Me and Elder Peabody heading to the top of West Mountain

God's creations are absolutely incredible.

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Weekly Email Oct 27th, 2014

Hey family! Sorry this email is coming so late! It's been a very busy P-Day!   So this past week has absolutely flown by!

This past weekend we had 2 baptisms and on Sunday, the confirmation! It's so nice to see these two sisters take the necessary steps to return to their Heavenly Father.

Sunday, we had the opportunity to attend the confirmation, but we also attended another Ward and we shared with the Priests in that Ward what kind of decisions we had to make to prepare for a mission and also committed
them to go on splits with us ever week working our way down the list! It was awesome and it was nice to share that with them! Hopefully, it sparked an interest to serve a mission for these boys!

For P-day we met up with a member who took us to the top of West Mountain. Pics coming. Plenty taken! What an amazing view!  I truly appreciate God's creation! Then afterwards we went to Jason R.'s house and had dinner, then watched his kids ride their horses and practice roping. I was walking horses around for them, petting them, saddling them up, and all that good stuff! Quite the experience. Granny would have been so excited!

I'm thankful for all the support y'all have been giving me throughout the week! I love you all tonnage!

-Elder Ahrens

WASSSSSSUP!

This is weird....it has NOT been another WHOLE week! Time is speeding up! What da heck?!

I'm starting to lose track of what has happened over the course of the week because of how fast it's moving!

So thinking back....we went tracting in probably the most luxurious trailer park you've ever seen. About 15 double wides positioned in a grid in this 55 and over retirement "village". We did some exploring there. Went door to door like typical missionaries do. We ran in to a couple less active families. Old couples. We ended up staying there for quite some time because of all the stories they had to tell! I love old people haha! So one of the houses we visited belonged to a member. A couple from South Africa! Super cool and they had plenty of stories to tell as well!  We went back up there the following day because of time and we revisited those who weren't home the previous day.

While I was on exchanges, I went in to a bilingual area (English and Spanish) with Elder Escobar. He's super chill and we had a good time! It was actually nice because I could practice my Spanish! When we did studies in the morning, we were reading Preach My Gospel in Spanish and I was actually understanding some of it! I could gather as a whole what the paragraph was saying! It was pretty neat so I'm hoping that I can continue to practice my Spanish as my mission goes on. While we were at our dinner appointment, it was at the Senior Missionaries' home, and they were housing a mother and her daughter from Hungary! It was so cool to hear them speak in Hungarian. The daughter is 9 years old, knows perfect Hungarian, and has lived here in the US with her mother for a year, and speaks flawless English! Oh the gift of tongues is very real! Ever since I came on my mission, I've become more and more fascinated with different languages!

This past Sunday, we had that young man who was recently baptized conferred and ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood and become a Deacon! He's really moving up quickly and we're so proud of him! He'll be passing the sacrament next Sunday! So cool!

So a less active we're working with....we had been talking to him for a while and he's a really cool guy. He's got a heck of a story. He's a truck driver. Well...He's been fighting unemployment issues for a while and finally got a job with Ryder Van Lines. He's probably headed out to St. Louis with his rig right now to start his new job.

So today we have Zone Activity. That's coming up so we're going to go get some lunch and head out that way!

So YEAH! Talk to you all in a week! Sure won't feel like it!

Hasta Luego! Love you all!

-Elder Ahrens

Enjoying God's Creations

All things were made by him: John 1:3, 10

Hey hey!

What the heck?! It has NOT been a whole week since I've emailed you last! :P Where is the time going? Guess that means I've been keeping busy!

We had a baptism on Saturday! He's 13 years old. Elder Peabody and Elder Griggs have been working with this young man for quite some time now before I got here. He had an awesome baptism program and he had so many family members there to support him even though 90% of them weren't members! What I thought was really cool was his GREAT Grandpa baptized him!  Just had his confirmation yesterday and I had the opportunity to stand in the circle! So cool!

Within the coming weeks we have two more baptisms. A couple of sisters. Super glad that they're taking the necessary steps to the font! So we're working with them and getting them ready.

So today I went back up to Alpine (North East of Lehi) and while we were up in that area, I visited several of the families I got close to while I spent my time in Lehi. If you recall, Elder Straub, the missionary that I really like from the Lehi East Area, we visited him and his new companion. Looks like they'll be having a pretty good time this transfer!

