LONG update!

Things have been EXTREMELY crazy since I went back to work in January...hence the lack of blog updates. Sorry! Here are some of his latest letters all in one post. We love our missionary boy who has quickly become a missionary man, as cheesy as that sounds. With each letter we are realizing how much Ross has grown and matured over the past 13 months (today marks 13!). We continue to pray for him daily and know you do as well. Our family is so proud of Ross and his decisions and you can see why as you read these letters...enjoy! Oh and I will say that while Ross has grown spiritually and has matured a ton...he has not gotten any better at editing his letters!! He is in such a rush on Tuesdays to write everyone that he does not bother with capitals, punctuation or even spelling sometimes...and I just don't have the time to edit it all with a little 5 month old needing me, so bear with him!!!


Tuesday January 25

Thursday....the only thing significant that I know is that we have a training with Elder Evans of the 70 from 830-4 and then there is a chance that he could go and work with us that night....but thats about it.......oh yeah! and i hit my year mark! hahaha its pretty exciting, ill talk more about that later.

2. My new companion is Elder Burnell. He is from Utah and is a state championship wrestler out there. He is a pretty cool guy and we get along really well. Im the senior Zone Leader in the companionship now (this is his first transfer as a ZL) so we will see how everything works out..ill talk more about that later.

3. i dont really like either one. Im kind of a steelers fan because of the way they play defense. I like the "shut up and rip the other guys head off" mentality. So sorry mom and dad, im going with the steelers for this one. 34-17.

Well I hear that A&M is tearing it up in basketball right now. Thats always good to hear. The other day me and elder guenette went to a sports medicine facility becasue of his elbow. Turns out it was DR. Chao, the lead doctor for the Chargers. he had an autographed jersey from guys like phillip rivers, LT, Peyton Manning, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretszky and other big name guys...its was pretty cool. Anyways, Sportcenter was on and they showed highlights of an a&m game...i got a little trunky but it passed quickly haha

Things are going really good right now. After the exchange with elder christensen things really started picking up in our area. We have a couple that is on target to be baptized this weekend so be praying that it will go through. We found a really cool couple yesterday that are pretty interested, so all in all things are going really good.

Alright so spiritual experiences this week...sit back and enjoy these, i had some powerful experiences. 1) So thurday morning i woke up and just felt really discouraged for some reason. IDK why. But during getting ready and all the way up to my personal study i was not feeling very good at all. Just felt sad and depressed. So i devoted my personal study to overcoming thost feelings. I read in teh scriptures and it principles of the gospel, my call letter and then i read in my patriarchal blessing. I usually read it almost everday and i was just goiing along and I got to a line that i ahve read probably 100 times but it never had it me this hard before. It was talking about how i have been sent to a family of great faith and that and then i read, "Your Heavenly Father loves you." Thats it. That short 5 word sentence i thinked changed my mission. I got so much peace and solace from that, i think i really understood and i saw God reaching out to help me. God reaches to help those who reach for His help. 2) We had interviews yesterday with president Donaldson. For the past couple weeks I have felt like burned out/tired of being a Zone Leader. So yesterday in my interview President says, "How are you?" I let out a big sigh and say, "good" Then told him how i feel. Then, President let me see a little bit of the vision that he has and the vision the Lord has for me. He told me that I am a great missionary. But more importantly, I am a great Priesthood leader and that the Lord sees that. He told me that these times of trial are to prepare me for when the Lord puts a greater amount of responsibility on me. He told me to just let it come. he laughed because i told him that the theme of my mission is, "Come what may, and Love it." It was a really great interview. This next year is going to be amazing! Or in sportcenter terms, its going to be BALLIN!

Well tahts about it! Thanks for everything and ill be thinking about yall on thursday while my mind is being blown to pieces by a General Authority...oh and when i am celebrating my year mark! LOVE YALL!!!!

ross

February 15

Well lets just say valentine's is a little different on the mission. But i still had people tell me they love me. I talked with my friend at CVS (yeah, dont ask me how i have a friend at CVS, i just do) and i asked if he was going to celebrate valentines day, he said, "i'm just like yall really, everyone thinks im weird, but im actually a cool guy. But the girls hate me." hahahahaha i laughed pretty hard.

1. The only valentines gifts i have gotten so far was a package from brooke and a card with a record setting 8 PAGE LETTER from hillary. I guess ill get the rest today.

