Humility.....

What up fam?! So as you can probably tell I learned a pretty good lesson this week and I also learned about things to pray for and things not to pray for. I started my Friday by praying for chances to be humble.... and I failed. That night we were at a member's house and they have a daughter who is a cheerleader and we were talking about gymnastics so of course I mentioned I could do a standing backflip, ego move #1. Her dad then said I needed to prove it to them so we went out into the back yard and it was like 8:30 so pretty dark out and I have done one in the dark so that is my excuse as to why what happened, happened, ego move #2. I then proceeded to do the backflip and I landed it but when I landed I kinda pushed my ankle foward a little bit and I heard a pop. I thought to myself, "great I probably just did something pretty stupid, ego move #3. Then they told me to do it again cause they didn't know I had possibly hurt myself and of course being the person I am.... did it again, ego move #4.

Turns out I didn't do anything too bad to it but I have a limp when I walk and I have to keep it wrapped up which isn't too bad. But the thing that makes the story so great is right before I did it, the mother of the household said, "Elder you better not hurt yourself on my lawn!" So when I bore my testimony in church yesterday everyone could notice my limp up to the podium and I then proceeded to bear testimony on the importance of humility and how we should all be like Ammon and realize every talent we have is a God-given gift and should not be taken lightly. I learned there is a major difference between confidence and cockiness. Ha. I am doing fine though and the bright light of all of this is that in the MTC whenever an Elder would hurt his ankle it meant he was leaving for Brasil soon so.... I am pretty CONFIDENT it will be soon.

Medford is going pretty swell. Sorry I don't have an address for you yet mom but we might be changing places so I don't want to give you one and then have that be the wrong place. I am 100% sure that I am just getting sent all over the place.... Crazy times. We are teaching some really great people and I love how the work is the same no matter where I serve. I can't remember if I told you about my district leader Elder Hoopes, he is legit the coolest kid alive and lives maybe 5 minutes from our house. He lives over by Falcon Park, how crazy is that?! But he went to HillCrest (no good) and is a little older then me, but we get along super well. He is a stud. I will try to send some pictures soon but I haven't really gotten many cool ones but I will do what I can. 

One cool thing that happened this week on the spiritual side of things is I shared the story of the first vision for my first time cause I only had it memorized in Portuguese but I have heard it enough in English that I memorized it as well. I love teaching about that, the spirit that comes into the room is so powerful and overwhelming I love it. I can't wait to try it in Portuguese though. Two of the ward members here went to Brasil on their missions and they speak Portuguese with me when they see me and I love it. They say I have it down pretty well, but it will still be a whole different thing when I hear native speakers cause of all the slang they use. I can't wait to try that out!!

Sounds like home life is not settling down, I swear you guys are just all over the place. Ry, hows the simulation going? I am stoked for your games this week and know that I will keep you in my prayers. Maybe I'll tell you something in Portuguese so that you can play like a Brasillian :p Do work though! Dad thank you so much for your last e-mail, totally blew me away I loved it and mom I have decided you should just hike the whole country now... I mean you might as well! Hahaha Well I love you all so much and I love the lessons I am learning out here on my mission, no matter how ridiculous they make me look. This Church is so true I know it and I know that you know it as well. Have another awesome Guzy week!!

 

Elder Big (Humble? I don't think this works but whatever) Deal

 

P.S. I had a dinner with a family that reminded me so much of ours. We quoted movies and talked about Halo the entire time we were eating!! Perfect :)

"What up from Medford?"

