pictures from River Falls week 13

Ethan and Elder Berg with the Taylors

doing the Lumberjack challenge

All done!

Finished the Lumberjack challenge!

Ethan with Jamie's cat

Baptism time!

River Falls week 13

Hello Family and Friends!

So this last monday, I endured one of the most difficult trials of my life. There were a few moments where I did not think I would be able to make it and I would sink to the bottom of the sea of despair and possible give up the ghost. But I survived and am grateful to be here sending this email today. What is this trial, this gargantuan challenge I am speaking of? The Lumberjack Challenge. So there is an ice cream shop in Stillwater, Minnesota (it is in our area) called Nielson's that gives crazy ice cream portions. The kid size is like 3/4 the size of my forearm. No joke. So the Zone Leaders, Elder Mattison/Looye, and Elder Berg and I went over there after email and decided to take up the challenge of eating 5 of those scoops, or about 5 pounds of ice cream, in one sitting. Which is adequately named The Lumberjack Challenge. I got 3 scoops of vanilla, one chocolate, and one strawberry. I didnt want a ton of sweet ice cream or I would have gotten sick pretty fast. Elder Looye didnt want to do it, so it was just us 3. And then we began. I did some serious evaluations of my life near the end of that ice cream. But, after 45 minutes, I finished. I finished the ice cream and then got a straw and drank the melted ice cream from the bottom and then had to get up and walk around or else I was going to be sick. Elder Berg was foolish and got ice cream with chunks in it. He kept on muttering about how when he wants chunks in his ice cream, he never gets any. But when he doesnt want any chunks, he gets a ton. Ha ha. Anyway, we all finished, felt like death, got our pictures taken, and began the drive home. Elder Looye was the designated driver. About half way home I just put my head out the window and lost all of that ice cream. It was bad. All the cars behind us swerved into the middle of the road. Elder Berg was watching the cars and laughing. Elder Mattison was in the seat in front of me and saw the whole thing in the mirror and was just laughing his head off. Elder Looye was freaking out and was yelling," SHOULD I PULL OVER SHOULD I PULL OVER!!!!!!" Elder Mattison just kept laughing and told him to keep going. Finally we pulled over but I didnt feel sick anymore. So we started driving again. Well, then I get sick again and my head went out the window again. And, only naturally, the car we were driving was white. On the bright side, I felt great the rest of the day. Elder Mattison and Berg felt sick. lulz. 

On Thursday I was talking to my district leader about how the zone leaders want me to get a ride to Bloomington to go on exchanges with the assistants (we don't have miles for that). My district leader said he didnt think that was allowed and told me to clarify. So I called the zone leaders, they were unsure. So i called the assistants. They thought it would be ok. Then the zone leaders texted me and said they remembered it wasnt ok. So they told me to call president and ask. So I called. President gave a firm NO on member rides and then sent out a mission wide text clarifying this issue. I was on the phone with the zone leaders when the text came in and they burst into laughter when they read it. one zone leader recounted a story her remembered about someone getting a ride to an exchange and they got into a LOT of trouble. I am glad that was avoided... then my district leader texted me and was like whoa, president clarified that fast. So yeah, I got a White Handbook Clarification text sent to the whole mission without getting into trouble. That is a pretty rare feat. Ha ha 

Jamie was baptized on Tuesday night before transfers on Wednesday night. She almost started crying before she was immersed and she couldnt stop smiling the whole night. It was wonderful!

Elder Berg and I got milkshakes Tuesday (I didnt think I would eat ice cream that soon after the Lumberjack challenge...) and Elder Berg ordered, then walked away. He accidentally left the car key on the counter. The elderly lady taking our order was about to call out to Him, but I took the key and was like, "dont worry about it." She asked me if I was going to pull a prank. I replied yes. She looked me in the eye and said, "that's wicked." So I got called wicked by and elderly lady this week. ha ha. 

Transfers were Wednesday. I am training, as I mentioned before. Elder Cole is my trainee and he is from the San Francisco area of California. He is pretty quiet and reserved like me, so that creates challenges. Elder Berg was very outgoing and now I have the be the one that needs to be super outgoing since I am training, so this will be interesting. 