On our way back to Spanish Fork, we stopped in Provo to drop a few things off at the mission office, then we ventured to Mr. Mac so Elder Peabody could get a new suit. While we were there, I was walking around looking at stuff and I looked up and saw my bud Nick! It's been since EFY (Especially For Youth) that I've seen this kid and here he was in the middle of Provo, UT getting stuff for his mission! He reports to the MTC here pretty soon to prepare to go to Mexico for his mission! The exact same mission that Josh is assigned to actually! It was so good to see him and it was a little shocking because of how many years it has been! Small world!

Anyways, we're keepin busy here! Doing plenty of service projects and teaching! I really enjoy a lot of the Ward Mission Leaders here.

Until next week! Love you all!

-Elder Ahrens 

Helllooooooo family!

My new area!  Spanish Fork really does remind me of home which may or may not be a problem LOL. You've got your town with all the homes and stores and shopping centers and stuff...then you drive about 2 minutes to the west and BOOM. It's seriously like leaving Manassas and going into Catlett on 28. It's crazy just to think how close this portion of Utah is so similar to Virginia. I love it!

So as for my companion! He's awesome. He's from Austin, Texas, and he's pretty laid back. We got along so well and very rarely is there a dull moment between us! 

Having a car is super nice! It's 2011 Toyota Corolla LE. We call her Courtney. With the temperatures dropping, I'm definitely thankful that I have her. I treat the car like my own. It underwent a thorough interior and exterior cleaning today. The engine is next. Soooo dusty. All dirt does it retain heat. Not all that great for an aluminum block.

As for the area. Well I'm slowly learning my way around. In my last area..I realized that I take back everything I said about the grid system. So flippin convenient oh em gee. We have some really good Ward Mission Leaders in this area. Once again I'm over 2 stakes so there is always someone new to meet.

General Conference! Conference was super good! So many good speakers and talks! 

As for my zone and district. I am in the Hobble Creek Zone. Our Zone Leaders are pretty cool! Definitely hip to the area! I haven't met the rest of my zone yet but zone activity is so that'll be cool! I love my district. So many fun people! We have 2 elder companionships and 2 sister companionships. One set of elders (me) is English, other is Spanish. Same for the sisters. We all get along and have a good time together! Today (actually pretty soon here) we're all going to a chapel to play volleyball together! Good times!

So yesterday for the afternoon session of conference, we went to this member's house.He is SO chill. His whole family is in fact. He is one of our favorite families in the area. He and his family are a bunch of cowboys essentially and his kids are always practicing their roping on a dummy bull. They show in rodeos and stuff here in Spanish Fork. He is actually a mink farmer so he has one 1/4 mile shed full of mink currently. He said by 2018 he's gonna have 4 more sheds like that full of mink. He told me all about em and how much bank he'll end up making from all of their pelts. Good stuff. Definitely be going back there soon. We do service projects for him all the time and hang out with him and his family. Yesterday I tried roping, I just embarrassed myself haha.

So yeah! My apartment isn't a member's home here. It's part of a quadroplex of apartments. So we get it ALL to ourselves. Livin' large!

OH YEAH! So a couple of days ago I went and visited Ashley Padilla! Dayton was at school and she was home with Clay and Owen. The boys were sure surprised to see me hahaha! 

I think that about sums up this week! I have no wifi in my apartment so we have to go to one of our stake centers to email.

Until next week!

-Elder Ahrens

Hello family!

So this week has been something else! It's been really eventful...mainly because we visited people, taught people, and had a wonderful time! Then I did an exchange with the Lehi East Elders and met good, good people in their area.

Last P day we had District activity! Our district got together and we made pupusas and played volleyball! Totally chill time!

Other than that this week has been pretty busy and pretty fast! Hoping it stays that way.

A couple of minutes ago I found out I was getting transferred. I love my current area so much I don't want to leave! I love the members, the wards, the people we're teaching, and my landlords! I'm gonna be so bummed to leave them! But I know the Lord has much in store for me!

Anyway, if I think of anything else today I'll tell ya!

Love you all!

-Elder Ahrens

Hello family!

So this week has just blown by! I am amazed at just how quickly each Friday comes (that's our weekly planning day)! We're always around on our bikes visiting people, teaching, going to standing appointments, or just plain out contacting. It definitely keeps us busy! 

