Week 55: Makeup and Fasting!

 

Hey everyone! This has been a pretty awesome week for us. We've had some sweet lessons with people and things have started to open back up again as a mission. 

Here's a quick run through of the week:

Monday we didn't really do that much. We went shopping, and played some basketball which was fun.

Tuesday was a fairly average day for the most part. We had some awesome studies and contacted a bunch of people. We had a couple really good lessons with some members randomly throughout the day so it was sweet.

Wednesday we had district council which was a good time as always. Afterwards we went and had a lesson with Malissa, the lady with the demon problems. She told us that she just broke up with her boyfriend because he worships satan and was putting curses on her... yep. We talked with her about how satan won't have any power over her if she stays close to God and prays and studies the scriptures more. Other than that and a couple more lessons, nothing too crazy happened during the day.

Thursday we joined the other district councils in the zone and it was a loooooong day. It's all good though, the spirit was super strong in all of them. Other than that the bishop might have covid, so yeah. Nonstop good times!

Friday we had a lesson with a self referral who is an absolute stud! He has a whole bunch of questions, and we have a whole lot of answers! We also had interviews with President over zoom which went pretty good, I love talking with him so much! Other than that, it was just an average day!

Saturday we had training visits and I was with Elder Davis for the day. He is an absolute STUD! He is a spiritual giant and we did a lot of Facebook work and talking about how to make content to post. At the end of the day we had a pizza party with them so it was sweet!

Sunday we had another lesson with Malissa and it was incredible! More will be mentioned in the miracle of the week. After her lesson we talked with a bunch of other people and all the lessons went well. We gave the Sisters the sacrament and gave them blessings at the end of the day so it was pretty awesome. Other than that we didn't do anything crazy.

Funny moment of the week:

Well, we lost again this week for the Zone Focus. The punishment was "blind folded makeup challenge". So yeah, enjoy the picture and video!

Miracle of the week:

On Friday we felt very prompted to fast on Saturday for Malissa to help her with her challenges she's facing. So all the elders in our District fasted for her on Saturday. When we met with her on Sunday she had a complete 180° change. She was completely focused on being grateful for what she has, self improvement, and growing closer to God. She talked about all the things she's doing to get in shape and move on from the past and to be better. She's reading the scriptures a lot now and things are going awesome for her! The power of fasting is real!

Love, 

Elder Bohn

Week 54: Lockdown #2 and Demons Too!

 

Hey everyone! Things have gotten... exciting to say the least. We got some bad news and then some good news, so it's been an emotional roller coaster. We've had a really good time so it's pretty awesome. I can't complain!

Here's a quick run through of the week:

Monday was the fateful day we got some bad news. Apparently a couple people in the mission got Covid so the entire mission got put into quarantine again. So no more in person lessons, no service, no missionary meetings. So that completely wrecked our schedule for the next couple days. But, as all things, it'll buff! We ended up just drowning our sorrows in thrift shopping so it was all okay.

Tuesday was a fun day! We had a service project in the morning and 6 lessons scheduled throughout the day, but they all fell through because we are in lockdown. So we just improvised and made the most of the day and did some Facebook work and did a ton of contacting.

Wednesday we got some good news. President Horgesheimer said that if we aren't experiencing any symptoms, then we can do in person lessons and do only outdoor service. It worked out really well for us because we had a couple lessons scheduled that meeting in person is the only effective way to meet them. Things did get pretty interesting when we had a self referral tell us she was being haunted by demons and that they were running around all over her house and scratching her at night. So we went over and gave her a blessing and dedicated her apartment. So that was pretty fun. 

Thursday we had Zone Conference over zoom, which was kind of depressing. It ended up being pretty awesome in the end. I definitely learned a lot and the spirit was strong! After Zone Conference ended we had a lesson with our friend, Ian, that went awesome. He had a lot of questions for us about the Book of Mormon and finding answers and we were able to answer all of his questions. He's slowly starting to realize that what we teach is the truth, and we're hoping and praying that he will want to act on his promptings.

Friday we spent most of the day studying and planning for the rest of the week so it was a pretty slow day. We had a couple lessons throughout the day that went pretty good. Overall it was a pretty awesome and relaxed day.

Saturday was a wild day for us. We had a pretty fun time getting pied in the face. (More on that will be in the funny moment of the week). After, we had some incredible lessons with people we are teaching. 

Sunday was a super busy day from the beginning. We had ward council at 9am and then went over to a watch the church zoom meeting with a lady we're teaching named Shaunda. After that we went back to meet with the lady who's apartment we dedicated and she said that things have definitely been getting better for her which is awesome. We were able to talk with her a little bit more about our church and what we believe. We set up another time to come talk with her again, so we are excited to help her in any way we can!

