Wisconsin?

Hey everybody guess what I'm in River Falls Wisconsin. Turns out that That Oakdale south is actually in Wisconsin, according to the mission boundaries. I've been having a really awesome time here though this place is supper cool and there are loads of people who are ready for the gospel here. Brainerd was a resort town so the only people there was only a small group of natives and a small group of foreign vacationers. River Falls is a college town so we see people from all over the world. The only really strange thing about this place and the college is that most of the people who attend are learning about eggs and doing things with egg marketing and egg science. I have to say this is probably one of the weirdest places I've been thus far. Most of the people here are great even though there is a small group of college students who would rather party for then listen to a message about Christ.

So I think this weeks craziest miracle is that one of our investigators Joel read the entire Book of Mormon in one week and he has also accepted our invitation to be baptized. Elder Ford and I were Awe struck I can honestly say that this was something we weren't expecting. He also understands some of the basic doctrines of the church and he has told us that he really likes Jacob 5 which talks about the Lord and his Vineyard. Either way the battle is yet to be won and there is still much work to be done and we have many things to teach him before his baptism. I would have to say that Joel is one of the most open minded people I have ever met he loves learning about all the different kinds of religions and theologies. He is really in tune with the spirit and he tells us he can feel it every day in his life.

Any way Monday was my last Preparation day with Elder Allen we went around and visited people and packed and said some goodbyes. It was really hard to tell some of these awesome people that I was leaving but we had a fun time. We also went bowling I lost but it was fun nonetheless.

Tuesday the Simon's left to go to work for a few weeks, they own a business called curbside sharpening. They basically go to different salons in Minnesota and sharpen their sheers and anything else they need sharpened. I was really sad when they left, because Simon's are super awesome, especially for letting the missionaries stay in their wonderful home. I had a really good time their and made some good memories. We then went to teach some of our investigators and told them what was happening with transfers.

Wednesday we got up early and packed my stuff in the car and headed to the church where we met our ride down to Bloomington. When we got to Bloomington we listened to President Clements talk about transfers, found our new companions, moved stuff from car to car and headed to our new areas. When I got to River Falls Wisconsin I found out that I was living in the Taylors, they are very quiet couple and they have a son on a mission and they have a really clean house.

Thursday was my first full day in River Falls. We got some awesome work done and we got to meet some really nice college students who are interested in learning more about the gospel. I also got to meet and learn about some of our investigators that Elder Ford and Cole taught, all I can say is they all have sad life stories but the gospel is helping them and they are becoming happier and are following the example of Jesus Christ. There faith in Jesus Christ is helping them to get out of the gall of bitterness and its so cool to watch them grow in faith.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday were some of the strangest days I have ever experienced. The most part of these days revolved around the plan of salvation. Friday we had zone conference and we talked a lot about repentance and forgiveness and working with members and the ward council. That evening we taught a man named Virgil about half of the plan of salvation before we broke off into a random tangent that cost us the rest of the night. Saturday we taught the full Plan to a college student named Jack who is from China. Jack is full of awesome questions but he gets stuck on trying to go to deep before he understands the basics. He couldn't quite understand the idea of the Spirit world and he was more comfortable with the idea of reincarnation which made it hard to teach him about resurrection. Sunday was difficult most of the church meetings centered around the plan of salvation and I was worried that the members would start going to deep for our investigators. The cool thing was that the members were able to help them one on one understand the plan and they were able to answer a lot of their questions. I feel like God is trying to tell me to learn more about the plan of salvation and teach it simplified and intensified so that a four year old can understand it.

Anyway this was my transfer week and it wasn't to bad I am loving it here in River Falls and I hope I can stay longer that one transfer. But not my will but the Lords be done.

Sincerely
Elder Hurd