Elder Pack

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a good day. This is gonna be my last weekly as I head home this Thursday (not that I wrote very many weeklys haha). But I just want to say what a wonderful experience this has been. I've learned so much about my Savior Jesus Christ and myself. I know He lives and that He loves us. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and it has brought me so much closer to Jesus Christ. I love you all! Love, Elder Pack Ethan was a huge fan of FlexSeal before his mission.  Apparently, nothing changed.

Hey everyone! Ethan called Sunday night to wish Bryan a Happy Father's Day.  We didn't chat long because we wanted something to talk about on Monday but it was fun to see his cute face.  And it was fun to talk to him 2 days in a row! Last night, Ethan was locked out of Facebook so we couldn't use Messenger this morning to talk to him.  He set up a Zoom meeting so we were still able to talk.  He was a bit annoyed that it wasn't working though.  He had to send me a text with the meeting info and sent a picture of him being annoyed. The missionary work is going well.  Dale, the man who they have been teaching whose girlfriend is a less active member, came to church again and really liked it.  They have been teaching him and have another appointment with him tomorrow.  Dale had a man who was against the Church talk to him last week and he was confident enough in what he has been learning to dispute what the man was telling him.  One of the things...

Hey everyone!  We got to talk to Ethan yesterday.  I don't write until the next day because I am holding out hope that he will write and then I can just fill in the blanks.  But with only 2 p-days left, I'm not holding my breath. 😉  Ethan is doing really well.  They are teaching a man, Dale, who asked his member friend how he could get baptized.  So, the member put him in touch with the YSA missionaries who passed him on to Ethan and his companion. They have taught him the first 3 lessons so far and he is doing great.  The only hang-up is that he is living with his inactive member girlfriend.  They have plans to get married but she has health problems and Social Security will only pay for her medication if she is unmarried.  The couple have plans to move in the next 3 months so Ethan is hoping they can find a solution soon so Dale can get baptized.   Other than Dale, they had just a regular week.  They did exchanges with other...

Hey everybody! Ethan's p-day was switched to Monday so we got to talk to him last night.  He said that the Church is trying to standardize p-days across the world so all missionaries will have p-day on Monday.  He doesn't know exactly why or how this will affect transfers or incoming missionaries but...he doesn't have to worry about that anymore.  He said they could start mailing greenies to the mission.  haha! Ethan's District went to Estes Park with his mission president to go on some hikes and enjoy the great weather.  They got to drive the transfer van so they went all in one van and got to talk and ask questions of their mission president.  He is finishing his time as president on July 1 st  so they asked him questions about the incoming mission president (President Sorenson) and how the transition of keys works.  It is interesting. They hiked the Emerald Lake trail.  This was the hike they did the last time they went but it wasn't as sn...

Hey everyone! We got to talk to Ethan and he is doing really well.  It has been a busy week for him.  They had transfers last Wednesday.  He is staying in Windsor but half of his zone had changes so he and his companion were up at 4:45 to get ready and get to the transfer bus.  They are in charge of making sure all the missionaries in their zone are on the transfer bus with their stuff in the morning and then off the transfer bus in the afternoon with all their stuff.  Ethan earned his name because he was in charge of packing all the stuff into one of the compartments under the bus.  Ethan called it Tetris.  He said many mentioned that he lived up to his name.  Along with transfers, Ethan and Elder Nichols had to move furniture for missionaries.  One area has a trio of sisters, so they had to get them another bed.  Another elder has a weight set he uses for rehab (he must have an injury) and so Ethan and his companion had to move a bunch...

Hey everyone! Thanks for the emails, packages, and letters for Ethan's birthday last week.  He said he was spoiled and appreciated being thought of. The last transfer in Ethan's mission (minus the one home) happened this week!  He stays in Windsor, CO, continuing with Elder Nichols, and continuing as a Zone Leader.  There are quite a lot of changes in their Zone but Ethan said that change is really good and he is looking forward to a shake-up of things. They had some success last week finding people to teach.  Ethan and Elder Nichols have been driving to parts of their area and then walking around.  They don't knock on doors, they just walk around and talk to whoever is outside.  They were blessed to find people to teach on Sunday and Monday just walking around.  One of them let him borrow an umbrella because it was starting to sprinkle.  When Ethan protested, the man told them that he would get it back from them at Church on Sunday.  They ar...

