Dessert Is So Good!

Whitewashing, New Car, and Sharing a Townhouse with Three Other Elders

Hey Guys
I'm in West Kaysville now.We whitewashed into the area, so both of us are getting used to it here. My companion's name is Elder {} . He's from the Tri-City area of Washington state, played football in college before his mission, and came out to the field the same day as me. Our apartment is in NW Kaysville, on the border between Kaysville and Layton. We've got an older, but still nice three-story townhouse that we share with two other elders (Elder {}, from Rancho Cucamonga, in SoCal, and Elder {}, who's american, but grew up in Belgium). We've also got a 2014 Toyota Corolla with bluetooth for the phone, so that's pretty nice, too. We cover 14 wards right now, and the stake and ward leadership seems pretty missionary-minded. We're working hard to stay on top of things and pick up where the last elders left off. In a lot of missions, whitewashing is kinda rare, and it's normally something negative that provokes it. Not always, but that's the connotation it has. President Hansen whitewashes fairly often. The last elders serving here were good guys. One of them was named Elder {}. He's from {} and was serving here as a trial missionary. He has really bad social anxiety, so they sent him to this mission for two transfers to serve in two different areas with two different companions to see how he could handle the stresses of missionary life. This was his second area. Before that, he was serving in my old area in Centerville, with an Elder named Elder {}. Side note, Elder {} also came out the same time as me. He's from Tucson, AZ, is 19, the oldest of three kids, and has a brother who's 17 and a sister who's 13. In both looks and personality, he reminds me a lot of my best bud Eric Nugent. Elder {} ,  Elder {}, and I were really close last transfer. Larry's a good guy, and if I do end up staying in Utah for school, we talked about rooming together in SLC while going to the U. Anyways, Elder {} did well on his trial mission, and was approved to finish out his full two years. He got his mission call at the transfer meeting a week ago, and ended up getting called to serve back in this mission! That's pretty rare, and we were all happy. Trials that go full-time always go state-side, but it's rare that they stay in the mission they served their trial in. It's different, for sure, but pretty cool. 

That's all I got for this week. Hit me up with any questions! This work is amazing, no matter how challenging it can get. It's all about love. The atonement's real and powerful, and helping people tap into that is what this work is about. love all you guy!

Elder Jake Lusk

 

 

 

 

He Really is Straight Outta Compton, Fried Chicken, Grape Kool-aid, Watermelon, Socks and I Only Have Nine Months Left

This week was good. We were correlating with our senior missionary couple in the stake this week and we counted up all the people that we're working with and we've got 9 less-active families, which was a bit of a surprise to us. I guess we're working with more people than I thought we were, so that's a good thing. One of the families we're working with is the daughter and son-in-law of one of our ward mission leaders, who was also a stake high councilor before the stake was reorganized. She's a blonde-haired blue-eyed Utah girl and her husband is a black guy from south-central LA (straight outta Compton!). We've been working with them for about a transfer now, and I look forward every week to going over there. We've connected with them a lot.  The husband grew up in the hood and moved to Utah when he was 18 for work. We were laughing last time about how different it is here than there. He said he went to a party in Rose Park his first week in Utah, and someone warned him that it was a rough area and he should be careful, and he got there and thought the person was joking with him. I've been saying that, too. Rose Park is like Kent St. in Winchester. It's a rougher part of town, but that's totally relative. We're going over there for dinner and family home evening this week and they asked what we wanted for dinner. We texted him and said we wanted fried chicken, watermelon, and grape kool-aid. He texted back and said that made his day. 

So...for christmas, all I can think of for right now is socks. I hate socks, imma be straight up. But if I gotta wear them, I like to be comfortable I them, and when they get old and frayed it drives me crazy. As soon as they get a hole in them they're gone. I threw them out. A lot of my socks are getting old, so if I could get some pairs of plain black athletic socks, that would be great.

In the meantime, this work is amazing. I've only got nine months left to serve, I gotta give it all I got. The gospel's true. God's love is real. The atonement works. Love all you guys!

Elder Jake Lusk  

Teaching the Little People and You Can Never Go Wrong When you Strive

Yesterday we were going to attend Sunday school in one of our wards, but felt prompted to stay for another sacrament meeting instead. We cover ten wards right now, and so we obviously don't make it to every ward each week. It's good just to get your face out there so members can be thinking about missionary work, and they know who we are. It ended up working out really well because when we were sitting in the chapel waiting for sacrament meeting to start, we met a really young couple. The girl is from here in Utah and the guy is from South Carolina and they met each other in San Diego at a little people convention. They're both legal midgets (I guess the PC way of saying it is little people), and they're engaged, which to me is pretty cool. The girl is a member, and the guy is officially [a member of another church], but isn't satisfied with his church and says he wants to learn more and potentially be baptized to support his fiance. We're going to start working with them soon and I'm pretty excited about that. 

That's all I can think of for this week. Hit me up with any questions, as usual. This work I'm doing here feels amazing. You can never go wrong when you srive with all your heart to live by the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I can promise you that. I love all you guys!

Elder Jake Lusk

God Has a Sense of Humor and Serving "Straight Outta Compton" Or Something Like That.... ;)

People here are crazy rich. I can't imagine having this much money. I've also been reminded this week that God has a sense of humor. All I wanted to do was go back to serving in the "ghetto" (ghetto for Utah). Instead, I get sent to the richest part of Utah, serving with millionaires and mansions. That's not even the ironic part. The ironic part is, I live just north of a street called "Compton Road" and there's a ward in our stake called the "Compton Bench" ward. This place is the complete opposite of Compton, LA, but I still like to say I'm serving "straight outta compton". 

Anyways...

There's some work up here. It's slow, but it's going, and it's just as important. I know this work is true. I know the Atonement is real and that it's powerful, and it's all because God loves us. Love all you guys! Sorry, I'll write a better one next week!

 

Elder Jake Lusk 

Took the 5:42 into the City, and A Crazy, Solid Testimony of the Atonement

Hey guys!

So, this morning was our temple morning. We don't have a car in this area, and the elders in our district who have a car weren't able to give us a ride down . We woke up super early and got ready, then walked down to the FrontRunner station in Farmington to catch the 5:42 train to SLC. The schedule changed about a week ago, though, and we were off by two minutes and just barely missed the 5:42. We waited around another half hour and caught the next train to the North Temple station. From there we took Trax to temple square, and finally made it to the temple. It's been a long day so far. It's 10:15 and I've been up for six hours already. Taking a field trip to the city is always great, though, and riding UTA is always fun, and the best part is we got to be in the temple.

