February 4, 2014 - Chariton, IA

Dear Family:

Well I am a day late because we had a zone p day yesterday and we had no computer time available.  Well right now outside we are getting a lot of snow.  Today we are expecting maybe around 8 inches or so and a blizzard.  So my companion is really excited to be in his first blizzard.  Well hopefully we will stay warm the rest of the day.  This week will be very interesting because I have my temple trip on Tuesday and we will be gone for 2 days from that.  So I have a lot to look forward to with that.  It will be the first time since May that I have been to the temple.

Well this past week not to much happened.  A lot of appointments fell through because people didn't answer so that was sad and frustrating.  But oh well, God gave us agency for a reason.  So this next week we will be visiting with a lot of people.  But we will be gone from our area for about two days so that will just make things interesting.  And this snow may eliminate another day from our week.  We will see how this goes.  We will be busy so that will help me from getting to trunky.

Well this is my second to last time sending this email.  It is sad to say that but it is time to move on with life.  We shall see what God has in store for us this week.  Love you all and the Gospel is true.

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

January 27, 2014 - Chariton, IA

Dear Family:

Well it has been a good week in Chariton.  It is very cold outside right now so I am very happy to be inside right now.  Last night we had some very wild wind blowing and a blizzard in the northern part of Iowa.  Today it is in the single digits as far as temperature goes.  And tonight we will be in the negatives.  Lucky for us our apartment stays very warm for us.  Feel bad for those people that don't have a home when it gets this cold.

This past week we had exchanges with the zone leaders which was fun.  We tried to see a lot of people but it was hard to find things to do.  That was actually my last time doing exchanges in the area that I am in.  The next exchanges I will be doing will be in Osceola next week.  Exchanges are very stressful especially for the missionaries that are in the area.  But we do often see the most miracles happen on exchanges. 

Well this next week will be a calm week.  No exchanges but we will need to be careful with how much we drive.  We are getting very close to our limit with miles.  Our investigators are doing fine.  Hopefully we will be able to visit with all of them this next week.  We will continue to work our hardest here.  Love you all and the Gospel is true!

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

January 21, 2014 - Chariton, IA

Dear Family:

Well it is very cold right now in Chariton.  On Sunday It was in the 40s.  Yesterday it was about in the 30s and then it dropped way down to around -1 at night.  And it started snowing last night before we came in.  So it is very cold here and we have some fresh snow.  They say it will be a roller coaster for the rest of the week.  Switching from 30 to the teens throughout the week.  But we will continue to work our hardest here!

This past week has been fun.  We had exchanges with some Elders in our district which was fun.  Had district meeting as usual and we had some very strange weather that night.  Blizzard like wind and snow for 20 min then it was sunny.  Then switched back and forth for a few hours.  That was some crazy Iowa weather.  I haven't even seen stuff like that before!  Then had church meetings.  We have been teaching a primary class for the third hour for the past few weeks at church.  It has been hard because she tells us at the last min.  But we make do.

Well this week we will be having one more exchange here with our Zone Leaders.  That should be fun because I know the two Elders well.  But hard because we really don't have a lot of stuff to do here in Chariton.  But we will make it work.  Maybe we will go and see a new potential investigator that we have received from the 2nd councilor in the bishopric.  Some of the members here have been just awesome in the past few weeks. 

Well not much besides that.  We are working with our investigators to get them to church here soon.  Our leaders have really pressed on that, which is kind of annoying.  Love you all!  Cant wait to see you all in a few weeks!  Gospel is true!

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

January 13, 2014 - Chariton, IA

Dear Family:

Well it has been a great week in Chariton Iowa!  We have been experiencing very cold weather but now it has all passed.  It has been getting close to 40 for the past few days and it feels great!  We have had two big meetings this past week.  The first was a Zone meeting which was my last one in the mission.  It was sad to think about it but it is time to move on.  We also had interviews with President Jensen and that was great.  He gave both me and Elder Croxall good advice about doing what our bodies can handle.  He is such a great guy and I will miss him. 

Well this past week we also got one new investigator.  She seems like she is interested but mostly in the information.  Not sure if she is expecting to convert.  Hopefully she has that real intent so that she can feel the Spirit confirm to her the truth.  We had a very creepy experience with another investigator.  Elder Croxall had not even met her but we still headed over.  When we walked in we just felt spiritually dead.  It was just very empty feeling.  We asked her questions but she just said yes or no.  When we bore testimony we felt the spirit but then he just disappeared.  We were only in there for about 30 min and that was enough for us.  We will visit one more time and see what some other missionaries think about her.

