Transcription: 20 August 2012

Good morning! Last Monday we got to go on a hike. We went down University Avenue, and there is this little pond, lake thing that's off to the left of the road if I'm heading South. There is this parking lot right next to the lake. We started on a trail and hiked around, and then came back. That is what we did for our fun thing for P-day. But, the cool part was that we found raspberries on the trail! There are raspberries everywhere here. There is this one family we go to; they have like a hybrid raspberry bush. It's a huge bush, and it has huge raspberries, and they got tons of them. We went there one time and picked a bunch of their berries (haha). It was fun to find some berries on the trail.

Elder Conlin, Elder Lawson and Elder Record at the Alaska Pipeline off the Steese highway.

When we were tracting the other day; knocking on some houses on Wilderness Drive, and we found a raspberry bush at the intersection where it splits off and goes into the loop. That's pretty good. I really like raspberries. I probably want to grow them when I get back. We got a chance to go on exchanges with Elder Lawson, who is one of the assistants to the president. We had a really good time and it worked out well. That was the day we found the raspberry bush tracting.

We found a new investigator. She is an atheist, her ideas, when she explains herself, are pretty close in line with the gospel's. So we'll see if we can't help her to establish that belief in God, because there are too many times things have happened for any of us missionaries to not have seen that God is there and that God loves us and watches out for us. Just from all the miracles that we see going on, and how God's in the details. He knows exactly who his children are, where they are, what's going on and when the time is right for them to hear about the gospel.

We had a good lesson with this other guy. We taught him about the Plan of Salvation, and he's pretty open and receptive. He listens well and thinks about things. Sometimes he will be like, “well, I'm not sure about your beliefs, but my belief is this” and then he says something or makes a comment, then we are like, “oh yeah, that's true, that's what it is.” He has really good questions. He thinks about it deeply. He has already prayed about the Bible to know if it is true, and has gotten an answer that it is. He said that if he can do it with that, he knows he can do it with the Book of Mormon. So that is what he is going to do. He's pretty cool. He's going to go to college soon at the UAF and study to become a neurosurgeon. He's pretty smart guy.

We helped out [Name withheld] with her Danish family history. I’m not going lie, that’s just about my favorite thing to do is Danish Genealogy. We watched 17 Miracles today. It was really neat to see the story of one of my ancestors in there. It’s the story where the mother has no food for her family and prays for help. She then remembers two hard sea biscuits she had stored away in her luggage. She found that they were too hard to break so she poured some water over them in a large pot and put it over the fire. She then prayed with her family for the Lord to provide for them as he had with the loaves and fishes to feed the 5,000. She opened the pot and it was full. From that they had enough food to keep them going. Her name was Ann Jewel Rowley and in the movie it introduces them as the Rowley family. I felt the spirit witness that the Lord is mindful of us and will provide for us. I know that as I diligently strive to serve my best out here on my mission, the Lord will provide for me and guide me to where I need to be and to what I need to do. I hope to be known as a hard working and a humble person. I hope that when people remember me they will remember that I was like that. I’m thankful for my ancestors and their strength in pushing through those struggles. I also thank the Lord for providing for them because I wouldn’t be where I am today if he hadn’t. I’m thankful for the gospel and how light it makes my burdens to bear. I’ve seen him answer my prayers and strengthen me when I need his help.

We bucked hay with one of the members. That's kind of some things with did last week. We have been kind of going around, and transfers are coming up. So we are just getting everything ready, working hard, and trying to finish strong. It's fun to be a missionary (haha) and help people make changes, live better lives, and be happier. It's very fulfilling, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I'm learning a lot for when I get back home. I feel like I'm so much more capable. I know the Church is true, and I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love, Elder Record

Transcription: 13 August 2012

Today is the 13 of August and I am actually writing in my journal. So you guys will get a little bit more than usual (haha).