So 2 weeks ago a Brazilian girl flagged me down on the street and asked to come to church, well we got her to church yesterday! Saturday night, Bishop called us and told us he had the information for an exchange student in River Falls. He started giving me the info and I said, "Bishop you won't believe this, but we already found her." My testimony that this truly is the Lord's work was deepened. 

A talk in sacrament meeting had a great deal of effect on me. The theme was revelation. The man who spoke last is a riot. He is pretty funny and has a wacky personality. He gets up and declared that none of us receive revelation! Seeing angels and whatnot is revelation. We get promptings and inspiration. I shook my head and was like of course he would say that. The Bishopric's faces were amusing. Anyway, he talked about how we must be patient and realize that the Lord will answer us in His own time but also that we must be willing to act on that answer. Now most people will say they will if they pray for guidance, but God rarely gives us an answer that is within our comfort zone. We can only grow when we go out of our comfort zone and learn to expand that zone. Just like a muscle can't grow without resistance. That got me thinking a lot because I have always avoided uncomfortable situations. This mission is getting me out of that habit quite quick, ha ha.

Well, Have a wonderful week! I love you all!

-Elder Ethan Damron

Pictures from River Falls week 12

Baseball stadium

Elder Mattison, Berg, Looye, and me all together

Ethan and Elder Berg

Ethan and Elder Looye (who is from the Netherlands)

The official letter mentioned in an email a couple weeks ago

River Falls week 12

So today is transfer calls! *drum roll please* duh duh duh duh duh duh duh

I am staying in River Falls! And Elder Berg is going to the Anoka Zone in Minneapolis to be a Zone Leader! AND IM TRAINING. WUt! After a mere 3 months in the field, I have been entrusted with the opportunity to train a brand new missionary. I am super nervous and super humbled at this opportunity. I feel inadequate. But the Lord qualifies those whom He calls, so I know it will all work out. Im really thankful for my time with Elder Berg. He is my personality opposite and I have learned a lot from him on how to be bold, work really hard, and talk to people on the street at whatnot. In one of my interviews with president clements, he told me I would be very thankful for my time with Elder Berg for the rest of my mission. He was right, of course. 

So we had a fun week full of hilarity, as always. In church, Brother Mielke (an older man in the ward) walked past us and heard Elder Mattison (the elder from AZ) making some jokes. He stopped and asked Elder Mattison,"do you ever get on the telephone?" Elder Mattison looked quite confused and was like," yes..." Brother Mielke then asked," was it pretty high up there?" Then he started laughing and walked off. Elder Mattison isnt incredibly tall and is quite the jokester. Bro. Mielke got him so good. ha ha. 

We also went to a Twins game on Wednesday! Like half the mission went. President does this once a year and it counts as our P-Day for the week, except email on monday. It was a really good game! It went to 12 innings. In the 9th inning, the Indians got a homer to go up by one. Then Joe Mauer got up and hit a homer to tie it and send it into extra innings. The stadium went nuts. I jumped up and screamed, "Mauer must drive stick because he is CLUTCH!" Elder Mattison found that quite amusing. It was a lot of fun. 

Elder Berg and I were given some ties from one of our investigators. Two light blue ones and this crazy nice paisley tie. Now I wanted, and claimed, the paisley one. Elder Berg wanted it too. So after a bit of arguing we went back to the apartment and put all our chips on the table. We were making deals left and right.It was like Pawn Wars or something I dont even know. After multiple tie swaps, some money offers, and some yells of trades being a rip off, I emerged with the Italian Silk Paisley tie. I love it. A lot. 

But, as always, we did some missionary work too... ha ha. 

Jamie is progressing well towards baptism. She has read up to Mosiah and is loving the BoM. She will be baptized tomorrow. 

Jacob got anti'd quite hard by his family and church pastors. He told us this was not right for him, even though he knows it is true, and so our meetings will be postponed for awhile. I was so sad as we walked away. It felt like a funeral.

