November 12, 2012 - Canton

Dear Family:

 

Well there is big news.  Got a call from President Jergensen Saturday and me and Elder White are both getting transferred this Thursday.  President is also closing the Canton area for three months because there is a shortage of missionaries coming in for this time of the year.  Me and Elder White are bummed out that this has to happen.  The members where not expecting this either.  They are having a last minuit farewell party tonight so that should be fun.

 

Well other then that there is some good news.  The younger investigator that we have was able to come to church yesterday!  He also came with his none member friend!  This is the way I want to leave the area.  I also told all the members that they have a duty now to prepare the area for the missionaries that will be coming in three months.

 

We also have been having some success with a older man that was reffered to us from the day of service that happened a few weeks ago.  He has met with members before and has a very good knowledge of the Church.  Sadly missionaries will not be able to meet with him for some time.

 

Well that is about it for the update.  I am still very surprised about the news.  It will be good for the members in Canton to do there own missionary work for a while.  Hopefully they will take the challenge me and Elder White left with them.  Well I will let you all know where I will be off to next week.  Until then the Gospel is true and it does change lives!

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

400 for 2012!

November 5, 2012 - Canton

Dear Family:

Well it is starting to get cold in Canton.  We have not made a lot of progress this week with our list of Investigators.  One young man is still thinking about baptism and wanting to come to church but his family is less active and that is proving to be a little bit difficult.  Well today we have been cleaning the carpet in our apartment.  We have most of our stuff in the kitchen and there is not a lot of room to breath in there.  We will have to carefully take everything out this afternoon and hopefully our little pile will not fall apart.  

For Halloween we had to retire early but we were able to go to a members house and celebrate with them.  We were on exchanges that day so we had fun with two other missionaries.  We were able to get our own bags of leftover candy.  Other then that we were able to enjoy a extra hour of sleep yesterday.  It felt great knowing that I will be able to wake up and not feel as tired as I usually do.

Well that is about all that I have to report on for this week.  Love you guys and I hope you guys are still alive.  Have not heard from some of you in sometime.

Sincerely;
Elder Spencer Ariotti

October 29, 2012 - Canton

Dear Family:

 

Well it is the most beautiful time of the year in Canton.  Sadly there has not been much happening in the area.  We are continuing to work with one younger investigator and I am watching him absorb everything like a spunge.  The Missionary couple that will be moving into the other branch that we will no longer be in charge of are in the area.  They will start working on Wednesday.  We will still be teaching one investigator down there and helping train the senior couple while we do so.  We had a stake day of service Saturday in Canton.  We did a lot of raking and mowing.  I was really surprised at how fast we all worked.  God really does show us miracles when we are doing his work.

 

I am trying to adjust to the cold weather that is coming into town.  People are saying that this coming winter will be a cold one.  People are predicting the first snow fall will be around thanksgiving.  I have also heard that Utah got some snow on the mountains.  I really mis those mountains in Utah.  Out here if you look up you will see only the sky.  If you look out to the horrizon you will only see flat land.

 

Well that is about all that I have to report on.  Love you all and I know that this Gospel is true and can really change lives.

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

October 22, 2012 - Canton

Dear Family:

 

Well it has been another week in Canton.  The weather has been going from freezing to cold the last few days.  We have also been recieving a little bit more rain and will be recieving some more for this week.  The leafs are sure looking beautiful.  We are recieving predictions that this winter will be a snowy one.  It will be very fun to see how this winter goes.

 

Well the prayers that have been said for our youngest investigator have been answered.  He has been very receptive and has accepted the invatation to think about being baptized.  We also have a date with one of our investigators for December 8.  We have recieved word that the senior couple of missionaries that will be working in our second area is currently in the MTC.  They will be in Iowa this sunday and will be in there area next wednesday.  This will help us a lot with driving miles and we should be able to do more work in our area soon.  I have also heard that one of our investigators that had disappeared on us has actually been going to church and recieving the lessons from missionaries in her area.  She has a date for the 4 of november.

 

Well that is about it for the update.  I am greatful for your prayers for me and also all the investiagators.  I feel them everyday and I am sure other missionaries feel our prayers as well.  I am greatful for this Gospel that has blessed my life so much and is continuing to do so.  I love you all more than you will ever know!

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

October 15, 2012 - Canton

Dear Family:

Well it has been another fall week in Canton.  We have had a really successful week.  We got someone to commit to a baptism date on November 24.  We have been continuing to teach this one guy that we challenged to pray about being baptized.  We also have been having a lot of member invite us in so that we could introduce Elder White to them.  We have heard some great news.  The other branch that we are in charge of will be getting there own senior missionaries.  This will be very good for them since they have not had there own missionaries in over 5 years.  We have not heard when they will arrive yet.  But it will be very exciting as time passes.

Well unfortunately we have had to drop off our car in the repair shop for a few days while it gets a new rear bumper.  It will be hard these next few days to have to walk to all of our appointments.  We think it will be done on Wednesday but they will be giving us a call when it is ready for us.  After that we will be walking for a good mile and a half to pick it up.  So we will have the great experience of living like the missionaries when the Gospel was restored on the earth.

Yesterday I gave my talk on Enduring to the End.  Everyone says that it went very well and that I did very well in preparing for it.  That should be my last talk to give for a while until I get transferred to a new area.  

I would like to issue a challenge to everyone (I think I have not asked you guys to do this.).  The mission has a year goal of doing 400 baptisms for 2012.  We have been blessed with many people and much faith so for in this year.  We have about 290 for this year so far.  My challenge to everyone is to help us by praying for this goal to be accomplished.  Last year at this time the missionaries lost hope for the baptismal goal that year.  But seeing the mission progress this year has raised my faith in God and his promises and I know it will do the same for all of you as you do this.

