Friends and family!!
Hello hello how are all of you!? Happy 4th of July! I am so thankful
to live in such a wonderful and blessed country! Today I am thankful
for those who are fighting to protect our rights! This week was pretty
good! Had a lot of things going on! Last pday we didn't really do all
that much just kinda hung out and shot some hoops. That night we went
to FHE at the church. We brought our investigator from Sudan! His name
is Sam. He is a boss. We had a water balloon fight and played a game
called gator ball. It's a mix between handball and soccer. It was a
awesome night. Tuesday we had district meetings. Elder Merrill is our
district leader and he is my favorite! We had a nerf war after our
instruction hahah it was so dang funny. After that we had lunch with a
member Jon he bought us kabobs and they were mighty good. After lunch
we went and spilt some wood for the community and delivered it to all
the neighbors. We love going to spilt wood it's hard work but we enjoy
it! It was like 90 degrees and humid while we were spitting and we
were dying haha but all the neighbors in the area where very
appreciative! Wednesday was a pretty alright day haha we did a lot of
finding and had a few member visits pretty typical stuff but that's
the best! Thursday we went out to lunch with the itos a senior couple
in the mission and they return home soon. They are so sick!!! Then we
went on exchanges with the assistants in ft belvoir. We taught so many
lessons! Elder rascon and I went and taught these two guys named Dan
and Brian. They are honor gaurd at ft belvoir about my age as well.
Super powerful lesson on the restoration. They basically taught
themselves! I can't even write how amazing the lesson was...it was
that good! The rest of the night we joked around with the aps. I'll
miss elder Blanchard when he goes home. He is so awesome. Friday was a
fun time as well! We had a zone service project for the McClean
community center. We helped set up a perimeter for a firework show and
also a little fair! It's going to be so awesome. I'm so sad we can't
go dangit! It was so hot outside but at the end they bought us some
pizza so we were happy. The lady in charge was asking about missionary
work and I told her about us and what we teach. She went through a
recent divorce and was sad I told her we would help her move out and
she lit up so fast! Ha I hope she embraces the gospel! The rest of the
day we tracted and people weren't home :/ Saturday we walked out of
our apartment and found fake poop at our door! It was so gross! We
didn't know who did it either. we had breakfast with our Ward mission
leader. He is a stud. We then helped a member in our Ward with a move.
It was fun spending time with the members. During our lunch break a
member from the leasing office came up to us and was like "you guys
need to call the cops for what happened to your door last night!" Ha
we knew it was missionaries and told them it wouldn't happen again. WE
FIGURED OUT IT WAS THE SISTERS IN OUR WARD! what the heck?! It was SO
FUNNY! Hahahahah sister missionaries made fake poop and put it at our
door....I'm still blown away. Our district went on a blitz and had a
fun time as well! Elder Murdock and I talked to a lot of people. It's
so sad how many people my age are atheist... We talked to this lady in
the street who was inactive. Her name was TK so we are going to try
and bring her to church some time soon. She seemed really nice. That
night we taught our less active gabe. We read from pmg about setting
goals and how if we have HOPE and FAITH we can accomplish them! He
wants to come back to church so badly. Saturday was just a good day it
was also super weird haha but probably one of my favorite days of my
mission. Sunday was good we had a lesson about enos in elder quorum.
Just so happens that enos is my favorite book in the Book of Mormon. I
love how many lessons are leaned in it. My favorite one I've come to
learn is that enos was an average joe who had a spiritual experience
and had his sins forgiven of him. It can happen to ANYONE! I love the
gospel and how simple it is! This week was great. I'm grateful for my
Heavenly Father and for my family! I hope you all have a wonderful
Independence Day! Love you all!
Elder Routsong
Monday, September 19, 2016
HI! June 27, 2016
Friends and family!
Hello hello everyone! I have to say that this week was pretty darn
good. I think it's the blessings that I am getting from not being on
my family cruise right now;) hahaha but seriously this week was great.
Monday was such a good pday last week. We went to top golf and I was
with elder risenhoover my former companion. He is a stud. I love
hanging out with the guy. A member from the centreville Ward who is
the area director for the pest control company moxie paid for our top
golf and for food! So sick! I also got to throw some shot put in the
morning. Felt really good but my form was really bad! That night we
had a dinner with our member Jon and he invited his two non member
friends. We ate some really good pork the way that the Danish prepares
it. We taught jons friends about the Book of Mormon and invited them
to read it! They loved it!! Jon also burned a wicker Hilary Clinton
thing and yelled "BURN WITCH!" The whole time. Super freaking funny.
