"Help, we can't get out!" Feb 22, 2021

Hello everyone!! I hope you all had an amazing week! 

Well this past week was great! Tuesday was great, Elder Hales and I went out and shovelled about 6 driveways, cleared all their snow, it was great to get outside and do something physical for a couple hours. Wednesday nothing too exciting happened. We did lots of finding on Facebook and studying. 

Now to address the subject matter. So for the past few days before Thursday we had been noticing that the lock on our door wasn't working very well. We had been having difficulties opening and closing the door. Well it was Thursday evening. We had just gotten back to our apartment. We got a call from our Zone Leaders, they needed to borrow a charger for their phone. So we told them we would meet them in the parking lot. Well 5 mins pass and we can't get the door unlocked, the lock would just not budge. We called our zone leaders and told them what was going on. They came up to our door, and we slid them the key through a crack in the door. We both kept at it trying to unlock the door, no luck. We finally decided to just dismantle the lock, and that worked! It was crazy, we were trapped in our own apartment! 😂 Well the next day we called our complex and they sent someone to fix the door so we are all good now! 

On Friday we had a Zone Conference which was amazing. I always learn so much from these conferences. We talked a lot about obedience in this conference and it was amazing how much we could talk about. Some things really stood out to me. Sometimes to be fully obedient we need to sacrifice something, whether it be something we enjoy or our time, true obedience takes some sacrifice. We also need to be obedient for the right reasons, that is something I have noticed. When I purposefully choose to be obedient I feel better and I am able to enjoy life more as opposed to just following rules to follow rules. 

We also had our Stake Conference this past weekend, lots of meetings. One thing that stood out to me was the importance of doing things even when you aren't feeling all that great. For example continuing to pray and read the scriptures even when you don't feel the spirit. Prayer and study will bring the spirit, we need to put in effort to find joy. 

Have a great week, and I would love to hear from you all!! 

-Elder Spencer 

Pics! 

-Fixing the door

                                                             Snow! (Which is all melted now) 

Snow, snow, and more snow! Feb 15, 2021

Hello everyone! Hope all is well with you!

This past week has been cold, temperatures getting down to around -30 C (-2 F)! That kind of weather is apparently rare for Missouri, I must have brought the cold with me! :) It has been snowing non-stop all today and the roads have been slick. Winter has finally hit us.

This week went by very fast, we spent lots of time working on facebook posts, facebook finding, teaching and contacting, it was a good week of work. On Thursday we helped a family in our ward move. One of the items we were tasked with moving was a 500 pound safe! It was an adventure trying to get that up the loading ramp! 

I have been studying about humility lately and I have really enjoyed it. It is interesting to see the differences between pride and humility. I strongly recommend any of you who want to learn more about pride and how to combat being prideful to listen to a talk by Ezra Taft Benson given in the April 1989 General Conference titled "Beware of Pride". I really like one of the ways Ezra Taft Benson explained how to be more humble, he said: "We can choose to humble ourselves by loving God, submitting our will to His, and putting Him first in our lives." This quote reminded me of another great talk "Let God Prevail" given by our Prophet Russell M. Nelson in our last General Conference. Also a great talk that I encourage you all to listen to again!

Well I hope you all have an amazing week, I love hearing from you all! Stay safe and warm out there!

Elder Spencer

Our zone

                                                                Outside today, brrr! 🥶

Transfer News Feb 9, 2021

Hello everyone, I hope everything is going well! 

Elder Hales and I will be staying together for at least another 6 weeks!! I am excited to continue to serve with him, he is a great Elder. 

This week went by so fast! We spent lots of time calling and teaching and finding this week. 

Leslie continues to learn more and more each lesson. 

Craig, (The sisters in our district found him and he lives in our area so we are teaching him with the Sisters) is doing well. We had a great lesson with him this past week. 

For the past couple days we have had two other Elders living with us, so the apartment has been a little crowded but it's pretty fun! 

We've had snow on and off all week. It's been a little chilly. 

I recently studied a bit about the term grace. How it is only through the grace of Christ that we are saved. I am grateful for Jesus Christ and everything that He went through for me! I have recently come to understand that promptings are very important to follow and that the other side (Satan's side) is real, just as real as Christ is. However I know that in the end Christ will reign King and Satan will be defeated. This gives me great hope and strength to know I am fighting for the winning team! 

Keep being awesome everyone! Love,  Elder Spencer 

My District!! 

                                                                Service with two zones! 

Snow and the Zoo! Feb 1, 2021

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a great week! 

This past week went by really fast! I need to correct a fact from last weeks email, I wrote that the arch was 360 ft tall when in reality it is actually 630 ft tall!! 

We had lots of lessons this week. Teaching members and getting to know the ward better. We had a lesson with Leslie this week, she continues to learn more and more each lesson which is great! 

We had an amazing zone conference on Thursday. President Bell is a great teacher and leader. 

We got more snow!! This time we got a few inches and it stuck around longer then a day. 

Today we went to the St.Louis Zoo! That was really fun. I'll attach some pics. A highlight which I didn't get on camera was watching a grizzly bear chase a squirrel that had gotten into its cage. The squirrel survived the chase, it was neat to see some action. :) 

I am grateful for the scriptures and the truths we can learn by studying them. I encourage you all to continue to read and study your scriptures every day! A scripture that has really stood out to me lately is D&C 6:35 which says: "Behold, I do not condemn you; go your ways and sin no more; perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you."  It was a good reminder to me that the Lord doesn't get angry when we sin, but that doesn't mean we can or should sin. The Lord wants us to go our way and sin no more.  And to work with a sense of responsibility. We as missionaries have a great responibility as we represent Jesus Christ. I am proud to wear His name across my chest! 

I hit my 3 month mark on Thursday the 28th!! Threee whole months being a missionary, wow the time as flown! I am grateful for all the people I have met and who have already changed my life for good!

I hope you all have a great week! Bye! Love, Elder Spencer

Elder Hales and I out in the snow... didn't get much of it in the picture. 

At the zoo!

Birthdays and the Arch! Jan 25, 2021

Hello everyone!! Hope you all had a wonderful week. 

This past week and a bit there have been lots of birthday's my Dad (17th) my little brother George (19th) and my comp Elder Hales (20th). Big week for sure. 

Today for p-day we went to the Arch! I will include lots of pics below. It was very neat. It was a little cloudy which ruined the view a bit but it was still awesome!

We had two lessons with Leslie which both were great, she is learning more and more each time which is cool to see. 

We had quite a few lessons with members in our ward. Our ward members are pretty amazing. They really take good care of us, feeding us and making sure we have everything we need. (I can tell you, it means a lot to missionaries to have ward members who care about their missionaries!) So if you have the chance and the time, get to know the missionaries serving in your ward, or branch, they will love it if you reach out to them! :)

I had my first in-person interview with President Bell. Each missionary has an interview every transfer. It was great, President Bell is an amazing person, and leader. I am gald to serve with him. His wife Sister Bell is also just the sweetest person! 

I hope you all have a great week, I love to hear how you are doing! Don't be afraid to send an email my way if you get a chance!

Elder Spencer

Pics at the arch! It is 360 feet tall. I didn't know this before but they have little elevators that you can take up to the top. It was really fun! Highly recommend if you ever go to St. Louis.