No SIM and no suitcase! Feb 22, 2021

What a week! What a week.

As missionaries we take a lot of things for granted. We have our gas paid for, food paid for, homes paid for, and bills paid for. Another thing we take for granted is our SIM cards which give us the ability to call and text members, people we are working with and other missionaries. Well, this week our SIM card stopped working. It made our work very interesting. We had to try figure out a way to still get all our contacting in. Some we were not able to do, so hopefully that does not have to many major repercussions. The form we tried is emailing people! It turned out to be fairly effective! We could still reach people it was just less effective as a text but we are rolling with it. Adapting with the changing current. Hopefully we can get our SIM working this week!

Because of the snow and no SIM card, Elder Merrill and I made lots of videos to send to people in Springfield who accept our Facebook Friend requests! It is a lot of fun making these short 10 second videos, indroducing ourselves to these people and asking if they would like a scripture of happiness or joy in their day. If they send us a thumbs up we make a second video of us reading a scripture about Jesus Christ and the joy we can have through Him in these trubulant times (we usually share John 16:33 or Helaman 5:12) We have recieved a few responces from second videos that we send so that is a plus! We have not progressed far enough with someone to send a third video or have an actual lesson but that is the end goal! 

For the past week and a half I have lived with one set of Sunday clothes. I washed my shirt collar every two days so it didn't get really dirty (thanks Grandma for showing me how!) and Elder Merrill let me use some of his ties. I lost my suitcase with all my other Sunday clothes. Ties, socks, white shirts, pants, suit and vests all in that suitcase.... dang man. I sure hope I can get that this week! Fingers crossed. 

One last thing. I had my first Zone Conference this week. President Strong talked about our missionary experience and life experience really is like climbing a Mount Everest. The various parts along the journey he compared to the Gospel Of Jesus Christ. Faith, Repentance, Covenants, The Holy Ghost and Enduring to the end. Faith is doing what it takes to get ready to climb the mountain. You need to have all your materials like a ice pik, rope, good shoes, oxygen, and a warm body suit. If you don't prepare you won't be able to climb. Faith is action. That action looks like preparing for the climb. Repentance was course correcting when you are on the mountain. Sometimes you take a wrong path and need to get back on one that is safe, away from the 2,000 foot cliff. Being humble and recognizing that God's ways are higher than your ways will help you get back on His path. Making covenants is like helping others along the way as we tell God we will do what He asks of us which is to climb the mountain and help others do the same He will help us. One way He helps us is by the Holy Ghost or the Sherpa on the mountain with you. A sherpa is very experienced and knows which path to go on and how to survive the icy cold winds and storms. The Holy Ghost is our guide. He knows which paths we need to take so we can be safe from the winds and storms of Satan. Enduring to the end is pushing until you make it to the top. Developing the skills that you need to get to the top. Doing those things over and over again. It becomes a pattern of climbing or a pattern of living. 

Have a good week everyone! Stay healthy and happy! Do something that will make you smile. Call your mom if you haven't in a while. I did that today. It was great! Love, Elder Spencer

Snow in the backyard

                                                    Institute Building here in Springfield!!

New Area comes with some new white stuff on the ground! Feb 15, 2021

Hello! I am in Springfield, MO! In Springfield, MO there is lots of snow! The last day and all of today it has been snowing. A couple of inches. The driveways are covered and people just stay inside because they don't have equipment to clear it. They don't have winter tires or many snow plows so in some areas the snow is just piling up. Crazy stuff. 

My companion is Elder Merrill! He is from Rigby Idaho. He is a big boy, about six foot, heavy set. He played football in high school. He loves all kinds of music and sleep. He will get curled up in his polar blanket and sleep. 

The work in this area is slow to say the least. Right now we don't have anyone we are really working with. We don't have a primary friend. It will take some work to build up a teaching pool. Because of the weather and Covid we are confined to Facebook Tracting and refferals. It is definitely a trial of patience. Facebook Tracting eliminates some factors of door to door tracting like weather, time, and energy spent. You can do it from your apartment, just send a video after the person has accepted your friend request. Most people have responded to our video messages, now we just have to get them to want more after the initial message. That will just take finding the right one. The ones the Lord is preparing. 

I got my work carved out. A slow area, church every other week, and new people to meet and become friends with, including the guy I live with. I guess I need to be a catalyst if I wanted to get all science up in here. Something that can get the area moving again. Something that can get the work going. With the ward's help, Elder Merrill's experience, and the Lord we can get this show on the road. 

I hope you are all staying warm! Its cold out there! 

My new mailing address: 1225 S Ingram Mill #D103 Springfield MO 65804

All the best, Elder Spencer

Photo with a selfie stick

Outside our apartment

Polar Bear Blanket

Piano and Organ duo!

Making silly faces!

Bye Bye Clarksville! Feb 8, 2021

I am leaving Clarksville Arkansas. I am going to miss the people. 

