Week 34: Goodbye Stratfords!

Hey everyone! This week went by pretty fast for the most part. It was a pretty average week for the most part, but there were still some highlights! The Stratfords are going to be leaving tomorrow and the Horgesheimers are going to take over on the 1st. I'm sad that the Stratfords are leaving, but I'm pumped for the new Mission President!

Here's a quick run through of the week:

Wednesday we had P day and it was a pretty slow day. We didn't really do anything too crazy. That night we had a District testimony meeting over video call for everyone who was getting transferred. Elder Parker and I are staying here in the YSA so we're just chilling.

Thursday was transfer day. Since we are in a car share with the Cleveland 3rd Elders, we had to take them to transfers. They are getting their own car so we don't have to share anymore so it's all good. While we were down in Columbus I took Elder Parker to Canes as part of the OCM tradition. He loved it (obviously) and we headed back to our area. On our way back we stopped by the Kirtland Temple and took some pictures. It was pretty amazing! After that we had a couple lessons, but that was pretty much it for the day.

Friday was just horribly boring. We literally had nothing but planning and studying all day. We taught a couple lessons, but nothing too major.

Saturday was just another average day being quarantined as a missionary. We had a couple lessons and did some Facebook work and that was pretty much it.

Sunday we went over to the church and played the piano for a little bit and then updated some progress records for the area. We made some bomb spaghetti and had a District devotional which was really good. And that pretty much wraps up the week.

Funny moment of the week:

We found a golf club in the apartment and I wasn't looking where I was swinging it and I may or may not have smashed a light. I'm not admitting to anything, but there was a light before I swung, and then there wasn't one after. It's a mystery!

Miracle of the week:

In one of our lessons we were going to read in Alma with the person, but in the middle of the opening prayer Elder Parker felt prompted to read Ether 12 instead. So we read Ether 12 with the person and they loved it and told us that was exactly what they needed. After the lesson Elder Parker told me that he hadn't read Ether 12 before and he had no clue what was in there so it was just totally spirit led and it was an amazing lesson.

Love,

Elder Bohn

Week 33:Training Visits are Cancelled!

Hey everyone! This has been an interesting week to say the least. We had a lot of good times and we had a couple bombs dropped on us from the Stratfords. Transfers are this Thursday, stay tuned to discover my fate!

Here's a quick run through of this week:

Monday was overall a pretty good day. We didn't really do anything too exciting. We bought groceries and played basketball at the church, and that was about it. Things did get interesting when we first got to the church. More on that will be mentioned in the funny moment of the week.

Tuesday was slow going. We made a video for our zone Facebook page and played some basketball at the church. We spent a lot of time up in the penthouse in our apartment building which is on the 27th floor. The view is incredible!

Wednesday we had training visits with the District Leader. They live right below us, so we had to go on quite the adventure to see them. We had a whole bunch of lesson with investigators they have, which was super awesome. Other than that, we didn't really do too much.

Thursday we had our last Zone call with the Stratfords. It was pretty depressing because they are the best. The time flew by too fast with them here, but I'm excited for the new Mission President! After the zone call we called a bunch of members and set up some lessons. Other than that, things were just slow going.

Friday was a whole bunch of the same stuff as yesterday. We called a whole bunch of people in our area book and set up some lessons. That was pretty much it.

Saturday we had another training visit with Elder Hibbard and Elder Allen. It was pretty dang fun. We had a few lessons and then got some Wendy's. After that we played some basketball at the church and listened to a couple church talks.

Sunday was the fateful day where we found out the news. Training visits are no more for the time being. We had a mission wide call and the Stratfords basically said that they have some wrong information and training visits are a no go. After that nothing else really happened.

Monday we did a whole bunch of Facebook work which didn't really go anywhere. We reached out to a bunch of members and most of them seemed open to lessons. The others just ignored us. It's nonstop good times.

Tuesday was the fateful day of finding out about transfers. Things really got shaken up in the mission! There are so many missionaries in each zone! Things are definitely getting crazy! 

Funny moment of the week:

When we went to the church on P day we accidentally set off the security alarm. Yep. Our church building has a security alarm. When you get in the building you have to type in a code on a panel inside the church. When we went in, Elder Hibbard accidentally hit a number twice and the code was wrong. The siren started blaring and the cops were on their way. We kept trying to punch the code in again but it didn't work. We called the Bishop and he said to put it in again, so we did. It actually worked surprisingly! The cops never showed up though which was interesting. But yeah, good times!