Monday was great. Tuesday we had district meeting and elder Merrill
had a surprise for us (elder Merrill suffers from aspergers and loves
to play with nerf guns) he is my favorite! We had a nerf war and
talked about comp unity hahaha. The rest of the day I was in exchanges
with the Spanish elders. Elder cottle is the man! We have a lot in
common so we for sure had a good time out finding! We ate some
saltenas which were mighty good! We taught several lessons in Spanish
too. I can sort of follow along but it's spotty. Elder cottle is a
great teacher I felt the spirit even while I couldn't understand the
language very well. We had so much fun though after the day was over
just talking and hanging out with the falls church elders. Wednesday
was awesome. We had a brunch with one of our members at the silver
diner. It was super good and we invited him to pass out a Book of
Mormon. I know he will do it. After the lesson we brought one of the
senior couples in the mission some flowers. I haven't bought flowers
in like 3 years so we asked the sisters for help haha sister Ito one
of the older missionaries loved them! Her and elder Ito are our
favorite senior couple! That night we taught Tiffany the word of
wisdom but she still won't commit to live it. We will have to drop
her. She also bought us some of the most disgusting pizza I've ever
eaten. It was so gross we just plastered it all of the sisters car
hahaha. Thursday we had exchanges with the Vienna elders. Elder
Murdock and I worked super hard. Being in a bike area is so crazy. We
met this lady named lexa who is living in a woman shelter and having s
baby in two weeks. When we taught her the spirit was so strong...it
was amazing. It was so awesome. Friday we spent most of the day
splitting wood for a bunch of people in McLean. It was awesome. We are
basically in charge of bringing firewood to a bunch of people in the
area. It's super hard work...but dang fun! We also taught Sam. He is
sick. He is a Muslim guy from Sudan but he is very interested in
learning about our church. He asked some awesome questions to us. We
are going to bring him to church next week. He also has two roommates
names Mohammad they are pretty cool too. Saturday was so sweet! We
moved this guy in McLean who isn't a member of the church. He had the
nicest house ever...I swear. He and his family we're super cool. We
had a finding fest the rest of the day. Our zone did a super good job.
Elder McCray and I were out tracting and this guy showed us his 1929
ford model A. It was awesome. He also had a Mafia style 1954 Cadillac.
Blacked out. So sweet. A member took us to chipotle I haven't had it
in months...so it was mighty good. Sunday we had meetings all day. But
elder Calderwood of the quorum of the 70 was at our sacrament. He gave
his testimony and it was so amazing....after the meeting he ran up to
us and gave us a hug! He was so amazing. Truly called by God. I love
the leaders of the church. That's was the highlight of Sunday. I love
Jesus Christ. I know that he lives and loves us! Thank you all for
your love and support! Have a wonderful week
Hello hello everyone! I have to say that this week was pretty darn
good. I think it's the blessings that I am getting from not being on
my family cruise right now;) hahaha but seriously this week was great.
Monday was such a good pday last week. We went to top golf and I was
with elder risenhoover my former companion. He is a stud. I love
hanging out with the guy. A member from the centreville Ward who is
the area director for the pest control company moxie paid for our top
golf and for food! So sick! I also got to throw some shot put in the
morning. Felt really good but my form was really bad! That night we
had a dinner with our member Jon and he invited his two non member
friends. We ate some really good pork the way that the Danish prepares
it. We taught jons friends about the Book of Mormon and invited them
to read it! They loved it!! Jon also burned a wicker Hilary Clinton
thing and yelled "BURN WITCH!" The whole time. Super freaking funny.
Monday was great. Tuesday we had district meeting and elder Merrill
had a surprise for us (elder Merrill suffers from aspergers and loves
to play with nerf guns) he is my favorite! We had a nerf war and
talked about comp unity hahaha. The rest of the day I was in exchanges
with the Spanish elders. Elder cottle is the man! We have a lot in
common so we for sure had a good time out finding! We ate some
saltenas which were mighty good! We taught several lessons in Spanish
too. I can sort of follow along but it's spotty. Elder cottle is a
great teacher I felt the spirit even while I couldn't understand the
language very well. We had so much fun though after the day was over
just talking and hanging out with the falls church elders. Wednesday
was awesome. We had a brunch with one of our members at the silver
diner. It was super good and we invited him to pass out a Book of
Mormon. I know he will do it. After the lesson we brought one of the
senior couples in the mission some flowers. I haven't bought flowers
in like 3 years so we asked the sisters for help haha sister Ito one
of the older missionaries loved them! Her and elder Ito are our
favorite senior couple! That night we taught Tiffany the word of
wisdom but she still won't commit to live it. We will have to drop
her. She also bought us some of the most disgusting pizza I've ever
eaten. It was so gross we just plastered it all of the sisters car
hahaha. Thursday we had exchanges with the Vienna elders. Elder
Murdock and I worked super hard. Being in a bike area is so crazy. We
met this lady named lexa who is living in a woman shelter and having s
baby in two weeks. When we taught her the spirit was so strong...it
was amazing. It was so awesome. Friday we spent most of the day
splitting wood for a bunch of people in McLean. It was awesome. We are
basically in charge of bringing firewood to a bunch of people in the
area. It's super hard work...but dang fun! We also taught Sam. He is
sick. He is a Muslim guy from Sudan but he is very interested in
learning about our church. He asked some awesome questions to us. We
are going to bring him to church next week. He also has two roommates
names Mohammad they are pretty cool too. Saturday was so sweet! We
moved this guy in McLean who isn't a member of the church. He had the
nicest house ever...I swear. He and his family we're super cool. We
had a finding fest the rest of the day. Our zone did a super good job.
Elder McCray and I were out tracting and this guy showed us his 1929
ford model A. It was awesome. He also had a Mafia style 1954 Cadillac.
