Week 94: Transfers!

Hey everyone! This has been a week to be sure and a transfer week at that. I am staying here in Tallmadge with Elder Kofoed and I couldn't be any happier. We have a lot of momentum built up with the zone and we are excited to stay together to keep that same fire going. 

Here is a quick run through of this week:

Wednesday we had our p day which was pretty lit. We did much of the same exact stuff as we always do. We did a lot of basketball and volleyball and ended off the night with a marshmallow cookout. It was hard saying goodbye to some of the missionaries who were getting transferred, but that is just how it goes. 

Thursday we had transfers. We had to get an extra vehicle down to transfers so I got to drive all alone down to transfers for 2 hours. It. Was. Lit. Anyways we get there and get everything all ready to go and we find out some bad news. About half of the 30 missionaries that were supposed to fly in ended up missing their flight because the plane broke. We were put in a pickle because one of the missionaries we had to drive back had a new missionary that wasn't here yet. So we ended up having to leave him down in Columbus overnight with some other missionaries to wait for his companion. It was a pretty fun drive home and we had a lesson that night to end things off.

Friday was a lot of administrative shenanigans we had to get done. We had to drop off some mattresses, bikes, etc. After that we went and checked out one of the elders apartments. After all that we had a good visit with a member who has been going through a hard time. Once that is over we had to go and grab the elder that we left behind in Columbus and take him and his new companion to their apartment. Overall it was a long day, but it was a good day. 

Saturday we went over and visited with a member and played some cards to cheer him up. After meeting with him and sharing a scripture we went and did service for a lady in the ward. We tore up her flower bed and demolished all the weeds. It was hotter than garbage outside so we worked up a good sweat. After that we got showered up and had a baptism. Long story short, we play basketball every Saturday with the Nepali elders, a Nepali member named Sajun and all his friends. One of his friends Kyaw (it's pronounced Jaw) started taking the lessons and decided to be baptized. So we got him baptized and it was fantastic!

Sunday we had church in the morning like normal. After that was over we had Stake Correlation with President Horgesheimer and the stake President here. It was pretty funny what happened, but I'll explain that in the funny moment of the week. To end off the night we met with Papa John, at least that's what we call him. We shared a couple verses with him and he vented some of his frustrations. 

Miracle of the week:

One big miracle is just how successful these Saturday night basketball sessions have been. A good amount of the people that come have decided to start taking the lessons and now one is baptized. Taking time to have fun and fellowship with people can make such a big difference.

Funny moment of the week:

So with Stake Correlation, we ended up being like 15 minutes late because we got sidetracked with a member. They were about to roast us for being late and unprepared, but we were able to give them all the info they needed and more. When we were done they were pretty impressed and didn't say anything. So yeah, we whipped on the whole Stake Correlation.

Love,

Elder Bohn

Week 93: Penske Trucks and Power Worshers!

Hey everyone! Truly this has been a long week to be sure, and it's not just because it was a 9 day week. it always gets wild at the end of the transfer and this time was no exception. I don't want to type much out because it is time consuming and I am lazy. 

Here is a quick run through of the week:

Monday we had an awesome lesson with Raven and got to know her super well and built a strong relationship with her. She really trusts us and knows that we can help change her life in a positive way. After that we played some basketball and called it a day.

Tuesday we went on training visits with the Kent State elders and I was with the man, the myth, the legend, Elder Rodriguez. We had an awesome time going street contacting on Kent state talking to some fun people. We did some service for this school group that collects and gives out food to people who are in need. After that we had a couple lessons and did some contacting to try and set up more lessons.

Wednesday we had our last district council of the transfer and it was pretty hype. Afterwards we spent most of the day with the Nepali elders going to a couple lessons with them. 

Thursday was probably the most frustrating day ever. We got a referral for a lady named Ramona who needed some help moving. We set up a time to come over and that was today. We thought we were going to just move some stuff from a trailer into a home, but it turned out emptying an entire PENSKE truck into like 5 storage containers at some storage company. To make a long story short, we were there for 6 hours moving everything this lady owned (which was a lot of genealogy stuff and sewing stuff). We got one entire container loaded to the brim and then she realized we packed the wrong one, so we had to take it all out and put it in the right one. We were all mildly upset. Anyways, after that we had a couple lessons with some people we've been working with and the day turned out alright in the end.

