Mission

Washington Yakima Mission

Sunday, September 24, 2017

Running Out of Creative Titles

September 18, 2017

It seriously feels like yesterday that I was here emailing everyone. Time flies!

It has been a great week for us, especially since we have found some new people to teach! I've said it before, but this area is pretty tough when it comes to finding. All the more reason to be grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord in directing us to those seeking truth!

Our first and most promising new investigator is named Anna. She's 21, lives with her fiance, and has a 1 year old daughter. We found her when we were looking through our area book for former investigators. She was taught a while ago and was progressing, but stopped investigating because she and her boyfriend could not get married at that time... for whatever reason. Now, she feels like she is more on top of things and wants to have the same feelings in her home that she did when missionaries where teaching her. Funny story: We actually tracted into her apartment our first night here in Eastmont when we didn't know where anything was or where we were. We ended up talking to her fiance and he let us inside, said a prayer with us, but told us that he wasn't interested, even though is already a member. We were surprised when we found that Anna lived in that same apartment! We are excited to start working with her. 

We also found a man named Allen last week that met with the missionaries seven years ago. He's in his 60's, and is very lively. Just to give you a taste of his character, the other day he answered his phone by singing a rock song to us. He gets confused easily, but we think that when the spirit testifies to him, he will see everything more clearly. Lastly, we have been meeting with an 80 year old lady named Ethel. She is so nice! We might have accidentally swooned our way into her house with our youngness, but she is interested nonetheless. She read all the pamphlets we gave her twice and has a ton of questions about the Book of Mormon, so we will see how it goes!

I know that Heavenly Father helps us on a daily basis. I have felt his hand in this area like never before. Everything just somehow works out. Though we had no investigators to start with, I know that when we do our part the Lord really does the rest. It is the coolest thing watching and being part of an area blossom into something greater. One last example that shows this in action: Every time we walk to church, we pass a house on the right side of the road with some low hanging trees that cover the sidewalk; and every time we've walked by, the thought comes into my mind: "we need to knock on that house." That thought has always crossed my mind, but for a different reason each time, we couldn't do it. The other day, we were walking to someones house, and the route took us right past that house again. Elder Fotheringham this time said, "do you think we should knock some doors around here?" It was like I heard the voice of the spirit audibly this time, and so we went directly to that door I had thought about so many times. The man we met is named Harold, and he has a young family. They went to the LDS church in Omak for years, but they were never baptized. After moving to Wenatchee, missionaries have never been in contact with him until we knocked on his door. He definitely has questions, so we set up a time to meet, bore our testimonies, and left feeling very grateful for how clear the spirit can be. Sometimes, it even has to speak through your companion, but it will let you know what to do if you listen.

That's the update for this week! Love you all!

Peace and blessings, 
Elder Moser

I've been the worst at taking pictures lately, so here's a blurry
 one of me to let you all know that I'm still alive

Bike Crashes and Yoga

September 11, 2017

Hello friends!

The work in Eastmont continues to move forward! It was a busy week for us. I've decided that being in a walking area is like watching T.V. with no commercials. We are out in the work all day long, without any interruptions. It feels good! Elder Fotheringham and I met what feels like half the town of East Wenatchee last week. I have never done so much tracting/street contacting in my life. Our area also has a TON of apartments, so there are always new people moving in and out, from young families to old couples. We have had a lot of fun getting to meet some of them! 

I din't really request this area. When we were transfer planning, President Lewis asked, "Elder Moser, where haven't you served?" I told him Wenatchee, and then that was that. Originally, I was in a ward on the other side of the river that also didn't have a car, but I ended up going to Eastmont in the end! Pretty cool. My legs are holding out. I love it. It will feel good to get back into biking when I get home. I'm starting to weed out some of my hobbies that were just "fads" and some that I actually will stay invested in, and biking is definitely one of them. Guitar is the other. And the gospel is definitely another, of course!

Our area is definitely different from my last in Yakima. For starters, it's on a mountain. Maybe I've mentioned that before. We got bikes last week, and we can get from the top of our area to the bottom in 5 minutes. However, it takes about an hour to get back up to the top since it's a little too steep to ride in places. Speaking of bikes, we were riding our bikes down a hill after a member dinner one night, and my derailleur was freaking out. I was looking down to see if I could fix the issue, and after just a few seconds, WHAM. I slammed into the back of a parked car, sending my bike flying up behind me and planting my face firmly into this dudes trunk. I scraped myself off the back and immediately checked my face in the window to see if I actually hurt myself, but we were good. I didn't even really feel it. And to make things better, no one even saw. Blessin's.  

