JACE - Here I Am Again

 June 24, 2024

Hey Everyone!

Transfers have come and gone, and I got to stay here in Rochester with Elder Timothy! I'm super happy to stay because we got some awesome work to do! We've been having fun too, so let's get to the week!

Monday - Last P-Day was a zone P-Day! It was a fun time playing pickleball, Magic, and a bit of basketball. Everyone brought snacks and even the Gochnours came because we were the only zone in the mission to hit its goal for the transfer. It was a fun time, but Sister Gochnour's videos that she took made me realize I really gotta get on the weight loss grind. So that's my new goal for my mission. Eat better and eat less! It was also raining the whole day, and some of it was super hard too! But it was pretty cool to watch and listen to!

Tuesday - Today we had some fun times, kinda. We had some service and a lesson with a lady named Mary Jane. The service was pulling as many thistles as week could, cause they were everywhere in their yard. We ended up teaching her a restoration lesson and giving her a Book of Mormon, but later in the week she sent us a message saying they weren't gonna be leaving their church. Darn it! But we got to have a lesson with the Wei family that came to church on Sunday. They have just a genuine curiosity about the church and religion as a whole, so it was an interesting lesson because their son has a kids Bible, so he knows a lot more about Christianity than the parents. But I can see them getting baptized by the end of the transfer. We'll see, though.

Wednesday - District Council today was pretty sad, as it was Elder Guinn's last one. Love ya, man! He bore a super powerful testimony at the end and we went to a place called Snappy's for lunch afterwards. Good, juicy burgers for pretty low prices. Then we unfortunately will probably be our last lesson with Taylor, because she is just to set on not being baptized again. It wasn't fun to tell her that we wouldn't be able to meet with her as much anymore because of our purpose. Then we had a lesson with a guy named Peter where we brought along a joint teacher, but I think he might have scared Peter off by overloading him a bit. We can definitely use that JT for certain other people, but that's our bad for bringing him to a guy who hadn't even really got to know us yet.

Thursday - Today was a pretty normal day. We ended up going to Audrey's house to mow her yard, and found out she had fallen and broken her wrist. Then came back, showered, and headed out to Plainview, which is about 30 mins for dinner. Then we checked the dots we have around there, and we found a dude named Devan! He's met with missionaries before, and he said he's even had his own witness of the Book of Mormon! They just couldn't keep contact with him. So our goal is to keep that contact and get him to church! Then we got to go to activity days and played a fun game that I will definitely take home with me. It's called LRC Wild dice, and it was fun with a bunch of 8 to 11 year old boys, so it'll be great to play with a bunch of adults!

Friday - Today didn't really have a lot going on. We set up some lessons with people, so that's about it on the work. We walked through Mayo Park, and the river running through it is running pretty full. Even part of the sidewalk is covered in water! 

Saturday - Today was a packed day. We had a lesson with a dude named Ricky, who was a green dot when we first got here. He's been on the books for 7 years, and his only thing about being baptized is his family really doesn't want him to. So we kinda just relayed the fact that he knows what he needs to do, it's just the fact of realizing what God has asked him to do. Then we went to a fellowship so we could talk a bit more with someone we talked to in the park. Bob is just trying to convert us to what he believes. So we know who we're taking along to talk with him next time. Then we got to have a lesson with my first Facebook find! His name is Ngor (pronounced gore) and he's had a lot of brushes with the church from missionaries when he was younger to going to Utah State for school. We taught him a restoration, and he was pretty receptive to the whole thing! It'll be great when we're actually able to meet with him!.

Sunday - The Sabbath is always the best day of the week. The Wei's came to church and the talks were great. They said they liked Sacrament and it made them think a bit more about life. Then they both seemed to like Elder's Quorum and Relief Society. We even got people saying that they're gonna try to fellowship them a bit more and would love to JT with us for them later on. It's just gonna be a great thing to see how the Weis progress!