Friday we spent most of the day with the Nepali elders again and it was hype! We had a really good bible study in the morning with Anita and Chris, two ladies we've been talking too. After that we went to a Nepali members salon and got our eyebrows threaded. So you could say we are looking pretty hot now ;) Anyways after that we had a lesson with a recent convert named Jen and put her daughter, Kayleigh on date to be baptized. It was just a super awesome day in general.

Saturday we had training visits with the Ashland elders and I was with Elder Carpenter again. We made a lot of phone calls to try and set up visits with some peeps they've been working with. Most of the day was spent in lessons with some members so it was pretty hype. At the end of the day we played some basketball and it was lit. 

Sunday we went to church which is always lit. After that we had a lesson with some members who are pretty much our grandparents. After that it was pretty much a whole bunch of contacting to try and set up lessons. To end off the night we spent some time with the Nepali elders and had some bomb dinner.

Monday pretty much consisted of a contacting spree of finding a person for every letter of the alphabet and calling them. To end off the day of lessons and nonstop contacting, we played basketball with some of the Nepali elder peeps.
Tuesday we were going to do some service for our friend Gary, but his power washer was broken so we had to cancel. When that was over we had a couple lessons and went with the Nepali elders and put one of their friends on date for baptism. At the end of the day the transfer board came out and it looks like Elder Kofoed and I are staying together for another one so I am pumped!

Miracle of the week:

The biggest miracle has to be working with so many people that are close to baptism. It is incredible to see the transformation that the Gospel of Jesus Christ makes in people's lives.

Funny moment of the week:

Gary, the guy we were going to power wash his table is a total clown. It isn't a power washer, it is a power worsher. He doesn't say wash, he says worsh. I don't know why we find it so funny, but we do.

Love, 

Elder Bohn

Week 92: Baptisms and Yard Work!

Hey everyone! And thus concludes another week of my mission. Some pretty crazy noteworthy things went down, so it was pretty dang hype. 

Here is a quick run through of the week:

Monday was about the same as always. We made a fire and roasted some marshmallows which is always a blast.
Tuesday was quite the roller coaster. To back track, on Sunday previous Bishop called us telling us that a family in Arizona wanted to baptize their 2 kids here in Ohio in the Cuyahoga river. They were all passed off by the mission president in Arizona and the bishop of the ward they live in. So we just had to show up and be witnesses of it. So Elder Kofoed and I got to walk in a river to witness it. It was hype to say the least! After that we had a couple lessons with some peeps throughout the day.
Wednesday we had district council in the morning which was hype. After that we went on our weekly district blitz where we just go crazy street contacting and door knocking for a couple hours. We had a super awesome miracle come from it, so more will be mentioned down below. After that awesome experience we played some basketball against some random kids. We had a couple lessons with some members after that and helped with an activity days activity to end off the night.

Thursday we went on training visits with the New Portage elders and it was a ton of fun. We had some pretty hype lessons with some people and we taught a recent convert and her friend about the gospel of Jesus Christ. After some more lessons and even more contacting we went and played ward basketball.
Friday we had a pretty wild day to be honest. We didn't have too many plans for the day, but our day planned us out in the end. We met with one of the members who we've been trying to get to church for a while. We ended up having a super awesome lesson with him and he said that he'd definitely be coming to church this week. After the lesson his landlord said that he needed help making his yard look better. He apparently bought some bushes and trees that got planted and died so he needed some new ones. We said that we'd be happy to help. He then gave us his credit card and said, "do whatever it takes to make my yard look good". About 2 hours, 3 bushes, and $100 later we completed our mission. We got him some bushes and got everything planted. He was super happy with the work and he said he wanted us to come back tomorrow to help out some more. 
Saturday we went on training visits with the Nepali elders and it was hype. I was in the Nepali area again so I was chilling. My comp Elder Raj did all the work and I was there for the ride. In the morning we went back to the landlord's house and pulled weeds for an hour and shared a scripture with him afterwards. After that we had a couple lessons with some members that speak Nepali. It was actually a way fun day overall, it went by too fast.
Sunday was a wild day as well. We helped get all the Nepali elders peeps to church which was exciting. We had a lot of the people we invited to church actually come so we were beyond hyped. After church we went and checked up on some elders in the zone. One of them has been feeling down so we took him on a quick hike to cheer him up. After that we had a lesson with a member who has been going through a really hard time. He has just been really lonely lately and he said he needed a blessing. We played some card games with him and gave him a blessing. We felt super happy seeing him smile as we left.

