Laying down naked watching farming videos

 เฮลโล Hello!

This week was awesome!!! We had a goal as a companionship to find 35 interested people this week. We got 48!!! We were grinding hard. It's been so much fun to just be working as much as we can to meet a ton of really interesting people. Including a really large man who said to us what I wrote for my email title today haha. So here are some of the highlights of this full week!

WEST SEATTLE PT. 2

We had another companion exchange with West Seattle this week. I got to be with Elder Justin Kase (coolest name ever) in West Seattle. We put protective paper stuff on a ladies house and he challenged me to a pun battle. I, never being one to back down from such a challenge, accepted and we were pun battling for about 2 hours straight. It was a pun time. We also walked all around the West Seattle area. My watch told me that I walked over 10 miles during the exchange. I've gotten too used to living a life of luxury, being able to drive around in a car. I need to get back into shape. My taste buds are still in Thailand shape, though. We had some barbeque and I told them to give me the hottest sauce they have. That stuff was weak sauce. 

OH YOU WERE READY FOR US

We were out tracting (like missionaries tend to do) for 2 hours one night. We didnt see a ton of success, and not even my furious joke making could pick up the mood of exhaustion. We finally got to the last door of the apartment complex. A Hispanic guy opened the door and let us in before we could even explain what we were there for. We walk in and turn the corner and about 10-12 people are bordering the room and sitting down, bibles open on their laps. I was thinking, "wow, it looks like they've been waiting for us." They just listened attentively to our message. And then the guy who let us in started dropping a bunch of bible verses explaining how we were wrong and contradicting the Bible. I am inexperienced in the art of Bible bashing, but I'd like to think that I held my own in the conversation. The coolest part of all of this? Before the lesson, we said that we could have the Spanish missionaries come by another time, and they said no, we would be just fine. After we shared our message and explained how it fit in with everything else, they asked for us to send their phone number to the missionaries! It was a crazy way to end the night.

MUSLIMS

Something I didnt anticipate before I came out on a mission was that I would learn a lot about other religions, not just my own. Specifically, I've been learning a ton about Islam. The flaws are very apparent, just like most religions, but I'll tell you what, muslims know their stuff when it comes to their beliefs. Every time we meet one, they tell us all about their religion. One of them even gave me a Quran haha. Just props to muslims, y'all know about your religion a lot more that a lot of Christians.

LAST THINGS LAST

- Sometimes the best way to get through being tired is to find excitement in just being alive!

- People use the craziest things to decorate the outside of their apartments.

- You're the best! I love you!

เอ็ลเดอร์ อาจจะกลับไปที่เมืองไทยในไม่ช้า (Elder may soon return to Thailand)

Elder Barrett

Apartment Wars Ep. II: Attack of the Karens

 เฮลโล Hello!

What is up dog? How's everyone doing? Hopefully good! This was quite the week. A lot happened without much happening. Confused? Me too. Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up!

I BLESSED A FRIEND DOWN IN AFRICA

Technology is cool! We met a guy named Samson who lives in Nigeria! He's really interested in the gospel. We were able to actually video call him and share the restoration! It was dark where he was, so he was lighting his face by shining a flashlight directly at his face. So I guess Joseph Smith wasn't the only one who saw a pillar of light, huh? Do you wanna hear something else that was pretty cool? I got to teach the restoration in Thai!! It went really well, and the person I taught (over the phone) wants a Book of Mormon! So hopefully I'll be able to meet with her this week and hand it off in person!

KARENS. KARENS EVERYWHERE.

While we were tracting at a certain apartment complex, we met three different ladies who all had a bone to pick with us, I guess. The first one slammed the door in our face when we were talking to her. Nothing out of the ordinary, so we moved on to the next door. While we were sharing with the person at the next apartment, the first lady opens her door back up and starts yelling at us about how we can't be soliciting at this complex. My companion calmly starts explaining the difference between soliciting and proselytizing while I just ignored her and shared about the Book of Mormon to the kind person who was actually hearing us out. After a bit, she finally went back inside. The second lady found us when we were going back to our car. I was standing behind the car to back my companion, and this lady rolls down her window and says, "you can't park here if you don't live here!" So I responded, "in the visitor's parking?" Then she said, "I have your license plate number." So I kinda chuckled and just said, "Okay." And she drove off. The third and final encounter was actually a few days later. We were doing more tracting at this same complex and a lady answers the door and politely rejects us, and was actually on her way out of the door already, so she walked past us. We stood there for a minute to write something down on a card, and from the bottom of the stairs, she starts screaming for us to get away from her door. How we were encroaching on her place of residence. We didn't want to yell back at her, so we just said ok and started finishing up the card. And almost immediately she screams again how we need to leave now. So we told her what we were doing and she didn't have anything else to say. We heard her walking around the parking lot talking about how she went to bible college and that there's a scripture that totally debunks our entire doctrine. She never mentioned a reference or even paraphrased, but I'm sure it would have been devastating. At an entirely separate complex, we have 2 cranky old men yelling at us from all the way across the parking lot about not soliciting. We ignored them until they screamed, "WHAT ARE YOU, DEAF?" And we just said that we aren't soliciting and left them to sulk in the darkness. They were like the two old men from the muppets but not funny and just angry haha.