Yeah I totally got emergency transfered last Friday so I am now serving in the Sourthern half of the state down in Medford, it is pretty sick here and I am already getting along with my new comp Elder Sadler. Mom here is the list of all my comps in order: Derek Peterson, Don Gabel, Devin Fristrup,  Jerry Thompson, Greg Tillack, and now Jacob Sadler. He is cool he is from Illinois and has been out about 8 months his comp hurt his back and got sent to the office so that is way I am down here. Sorry this letter is going to be so short but I dont have a library card yet so I only have 20 mins. Sounds like life at home is going sweet. The BYU Utah game is hilarious, Aggies are better anyways. And I am gonna say it... i just wanna be in Brasil. I just wanna finally really get settled somewhere instead of always thinking I could be leaving soon. I love it here in Oregon but I just wanna be there. It will be totally different cause I won't have to deal with all the temptations of American culture and stuff but whateves, I am here so I might as well work. That is about it tho sorry, Love you all!

Elder Big Deal

 

Alright so I have a little bit more time so I will just write about how I ended up in Medford. I got moved down here on Friday and President called me and asked about my visa and about how much time I think I have left here and I said... "a lot" with how things are looking on the check up site... so he sent me down here! i legit had about 1 (?) to pack which was fine cause I have never really gotten unpacked completely cause I could be leaving at anytime so that was fine. Then I drove down here with a senior couple and got here at about 9. Met my new comp and went to our place. It was a mess! So I just started cleaning, we vaccumed, cleaned the bathroom, did dishes, and all that good stuff. I swear Mom has been trying to prepare me for this or something haha. But I like it here, It is actually really pretty and it hasn't been too hot, which is a bummer cause I want it to be as hot as possible in prep for Brasil. But I am about 11 miles away from Ashland which is like hippie town USA and it is the one place in the mission I really wanna serve like so so so bad. It sounds legit so we will probably visit it on some P-day I hope. I still feel a little lost and out of the loop by I know once I spend about a week here I will know the area a little bit better. I do miss Albany a lot tho. It is so funny how I could become so attached after 7 weeks. So I know in my last e-mail I said I really wanna be in Brasil which is true, but I know I will really miss Oregon when I go.

Elder Big Deal

That is no good about the Alta Brighton game... Alta really is so overrated haha. The district leader down here is from Hillcrest and we know a lot of the same people so we get along pretty well. I don't really know what else to talk about..... I have gotten 3 wedding announcments in like the past week and it just makes me laugh... Crazy people. Well that about wraps it up... I hope that clears things up a little bit and I am sure next week's letter will be better! Stay fly.


Elder Big Deal

 

"I am 20.......That is gross"

In no way am I mature enough to be this old hahaha. But whatever, I am over it! Besides the awesome package I received from Mom and a few birthday letters that was about the extent of my b day which is fine, I have bigger things to worry about! But I loved the package mom thank you so much for it and it is already getting put to great use! 


Ryley... I quit. You are just to awesome. Really I could not ask for a better little sister in the entire world. The amount of respect I have for you is crazy. The same with the whole family as well, but you guys didn't score a winning goal this week so ha! :p
   
This week was crazy.... Ended up not only getting one comp but two... So I will start from Monday after e-mailing, my new comp Elder Thompson came down from where he was serving and the 3 of us, being Guzy, Fristrup, and Thompson had a great time together until Fristrup had to leave on Wednesday to Eugene which is sad cause he was awesome. So now it is Wednesday and Thursday and I have taken over the area so I am trying to remember all the house we have people in and how to get there cause we don't have a gps any more and I actually did alright. But come Friday morning at like 9 we get a call from President Young saying we are getting a brand new missionary from Canada who is visa waiting to go to Ukraine and that he would be there at 4! So we had to go get the Hobbit Hole all prepped and things and it turns out he is awesome. His name is Elder Tillack and he is already an awesome missionary and we love visa talking. But language study everyday is hilarious cause we just yell at Elder Thompson in our languages and pretty much just play a game of charades all day! So wild. 