I love all you guys! Work in this area is a little slow, but it's coming along. There's a guy we're working with named {}, and he's pretty awesome. He's probably in his early sixties and he's hilarious . He's worked in theater most of his life, and I can totally see that. He {had some problems}about a year ago (I think) but is in the process of coming back.  He's got a crazy solid testimony of the Atonement. I've loved working with him and I know he's just a good guy that made a serious mistake (I don't know what it was, because I felt it wasn't important what he did, but more so that he repents and comes back). He's extremely humble and repentant and he's super solid. I've absolutely loved getting to work with him.

 I know that this work is true. I know that God loves us, and that the Atonement is real and that it's powerful. The church is true.

Elder Jake Lusk

On

A Recent Baptism

The Atonement Helps Those with Addictions and the Spirit of the Lord can Guide our Words

We got transfer info today. I've only been here a transfer, but I'm already leaving. I'm actually transferring up to the Farmington North stake, so I'm just going like a mile or two up the road. Again, if I was leaving, it's the opposite of where I was hoping to go, but whatever. I guess I'll figure out pretty soon what the Lord has in mind.

We had some miracles this week. We were out with Elder Delgado again and we didn't have any lessons scheduled. We were driving around again trying to figure out what to do when we decided to stop by one of our ward mission leaders. We knocked on his door, and and he was on the phone, and was like "Oh good, the missionaries just showed up. We'll be right over". Our WML in that ward, Brother {}, is an addiction doctor and he does the detox work, so the medical side of addiction recovery. Turns out one of his patients had literally just called him and was asking for help. Our WML needed someone to go with him and had been praying for someone to come help him rigt when we showed up. We hopped in the car and drove over to the lady's house. It took her a few minutes to get the door open, that's how drunk she was. She finally got the door open, but wouldn't let us in. I think she saw three missionaries and got scared. Anyways, that didn't work out (our plan was just to go over there and help her pour her liquor down the sink IDK exactly what she was drinking, but whatever it was, it was something strong. You could smell it as soon as she opened the door). We were a little disappointed because it seemed like the Spirit had set it up perfectly for us. Turns out it did, but not in the way we were expecting. Elder Delgado and Brother {} got talking, and Brother {}told him about another family in his ward, the{} family, a younger married couple that had been clean from meth for about five years. We decided to go visit them. We were all thinking about what we would say, becuase we didn't want to show up and be like, "hey, so we heard you used to do meth..." We still weren't sure exactly what the game plan was when we knocked on the door, but went for it anyways. We said hey, and introduced Elder Delgado. He started talking about his mission, and I forget how it came up, but once the fact that these guys we recovering meth addicts was out in the open, Elder Delgado invited them to strongly consider serving in his mission and becoming facilitators for the group meetings because he knew the experiences they had with the Atonement could benefit a lot of people. It wasn't at all what I was expecting, but as soon as he said it the spirit was there to back it up, and it felt perfectly right. I talked to Delgado about it later and he said that he didn't know that that's what he was going to say until we started knocking. He said he thought it was weird, too, but the Spirit firmly told him that's what he needed to do, so he did it. It's pretty crazy how the Spirit works, and how a lot of the time we don't know what's going to happen, but when we trust in the promptings we receive and follow them, miracles happen.

I know that this work is amazing. I know that the atonement is real and that it's powerful. I love this work. I know God loves us. Love you all!

Elder Jake Lusk

 

Nothing Else Compares, No Girl Pretty Enough, No Buddy Bro Enough, No Running Trail Inviting Enough, I Am A Disciple of Jeus Christ....Just in Case You Were Wondering

This has been a decent week. It's been kinda slow numbers-wise, but that's okay. I'm here to make a differnce in people's lives, not write numbers down on the call-in report. We taught a lesson to an investigator from a young part-member family (his wife's a member, and he's got two kids, the oldest of which is two or so), and followed-up on the temple square visit we had with him a week or two ago. He didn't seem super interested when we were at T2, so we were prepared to go into the lesson to try and find a concern and smash it. We got into the lesson and everything went super smoothly. Turns out he felt the spirit in the visitors center, wants to prepare to be sealed to his family, and accepted a baptismal invite as part of that preparation. So...we were pretty stoked. We're meeting with them again tonight for a family home evening-style lesson. We were planning on taking an 18-year-old kid who's not sure if he really wants to serve a mission yet with us to that, but he's busy tonight. 

The other cool thing that happened this week was Tuesday evening. We've got an investigator named {}, and the only big thing holding him back right now is his addiction to chewing tobacco. For the past three weeks or so, we've scheduled an appointment with him and also scheduled Elder Delgado to come out with us to that. Our game plan is to teach the 7-day 15-step stop smoking (or dipping) program that missionaries use. Side note, that program's been around for a while, and I've heard it's pretty church-wide. Dad, did you use it on your mission? Anyways, things were looking good for Tuesday night, and about a half hour before the appointment, the lesson cancelled. So...we were driving around with Delgado trying to figure out something to do when {}'s (remember her?) boyfriend called, asking us how soon we could get there. We had to drive from Centerville to Farmington, but that's like driving from Winchester to Kernstown, so we were there in less than five minutes. Her son had just gotten a pretty good (or bad) concussion from playing soccer, and she was stressing hard about it. We were able to give her a blessing, and then later that night call into Bountiful and get their names on the prayer roll. God knows what he's doing. {} needed to cancel that lesson so we could be there for {}.
I know that this church is true. I know that if we're worthy, we can be led by the Spirit. That happens becuase God truly knows and loves every one of us and wants the best for us. The atonement's real. It's powerful. Someone at dinner the other night asked me if I had always wanted to come on a mission and if not, why I decided to come out. I told a brief, watered down version of the story, and it totally reminded me why I was here, and every part of it, every reason of why I'm able to be out, why I am out, why I'm still here in flippin' Utah, and why I will continue to serve with all my heart, might, mind, and strength is becuase of the Atonement. That's the sole reason. Nothing else compares. When I think about that, there's absolutely no girl that's pretty enough, no puppy that's cute enough, no buddy that's bro enough, no pop punk that's tight enough, and no running trail that's inviting enough to get me to come home. I stand with the Prophet Mormon when I say: "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of Him to declare His word among His people, that they might have everlasting life."

Just in case any of y'all were wondering.

Love you! 

Elder Jake Lusk

The Plan of Salvation, Temples and Eternal Families

Hey guys!

