Monday, January 26, 2015

Get Elder Hamson!

Well the call came in and I will be staying here in San Luis Obispo! The twist is that Elder Kanenwisher is getting transferred to Camarillo YSA ward. I didn't see that one coming and it's kind of a bummer, because we were having a great time together. My new companion will be Elder Toa. He is Samoan, and I have heard a lot of good things about him. I haven't really served around him, but I know him and this transfer is going to be sweet!
Anyways this last week was a solid week. We had a zone activity and we played dodge ball, so that was a lot of fun. I was never really that great at dodging, so you can imagine how that went down. "Get Elder Hamson"! We also taught some pretty great lessons. Hana a recent convert brought her friend to our lesson, and it was a solid lesson. Her friend, Taylor, has a quiet personality so were aren't really sure how interested she is. She did, however say she would love to come to the activities with the ward. We also had stake conference and that was fantastic. Elder Robert Packer of the seventy came and he is the coolest. He met with just the YSA ward and answered questions, The spirit was really strong, and I have a stronger testimony of the Book of Mormon and how it can answer any of our questions. He even asked Helen, our most recent convert, to bear her testimony in front of the whole stake. Overall it was just a solid week. Thank you all, and keep being awesome.
Elder Hamson



Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Happiest Town in America

Hello everyone, This week has been another great week over here in the happiest town in America. I think I heard a rumor once that that's what Opra said so it must be true. Next week is transfers, so we find out on Saturday if we are staying or leaving.Elder Kanenwisher is a great companion, and I would like to stay, but you never know. Also that means we get to figure out all of the logistics of getting everyone to and from transfer meeting with all their luggage and bikes, yay! As far as this last week goes everything is went great. We are working with 6 recent converts in the ward, 2 of which are only semi-active. Jesse, Bella, Helen and Hana are doing great and we are helping them talk to their friends about the gospel and invite them to one of our lessons. Hana invited her friend Taylor to meet with us, so we have an appointment with them both this week! There a couple other friends of people in the ward that are on our radar and I think will soon start investigating. Now that the ward is up and running again, they should be coming to activities and we can introduce ourselves there. I like to think of ourselves like a dormant volcano just about to erupt with a bunch of new investigators. As for the 2 others, Mason is doing a lot better and he came to all three hours of church on Sunday despite his severe social anxiety. That was great, and we also got in contact with Megan, who was baptized in July. She transferred to Cal Poly in September, but hasn't gotten involved over here at all. We had a lesson with her this last week and she is great, she has a testimony, but she is a busy person. We talked about building her testimony and she enjoys meeting with missionaries so I think once she comes to a couple activities, and gets to know the ward that will help. But I think the stronger her testimony gets the more time she will make for church. In general though the work is moving forward and I am excited to be a part of it. Thank you all for being awesome, and good luck out there Erin!


Monday, January 12, 2015

Another Busy Week

This week has been another busy week up here in San Luis Obispo.
On Tuesday we had a confernce with the mission leadership (MLC) in Oxnard and that was great. I absolutely loved it and I am still trying to absorb everything we learned and talked about.
This area is doing great, we have a lot of recent converts in the ward and we are investing a lot of our time working with them. All of them are on fire and we have invited them to invite their friends to our lessons. Hana told us this morning that her friend Taylor would love to! So we will keep investing into the ward and the success will come.
I went on an exchange with Elder Bryson the day after MLC and that was great. I got the full experience going on an exchange with the assistants. I drove up with Elder Atkin and Elder Bryson, Exchanged with Elder Bryson Drove to Santa Barbara with Elder Atkin and back up to Santa Maria with Elder Lee. It was a lot of craziness, but I learned a lot talking with all three of them.
We also went on an exchange with Elder Snyder and Elder Johns this week. I went with Elder Johns in his area (Atascadero). We had a great exchange and I was overall very impressed with Elder Johns. He is a little shy/timid, but he is humble and teachable which is a great attribute to have. He is willing to be obedient and to just go out and try it. There were a couple of times during the day were we walked up to someone and introduced ourselves then I just looked at Elder Johns and smiled like he had something great to say. He stepped up everytime and did a great job. He set a goal to be more assertive in his companionship which I thought was awesome. I also learned from him to keep it simple and powerful. That's the advice he gave me after we did an EDPEP (role play) , because I probably talked his ear off. Now I have a goal to teach simply, but powerfully .
Elder Kanenwisher is great, and I really appreciate being his companion. He is a very hard worker, and he has some great stories that he relates back to the gospel. We are really trying to keep this area flourishing and to be good examples, and he plays a big role in that.
In my studies I have thought a lot about one of the focuses in our mission "we desire the salvation of souls" and D&C 4:4  "he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might. . .bringeth salvation to his soul" I have a renewed commitment to serve with all of my heart, might, mind and strength and I am loving every minute of it!
Elder Hamson


Alan with Elder Johns.


Monday, January 5, 2015

The Town Is Alive Again

Happy New Year! This year is going to be a great one. 2014 was definitely one to remember since I was a missionary the whole time. This last week has been a solid week, but I am glad it's over. School is starting again today and the town is alive again. Elder Kanenwisher got to meet the ward for the first time yesterday and we have appointments now with all of the Recent converts in the ward(Helen, Bella, Jesse, Hana). I am excited to see them again and see where they are at. We also have 2 exchanges this week as well as MLC and a zone meeting, so this next week is going to be a fun one. Some Highlights of this last week though. We met with Mason again and he has been doing great reading from the scriptures and praying everyday, you can see the difference it makes in someones life when they do such a simple thing. He came to church for a little bit, but due to social anxiety left. It was a huge step for him to even come, so we are glad he is moving in the right direction. We did mostly finding this week and we met Jessica. We were trying by a Less-Actives house and they had moved, but Jessica had moved in and we talked for a little bit. We taught some simple truths about the restoration and testified about how it would bless her life. She then broke down into tears and told us that she had been going through a lot in her life right now and has been praying for help. She readily accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and we have an appointment with her this Wednesday. It was a very neat experience, and I am glad we were in the right place at the right time. It is very humbling to be a missionary and I am so grateful for every minute of it so far.
As for today Elder Kanenwisher drive down to Ventura and stay the night with the assistants, because we have MLC early tomorrow morning. I am super excited, because I get to catch up with Elder Atkin, who I was companions with for 3 transfers, and Elder Lee who I know from home.
Thank you all for your support, you are the best.
Elder Hamson