Week 51: Smooth Legs and Crazy Blessings!

Hey everyone! It's the last week of the transfer and I have to say, it's been a wild one. We've been running around all over the place. I'm going to be staying here in Youngstown and my new companion is going to be Elder Vaughn. It's sad to see Elder Grayson finish his mission, but I'm excited for him!

Here's a quick run through of the week:

Monday we went over to Alliance to have a District activity with another district in the Zone. We had a pretty sweet time playing volleyball with them and some soccer. 

Tuesday I went on training visits with Elder McCoy and had an awesome time. We had a couple lessons throughout the day and we had a sweet miracle with a self referral we got. At the end of the day we tallied up the points for our Zone and we realized that they met the 4,000 point requirement. And thus resulted in the funny moment of the week...

Wednesday we had a mini mission leadership council in the morning and we discussed a couple things that President wants us to focus on for the new transfer. Afterwards we ran around all over the place to try and get in contact with people. 

Thursday we had District council in the morning which was pretty awesome. After that we had a couple lessons and tried to do the Blazin' challenge, but apparently Buffalo Wild Wings doesn't do that anymore. So we did the next best thing and got 6 Blazin' Carolina Reaper wings and called it good. 

Friday we had a training visit with the Elders in Rootstown and had an absolute blast. I spent the day with the District leader, Elder Foster. We did a ton of contacting throughout the day and had a couple really awesome lessons. At the end of the day we went to visit a couple they have on date to give the wife a blessing. We did the blessing on the front porch of their trailer home, but when we got there there was a massive storm cloud moving in. It started raining right before we started giving her the blessing and it stopped for a minute so we started the blessing. However, as soon as they started talking rain just came pouring down super hard drenching everyone and there was super loud thunder and the wind was blowing super hard. As soon as the blessing was over, everything just calmed immediately down. It was pretty wild!

Saturday we had another training visit with the elders in Warren. I spent the day with Elder Hammond and we had a good time. We did some contacting and worked on shooting a couple videos together and the day went by pretty fast.

Sunday we had in person church for the first time since I got here, so it was pretty hype. After that we had a couple lessons set up with people we are teaching. One of them was Shaunda. She has been taught by the missionaries for a while and we were able to set up a baptismal date for her next month. She is absorbing everything we are teaching like a sponge and is absolutely awesome to teach!

Monday we did some service in the morning which was pretty sweet. After that we stopped by a member family and then worked on editing some videos we've made. Other than that, we didn't do too much.

Tuesday was more or less the same as Monday, but we had a sweet lesson with a guy we've been teaching for the past little bit. We were able to resolve a couple of his concerns and give him a commitment that he said was perfect for him!

Funny moment of the week:

Well, all that really needs to be said is that we waxed our legs for the zone. It was pretty painful and I would maybe do it again for fun. My legs are now crazy smooth and it is an interesting feeling wearing pants and going to bed. Good times!

Miracle of the week:

When I was with Elder McCoy on training visits we had an awesome lesson with a self referral couple. They originally wanted to just read Psalms, but we introduced the Book of Mormon to them and they were immediately interested. They talked a lot about how they want to do whatever it takes to grow closer to Christ and how they were so happy that we were able to have a lesson with them! They are such an amazing couple and we are super excited to keep getting to know them and help them grow closer to Christ.

Love, 

Elder Bohn

  

                                        

                                                

Week 50: Interviews and Eggs!

 

Hey everyone! This past week has been pretty awesome for the most part. We've been running around a lot and keeping pretty busy. We had interviews this Thursday and they went pretty good. It's just nonstop good times up here in Youngstown!

Here's a quick run through of the week:

Monday we had our District activity and we played sand volleyball. It was pretty sweet and we had a good time! We also made a video for the Zone, more will be mentioned in the funny moment of the week.

Tuesday we did training visits with the Spanish Elders that are living with. I spent the day with Elder Magleby, and he is a stud! We taught a couple lessons and I attempted to help with an English class, but I was pretty much useless. It's all good though.

Wednesday we had our training visits with the Assistants and we had a really good time. We got a lot of work done and they stayed the night with us. We did a lot of contacting throughout the day and set up a bunch of lessons so it was pretty sweet. 

Thursday was the day of interviews so we were just busy all day. We were there for all 3 district councils in the Zone and had to organize an interview schedule for everyone. All the District councils were awesome and we were only slightly behind schedule for the interviews. When I had my interview, President pretty much asked me who I wanted for a companion and he said he'd see what he could do. So I'm interested to see what happens.

