Week 43 - Fantastic week!

September 22, 2014
     OHHHHHH man, this week was great! So much growth and learning, it's been fun. Elder Bayly is the most prepared greenie in the entire world, he is just on fire. He's a quick learner and is just catching on to everything so fast. He hasn't complained about one thing, and he's just awesome. I thought every new missionary just complained a lot and had problems... haha well that's not true. (haha I wasn't the same as this guy when I first came out.) He's going to be like an assistant or something before he goes home, he's utterly fantastic. So yeah, Elder Bayly's awesome and I love him to death. He's an 18 yr old from Lehi, Utah and went to UCAST or something like that. Very smart kid.

     Anyways, people are still progressing well. Olive came to church for the first time yesterday!! And she absolutely loved it. She says that she knows this is the true church of Jesus Christ on the earth. It's really cool to see her faith and sensitivity to the spirit. She committed to get baptized in October! So we're really excited for that. Bob is still doing good, 5th week in a row coming to church, he just has some WoW issues to work through. Chrissy came as well, but her daughters were sick or something. Sometimes it feels like she doesn't want to bring them like she doesn't like them or something.... we'll work on that. :D Met some really cool people this week as well that we started teaching, and turns out this one family already knows one of the church members when we brought him over... That was really cool. Instant fellowship! Bam, cool miracle there. Lots of grace and miracles, they just keep coming. Life's great!! Dang it, I left my camera in the car again. Sorry about that. I'm trying to get better. Don't be afraid to ask questions or anything! I really am trying to get better about sending pictures.

     Well, I want you all to know that I love you! God takes care of us missionaries out here, and it's really nice to have Him on our side. Really really nice. :D Have a great week everyone!!

     Love, 

     Elder Ellis

Week 42 - Transfers tomorrow!!!

September 15, 2014 

AHHHHHHH just kidding, transfers aren't that scary. Another transfer gone by, and boy, it has been a good one. So much work to do all the time, seeing people change their lives, its pretty awesome..... Lots of great experiences, and just even more work to get done next transfer. woohoo! Lets go! :D

      The calls came in this morning, and the news is: I'm getting transferred after only 6 weeks in an area again!! AHHHHHHH Just kidding, my companion Elder Horne is leaving, and I'm staying. Haha finally! This is going to be the first time I've received someone into an area. Pretty crazy. And its going to be a brand new missionary too, so he'll need some prayers... a lot of prayers.... Maybe a few angels. Yep, its gonna be fun!! :D SO Glad I'm not leaving Richmond. Love it here so much! :D 

    Well, other than transfers, this week was really fun. The REDS game was super awesome!!!! Literally got to see every missionary in the mission there, and it was blast. I didn't really watch the game, it was pretty boring and they lost 0-5, but talking to people for 3 hours was so much fun! its crazy how many missionaries you know after getting thrown all over the mission. :D Great fun. I would have pictures that I took but I left my camera in the car, so maybe next time...

     Investigators are doing well, except for Christian, he thinks God's telling him to go to another church.. so we're gonna have a talk about how the spirit speaks to us. c'mon man. :D he'll get there. Chrissy... might be homeless in a week... But she still wants to get baptized and is in the process of quitting smoking. So that interesting, but she'll be alright. BOB!!! gosh, I love bob, he's doing great. Getting baptized in October, he's reading and just having a grand old time. He's come to church every Sunday for a month now, so its great to see his commitment. He's just got to live the WoW and he's good. He's a great guy.

     OH YEAH!!! WE got to see Steph again today!! We haven't met with her for a month, and she's been super busy and we all but lost contact with her. But she was home on Friday! And she's doing great! And she quit one of her jobs! and she should be able to come to church this Sunday! And its... just.. ajbfhisbdfiubf miracles, woo!!!!! :D she's a rockstar. (Elder Horne is super sad he's leaving now that we got in contact with her again.)

     So all in all, its been a great week, a great transfer, and a great year. :D Life rocks everyone! Keep at it! I love you! 

-Elder Ellis

At Cincinnati Reds Baseball Game

                                                  Photo bombing President Porter

Week 41 - Paul got really wet...

September 2, 2014

Heck yeah Paul got wet! He got Baptized!!! WOOHOOO! It was a fantastic service, and he gave a great testimony. Very sweet and simple, but the spirit just came into the room and pierced us all to the heart. It was really cool. And Bob, another of our investigators, came to the service and he felt the spirit very strongly. He agreed to be baptized on Oct 4th if he knew by then. Which is a great step! He's been doing great, and I am confident that he will have his answer by then. He's been absolutely loving church, and receiving awesome fellowship. He's a great guy, and his whole demeanor has changed in the past 2 weeks. Go Spirit!!! :D

   

We had a lot of other cool miracles this week, and people are progressing well. Christian came to church for the first time this Sunday, and he loved it! Which is always awesome. He's a really nice kid. Chrissy's doing good as well,  her husband(ish), Chris is a less active and his testimony just came roaring back into him after 28 years of not going to church or anything. His last time there was when he was 12, and it's just awesome to see that change inside him. Miracles really are just everywhere and they continue to happen. It's really cool to be able to see God's hand in all of this.

     

Oh yeah!! We get to go to a Red's game next Monday! It's going to be with the whole mission, and it's going to be the funnest thing ever! Haha I will have to take lots of pictures and tell you guys about it. Well I love you all! Have a great week!

-Love Elder Ellis