making ripleys (you'll figure it out)

Hey all, 

 this week has gone by fairly fast.  I have had a lot on my mind since the Christmas season started and I will be recapping a few things that happened over the entire month because of the fact that I have been mostly knocking and saying goodbye.  

couple of weeks ago we had everything fall through and were stuck with three hours of darkness to try and find something to do, so we went to the old fall back and found an apartment complex in the same area that we were in and decided to knock.  and in the space of about six houses went through the whole tracting spectrum.  first door: "you've gotta be effing (not the word he used) kidding me, go away."   Second door: "not interested." third and fourth door: no answer.  Fifth door: "I'm on call right now and can't talk but you can come back after the holidays and we can talk".  we walked away silently fist pumping.  

saturday I cot the news and tuesday  I got the location for my transfer.  I am going to Ripley, WV (figured it out yet?) and have spent the week saying good bye to all the peoples that I need to.  

sorry for the short email, but I'm kind of fried with all the packing panic XD

anyway, see y'all next week
Elder strunk

Grayson's Christmas card that he did all on his own.

ption

florida one day north pole the next....

hey all,

this week has been a slower week than the last few so, I'm only going to give you a rundown of the days that stuff happened, the rest is just knocking and ensign reading.

Tuesday:  we went and saw Brittany and Sandy again and were able to read 1 Nephi 1 with them, sandy really enjoyed it and had good questions while Brittany was still set in being Pentecostal.  we then proceeded to go and teach Jason (Nikki's husband) about sabbath day observance and the joys that coming to church can bring.  and he came! it was awesome!

Thursday: Exchanges.  we had elder LaDue over here and were able to see a couple of people.  Lucky Calhoun (town drunk) was someone that I thought would be just one of those people that we went by to visit occasionally and share a scripture and then leave for a few weeks.  He isn't drinking anymore! he has been sober for a month and we were able to have a good conversation about faith.  *Angel choir sings from the heavens*

Saturday: we had a lesson with our favorite (and only) recent convert Nikki, we talked about various subjects and had a great conversation about Christmas with the whole family.  

all in all it was a good week with a few intersperses of knocking.  

see y'all next week

Elder strunk

P.S.  skyping will progress at 2-3:00 our time so be prepared.

the work goes on rain, snow, sleet, or hail! (though right now it is mostly just snow and rain)

Hey all,

this week has been an amazing one.  first off though I would like to thank everyone for the Christmas cards and the support that they bring.

ON TO THE WEEK!

Tuesday: we had a lesson with Nikki's husband Jason and that went really well.  we spent about a half an hour with him talking about the church in former times compared with the church in the present, working in the points of the restoration along the way.  then we went and tried a potential that we had knocked into about three weeks ago.  we were let in and actually were able to pick up two new invextigators from the effort.  

Wednesday: was an exchange with the zone leaders.  It was an amazing experience and we helped them pick up a few new investigators as well.  

Thursday: Zone Conference, we had an amazing meeting and discussed the power of repentance before getting the mission christmas present of watching on the lord's errand  the biography of Thomas S. Monson.  we then proceeded back to our area and had a meeting with a few other people, and then knocked some more.

Friday: we had dinner and a lesson with Nikki and also were able to go and try to see a few other potentials.  

Saturday we spent the day in Kitzmillerville, MD and tracted our hearts out.  met a few people and had a good time.

Once again thanks for all of the cards and I hope to see you all by the middle of next year!

See y'all next week

Elder strunk

Bi-polar Weather Galore

hey all,

this week's letter will be rather short, due to the fact that most of it has been knocking, but there are still some details that I can share!

Tuesday:  we went out to our morning appointment at Dennett Road Manor to do a bible study with the seniors there and were able to have a good time talking with them after for a few minutes.  we then went and did some knocking and also went to try and contact some referrals that we had been given before knocking for a couple hours and then heading over to Nicky's to do a discussion on the questions that she asked pertaining to the  end of the world.  

Wednesday; Knocking, A whole lot of knocking.  

Thursday: we had exchanges and made certain that all referrals were contacted.

Friday: We had zone meeting and ended our exchanges before trying to see the people that we have out in Terra Alta.  then came knocking for an hour in the snow and the pre-Christmas party, party

Saturday: helping a member get ready to move down to Washington, Utah  .... (near St. George) then, you guessed it, more knocking, and then we had the ward christmas party.

other than that it has been a pretty calm week.  

see y'all next week,

Elder Strunk

would whoever is in charge of the weather over Maryland make up their fetching mind

hey all, 

this week was a fairly short one because of a meeting with Elder Meurs (pronounced like "mur" in 'Murica!)  which lasted two a day and a half.  it was a really great meeting and we had a good time talking with him and the president Salisbury 

Wednesday: we went out to Terra Alta and saw Sister Lewis and her family.  we re-invited them to the christmas party this Saturday and talked with them about recognizing the spirit and doing what is right.  

