And great was the fall thereof

So much change has come about since I got on my mission. Finally at the end they have pulled back some of the restrictions for missionaries and we can now have a lot more communication with family back home which is a great change. I think it will help missionaries not feel as distant. 

This week has been pretty crazy. We had to pick up the new elders which their flight was cancelled on Tuesday so they flew in on Wednesday and we got to give them some inspiration at the mission home. We then had dinner with them and President Evans and got back to work. 

The work is super busy here. The Lord definitely has trust in this area. We have a lot of people placed in our path that are looking for more. My companions are sooo awesome. Elder Blosch and Elder Griffiths are great missionaries and I'm learning a ton from them. Elder Griffiths has a lot of passion for the work and Elder Blosch has incredible faith. It will be a good transfer.

Dinner!

Latter-day Saint Missionaries Can Now Call, Text Home Weekly, First Presidency Announces

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Friday an update to guidelines regarding communication between full-time missionaries and their families.

Effective immediately, the Church’s 65,000 missionaries are authorized to communicate with their families each week on preparation day by text messages, online messaging, phone calls, and video chats, in addition to letters and emails.

“Regular communication with their families is an important part of a missionary’s service,” said the First Presidency in a statement. “One of the major purposes of this adjustment is to encourage families to be more involved in their missionary’s efforts and experiences.”

The significant adaptations to missionary communication are the result of the “options, possibilities, and technologies now offered in some parts of the world,” said Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and chairman of the Church’s Missionary Executive Council.

Communication should occur on the missionary’s preparation day and be initiated by the missionary. Missionaries are asked to use good judgment in determining the length of phone calls and video chats and to be considerate of their companions.

With the new advances in technology, this communication should take place at little or no cost to the Church, the missionaries, or their families.

In those few locations where families or missionaries do not have access to computers or phones, missionaries are encouraged to continue using their current means of communication.

In addition to weekly communication, missionaries are also encouraged to contact family on other special occasions such as Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, parents’ birthdays, and other culturally significant holidays.

“We encourage missionaries to communicate with their families each week using whatever approved method missionaries decide,” said Elder Uchtdorf. “This may vary based on their circumstances, locations, and schedules for that week. It is not expected that all missionaries will call or video chat with their parents every week. The precise manner of communication is left up to the missionary as he or she decides what will best meet their needs.”

Which gate to enter?

Well I'm down to my last transfer and President has asked me to spend my last 6 weeks in Gates/Chili! I'm finally going to Rochester. 

I'm going to miss the recent converts here in Batavia. Their kids will be taught this next transfer and we just put a members husband on date for baptism in March as well. 

Elder Clausen has been great to be with. We learned a lot this transfer and I finally feel like I can teach a little simpler. He will be training here in Batavia as well as Elder Hawes the district leader will be training and Elder Winward up in Brockport will be training. We don't know if the sisters will be training but we will see.

I got to go on exchanges with Elder Hawes down in Warsaw this week and I saw Nate Harris once again. He showed us a sick handguard he has forged for a sword he is making. Elder Hawes is one of my favorite Elders. He is solid.

Arctic America

Hello. I'm still well. We had a cold week this week as a cold wave came down and blasted the north east. The worst part is that we meet with most of the people we are teaching on Wednesday and Thursday which were the coldest days. There was a travel ban in the county that we are over so we had to cancel some of our visits.

It has since warmed up and its now really warm. This is what it did last year too so it's pretty normal.

We unfortunately had to stop teaching one of the families we were meeting with. They had made the decision that they weren't going to change religions but we are still good friends with them. 

People are still being prepared for the gospel everywhere. We met an awesome soon to be father who let us in to share our message. He just got out of prison and wants to come closer to God as he starts his family.