12/12/16

Hey Mom!! 

This has been a way fun week so I should have some good stuff to talk about.

So Monday was pretty fun.  We hung out with some elders that we are getting to know from doing service together.  We got lunch and then got to check out the mall again.  We went thrift shopping too, and I got us a bunch of plates and utensils since we don't have like any!

On Tuesday we had exchanges so I went with our zone leader Elder Shepherd, and Elder Orzel stayed with Elder Reiswig in our area. It was soooooo fun teaching people in the YSA.  (Young Single Adult Ward.)  It was all people our age! For dinner we had this recent return missionary take us to the Asian buffet and that's where I tried the crab/shrimp thing.  Yeah it was a bad idea..... My favorite part of the day was that we had a car all day and I loved it. Oh they also have a full legit bench press set in their apartment and so in the morning I took advantage of it and got up at 5 to work out. Elder Shepherd thought I was crazy.

For Wednesday it was back to our normal routine....we went tracting.......for like 4-5 hours....in -20 degrees and I loved it!!!! As soon as we got out the door I told Elder Orzel “let's go make memories.” We didn't get anyone to open up for more then a few moments but I just had such a positive attitude and I enjoyed it! So a funny story, when we were going back home this guy pulled over and offered us a ride.  At first I tried saying we were fine. He insisted, so then we decided to get in.  He was driving us and was kind of crazy with his driving.  He went on to tell us that he was not familiar with the car and he served 10 years in federal prison.  He kind of got mad when he found out we were missionaries. He then proceeded to hit a curb and slid on the ice.  Then he said, “Oh I’m sorry, I've been drinking quite a bit.” I thought okay forget this, I’m out. We made it home soon thankfully, so don't worry haha.

Fast forward to Friday.  ZONE CONFERENCE! It was so fun seeing the whole zone together.  I really enjoyed it. We received a bunch of training from our mission president and the assistants, and the spirit was so strong. So yeah, that sums up that day.

It really has been cool seeing the Christmas lights go up, and everyone is way nicer during the holidays so all I ask is everyone try to do something for someone and share the Christlike love! You have no idea the effect it can have on others.

I love you all so much!

Love, 

Elder Robert Litster ❤️

Flat tire again lol

Ft. Collins Temple sunset

Zone Conference same timers

12/5/16

Hey family and friends,

  So this week has been interesting that's for sure. We were able to

kill it in service this week which was a real blessing. We got to help out at this food warehouse that gives away food to people in need called Joshua's Storehouse.  It honestly is a lot of fun helping out there, so we helped out like every other day there for a couple hours.  It's funny how nice everyone gets during the holidays and how grateful they all are, but hey I'm not going to complain. But I think we should all try to be like that year round.

   I've been making Elder Orzel teach every possible lesson even the

dinner lessons as well as when we go contacting.  It's been pretty rough, but the last two days he was killing it and I am so proud! We had a really good meeting with the ward council and got a good list of potentials they want us to try to reach, as well as part member families  and less actives.  I am so excited for the direction the work is going. I actually am helping the bishop and ward mission leader come up with a ward mission goal for 2017 and it's kind of a lot of pressure. But they really want me to help, so I've been doing that too at the meetings we go to.

   District meeting was way fun. I'm getting better at the trainings I give, (I hope so).   Afterwards we celebrated sister Thomas's 21st birthday with sparkling cider. She goes home the day after Christmas and we are so sad to be losing her:((((

   The rest of the district missionaries are way cool. They each have really chill personalities as well as a good sense of humor so it's made being the district leader very easy and I am so thankful for that. The weekend kind of sucked because I finally got sick enough to the point I needed to stay in for a day. I've been dealing with headaches, colds, minor flu, but this time it got the better of me. I'm good to go now though.  Staying inside literally killed me.

That's about all I got for this week hope I can hear from y'all!

Love,

Elder Robert Litster

Bike pump

Mission meal

Elder Litster - Snow Missionary

11/28/16

Hey Mom!!!

 So I am right now sending this from the library just because I can type faster with it but don't worry I have my ipad now and can send a bunch of pictures. Any new updates?? What are the plans for Christmas??

We are going to have a district P Day with the sisters the week before Christmas and it's going to be super fun.  We have a bunch of stuff planned. The holidays away from home are a little weird but I still was able to enjoy it. So the ward (Casper 2nd) is home to all of the doctors and dentist so it really is one of the nicer areas. But anyway, the members that feed us have such good food and the houses are way cool. I'm going to start offering to put up Christmas lights for everyone so that we can get more service in haha (shout out to Butch and Pam).

Thanksgiving was pretty fun we had dinner with this way fun family and they had a bunch of guitars so we sang songs afterwards. 

This past week has had a lot of ups and downs but hey that's the mission life. Well let's be real that is life in general. So we have spent a lot of time on bikes outside and I’ll try and send a video of us one of our nights but we'll see if it sends. It is way cold let me tell you haha, and the wind is brutal and I’m just a poor kid from SoCal so I’m doomed right?? SIKE.  I’m adapting slowly but surely. When it’s in the high 40s low 50s I could be out in short sleeves and shorts because to me that’s pretty warm now. 