Blacked out. So sweet. A member took us to chipotle I haven't had it
in months...so it was mighty good. Sunday we had meetings all day. But
elder Calderwood of the quorum of the 70 was at our sacrament. He gave
his testimony and it was so amazing....after the meeting he ran up to
us and gave us a hug! He was so amazing. Truly called by God. I love
the leaders of the church. That's was the highlight of Sunday. I love
Jesus Christ. I know that he lives and loves us! Thank you all for
your love and support! Have a wonderful week
Happy Week June 20 2016
Friends and family,
Nother week down! I hope everything back home is going well! Mom and
dad I hope that you all have fun on your cruise I wish I could come
but we will take one when I come home ;) this week was pretty good we
saw a lot of things happen! For pday last week we didn't do much just
had a zone activity we hiked in great falls national park. For sure
the prettiest place I've seen in Virginia we had a fun time and
nothing bad happened which is super nice! That night we went tracting
and found nobody:/ it was pretty sad. Tuesday I went on exchanges and
it was super hot outside. We had zone training in the morning and
elder McCray and I presented on how to have the Holy Ghost in our
lives and in the lives of those we teach. It was great. After that we
walked to Arlington and went street contacting. It was awesome. Taught
a black baptist preacher who started to yell at me hahahah he was
pretty cool though loved the missionaries. Wednesday we had a powerful
member lesson with will woods. He is great. We all felt the spirit so
strongly he is amazing we talked about his me,her missionary work. He
is going to have somebody for us to teach soon. Thursday we had
interviews and I got to spend half an hour with president. It was
awesome. We talked about how to be a successful missionary. It was
great cause I've been working hard but not seeing much. We also had a
bbq with eder one of my good friends in the mission he is awesome.
Friday we weekly planned! Saturday we cut a ton of wood and delivered
it to members! It was awesome. So humid at hot..it was so much fun! We
also taught gabe! Sunday we had a pass off lesson with a guy named
Tyler who wants to get baptized! I also met someone from here who
knows the burton family! Anyways sorry my letter is short! Love you
all!!!
Nother week down! I hope everything back home is going well! Mom and
dad I hope that you all have fun on your cruise I wish I could come
but we will take one when I come home ;) this week was pretty good we
saw a lot of things happen! For pday last week we didn't do much just
had a zone activity we hiked in great falls national park. For sure
the prettiest place I've seen in Virginia we had a fun time and
nothing bad happened which is super nice! That night we went tracting
and found nobody:/ it was pretty sad. Tuesday I went on exchanges and
it was super hot outside. We had zone training in the morning and
elder McCray and I presented on how to have the Holy Ghost in our
lives and in the lives of those we teach. It was great. After that we
walked to Arlington and went street contacting. It was awesome. Taught
a black baptist preacher who started to yell at me hahahah he was
pretty cool though loved the missionaries. Wednesday we had a powerful
member lesson with will woods. He is great. We all felt the spirit so
strongly he is amazing we talked about his me,her missionary work. He
is going to have somebody for us to teach soon. Thursday we had
interviews and I got to spend half an hour with president. It was
awesome. We talked about how to be a successful missionary. It was
great cause I've been working hard but not seeing much. We also had a
bbq with eder one of my good friends in the mission he is awesome.
Friday we weekly planned! Saturday we cut a ton of wood and delivered
it to members! It was awesome. So humid at hot..it was so much fun! We
also taught gabe! Sunday we had a pass off lesson with a guy named
Tyler who wants to get baptized! I also met someone from here who
knows the burton family! Anyways sorry my letter is short! Love you
all!!!
Langley June 13, 2016
Friends and family,
How is everyone doing this lovely week?! I'm doing pretty good here in
northern Virginia! The weeks always go by so dang fast it's almost
like a blur. The Langley Ward had been progressing since last week.
Today we had almost 100 people at Church! Monday of last week we just
played some basketball. It's always fun to do! I've played so much
ball lately..after pday we had an appointment with Youssef and he
flaked on us. So we spent the rest of the night tracting into mean
Muslim people. It wasn't too much fun. But we got two potentials from
it. Then a security gaurd chased us out of the complex Ha. Tuesday we
helped Bentley plan and prepare a lesson on how to help people find
the gospel on face book. He presented on Thursday at mission
leadership council. He was pretty nervous but he always pulls through!
On Wednesday we checked up on several of the prospective elders in the
ward. They are mostly if not all less active and inactive members of
the church. It's pretty sad. There is so much potential in them. I
hope that they will choose to live the gospel one day. Our elders
quorum president is pretty worried as well so we have been teaming up
with him to find these people. Some weird Asian lady came over and
took some blood for elder McCray cause he changed his life insurance
ha if was weird having this Asian lady in our apartment. On Thursday
we had Mlc and Bentley presented. Everyone loved it. Everyone loves
Bentley. He is a stud. He works so hard. President talked about how we
need to be in tune with the spirit in order to do anything for our
Heavenly Father and for Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter how much
talent we have or what we've done in life. If we don't have the spirit
we are nothing... That hits me hard. Nothing...we must repent and
change in order to have the spirit with us. I'm still trying to figure
this out in my life. It will take a whole lifetime! After Mlc I drove
my son elder snow back to his apartment and played a prank on the
elders that live there. I hid all there Pokemon cards hahahahahaha so
funny. I went on exchanges with elder medina that night and we had so
much fun. We taught s member lesson and we're finding. He is from
Mexico and is so dang funny. We also had a metro contacting activity.
