Three missionaries and their adventures

Hellooo World

It is with great enthusiasm that I say the weather has been perfect.  this morning we drove to email at the Stake Center and had the windows down the whole way here.  It will probably heat up later in the afternoon, but 85 in the morning feels really good.  Elder Witherell, Thomas and I all get along really well.  It's been a really fun week, as we've had an opportunity to work and laugh together.  The best part is we get to stay together for another 6 weeks.  That is if Elder Witherell doesn't get his Visa by then.  I really hope that he doesn't get it by then.

So some news in regards to the mission.  Our mission has a goal to double the number of baptisms by the end of July.  This is a very difficult goal considering since January we've had the lowest number of baptisms.  It's been a lot of prayer and fasting to find new people and work hard.  As a part of this we were asked to sacrifice more of our efforts.  That's a hard thing to do when you've already given up school, motorcycles, and music for a mission.  It is hard to think about what ways you can sacrifice even more.  For me it has really meant more time reading my scriptures and praying for help in finding people.  Also in the whole mission we have been instructed by Salt Lake to not tract.  For anyone that doesn't know what that is it means going door to door.  From personal experience I know how ineffective this whole finding technique is.  In other words we are asked to work with members to find those who are struggling with death, marriage, or a crazy teenager.  It has been a wonderful experience as we've entered the homes of friends and family to say a prayer over their home and family.  It has been a source of strength for the whole mission, as well as me.

This coming month we'll be doing so much work to find those who are prepared for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our baptism this past weekend was amazing.  My camera ran out of batteries, but I got some pictures from my companion.  I'll send them with this letter.  It was an awesome service.  T who got baptized is the granddaughter of a wonderful family in our ward.  She conquered smoking as soon as we invited her to do so.  She has already been a tremendous help in spreading the word.  One of the investigators we brought to the baptism has become really good friends with her and her son.  Her son G is pretty crazy.  The whole baptism service I was trying to keep him entertained so that he wouldn't make so much noise.  It turns out that my camera case serves as a very captivating toy.  The service was so cool, and the hymns that were chosen were ones that I have never sung before which made it really exciting to sing.  T came to church yesterday and you could tell how happy she was.  Her baptism has lifted the whole ward into a new sense of joy that comes from spreading the gospel.

Next month G, and older sister might be getting baptized.  I had another tender miracle following the baptism.  We were enjoying refreshments when G coughed up a little bit.  I looked to see that his mouth was open and absolutely no sound was coming out.  I recognized that he was choking.  Before I knew it I had yelled   "G!" and ran to him.  With a quick check of his throat I performed the Heimlich.  After one compression I turned him around, and said "G say something".  Out of his mouth came the sound "uck".  Soon enough he was back to eating lemon bars which were a little less chunky than the cookies.  I was glad to have helped, but I don't know how everything came so quickly to my mind.  I know it was a blessing.

In other news having a car has a really great perk.  You get to listen to music!  Elder Thomas has introduced me to this artist Josh Groban.  He is pretty talented.  He records his music in several different studios around the world, so it makes every song have a unique characteristic.  His Awake Album is my favorite, and track two is awesome.  It is the best song to listen too when you are on your way to an appointment.

I don't know what else to share.  We've met some wonderful families.  One of them is a really cool family and they are so loving.  The sons are older and have come from some really rough backgrounds.  Now they are just trying to do the right thing and keep their families together. We always enjoy teaching them, because they are willing to learn and think about what we say rather then just discounting it based on what someone else has said.

I love being a missionary so much, and we are having so much fun!

Your one and only,

Elder Will Davidson

Surprise

The week of one very unexpected surprise.

 

Friday afternoon Elder Thomas and I were informed that we would be getting...A visa waiter!  Elder Witherell from Rangely, Colorado has joined our companionship to make a wonderful trio.  Hey has quite the story and has plenty of experience.  He was in the MTC for 12 weeks due to a knee surgery on his meniscus.  He has since recovered, and in fact we took a good 1 1/2 mile hike this morning up Camelback mountain.  It was a pretty short hike, but very steep.  At the top we were greeted by a few overly enthusiastic girls from Mesa.  They saw our tags and wanted to take a picture with "The Elders".  We (Elder Witherell, Elder Thomas and I) had a wonderful time hiking up and enjoyed the view.  I took pictures this time, I just don't have them yet.

