Coolest somewhat neatest experience ever!

Howdy! Monday Jan 25 2016

This week had some ups and downs. Some really scary moments and some really amazing memorable ones as well. There was a bunch of miracles this week. I think that they are both worth sharing,  So here it goes!

Monday after preparation day I experienced probably the coolest thing on my mission. The story goes like this (it might help if you try to imagine this in your mind), after we finished our preparation day we got ready to go to the stake presidents house to have dinner with him and the whole zone and talk about missionary work stuff. Conrad got a ride with us. While we were driving to the stake presidents house, we were following behind everyone in a giant caravan as we would call it. But at one point in the journey, we were traveling downhill and we started to slow down so we could turn at the corner, we were a safe distance behind everyone. But as we (meaning just our car) tried to stop, we started slipping on a patch of ice. I was driving and Elder Asbury was in the front with me while Elder Pett and Elder Masauo were in the back. Elder pett saw that I had put on the brakes but he noticed we were not stopping. So he looked up at the front and realized that we were going to slide into the back of the other missionaries car. Elder Asbury thought the same thing. The next thing that happened impressed everyone in the car, even me! Ive never done this in my entire life (Ive never even thought about doing this if this happened), I turned the wheel and slid right into a small snow pack off the side of the road which slowed us down a little bit, and I turned the wheel back out of it and we got traction and we ended up NOT rear-ending the other car in front of us. This all happened within 5 seconds or less.

As soon as we started to slide on the ice, everything seemed to slow down and I maneuvered the car SO SMOOTH that it seemed like I had taken a driving course or something and knew what to do (which I didn't). God definitely had a hand in that situation, because like I said, I did not even think of doing that before. I just...did it. Not to mention that there was that small snow pack CONVENIENTLY in the right spot when we needed it. It was quite literally "Jesus take the wheel" because I had no idea what I did or how I did it. Like I said as well, everyone was impressed after it happened. It was the conversation topic all the way until we got to the stake presidents house. Surprisingly all the other missionaries in the other cars did not know about it or see it happen. How could they miss it?!? How could you miss a set of car lights behind you veer off the road into a snow pack, bounce around a little bit, and then end up safely behind you again?!? Long story short, we were definitely watched over by God as he subconsciously helped me maneuver the car out of the way. It's hard to describe it written down, you would have had to been in the car to experience it to understand. It was the coolest/somewhat scariest experience ever! I say somewhat scary because the whole time I was calm, I did not freak out at all! I think if I did freak out, we would have hit the other car.

The next miracle was amazing. We got a referral from the church on our iPads on Thursday, the person lived just outside of browning. We were planning on going to browning the next day, so we called them Friday morning and said we would be in browning that afternoon so we could drop off their requested item (the book of mormon). They were quite surprised that they got contacted the next day, they thought it would be a month or two. So when we showed up, we gave them the Book of Mormon, and they let us in and we started answering their questions that they had concerning the Book of Mormon and how "they were the lamanites." We answered all of their questions until they had no more. The topic of church came up and we told them when "the service" was. They said that they would come to it, which most people say they will come (but they never follow through). Then when Sunday rolled around, THEY SHOWED UP!!! After church was over, we asked them what they thought about it. they said they loved every bit of it and had even more questions answered, and they were going to come back again! They even asked if they could take the gospel principles book home too! You could definitely see the light in their eyes! They seemed so happy! This will be the first time on my mission that a referral from church headquarters has been profitable. They are super solid people. I think that they are going to be baptized soon. They have been prepared, now it's time for harvesting!

