October 12, 2021

Hey everyone! This week was pretty good. We got some snow today. People were saying we were gonna get a lot but we only got about 3 or 4 inches. 

We also started teaching a guy named Justin. We're gonna meet with him again today and we'll see how interested he actually is but our first lesson went pretty well. 

I also had one of the best meals so far this week. A big ol delicious steak, salad, and French fries. The member who made it is super good at cooking. The picture I took of it doesn't do it justice. 

Ethan's steak dinner

I also got to go to zone conference. The focus was on teaching skills like setting expectations. It was pretty great.

President Palmer playing video games

Also, I got to hold a sword. A member we were meeting with has a ton of swords and stuff. It is pretty sweet.

Holding a cool sword

Anyway, thanks for reading everyone! You are all great. Have a great week!

From, Elder Pack

PS: We had a fun chat with Ethan today.  He showed us the snow outside their apartment but it was starting to melt.  He said this is "First Winter" and that it will probably get warmer soon. He was hoping that the snow would stop so the elders from another area could make it up for p-day.  

One man they are teaching, Michael, is on date for baptism on October 30th.  The sad part is that transfers are October 26th and Ethan thinks he will probably be transferred.  He is hoping he won't but this will be the 6th transfer that Ethan has been in the area so he thinks he will be going.  He is keeping his fingers crossed though.

Sunday night I got a text from an unknown number with a couple of pictures of Ethan! It is so fun to get stuff like that from members! Ethan told us there is one member in their ward who is a doctor.  He asked them last week if they had a dinner appointment or if they were available to go to his house and eat.  They had appointments all week long so they told him they would keep him updated.  On Sunday, their dinner appointment fell through so they talked to the member and he said he would see what he had in his fridge for dinner. When the elders went to his house (which Ethan said is really nice) the man had a huge kitchen with fancy gadgets.  The member asked if steak, fries, and salad would be okay.  Ethan said "absolutely!"  I can't remember what Ethan called it but the member asked them how they liked their steaks and then he put the steaks in a machine that sealed the steak in a bag and then cooked it.  When it finished, the outside looked "weird" so he gave them a blow torch to cook the outside to look how they wanted.  Ethan said it was "amazing" and the best steak ever.  He also had the "best salad I have ever eaten." And the fries were made in a fancy machine and were perfect.  And...the man gave them Squirt, so it was a great night for dinner!  I don't know how anyone else is going to top that dinner.

There is a trend in the mission of collecting Mountain Dew cans.  Since it is Halloween time, the cans are spooky ones so Ethan decided to get a pack of them and collect them.  He also found a Mountain Dew beanie that he is now going to wear since it's cold.  Crazy kid!

Ethan wasn't sure what they were going to do for p-day.  The elders like to go to the Church to play volleyball with the moms in the ward.  Ethan isn't really thrilled to do that so he writes his emails while the others play.  But this week the moms sent a text to the elders letting them know that there would be too many moms playing so there wouldn't be room for the elders.  They asked if the elders would like them to leave up the nets so they could use them after the moms were done.  Ethan said it was a nice way of uninviting the elders but not doing it directly.  We had a good laugh about that.  So the elders are going to another church building to play basketball and some other games.  Ethan was pretty excited because it is something he would like to do too.

Well, that's about it.  He is doing well and enjoying life.  He has had some funny companions.  One of his companions had a couple of bottles of pineapple/mango juice in the fridge when it was time for transfers.  Instead of leaving them for the other elders to drink, he drank as much of it as he could (giving himself heartburn) just so he wouldn't leave any behind and "waste his money."  Another of his companions took all the soap in the apartment when he transferred.  Ethan used dish soap to bathe until p-day and he could go buy some more body wash.  Hilarious!

Thanks for your support of Ethan.  I know he feels the prayers.

Snow day at the Church