This has been a pretty good week. We've been doing a lot of service lately. We've painted an entire shed this week, and that's been fun. The highlight of the week, though, we probably the lesson we had last night. We had it with an investigator named Trisha. She's super solid and the only reason why she's not on date is because she's getting surgery soon on her almost-ruptured achilles tendon and will be stuck in bed for about six-weeks. During the lesson, we were teaching the plan of salvation. As we got talking about the celestial kingdom, we were talking about the requirements to get there (which are pretty simple) and how if we've been sealed to our families and live worthy of it, we can live with them for all eternity.  During the lesson, we had been talking a lot about the incredible love that God has for us. We quickly steered the conversation back to the spirit world and reminded her about how God is a fair and loving God, and everyone will have a fair and equal chance to hear and accept the gospel, whether in this life or the next. We expalined that it wouldn't make sense unless they could be baptized as well. Then we jumped to the temple, asked her what she understood about that. The spirit was incredibly powerful, and she got very emotional, in a good way, about the principle of being her with our families for all of eternity and the plan the Lord has provided to allow this to happen. We invited her to the Ogden temple open house, which starts this week, where she'll be able to walk through the temple and learn more about what happens inside of there, and the importance of it for her and her family. We're pretty stoked for her.

So...that was my week. We've got some good things coming up this week that I'm excited for as well. 

I know that this church is true. I know that it's led by inspiration. I know for a fact that God loves us and that the Atonement is real and powerful. It's really what this work and everything else in the gospel is all about. Love all you guys.

Elder Jake Lusk

ps. there's a letter coming in the mail for you, Dara. Sorry it's late :p

 

With My Canadian Companion!

All I Want For My Birthday.....

These are pictures from Elder Lusk's 19th Birthday in the mission field. A sweet family had them over for a birthday dinner and spoiled him with a cake and gifts. He actually did not expect a lot of fanfare since he is focused on his mission but he was happy to be there, clearly. Really all he wanted was for us (his family) to make a donation to the National Humane Society as well as another organization that is near and dear to his heart. He is truly focused on thinking about and serving others at this time. Happy Birthday, Elder Lusk!

He says eh Alot....which is Awesome, Mormon Utopia and Helping Them Receive

So...about my companion and my area. My comp's name is Elder {} (it's a Welch name). He's from a small village outside of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, and he says "eh?" alot, which is awesome. He's been out for seven and a half months, and we knew each other before from serving in the same zone in Layton together for a while several transfers ago. He's a cool guy and I really like serving with him. He's like Elder Martin a little bit where he loves to laugh and have fun, but he's super focused, too. 

 

My area is covering the Farmington South Stake, as well as the Canyon View Stake in Centerville. We cover 15 wards. Our area is pretty much all on what's sometimes known as "the bench", which is the neighborhoods and houses that are way up on the hill. This is a pretty rich area. There's some pretty big houses up here, and even the smaller houses are probably expensive because the view from up here in amazing. You can see the entire valley. It's kinda like a Mormon utopia with big houses and nice, green lawns and everyone outside walking their dog and kids playing and all tha. This is probably the richest area I'll ever get to live in, so I might as well enjoy it. There's a lot of great people here. There's only a handful of nonmembers in each ward, but there's some solid potential, so I'm excited for what'll happen in the next transfer or two.

 

I want to bear my testimony that I know the church is true, and that it's led by a prophet of God. There's a reason why I'm out here, and it's to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. I know that the atonement is real and that it's powerful and it's everything of why I'm out here. 

Love you all!

Elder Jake Lusk

 

A Rare Find In Davis County

The work here in Centerville and Farmington is going well. The members here are pretty missionary minded. There's only a handful of nonmembers in each ward, but we have a few solid investigators. Just this past week we started teaching a catholic family. It's rare to find an entire family of nonmembers in Davis County, and even more rare to find one that's open to meeting with us. They're a great family and we have a lot of beliefs in common. Right now it seems like they're just looking to learn about our church becuase they're living in Utah and are curious, but they've accepted a return appointment and accepted commitments to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, so we'll see where it goes. 

 

I know that this church is true. I know that it was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith and that it's led today under inspiration. I know that God loves us and that the atonement is real and that it's powerful. Missionary work is amazing. 

Love all you guys.

Elder Jake Lusk

With his Canadian Companion and a Dear Family They Worked With

God Told Me to Come Here, There's A Reason Why Jonathan, Logan and I Are Out Here Doing This and Don't Take it From the Punks

Hey guys!

 We had a pretty good week this week. Now that's it's warm, there's a lot more people out, and way more opportunities to street contact, which is awesome. We contacted into this guy the other day and found out he was from Georgia. We asked what brought him here to Utah, and he laughed and was like, "well, I had a dream the other night and God told me to come here, so I did. I got here a couple days ago." HECK YEAH! We got his contact info and we're going to start teaching him once we figure out if he lives in our half of the apartment complex, or the other elders' half. Good stuff.

I also don't know if I mentioned this, but we had another miracle with the {} family . There's some complicated stuff going on with the baptism and for various reasons they needed to do a waterside confirmation instead of getting confirmed in sacrament meeting the next day. In the past, we'd have to talk to President Hansen to get approval, but the church policy has changed, and we have to get area seventy approval. We knew it would be an uphill battle and that most likely the confirmation would have to be done on Sunday, but I told Brother {} to have faith and that it was worth a shot. I don't know what made me say that, because all evidence showed we wouldn't get approved, but we got a call a few days later saying that the area seventy had given his approval. So yeah, that's taken care of, the interview the our district leader is tonight, and then we're good to go for Saturday! I'm super stoked about this and I'll be sure to send pics.

I know that this work is amazing. There's a reason that me, and Logan, and Jonathan, and all of us are out here doing this, and it's to help share the message of God's love to us, and how that love has made it possible to the Atonement to redeem us of our sins, the gospel so we know how to live with him again, and the Restoration of said gospel in these latter days. I know that these things are true, and can promise this with all my heart. God answers prayers, and if you're in doubt, don't take it from some 19-year-old punks. Go to Him about it. I promise he'll answer you.

That's all I got this week. Hit me up with any questions. Love you all, and good luck with moving to Ashburn!