FINISHERS WANTED

I'll be completely honest with you, for the most part this was a HARD week. Lots of hours of work with very little to show for it. Sometimes it can get tough to get myself out of the apartment to go knock on doors if it hasn't been yielding any results. All around our zone here in Seattle, the other missionaries have been having a ton of success and miracles on a daily basis. But we haven't seen comparable blessings. Why is that? We've been working as hard, right? Well, one of my favorite talks came to my mind while I was looking over this week, so I'm going to share a little bit from "Finishers Wanted" by Thomas S. Monson:

Though disappointment, heartache, and trial were to beset him, yet Paul, at the conclusion of his ministry, could say: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” Paul was a finisher. He admonished us to “lay aside … sin” and to “run with patience the race. … Looking [for an example] unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. …”

Stick to your task ’til it sticks to you;

Beginners are many, but enders are few.

Honor, power, place and praise

Will always come to the one who stays.

“Stick to your task ’til it sticks to you;

Bend at it, sweat at it, smile at it, too;

For out of the bend and the sweat and the smile

Will come life’s victories after a while.”

God needs finishers! He called me out here to be a finisher, not a beginner. Anyone can start a task, but it takes some real character building to finish one. If I just came out to start a mission, what would I have learned? That a mission is hard? Ok, cool. But through trials and difficulties, life's most important lessons are learned. I didn't baptize nations this week, so what? Many times, the impact that we make on others is never noticed by our own eyes, but I'm confident that through my efforts and continuing faith, I'll recieve life's victories... after a while.

LAST THINGS LAST (sorry about these, mom)

- We had a guy whip open his door with a gun in his hand. He was actually really nice.

- We heard a drive by shooting happen just about a block away from us. About 9 shots fired. Yes, we counted.

- Ghetto spots really like shopping carts.

- A bunch of Mexico missionaries and even some Africa missionaries were sent back to their original assignment this week!

- Don't think I could forget about you. I love you! Have a great week.

เอ็ลเดอร์ นักกฎหมาย (Elder Lawyer)

Elder Barrett

Spiritual Mamas

เฮลโล Hello!

I'll be real, I'm having a hard time remembering all that happened this last week. It was a ton! This week we were focusing on being out and teaching/finding as much as possible, so we were so busy. It was awesome.

WEST SIDE

We had to drop off the West Seattle Elders for interviews with President on Wednesday. So, while we were up there, we did a few things. First thing, we actually went to Alki Beach to get an amazing view of the Seattle skyline. I'll attach some awesome pictures. And then we tried to find some members in the area! There was one in our area book whose name was "F from Tialand." I figured we needed to give that a look, maybe Thailand and Tialand are similar, right? She wasn't there, but I actually had a few chances to speak Thai this week! We got a referral for a Thai lady and she is adorable. We also ran into a Lao man. The only downside? He doesn't speak Lao!!! He was stumbling through english with us, so when he said he was from Laos, I spoke all the Lao that I know and then he was even more confused!!! What even??? He wasnt interested anyways, so I guess it doesn't matter.

SAAAAAHMOA

Talo fa! I got to go on an exchange with the Samoan Elders. I picked up a few cool words, and we went from Renton to Federal Way just trying to find Samoan people. So that was awesome! Did we find a ton of people? No. Did I eat Johnny Rockets for the first time? Yes. I see that as an absolute win. Fa se fua!

LESSONS???