We also contacted a referral named Brian. He is a pretty old guy who we were warned could talk a LOT. And he can. he has some interesting religious views and we talked for about an hour. But the conversation started to turn to bible bashing and so I was like alright, we need to head home now (it was 9:05 and dont worry, i said it nicer than that). So I called on Elder Berg to say a prayer since he was trying to run out the door before he screamed at the guy. Then after E. Berg asked him a few more questions about faith without works. Brian believes in faith ONLY. Nothing else at all. I asked him if we could help him with anything. He mentioned he was staining his garage doors if we wanted to help. E. Berg said we didnt know much about that kind of stuff. I was already out the door but the man then said, "where are your works now, eh?" then started laughing. It was so freaking funny. Oh man. Elder Berg didnt like that very much. 

We taught another girl named Sarah. She has a book of mormon already and said she reads it some times. She says she opens up to a random page and always manages to read something she needed to help her no matter what page she turns to. Imagine that.. :)

Spiritual thought: 

Jacob 2:8
 8 And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing^aword of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul.

The pleasing word of God is the gospel, as the footnote mentions. And the gospel is essentially the atonement. All things stem from that great and everlasting sacrifice by our Lord and Redeemer. The gospel, or atonement, will heal our soul! The scripture doesnt say "which can healeth" it says "which healeth". The scriptures were written with a flippin ice pick! The wording is very important in all cases. Embrace the atonement. Really. It is so powerful and so sweet. 

I love you all! I am happy to remain in River Falls for another 6 weeks. Have a great week :) 

Love, Elder Damron

Pictures from River Falls week 11

This picture was sent for Candyce (his youngest sister). She loves giraffes. 

Elder Berg staring down the cat. You will have to read his letter to get this picture. 

River Falls week 11

Hello family and friends! 

So this week I was in Cottage Grove, Minnesota for Mon/Tues on exchanges with the Elders there. I was with Elder Seiler most the time. He is from Bozeman, Montana! We had a great time and talked a lot about Montana and the fun to be had there. Everyone we talked to we sold that we were a Montana duo out to preach to good word. But I mention my time in Mesa too. It is nice having a mixed background. A background of hellfire and brimstone, and a background of beauty and zion-like quality. he he

Anyway, on Tuesday night I was with Elder Crozier. Now Elder Crozier is like 6'4" and a literal cowboy. He grew up on a ranch and the mission has been "the laziest time of his life" (he is still a hard worker). He would tell us of his time waking up at 4:30, being out on the trail until aboutnoon, eating lunch, then going back out till like 9. wuT. He had about 6 different horses he used throughout the week because they worked so much. So anyway, I went out with him and at about7:45 we came out of a Veteran's Home we were visiting and off in the distance we saw a storm that screamed death and destruction heading out way. Fast. We got a mass text from our mission president that basically said take cover, there is a tornado warning. If you hear the sirens, get in immediately. I expected Elder Crozier to be like, "eh, whatever. It's just a storm." The exact opposite happened actually. He saw the storm, yelped a little, and took off on his bike. I could barely keep up with him. He kept on muttering and yelling to hurry up. At a stop sign I was like,  "Elder Crozier scared of a little storm?" He turned to me and said, "elder where I grew up we got 8 inches of rain a year. I am not going to be out here and die." And he took off again. Halfway home we ran into the other missionaries in the car. They were laughing at how fast we were going. We threw our bikes on the back of the car and went home. Right as we got home the storm descended upon us. It looked almost like a giant sandstorm made of clouds. So crazy. The tornado sirens went absolutely nuts. Butt dont worry, we are alive and well :)

Fun Elder Berg moment(s) of the week time!

So we were teaching this woman named Laurie and we asked her if she wanted to say the prayer. She has said no every time for the last 10 weeks. So Elder Berg pulled out 2 Ne. 32:8-9 and read it to her. The scriptures say that the evil spirit teacheth a man not to pray. Elder Berg looked right at her and told her that the devil was telling her not to pray. She still refused to pray.