Miracle of the week:

My miracle is that I'm staying with Elder Parker here in the Cleveland YSA. I'm pumped that I get to finish training him here. This is definitely going to be a fun transfer! I'm keeping my hopes up!

Love,

Elder Bohn

Week 32: Training in Cleveland, Baby!

Hey everyone! Things just got real interesting here in the Great OCM. We had mid transfer this week on Wednesday, and on the Sunday before I found out that I was getting transferred to Cleveland YSA with a new reassigned missionary. This past week has definitely been an interesting one to say the least, but I'm loving it!

Here's a quick run through of this week:

Monday was a pretty average P day. I was a little depressed because it was my last p day with Elder Erickson in Worthington, but I still had a good time. I sure am going to miss those $3 ties from DFWH, but my wallet will thank me later. For the rest of the day we just hung out with a whole bunch of elders in the zone and had a good time. At the end of the day we played basketball with the ZLs and then the assistants dropped off Elder Erickson's new companion. His new companion is Elder Tolman, he got reassigned here after being in Peru for 18 months or so. He is a pretty cool guy and I'm a bit jealous because he's got the funnest missionary stories in the mission.

Tuesday was a pretty fun day. We took Elder Tolman to the Waterfall in Dublin which was sweet. The rest of the day we didn't do too much besides getting packed and we taught a couple lessons. 

Wednesday was the fateful day of transfers. We got everything loaded in the car and headed over to the Dublin building. We stopped by the Wendy's corporation building and took a sweet picture on the way. We got there I unloaded all my stuff and found my new companion, Elder Parker. He got reassigned here from the Buenos Aires, Argentina mission. I also found out that we was only there for 3 weeks before getting sent home, so now I'm technically training him. So to summarize this transfer: We're opening an area, I'm getting a reassigned missionary, and I'm training him. President must want to kill me or something. Anyways, we got the car loaded up and we talked with a bunch of other missionaries including my favorite MTC companion, Elder Thomason. Then we started our 2 1/2 hour drive to Cleveland. When we finally got there we just spent the entire day cleaning the apartment and shopping for food. It was a long day, but it was pretty fun. Elder Parker is really cool and I'm excited for this next transfer!

Thursday we spent the entire day just trying to reach out to members and get into contact with them. It didn't go too well but it's all good. We did a lot of Facebook work and I got Elder Parker all set up and ready to go on there. That was pretty much it for the day.

Friday we did weekly planning, which doesn't go too good when you don't know anyone in the area and don't know your teaching pool. We did manage to get in contact with the branch mission leader and we called him and introduced ourselves. We also got into contact with a couple members and set up a couple lessons so we are pumped.

Saturday we just did more contacting members and investigators and Facebook work. It went pretty well and we were able to set up a couple more lessons.

Sunday we had a Branch council call that we joined and we talked about what the mission plan is for the branch and what they need from us. They are all very excited to have missionaries back in the YSA, so we are hoping that we can get busy and lost in the work here.

Miracle of the week:

On Saturday a random guy named Michael messaged me because of a post I made in a Christian Facebook group. We started a conversation and I offered to send him daily scriptures to help brighten his day. He was very excited at the offer and said that he knew God directed him to me for a reason. I then started telling him about the Book of Mormon and shared 2 Nephi 2:6-8 with him. He said that he absolutely loved it and he needed his own copy of the Book of Mormon. I sent him a link to get his own copy and he was just so excited to be able to read more. The Book of Mormon is definitely a powerful tool in teaching.

Funny moment of the week:

When we were shopping on Wednesday we went with the Elders serving in the Cleveland 3rd ward and as we were shopping they just started throwing random items in our shopping cart. So when we checked out we had lunchables, tuna fish, veggie soup, and a whole bunch of other nonsense. The joke was on them because the lunchables were pretty good!

Love, 

Elder Bohn

Week 31: Abducted Grills and Transfers!

Hey everyone! We had quite the eventful week here in Ohio. Elder Erickson and I exemplify in the concept of "work hard and have fun" especially the have fun part. We are having a mid transfer this week on Tuesday or Wednesday because of all the reassigned missionaries coming in. 

