Elder Pack

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...

  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...

Everyone! Ethan had an exciting day and has been busy so he didn't write but we got to chat with him for a little bit so I'll pass along what he told us.  His mission president took the district to Rocky Mountain National Park.  They met at the mission office at 7:30 am and loaded into one of the transfer vans.  They were going to do a hike and hang out together.  There was snow/ice but the mission president went prepared.  They went on a hike and he had crampons for all the missionaries so they could hike on the ice.   They did the Dream Lake hike which was about 3 miles round trip.  Ethan said it was really pretty and they had a lot of fun.  He took his nice camera and had the opportunity to take some pictures.  He said it was very nice of these birds to fly down and let them take pictures. They spent about 4-5 hours there before coming home.  He said they had a great time and I'm so glad they got to do that with their mission pre...

  Everyone! We had a fun chat with Ethan yesterday so here is the update on how he is doing. Ethan was excited to tell us that Donna (a woman they have been teaching who survived a polygamy discussion in Relief Society on her first day attending Church and still went the next week) is on-date for baptism on April 9th.  They are excited.  They have some other people they are teaching who, they hope, will progress towards baptism.   Last week, Ethan and Elder Howard decided to ask if President Palmer would like to do companionship study with them one day.  He told them he would check his schedule and get back to them.  Last Monday, President Palmer texted them to see if they wanted to study.  They hurriedly drove to the mission office (close to their area) to have companionship study with "a future general authority" as Ethan put it.  He said they spend about 1 1/2 hours studying and discussing the Gospel with their mission president.  I a...

Everyone! Ethan didn't write a letter this week so I'll let you know what we chatted about this morning.  Ethan is in a trio of missionaries right now.  A missionary went to his original assignment so his companion was transferred from Laramie, WY, to be in a trio with Ethan and Elder Howard.  Elder Ray was Ethan's district leader when he was in Wyoming. So they are having a party.  Ethan said it has been really good and they are getting along great. Last p-day they went to Estes Park.  Ethan was really excited to go there.  He and Elder Howard wanted to leave at 4 am so they could watch the sunrise but everyone else wanted to leave at 10 am.  So they left at 10 am.  They got to go inside a haunted hotel where the movie Dumb and Dumber was filmed and also the Shining.  They got to watch taffy being pulled by a machine and they hiked (and fell while hiking) for a little bit.  They had a great time. Today they got up early so they could ge...

Everyone: Ethan didn't write this week so I thought I would share what we talked about when he called today.   Ethan is doing well in Windsor, Colorado.  He said that the weather has been annoying lately.  One day it will be beautiful, the temperature in the 50s, and feel like Spring. The next day it will snow, the temperature in the teens, and feel like Winter.  He wishes it would just make up its mind.  He had an easy winter last year so he was spoiled and is now tired of the snow and cold.  Poor kid! He is enjoying life with Elder Howard.  They seem to be a fun companionship.  The ward is feeding them well and they have been entertained by the children of ward members.  Ethan has some funny stories of what life is like when they visit homes with crazy little kids in them.  He is really entertained and loves it. I need to explain the pictures Ethan sent us this week.   Yesterday they had Mission Leadership Council where ...

Hey everyone! It was a great week. I'm in Windsor now. It's a great place and we've been teaching a ton. Prayers for a guy named Tom, who's on date for baptism on March 5th, are always welcome. Breanna got baptized! She was someone I taught in Loveland and I got to go to her baptism. She has a really strong testimony of Jesus Christ and it was a great experience. My new companion, Elder Howard, is a great guy. He's a beast.  It's been a really spiritual, miracle-filled week. We have a lot of cool people we get to teach. Thanks  for all your support! Things are going good here. Hope you all have a great week! Elder Pack Ethan is on the right with his suitcoat on backward. ;) Ethan's district: PS:  Here are some things we talked about with Ethan. He is in the Peak View Area/Ward. His area is a suburb of Greeley, which is one of his old areas. He actually meets in a building that is within the Greeley Stake because they all have Stake buildings that aren't ...