Friday was a dreadful day long to be remembered. We had a training visit with the Elders in Lisbon. I spent the day with Elder Stephens and we got quite a bit of work done. We worked on making some videos for the Facebook page and we did some more contacting. At the end of the day we had to make a certain video for our Zone. More will be explained in the funny moment of the week.

Saturday we got a new 2020 Tacoma from the vehicle coordinator so we are pretty pumped. After that we had a whole bunch of lessons cancel so we had to improvise and do some online work and even more contacting.

Sunday was pretty awesome for us. We had online church because our County is still in the red, but it should open up next week. We had a couple really awesome lessons and had a good time. Other than that we didn't do too much.

Miracle of the week:

We had an awesome lesson with a member who is in charge of the addiction recovery program. We talked with him for a while and he talked about all these different people he wants us to teach that he's talking with. He is such a stud and we are excited for the opportunities that await!

Funny moment of the week:

So to explain the videos I will provide a background. As the Zone leaders we come up with what we call a "Zone Focus" or goal or challenge for the Missionaries in our Zone to work on during a transfer. This transfer we focused on extending invitations, following up on invitations, having lessons with members, and always asking for referrals. There is a point system for each of those things that goes as follows:

Invitations: 1 point

Follow ups: 3 points

Member lessons: 5 points 

Every referral they get: 10 points

We have made goals for the Zone to get to and if they get to a certain amount of points we have to give them a "reward". The rewards go as follows:

1,000 points: We do the Ice Bucket challenge

2,000 points: We get raw eggs and syrup thrown at us in full pros clothes

3,000 points: We do the Blazin' challenge at Buffalo Wild Wings

4,000 points: We will wax our legs

They are currently at 2,400 points so on Monday we did the ice bucket challenge and on Friday we got syrup poured on us and eggs thrown at us. It was nonstop good times! Whatever you have to do to move the work along!

Love,

Elder Bohn

Week 49: Zone Conference? More like Bohn Conference!

 

Hey everyone! This has been another exciting week here in the blessed land of Youngstown. We've been meeting with a few people and we went on a couple sweet training visits. We had a Zone Conference with the Kirtland Zone on Thursday and it was an amazing spiritual experience! I had to give some lessons, so it was pretty much a Bohn Conference. Get it?!

Here's a quick run through of the week:

Monday was just like any other p day. We did some service in the morning and played some basketball and spike ball in the afternoon. We were getting pretty busy running around all over the place so it was just nonstop good times!

Tuesday we had a couple sweet lessons with a couple people we're teaching. One of them was Ian, who is a complete stud. We talked a lot about general conference and what stood out to him. He really liked President Nelson's talk about letting God prevail. When we got done with that lesson we started calling a whole bunch of people and stopping by self referrals to see if they'd be interested in a lesson. It was a pretty sweet day!

Wednesday we went on training visits with the Alliance Elders McCoy and Hansen. I was with Elder Hansen for the day and we had a marvelous time. We made a sweet video that we are working on putting together and contacted a ton of people. Afterwards we met with a member in their ward and talked about General Conference. After that we had some crack chicken which was absolutely delicious. I will have to post the recipe sometime because I highly recommend it!

Thursday was absolutely amazing from start to finish. In the morning we had a lesson with a lady named Shaunda and talked about the importance of baptism and she seemed really interested in getting baptized but she really wants to be sure about it. She is an amazing lady and is progressing super well. After we got done with that we drove up to Kirtland for a combined zone conference with the Kirtland zone. I got to see my favorite Cleveland missionaries which was awesome! We made sure to wear our Minecraft watches to flex on everyone. When we got there we had an incredible time there with the trainings and insights from President and Sister Horgesheimer. One of my biggest takeaways is that when we are in our hard times, or our wilderness, we can and should always turn to God and Jesus Christ. They are the only ones that can truly help us through those hard times. When we got done with conference we took some pictures at the Kirtland temple and Historical sites. 

Friday we went on training visits with the Rootstown Elders, Bennett and Foster. I got to spend the day with Elder Bennett and we had a good ole time together. We did some service in the morning and made another sick video in the afternoon. We did some Facebook work together and things went really good.

Saturday we did some weekly planning and lots of study and planning throughout the day. We tried dropping off a Book of Mormon to someone who requested it and they then tried to convince us they didn't. Soooooo yeah, good times. They had a sick Jeep Gladiator so it was cool. We also called like 20 people to try and set up lessons which is always a fun time.