Oh, there is one thing by the way that I thought was really cool that our mission president said. He said that luck = preparation + opportunity. He said that the Lord takes care of the opportunity; our part is kind of the preparation. That's one thing I've found to be true. As we go about doing missionary work, if we are just doing our best trying to help people and prepare and get ready; by studying and being obedient and things like that; then the Lord provides a lot of opportunities because we are prepared to take care of his children.

There is a cool guy who is less active who we were helping. We went to go knock on his door, but he wasn't there. So, Elder Conlin left his scriptures on – there is this little rock that jetted out on the side of his house next to the door – and he set his scriptures kind of jokingly on the little rock ledge. We were joking that he would leave them there as we were writing a sticky note to put on his door saying that we had stopped by. So we were joking that he would leave them, and like two seconds later we left and he left them (haha). But, it ended up working because when the guy came back, he grabbed the scriptures and note and started reading through the scriptures a little bit and started reading all the things Elder Conlin had marked. It brought back a lot of memories of the church to him, and now he wants to learn more. We will talk about the Plan of Salvation when we go back. There is a member of the ward who he is friends with, who is actually the Stake Patriarch too. He really wants him to come to the lessons and support him, and the less active member wants the Stake Patriarch to come to the lessons too. That was kind of a little miracle that happened, kind of going along with that luck = preparation + opportunity. We kind of make our own luck as we work hard and do our best, things happen. If you just sit there, nothing is going to happen.

We are helping about four or five people with the Word of Wisdom. Some people it's drinking, some people it's smoking, some people it's all of the above. It's kind of neat to see how much they want to change and do good and get that help in their life. Yeah, we just have some really cool people we are working with who seek the gospel for what it is and help it can help them. It's just nice to be able to teach them and help explain these things that will help them be more happy, and how their families can be together forever.

We have been doing really good in trying to find some new people to teach, some new investigators. The Lord has helped us find a few people.

We ran into this other less active lady who still has a really strong testimony. It is nice to talk with her and bear our testimonies as well. She is just a little afraid, since they have to leave soon, that they are going to get too attached to ward and have to leave it. She is a little hesitant because her husband isn't a member. It's kind of hard for her to go to church and be an example. But, it was nice to talk with her.

One thing I have been praying for lately is the desire for the salvation of souls; kind of like it quoted from Preach My Gospel. You know, I'm out here because I care about the work and I love my Heavenly Father; I want to help people. But, it's kind of hard to personally connect with people, and like seriously desire their salvation. I mean sure I care about them, but it's hard to like genuinely really have that earnest desire for their salvation, like people in the scriptures. So that's one thing I've been praying for, and the Lord's been giving it to me. It's really neat to see how as I pray hard and do my best, the Lord is slowly changing my heart like I'm asking. I'm starting to really care about people. It makes all the difference when we are teaching people because I really want to help them. I think it helps for the Spirit to tell me what I need to say that will best help them because I'm always thinking about them and trying to see how I can help. It's neat to do that because I feel like that is how the Savior would be. He was going about helping people and doing his best.

It's really fun being on a mission, and I'm learning a lot (haha); definitely about life. I get excited when I think about how much life I have left and the good things I can do; all the things I can learn. It reminds me of the gospel and how there is eternal progression and if we keep doing our best and keep working hard, there are so many more doors that open up to us in the eternities. It's just (haha), neat to be seeing every day how the gospel applies in people's lives, and how Heavenly Father loves everyone. He trying to help everyone. It is so fun to tell people that, because it's true.

I love Elder Conlin. He's a good missionary. He's always trying to do his best. He's a really good listener. He's always trying to listen to the Spirit. He's been teaching me a lot.