Visa wise.... Looks like things might take a little longer then expected but it is still a toss up. At least now I can check it twice a week which is pretty nice. But I will work no matter where I am so... That is the plan haha. I love the people here so much though already it is crazy, I told them that when they made me talk yesterday on my birthday!!! All three of us had to speak and we found out only like 5 minutes before, but I guess it went pretty well. The wards are just awesome here. Our investigator Matt was there and he really enjoyed it which is sweet! Speaking of which... Mom if people have been friend requesting me on FB just add them cause more than likely it is investigators or teachers from the MTC. That is honestly about it though... I dunno what else to talk about except for how Dad's email had me laughing pretty hard. I miss the Danger jokes around the dinner table haha. Well I love you all so so much and thank you for all the birthday wishes! I hope you all have an awesome week and get alot of work done :) 

Elder Big (happy) Deal

"High and Lows"

Fam.... What up?!
    
Talk about a crazy week this week we had some sick stuff go down and then two things bad go down.. I will start with the bad news though... First off my comp is getting transferred to Eugene and I am getting a new comp today. We really were getting along so well and were getting work done and now they are taking him away from me and I have to take over the area... I don't think I am ready for that haha. But I guess my new comp is pretty sick and he comes in at 4 today so I am excited about that. Who knows, I might only be here for a week and then they would have to send someone else out here as well and start all over again. 


And then the other bad news really sucks.... Ugh... my side bag, which EVERYONE calls a purse, got stolen yesterday IN church. I honestly set it down in the exact same spot I always do right next to my comp's and we went to the library and when we came back it was gone.. I thought it was a joke at first but we can't find it anywhere. The reason why it really sucks though is cause the camera was in there so now all the pics are gone and everything... Ugh I am praying it was just an accident but we will see. I had some sick pictures for you guys this week too :(
    
Good news time! We got a baptism yesterday! It was awesome and a very good thing for two of our investigators who were able to come. His name is John and he is about 18 years old but I swear he has a bigger testimony then I do... He bore his testimony in church yesterday, before his baptism, and just said some amazing things. But I didn't get pictures of it cause of the bad news... UGH!!!!!!!!!!! Our investigator Matt was there and he totally felt the Spirit and was just stoked on it. We committed him and his wife to church next Sunday and I feel they will really start to come about. John actually came and bore his testimony to him after the baptism and it was a pretty neat thing to see. Haven't heard anything on the visa side of things since last week but I am really excited all of a sudden :) I love the OEM but I am so stoked for Brazil.. We played soccer today and I was just in heaven! I am also constantly thinking in Portuguese again cause I really need to get on top of it again if I am going to be leaving soon.
    
Speaking of soccer.... sounds like Ryley is dominating and I love hearing that. You really are such a champ Ry... one day when I get home from Brazil I will almost be as good as you hahaha. Sounds like the whole family is kinda settling back into normal lifestyle now which is probably a good thing! Heber sounds like a great time too but I will admit it is weird hearing about it cause I was only there... twice? Still is some foreign (spelled that right on my first try... yesh!) place to me! That is pretty much it though, the work is going well and I enjoy being here and the people here as well. I love how I get to feel the Spirit so much too, it is something I had really taken for granted and now I just love it. I love you all so so so so so much and I hope everything is going well for you. I pray for you every night!!!

   
Elder Big (stoked) Deal

P.S. We did service for this less active guy in our ward and we were moving wood from one house to the next and we didn't have gloves on... Saw two black widows and some house spiders bigger then any I have ever seen and it was after we had pretty much moved the whole pile. I went and asked for gloves after that.

OnlineVISA or Mastercard?

Alright before I even get started, I am sorry this e-mail is short... I was too busy filling out my online visa!! I could be gone in like a month how crazy is that?? I will miss my little Albany Oregon though... Ahhhh I am so torn!! But I honestly got the call from the mission office today and I already filled it all out, I am so pumped!! So I guess we can all go back to being on our toes hahaha. Oregon will always be a part of my mission though.. And I will even try to come back and visit the.... 10 people we have invited to be baptized hahaha. Ah I can't even think about what to write my thoughts are in such a whirl!!
 
