Transfer Pictures

From the ward mission leader, Brother Anderson:  "Today is a bittersweet day - 5 out of these 6 missionaries are leaving Sunnyside tomorrow - only Elder Moser is staying (whew). While we're excited to meet their 5 replacements tomorrow, it's tough to lose so many great missionaries all at once - we will miss them." 

From Brother Anderson:  "Day 1 in the mission field in Sunnyside for Elder Dodson.
 Dinner menu: tacos de lengua and adobada with horchata to wash it down at Tacos Apatzingan #elderdodson #greenie#welcometosunnyside #tacosapatzingan#sharegoodness"

Sunnyside Apartment

More pictures from Mission Mom's blog:

Sunnyside Apartment:

President Lewis makes a house call.

Study area

Tie collection at present

We explored this shaft in the church house and used our cell phones as walkie-talkies.

A typical Sunnyside meal with Elder Johnson.

"Stairway to Heaven"

Planning in Orchards and Trasfers!

May 23, 2016

I can't believe it's already transfers. So much has happened in the past few days, and I'm gonna do my best to fit it all into this email in a timely manner, because we are leaving for a zone p-day in a little bit. My journal writing habits have been slipping, too, because it's really hard to remember to write when you live in an apartment with 3 other missionaries that like to wrestle and shoot each other with nerf guns. Luckily, I still wrote down what happened this week!

Some quick things:

1.) We are teaching a lady that literally lives in the middle of an orchard and we don't know how the missionaries found her. 

2.) We called 911 this week while we were walking to an investigators house because there was some domestic violence happening next door. SPD is quick, they get a lot of practice. 

3.) The view of Mt. Adams from here is unreal.

4.) The little Mexican girls that are always outside of our apartment asked for pictures of Jesus, so we gave some to them. When we came back outside, they had taped the picture to their apartment door to be like us. Haha. 

I guess I'll start out with a miracle. That's a good way to start an email :) last week we were walking down the streets, when a lady pulled up next to us, asked us if we were missionaries, and then gave us her address and phone number, telling us to stop by so that we could talk with her family. We stopped by later that week, and when she came out and let us in, she had her brother translate for her that she didn't speak English. So we called the Spanish Elders over and over again trying to tell them that a golden family was literally waiting in their living room to talk to them. We eventually got a hold of them that night, and we picked them up and long story short, their entire family is on date for some time in June. I still think it's funny that the lady that asked us if we were missionaries did not speak English, yet she was confident enough to stop us and talk to us in perfect English. Miracles. 

On Tuesday, after a correlation and back readjustment with our ward mission leader, we stopped by a potential investigator, Erica, that we found while trying to contact a potential investigator we found while trying to contact a referral (sometimes God's plan just works out that way). We had a super spiritual lesson with her about the restoration, and she told us the need for religion in the life of her and her two sons. We also taught her the plan of salvation in our second lesson with her, and put her on date for June 18. She has been very humbled be her upbringing and all that she has had to go through. It's so easy to understand why people here need the gospel, and it's so easy to teach them when they are so down to earth. I love the people in this valley. 

We picked up a new investigator this week named Melchor. He is in a very similar situation to Erica, but he has a better understanding of the bible and religion in general. He is super prepared. Every time we have  a lesson with him, we don't get very far because every principle we share with him is something that basically blows his mind. Like "God is literally my Father in Heaven?" or "Families can seriously be together forever? Seriously?" He's from a very humble background as well, so we can't wait to see him again. 

Exchanges last week were interesting. I was with Elder Sailsberry from Nevada, and the highlights of the night were 1.) When a guy listened to us because I showed him how to fly his new quadcopter and told us that we were way cooler than the other missionaries, and 2.) When Elder Sailsberry's fake tooth fell out of his mouth and in between the seats in the car, he took 5 minutes to find it, and then dropped it again trying to fit it in his mouth. Haha. 

I finally stopped using the word "frick" because Elder Johnson and I punch each other every time we say it. It's a small thing, but it's one of the many small changes a mission can bring about. :)

We also picked back up a golden couple that we have been trying to teach for weeks. Before trying by them for the last time, Elder Johnson and I prayed that if it were God's will, we could make contact with them and see what was going on. As we were walking up to the house, she actually came outside and told us that they had been wanting to meet with us, but have been going through some struggles, and that the gospel had been something that they were holding on to through their trials. Miracle. 

Transfers calls were on Saturday, and I am so sad that I am losing Elder Johnson as a companion. He is a natural and is willing to put in the work to see miracles happen. Some changes are happening here in Sunnyside. The English sisters are being doubled out (one of them got her mission call to Alabama), the Spanish sisters are being replaced with Elders, and I will be training the only new Elder coming into the mission. Training calls are always interesting because not even President Lewis has met the Elder that I will be training. It's 100% by the spirit. I can definitely trust a decision made by the spirit., even though there's an inherent fear of the unknown :)

Sorry for the novel :) I love you all!

