Merry Christmas!

Hey Mom! 

It was so great to talk to you all on christmas! That was so much fun. The 40 minutes went by fast but I understand why it is only 40 minutes. I feel like if it was longer than that then it would make me homesick! But I am still in missionary mode so I think that was the perfect amount of time. I love you all! It was weird to see Jonny as not a missionary. You all seem like you're doing great! 

 So it is 4 degrees outside today. That's pretty crazy. Very very cold. 

This week has been good! Pretty slow because pretty much everyone is home for Christmas. 

Thursday we had district meeting in the morning which was good! It was weird though because my other district meetings had been with companionships that I would only see once a week. But now since I am on OSU I see my whole district every day haha! It's cool though. I like my district. After that we went on campus and contacted a bit.  We had a lesson with a recent convert and he is super cool! Since we got doubled in to a sisters area investigators and converts are used to sisters and not elders so it is different for them but we seem to be getting along with everyone that the sisters were teaching so that's good! We talked to a lot of people on campus. So it was a good day! 

Friday we were really in a groove in the morning talking to people. You walk up to someone and talk to them while they are walking and then when that conversation is over you find another person. It's a lot different than missionary work in Bellefontaine but it is really fun! We talk to a lot of different people majoring in lots of different things. Fun stuff. We had a lesson with one of the progressing investigators in This area over Facebook! That was really cool. She is awesome and the transition from sisters to elders didn't seem to effect her. She was even asking us questions that she didn't want to ask the sisters so that was a good sign! 

Saturday campus was completely dead. And it was so cold. We had one lesson that day so that was good but the rest of the day we walked around trying to find people and talked to as many people as we could but that was only like 7 people. I'm excited for Christmas break to end so there will be 60,000 people to talk to haha! 

Sunday was Christmas eve! That was a great time. We had church which is always great. We went and talked to some people after church. And then we went to Bishop Keyes house for dinner and games! We played apples to apples as a district and that was so much fun. Apples to apples is such a funny game. 

Monday was Christmas! And I got to Skype you all. That was so much fun! And then after that we we contacted people over Facebook and then went to the Barnhouses' for dinner! We played spot it too! Thanks for that! The Barnhouses used to live in Vancouver! They said they lived in the salmon creek area. 

Tuesday we got back in the swing of things and tried to talk to as many people as possible. But not many people. 

It was a good week! Elder Morse is so much fun as a companion. And it's always nice to be able to talk about the Northwest and he knows the places I am talking about! I hope you all had a great Christmas! I love you!! Thank you for everything!

Your son,

Elder Collier   

Go Buckeyes!!

Hey Mom!

Sammy with the Buckeye

At The Ohio State Stadium

I absolutely love being on The Ohio State University campus! It is a blast. Right now it is Christmas break so there aren't too many people on campus but it is still way fun. It is nice to be talking to people that are my age! There are 3 companionships and one trio here right now. My companion is Elder Morse! It is a blast. He was in my zone in the MTC so we already know each other so it's great! He is from Hillsboro, Oregon! So we really get along. We got doubled in to this area so we are still trying to figure things out. We took the place of a sisters companionship so our apartment smells really good and is all decorated so that's fun. We have 3 investigators that are on date to be baptized here but we haven't met any of them in person yet because of Christmas break! But thankfully we have Facebook so we have been able to communicate with them that way!

The Sister's left us some nice Decor.

So Thursday was a blur. I left Bellefontaine, got to the church where we were transferring, put my bike in storage (because we ride the bus and walk around here), found Elder Morse and then we had to figure out who was driving us back to campus. So once we figured that out we drove there and dropped our stuff off at our apartment and then went to the institute building. Neither of us knew whay was going on or who any of our investigators were and our area book app wasn't loading so we didn't know what the plans for the day were and we got a text from someone that said that she was waiting for us in the library. We were like "oh no, we are late for a lesson" so we ran out and found the library but it turns out it wasn't a lesson it was a service project with a member. So it was okay haha! We have started to figure things out though, we definitely aren't as lost as we were on Thursday.

Sammy's District

Friday was our Christmas conference so that took pretty much all day since our district was picked up by the assistants and we helped set up. That was a really fun conference! Sadly I didn't really take any pictures during it. But just imagine me in a church building eating dinner and having fun! 

Saturday was our real debut at The Ohio State University. We pretty much just walk around campus and talk to people. Having the #LightTheWorld video as a beginning talking point is really nice! Not too many people were interested but it was still a good day!

The Ohio State Campus

Sunday was good! There are two YSA wards so we typically go to 6 hours of church on Sunday but since it is Christmas break they combined the wards into one block. It was really great! We have church in the institute building. It's weird that the YSA wards are bigger than the Bellefontaine Branch haha! But it's so nice to talk to people my age. I actually can relate to people on campus and at church! After church we had a mission Christmas devotional. I sang in the mission choir. That was a lot of fun!

Monday was a solid day of contacting. It was the day we finally got the hang of things. We got 2 new investigators so that's fun! And a really solid potential. We had a lesson that morning too!

Saying goodbyes at Bellefountaine

Tuesday was also a great day! We had a lesson in the morning and then went out contacting throughout the day. We saw these two guys playing basketball on campus so we decided to play them. When I asked if we could play two on two one of them said yes and then the other was like "no, where are the cameras? These guys are secretly really good. They probably play in college" it was hilarious. They let us play though! We get destroyed haha! But they still wanted to learn more so we taught them the restoration and they are super interested! So they are new investigators! Missionary work on campus is so much different but it is so fun! 