Love you all!

Elder Spencer Ariotti

October 8, 2012 - Canton

Dear Family:

 

Well my new companion is Elder White.  He was one of my Zone Leaders in Mt. Vernon.  He is from Boise, Idaho and has been out for almost 19 months.  We have decided to make the goal to look for a family to begin teaching.  We already have a potential to make this goal possible with a part member family down in Havana.  We have not been able to do that much this past week.  Elder Pass was getting ready to go home and we also had General Conference to enjoy.  I was really surprised to hear about the age limit for missionaries being changed.  But I do know that this is inspired and I am very excited to have younger missionaries enter into the field.  I have to say that my favorite talk was Elder Holland.  He is just a very good speaker and is very bold in everything he says.

 

Well next week I will be giving a talk about Enduring to the End.  I will let you know how it goes next week.  Well that is about it.  This next week should be a little bit better since we do not have much already planned.

 

As usual I love you guys and I know that this Gospel is true.

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

October 2, 2012 - Canton

Dear Family:

 

Well it has been another week in beautiful Canton.  The weather this past week has been perfect.  It is finally cooling down.  Nothing much has happened with the work this past week.  I did go on exchanges with the Zone Leaders of our area on thursday.  We did not experience many miracles but I did get way pumped up about finding new people to teach.  We will also be going to a members house on Wednsday to do some blacksmithing for P-day.  Elder Pass has been wanting to do something for all transfer and he now finally has the chance to.

 

I will be getting my new companion this thursday.  Elder Pass will be heading home friday.  I do not know who my companion will be but I do know that he will be the senior companion.  So I have a new niece?!  Way happy to hear about that.  Keep on sending me pictures so I can remember how she looks.

 

Well that is about all that I have time for.  This next week I should have a lot more to say with my new companion.  As usual I love you guys and I love this Gospel.

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

September 24,2012 - Canton

Dear Family:

Well it has been another week in Canton.  This last week was a busy one.  Zone Conference was very spiritual.  We talked a lot about finding people to teach and gathering scattered Israel.  We have a yearly baptismal goal of 400 people.  We are at 254 right now so we are really hoping that this goal will happen and so we can bring 400 souls to Christ.  Sadly we had to drop a investigator because he was not really progressing and was not ready.  We still have 3 investigators that we are working with.  We went on exchanges with some Elders in our district and we had a baptismal interview with them.  It was really great to see two more souls come into the Gospel.  We really are blessed to see so much joy in our lives as missionaries.

Well that is about it.  I finally got the package you guys told me about a month ago.  I have not opened it yet but I am way excited.  Elder Pass is going to Nauvoo with the rest of the leaving Elders and Sisters so I will be on exchanges with someone else for most of the day.  We will then be going on exchanges with the Zone Leaders after that and will be keeping busy for the rest of the week after that with saying goodbye to the Branch.  Everyone is really sad to see Elder Pass go.  This transfer has gone by really fast.  In about a week I will be getting ready to invite a new companion into the area.

Well it is time for me to sign off.  I love you all and I love to get Emails from everyone.  This Gospel is true and I know I am out here to gather scattered Israel.

Sincerely;
Elder Spencer Ariotti

September 17, 2012 - Canton

Dear Family:

Well this past week has been very good.  We taught the quit smoking workshop with an investigator and he is trying to do it.  He has relapsed a few times but he really wants to do this so we are encouraging him to keep on going.  We have also gotten two new investigators.  One is a alcoholic and is fun to talk with.  He wants to change his life around and we are trying to teach him how he can get happier.  We are trying to find a time where he is not so drunk but it is hard.  Our other new investigator is an old fellow that has read to book of Mormon before and wants to learn more.  He is also in the search for happiness and we have some great plans for him when we visit him next.  This coming week we have Zone Conference and that will be exciting.  We will also be having exchanges and a baptismal interview with some other Elders in our district.

Well that is about it.  It is going to start getting cooler during the day so we are starting to wear our suit coats.  This will be my first winter not in Utah and I am very excited.  I have heard many stories about the winter time in our area.  They have been warning me about dressing warm since it will be colder then I am use to.  And last Saturday was my 7th click day!  It has been going fast but I hope I will still have time to enjoy the rest of my mission.  Conference is coming up soon as well and I challenge everyone to begin preparing themselves for it by thinking of questions you want answered.  I know that the Prophet and the Apostles and his councilors are all inspired of God.  Let us take this opportunity and have some questions answered and ask to be enlightened in our prayers as conference approaches.

Well I love you all and I love to read Emails.  I know that this Gospel is true and I know that I am gathering the scattered Israel in these last days.

Sincerely;
Elder Spencer Ariotti

September 10, 2012 - Canton

Dear Family:

 

Well it has been another week in Canton.  The work is moving on as usual.  We were not able to meet with our two investigators this past week because of complications.  But we will be visiting them for sure this friday.  We will be doing a church tour with one of our investigators and the quit smoking workshop with our other investigator.  Way excited for that when it comes.  We will be doing exchanges in our area this coming week with some Elders in the district so it will be busy this week.  We will also be doing interviews with President Jergensen this Saturday.

 

Well that is about all that is going on.  Hope everyone is doing well and is alive still.  I am getting over a cold that has been haunting me since last thursday.  I have just been way conjested and have a cough now.  I am getting over it slowly.  Other then that not much is going on.  Let Brother McCarthur know that I got his letter and thanks for everything that he has taught me.

 

Well that is about all I have to say.  Love you all and I love sharing this Gospel with the people in Canton.