So that was the week! We ended up being pretty busy for the last week of the transfer, and I'm still super happy that we get to stay for another 6 weeks! If y'all could pray for the Wei family, Devan, and Ngor, that would be great! Hopefully their curiosity in the Gospel stays alive!

Love y'all! Watch for Miracles!

Sincerely,

Elder Buchanan

JACE - Transfers Approach

 June 7, 2024

Hey Everyone! It's about that time again. A time of dread or excitement, depending on who you are. It's transfer week! I personally don't think that either me or Elder Timothy will be getting moved out, since we washed in. Had some interesting things happen this week, so let's get into it.

Monday - Today our district adventures took us accidentally outside our areas. We went and climbed the Elba fire tower. Not too far out of the areas, and a little bit of walking and a lot of stairs. Just some fun hanging out. We actually found someone that previous missionaries had talked to and he invited us for dinner. Justin is an interesting dude, but we were able to have a good conversation and talk about some challenges he's had with our beliefs. We're not gonna be able to meet for a while, but hopefully we can have some better answers for any questions he has.

Tuesday - Today we got to go on exchanges with the ZLs. I headed off with Elder McKone in Roch 3's area. I gotta be honest, I hadn't heard very fun things about him, but after seeing how he is for a day, he's a pretty good dude. We were booked up for lessons in the afternoon and after dinner. Was pretty cool to see how the spirit affected each lesson though.

Wednesday - We had district council today. Next week will be Elder Guinn's, one of the Roch 4 Elders, sort of funeral for his mission. It will be interesting. We had a lesson with Taylor where we tried to talk more about coming to church and baptism, but she seems so determined on just read with us interactions and not getting baptized because she's been baptized too many times. We might have to drop her before the end of the transfer, which will be such a heart breaker. Please pray for her so she can realize the importance of the authority we've taught her about,

Thursday - Today we had an interesting institute class with President Mattheson talking about the importance of the First Vision and why we use it so much in our teaching. It was an inspiring lesson and made me realize that I should study the JSH a lot more! We had a few interesting lessons today as well. We taught a couple members of a part-member/inactive family because she wants to have those lessons and encouragement to come back to church. There is also a chance of having a progressing person in that house, too. But she wasn't able to join us because she had just had her eyes dilated. Later, we had a lesson with a guy named Allen. He was very concerned with the humanitarian efforts that the church does. While we didn't have all the answers, I think we were able to answer some of his questions. Then we finally got to give EJ his tagalog Book of Mormon! We had a great discussion about following Christ and had a small restoration lesson with him. Today was a fun day.

Friday - Today was a fun one. We got to have lunch with the Roch 4 elders because one of our recent converts, Thomas, saw his 2 year post on Facebook and invited them over. He made a nice spread of mashed potatoes and gravy, BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, corn and blueberry pie. I'm not usually a fan of fruity desserts, but it was pretty good. Then we headed out to a lady's farm to do some service for her. Her name is Vicki, and we got her to come to church last week and we had a good discussion about how she like church and how she's felt the Holy Ghost in her life. Her issue is that if our church is the true church, what does that mean for all the others that are just doing their best with what they have. I think we were able to explain it pretty well. She definitely is gonna need some prayers, though! Hopefully she can see the truth in what we've said and what she's experienced.

Saturday - Today was definitely a super slow day. We had to move weekly planning back a day because of service. But we just weren't super in it today. We both decided we'll hunker down and get to work this next week, cause we know we can do better!

Sunday - The Sabbath is always the best day! And it was even cooler because we had a family show up to church! The Tian's came to activity days a couple of weeks ago, and that's how we got their number. We were actually trying to just set up a lesson with them and they just said we can come to church. So their first experience with anything actually church related is Sacrament meeting and Sunday School, so hopefully it wasn't too much. And then I got to call my day for an hour! It was a good little discussion, got to hear how he's doing, a little bit more about some mission things I should try, and how the Buchanan reunion went. Kind of a bummer to miss it for the first time, but I'm here doing His work, so I guess it's a good reason.

