Week 3

Hello mom and dad, as well as anyone this email is being forwarded to! This week the major event was, of course, the baptism. It is really nice to have an experience like that so early on in my mission. The person who sent the pictures was J., who was the one who introduced Sister R. to the church. He flew all the way out from Utah to baptize her, which was really nice of him! I'll also tell you a bit more about Sister R. She and J. met while they were doing military service. Right now, she is working as a cop! (She even came to sacrament meeting one time in full uniform! She works really late, that's why.) She also does MMA, apparently! She first met the missionaries at the beginning of January, and she had a lot of great questions. She really connected with the message of the Restoration and quickly developed a strong testimony and a very passionate desire to get baptized. She really feels Heavenly Father's love for her! Right now, she really wants to go to the temple- she wants to fly out to Utah and see the one in Salt Lake city.

Preparing for the baptism was also quite an experience. We had it in our building, and the last time there was a baptism there- which was quite a while ago- the water was green, most likely because the pipes are old. We wanted the water to be clean for Sister R, so we went the night before to see if we could get all the copper out of it, which is what we assumed it was. We filled th.e font up halfway, then drained it. It seemed like it was taking a while to drain, so we decided to come back the next morning to see how it was. So we get there, and there was still a bit of water in the font. Turns out, the pump stopped working, and the hole that had it was flooded! We had to take all the water out of there by hand for three hours! Then, about an hour before the event started we tried filling it up again... and the water hit a sediment patch that turned it brown! It looked like a tub of apple cider. It was also quite cold. Thankfully both Sister R. and J. were okay with it.

Hope this story made sense.

We did not have exchanges last week, but we will have them this week. Later today, actually! I will be going to Uniontown, which had a tornado hit it last week! So it looks like I need to be ready for service. We will be meeting up at the Monongahela church today.

One more story from this week. This one's about teaching in ways that people can understand. On Thursday we met with an investigator named O., who likes to visit many different types of churches, but he really likes it when we come. We went over the Plan of Salvation with him, and he had a hard time understanding the three degrees of glory. So Elder Groesbeck told him to imagine the best thing possible right now. He then said that he would compare the Celestial kingdom to a Baconator, the Terrestrial kingdom to a Son of Baconator, and the Telestial kingdom to a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger- all three of them are satisfying, but you always want to aim for the top. That's when Oscar understood it. We got back in the car, and neither of us could believe he actually made that comparison.

So now I'll answer my mom's questions. The package came on Wednesday, so it looks like I'm waiting two days for packages to be delivered. I have been warm enough so far- Pennsylvania has Virginia's all-four-seasons-in-a-week syndrome. It has snowed quite a bit, but it has never been too cold for my heavy coat to handle yet. Amy and Brother Calderwood have both emailed me, and I of course get Grandma's weekly emails. Michael also emails me once a week. I read the emails when I get them- not sure if I'm supposed to though. On P-days, we generally go shopping at a store called Aldi- it's really cheap, and it's the store that is closest to us. Last P-day, we went out to Red Robin with one of Elder Groesbeck's old companions, then we went to Mount Washington and got a nice view of Pittsburgh- I'll attach the ones I took- and then we went into Pittsburgh for a bit! It was fun. Today though we're probably just going to meet up with the rest of the district at the church. Speaking of the district, we're the only ones in McKeesport. Some areas, like Mononagahela, I believe, have both a pair of Elders and a pair of Sisters.

Well, it's good to see you guys are doing well back home. Excited to hear that Ryan got accepted at BYUI! Any word on colleges yet from the others? Are Ben's mission papers coming along? Glad to hear that Jessica was able to make it home. Right now I'm studying in Preach My Gospel about effective study and recognizing the Spirit, and I'm getting comfortable teaching the Plan of Salvation. Well, that should be everything. Hope you guys take care!

