A Warm welcome back!

St. Paul Temple

Dear everyone, and especially my family,





It was wonderful returning home from my mission and being with you all again. It was a roller coaster of emotions...and still is for me. There were many things I was shocked at which include: being able to hug people again, hearing my little neices and nephews able to pronounce my name, seeing mom text on a cell phone, promptly followed by dad sending a picture message (that almost put me into shock), meeting the wonderful Amber Spencer to find that she really is as cool as I had heard, seeing Mt. Rainer, eating Mom's food again, and many other things that I could go on and on about. All in all I love you all so much. I wish I would have had more time, and wish even more that I had unlimited money to go fly to wherever you alla re and stay with you for a while. There is a poem that I had found in an ensign that I wanted to share with you all when we were together, but I was forgetful, so I figured I would do it on here. I read this poem during my last weeks of my mission, and it hit me powerfully. It is exactly how I feel.





Angels without Wings


by Rachel Henderson





I see my family differently,


now that things have changed.


It seems that our priorities


are somewhat rearranged.


My parents are my teachers


and help me see the light.


My siblings are my closest friends,


there for me day and night.


Each on is peculiar


in their own amazing way.


They are my positive influences


each and every day.


I'd be lost without them


and what comfort to me each brigns.


For my parents and siblings alike


are simply angels without wings.





Well I don't think I can add anything else to that. I love you all! I am so grateful that we can be an eternal family. I love you.

February 8, 2010

Well the happy holidays keep coming. We are all looking forward to Valentines day here in Bloomington. Elder Madsen informed us that we are all going out and doing something special for that day. He is weird. Last Valentines day I was on the University of Minnesota so we went contacting by the rec center because we figured all the single people would be lifting weights or working out or something. The great thing is taht we had some great contacts taht night! Anyway, I hope you will all have fun on that holiday.
Things in Minnesota are great. It was a busy week. Right now it is snowing and we are expected to get 6 - 10 inches, which is alot. But we love it becuase it gives us a chance to shovel peoples driveways! We had transfers and they went well. We got a great group of new missionaries, there were none from Washington so that made me a bit sad. But there were two sisters who got mission transferred, one from the phillipines mission and the other from finland. That is pretty crazy. I don't know what I would feel if I got mission transferred. Anyway, now we are getting ready for zone conferences, and that will be really good.
Work: We had a great experience teaching with a member these last few weeks. There is a young couple named the Wilsons and they are awesome. Bro. Wilson is a Marine and Sis. Wilson is Tongan and way out going. They both served missions and Sis. Wilson just got called as a ward missionary. So they had us over for dinner and we wanted to practice teaching a part of the plan of salvation. When we got there we found out they had a friend staying with them who was visiting from North Carolina. So we had dinner and we still felt like we should teach what we had planned. We taught about earth life, the atonement and the spirit world. We focused on how people who have never had a chance to hear about Jesus Christ will be able to hear the gospel in the spirit world, and not just be condemned to hell because of the time period or place they were born. We asked their friend how she felt about learning that and she said "you know, that was the reason I was not confirmed Catholic, because of that doctrine." So we set up another tmie to teach her before she would go back to North Carolina. The members were super excited, so they invited us back over for dinner and we taught their friend again. It was really awesome, and I wish that their friend wasn't going back to North Carolina, but we challenged her to meet with m issinoaries there and she said she would!
You never know...: I heard a funny missionary story this last week. A missionary wanted to see if he could talk in a british accent for a whole day. So he went out and was doing it and he got on a bus in St. Paul. He turned to a lady and said "Hello ma'am how are you doing today?" in a thick British accent. She got really excited and in a perfect British accent said "ARE YOU FROM ENGLAND?" A little shocked, but quick on his feet he replied "Why yes I am!" And she said "Oh great! Where in England are you from?" He said the first city that popped into his head was Liverpool, so he said "I'm from Liverpool" and the lady replied "NO WAY! I'M FROM LIVERPOOL! Which part of Liverpool?" The Elder said the first thing that popped into his head again which was "Oh, I live down by the docks." The Lady replied "NO WAY! I LIVE DOWN BY THE DOCKS!" ( I mean really, why would the elder say "down by the docks?!") At this point the missionary realized he was getting too far in so he said "Well, this is my stop, but we're missinoaries from a church so here is our card." and he got off the bus. After that he stopped talking in his accent. What are the odds that would happen? The lady really lived "Down by the docks!" haha. But it is a true story. I promise. And the moral is not to talk in british accents in public, especially as a missionary.
Well, I ohpe you all have a great week! We are excited to get some more snow here. Whoo hoo! I love you all! -me

Moving past football

Today, I was going to the library to work on a research project and stopped by the football stadium. A full contact intramural game was going on, so I decided to do some reading as I watched a little bit of the game. Usually when his happens, I get wrapped up in the game and miss playing so much; however, this time it felt different. I was more excited about my project I was working on than the game! I saw 3 players get hurts and was thankful that I never have to worry about that again. I thought back to how it felt to feel the pain of running into another person at full speed and realized I don't want to do that again.