The hunt is still on to find new investigators here. We are doing everything we can! Even though we haven't found anyone yet, we have had some great experiences. Just the other night, we met a man with a young family and dreadlocks named William who is studying to become a yoga teacher. And not the yoga that you are probably thinking about, but the ancient Indian art of becoming "one with truth." He was so friendly, and taught us a lot of things that really made sense to us. It was especially cool to see that even a 3000 year old practice has similar concepts to the gospel. It all comes down to finding peace in the truth and doing good to other people. We shared a freshly picked watermelon out on his porch, and then we headed home for the night. It's experiences like this that make me so grateful to be on a mission. Even though we aren't teaching very much right now, I still witness simple acts of kindness that brighten my day and increase our desires to share the light of Christ with everyone. It feels so good to give! I hope all of you have lots of opportunities this week to feel that for yourselves.

Peace and blessings, 
Elder Moser

Zone Conference 9/12/17





Friday, September 8, 2017

Tracting Uphill Both Ways!

September 4, 2017

It's been a crazy couple of days!

The beginning of our week was spent with the departing missionaries on Monday night, and then welcoming 28 new missionaries that arrived on Tuesday. Super exciting! This incoming group was the largest our mission has ever seen. The mission home was packed. Anyway, all of the transfer madness is over. It feels pretty weird knowing that was my last time helping with transfers like that. It's sad, but at the same time, I have never felt more rested in my entire life than in the past couple of days!

I am officially in East Wenatchee with my new companion! His name is Elder Fotheringham, and he's from Spokane. That's right, a Washington native! Getting doubled in was quite the experience. After we were dropped off at our new appartment with our luggage on Wednesday, I remember feeling the most helpless I have ever felt in my life. It wasn't really a bad feeling, but it was comical. There I stood, with a companion brand-new to the mission field, in a town I have never served in or around, in a ward where I literally knew no one. So, we started walking. In addition to some good old tracing, our first few days were spent meeting as many members as possible, and from what we can tell, the ward here is amazing! I have actually loved being doubled into my last area, because it has been so easy to get to know the members. Since we are both brand new faces, it's been really fun to introduce ourselves to anyone and everyone we see! For being here less than a week, I feel like I know the ward so much better than I did a week into any of my old areas. I can't wait to work with them all!

Currently, we do not have any investigators here in the Eastmont ward, but we have been doing everything we can to get the work up and moving. We've done a lot of tracting, and we're also doing our best to find part-member families. We actually found a couple last week that we are going to start working with! We have honestly felt the Lord's hand guiding us in the work these past few days. Even though we don't know anything about the area, our time has been spent well, and we are loving it. I'm so grateful that God never leaves us without help!

Everything is still in it's beginning stages here, so there isn't a whole lot of specifics to report except for the fact that our area is on the side of a mountain and every road is uphill; so try to not be too impressed when I come home with calves jacked out of their mind. ;)

My new companion is pretty interesting. Do you remember Elder Dodson? I don't remember how much I told you about my experience with him, but there are a lot of similarities between him and Elder Fotheringham. Elder Fotheringham is a two transfer missionary, so this is a trial period for him to see if he can handle a full-time mission (that's why he is so close to home). He is a great Elder, he is just socially awkward and has a hard time getting social cues, sarcasm, etc. Luckily, the members understand that he's a little different and just smile and laugh at his quirks. And I'm not worried for this transfer at all, even though I would have been if it was a year ago.  I have learned a ton from my experience with Elder Dodson and now I am trying to make the best possible experience for Elder Fotheringham. Also, it was weird sitting in President Lewis's office Tuesday night assigning the trainees to trainers, because my face was up on the board. President said that I can help him though, so we'll see what happens!

Hope you all have a great week!

Peace and blessings,
Elder Moser
​Evelyn and Mr. V (Vincent)

​Handing over the area to Elder Miles

GG Elder Miles

​Throwback to the Moses Lake days with Elder Veropalumbo 

We do this thing in our mission where we don't smile


Transfer Pics-Comings and Goings

 August 29th

COMING-- new missionaries from Mexico MTC.


Going

Departing missionaries and activities.





Coming...
August 30, welcoming 22 new missionaries from the Provo MTC.





Trainer/trainee training

Assigning new companionships.


Sack lunches ready for the transfer site.



Going to new areas with new companions


Yakima 3rd Crew.

Doctrine of Christ training.


The new trainers!

Transfers!

August 28, 2017

I honestly don't have a lot of time to right this email, but I here's the update!