Another thing that happened this week was a unique experience. A few weeks ago we got a call from this guy that asked if we would be some judges in a speech and drama tournament at the school (which was this last Saturday). So that's what we did. There were a bunch of schools from all around the state here. I did notice that there was Malta high school there. So I thought that I might be able to see some people I knew from Malta. It turns out that I did see a few kids that I knew (that were members) they saw me first. I am actually surprised that they remembered me considering that I was in Malta when I was 2 months out (and now I have about 2-3 months left, so roughly almost two years ago) and I was only there for a month and a half. I ended up having to judge one of them for one of the rounds. We conversed for a few minutes and that was it. Judging was interesting though. I had pretty much no idea what I was doing. But I read the instructions given and did the best I could. Everyone was so good! It was hard to rank them. I will admit that I did pray for help on some decisions.

After we finished volunteering we had to head over to the church because president and sister Wadsworth were in Cutbank to talk to the new senior missionaries (the Ericksons). But they figured since they were in Cutbank, they might as well say hello to us too. After we talked with them, we waved goodbye while we walked across the parking lot that was a giant layer of ice. When I turned and waved, I slipped a little bit which made me loose my balance. But I managed to catch myself without falling. Then I looked over to president and sister Wadsworth after I caught myself. Needless to say, both had a huge smile on their face and we laughing pretty good. We all had a good laugh out of it.

I apologize if this letter was long and boring. I've been trying to make my letters enjoyable and understandable to read. They seem to make sense to me, but they may not make as much sense to you. Again, this past week was amazing! So many miracles! I think the work in Cutbank is starting to get out of a slump now. Have an enjoyable week and look for the little miracles in your everyday life! 

Elder Daniels

Snow Snow and more Snow

Hello!Monday Jan 18th

This week was probably the week were we had the least amount of lessons for investigators and less actives. But we had a lot of active lessons. The weather has also been pretty interesting lately.

On Tuesday we drove out to Browning, we had just got assigned on Sunday a few home teaching routes to help the branch out. The good thing is that we will be helping boost the home teaching numbers because we, being missionaries, go to people and teach them all the time. We will for sure get our home teaching done every month, it gives us something to do! So we tried to go and see our families we were assigned but none of them were home. We were driving to one of our families and there was another car leaving when we were arriving. The driveway was pretty small in width so I pulled off as much as I could without going to far off the road. The ground looked flat where I was pulling off to, so I was not scared of getting stuck in the snow because I figured there was not a lot of snow because it was flat And I could see the weeds poking out of the snow as well. But as I came to a stop so we could talk to the people leaving, I felt the car tilt a little bit to the right! At the end of the conversation we tried to pull out, but we were stuck! I tried all that I knew how, to be able to get out. But to no avail, we did not have enough traction because of the quality of the snow (way to slick). Not to mention that the traction control on the car did not help at all. As soon as I would start going, and almost be out, The traction control would engage and the engine would stop (even if I had the pedal floored), and I would still be stuck. Long story short, we got out about 20 minutes later with the help of the two guys we talked to earlier. We had to manually push it out because there was nothing to hook onto to pull it out. (That's why I hate cars in the snow, trucks always have something to be able to be pulled out if needed.) we ended up being late to a lesson with an investigator because of being stuck. 

On Thursday it snowed pretty good. It was a very wet snow, so it was really heavy! We went out and shoveled a few driveways and we were so tired by the end of the day because the snow was so heavy. All we have been doing is just shoveling snow because a lot of the people are not interested. We have been shoveling random peoples driveways and leaving a pass-a-long card hoping that persons heart will be softened to the missionaries. 

On Friday we had zone training in Great Falls so we had to leave pretty early in the morning. Lately every morning and night has been in the negatives and during the daytime it has been in the single digits to the mid-teens. I thought it was a really good zone training. 

Saturday we went out to Browning again and this time we drove there was a pretty thick fog. We tried to see a few investigators, but none of them answered. So we did not know what to do. We decided to drive out to the W. (active family) to go and see them. We stayed there and we played some games with them and had dinner. The whole time we were there it started to snow more and more. By the time that we left to go back home, there was already 2-3 inches of snow on the roads. What didn't help was that it was still snowing and the roads were not plowed at all. I could not see the lines on the road,  So we were driving pretty slow and I was using the blizzard reflector posts (or whatever they are called) to guide me so I could stay on the road. We managed to get home safely and I went right to bed because I was so tired from being alert and ready for anything that could occur during that drive. 