Well before I forget, I don't know where the spare key for the MISSILE is but I know we have one, and I never had keys to the rack. So I hope that helps out Danger, sorry I forgot last week. Umm the work is going a lot better then it was last week. We have had some awesome lesson and just got 4 new gators this week! Matt and Chelsea are still awesome, they quit smoking and we are working on the drinking issues... They are so solid though and so funny. We have a baptism next Sunday for a 18 year old kid named John who knows more about the gospel than I do. He just hasn't been dunked yet cause he was waiting for a day when his friends could all come and see it. 


We had zone conference last week as well and that was neat. President Young said some really great things and he gave us the coolest challenge ever. This is where I need a little bit of Guzy help. The challenge is we are making a list of the top 50 first lines you say when contacting someone and I wanna get on the list. The ones I have used so far are, "Wow... it is so hot today. You wanna know why? Cause the Spirit of God like a fire is burning!" And then I ask people if my side bag is a satchel, man bag, or purse, then say, "well I can see you are kinda confused, Joseph Smith was also confused once and he prayed to our Heavenly Father to know the truth." That one works like a charm! :) So send me the ones you think of! Everyone up here makes fun of the side bag though... Oregon just has no sense of style at all hahaha. Just wait till you see the pictures I have taken. Well my time is up but I love you all so much! Remember the church is true no battle.

Elder Big (stressed) Deal

"I am Turning into a Hippie"

   That statement is more real then you think... I am convinced that a VW (visa waiter) Bus would be the siiiiickest car ever. Just clean it up, put a system in it... Sounds like a party! Speaking of parties.... We were sitting in our district meeting this last Thursday when all of a sudden some awesome members came and brought us pizza! They actually brought me Taco Bell which was weird cause I didn't know people knew I liked T-Bell that much :p But really, that visit from Trent and Eliza was honestly the best! It did the opposite of distract me. It helped me see the blessings that come after mission life if I work hard and be the missionary I need to be. That is way I love you guys so much, you have all set this amazing example and standard for me and it gives me so much more drive to be a good missionary. If I didn't have the examples I do in my life, I don't even think I would be out here right now, which is ridiculous cause I am having so much fun and I don't know how I could pass this up!

   Things are going well here. Like you all know, people flake or don't keep commitments and it kinda gets you down, but this week it seemed like everything was just going smoothly. We did two sets of exchanges this week which was fun. The other missionaries here are pretty cool as well and I actually got to use a lot of my Portuguese when I went on an exchange with the Spanish elders! I could understand people pretty well and vice versa but there are some big differences obviously. I decided though that if I do end up staying here, I will ask if I can go Spanish, I feel like I could switch the language pretty easily. I mean if Tanner can learn it... It will be pretty easy for me! CALL-OUT!!!!!!! Oh SHOOOOT! Hahahaha Love you buddy :)

  We had some great lessons this week. We have these two investigators that we actually taught two nights in a row they were so stoked on what we were saying and they are so dope. Their names are Matt and Chelsea and they are in their late 20s and the first time we knocked on their door Matt opened it and just yelled... "MORMONS!!!!' and was all stoked on us. He is hilarious... He has the Bible on cd and it is read by James Earl Jones and Matt said, "Nothing makes the Bible cooler then hearing it in the voice of Moofassa from Lion King." Hahaha and then he is big into Guitar Hero and doesn't believe I can play it, too bad he will probably never get a chance for me to play for him. We are going back to teach him tonight and we are finishing up the Plan of Salvation and he has some rocking questions on it. We extended a baptism date for the 10th and they both said they will pray about it. Talk about a cool birthday present! And then we have another guy named Daniel who is also big into guitars and stuff and actually really reminds me of Bob and Larry. Like he is just this awesome musician and he just has this great out look on life. He also wears wilderness shirts which just makes him my hero. We are going to teach him later on this week and I hope he recognizes that this gospel can just make him so much happier!