Not a whole lot has happened except meeting with a bunch of less actives but they all have been great. This one family is all about wrestling and the dad wants me to help train the boys so I said that we will see but first let's get some lessons in. I hope all is well back home and that you all are enjoying the California weather. 

I love you a ton and will be looking forward to hearing from you all.

Love,

Elder Litster

Elder Litster's going away party in Rawlins, WY

11/21/16

Hey Mom!!

So sorry this is kinda a late letter but better late than never right?? There's a bunch I want to share so hopefully I can remember it all haha.

Elder Orzel...

 To start off I guess ill introduce my new companion. His name is Elder Orzel, and he is a very interesting character to say the least. He is actually older than me by a couple months and we are very different in literally every way.... He is a only child and so he thinks it's weird when I talk about my siblings haha. For fun I guess he used to do WW2 reenacting and would train with sword play. He also is very into martial arts and keeps begging me to teach him ground game so we will see cause I don't know how I feel about wrestling him haha. He is a very sweet spirit and has a huge desire to serve the Lord. I think he will need a little more extra help with learning how to teach but I have 100% confidence in him.

Freaking Bikes....

 Hahaha so the bikes aren't that bad actually I'm just complaining and being a baby. The thing that sucks though is we don't live in our area so whenever we want to go anywhere we first have to move a few miles and then we hit our places to go. The other thing that doesn’t help is the upcoming weather....

District Leader...

 Well District Leader is actually the least of my worries. At first I was really stressed and wondering if I was ready for it but it's been fine so far and having a district full of sisters is kinda

different haha. I'm what you would call a 'relief society president’ lol. Anyways it's been pretty smooth so far I have a meeting with the zone leaders once a week and then give a district meeting and also will check up on each companionship and see how they are doing. Not too bad honestly haha.

Starting from Ground Zero...

 So my biggest concern is at the moment white washing an area (again) but this time I'm literally starting from big old ZERO... Like there literally was no work getting done here and there hasn't been a recorded lesson in this area for months so yeah I essentially burned through the area book and am starting from scratch cause it's just unacceptable. Oh and we spent our first couple days cleaning the apartment which was a disaster and so we yesterday got rid of all the mold so I'm pretty stoked about that:)

All in all I still count this all as zero excuses to not get the Lord's work done. Elder Jackson and President McMurray both have said that this sounds like a growing transfer for me and I couldn't agree more haha. I know there was a reason I was put with Elder Orzel as well as being put in this area the Casper 2nd Ward. I love being a missionary and I can't wait to get the work progressing even more. As of now we have a few appointments set up for the week that we got from ward members help or tracting and I can say this we will have a lot more tracting to do but I'm excited for the challenge.

I love you all so much

Love

Elder Litster

Snopp Dogg in Casper, WY

Elder Litster and Elder Orzel

11/14/16

Hey Family and friends!

So I knew this would come eventually but I was really wishing to be able to stay in Rawlins one more transfer so that I could spend the holidays here with all the people I've gotten to know so well out here but it will be okay. I have been called to be a district leader and to train a new missionary which means I will be white washing a new area again so this might be a challenging transfer but I have faith I was called here for a reason so it will be good I am sure of it.

    It still hasn't snowed out here (thankfully) but it is expected to very soon like this week so I am keeping my fingers crossed. Elder Jenson is a little nervous about me leaving and getting a new companion so quickly but I know he will do great. 

   I heard Trump won which is pretty interesting and it was kinda funny cause at church was fast and testimony meeting (it got pushed back a week) but anyways, there were clearly some people here that were really....concerned and some others that were really happy but finally a youth got up and said that it doesn't matter because God still loves us and will take care of everything and then sat down. Total mic drop moment I started laughing really hard and thought it was so awesome that a youth said it.

   We have been teaching quite a few people and this week we got 20 lessons in which is a mission high for me haha. Samantha Koyle made it to church with her husband and she will be getting baptized in a couple weeks which is amazing. We also saw Keana at church with the Archuleta's, Hope was at church as well but Mel couldn't make it cause he was really sick. Jose who is the coolest guy ever came as well. He keeps telling me he will visit me in Casper and take me to the mall and get me and my comp whatever haha. I love him to death.

   So as of today I am just going around with this big journal I got and am having a bunch of people I got close with sign it so that I can remember them. I am calling it I will finish my mission here and if that can happen I will be the happiest human on the face of the planet. 

   I also just wanted to share my testimony. So the things Iv'e been seeing out here and the experiences I have been having are not by chance, I know that the Lord loves each and everyone of us and I know with all my heart that the Book of Mormon is another testiment of Christ. If any of you have heard bad things about it all i have to say is just read it and read in the back of the book Moroni 10:3-5. In those verses all it says to just read a little bit and then to pray and ask God himself if the book is true or not and that the spirit will testify to you if it is or not. It's not the words pf anyone here on earth that can answer it but the spirit itself.

   I love you all very much and know that I am out here for a purpose and I am so happy to be doing so.

I hope to hear from you amazing people.