Thursday:  we went over to Adam White's house and talked about a lot of stuff, about nosh and the afterlife.  he is an interesting guy and is fun to talk to.  we also had dinner at the Flanagan's house for thanksgiving

friday: tried a bunch of people and were unable to see any of the people that we tried, due to black friday and just rotten luck.  we also saw nicky and jason.  

Saturday: we went out to McHenry to try and see a few people before making our way to a few other Less-actives, but it was a little bit of rotten luck again.  nobody was home, or they just didn't want to answer their door......

other than that the weather is warming back up to the fifties this week

see y'all next week, 

Elder Strunk

it went from 60 to 0 in two and a half hours.

hey all,

short email this week due to the less days in between pdays this time.

thursday: we went out to see a few people in McHenry and were able to get a couple potentials from knocking around them as well.  we have one who we will be seeing this week.

Friday: we went out to masontown for a district meeting then went to terra alta to see a few people.  both of which were home.  we invited them to the christmas social that the branch is putting on and were able to talk about our favorite scripture stories

Saturday:  we were able to see nicky and jason and have a good lesson with them before heading to see a less active in oakland called Adam.  

it is getting colder and I don't like it.  we went from sixty degree afternoons to a balmy twenty in a day it is no bueno.  

see y'all next week

Elder strunk

when the sky is dark at five thirty, we can't seem to get anyone to answer..............

hey all, 

this week was fairly awesome.  we have seen a lot of blessings come from talking to everyone.  I am enjoying the opportunity to stay in Maryland a little longer.  

Tuesday-last: we went out to McHenry and were able to finish knocking the complex that we have been tracting at the past few months and start moving closer and closer to finding those who are willing to receive us in that area.

Wednesday-last: one thing that I am grateful for is the honesty of the people that we have talked to, seriously, we have had a hard time getting into houses, but they have all been polite and were honest in their not being interested, instead of the dogging approach.  we have been doing a lot of knocking.  

Thursday: More knocking.  we were also able to see sister Lewis (one of those frustrating less-actives that was converted to Missionaries more than to the church) and invite her to the thanksgiving party that the branch held.  we also saw the Moats, they are a pair of investigators in their early fifties.  

Friday: kanock-kanock.  we did some more knocking and were able to have dinner with Nicky.  we then proceeded to go and knock some more.

Saturday: We went to see a few people and did some more knocking.  

Monday-this: we went and saw josh.  It was kind of an awkward lesson because he kept twitching and he didn't seem all there.  we then went and knocked some more 

Tuesday: we did a heck of a lot of knocking and all of the tentative appointments fell through..... 

That is basically it.  see y'all next week

Elder strunk

it's c-c-c-c-cold outside (brr)

hey all,

this week has been another uneventful week of finding, though we did get two new investigators which was cool.  we have been seeing a lot more honesty in all of our knocks.  which is nice, even though they aren't interested.

on to the day-by-day!  (day-by-day, play-by-play, get it? ..... )

tuesday: we went out to Mchenry and did some knocking we were able to talk to a guy named brett who said he would read and pray so we will be trying to see him later this week.  we also were able to have a member take us to another potential investigator's house and were able to teach her the resto.

wednesday:  we did a lot of knocking and were able to see some great things come of it.

Thursday: another pool increase attempt, we didn't manage to get in anywhere so we went to see nicky and had a good lesson with her..

Friday: Zone meeting, then exchanges.  And, as per the usual with exchanges, everything and their dog fell through.  so we hit a couple of the stores that Elder Bringhurst wanted to hit then went to and helped nicky with a few things.  

Saturday:  we tried (and failed) to get in knocking anywhere.  we also had another (admittedly not so solid) appointment fall through.  we ended up trying to see a few less actives and doing a lot of other things that bruised our knuckles.

see ya'll next week

Elder strunk

good day my friends

This is from last week, but apparently I never pushed publish...

hey all,

  this week has been freezing, though not the kind of cold that just hangs in the air.... noooooo, it was sixty degrees out but the wind made it feel like it was thirty!

Tuesday:  we went and tried to contact several potentials and most of them, in essence said "why are you back?" ...... when they told us that we could come back.  we also were able to see a few other people that we had talked to last week and actually set up a day,  we also were able to have dinner at a members house! that was the first non-impromptu dinner appointment we have had since I got here, It was amazing.

