Monday, December 9, 2013
Training Going Well and It is COLD
Hey Family!
Things are going good here in Bellevue. It has been very cold here as well. Right now it's about 6 degrees and this morning it was below 0. A couple of days ago it got to like -5 and that's without the windchill. And there was a big snow storm yesterday that lasted all day. The roads do not get plowed very well here but so far so good. We actually saw something pretty funny last night. Someone was coming over a hill and lost control of their car and drove onto the side walk and ran over a street sign. And then they drove off. We were laughing pretty hard. Potentially dangerous, yes but it was still funny.
Celeste is doing good. Actually Joseph invited us over for dinner, but Celeste wasn't there since she was babysitting but it was still good. And then yesterday we were able to see Celeste and Joseph and visit with them for a little. We mainly talked about baptism and what not but the good part is she is set for baptism for the January 25th. That will be a nice year mark present.
Thanks for getting the shaver, Mom. And about the 2013 edition of the scriptures. They revised and changed the scriptures for the first time in 32 years. All of the ones we have been using were the 1981 edition. And this year they redid them. The print is nicer, they changed some typing "errors", have more information in the chapter headings more so for D&C and added more pictures and better ones and some other things. So yeah that's why. The 2014 will be the same as the 2013. That's why people made such a big deal about the 2013 Edition is there haven't been any changes since 1981. And the leather on them feels awesome. Actually like real leather--because it is! ;) Even though mine say "Genuine Leather" they feel like butt compared to the new ones. They are nice, trust me.
Things are going well with me and Elder Collins. We had a pretty good week and we're getting along. Definitely my favorite companion since Chappell. This week went by really fast as a result I'm sure. Collins is still adjusting to the cold since he spent the last 8 months in Carlsbad, California. He was at BYU for 2 years on and off before that. Speaking of Carlsbad, if you want to look up his parents that would be great. But yeah don't worry about me and Collins, we are having fun. We also have a very similar sense of humor so that has been nice. Belnap was a nice guy but our personalities didn't mesh as well so it made for some crappy days. But yeah anyway things are going good.
We had a chance to see Tom as well and it was probably the best lesson we've had with him. At first it started out a bit rough. His main underlying concern is if there is a god that is all powerful and all knowing why does he allow bad things to happen. That's not a very easy question to answer. But we said something along the lines of free agency and also the influence of Satan and chastisement. But at the end of the lesson I really wanted him to just pray because that is honestly one of the only ways to gain a testimony of God. So I asked if it would be alright if I prayed and then right after he prayed. He agreed and we did just that. The Spirit was definitely there and he said he felt good and I really hope he felt what we felt. Well I'm sure he did it's just a matter of recognizing it. And we did go over that with him after as well. I really hope things progress from here. Well I need to get going. I'm going to play some basketball. I love you all! Have a great and safe week everyone!
Love,
Elder Ballif
Things are going good here in Bellevue. It has been very cold here as well. Right now it's about 6 degrees and this morning it was below 0. A couple of days ago it got to like -5 and that's without the windchill. And there was a big snow storm yesterday that lasted all day. The roads do not get plowed very well here but so far so good. We actually saw something pretty funny last night. Someone was coming over a hill and lost control of their car and drove onto the side walk and ran over a street sign. And then they drove off. We were laughing pretty hard. Potentially dangerous, yes but it was still funny.
Celeste is doing good. Actually Joseph invited us over for dinner, but Celeste wasn't there since she was babysitting but it was still good. And then yesterday we were able to see Celeste and Joseph and visit with them for a little. We mainly talked about baptism and what not but the good part is she is set for baptism for the January 25th. That will be a nice year mark present.
Thanks for getting the shaver, Mom. And about the 2013 edition of the scriptures. They revised and changed the scriptures for the first time in 32 years. All of the ones we have been using were the 1981 edition. And this year they redid them. The print is nicer, they changed some typing "errors", have more information in the chapter headings more so for D&C and added more pictures and better ones and some other things. So yeah that's why. The 2014 will be the same as the 2013. That's why people made such a big deal about the 2013 Edition is there haven't been any changes since 1981. And the leather on them feels awesome. Actually like real leather--because it is! ;) Even though mine say "Genuine Leather" they feel like butt compared to the new ones. They are nice, trust me.