Because it was so hot out on Thursday we got together as a zone and
passed out water bottles at the metro ha people always think we are
weird giving away free water but they appreciated it! Nothing much
happened on Friday. It was the slow day of the week. We do go an serve
at a local food bank every Friday morning and it's always so much fun
and so rewarding to help out those who are hungry and don't have much.
We love going. Saturday it was hot! 100 degrees hot. And HUMID. BLAH.
we helped out a member in the McLean Ward cut up these huge trees! It
was awesome we were all dirty and sweaty! Chainsaws are fun. We taught
a less active gabe about the importance of walking with the savior. I
invite you all to read the conference talk "ponder the path of thy
feet" it is excellent! Sunday was great we had church as set up many
member lessons and had stake priesthood meeting. It was very
spiritual! Today we helped a member move out of the Ward and are
hiking great falls park! It's going to be sick! This week was
challenging cause not much happened. I'm still seeking to learn all
that Heavenly Father wants me to learn in this area. He has helped me
become a better man. He loves me. He also loves you. I'm grateful for
his plan and for his gospel and my best friend Jesus Christ. Thank you
all for your love and support! I miss Colorado and Utah so much. But I
know that I'm supposed to be here. Have a great week! Love you!
Love
Elder Routsong
How is everyone doing this lovely week?! I'm doing pretty good here in
northern Virginia! The weeks always go by so dang fast it's almost
like a blur. The Langley Ward had been progressing since last week.
Today we had almost 100 people at Church! Monday of last week we just
played some basketball. It's always fun to do! I've played so much
ball lately..after pday we had an appointment with Youssef and he
flaked on us. So we spent the rest of the night tracting into mean
Muslim people. It wasn't too much fun. But we got two potentials from
it. Then a security gaurd chased us out of the complex Ha. Tuesday we
helped Bentley plan and prepare a lesson on how to help people find
the gospel on face book. He presented on Thursday at mission
leadership council. He was pretty nervous but he always pulls through!
On Wednesday we checked up on several of the prospective elders in the
ward. They are mostly if not all less active and inactive members of
the church. It's pretty sad. There is so much potential in them. I
hope that they will choose to live the gospel one day. Our elders
quorum president is pretty worried as well so we have been teaming up
with him to find these people. Some weird Asian lady came over and
took some blood for elder McCray cause he changed his life insurance
ha if was weird having this Asian lady in our apartment. On Thursday
we had Mlc and Bentley presented. Everyone loved it. Everyone loves
Bentley. He is a stud. He works so hard. President talked about how we
need to be in tune with the spirit in order to do anything for our
Heavenly Father and for Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter how much
talent we have or what we've done in life. If we don't have the spirit
we are nothing... That hits me hard. Nothing...we must repent and
change in order to have the spirit with us. I'm still trying to figure
this out in my life. It will take a whole lifetime! After Mlc I drove
my son elder snow back to his apartment and played a prank on the
elders that live there. I hid all there Pokemon cards hahahahahaha so
funny. I went on exchanges with elder medina that night and we had so
much fun. We taught s member lesson and we're finding. He is from
Mexico and is so dang funny. We also had a metro contacting activity.
Because it was so hot out on Thursday we got together as a zone and
passed out water bottles at the metro ha people always think we are
weird giving away free water but they appreciated it! Nothing much
happened on Friday. It was the slow day of the week. We do go an serve
at a local food bank every Friday morning and it's always so much fun
and so rewarding to help out those who are hungry and don't have much.
We love going. Saturday it was hot! 100 degrees hot. And HUMID. BLAH.
we helped out a member in the McLean Ward cut up these huge trees! It
was awesome we were all dirty and sweaty! Chainsaws are fun. We taught
a less active gabe about the importance of walking with the savior. I
invite you all to read the conference talk "ponder the path of thy
feet" it is excellent! Sunday was great we had church as set up many
member lessons and had stake priesthood meeting. It was very
spiritual! Today we helped a member move out of the Ward and are
hiking great falls park! It's going to be sick! This week was
challenging cause not much happened. I'm still seeking to learn all
that Heavenly Father wants me to learn in this area. He has helped me
become a better man. He loves me. He also loves you. I'm grateful for
his plan and for his gospel and my best friend Jesus Christ. Thank you
all for your love and support! I miss Colorado and Utah so much. But I
know that I'm supposed to be here. Have a great week! Love you!
Love
Elder Routsong
Transfer 4 in Langley June 6, 2016
Friends and family
Hello hello hello everybody. I hope that your week went really well!
Time is just moving on faster and faster. It seems like each Monday is
just a short time away. This week went pretty good. I still serving in
the Langley ysa Ward. When I am finished here I will have served for 6
months in Langley. God must be trying to teach me something about
singles wards and getting married hahahaha but I'll think about that
good stuff later. So for Monday of last week we didn't really do much.