Wednesday:we went out to friendsville to see and investigator whom I thought was interested, but wasn't really ;_; .  after that we were able to see a few people out in McHenry and were able to teach the full Resto to Trisha.   we then went over to sarah's house and had a lesson there, we were able to talk about the plan of salvation and she had some good questions for us.  we then had dinner at nickey's it was all in all a good day, other than the few hours of tracting (I HATE TRACTING) but we had a good time.

Thursday:  we did a lot of tracting before going out to nickys again for dinner.  then we taught a few lessons and went home.

Friday: we taught Josh, and  we did some serious knocking.   we had a good time though and we were able to pick up some serious potentials from it.

Saturday: we went and did some more knocking out in loch lynn heights.  it was fetching cold and we were not able to teach any lessons from it, but we did manage to see a less active who we have been trying to see for the last few weeks and he still has a strong testimony of the gospel, there is just a lot of scheduling conflicts.

that is all for this week, hope you have a great hallows eve eve-week and I will see y'all next week

Elder Strunk

Mormons, Have you drank your Kool-ade today? props if you get the reference

why does the weather always go to crap around me?

hey all,

  this week was pretty good though we were not able to see all that many people....

in other news the weather is supposed to be unseasonably warm till the end of december..... meaning I probably will avoid the tremendous snow storms and will have a great time in another area of the mission.

on to the update.

Tuesday: we went out to mchenry and did some door knocking before working our way around the oakland area and not getting in any doors.

Wednesday: we went and had a quick lesson with nicky and the did more door knocking.

The rest of the week: everything and it's dog fell through...... so that is all we really did this week KNOCK!

anyway si y'all next week

Elder strunk 

celebrate the glory of autumn

hey all

 this week was a good one ..... despite the fact that we were confined to our apartment for two of the seven days.  on to the summary.

Tuesday: we had some fun going to see all of the people that we had tracted into last week... it didn't work out so well.... so we tracted some more.  we had a few people to see in some of our other places and we did manage to see a few.

Wednesday: interviews and exchanges..... not my favorite day.  We went out to terra alta (pronounced terry alta) and were able to see an investigating couple there, we taught about the kingdoms of glory and were able to have a good lesson.  we then went over to Sister Lewis'  house.  (A less-active) and had a good lesson there as well.  then we had to haul aspirin to the other side of our area to meet with nicky and jason.  

Thursday:  we had a mad rush to get as much done as we could before 5:00 when they closed the streets for the Fireman's parade.... we were able to see three or four people before getting back to the apartment to weekly plan and then went and watched the fireman's parade with nicky and an investigator.  

Friday: we had the whole day to get stuff done and as things are wont to do they all fell through.  so we went out to Mchenry and were able to tract into a few good people.

Saturday: the streets were closed till three and so we had a good laugh at the baptist street performers before going out and talking to several people.  then we watched the parade with some members and had a good time before going on a less active hunt.....

sorry I don't have any pictures of myself with the floats.... the only time I attempted to do that, I didn't realize that my camera was still fully zoomed and managed to do a pretty good impersonation of Jut's first selfie..... 

anyway.  see y'all next week 

At the fireman parade with Elder Lurker

Pics of different floats from the parades

the temperature may drop but the work won't stop

hey all, 

  this week has been crazy and cold.  we have been able to see a lot of cool things happen and so people will stop asking, we will not be seeing more than maybe a slight pickup in winds from the hurricane.

Thursday:  Transfer meeting ran long, so we didn't get back to the area/apartment till about six...... so we went and I introduced the new elder to Nickey and the Flanagans and we  were able to get a couple of referrals.

Friday: we went over to Nickey's again and were able to teach them about the power of scripture study.  and then we went and were able to see a few other people.  

Saturday:  we went to Lamar's and were able to talk with him for a good while and are helping him with a few things.

Sunday is when everything happens.  after the meetings we went to Sister Armstrong's house and gave her the sacrament and talked for a little while before going out to McHenry and ended up knocking doors for two hours and were able to gain not only two new but four or five new investigators.  which was awesome.

that's pretty much all thanks to wonky transfer schedule

see y'all next week

Elder strunk

)(@#^)@^ computers.

hey all,

this whole transfer has gone by incredibly fast, so if this email is a little scattered, you'll know why.

Tuesday-last:we went and saw the Thomases again.  we were able to teach two good lessons.  one to the recent convert (Nickey) and one to her son (Blake).  we also were able to see "Lucky" (unknown if real name or nickname....) and talk to him about all that is going on in his life as well as invite him to church.  