I am accepting that my body can't do what it was able to 5 or even 2 years ago. But I am realizing that I can now do things I couldn't do then. I feel that I can think in new ways and solve problems that I didn't even care about 5 years ago. I can now go on a walk and have a long conversation with my wife and talk about anything. Life is so much better!

This last week, I wanted to learn more about what to do in an interview. I talked to a few friends and got an email address of a member of the church that directs HR for a Fortune 500 company in Texas. He said he would give me some help and pointers for free. We talked for 40 minutes about how to act, think, and respond in an interview. It was a great learning experience. He offers the same free service to anyone, so if you know anyone that is looking for advice on resumes or interviews, have them check out this website http://www.helpmyresume.com/.

I love you all!

Elder spencer Sept. 28, 2009

Dear family! Sept. 28, 2009

I'm 21 now! And...to be honest I still feel the exact same. Hm...I'm still trying to sort that one out...Is it always like that???

This week was a great one. Things are still going well, and we are always busy. The weather was perfect and it is starting to get a little bit chilly. Which is sad because it really isn't chilly it just feels like it. It is still like upper 50s but my ears get cold. This transition to winter is not going to be exciting.......

But on the bright side there were a lot of great things that happened!

"A honkin' marvy good time": This week a great highlight came in remembrance of mother and all of her fine vocabulary sayings. Including, but not limited to the words mentioned in the title of this paragraph. A lady was on her porch picking green beans. We talked to her and commented on the large size of the beans she was picking (because they really were big!) She replied "Yes! They are some honkin' big ones!" I didn't really believe what I had just heard. I wanted to ask her, "Did you really just say 'honkin?'" But I didn't. I also did a good job supressing the laughter I had thinking about Mom saying that exact thing becuase I didn't want this nice lady to think I was laughing at her. Good times. Thanks for the good source of humor Mom. Love you! :)

Teaching isn't all peaches and cream: This week we had some nice experiences I felt were significant. They both involve my companion and his greatness. We were sahring a spiritual thought after dinner and my companion decided to share a personal spiritual experience he had from the beginning of his mission. It is a pretty powerful experience and it helped him grow alot so it is realyl special to him. Right when he was talking about the most spiritual part of it we heard a big THUMP on the window. We all jumped and looked over and a humming bird had slammed into the window! It was hovering there looking a little dazed and then zoomed off. We kept composure pretty well, and my companioin didn't even turn around. He went right through and finished his thought like nothing had happened. He is very focused! A great example of not being distracted by other influences that come during teaching. I was distracted enough taht I even remembered to write in my email home like 5 days later...so I'm still working on that part....
-Another experience came while we were in another area with some other missionaries. I got to interview a man who is preparing for baptism. He had a friend there at the time so when we went out on the porch for the interview, she and my companion and the two other missionaries were sitting in the living room. They talked a little bit, but the missionaries told me later that a pretty akward silence of definetely more than a minute fell over them. Then, my companion said to her, "So....have you ever heard of Joseph Smith??" to break the long awkward pause. It definetely is not the smoothest way to introduce the gospel and we laughed about it after the interview alot, but she answered the question and they ended up teaching her a lesson during the interview. So sometimes in missionary work it isn't as much about how the initial invitation is delivered as long as it is delivered. Also, I guess sometimes the best way to break awkward silences is with awkward questions. Who knows!

The work: Things are still going realyl well. Winifred is still doing great, but she will be baptized next weekend on Sunday, instead of Yesterday. Her husband has agreed to come to her baptism, but he was working yesterday so we moved the baptism so he could be included. We felt taht was really important because after all, the gospel is all about families. But Winifred is super excited for her baptism. She has called many of her friends and is throwing a post baptism party at her house next week. She will be a great missionary!

A grand birthday week: Ok, maybe it was more than grand, it was glorious! I opened the great package on my birthday and tahnk you for that! It was a great treat. (Mom, the cookies were still good and not crushed!) Thank you for your thoughtfulness! Also, the members we lived with made Elder Green and I homemade apple crisp for a birthday treat. (His bday was yesterday!) So that was amazing. Also, on my birthday I made a delicious dessert to share with other missionaries whose district meeting we were going to. I made brownies with a layer of melted marshmallows followed witha thick layer of chocolate frosting. I don't mess around with my desserts. Also, for lunch we went to a burger place called Fuddruckers. It was delicious. Yay for birthdays!

