24 Hour Flu, for a Week

This week we basically took turns being sick.  We room with the zone leaders and so one of them got sick and we had to go on exchanges with them until they got better.  We basically had to do 4 back to back exchanges, and in one we had 3 dinners, ours, then the zone leaders and a YSA member took the ZLs out to dinner it was awesome. We all took turns being sick, and because we were all trading spots being sick we just made up games and scenarios that we played to see who could get out of them the most creatively, but the Game master (Elder Madsen) likes to give handicaps to us as we play, it was so fun.  I'm doing better.

Walked and Walked, A...n...d... Walked

Dear Family,

So you may have heard already, but I have been transferred down the Hill to the Highlands ward in Rancho Cucamonga.

We have been spending most of our time walking, trying to find people and we have been planning like crazy to try and find new people.  We have been out in a miracle all week, it has been raining like none other, and we can go out in it and not be drenched in seconds, but rather over time in minutes instead of seconds so its different. We currently live with the zone leaders and they are Elders Memmott and Croft and they are RIOTS.... Elder Memmott LARPED (live action role played) and Elder Croft is a really chill zone leader, so far to the point that he laughs and jokes and talks about how him and my companion Elder Madsen were companions and all of the stuff they did in Big Bear. #it's so funny. And we get to tract like crazy,

I only have a minute left so, I Love you all,

Ammon Van Engelenhoven

Through the Pass

I loved Jakes story about the microwave.  (Briefly, his cousin Jake is in Chicago, Spanish speaking mission.  They came upon a guy who didn’t speak English or Spanish, trying to move a microwave.  Jake and his companion helped this man move an ancient microwave out of his apartment and placed in the trunk of a running car.  Another person came out of the apartment building and drove away in the car.  Man who can’t speak English or Spanish walks away….. So some random person has an ancient microwave in the back of their car.  Awesome!)

In more news, I have been Whitewashed out of my area Mojave Narrows, and I am now down the Cajon pass and in the valley, serving in the Highland B area. Interesting thing to note here I have been whitewashed out of Mojave River B, Maple A, Maple B, now Mojave Narrows B, I have white washed out of all my areas, and I have shotgun technically an area (not really, but they say it counts). So in my new area, I live with the zone leaders.  My companions name is Elder Madsen, he seems really cool and he is really funny. He knows anyone and everyone, and knows anywhere and everywhere, it should be fun. Oh, and I got to drive a Truck, that is right a truck, not a car. I got to drive it down the Cajon pass, and man, oh man, I miss driving. We accidentally left the mission, but we found our way back in a relative short amount of time. I have never been so excited for that on my mission, to go from no Car to truck for a day... Awwww, man it was bliss, #Haven't driven for 8 months, and only got 1 speeding violation, #unheard of in California, #missionaries understand my pain with the dreaded TIWI......   (FYI, Ammon was pulled over by an officer because he was riding his bike too fast.)

I love you all,

 Ammon

Love you mom, bye

Hmmmm........

Transfers are next Monday.  We do get plenty of rain, and there has been some flash flooding, but not anywhere near me. So, we'll be in the rain, and hope someone takes pity on us and lets us in to talk about Jesus.  This past week fell to crap because we had a member who is going through a break up, crash at our apartment because he didn't know how to deal with a break up.  He stayed for an average of 6 hours and we recently started a 1 hour study with him, to kill/cut the time down as much as possible.  No it is not appropriate for him to do any of this and bishop is painfully aware of it :)  We didn't really teach anyone because of that fact but here's hoping for this week as an atonement week for this past week :)

Where exactly in Lincoln Nebraska are you planning to move?  I don't know how I would feel, I don't know anyone there, but that is not so bad.  I could meet new people.  I would only be there 3 months out of the year, so it won't really affect me, and I only have to change the home address.  When would we see family, Thanksgiving and Christmas or not, but either way I will be fine.  When I come home, do I go there or to Fulton for my home coming talk, and when would we visit?

Yeah I know its kinda short I am writing up a report for the week and for President Taylor, it will make more sense when dad gets done and reads the email I sent him.  He can explain why it is so short.  Yes, you can send me stuff and it will get to me, and I ran out 5 months ago ;)

Yes,  I would like chocolate, in any form, cocoa, candy, cake, anything I am not picky, Pringles, and cookies, brownies.

