March 31, 2014

North Country.  The men are men, the women are men, and the bears are scared.

mmmmmmheyyyy

The good keeps getting better.  A wise, old homeless man who is in this library's computer room just said that.  I thought I should share that with you.  Man life is sweet.  Jepsen and I will stay together another transfer... our prayers have been answered! haha   We just love each other and we get each other - its awesome!  I have only had three companions and only one of them sucked.  But overall, I get lucky with companions :) haha   Massena is great!  Our investigator family is still looking solid.  Debbie (the mom) loves coffee (like everyone in New York, pretty much).  But one day this week she got up wee early to sin and drink some demon juice and she reached for the pot and a can of soup fell and hit her right on top of the dome.  THEN she grabbed it and her head hit the counter.  Powerful.   Haha, tender mercies.  She doesn't even want to touch the stuff.  She will be a great Relief Society president.

Well we had another great big snow storm yesterday and so church was cancelled.  BUT the Trimms (our investigator family) wanted to go really bad and say goodbye to Elder Black, who is going home this week.  So President Huff said we can have sacrament meeting with just them and the other Elders...  It was amazing!   Such a great testimony meeting.  I can't wait for them to be baptized.

"WE'LL ALL DO THE DIPPP... Jesus is the way truth and light... you can have eternal life but first ya gotta be baptized!"  

Well the work is hastening brothers and sisters.  It is a great experience to be a part of it.  You can too, just open your mouth.:)

Love,

Elder Neus

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM BYEEEEEE NOWWWWWW

March 24, 2014

Hmmm well....where do I begin? Massena is great!  Elder Jepsen and I are really seeing miracles!!


We volunteer at the Methodist church on Thursdays washing dishes. So we talk to people and just do our thing and a few weeks ago we talked to this family who was really nice to us.  And every week we just got closer and closer and eventually we set up a dinner appointment with the dad and we taught him about family history.  That was a few weeks ago.  Ever since then they have come to church every week, we taught them everything from The Restoration to temples, they meet with us every other day, and are getting baptized May 3.   IT'S SO AWESOME!  They love this gospel.  

Man we are so grateful to be here in Massena.  This is the craziest place, though.  BUNCH of Mohawk Indians.  LOTS of mean French Canadians.  AND A WHOLE CRAP LOAD OF COLD.   Isn't is suppose to be spring?   We woke up this morning to go to the gym and it was -15 out....  I miss the heat, to be honest.  But the blessings are too great to even think about home.  This guy we ran into yesterday said that I have a cute smile so I don't know if I should be creeped out or thankful.  He was a little out there.  BUT yanno New York is like that.

AHH this is cool!  This investigator family we have lives out in the middle of nowhere and we visit them and "teach them" every week.  Brother Gardner (the dad) has a few tasers so on Friday I gained the masculinity to get tased by him.  MAN IT HURT.. but it was so worth it.  I feel like when we do these stupid things our investigators trust us more.  It's really weird.

Well... I am proud to be an American... wait I mean missionary;) ha

Love,

Elder Neus

mmmm byeeee nowwwww

March 17, 2014

mmmmmmheyyyyy

This week was......good. A lot of people bailed on our appointments, we moved, had two huge snow storms, and had ZTM. We were busy but at the same time we felt like bums.

So Elder Jepsen and I had an appointment with one of our investigators named Ira and he is one weird dude. We were sitting there in his house teaching him about the Word of Wisdom and he asked me about the ring I had on my finger. So I told him it was my CTR ring and of course he asked me what CTR meant so I told him...then we go on in the lesson and randomly asks me how much it was and where I got it .Then out of nowhere the spirit told me to take it off and give it to him. So I did. And he goes "Neus... that means so much to me like I cant even tell you how much that means. I will always remember this." Then he goes in his room and gets a chain and puts the ring around it and wears it. Anyways we get back to the lesson (he gets off track a lot) and again he says "this means so much I would do anything for you! I would give the shirt of my back for ya man"....so Elder Jepsen and I look at each other then back at him. So I just say "really you would?" and he goes "yeah man..WANT ME TO PROVE IT?" and I just say "uh I don't know". Then he just takes off his Jeff Gordon shirt and gets a pen and signs the thing and throws it at me and says "see I told you I would do it for you man" then looks at the ceiling and kisses his CTR ring! So now I have a official autographed Jeff Gorden shirt from THE Ira "the man" Shantie. These kind of things happen every day. Its crazy...

I just love people. Its these experiences that make missions so fun. I feel like these situations help boost my confidence in the people of New York. God makes his children so unique!  But New York is a hard . People are stuck in their ways. They love their coffee and cigarettes. But I truly do love them. I was called to New York for THEM. I love this work!

As missionaries we "INVITE others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end". Inviting is such a key! WE INVITE. That's all we can really do. We cant take away their moral agency and force them to choose the right. But we can invite.:) when we invite we are not forcing them we are letting them choose. The spirit will touch their hearts even with something so simple as inviting your friends to church, mutual, seminary ext...The Lord doesn't ask much of us. Just to follow him and keep his commandments. It isn't that hard. So just go out and invite!! People wont look down on you for doing that. It is just so simple and i wish I knew that before my mission. I have a firm testimony of this gospel. It has blessed me so so much. Life is sweet! 