I bought a sick new pair of running shoes and played just a few games
of basketball. It was Memorial Day and a member invited us and the
Tysons elders over for a bbq. It was awesome and the people were
totally crazy! Hahah that night we taught Tiffany with our Ward
mission leader Bentley. She has major concerns about the word of
wisdom. Bentley told her about his experience joining the church. The
lesson seemed to go well. We have been concerned for Tiffany cause she
has a lot going on and a lot of weird irrelevant questions. But we
keep trying! Tuesday we had district meetings and it was pretty
spiritual because we just had a brief testimony meeting. I loved the
missionaries in the district. We all had so much fun and were so
close. That afternoon we had to get a Tiwi put in our car. I was
pretty upset about that. That night we had a great member visit with a
guy named James. He is cool and I look forward to getting to know him
better. Tuesday night we got transfers....I honestly thought I was
going to leave. I won't lie...I was pretty upset I am staying in the
singles ward. I know that there is a reason I'm here though. This will
be the longest time I've spent in an area. Wednesday we had breakfast
with elder cline on his final day of the mission. It was sad. I'm
gonna miss that kid. He has been a great friend to me. Then my good
friend Marie took elder risenhoover and I out to lunch. She is such a
boss! She is literally the sweetest lady you will ever meet! That
night we went and taught Daniel. He is a good kid just really really
lost. He is 29 and just sits at home and plays super smash brothers.
We shared with him the "hope of gods light" video. It's so awesome.
About a guy who investigated the church for 2 years. It's a powerful
story. We applied it to him and told him that he needed to find
answers in his life. We had a member named Mikey there he did such a
good job befriending him. Thursday was transfer day. As zone leaders
this is literally the busiest day of the transfer. We ran so many
errands for everyone else! Dropping off bikes and suitcases all day!
It was exhausting. I got to see all my mission buddies though! Said
bye to elder cline and elder tesch. They will be missed and I can't
wait to see them again. I really hate when missionaries leave. It's
pretty sad. The highlight of Friday was we helped set up for the
Syrian refugee clothing drive. It was awesome! We worked so hard.
Saturday we helped out again at the refugee clothing drive and it was
a fun time. I always love being with the zone we are so close and have
so much fun joking around. Our most progressing and only investigator
Tiffany dropped us and we were pretty down in the dumps on Saturday
but things will work out and she wasn't ready. Life goes on I guess.
Sunday was good it was fast Sunday! I was just thinking about how God
loves me during the sacrament. It's so wonderful how he loves each of
us. His love is prefect and unchanging. We are so blessed to be able
to know that! Everything is going to be okay for us. There are always
good things to come. We just have to be patient (which is something I
am extremely bad at). This week was interesting and full of lots of
emotions. I'm grateful that I am serving and learning all this
valuable lessons for myself. I love each of you and am grateful for
your example to me and for your support and friendship! Have a
wonderful week!!
Love
Elder Routsong
Hello hello hello everybody. I hope that your week went really well!
Time is just moving on faster and faster. It seems like each Monday is
just a short time away. This week went pretty good. I still serving in
the Langley ysa Ward. When I am finished here I will have served for 6
months in Langley. God must be trying to teach me something about
singles wards and getting married hahahaha but I'll think about that
good stuff later. So for Monday of last week we didn't really do much.
I bought a sick new pair of running shoes and played just a few games
of basketball. It was Memorial Day and a member invited us and the
Tysons elders over for a bbq. It was awesome and the people were
totally crazy! Hahah that night we taught Tiffany with our Ward
mission leader Bentley. She has major concerns about the word of
wisdom. Bentley told her about his experience joining the church. The
lesson seemed to go well. We have been concerned for Tiffany cause she
has a lot going on and a lot of weird irrelevant questions. But we
keep trying! Tuesday we had district meetings and it was pretty
spiritual because we just had a brief testimony meeting. I loved the
missionaries in the district. We all had so much fun and were so
close. That afternoon we had to get a Tiwi put in our car. I was
pretty upset about that. That night we had a great member visit with a
guy named James. He is cool and I look forward to getting to know him
better. Tuesday night we got transfers....I honestly thought I was
going to leave. I won't lie...I was pretty upset I am staying in the
singles ward. I know that there is a reason I'm here though. This will
be the longest time I've spent in an area. Wednesday we had breakfast
with elder cline on his final day of the mission. It was sad. I'm
gonna miss that kid. He has been a great friend to me. Then my good
friend Marie took elder risenhoover and I out to lunch. She is such a
boss! She is literally the sweetest lady you will ever meet! That
night we went and taught Daniel. He is a good kid just really really
lost. He is 29 and just sits at home and plays super smash brothers.
We shared with him the "hope of gods light" video. It's so awesome.
About a guy who investigated the church for 2 years. It's a powerful
story. We applied it to him and told him that he needed to find
answers in his life. We had a member named Mikey there he did such a
good job befriending him. Thursday was transfer day. As zone leaders
this is literally the busiest day of the transfer. We ran so many
errands for everyone else! Dropping off bikes and suitcases all day!
It was exhausting. I got to see all my mission buddies though! Said
bye to elder cline and elder tesch. They will be missed and I can't
wait to see them again. I really hate when missionaries leave. It's
pretty sad. The highlight of Friday was we helped set up for the
Syrian refugee clothing drive. It was awesome! We worked so hard.
Saturday we helped out again at the refugee clothing drive and it was
a fun time. I always love being with the zone we are so close and have
so much fun joking around. Our most progressing and only investigator
Tiffany dropped us and we were pretty down in the dumps on Saturday
but things will work out and she wasn't ready. Life goes on I guess.