Which leads me to this next week.  We will be having exchanges Tuesday here which will be good (I hope).  Then we have our usual district meeting and that is about it.  Other then that I am still working hard and doing my best.  Love you all!

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

January 7, 2014 - Chariton, IA

Dear Family:

Well it has been a cold last few days in Iowa!  That is why this email is a little bit late.  Yesterday it was at about -4 all day and the wind chill made it about -30.  So we were told to stay inside most of the day and be careful.  The times that we did walk around outside were not for very long.  The cold here can only be explained one way:  Bone chilling.  Good thing it is a little bit warmer today.  But it will only last for a little while.  We are going to reach 30 by Thursday which sounds like heaven.  It has definitely been colder then last year.

Well I bet you are all wondering where I am right now.  I only moved down south about 30 miles from Indianola to a place called Chariton.  It is a little town of about 4,000 people.  It is part of a large ward that meets in Osceola.  Takes about 30 min to go to church but it is all good.  My new companion is Elder Croxall.  He is from Nevada and has been out for about 3 months now.  He is about as quiet as I was when I first started.  We will see if I can bring him out of his shell a little bit.

Well the work is going pretty well here.  They had a baptism two weeks ago to an 18 year old.  They have a large group of people that we are teaching which is good.  We don't have a lot of members that live in town, which is a little hard.  We don't get fed a whole lot but when we do, I hear It is good. 

Well that is about it.  I am looking forward to my last few weeks in the mission field.  It will be sad to leave Iowa but it is time for me to move on with life.  Love you all!  Stay warm!

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

December 30, 2013 - Indianola, IA

Dear Family:

Well greetings from Indianola.  Big news as far as transfers go!  I am going to be closing Indianola for a transfer or two.  Sadly we once again dont have a lot of Elders coming in so we need to close a few areas.  So I will be spending my last transfer in a new area.  It is a little exciting but I am feeling kind of empty that I need to close another area.  Hopefully I wont need to do it again with the time I have left to serve.  So next time I send an email I will be in a new place!

This last week it has been a lot of fun to have skyped the majority of my family!  Sadly I have forgotten most of the names of all the little ones so I will need to refresh my memory when I get back home.  But it was a lot of fun to do that for the last time.  After that the weather started to warm up for the weekend and then yesterday it got really cold.  We are told it will be cold for the rest of the week and maybe a little snow will be coming.

So we have a big next three days coming with packing and cleaning.  Hopefully we will be able to say goodbye to some people as well.  Well I will let you all know where I end up.  Love you all!

Sincerely;
Elder Spencer Ariotti

December 23, 2013 - Indianola, IA

Dear Family:

Well I give you a snowy and cold greetings from Indianola Iowa.  It is about 2 degrees outside and will be getting even colder tonight.  And it snowed about 6 inches Saturday night and Sunday morning.  Yesterday church was canceled because of the snow so me and my companion went out shoveling snow all day.  My back, knees, and feet are killing me right now but it felt good to do that for people. 

Well other then that it was just a normal week.  We had exchanges with the Zone leaders this past week and that was fun.  Not much happened with Investigators since everyone was out and about doing christmas stuff.  And this next week we will be trying to visit families and bringing that Christmas spirit into the home.  There is a new mormon video out that captures perfectly what christmas is all about. 

Well that is about all for this week.  Hopefully we will be having a great christmas here.  And merry Christmas to everyone in the west!

Sincerely;
Elder Spencer Ariotti

December 16, 2013 - Indianola, IA

Dear Family:

Well it has been another week in Indianola.  It has been cold for a few days and then it will get warm for a few days only to switch back.  This next week we will be staying warm for a little while then let some snow maybe come by Thursday.  I have also heard that next week will be a cold one for sure.  Hopefully it will be able to snow for christmas at least.  I am really looking forward to that day with skyping.  Hopefully most of you guys will be able to make it.  If not then I will be able to see you in about 2 months for sure.

Well this week not a whole lot happened with investigators.  We had exchanges with another set of Elders in there area so that was fun and good.  Then on Thursday we had a big christmas Zone conference and that was really fun.  We had trainings from our leaders and testimonies from leaving missionaries (including me).  Then in the afternoon we had all the districts give short skits which was really amusing.  Some you could tell had only a few hours to prepare while others had some more time on there hands.  We had a lot of fun though.  Then we finished it off by watching the new movie: Ephraims Rescue.  That was a really great movie.  If you have not watched it I highly recommend it.  So those where the main highlights of the week.

Well this next week we will be getting a lot more member meals thanks to our new coordinator.  So we will not be eating a lot of ramen this next week.  Well I love you all and I know that this message, the gospel, blesses and changes lives.