That's pretty much it for my week. If I could ask for y'all to do anything, it'd be to pray for the people we're teaching. We've had to drop some people we thought were doing good, but it's just the way it goes sometimes. Always be on the lookout for those small miracles in your life!

Love y'all!

Sincerely,

Elder Buchanan

JACE - I Got To Play With Adult Legos!!!

 June 10, 2024

Hey Everyone!

I hope y'all are having a great first couple weeks of summer! This week was kinda weird. We weren't able to do a lot of finding this week because the weather just wouldn't quit and we ended up doing a bunch of service! But let's start at the beginning.

Monday - For our fun P-Day activity, we went to a free zoo about a half hour outside of the city. They had eagles, foxes, wolves and a bear. Just a lot of cool animals, and luckily it was free. In the evening, we had a couple of lessons planned, but they both fell through. Super sad, but we can only invite.

Tuesday - Today was kinda more of the same old, same old. We had a couple lessons planned and they both fell through. One of them, the phone just wouldn't work, and the other didn't pick up. Not gonna lie, having all these lessons set up that just don't happen is pretty disheartening. But I just gotta remember that it's them, not us. We can only try to invite. We ended up mowing a lawn for an older member in the ward today, too. Nothing too bad, interesting how it's not much of a chore out here.

Wednesday - Today was the adult Lego day! We got a call the night before from a member who moved to Buffalo a while ago. So Elder Timothy knew him, and he still has a house in our area that he rents out. He was needing help replacing the floors with laminate because the last renters had ruined the carpet in there. So, we got to go out to Elgin for a couple hours and help start the project. We had to run back to town for a couple planned lessons. One of those lessons was with Taylor, and we got to meet her in person! She's super cool! We were able to give a physical copy of the Book of Mormon and she even brought up that she doesn't do some Word of Wisdom things! Once we are able to actually get her to church, I think a baptismal date is in her future! But the day doesn't stop here! Brother Day sent us a message while we were doing Facebook and asked if we would have the time to go help with the flooring again. I was having fun with the first round, so I was like "Round 2, baby!" They had gotten most of the 2 other rooms finished, and they were starting on the big living room. After the owner got the floor started, I took over for the next couple hours and just went to town. I'm pretty sure I did 1/4 to 1/3 of the floor pretty much by myself, except for the measuring of end pieces I needed cut. I was just having fun! Maybe it could be something to do as a job at home, who knows!

Thursday - Fun part about today was that we had district council that we delayed a day so we could go to BWWS! It was a fun day out and about. But the best part was that we actually got to have a little with a dude named EJ! We have a special language Book of Mormon that we've had since transfers, and haven't been able to get in contact really well with him. So it was such a treat to be able to chat with him and know he's a real person. We still have to figure out a time to get him the book, but a little phone lesson is progress!

Friday - Today was a bit of a weird day. We had a visit from the housing coordinator for a little housing inspection. They took away things that we didn't bring in, one of which was a tv that we underestimated how big it was. On its side, it measured to my chest. Almost wished we had used it, but also was just surprised as to why they had it in the first place. Then we went and mowed the lawn for one of the recent converts, Audrey. Again, wasn't too bad. Even made a new record on how fast we finished it. That's pretty much the extent of that day.

Saturday - Today had a couple of surprises. It was Elder Timothy's birthday for one, so he got a bunch of messages from people in the mission for his birthday. Somehow the majority of them were sisters, so hmmm... But for the surprises, we were out doing our comp study and daily contacts, when a dude named Bob came up and pretty much streeted us. We had a nice discussion about a few different spiritual topics. He's a super big fan of the 10 commandments, and said he had read the account of Abinadi in Mosiah as well. We might be able to persuade him, but we have a member that would great to have a conversation with him again. Then, for dinner that night, we had an asian lady sign up to feed up, even though her records aren't in Rochester. She was just super nice and said she understands the fact that we are away from our families for a while. It was both weird and nice.