We are finally getting to teach some of the people we've been finding! We had almost nothing to go off of in our area book at the beginning of the transfer, so we were forced to do a TON of finding in the last few weeks. But this week? We actually spent about half of our time on return appointments! We went to places with creepy clowns, bullet holes in the windows, and even a dead body... So yeah, we've been putting all that we've got out there. We have a few people who are really really solid and we had awesome lessons with them. A few of them even lasting like 2 hours. Most of that time filled with them just rambling, but I'm working on patience anyways. We had one cool experience where we were talking to this muslim guy who really likes to talk. He was talking about how we shouldn't be celebrating Jesus's birthday or even our own birthdays. And how Jesus wasn't God's son and this and that. Basic nonsense. We were standing at his doorstep for about 30 minutes when eventually I felt prompted to just bear my testimony and get out of there. That's exactly what I did. He was honestly speechless. After we left, Elder Knapp said that he didn't feel the spirit at all while that guy (who we call bicycle because we cant remember his actual name) was babbling. But he did when I bore my testimony. I'll tell you what, there's nothing like the spiritual confirmation that comes after your boldly testify of the restored gospel, Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon. It's honestly such a testimony building experience to just share your testimony. So go out and share your testimony! Find opportunities to go out and do it! You won't regret it.

LAST THINGS LAST

- Happy New Year, everyone! Congrats on making it to 2021!

- On Saturday, our fridge stopped working, fire doors closed and emergency lights on in the hallways, and an alarm sounding outside. Literally thought it was the apocalypse.

- Wait a minute... I LOVE you!

เอ็ลเดอร์ ບໍ່ເວົ້າພາສາລາວ (Elder does not speak Lao)

Elder Barrett

Merrih Chrism

 เฮลโล Hello!

Pretty amazing week! For the hibernators among you, this week was Christmas! It was pretty fun! Thanks to everyone who sent me stuff! 

TRACTING HIGHLIGHTS

We did hours and hours of tracting this week. It was a grind! But it was worth it. Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you! 

- We got to a door with a doormat that said, "come back with a warrant." Who opened? This super super nice lady! She says that recently she's been trying to strenghten her relationship with God. She gave us coconut water, we gave her a Book of Mormon, and she invited us back! 

- We were trying a new apartment complex late at night. We were just going to try it out and head back home because we didnt have much longer. The first door that we knock, this guy opens up and he says, "oh my gosh, you guys are doing this in the cold? Come in!" He said he wasn't religious and he probably wasn't worth our time, but we sat down and over some Call of Duty, we had an actually amazing discussion about why we believe what we do. We got to share our personal conversion stories. He invited us back, and we caught him on Sunday. We shared about the Restoration and he is very interested in reading the Book of Mormon!

- One door opened up and this older guy was behind it and asked who we were. We told him that we were missionaries. He then said, direct quote, ""Would you like to come in and drink some blood and get naked?" We were pretty caught off guard. Laughed and said no, so he said, "Then get the h*ll out of here!" I'm very worried about what this man has in his apartment.

- We were doing a ton of knocking on Christmas Eve. After knocking a door with a "No Soliciting" sign (because proselytizing is different from soliciting, but that's another subject), we got no answer. We moved on to the next door, which was right next to the first one, and while waiting on that door, the first door opens. Behind it is a man with no shirt, long greasy hair, a gaming headset on, and I swear chip crumbs in his stringy beard. He starts screaming at us about being in front of his door so long, about the no soliciting sign, and about anything else he could find to be mad about. Many F-Bombs were dropped. He slams the door, opens it again to scream a little more, and slams it again. Just as this was happening, our zone leaders pulled into the parking lot of the complex and saw the whole thing happen. They were laughing so hard!

That's kinda the thing about being a missionary. You have to take the good with the bad. Both will come. But I've learned that if you can laugh about the bad experiences, like those two guys I mentioned, they become good experiences. Those are things I'll be talking about weeks, even months or years from now and I'll be able to look on them fondly, because honestly, they're hilarious.

BUNNIES OF THE BUSH

We are going on morning runs every few days. We have a trail right next to our hotel that we like to run on. One morning, it was really frosty and foggy. As we start running we see a few rabbits just chilling on the side of the trail. When we got close, they just straight up jumped into blackberry bushes off the side! If you know anything about blackberry bushes, you know they are super thorny! Even bush man wouldn't hide in those. There were rabbits in random spots along the trail. All of them jumped. We also have to run under a bridge for a second on this trail. As we were running one day, we saw this homeless person in the way just sleeping on the pavement. Kinda like Snorlax. We regained our composure and booked it past him.

