A glimpse into Elder Daugs' Apartment

Elder Smith posted this on Facebook:  "Don't let the true meaning of Christmas get away from you!!!!"

It is indeed a great message, but what caught our eye was the artwork in the corner of the room!  That must be Addison's desk where he studies and taped on the wall are drawings and notes from his brother and sister!  That made their day, knowing that he has kept them and looks at them often.

December 8th, 2014 ~ Surprise!

Hey everyone!                                                                                                     December 8, 2014

This week was pretty much like all the others. We had FHE at the Owens, which was fun as usual! Then the rest of the week was a blur. We did a lot of

tracking and found a couple more potentials. One let us in because she saw us at the trading post where we volunteer at, so it’ s good to see that all of that work there has finally led to something because I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have let us in if we had just knocked on her door and she didn't know us.

We have been teaching a new investigator who is seventh day Adventist which is really interesting! It's super hard to teach them and they have a lot

of weird beliefs but they're the most progressing investigators that we have. On day we were over there and her daughter got out her laptop and started finding all this false doctrine stuff so the whole hour was just resolving those issues! We've been sharing the "He is the gift" messages when we go tracking and I've figured out that if people don't want to listen it doesn't matter if we talk about the Book of Mormon, Christmas, or helping them do service! If their minds are set they won't change! So the he is the gift thing is good but not any more effective than any other message I think. You should've got some pass along card in the ensign this month! Be sure to give those to someone and share the video with some people!

We went on exchanges this week and Elder Cramer came over here to Springville. I like Elder Cramer; we have a lot in common and get along really well! We had a branch Christmas party on  Friday so that was good! We did service at the trading post and for Kelly.

Sunday was awesome! It was fast and testimony meeting and there were some pretty good testimonies from Sandra and Lynette. Then Jory Jensen showed up so that was awesome! That was so nice of him to drive all of the way down from Buffalo just to say hi! It was a great surprise! He got to meet some of the people from the branch then he had to go back up to his meeting so he could only stay for a little bit. What are the chances you see someone from your home ward in Utah in a small branch in western New York?!  Then that night we had the Christmas devotional. That's pretty much all. We are going to the temple this week on Saturday with the Owens because

Lynette is getting her endowments before she goes on her mission! It only took 4 1/2 months, but I finally get to go!

 Love ya!

December 1, 2014 Satan is hard at work!

Hey guys!                                                                                            December 1, 2014

This week was pretty good it had its goods and bads but nothing too unusual.

Monday, we did our usual p day stuff but we went to the Bakers for dinner instead of the Owens which is ok I guess. It was just he and his son because his family was out of town so not too exciting but still ok!

Tuesday, we had Zone conference up in Amherst. That was great as usual! I learned a lot on how to better improve myself and how to try and be more effective. I always love zone conference! While we were there we had to take our truck to the Nissan dealership in Orchard Park to get something fixed again! I think it was still something lingering from when it was wrecked but it was under warranty so that was good. Then we hurried back and had dinner at Kelly's. Kelly has a niece who is living with her permanently now because her living conditions weren't so great. Jim and Kelly are super nice people always thinking of others. It's funny because Jim is this guy with a big beard, ruff and tough and if you didn't know him you'd probably have a different impression but he's awesome!

Wednesday, we went to the trading post, then went tracting and tried to find more people. Then we had dinner at the Becker’s with all four missionaries, kind of an early Thanksgiving. Thus was Thanksgiving! It says in the missionary handbook that holidays are great for missionary work but not in this area! Everyone hates you if you knock on their door on a holiday! So we spent the majority of the day at the Owens, which was awesome! I love their family, they're so much fun! The food was great and there was lots of It! We ate, and played games and ate some more!

That will be a Thanksgiving I'll always remember!

Friday, we tracted some more! We found three new investigators and one said he would be baptized but we called him the next day and he said he prayed about it and God told him Joseph Smith was fake so that really sucks! Satan is working hard! We finally thought we found someone and he was asking really good questions, believed everything we taught and then changed his mind!

Then, Saturday we went and did some service for Jim then went tracting some more.

Sunday we had our usual meetings then we went to go see some new members in the branch out past Holland.  We drove all of they way out there and then she told us that she doesn't like the church anymore and she's not coming back. Then we went tracting some more and we met this really mean guy who threatened to call the cops on us and then two doors down was a state trooper and he was even meaner than the last guy! He wouldn't even shake our hand!

Surprisingly, I'm not tired of tracting yet but we're almost out of doors to knock on. Probably be finished by next week depending on our schedule. The weather has been normal, snow a couple days then get warm and melts all again! So that's my week!

Love ya!

Elder Daugs

November 24th, 2014

Monday we did p-day stuff, FHE at the Owens, just the usual.

Tuesday, we were supposed to have zone conference but it got cancelled because it snowed a little bit up there! I'm sure you've heard about all of the snow! There was 6-7 feet up there so yeah, crazy! I won't tell you too much about the snow because I'm sure you've heard a lot about it. We only got about 2 feet and then it all melted in the next few days so it was a bunch of snow but nothing compared to Buffalo. We really haven't done much because of the weather so it's going to be a short letter. It's been super cold a couple of days so we tried to stay inside when it's below zero. We've done a bunch of shoveling though. We've been out a lot shoveling during the storm so it doesn't build up too much at once. We've shoveled off a couple of roofs so they didn't cave in. We went out at night and walked around and shoveled people's driveways. We tracked for about six hours on Saturday. We taught a couple people this week actually and they had a lot of potential! 

Yup that's pretty much it!

Sorry for the short letter, it was a pretty boring week!

Love Elder Daugs

November 17th, 2014~ Winter has arrived!!