2. I usually only print the important ones that i know i will read when i am having a hard time. So, i have only print out 1 from dad when i was back in IB. All the other ones, if i want to read them again, i just wait till tuesdays.

3. They are pushing right a long. They need to get married but they are doing great. They love church. I sat next to them on sunday and they were sharing a hymn book singing together like a regular family in the church. it was pretty awesome.

Well I guess that it is at times like this that i was at home. i really wish i could be there but I can't. So i guess ill do the next best thing. Read this to janna, today.

(Ross wrote a beautiful, heart-felt note to Janna. Here is the closing paragraph of his message:)

...Well i guess thats all. Thank you for all of your prayers and support. I can feel them constantly. And at this time, know that you have a representative of Jesus Christ praying daily for you. I love you so much. hang in there and "Dont give up, Dont ever give up"

Your missionary nephew

Well i hope that helps. I dont know why i felt like i needed to write it, but ive learned to always foolow impressions, its usually a good idea ha.

Well this week was pretty good. Yes i am saved. No more pills, so everything is good. This week I had the a pretty cool opportunity to go and see someone in the hospital that isnt a member but wanted to see us. She was a former investigator but dropped us because she didnt like my former companion. She just had her baby (2 months early) and she had to have her uterus taken out and had to have some kind of back surgery. She called the friend that refered her to us and told her that she wanted a blessing. We went and gave her one and after we got done, she said that the baby was jumping up and down inside of her. Pretty cool. So last friday we went to the hospital to see her and she said that she was happy to see us. She had been struggling and she needed some help. She said she remembered how we told her to pray and so she has been praying up a storm. But she left the hospital yesterday, with her baby, and everything is all good now. pretty cool the way the spirit works.

Also, i got to see a kid that me and elder gunnell reactivated in IB. He came up to me and gave me a hug and told me that he missed me and that he had a surprise. I asked him what it was and he said that he was turning in his mission papers this week!!!!!! I freakked out! This kid didn't like churcha dn loved playing soccer and drving his car. Me and Gunnell worked with him and he started coming to church on a weekly basis for the first time ever ( he is like 23). Since i left, he has gotten the melchizadeck PH and goes to insitute every week! He loves the church now. I asked him how it happened. he said, "before, when the missionaries came over, it wasnt my time. But when you started coming, it was my time. Its something God wants me to do" AHHHHHHHHH, FREAKING SWEET!!! He told me that to pay he has to sell everything. I asked him if by everything he meant his car. (he as put so much money in this car he has. He calls it his baby.) and he laughed and said, "yep. Even the car. Im selling it soon." hahahaha i cant believe it. Everytime i think about it i get all excited. Now, his family is going to get sealed in the temple and i might get to be there! (because we baptized his sister)

So yeah, this week was pretty good. Keep me updated on janna. I LOVE YALL

ross


February 25

ha well im glad to know that janna is doing better. That is a load off my mind.

1. we do some cooking. But we have been so busy this transfer that i think we have eaten at our house like 4 times in 6 weeks. We are literally running around all the time. So we usually just have to grab something quick.

2. The past few weeks we have been playing basketball down in the ghetto with a couple of other missionaries. Then at night after planning, i lift some dumbells that we have and stretch a little. But other tahn that, we dont do much.

Well like i said, Im glad to hear that janna is doing better! In my personal prayers at night ahve been pleading with the Lord to help her. Every day, i would tell God to save her. at the beginning i asked, but that turned into telling the Lord to save her if it was his will. Like the doctor said the God wasnt ready for her so he kicked her back down. its the truth! There were also a few more prayers in her behalf. The Rodriguez family (the on that i sent you a pic of and that i said was the next bishop) have been prayering for her every night. We had a lesson with them that night and i hadnt told anyone about the situation but once again i felt prompted to talk about it with them taht night. I started crying (like only the 2nd time that has happened in a lesson) and after the lesson, he gave me a hug and she shook my hand and told me everything was going to be ok. God would take care of her. Every night we went over they would ask about her and then pray for her at the end. It was a tough week, but im glad everything is turning around.
thanks for everything you do! I really appreciate it! LOVE YALL!

ross

A side-note to Gordon:


Hey dad. Sorry for spending so much money lately, but we ahve had no time to eat at our apartment. Also, i need some extra cash to buy quarters for my laundry and to buy some laundry supplies and other things. Thanks dad!