Sunday was super amazing for us. One downside is that our county just got put back in the red so in person Church is cancelled. It's sad, but that's just how it is. After that we had a very spiritual lesson with a lady we've been teaching for a while. More will be mentioned in the Miracle of the Week. At the end of the day we had a mission wide devotional with my favorite person in the world here in Cleveland, Brother Spencer Knowles! He talked with us a lot about being patient and trusting in God. Everything he says is absolutely inspiring!

Miracle of the week:

The lady we were teaching on Sunday really opened up to us and shared a really negative experience she's had with a church recently and it makes her struggle to think that there is just one true church out there. We talked with her for a long time and we discovered that a lot of her beliefs matched up with ours and she is a spiritual giant. Just seeing how humble and prepared she was to learn about the gospel was absolutely incredible and we greatly look forward to meeting with her again. 

Funny moment of the week:

The funny moment of the week would definitely have to be wearing our gangster Minecraft watches to Zone Conference to flex on everyone. People would be talking with us and stop and stare at our watches and just start laughing. It was a lot of fun going there and seeing the Cleveland District.

Love,

Elder Bohn

Week 48: Super Busy!

Hey everyone! Things have been going pretty good here in Youngstown this past week! We've been staying pretty busy with service and lessons and we got to go on some training visits so it's been a hoot!

Here's a quick run through of this week:

Monday was a pretty fun day overall. We did some service in the morning for a local food bank and had a good time. After that we went fishing with a couple elders over at a member's pond. It was then that I remembered that I have horrible luck when it comes to catching fish as I caught nothing. After we got done with that we went and played some basketball and spikeball and called it a day.

Tuesday we did some more service in the morning and had a good time. After that we had a couple lessons that went pretty good. To end off the day we worked on a video we are making and that was about it for the day.

Wednesday we went on training visits with the Ashtabula Elders, Elder Felts and Elder Horsley. I spent the day with Elder Felts and we had an awesome time together. We had a lesson with a friend that they are teaching and it went pretty good. Elder Felts is an awesome teacher and he is definitely enthusiastic about missionary work. After the lesson we met back up with Elder Grayson and Horsley and made a sick video about building on a firm foundation. To end off the day we grilled up some food and had a lesson with a member and headed back down to Youngstown.

Thursday we had our District Council and it was pretty awesome. We talked a lot about experiences from our mission and what we learned. Afterwards we went and were going to have a lesson with a guy we taught a couple weeks ago, but he is ghosting us so that's fun. We made the most of it and stopped by a couple referrals in the area. Other than that we didn't really do anything exciting.

Friday was a really awesome day for us. We met with Scott, a guy we've been teaching, and it was a really good lesson. We ended up just getting to know him and answering questions he had. After that we had a couple more lessons and did some Facebook work to wrap up the day.

Saturday was the first day of conference weekend! The talks were absolutely amazing and there was so much that I learned! When general conference was over we had a lesson that ended up cancelling on us, but we made up for it by doing some Facebook work.

Sunday was absolutely amazing with general conference! By far my favorite talk was Elder Holland's per usual and President Nelson's was the answer to the question that I had going into conference. We were over at the Bishop's house for the afternoon session and we had an awesome time. 

Miracle of the week:

Our miracle happened when we were meeting with Scott on Friday. When we were about to head out after the lesson he asked us what he would need to do to get on the path to baptism. He said that it's been something he's been thinking about lately and after meeting with the missionaries for about 4 years, he wants to get on the covenant path. We are so excited for him to help him grow closer to Christ!

Funny moment of the week:

On Sunday in between conferences we went to go stop by a recent convert to read the Book of Mormon with him. When we got there, there was just some random lady chilling on his front door waiting for him as well. She would talk to us a lot and we would try to respond, the only problem was that we couldn't understand a single word that she was saying. It was just complete gibberish and we would just smile and nod our heads. When Howard, the guy we were meeting with, came out we were in the middle of reading and his friend pulled up with his car and started talking with us. The lady that was hanging out on his front porch started yelling to him and he just looked at her and said, "Shut up Cheryl, I don't want to talk to you". And just ignored everything she was saying. At one point she said, "Are you listening to me?", to which he responded "I can hear you, I just don't understand a thing that you're saying". It was exceedingly hard not to laugh in front of her, but I managed to hold it together.

Love,

Elder Bohn