Things are going well with me and Elder Collins. We had a pretty good week and we're getting along. Definitely my favorite companion since Chappell. This week went by really fast as a result I'm sure. Collins is still adjusting to the cold since he spent the last 8 months in Carlsbad, California. He was at BYU for 2 years on and off before that. Speaking of Carlsbad, if you want to look up his parents that would be great. But yeah don't worry about me and Collins, we are having fun. We also have a very similar sense of humor so that has been nice. Belnap was a nice guy but our personalities didn't mesh as well so it made for some crappy days. But yeah anyway things are going good.
We had a chance to see Tom as well and it was probably the best lesson we've had with him. At first it started out a bit rough. His main underlying concern is if there is a god that is all powerful and all knowing why does he allow bad things to happen. That's not a very easy question to answer. But we said something along the lines of free agency and also the influence of Satan and chastisement. But at the end of the lesson I really wanted him to just pray because that is honestly one of the only ways to gain a testimony of God. So I asked if it would be alright if I prayed and then right after he prayed. He agreed and we did just that. The Spirit was definitely there and he said he felt good and I really hope he felt what we felt. Well I'm sure he did it's just a matter of recognizing it. And we did go over that with him after as well. I really hope things progress from here. Well I need to get going. I'm going to play some basketball. I love you all! Have a great and safe week everyone!
Love,
Elder Ballif
Monday, December 2, 2013
Still in Bellevue - Training Elder Collins
Hey Family!
I hope everyones week went well! That dinner at the Little America sounds awesome! Is it only on Thanksgiving? My Thanksgiving was alright. It was hard to get any work done but we did have the traditional thanksgiving food. A lot of desert. I did gain some weight so I'm hoping to shed it back off and more in the coming weeks.
My new companion should help with that as well. :) His name is Elder Collins and he's from Carlsbad California. He's into working out and nutrition so that should help me out--and also he's brand new so yes I'm training. Pretty stressful but I am getting adjusted and each day is getting better. Elder Collins is pretty good as well. Haven't gotten into any arguments but it's always an adjustment when you get a new companion. For example I didn't care for Elder Chappell the first day or so but he ended up being my favorite companion so far. I'm still learning what Elder Collins is like and so far I like him. He's a pretty funny guy.
One problem is he's not into sports at all but he's willing to play some basketball today so that will be fun. The Perry's didn't end up going to the trail center. The cancelled like 5 minutes before. That kind of sucked. We were already at the trail center at the time so we stayed for a bit and looked at the Gingerbread displays. There were some pretty cool ones. I also spent some time in the Lake Cunningham area this week. Up in the ghetto of Omaha. That was fun. A little different from Bellevue but it was a good experience.
We did end up getting a new investigator on Saturday though. We got a referral from the mission office and I have no idea how he flew under the radar but he is a less active member that has been in the ward for about 4 years and isn't on the ward list and from the sounds of it a friend referred him. So anyway we went over there and his wife who is not a member was there as well and we taught the restoration and she said she wants to be baptized and he wants to come back to church. That should be pretty cool. Hopefully things will work out. Joseph and Celeste are their names.
Other than that it was a pretty slow week as far as missionary work goes. We did see the Perry's though. Tom is doing good and he said he's going to start reading the Book of Mormon a bit more. Like I said last week they went to church and everything but Sylvia apparently thought it was really boring. She likes churches with rock bands and stuff and I don't really think she understands the purpose of church. I mean I'll be the first to admit I think Sacrament meeting is slightly boring if the spirit is not as strong, but like said she doesn't understand the meaning of it.
That is pretty cool about the Jazz. I figured they'd suck but it's good to see the youngsters show promise. And while Jabari Parker is great and all I'd rather have Andrew Wiggins ;)
Well I need to get going. I love you all!
And about Christmas the 2 things that come to mind are an electric shaver and a 2013 Edition of the Scriptures.
Have a great week everyone!
Love,
Elder Ballif
Elder Ballif
Monday, November 18, 2013
Basketball Assisting in the Lords Work
Hey Family!
I hope everyones week went well. Mine was pretty good. This will be my last week with Elder Belnap so that's pretty weird. I wonder what will happen after this transfer. I honestly don't know. I mean I most likely will stay and train but that's not a guarantee. I guess we'll see soon.
