Elder Pack

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...