1/26/15

Hello nothing much to talk about. But I decided I should anyway email still.

1 question. On my seminary report it says I still need 1 credit to graduate? It hasn't counted me going through the New Testament? 

Anyway. I'm packing my bags and I have everything in there except for my cloths I just washed and my blanket. Right now without those things in there my big red bag is at 50 pounds, my medium black bag is at 50 pounds, and my carry on is about 35 pounds or so, so I am going to have to do a little rearranging to get my blanket in there. Thankfully I don't plan on bringing a lot of white shirts back just a few, but the main thing is my blanket. I am SO thankful for a member who gave me a carry on suitcase. It makes my life so much easier. If I didn't have it my life would be a nightmare right now.

I got called on at the end of sacrament meeting to share my testimony. I could see it coming but I still wasn't prepared for it. I'm not a great talker. But it was ok i guess. Today for pday we plan on saying goodbye to some of the members. Our ward mission leader is taking us out today for dinner which is nice. 

I packed up my bike Friday. It should be picked up by FedEx today at the mission home. I was really worried because I bought a large frame bike, and its a lot more expensive to ship home a large box (over 70 dollars more) but the mission home had a small bike box and I squeezed my bike in there just barely! I was so happy. So hopefully when FedEx measures it the measure it as a small box so all I have to pay is 25 dollars instead of a large box where i would have to pay 100 dollars.

I'm going to send home my 2 boxes today. I don't know how much money I have left on my personal card hopefully enough. 

Friday we went to Berkeley for Elder Veamatahau's elbow doctor. It went well. The sad thing is we got a parking ticket for staying there over our meter time. I was sad. I went my whole mission without getting a ticket and then my last week I got one :( Oh well. I think I should pay it before coming home.

I will miss this ward its great. There is a guy who lived in Greenup county Kentucky and he plays the ukelele so I asked if he could sing My Old Kentucky Home before I left. I love it! But he had a different version of it. I still liked it though.

I was going to take a few pictures with the camera, but sadly I don't think the camera works anymore.

wow this has turned out to be one of my longer emails!

See you in a few days! 

Love,

Elder Ranquist 

1/12/15

So this week flew by. We had MLC (which is Mission Leadership Council) Where all of the Zone Leaders and Sister Training leaders and assistants to the President get together at the beginning of the month and discuss the mission and brainstorm ways to improve and help the missionaries. But this MLC district leaders were invited to attend, so I felt like I was back where I used to be when I was a zone leader! It was fun. MLC is such a great experience. I always feel the spirit when I go there. My companions doing well, we went to berkeley this morning for a doctors appointment for his elbow and I loved it! (Not the traffic getting there but going back to my first area with elder ammon doney. Its crazy that Ammon in now married! blows my mind. We had to teach seminary wednesday, and now we have to teach it again this thursday.... yay.... -.- But oh well I love the seminary teacher she's awesome! 

Do we know when President Chadwick will be able to set me apart? Will it be that night when I get back? It sounds like its pretty difficult to schedule a time for me to give a home coming talk.. maybe a smart decision to save you some trouble would be to not worry about it :D Well I know you won't accept that but, as long as I don't get up and speak with Elder Christofferson then thats ok with me. Maybe he will just talk to the missionaries when he's here and I will poke my head in and quietly listen in I would love that, hehe. Nothing else is exciting right now... I'm learning quiet a bit of tonga right now :) I'm getting the hang of it. Maybe when my companion goes home in a year and a half I can visit tonga and speak it fluently. We are going back to oakland next friday to go back to the doctors office for ElderVeamatahau and I think then I will go to the mission office and brake down my bike and send it home in a box. I decided i'm not going to send any of my boxes home yet with my stuff in it because I am still using some of the books that I want to put in the box so I will wait until the last pday to send it home.

Anyway have a great week!

Love,

Elder Ranquist

1/5/15

so it hasn't been too bad of weather lately. At least for me anyway. My companion isn't used to the cold at all so he's sick today but I've been fine. I heard its going to warm up this week too. Giving a talk on the 15th sounds fine with me. I do plan on going to the singles ward when I get back. I would love to be an ordinance worker at the temple I would definitely do it.