Sunday was good it was fast Sunday! I was just thinking about how God
loves me during the sacrament. It's so wonderful how he loves each of
us. His love is prefect and unchanging. We are so blessed to be able
to know that! Everything is going to be okay for us. There are always
good things to come. We just have to be patient (which is something I
am extremely bad at). This week was interesting and full of lots of
emotions. I'm grateful that I am serving and learning all this
valuable lessons for myself. I love each of you and am grateful for
your example to me and for your support and friendship! Have a
wonderful week!!
Love
Elder Routsong
Happy Memorial Day May 23, 2016
Family and friends
How was everyone this past week! Time flies when you are working hard
and having fun! Another Monday down! I believe this is week 20 in
Langley! Transfers are on June 2nd so I'll probably leave the singles
ward life. The work has been getting a little bit better each week but
progress is still slow. Last week for pday we went to top golf. I've
been there so many times that the lady recognized me Hahahah i love
that place. It's so much fun! Dad that will be one of our first stops
haha. After pday we went to FHE with Tiffany and we played volleyball.
This Ward is so unathletic it's so funny hahaha. Tuesday was a great
day though! We had district meetings and then e went and cleaned out a
nasty town house for this homeless program. What they do is they let
single homeless mothers live there for free. It was a nasty house
Hahah but we all had a fun time cleaning it. Then I went on exchanges
with elder cline. I love the dude. He is so funny and so trunky. He
goes home on Thursday so we had a great time! We met this couple from
ft belvoir that are dog trainers. They were so awesome! We talked
about if they were interested in investigating the church. They were
so nice and friendly! Elder cline and I stayed up a little late just
talking. I'm gonna miss having him around. He is one of my best
mission buddies! Wednesday we woke up early and went to the track and
I ran laps. I'm out of shape blahhhhh I also had a doctors appointment
and then we went to clean out this hoarders house. It was so nasty...
Literally the entire house had garbage in it and it was stacked to the
ceiling! There was only one little walk way and the house smelled so
bad! They fed us some nasty spaghetti afterwards and I wanted to throw
up. Easily the worst spag I've ever tasted. That night we went and
check on several people but nobody was home. Our Ward mission leader
took us out to dinner and it was awesome. Ate at this place called
district taco. Mighty good. Thursday we went to the office and picked
up a brand new car. It was awesome! Then we went to a recent converts
house in the Tysons Ward and they made us some BOMB saltenas! Oh my
gosh kari they were so dang good. Especially if you eat them with
green sauce... That evening we exchanged with the great falls elders
and I went with elder Merrill! We checked up on a few people and gave
a blessing to a lady in our Ward with some serious strep throat.
Friday we had breakfast and a lesson with Tiffany. It was super
awkward. Her mom doesn't like us too much. For some reason they
thought we were bringing a table and they got super ticked when we
didn't hahahaha it was so funny. We talked to Tiffany about the
importance of baptism. She said she wants to be baptized but won't
live the word of wisdom...uhhhhhh nahhhhhh. I told her she had better
start praying to live the word of wisdom. She will be baptized but it
will be a slow process. I like working with her though. Her mom is
just super bold and scary haha. In the middle of breakfast she just
picked up the table with all our crap on it and carried it off
hahahahah. We also gave Tiffany a priesthood blessing to overcome s
few struggles she has been having. Saturday we went to a sweet
clothing drive the oakton stake out together to help out Syrian
refugees. It was awesome helping them all out. It was super hot and we
were wearing church clothes so that was the only downside. We then
helped Bentley plant his garden! It was super hot outside... We were
sweating like crazy. Like 98 degrees ugh! And humid! We were driving
home all gross and saw a big group of people playing basketball...so
naturally we stopped and played with them. It was awesome. They had
all talked to missionaries before! It was a big family reunion.
Straight crazy and everyone there loved us! They said "ohhhhhhh it's
those elders!" Haha black family reunions are awesome. Sunday was a
challenging day for me. All of our plans fell through. We were
supposed to take a less active who is struggling really bad to a sick
byu football devotional but he cancelled and so did the rest of our
appointments. So naturally I'm in a bad mood. I said a prayer and said
"will you take this bad mood away from me?" I said it twice and after
the second time I opened my eyes and I was happy! The atonement is
real and it can help us with the big things but also with the small.
Thanks for all of your love and support! I hope that you have a
wonderful Memorial Day! I'm thankful those who are fighting for my
freedom! Have a wonderful week!! :)
Love
Elder Routsong
How was everyone this past week! Time flies when you are working hard
and having fun! Another Monday down! I believe this is week 20 in
Langley! Transfers are on June 2nd so I'll probably leave the singles
ward life. The work has been getting a little bit better each week but
progress is still slow. Last week for pday we went to top golf. I've
been there so many times that the lady recognized me Hahahah i love
that place. It's so much fun! Dad that will be one of our first stops
haha. After pday we went to FHE with Tiffany and we played volleyball.