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

September 4, 2012 - Canton

Dear Family:

 

Well it has been another week in Canton.  We had the remains of the hurricane Isaac hit us this past weekend.  No big winds but there was a lot of rain that hit us.  We desperately needed it.  But in return it is very humid outside and it feels like an oven.  We unfortunately had to drop the family that we were teaching for a time but we still have two investigators and we did get a referal for a family to teach them.  We will be visiting them soon, keep them in your prayers! 

 

Well there is not much to report on for this past week.  Elder Pass is on his last transfer as a missionary and is just beginning to get ready for that.  Every time someone brings it up he does not want to talk about it.  He is one of the few missionaries that may actually hate going home.  Some of the members are actually trying to set him up with a girl that they know.  I can see this happening to me sadly.......

As usual I love you all and I love this Gospel and this great opportunity I have to share it with people.

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

August 27, 2012 - Canton

Dear Family:

Well it has been another week in Canton.  Yesterday we had a great rainstorm in the area and it was just amazing to watch that rain in the car.  There was also a tornado in a town while we were teaching.  We did not know anything about the tornado but it was there.

The investigators are doing great.  We got one other investigator this past week that has no relationship with God and wants to change her life.  The investigator family we have is doing great.  We were not able to visit them this past week but we will be able to sometime this week.  Our other male investigator is doing great.  He is our official golden investigator.  He understands everything we teach him and is able to tell us about it after we tell him.  He is just an amazing guy that really wants to become closer to his family and he wants to begin a new life.

Well that is about it for this last week.  We got a green Elder in our district this last week.  He is being trained by a Elder that got done being trained by someone else.  We also have another new Elder that has been out for ten months.  I am staying with Elder Pass and will be killing him off.  He is not really excited about going home and not doing missionary work.  Elder Pass is also the new district leader for our group.  He is way excited about that.

Well that is all for me to report on.  I love and miss you all!  I love this Gospel and I know that this is the true church on the earth that is lead by a Prophet that is inspired of God.

Sincerely;
Elder Spencer Ariotti

August 20, 2012 - Canton IL

Dear Family:

Well it has just been another week in Canton Illinois.  We are still teaching that family that I have been raving about.  They are doing well and they are growing in testimony.  They were also able to make it to sacrament meeting yesterday.  It was great to see them at church.  They really enjoyed it and really felt the spirit.  It really is great to see someones life being changed right before my eyes.  Today we are going to see another Investigator in the Branch below us.  He is still excited and cant wait to see us again.

Well that is about it.  This past week has been my 6th month out on my mission.  I cant believe that it has all happened already.  It is going by way to fast for me.  We will also be having transfers this coming week on Thursday.  I am not leaving and neither is Elder Pass but he is becoming District Leader.  We will also be getting 18 new missionaries this week.  We will be opening about 4 new areas to missionary work.  

Well that is about it.  I still love you guys so much.  I love this Gospel and know that it has changed my life and is changing many lives throughout the world.

Sincerely;
Elder Spencer Ariotti

August 13, 2012 - Canton, IL

Dear Family:

 

Big news everyone.  We got the family that we where teaching back!  Monday night Pres. Jergensen gave us a call and told us what to do for them.  Tuesday we traveled to there home and asked if we could talk.  They happily let us in and explained some of the things they where concerned about.  We found out that the wife of the family had looked at some Anti-mormon information and was concerned about it.  We are still talking about how to address it but they still want to learn from us.  We also got another investigator just yesterday.  We where visiting our other branch we are in charge of and one of the part member families pulled us aside.  The father of the family wants to learn and be baptized.  Turns out he has really thought about it and really wants it.  We will only be able to visit him every once and a while because of miles but we will begin teaching him.

 

So that is about it.  I also gave a talk yesterday about Faith and obedience.  Surprisingly many people like it and commented a lot.  Other then that we have just been visiting less actives and getting them reactivated.  It has been cool in the area for the past week but we have been warned that it will be getting hot again this week.  Ok.  Now that is about it.

 

As usual I love you all and love to recieve letters from everyone anytime.  I know that this Gospel is a life changer and really does bless lives!

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

August 6, 2012 - Canton, IL

Dear Family:

Well it has been another week in Illinois.  The heat has been more berable and I have survived.  We actually recieved our first five minuits of rain last Saturday.  It was long awaited and we are happy that we got at least a little bit of rain.  Other then that we have just been doing our best.  The family that decided to put us on hold still have not moved much.  We are just constantly praying for them and hope that they will soften there hearts to know that there family will change.

In other news we had a missionary couple that use to serve in the area a few years ago come to visit the branch yesterday.  We had so many members come that day.  Elder Pass said that he has never seen so many people in this building before.  We had a Break-the-Fast potluck after church and we had a great time talking with the members and getting to know them.  This coming week we have decided to spend a lot of time finding new investigators.  We are really desperate for new people to teach. 

That is all I have to report on.  Sorry it is not very long this week but not a lot really happened.  I just hope that we can find someone new to teach this week.  We have some extra time on our hands since we had to drop that one family.  Keep me and Elder Pass in your prayers as we go out finding this week.  Love you all and love this Gospel!

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

July 30, 2012 - Canton, IL

Dear Family:

Hello everyone!  It has been another warm week in Canton.  It has cooled down and has not been as hot as it has but I can still feel it getting to me.  This past week we have been having a great time teaching this non-member family.  Last Tuesday we gave a church tour and also talked about the restoration of the gospel.  We fasted all day and had a really spiritual lesson.  There only problem is that if they join there family will cut them off completely.  They where Jehovah's Witnesses but they left that church and the family did not like that.  We had another lesson on Thursday and that went well.  We talked about the Holy Ghost and going to the temple.  They really liked it and had a really great discussion with them.  They seem like they already accept the Gospel they are just lacking in the courage to join.  We will be teaching them again on Thursday so we have plenty of time to think about what we want to teach them next.

