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

JACE - Getting Used To The City

May 20, 2024

Hey, Everyone!

Rochester is such a party! It's so weird being sent from a huge, spread out branch to a super close city where you see at least one other set of missionaries every day. But Elder Timothy and I have been a bunch of fun. It's still hard for me to talk to random people on the street, but now I have to worry about talking to people in malls!!! It's genuinely terrifying to me, but hopefully I can get over that. 

We haven't been able to do a lot of teaching because we haven't been able to get in contact with any of the people the last Elders were teaching. But, we found one new person whose name is Taylor. We had a good restoration lesson with her, and she said she had even been to our church before. She even straight up said she believes Joseph Smith is a prophet. She says her family is having a lot of different issues of health and monetary means, so if you guys could pray for her that'd be awesome. 

Now, the best part of the Rochester 2nd Ward is the fact that we've been getting fed every night so far! It's crazy. There's a lot of fun families here, so it's been fun trying to learn names of the little kids in different families that have us over. There is always a sweet spirit when we get to share the little message with them at the end, and the kids actually want to listen and participate. I pray that my kids can be like that someday, but I won't hold my breath. 

You guys have an amazing week! I'll keep grinding and I'll hopefully bring some better news next week! 

Love y'all!

Sincerely, 

Elder Buchanan

JACE - Hello, From And--- I Mean Rochester!!!

May 13, 2024

Hey Everyone! 

Sooo, they sent the "Wong" T-Boards the week before. More people got their visas and some people went home that weren't planning for the week before. So the guy who was supposed to be in the Rochester 2nd ward went home, so I got moved from the trio into a companionship with my MTC COMPANION!!! I was so excited when the new T-Boards dropped, because I kept getting told from everybody that they never got to even serve around their MTC comps. So Fun!

We had our late Zone Conference with Elder Wong, and it was so different from what I was expecting. Pretty much as soon as he walked in, he was cracking jokes left and right. Most of the subject matter of the meeting was working with members and how powerful they are in helping people come unto Christ. Remember, it's not just the missionaries that are called to do it, find ways to help them succeed!

My last week in Ashland was great and sad at the same time. After ZC on Wednesday, we headed to the Rust's house one last time. We hung out there and he made the birthday steaks I had asked him for. It was a fun visit, and I got my hugs from Brother Rust. Definitely coming back to see him after I'm done. Then Thursday, we head out to Ironwood for my last day in Michigan. The main purpose for going out there was to go and see John. But we got a message that morning from him that said he wouldn't be able to do a video call because their RV and garage had burned down. Gave me a bit of a scare, but luckily they're fine. Can't wait to see how he progresses. Then Friday was the real sad day. The main thing was seeing Charmaine and the kids one last time. She is still struggling so hard with her choice of moving into town and being part of the church. I gave her a blessing and a journal edition of the Book of Mormon with my testimony written in it. Please keep praying for her, because she needs it. 

New area and new life. It'll be an interesting time, but I know Heavenly Father has sent me here for a reason. Keep looking for ways that He is influencing your life. He is always sending rays of light to guide and strengthen us.

Love y'all!

Sincerely

Elder Buchanan

 

JACE - I Would Have Been Disqualified

May 6, 2024

Hey Everyone!

In case y'all didn't know, it's my birthday today! Hard to believe I've already spent almost 4 and a half months in the mission field. I've been able to meet so many cool and awesome people, and I'm excited to keep it going. As a gift to myself, I asked my mother if I could go golfing for my birthday. I ended up buying cheap tees, cheap balls, and a few clubs from goodwill. It was a fun time, and the course was full of hills. Definitely got my work out there.

 

We have zone conference this week, so they dropped transfer boards last Thursday, and I will be officially moving out of Ashland. I'm going to Andover, Minnesota which is about an hour north of the cities. I'm also going to be trio-ing for the first half of the transfer before one of the Elders goes home. It'll be an interesting time being in a more busy area and being able to see missionaries a whole heck of a lot more. 

Gotta be honest, there's only a couple of things worth mentioning for the last week. The first is when we decided to try and go to the college for our comp study one day. We were heading to the library, but it was somehow closed, so we just walked around the campus talking about what we needed to. But because of that, we ran into Ben and we were able to have a small conversation and get his number. We got to have a restoration lesson with him later, so hopefully he stays interested. We also decided to get frisbees and play around at the college that has some disc golf things, and a dude named Max came out and threw around with us. As we were throwing, we were able to have a beliefs talk and a restoration lesson. He was so cool to talk to, and we were able to give him a Book of Mormon, too! Funny how changing one small thing makes something big happen.

So here's my invite to y'all. Look for those small things you can do different that could turn into big miracles. You never know who you could help or what you can find that helps you come closer to Christ and Heavenly Father. 

Have a great week everyone! Love y'all!

Sincerely,

Elder Buchanan

JACE - Two Weeks Gone, But There Was The Temple!

 April 29, 2024

Hey, Everyone!

It's been a little while! They changed our P-Day last week to match up with our day at the temple! So, I didn't really have a lot of time to write last week's email. This week's gonna be a little shorter, so sorry about that. But Ashland's been a good time. I love the area, but I'm definitely ready for something new. Definitely where I'm planning to visit after I'm done. But the best part of the last 2 weeks was the Endowment session we were able to do! I definitely needed a it, since I hadn't gone since January. It was such a powerful reminder of the love and remembrance God and Jesus Christ has for us. I challenge everyone to go to the temple this week, in some way. I can promise that the temple will strengthen you.

Love you guys!

Sincerely,

Elder Buchanan