Funny moment of the week:

So our new Zone focus is focused on learning the 42 doctrinal points in Preach my gospel and applying those things we learn. We get points for studying one of the points and then we get more points for every time we share that point, or use it in a lesson. For example, if I study about "our lives on earth" then I want to try teaching that to people to get points. And just like last time, there are punishments. This weeks punishment was being pied in the face. And thus we got pied in the face. This is missionary work ladies and gentleman.

Miracle of the week:

The biggest miracle of this week for me probably has to be the lessons we've had with people we're teaching. Each one just seemed to go perfectly and the spirit was strong in all of them. Hopefully we can continue to meet with all the people we're teaching and help them grow closer to Christ!

Love, 

Elder Bohn

Week 53: Training Visits and Long Rides!

Hey everyone! This has been a wild week for us! It seems like every single week I talk about us running around like mad men, but that's pretty much what we're doing. There is nothing better than being busy as a missionary. I am absolutely loving it here in Youngstown and Elder Vaughn and I are having an awesome time!

Here's a quick run through of the week:

Monday we had a pretty awesome day. We did some service in the morning and then had a lesson with Lebron. He's a pretty awesome guy, he has a super strong testimony of Jesus Christ. He has a lot of interesting beliefs on his belief window, but we are hoping to help him resolve those things. To end off the day we played a ton of basketball and called it a night. 

Tuesday we had MLC so we drove down to Columbus in the morning for like 3 hours. MLC was absolutely incredible with the trainings we got. They were all exactly what we needed to hear and focus on as a mission. When that was over we started the 3 hour drive back up to Youngstown. By the time we got back we had an hour left in the day so we just called a bunch of people.

Wednesday was a pretty uneventful day. We had a sweet District Council in the morning and we ran out of time so I didn't have to give a training so that was a blessing! Other than that the day was just spent contacting and setting up lessons. 

Thursday we did training visits with the Elders in our apartment. I was with Elder Sahagun for the day and he is a stud. He's only been out a couple weeks and he is doing awesome. We taught a couple lessons together and we did some contacting to give him some practice. He's getting the hang of things pretty fast!

Friday was pretty uneventful day. We had weekly planning and did a bunch of reporting for numbers in the Zone. It's just been nonstop good times!

Saturday we went down to Alliance and did training visits with the Elders down there. I was with Elder Young for the day and we had a good time. We did a ton of Facebook work together and contacted a bunch of people. In the afternoon we went out and shot a video for our Zone Facebook page. At the end of the day we just called a bunch of people we're teaching and talked with them for a while. We were able to set up a bunch of lessons with them so it was sick!

Sunday started off pretty interesting with church over zoom. It was literally 17 minutes long. It threw us all off when we heard one speaker and them saying, "Awesome we'll end with a prayer and we'll see y'all next week". After that we had a couple really awesome lessons with people we are teaching and had an awesome miracle with a lady the Spanish Elders are teaching.

Funny moment of the week:

We were at service and some random dude walked up to us and said, "y'all from Utah right?" So we said yes to which he responded, "Ahhhh, Mitt Romney!" And then walked away. Then anytime after that when he would see us he would just laugh and say "Mitt Romney". You meet some interesting people!

Miracle of the week:

We went to a lesson with a lady that the Spanish elders are teaching. We talked with her for a while and we helped resolve concerns that she had and extended a baptismal invitation and she accepted! She already is talking about wanting to go to the temple and do missionary work! She is such an incredible lady!

Love, 

Elder Bohn

Week 52: The Adventures of Vaughn and Bohn!

Hey everyone! It's the start of a new transfer and things are starting off awesome! Elder Vaughn is a stud and we are just having nonstop good times!

Here's a quick run through of this past week:

Wednesday we had a wild day. We went bowling, played basketball, played spike ball, got some delicious Hispanic food and called it a day. 

Thursday was the day of transfers and it was a really sad day. I said my final goodbyes to Elder Grayson and met my new companion Elder Vaughn. We had a good time getting everything together for transfers and then went on a wild road trip dropping off things to all the companionships. It was an absolutely incredible day and I'm pumped for this new transfer.

Friday was a pretty normal day for the most part. We did weekly planning and contacted a bunch if people. Other than that, nothing really happened.

Saturday we had a pretty busy day. We had to schedule meetings for all the districts in the Zone with the stake President. We got everything figured out and things went pretty smoothly. In the meeting we primarily focused on basing everything we teach on Jesus Christ. 

Sunday we found out that in person Church was cancelled so that was a bummer. But we just had a zoom church meeting so it was alright. After that we had a couple really awesome lessons and got to watch the live devotional with Elder Uchtdorf. Overall, it was a fantastic week and I was able to feel the spirit very strongly throughout!

Funny moment of the week:

Well, we finally found out where the lint trap is on our dryer. And it looked like it hasn't been emptied in  a whole year. It's just fun times here in Youngstown!

Miracle of the week:

Besides the fact that our apartment hasn't burned down, we had another incredible lesson with that couple we've been teaching. They are progressing really well and it's been awesome being able to help them come closer to Christ!

Love,

Elder Bohn