Wednesday-last: we went and saw Josh a really awesome investigator that sometimes might be a little flaky when it comes to getting into lessons, but when we get in there is a powerful spirit in that home.  Plus his kids are freaking adorable.

Thursday: we went over to a member's house and helped them move their chicken coop. they then told us that they would feed us dinner sometime in the coming week.  we also were able to teach Nickey's niece and have a good lesson with her husband as well.

Friday: we went over to Morgantown  to have a meeting (joy...) and then we went and saw some people out in Mchenry... None of which were home so we finished the day talking to a less active and helping over at a thrift store doing service.

Saturday/Sunday: CONFERENCE!!! (elder wilkinson found out he was leaving)

Monday: he said goodbye to a lot of people and we had a couple of good lessons with lucky and Tory and Elric.

Tuesday-this:  had a few good lessons with Nickey and family before learning that elder wilkinson is going BACK (that never happens) to Spencer, WV.

...... pray for his sanity

Now for an explanation of the title I had every intention of sending the last few pics that I have before sending the SD card off to mi familia when the dang computer did something, I'm not sure what, and my card now has one file that is as big as all of the pictures but no pictures.  

see y'all next week.

Elder strunk

a random thought and a weekly update

hey all,  

  so I was thinking last night as I lay awake in-between position  change number 70 and 80 last night and had this thought: Rita Skeeter was super lucky that Krum was being gentle when he pulled her out of Hermione's hair, because he totally could have just squashed Rita and saved the whole wizarding world a lot of trouble...... random thought over

now for an update.

Tuesday: we went out to Kitzemiller and taught and older couple that are really nice.  we also were able to see a few people in the area and were able to ask referrals and got a few.

Wednesday: we went out to Terra Alta, WV and were able to see the Motes, a couple who have been investigating for a few months and are very hard to catch.  we had a good lesson on the Resurrection and got a referral from them for a friend that they have in Oakland.  

Thursday: we had Zone Meeting *cough cough*(murder) that ended up going about an forty-five minutes over and then we had to wait another thirty to forty five minutes while everything else got sorted so we ended up leaving a meeting that ended at twelve at one and didn't get back to the apartment for lunch until about 3:30-4 o'clock and that meant that we were extremely hungry.  we had a lesson with the niece of a recent convert and were able to teach with little to no interference from the childern that are usually causing chaos in the house.

Friday: we had a lesson with one of our most promising investigators and it went really well.  we were able to teach with two members there and went into some really great discussion.  we also contacted a the referral that we got from the Motes. she was really interested, which was cool.

Saturday: basic day of service that involved benches and paint.  we had a great time and were able to get out of the whites and into some normal clothes.  we had a lesson with our recent convert and were able to have a lesson with her son as well.

that's all folks, see y'all next week, 

Elder Strunk

Elder Wilkenson

weather is getting colder (ish)

hey all, 

this week has been great, but before I get into the day summaries I would like to thank y'ins for the feedback from last email.  It really helped me to see that I might have been a little vague in the past.  I ask for your forgiveness and hope that you recognize that it is hard for me to write extensively in nonfiction.  

Tuesday: we went to see the Thomases and were able to teach all of the people that are investigating or recent converts: Jason Sr.(I), Blake (I), and Nicky (RC).  they're all really awesome people and Nicky is really rooted in the gospel, She works at a gas station and there is one customer that tries to "save" her from making "the worst decision of her life" (his words not hers).  we also went and saw a woman named Sarah Woolslayer who is fairly hard to catch due to her work schedule.  we were able to teach her about the plan of salvation (reviewing the resto. a little bit) and it was amazing to watch the things that we explained click in her eyes

Wednesday: we were able to make a trip out to accident, MD ( great name, I know) and see the Lohrs and again have a great lesson with them, again explaining the primary lesson while throwing in a part of the restoration here and there and we you could just see everything click.  

Thursday:  exchanges..............................  I (to put it in nice words) strongly dislike exchanges.  Who wants to trade comps. for a 24 hour period and either go into a new area or end up planning an entire day by yourself?  Another thing, that I strongly dislike is that NOTHING seems to work out on exchanges.  It ALL tends to fall through. *sighs* rant over.  other than my strong dislike of exchanges we had a great time and were able to see and teach a few people.

Friday:  we went and helped move some dirt.  a lot of dirt.... it was fun and we were able to have another lesson with the Thomases.  before this was district meeting so we had a whole lot of crap to go through after exchanges before we could get to anything.

