Busy week full of stuff that got done

So this week was a good week. On Monday it was eh. We got dropped off at a member's house to do laundry and then we were there forever because the elders went shopping and ya they didn't get back to pick us up till like 4:30 and then we dropped everyone off. Ya then went and had pie at a member's house before dinner because it was pi day so ya that was good and then we went to bishop's house for dinner and that was good and we came up with a way to track the tracting we do. We are literally going to have a running record of every house in the area because our area is small enough we are going to have a filing system for every street using note cards that way when you tract you can mark down not interested and stuff and then people can go back later and just tract all the people who didn't answer or wait a year and then retract the whole street, but it is a good system. i think will really help this area out and ya it will be good and we will also are coming up with a survey with questions that will help prompt people while we are tracting and so that will be good. We have some questions made up and so that should be good! 

But then ya I will just try and hit the highlights of the week. we had a lot of stuff we had to get done this week on Tuesday we were ready to go and do service, but then they didn't need us so we went and had lunch at this pizza place and we came up with the survey questions and set in stone the way we are going to tract and ya so we did that over lunch and that was really good and ya we had a really good lesson with our investigator Danny that night it was good! and ya it was great he is super far along just needs a little bit more motivation hopefully his baby that is going to be born this week will do that. Well he was born this morning so that is cool! But ya then Wednesday we went to a city called Winona to exchange with those elders and it is a beautiful place right on the Mississippi and there are these big bluffs and the landscape just doesn't look like the rest of MN it is really cool. But i went with an elder who has only been a member for one and half years now it is awesome and he is a good elder. It was a good exchange. We had some miracles happen of finding some people to teach so that was awesome, but man those elders don't know how to cook so we were trying to teach them how to do some stuff. i don't know how they do it, but man they have like a stove from the 50s it was ridiculous i took a picture of it and will send it, but it was a good day! 

Ya then Thursday we had a ton of stuff to get taken care of and then a member's basement flooded so us and the sisters went over to help them move all their stuff upstairs and so that was good ad then we went home and had some calls to do and then an appt with some less actives and service and ya it was a good day full of service, but we had a good lesson that night we took a priest with us to a lesson and it went really well and then Friday was good we had to do a lot of moving some stuff around we were switching some elders and sister around in apts because two sets of sisters were sharing so we moved everyone to their own places and it was good, but ya and then we went and did some weekly planning and that was good. Ya it was good we went and saw the recent baptism in our ward it was good we are teaching about the temple with them and it was a good lesson and it snowed that night like an inch. Crazy it was almost 70 last week and now it snowed like an inch and ya it is crazy. super bipolar weather. 

Then Saturday was good we did service at a soup kitchen and it was fun we served people their food and talked with them, but it was fun and then we had a coordination meeting with our ward mission leader and that was good and then we went and tried to see some people and then had dinner with a family and it was good but I found out I do not like blue cheese at all. It is no good. I tried some blue cheese salad dressing and man that was the nastiest salad I have ever eaten. It was hard to eat it, but i did it. But never gain ever will I eat blue cheese man! But ya we went and we taught and old less active guy and it was good he has a small testimony. I don't know why he is active but hopefully we can meet him more! 

But ya Sunday was good we had a good day at church all day it was on the atonement and two of our investigators came. Ya it was great and after church we taught our investigator Danny and it went well they are a part member family and their baby was due supposed to be due on the 24 but ended up being born today we got a text about it at 3am. Ya that night there was an Easter Devotional at the stake center and it was all just like music and it was super good and really spiritual the spirit was really strong and Danny was able to come with his super pregnant wife it was good! The closing hymn was "He is Risen" and we all sang and there was a video that was playing and an organist playing background music and he was building up and it was super awesome and powerful closing hymn it was great! but it was a great week and then this morning we get a call from the sisters and last night, so they live at a sketchy apt complex now, they were in their car parked doing miles for the day they saw a cop driving in the parking lot and looking for people and then they saw a guy walking in the bushes in front of them and then the cop left the street and then the guy came back and was knocking on the window to try and get them to open up their door, but obviously they didn't do that and then he went away and was up on the 3rd floor pacing around which is where they live and then they booked to the elders apt that is in the same complex and the elders walked them up top their apt with golf clubs in hand to protect them and ya they called the cops and ya it not good so we called President his morning about it and so we are going to switch apts with the sister because it isn't safe for them to live there so we will switch tomorrow to get them in a better place.  But ya this was a  good week we are hoping to have a lot of success! and

 Ya but i was reading this week in 3rd Nephi chapter 12:14-16

 14 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light of this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
 15 Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house;
 16 Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

I read this scripture and then realized it applies in so many ways it applies that it is the best way to be a member missionary be being the example showing your light. Something that I heard in a talk once was always preach the gospel and sometimes use words! We need to always be the example and then we will be able to best preach the gospel and help people come unto Christ. The scripture really hit me hard this time becuase we are focusing a lot on how to change our mission culture and this scripture applies to that. It really applies to me as a leader and how I need to always be the best example possible! Let us all try and let our light show more this week to all we meet! have a great week
till next week! 
love
elder howe