Well that is all I have to report on.  Glad to hear that Andrews party went well.  Cant wait for that letter from Grandma.  Let everyone know that I love getting letters as well if they can afford it.  Well that is all I have time for.  Love everyone and Love this Gospel!

Sincerely;
Elder Spencer Ariotti

July 23, 2012 - Canton, IL

Dear Family,
Well it has been another week in Illinois.  It has been great getting to know the area.  I have also had the amazing opportunity to go to Nauvoo last Wednsday!  It was such an awesome experience.  I saw the Jarmens there as well!  We went to a bunch of the tours there of the houses.  Whent to the Young home and really felt a great spirit in that home.  Got plenty of things to show you guys.  I took plenty of pictures as well.  Cant wait to show them to you!  I also took some videos of the pageant and the bagpipe band that was there.  The little play they did was just amazing.  The music was great and it was really nice to learn more about Nauvoo and what history it has.

Let everyone know that I do love Emails but I also love letters as well.  Send some pictures of the parade when you can!  I love you all and I do know that this Gospel is true and that is why I am out on a mission sharing it with everyone!

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

July 16, 2012 - Canton, Illinois

Dear Family:

 

Big news:  I am in Canton, Illinois!  My new companion is Elder Pass.  He has actually served in Mt. Vernon before me.  We talked a lot about what has changed in the area and had a great time talking.  I am also an hour away from Nauvoo and will actually be going to the pageant this Wednsday!  I am way excited about this and will take plenty of pictures.  Well to give you some information about my area I am about an hour west of Peoria.  It is a nice area.  It is still a little humid in the area and is still causing me some grief.  I am in charge of missionary work for two branches that are close together.  So far we have been doing a lot of driving to get to our destinations.  It was about two and a half hours to get to Peoria and then an hour to Canton to our appartment.  We drove an hour to get to our district meeting and will need to drive an extra hour out on some weeks.  We need to drive a half an hour to get to our other Branch area.  It is a little hard to sit for that long but at least I am cool.

 

Well so far I have met a few members of the branches.  They are both small and have an average of about 30 people in church per week.  They all want new members and are willing to help.  They for some reason don't like to feed us too much so we will be eating at our appartment for most of the time.  We mostly spend our time talking to less actives.  We do have some potential investigators but they are hard to get a hold of.  So far I like the people.

 

In other news I have said goodbye to two Elders that I have befriended in my last district.  One is from Holiday, Utah and his name is Elder Webb.  Another is Elder Melling and he is from Cedar City but he will be coming up to Salt Lake for school.  We are also expecting 18 new missionaries to come in for this next upcoming transfer meeting!  I may end up in a car share which will be hard but we still will be getting more missionaries.  Well that is about all that I have to report on.  I will send you guys some pictures soon and will take plenty while I am in Nauvoo.  Love you all!

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

7/9/2012 Mt Vernon

Hello everyone!  Hope this last week has gone well for you as it has for me.  This last week it was in the 90s or above.  We had a little bit of rain but not much.  It was still humid and that only made it worst.  We did a little bit of service and helped the city with their antique festival on the fourth.  It was hot all day and we had exchanges with two other Elders that day.  We mainly walked around and handed people free waters.  It was awesome to see how happy people were when we gave them a water.  I completely drenched my shirt in sweat and so did a nother Elder and we all went to the apartment and took cold showers.  It was a lot of fun.  We also went on exchanges with the ZLs and helped the rest of the Cedar Rapids Elders with their service.  We worked at the Habitat for Humanity service place and helped with their grand re-opening.  We also helped them with packing up some stuff to send to kids in Africa.  So that is pretty much it.  We did some work but mostly tracted our area.  Didnt see much success but at least we still did our job.  I also found out I am being transfered this Thursday!  I am really excited and can't wait for that.  I will let you all know where I am next week!

July 2, 2012 Mt. Vernon

Hello everyone!  It is getting hot in Iowa!  The temperature has been in the 90's all week and the humidity has been in the 50%'s.  When you have the humidity above 50% it is hot every where you go and you feel like you are walking through water.  I have not overheated at all and I dont plan to.  I have been hearing about those fires in Utah and am glad everyone is safe.  We have been having some fires of our own in some nearby houses.  Nothing to seriouse and no one has died.  On Friday evening we had a big storm pass over us.  That storm we had at the end of last year with those giant winds, those are the kind of storms that happen a lot in Iowa.  The thunder I heard was earth shaking and the wind and rain was just crazy!  We actually got grounded into our appartments for the night because it was so crazy out there.  They say that this is the price that people have to pay to live in heaven.
We did help a less active with removing some old carpet in his trailer home and that was disgusting.  He has three dogs and one of them is a little chihuaua (hope I spelled that right) and it has a small bladder.  We also helped a part member family with some gardening this past week.  As far as lessons go we had one good lesson with this part member family that we are trying to get reactivated and baptized.This next week the one exciting thing going on is on the 4th of July!  We actually have exchanges planned for that day with the district leader and we are also helping with the city antique festival for the day.  We also have a nice member dinner planned so that is way exciting.  It will be nice to get a little help for a day and to have some different people to learn from and teach with.  We also have a heratage day festival this saturday and we are helping with family history that day.  After that the city has a firework show going on so that will be a lot of fun!

Here is a quote I have from an Elder in my district that will be leaving for home in a week:

 

"Be excited to share the Gospel!"

