August 10, 2015 Sawldmo...

President Snow making sure we still take in some of the terrain that's a part of of the 

Nevada Las Vegas Mission!

Hey Fam!
First off Happy Anniversary to my wonderful parents, David Norman and Robin Hurst Faldmo. I'm grateful for your height! I love you! It was your wedding anniversary and my year anniversary in Vegas this week!

We saw a ton of miracles this week and are seeing a lot of blessings right now. The Bermuda Ward is on fire right now! Sunday was a pretty crazy day. We had a ton of investigators show up to church! Elder Sawyer & I taught Gospel Principles and the topic was The Signs of the 2nd Coming. One of our investigators named Jacqui that is really fun to teach but hard cause she has so many questions, anyway, she  commented in class and told us she wanted to be baptized! She raised her hand after another member was sharing about their experience when they were baptized and said, "Alright, I'm convinced! I'm ready!" Later we were talking about missionary work and asked the class how many of them are converts and she said, "I almost am!"

Also, a random family of 5 walked into church and said that they want to be taught so we are starting to teach them tonight!

This older lady named Leona just moved here from California and she said she wanted to find church again. She told herself that she would go to the first church she saw when she got here and the first church she saw was the chapel down the road from our chapel. She walked into
church last Sunday and the missionaries in that Ward taught her this week but she lives in our boundaries so we taught her last night and she's a hoot. She is one of the most fun people to teach on my mission. She asked us what sacrifices she had to make to be baptized and we talked about the Word of Wisdom and she said, "no coffee or tea?" And we said nope. Then she said, "dang, but can I still have my kool-aid? I need me some sugar still!" Yes Leona, you can have kool-aid.

We also started teaching this kid named Jake this week. His friend Robert, who is a member in another Ward invited him to church a few weeks ago and then invited him to listen to us! We taught him the restoration this week and he will be baptized in September! Robert is going on a mission in September too so hopefully he will be able to baptize him before he goes. Jake said that that would be good for him to prepare Robert for his mission so he can get used to it haha I went on exchanges this week with Elder Chase Carroll. He's from Gilbert, AZ and went to high school with cousin Kenzie Hurst! He goes home in a week so he said he will take pictures at her farewell for me :) we're excited for you Kenzie!

I also went on exchanges with Elder Rockwood this week in my last area! It was fun to teach some of the same people that we taught together there last transfer.

S/o to President and Sister Snow for taking us to Hoover Dam this morning! Besides the fact that it reminded me of Lake Powell it was really fun! (I'll send pics later) Also to Sylvia for giving a killer talk on Sunday at church yesterday I heard!

Elder Sawyer and I sporting our shirt given to us by our Ward Mission Leader.

 

Overlook at Hoover Dam with Elder Sawyer and the Sister Training Leaders

Love you all! Keep sending me pics of all of your great adventures!

Elder Faldmo

August 3, 2015 Miracles and Scorpions...

We had a bunch of great things happen this week!

President Snow and I with a new missionary from the Philippines, Elder Balajadia, that just arrived to our mission!

Yesterday we found another golden family. They just moved here from Carlsbad, CA. They have had LDS friends in the past and have gone to different churches but never found the right one. We were knocking on a door in their apartment complex and they saw us outside their window
and the mom sent her son out to try and talk to us but we left too quick. To try and track us down, they looked up the temple and called it but it was closed for cleaning so they thought they'd never be able to talk to us. Then, later in the day, the oldest daughter went to the
laundromat and on the floor she found a tattered Gospel of Jesus Christ pamphlet with the number of the Singles' Ward Sister Missionaries on in and called them. Then the sisters called us and we called the family and went over that night. When we went over, they
told us this whole story and then today they came to church and loved it! After church, the mom didn't want to come out of Relief Society because she didn't want her kids to see her cry. It was really good weekend to say the least. They now have a baptismal date and are excited to continue to learn!

On Tuesday, we were getting into our car and Elder Sawyer sits down in the drivers seat and he felt something on his back and thought it was his seat being really hot and burning him-- summers in Vegas! So, he leans forward and reaches back to feel the back part of his seat and something else hurt his finger and so he gets out of the car and we look and there's nothing there so we go to our next stop. When we go to get back in the car, on the mat there's a scorpion sitting there! It was on my side so I freaked out!!! Then we tried and catch it and it got away in the cracks of the seat, but we had an appointment to go to so we had to get in the car! So for the rest of the day, I was sitting in my seat, scared to death that the scorpion would get me or run up my pants or something. Then at the end of the night, we went to a guy in our Ward who is an exterminator. He sprayed our car for us. The next morning the scorpion was dead on the floor so we got it! Now it's the mascot in our apartment.