Sunday - The Sabbath is always the best day of the week! Today, I sang in sacrament. I just love being able to share my testimony of the Savior with the talents I've been granted. Everyone seemed to like it, and we even got someone to come to church because of my singing. She's just super supportive, and hopefully we can get her on the path to baptism soon.

That's the week! A lot of fun ups and a few downs. It's something so weird to me that we have all these lessons that just keep falling through. But I just need to remember who's in charge, and just to be the best sower that I can so someone else can come along and reap a bountiful harvest. I read Matthew 13 the other day, by way. But I hope you have an awesome week and keep looking for ways to help those around you!

Love y'all!

Sincerely,

Elder Buchanan

JACE - Good Reminders and Fun Times

June 3 2024

Hey Everyone!

I'm finally getting used to doing city missionary work! The only thing I haven't gotten used to is this stinking humidity! This summer is gonna be an annoying one strictly because of that, but putting my head down and getting to work will help me get through it. Well, let's go through the week, shall we?

Monday - Last P-day we decided to go on a hike near the Whitewater Campground. Really showed me how out of shape I was. But having good friends around made it a fun time. And now Sam's Club has become the hot spot for food, since it's just costco, but for everyone. So we went there twice for lunch and dinner. Just kinda funny.

Tuesday - The thing that happened today was that we were supposed to have a lesson with a guy named Jason. He seemed like a pretty cool guy, but as soon as we started, he had to go help someone outside. When he came back, he brought a dude that knew about Pinedale and we had a little side conversation about that for a sec. But before we could get back on track, 2 more people just showed up and said that "they were told to go to Jason's." So our lesson with a single dude turned into four people. But then another guy showed up and when they told him to come in, this dude sat in the window well and joined the conversation through the window. It was so weird, and it definitely ended up not being a lesson anymore. They had random questions that we tried to answer, and I said principles we teach, but I didn't feel like I taught them. Definitely my weirdest interaction I've had so far.

Wednesday - The day was a pretty normal day. We got to have lessons with our friend Taylor and a new person named Leroy. He seemed super cool. I do find it weird that we have so many lessons over the phone. When we met with the bishop, he found it strange and recommended that we try to meet with people in person as soon as possible. I totally agree. So far, it's been pretty difficult to get those lined up. But we're getting there.

Thursday - Today was Zone Conference! We headed up to the Oakdale stake center for it, and that meant we got to see the temple while it's under construction. As far as I know, they're not planning on rededicating it, but the front stairs and ramp up to the doors were completely torn up. It was kinda sad to see the temple in that state, but it will be cool to see how it looks when it's done. But Zone Conference was great! A big theme we've had this transfer is working with members, so that seemed to be the main theme for this as well. We also watched the major it of a Christian movie called "Facing the Giants." It was kinda cheesy, but there were some good lessons in it. If you look up the death crawl scene from that movie, that one hit the most. We don't set arbitrary limits on ourselves, but gotta give it our all and not quite till we have nothing left. Then we headed back and got to work for the rest of the night.

Friday - It might seem a little backward from the lessons and reminders from ZC, but Friday kinda felt like we weren't doing the best. We were doing the things we needed to, but nothing seemed to really line up for us and we kinda were just moving along. Not the best day.

Saturday - We had exchanges with the Austin Elders again! This time, I took Elder Curry with me in Rochester. We had a fun time and we had some good conversations. He showed how to never let a moment pass by when you could be doing something. Even going between places and being in the car, he was pulling out the phone and doing calls. He even helped set up and few call lessons for the future. Now Monday night is packed for work. He's a great missionary and I'm glad to have him as a DL.