Love Elder Robert Litster

(my ipad got messed up so I am waiting to get it back and then ill send all the pictures)

11/7/14

I feel like it's been forever since I wrote you and I am very sorry about that! I would love to hear details about Alisa's wedding and your experience in Africa. Lots of pictures too please:)

So the last two weeks have been filled with a ton of stuff haha. I have to say Rawlins was very good to me for my birthday I truly enjoyed it out here with these wonderful people I've been able to grow close with. Special shout outs to the Rodriguez family and Fale of course. Maria and her kids, they've been so sweet to me. And the Arnold's and the Green's families. They all made me feel special for my birthday and I love them all for it very much.

Let's see two weeks is a lot to cover so I'll just share the big stuff haha, um Elder Jenson and I have been getting along quite well. Elder Jenson out someone in date last week with a little 

help from me haha but yeah her name is Samantha and she is super ready to be baptized. The spirit we feel when she talks is unreal. Ummm so we are super close to hitting our missions standard of excellence which is pretty hard and I don't know if I'll ever be this close to hitting it all again haha. We right now have 6 people on date right now and so I'm excited to see how they play out!!

Halloween was so much fun let me tell you haha. So missionaries from Laramie came up to hang out with us for our mandatory P Day and it was a ton of fun being together and then hanging with the Arnold's and Green's for trick or treating and all that.

We also had interviews like 4 days ago and President McMurray pretty much said we will stay together as a companionship one more transfer so looks like I'll be hitting 6 months in my area! I e decided I really want to finish my mission here in Rawlins. It would be way cool considering how well I know everyone here now haha.

Anyways I am grateful to be doing the Lord's work and I know He is proud of me and I am continually trying to be a better man and better missionary. I love you all and hope that I can hear back from you all.

Love,

Elder Robert Litster

Elder Litster's birthday!

10/24/16

Dear Family and Friends,

So this week has been full of ups and down's but overall a solid week!

Tuesday we went tracting and got to experience some of the elements and it was a whole lot of fun.  We also went to contact a few past investigators but none of them answered so that was a bummer. What was fun was doing the service for Brother Penman again and seeing how he was doing. After that we went over to Carmen's and taught her about enduring to the end and when the times are hard that our faith grows the most. She then made us a bomb dinner consisting of like authentic Mexican food which I haven't had in forever.

Wednesday we had service at the Rec Center.  We helped put down these tarp things in the baseball fields and it was freezing:(! After that we had to rush back to the church and change for district meeting which was fun. We then had lunch at our place and then did exchanges so I stayed in Rawlins with District Leader Pennington while we put our two greenies together Elders Vosika and Jenson.  Elder Pennington and I went and did a bunch of contacting and actually were able to sit down and have a lesson with a inactive we've been trying to contact for the longest time, so I am thoroughly happy about that. Later that night something really random and very surprising happened. I got a call from a Montana number and when I saw that I had an idea but then answered it and as I thought...it was freaking SISTER SHOEMAKER!   Hahaha it was so funny and delightful hearing her and what was even awesomer, was that she had a referral for me so overall my night was made by that haha.

Thursday we had service in the morning at the DDA and then had to drive up to Saratoga to drop off Pennington and pick up Jenson. The rest of the day was devoted to finding so yeah, kinda a long day.

Friday was pretty much the same as Thursday, so yeah another tough day without a lot of success.

Saturday was way fun.  We got to go help some members and some of our investigators chop wood and load it up for this older lady and then we did a lesson with our investigation that came to help. 

Sunday we had church for both wards, so yeah that is tiring and we taught a lesson in Gospel Principles which was fun. 

So yeah that was my week.  Not the most exciting but it was still good! Yeah my birthday is coming up by the way, and I'm not looking for stuff but hearing from you folks really does lift my spirits no matter what I'm doing and definitely brings a smile to my face.  So hope to hear from you!

Love Elder Litster

Tasty chef Litster

Wood chopping service

Elder Jenson is king

10/17/16

New Guys Putting In Work!!!

First off it snowed for a little bit twice this week but it didn't stay thankfully haha. I'm like so nervous for this winter it's supposed to be terrible this year and the wind has really been picking up so #prayforelderlitster

So this week has been really fun with Elder Jenson I must say. He is a very interesting kid to say the least. To give a quick background he is originally from San Diego but has been living in Philadelphia for the last couple of years. He is a total hipster/awkward/funny guy. He's totally a fresh out of high school 18 year old kid though like yeah I'm only a year or so older than him but he's totally concerned about what's happening back home with his girlfriend or social media and all that stuff but it's all good he's still new so I'm sure he'll grow out of that. He doesn't have a ton of confidence when it comes to teaching still but it's fine I'm just drilling him with role plays and stuff like that haha it's been a lot of fun.

So on Tuesday we got to do some service with Brother Penman who is still hanging in there at 93 and man he is a funny guy. He has us feed the squirrels and birds in his back yard and it is so funny how that's like super important to him. After that we did a bunch of contacting and setting up appointments and all that. In the evening we drove out to Wamsutter to visit the Carrillo Family and taught their kids the 1st discussion. At the end I had a strong impression to invite them to be baptized so I gave Elder Jenson the signal to do it and he just looked so confused and I was like ' Yeah and Elder Jenson was wondering something and wanted to ask you all a question' and like 5 minutes of awkward silence went by so finally after kinda laughing I invited them to be baptized and they all said yes so I am super excited for them.