Hey guys!                                                                                                             November 16, 2014

Well, it's cold now and there's lots of snow! I saw a weather forecast that said Springville should get 24-30 inches in the next three days! So,

that will be awesome! This week went ok I guess, not that much different from any other week. So the first part of the week here was no snow but after Tuesday there was tons of it! Pretty much every day it snows at least a little. We've done a ton of tracting lately trying to find more people to go and teach. We've found probably ten potentials and we've got two new investigators, so I guess it's working! We've had appointments set up with a bunch of people this week but they've all been gone or said it was a bad time. We've tried to stop by and see all of the potentials that we have on our board a couple of times and none were available. So we'll keep trying! We've almost knocked on every single door in Springville only a couple more streets to go! 

It's kind of hard to find things to do once it gets dark because it gets dark around 5- 5:30 and people don't like us knocking on their door once it's dark. We've done the usual service at the trading post, and we did some service for Jim and Kelly. Hunting season started this week and Jim has already got two I think! And a boy from the branch got one and he said he's going to bring us some jerky! Stake conference was this week up on Amherst so that was great! We rode up with the Beckers and had lunch with them afterwards. I'm finding out that people really hate change out here! They have their religion and that's all they need they don't even want to hear what we have to say most of the time and the people that do listen are the ones that aren't religious! So I like talking to the people that aren't religious at all! They are much nicer! I think we're going to the church and going to build giant snowman for p day and then go to the Owens so that will be fun!

I'm keeping pretty warm. The humid cold is a lot different than the dry cold in Utah! I don't know what we'll do after we're done tracting? Nice elk! The Nissan is pretty good as far as I can tell! It's a little light in the back end so we might get some sand bags or something. It's going to be a blizzard for the next three days and zone conference was canceled because of the snow. Here's the fort so far. That's pretty much it! Yep!

 Love, Elder Daugs

Ether 12:4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

Winter has arrived!

Guess, it's time to build a fort! (P-day activity)

 Me,  Elders Cramer, Passey, and Smith

November 10, 2014 ~ First week with my new companion

Rochester in the Fall

Hello!!                                                                                                  November 10, 2014

So this week was really busy!!

Monday we got transfer calls and figured out that Elder Vickers is going to Kodak Park in Greece. So, Monday he packed and then we did the usual p- day stuff.

Tuesday was the crazy day! The Freedom Elders are getting a new Nissan so we had to take their Colorado up to transfers in Pittsford. We also had to

take the back license plate from our truck because we still don't have the front one from the accident. The Freedom Elders didn't have a truck while we were at transfers. Then we got there and had the transfer meeting which was awesome! We got a new AP, Elder Bevan and a bunch of other missionaries went home. I got a new companion, Elder Smith and I got to see the other Elders from my MTC district for he first time! That was really great to see those guys again!! And now Elder Miller and Jones are in the Buffalo Stake so I'll get to see them a little more often. Then before we went home they were supposed to get us our other license plate but the DMV was closed so we couldn't get it so.... We had to take the Elders new truck and Cattaraugus' old truck for a temporary replacement until we could get our plates! So that meant we had to drive separate back down to Springville since we had

two trucks! So, I was all alone for two hours for the first time in 3 months! And it's not as exciting as you would think! Elder smith just followed right behind me back to Springville and I sat bored out of my mind in my truck! I had no music and I couldn't listen to the radio and I had no one to talk to! When we got there we went to Kelly's for dinner.

Wednesday we went and met some members, helped at the trading post, and went tracking. We got several potentials just from an hour of tracking! Then we went to family history night and I found some names and printed them off so I can take them to the temple!

Thursday we had district meeting, had dinner at the senior Owens and had game night, which was better than normal because 8 people showed up!

Friday we helped at the trading post for only an hour then Elder and Sister Ray came to clean and reorganize our apartment for 5 hours!!  We did a deep clean and set up the apartment so if we need to it can have four elders. They are super nice and have a granddaughter that goes to mountain crest. Then we went tracking in the snow!! Which I don't mind but I don't like the snow in early November!  One guy let us in and we taught the restoration for over an hour!! He said we can come back and teach him and his wife more but we haven't been able to get ahold of him yet.

Saturday we helped Roy cut down about ten big trees and haul them out, and we invited him to family history night and he seems to be really interested! Then we had dinner at the Miess', which was great!  

Sunday we had all of the usual things except we had to teach the youth for Sunday school (all five of them!) then after church we finally got ahold of some in actives that we haven't been able to speak with my whole mission in west valley!  That's pretty much it for this week! Love you guys!

P.S. to mom:

Elder Smith is great! He is a really good missionary and I've already learned a lot from him! We are going to get a ton of work done here together! He has been out 22 months and he just got released as a zone leader. It's been cold here, the high is low 40s and it's snowed three times already and next week is supposed to be worse! I'm not nervous driving or anything I'm used to it now! I've probably driven almost 5000 miles out here! The cities are definitely bigger than Salt Lake and there are metropolitan areas all around them. Traffic in Buffalo on the freeway if you go at the wrong time is horrible! The freeway is bigger here too. One thing I no that I don't like is that all of the roads in the entire state don't have numbers, all names and there weird names like Genesee, Cattaraugus, Cochrane, etc..  We met for transfers at the mission off ice in Pittsford. Yeah a lot of people like Springville mostly because of the people like the Owens, and the Beckers, not the area. We eat at the Beckers, Kelly's, Miess', Owens, Senior Owens, and some others. Most of the time for lunch and about half of the time for dinner we eat at the apartment or go to a restaurant. One thing that you could send me only if it's less expensive to ship than to buy a new one is the nice black jacket in the closet. Send me pictures of it and I'll tell you if it’s the right one or if I want it please! Thank you!

Love you!