This week we weren't able to see Eric but we'll see him this week, I'm sure. But we're going to have to talk to him about the YSA so we'll see what happens. If he wants to go that route, I'm sure things will work out.
So the Perry's. Well we will be most likely going to the trail center with them this upcoming Monday so that will be Elder Belnap's last day with me so that will cap it off nicely. The Perry's were planning on making it to church yesterday, but Sylvia said all forces were going against her, because he dress tore twice and what not. They didn't end up coming. That statement is probably truer than she realizes.
That's awesome things are going to be starting up for your job.
Oh one cool thing we will be doing is I invited some of the young men to play basketball on Friday nights and invite some of their non member friends and then a lesson is taught afterwards. I think it should work out pretty well. The Cottonwood and Ralston Elders did it last week but we couldn't get anyone in time but they said it went really well. And the young men seemed really excited and really interested in doing that. Hopefully some things will come from that.
Speaking of basketball we were walking down the street and some high school kids were playing basketball and we played with them. It was my first time doing that and I enjoyed it a lot. Even with the dress clothes I did pretty well. ;)
Well I need to get going. We're going to play basketball again if you didn't already guess. I love you all!
Have a wonderful and safe week everyone!
Love,
Elder Ballif
I hope everyones week went well. Mine was pretty good. This will be my last week with Elder Belnap so that's pretty weird. I wonder what will happen after this transfer. I honestly don't know. I mean I most likely will stay and train but that's not a guarantee. I guess we'll see soon.
This week we weren't able to see Eric but we'll see him this week, I'm sure. But we're going to have to talk to him about the YSA so we'll see what happens. If he wants to go that route, I'm sure things will work out.
So the Perry's. Well we will be most likely going to the trail center with them this upcoming Monday so that will be Elder Belnap's last day with me so that will cap it off nicely. The Perry's were planning on making it to church yesterday, but Sylvia said all forces were going against her, because he dress tore twice and what not. They didn't end up coming. That statement is probably truer than she realizes.
That's awesome things are going to be starting up for your job.
Oh one cool thing we will be doing is I invited some of the young men to play basketball on Friday nights and invite some of their non member friends and then a lesson is taught afterwards. I think it should work out pretty well. The Cottonwood and Ralston Elders did it last week but we couldn't get anyone in time but they said it went really well. And the young men seemed really excited and really interested in doing that. Hopefully some things will come from that.
Speaking of basketball we were walking down the street and some high school kids were playing basketball and we played with them. It was my first time doing that and I enjoyed it a lot. Even with the dress clothes I did pretty well. ;)
Well I need to get going. We're going to play basketball again if you didn't already guess. I love you all!
Have a wonderful and safe week everyone!
Love,
Elder Ballif
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Investigator fun!
Hey there Family! I hope all of you have had a wonderful day. And
week.
My past week was not too bad. Not the greatest but still it ended up being pretty good. We didn't end up going to the Trail Center with the Perry's. Sylvia had some appointments come up or something but we did reschedule on the 23rd or 25th I'm not entirely sure-- the 25th will be my last day with Elder Belnap so that'll be interesting.
Things are still going well with the Perry's though. Tom came and played basketball yesterday so that was great. We will probably stop by their house sometime this week and see how they're doing.
Eric is doing pretty good. He still has some views that aren't exactly correct. Well as far as how we are. He, for example, said that he believes our church has a lot of false prophets. Reason being he thought every single ward had prophets. He didn't understand that the church has a headquarters so to speak. Well anyway yeah it's been fun teaching him.
I believe Annie is doing good but I'm not entirely sure. We didn't get to see her this week but she's been busy so I think that is a good thing. We'll try to catch her some time this week.
We also got a weird text from Dan saying his wife is angry with him for meeting with us. But he still wants to see us this weekend so that's good. I just don't want to get his wife mad at him. But yeah we'll see how this situation progresses.
We also have a pretty new investigator named Miranda. We found her because she lives in the house of a less active member that has now moved. She said her and her husband (who is deployed) have been looking for a religion. We have taught her the restoration but nothing since then because it's hard to get everything set up because we have to have someone else come with us because we can't be in the house of a women home alone. But when we start to get things going I could very well see her getting baptized.
We haven't seen Scipio since I last talked about him. His wife was upset or something (Jehovah's Witness) so yeah he said to wait a few weeks and let things cool down. So we'll probably try back sometime this week.