Kids are krazy: The bishop's six year old shared the following joke during the middle of dinner.
Q: Why did Piglet look in the toilet?
A: He was looking for Pooh!
The bishops wife tried to tell the child that the joke was not appropriate for the dinner table, or for when missionaries were present, but it wasn't very effective because she was laughing too. The joke was then retold and retold again by the 3 year old sitting next to me until he was threatened to not get any dessert! haha. It reminded me of those great dinners we had when the missionaries were over. We would argue about who got to sit by the missionaries and I remember we even had to have talks about proper conduct when missionaries were over. So mom, don't worry, we weren't the only kids like taht! And as a missionary, you think it is awesome! :)

Transfers this week: This weeks is transfers again. Who knows what will happen!! So stay tuned for next week.

Pictures
1). Lunch at Fuddruckers. So delicious. The missionary I am next to is my companion. The one next to him is from Olympia.
2). This place is bound to be a success. The name is golden. I am so happy I found it. It is outside of my area though :(
3). I am a wrestling champion. Carl and Neil, you are going down when I get home. be intimidated.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Thank you for all of your love and support.
With oodles of love,
Elder Spencer

Elder Spencer Sept. 21, 2009

Hello family! Sept. 21, 2009

Thank you all for the emails, updates and birthday wishes today! I loved it! You are all such great family. I can feel your love even across lakes, mountains, plains, corn fields, and apple orchards! This week was another superb week full of busy missionary life.

Has the time of miracles ceased?: I say unto you, NAY! (Which means no in Book of Mormon language...some of our investigators have trouble with the language in it.) Winifred is doing absolutely incredible. She is going to be baptized next week. She is excited, is reading, gaining a testimony and even better, sharing it with others she knows. It is powerful to see her excitement for the gospel because she is truly converted. She had more great experiences with reading the Book of Mormon this week. In our lessons she always amazes me at how open she is and how much she understands. The spirit is always strong over there. She invited us to go to a friends wedding, done African style. So we got permission to go and to the reception and it was SOO fun! They are such a great group of people. We were two of 5 white people there with hundreds of people from Africa. The food was good and a lot of it was pretty similar to an American wedding except how much they danced. All of the bridal party had their own entrance music and danced down the reception hall to the head table. It took a while, but everyone was so into. Even the four year old flower girl and ring bearer had good style. I was impressed! Also, we took Winifred to the mission president's fireside last night. There was a great spirit there and the speakers were Joe and Anna, recent converts from my last area. I was there when Joe was just baptized in August, so it was amazing to hear him speak and see how his testimony has grown from us working on him praying about the Book of Mormon to hear him talk about honoring his priesthood and looking forward to b being sealed in the temple. It's amazing! But anyway, after it was over Winifred was like, that was a fireside? I thought we were going to be outside around a fire! Guess we didn't clarify the Mormon language....

Loving the crazies: Since we are out in the cities most of the day we see a lot of people. Along with the normal people comes a fair amount of crazy people. We were knocking on a door and across the street an older man walked out of his house with a button up shirt on and socks. That was it. He went out to turn off the water in the yard. I couldn't help but laugh and wonder why he wasn't wearing any pants. I guess some questions just have to go unanswered. It was nice to have a laugh though. Another time we parked in an apartment’s parking lot and it was in the evening so the sun was just going down. About four cars over there was an old man standing with his driver door open. IT looked like he was dancing but I wasn't sure. I looked closer as we walked by and saw that he was wearing a grass skirt, with no shirt and he was doing the hula dance to some Hawaiian music playing from his car stereo. He had the biggest smile on his face too and it was apparent he wasn't all there. He was so happy! I guess I was happy for him that he was just out enjoying himself so much and not really caring what other people thought. It was good to see though! Being on a mission is priceless.

Bday plans: So tomorrow we have a district meeting with some other missionaries and I am planning on making a nice dessert. Also, Elder Greens bday is on the 27th so I think we might just go do a dinner during the week to celebrate both of our births together. How exciting! I am so happy to be 21. It is a great milestone in my life. I would like to thank my mother and the others who have helped me come this far. Also, our mission has a tradition that the mission office calls and sings to us. So I am looking forward to being serenaded by the office staff of sisters who are almost all over 65. haha. But they do it because they love us, so it is very nice!

Mission blog: Our mission president and his wife have taken time to make a mission blog!! It is fully intended for our families so here is the link.
http://mmmmiracles.blogspot.com/
I haven't seen it, and actually we can't go to it, but I hope you enjoy it. They said they are going to be putting up pictures from around the mission and also explain some of the traditions we have in the Minnesota Minneapolis Mission. I think it's a great idea, especially since many of you are avid bloggers! But I will still send you pictures from my own adventures.

Pictures:
1). the beautiful sunsets of Minnesota from a lake side. Gotta love September!
2). Elder Green and I got to go to the early morning seminary class to play Nephi and King Laban. I was King Laban. Ooo Rah.
3). Elder Green and I at the African wedding reception! Winifred is on the left. She is awesome!

I hope you all have a wonderful week. Thanks again for all the updates. Hurrah for Israel!
Oh, and a special shout out for UW beating USC! Word to your mother, USC! Thanks for the updates. Love you all!
With all the love that a soon to be 21 year old can possess,
Me