Wednesday we had to drive out to Casper for our trainers meeting which was really good for us. We were able to learn a lot and how to be a affective companionship so that was sweet. After wards we went to lunch with some missionaries knew from either meeting at mission tour or they were from the group that came out with me. 

Thursday we had a long day in Laramie for our Zone Meeting. Im not gonna lie I was getting impatient with the fact we spent two whole days in different cities instead of our own area getting to work but it was alright I enjoyed seeing the other missionaries.

Friday was a packed day whole cow! We had 3 different service opportunities which totaled up to 5-6 hours of service and then taught 4 lessons and in order to do that we had to go on splits haha. Literally all the work from the previous days just got piled up onto Friday and Saturday so it was exhausting. What was nice was we were able to end the day going to the Rawlins last football game with some members so can't complain to much.

Saturday was pretty much the same, a ton of service and some more lessons with like the Carrillos and Grant and Hope and Mel. So a pretty good day all around.

Sunday was a real treat we got to watch the temple dedication at the church and man was it a spiritual experience. I absolutely loved it. Afterwards we went tracting in the jail for like 2 hours and it was actually Elder Jensons first time so it was really fun for me to watch him knock doors haha. After that we went to celebrate a member we are close with's birthday and it was was fun. After that we had our dinner and then went back home for weekly planning and called it a night. 

All in all it's been a interesting week full of driving and teaching and helping different people move. I hope you all enjoyed this and please remember I love you all and hope that I can hear back from you all!

Love Elder Litster

Awesome dinner

Dead bird service

Trainers Meeting

10/10/16

IM A DAD!!!

It's official I have a son haha and his name is Elder Jenson. This guy is awesome I'm so relieved that we are getting along so well. I'm not gonna lie I was super nervous and was praying a ton hoping that I would be able to handle being a trainer and to be good at it too. So far it's been going pretty well and I'm very much loving it.

Monday-  We spent the day in Laradise and I got to hand with Elder Underwood and Elder Wilwand and their greenies and I had a lot of fun exploring and playing basketball. That pretty much sums up that day.

Tuesday- So we packed up our stuff and drove all the way down to Fort Collins and that was fun. We got to see Justin Steele there so shout out to you buddy!! He took us to lunch and it was so good to see a familiar face! After we said bye to him we went straight to the mission office and that is where I got to meet Elder Jenson. Saying goodbye to Elder Prescott was pretty hard cause of how well we got along but it was bound to happen. Seeing all the new missionaries was so weird cause I feel like that was me yesterday haha I mean like yeah I've only been out a couple months but still haha it was interesting. After picking up Elder Jenson I was able to meet up with my good friend Elder Mills one of my friends I came out with and that was sweet! We were able to get to Rawlins around 10:30 that night and we were exhausted.

Wednesday-  was the first day for Elder Jenson in the field and it was pretty good I'd say. We got a couple lessons in and I was given to chance to do some training with him which we will be doing every morning for him. It was a bit of a learning process for both of us but it went well and it will continue to get better. He needs a little work with his teaching but I'm not worried one bit.

Thursday-  Thursday was really fun we were able to have a district meeting which was fun seeing Elder Pennington and Elder Vosika. After the meeting we had lunch and then had to run off to service at the DDA helping out at the downtown office (they put together the city events) After that we taught Carmen her recent convert lesson and met with Maria to talk with her son who she wants us to teach.

Friday-  Friday was kinda a slow day, we went tracting and contacting quite a bit and set up a bunch of lessons which was good. We did get a lesson in with Huciel and it was super nice being able to see that guy he is super nice. Training is going good so far and Elder Jenson is opening up and kinda showing his personality and he is pretty funny/sarcastic/clever.

Saturday- Saturday was a blast! Haha we got to meet with Laura the lady who has a super nice house and feeds us all the time! She's doing good and told us how happy and appreciative she is of us. Later on we met Kevin and Logan Monson at the park and threw the football around with them and then taught them the first discussion so that was sweet! See football brings people together lol. After that we had dinner with the Arnold's and the Green's and man I love those families so much. Mom Sister Arnold and Green wanted your number to ask what to make me for my birthday haha but yeah they are my favorite families and I love being with them for dinners or like the football games and all that.

Sunday-  FREAKING AMAZING DAY! We picked up 5 new investigators at church taught the 1st discussion to a mom and her son and have a appointment set up with another family. I am so happy I can't even say how much haha. I am so grateful and know that we will have to work hard to make the most of this but this is gonna be a very good transfer. 

Overall being a trainer so far has been super fun. Calling the shots is interspersing and like I am so excited for what's to come. I love you all so much and hope that I can hear from you all.

Love Elder Litster

Robert is a dad!!!

Elder Litster and Elder Mills

Buddy

10/4/16

Hey Mom! I'm just gonna jump right into it cause I don't have a ton of time haha.

So another transfer has come and gone. This is crazy I'm done being trained finally and now I guess I'm gonna be training a new missionary fresh off the plane haha. So honestly I am really nervous but I am also really excited. This is gonna be really fun being the senior companion so I'm motivated to get a bunch of work done. It's been a little tough cause we weren't able to get a lot done just a hand full of lessons so I don't have a ton to report on. We are now teaching Carmen the new member lessons and she is loving it. It's gonna be hard saying goodbye to Elder Prescott but we both are gonna be playing new roles. 