So, I hate scorpions but I LOVE snakes:) This one belongs to someone we are teaching.

I love you all! Keep up the good work!

Elder Faldmo

July 28, 2015 Fam Jam

Hey everyone!

S/o to Sylvia for going to the temple for the first time and completing the special ordinances for her grandparents. I'm sure it was a great experience!

Had another amazing week! First off, on Wednesday I went on exchanges with the one and only
Elder Chambers. We went to his area in the North (my birthplace for my mission) and had a great day. Also, we had dinner with the one and only Loveman! The rest of the country better watch out when Elder Chambers is playing as an offensive tackle for BYU next year!

On Saturday I got to go to lunch with my cousins the Clarks and Gallaghers! It was good to see all of the cousins and that night, Christian (formerly known as Elder Clark) came out to teach with Elder Sawyer and I! It was so much fun to teach the gospel with my cousin who I haven't seen in over two years. We had some good experiences in the ghetto! right Christian?

Our investigator Jorge was a champ this week. He came to church 2 weeks in a row about 2 months ago but then he got a job that scheduled him working on Sunday. He loves going to church and has been trying to get a new job and finally this Sunday he couldn't take it anymore without
going to church. So, he told his boss in the middle of work that he had to go to church, he left work, and just showed up for the 3rd hour of church. Then last night we had a lesson with him and his girlfriend and they told us that they wanted to get married as soon as possible and now they have a
marriage and baptismal date. Jorge is the man! All he wants is for his family to be sealed as a family for time and all eternity. I'm so grateful for the restored gospel and the knowledge that we have to give us more peace and direction for our lives. Jorge knows where he wants to go but now, unlike before, he knows exactly what he needs to do to get there.

Also we had 2 zone conferences this week. One was in Lake Havesu. We had to get up at 3:30 in the morning to get there... The lake wasn't even warm. Just kidding... but it was a good drive. President Snow has the lead foot of Dad so we got home quick. I got half trunky cause it had the same scenery as ion the way to lake Powell.

I love the mission life! Crazy spiritual, busy and fun! Love you all!
Elder Faldmo

July 20, 2015 Brother Hemmingway, Tyler Haws, and Prepared people‏

I had another busy and exciting week!

First of all, congratulations to my cousin Kenzie Hurst for getting called to serve in Los Angeles on her mission! You're going to do awesome Kenzie!

The most exciting part of our week was probably the fact that Brother Hemmingway, the Director of Proselyting for the whole world, came and evaluated and trained our mission. On Tuesday, he took Elder Sawyer and I to Outback Steakhouse(I got a 10 oz. Sirloin if you were wondering) and then worked with us and taught with us for the rest of the night and then planned with us at the end of the night.  He taught us so much, especially about planning. Everything I learned from him will benefit me for the rest of my life with school, work, and as a disciple of Jesus Christ. He is a genius! I don't think Elder Sawyer and I totally understood how lucky we were to experience what we did until after he left. We got one of the smartest guys in the whole world in regards to missionary work to work with us for 3 days and he was teaching with us for 5 hours of those three days! Pretty cool stuff. Something I'll remember forever. 

Elder Sawyer and I doing some training the week of transfers

Role playing with our training

We found this golden family this week. The girlfriend is a member and her boyfriend isn't and when we walked in their home, one of the first things they told us was that they wanted to get sealed in the temple! We were able to teach them almost everyday this week.

Another guy we're teaching told us that he never thought before that he would go to a church but last night he said, "why didn't you guys find me earlier?" We were able to tell him that the Lord prepared him for this moment to find and accept His true church. 

It's so great when you come in contact with prepared people!

The NBA summer league is going on here in Vegas and last week some Elders got a text from a guy named Tyler Haws saying that he needs something to do and asked if he could go out with them? So while Tyler Haws' teammates were partying, he went out with the missionaries. Thanks Tyler!

Elder Sawyer and I were able to go to the temple on Friday! It was an awesome experience again to be in the house of the Lord. We are so lucky here in this mission to have a temple so close and to be able help our new members get there quickly to experience the joy that is found within the temple walls. 

Elder Sawyer with the look

Love you Fam! 

Elder Faldmo