water balloons, and more ants

What happens when your Zone Leaders ask you to fill 300 water balloons for an activity.  Well you'll find yourself sitting in the bath tub with a hose coming in through the window, while rain wind and crazy thunder and lightning are going on outside.  This is how I spent yesterday evening.  It was actually quite amazing to watch all the lightning in the distance.  The only annoying part about weather like this is no longer is it just a dry heat in Arizona.  This morning our Zone did play water-balloon volleyball and had a fight which was pretty fun.

Some updates for the week.  Elder Berardi and I have several baptisms this weekend which we are very much looking forward too.  Three woman will be getting baptized on Saturday, which is very exciting.

We had one of the most amazing miracles this past week with someone we talked to in one of our neighborhoods. We have been challenged by our President Ellsworth to find 3 new people to teach every week.  In an effort to do this we have been very diligent in talking to everyone that we meet on our way to appointments.  At one home there was a younger gentleman who I pulled up to and started talking.  I told him simply "We are representatives of Jesus Christ and we want to tell you that you and your family can be together for ever".  He was very welcoming which isn't always the case.  He brought us into his home and introduced us to his family.  We quickly discovered that he was the only one in his family that could speak English.  After teaching him a little bit about the Gospel he related to us that he had just finished praying for Heavenly Father to show him something, and sure enough right as he finished praying we came around the corner.  The lord really does put us in the right place at the right time.

By the way to the Young Women from Somerset Ward.  Thank you so much for the letters they were very entertaining.

That's really the news from Mesa Arizona.  The mission work is hard, but with every person we talk to we are changing their lives in small ways.

I love you all
Love Elder Davidson

We finally conquered the ants in our house, by vacuuming them up as they come out of the floor.

Families, ants, and trailers

Hello and Greetings,

 

Coming up to three months out in the field I've seen quite a bit of change.  This coming week three of our investigators will be getting baptized into the ward which is most exciting thing that we did this week.  As far as the temperature goes it is still incredibly hot.  This past week we spent a lot of time at the temple visitors center.  It is one of the best resources we have besides Preach my Gospel.  One of the Presentations is called God's plan for his families, which was just redone this past week.  While watching the presentation I realized very literally that I love my family.  It's something that I am so grateful for that I will always be with my family after this life.

 

Well this past Monday we had interviews with our Mission President who is without a doubt the most loving man I have ever met.  It is so humbling to be a part of this mission.

 

Item of the week: A bike trailer

On Tuesday we helped someone get some scrap out of their backyard.  Lucky for me there was a bike trailer that was just calling my name.  Much to Elder Berardi's disappointment I took it home, and we've already used it twice.  After seeing the multiple uses of the trailer Elder Berardi finally confessed that it is pretty cool.

 

Right I can't think of anything else that would be jaw droppingly exciting.  We've done a lot of work to help people around the area and we've made some great friends.

 

Also if you ever get ants in your house you can use cinnamon to ward them off.

 

With that I say I hope everyone is enjoying their summer.

 

Love you

Elder William Davidson

 

PS. If you're ever bored write a letter to a missionary.  Even better buy a typewriter to write the letter.

seven eleven letter

The 4th report

We spent P-day last monday enjoying a nice afternoon of shopping in Walmart and watching explosions.  I've discovered that I have a fear of the walmart super stores.  If you're looking for another way to see eternity besides looking into two mirrors facing each other just look down an isle in Walmart.

 

It's very frustrating the most exciting things happen right after I email home.  On tuesday night there was quite a big sandstorm, which was rather exciting.  Elder Berardi and I got our hankies out and put them on like we were bandits.  The next day every car was covered in dust from the storm.  The good news is it rained the past two evenings which cleaned everything off.  Some of the coolest lighting and thunder was around 4 in the morning.

 

The miracle of the week:

 

Elder Berardi was at leadership meetings every morning this past week, so I got to be in a vehicle with Elder Hannesson who is an amazing missionary.  He really pushed me to the limit in performance. He would see someone on the street and basically push me out of the car with a Book of Mormon to teach who ever was there.  He taught me a lot because I had a lot of good experiences.  One of which was really special.  Elder Hanneson and I were parked on the side of the road and I saw two young men walking towards us.  I got out of the car and went to go talk to them.  One of the boys T. was very interested in having us come and teach his parents.  Well we set an appointment and showed up the next day.  I can tell you it was definitely the Lord putting me in the right place at the right time.  At the appointment we were introduced to a man and his wife B. and T.  He was an active member of the church, but hadn't been for several years.  He related to us an experience he had that week of going to the visitors center at the temple, and wanted a copy of the Book of Mormon so that he could read it again.  That same evening was when I ran into his son.  I can tell you that was a modern day miracle.