Please email me any questions or updates you want to hear haha, next email will be huge due to all that will be taking place. Love you all!

Elder Litster

9/26/2016

A short email to the family is all we got this week. Robert said we could forward it along to everyone.

Dear Mother,

Okay please don't hate me for never sending a email I am really sorry:( haha I hope you can forgive me! Anyways this first email is for the family. I am right now writing this on a Saturday. I have one week left of being trained and it is so unreal like it's already been 3 months!! We have a baptism for Carmen in a couple hours and I am so excited. Elder Prescott is going to baptize her and I am going to confirm her on Sunday and honestly I'm super nervous but also very humbled and excited! How have things been fam!? Tanner I loved the care package it was so helpful and nice to get! I still need a letter from you and James you little stinkers! You guys do me a favor and listen to Mom and Dad okay? Love you guys. Lauren and Alisa my amazing sisters I hope you both are doing well! Mom and Dad and everyone else I just have to say the things I'm experiencing out here and learning is in real. Like just going off of evidence and facts I know this church is true. There is a talk given called 'What is the Blueprint of Christ Church?' And it is very good! It was given in the 2014 world wide devotionals for the young adults. Another crazy story is about these 15 theological scholars and like religious experts that wanted to discover the truth and so they made 15 key points from the Bible that they decided had to be done to be Christ official church and the only church on the earth that followed all 15 points was the LDS church and so they all got baptized haha it's way cool! Now besides all of that just the things I've experienced and felt for myself is unreal, the testimony I thought I had before leaving is nothing compared to what it is now but that's a good thing so I am very happy!

I love you guys!

Love Elder Litster

 

9/19/16

No email from Robert this week, he didn't have much time, but he sent us a few quick pictures:

Hail!

 

9/12/16

Hmm...  So says the lion "from whence came the sparrow?"  And the sparrow doth respond "from whence I came no man knoweth, but if thou wouldst ask my brother, he would make known unto you that which was not known before".  Therefore the lion journeys to find the brother of the Sparrow. Upon finding the sparrow’s brother, the lion enters into a state of confusion, for the Sparrow's brother was not a Sparrow like unto his brother, but he was a horse.  The lion says "horse, I beseech thee Knoweth thou from whence came thy brother, the sparrow?"  The horse says "Nay."

This is what Elder Donovan sent me and said to use as my opening pitch haha

Dear mom,

So this week has been insane!! We had to deal with a lot of Cancels, but you know that's fine.  We just need to work harder to make up for that.  What made the week crazy and amazing was the Mission Tour we had.

So the mission tour happens once a year and they do it twice; one for all the missionaries in Colorado, and then one for all the missionaries in Wyoming.  So I have some pictures from that.  I'll explain more in the email to everyone, but we had a 70's member come speak to us for 7 HOURS!  Yes, it was long but way helpful with the advice and all that was shared.   And guess what?  I got to have an interview with Elder Grow, of the quorum of the 70.  He wanted to interview a greeny, a District Leader, a Zone Leader, someone almost done, and a few others.  I was the new guy he picked, so that was way cool.  He asked about all of you and then at the end of the interview he asked if I'd ever had an interview with a general authority.  I said “no,” and then he said he wanted me to tell you that, “I looked into your son’s soul and saw a very motivated, righteous, good-hearted young missionary.”  That was so cool hearing that from him, it totally made my week.

So how my week went…  Monday for P day we drove to Laramie. I kind of wasn't supposed to, but we were trying to pick up Elder Prescott's IPad and see the other missionaries.  So it was fun playing basketball with all of them, and being in an actual city.

So Tuesday was a really good day.  We first had our studies and then got in 2 hours of service at the Rec Center which was fun.  After that was had lesson after lesson and got in 6, so I was very pleased with the work we put in.  All in all it was a great day.

Wednesday was a little tough because every single lesson we had planned cancelled, but what was cool was that an investigator of ours, (Josh, the pastor at another church that wants to learn more,) called us and asked us if we wanted to join his flag football league at the Rec.   We said if we could get lessons in and it didn't interfere, then “yes.”  So yes, we are getting a chance to play football.  So it looks like I need to get some cleats from Ross, haha.

Thursday was a busy day of writing talks and driving.  We were told to write four different talks because at the mission tour we were having on Friday, random Elders and Sisters were going to get called up to speak.  We were supposed to have a variety in case someone wrote the same talk as us.  After that preparation and our dinner, we drove out to Laramie to meet the other Elders gathering there.

Friday we had the mission tour in Cheyenne which is where we listened to different speakers for pretty much all day.  We listened to talks on how to be a better missionary and how to be more helpful to people.  It was very insightful.  I actually got a chance to meet with the speaker for a little bit too, and that was very cool.  He was such a wise, intellectual guy.

Saturday we spent most of the day driving back, and by the time we got back it was dinner time.  We were fortunate to get a lesson in with Jason May, a recent convert, afterwards.