Elder Jake Lusk

Working with the Senior Missionary Couples is Awesome

So, {} got baptized, which was awesome (I'll attach a pic!). The spirit was totally there. Aside from that it was a pretty normal week. We've been going around and visiting auxiliaries and ward councils to try and find prepared people to teach, and we're getting some stuff out of that. We've also been working a lot with the senior missionary couple in our stake, the Kakazus. I can't remember if I told you about them or not, but they're awesome. They're full time proselyting missionaries, just like us, and they focus mainly on less-actives, and we work pretty closely with them. They've come to every lesson we've had with the {}, family and we correlate usually twice a week. Like I said, working with them is awesome.
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> So...That's been my week. Hit me up with any questions, as usual. I know that this Church is God's church that contains the fullness of the Gospel as restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know that God loves us and that the Atonement of Christ is real and powerful. Love you all!
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> Elder Jake Lusk
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Amen Brother! Ponytail, Bleached Hair, Tatoos and Can't Wait to Get Baptized

It's been a pretty good week. Good things are coming up.{} is still on date for baptism for this Saturday. We've got one more lesson, and then the interview, and he's good to go. The {} are still good for the 21st, and we're continuing to pray for them. There's also a less-active in the ward we've been working with off and on who's boyfriend just moved to Layton from Las Vegas. He's a nonmember, but aside from the {} kids is probably the most excited person I've ever met to get baptized. He's got a ponytail and bleached hair and tattoos and can't wait to be baptized and join the church. He was taught for a bit in Vegas, and already gave up his word of wisdom problems (at least we know he gave up coffee, we don't know if he smokes or drinks yet) and when we brought up that he can't be cohabitating when he gets baptized, he said he could get married next week if he had to. This guy's name is {} and he came to church with his girlfriend yesterday. He sat next to us and we helped explain what was going on. He asked if he could take the sacrament, and we told him if he felt worthy, to go for it, which made him pretty excited. He also got up and bore his testimony during testimony meeting. He said simply, "Hey, my name's {} , and I'm a child of God. I know without a doubt that God lives because God is love, and you can't mistake that feeling of love. Amen."

Amen, brother.

So, we're working with him, and he's looking to get baptized within the next month or so. It's pretty crazy, but super cool that he's this stoked for baptism.

So, that's our week. . I'd like to add my testimony to {}'s that I know that God is real and that He loves us. I know that Jesus died for us, and that's what makes the Atonement possible. The Atonement is real and it's powerful, and it's what this amazing work is all about.

Love,

Elder Jake Lusk

This Atonement is Brought to You Courtesy of God's Incredible Love For Us, A New Companion and Pray for the Pug, too!

Got my new companion this week. His name is Elder (), from British Columbia, Canada. He's pretty cool, and I think we're going to have a good transfer. In fact, I know we are. In a week or so, one of our investigators, (), is getting baptized. He's 10 years old and from an active family, and the reason he hasn't been baptized is because he's has autism, and pushes away if you try and force something on him. The family has been waiting until he decided he wanted it, and a month or so ago he decided he was ready. We've been teaching him, and that's been a good experience. He understands everything we've been teaching him. So, there's that coming up, as well as, remember the () family? They're finally on date for June 21st. They all agreed that the kids are more than ready. The family is super awesome, and I'm happy for them. [The wife] has been to every lesson, and understands everything perfectly to the point where she helps us teach sometimes. . If you could pray for them, that would be great! Oh, and Toby, the family's  pug goes in for surgery in a couple weeks, so he might need some prayers, too.

So, that's what we've got going on this week. I know this work is absolutely amazing. I know the church is true, and is led by a inspired prophet of God. I know that the Atonement of Christ is real and powerful, courtesy of God's incredible love for us.

Love you all!

Elder Jake Lusk

Guess Who's Staying in Layton, It Took a Physical Therapist But We Got It Done, and The Atonement Brings Change and Healing

So, I just got transfer info. Guess who's got two thumbs and is staying here in Layton?  This will mean I'll be in this area for six months and by the time I leave, I will have seen fall, winter, spring, and summer in Layton. 

The past three Saturdays have been awesome. Remember {}? I talked about her when I first got to this area. She's the little old Asian lady with Parkinson's. She was on date for three months ago but it fell through because the family didn't want her to be baptized. Several things in the past three months have changed the situation, the biggest of which was nothing but the hand of God stepping in to soften the family's heart. About a month ago, several people decided on the best course of action and it was decided that the {}, the senior missionary couple assigned to our stake (they're awesome, by the way), should work with her, in addition with her fellowshipper from her old ward. Long story short, last Saturday, {} was baptized and the next day was confirmed a member in the small branch in the senior care home where she lives. Getting to witness her baptism, and stand in the circle for her confirmation was pretty amazing. The spirit was there like crazy. It was totally unlike any baptism I had ever seen, too. Brother {}, her fellowshipper baptized her, but he had help from a guy in our stake who's a physical therapist. The other awesome part was that her family was at the baptism, and you could tell they felt something. It was awesome to be there for that, and to see the process from start to finish. 

So...I think that's all for this week.

I know the gospel's true, and that the Lord loves us and doesn't forget about us ever. I know the power of the Atonement is real, and that it can not only cause people to change, but bring healing as well. 

Love you all!

Elder Jake Lusk

Elder () and Elder Lusk with an awesome older brother who decided he wanted to fully embrace the Gospel and then is baptizing his his twelve year old brother and then preparing for his mission to Texas soon! What a joy for Elder Lusk and his companion to have a hand in this.

Skyping Tonight with You All and We Are Saved By Grace As Long As We Put In Our Best Effort

Hey guys!

Looking forward to Skyping tonight.

Shoot me an email for questions. I should be on between 8 and 11 your time, but closer to 8.

I also figured since I'm talking to y'all tonight I'll just leave you with my testimony and a few pics.

I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know that God loves us to reveal this gospel and send his son to atone for us and make it possible for this gospel to work that we can return to live with him. I know that our families can be together forever through our Father's plan, again all thanks to God's love, and the atonement of His Son. Always remember that we are saved by grace, as long as we put in our best effort.

Love you all! Here's some pics... I'll explain 'em tonight!

Families Are Forever (I Witnessed It) and Why Else Would God Give Us Kittens Unless He Wanted Us to Be Happy?

Hey guys!

Yes, we'll be able to skype on Mother's Day. We're super busy on Sundays, so it'll probably be somewhere between 6 and 9 pm my time, 8 and 11 pm your time. can't wait!

We had a good week this week. The highlight was Saturday. We took the Frontrunner train down to Wood's Cross, then got a ride up to the Bountiful temple. Before serving in Layton, Elder Ogden was serving in Bountiful and had taught and baptized a 10-year-old kid who we got to watch being sealed to his parents for all of eternity. That's the first time I've been in a sealing, and it was pretty cool to watch. The spirit's amazing.

Afterwards, we went back to the family's house for lunch. That was pretty awesome, too. They had a 60-pound German Shepard puppy that was super playful and loving, but would attack it's own reflection in the floor because it thought it was another dog in it's territory. The family also had a teeny-tiny itty-bitty kitten that they just rescued. Apparently a stray cat had been hanging out their grandpa's shed, and had given birth to some kittens. She got spooked when the grandpa discovered her, and took off, leaving one of the kittens behind. This cat couldn't have been more than two weeks old and weighed less than a pound. It was so small that it fit comfortably in my companion's left hand, curled up, and fell asleep. It also had to be bottle fed every 30 minutes, so my companion and I both got to do that, which was pretty awesome. Oh, and the German Shepard loved the kitten and thought it was one of it's puppies. It's tongue was bigger than the cat, so one lick was enough to get it soaked. Man, this thing was adorable. My companion and I between the two of us took somewhere in the neighborhood of 120 pictures, and I promise I'll send some next week.