Elder Moser

P-Day Pictures from Sister Lewis's blog:

Climbing Dinosaurs and Baptizing Converts

May 16, 2016

This past week was so busy that it feels like several weeks have gone by since I wrote last. It also feels like only a few days have gone past. Time flies by when you are busy! Last week we had a day where we had an appointment scheduled for every hour of the day, and every single appointment went through. It was awesome! We also went to the temple. How can you not love the temple? :)

Some quick things:

1. We helped a guy named Juan lay sod, and as soon as he met us, he told us that white guys don't last. So we worked extra hard to prove him wrong. You've never met a white boy from Idaho, Juan.

2. We climbed Dinosaurs.

3. We met a lady who wants to talk to us because she has family in Blackfoot.

4. I met a guy at Zillah Days who graduated from Blackfoot and served in this mission 30 years ago.

5. There's a crazy homeless guy who's restraining order just expired and he's starting to come to church again. 

Rosa dropped a bomb on us this week. She told us that she is moving to Pasco, and she moved last week. For those of you who are unaware, that really stinks because we were really close to getting her baptized. Like she only needed to come to church one more time. Oh, well. The missionaries down there are about to get one of the best referrals of all time. Anyway, after she moved, we were driving past her dad's house where she used to live and we saw her car outside. So we squealed a U-turn and knocked the door to see if we could talk to her one more time. A big Mexican guy answered and said that she was busy, but being the fearless missionaries we are, one thing led to another, and soon we (Elder Johnson) were sitting at his kitchen table getting ready to arm wrestle this 50 year old beefed-up Mexican guy. I'm getting ready for my companion to teach this guy a lesson, and not the message of the Restoration. Long story short, he cheated, and then bragged about how he had never lost an arm wrestle in his life, and that only a few days before he had had a vision about how is a modern day prophet-Samson guy that can never be beaten because of God's power in his arm. So that was our experience with Rosa's dad. 

Michele was baptized on Sunday! It was a bit of a stressful experience because I have never had a baptism before. The Spanish Branch had a baptism 2 hours before ours, and the original plan was to keep the font full for ours. But long story short, we checked the font 20 minutes before the baptism and there was like a foot of water in there. Apparently the drain leaks. 

Good to know.

So Elder Johnson and I turned it on full blast and were running in between the service in the chapel and the font every 5 minutes checking if it was full. By some miracle, the font filled in only 20 minutes and, even though it was a little cold, the service was an awesome experience. Michele has been so prepared and has known that the gospel is what she has needed in her life for a long time. Watching somebody take that step of faith is the most rewarding part of the mission. Standing in the circle during the confirmation was just as rewarding and confirmed to my heart that my Heavenly Father is proud of His missionaries, even when the baptisms take a long time to come.

Overall, it was an awesome week. We found lots of new people to teach, and I have really been working hard on fearing no man. Every morning as a missionary, you've got to get up and tell yourself, "I fear no man". More often than not, you have to be persistent with people. Maybe even a little pushy, even though that isn't the right word. Missionaries can not give up on anybody. We share the worlds most important truths, and when we realize that, it becomes so much easier to be persistent out of love. Example: We taught a lady the restoration while she was walking her dog, and even though it was a little different, we have a return appointment with her tonight. As long as you're not too weird about it, everything will turn out. You've got the Lord on your side :)

Peace and blessin's, 

Elder Moser

​The zone (from like 2 miles away)

"What's that, Rexie? Souls need saving in central Washington?"

Near Zillah, WA

Building Fences and Baptizing Converts!

May 9, 2016

I'm sitting here at the church's computer trying to write an email, but I can honestly not remember anything that has happened this past week, and I forgot my journal. That's what missionary work will do to you. 

It was another busy week for the Sunnyside Elders! Plenty of talking, walking, and trying to figure out where the weird smells in our apartment are coming from. I went on exchanges with Elder Coy as his district leader last week. It was awesome. Elder Coy hasn't changed his goofy character one bit. We spent almost the entire exchange in tiny town called White Swan building a cow fence for some less active members of the Toppenish ward. Elder Coy is a very smart guy, but he hates physical labor. So it was pretty funny hearing him complain the entire time. The less active members that were helping us and I got a kick out of it. They told me that it was their goal to make him sore by the end of the day, in one way or another :) It was good working with Elder Coy again and catching him up on the work in Coulee Dam. It was also a fun to experience a more rural part of Washington in a way that most people don't.

