Another Week Gone By 7/18/2016

This week was a pretty normal week. Elder Goldstrohm and I spent most of our time finding new people to teach. We met a family that was able to come to church and the mother is not a member yet. The best part was that the lesson in Sunday school was on prayer. So at the end of the meeting, we asked her to pray about being baptized into the Church. She accepted our invitation and told us that she would pray about it. We can't wait to go back this week!

Last week, I talked about G and the miracle of finding him. For those of you that have been missionaries before, you know the importance of staying in touch with those you are teaching. Well, it has been great that he is so open because he keeps us informed of his schedule. He told us he was not going to be at church this week due to a business meeting, so we are going to be meeting with him tonight. I am excited for the lesson we have tonight because we are bringing a Brother Bostic from the ward that we think is going to really be a great benefit. He is way strong in his testimony and has a tremendous love for the Lord. He is a convert to the church himself and has brought almost all of his family with him. Just to show an example of how dedicated he is to the Lord: 

Last week he brought his sister and her four other family members into the church and was able to baptize them. Then this past week we told him that we wanted his help fellowshipping G into the ward. The day that the meeting was scheduled, he was run off the road by a bus and was forced to crash his bike on the side of the road to escape the hit. He ended up in crutches and busted his knee. But sure enough he is still coming to the lesson with us tonight! What great faith!? I heard a quote that I think really goes with this story- "Who is going to work harder today? Me or Satan?" 

Well, I hope that you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Bullough

Here is a picture of this random guy that was just running around in a dinosaur suit in the middle of the neighborhood chasing people. When we asked what he was doing, he said: "Just trying to amuse myself." Hahahah! #PeopleofTacoma 

God Hears Everyone's Prayers 7/11/2016

This week was great. At the beginning of the week, we found a family and the dad P grew up in the ward close to ours with the bishop over our congregation. We were referred to this family too because they just moved into our area. P's girlfriend is not a member and has worked with the missionaries in the past. So we invited them out to church this week and they came! They had a really great time and bonded with the family they were sitting next to, the Braggs. Their baby literally jumped into Brother Bragg's arms! We are excited to meet with them again and plan to help them get married and then help his girlfriend join the church as well.

I read a quote this week that really stuck out to me and I saw a miracle that goes along with it. "God does notice us, He watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs." -Spencer W. Kimball

This past week Elder Goldstrohm and I asked God for what you would call a "golden referral." Well, for some reason we both wrote down to knock State St. After a while of knocking and having no success, a door opened and the man said to us, "You're right on time!" We were shocked, but didn't know exactly what he meant. After talking for awhile, we found out that G had been to the Mormon church before and knew the good that the church does and is looking for change in his life. He accepted our invitation to be baptized and is now working toward preparing for the 30th of this month! We couldn't believe it! God had not only answered our prayers but more importantly, he had answered G's prayers, through us. 

Well love you all and hope that you have a great week! 

Elder Bullough

Happy 4th of July 7/5/2016

This past week was great! J was able to get baptized on Sunday. I have to say, that was one of the most stressful baptisms. About an hour before the baptism was scheduled, we were not sure if it was going to happen. But with a bit of perseverance, he and his family were able to make it for the baptism. J is a great guy and has a very loving heart. He has had some challenges physically in his life and is not able to able to walk without his cane. It was awesome to see him walk down into the font without any support from his boots or cane. That day, J changed his life and he knew it, and so did his family. It took some time for him to get to the point where he felt ready to be baptized because he battled the conversion from Irish Catholic to Mormon. The best part was that his whole family was there to support him despite the differences. His family had a great time and even accepted our invitation to meet with missionaries where they live in New Hampshire!

For those of you who don't know, the 4th of July is my favorite holiday! I am not sure why, probably because I enjoy being a pyromaniac and enjoy lighting fireworks and spending time with friends. However this year, since I was not able to celebrate with fireworks, our mission just got together and had a BBQ followed by a water fight! I hope that you all enjoyed the 4th of July as well and have a great week!

Elder Bullough, Elder Larson, J, Elder Chacon, and Elder Goldstrohm

J and his family with Elder Chacon

4th of July Pday Fun:

Elder Goldstrohm & Elder Bullough

We think Elder Bullough is at the very back, right side in these balloon toss pictures.