Monday, July 1, 2013

AREA 6- 2nd Tour of Roundup

Jan 15, 2013:  Shipped out to Roundup for another tour of duty!
I was very shocked to hear that the Lord had more work for me in Roundup.
Transfers always blow, but I was excited to learn I would be going back to the crazy town in the middle of alkali creeks and rocky clay hills; where rain and fire cause problems, where the ground is hard as rock when dry and sticky as gumbo when wet, and where I've grown more than in any other place on earth. 

It was awesome to find out that Roundup was still there! I felt like it was gonna disappear or something when i left for Malta.
    I'll make this a quick post.
Back in Roundup
Calving season for the ranchers.  Pulling calves is pretty... interesting.
Carhartt coats are priceless in this cold weather. 
Never thought the months of March and April could be that cold.
I don't really know why these people are so nice to me, but I pray that  I did what the lord wanted me to do so this branch could be blessed.
    Branding season; March-May 2013.  I've learned a lot about how these cows run since last year at this same time when I was first exposed to them.  Grown a lot.  Gotten stronger.  Got rid of fears.  This work is awesome!
    St. Patrick's Day 2013; my companion and I were able to help our good friends in the Catholic Church serve the community St Patrick's Day meal!  I thank the Lord that I was able to gain these relationships in this town!  it's because of Him that we were able to gain them.
    Spring came along, and with it came new challenges and opportunities for missionary work.  The challenges are just as hard as they used to be, always are, but we find strength to overcome them.
    I learned that I will never stop growing and never stop learning.  Some people learned that I am not perfect (surprise!).  We as people can only do so much before we're maxed out.
    A family that had been learning about the church for the past few years decided it was time to get baptized!  What a miracle and privilage it was to see them make steps that will bring their family closer together.  i am so blessed to have been there when they were prepared to come unto the Lord.
    April 2013; I'm a district leader now.  What's that?
    I learned that we as people will rarely know what miracles we will be part of, or what prayers we will answer for other people, by simply doing something good.  My prayers were answered by lots of folks that simply followed heir gut feeling (which was probably the spirit) that told them to do something good.
    I also learned that saying goodbye doesn't get easier no matter how many times you do it.
Here we go again.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Is lLife Driving You Crazy?

This is a question that many of us ask.
When will help come?
When will this pass?
Why is this so hard?
Life will kick you in the rear.  When this happens, sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy.

Sometimes it makes me feel like the conductor of the train heading to insanity.

Know that we are not the only ones that have asked this question.
I am sure Nephi asked that question when his brothers murmured and conspired against him, as we read in the Book of Mormon.
I know that Joseph Smith asked this question while in liberty Jail, as he asks in Doctrine and Covenants section 121 "Oh God, where art thou?"
I am sure that the pioneers that crossed the planes suffering pain and death asked this question.
I know that many people in our world today ask this question at times, especially when life rears it's ugly head.
I would not be surprised if our Savior, Jesus Christ asked this question while performing the Atonement.

And yet, we are taught that all of the Hell we experience in this life, is for our benifit.
In the Book of Mormon, the people of Alma were enslaved and placed under heavy burdens.  They cried for help, and the Lord responded saying
"And I will also ease the burdens which are placed upon your shoulders that even you cannot feel them upon your backs." (Mosiah 24: 14)
The Lord promises help and strength, not immediate deliverance.
The people were delivered after they learned and showed "Faith" and "Patience".

Easier said then done.
All you can do is trust in the Lord.  Turn to him for help.
And one day, you'll look back and see how far the Lord actually helped you come, and you didn't even notice him there!
That's how the Lord will work at times.  There are times when we don't know how much he carried us through until we look back at the memories of our challenge and then we realize He was right there.

So don't worry, you are not alone.  And you are not going crazy.  You are just learning how to have patience and faith, whether you know it or not.
And I'm not going crazy.  I've already been there!

"Oh Lord, where were you hiding?"
He wasn't hiding.  You were riding on His shoulders.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

AREA 5- Malta

Malta:  Where many are cold, but few are frozen.