Love Elder Neus

MMMMM bye now

March 10, 2014

Hello Hello!! This past week was so sweet! I am really enjoying my time here in Massena! Its cold and sometimes you want to just go in for the night really early but the worth of souls is great in the kingdom of God! Elder Jepsen and I are really tearing it up! We picked up 3 new investigators and they all came to church with all of their families:) I cant believe how many miracles are coming about here.  Hard work and obedience are keys. The scabies are still here. Thats all I have to say about that mess. But other than that things are fantastic.

So my dad while on his mission always wrote home saying "Life is good :)"  And I have been thinking about that a lot lately. My first thoughts were wow he must of just slacked off and had fun his whole mission and didn't do any real missionary work because sometimes life isn't good it seems..I was so dumb to think that. But he always said that phrase no mater what the circumstances were while he was out there. He also didn't complain ONCE while he was dying with cancer.. That showed me a lot. When we complain we are feeling bad for our our self's  and that is no good to us or others. It brings us to a worse place than where we were before. And my dad found that out. I don't know where in his life he found that but he did. 

We need to think about that. Life IS good. It is all a part of Gods perfect plan for us. We do not need to complain about our situations because God puts them there and we grow from them. and through Jesus Christ we can get through them.
I am so glad to be out here! I thank every one of you for the support and love. My dad is here with me. The veil is thin. And  LIFE IS SWEET

Love Elder Hunter Neus

mmmm bye now

March 3, 2014

HELLO...so this past week has probably been the most spiritual ones of my life. So first I would like to say thank you to all of you have been in my life and all the help you have given me throughout the years. I am most humbly grateful for all of your support and motivation. So we have seen so many miracles in Massena. People have told us that this is  the most success they have seen in a while since the branch opened. We are opening soooo many doors for the future its nuts. This week we had 4 new investigators and had at least million lessons ( pshh not really but we had a lot)! Thats so rare up here. We are so pumped.

BUT there is a HUGE drawback to this week....UGH...Elder Davis (part of the trio til tomorrow) had a weird "hair follicle infection"  so we went to the dermatologist and he was in seeing the doctor for at least 2 hours. Elder Jepson and I were super bored and annoyed. So he finally comes out and we were walking out of the office and we ask him what the heck is wrong with him and he just hands out a paper and it says in large letters "SCABIES"................................................................................................................Right then my heart dropped because I have been getting really itchy and have  burning sensations all over my body. So I was pretty scared to be honest because a few missionaries have gotten it and like its really bad. You scratch and scratch and scratch till you fall asleep no joke. So its pretty contagious and I have the dang thing. So retarded man! IT SUCKS. I am not trying to complain but I feel like a creepy doped out crack bum all the time walking and knocking on doors trying to talk and itch at the same time...:( blows. But I get to rub ointment on my body all day and wash everything we wear and sleep in. BUT we have a washer and dryer in the apartment so HOORAY naht.

I am just so blessed to be here. The Lord is my light. That Hymn just makes me cry every time I hear it. I would just like to bear my testimony that I know with a surety that the Lord is my light and I feel him and my dad everyday while I am out here in his vineyard. May the Lord bless you and your families. I LOVE YOU ALL

One Love

sweet sweet Elder Neus 

MMM bye bye noooow

Ties for Elder Neus

So March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month...  And the color for colon cancer is blue...  So I decided I wanted to send Hunter a blue tie to wear in honor of his dad.   And then I decided I should get his uncles and grandpas involved in sending him a blue tie, too.  This then turned into a pretty big project which included past scout leaders, neighbors, bishopric members, seminary teachers and friends.  I asked them to find a blue tie (preferably from their closet) and write Hunter a note about his dad.  Well the response I got was overwhelming!!  I had 31 blue ties, along with notes which included funny stories, testimonies, memories and impressions of Brian for Hunter to remember and learn about his dad.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this fun little project!!

February 10, 2014

So this week was pretty good. Elder Hatanaka and I are starting to get along more. He is just sort of weird. Which is alright but it makes things kind of hard. He likes to be in charge so I kind of just let him. Haha he will take over the area next transfer for sure so I will just make the best of it and try to be patient.

I've been here too long..Trumansburg is great, the members are sweet but I feel like I have started to coast and I am sort of dragging my feet. 6 months in one area is hard. Especially when their is little to no support from the members. We have some that are solid but some just don't want to try. So we are trying to boost their desire to help hasten the work. We are seeing their progression slowly manifest itself with them offering to go to appointments and feeding us. They will change:)

So I have been studying and pondering the Atonement in my personal study this week. We often think about the redeeming power of the Atonement and how we are cleansed from our sins. But we sometimes forget about the enabling power of it. It strengthens us and helps us out in every thing we do according to our faith. It CAN and WILL change us. Sometimes we pray for our circumstances to change. Actually all the time ( well me anyway). We may not realize it but we do. BUT we shouldn't! Lets take some of the BOM prophets for example. Nephi prayed to The Father when his brothers tied him up to have the STRENGTH to break the bands. Alma and Amulek did the same. They rarely ask the Lord to change their circumstances but pray for THEM to have the STRENGTH to change them. We can do the same. The Savior strengthen us through his Atonement. Let us build our faith so we can do the same. I have witnessed with mine own eyes the strength that the Lord gives us. What we can do is be "humble, patient, submissive, meek, humble, full of love and willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." We will  see the great blessings if we do so. 

Well I love you all and hope you have a great week! I will try to do this every week.

Love Elder Neus

MMMMMMM BYE NOOOOW:)