LAST THINGS LAST

- we found a really ghetto playground with a half-buried tire, rusty monkey bars, and a punching bag. Catch me there on P Day.

- Uno Twist is super fun.

- I won a game called garbage. Which is pretty fitting.

- Roses are red, violets are blue, you've heard this before, but I love you!

เอ็ลเดอร์ เอาปืนมาสำหรับความปลอดภัย (Elder brought a gun for safety)

Elder Barrett

Preaching to the Mexican Choir

 เฮลโล Hello!

Welcome back to my weekly TED talk. It's an honor to be here. So, I got transferred last week to the Alki YSA Branch in Seattle. It's pretty crazy, pretty awesome. There are/were a couple Springville High alumni over here, so that's pretty crazy. Also a piano player who sings and plays like he's a baptist in Alabama. Plus all of his concert lights and disco ball. It's pretty unbelievable.

UNINTENTIONALLY ILLEGAL ACTIVITY

So, a few days out of the week, we wake up early and go to the ZL's apartment to work out. There are a lot of missionary apartments in this complex, and they typically have pictures of Jesus on the front door when missionaries are there. The ZLs don't have one, but it's easy to remember where they live, because one of those doors with Jesus is right across from theirs. So when we got to the complex, we found the picture and started knocking on the door across from it, where the ZLs live. We knocked for about 15 minutes. Knocking, talking through the door, saying "let us in!" "Are you still asleep?" "If you don't let us in we're gonna break down the door!" Etc. At one point, Elder Knapp even unscrewed the peephole and started talking INTO the house. After about 15 minutes of this, Elder Knapp realized that this was not, in fact, the ZLs, but actually just a random apartment. So we booked it out of there and found the ZLs apartment across from another Jesus picture, on the same floor, just another building. So, we probably scared some random stranger to DEATH! Whoops.

FELIZ NAVIDAD

We were out on Sunday, trying to find some people we had met earlier in the week at this sketchy apartment complex (and there are a LOT of those around here). We get there, and we see in the parking lot there are about 25-30 Mexicans wearing all white. They're all just kinda congregated together. We decided that we would check on the person we came here to see first, and then drop some spiritual knowledge on the congregation. We knock on our friend's door, and we hear music start playing. And what song could it be, but Feliz Navidad. Our friend didn't answer and we see they're all singing this song and dancing together for one of their relatives who was inside and watching and dancing from a window. By the time we actually got close enough to them, they were starting to get into their cars and drive off, so we just wished them all a merry christmas. What I wouldn't give to be a Spanish Elder in that moment haha.

WE CAN'T STOP AND WE WON'T STOP

We have been GRINDING out here. We are both new to the area, and there is just about nothing to go off of. There are only like 15 active members of the branch. We are definitely going to try to make that better, because there's at least 100 members in the ward directory. We also have just been going from apartment complex to apartment complex and talking to anyone and everyone. We've met some really really cool people. Some who are actually genuinely interested. And I'm so excited to actually get back to teaching! We've gone to some super ghetto spots to try to find these diamonds in the rough. And it's working! Hopefully next week I'll be able to share about some experiences with our new friends.

LAST THINGS LAST

- We accidentally drove into the airport. These roads are confusing!!

- I am the dog whisperer.

- We stopped by a goodwill and I found a great sweater for christmas.

- We had a drive thru caroling thing at the church. So I got an excuse to scream at oncoming cars.

- Being hardened by the inner city doesn't change the irrefutable fact that I love you!

เอ็ลเดอร์ อย่าถูกยิง (Elder, don't be shot)

Elder Barrett

 

Hello, Seattle (For real this time)

 เฮลโล Hello!

Hey hey everybody! It's been a pretty typical week in the life of a missionary. A lesson here, a missed appointment or two there. But hey! Can't complain. I have some good news, though! I'm getting transferred! I know you die hard Benson Hill lovers will be a little disappointed, but all of you Seattle homers will be excited to hear that I'll be serving in the Alki YSA Branch!!! That's in the Seattle Stake, so blast that Owl City song and let's do this!!

I LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE IT

We shifted our furniture moving ability into high gear this week. We were helping our friend Jim move out pretty much all week long. We went some pretty crazy places to drop off furniture. I'm talking about a random trailer in Enumclaw, a house in Auburn, and a fire pit in Kent! It was a party. Especially when we picked up some subway on the way back.