Here's a quick run through of this week:

Monday was a pretty dean P day. We got to spend the day with the Lewis Center and Polaris Elders. We got some pretty sweet ties at DFWH and sweet hats at Cabelas. Overall we had a really good day!

Tuesday was a pretty average day. Nothing too crazy happened except for a very spiritual lesson that will be mentioned in the miracle of the week.

Wednesday we had a brilliant idea: to "borrow" the ZL's giant grill and take it to our apartment. More on that will be mentioned in the funny moment of the week. After we got back we had a couple lessons that went well and we cleaned out our apartment a little bit. That night we grilled up some of the deanest ribs I've ever had with some chicken on the side.

Thursday we had a pretty slow going day. We didn't have too much go on during the day. We had a couple pretty sweet lessons that went really well.

Friday was just another day much like Thursday. Except for the Polaris Elders came over for a training visit that night and we had a dean old time.

Saturday we had one of the best days ever! It started off bad when the ZLs came by and took their grill back. But it was all good. After they left we made a sweet mountain biking video with one of the Elders in Polaris. We found a pretty sweet mountain biking trail and shot a sweet video that will be found on the Facebook page! That night we grilled up some chicken and roasted some marshmallows. It was such a good time!

Sunday the Polaris Elders went home and we just went about our day. We taught a bunch of lessons that were pretty dean and had the sacrament. At the end of the day we had a District devotional call and we just did a testimony meeting. The spirit was super strong. I also discovered my fate for this mid transfer! Looks like I'm going to Cleveland YSA! And I'm getting doubled in no doubt. I've been praying for opportunities to test my faith and diligence, and the Lord is providing!

Funny moment of the week:

I'm not quite sure how we did it, but we managed to fit that ginormous charcoal grill into our Malibu. We tried unscrewing it and taking it apart, but some screws were melted into the grill so we literally just stuffed it into the back seat and called it good. It was a pretty fun day! 

Miracle of the week:

On Tuesday we had an amazing lesson with an investigator. He told us how grateful he is for the missionaries and all they do. We left him with a scripture chapter to read and he was so excited, he even set up a return appointment. We are pumped for the lesson tomorrow!

Love,
Elder Bohn

Week 30: Dean Interviews!

Hey everyone! This past week went by super fast with all the good times we've had! I hope that you all are doing good and having a good time!

Here's a quick run through of this week:

Monday was a blast! We got to spend the day with the APs for p day. We all went to a bike park in Powell and biked for a couple hours and had some dean grilled cheese sandwiches.

Tuesday we went on a road trip down to Madison Lake for Elder Erickson. We had to go to the Doctor because Elder Erickson needed to get something checked out. (No it's not the Rona, and yes he is fine) After we got back we went over to the mission home and helped unload a whole bunch of furniture from the Amish that they ordered. It was pretty dean looking furniture and we got to meet Brother Weaver, the Amish Latter-day Saint. We ended off the night with a sweet lesson and some Buffalo Wild Wings.

Wednesday we had to take the car in to get the oil changed. As we were waiting for it to be done we got some pretty dean donuts from some Hippie Donut Shop. We didn't really do too much else.

Thursday we went on our training visit with the ZLs and we had our District Council. I spent the day with Elder Bosworth and we had a good time. We had some pretty fun lessons and we stayed the night with them. We had a pretty fun night and I scared Elder Erickson pretty good so it was awesome!

Friday we had interviews with President and Sister Stratford. It was bittersweet because I absolutely love interviews with them, but it was our last one because they are leaving. After that we helped the ZLs out in their Facebook live (go check out our page, it's called "Shining the Light of Christ in North Columbus"). It was a pretty dean video and it was a lot of fun setting it up and filming.

Saturday was a pretty slow day. We made a couple dean videos and had some sweet lessons. Other than that we didn't do too much.

Sunday we had a whole bunch of lessons with members that went really well. And that was pretty much it. It was just another average day. 

Funny moment of the week:

On Sunday when we had one of our lessons, I fell out of the chair as soon as the member hopped on. I went to sit on it and it just slipped out from under me. Elder Erickson just started dying and the member tried asking me if I was okay through their laughs. It's nonstop good times!

Miracle of the week:

We finally got in contact with a less active member that hasn't been responding since quarantine. We got a lesson scheduled for tomorrow which is a supreme blessing!

Love,

Elder Bohn