Saturday:  we took a trip out to Kitzmiller and saw a few people that we normally see and then took the backroads back to oakland before stopping to see a few people.

thanks again for the commentary last week

see y'all next week

elder strunk

Sorry for sending so late .... the pics I wanted weren't on my camera and I am unable to contact the person who has them at the moment

info needed any replies would be welcome

hey all,

this week i'm going to try something different as there have been requests for a day to day breakdown of what happens around here.  I will do so, just to prove that I am not leaving out any information that would let you know how I am doing.

Tuesday: the town was still recovering from labor day weekend so most people (OK, every person) we went to see wasn't home we went over to a recent convert's house and did some service later in the evening,  (she reminds me a lot of myself, for reasons you will soon see) this started out as shoveling some dirt to make a flat area to put her pool on, and ended up with us expanding her dog pen..... (see what I mean?)

Wednesday: we had a great time out in the far reaches of our area trying (and failing) to see some of our farther out investigators, however we were able to catch one before he left for a fishing trip to D.C.  

Thursday: we went to try and catch some people and actually succeeded in seeing a few.  we taught a couple of review restorations, before heading out to a member's house to teach a part member family ( incidentally the one that we did service for earlier in the week)

Friday: we had Zone meeting and an oil change which took up most of the day.  we were able to see one or two people but that is about it.

Saturday: I had an impression to go and see one of our hard to catch investigators, and we did, and we caught him.  it was awesome, because he is working one job at three locals, going where they want him to go.

Sunday was stake conference. we had to get up at 5 and leave at six thirty to make it to a meeting at eight thirty.  then we had to sit on the hard chairs (not a recommended procedure if you are sore from working your butt off) for two hours.  The talks were good and we were all about famiry hishtory! ..... Not very helpful to me, owing to the fact that I am still bashing my brains against a brick wall doing mine... But all in all it was a good week.

and now for an explanation of the title: we have been getting some not so subtle hints that we might be getting I-pads in the near future.... anyone got an answer to that?  

anyway, see y'all next week

Elder strunk

P.S. I promise pictures next week when I can get my stu sd card to read

the dog days of fall/winter

hey all,

  First off I would like to say happy belated labor day to all y'all.  

  now on to the rest of life.  this week was fairly confusing to me as I kept getting the days mixed up and was thinking it was Tuesday on Friday and Sunday on Wednesday.  other than that this week went great.  we have a recent convert that is awesome and has a crazy family and they love to see us.  we saw a miracle this last week as we went to see a Less active who is usually not seen with a beer in his hand, and ran into a man who was looking to join a church and were able to give him a book of Mormon to read and are looking forward to seeing him (especially since he is former JW)

other than that the week was pretty plain jane.

See Y'all nezt week

Elder strunk

the raven has landedGrays

hey all,

  this is going to be a short email, as nothing much has happened in-between now and the last time I talked.  

in answer to the questions that have been asked.  we cover all of garret county in maryland and a little bit of WV.  the new comp  is awesome and we are having a great time.and yes.  it looks very possible that I will send him home.  there is a big difference in the weather here and we have yet to see a VA style downpour yet.  

and now for picsplanations.  the first one is of ethan, amber, and I right before I left.  the other two are elder hunsaker and I messing around with some jaw-retractors that  ​were given to us by a less active.

that is basically  it for now (more pics once I've gotten some time0

See y'all next week

Elder strunk

a grim reapers work is never done

hey all,

  this week has been great.  we have seen a lot of progress in all of the many areas of the area.  I am getting transferred this time and am going to Oakland, Maryland*.  so hold all letters and packages to the end of the week.

ethan and amber are doing great.  we have been able to bring up baptism and they are both excited for it.  amber has a smoking problem but it is not something that is overly bad.  so we should be able to see them again.  

not much else has been happening by way of investigators at the moment so I am sorry to go, because I want to see things grow and flourish in this area.  

  I will now explain the title my new comp is going to be elder wilkenson who is going away in december.  

see y'all next week

elder strunk

*Oakland is a town in the west-central part of Garrett County, Maryland. The town has a population of 1,925 according to the 2010 United States Census. The town is also the county seat of Garrett County and is located within the Pittsburgh DMA

in answer to your question

hey all,

  this week has been awesome.  we were able to see great things happen and were able to have an amazing set of lessons that brought the spirit in like a lightning bolt.  ( was going to say wrecking ball, but then thought "nah, better not make that reference in a spiritual email") we have a great ward that are eager to help, even if said help isn't always phrased right or in the nicest way.  

ethan and amber are doing well.  we had a lesson with them on monday and finished explaining the plan of salvation, making sure to not leave any stone unturned, and it was amazing to see everything click in their minds and see that light go off as everything started to make sense.  then we proceeded to go over the law of chastity, which went really well and was one that a lot of missionaries tend to make more awkward than it needs to be.  the understood and committed to live it.