We've got a great week coming up as well. We've got someone being baptized on Saturday. It's an awesome story, so be sure to tune in next week for details. Can't wait to skype on Sunday!

I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know that through the power of the Atonement, we can be cleansed from our sins and be worthy to live with our families in Heaven for all eternity. I know God loves us because he's given us our families to be with forever, and let's be honest, why else would he give us little kittens if he didn't want us to be happy?

Love you all!

Elder Jake Lusk

How Do You Like Our Third Companion?

That's Why I'm Finding, Teaching,Inviting, Baptizing, Reactivating, Rescuing and If You Think You're There, I Promise You're Not and Loving all 7 Billion of Them

Hey guys!

I don't have a ton of time to write this week, but we did have some cool stuff happen. We had stake conference this past weekend, which ended up being a regional conference broadcast for stakes in Davis & Morgan counties presided over by Elder Andersen of the Twelve and conducted by Elder Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy. Elder Andersen spoke about deveolping the christlike attributes of dilligence, patience, and faith. It was a good talk, and I'm striving to apply it to the rest of my mission. We also got several solid referrals from the missionary-minded members in our wards, so we've got good things coming up this week.

I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and that this is His Church led by an inspired prophet. I know God loves us and that His Son died for us. I know the power of the Atonement is real and that it works, and that it's for everyone, regardless of who you are. Doesn't matter if you're black, white, gay, straight, liberal, conservative, mormon, catholic, baptist, buddhist, existentialist, addicted to heroin, or sober...Jesus loves you, despite what others may say. He desires all to come to Him because He loves them, and His gospel is for all of them. That's why I'm out finding, teaching, inviting, baptizing, reactivating, rescuing...it's becuase of His love and Atonement for everybody. My invitation to you is to come unto Him. We all can do it. Even if you think you're there, I promise you're not. I know I'm not yet. It's a lifelong process, so keep working at it. And if you love Jesus  you'll love His children (all 7 billion of them!)  as well, regardless of who they are.

love you guys!

Elder Jake Lusk

Enough Deviled Eggs, I Dig How the Catholics do Easter, John 20:1-4, and Do We Run to the Savior?

Hey guys! Happy late Easter! Our week was good. Two of our dinner appointments were big family easter parties, so we had enough deviled eggs to feed an army. Last easter, one of my best buds was a devout catholic, and this year, my companion came from a devout catholic family that was baptized into this church was he was about nine. I have nothing but love and respect for Catholics, and I really dig how they do Easter. The whole easter season, with Ash Wednesday and Lent, and Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. I like the emphasis they put on the Easter season.

On our second dinner appointment we shared a message with the extended family that was there that Sister Hansen, our mission president's wife, shared with us. The message comes from John chapter 20, focusing on verses 1-4. It tells the story of how Mary goes to the sepulchre early sunday morning and discovers an empty tomb. The part to focus on his how she runs to find some apostles, finds two of them and tells them, then the three of them run back to the tomb. This news about one of their loved ones, a man who they knew was their Messiah, caused them so much concern that they run to get there, not casually stroll there. So the question is, how can you follow their example and run to theavior?

That's about it for this week. I've got some pictures of me and my companion with puppies, but I forgot my cord, so you'll probably get those next week.

I know the Atonement is real, and was made possible because God loves us so much that he sent his only begotten son (John 3:16) to suffer and die for us so that we can be saved. According to the scriptures, and I know this to be true, we are saved by grace, after all we can do. Love you guys!

Elder Jake Lusk

It's Pretty Amazing How the Spirit Works and Together Forever

This week has been pretty good. We weren't sure what to teach the {} family, so we ended up watching that old church video that was produced in the 80s, Together Forever. I bet you dad used that one on his mission. It's super cheesy, but it's got a good message, and we figured it would be good for the{} family. The video goes over several stories, mainly about families, but also about the Atonement and almost every story we felt could apply to their family. If I remember right, I think we have it on VHS, probably somewhere in the basement, so you guys should watch it sometime for FHE. The challenge is to see if you can watch it without laughing. As much as we make fun of it, it does have a good message, though.

We went out with Elder Delgado again this week. We normally have dinner together and then take him with us to any evening lessons we have that day. Every single time, our conversation at dinner somehow turns to some gospel principal and every time, whatever we talked about ends up coming up in our lesson that night. It's pretty amazing how the spirit works and how we can be prepared for things without even knowing it, even as missionaries.

That's all I got for this week. Hit me up if you have any questions, as usual. I know God loves us and that the power of the Atonement is real. Love you guys!

Elder Jake Lusk

Staying in Layton, Getting the Nod from Mitt and speaking Spanish and eating real Latin American Food

So guess who's got two thumbs and is staying in Layton with Elder Ogden another transfer? Not gonna lie, I'm pretty excited about that. I like it here in Layton and I like having Elder Ogden as a companion. I also really love the people that we're working with and I'm hoping I'll be here to see them get baptized.

We had general conference this weekend, which was pretty exciting. We were up in the balcony for the Saturday AM session, which was pretty sweet. For lunch, we went to a place called Crown Burger in downtown SLC (which has the best fry sauce I've ever had) and ended up getting lunch paid for by an area seventy who had been Elder Ogden's sister's mission president in Brazil. Saturday afternoon we watched the session in the Joseph Smith memorial building, and then when that was over, since we weren't hungry from lunch, we got in line at the conference center so we could get good seats for priesthood session. We ended up being right on the front row again. unlike last time, we were specifically told not to approach President Uchtdorf to shake his hand unless he approached us first (apparently security doesn't like that too much, which is understandable), so I didn't shake any First Presidency hands this time. The closest thing to that that happened this time was sitting there when some guy named Mitt Romney walked by us and nodded to us. Even if I don't necessarily agree with him, he's still a good guy, and it's still cool sitting near him at General Conference. And then Sunday we watched conference with the Olpins :)

I really liked conference this year. I felt like I got a lot out of it. Priesthood session was especially good, and if you missed it, watch it. It's definitely worth seeing.

Aside from conference we had a relatively normal week of teaching lessons and finding new investigators. We were on exchanges with the Spanish elders on Wednesday, so I missed the lesson with the{} family , but i got to do my best to speak Spanish all day and eat real Latin American food, so that was fun.

As usual, hit me with any questions. I love you all, and I know this church has the fullness of the Gospel and that the Atonement is real and made possible by God's incredible love for us.