    Also this past Saturday we had L. Tom Perry come talk to us! So cool. His testimony is so powerful and he is really funny as well. He talked about how there is no one better in the Church to teach then us missionaries. We are trained and taught how to do this and if we are following and do the things we need to do to have the Spirit with us we can do anything. So powerful! Ah I love hearing from GAs... That is one thing I miss about the MTC.

    Well I hope you all have a good time getting back into school and being excited for that. It is weird to think that a year ago I was moved out and starting the funnest year of my life... Good ol' Logan :) Well I love you all so much and I can't thank you enough for all the support you give me! This Church is the true church on the earth today and I know that through this Church not only myself, but also my family and friends can find an unbelievable happiness... how cool is that?! I love you! 

 

 

   Elder Big Deal

 

P.S. Made a friend yesterday at church yesterday named Dusty... turns out he is the assisstant manager of the Taco Bell here! I think I can already call this a tender mercy :)

Shhhhhhh I am Listening to Reason!!!

Hello my wonderful and amazingly awesome family. I love hearing about the Bird! and yesh Danger, last year you did totally introduce Ryley and me with funny names and it was so great! Once again the Danger Dave Jokes always will make me laugh. But in honor of all of you going to the Bird I bought a huge thing of Goldfish cause I always remember having Goldfish and I figured I needed to join in the fun somehow. Good times up at the Bird :)
   
Things here are going.... average? I dunno. We are kinda low with investigators here and it seems like our finding efforts aren't going super well but we still find that one little charm every once in awhile. We mostly do a lot of street contacting and tracting but we are going to be trying some new things here in the next few weeks, I will let you know how that goes. We are seriously teaching only two people and things are going well with them. Their names are Mike and Amber and they agreed to a baptism date for the 3rd but I dunno if they will go through. I am really praying for them though. We also have some sweet potentials who we have taught lessons to but just haven't extended a date yet. So we will keep working with them and keep inviting them to read the BOM and go to church.


That seems to be the biggest problem up here is people not committing to church. Like we haven't had an investigator come to church in this area since at least January maybe longer so we are really focusing on that. We are also doing a lot of work and promoting Mormon.org. Have you guys ever had a chance to check it out? It is actually pretty cool and I am getting my profile set up right now. We spend an hour on there every week so we can get to know it because the Church is really trying to push this website. I am fully convinced that we will be getting Ipads and things for teaching in the near future. I already used them in the MTC and they had it all set up for missionaries. Yeah of course some missionaries will abuse it but I really believe it will help the teaching so much.


I am trying to think about what I have already told you guys. Did I tell you that we bike two days a week and then the rest of the time we drive a Mazda three? Yeah pretty neat. I like biking actually just cause I feel it helps me tan and get prepped for Brasil! Speaking of which... I am really starting to get attached here which is good and bad at the same time. Cause obviously I REALLY wanna go to Brasil but at the same time I like where I am and the elders I get to work with... I dunno to be honest with you I am pretty torn but who cares, this isn't my work it is His. So if he wants me here I will work my hardest here, but if He wants me in Brasil I will work my hardest there as well, It doesn't matter where I work, as long as I get to work is what I am worried about.
   
Well I hope things are still going super well for all of you and you guys will kinda settle down a little bit. It seems like everyone has been all over the country this summer, which is pretty stinkin' cool. Ry, senior year is dope and I can promise you that it all comes down to what you want it to be. Have you started looking at colleges? Sorry this is the Ambassador in me. I just know that college stuff just comes up quickly and I just want my superstar of a little sister to be ready for it all. I love you all so much and as much as I miss you or the things you are doing please know that I am so happy out here. I dunno why but I feel like everything I have done until now was training for this... Who knows :) Oh and in case you didn't know.... this Church is super true... Cool little side note:)

   Elder Big Deal

P.S. I bought a hacky sack and it might have been the best choice of my life.