 

Well back to Elder Witherell.  He is one amazing missionary, and a convert to the church.  It is really cool to see where our efforts can be in a few years.  I'm sure the missionaries who taught him never imagined that he would be serving a mission and helping so many people.  We've been so blessed with his maturity and understanding of the other side of missionary work.  His input on how we can better teach is very valuable.  That has been a really cool experience to work with him.  His family is very supportive which is so wonderful.  I can't imagine having to go on a mission and not have family support.

 

In other news we have a baptism this weekend.  She is a lady in her late 20's and very cool.  Her grandparents are the greeters at our ward building.  We've really enjoyed getting to know her and teach her.  when we taught her that smoking is one the things we've been asked not to do, she immediately quit. She had the support of her grandparents who both over came smoking before they were baptized.

 

I have seen so many miracles this past week as we are really trying to double our faith.  It might be a little bit of an advantage now that we have another missionary.  That's like having 50% increase in faith!  Now we just need another Elder and we'll be good.

 

It is really a strange experience now that I'm older than two missionaries combined.  That has never happened to me before.  I've become the 'old' missionary and there's nothing I can do about it.  I've been trying to focus on just being a good example of how to follow the direction of the mission president and stay focused.

 

We had a really cool experience this past Sunday over the weekend.  We were out and about contacting some names on an ward list.  The temperature was sitting just about 3 under or over 100 degrees.  We drove into an apartment complex and saw a big moving van.  As we have learned moving vans generally mean great opportunities to serve.  We approached the lone mover and asked if we could help.  He responded that it wasn't necessary.  Through further observation and questioning we discovered that the older couple were members of the church, lived on the second floor, and had been moving since 7:00 am (it was about 4pm at the time).  Without any further permission we walked up to the boxes he was trying to control down the ramp and picked them up, taking them to the elevator.  We worked for about an hour and it was so cool to see that we were in the right place at the right time. The Lord knew that one of our brothers was too shy to ask for help, and he sent 2 strong and one really strong (Elder Witherell) young men to finish the job.  I really enjoyed that.

 

The only other funny thing that happened this week is a little 10 year old who asked as we walked out someone's house if we had performed an exorcism?  It gave all of us a pretty good chuckle.  We were eating dinner at a young couples house made from an elk that was salvaged from a car accident they had.  Very good meat.  They also happened to be really big Top Gear fans.  Their bunnies were named Stig (all white) and Hammond ( I assume very small).

 

That about sums up the wonderful week we had.

 

I love you all and when it rains, always be grateful.  If you pour a water bottle out here in Arizona you can be charged with eroding the land and changing the landscape.

 

Love,

Elder Will Davidson

moms day

Hi Mom and everyone else,

 

It was so fun to see all the Euckers and Mom and Dad.  I'd especially thank Tyson for driving all the way to get to the computer in time.  Ben is a wonderful big brother to Emma.  Emma looks like she is the cutest little primary girl.  Andrew is just cool as a cucumber.  I send you all hugs and kisses to last for another six months.  Next round will be the last one.  Maybe we'll have it down so we can all see each other.  It was so nice to see all of you, and our ward mission leader said that we were much happier Elders once we had talked to our "Mommies".  There isn't much to say this round simply because we talked yestarday.

 

We do have a baptism coming the end of May.  It is the granddaughter of a wonderful family who lives here in the ward.  She started learning more two weeks ago, and now she is really plunging ahead.  When we taught her about the Word of Wisdom and invited her to quit smoking, she said without hesitation that she would do it.  Now it's been 8 days since she has smoked.  It is amazing that people can do what they know is right so quickly when they choose to.  Another lady is getting baptised in early June and that will be one wonderful service.  This past week we put a bunk bed together for her.