The past week on campus I have already grown so much. The Lord has truly helped me be confident in contacting. I am not terrified of talking to people anymore. I am thankful for the Lord blessing me and giving me the ability to be courageous.

So I am able to Skype any time on Christmas eve or Christmas. So let me know when is the best time for you! I can't wait to talk to you! I love you mom!

Your son,

Elder Collier  

Snow!

Hey Mom! 

This week has been great! I finished the Book of Mormon again this week and it is true! I know it is. And because it is true that means Joseph Smith truly restored Christ's church on the earth and I am so thankful for that! Oh and I am getting transferred, but I will not find out where I am going until tomorrow! I'm sad to leave Bellefontaine, but I am excited for something new! I will definitely miss the branch here and I am hopeful that it will be a ward before I come back home. 4 of the 6 Elders in my district are getting transferred. Elder Henrie is leaving Piqua and Elder Gorze and Elder Jones are both leaving Sidney! Oh and thank you for the boots, they came just in time!

Well here is my week!

Thursday was district meeting and that is always a blast. I'm gonna miss the district. After that we helped the Sidney ward decorate for their ward Christmas party. And then we had to leave early for a lesson. That lesson ended up falling through so we got to tract! It was so cold and snowing but we had faith that we could find someone and we did! And her husband is a member of the church too and we didn't know they lived there and they are excited to meet with us! That was a super cool miracle. Later on we helped and investigator move a dresser and we taught the restoration and invited her to be baptized and she accepted! That was exciting. 

Friday was a good day! We had two investigators tell us that they know the Book of Mormon is true! That was super awesome. I'm glad they habe received t hay witness. It is a wonderful promise that those who read and ask God if it is true will receive an answer that it is! 

Saturday it snowed again! We got to walk around and try by some people in the snow. No one was too interested but we got to talk to someone about Light the world! Later on we shoveled snow at the church so people could come for the Christmas party! That was a fun Christmas party. We were expecting investigators to come, and it would've been great for them to be there but no one came. That's alright though, it was good to fellowship with the branch members. 

Sunday was good as usual! We had one investigator at church. Patrick couldn't make it because his car wasn't working. We would've had someone go pick him up but we didn't find out until later. I had a feeling that I was getting transferred so I talked to President Miller after church and thanked him for his hard work in the Bellefontaine Branch. He is a great branch President and I was very thankful I got to serve with him for 18 weeks. 

Monday was pretty uneventful. Lessons fell through so lots of finding again in the freezing cold. But that's alright, some days are like that and you just gotta keep working hard!

Tuesday was another good day! It snowed a lot. I love the snow it is so much fun! I knocked so many doors in the freezing cold yesterday that my knuckles actually started to bleed! It wasn't bad but I will most likely exaggerate it to my kids when I'm older.  We had two lessons and they both went well. We have been teaching a lot more lessons recently. The Lord has truly blessed us for all of the doors we have knocked this transfer. I am so thankful for that! It is a lot more fun to actually teach people. 

Well that was my week! Have fun with the Christmas concert! I wish I could be there but I'm happy I am here! I love you mom! I am not sure when I will get to call on Christmas  yet but I will Skype!  So just let me know your Skype name and I will Skype you! I can't wait! Love you!

Your son,

Elder Collier 

I agree, the Subject Line is Hard!

Hey Mom!

This week has been pretty good! The deep fried Turkey was really good! It has been extremely cold. But I hasn't snowed yet. Are here warm clothes in those packages that I'm not allowed to open yet? If not, could you send some warm clothes? And my Elvis Christmas CD? 

I hope Skyla and Zach feel better! That is cool that they live in Springville. 

So here is my week:

Thursday was district meeting and that's always a good time. My district is so cool. Transfers are gonna be sad because I love my district. I'll find out next week if I am getting transferred. Our lesson on Thursday fell through. No one answered the door but again that's mission life haha! But we did get to talk to a less active member for awhile and that was good that he finally opened up to us!

Friday was a pretty good day. It is now December so that is really cool! We did service that morning at Habitat for Humanity. And we had weekly planning. A really long process but it is good to do. We had another lesson fall through that evening so we tried by some more potentials and we talked to this one guy for a really long time. He told us that we worship Joseph Smith but we cleared that up. There's so many misconceptions about us so it's nice that we get to clear things up and explain that we truly are Christians and we know that it is only through Christ that we can be saved! 

Saturday was a really good day! We got to go to a baptism of a lady that Elder Hutchins taught in Polaris! That was really cool to see my first baptism as a missionary! Not too much success the rest of the day but that definitely was a highlight!

Sunday was great! Patrick came to church and he loved it! In the middle of testimony meeting he leaned over and asked me if he could bear his testimony, but sadly the meeting ended before he could. He really loved church and that made me really happy! And then we stopped by a referral in the sketchiest Bellefontaine. She hasn't answered the door since so that's sad. We got to watch the Christmas devotional!  That was awesome. I loved all the talks. 

Monday I had an exchange with Elder Henrie! That was a blast. We had a great time and we found two new investigators. I have so much fun with him but we also work hard. The perfect balance. We gave cookies to some people in the neighborhood so that was fun! Light the world is a really cool initiative, I hope you are participating!

Tuesday we exchanged back and we tracted a lot of the afternoon. It was super cold. But we had a lesson with Patrick. That was awesome. He is doing good. It's crazy that there's just a random person in Ohio that I have come to love. I feel like I can see a tiny bit of what Christ sees in him. Obviously not completely what Christ sees but I can see a portion. I know Jesus Christ loves each of us completely. 

And right now we are having a district activity and it's really fun! So yeah this week was good. I love you mom! 

Your son,

Elder Collier