Elder Nathan S Moser: 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