 

Besides that we have put together a hide a bed and replaced the door handle on a car with just a leatherman.  It was a little interesting, because we were so involved in service this week.  We have been meeting with one gentleman who has a great spirit.  He is not very educated, but very willing and ready to learn more.  He has trouble reading, but when he reads the Book of Mormon he puts forth his best effort, and actually makes it through all the complicated words.  I've seen that with so many different people of all different age groups.  Not only does the Book of Mormon fill you with a great spirit for the day and teach about Jesus Christ.  It actually gives individuals the ability to read better.  I don't know why it happens, but there are scriptures that even educated people would have difficulty understanding, but when a sincere student reads and asks for help they have an incredible amount of comprehension.  Truly one of the blessings that come from reading that Book.

 

Our apartment is very simple it has a main room with a kitchen connected to it.  We have two desks on the south wall which is about 16 feet long  the front door is on the east side of that wall.  Then the west wall has a door to a patio (which we never use) and two large windows.  We are on the ground floor which is really nice and cool.  The kitchen is like most apartment kitchens, only we are no longer to use dishwashers due to costs.  Our laundry room (the best part) is right off the North east corner of the Kitchen, left of the fridge which is on the east wall.  Then our bathroom door is just right of the fridge with a large bathroom.  The shower curtains are palm trees in the sunset on a beach.  As you walk through the bathroom on the south side there is a door to our bedroom which has two twin beds on the cheap metal frames.  Then we have a walk in closet with enough room to store quite alot of stuff.  All in all it is a nice place.  There is a nice pool and spa which is not at our disposal.  The only other thing is on my desk I have a really cool lamp which I quite admire.  It has a very small profile over all and a small base which is best on a study desk.

 

Elder Thomas and I tend to sing quite a bit.  We both don't put our full effort into it, so most of the time we probably sound like a pair of cats.  Occasionally we'll make other wierd noises.  It's only fair considering that the neighbors above us pump their bass heavy music day and night.

 

One really great week you could say. 

 

I hope this week is the best of the year yet!

 

Love,

Elder Will Davidson

Sunny Mesa

Sadly I'm sorry to say I haven't thought at all about what I was going to share this week.

 

-The Elders Taught Primary on Sunday

-Elder Thomas was sick for a day

-I wish I could be back on a bike.

 

Well that is about the most interesting thing that has happened this past week I have been working normally.  Like most missionaries do.  We haven't had any overwhelming moments of inspiration.  This week Elder Thomas and I just worked hard when he wasn't feeling ill.  He has since recovered.  As I was waiting for him to get better I spent a good few hours reading and studying different things.  I finished Jesus the Christ again, and read Our Search for Happiness as a speed read.  Then I finished a little project I started a little while ago inspired by a good friend of mine.  I took the old for the Strength of Youth Pamphlet and the new one highlighting anything that was new or changed.  It was interesting to see so many inspired changes.  More than 50% of the text is either new or changed.  Then today while we talked with President he said that we should use the pamphlet to help the mother of a younger girl feel comfortable with what the church teaches.  It is such a good pamphlet, because it teaches the standards that all of us as church members should abide by.

 

I hope you enjoyed the pictures I sent last week.  I still have yet to get some good pictures of Elder Thomas and I.  It's difficult, because I don't keep my camera with me.  It's starting to get much warmer.  Pretty soon it'll be back into the good old weather that I tried to forget about.

This morning I went to the Mission office so that I could get permission to drive.  It was a little bit awkward driving again after not being in a vehicle for over a year.  I'm looking forward to driving again.  In all honesty it can be a little scary with Elder Thomas.  Nothing too exciting yet, but there have been a couple close calls.  I can't say that I'll be any better, it'll just be nice to be in the drivers seat.

 

So the best highlight of the week has been getting to know Bro.W.  He is the ward missionary from one of the wards, and he is the best.  He was raised in an adopted family.  He is really funny and loves to play the organ, but can't read music.  While we were in the primary on Sunday we got the best third hour ever.  The Elders Qourum president taught and at one point he said "this is like hearding cats" then immediatly afterward one of the kids said, "my brother heards cats".  It is so funny to listen to them joke around.  At one point one child said that we need to repent by "eating food".  Then if we want to help others repent we need to "eat their food".  I guess they weren't eating their greens.

 

That's the news from Sunny Mesa.

Love you all,

Elder Will Davidson