Toward the end of the week, we were out tracting. We came to a door and there was a cat in the window. Elder Berg said,"watch me beat this cat in a staring contest." He then proceeded to have a stare down with that cat. Neither beast nor man would relent. After a couple minutes of staring, complaints of hurting eyes from Elder Berg, and of course picture taking by me to have proof to the fact that my companion was having a staring contest with a cat, the cat turned and hid its head behind a beam in the window. The improbable actually occurred. Elder Berg actually beat a flipping cat in a staring contest. Alright then. 

So I was SOOOOO CLOSE to playing a cello this week. The zone leaders called me and asked me to play the cello in a zone conference this tuesday. I said yes and after much searching I finally found a cello. The school districts dont have orchestra here (absolute blasphemy if you ask me) and so finding one was quite difficult. Right as I went to pick it up I got a call saying there was a miscommunication and I would no longer be playing. So close... so far... Maybe some time soon. 

So we have been teaching Jamie Halfen for about 11 weeks now. I taught her last Saturday with Elder Berg, then I went on exchanges, and then I taught her on wednesday. The change that occurred in her is absolutely remarkable. I have never seen anything like it. She went from slightly resisting baptism to a converted soul in a matter of days. She finally allowed the spirit into her heart and the result is so obvious. It is nothing short of a miracle and I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to teach her. She has embraced this gospel and she is visibly happier. Her relationship with her husband, which was degrading, is all of a suddenly being healed. Her husband is an atheist and wanted nothing to do with us but he saw the change in her wife and is now super supportive and is even coming to church to see her confirmed! Miracle after miracle is occurring. She will be baptized a week from Tuesday. 

Spiritual Thought of the week:

Matthew 14: 27-31

 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good^acheer; it is I; be not afraid.

 28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was ^aafraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little ^afaith, wherefore didst thou ^bdoubt? 

Peter sought Jesus out. That is the first key. But along the way, he sunk into the water. He then cried to the Lord for help. Jesus immediately stretched forth his hand, and he rose from the water. The word immediately here is so powerful to me. The Lord WANTS to help us immediately! But we must accept His help! And what is the crux of his help? The Atonement. The Atonement will lift us from those dark and treacherous waters. Seek His help! Let the atonement in!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Elder Damron

Pictures from River Falls week 10

You will have to read the blog post to fully understand and appreciate most of these pictures. It sounds like it was a fun week!