     When I first went to Malta, I didn't like it, at all.  I considered it "Cold Exile." I was less than excited when my companion and I were driving along the high-line of Montana from Great Falls to Havre to malta.  Not to mention we had to spend an extra day in Havre because we didn't have the car keys.
I made a joke that the Lord had an extra can of "ugly" He needed to use when He was creating the high-line.  And though the environment was hostile, when I got to Malta I was glad to see that people DID live there.  But I was even more glad to discover how great those people are.
     Malta is a bitter-sweet area for me.  While I was there, the Adversary was hitting, hard.  So much happened there that gave hard memories to me.
But because of that, I was taught some things by the Lord.
     No matter how rough our circumstances are, the Lord blesses us with relief.  In my case, He blessed me to get to know some great people, one family in particular,  who helped me keep smiling. 
In the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 24: 14, the Lord lets us know a very important lesson.
"And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions."
      Notice how it does not mention anywhere in there that the Lord will take our burdens away.  Instead, he gives us strength to overcome.
That strength can come from a variety of different sources; in my case that source is people.
In Malta, I was blessed with amazing people that were right next to me during all of those unpleasant times the adversary hit.  One occasion in particular, right when I needed help and was praying to the Lord for some, the phone rang and one of the members of the branch was right around the corner heading my way.
      I have always had a concept of God visiting His people in their trials, but there are times when all of us forget.  And the Lord was patient with me and decided to remind me.  I remember on especially cold day walking through Malta and thinking of the challenges that I had seen there.  I remember my mind being so caught up in all the stress which had been and still does affect my sleep on occasion.  At this time, I couldn't stop a few tears from coming to my eye.
And then the tears froze in the sub-zero weather and my eyes were glued closed.  Oh crap!
My companion was walking right behind me but I didn't let him see me do that.
After I peeled my eyes open again and tried to slow my brain down (didn't work) our telephone just happened to ring and our branch mission-leader brightened the day right up.
     That was my sign that no matter where you are, the Lord will always answer prayers.  Even in the middle of nowhere, Malta.  I am grateful that the Lord sent me there!  I am so grateful for the Malta lesson, for the experiences I had there (even some that were not pleasant, but I learned a lot from them) and for the amazing people that I met in Malta.
My time up there was pretty short, but maybe the Lord will send me back for a 2nd tour of duty.  Stranger things have happened!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

AREA 4- ROUNDUP (my home)




I remember that cold spring day in Belgrade when I received the call that I was leaving and going to Roundup.  I was questioning "what did I do wrong to deserve this?!"
And now, 9 months later, I wonder "what did I do right to get sent to Roundup?"
A whole lot can happen between the months of March and December.  I could write a whole book about Roundup from all that happened.  And even though so much happened, I feel like those months went by a little too quick.
In Roundup, I have worked cattle, chopped wood, built rabbit cages, helped evacuate people from several forest fires, fixed fences, had some of the most challenging and sad times, and the most rewarding and happy times, and been blessed to get to know some of the most amazing and dear people to me in my whole life.  I feel so blessed that I was able to serve in Roundup and for that long period of time.  I am even more grateful that the good people here welcomed me with open arms.
When people asked me where home was and who was my family, the first thing that came to mind was Roundup and the good families that have been so good to me.
So, let some of the story-telling begin!

Ranch Life
After leaving Belgrade, I was feeling pretty down for that first few days.  That quickly disappeared when my companion Elder Owens and I had the opportunity and privilege to brand cattle.   I loved this opportunity!  I've already written a blog about branding, so I will keep this pretty simple.  At first, I didn't know what to do or think.  It was pretty new to me (I didn't know people still used spurs to ride horses). We went out to the Branch President's ranch and were able to work side by side with members of the branch, and with some of the local ranchers.  Many of the people I worked with became very good friends by the time I left Roundup.  I bet I was pretty funny-looking as I did that for the first time.
I loved working on the ranch!  We would spend our P-Days out there and I never had a bad time.  Half of the reason I loved going out there was being able to be around some really awesome people!   Working on ranches in Roundup has made me seriously consider becoming a full-time ranch hand as a profession.
I have had some of the most spiritual experiences and conversations on the ranch and was able to see many blessings come to the work in the Roundup area from the time we spent working on the ranch.  I am so grateful for this opportunity (and for the patience that the ranchers had with me when I made a stupid mistake).  Gotta learn some way!

The Fires
I have written an entire blog on this experience also.  I will not say a whole lot about it here, other than this.  During the fires, my companion Elder Hunter and I saw the hand of God manifesting itself among His children in Montana almost daily.  We saw miracles happen during this fire.  We saw people lose everything.  We worked hard for the community.  From that, we saw blessings come to the Lord's work in Roundup.  People saw us and were not as closed off to us.  Doors opened.  People became friendly to us.  Everybody in the town knew who we were.  Half of them loved us, the other half hated us (probably scared of my white hair) but at least they all knew us!
There is nowhere I would have rather been serving during the fire than in Roundup, and nobody I would rather have for a companion at that time than Elder Hunter.  I am grateful that I was able to be here for this experience.  During these fires, both Elder Hunter and I were able to feel the spirit working in us as we helped as many people as we could.  It was very interesting to watch the Holy Spirit guide us when we had no idea what we were going to do.  I am so grateful that the Lord let me be in Roundup during this time.  I have made so many great friends in Roundup because of the fire.  I am also grateful that the Lord made sure we were safe during that rodeo!

