Doubt Not... Fear Not...

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! How's everyone doing?! Mom once again loved the email, same goes for you Aust, B-ray hope you're still killin it in football and school and of course the hunnies (speaking of which I need some updates bro!) and Dad I can only imagine how much fun you are having with tax season approaching. Haha if you need to shake things up a bit I've got some Gloria Gaynor "I will survive" on my ipod.  Hook that puppy up and get to jammin!  This week was awesome.  Awesome awesome awesome.  Another awesome week in Arvada Colorado, 80004.  So we have two investigators with a baptismal date!!!  Bryttney, who is moving along great, as well as Josh, who I think I mentioned last week.  We taught him three times this last week. He's a stud. Super solid. It was funny as we were talking about the Holy Ghost and His role in our lives Josh mention that he remembered that we get that when we are baptized with the priesthood authority of God.  Then he said, "Oh man, wow, I just got like this goose bump feeling all up my leg, then up my body, then back down and I have a couple hairs still standing up on the back up my neck.  And you guys think you've got the Spirit of God in ya!"  Haha it was funny.  So he is doing great.  We set him for March 23rd. 

Oh and church got cancelled yesterday!  Can you believe that?  It was snowing like crazyyyyyy. We had to go to ward council at 7:30am yesterday before church and of course being from Arizona and having no experience with the snow, other than watching it on tv a couple times, we arrived 15 minutes late.  Definitely staying in Zona for the rest of my life because other than going boarding or doing a real quick snow angel, snow is not my thang. At all. 

Anyways while we were in ward council we got the call that church was cancelled due to the weather conditions. Next thing you know we had the LDS Telemarketing Agency all up in the bishop's office as everyone was calling everyone to spread the word.  It was crazy, ring rings were going everywhere.  So wanting to be in on all the fun, I hit speed dial one (voicemail) and acted like I had people to call.  So it all worked out but it snowed 9 1/2 inches yesterday and I thought the end had come.  

(this is the reason Church was cancelled...)


The big news of the week - our mission is getting split.  Here's the details that I know right now. The new Fort Collins mission will take Boulder, Loveland, Greeley, Fort Collins, Laramie and Cheyenne Wyoming and they will keep the part of Nebraska we cover.  The Devner North mission will keep Arvada, Aurora, Denver North, and we will pick up Parker, the Denver metro area (we get the temple and stadiums baby!!!!!), and Arapaho or something like that.  Each mission will have 7 stakes and about 250 - 260 missionaries so pretty much every single ward will be doubled up with missionaries.  It's effective July 1st so I'm not sure how President is going to do it but I'd imagine he's known for awhile now and that he has already started moving people where he feels like they should go.  Wherever you are on July 1st that's the mission you're in.  Pretty neat isn't it.  If I were prez I'd send all the trouble makers up north to the Fort Collins mission right before the split. Haha I'm kidding.  It's really exciting to be in the middle of it all though.  And I heard about the Scottsdale and Gilbert missions in AZ!  That's incredible!  I also heard it snowed... Haha that's pretty amazing.

I thought a lot about the concept of strength this last week. And let me tell ya that's a fun topic to study.  I thought about all the experiences in which we learn strength or how to be strong, and then all the situations in which we use that strength that we've grown into to help others lean on us.  I got the whole "Lean on me" Glee Cast rendition going through my head right now.  "Leannnn on meee, when you're not strohonnggg, and I'll be you're friend, helping you carryyyyyhyyy ooohooooonnn..." or something like that.  I've concluded that just like anything we want, patience, courage, gratitude, kindness, God will help us learn it so we can attain and retain the desired attribute.  In that I echo the words of Emma Smith who said, "Strength isn't something you have. It's something that God helps you find."  It just pumps me up to know that everyday we can improve in becoming stronger and stronger if we include our loving Heavenly Father to help us find what we are searching for.  Park that's awesome that you're training!   I'm pumped for you man!  Hahahaha can't help but to see the conversations we'll be having between us over the next three months.  Also I'm proud of you man and look up to you more than you know and way more than I express.  Haha I remember back to when I got all frustrated with you when you took shotgun even though it was my dishes week, or when you would be a couple minutes behind because I totally forgot to mention that you should probably get ready, for whatever was going on, until five minutes beforehand. Haha my bad on that bro.  Transfers are coming up this week as well. I have no idea what is going on but I'm pretty positive that Elder Wengreen is going to be leaving.  Other than that I have no idea!  Well y'all.  You're all fabulous.  Hope everything is going great. Tell the boys back home I love them and am proud of them! Love you guys!

Doubt not. Fear Not.

Elder Traasdahl