That has kind of been my thoughts for the week. In the Book of Mormon, I read about the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's and the people of Ammon, and now I'm starting to get into Captain Moroni, and his title of liberty that he raised, and how he fought to keep the liberties of his people. I just like how if you look in Alma 46:9, I think it says, “thus we see the great wickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children of men.” He's talking about the bad guy, Amalickiah obviously who deserts from the Nephites and goes to the enemies' side and ends up becoming the king through deceit. He is a big instigator of this big 14 year long war that happens. But on the opposite hand you have Moroni, so if you kind of switch those words around it says, “thus we see the great righteousness one very righteous man can cause to take place among the children of men.” Moroni was that kind of a person. Mormon even said that if all men would have been liken unto Moroni, the very powers of hell would be shaken forever” (see Alma 48:17). I like that because it shows the example we have and that we all have influence, and we get to choose whether we want that to be a good influence or bad influence. It's interesting to note too that during this long 14 year war where this isn't something that was happening in a far away land, this was happening on your doorstep. You know, your neighbors houses are getting ransacked and everything because these battles are fought in the cities, and they are taking over cities at a time, and so this is a very real, very vicious war that is going on. But in the midst of all this, there is a verse that I find interesting where is says basically that there was no happier time among the Nephites than at that time when Moroni was leading the armies. It is interesting to note how he was preparing them and presenting that good influence, and how much of an effect that had. You know, people think, “you know I'm just a small person, you know I don't have that much influence.” But, we really do. We have a great influence. Like I said, it can be an influence for good or an influence for bad, and we can make a difference; a huge difference. The Lord says in Alma 37:6-7 that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass.

I know that's true, and I'm thankful for the scriptures and the opportunity to serve the Lord out here on a mission, and help others. I am so thankful for how it's preparing me for my life when I get back. I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love, Elder Record

Transcription: 6 August 2012

This week was probably my favorite week of up here because we had [Name withheld] get baptized. He is awesome. It was a really neat experience. We had one of the members get up and speak about baptism. After that Elder Conlin and I sang “How Firm a Foundation,” hymn number 85. We had some singing in between and then the baptism. He was baptized by his neighbor (haha), which was really neat to see. That was the highlight of the week. We had a table set out with all those Book of Mormons and some pamphlets and a couple of DVDs. In like five minutes after the baptism was over (haha), they were all gone. Everybody had taken them to go and give to their friends. I'm sure a couple of them were taken by the non-members who where there. That was unexpected, and neat thing; because the Spirit was there, and they felt the Spirit of missionary work and wanted to share that with other people.

We had exchanges this week. Being a district leader, I have to exchange with every missionary in the district, besides the sisters, at least once per transfer. It is fun to help strengthen people and help them to just be their best as missionaries. I'm not going to lie though, I still like being in our area the most (haha); because that's where we get to get a lot of work done and help a lot of people.

We are starting to develop a ward mission plan. I actually train on that in district meetings on how to mobilize the ward and develop a ward mission plan, and who to work through. I use a lot of leadership training videos on LDS.org.

We started doing next level goals in district meeting. We will set a goal; it can be about anything; like pushups, or I want to wake up on time, or any kind of next level goal. You go throughout the week doing your best at that next level goal, then you come the next week and report on how your goal went, and then you set a new goal. I hope that will help everybody have a desire to do their best.

We have been meeting with this awesome family. We helped split wood for them. The dad is now reading the Book of Mormon. He actually has the same name and middle name as you dad (haha). He started reading the Book of Mormon. The whole family is kind of looking into the church a little bit. The daughter probably more so than the rest of them. She is really into reading the Book of Mormon and really curious. We are really excited to see where things go from there. We love being over there (haha), they're really good.

We also met this one guy who in two weeks read half of the Book of Mormon, so we hope to go see him again.

We got to do service at the food bank too. We got to package boxes and help out other people. We worked so quickly and efficiently that finished an hour early. We were only there for like two or three hours.

We had several people at church, which was really good. We are doing a lot better at that; at helping people come to church. It's really good, because that's where a lot of blessings come from.

We had some really neat experiences with some other investigators who are preparing for baptism.