I hope that the weeks get better as we enter the second half of this transfer. I love serving my mission! I'm glad and sad as well that it is coming to a close! Have a good week everyone! 

Lets get stuck

     Mon, Jan 11, 20166:44:23 PM                                                                   Hey everyone!This week was an interesting week. Ever since the transfer call where we are both staying again. I have felt this interesting feeling near the beginning of the week. It was a feeling that I have never felt before. I tried to figure out if it was a feeling like I should not be here this transfer (because I've always felt that I needed to be in my areas that I have been in). Or if it was a feeling that I am entering into my second to last transfer on my mission. It has somewhat gone away now, but I still think about it. There was not much that happened during the beginning of the week. We only had to switch cars with the Shelby sisters on Tuesday because one of them was transferring and they needed a car with a bike rack. So in the past three months, I have driven 3 different cars because we have switched around a lot.One of the good things that happened this week was that we were fed pretty much every single day of the week. The interesting thing was that we were fed by the same member Thursday-Sunday. You can take guess as to which member that is. (hint: only $2.50 and 22 minutes!)but instead of feeding us pizza every night, he actually cooked meals that were really good! He really loves feeding us Because it gives him the Desire to cook. For instance; on Saturday he fed us a HUGE plate of pasta, then 20 minutes later he fed us a HUGE piece of cake along with tons of ice cream! He always asks if we have dinner the next day,we say no and he says, "come over" or "see you tomorrow evening"On Wednesday we had some appointments set up that the other missionaries found on the 1st when we blitzed Cut Bank. But sadly,they both fell through. We went back a few days later and taught one of them, but the other we don't know what to do because her mom was there. Before we even knocked on the door she opened it and demanded to know  what we were doing. We told her and she proceeded to say,"well I am Catholic and my daughter is not  going to be interested because she has a lot on her mind and she is strong were she is at andis too young to understand different things."(but her daughter is-probably mid to late 20's) in my mind I was thinking, "well that is-great that you are Catholic and you say she is not interested. But we were here to talk to your daughter...not you" it was a good thing that I said that in my mind. We might stop by again sometime.I have been at a loss to what I should do in my studies now. I've read the standard works, the church handbook, Jesus the Christ(which I finished this past week by the way), preach my gospel many times,along with the Book of Mormon Multiple times. Studies are kinda getting boring now. I've started reading the Book of Mormon again along with the Book of Mormon student study manual. It's got quotes and different things about certain verses that helps me understand a little bit more. I'm not sure what I am going to do after that. I guess it is starting to turn into "same old stuff"On Friday we drove out to east glacier again. All elder Masauo wanted to do was to tract there for a few hours and then head back. (It is an hour drive each way) We got there and walked around town. We only knocked on 10-12 doors only about 4 answered. Then we drove back. We didn't have a whole lot of lessons this week. It has been pretty cold and in the negatives a lot. But we have been out doing work, just nobody wants to open their door to talk to us or let us in because its cold Also during the week, we went to sister Ks house to visit her. It turns out that she needed help from us covering up some cold drafts in her house. So we helped her and then sat down and talked for a little bit. She told us that these Jehovah witness ladies had stopped by on Sunday morning. She thought it was us and answered the door. She then told us that the ladies just walked into her home and said that they were going to take her to church. Sister K. said that they have been stopping by frequently and she does not feel a good feeling when they come over, but when we come over she feels at peace. Jokingly, we told her that she should invite them over when we come over, that way we would scare them away and they would never come back. We just laughed about it. Last thing, On Sunday we got a ride with a member of the Branch presidency to Browning. At the church in Browning, the snow has drifted across the parking lot. Upon leaving when church was over, the member said jokingly, "let's get stuck!" Then he proceeded to drive through the snow drift and ended up slowing down as he exclaimed,"shoot! We're stuck!" We all were laughing about it and we eventually got out of the Snow drift.Have a good week!Elder Daniels                      

If your knocking you don"t belong here!... have a nice day

Happy new year! 