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

June 25,2012

Glad as always to hear from different people each week.  I cant believe that the month is already ending this week!  It feels like we just barely started!  July should be a great month.  I am not looking foreward to the heat that will be coming but it will be good celebrating things about what has happened to our nation.  Let me know how everything is going with the ward and with the city of Bountiful.

 

Well not much happened this last week.  We tried to visit with people but they kept on canceling on us.  We mostly visited with members this week and recent converts and less actives.  We have this recent convert that we visit a lot.  She was baptized in February and is 65 years old.  Her name is Judy and she is the happiest member I have ever seen.  She had been visiting with the missionaries for about 5 months before baptism.  She had to go through a quit smoking workshop which changed her life.

She treats the missionaries like her Grandkids and openly admits that she does.  The greatest lady and I cant wait for you guys to meet with her someday.

 

Well that is about all that I have to report!  This next week we have some plans to spend a lot of time in a town that we have yet to go to.  I should have some real stuff to share with you guys next week.  Oh and bad news......  Elder Langford is a real cowboy and has been talking like one and it is rubbing off onto me!  In case you all didnt notice I do not like this.......Love hearing from everyone and know that I am praying for everyone of you guys!  Love you all!

 

Sincerely:

Elder Spencer Ariotti

June 18, 2012

Happy Fathers day yesterday!  How is everyone doing?  Hope everyone is doing just fine and that everyone is happy.  Nothing much happened this week.  We did do a lot of service this past week.  We helped a less active member family with some remodeling there home.  It was fun and really got to bond with them.  The father is a Branch missionary and it was really good that we took some time to help him with this.  We also had Zone Conference this week.  It was really spiritual and it was great to see some of the Elders that I know.  They are having a great deal of emphasis on the website of the church called mormon.org.  It is aparently one of the ten most visited sites in the world.  We have been advised to make our own profiles on the website and give some of our own views on our profiles.  If you all have some extra time I recomend you have a visit to the website and maybe make a profile.

 

I also had my 4th click day this past week.  I have already been out for four months!  It has been so long but at the same time I am asking where it all went.  These next 20 months will go by really fast.

 It is beginning to warm up in Iowa.  The humidity will be rising up soon and that means more heat!  When the humidity is high there is no where you can escape to from the heat.  Wish me luck with that.  Well that is about everything!  Mom stay inside and keep cool!  Everyone: keep being awesome!  I know this church is true and that God really did send me to Iowa!  Dont forget to go to mormon.org!  Look me up!  I should be on there soon!  Love you all!

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

June 11, 2012 - Mt. Vernon

Hello Everyone!  Hope this last week went well.  It was a long week for some reason.  It seems that it is always like this with transfers just happening.  Me and Elder Langford are getting along just fine.  His little accent that he has is starting to rub off on me and that worries me.  I dont like hicks very much and Elder Langford is the only exception to that.  We are teaching mostly members now and we are dieing to get a new investigator.


We mostly did service this last week.  We helped this less active guy with scrubbing his house for inspections and will be helping him with some remodeling the inside of his house soon.  A recent convert that we helped this week found out she lost her job for this next fall.  She was way upset and confused so we gave her a blessing.


We have a great branch to serve in.  So strong to.  We also had a baptism as well.  This guy was taught in Washington state but wanted to be baptised in the place he first went to church so we helped him with that.  Didnt count it for ourselves but we stilled wanted to help him.  Awesome guy.

I am doing fine.  My feet are fine and have gotten use to the shoes.  My knees are fine as well.  My back is doing better.  I have been given some strengthening exercises to do on my back so it is going good.  I am continuing it exercise more and more and I am in the best shape I have ever been in my life.  The other elders still beat me at the sports we play but I am still doing better then I ever have.  I am still getting use to the environment.  It has been in the 90's for the past few days and it is continuing to get hotter.  We will just have to wait until it gets hotter and then we will find out if I can survive one more year of this Iowa heat.

 

Well that is all I have to report on.  I did get Grandpas letters.  I find it is less expensive to do Email but I will try to mail him and Roseanne a letter.  Tell the Tuttles and the Waits and the Barkers thanks from me.  They all sent me a package of stuff and notes for me this week.  Tell everyone that I am still having the time of my life serving the Lord!

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

June 5, 2012-Mt. Vernon

Dear Family:

 

Hello!  My new companion is Elder Langford.  He is from Cedar city in Utah and is number 3 of 8 kids.  He is a really awesome guy!  This past week has gone by really slow.  transfers was awesome though.  Met up with the missionaries that I was with at the MTC.  Welcomed several new Elders in the District.  We have the greatest district here in Iowa. 

Sincerely;

          Elder Spencer Ariotti

May 28, 2012-Mt. Vernon

Dear Family:

 

Thanks for the cards on my birthday and my package!  It was so awesome seeing all those letters in the mail box when we got to the appartment on saturday!  Love all those pictures I got and they are now going on my wall of family pictures.  I love the watch by the way and the hymn book.  Thanks for everything!

 

Not much happened this week in Mt. Vernon.  It has been kinda frusterating because one of our investigators kept on pushing us back because he had some stuff to do at the time.  We will be visiting him today for sure (it is memorial day though......) We did visit with one of our more younger investigators.  Her name is Caitlyn if you remember her at all from my past letters.  She is about 13 and has a very short attention span.  We taught her the plan of salvation using an idea that I came up with.  We made it almost like a board game using the different stages of the Plan of Salvation.  It went very well and she really paid alot more attention then she has in the past.

Well, hope all is still well with everyone.  Love all the cards I got.  Before I foreget again tell Sister Welling thanks for that package at the MTC.  I have been wanting to say that I just keep on foregetting.  Love you all!