The fair is going on right now in Fairbanks, so we may stop by there today. We'll see. I'll have to take a couple of pictures and send them home. I going to probably send home my SD card.

I just want to bear my testimony that I do know this is the Lord's work, because we're guided every day as to where we need to be. I am thankful for how much I'm growing as a person. It's really, really satisfying to be helping other people progress towards exaltation; towards eternal life with our Heavenly Father, and helping out as many people as we can. It feels really good when you are able to see a lot of people and get a lot done (haha). So I really enjoy it. We've been super busy the time we've been here, and I really like this ward. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that what we teach is the way we can gain access to the atonement; and that's through faith, repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end, and receiving those other ordinances in the temple. If I didn't know that, I wouldn't be here, because it would be a complete waste of time if it wasn't true. I mean it would be nice and everything, helping people out, and helping them become better people, but I could do that in Utah. I wouldn't be spending $10,000 to be out here just doing good and helping people; I'd do that in Utah. But, I'm out here because I know these ordinances are necessary for their salvation. I'm learning more and more to desire others' salvation. It really is a neat thing we get to do. For anybody who is considering going on a mission, I highly recommend it (haha). It's very fulfilling, and you get a lot done. You learn a lot for life ahead. I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love, Elder Record

Transcription: 30 July 2012

Well, now that I've been writing in my journal every day, I have stuff to talk about I guess (haha).

We had a couple of neat experiences. On the 22^nd, there was this one guy who is a little less active. He's got some struggles. He had prayed for the first time in a long time that morning. We showed up later in the day (haha). He was on our plans to go see, but he was kind of in the background of our minds. It came time, and we went to go see him. He was like, “oh, okay, I get it. I get the hint.” We are helping him come back and change and enjoy the blessings of the atonement.

We are going to take this family to visit a part member family – well two part member families actually. We took and active member family with us to go visit them, and they brought some cookies to give to them. We are praying because we hadn't set anything up. So we were praying that they would be home, and both of them were home. So that was another miracle.

We had another miracle where we ran into this member, who was in our ward and is less active, at a gas station. Somebody wasn't able to feed us so we got a coupon for a pizza. So we went to go get the pizza and she was there. She was like, “hey, Elders!” We thought, “woah, they're members,” because nobody calls us Elders – unless they are members (haha). She said, “what ward are you in?” The third ward. She said, “that's my ward.” We said, “oh,” and she said, “I need to come to church.” She has a hard time getting up, and she is trying to push herself to come, but you know, it's hard. It's a new situation. There are a lot of new people, and some people have a hard time coming back. We are going to help her out and help her to come back to church.

We had a zone barbecue on our P-day at Pioneer Park. We were able to play football there, a little bit. We had fun eating and just hanging out as a zone. They kind of celebrate pioneer day up here, but not really.

We had one day where (haha).... We have been doing really good and working hard to get out to as many people as we can, and trying to share the gospel with everybody. We are doing our best to help people, and things are going really well. I started to think, “we doing really good, we're good.” Then of course, this being not my work, but the Lord's, I needed some chastisement (haha). So we had where we had like nothing going on. We were like, “okay, this isn't us doing these blessings, it's the Lord that is providing everything and everybody.” He is helping these people out. We are just tools in his hands to bring about his work. If we are not humble, and we don't trust in him, and try to do his will as best we can, we are noting going to experience those blessings. We are not going to be able to help those people out. We are not going to be guided by the Spirit. As we are striving to do our best and work hard, we are also striving to be humble. Like it says in Ether 12:27 that if we will choose to be humble, then those weaknesses can become strengths.

We were able to help a family move, but none of them are members. We were able to go, and talk with them, and sing a song for them – “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” They really liked it and want us to come back. We gave them a Book of Mormon, and hopefully next time follow up with them and see if we can't teach them more about the Church and all these wonderful things, and help them be happy and gain access to the atonement.

We had a training meeting that was over webcast. It was good to be reminded and refocused on what our purpose is; which is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel.

