Back to Work

Hello hello - 

What I thought would be a nice reprieve from traveling from place to place for three weeks has been one of the slower weeks of my mission! This past week has just been crawling by and I'm so ready to get back on the road. I'm glad we tried it out, though, because now we know to schedule some exchanges for Week 1 of next transfer instead of taking a break. After meeting with President Ahlander several times, I'm starting to realize that this assignment won't be dying with me; President is excited about the progress and the feedback he's getting from missionaries we've been out with and he wants this to continue after we go home. With that being said, we're paying more attention to the efficiency of the entire process so that when we go home, our replacements inherit a non-jank, well-oiled system. 

This next week looks pretty fun, with time in Tule Springs, Elkhorn Springs, and Red Rock. We have Leadership Training on Friday, so we won't be going on exchanges then. We have to give a training on going on effective exchanges, and I'm not necessarily looking forward to it; not quite sure yet as to how we're going to make that fun and interesting. I'm sure it'll be fine, though! 

There's an article in this month's Ensign that I really liked about ministering to others. A section that stuck with me was about finding "the one". Elder David A. Bednar was in England, if I remember correctly, and mentioned that the Apostles are always sent to find "the one" when they travel; they just happen to go to meetings and speak to multitudes on the way. And even then, he's not speaking to a lot of people, he's speaking to a group of assembled "ones". It's been on my mind all week long, and I've been doing my best to be on constant lookout for "the one" - it makes all the difference and influences nearly every action. 

I love you and hope to share some good experiences with you next week!
Jesse

Elder Dowdle and Elder Tunney
 

 

A Week of Normalcy

Hey guys - 

This past week was the last one of the transfer, and it was a good one to end on. We were in Red Rock, Spring Mountain, South, and finished out in Pahrump (which was a trip). This upcoming week, week 1 of the transfer, we'll spend in our area full-time; we're giving the companionships the first week so they can get used to the new areas/companions. It'll be nice to have a week of normalcy; Elder Tunney and I can regroup, plan for the next five weeks using what we've learned this past transfer, and also use the skills we've been working on together in a single area. Coming out of dinner last night, Tunney and I saw a couple in their garage across the street and went and talked to them. It was the first time in weeks we've contacted/taught together in a real situation, and it felt good to teach with him again. 

It's almost a guarantee that when on exchanges, there's going to be a crazy experience - that's widely known in the mission. That being said, Tunney and I have been very fortunate to have a crazy experience every single day. I feel as if I've had an unusual amount of spiritual experiences in the past three weeks, and with them comes a spiritual fatigue. It's akin to the fatigue you feel after a good workout; a very satisfying feeling. Much like a workout routine, it's always beneficial to have a rest week :)

This upcoming transfer will be fun - one of our investigators will be getting married and then baptized in April! We're way excited about that and so is she. We'll also have interviews with President, Mission Leadership Council, and some other meetings and trainings coming up that we're looking forward to. 

Torg goes home tomorrow morning - last night was his last night in the apartment with us. I've been in contact with the U getting some things set up for this fall - I'm waiting to hear back the process for enrolling, but I've gotten word from the marching band that I'll still have a spot/scholarship opportunity, which is good. This is all going by too fast, so excuse my while I do my best to slow it all down.

I love you!

Jesse

Back in Logandale for a day

Hey y'all -

It's been another good week; I feel as though we're starting to get the hang of moving around all the time. It's nice, falling into a routine again. I'm starting to go into these exchanges knowing exactly what I want to happen and what I need to do in order to make it happen, and it's making me more efficient as I try to help them become more efficient.

The beginning of the week had me in Littlefield, Arizona, and Logandale, Nevada. I'd forgotten what it's like to work in a small town, and to be honest, I found that I missed it. The people are incredible and the investigators sincere...the food is also delicious (deer steaks for dinner, mmm). It was great to be back in Logandale, but hard as well - I couldn't go around seeing the people that I knew and cared about, I had to be focused on the companionship I was with at the time.

Later in the week I was back in Vegas with a pair of Elders who wanted help talking to people. We saw these two thugs and I was strongly impressed to go talk to them, so I pointed them out and we started after them. They were a ways from us at the time and walking in the opposite direction, so we were hustling to try and catch them. We got close enough to call out to them and they looked back, smiled, and crossed the busy street. The elders were a little disappointed and upset as we walked back to where we were; they felt ridiculous chasing after someone and were bummed their efforts were in vain. I, myself, started to wonder if it was even a prompting. As we were walking back, the door to a furniture store opened and an older woman came out, introduced herself, and asked what we were doing. We told her what we were up to and she invited us in. She began to tell us, in the middle of this fake living room set, that she has burdens that need to be lifted and she needed to hear about Jesus Christ. She said it was ironic we passed by; we told her it was an answer to her prayers. We all started to get emotional and she got goosebumps, saying that she knew we were sent by God. She asked if we could come back in thirty minutes and teach her our message, and we agreed. Walking out of the furniture store, I could barely control my emotions - I have never had a prompting be confirmed so quickly and in such a big way. When I caught up with the Elders later, they said they had a great lesson and they're meeting with her again on Wednesday. I'm so grateful for the promptings of the Spirit and the blessings God gives to those who risk looking ridiculous to follow them.