Elder Frederickson

Week 2

Hey mom and dad! I'll start by answering the questions. The earplugs and case have both come. The earplugs work great- and I have a lot of them, so now I don't have to worry about the snoring! We do have fast food places. There is a place called the Waterfront that has a Chick-fil-a, a Steak n' Shake, a Longhorn Steak House, and more, but it is quite a ways away. We have a McDonald's very close nearby. I've mostly been having frozen food- we have brought home some member meals, but nothing I particularly cared for. And yes, we are in a district! We had district meeting on Wednesday, where we talked about goal setting. This week we are gonna talk about Christlike attributes. Also this week, we might go on exchanges- it will be nice to have experience with a different partner. I'm not sure if I need a camera. I think my tablet's camera will be enough for now.

This week I have been focusing on getting used to teaching the Restoration. I've practiced with members, and I think I have a good grasp of what to teach. My main problem is that I don't feel like I'm participating in lessons or conversations very much at all. That's something I feel like I need to improve. I've been reading Tad R. Callister's talk about consecrating myself as a missionary. I am trying to incorporate Preach My Gospel more into my studies. Sister M.P. (I told you about her last week, right?) has introduced my companion and I to the addiction recovery manual- not that either of us have serious addictions to overcome, but she said it could be helpful in many different ways, like getting rid of negativity. Elder Groesbeck has been having me use Area Book to find people to help me participate more in proselytizing and to help me trust my instincts more. As I am still learning about the area, it has been quite tough, but we've managed to contact some people I've suggested. Lastly, this weekend we've had stake conference! There were many great talks in it! Many people spoke about business, keeping clutter out of our lives, and staying focused on the gospel. President Bednar spoke about following spiritual promptings- something that will be important to me on my mission. The D.C. temple president also came and spoke to us! He spoke about blessings that come from going to the temple. Lots of great talks all around!

That should about sum up this week. I still have a lot to learn and there are many ways I can improve, so I need to study and pray diligently. I haven't been all that homesick- I already feel like I've been here a while! My main focus right now is adjusting. Hopefully I can improve!

Love you guys!

Yup! I Made It!!!!!

McKeesport - Pennsylvania

Yup – I Made It!!!!

February 5^th - 2018

I bet you guys can guess that I've been waiting for this day for a while now! This week has of course been quite stressful with getting used to missionary life and the area and whatnot. But I haven't cried since Thursday, so maybe I'm adjusting better than I think I have. The Adjusting to Missionary Life booklet has been so helpful to me so far with teaching me tips on how to deal with the stress. My companion, Elder Groesbeck, is really great. He is very nice and has been a great help to me in helping me get used to being a missionary.

We have been using these past couple of days to introduce me to people in the branch (yes, it is a branch, not a ward. It has about thirty or so people in it. ) We met some less active members and some investigators. One of our investigators, Sister R., is getting baptized on the 17th, so that should be fun! She really is looking forward to it and has a lot of questions about the gospel that she asks on Messenger (oh, and by the way this is a Facebook mission! Had to do a mass-unfollowing the other day so that I can stay focused) Sister M.P., one of the members has a knitting class every week that she invites members of the branch to, so I might learn how to knit soon. Other people we visited were Sister W. and Brother W., who we read some of 2nd Nephi with, and an investigator named C.

Anyways, I am deciding whether or not I want to get myself a case for my tablet. I considered getting one at the grocery store on Thursday but then I thought that you guys might send me one. So tell me if you are or if I can get one. I also need a list of people to send my weekly emails to. Well, I guess I'll close with a scripture that President Bednar shared in his weekly letter. It's from Alma 30:44, in which Alma testifies to Korihor that "all things denote there is a God." I find that scripture to be really powerful and reassuring, because it tells us how you can find God in all things and that our Heavenly Father loves us so much.

Hope you guys take care, Mom and Dad! Miss you so much! Love you!

Carter

By the way, our apartment is very nice and comfy! It is actually right next to our church building, so we don't have to drive there. And yes we have cars.

We also already have a fan. I have also been taking melatonin to help me sleep. We will have some member meals this week! And thank you for the reminders!

So in my Valentines Day package I mostly just want food that will last me a little while- maybe stuff from Costco. I would also like some gift cards for restaurants if possible. Any other suggestions for stuff I might like?

As for how my days usually are, we usually drive around to visit people. We'd spend time at the church sometimes because reception there is better than at our house. In companionship study we are going over online safeguards and the first 12 weeks booklet, and also episodes from The District.