Miracle of the week:

When we were blitzing we decided to stop by a self referral in the area that hasn't responded to our calls. We knocked and she invited us in. As soon as we came in she broke down and talked about how she has been needing to grow closer to Christ and to overcome addiction. We proceeded to have a very powerful lesson with her and to see her happy and smiling when we left was incredible.

Funny moment of the week:

When we were in New Portage we ended up having a 2 hour long phone call with some crazy lady who talked about how evil vaccines are. Her phone died about an hour and a half in, but she called us back and talked more as soon as it was charging without skipping a beat. Eventually the lesson ended when our phone died and we didn't want to call her back. Good times.

Love, 

Elder Bohn

Week 91: Roller Coaster of a Week!

Hey everyone! Well, this has been a roller coaster of a week to be sure. To sum it all up, it's been a lot of training visits and crazy visits with members.

Here is a quick run through of the week:

Monday was yet again another rinse and repeat of every single pday here. A lot of basketball and volleyball followed up by a good ole bbq.

Tuesday we went on training visits with the assistants. I was with Elder Anderson and Maxfield for the day and it was a total hoot. We went street contacting on Kent State University and talked to a couple way awesome people there. We talked to some super cool dude riding around on his skateboard and he seemed pretty interested in what we had to say. After that we did a butt ton of contacting and reporting. To end off the day we went and stopped by some self referrals and pretty much no one answered. So RIP life I guess.

Wednesday we were on training visits with the Canton elders. I was with Elder Clifford and it was a really busy day. We went and walked around a park in the morning and talked to a really stubborn Catholic lady. She didn't want to talk with us, but she talked to us first. She was pretty hype. After that we did another district blitz and knocked a couple of neighborhoods. No one wanted to talk with us, but we saw a high speed chase so it was all worth it.

Thursday was interviews and it was a pretty long day. We sat in district councils all day long. We got to the church at 8am to set up and we didn't get home until 7pm. It went by slow, but I had a good interview with President so I can't complain.

Friday morning we had a bible study with some lady and her neighbor and it went really good. After that we had a good lesson with a guy we're teaching named Daniel. It was interesting to say the least, but it's all good. We ended off the day with a whole bunch of contacting and weekly planning so it was pretty good overall.

Saturday we went on training visits with the Ashland elders again. i was with Elder Foster for the day and it went really good. It was a recent convert's birthday so we did a birthday party with her and her family and a couple missionaries. It was at on of fun spending time with all of them. After that we did a whole bunch of contacting and set up a couple lessons with some people that we are teaching. We had a couple of lessons after that and ended off the day with ward basketball so it was way lit.

Sunday went by way fast, it was crazy. We had church in the morning which went quickly and a couple lessons that afternoon. We met with a guy who we are trying to get ready for baptism, but he won't stop smoking. Every we we go over and talk about not smoking and then he just does it all over again. We are just taking time with him and hopefully things will get better. At the end of the day we went over to a member's house and we ate some alligator. Yeah, we ate some alligator and it was delicious. It was like a mix between fish and chicken. I want more, but it's all good. Nothing else really happened throughout the day, so it was pretty fantastic.

Miracle of the Week:

All of the missionaries in our zone have been working super hard in the past month and have found 125 new people to teach as a zone!

Funny Moment of the Week:

One of the elders in our district couldn't find his phone so he went a little berserk because he thought one of us took it. He started patting all of us elders down and chasing everyone who tried to run away. It was hilarious watching him go off and tell us to chill out while he was running around liek Batman looking for his phone. It was way funny!

Love,

Elder Bohn