Love, Elder Jake Lusk

ps. Stef...did you get my letter I sent you? Did you get what I meant by that? If not, let me know and I'll explain. hit me back, brotha.

---

 

The Dynamic Duo and Where In the World is Elder Lusk (look closely at the name tag...can you guess the language?)

The Fearless Four

Bearing Your Testimony is Part of What Builds It, Ministering to Those in Need and She Gave us Each a Dog!!

 We had a pretty good week this past week. We had a good lesson with the {} family.  We decided to do an unofficial testimony meeting and share what the gospel can mean to us. I shared my testimony about the Atonement and how it can help you overcome stuff in your life and I directed it towards Brother {}. Even Sister {}, who isn't a member of our church and doesn't seem super interested bore her testimony that she can feel the difference in her home and in her family since we've been coming over. We were kinda hoping that that would happen, but not getting our hopes it. It was super exciting that she did that, though, because bearing your testimony is part of what builds it. Everyone who was there could feel the spirit.
    This was pretty cool, too. After the lesson, Sister {} said she had something for us. Elder {} and I had no idea what to expect. She prefaced it by saying that she knew we loved dogs, but also knew we couldn't have one while on a mission. With a preface like that, we really had no idea what to expect. She reached into a bag and pulled out these little toy dogs, one for me and one for my comp. The coolest part was that my comp got a German Shepard and i got a pug. The story behind that is the family has four dogs, including a pug named Toby and a German Shepard that's six feet from nose to tail named Luke. My companion really likes Luke and I fell in love with Toby as soon as I met him, so Sister {} got us the dogs that she knew we'd like the best. We were both pretty happy about it just because of how awesome the gift was, and it shows how much the family loves us. 
     Saturday night we were out with Elder{}(remember me talking about him the last time I was in Layton?) . I seriously love that man.  We ended up staying for an hour and taught her less-active friend who was there who has been struggling recently. We gave her a blessing of comfort and the spirit was super strong.
    Oh, and to wrap the week up, we got invited to a Tongan barbecue, and it was absolutely amazing. It was probably the first real poly food I've had since Glendale, including real O'tai. It was pretty awesome.
     This work is absolutely amazing. I know the Atonement is real and that it can save our lives if we're willing to do our part to tap into it. I know that God loves us. His gospel is true, and that truth can be found everywhere, but the fullness of it was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith, and that priesthood authority is here on the earth in this Church.

Love,
Elder Jake Lusk.

ps. Pugs are those dogs that are so ugly that their cute. The {} pug, Toby,  is absolutely adorable, and the next time I'm over there I'll take a picture of me with it so you can see just how cute it is and why i want one when i'm off my mission.

The Temple, No Big Miracles only Small Ones and Lots of Good Potential

We just got back from the temple not that long ago. We took the FrontRunner train down from Layton, and the the Trax system into downtown to temple square. Going to the temple is always a great experience. Aside from that, things have been pretty normal up here. It's getting warmer, and so we're biking more, even though we've got a car. How's everything going back home?
I don't know if we had any big miracles this week, but we had the usual little stuff, like getting prompted to stop and see if the people at the house with the moving van need help, and it turns out they do, and also want to know where the church is and who the bishop is. Or seeing how the scripture about take no thought what ye shall eat literally gets fulfilled on a mission because when you work hard, your needs will be met by others who are in tune to the Spirit. We're still teaching the {} family, and they should be on date this week for some time in the coming month. We had a long conversation with the bishop in that ward the other night, and he's a totally awesome, missionary-minded bishop. There's a lot of good work and good potential work in his ward. :)

I love you guys. The church is true. This work is amazing, and the Atonement is real.

Love, Elder Jake Lusk

Taking Care of Business...The Lord's Business

Hey guys!

It's been a pretty good week. We had another great lesson with the {} family this week, and they're coming along well. We've gotten several good referrals, so there's some good potential to be teaching new people starting this week. One of the young men gave a talk in church and told about how he bore his testimony to one of his nonmember friends and how his friend was able to feel the spirit. We talked to him right after sacrament meeting and found out about his buddy. He gave us his contact info and said he'd be totally willing to come to discussions with us. We contacted the referral and he said he wasn't interested at the time, but he does go to church and has a strong faith in Christ. It's still awesome how missionary-minded the members here are becoming. President Hansen has said if we take care of theirs, they'll take care of ours. I know that if I work hard to contact and teach people's friends out here, my buddies back home will be able to be found and taught. This work is pretty amazing, and I know that this gospel is true and the Atonement is real.

Love you guys,

Elder Jake Lusk

Eternal Families

We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a family. The dad is member, but was inactive for a while and is returning to activity. His wife isn't a member, and neither are his kids. Right now we're teaching the kids.. Teaching kids happens a lot in Utah and a lot of the time it can be challenging. A lot of kids aren't focused at all and won't tell you if they don't understand something. These kids, though, are focused and understand everything we teach them to the point where they can teach it back to us in their own words. They're awesome! The Dad has great goals for his whole family and wants them to be able to go through the temple  so that they can enjoy the blessings of an eternal family.  That's awesome, and we're very excited for them.

That's awesome about all the people from the Winchester stake that are heading out on missions.  Keep me updated!
Love, Elder Lusk

A New Companion, Area Books and Elder Ballard

Hey guys!

Things have been going well in the past week. Like I said last time, I got a new companion, and his name is Elder }{. He's from New Hampshire, so once again I've got another East Coast companion. We've been having fun together and working hard to get things done. We've met a couple new people by following the Spirit and going to talk to people. We've also been getting a lot of work done by going through our area book and contacting former investigators. Every time you teach someone, you write up a teaching record with info about the person, what they've been taught, and how each lesson went. This helps out not only you, but the next missionaries to come along. There's a space on the back for if the person gets dropped as an investigator, you can write why. The paper then gets moved to a different folder in the area book for future missionaries to go back to later. We tend to get a lot of work done that way because it's people who have already been prepared, and a lot of them are willing to meet with the missionaries again. For some people it takes several sets of missionaries of the course of even several years before they're ready to get baptized. So yeah, we've been working a lot with that and have been finding people that way. We've also got a recent convert that we're taking to general conference in about a month, so that's exciting as well. Oh yeah, we're also having a mission meeting with Elder Ballard of the Twelve tomorrow. Should be a great experience. I love getting to hear from Apostles, especially in smaller settings.

That's what's going on this week. If you have any questions, ask me! I know that this work is amazing and the Jesus loves us. The Atonement is real. Love you guys.

Elder Jake Lusk.

ps. I finally got some of those letters that you guys sent. Thanks for the thoughts on moral relativism. I think that helped. Love you!