River Falls Week 10

So this was quite the amusing week here in River Falls. I got the cops called on me for the first time as a missionary. This was Elder Berg's 4th time. So we were tracting this neighborhood when this guy came out and started yelling at us. He was in quite the fuss and had made quite the effort to make sure to get out in time to yell at us since he had no shirt on and half his face was shaven and the other half still had all the cream on it. So he started demanding to see our permits and whatnot. Elder Berg said yes I have one do you want to see it? The man said of course. So E. Berg pulled out his ministerial certificate and showed it. The man got pretty mad about that. He said it wasnt a permit and he ran inside his home with it and called the city offices to report us. He left his window open and I could hear him yelling about some "bible sellers going door to door" and we needed a permit to do that. He came back out and he told us to never use the certificate again because it was unlawful. We told him we were not selling anything and therefore didnt need a permit. He said he never said we were selling anything (E. Berg and I looked at each other and were like Wut. sure...). Anyway, he gave back the certificate and told us to get out of this neighborhood before he called the cops on us. Elder Berg simply stated we were allowed to be here and we would continue to work in the area. Tension started to rise so I was finally like alright sir, have a good day and we walked away. He kept yelling at us. So we knocked a couple more doors but needed to leave to get to a prior obligation. So he came back out and started yelling at us again and told us to wait on the curb because the cops would be here in a minute to haul us off or something like that. I just told him to have a wonderful day and we went on our merry little way. Well sure enough, the po-po pulled up. The officer got out and asked us how we were doing. He took down our driver's license information and told us he was pretty sure we didnt need a permit, but said we should head down to the city offices just to be sure. So we went downtown to investigate this permit business. We talked to the permit lady, Lu, and she just rolled her eyes and said we didnt need a permit but she wanted us to register with her. Basically we wrote our names and info down on a piece of scratch paper so that when people call to complain we can be OK'd by them. Then she wrote up, printed out, and signed an official letter saying we had permission to go door to door as missionaries. So basically we are legit now. Get at us River Falls. A member came around the corner and started asking us about what happened. We told him our tale and he said he had heard the receptionist complaining about the old man that always calls to report silly things. Apparently this time he was complaining about "annoying mormons". He then told us that the permit lady basically made up that letter and registration thing so no one gets hassled or has to waste time again. ha ha. then he invited us over for dinner. So basically we got the cops called on us and then we got dinner because of it. not a bad day at all. :) Later in the week, we were at a member's house for dinner. The husband was not home so the wife was like here, take my dog for a walk until he gets home. So E. BErg and I went around the neighborhood with this tiny little dog. It was cute. Not too many missionaries get to walk dogs on their missions! At dinner, the wife made some joke about us beating up her husband or something because the husband almost killed the dog when the dog ate chocolate out of his suitcase (the dog ate almost 6 ounces of chocolate. 1 ounce can kill this breed). The husband was like," honey that is not what they mean when they said the laying on of hands." E. BErg and I lost it at that joke. Whether missionary humor has already consumed my life or not, I have stored that joke in my mind for future reference.. ha ha Our third interesting story came on Saturday. Elder Berg and I have both popped our back tire inner tubes going over curbs too fast, so we always stop for curbs now. Well, Elder Berg wasnt going fast enough and when he tried to step over the curb, he lost his balance and fell over. And of course this being Elder Berg, he had to dramatize it just a little so he was there on the ground sprawled out next to his bike. I started laughing (he was clearly unhurt) and told him to hold on while I snapped a picture to record this fine moment of his existence. So I pulled out my camera and got a picture. He told me to get his camera out of his bag and take one. So I walked over, rummaged through his bag, and went back to my bike a couple feet away, and took the picture. Now the thought of how strange and suspicious it might look for one guy to be rummaging through the bag of another man who looks like he is unconscious on the ground next to his bike never fully hit me. All of a sudden cars started pulling up asking if he was ok. We were like oh, shoot. Yes! Everything is fine! One car pulled up and the man asked us and then was like,"I just wanted to make sure. I saw him on the ground and I saw you going through his bag. I just wanted to make sure he wasnt injured and getting robbed or something if you know what I mean." We assured him this was not the case and apologized. Then he got out of his car, opened his trunk, and gave us some blueberries. We thanked him, he drove off, and we went over the hill. When we got to the street on the other side of the hill we saw the man again! He was walking his dogs and he told us he had a pizza in the oven he could not eat alone and so he told us to be at his house in 10 minutes. So we ate pizza and talked. He is a super cool guy. waaay nice too. Hopefully we can teach him some time soon. We then walked a couple houses down and went to our dinner appointment. So. Much. Food. It was a battle. 2 dinners and a box of blueberries will get you.  But dont worry! We dont ALWAYS get ourselves into trouble.... We taught Jamie this week and showed her the talks "Safety for the Soul" by Elder Holland. This talk is money in the bank. Almost literally. After watching it Jamie committed to baptism. WE showed it to Sarah (the girl we baptized a couple weeks ago) and she committed to baptism. Elder Holland does WORK. The spirit was strong and the lesson went very well. Hopefully a week from saturday she will enter the waters of baptism and get one step closer to our Father in Heaven. On a spiritual note, I read Alma 42:23 this week:  23 But God ceaseth not to be God, and amercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the batonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the cresurrection of the dead; and thedresurrection of the dead bringeth eback men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be fjudgedaccording to their works, according to the law and justice. The atonement brings about the resurrection. Think of how powerful it must be to overcome and enable the separation of the spirit and body for all that has ever lived! It is not comprehensible. So if the atonement can do this, what else can it enable us to do? Everything, really. Allow the atonement into our lives by faith, repentance, and covenants and we shall be becometh saints through the atonement of Christ the Lord. The atonement can enable us to bring about all change in our life that will bring us closer to God and more. Turn to it. Cleave to it. Christ wants us to use it, He really does. I love all of you! I do not know when my next email will be. Perhaps next wednesday, we have some P-day shuffling occurring. Have a good week :) -Elder Damron