sadly, brother ross dropped us.  I think it is more that he is still ashamed of his slip up than anything on our part.  we keep him in our prayers though.

we had and awesome miracle happen this week and I still can't believe that it happened.  we had a less active come to church to have her baby blessed, and her boyfriend (not a member) came as well and we were able to talk to him and he is allowing us to visit in the next few weeks to see them and teach him.

now, there has been several asks about why I did not put the fact that I was a district leader in my weekly emails (thanks mom).  The reason is simple, everyone makes such a big deal about nothing.  Yes, I'm a district leader.  Yes, it seems fairly cool.  No, it is not, it just means more stress for me.  and that is why I am not as excited as you.

see y'all next week

  Elder strunk

miles for days

hey all,

we have had a great week this past week as we have had the miles to do stuff.  we have been visiting a lot of less actives and have had a blast talking with them.  

ethan and amber are doing great.  we saw them last week and were able to go over/finish teaching  the gospel of jesus christ lesson and we had a lot of fun.  their kitchen is finally finished and they are very happy about it.

we have had a few things that are going on this week.  including the fiddler's convention which is one of the biggest events in galax.  we have had a few street fairs and a lot of fun talking with people.  

I hope that y'all have a great week.

Elder strunk

P.S. elder hunsaker is fully recovered from the dog

all of the miles in the world we had to run out here....

hey all,

this week was a week of very achy feet and interesting circumstances.  we ran out of miles on tuesday and were walking most of the week, though there were some cool circumstances that followed, which will (if I don't forget....) be mentioned later.

ethan and amber are doing great.  we had a review of the plan of salvation with them and helped to clarify things that they didn't even know that they were confused on!  It was awesome to be able to see the things that we explained click and fall into place.  

we were able to see the rivas and got to re-pick-up Lenny, the boyfriend of one of the daughters, and re-teach the first lesson.  It went fairly well and I hope that it will continue and he will stick it through.  

in other news while we were walking the other day, we were able to see a family that is usually hit or miss, and we chatted and shared the restoration with them and helped them move their entertainment system out to the driveway so that they could get it sold.  after we had finished talking with them we went to see someone else, who turned out not to be home.  We walked back to our apartment to get hydrated before continuing the work and ended up running into a woman who joined the church ten years ago and was looking to get back to activity and leave her past behind.  she told us that she had hitch hiked all the way from LA! and was waiting for her parents to come and pick her up and take her home to Roanoke.  we sat and talked with her for a little while and I told her a little about  the Roanoke ward and was able to give her my mini book of mormon so that she could carry it with her on the trip, since she had left her copy in new mexico.

the other interesting thing that happened is that my companion got rear-ended by a German shepherd  and has some battle wounds to tell everyone about it. (as for the German shepherd rear ending, he was the last one on the porch when the member we were with knocked on the door (which was cracked,  the Less actives were asleep and so the dog, as soon as it heard the knock, came bolting out in full protection mode and Elder Hunsaker was the first person in sight. so he got bit.)

well that's all for this week. 

see y'all in approx. 521,280 minutes

  Elder strunk

it all comes and it all goes.....

hey all

this week has been another slow one due to the fact that we have had a hit-and-miss with most of our investigators.  we have been able to see ethan and amber,  and they are doing well.  we had a lesson on fasting and what the fast offerings go to.  and they asked some really good questions.

brother ross is still busy and we have had trouble meeting but he is still reading and praying, which is good,

mark is doing well, he is now in the hurry up and wait phase of his trial while they try to determine what the stage of his cancer is.

  on another note, we had a small world moment today with one of our investigators.  we were talking with them and we some how got on the subject of people that they knew that were mormon and it turns out that she is actually the sister in law of a less active member's wife.... so yeah that happened.  other than those it has been a lot of walking and talking.

see y'all next week

Elder strunk

barbecue, bluegrass, (mostly) blue skies

hey all,

  this (Half) week has been quite eventful.  we had a new missionary come into the area (a baby six monther),  a state barbecue competition, and three days of blue skies; It was amazing(ly humid) we had a good time though and got to splurge on a lot of good free barbecue.

ethan and amber have been gone the past week on vacation and have set up an appointment with us on wednesday, so I will let y'all know how that goes.  we have been going and visiting members, less actives and the other good people of galax to get elder Hunsaker  of Northeastern Arizona acquainted with the area.  

one other thing I would ask of you is to keep a less active in our ward in your prayers, his bladder cancer has come back and he is scheduled for surgery today.  his name is Mark.  

thanks and see y'all next week

  Elder strunk

for whom the bell tolls (or elder Davis' last day and elder Clark's speed violation)

This is actually last weeks letter.  We were out of town and I was unable to post it when it came.

hey all,

  this week has been a great week and also one that was full of mixed feelings.  we were able to see a few people come to church that wouldn't have otherwise because of elder Davis' final mission address, but after they got there they said that they would like to come back, so that was awesome.

  we were able to teach a few people that were found with elder Davis. there really was a lot of tears and so longs and a few spiritual messages to go along with it.  I will send you a picture of my new companion and I when I get him.  

see y'all next week.  