 

Also we have another baptismal date for an older woman who is just progressing so well.  The members have truly been the greatest blessing to us in the work.

 

In other news my ankle is finally out of the brace.  I just have to wear it when I play sports.  It was getting rather annoying because I had to wear to different shoes which earned me the nick name two shoes, from one of our investigators.

 

So a common question is do we get a car in the summer.  Sadly the answer to that is no.  All through the summer we are to continue doing work on our bikes which can be very difficult.

 

About the guitar I've had for a while, I've been trying to learn how to play some hymns so that I can play at fireside.  It's pretty fun, because it's something I've never done before.

 

I don't think there's much more for me to say.  I'm doing some sound recording today with Elder Berardi, which I'm really excited about.

 

By the way, never put off Companionship inventories, it just gets more painful when you wait.

 

Thank you everyone for all the letters, messages, and well wishes.  They truly do keep a missionary going from day to day.Thank you.

 

As always I love you and truly miss you all.

 

Love

Elder Davidson

4th of July and Questions

Per popular request I'll answer some questions.

Q: Are you a puddle?
A: Almost if puddles didn't just evaporate I might be.  The temperature has gotten to a point that it is constantly over 105 degrees from sun-up to sunset.  You can tell what the temperature is by counting how many people are working, walking, or sitting outside.  Usually when it's over 104 no one is outside.

Q: Do you ride your bike in the heat?

A: Yes. Unless it is hotter than 120 degrees we are outside on our bikes doing work.  This really helps Elder Berardi and I to set appointments in the heat of the day.  The good news is next week I'll be in a car on a companion exchange with Elder Hanneson.  

Q: Am I drinking lots of water?
A: The question should probably be am I inhaling lots of water, and to that I can say probably about 3 gallons in the afternoon.  Whenever we stop we drink (water).

Q: Can you set off fireworks in Lehi?
A: According to the urban mission myths fireworks were just made legal in Mesa.  Of course we don't really have a way to verify this information online, but I can tell you there are a lot of firework vendors.  Unfortunately as missionaries we are not allowed to hold anything that may explode ie. fireworks, guns, little children.  This rule probably only exists to keep our shirts white.

Right well Arizona is rather hot.  When it's over 110 "dry heat" doesn't mean much.  When we told an investigator the other day that it's a "dry heat" she told us "well so is my oven, but I don't hang around it all day." That said even though it's hot you do get used to it.  The thing that bothers me the most is when we are biking, and the wind is burning your face, because the air is so hot.

Just a little disclaimer please don't tell me anything about Cars 2.  I know it's a silly thing to ask, but I might as well try to keep it a surprise.

Today is the 4th of July!

Happy 4th everyone.  this morning we got to go to a neighborhood party down the street.  It was really fun.  They had benches set up in one of the yards underneath a tree and on the other side was a podium, where some of the older residents would dress up and recite some of the speeches given about the state of the union.  That was really cool to see, but the best part was a model cannon about 3 inches around and 3 feet long.  It had quite the sound.  I'm looking forward to some of the fireworks tonight, it should be a good show.

In regards to the work.

Elder Berardi and I have been extremely blessed.  I can't put into words some of the feelings that have been felt in the past week.  We have four baptisms set for this month which is so cool.  All of those preparing have been such good friends.  It's amazing to see that when people actually read the Book of Mormon cover to cover their lives literally change for the better.  I have yet to meet anyone that has read that Book and not found great knowledge.  If there is anything that I could say to everyone back home is my personal review of the book gives it two thumbs up.  Not only that I'm sure it's the best thing that has ever happened to me. 

Anyway, Elder Berardi and I had a rough week.  Not in work, but in personal matters.  On Tuesday morning I sprained my ankle :(.  It was the most pain I've felt in a long time.  All I did was jump up to get a rebound off the basketball hoop and came down destroying my ankle.  I wasn't able to do work for 2 days.  Which honestly was the most boring thing I've done since I got here.  I finally got a brace on Friday so I'm up and back to 100%.  I just had to laugh, because I had a bruise on my heel.

Well that's the news from Lehi in Mesa AZ

As always I love you all
Elder Davidson