Setting up TV's and We Got "Cheesed!" Mar 8, 2021

Hello all! I hope you are all doing well!! This week was very busy, it has flown by, I know I say this almost every week but the time truly has gone by so quickly! 

We had lots of lessons this week again which is great! I am getting more and more confident teaching. I am still not perfect but every bit helps! Before I get to the subject matter I wanted to write about some amazing lessons we had this week. 

We had one lesson with Craig this week and it went very well! We had a member join us and we were able to have a great lesson on the Holy Ghost and how to feel it more and more in our lives as we read out of 2 Nephi 32 in the Book of Mormon. During the lesson the Spirit was so strong, it was a wonderful experince and afterwards Craig mentioned how calm he feels when he meets with us! That was very awesome to hear that he is recognizing the Spirit when he meets with us! 

As amazing as this lesson was, the cherry on top happened a couple days later during church. It was our ward's fast and testimony meeting, which is when members of the congregation come up and bear their personal testimonies. Well, the member who had joined us for the lesson with Craig got up to bear his testimony... and he talked about our lesson with Craig! During our lesson when we were reading through 2 Nephi 32 we got to verse 3 which talks about "feasting" upon the words of Chirst. We asked Craig what he thought and he said something along the lines of "Well a feast is usually a celebration, so I guess we should be celebrating when we read the scriptures" I had never thought of that and neither had the member. That is what he bore his testimony on and he mentioned Craig saying that and went on to describe how we should be celebrating when we read the scriptures because it is truly a wonderful gift and a guide in our lives, we shouldn't take scripture study for granted. Well when Craig heard his name he was pretty surprised! He loved being mentioned and a bunch of other ward members came up and talked to him afterwards! It was great!

Well, now to the subject letter. Craig needed help setting up his TV so we were able to get over and find some members to help him get his TV up and running, it is amazing all that our ward members do for those we teach! Now to the cheese. Well one morning as Elder Hales and I were walking out to our car, we noticed something yellow on our hood, as we got closer we saw it was a slice of cheese!! 😂 We have no idea where it came from, but it was pretty funny! 

The weather is starting to get warm here in St. Louis, I don't know if I'll survive the summer, it already feels like summer yet is hardly spring! We got lots of service in as it is getting warmer and warmer! It feels great to get outside and do something, cleaning up branches, or raking dirt clods, just being in the sun makes my day!

Well, that's about all for now! I love to hear from you! Take care and stay safe out there! Elder Spencer 

Cheese! 

                                                                             Zone P-day!

Lessons, Lessons, and More Lessons! Mar 1, 2021

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well! This week was very busy!

On Monday we had a lesson/discussion with a young man in our ward who is getting ready to serve a mission. It was fun answering the questions he and his mom had about missionary work and life. 

Tuesday we had two lessons. One with Raychel and Kyla and one with Leslie! Both went very well! Raychel and Kyla are so cool, they are very both outgoing and kind, makes it fun to teach them! 

On Wednesday we had a service project. It had been raining the past little bit and the ground was still quite wet. At one point during the move, we needed to get a truck and trailer moved around so they decided to drive across their front lawn (which is very big by the way, more like a giant field) and while they were bringing the truck and trailer around they got stuck in the mud! Luckily there was another truck and a chain that we then hooked up to the trailer and with a little trial and error got the truck unstuck and back to the driveway! What a moving adventure! Later that night we joined our ward's youth activity and answered questions about missionary life. It was fun to hear some of their questions like "How many white shirts do you have?" " How did you prepare for your mission?" and so on, it was great!

Thursday and Friday evening we had lessons with Craig, they both went very well! He is fun to talk to and seems younger then he really is. He is about 58 but is just as lively as a 20 year old! 

Saturday we did some more service helping a member with his yard work, we then had a "Come, Follow Me" lesson with a few elderly ladies in our ward over video chat. It was really quite nice, they taught me more then I taught them!

Sunday night we had an amazing lesson with a member and a former co-worker of his. His co-worker and her husband (I forgot their names) are sooo amazing! They seem very open to our message and they are willing to "Let God Prevail" in their lives! We just had a great lesson overall. Sunday was also my 4 month mark of being a missionary, that is crazy! Those 4 months have flown by! 

As we were teaching all these lessons this past week I had a neat realization. One time as I was teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ (which are 5 points, Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Holy Ghost and Endure to the End) I had the thought that everything we do in the Gospel, everything I do in my life revolves around these 5 points! It was a manifestation to me that the Gospel is really quite simple, I tend to over-complicate things at times, and realizing that any point in the gospel, any topic relates back to these 5 basic points comforts me and helps me realize what I need to do. For example if I have a doubt or quesiton about something I read, I need to exercise more faith, develop more faith. 

It is also important to remember that it is a process, we aren't perfect even after baptism, we have to continue to try and keep going! Heavenly Father doesn't turn away after we make one mistake, He and Jesus Christ will always be there to help us no matter how much we may stumble, no matter how guilty or ashamed we may feel, we can turn to Christ and find peace. 

Well, I hope you all have a great week! I love to hear from you! I'd love to help any of you in any way I can so ask questions, I'd love to help! 

Love, Elder Spencer 

Service at the temple! 

A cardinal in a tree! 

                                                                                   We made cookies! 

"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.