Sincerely;
Elder Spencer Ariotti

December 9, 2013 - Indianola, IA

Dear Family:

Well it has been another week in Indianola.  We actually have snow on the ground!  It has snowed all day yesterday but it has only gotten up to maybe 4 inches.  Not to deep.  But it is still very cold outside.  It has been in the teens for most of the week.  This next week they say it will warm up to the 30's but get colder again.  People are saying that this will be a very cold winter.

Well not a whole lot to report on this week.  Nothing major happened with our investigators.  We may be dropping two of them because they are cancelling all of our appointments.  We have been working a lot with potential investigators that missionaries have previously found and have showed some interest in learning from us.  We have had a few people tell us to come back and others that have given us a few amusing ways of saying no to having us come back.  This week we will hopefully be visiting with the members a little bit more then this past week.

Well hopefully we will not be freezing this next week.  we will be having our christmas zone conference this week so that should be very fun.  All the districts will be doing little short skits having to do with missionary work or the scriptures.  I will let you all know how that goes.  Well I love you all and the Gospel is true!

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

December 2, 2013 - Indianola, IA

Dear Family:

Well it has been a great week in Indianola.  We had a great thanksgiving feast at some members house and a lot of pie.  Then it was fun to watch them shoot guns a little bit and it was a very good day.  The rest of the week was good as well.  We are trying to meet with our investigators as much as we can and that has been going good.  Two of our investigators are making it hard to meet with them so that is a little frustrating.  But we are going good with all of our other investigators. 

This next week will for sure be getting colder.  If anything this past week it has been a roller coaster of warmth and cold.  This next week will be getting the highs around 20 for a few days.  Next week we may get some snow!  Christmas is definitely coming.  Hopefully there will not be a whole lot of ice or anything like that.  That stuff just makes me nervous.

Well this next week we have a lot of appointments.  Hopefully they will not fall through.  And hopefully we will be able to progress with a bunch of our investigators.  This is a very exciting month!  Love you all and the Gospel is true.

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti

November 25, 2013 - Indianola, IA

Dear Family:

Well it has been quite a week.  My new companion is Elder Tappen.  He is from Alaska.  Another Visa waiter.  And this next week looks like it will be getting cold and a little bit warm but only to cool down for the year.  It has been very cold in other words.  Oh and we did get three new investigators to make up for the ones that we had to drop this last week.  The Lord is definitely preparing people for us to teach.  This next week we will be finding out how on board these people are.  The year is soon coming to a close and we have the goal of 550 to get to.  We are at about 420 or 430.  We still have a ways to go.  And this next week is thanksgiving!  We will be going to a few houses to have some dinners.  Hopefully we will be able to make the most of the day.  But it will be a fun week.  Love you all!

Sincerely;
Elder Spencer Ariotti

November 18, 2013 - Indianola, IA

Dear Family:

Well it has been another week in Indianola.  I have just received transfer calls and I am staying while my companion Elder Huxford is leaving to a new area while training.  All I know is that I am staying.  Not sure how old my new companion is or his name.  Did I ever mention how much I dislike transfers?  There is a lot of stress and it is not very pleasant to go through.  But there is new adventure that is awaiting.

Well this was actually a hard week.  We dropped one investigator because she was not progressing and didnt want to.  Another because he left the room while we were knocking on his door to meet with him.  And another because he left to go urbandale.  So we are now down to one investigator that we are on good speaking terms with.  And she is very frustrated right now because her boyfriend left her.

But we have been working hard to find new people.  And we will continue to do so with the new missionary that will be coming.  I will continue to work my hardest at proclaiming the Gospel so that all people will have the opportunity to hear about it.  Love you all!  Keep us in your prayers!

Sincerely;
Elder Spencer Ariotti

November 11, 2013 - Indianola, IA

Dear Family:

 

Well it has been a cold week in Indianola Iowa.  We had a lot of appointments scheduled and it was going to be a great week.  But things turned around and a lot of people had to cancel on us.  One of those being a young non member that wishes to have the lessons.  It was kind of disappointing but I still remember that this work is not easy and things will happen.  Everyone has there agency.  It is a great gift but very frusterating to many people.

 

But then we made it to Sunday and church and that made this week good.  We had two of our investigators finally make it to church and that was awesome.  Although there daughter had a little tantrum it was good because it was the primary program.  There was such an awesome spirit the whole time and you could tell it was a great learning experience for all that were there.

 

So it was stressful but very much worth it.  And this week will be another stressful one as we will be having last minuit exchanges in our area and will be awaiting transfer calls sometime this weekend.  I will probably be getting transfered but the Lord has his own plans for me.  I know this Gospel is true and I love it so much.  Love you all!

 

Sincerely;

Elder Spencer Ariotti