The work here in Sunnyside is still on fire. We had a baptism on Saturday for the Sisters, and Elder Johnson and I will be baptizing Michele this Saturday. The Spanish branch is also baptizing a family of 4 this week, and we still have several more on-dates for this month and the next month! We feel so blessed to be a part of the missionary work here. It feels so good to roll out of bed every morning with a worthy purpose in mind and the Lord on your side. I know that there really is no greater work for anyone to be doing than missionary work. These are our brothers and sisters!

Our investigators are still doing great. We also started a tradition where every Saturday we meet our neighbor little Mexican kids that are always outside for a lesson. We get permission from their parents, so everything is good there. It's pretty cool teaching the most basic principles of the gospel to someone who has never heard it before. We also got bombarded by about 3 million questions, like "who made God?" and "how long is forever?" so we might have to find a different approach to our teaching. haha. 

We had a great Mother's Day Sacrament Meeting yesterday. We had 2 new investigators show up with their wives, and the spirit was very strong throughout the entire meeting. I wish that everyone could understand that the role of women in this world is one of the most sacred responsibilities. No one else on this earth has loved me unconditionally like my own mother has, and that love has been a motivating factor throughout my life. I'm so blessed :)

I love you all! Stay on the Sunnyside!

Elder Moser

​A very non flattering photo of the district and me. :)

Infinity Grapes

Mt. Adams near White Swan

The Work Moves Forward!

Another awesome week in Sunnyside!

The work keeps moving along!  Elder Johnson and I have been running to keep up with it. Well, almost. Our entire apartment has been sick with some kind of something, and I am the only one that made it out unscathed. So there were a few hours on Sunday night where I was just sitting and waiting for everyone else to wake up. Missionary apartments are the most boring places on earth when no one else is conscious. 

I had my first exchange as a District Leader last week. I was with Elder Olsen from Challis, and we had a pretty good time. The car was out of miles for the month as well, so we walked everywhere. I like walking a lot more though. It gives you way more opportunities to talk to people and keeps you awake! We taught the restoration that night to a younger guy named Ivan that I had met a few days before, and we put him on date for May 21st. Something that I've noticed about the missionary work here in Sunnyside is that we aren't teaching very many people, if anyone, over the age of 30. Everyone we teach is pretty young and very open about everything. It makes a huge difference! 

I also had an Exchange with one of the Zone Leaders in Yakima. The have a sweet place. They live in a member family's basement, and have the whole downstairs to themselves. They have their own basketball court right outside the back door, a sweet view of the valley, and a Taylor guitar that is probably worth $1500 hanging on the wall for missionaries to play in their spare time. I tried not to jam out too hard :) Besides all the worldly stuff, we had a great night and taught some awesome lessons. But man. Their apartment makes ours look like a cave. Oh yeah, and the house they live in belongs to Brother and Sister Finch, the lady that I taught over Skype in the MTC with Elder Quast. It was fun seeing her again, and she even remembered me :) 

Here's the update on some of the people we are working with right now. Remember Michele, the daughter of a recent convert that the missionaries tried to teach for months? Last week I told you about how the lord had been preparing her to listen to the missionaries again and about how she was finally ready. Anyway, I think I forgot the coolest part about that story. The Sunday right after that night, she came up to us in church and told us that she wanted to be baptized on May 14th and that she already had someone from the ward to baptize her. If you could have seen our faces when she told us that, it would have been priceless, because I'm pretty sure we both blacked out for a minute. It's amazing how quickly the spirit can influence someone to change their life! Rosa is still doing great. We are going to have to move her date back because she didn't come to church yesterday, but we aren't worried about her. She is progressing very quickly :) Christina, a woman who the missionaries picked back up right before I got here, has started reading from the Book of Mormon and is getting excited about coming to church. Her daughter, Marissa, is also interested in learning about the Gospel, so we have set up an appointment to teach them both this week. They should also be coming to FHE tonight at a member's home! We also put another lady on date for June 4th last night. Her name is Becky and she's a cool lady. I talk more about her later.

The ward here is incredible. The testimonies yesterday were all heartfelt and full of the spirit, and almost all of them focused on missionary work. Or maybe I was just picking out my favorite parts :) Either way, the members here have a love of the gospel and of the people we teach, and help us with anything we need. 

On Saturday, the Spanish Branch held a "Latino Night", which was an awesome experience. There was a live mariachi band, all you can eat Mole and handmade tortillas, cultural dances, and there was a huge turnout, many of whom were not members of the church. There was a church tour as well for any non member that came, and it was the perfect opportunity for fellowship.

Elder Johnson and I also learned how to juggle.

Go and live life, everyone! I love you all!

Peace and blessin's,

Elder Moser

Moser & Johnson

Splits with Elder Jarvis

Panorama fun waiting for interviews.  Notice how we keep appearing....