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. 

Update on the Week 6/27/2016

This past week has been great! It went by very fast. Unfortunately J was not able to get baptized because he was exhausted and couldn't walk. He suffers from some prior accidents and both of his legs are in casts to help him walk. So getting to church was not an option for this week, but we set up his iPad so that he could listen to the scriptures on it and watch some church videos. Elder Goldstrohm and I are planning on him getting baptized this next Saturday before his family goes home. So keep him in your prayers!

The other great thing that happened this week is we ran into a family at the beginning of the week. The dad L and his daughter S, who is now grown up, invited us back last Tuesday to share our message. Well, we went by at 10:00 am and expected them to have forgotten like most people do who schedule a morning lesson; however, they were there and ready for us. Then we went by again on Saturday and they were there waiting for us. They even kept the commitment and came out to church. They really enjoyed the service, and are planning on coming next week. The cool thing about L is he had gone to our church before and knew Brother Wheelock from one of the other wards. This is actually what motivated them to come to our church. Just goes to show how much influence the members have on missionary work!

Well, love you guys and have a great week!

Elder Bullough

Zion's Camp! 6/20/2016

Had a great week! Tuesday and Wednesday our mission went up to Zion's Camp and did a day activity which was super fun! It totally reminded me of my days back in scouting and all of the millions of campouts we went on. To start off, we got up to the camp and did a ropes course, which I will post some pictures of below. The theme was all around team building and how we could accomplish hard things when we worked together and trusted in each other. 

"And he commanded them that there should be no contention one with another, but that they should look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another. " Mosiah 18:21

After we finished the ropes course, we had a spiritual presentation by the mission President and his assistants. I will share a few things that stuck out to me and helped me throughout the week. The first was to have faith to find. We are taught that "the field is white already to harvest" in Doctrine and Covenants section 4, so we just need to have faith that the Lord will lead us to those who are ready. Just yesterday, Elder Goldstrohm and I were knocking and prayed to know which street the Lord would have us knock. After deciding on a street, we went and started knocking. Soon enough we knocked into J. J had been taught by the missionaries a while back, but never committed to get baptized on a certain day. Well yesterday, during our conversation, he told us that his sister is coming up to visit and that he wants to get baptized while she is here. So right away, we set everything up and he is now scheduled to get baptized on the 26th of this month. I know that the Lord put us in the right place at the right time so that we could run into Jimmy. 

The other thing I took away was having courage to invite. I am sure that most everyone has at one point or another been afraid to invite someone to something whether it be to church, to an activity or even inviting someone on a date. hahah. Anyway, the advice I would give someone is Just Do It! The only way to get better at something that scares you is to just do it. I have had to learn that on my mission because we are constantly doing things that are completely out of the norm and nowhere near comfortable. But I have seen how so much good can come from an invitation, especially one that can change a person’s life for the better. Jesus Christ left us the best invitation when he said "Follow thou me." (John 21:22) He asked us to walk in his shoes and to help others find the joy as well. So I would invite you all, to invite those who you know to come to church with you or to come to a ward activity where they too can feel the Spirit. 

Well have a great week and love you all!

Elder Bullough 

Zion's Camp

Elder Bullough is on the far left end, on another elder's shoulders

Elder Bullough is the second person to the right of President Blatter

Busy Week and Lots of Pictures! 6/13/2016

This week was very busy, but I have a bunch of pictures to send so hopefully you all enjoy it!

Quick scripture for the day:

D&C chapter 6

32 Verily, verily, I say unto you, as I said unto my disciples, where two or three are gathered together in my name, as touching one thing, behold, there will I be in the midst of them—even so am I in the midst of you.

33 Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward. 

34 Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.

So, I [wanted] to mention that L, who Elder Strong and I met back when I was in Parkland, got baptized yesterday! She was able to get baptized into the Buenavista Ward (the Spanish branch) and I am sure that it was a wonderful experience for her. L was one super prepared for baptism and had been going to church for a year in California before she moved up here. Within a week of her move, Elder Strong and I ran into her and she told us that she was looking for the church out here. Just shows how much God cares for his children and is quick to answer prayers!

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend her baptism yesterday but I will post the picture below.

Elder Burke, Elder Nelson, L, Elder Strong, Elder Chacon

Elder Bullough--left side of picture

Commencement Bay 6/6/2016

This week was pretty good. It entailed a lot of work, between office work and just normal missionary work. It seemed like Elder Goldstrehm and I were just running at times. By way of office work, we took a bunch of furniture to different missionaries and that took up most of Friday. It was quite the job trying to get mattresses and dressers from the back of the storage out, but we did it. Luckily I had some background in pulling trailers because turns out Elder Goldstrehm didn't, so I had to drive. Thanks to my old landscaping job hahah!

Well, update on the area: My new companion is Elder Goldstrehm. He is from Holiday, UT and is a super hard worker. Which is good because we hardly waste a minute. He was also a wrestler in high school for Skyline High so we get along great! The area so far has been hard to figure out my way around because of so much construction, so we end up taking a bunch of detours. It is a great area for missionary work. It is a lower income area but also has some great views of the water front and has a lot of city. 

Last night was pretty neat. Elder Goldstrehm and I went to a baptism for a guy who got baptized. His story was quite amazing. Elder Goldstrehm was able to work with him when he was in the beginning of his mission like a year ago. This man had just gotten out of jail and wanted to get baptized because he went to the church in the prison and knew it to be true. Well, after a long process of working out the details, he was able to be baptized last night. It was incredible to see the amount of love and support that this one man received. He mentioned that it was not an easy road, but because of all of the members in his life and the leaders he had pushing him forward, he was able to overcome some of the trials he faced from previous choices in his life. The most important thing that I learned last night is that God is so merciful and forgives you for anything as long as you have a truly penitent heart and have forsaken your sins. I know that this man who had once made poor decisions in his life was, in fact, the cleanest person in that room after he was baptized. This reminds me of the verse in John 3:16. But how true it is!

Well I hope that you all have a great week and enjoy the beginning of Summer! 

Love you all!

Elder Bullough

John 3:16
16 ¶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The following are pictures of Elder Bullough that were recently posted on the WA-TAC mission blogsite at calledtoservewa-tac.blogspot.com

A District Meeting: 

Pictures from Transfer Day (May 31, 2016):