Elder Spencer Ariotti

May 21, 2012-Mt. Vernon

Hello to all!  I love the pictures you guys have sent me.  That Simon is the best picture ever!  The other ones where good but that one just made my day.  I heard about the eclipse that was in Utah.  I am so jealouse!  I have always wanted to be able to see an eclipse and I just missed it.  I am glad you guys had the opportunity to see it though.  Hope the recital was one of the best.  Any good pieces played that I would have loved?  Glad that Stake Conference was good as well.  All the Apostles are great speakers and I always look foreward to reading what they have to say to us.  What they all said is true and it really was inspired by the Spirit to be said.

 

Everything is going well in Mt. Vernon.  This past week I was able to go on the last exchange with the spanish Elders and that was fun.  We visited Allen (if you dont remember he is the hermit).  That was a good visit.  The Spanish Elder I was with actually was the one that found Allen and visited with him for the first time.  It was a good visit and we shared some scriptures on growing your faith.  We also have been teaching this young 12-13 year old girl.  She has ADHD and has a hard time concentrating so we gave her a quick and simple rundown of the restoration using some stacking cups.  It went well and she is still coming to church with her member friend.  We visited with this media referal yesterday that visited the Nauvoo visitors center.  She was really fun to visit with.  She is way into history and genealogy and she actually got me interested in learning a little bit more about the history of the church.  History really is great.  We left her with some stuff to read and a lot of pamphlets to read.  She has a husband that is difficult to work with and not at all interested so we need to visit when he is somewhere else.  But she is still very awesome and has already read the Book of Mormon!  I also had my first baptism this last weekend!  We kinda taught him but it was mostly a review.  But yeah, he is my first half baptism!  Really awesome guy and is way solid.

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

May 14, 2012-Mt. Vernon

Well it was great talking with everyone yesterday!  Glad you are all doing well and that everyone is happy.  Had a fun time finding out what has been happening with people in the last while.  Hope the Goblin Valley trip was fun and all worth it.  Like I mentioned in the phone call we have had some miracles happen in the past two days.  Two people want to be baptized in Mt. Vernon in the next little while.  It is crazy that this is all happening.  We have been sharing this 21 day promise to members of the branch and have been recieving blessings like crazy!  The zone leaders were not kidding when they said that this will bring baptisms to our area.  It is always fun to see all the blessings that come from just saying something to those that you see everyday.

 

To get you caught up completely this last week I was on exchanges with one of the newest missionaries in Iowa.  We were just walking around and this drunk guy on a bike stopped us and kept on saying that we were awesome.  He also looked at me and said that I was an angel.  After that we had some young girls in cars say hey to us while we where walking around.  We also had a black guy say "Jesus loves you!" Yeah crazy things that day.  Elder Cutler is convinced that I have some luck that is following me around.  People dont do that with him at all.  Expecially girls that were that cute (his words not mine).  Back in Mt. Vernon on that same day, Elder Jones and Elder Melling got this investigator that we have been trying to get into teaching to pray at the end of the lesson!  He also admited that he wants to change and that he knows that we can do that!  Fun stuff!

Love you all!

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

May 7, 2012-Mt. Vernon

All is well in Mt. Vernon Iowa.  The humidity is brutal and is only gonna get worst.  I honestly think that this summer is going to be the death of me.  If I can make it through this then I can do anything.  Expect me to begin sending letters covered in sweat during the summer.    We had an awesome trainers meeting on thursday in Davenport.  Got to visit with most of the people I came out with.  It was great.  Gave an awesome testimony and really felt the spirit.  Fun stuff.  Having fun with member families as usual.  They are all the key to getting other people converted.  If you dont have them helping in any way then you are making little to no progress with any investigators.  I had a great time at Chalk the Walk this past weekend.  I have some pictures but If you want to see everything go to Chalk the Walk on facebook and you can see pictures of everything on there.  Some people have so much talent and it is just amazing what you can do with chalk.
Time is going slow but at the same time it is going by so fast.  I think about the beginning of the transfer and it feels like it was only yesterday.  It will go by so fast.  Just to let you guys know I tried putting my belt on and I can go a little tighter then I use to.  I am losing weight!  Some of the Elders in my district have inspired me to begin working out a lot and it is beginning to pay off!  I will have to compare before and after pictures when I get back home.

Well love you all!  I know that God does love us all and that he does help us with all that we have a hard time with.  I hope that you all can be able to feel the same way as I do about God and Jesus Christ.

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

April 30, 2012-Mt. Vernon

Last monday we visited with this member family that the missionaries dont visit much because they are so far away.  We shared with them this lesson that we have been sharing with members called the 21 day promise.  They both got a little emotional afterwards and told us what has been happening in there family.  Apparently there only active daughter in the family has left the church and married this egyption guy and she is a muslim now.  She also has some kids from other marriage with her and just kind of took them away from her parents.  So with this little special promise we gave them a little bit of hope.  Then yesterday we visited them in church and have invited us over tonight to talk about what has happened over the week.  They also came to church with two of there grandchildren so that shows that something has come into there life that was brought by God.
Glad to hear that Andrew and Katherin are having a Girl!

Hope everyone is doing well and keeping close to God.  Love you all and wish everyone the best!