I got to go,

I love you all,

Ammon

"Nutty" but Not a Nut

January 16, 2017

So this week in a shell that is nutty, but not a nut ;P

 

This week we had to do a mini exchange with our Zone leader's, to do a pass off lesson to pass Mitch off to the YSA. The ZL's showed up and Elder Conder and I were debating on who should go. Basically, had the ZL's flip a coin, I was chosen to go and in the lesson we taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Mitch just started in to the lesson and plowed through it and we were tying in how he needs to be in the YSA ward to get Baptized. He accepted the fact that he needed to but he wanted to have one more lesson with Elder Conder and I before the ZL's take over. (Inside my head, I was thinking, "Crap, No he is attached to us and won't want to be passed off) and that went great. We got a text from the sisters that night to take pictures of the temples to one of their recent converts. The next day we went and dropped them off first thing in the morning. We then had to give service at a squash farm, and that day we had to dig trenches for a sprinkler system, and yeah, I kinda over did it. We were only supposed to go down 1 foot and I went about 4 feet down and did the high majority of the trenches. They took me out of the trench digging, and I received the comment that" If WWIII happens when Trump is elected that they would want me on their side because I could dig a hole that would go to China and not die" LOL :)

 

Right after that we had Aaron Boston cancel our appointment so we then, came home and we had a Member named Neil, come to our apartment to talk with us because he got DUMPED hardcore Sunday. He found out that his girlfriend was cheating on him the entire time and for the rest of that day we talked with him, and he gave us a RISK game. We played until he felt better for that day. We then did exchanges right after he left and I was left in the area  (interesting fact I have only ever left my area on exchange 5 times in the past year.) I had another Greenie that I was with and we basically had to stay inside. We had Sushi which I have to say is good if you get it fried, because I had a fried roll and a raw roll on 2 separate days, the fried tastes better and doesn't make your stomach sick. Oh, and the Companion that I had here for the exchange is a cousin to a less active guy that we are teaching (what are the odds LOL.) The entire mission up here in the desert had interviews with President Taylor. Right after we got home Neil showed up again, and again he was struggling with the break up so our day fell to crap, again. Right as he left we had our DL show up for more exchanges and guess what, I was left in the area. That next day we finished the game of Risk and Neil felt better a little (Seth when we get home I want to play a game of risk with you.) After that we set up a return appointment with our investigators and had dinner. Then had to re-exchange and when we did that we had to go to a Choir practice and I was the only one that could drive, because I was the Oldest missionary, and I was Green dotted meaning that I was the only one that has a clean driving record on the mission. So I got to finally go driving in a bike area (YEAH!) Sunday we had a lesson with Mitch and all 4 of us the missionaries were there instead of the 2 like last time. This time we taught him the Law of Obedience, which he told us that he has started already to keep the WOW and the Law of Chasity, and that is my week in a shell of a nut LOL

 

Love you all,

Ammon

Building Relationships of Trust

Dear Family,

I am doing okay. Thomas is an awesome guy, he has been very helpful to me on my mission. Dad is sub-ing yeah people love dad, it is hard not to. Remember that people just flock to him to talk to him. And is Bro Hart okay, I mean what is stopping him from coming to church, has he been Elder's Quorum for to long or what is it? And I hope that Bro Brake is doing okay with that, and how is his little boy been? And Josh is getting sealed in the St Louis temple that is awesome, please send me pictures of it. 

 

Now to my week, is was good, we had a lesson with Mitch an investigator, we got him on a baptismal date, and we have taught him the restoration and the plan of salvation. He was gulping it up, but bad news he doesn't live in our ward so we have to pass him off to the YSA elders, because he is 21, and wants to start a family right now. We had a killer lesson with Aaron, we met with him for our second lesson and he started asking us about the Word of wisdom. We planned to teach the plan of salvation, but we jumped off the tracks and got on his level and taught him the WOW and he committed to start keeping the WOW. Right after the lesson we went down to a local gas station and threw his tobacco and cigarettes in the dumpster there. Still working on Coffee with him, but he is slowly weening himself off of it, so we will see how this goes. 

 

Yes, there is rain in our forecast...FINALLY.... although it kinda sucks here if it does rain because, we have to bike over dirt paths to get anywhere in our area, and we get muddy if it rains and people won't let us in if we are muddy. Most members take pity on us and let us in to get dry and warm, which is something to be thankful for #tender mercies. Yes, I am warm, but next week is forecast with high winds, so we will see how well we get through it. :) Teaching people is like a bear, it is hard, fun, and weird all at the same time but it is totally worth it to see them progress. 

 

I do make my bed, Elder Conder before that picture was taken was poking and prodding me to get up even though I told him I needed a nap, and I got tired of him doing that so I got up and did something else to make him stop pestering me. I have been getting enough to eat. We have been working on getting a dinner calendar coordinator to get us dinner, but we have been working on that for 4 months. The crab was fun, we kept on thinking of what we would do if it came to life right then and there, and we got several laughs out of it. I always try to be a nice guy, and there is an Elder that finished his mission and he was giving all of his stuff away, and I got his GPS and Pokemon deck and the kids love it. It is apparently getting popular again with 7 year old's, so I am ready for when a 7 year old wants to play. The guy with the gun has worked everything out and is okay and so is his mom. We are working on ward trust, it is hard particularly as there have not been solid missionaries for 6 months and we are trying to start something that the previous missionaries broke, so we are working on it, and we are trying to fix it.