Solid week, excited for the next one. Sorry for the lack of photos, the camera is in Littlefield (I know, I know...), but I'll have it soon!

Love you!

Jesse

First week as a Traveling Missionary!!

Super full week, but tons of fun.

This was the first week spent driving around the mission, and it was a definite learning experience. The biggest thing I've learned thus far is that this mission has some amazing missionaries; I've been constantly impressed with the caliber of the Elders I've been spending time with. I've been learning way more from them than they are from me.

 

Every night during planning, I ask the missionaries what they'd like to work on, what they want help with. Every companionship has been the same: talking with people and teaching simply. To get over the fear of talking to people, I've had the missionaries contact the first three people we see, no matter how ridiculous the situation. With one companionship on bike, we saw this tattooed biker dude pulled over on the side of the road on his cell phone. We were going to pass him, but I reminded them we promised to talk to the first three regardless the situation, so we circled him on our bikes and waited until the end of his phone call. Imagine that for a second...it was really awkward. Eventually he finished his phone call and one of the elders started to talk to him; turns out he works with a lot of Mormons, just moved into the area, and is looking for a church to attend with his wife. We rode away from the Harley-Davidson with a name, phone number, address, and a return appointment. Biking away, one of the elders said, "I would have never talked to him!". I told him, "I wouldn't have either!". Serving in this capacity has helped me to become more confident and honest with people; there's no hidden agenda, no tentative approach. I'm sharing truth with these people, truth that will change their lives, and if I tell them anything other than that truth then I'm wasting their time and mine.

 

I was with two other elders in a lesson with a less-active member trying to quit smoking. What we planned earlier that morning was to ask for his last pack of cigarettes at the end of the lesson, yet during the lesson I kept feeling prompted to ask for just a couple of cigarettes instead. We got to the end of the lesson and one missionary did a great job and boldly asked for the mans last pack. He denied, saying he couldn't go without them. I asked for just two of his cigarettes, a small act of faith to show the Lord he's serious, and he complied. He reached down to his last pack, opened it up...and there were just two cigarettes left. We all froze, he chuckled looking down at them, yet he took them out and handed them to me. Incredible experience. We all learned that whenever we meet with someone, we have to invite them to act. It's not enough to just share information; it's about how they use it. We have to invite - it's the only way people will change.

Amazing week, excited to have another starting tonight. Keep praying for the missionaries in your ward!

Love you so much,

Jesse

Mt. Charleston Snow!!

Hey everyone -

This week was our preparation week; we got to proselyte with Elders Hunsaker and Lane as they took over our area as the new Zone Leaders. The only problem was that they're such good missionaries that getting them used to the area took about half the week, and for the last half of this week Elder Tunney and I have been doing our best not to just sit around. I guess it isn't a problem (it's actually a really good thing - I feel good about leaving this place in the hands of these guys), we've just been chomping at the bit to get started. And we get started tonight.

So, tonight I'll be with a companionship in Highland Hills stake and spend Tuesday with them; Wednesday I'll be with some elders from Tule Springs; Thursday, Elkhorn Springs; Friday, Lone Mountain; Saturday, Meadows; Sunday, we'll be back at our apartment to go to church and recuperate for a bit before we start again Monday night. I'm really excited to get started and go to work after this weird week; it's been a week in limbo. Four out of the five companionships I'll be spending time with are on bike, so I'll finally get that janky (but trusty) purple Trek the attention it deserves.

This morning we got up at 3:30am, worked out, and then headed up to Mount Charleston (in the dark) with Elders Hunsaker, Lane, Tews, George, Park, Marshall, Torgersen, and Jones. It was so much fun, but soooo cold - snow everywhere and not a soul in sight. We found some mats up there and slid down part of a ski slope and it might have been one of the scariest things I've ever done.

The rest of today will probably be spent on making sure we have everything lined up. I'm not expecting everything to go smoothly this week; there has to be some things we haven't thought of yet, or some pitfalls awaiting us on our first week. Hopefully we'll have all of the kinks worked out before the transfer ends and we can have an efficient system up and running in no time.