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

4/23/2012 Mt. Vernon

Hello Family!  Glad to hear from people every week!  Work was a little slow this week.  Not very high numbers and it was kind of depressing.  We did however meet a few potentials that we could teach.  Other then that it was slow.  We do have this guy moving in to the branch this week that has been taking lessons from the missionaries in Florida.  They have been saying that this guy is golden and is so ready to be baptized.  Should be fun talking with this guy sometime soon.  Mt.  Vernon is preparing for this event called Chalk the Walk at the beginning of May.  It is an event where people from everywhere come and use chalk to draw on the ground.  Some of the pictures I have seen are just amazing.  We will be helping with the organization of it and am way excited.
Love you all,      Elder Ariotti

Week 6 from Mt. Vernon

Dear Family:

 

Just to start off I am alright.  The weather did get a little scary up here.  Saturday night we had some wild wind and the biggest rain drops ever.  Nothing to extreme.  We are having exchanges this week for the mission.  Out of all the district I am in there is only one change.  It is this missionary that has been out for 21 months and is getting this last opportunity to train someone new.  Everyone in the district is staying for one more transfer. 

 

Last week was kind of a boring week.  We only had one good lesson with that small family I have been talking about.  The lesson went good.  The whole time we were teaching there was something different.  I could not quite place it but it overall felt more peacefull then all the other times we have taught them.  We set a date for this guys son to be baptized.

Hope all is well back at home.  Give everyone a hug for me.  Dont worry about me.  I will just be partying it up in Mt. Vernon!

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

Week 5 from Mt. Vernon

 How is everyone doing?  Hope everyone is doing well.  Hope easter was fun.  You guys had snow?  All we get in Iowa is rain and sun.  Did quite a bit of walking in the rain on friday.  We needed to be careful with our miles with the car so we took a day to do walking.  I did not get sick but it just wore me out.  We have been getting quite a few gifts from the Branch members this week.  Got a months supply of easy to make food stuff.  We also got a lot of easter candy.  Gonna gain a few pounds after this month is over.  Well for P-day today we are doing stuff with our district members.  We are going in town to visit a zoo.  Should be fun to do something different.  You all would love my district.  They are all fun loving and absolute party animals.  But they also have a lot of success with people.  They all connect well with those they teach and are just amazing people.  Sounds like we will be losing some elders with transfers being next week.  I get to keep my companion for 6 more weeks then I get someone to replace him and "break" me of my old habits that my trainer gave me.  I love the slang of being a missionary.


Spencer

Week 4 from Mt. Vernon

Dear Family:

 

Hey!  Conference was great!  Watched it at the church with other members.  Had an investigator at the last session.  She is a christian that comes from a family that is really religious.  She has said that if her family was not the way it is she would be mormon.  She is really interested about what we teach and really liked conference.  We visited Allen last night and had a long talk with him.  He is still very interested with us but is just really confused with life.  Said he was chatting with a childhood sweetheart that kind of ended with her saying "that is kind of creepy..."  She left the chat room quickly and he has been confused with that for the past 5 days.    The worst part is that he just barrels through it all.  But he does say that we are the only reason he has not yet commited suicide.  I hope we can really help this guy.

 

So everything is going well with the rest of the family?  Planting a garden?  Hope it is still alive.  Katherine is expecting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I did not hear anything about that.  Hope it is a girl.  But if it is a boy I will love him just the same.  The weather here is just weird.  The humidity is getting worst by the day and it makes it hot.  I am still alive and well and I hope I stay that way.  Thanks for the emails and everything else!

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

Week 3 from Mt. Vernon

Dear Family:

 

Hey!  Great to hear from you all!  So to answer some of moms questions I do drive in a car with my companion.  He is the designated driver but I drive if I need to for exchanges with the other elders.  The Mount Vernon Branch is very large and it is sometimes hard to stay in our mile limits for driving.  It is almost the end of the month so we should be getting more miles to drive by the end of the week.  In Iowa it feels like summer on days it is not very cloudy.  It is not very hot but the moisture in the air makes it worst.  Everyone says that it has been a very strange winter this year and that it is usually much colder then it is now.  Our days usually begin with personal study for an hour then companionship study for two hours.  We then go to our appointments for the rest of the day and take breaks for lunch and dinner.  We get back to our place around 9 at night or earlier if it is on the weekends or we need to report numbers.  Our preparation days are usually random but we start with email then we go shopping.  After that we go out for lunch.  Then we usually go back to the apartment to do laundry and other stuff. 

 

So that is usually how our days go.  The district I am in is awesome.  Everyone is so fun to be around and we all treat eachother like brothers.  We have no sister missionaries in our district.  But we do have the zone leaders in our district.  This last Wednsday I went on exchanges with a spanish speaking elder and we had some awesome experiences.  He did not have any appointments so we went exploring and relied on faith to lead us.  While we were walking we ran into this kid who said that his Grandma needed to see us. We followed him and we found his Grandma.  She is a member and was having some pains.  We gave her an awesome blessing and had a great experience.  After that we ran into two people who wanted a Book of Mormon from us.  We then went to dinner and we found a family he had been looking for that they had lost contact with.  So that was awesome. 

 

Then to tell you about some experiences I  have had in Mt. Vernon.  We have this investigator named Allen who lives in a trailer owned by his stepfather.  He does not like to get out and has taken a lot of crap from his family and from life in general.  So we thought he just needed a little bit of happiness in his life.  We showed him the New Testament video and after it ended he just looked at us and said: "That was a good movie".  Now this guy has a lot of movies in his house and that was just amazing.  We plan on meeting with him tomorrow to introduce him to a quit smoking workshop that has proven to be succesfull with many people.  Another investigator we have is a 19 year old girl named Lydia.  She goes to Cornell college wich is in Mt. Vernon.  Now this school is full of Liberalists so it is very interesting to see some of the people on campus.  Elder Jones was on exchanges with another elder when they met her.  She had seen the Mormon musical and she said she wanted to learn more.  Elder Jones met with her again to answer her questions and give her a Book of Mormon.  Then Elder Jones took me to meet and teach her.  We gave her the Restoration lesson and challenged her to read and pray to know it is true.  We texted her last week to make a new time to meet her but she has finals this week and is leaving for spring break.  So we get to meet her on April 9th.  She did say that she is enjoying the Book of Mormon and is praying.  Only time will tell.

