we have also found a
lot more friends.

I am so thankful for this privilege to be on a mission and serve others. I
have grown so much in confidence and teaching. I know God loves us and that
this is his work! I say this in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

I love you all!

Sincerely…
-Elder Ian Shaw.

This week has gone by so fast but honesty has felt slow at times. We had some good lessons with some of our friends. This week I don’t really have a lot to talk about.

I love you all!

Sincerely…
-Elder Ian Shaw.

This week has been a good week. We had a lot of lessons this week and have found 3 more people to teach. Elder Barringer and I have been getting along really well! We have a lot in common and work well together. I got very overwhelmed on exchanges with the 4 lessons we had packed in. My bike also got a flat and it just felt like the whole world was against me. However, as soon as the first lesson (with Linda) I was almost completely composed and ready for the rest of the day. Overall it has been a good week. Only one of the five people we were sure would show up to church came but most of them forgot. We got a lot of rain and got some flooding. It rained really hard on Thursday particularly at night so we changed our schedule so we could do studies at night.


We ended up going home and hour early because both of us were feeling a little dizzy with going in and out of the cold wet weather into and warm home and being soaking wet and biking hard up hill to get to a lesson on time. So we headed back to the apartment to rest our heads.










I love you all!

Sincerely…
-Elder Ian Shaw