Yes Dad I did get the book. I finished it and it was a good book. I'm not sure how I can apply the views and things in the book to help Tom but I'm sure I'll be able to after a bit more study.
Well I need to get going. I hope everyone is doing good. Tell Austin good luck with school. And tell Mom she's looking good.
Well I'm sure she'll read this but yeah. I love you all!
Love,
Elder Ballif
week.
My past week was not too bad. Not the greatest but still it ended up being pretty good. We didn't end up going to the Trail Center with the Perry's. Sylvia had some appointments come up or something but we did reschedule on the 23rd or 25th I'm not entirely sure-- the 25th will be my last day with Elder Belnap so that'll be interesting.
Things are still going well with the Perry's though. Tom came and played basketball yesterday so that was great. We will probably stop by their house sometime this week and see how they're doing.
Eric is doing pretty good. He still has some views that aren't exactly correct. Well as far as how we are. He, for example, said that he believes our church has a lot of false prophets. Reason being he thought every single ward had prophets. He didn't understand that the church has a headquarters so to speak. Well anyway yeah it's been fun teaching him.
I believe Annie is doing good but I'm not entirely sure. We didn't get to see her this week but she's been busy so I think that is a good thing. We'll try to catch her some time this week.
We also got a weird text from Dan saying his wife is angry with him for meeting with us. But he still wants to see us this weekend so that's good. I just don't want to get his wife mad at him. But yeah we'll see how this situation progresses.
We also have a pretty new investigator named Miranda. We found her because she lives in the house of a less active member that has now moved. She said her and her husband (who is deployed) have been looking for a religion. We have taught her the restoration but nothing since then because it's hard to get everything set up because we have to have someone else come with us because we can't be in the house of a women home alone. But when we start to get things going I could very well see her getting baptized.
We haven't seen Scipio since I last talked about him. His wife was upset or something (Jehovah's Witness) so yeah he said to wait a few weeks and let things cool down. So we'll probably try back sometime this week.
Yes Dad I did get the book. I finished it and it was a good book. I'm not sure how I can apply the views and things in the book to help Tom but I'm sure I'll be able to after a bit more study.
Well I need to get going. I hope everyone is doing good. Tell Austin good luck with school. And tell Mom she's looking good.
Well I'm sure she'll read this but yeah. I love you all!
Love,
Elder Ballif
Monday, November 4, 2013
Progression in the work
Hey Family!
I hope things are going well for everyone. Our week was pretty good. We taught a number of lessons and reestablished contact with Annie. She's doing pretty good. Things are starting to work out for her. And she has cut back on smoking a ton. She was smoking 30 a day and now she is down to 2 a day. Pretty cool. We plan on seeing her tomorrow so hopefully that will work out.
The Perry's are doing good as well. We set up a time to go to the Trail Center this week with them, so hopefully that will work out and hopefully they'll have a good experience.
Eric is probably the investigator that is progressing the most. We saw him 3 times last week and he is so open minded. He is pretty awesome. He is singles ward age so hopefully that doesn't become a problem. It's ultimately up to him so we'll see.
Chan is doing good. He does smoke however and yesterday we taught him the Word of Wisdom, so hopefully we can get that cleared up. He also didn't understand what's wrong with coffee and it was kind of hard to explain. A lot of things are hard to explain to someone who didn't even know what Halloween is. And he's been in the US for 8 years.
Well I'm glad you guys liked the "testimony" thing. I figured I might as well send it to you guys since I had it typed up. It's not like my mission hasn't been a struggle. I've had a lot of tough days but I'm not quitting and I'm certainly not going to stress you guys out about that kind of stuff. Already over 9 months now so it's going by pretty quickly.
Well anyways yeah that's too bad about the Jazz. I didn't expect them to be good so I'm just glad the young guys are playing well. Especially my Burksie.
Dad I'm glad things are looking up with your job situation as well. Things always get better--just trust in the Lord. Alma 36:3 comes to mind.
Thank you so much for everything you guys do. I am so lucky to be a part of such an amazing family.
I'm excited for that book. Thank you, again. Oh and I did receive the package. I actually got it right on Halloween.
And it doesn't matter that the vial isn't new I really don't care. Tell Austin thank you.
Well everyone I need to get going.
I hope everyone has a wonderful day and week! I love you all!
Love,
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