Elder strunk

content warning..... if you love turtles, look away now.

hey all,

  this week has been fair-to-partly dead down here as the fourth has come again.  we have been teaching a little and have been floundering in an almost ghost town to find people who had stayed in the town for the weekend and week leading up to the fourth.... needless to say this email will be very short.  we have been able to see the joneses and I am happy to say that they are progressing fairly well.  

  brother ross has had a huge workload lately and we haven't been able to see him as frequently, so old habits have resurfaced and we have been working our hardest to keep him uplifted.  

  other than that we had a great fourth of july that started with a turtle hunt and ended with fried chicken of the pond.  which was really good, and actually tasted a little bit like KFC......... maybe that is what their meat actually is XD 

see y'all next week

elder strunk

the table where we did our dirty work

me and my skinned turtle

and now for the weather.... WHAT THE FETCH!?!?

hey all,

  

  this week has been really quite crazy, as y'all have probably guessed by the weather reports coming in.... we had a really cool electrical storm thursday night and a great many hot and humid days afterwards.  the flooding doesn't impact us down here, thankfully, though we are getting the left over humidity and it is not fun.  

  the Joneses are doing well and have now committed to live the word of wisdom and I am enjoying very much the opportunity to teach them.  we have seen so much progress in them and it is amazing to hear their questions.  

john had to work through the weekend and so we were not able to teach him this week, but he is still doing well.  we have seen a few cool people and are enjoying a goodly portion of the spirit so there is that.  

that is all for this week.

see y'all next week

Elder strunk

From President Salisbury

Dear Parents,

Just a quick update regarding the severe storms, flooding, and challenging weather hitting our mission today.  We took precautionary measures with one area and moved them temporarily until the flooding subsides.   Ward / Branch Mission Leaders and members are helping to ensure the safety of your missionaries.

I just received a report from all of the zone leaders and all missionaries are safe and accounted for.  Thank you for sending such wonderful sons and daughters!

With much love and appreciation,

President Salisbury

the dragon days of summer

hey all,

  this week has been great.  we have seen a lot of help from members, and the people that we are seeing are enjoying the lessons and perspectives that they bring.  

this week we helped a little more with the kitchen and had a lesson with the Joneses on Alma 32 and you could feel the power house spirit that was there.  afterwards we helped them put in some ceiling and then he brought out his collection of arms to show us.  he has some dang cool guns.  I have a feeling that in the next few lessons they will set a date to be baptized, but for now we are having a great time teaching them and are enjoying the discussions.

brother ross is back in the hot seat, as the hay season starts to pick up.  his employer/father in law has two fairly large fields that he helps mow and thresh and whatever else you do to get hay ready to send to market.  the lessons with him have become scattered throughout the week and we are having a hard time seeing him regularly.  

including that it has been a great week.  

see y'all next week

elder strunk

well well, here we are again

hey all,

  this week has been great as we have been working hard to meet with a few people and then get things going for everything else.  

we were able to meet with Brother Ross this week and had a great lesson and invited him to pray about a date for baptism.  we also were able to have an exchange.  there are a lot of talkative people in wythville.  we have been talking with the jones family and have had several great lessons and are they are both looking forward to sundays and are enjoying meetings too.

  not much else to report this week as most of the other stuff was said in last week's email

see y'all next week

Elder strunk

we apologize for the lack of pictures and are working on making it a priority

  this week has been crazy.  we have transfers tomorrow (I'm staying in Galax) and have not had an opportunity to really do anything super celebratory for the birthday yet.  we have been teaching and talking and talking and teaching.  brother ross is doing well.  he has had a hard time of it and we are trying to get him to come and feel the peace of attending church again and partaking of the sacrament.

we have had a fun time the past week with the joneses.  they started a reno of their kitchen and enlisted our help with the demo and framing.  I don't have any pictures and wish that I did... sorry.  I didn't think to take any until after the fact.  we had a great time busting out the plaster walls and helping with the measurements of the walls and stuff.  

with John it has been a little bit tougher because he works crazy hours.  we just are trying to get in and see them.  

again I apologize for the lack of pics and will work my tail off trying to get things done so all y'all can have some.

see y'all next week

Elder strunk

of car shows and flea markets

hey all,

  this week has been a really great one.  we have had a  lot of success with finding and teaching.  the highlights this week happened with brother Ross who is back on track and is soaking up everything that we have to teach him.  we are hoping to put him back on date soon.  the other awesome investigators we are teaching right now are the Jones family and a guy named john and his wife Chrystal.  with the Jones family we are onto the commandments and temples so they are awesome.  they enjoy coming to church and always ask good questions.  John and Chrystal have been taught twice and are also very earnestly seeking to know the truth.