It is weird to think that I may never see people like Mac and Chandler ever again (in this life) when I have put in so much effort into helping them come to Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. I just have to have faith that I planted a seed that could be harvested by a missionary in the future. Speaking of Mac and Chandler, we had to cancel our lesson with them this week because Mac got sick. So that was sad that I didn't get to see them one more time. I believe that they could eventually join the church of Jesus Christ. They are slowly being prepared. 

We have decided that Kathy would be better in the hands of an adult. She is dealing with some things that are a little to much than what missionaries are trained to help people with. I hope she can one day get back on her feet. Life is rough for her right now. 

I love to go to a quiet room in the church building and play the piano. I take out the hymn book and play. The chords are so powerful and strong. The tunes so sweet. I hear the voices singing perfectly in tune. Hymns are like prayers to God. They can cause us to change and move to God. They can guide us back when we have gone astray. 

My new area is Springfield, MO. It is the biggest city in the mission. The area that the ward covers in tiny compared to Clarksville. I am going from the bonies to the city! Should be a great transition. Elder Merrill will be my new companion. You are all spirit sons and daughters of God. You are His child.

Elder Spencer

P.S. Please do not send any mail to 302 Mill Road Apt. A Clarskville, Arkansas any more. I will send my new mailing address next week from Springfield!

A truck full of chickens 

Vandy spoiled us with ribs!

                                                                    The Clarksville gang

Cancelled Feb 1, 2021

A mixed week for sure. Good and difficult things these past seven days. 

On the frustrating side this week was we had to cancel our lesson we had planned for Kathy. We have taught her four times now and we were getting ready to teach her the Plan of Salvation. However we are in a car share and the other Elders were coming back from a meeting. They came back a little to late. No lesson with Kathy. Wr tried calling her to reschedule but her phone isn't working. We still have not heard from her. Hopefully everything is okay with her. She had just finished a parenting course that used the Bible. She was excited about that. She has enjoyed reading the Book of Mormon, even though she is semi illiterate. She does a good job. We are going to show her the Book of Mormon app, than she can listen to it. 

The whole mission received training on how to do an MCM(Missionary Correlation Meeting, a meeting where people in the ward get together weekly and talk about missionary work) Well right now we are not having it weekly and the communication from what the Ward Mission Leader understands and what we understand is different. He thinks it is supposed to be one way and we were trained to do it another way. It is a time and a half. I have needed to exercise patience. The ward members have lives. They have jobs and families. A missionary meeting is probably not one of their highest priorities. 

We did have a lesson with Mac and Chandler though! Finally after one month we were able to teach them. In the past lessons we had with them, little was accomplished. It was almost a lecture by them to us. Almost zero understanding occurred. No Spirit was present. However this lesson was great! We were able to have a conversation about what they believe on Salvation and what we believe. I was able to ask questions and learn about what they believe. We found similarities and differences in our beliefs. The Book of Mormon being a major difference. Mac said "true means there is only one correct answer." We are embarking on a quest to help them determine what is true. Prayer and scripture study are the fundamentals to finding truth.

I hope you can find what is true. There is a lot of false ideas in this world. Seek it out. 

You all are awesome! Remember that. 

Elder Spencer 

Restore to its original form! Jan 25, 2021

This week was all over the place! Literally. Elder Decker and I had two exchanges. Wild. I was able to be with Elder Holland for a day and Elder Cruze for a day. Holland is in his first transfer. He talks a lot which I was okay with. Easy to talk to. Holds a conversation well. Elder Cruze is also easy to talk to. He is calm and has red hair just like my brother George!! After a period of seperation and changes Elder Decker and I are now again together in Clarksville. The original companionship is back together to continue the work. 

Gospel truths also had to be restored after a period of seperation and changes. I have learned this week of important truths that were restored back to there original form through revelation. By that power the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl Of Great Price came to pass through Joseph Smith. Like Elder Decker and I being reunited in our area of Clarksville, gospel truths have been restored to the earth. 

There is a belief that money buys happiness. If you get the newest truck, phone or house you will be happy. Do you really believe that? Is that what we are commanded of Jesus to do? Did Jesus say: I want you to become a CEO of the biggest company in the world? No, He did not. We did not get sent down to this place which we call earth to make money. We came to this earth to return to live with our Heavenly Father and we do that by becoming like Jesus Christ. To become like Christ we have to do what He says because we trust Him. Jesus said a lot of things, but the most important being Love God and Love others as yourself. As we look outwards the Lord will look on our inward. The Heart. He will change our heart. Christ served selflessly. We to can serve selflessly with His help. 

Take a second tomorrow and look around. Put your phone on a table out of reach and use your eyes to see. Who do you see? How can you help them? Act on the thoughts and feelings you than have as you look at that person. It is the Spirit telling you what to do. (D&C 8:2-3) Have courage. Have faith in Jesus. 

Elder Spencer

A giant avocado 

Sunny day for tennis!

                                                            Pics in the back of the truck bed