Firstly, Elder Allsop broke his nose playing cage soccer on the Saturday morning we were supposed to figure out all of the transfer logistics for this week. So that was crazy. He and another missionary both went up for a header, and BAM. Elder Allsop played it off really well, but when we got into the car, he asked, "Elder, be honest. Does my nose look normal to you?" I looked him in the face, and his nose was completely bent to the side. "Oh. My. Goodness, Elder. Your nose is straight up done for." We then had a great time trying to find a walk-in clinic that was open at 7 am, blah blah blah, and we ended up finding a member doctor that would be willing to break his nose back into place free of charge. It was nasty, but fascinating! I'll have to show you all the video some time. Elder Allsop wasn't numbed up or anything, and he took the pain like a champ. I'll send a picture next week :)

Another week has flown by, mostly because transfer planning took up a majority of the time every day. It always amazes me how calm President Lewis is during our planning sessions. So many factors, so many people to worry about; and yet he remains so thoughtful and collected. It has been an incredible week. As part of the transfer planning process, Elder Allsop and I learned that I will be transferred on Wednesday to finish up my last 6 weeks. I will be doubled into the Eastmont Ward in Wenatchee (my first walking area!) with a new missionary to train. From what I've heard, the Eastmont ward has struggled a little bit in terms of baptisms, but the ward is incredible! Wenatchee is one place in this mission that I have never served in, and I am so excited for my new assignment. Honestly, this area is going to be really hard to leave. After 6 months, I have become such good friends with the Lewis's and office staff, the ward, and all of the people I've taught here. I've said it once before, but I'll say it again: Yakima, the name of a place that meant nothing to me two years ago, has become a sacred place for me. I can not believe that I feel so much love and such a connection with a popdunk city in the middle of Central Washington. I am feeling so much gratitude right now for the experiences Heavenly Father has let me have on my mission, and knowing that this transfer will be my last makes me want to give everything I have to my new area and new companion!

Overall, this week has been a great one to end my time here in Yakima. We have really felt the hand of the Lord assist us in the work, especially when we don't have as much time in our area. I love being a missionary! 
Love you all,
Elder Moser

Prescotts-and incredible family that helps us with our teaching.

Cates Family. I love nerding out about science stuff with them.

Impromptu Nerf gun war with the Parkers with Elder Miles (my replacement)

​​He's a vampire alien, duh.

The Parkers. They are obviously pretty fun.

​Bishop and Sister Englund

Jerald Lofgren (aka LolingLofgren). Elder Bird and I taught and baptized
 him almost a year ago, and now his mission papers are in!! Woo!

The Palmers! I seriously love this family. Matt has officially been
a member for a week!

​Los Hartwigs

Rocking that disheveled look after a long night of transfer bizness.

The Great American Solar Eclipse 2K17 and Matt's Baptism!

August 21, 2107


Hello!


The Solar Eclipse Viewing Apparatus
I hope you all can still read this email after staring at the sun! We had a pretty good view of the solar eclipse here in Yakima. Elder Allsop and I made sure to get some good pictures! Also, it's so cool to see how Heavenly Father can help us with even the littlest things. Last week, we found out the Yakima was all sold out of Solar Eclipse glasses, and we were bummed. We were praying all week that somehow we could get a pair, and then at church on Sunday, a member family offered us an extra pair to share. Then, at our dinner that night, another family gave us their extra pair! I'm glad God loves me enough to even help me out with my nerdy desire to stare at the sun through cheap plastic lenses :)
​​That moment when the whole northwest was doing this
We picked up a bunch of new investigators last week! One of the most solid is a young hispanic mom with attitude named Josie. The back story is this: Elder Andrew Shugart, a missionary that servied here a year ago, has been back in Yakima with his family for Matt & Sarah's baptism. While he was here, he went out with us a few times and even set an appointment up with one of his former investigators, Josie. So we went to teach her, and she is ready to learn again! Things have been crazy in her life and her husband isn't the most supportive, but she really wants to get baptized and is now on-date for September 30th! She is so funny. I hope I get to teach her a few more times before I get transferred... if I get transferred. We are also teaching a mormon.org referral for a lady named Sally, and her great niece, Brittany. We have taught them twice now, and Brittany is showing some real interest in letting God into her life. Sally is also pretty fun to teach, but mostly because it's kinda like a rodeo where the bull-rider is the lesson and she is the bull. She is off-topic at all times and in all things and in all places. But we love her!

Matt Palmer was baptized on Saturday! It's been a long time coming. I have sacrificed more for Matt and his family than probably any other investigator on my mission, and it made watching him go under the water so much more rewarding. His whole family was at the baptism, and there was also a good attendance from the ward. The funniest part of the whole thing was probably when Elder Allsop and I got up to give the little "half time show" while they were in the bathroom getting dressed. We pulled a TV into the room to show a video, said a few words, dimmed the lights, and then pushed play. Aaaaand the video was in Spanish. Haha. So we had to punt for our lives, and ended up sharing a message about the importance of the scriptures and the Book of Mormon. It all worked out! Matt was just beaming through the whole thing. After the ordinance, and he took his seat again and looked back at
me and gave me a little half smile and head nod. I did it back. He has worked a long time for this day to come! On Sunday, I had the privilege of confirming him, and he gave hugs to everyone in the circle after it was over. It was the perfect start to a great Sabbath!

Luckily, I took about a million pictures last week. So I will try to send a few of my favorites! Love you!

Peace and blessings,
Elder Moser