So on Friday, the Zone Leaders came to our apartment. We all went on exchanges. I went in to the Zone Leader's area with Elder Stoker while Elder Kepo'o stayed in our area with Elder Law. The ZL's have a car....and I realized just how badly I DON'T want one. But in the end, things are going smoother between Elder Law and I which is really good. 

I love biking so much more for a couple of reasons: 1st - because of biking, I've stayed in the 160 lbs range which is awesome! That's a little under what I was leaving home! It keeps me looking sexy. 2nd - it's much more fun to ride around on bikes than it is to sit in a car! 3rd - when you're on bikes and riding around the neighborhoods and streets, you can actually stop by someone who is either in front of their house, walking, or just chillen and talk to them! You can't do that in a car without looking like a creeper! 4th - People always honk and yell "YEAH HI MISSIONARIES!!!!" haha so that's always nice.

That about sums up that reasoning. We gotta be careful though...the struggle of having a nice bike is I need to hide it when I'm in some of these neighborhoods.

So everyone is talking about how this winter is going to be. I WANT LOTS OF SNOW!  If this winter is going to be as hype as everyone says it is, it's going to get here a little early! It's already starting to cool down out here!

So yesterday was the Ogden City temple dedication. In the morning, we got a ride from an RM, Elder Atwood, who apparently trained Elder Law last year! He's from Alberta, Canada. Anyways, the dedication was incredible! The four of us are sitting there (Me, Elder Law, Elder Atwood, and Jack (same Jack that we took to the temple a few weeks ago)). We're chillen in the chapel waiting for it to start, then around the 5mins left mark, President Monson, President Erying, and Elder Bednar walk into the room that everyone was sitting in. I'm sure the spirit dropped like a nuclear bomb in that room when they all walked in! It was so awesome. Goodness its so strange. President Monson then offered the dedicatory prayer. It's full on legit!

So Jason, how is work? Have you been in the Provo area recently? How are the kids?

Mandee, how is the BEBEH? Ready for Rox to be born? haha

Granny and Jenise, how are things? How is Bridger? How is Katy? Since I've been on my mission, I've met 2 Bridger's. lol Apparently a common name out here!

Other than that, this week has been great! Ready for another one to flash before my eyes. OH YEAH! So when I was talking to Elder Atwood, he said that it did not feel like 2 years in the slightest. He said it was more like 5 minutes in the grand scheme of things. He said when he got home, he asked himself.."did i just serve a mission?" That's how quickly it goes for missionaries.Craziness. seriously.

So I'll be looking forward to hearing from y'all in the coming week! 

Until next week! 

with love,

-Elder Ahrens

Hello family!

Man, oh, man has this week flown by! I can't believe it's been a whole week! I've appreciated all the pictures y'all have sent me! I hope you enjoyed the pics I sent ;)  Anyways, this week has been a little slow, but Stake Conference this weekend is the Ogden Temple re-dedication so I get to attend that! Yesterday in the Stake Conference broadcast, we heard from Elder Scott and Elder Nelson! Up on the stand behind them I saw President and Sister McCune! It's pretty cool that he gets to see all of these General Authorities! So get this! So in one of the stakes that I'm over, (the Lehi North Stake) the Stake Presidency First Counselor is Elder D. Todd Christofferson's cousin! How wild is that?! It's so crazy meeting all of these relatives to General Authorities. First President Monson's grandson, then Elder Oak's daughter, then Elder Christofferson's cousin! Maybe I'll have the opportunity to meet an actual General Authority! Elder Junge said that he's already met 5 apostles since he's been here in the mission!

I love this area and I really would be sad if I left after one transfer. The people here are amazing. They really care about us missionaries.

So get this, I was helping my landlord out with his Chopper because he went to go start it and the battery was dead. So I got his started for him and then we took it out of the garage and let it idle and stuff and that's when he let me sit on it and have a picture or two. He's so funny haha when his wife pulled in to the driveway in her Jeep, he was right behind her in his old '72 K20. He proceeded to do a burnout in to the driveway. (It's a 427 big block btw) It was so great! Then he pulled his new 3500HD out of the garage and cleaned it up where the dealership missed, then he let me sit in it and take pictures. He is soooooo nice!

So yeah! Plenty of good stuff going on! On Tuesday the 23rd, I'm going on an exchange with Elder Straub. It's gonna be so great. I can't wait. Then the 24th, I'm going on an exchange with one of the Zone Leaders. They're both cool.

That about sums up how this week is gonna go and how last week went.

Love you all! Until next week!

Elder Ahrens