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