Sunday night we had a lesson with Carmen and I invited her to be baptized.  She accepted and is so excited, and her date is next Saturday! This is going to be legit.  I'm so happy for her.

All in all, this was a very fun week and I was able to recognize lots of different blessings and I am very happy right now.  I hope you all are doing well too. If any of you have pictures of us together, please send them.  It's like receiving therapy, haha.  Anyway, I love you all!

Elder Litster

PS.  So we are getting another 30 missionaries on October 4th, and I found out that one is from Camarillo and another is from Thousands Oaks.  And, there's a sister I came out with that is from Ventura, her name was Hermana Zimmerman. (She is called Spanish speaking.)  And, there is someone else from Ventura so my goal is to find out who these people are, because you know, Ventura County Pride!  Haha, I'm totally playing, but I just thought that was interesting.

Our District

Our Zone with Elder C. Scott Grow

9/5/16

Hey friends and family,

So yeah it's starting to get cooler out here so I'm starting to get ready for the winter mentally haha. Just to let you know what my schedule is like.  I wake up at 4:45 and get to the Rec Center with Elder Prescott at 5 and work out till 7.  We then shower and eat and I am doing my personal/companion study by 8.  That goes till 10 then I get extra training since I'm new till 11.  Then we have lunch till 12, and then it's go time!  It's crazy the amount of stuff I get done before 12 now, haha.

Anyways this week went by so fast I didn't get a good chance to take down notes so I'm sorry everyone! 

So last P Day me and Elder Prescott got permission to get memberships at the Rec because President McMurray knows we love to work out.  So we went over and worked out a deal and now have free gym memberships in return for two hours of service a week. Pretty sweet right!? Anyways so that's why we now wake up so flipping early. 

On Tuesday we went contacting to all the referrals.  We set up a bunch of appointments with them and see a few real potentials which is sweet. We then had dinner with the Arnolds and got to hang with them and their kids for a bit which was really fun. A lot of this day was spent driving, but it's all good.

Wednesday we had district meeting with the two new elders Elder Pennington and Elder Vosika, Elder P is the District Leader and Elder V is the newest greeny haha.  Later in the day we got a couple of lessons in with Grant Rothenburger; his wife is a member and really wants him to be baptized.  We also met with Brother Helm.  

Thursday was a good day we taught a recent convert, Jason May.  We also taught Carmen who has been progressing a ton these past two weeks.  We also taught the Allens who are somewhat inactive, but we get to them once a week to try and encourage their prayers and scripture study. 

Friday was an interesting day because the whole time Elder Prescott was super hyper and being goofy haha.  We are currently trying to write a song using my Uke and the guitar I bought, so maybe one day we'll share it with y'all. He is also teaching me the Haka, but also teaching me the different types and the meaning behind them. Throughout the rest of the weekend we got like 6 more lessons in which was sweet, and we are just looking to build upon that this next week. 

I'd really love to hear how you all are doing and what's happening in Cali. Again send pictures of anything fun.  It's always nice to see y'alls funny faces haha.  Anyway, I love it here and love being a missionary and love each and everyone of you.

Love Elder Litster

8/29/16

So this week has been super fun!

First off, being companions with Elder Prescott has been awesome! We have a lot of similar interests and get along very well. So the first couple of days of the week we spent helping three different families move. This was super tiring, and my back is killing me. A blessing though is that we picked up a new investigator who actually came to church yesterday and loved it. We then went and taught her some more and she wants to learn more and come to church again. So we are excited for her.

I think we had 8 lessons this week. Not the most ever but they were all really quality ones, so we aren't too worries about it. There is so much work to do out here, so we are just embracing it. My knowledge of the Book of Mormon and the Bible has increase so much this last week. It's kind of crazy; it is stuff I just wish I'd know my whole life.

This email isn't going to be as long because I'm kind of short on time but next week will be good. Don't worry!

Elder Litster

8/22/16

Hey Mom!

So first off let me know how the family is. It's been really hard out here thinking about things back home but it is what I have to do. So yeah tell me everything.

Now as far as my email home this week I have to first say WOOO! I finished my first transfer (6 weeks in the field) today!!! That means I only have 16 left haha but who's counting!? So some interesting news, Elder Donovan is getting called to be a zone leader in Colorado so he will be leaving Rawlins which is really sad! The good news is Elder Prescott is going to be staying and finishing my training, so that will be sweet! We actually are going to be the chain gang for the high school football team here and will do it in our missionary clothes with pass along cards, so this is going to be super fun!!!

So I'm going to summarize how the last two weeks have been because I didn't really get to email last week because of something really cool. We were able to take Fole to the temple with us on Monday for the open house. Anyone, no matter who you are, can go and walk through and see what's inside, and we were super lucky to have Trent who's a stud take us there. The whole time he was giving us advice for our mission and he's actually a musician and lets us play his uke and guitar whenever we go over. Fole is a big tough Islander started crying in the temple because of how strong the spirit was there. Before we walking in I remember he was so nervous and was like, "My heart is going to pop out. I think I'm going to die." It was a super cool experience.

