Small and Simple Things

Hello friends and family! I hope you are all doing wonderfully! I feel like it's been forever since last Monday, it was a crazy week for sure!

So, on Monday, we had our zone p-day! It was a riot! We got to go to Des Moines, see all my friends, eat chick fil a, and play basketball. It was great! It was also 70 degrees and sunny... I was in heaven!

That night we had an exchange in Walnut Hills, because we had interviews the next morning in Indianola. On the exchange, elder Jensen and I were able to teach this awesome African lady. I've never been able to find my own African investigator, but it was awesome to finally teach one! They're amazing people.

Tuesday was a great day! We had interviews and district meeting, which is always really refreshing and grounding. I just love the Badgers so much. I have the best mission president. He's also a beast at ping pong. Elder Clayson challenged him to a game, and got wrecked pretty good. It was awesome! 

Wednesday was the only normal day we had in our area, and there was some pretty cool stuff that happened. Since switching to our planner app, it has this annoying reminder to to visit all these referrals, which are normally good things, but are all from years ago when the missionaries never contacted them. It's a silly situation. So we spent the majority of the day driving from town to town, visiting all the people who had information in our phones. It was neat to be able to use the technology in proselyting for the first time. Awesome enough, even though every referral was not interested, one of them had moved, and the new resident was interested, and is now a new Investigator! The Lord works in mysterious ways!

Thursday we drove to Osceola to give a baptismal interview, and then drove all the way to Centerville for an exchange. It was a great time, and Elder Steed and I were able to spend some quality time finding. Centerville is a really small town, and a lot of people think it's been knocked too much for there to be much effective finding left. So, when we found a new investigator, it was basically a miracle. I'm grateful for all the little experiences like that to keep me going.

Friday we finished the exchange and drove home. That's basically it. 

Saturday was cool. It was wonderful weather, and we got to help a Member move. I love giving service, definitely one of my favorite things. Then we had a big dinner with a bunch of members, and visited some former Investigators. It was a good day! 

Yesterday, Sunday, was also great. We had fast Sunday, cause we have stake conference next week, and I just love when people bear their testimonies. Probably my favorite thing. Then we spent a good chunk of time weekly planning, but I started getting a pretty knarly headache. Those headaches are one of the most difficult things for me as a missionary, and especially as a district leader. I am always so exhausted by the time I get to do numbers, I always worry about not magnifying my calling as I ought. Yesterday was no different, but I turned to the Lord in prayer, and the headache and fatigue vanished. God is good, and merciful! I can witness that He does answer our sincere prayers, especially as we strive to do His will.

Thats the week! I hope I didn't bore you too much. I love you all! 

Have a poem. 

Sin. 

Misery, Despair. 

Flailing, Failing, Fleeing. 

With Godly Sorrow, Hope for Tomorrow. 

Trying, Turning, Trusting. 

Happiness, Holiness. 

Peace. 

I love you all so much, godspeed! 

Elder Housholder

​My man Elder Steed. 

Found a civil war monument. Neat.

Found a civil war monument. Neat.

Look closely... That's a horse-drawn, Amish wagon. ​

Lenox...​

​​He got the phone, again.

The district+AP's at Subway.