TIN FOIL HAT ON

Ok, so I need to talk to y'all about something. It's very important to me, so please pay attention. A little over a year ago, Elder Andersen came to speak to us in the MTC for Thanksgiving. It was great! Had a great time, shook his hand, all that jazz. Then I go to Thailand. Who shows up to talk to us? Elder Andersen. That's pretty funny, isn't it? Like, what are the odds? Then I get reassigned to the Washington Seattle Mission. This last week we were informed that an apostle would be speaking to us. Do you know who it was that came to speak to us? Anyone wanna take a guess? No, not Jesus. No! It was ELDER ANDERSEN! The third time in a row. So, I'm being stalked by an apostle. It's whatever.

UNLESS SOMEONE LIKE YOU CARES A WHOLE AWFUL LOT

Nothing is gonna get better, it's not! I was reading a talk by Neal A Maxwell called "Encircled in the Arms of His Love." I had a cool impression come to my mind and I figured I'd share it with you:

"Laman and Lemuel, for instance, were aware of ancient Israel’s miraculous rescue from Pharaoh’s mighty armies, but they murmured and were intimidated by a mere, local Laban"

   - there are so many trials that come up in my life that I'm too proud or too selfish to actually accept help. I feel like Laban and Lemuel were honestly content with just having the problem. Not being able to get the plates from Laban proves that Lehi is crazy and that what's been asked of them is too hard. It validates their complaining and murmuring. But we don't get better by failing and saying, "well I cant do anything about it anymore, looks like I was right and this thing was too hard." Anything can be done and accomplished through our efforts and faith in Christ. If we are humble enough to want to overcome our trials, we will become more like Jesus Christ, who overcame everything.

So, hopefully that makes sense to you, like it did in my head!

LAST THINGS LAST

- A member explained the entire history of how Laos became an independent nation. In Thai! So that was awesome.

- I lost my last game of cover your assets I will ever play in Benson Hill.

- I'll see y'all in Seattle! A change in scenery doesn't mean I'm ever gonna stop loving you!

เอ็ลเดอร์ ซีแอตเทิล (Elder Seattle)

Elder Barrett

I got her machine! Her answering machine?

No, interestingly enough, her leaf blower picked up.

เฮลโล Hello!

Your favorite human leaf blower is back! It was a week full of service, english classes, and unanswered phone calls. Pretty basic week for a missionary nowadays, I think.

OH, YOU'RE HAVING A PAR-TYYY

A recent convert was having a little birthday party, and invited us to come! We agreed, because who can say no to free cake, right? We showed up, and wouldn't you know it, as we're putting up decorations the District Leader and his companions drop in. Cool, the more the merrier! Then while we're wrapping presents, the Zone Leaders show up! Ok, cool stuff. But now this house is getting a little crowded. Some more friends drop by. This is a full apartment, dude. Then we hear that the STL trio is on their way. Luckily, very on brand for them, they were an hour and a half late. So we were already almost done at that point. Anyways, it was awesome. The Zone Leaders took our food for us biking Elders and told us they'd drop it at our door. It wasnt there when we got home. Sus? Definitely. 

RAKE ON ME RAKE ME ON

We are raking experts. We've gotten so skilled at raking up leaves, it's hard to talk about it and stay humble. But we've logged in HOURS of leave raking this week. This transfer? More than I can count! And not just because I can't count very high. But, we have an awesome friend we rake for, and he brings us Wendy's every time we go over. It's amazing.

TONIGHT, WE RIDE

And ride, and ride, and ride. My legs are gonna fall off, y'all. Benson Hill is exactly what is sounds like. Just a huge hill. My biggest problem is that my bike isnt good for downhill or uphill. And, even though everywhere we go is uphill both ways in a blizzard, whenever I go downhill, my brakes do a whole lot of nothing to slow down. It's scary stuff And biking uphill is just a bad time, but that's not news to you. We biked so hard on Sunday, that when we got to our appointment, my entire shirt was moist. It was so gross.

LAST THINGS LAST

- Y'all better be out there lighting the world!

- I really miss playing basketball and going on actual runs. Exercise is underrated.

- Wingstop wings arent spicy. I don't care what the heat scale thingy says, it sits on a throne of lies.

- All of this gratitude and Christmas spirit is amazing. It's joyful AND triumphant! Y'know what else is joyful and triumphant? You! I love you!

เอ็ลเดอร์ พึ่งพาซีเรียล (Elder relies on cereals)

Elder Barrett