 

Love,

Ammon

Church and a Gun

January 2^nd, 2017

We were shipped Crab and we got to cook it and have crab. I learned that there is a way to eat crab. I burned a shirt, we built a Bonfire (missionary standard=confined to a grill) and we went to bed early because there was so many things that we had to get done at church the next day.

 

Dear Family,

This week was crazy we were rained in for most of this week. I know that all of you are thinking "RAIN...REALLY AMMON," in my defense I have to say people are not home, because they are usually in the riverbed tearing it up and if they are home they are usually tired because they just got back, and they don't want us to bring " your Mormon mud in my house.” So, we don't usually go out, but we did get out and visited people and set up some return appointments. We taught an Eternal investigator about the restoration and about the Resurrection. It was touch and go with her but it all worked out in the end. 

 

Now fast forward to Sunday our craziest day in our transfer and was the way we started our new year. We got up, church time was moved back from 9 to 11, but we still had meetings to go to and we had to be there by 9 to make our meeting. We got there after biking HARD to get to the Church we were a tad late but they had not started yet so we were good. After the Ward Council meeting, we were sitting outside in the foyer waiting for our investigator to show up when the executive Secretary walked up to us and started a conversation. He was funny and witty to no end and was telling us his mission stories from the south. When he left to go to the bathroom, right around the corner and he came right back out and said take a look at this and showed us the bathrooms urinal. It was flooding, we turned it off and fixed it as quickly as we could before we were soaked anymore and before we had to go home and get changed. After that we were waiting for our investigator to show up, he never did but don't worry we got his number. :) 

 

We were sitting in sacrament meeting and the door opened to the Chapel and we see that it is one of our investigators, who is the son to another one of our investigators. He comes over and sits next to us, (now pause, our ward mates think that all we do is sit around and do nothing so when they saw that we had an investigator show up for Church their faces hit the floor it was priceless) resume; he asked us if we have seen his mom (our investigator) she didn't show up to our church that day. So I look on over to answer his question and I see a .44 magnum in his jacket pocket sticking out, barely enough to see it (I only recognized it because I have had similar guns pulled on me (thank you Quantico rd.)) We said right after the sacrament was done being passed we could step out in the foyer and help him. He was trying to find his mom, because he heard a woman scream that woke him up and he saw a car drive off and he couldn't find his mom. He used the last of his data to call his girlfriend and she told him that his mom was at church. So he got dressed in a jacket and pair of Combat boots and ran to the church to see if his mom was there, he saw us and asked for our help to find his mom. Out in the foyer, we called his mom and were waiting for her to call us back. While we were talking about the situation he commented on one of the speakers who was giving a talk and said, “Man, that was a solid talk,” and he started talking about Nephi's Ship and quoting it to us (now I was not following the talk, but he did it, he is awesome.) He told us about the first time that he read the Book of Mormon and how the missionaries at first sat down with him to read it and when he did and he said, "In the first Couple of Chapters a guy gets murdered just because he simply had too much money... THIS BOOK IS LIT!!!!" He then read the entire book of Mormon in a week and said that it is a true book and that "The Mormons are by far the closest to the truth if not the truth." We got in contact with his mom and we talked about book of Mormon stories that he loved, and we then sent him on home to deal with the cops and answer their questions. 

 

After that we went back inside to church to get to Gospel principles class and we got stopped by an member, who then gave us a referral and said he brought a nonmember friend who wanted to learn more. The nonmember friend walked up to us and I asked him what do you want to know? He just simply said Everything, so we set up an time to meet with him that day and he said that when he was at church that he felt at peace and at home and that he wanted to be part of it. After church we had a referral that we received from HQ and we knocked on her door when they pulled up and we had to set a return appointment because they were going to have people coming on over and it wasn't a good day for them. 

 

We visited some less active members and helped them with their roof, it is leaking from all the rain and we put a tarp down to divert the rain. We then stopped by the investigator that was mentioned earlier and his mom and everything was all right and we got to teach a little more on the meaning of baptism with them. We then had to get a ride to dinner because it was so cold and the wind was blowing really hard so we got a ride and had dinner. We then taught the member referral from earlier, he wanted to know more and he accepted the invitation to be baptized but couldn't pick a date because he didn't know his schedule so we couldn't set a date and when we finally got back to the apartment we didn't even have time to finish weekly planning. We got changed and FELL into bed and planned to do it tonight. That is this week.

 

Love you all, even you Kyler's Girlfriend,

 

Ammon