This Ward is so unathletic it's so funny hahaha. Tuesday was a great
day though! We had district meetings and then e went and cleaned out a
nasty town house for this homeless program. What they do is they let
single homeless mothers live there for free. It was a nasty house
Hahah but we all had a fun time cleaning it. Then I went on exchanges
with elder cline. I love the dude. He is so funny and so trunky. He
goes home on Thursday so we had a great time! We met this couple from
ft belvoir that are dog trainers. They were so awesome! We talked
about if they were interested in investigating the church. They were
so nice and friendly! Elder cline and I stayed up a little late just
talking. I'm gonna miss having him around. He is one of my best
mission buddies! Wednesday we woke up early and went to the track and
I ran laps. I'm out of shape blahhhhh I also had a doctors appointment
and then we went to clean out this hoarders house. It was so nasty...
Literally the entire house had garbage in it and it was stacked to the
ceiling! There was only one little walk way and the house smelled so
bad! They fed us some nasty spaghetti afterwards and I wanted to throw
up. Easily the worst spag I've ever tasted. That night we went and
check on several people but nobody was home. Our Ward mission leader
took us out to dinner and it was awesome. Ate at this place called
district taco. Mighty good. Thursday we went to the office and picked
up a brand new car. It was awesome! Then we went to a recent converts
house in the Tysons Ward and they made us some BOMB saltenas! Oh my
gosh kari they were so dang good. Especially if you eat them with
green sauce... That evening we exchanged with the great falls elders
and I went with elder Merrill! We checked up on a few people and gave
a blessing to a lady in our Ward with some serious strep throat.
Friday we had breakfast and a lesson with Tiffany. It was super
awkward. Her mom doesn't like us too much. For some reason they
thought we were bringing a table and they got super ticked when we
didn't hahahaha it was so funny. We talked to Tiffany about the
importance of baptism. She said she wants to be baptized but won't
live the word of wisdom...uhhhhhh nahhhhhh. I told her she had better
start praying to live the word of wisdom. She will be baptized but it
will be a slow process. I like working with her though. Her mom is
just super bold and scary haha. In the middle of breakfast she just
picked up the table with all our crap on it and carried it off
hahahahah. We also gave Tiffany a priesthood blessing to overcome s
few struggles she has been having. Saturday we went to a sweet
clothing drive the oakton stake out together to help out Syrian
refugees. It was awesome helping them all out. It was super hot and we
were wearing church clothes so that was the only downside. We then
helped Bentley plant his garden! It was super hot outside... We were
sweating like crazy. Like 98 degrees ugh! And humid! We were driving
home all gross and saw a big group of people playing basketball...so
naturally we stopped and played with them. It was awesome. They had
all talked to missionaries before! It was a big family reunion.
Straight crazy and everyone there loved us! They said "ohhhhhhh it's
those elders!" Haha black family reunions are awesome. Sunday was a
challenging day for me. All of our plans fell through. We were
supposed to take a less active who is struggling really bad to a sick
byu football devotional but he cancelled and so did the rest of our
appointments. So naturally I'm in a bad mood. I said a prayer and said
"will you take this bad mood away from me?" I said it twice and after
the second time I opened my eyes and I was happy! The atonement is
real and it can help us with the big things but also with the small.
Thanks for all of your love and support! I hope that you have a
wonderful Memorial Day! I'm thankful those who are fighting for my
freedom! Have a wonderful week!! :)
Love
Elder Routsong
MClean Day May 23, 2016
Friends and family!
Hello hello! Another week! Wow seriously though time just flies so
fast. This week was good but the weather was straight awful except for
Thursday! Thursday was like the first time we've seen the sun here in
about three weeks. It's been a very rainy and cloudy springtime. I
heard the weather back out west is great though! This week we worked
hard! For pday last week we went to presidents house! It was awesome!
My leg is feeling better from my long board crash hahahaha but yeah it
was a good time! After pday we had FHE at the smiths house! We all
just talked! Between us and the sisters we had 5 investigators there!
It was awesome. I was nervous for Tuesday because we had to present
for zone training! I get nervous every time even though I've presented
and ran like 10 zone trainings. Thanks to my public speaking professor
at uvu haha. Elder McCray and I talked about our attitude in the work.
It's something I've been thinking about and struggling with lately. I
have to question myself if I do have the best attitude. When I stop
and think about it I can change and choose to be happy! It's the best!
Our attitude has a DIRECT correlation to our faith! Anyways, the
presentation went great! After zone training we went out to lunch with
one of my favorite people! Her name is Marie Hamilton! She is a 70
year old lady from Sierra Leone! She is so awesome! She took us to
shake shack. I love spending time with Marie! Mom and dad you will for
sure meet here when you come get me! After lunch I went on exchanges
with the Spanish elders. Elder biehn came out to the mission with me
and we had a good time. Met this awesome black,guy named Kenny he was
baptized about a year ago and has good grills on his teeth. Spanish
exchanges are fun ha but I have no idea what's going on. Wednesday was
kinda a boring day. People didn't like us:/ oh well! We tried our
best! Thursday I went on exchanges with the Vienna elders. Elder
overstreet and I are good buddies! We had a lot of fun joking around
while we worked. The sisters had a scary lesson with one of their
investigators so we went and gave them a blessing. That night we had
Tiffany at institute and it went super well! She loves the church! I
hope she makes the decision to get baptized. Friday was a good day I
went on exchanges with elder Rammell in the Tysons Ward. We tracted
for like 3 straight hours. It was awesome! They have several people to
go check back with. We also helped their recent converts from Bolivia
move some stuff into their house! Cynthia and Gustavo are so dope!
