I Can Almost Take Off My Jacket!

It is getting warm in Alaska, and once it hits 60 degrees I can finally take off my jacket. It's been in the 50's this week, and it's way too warm for a jacket. That sentence just reaffirms the fact that I am going to burn up when I get home. The members keep looking up the temps in Vegas on their iphones and it's always really hot. Darn technology.

Well, this week has been pretty good. The work has been great, and Elder Bunch and I have been having a blast teaching and finding. Easter was a good day. You'd think most Christians would have no problem talking about Jesus Christ on Easter, but some people were really angry to see us out working. We even tracted into an Easter party for another church at their pastor's house. There was a house on the street that had a bunch of cars in front, and so I told Elder Bunch we should knock it. I figured it was a party or a family get together. I thought it would be a good experience for Elder Bunch to share our message in front of a larger crowd. There were a few men standing outside the house, and they told us what the party was for. Elder Bunch started talking, but after hearing they were all from another church, he froze up and just turned and looked at me. I started talking to them, and as I did a bunch of people started coming out of the house for an egg hunt. I was just waiting for the pastor to come try and talk to us, but he never did. We finished talking to the three guys outside the house, and left. They didn't want a copy of the Book of Mormon, and they didn't want to be taught. Good times!

Well, I'm out of time for today, but I love you all, and have a great week!


Love Elder Squires

Springtime in Alaska

It's definitely spring time in Alaska. Still two feet of snow...about 40 degrees during the day, a little under freezing at night--Warm stuff! It's been great for the work because it makes proselyting more fast-paced when it's not freezing. Elder Bunch and I had an awesome week. We taught more lessons this week than we have ever taught together. It would have been a great week teaching-wise in any of my past areas. It has been a great atmosphere for finding lately. We have been contacting a lot of members, and doing quite a bit of tracting, and it's been very successful. I think Elder Bunch and I are both getting used to the area and the work, and all the people. It's been a blast.

We are teaching a couple of people that will hopefully will be baptized soon. We're teaching a nine year-old boy that will be baptized in a few weeks. He is really cool. Anyway, Elder Bunch and I have been receiving a lot of tracting revelation lately. It is a really cool experience. On Monday we did not have a dinner appointment, and we were about ten miles from our apartment and didn't want to drive back. I had a really strong prompting to tract a certain street, and we tracted into some great people, and are teaching two sisters that are praying about baptism right now. A few days later, Elder Bunch really felt we should tract a street, and the second to last door we knocked, we met a really cool guy that is excited to read and pray and be taught.

The Lord's work is a great thing, and He is leading us to those who are ready to receive His gospel. Anyway, I hope you all have a great week. Don't have too much fun in the sun.


Love Elder Squires

All Is Well in Paradise

Well- it has been a great week, a fast week, and is now the beginning of my last transfer in Alaska and on my mission. Transfers are today, and Elder Bunch and I are both staying put-a pretty obvious one this time.

I'm not even sure where to begin with what happened last week, and everything that's going through my head right now. All I know is that this past transfer was awesome! It has been great starting a new area and a new ward, and getting to know so many great people. It's been a challenge for sure though. Elder Bunch has his first transfer under his belt, and he is doing great. He keeps getting better and better each day. This last week we found a couple more people to teach, and we even have someone on date to be baptized! He is a nine year-old boy, and he is really on the ball. We are teaching his mom as well, but she is not quite ready to accept the commitment to be baptized yet. They are the family I wrote about last week that we felt impressed to see and started teaching.


Elder Bunch and I have been tracting and finding like crazy. We've placed A LOT of Book of Mormon's, at least more than I've ever placed before. We just ordered out third 30 pound box of them from the mission office. Yesterday we did not have a dinner, and decided to tract instead of take an hour break. We knocked on just a handful of doors, and have three solid teaching appointments set up. The Lord is blessing this work in this area greatly! We've also had a lot of really funny tracting experiences, and have met a lot of angry people. We've even starting keeping a log in our area book of places to not visit for future missionaries so they don't have to risk getting yelled at, or worse.

Well, all is well in paradise, I mean Alaska. Everyone have a great week!

Love Elder Squires

The Lord Answers Prayers

This past week was a very difficult and very rewarding week. Elder Bunch and I have been working our tails off trying to find the elect, and it has just been difficult to do so. We've tracted quite a bit, and have talked with many members to try and find the elect here in the Badger Road area. We had taught fewer lessons during the week than ever before. I knew that the Lord would guide us, but inwardly I was getting a little frustrated. I just didn't let Elder Bunch see that. Yesterday, our lessons had all fallen through, as they had all week. We had some tracting planned in the afternoon, but I didn't feel like that was what was needed at that time. We stopped and called some people, thought about our options, and then decided we'd better tract. As I was trying to find a place to park our truck, a name of a part-member family came into my head that we had talked to before, but hadn't seen in awhile. I told Elder Bunch we were going to see them (they lived just a couple of minutes away). A couple of weeks ago we ran into the member's mom at the post office, and she told us to see them. When we did, they weren't that excited to see us, but when Elder Bunch and I went back this time, they were really excited, and invited us right in. The member-husband told us that his non-member wife had lots of questions, and he didn't know how to answer them. He had tried to look for our phone number we left last time, but couldn't find it. They were just talking about calling us a few minutes before we showed up. They were a little busy, so he asked if we could come back in a few hours. Obviously we said yes, and we went back that evening and taught his wife the first lesson. She really wants to come to church, and their nine year-old son is interested in getting baptized.

The lesson from this story is 1) the Lord is aware of His children and answers their prayers, and 2) Many times we have to work as hard as we can to our limit's end before we see the Lord's blessings. Sometimes I think that part is a sick joke, but I know it's a trial of faith and a character builiding experience. Anyway, general conference was great, and we spent a few sessions at member's houses, and one session at the church. Priesthood session was great, and I got to see a lot of the YSA members I knew when I served in Fairbanks. The general authorities are called of God, and this church is true. The Spirit witnessed that to me very strongly these past few days. We have a prophet on the earth, and the Lord is guiding His church through him.


Love Elder Squires