Addicted to Snow Cones

Nick was excited that Elder Flores and Elder Belliston (Flores' greenie) moved in for three weeks. The parents were gone at the house they usually lived in, and the 23-31 year old sons living there were shooting them with paintball guns. Nick said they had to move out for awhile or there would have been a big fight. It's a lot more fun living with four than just two. So it was basically a party every night for awhile, and Nick has become close friends with Elder Flores (in the photo, at a graveyard in Siver City, a ghost town just outside of Kuna). Silver City is two hours away, but still in their area, so their area is really huge. Elder Flores is from Italy and played Junior Pro soccer there before his mission, and wants to play pro soccer in America after, so he's pretty good. On P-day they played soccer with the spanish elders and Nick was happy that he still had some skills left. He held his own and scored two of his teams seven goals. Elder Belliston was later transferred and Elder Eddington moved in. Elder Eddington goes home at the next transfer, so he has pretty much checked out and keeps the others up late telling them his life and mission stories.

Nick and Elder Crook ate dinner one Sunday with the Albertson family, and Nick realized he had never seen the dad at church. Turns out he's hardly ever been to church. He was baptized at 8, and quit going to church at 12. But at dinner they told the elders that he wants to start attending church and they want to be sealed in the temple. So they're going to give the discussions to Brother Albertson, and Nick is excited about seeing them sealed as a family because that is his top mission goal!

A big thing that happened was that they received a phone call from a man who's wife is dying from cancer, and she had decided she needed to be baptized. They are sad that she has cancer, but very happy for her and her husband that she has decided to be baptized because she has been investigating the church off and on for several years. Nick was excited to get a phone call from someone asking to be baptized because it hardly ever happens, not even once. But it's happened to him twice, so it's pretty amazing! They finished teaching her the discussions in less than two weeks and she was baptized on July 31. Nick said she was sooooo ready because she studies so much that she knows more than they do. However, Nick said it was an interesting baptism because she considered it so sacred that she didn't want anyone to attend. So it was just her and the person baptizing her, with her husband and the bishop as witnesses. Nick and Elder Crook waited outside the door and acted as bouncers to keep anyone from coming in.

News Flash: Nick is addicted to snow cones. They get them free in Kuna and since it's 95 degrees there right now, they get them every day! (One side benefit of the mission is that Nick, a somewhat picky eater, has tried lots of new foods he wouldn't try before, and he actually likes them). They had Kuna Days one weekend, kind of a city fair. There were amazing funnel cakes and a lady bought Nick a delicious lemonade. He says one reason being a missionary in the Boise mission is so great is that so many members hook them up with free stuff or discounts.

For a district meeting, Nick had Elder Crook dress up as Robin Hood. Unfortunately no picture was taken. Nick was comparing investigators to arrows, and baptisms to the bullseye. They shot arrows, and it was a great object lesson.

Updates about previous investigators: Doug and his girlfriend Cindy are still hanging in there. They are continuing to take the lessons and are starting to get more serious about investigating. Jessica is ready to get baptized, but is still waiting for her sister to get there. Her sister is planning to take the lessons when she gets there and they'll be baptized at the same time, hopefully around the end of August. The Jones family is progressing slowly but surely. They are coming to church more often. A lot of people are on vacation this time of the year so things are a little slow. And nearly everyone they have been teaching has been baptized. So now they start over looking for more investigators.

One sad thing happened, last week there was a sushi dinner (another food Nick now loves) for Elder Kraus' farewell party. Nick was sad to see him go. A week later we went to Elder Kraus' homecoming talk in our old ward. He gave an amazing talk and it was fun to hear stories about the Boise mission. We laughed a lot about one he told about when he and Nick were companions. The Spjutes went out of town and asked them to get the eggs out of the chicken coop every day. Elder Kraus thought he didn't like chickens much, but if you know Nick, you know he wouldn't be going near the chicken coop. So Ryan ended up fighting off the chickens with a spatula and a potholder to get the eggs. When the Spjutes got back, they said all he had to do was throw down some food and the chickens would run to the food and leave him alone.