We've picked up a couple new investigators, two kids our age and then a firefighter. We've been working right now with about 6 investigators and a couple of different families that are having trouble staying active. Oh duh, I totally forgot, so we had our first baptism!! His name is Dezman. Elder Prescott was teaching him in Saratoga, but we taught like 3 lessons to him and were able to get to know him. It was a real eye opener watching his face as he came out of the water. It was such a powerful experience seeing the light of Christ enter his body.

Also, so Fole is pretty much living with us as a mini mission and he calls us his "oose" or "uuse" I'm not sure how to spell it, but it means brothers. He's also teaching me how to speak Samoan, so I'm getting my wish to learn the language.

All in all, time is moving by really fast and it's crazy. I really hope I can hear from all of you!

-Elder Litster

Fort Collins Temple Open House

Fort Collins, CO Temple

Elders

8/15/16

Sorry mom I don't have a lot of time to write today we are going to the Temple with a recent convert. Here are some pictures though from zone meeting.

Zone Conference

Zone Conference 2

Elder Riley

8/8/16

Dear Family and friends,

So this week has been pretty interesting, I'm not going to lie.  Having Elder Prescott has been pretty cool.  So Monday we go to go explore Rawlins and found some pawn shows and thrift stores, so we will definitely be going back to those places. We also found a music store that has ukulele's in there, so Elder Prescott and I got to play with those for a while. For dinner we met with Grant Rothenburger (an investigator), and then watched the Joseph Smith Restoration movie. I was way powerful and he really enjoyed it.

Tuesday was killer! We had 6 lessons which is my most in a day so far, so I am feeling very blessed. We got to teach 3 investigators and 3 inactives and all the lessons went really well. My favorite lesson was with Josh (who's the guy that used to be a pastor). We talked about the plan of salvation but really focused on being forgiven through Jesus Christ. And than I got the inspiration to have him skip in the Book of Mormon to Alma, and to read about the change Alma the Younger went through. I gave him background on it and he seemed to really like it, so I'm hopeful he remembers to read it.

Wednesday we did a bunch of service at the old Pen museum and that's where we got these sweet pictures. We also had to drive out to Saratoga to meet with some of Elder Prescott's investigators. One of them is already on date to be baptized, which is cool! He's a super nice guy. His name is Dezman and he is actually getting married in two weeks. We taught him about the importance of keeping the commandments and it went really well.

Most of Thursday and Friday was service, so there isn't a lot to share other than we helped 5 families move in or out haha.

So I figured I'd share about the lesson I led with Hope and Mel on Saturday. At one point Hope started crying as I spoke, and Elder Prescott and Donovan both said I did a really good job. But I shared with her the message about Jesus Christ and what he experienced in Gethsemane and on the Cross. How He never stopped showing love for us, and that He sacrificed himself for each one of us individually. When I asked her what she would say to Christ if He appeared to her, she just started crying and shared how much love she would show Him.

Sunday we went to 7 hours of church since we cover 4 wards now haha. We were so tired. We also got another lesson in with Dezman which was cool, he gets baptized on the 19th! At the end of the day we were driving home and we passed by three black guys that looked like they were in their 20s. They saw us and threw gang signs at us. I felt prompted to turn the truck around (I was driving), and the other Elder's were like "What the heck? What are you doing?!" And I was like, "relax..." So I pulled up next to them and got out and shook their hands and talked with them for almost half an hour about what they thought of missionaries. They said they respected me. That was way cool because at first they were trying to threaten me and intimidate me. But it helps having two companions over 6'4" haha. We got their number and are going to play bball tomorrow for P day.

That's all I can think of for this week so if you want to know more or have questions or want to share pictures by all means please do :)

Love Elder Litster

Exploring on the way to Rawlins

Exploring on the way to Rawlins 2

Exploring on the way to Rawlins 3

Exploring on the way to Rawlins 4

Having service fun

Having service fun 2

Having service fun 3

With Mission Pres.

8/1/16

Dear family and Friends:  

Roller Coaster 

That is exactly how this week has gone haha it's been pretty hard not gonna lie, I kind of procrastinated on this email so it's gonna be a little bit shorter due to time (Sorry/you’re welcome). Elder Binngem (however you spell his name) is going home today, it's freaking crazy we got really close really fast and now his mission is done! So Elder Prescott is going to be joining me and Elder Donovan, which is going to be so cool! He has a ton of weights that he's bringing so I'm pumped about that haha. Three heads are better than two,  Am I right?? Anyways, now we have to cover Rawlins and Saratoga which are about 30 minutes apart and both cities have a good amount of investigators so this will be interesting. 

Update on the work. We are actually teaching a former pastor named Josh who was introduced to us by his friend who is already reading the Book of Mormon and says that's it's really making him look at things differently and he is such a nice guy. Also literally he can quote like the whole Bible so it's fun teaching him but also learning things in the process. We also have a new investigator named Annette, and she is the sweetest thing ever! She and her husband are an older couple from the south and they really want to learn more about the church and when I bore my testimony to her she started to cry and the spirit was super strong so I'm happy and excited for what's in store for her. 

We dealt with a lot of canceled meetings this week which is why it was a little hard because I was so excited for each one.  But its okay I'm learning to stay positive. 