Throwing Down the Gauntlet, Rising to the Challenge and Staging a Comeback

{}, our ex-convict, got baptized on Saturday, and that was a pretty cool experience. I was glad I could have a part in teaching him, and happy to see him get baptized. {} was unable to be baptized becuase of her family. Right now, it's looking like things are done for good, but it's not. This isn't over yet. In some ways, Satan's throwing down the guantlet. It's our chance to prove to ourselves whether we're going to rise to the challenge or not. Like I said, this is far from over. And I'm going to have another six weeks to stage a comeback. We got transfer info, and I'm staying up here in Layton. I'm going to be with an elder named Elder Ogden who I've met before. He's been out a while longer than me, but I've served in a lot of areas that he's served in. I'm excited to be with him. It should be a pretty good transfer coming up. I know the area, so I'm co-senior comp. I'm excited for what the next six weeks will bring. 

So yeah, that's the news for this week. as usual, hit me up with any questions. I know this work is amazing, and the church is true. I know Jesus knows and loves each and every one of us and that's why he suffered and died to atone for our sins. As it says in the scriptures, we're saved by grace, after all we can do. 

Love, Elder Jake Lusk

The Atonement is For All..Even Ex-Convicts, and the Help of the Lord When You Set Your Goals

Hi Guys!

 

 

 

So, our investigator, {} is  doing great. We've spent the past week dealing with {some logistical issues}  but we finally found a way to get her baptized. The deal was that her oldest daughter, who legally has the final word on her temporal welfare, was okay with her being baptized, and was okay with her attending the branch that meets in the care center, but out of fear for her safety didn't want her taken out of the care center. The only people who are allowed to take her out are the family and her boyfriend. Her boyfriend told us he would be willing to take her to the stake center on Saturday for her baptism. He's a good guy. He's not a member of our church (he's spiritual, but not religious), but he's been able to see the impact that us missionaries have had in her life, and can tell that we truly care and has a lot of respect for us. So anyway, }{ is  good to go for Saturday. We also have another baptism scheduled on Saturday, and it's a pretty cool story. We planned this week on having one baptism and one confirmation, with {} in mind. Earlier this week, it was looking like {} was going to fall off date, so we probably weren't going to hit our goal. On Thursday, we got a call from President Hansen (our mission president) and received word that one of our investigators, who was a convicted felon, finally got First Presidency approval to be baptized. The guy's name is {} and he was super stoked. He had been waiting since November to hear back and was pretty excited that he was finally able to be baptized. He's currently on date for this Saturday as well, so we'll for sure be able to hit our goal. It's pretty cool how it worked out and shows the importance of having the spirit with you when you Set Your Goals.

I love all you guys. This work is amazing, and I know this gospel is true and the atonement is real.

 

Love, Elder Jake Lusk

 

 

 

My Samoan and Tongan Mission, You're Not a Man Until You've Wrestled a Pit Bull, and Following Spiritual Promptings

Hey guys!

   I have a new companion. In our district, we had a guy who was waiting for his visa to go to Mexico City. After interviews with president last week, they decided to move him to Liberty Park and put him in the spanish program to give him practice speaking his mission language. His companion, Elder }{ , from Hawai'i was put with us, and our areas were combined. He covered the other half of the stake we're covering, so now we cover the entire stake. It's pretty cool, becuase his area, now our area, includes the Layton 5th branch, which is a Tongan branch, and the Syracuse 12th branch, which is a Samoan branch. We went to both of those branches on Sunday. They spoke 50/50 native language and English, so I understood about half of it. If I was in a spanish branch, I'd be able to get the jist of what people are saying, but when it comes to polynesian languages, I know "talofa", which is the same as "ahola" and food words. Either way, I'm excited to be doing work in those branches. I just ordered a Samoan name tag, and got a Samoan copy of the Book of Mormon. 

     Stef- Everyone in Utah has dogs, and I've met some of the coolest, sweetest dogs ever. I'm totally in love with pit bulls right now. They've got a bad rep as being mean dogs, but as long as they're treated right, they've got the sweetest personalities. You ever wrestled one? They're crazy strong, and you're not a man until you've wrestled a pit bull. 

    Dad-  Sometimes the Lord will give  you a prompting just to test you and see if you'll follow it. Sounds like you passed. There's a Mormon message video online of a story Elder Holland told about going exploring with his dad in Southern Utah. Thhey came to a fork in the road, and they were totally lost. They said a prayer and both got the strong impression to go left. They went left and 400m later came to a dead end. They turned around, and the right path ended being the right one (no pun indended). Moral of the story is that God had them go left so they could understand without a shadow of a doubt that the right path was the right way. IDK if that's relevant to your situation or not, but it's a cool little story. As for using the spirit in a lesson, we were teaching a recent convert family and going into it didn't really have a lesson plan. After chatting for a bit, we opened Alma 36 not knowing what we were doing, and it ended up being exactly what they needed to hear. It was an awesome reminder of what missionary work is all about.

I love all you guys. The Gospel is true, and the Atonement is real. 

Love,

Elder Jake Lusk

 

 

A Companion from Indonesia and One From Hawaii!!

I Only Have 18 Months Left, Some Advice to My Dad, and Reaching Out to Welcome the One

 I've got a whole life to listen to music I like, but only 18 more months to serve the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength.
Also, Dad, I got this impression recently to let you know this, so if you get a chance, see if you can go out on splits with the Elders back home every now and then. I think you'd really enjoy it. Keep up the good work.

Love you all. this work is amazing, and the Atonement is real!

Elder Jake Lusk

More From Elder Lusk:

Yeah, we've got a rice cooker, so we've always got rice going to eat. We also have a deep fryer in our apartment, so we fry up a lot of fish. Our favorite meal to eat in our apartment is deep fried tilapia filets over calrose rice with sriracha sauce. It's super good. tilapia filets aren't super expensive, and you can fry them the same way in a pan with oil. 

As for cool stories, I need to start writing them down before I email. There's always good stories, I just can't remember them all when I come to email. I do know that one of the guys I helped teach when I was in the Layton West Stake got baptized a couple weeks ago, and then recieved the Aaronic Priesthood yesterday, so that's pretty cool to know. We also have an investigator named {} that came to church yesterday. She has Parkinson's Disease, and has had it for a while. She understands everything we tell her, but it's really hard for her to speak in a way that you can understand. She can really barely speak above a whisper. She usually has a CNA with her that can understand her a little better and helps to interpret. Anyway, she came to church with us yesterday and I think she enjoyed it. There were quite a few people that introduced themselves and let her know they were happy she was there, which is what her fear was, so it worked out really well.

The Need for Inner Peace, Viewing it Through a Christian Lens, Safety Tip of the Week, and Yo, Adrienne, I did It!