  Now for an explanation of the title.  we were privileged to do some walking and talking at two fairly big events that happen in our area.  on is the semi-annual Flea market that happens every memorial day and every labor day.  the other was the memories on main car show that happens each year.  we had a lot of people come and talk to us about the church, including a few members from other areas in the mission and other missions.  which was pretty cool.  

hope y'all are having a good week,

Elder strunk.  

the frogstranglers of may....

hey all,

  this week has been a wet one.  we have had nonstop rain since the beginning of the week and I have missed the sun (if only a little)  it has been a good week other than that.  we have been doing an experiment on what happens when we start immediately testifying to the people who answer the door and it has been a great testimony builder of how a simple testimony can make all the difference in the world.

  there have been a lot of conflicts and opposition in the process of teaching a few of the people who had been so solid before.  but we shall not be discouraged.  we shall press forward.

that is all for now, see y'all next week.  

elder strunk

opposition is so fetching real (or circumstances arose, were pondered, and are being overcome)

hey all,

  so just an explanation of the title, things have been postponed with brother Ross due to circumstances that are not important.  the important thing is that even though the baptism had to be postponed we are still on good terms and have not given up.  

  other than that we have had a good week and picked up a few new investigators that are, if not super enthusiastic, listening to the discussions an not slamming the door on us.  we have done a lot of walking and have seen a lot of blessings for it.  we had a couple of former investigators drive up to us on the street and the husband started to mess with elder Davis and it was fun to watch.  After a few minutes of watching I told him that they were just messing with him and they invited us to dinner.  the only problem with that was that we had just eaten not five minutes ago... I really wanted to ride in that mustang....  Oh well maybe next time.  

  our spanish teaching has slowed down since we have lost the one among us who actually spoke a little bit of spanish, but, again, we have not given up 

see y'all next week 

  Elder strunk

the baptism bells are ringing in my ears... no, wait, that's just the alarm

GOOOOOOD MORNING VIETNAM!

 (I wanted to try something something different this week, tell me what you think.)

  this week has been great.  we had a lot of really spiritually powerful lessons and I am really excited to see what comes of it.  so the first thing that was awesome is we had a lesson wit the parents of a (not by choice) Less-active and they have been investigating for a long time and most of their family is mormon (all except their son who is a born-in-die-in Dutch Reformed, but what can you do?).  We talked and after a little while I asked her if she and her husband had been praying about baptism, and she was silent for a little while before tearing up and saying "yes, and it is working.  I feel that it will be soon," It took all I had not to jump out of the glider and shout for joy and give this sweet old lady a big hug. 

  the other Highlight came in the form of brother ross, who has now passed his baptismal interview and is getting baptized this sunday and confirmed in the next. so there is that. 

  and finally there was the call home (luv ya) in which I got to see that chaos as usual is going on at home.  

see y'all next week

Elder strunk

P.S. sorry about no pics this week.... I left my camera chord back at the apartment

of fluffy jelly beans and freak rain storms

This is actually from last week (April 26th).

hey all,

  this is going to be a crazy week because all in all we are getting a new companion (meaning I need to not only learn Spanish, but I also have to be mister-in-charge x/ ).  I am staying in Galax another transfer and more than likely will hit my year mark here.

  I don't know who else has had an experience like this but here we go: we were teaching brother Ross and his family and were talking about eternal families and the temple.  as we are wrapping up the lesson, brother Wisman (the ward mission leader) starts to bare his testimony when their pregnant cat comes in and lays down on the rug.  now this in and of it self wouldn't disrupt the lesson but then came the kittens.........   so brother Wisman wrapped it up and we left them to take care of the fluffy jellybeans.

  the Hispanic families are doing great we have been teaching the restoration and the plan of salvation although sister Rodriguez will not be having another lesson with us until after her daughter's quinceanera which is at the end of May.  the Ramos are doing really well and we will be seeing them in a few days.  

  other than that we had a freak rainstorm on Friday and ended up tracting in it... not fun and not something I would recommend.

see y'all next week (te veo la proxima semana)

  Elder strunk