 

The members of the branch are great.  We get fed by them most of the days of the week and the food is awesome.  Had taco salad for 3 night in a row so that was annoying.  We did not have steak last week.  They had to reschedule for this week.  So I will let you know how that goes. 

 

So is everything going well back home?  The baby healthy?  Everyone alive?  Hope everyone is still happy.  Give everyone my love and say hey to everyone in the ward! Hope all is well with everyone.  Let me know if anything else changes.  Enjoy conference and have fun!

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

Week 2 from Mt. Vernon

Dear Family:

Hello family!  So Isaac Alan Burris?  He sure looks like a keeper.  Be sure to show him pictures of me so that he knows who I am when I get back.  Everything is going well at Mount Vernon.  People still do not want to listen to us but I still love the people anyway.  The members are still very nice to us and the food is something else.  On Tuesday we will be visiting a family and I will be able to have my first Iowa steak.  And about sending letters and all that stuff.  Just send it to the same address you have been and the mission home will pick it up and send it to me.  It is done this way so that we can avoid confusion with moving to different areas. 

How are all those kids doing?  Hope they dont miss me too much.  I keep on getting reminded of them everyday with seeing all these families running around.  Let them know I miss them all so much.  And give a hug to Max and Addie too.  Hope everything is going well with everyone and that things have not completely changed.  Keep on sending more cute pictures of Isaac as he grows up.  Love you all and wish everyone the best!

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

Week One from Mt. Vernon, IA

 Hello Everyone--

My new companion is Elder Jones.  He is awesome and says a lot of random stuff and quotes movies.  He is also the new District leader for the area.  I am in Mt. Vernon which is just north of Iowa city.  Very nice place full of about 3 quarters of nice people that do not slam the door in the face.  Love the ward members and cannot wait to meet them all after spring break.  Getting new investigators is hard work.  You can only get new people from referals or from being lucky.  But I am confident that things will get better before I leave. 

 

Happy to hear from all family members.  Send plenty of pictures of the new baby next week!  Hope that everything goes well at home and with the ward.  Love you all and wish you the best!

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

Brief Update of Area #1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.5 square miles.

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 3,390 people.

Mount Vernon is the home of Cornell College, a liberal arts institution with an enrollment of approximately 1,200 students.

The photo below is where Spencer goes to church.

Week 2

Dear Family:

Thanks for all the emails!  Today is our P day so I just got done
doing my laundrey and thought I would go and email you guys.  So Dan
is thinking of moving out?  Hope the job pays well.  Glad to hear that
Bailey likes my room.  Just dont paint the walls a different color.
Mom got an Iphone!  This is something that I never thought was even
possible.  And the texting is a little hard to believe.  I have seen a
few of the people from my mission prep class and from school.  I even
found Elder Joseph Richards (plays clarinet in the band while I was
there).

So last night we had a devotional and we had Elder Holland come and
speak to everyone at the MTC.  He is such an amazing speaker and I
feel like I should obey everything he says.  He mainly talked about
being a missionary and staying a missionary when we get home.  And
yesterday I woke up and I had a sore throat and a bad cough.  I also
had a very curiouse sore on my thumb so we went to get it looked at.
Found out I have a bacterial infection in my thumb and a little cold.
I have been feeling better and hopefully my thumb gets healed.  I know
mom I need to be more carefull but you never know what will happen at
the MTC with a bunch of 19 year olds.

Anyway Just thought I would give you all an update on how I am doing.
I should be all better by next week before I leave.  I am really
worried about my infection.  Not very fun doing any of that stuff.
Anyway I love you all.  Wish you all the best.  Hope to hear more
information on life and anything interesting within our family.  I
know I am going out to do the Lords work and I have never felt more
happy about a decision in my life.  For once it just feels right.  I
am still nervous but I have come to rely on the Lord to give me the
strength and energy I need to overcome everything.  I know God exists
and I feel his love for me along with everyone else.  Once again love
you all.  Keep me posted!

Sincerely;
Elder Spencer Ariotti

P.S.:  Dont send too many cinnamon rolls.  The other Elders are
recieving food as well and we are having a hard time eating it all.
And next Wednsday I will be at the airport to fly to Minnesota then to
Iowa.  I will be able to call home while I am waiting so around 6 to 8
in the morning expect a call.  Please answer me call!  It will be
weird being the only one in my district who did not get to talk to my
family.

First Letter from MTC!

Dear Family:

Hello family!  Sorry it has taken me so long.  It is hard to find time to do all of this stuff.  How has it been without me in the house? The MTC is great.  My companion is Elder Brunson.  The other Elders in my district are Elders Aiasau, Kirton, Sutton, and Tall.  They are all going to Des Moines.  We also have Sisters Crook and Thompson going to Des Moines with us and two other sisters in our district going to temple square.  Their names are Sisters Smith and Christensen.  Well as you can tell I am having a great time here and am just enjoying the spirit I feel while I am here.  The food is alright but I miss your cooking mom.  Home sickness still has not yet hit me but I can tell it will eventually.  Well just thought I would email you guys while I had the chance.  I love and miss you all and I can feel your love for me more than ever before.  Tell Matt Brady that it never happened.  He will know what I mean.  Thanks for the package by the way.  See you all next week!

Sincerely,
Elder Ariotti