We had a really busy day (haha); goodness. We had a lot of really busy days, which is fun because I like organizing really busy days. We like to help out as many people as we can.

I hit my year mark on the 27^th, so I have less than a year left. Today is my last July 30^th on my mission (haha).

We tracted into a guy who works on Fort Wainwright. That was kind of neat. We were like, “oh, let's go stop by that house.” So we went over there and he was really friendly, and we talked about the Book of Mormon, and he's like, “oh yeah, my friend told me all about that.” Apparently his friend is doing a pretty good job because he remembered everything that we talked about. He said he will go and talk to his friend (haha). We will probably go back in a week or two and see how's he is doing. That was fun. We find that when we do tracting as a backup – we are kind of selective in our tracting – but the first one or two houses it's like there's the person we needed to talk to. It's kind of neat how it happens. There are just amazing people that are being prepared that don't have any associations with people in the ward that we are able to help out.

A lot of little miracles happening, it's pretty cool. Obedience is key (haha). If we are not doing our best, it doesn't happen.

Love, Elder Record

Transcription: 23 July 2012

Steese District, Fairbanks Zone
Elder Brooks, Elder Clegg
Elder Vandenberg, Elder Conlin,
Elder Merrill,
Elder Record

This week we got to help out with the pigs again. That was fun (haha). These pigs smell really, really bad. If you put your hand in the pig poop, it smells like pig poop for... a long, long time – like three days. For whatever reason, Elder Conlin's hands end up smelling worse than mine. I think it's because I wear gloves. But, that's beside the point, it's really stinky.

Somewhere in Fairbanks, AK

We were also able to help this one family move some stuff in their shed, because they are going to physically move their shed and their house to a different location on their properly and then they are going to build a new cabin. So we went and helped them out with that. They were clear out in Haystack, that's like way out there.

On the way back, one of the members was really nice and bought us pie at the Hilltop and a little breakfast, and that place is really good. He told me he thought it was like one of the last stops the Ice Road Truckers make on their journey North, I guess. It will be fun, because I want to watch all those Alaska shows when I get off my mission, because I'll like, “oh hey, I was there.”

We had transfers this week, and they changed things up a little bit. It was fun. We were still able to see the transfer meeting over video now because they do things on webcast, which is pretty cool. It's not like just doing it over the phone – which is kind of boring sometimes. We got to see it and listen to some of the songs they sang. There is this one missionary who is really, really good. We listened to him sing a little bit because he is going home. A lot of missionaries bore their testimonies. The Spirit was there pretty strong.

We have had a couple of experiences where the Spirit has guided us. There is this guy who has been a little less active and fallen into the trap of drinking and smoking and so it was the first time he'd prayed in a long time yesterday. Then we go and show up that same day, and he said, “I guess God's trying to tell me something.” (haha) He was pretty cool. He has a son he wants us to teach before he gets baptized – he's about seven. We are teaching him and also helping this guy out.

We have a couple people we are teaching who are just really excited about it (haha). They are just solid. I don't know, Elder Conlin will probably say this too. It's just really fun to teach people because you see not only how true the gospel really is and how it blesses people's lives, but when you see other people have that change, their faces light up; that's really neat. You can tell if someone is really listening to you or just taking the time to sit there and listen to you. If they are really listening to you, and they really want this in their life, it pumps us up and we love teaching them.

We also got to sing a song in church. It was called, “Faith in Every Footstep.” It was fun. Apparently nobody put in any ear plugs, so that's a bonus. Apparently we don't have that terrible of voices. Elder Conlin's voice is very good, so he carries most of the weight.

Steese District, Fairbanks Zone
B: Elder Vandenberg, Elder Brooks, Elder Conlin, Elder Record
F: Elder Clegg, Elder Merrill

Fairbanks is awesome. We have been working really hard and helping a lot of people. We have seen a few of them really make a lot of changes in their life and really understand their purpose and Heavenly Father's plan for us.