Roundup Branch Wood-Cutting Project
Back in Utah, my ward does a wood-cutting project every year to make sure families in the area are ready for a hard-hitting winter.  I was so excited to hear that my beloved Roundup Branch does the same thing!  We started in the morning and weren't done until the sun was going down.  I have cut wood with many different groups of people throughout my life, but none have impressed me more than what I saw with this branch.  Even though the wood was heavy and wet, I saw sisters in the branch and kids working right along side the brothers.  For part of the day, I was loading stumps on a log-splitter that Sister Robison was running.  I would load the wood, she would split it with the splitter then I would hand it to Sierra who would throw it in a trailer.  Well, this didn't go on too long until I looked up and had a whole row of kids standing next to Sierra that wanted to help!  That really impressed me!  So I handed wood to all of them and they carried it and loaded it without complaint.  It isn't everyday that you see kids who are willing to work like that.  They didn't quit there either.  None of those kids quit until the tractors stopped bringing trees and the log-splitters were shut off.   As we were delivering the wood, just as we got to our drop-off, a tire blew on the trailer.  We were blessed that it didn't blow any earlier.  I am so grateful I was able to be in Roundup for this experience.

The Mission
When I was in Belgrade, I was still having a hard time trying to figure out if being a missionary is something I should be doing.  I came close to quitting and going home, because I wasn't 100% sure that the Lord wanted me on a mission in Montana.  After my time in Roundup, I discovered that I was, for certain, where the Lord wanted me to be.  I was in Roundup when I decided that I would stay on my mission and would serve as honorably as I could.  I have the experiences, the prayers and the people in Roundup to thank for that.  I will be eternally grateful to the Lord for sending me to this area.  It has changed my life!  I shiver with fear to think that I almost went home before I got sent to Roundup.

The People
Though I had fun on the ranches working cattle, saw amazing things happen during the fire, learned to love the rugged beauty of the landscape, etc. the highlight of the Roundup area was the people.
We met some crazy ones.  That was fun!
Along with them, we met some of the greatest people and the most awesome children of God to walk on the planet.  The good made-up for the bad in full.
I have made so many good friends during the past 9 months in Roundup then I could ever imagine.
Saying good-bye to them was one of the hardest things I have ever done.
They impacted me with their hard-working, fun-loving spirits.  They made me smile when I really didn't want to.  They opened their doors to me when I felt lonely and let me be a part of their lives with open arms.  With some of them, I was able to see amazing changes come to their lives because of the gospel.  I was able to see some of them come to Christ as they followed his gospel and decided to be baptized.  I saw their lives change as they received the gift of the Holy Ghost.
My last Sunday in Roundup, the branch president's daughter was baptized.  That Sunday was the happiest, and hardest days I have ever been to church.  I got to see all those awesome people who I consider friends, see one of them get baptized, and then had to deal with the sadness of knowing I was leaving them all behind for a while.
There are many members of the branch that I couldn't help but smile around, no matter how low I was.
There are families in the branch that have impacted me so hard that I pray will always be a part of my life!  They have been so kind to me during my stay and I hope that I have done something, anything, right to deserve that.
Saying good-bye on that cold winter Sunday night to those families was the hardest thing I've done.  I cried to the point that I was dehydrated the next morning and for a few days after that!  At that point, I was almost angry at the Lord for sending me away.  I wondered why I was being separated from those I love.  That was my attitude for a while until I received an answer.
     The purpose is for me to learn; to learn how much I love these people, to learn what amazing examples they have been to me, to learn that I would do or give anything to be able to see them again.

The area of Roundup taught me this;
Do your best and work hard.  Not for your own gratification or glory, but because the good people around me deserve all and more than I can give.  I would never want to disappoint them.

Roundup has changed my life!
I gave it my all for the people here, and hope that some good has come of it.
I pray that I have been a blessing to the people here, not a burden.
I am very grateful for this computer because none of you can see me crying right now!

I think I promised over 100 people that I would be coming back to Roundup.  Rest assured that you will see me again, because if you don't, I'll be in a heap of trouble.

I also came across this in Roundup;
"Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." -John Wayne

January 15, 2013; I'm back for another round!!!