It's great to hear from you! And yeah, it's crazy that I've been out for six months. It's gone by super fast. It's been a busy six months and I've had some good times, some crazy experiences, and I've learned a lot. 

So yeah, I'm back up here in Layton now. I'm actually serving in the stake that's bordering my last area, and I'm living in an apartment across the street from my old apartment. It's good to be back up here in Layton and see how things have progressed in my old area since I left. It's a little bit of deja vu, but it's cool, though. Layton's a good area, and I'm excited to be back up here. There's a lot of good people up here and there's good work. I had an interesting conversation with a guy we're working with up here that wants his son to get baptized, even though he himself isn't christian. The  was brought up in the Asian culture, and is into martial arts, and meditation, and all that. his apartment is full of swords and Buddha statues and other Asian decor. The conversation I had with him was just about how he doesn't believe in God and all that, but has respect for our religion as long as we respect his beliefs. For me, that's like preaching to the choir. He's a really spiritual guy, he just believes in meditation and karma and all that. I told him that I have similar beliefs about the need for inner peace and finding that balance in life, and I'm into relaxation and meditating and stuff like that, just for me, I view it through a christian lens. It just shows that just about every religion or philosophy out there has pieces of truth in it, just not the fullness of it, and it's often missing that vital piece, which revolves around the love and Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. 

So my companion is this guy named Elder {}. He's from Indonesia, and he goes home the end of this transfer. He's also the district leader, and he's a really cool guy. He speaks English almost perfectly. Turns out that Indonesia is pretty westernized, especially in the big cities on the island of Java, where he's from.  I'm pretty excited to be with this elder not only because we like the same music, but because he truly understands his purpose and is an obedient, dedicated, diligent servant of the Lord that likes to laugh and have fun.

Safety tip of the week: when opening a new bottle of crushed red pepper flakes, after you take off the foil wrapper, make sure you put the shaker lid back on before you go shaking all over your ramen noodles. Otherwise, you're barely going to be able to finish it without using a half gallon of milk to wash it down. I will say, though, that it's great for your sinuses. 

That's all for this week. If you have any questions, hit me up. This work is absolutely amazing, and I know that Jesus loves us and he died for us, and that because of that, if we do our part, learn what we have to do and do it, and are willing to go the distance even if no one else has, and regain the eye of the tiger whenever we might lose it, we can live with him again and one day we'll be able to stand up and say, YO ADRIENNE! I DID IT!.

Love, Elder Lusk

Serving the Homeless...Cats, All According to Your Faith and Willingness, Six Months, and Surprise...Going Back to Layton!!

Hey guys!

We had a good week this week. I helped a member family make a nice warm house for a homeless cat named Mr. Pickles, which was pretty cool. Pickles liked it, so we were pretty happy. We gave talks on Sunday with Brother Christian about faith, the atonement, and missionary work, and that went really well. We met a couple new people that we're going to start teaching this week that show a lot of desire to learn more. Tonight we'll be teaching a less-active member the 15-step stop smoking program (dad will probably know about that from his mission), which i'm excited about. It was developed by some elders back in the early 80s, and it's scientifically and spiritually designed to completely break a smoking habit in seven days, according to the participants faith and willingness to follow all 15 steps for seven days. It's really cool. So coming up this week, I have teaching that to look forward to. In addition, I hit six months on Wednesday. 

oh, and we received transfer info this morning, and SURPRISE! I'm going back to Layton! totally came as a surprise, but yeah, I'm getting transferred tomorrow and heading back up to Layton, just in a different area up there. I guess I'm excited about it. I liked Tooele a lot. It's beautiful out here, I like a lot of the people out here, there's a lot of good work out here... Anyway, it'll be good to get back up to Layton. I like it up there, as well. We'll see how it goes. 

So yeah, that's my week. hit me up if there's any questions. I know this work is amazing, and the atonement is real, and the church is true. love you all. 

Elder Jake Lusk

Hi Guys! My Companion is the Best!

Mission mind-shift, One of 80,000, I Dig It and Keeping Up With the Maryland Batlimore Mission, too!

Hey guys!

     Things are going well here. We had zone conference yesterday, which was great. We got a lot of good training about important stuff, like keeping afternoon time effective, and using key indicator (our reporting numbers) goals to help investigators progress. President Hansen has been working on a mission "mind-shift". The focus now is on "being on-plan", and working on getting people to the "next step". It's about spirit of the law vs. letter of the law for both of those. if all missionaries understood their purpose, the white handbook would be significantly shorter, and the USLCM mission standards would hardly exist. In the same way, the focus is no longer on just getting baptisms and reaching key indicator goals to get good weekly numbers. It's about helping people achieve their next step towards eternal salvation. That means helping investigators get baptized, and working with them to get them fully engaged in church, ordained to the priesthood if applicable, and to eventually get to the temple. For people who have already been baptized and have fallen away or may be struggling, it's to help them achieve those next steps. Because of that, the work is slowly but surely evolving, and it's pretty cool to be a part of that. I love knowing that I'm a part of 80,000+ people who are helping those in need all around the world. This work is truly amazing, and I know God's behind it. 

    That's all I got for this week, aside from I figured you'd dig the fact that over the past six months I've kept in touch with Elder Gooddell, Elder Martin, and Elder White. I've also been emailing Elder Moore, so I keeping up with the work ini the Maryland Baltimore mission as well. Sounds like things are going great back East. Tell everyone I love them to death.

Love, Elder Jake Lusk

Used to Hold Half the World's Nuclear Weapons and Now One of the Top Ten Friendliest Cities and Will You Please Come Back, We Miss You!

So,  Tooele is probs 50/50 Mormon to non-Mormon. The highest percent of nonmembers is almost no doubt salt lake city. It's more like 30 percent. There is an army depot here, and at one point contained half of the world's nuclear weapons, which is an obscene amount. I actually heard a test of the nuclear warning sirens the other day and it was kinda freaky and cool at the same time. The whole valley echoed with these stereotypical nuclear bomb threat sirens and a computerized male voice saying that it was a test of the nuclear alert system. The whole thing had a very Orwellian feel to it. I'm mainly in the residential areas of the town, but our stake spreads out and covers some countryside. it's pretty cool. According to Forbes magazine, Tooele was rated on the top ten friendliest cities to live in America. I like it here a lot.

Everything here is going well. We're meeting with the () family tonight and we're working on getting them back on date. Their dad is a good guy. Originally he told us to check back with them in a month once they got some things figured out, but he contacted us the next day and asked to meet. We had no idea what was on his mind, but what he told us was that he missed having the spirit in his home and could tell a difference when we weren't there. I'm not too worried about this family getting baptized.