Crazy Week Ahead 8/15/2016

The following paragraphs are from the email that Elder Bullough sent his parents on 8/15/16:

I don't have too much time to email today. I have been busy all day because Elder Goldstrohm is going home tomorrow so we have been finalizing a ton of stuff and not to mention he had to pack today. This week we are losing a lot of great missionaries because they have all served two years and are going home to make the school date. Kinda crazy. The mission is going to be so different. Anyway this week is going to be kind of different because the next group of missionaries doesn't come until next week. I will be in a trio with the Skyline Elders for the week and we will be working two areas. So technically I am tackling the area by myself for the week, but I am definitely up for the challenge. The craziest part is I will be doing a split with the ward member during church so I will be the only missionary in the ward that day. Haha. 

Anyway the work is going great and we have a lot of amazing investigators that we are teaching. It is so cool to see that it isn't us but the Lord that is converting. It has been a great lesson for me and has shown me that baptisms really do happen on the Lord's timing.

-Elder Bullough

Camel Ride & a Self-Referral!!! 8/8/2016

Last P-day our zone went to the zoo for an activity. I forgot how fun the zoo was. The best part was I lost a bet and had to go on a little camel ride. . . so worth it!! haha. Anyway I will post pictures below.

Update on the week. We have been teaching a few people but mainly it has been J. So his story is way cool and he is doing really great and loving the church. A couple of weeks ago we received a referral for him. He actually requested for us to come by himself. Elder Goldstrohm and I went by and taught him that week and it went great. He had ordered us pizza so that was a bonus. Then we brought a member of our ward Brother Torella to come with us and that lesson went better than the first. It was a very spiritual lesson and at the end both the ward member and J were hugging because they just connected so well. It was like an immediate friendship. Well J has come to church and loved it and told us he wants to be baptized on the 3rd of September. He is a great guy and really gets along with a lot of the ward members. This reminds me of a quote that I read the other day from President Hinckley. He said that every new convert needs: "A friend in the Church to whom he can constantly turn, who will walk beside him, who will answer his questions, who will understand his problems." It is so true being a new member of the church can be hard because there are a lot of different things in the church and it is like learning a whole new language but a friend in the church can really be a positive thing for these new and returning members. 

Love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Bullough

Elder Bullough riding a camel

Elder Lundgreen, Elder Bullough, & Elder Ellis at the zoo 

Elder Goldstrohm & Elder Bullough

Another One Bites the Dust 8/1/2016

This week went really great! At the beginning of the week, Elder Goldstrohm and I went out to Morton/Toledo, Washington to move out an apartment that had been closed out. For those who don't know, it is like a two hour drive and the area is very what you would call “Boonie,” meaning small farm town in the middle of nowhere. That was pretty much an all day thing but the countryside was very beautiful and definitely a lot more quiet than the city. The move took up most of our Tuesday and left little time to proselyte that day.

On Friday, we got a call from a lady who was moving out of her apartment and needed someone with a trailer that could move out her furniture. Being at last desperation, Elder Goldstrohm, I, and a few other missionaries went to help her out. This move was a lot more than expected and the temperature that day got to be what felt like 90 degrees, perfect weather for moving heavy furniture-- not. But after a few hours we got everything out and the place was empty. I have to say I was impressed that four 19-20 year old guys were able to pack the trailer full and make it in one trip. That was a blessing! Unfortunately after 4 hours the lady and her grandmother were not interested, but were extremely grateful. It was kind of a bummer that nothing seemed to come from our hard work that day. Well, that night I went to bed feeling a little down that nothing came out of the day. 

The next day was Saturday. Saturday is probably the most important day of the week because usually people remember church is the next day rather than if we saw someone on Monday. We had a bunch of appointments that we had to see that day and in some cases we had to do "splits" to see them all. The amazing thing was that each person that we had an appointment with that day, kept their appointment. And each lesson went great! Then yesterday each of these people that we saw came to church! If anyone knows missionary work, that is not usually the case. I am definitely calling that a blessing from God!

Last, but definitely not least, J who was recently baptized was able to be confirmed yesterday. It was so great to see him get confirmed in church. He has had a long journey to get on the path but I am glad that he will now have the guidance of the Holy Ghost to be with him and keep him moving in the right direction. 

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." John 14:26

Christ taught that after we receive the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of hands, the Holy Ghost will be there to be a constant companion to comfort and guide us in our daily lives. I know that this is true and I have seen it in my life and the lives of others. 

Have a great week! Love you all.

Elder Bullough

Quick Update Plus Pics 7/25/2016

Hey so this week the computer had some difficulties so I will be brief. This week was great. We had three families come to church which was great! We taught a bunch of lessons during the week and found new people to teach. We also played basketball with some guys at a local park which was fun!

Hope you all enjoy the pictures!

Elder Bullough

[Note:  Since Elder Bullough wasn't able to write very much in the group email letter, we wanted to share the following excerpts from his most recent letter to us (his parents) in which he answers some of our questions and provides a little more detail about his mission.]

"Yeah, so as an office elder we do get the perk of listening to the trainings some of the time. We have to haul around the stuff for the departing missionaries but the perk is that we get to have fun at the departing missionary party, and Sister Blatter always has cheesecake! We don't take the missionaries to the airport or pick up the arriving missionaries. That is the job of the assistants to the president, haha. That is one perk that we do not have. Anyway this next week I will be going down to Toledo, Washington and then traveling out to Elma all in one day to move some stuff. I am getting pretty good at hauling the trailer, haha!"

"Almost every house has a dog and last week Elder Goldstrohm almost got mauled by a pit bull, but he hit it with a basketball before it could bite him. I have had a few scary moments with dogs as well, but have come up lucky. It is usually when I go into the gate and they come around late and we are already at the gate so I have two options, run or bid them to come sniff my hand. Luckily, the latter has been working and they choose not to eat us. Haha!"

"Amazing Grace" is a WA-TAC tradition and is our mission theme song so we sing it as often as we gather. It is definitely one of my favorites and has much more meaning to me now. We do a great rendition of it!"

These pics were posted on the WA-TAC mission blog on 7/21/2016:

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.