8.28.17 Big Fish!

Thank you for updating me on how the family's doing. It's great to see that every one got a chance to go up and see the solar eclipse.  I'm just waiting up here in Alaska for the day where I can see the stars before I go to bed. But by the time it's 10:30 it's still a little light outside. It's crazy but I, used to it! Plus it's about to change, it's going to be super dark soon so I'm enjoying every moment of light and sunshine . 

My week was really good. On Monday I went fishing and caught a bunch of pink salmon. I kept three, my comp showed me how to cut up the fish... I tried and I did pretty poorly, but I'm gonna be practicing about every week. I should have learned by dad or grandpa Talbot back when I was home. But we had a good time , we fished all day, it would be fun to come back out here later with dad and grandpa and any one else that wants to fish, but that's really far down the road haha.

Throughout the week we went back to our normal Schedule. It's getting easier and easier to arise at 6:30 and start my day. Some days I have to tell my self to keep praying and keep having faith that if I'm obedient I will see the blessings come. This kind of mind set came to me because we talked to 2 people last Saturday that told us to come back this Saturday. When we came back the first house , Clark said he talked to his girl friend and wanted to kindly decline. And them we went to this other house we ran into and she wasn't home a couple of different times we have checked . But we are going to keep checking, I realized I can only do my best. People in this life still have AGENCY. Something Drew doesn't have if you know what I mean.  Haha just kidding , but really everyone understands right and wrong but still has thousands of choices each day on what they actually do. Prayer has become my best friend to over power temptation and fear that may come into my life. It gives me the strength when I ask for the spirit to be with me when I'm being OBEDIENT. 

We got to set up a lesson with a less active named Everett. He's the same age as dad and used to be active when he was my age but he has become less active . He said he was going to come to church, but he didn't .  So we went and had a lesson with him over the importance of prayer, scriptures and church. I Asked him " Everett, why does God want us to show our faith in him" that question got him really thinking of the big picture of why we are here on this earth. I feel like a lot of times people can forget because they get so caught up with their work in the world or anything else that is worldly. We testified that as he prayed to God again like he used to that he would feel the love that he has for him . I really loved sharing a quick powerful message with him, we invited him back to church and so I'm hoping he will come because of the desires of his own heart. The spirit was there, and so I'm hoping he chooses to start showing faith in God by praying and coming to church this weekend. We will try to work with him on reading.  It's just been so many years, that he has forgotten his God. Their are so many different times in the book of Mormon where the people forget their God and then fall away. I shared a scripture to him about that common trend that occurs. He still has the choice in everything he does, but now he knows the truth and the obvious right thing to do. Some times the good things aren't always the easy choices. 

Me and my Companion have been asked by the bishop to make sure that each home in the ward has been dedicated. He truly believes that we must keep the members strong so that they can testify to their peers. He also told us that he believes their is a cloud of darkness in Kodiak. And because of this we must fight a spiritually battle with the adversary by doing things like dedicating our homes. It's been an interesting experience. We wrote a prayer for them or us to say at their home. But like always they can say their own, or go from ours and go by the spirit. 

The work is slow here. I'm really trying to find someone that we can teach. But I always remember what president Bednar told us while we were in the MTC.  He told us that none of our mission is about us. These calming peaceful words help me remember that I'm here to help others and I shouldn't get discouraged when people cancel or don't want to hear from us even though it's a tad frustrating . 

Also if you haven't seen the video called ASK OF GOD you should watch it. It was put out like 5 months ago by the church, and is really good. I love it how simple the gospel is. As individuals we must decide and know for ourselves if Joseph Smith was a prophet and if he did truly translate the book of Mormon. Once we KNOW that and our roots are planted, then we must endure to the end. So far I love being a missionary because everyday I get to go the Lord's work and that's the most joyful kind their is. Many days my physical body gets tired but I can over come that though faith in Jesus Christ, and being obedient .  We will be blessed when we do these things.

Sorry about the lack of pics. I'll have more next week. Here are the fish I kept. We are going back out right now to catch more. We want to silver salmon to begin to run because those taste better. So far a family has fed me salmon once . And I've cooked up my own for lunch some days. 

Also like 12 apples cost 20 bucks. I didn't realise that till I had them at the check out line,  and I was like ..... hmmmm I'm going to put those back. Food cost more here so they give us 70 dollars extra transfer 

Have a great week!