Gustavo is a fighter and he was telling all these stories about
kicking people's butts. Apparently there is a lot of fighting in
Bolivia...kari I hope you didn't get involved in any! They are having
us over for saltenas this week:) Saturday was by far my FAVORITE day
this week. We took all day as a zone and helped with a community event
called McLean day! It was a local fair and we helped people's set up
rides and booths and spread mulch. It was so awesome...except it
rained the whole time...we still had fun! I got to play some bubble
soccer and ride a few rides with my comp. at the end of everything I
did a mud slide with some other elders. It was nasty but dang fun.
Saturday was a great day and they appreciated all the help we gave to
the community. Sunday we had our investigator Tiffany at church and
she loved it! Our Ward is so good at fellowshipping people! I've been
here for so long haha! This week was also full of exchanges for me
haha but it was all fun! I'm at a point in my mission where change is
like everyday. I've started thinking about myself less. I can feel a
shift in my life as I have come closer to my savior Jesus Christ. I
know that the lord is taking my weakness and shaping them and molding
them into my strengths. His hand is in my life every day. I can truly
see it and feel of his love for me and for all of his children. I love
being a missionary. It's the most challenging thing I've ever done in
my life but it is worth it. Thank you for all of your examples to me
and your love and support! Happy birthday Emilee I can't believe you
turned 7! You are so old! Kayla congratulations on graduating
highschool last week! I'm so proud of you! Uvu is calling for you!
LOVE YOU!
Love
Elder Routsong
Hello hello! Another week! Wow seriously though time just flies so
fast. This week was good but the weather was straight awful except for
Thursday! Thursday was like the first time we've seen the sun here in
about three weeks. It's been a very rainy and cloudy springtime. I
heard the weather back out west is great though! This week we worked
hard! For pday last week we went to presidents house! It was awesome!
My leg is feeling better from my long board crash hahahaha but yeah it
was a good time! After pday we had FHE at the smiths house! We all
just talked! Between us and the sisters we had 5 investigators there!
It was awesome. I was nervous for Tuesday because we had to present
for zone training! I get nervous every time even though I've presented
and ran like 10 zone trainings. Thanks to my public speaking professor
at uvu haha. Elder McCray and I talked about our attitude in the work.
It's something I've been thinking about and struggling with lately. I
have to question myself if I do have the best attitude. When I stop
and think about it I can change and choose to be happy! It's the best!
Our attitude has a DIRECT correlation to our faith! Anyways, the
presentation went great! After zone training we went out to lunch with
one of my favorite people! Her name is Marie Hamilton! She is a 70
year old lady from Sierra Leone! She is so awesome! She took us to
shake shack. I love spending time with Marie! Mom and dad you will for
sure meet here when you come get me! After lunch I went on exchanges
with the Spanish elders. Elder biehn came out to the mission with me
and we had a good time. Met this awesome black,guy named Kenny he was
baptized about a year ago and has good grills on his teeth. Spanish
exchanges are fun ha but I have no idea what's going on. Wednesday was
kinda a boring day. People didn't like us:/ oh well! We tried our
best! Thursday I went on exchanges with the Vienna elders. Elder
overstreet and I are good buddies! We had a lot of fun joking around
while we worked. The sisters had a scary lesson with one of their
investigators so we went and gave them a blessing. That night we had
Tiffany at institute and it went super well! She loves the church! I
hope she makes the decision to get baptized. Friday was a good day I
went on exchanges with elder Rammell in the Tysons Ward. We tracted
for like 3 straight hours. It was awesome! They have several people to
go check back with. We also helped their recent converts from Bolivia
move some stuff into their house! Cynthia and Gustavo are so dope!
Gustavo is a fighter and he was telling all these stories about
kicking people's butts. Apparently there is a lot of fighting in
Bolivia...kari I hope you didn't get involved in any! They are having
us over for saltenas this week:) Saturday was by far my FAVORITE day
this week. We took all day as a zone and helped with a community event
called McLean day! It was a local fair and we helped people's set up
rides and booths and spread mulch. It was so awesome...except it
rained the whole time...we still had fun! I got to play some bubble
soccer and ride a few rides with my comp. at the end of everything I
did a mud slide with some other elders. It was nasty but dang fun.
Saturday was a great day and they appreciated all the help we gave to
the community. Sunday we had our investigator Tiffany at church and
she loved it! Our Ward is so good at fellowshipping people! I've been
here for so long haha! This week was also full of exchanges for me
haha but it was all fun! I'm at a point in my mission where change is
like everyday. I've started thinking about myself less. I can feel a
shift in my life as I have come closer to my savior Jesus Christ. I
know that the lord is taking my weakness and shaping them and molding
them into my strengths. His hand is in my life every day. I can truly
see it and feel of his love for me and for all of his children. I love
being a missionary. It's the most challenging thing I've ever done in
my life but it is worth it. Thank you for all of your examples to me
and your love and support! Happy birthday Emilee I can't believe you
turned 7! You are so old! Kayla congratulations on graduating
highschool last week! I'm so proud of you! Uvu is calling for you!
LOVE YOU!
Love
Elder Routsong
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