Next week, I'll be emailing you from Mesquite!

I love you all and pray for you daily!

Jesse

We are here...

Traveling Elders!!

Sorry for not emailing earlier today; it's been an absolutely crazy Monday.

I should start with two Thursdays ago. Elder Tunney and I were transfer planning for the zone, planning out exchanges, trainings, and p-day activities, when we starting talking about what it'd be like if all we did was go on exchanges with other missionaries. As we continued to talk about it, it sounded better and better; we talked about the challenges that you'd face, the sheer logistics of the whole thing. Eventually it sounded so good we decided to call President Ahlander and set up a meeting with him. We sat down and laid out the entire idea with him the next day. Our idea was that there would be a companionship of "traveling elders" - their entire purpose would be to go on exchanges with companionships all across the mission (at President's discretion). Five days out of the week they'd go on exchanges in a different zone every day, then finish the exchange around 9:00pm, drive to the next apartment, and begin the exchange with the next companionship. Sundays would be normal proselyting days and Mondays would still be preparation day/planning day for the coming week. This isn't a new idea; in fact, Elder Holland was a traveling elder in his mission in England. The method we presented, however, would better fit a mission much more dense like ours. Through the traveling elders, President could get a better idea of what's happening around the mission and missionaries could have personal interaction with someone sincerely dedicated to help them improve. Overall, it'd be a great way to increase mission morale, obedience, and discipleship. 

To our surprise, he loved it. He said he'd think about it and get back to us. Three or four days later (last week), he brings us into his office and says he wants to try it...and he wants us to be the two traveling elders! We were taken aback, but accepted the assignment and assumed that we'd start at the beginning of the next transfer (March 10th). At the end of our meeting in his office, he turns to the transfer board (a board with all of the pictures of the missionaries in the mission) and says, "Well, we just have to make a few emergency transfers and you can start on Monday". 

We were shocked. "Monday?!"

He said he didn't want to wait - he'd double-transfer two new Zone Leaders to take our place on Monday and give us a week to help them acclimate to the ward. Then, on the 17th, we'd hit the road and start doing our back-to-back exchanges. Today at 10:00am Elder Hunsaker and Elder Lane, the new Meadows ZL's, moved in to our apartment and we moved into the AP's apartment with them. We'll only be spending Saturday night and Sunday night in the AP's apartment - otherwise, we'll be sleeping in apartments all across the mission, a different place every night (our bishop gave us a couple of sleeping bags...we're covered).

It's been crazy. The whole mission is buzzing about the mid-transfer transfer and our new assignments. I'm really excited; miracles happen on exchanges, and now my mission life is dedicated to them. My job will be to provide uplifting experiences for these missionaries and help where I can, and I hope I can do that effectively. I'm nervous as well, because no one's done this before; there's no manual, no training. We're flying by the seat of our pants. I know I'll be exhausted, but I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks. I have no idea how long I'll be a traveling elder - it could be until I go home - but I'm going to work as hard as I can. 

I'm sure I'll have more details next week. No idea how this week of floating will work out. Anyways, awesome week, I love you, and I'll talk atcha later!

Jesse

Lessons learned...if you're paying attention

 

Hey guys!

 

This was an interesting week, for sure. Not too much happened in our area, but I definitely have learned a lot through several different experiences and exchanges.

One good learning experience I had was Saturday during exchanges with the assistants. I was with Elder Torgersen, a past companion, in his area. His area just so happens to be right across Jones Road from ours, so it was a familiar area and we were having a really good time. We knocked on this door and the person Torg was looking for wasn't there, and so as we were standing there a man walking on the sidewalk behind us. We could have let him go, but in my mind I was like, "Nah, Dowdle, you said you'd talk to everyone, and this guy is included, so go talk to him", so I did. He was extremely rude, haha. Chewed us out and went on his way; we laughed it off and headed back to the truck. However, before we climbed in, a woman walked out of her apartment, headed for the dumpster, and we starting talking to her. She was extremely nice, interested, and when we asked if there was anyone she knew that would want to talk to us, she answered affirmatively and that she had family living in Utah. Driving away from the complex, we came to the realization that if we hadn't stopped to talk to the crustiest dude on Lake Mead, we wouldn't have been delayed enough to talk to the incredibly nice woman. Talking to the man took faith, action, and the immediate result wasn't what I desired. What I learned this week is that God doesn't often use immediate results to reward us. Blessings come in many forms and at many different times; the only fail proof plan is to be as Christ-like and obedient as possible in an effort to further His purposes. The good things will come.

 

This upcoming week will be fun - we have a lot of appointments scheduled and some exciting meetings, so we're looking forward to it. Thanks for all that you do and know that I love you!

Jesse