January 11, 2022

Hey everybody!  Ethan didn't write an email again this week so I wanted to update you on how he is doing.

Ethan is still alive and in Loveland, CO.  Transfers are coming up next week so we will see if he will stay or if he will go.  His greenie, Elder Bateman, will no longer be a greenie so that's great.  They are only considered "greenies" for 2 transfers.

His district made up another game. I can't remember what they call it but they use a foam football to play a game kind of like ultimate frisbee in the Cultural Hall of the gym.  The goal is to get the foam football in the basketball hoop on the other side of the gym.  He said you get a good workout because there are only 8 in their district so it ends up being 4 on 4 in the gym.  They are creative, that's for sure.  At least this game is played in the light...unlike Slaughter Ball!

"About half" the mission has Covid right now.  Ethan has been lucky and hasn't been infected. They are taking precautions, wearing masks, etc., so he should be fine.  He isn't really worried about it.

The work is continuing on.  Last month, Elder Bateman was contacted through Facebook by a young man (in his early 20s) who was interested in learning more.  Ethan and Elder Bateman taught him a few lessons and then turned him over to the YSA elders.  He was baptized on January 1st and Ethan was able to be there.  It shows that missionary work does happen through Facebook.

They have a couple more people they are teaching who are "on date" for baptism, which is great.  One is a young woman who is supposed to be baptized in a couple of weeks.  They have been teaching her for a while but she hadn't been attending church.  She has now been to church so she is eligible to be baptized.  Ethan is hoping to be there to see it.

If you know Ethan, you know that he loves buying things from thrift stores and he seems to have great luck finding things.  His fun find this week was a sweatshirt that said: "The Elders" on the front.  He thinks it's the name of a housing complex but isn't sure.  But he was happy to find it.  He said that when he has a son who is preparing for a mission, they are going to get all his stuff from a thrift store because that's where Ethan has found a lot of his stuff. haha!!

Ethan bought himself a guitar for Christmas from a pawnshop.  He has been practicing (he had an elder "who knows what he is doing" tune it for him) and he played us some things while we were talking to him.  It is fun to see him developing talents while he is on his mission.  He isn't sure if he is going to sell the guitar back to the pawnshop or make it a "mission guitar" that everyone signs and is left in his area.  He doesn't want to pay to have it shipped home so he has to pick something to do with it.

He is doing well and grateful for the emails he is sent and prayers said for him.  Thanks for all your support!

If you don't know already, Ethan has a blog (elderepack.blogspot.com).  You can see past adventures.