Sunday - Oh, the blessed Sabbath. Church was such a good time. Fast and testimony is always a good time. Most of the testimonies given were actually from visitors, including me. I try to make it a point to give my testimony in every fast and testimony meeting, since you never know if you'll be moved before the next one. After church, we went and followed up with one of the people that Elder Curry helped us contact the day before. She is now a new person for us, and her name is Peggy. She seems pretty interested, and has spent some time looking at different churches. We gave her the Book of Mormon, and told her to write down any questions she has while reading it. It should be a fun time when we meet with her again, because she said her husband was a theology major in college or something. Hopefully we don't get into a bash!

That's my week. Some good times, some not so good, but all for the work of the Lord. We've gotten our feet under us, so we know how to push the work forward for the rest of the transfer. We've definitely been able to see the Lord's hand in our work, and I've loved it. I would say to y'all at home to be on the look out for ways you can share the gospel with your friends. We want to spread this gift that we have to as many as we can. President Nelson even said that all he wants for his birthday is to go and look for the 1. #99plus1

Love y'all! Stay Safe!

Sincerely,

Elder Buchanan

JACE - May We Remember

May 27, 2024 

Hey Everyone!

This was such such a quick week. We had our district council meeting a day late, so that didn't help. But there was some cool stuff that happened.

Monday- Ended our P-Day with a hike in the Whitewater Campground. Or something like that, I can't remember the name. It was a nice hike. Definitely reminded me how out of shape I am. But it was a good time with the district. I gotta say, outside of the MTC, this has to be my favorite district to be in so far. Sorry, Duluth. In our working hours, we found 2 new people through a referral and taught them the Plan of Salvation over the phone. It was pretty cool.

Tuesday - The cool thing that happened today was when we went tracting, we didn't know where to go. So, we decided to do the mind meld game to think of a street number to go knock. We did it and we both said 4. So we went to 4th avenue and started knocking. We had some not so "Minnesota nice" people actually slam doors on us. By we came across and house and they let us in and we were able to share a restoration lesson with them. We gave them a Book of Mormon with our number. It'd be really great if they gave us a call, but they were both a part of another religion, so we'll see.

Wednesday - We got to go do some service for a lady who acts like a member. We spent a couple hours helping clean up a viney tree that got way out of hand. Towards the end, I started talking with her a little about God and about why I was there as a missionary. I think if we keep trying with her, we can give her the opportunity to experience all the gospel has for her.

Thursday - Today was our late DC. The Zls and STLs came and gave a training on pretty much what Elder Wong talked about last transfer at Zone Conference. There was some good insights, but I liked Elder Ockey's training better. We're trying to look for ways to street more people, and he gave us a training comparing the streeting opportunities to a traffic light. There's a difference between people if they would be open to hearing something from missionaries or not. It was helpful, considering I'm still trying to get better at that.

Friday - The best part of today was getting to go to lunch with one of our recent converts. Audrey is a pretty cool person. And Sister Fieck was the one to introduce her to the church. They took us to Arby's, and I didn't realize how much I missed curly fries. They are the best fries, and no one can tell me otherwise!!!

Saturday - We actually went out and did some service for Audrey today. Her lawn was super tall in the front and the back, so we gave a good mow down to size. I actually kinda enjoyed pushing the mower, too. It almost has a bit of a nostalgic feeling to it. But I bet I won't be saying that when it's my house and having to do it every 2 weeks minimum!

Sunday - the Sabbath is always the best day! We had a great church service with some really good talks. Brother Hale gave a talk on the Come, Follow Me for the week, but he focused on Mosiah 18:9, where it talks about the covenant "to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places..." He brought up a training he did as a missionary about being a AAA missionary. He also compared to members. I definitely hadn't given much thought to that before, but as a missionary I'm supposed to be the ultimate example of that covenant. And it is a part of the covenant we make at baptism, so it was a good reminder of how I should be acting as a missionary, and for when I'm back home.

That's kinda all the cool things in a nutshell! My invite to y'all is to think about how you can better be a disciple of Christ in all those ways. I hope you guys have an awesome week!

Love y'all

Sincerely,

Elder Buchanan