2015 flew by so fast! I can't believe how fast my mission has gone! I had so many great experiences on my mission the past year, I met a lot of really amazing people. Even though 2015 was a really good year, it sadly ended with me fighting a little bit of a sickness. I didn't get super sick, I only had a little cough and a headache, it started on Tuesday. Even though I was not feeling very well, I still wanted to go out and work. I needed to stay home because I didn't want to get anybody sick, but I was not sick enough to keep me in bed. So we decided to go out and do random acts of service shoveling driveways and walks. That way we were still outside and being seen, while I didn't really have to talk with people and get them sick. It was much better than staying at home doing nothing. The other thing was that I was not really coughing and feeling sick when we were out working. But when we were home eating or at the end of the day, I felt sick again. We have been going over to this old lady's home and shoveling her driveway whenever snow comes along, the past few times she has came out to meet us(this is the lady that tried to give us money a few weeks ago). She is super nice. She has let us in her home to warm up for a little bit, she has been asking a lot of questions regarding our religion. We have been teaching her little bits and pieces every time we have came over. She asks more questions each time. I think her heart is being softened the more we teach her and the more we do service for her. I feel like she has potential. 

Wednesday was probably the worse day of my sickness battle. We went to district meeting and I was planning on receiving a blessing before district meeting because I was supposed to give a role play for district meeting. But that didn't happen. I ended up getting one during the break which was still okay because I was not giving my role play until after the break. After the blessing I actually felt much better. It felt like I was not sick anymore, I still coughed a little bit, but it was better than before. 

Thursday was another bad day. I was still sick about the same as Wednesday morning. But I felt better and better as the day went on. When dinner time rolled around, we went to dinner with brother C. again. We were supposed to have dinner with him and the B. as well. After dinner we did not have much to do, We stayed at brother Cs for a little bit and we played some games. It was not a great ending to 2015 being sick, but I did the best that I could. 

On New Year's Day the zone leaders and the Conrad elders came up to Cut Bank for the day to help us get some more people to teach and to get this area to progress. We all got together and we split up into three groups and picked parts of town and we blitzed the area trying to find as many people to teach as possible. When we got back together around dinnertime, we had collectively found about 5 people that would let us come back, 2 of which set up a return appointment. Other than the lessons that we had on New Year's Day, we only had about 3 lessons with investigators this week just by ourselves. The work has been getting slower and slower as the weeks go on. One lady that me and elder Asbury found was pretty interesting. Attached is a picture of her door. We respected the door and walked away not wanting to knock. But as we were walking away, the lady drove up! It's so awkward when they drive up as you are on their doorstep.

I wanted to avoid the awkwardness, so we walked away. But as I was walking away, I stopped and we turned around and went back and talked to her. She was super nice! She was offering us coffee but we politely refused. We told her that we did not drink coffee. She then replied, "oh yeah, that's right! You don't drink caffeine either." We told her that was actually false. She then tried to offer us tea. We politely said no as well. We then sat down with her and taught her the word of wisdom which was a first for me after just meeting a person. She took it very well and invited us back whenever. 

On Friday we went to Browning and we tried to see a few people during the day, but nobody was able to meet with us. We met with a active member that we had not visited for a while. We were there until about dinnertime, we were not planning on having her feed us, but she did anyways. After dinner we went tracting a little bit. We walked around and knocked on houses that had lights on. The first couple houses we found some people that would let us come back. Then we tried David again (after trying him in the afternoon) He was home this time. We talked to him for a little bit and then we went home. 

It has been a rough week for me. Battling sickness and not having a lot of work to do. We got our transfer news and we are both staying again. So we will have both been here together for 3 transfers thus far.

Have a good week!