This week has been pretty slow again. We only had 1 lesson with an investigator this week. It's been hard lately. Biking around in the cold with no one on the streets to talk too and you visited a lot of people who don't answer or don't want you gets pretty discouraging after awhile. 

We had a great testimony meeting it was nice.

Had an interview with President Meredith this week to get my temple recommend renewed that was nice.

For New years eve we had a party and had the privilege of watching one movie. We watched How to train your dragon 2. It was nice, pretty funny. 

This week I get the chance to go to MLC for the last time. yay I'm happy about that. 

yup yup alright have a great week. Talk to you later!

Love,

Elder Ranquist

12/29/14

It was great to talk on Christmas. But now I really don't have anything to say today. Nothing happened in between that time. To answer your question on what I plan on majoring in. Right now what interests me to major in is Business Management especially Entrepreneurial Management. I'm sure its going to be difficult but that is what I am interested in right now. We have exchanges tonight with the zone leaders. And I am staying here while elder Craft is coming here its going to be great because Elder Craft was my companion in Union City. Its going to be just like old times! Alright I don't know what else to say. Guess I better start applying to byuI right now then hahaha yippie  Have a great week.Enjoy the new year! -Love, Elder Ranquist

12/22/14

Merry Christmas!

We had a christmas program at church as well it was very good. My favorite thing about yesterday was we got breakfast for dinner! I love that so much! :) Me and my companion are doing well. Elder Veamatahau loves to have fun and just brings a lot of happiness into missionary work. I'm so glad I am able to serve with him my last transfer its great! We have investigators planning on feeding us dinner today at 5 and we will teach them at 6 after dinner. The sad part is before we come over our member and investigator will be shooting guns and i want to join them soo bad! haha.

as for when I will call you during christmas I'm not completely sure yet. I think I might be calling around 5 my time which is around 8 or so your time. But I will call you before I get on skype to let you know.

By the way do you know of someone named Steve Payne? He wrote me a letter today and he's from Louisville third ward and hes a recent convert? I was very interested in his story that he wrote it was very spectacular. Do you know him at all?

Talk to you soon!

Love,

Elder Ranquist

12/15/14

Hey so transfer calls were Saturday! My last transfer is here CRAZY! I am staying here in Brentwood and am so happy. But at the same time sad that Elder Weaver is leaving. Hes going to enjoy it in Hayward though. I will be getting a Tongan elder named Elder Veanatahau. I don't know anything about him other then he's about 6'5'' and 280 pounds. I hope he does alright in a bike area! Its going to be great though I heard he is a really nice and funny personality.

We haven't had anyone at church this week sadly but are close to having some we are really trying to work hard on that.

This week we have been getting some much needed rain. Thursday we had Zone Conference and that was the day we were supposed to get a horrible storm to come through. It was a storm but it wasn't as bad as they were all expecting. We had a white elephant gift exchange at the end of the conference and I got a stuffed elf with some skittles. I gave away an ultimate frisbee. We sang in Zone Conference and it was good. Oh 2 weeks ago the priesthood asked us elders to lead in the songs for priesthood meeting so I played the piano then. Thankfully they didn't ask me to play yesterday, I think its a sign that they didn't enjoy my playing the first time :) 

My old companion in Union City is coming to be a zone leader over here in Antioch. Elder Craft. The zone leaders are in my district so its great to be able to see him again. 

Have a nice week!

Love,

Elder Ranquist

12/8/14

darn oh well. Everything out here is going well. We have zone conference this week which will be fun. This past week ElderWeavers bike needed repairing so we went to one of our members who is really into bikes and he repaired it. Another missionary in the ward over from us flipped over his  bike and broke his arm this week. He's ok. Testimony meeting we good on Sunday. Elder Weaver and I are doing well. We have plenty of food, all I bought from the store today is milk, Chocolate milk, and egg nog since I have plenty of stuff at the apartment. Nothing really happened this week pretty boring. I'm alive and still ok. No investigators at church this week. Hopefully next week.

Have a great week be safe!

Love,

Elder Ranquist