Hey everybody! We got to talk to Ethan for a little while on Mother's Day.  He didn't want to tell us all that had happened over the past week because he needed to save something for Tuesday, but it was fun to chat with him. When we talked to him on p-day, he filled us in on his adventure to Martin's Cove.  They woke up at 4:30 am in order to get ready and drive from Windsor, CO, to Martin's Cove in Wyoming.  It was a long drive.  Once they got there, they were split into groups to do service projects around the area.  Ethan's group put up signs in the camping area.  When they were finished they ate lunch (sloppy joes and brownies) then they went on a hike. Ethan said it was fun to hang out but most of the missionaries he knows well have gone home.  The district went to Laramie for dinner and then drove home.  Ethan said it was the scariest drive of his mission.  It was raining slush and they hydroplaned a few times.  I'm glad I was hear...

Hi everyone! It's a day early but we got to talk to Ethan for just a little bit today.  Ethan is going to Martin's Cove tomorrow.  The entire mission gets to go.  They will do some service projects and walk around.  Ethan had a great time doing this last year so he is excited.  They will leave their apartment around 5:15 am to drive up.  They asked the APs a couple of weeks ago if they could use the transfer van.  The APs forgot to ask the mission president so when Ethan reminded them, they told him to text the mission president and ask.  By that time, the transfer van wasn't available.  So they are all driving their own vehicles.  It will be a long day but it will be good. Since they won't be in their areas tomorrow, they had time today to call home, do laundry, go grocery shopping, and do whatever else necessary to prepare for the upcoming week.  They ran out of money so they have been eating cereal and chicken for the past week....

Hey everyone! This week we had a funny phone conversation with Ethan.  He and his companion rearranged the furniture in their apartment.  They put some chairs in one of the corner and it turned into a little chatting area.  So they started making videos "In the Corner with Elder Pack."  Ethan shared a couple with us.  He is a funny kid and I'm so glad his personality comes through in his missionary work and that others see it too.  He said they share these in the chats and that people think they are funny.   The missionary work has been going well.  They found some new people to teach last week and one even came to church.  Ethan said that was a welcome change.  It was a mom and her daughter.  The little girl was cute because she left Primary and said she loved Primary and wanted to come again tomorrow.  She had a little cup with sunflower seeds in it and told Ethan that if she put dirt on the seeds they would grow.  ...

Everyone! Here is the update on Ethan for the week. Ethan had an exciting p-day last week.   His big news was that he made a hole-in-one in disc golf!  He was pretty excited.  He hasn't seen anyone do that before so it was really cool.  He said they didn't expect it so no one has it on video but we believe him. He also ate a dried ghost pepper.  He said he ate it and it was really hot.  For some reason, the older elders began running around the church building (Ethan didn't know why) so he had to follow them because he couldn't be away from his companion.  By the time they got all the way around the building, it was hurting a lot.  Ethan thinks he drank about a gallon of water trying to cool the water off.  Afterward, his stomach began hurting and he said the ghost pepper was painful to digest.  But he learned his lesson. He said he will never do that again.  Crazy kid!! Ethan has been having a lot of fun this week.  He is...

  Everyone! Ethan didn't write this week, not that we are surprised (haha).  But he is doing really well.  It is transfers week and he is staying put for another 6 weeks. Elder Howard is being transferred which is sad.  They got along really well and will actually be roommates when they go to BYU in the Fall. Elder Howard goes home after Ethan so he will get home just in time for school to start.  Ethan is really excited that they will be roommates.  Watch out BYU!  Ethan is, however, excited for his new companion, Elder Nichols.  Ethan was his district leader previously so he knows who he is and said that Elder Nichols is a good guy.  Ethan may or may not finish his mission in this area.  There is only one more transfer of Ethan's mission.  Ethan's release date is June 30th, which is 2 weeks earlier than we thought.  His mission president finishes on July 1 st  so the missionaries are going home with their mission preside...

Hello everyone! Ethan didn't get a chance to write because he was able to go to the Fort Collins Temple!  He is on the left-hand side in the picture.  He sent us a message Monday night saying that he wouldn't be able to call first thing the next morning because he was going to the temple.  They thought they would be going later in the morning because the Greeley Zone and the Windsor Zone were both going the same day.  But, since the restrictions have been lifted, both zones could fit in the same endowment session!  They had to be at the temple by 8 am to get in the 8:30 am session.  Ethan said it was really great to be in the temple again.   He called us in the late afternoon because they also went to lunch, did their shopping, and did laundry.  But he is doing really well and is happy.   They will have a baptism this weekend and they are super excited about it.  The woman has been working hard to quit smoking and has seen...