Mom, I was reading the book you gave me on those faith experiences in the family. I was reading your testimony and Dad's. That was really neat, and I really felt the Spirit. I really like how – I don' t know, reading some of these testimonies is really fun, because it reminds me of how much the gospel really does bless us and what it does for our lives and how much strength it gives us when we have needs. I read Grandma's too, and her conversion story and thought that was really neat. We were teaching about the Holy Ghost the other day and realized you know that it was not us; the Holy Ghost comes with us because we have the gift of the Holy Ghost and we are trying to have it with us. When we are being obedient and take that Spirit with us into a lesson, they notice the difference. They don't want us to leave, they want us to keep staying; but they don't really want us to stay, they want the Spirit to be there. So if we can help them make that connection, and let them know that they can have the Spirit with them always when they are baptized and receive that gift. There are a lot of promising things about to happen, and I'm excited to keep teaching and just keep being a missionary.

I know the Church is true. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I am thankful for the temple, and I love everything about it. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love, Elder Record

Combined: 16 July 2012

Dad: What are the areas in your district?

6th ward, 5th, and us 3rd. We kind of form the bowl around Fairbanks. 6th is the west side, we are north east, and 5th is just east. Although our district is changing now. Elder Clegg is the new district leader for the other district in Fairbanks and will no longer be in ours. We are losing 6th but gaining the 4th singles branch. They are being whitewashed by the sisters. Sister Gardner will be training in the 4th branch. They cover the whole stake I believe.

Dad: Who are the missionaries serving in those areas?

Clegg/Brooks in 6th, Merrill/Vandenberg in 5th, Gardner/a new missionary... in 4th

Dad: Will you please email a picture of your district with a caption of who the missionaries are?

Yes, I'll take it today.

Dad: When you attach pictures, please include the last two digits of the picture and a brief caption of who is there. The last two pictures you sent are hard to tell who the missionaries are. I can't zoom in enough to read their name tags =). Thank you so much for the pictures. They really add a lot to your email update.

K, I'll reply to the email and give you the names.

Dad: It sounds like you really had a great time at Denali. Did you get to sing along with the other missionaries on the train?

Yup, Yup I was one of the main ones singing. You'd be surprised. I've turned into quite the fearless singer and nobody has even used earplugs once! We will sing at people's houses all the time.

Dad: Did anyone get a new investigator as a result (haha)?

No, but I think they'll be more inclined to listen if they ever see missionaries again.

So, I'm finding more and more that I am not a very good multitasker ... at all! Haha. Sorry guys. I'm having a hard time focusing on anything, but what's going on right now. We are able to work hard, but unfortunately I have a hard time transferring all this out of my brain in words or on paper. I've never worked so hard, fast, and focused in my life. It's incredibly fulfilling and fun to help so many people, but unfortunately my brain can't fit much else in. I'll probably be the same when I get back home too. I won't want to sit still. I can't wait to go back to school either. Anyway here's my update.

This was the last week of our transfer, and we are staying together. They are changing up our district though, we don't have Elder Brooks and Elder Clegg anymore – that stinks. Elder Brooks is probably one of the funniest guys we know (haha). That's okay, we'll make it work.

We were able to run into a couple of new people this week. We were able to teach a lot. We have been having some really good lessons with this one family. We saw them and taught them about the restoration, and invited them to read the Book or Mormon and pray about it. Then we went back the next week, and one of them had already read through 50 pages (haha). Normally people don't do that. That was kind of fun, and we are excited to go and help them chop their wood today.

Lately we have been playing music at dinners. I'll play the ukulele, and we'll sing “Battle Hymn of the Republic”. Everybody loves it. I haven't seen anybody put ear plugs in yet. We actually sang it at a fireside that was yesterday. We had a missionary fireside where a lot of missionaries got together. We had the mission president speak, and President Duval and a couple of recent converts. President Duval is the stake president. It was really neat, and the Spirit was there. In between the speakers, we had some musical numbers by the missionaries. We sang our “Battle Hymn of the Republic” song with the rest of our district. It was a neat experience, and the members there really liked it. We didn't get any non-members to come, but next time – next time.

