Thanksgiving Week 11-25-13

Dear Family,

This has been the hardest week on my mission with out a doubt. I will not dwell on that because it is Thanksgiving week and I am thankful for my blessings.

I love D&C 58:3-4 and, of course, my personal favorite, Genesis 29:20 "And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her."..... It made me smile :)

Anyway, this week has taught me a lot of Christ-like attributes that I have gained and still need to focus on. For me, I love working on things by myself :D... but for this week, I have had to call on my leaders for help and that way we have received counseling a few times this week. I like how one of them said it. “It’s natural, think about it like you bought a car, no matter how nice it is, whether it’s a Lexus, Mercedes Benz, Audi, any super car, no matter how good it is, you always have to do what’s called constructive maintenance; change the oil, refill other things, re-align the wheels so it doesn't brake.” I guess that’s what we have had to do this week; re-align our companionship with the Lord because we let Satan put his foot in the door and we couldn't get him out. 

  We are going to have a great week though. Excited for Thanksgiving! I know of 1 dinner we’re going to right now. Should be fun. And Christmas is right around the corner! :D One transfer away for us missionaries. "Things seem unto me but a few days, for the love I have for my family!” Time is flying by for the love I have for you and the family and the Lord!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,

Elder Ranquist

November 18, 2013

It’s so great to hear from you. Wow, this week has been the quickest week I've had on my mission.  We had P-Day, and Trainings all Tuesday through Thursday, weekly planning Friday and I went to Spanish land Saturday for exchanges and now I'm here again! I really enjoyed the lessons shared at the training's. W

some reason it sent... anyway We have this less active member who just moved into the ward. He's really awesome. He's a professional photographer who's retiring from his job so he's giving away all of his cameras. Every p-day he wants to show us how to use them. Hopefully, this motivates me to take more pictures for y’all.

Saturday, I was in the Spanish speaking area so my companion had to lead the area with one of the other Spanish elders. I was very afraid that it wouldn't go well, but I was amazed to hear that it went smoothly. This week, as a part of missionary standards, the trainee leads the companionship for the week. I am very nervous that he will not take the initiative and there will be a lot of arguments this week, but I am hoping for the best. 

We saw a lot of miracles this week. We were contacting a referral and it sent us to the wrong address, but we knew we were there for a reason. It sent us to an Ice cream shop so the member we had with us (who just got off his mission from Brazil) offered to buy us ice cream and talk to the cashier. So we talked to the cashier and he actually is a member, baptized 4 years ago. He's from South Korea and keeps a Book of Mormon with him. He hasn't been coming to church because he is going to the Catholic Church, but would like some Korean missionaries to come by and speak with him since he doesn't speak a lot of English.

I know this work is true and by following the spirit we can see miracles in our life. I love you so very much and pray for you every day. I hope you have a great week and I'll pinkie promise to send pictures next week

Love,

Elder Ranquist

Happy Veteran's Day 11-11-13

Hello,

This week went by fast! I can't believe it’s Monday again! This week is going to go by even faster. We have trainings all week this week (except for Saturday but I'm going on exchanges to Spanish land on Saturday.)

This week we were able to attend a baptismal service for the sisters in our district. They had 3 investigators baptized. It was great. One of their investigator’s names was Jose. He is so amazing. He completely is humble and wanting to do so much. He used to be a police officer and now is a truck driver and just loves to help everyone out. He is never afraid to share his testimony and his family who he hasn't seen in a few years came to his baptism and stayed for church on Sunday.

Elder Caleja is from the Philippines, but he says his family is ok. It’s great news to hear dad found a new doctor. I hope everything works out when you get there! I love those pictures of Grant! His smile is great!

Love,

Elder Ranquist

November Already 11-4-13

Thankfully I’m not sick anymore! Yay. It’s weird now that we've had day light savings time. It’s really bright in the mornings and really dark in the evenings. It’s so fun to see the pictures of Grant. I love them. I'm sure he's doing great.

We had an investigator who was going to be baptized November 9th but she was persuaded by other people not to join and now she is really hesitant and has a lot of doubts. We hope to continue teaching her and bringing her to some baptisms this weekend to get her re-motivated.

For some reason this week, it’s been really hard to focus all the time, especially in studies. I am going to start using a journal to write down the things I learn in my studies so I can remember what I learned and to help me focus. I really liked what Jessica sent about writing in journals. It’s something that I need to do and be better at. 

Love,

Elder Ranquist

Catching Up!

December 27, 2013

Hey Everyone!  Elder Ranquist's mom here.  Big sister has her hands full with an adorable new baby, so mom is making an attempt at getting his letters back on track.  It may take a few days, but hopefully, we will catch up soon.  Elder Ranquist has gone through some tough times as well as some awesome times.  Just watch the growth he is making!

October 28, 2013

Hello!

It’s been so fun serving with Elders Caleja and Thomas. But it is really hard to cover 2 areas. Our area has been suffering in key indicators, but it is all right. As you can see, we attended a Halloween party in the Cambodian Branch and were able to meet the Ward. Sadly, I left my camera in the car.... maybe I will remember next week! This picture is from a member that sent me the email of this photo.

The j in jawe does sound like a y. Since I’m serving in the Cambodian Branch temporarily, I think it would be a neat idea to get a Cambodian name tag, but I haven't done anything about it haha.

I woke up this morning and I feel really sick. I hate being sick. Actually, I haven't written in my journal for quite awhile. It’s been bad. I need to work better on that.

This week, we had a Relief Society missionary meeting where we gave a talk on missionary work and how they can help us. After that meeting, I realized it is getting easier for me to do trainings like that and I think that is because I have been able to learn from my District meetings. I’m sorry it’s really hard to focus on anything right now. I’ll try to think of things for next week and hopefully feel better! :D

Love,

Elder Ranquist