One last new investigator is Grant Rothenberger. His wife is a member and they want their son baptized so we will see what he will do, because the son wants Grant to be the one to do it once he turns 8. This guy Grant is super cool.  He is a full on hunter and has so many mounts of deer and even a couple bears and has a big Mastiff that weighs more than I do! He also has a bunch of blood hounds too.

Side note, I've never actually met so many polys (Tongans) before.  There are 4 in our zone and a recent convert named Folie who really wants to do a mini mission with us, so we are trying to get that figured out haha.

So that's about it for this week, I hope you all are having wonderful weeks and I would love to hear from you all.  It really would mean a lot and also pictures are like therapy for missionaries so I would love those too haha. 

I love you all so much!

Love,

Elder Litster

7/25/16

Dear family and friends,

So this email probably won't be as long but I'll keep it detailed.

So for my first P day I went hiking in the snowy mountains with Elder Prescott and Elder Bingham. It was super fun but the air killed me and we got up to 10,000 feet which was pretty crazy. While we were at the top it started to get really windy and we even saw some lightning. Once that happened we decided to get down as fast as possible which wasn't easy because there was still a ton of snow and it's in the middle of the freaking summer!! Any ways right when we got to the truck it started raining so we were very fortunate haha. When we got back to the other missionaries’ house we went to go email and play basketball and in a game of 21 I made six 3 pointers in a row! Satchel would be proud!

Tuesday was overall an amazing day. We started off with our normal studies and then met with an elderly gentleman by the name of Arnold and this guy served in WW2! He is 95 years old! After that we had lunch and then took a quick visit with Tammy Lynch who we have been meeting with and she has been struggling finding time for church and God because she has two special needs children. So we shared with her a message about how if we prioritize Heavenly Father than in return he will bless us and help us out. I hope she can try to remember that till the next time we meet. After that we went tracting for a while. No one really wanted to talk until we said, “one more door” and met with a young couple that accepted a Book of Mormon and said they would read it! We will follow up with them soon. After dinner we went to the church to have wifi so that we could update our iPads. While we were there a man walked up to us and said that his brother in law wanted to be baptized..... Talk about blessings! I know for a fact that only happened because Elder Donovan and I took the time to look for people to help and then God gave us a wonderful opportunity to help bless some people's lives. 

Wednesday we had a zone meeting a couple hours away so a lot didn't happen in the morning besides driving. When the meeting was over we decided to do an exchange because Elder Donovan wanted to stay an extra day because this was an area he had served in previously. So I went back to Rawlins with a zone leader, Elder Riley. He was super cool and only has a month left! When we got back home we were asked to visit some families that literally lived in the middle of nowhere and I have some pictures that will show you how bad it was haha. After the visits we went to this park and talked with a couple of kids. Well actually they were our age and we played basket ball for a bit and then shared a message with them. One of them then asked for a Book of Mormon and the spirit was so strong. I left with a huge smile on my face.

Thursday was a difficult day because we had a bunch of canceled meetings that we were looking forward to but it's all good because days like this happen so I just need to stay positive. Something I have really learned is recognizing God’s hand in everything I do. It really helps me feel better knowing that things happen for a reason, and even if it's hard God will provide a way. 

Friday was a pretty good day overall. We taught 3 different lessons and then had a dinner appointment. We first met with the Allens and got to hear them bear their own testimonies, which was really cool. Both of them said they would be at church on Sunday! We then met with David the man who came up to us wanting us to baptize his brother in law so that was good. We were able to plan what to go over with Ron (brother in law) when we meet on Saturday. We did a ton of contacting throughout the day as well with all our referrals, and set up a bunch of appointments for next week. We had dinner with the Arnold's; they have 6 kids and 4 are a set of quadruplets! Never seen that before haha but they are super cool and probably my favorite family. We then ended the day with a guy name Shelby Liaff. He was great. He has lots of questions and wants to learn more. The mom is an inactive member but the family as a whole wants to grow closer to God and the younger brother who is 7 wants to get baptized when he turns 8. Oh so today also marks 1 month down! Haha I feel like I just left yesterday!

Saturday has been the craziest day by far! Holy cow! So first off we met a lady who is inactive and she's actually from LA so that was cool talking with someone from so close to home. She told us her story and we could tell she needed to meet with us again, so we scheduled some appointments with her and it made her really happy. Then after that almost all of our other appointments fell through and it honestly sucked because we had 6 lessons planned and we were so pumped for a full busy day. So I was getting really discouraged and then at the end of the day we had one last appointment with a guy named David who was inactive and his wife and brother in law. We taught them the restoration and we all were able to feel the spirit so strong and then at the end I asked Ron and Cara if they would be baptized and they said yes!!!! So we have the date set for August 13th! I am so excited for them they are going to have amazing blessings because of this choice they made! God is good and he tests us daily so all we have to do is stay humble and motivated and it will all work out in the end!

Prayers are amazing! Yesterday my companion and I were looking for a family that wanted us to teach them and when we went out to find them we had the address but still after an hour couldn't find the dang house. I was getting so annoyed and then we said a prayer and then sat there for five minutes. We tried a different road and found the house that was way in the back and technically a part of this other road. We would never have found it if we had stayed on the road we were told. Yes prayers can fix anything!

Oh I also bought a guitar haha oops.

Elder Litster