Duty to God

You'd think after two years of saying goodbye things would get easier. It still hurts just as bad. Something about lowering your pen and placing a period on the page is fundamentally painful. One thing I have learned from all these farewells is that while the conclusion is sad and hurts an awful lot, it becomes an opportunity to write the next line and continue the story. Often you find old characters who come back into your narrative, becoming even more dear to you then before. Those are truly joyful times that make our stories rich and worthwhile.  That being said, I'd like to tell you the story of my mission.  In April 2017, a young man arrived at his grandparents home in the gorgeous forests of Vancouver Island. He awaited a wonderful few weeks, working for his grandfather-but mostly relaxing and adventuring. It was to be a great vacation.  Prior to leaving, he was invited by his bishop to read the Book of Mormon, looking for references to repentance. ...

Heyyy fam. This week has honestly been quite the emotional roller-coaster.  Most of the time the work doesn't feel much different than usual, I'm kinda trying to ignore the impending conclusion to the greatest time of my life. However, occasionally the mission slaps me in the face and I realize how short my time here really is. This week definitely had some of those.  There are also times in missionary work that make it all worth it, when you see people change, families unite, and Jesus Christ manifests His love with great majesty. In other words, moments when we "are brought to sing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his word". Those are the times that we have, "great reason to rejoice" (Alma 26:13). This week had some of those times as well.  On Friday we had Zone Conference, which was the last zone conference. There is honestly no way to prepare for that. They have you give a departing testimony, and I definitely crie...

Ayyyyyye.  It's been another great week for the books! Jane has taken to calling us her Scottish(Me)/Irish(Koyle) Brats lately. She informed us this week that Brats is actually an acronym for Beloved Religious And Teacher. Funny lady.  Speaking of Jane, we gave her the stop smoking workshop on Tuesday, and she hasn't smoked since! She's on track to be baptized on the 16th, and I'm thrilled. AND SHIRLEY GOT DUNKED!  I love her. She's honestly so prepared, it's been such a privilege to teach her. Hopefully I'll get to go to the temple with her before I go home.  I'm just so thankful for the time I've had out here. The mission is the greatest experience I've ever had. I know that this is the work of Almighty God. I love my Savior, and will always be grateful for this chance to serve Him with my whole soul.  Godspeed.  Elder Housholder Pics:  1. This is where I go to Pyle.  2-3. Shirley!!! Oh boy. Shoutout...

Well, hello again!  The largest (and only real) skyscraper in Iowa is called the 801 Grand. I often forget how close I am to Des Moines while I've been serving here in Ankeny, but sometimes on the edge of town I look south and see that tower, and I remember how close I really am. I am practically in its shadow.  In exactly the same way, home is looming closer and closer each day. Sometimes I forget how close it really is. It doesn't seem real most of the time.  But some days when the shadow of the 801 (my home area code) looms a little closer, I realize how close it actually is. Those moments are terrifying.  Anyway, this week was loaded with those moments, especially the Badgers departing zone conference this last Tuesday. That wrecked me. I'm exhausted, I can't wait to see my family, I am excited to see the mountains again, and I can't wait to take a nap. However much these things mean to me, I don't want to go home. The friendshi...

Aye, what is good my people?  It's been another week for the books! The Lord is keeping us quite busy, and I feel like I'm sprinting this last lap of the race. Life is so good, I'm more exhausted and more happy than I've ever been. Missions are the greatest thing folks. Anyway, our lady Jane is working hard to be ready to be baptized. To help, Elder Koyle gave her a CTR ring and she has not stopped coming up with new versions of the acronym. Christ the Redeemer is an excellent example. Most recently, with a bunch of opposition hitting her, she's decided that it means to Cut the ridiculousness. I got a kick out of that.  Shirley is also doing well! We had a pretty miraculous thing happen with family history during our lesson this week, as we found that her Grandma (who is largely responsible for her desire to be baptized) was baptized in the Seattle temple at nearly the same time that she first encountered missionaries. Tears were shed and the spirit was...

Hello my people! It's been a great week! Transfers all went down, and ya boys in Ankeny mostly stayed the same (s/o to E. Harvath) . The only change was my boy Elder Stoddard got sent to the land of my inheritance (Quincy), and was replaced by Elder Diaz-Pacheco. Good stuff. Things were pretty chopped up due to transfers this week, but some good stuff did happen. On the fun end, we got to go to Des Moines for p-day and said goodbye to my main man H. Fuller, s/o to him for a dank two years in Iowa. We did have a great lesson with Jane, she's trying to stop smoking and we had a great talk about that. She and Shirley are progressing good, and we're super excited for them. Anyway, hope y'all have a good week! Godspeed.  Elder Housholder  Pics:  1. RIP E. Fuller  2. The Zone 3. Our girl Shirley 

Our zone motto this transfer is No MOBP'S. That stands for, "missed out on a big play". Like in sports the plays that change the game, the big ones, require the most involvement and dedication. In the grand contest of missionary work, we are privileged to participate in many big plays, and this week has been full of those.  Brothers and Sisters, I can honestly say that there is no more rewarding experience than working for the salvation of others and finding yourself in the right place at the right time, as God calls a play that will change someones entire life. What an honor to be a part of this great work of Salvation. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a missionary, I love it more than anything in the world. That all being said, this week was great! We did have some crazy weather at the beginning of the week, flash flooding particularly, but all is well.  We had an amazing district council on Thursday (s/o to Elder Webb). He talked about the differe...