[NOTE: The Fairbanks stake broadcasts many of their meetings due to the extreme geographic challenges they face. The missionary fireside Elder Record is talking about was broadcast on the Fairbanks Stake website http://fairbanksstake.org. It looks like Elder Record's district performed the musical number. You can watch the entire Missionary Fireside or skip to minute 12:55 through 16:05 for the musical number. I think the missionaries from left to right are: Elder Clegg, Elder Merrill, Elder Record, Elder Vandenberg, Elder Brooks and Elder Conlin. There is a problem with the video and audio, which seem stuck from minutes 40:00 to 57:50. Just skip to 57:50 to continue.]

What else exciting happened this week? We got to help one person move and drop wood off. Yeah, pretty much just the average week in the Fairbanks 3^rd ward. It's raining right now, that's something new. Anyway, bye.

Love, Elder Record

Transcription: 10 July 2012

Back Row: Elder Boyer, Elder Dold, Elder Conlin, Elder Leota, Elder Vandenberg, Sister Burbank, Elder Merrill, Elder Dastrup, Elder Burnham, Elder Adams, Elder Allen, Elder Clegg, Elder Brooks, Elder White, and Elder Merrell.
Front Row: Elders Rowley, Elder Record, Elder Hartman, Sister Chan, Elder Na'a, and Elder Moyle.
Missionaries at Denali National Park

On the train, Elder Conlin, Elder Record and Elder Clegg

Alright, so yesterday I didn't email because we were in Denali. We got the chance to go from eight in the morning to eight in the evening. We took a four hour train ride down to Denali, looked around and did a little hike, and then came back up on the train. That was pretty neat. That's like a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was pretty fun, and that's why I didn't email, and why I'm emailing today.

We did some exchanges. We were doing a lot of service, so the exchanges were kind of short. Elder Conlin and Elder Brooks had a really good experience. They were able to meet a family guided by the Spirit – the [Name withheld] family. They were praying where to go, and through a series of events, they ended up like walking into this one lady who was LDS. She had just moved in that day and had been praying for missionaries to come by and give her a blessing, and they happened to show up (haha). That was pretty neat. We have been able to meet with them and help them. Now they all have a really strong testimony of prayer, and they are all kind of interested in church. Hopefully we will be able to start teaching them. Only the wife is a member.

There was a house we tracted into that we felt like we should go into. We went to that house, and they said to come back. We came back on Sunday and had a good lesson with them. They were very open and friendly. We hope to see some good things come of that.

This week was really busy, probably our busiest week – not it was our busiest week yet. It was actually the busiest week on my mission so far. We have been hustling and bustling everywhere. That's why this week's update is kind of choppy and on the go. We are actually on our way to the university [University of Alaska Fairbanks] right now where we will be emailing.

We just had district meeting, which was fun. We did a role play where if someone is struggling to wake up, we do a game where they put a water gun in the middle between the two beds. When the alarm goes off, whoever can wake up first and get the gun, gets to squirt the other one. That was just a suggestion in case they needed help waking up. We found that the more obedient we are, the more things get done, and the more we allow the Spirit to be with us. It has been fun. We have a lot of good people in our district – working hard, all is well.

It was a fun week. Very busy. We have a lot of cool people we are meeting with. They are doing very well. They are searching hard. I like how it's not necessarily our job to convince people, because we're not. We invite people to come to Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance and baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and then enduring to the end. We are not there to convince them to come unto Christ or push them to come unto Christ – we just invite. We kind of lay it out and hope and pray that they will accept when we invite them. There has been a lot of people we have run into that are accepting. It is kind of a special point in our mission.

Love, Elder Record