My Toe!

Sorry about not putting anything up last week, we were crazy busy!

But this last week has been insane. Both in good and bad ways.
Awhile ago we were at a dinner appointment, and this family had a
gigantic massage chair in front of their dinner table...well, we had
to move the massage chair before we could eat. Well lucky for me it
was on wheels, and on a hard wood floor right?...wrong.
I went to move it, and without my acknowledgement my companion was
behind the chair and pushed it. Aaannnddd boom. This sucker lands
right on my toe.
No big deal. It hurt but we were having orange chicken and rice, so it
was worth it to suck it up.
Well, the next day we go on exchanges. So I was with Elder Frey,
serving in the Hmong branch for a day. Well, that next morning, my toe
was so swollen I couldn't fit it in my shoe. And it also happened to
be green. Not black or purple, but bright green.
So we go to Elder Moss (the mission doctor)
He said I had to go to the hospital because it might be broken.
So we go to the hospital. We get x ray, and go through that whole
process. We FINALLY see the doctor. And her eyes go huge. She said
~you have so much blood pressure built up in your toe, that its about
to explode~ so she drills 5-6 holes in my toe to release blood
pressure and we are good. I was on crutches for awhile, but all is
well now, my toenail is definitely falling off...but it wont happen
for a few more days.

Just this last Thursday was eventful. We were on our way to a dinner
appointment, (I don't know why these things happen at dinner
appointments) and we were trying to find the house, and we were on the
right street, we just didn't know what house it was.
So we pull over, and start looking on our iPads. And Elder Brock is on
the phone with the member we are eating with.
Well In the rear view mirror i see a man behind our car, looking at
our license plate, and talking on the phone.
The spirit tells me to get out and ask the man for directions.
Well, me being a stubborn male didn't think I needed directions so i
ignored it.
Again, the spirit said, get out. And ask for directions. Begrudgingly
I step out of the car.
Next thing I now, this man has his gun out and has it pointed right at
my chest.
~Well gee! Thanks a lot spirit, look what you've gotten me into. ~
I asked him if he could help us find a house we are looking for.
He spoke into the phone, and said hold on I gotta go. He took a closer
look at me, gun still up, and asked ~are you Mormon?~
Full of gratitude proclaimed that i was, and all of his tension left,
he holstered his gun, and proceeded to tell us about the shooting that
had happened the previous night, and was just being cautious.
He befriended the man, and he helped us find the house. It was marvelous.

I want to testify of the importance of the spirit.
Although it may be difficult to recognize its prompting, its always
there. Always.
And it will never. EVER. Lead you astray,(although it may temporarily
appear that way)
I pray that you will do whatever it takes, to have the constant
companionship of the Holy Ghost.

I love you all,

-Elder Poppleton

Apparently this is what they like to do on their P-Day!

 Cody and the Comps!

His awesome Aunt Megan sent him a "Hangry Kit" and boy did he LOVE that!

The Power of The Spirit!

So normally I would just write about my previous week...but to be
honest...I have no idea what has happened this week, and what has
happened prior, because everything is going by so fast its all
starting to blend together.
Also, I cant remember what I have and haven't told all of you. So if I
repeat anything, y'all can just skip over it.
Anyways, this ward is AWESOME!!!!! There is a lot of military here in
Anchorage, and a lot of the YSA are military, and it's awesome. So My
companion and I have to go on base a lot to go see them.
We are getting really close to these people, and knowing that
eventually I'm going to have to leave makes me kind of sad, but that's
ok. Elder Brock goes home before I'm going to leave this area, so he
has more to worry about than I do.
The sun actually stays up for more than 15 seconds now, so that's a
blessing. Our days get 6 minutes longer every day. Its super rad!
There were several times this week, where we were in a lesson or in a
meeting and the spirit was like Yo, Elder Poppleton, and then
continued to tell me to do something that is incredibly awkward and
strange. But I'm the master of awkward these days....and miracles
happen.
We were with a borderline less active this week, and the spirit was
like Yo, Elder Poppleton....and I just said ok. And you'll never guess
what I did.....yep....I related the gospel to muscles....again.
And it was super awkward because what I was saying didn't make any
sense....at least to me...but he LOVED it. And it made perfect sense
to him. And my mind was blown.
It really taught me that missionaries aren't the teachers. The spirit is.
The things the spirit does blows my mind.
Without the spirit I literally cant do a single thing as a missionary,
or as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I can testify of the power of the spirit. It can teach us, guide us,
comfort us, and protect us.
Without the spirit we are more vulnerable to temptations of the adversary.
Satan will tell us 100 truths just to sneak in one lie.
And that's scary. So be aware of the spirit, throughout the entire day.

That's my two cents.

I love you all,


-Elder Poppleton

Elder Frey being himself.

Just a few pictures!

Jan 5, 2017 - We are quarantined to the apartment today because elder Brock got super sick...and in turn got me super sick. Elder Brock has a doctors appointment so that's the only time we are allowed to leave today. (This is when he was sick and I wasn't.)

Jan 5, 2017 -  Had to say goodbye to elder Vue yesterday. He got transferred to Valdez 

 Jan 5, 2017 - We all play poker on p-day (Not sure this is allowed, but hey they look like they are having fun!)

Music

This has been a crazy week! It was the week of transfers, and it was
also the week that the work in the YSA decided to go nuts!
We are teaching a lot of new people, and the members are really
starting to become unified, and we are able to get a lot of work done
with them. It's super rad.
We finally got in contact with Joe. After we got him on date the
second time, he disappeared again. But he finally answered his phone
on Saturday, and he's been in the lower 48 for awhile visiting his
girlfriend. So we are going to meet with him on Tuesday, and we are
going to get him on date again, and I'm so excited!

We also got a new Hmong Elder again. Elder Lor (its pronounced Loe)
but he's hmong so they add an R at the end. Don't ask, because I don't
speak hmong, so I don't know either.
But he's way cool, and he's going to be an amazing missionary.
My companion goes home in about 4 weeks and I'm super sad to see him
go. He's a wicked good missionary, and a really close friend. But he's
going to rock it back home.

We were able to visit a less active family a few times this week, and
we were able to teach them the power that the Holy Ghost has through
music.
Music, does two things. It either invites the spirit, or it disrupts it.

I can testify of the power of music. It can allow the spirit, to
teach, to comfort, to guide, and to strengthen us.
Music is a beautiful and powerful gift that our Heavenly Father has
given to us. But like all things, you can use if for good or for bad.
Music, if used incorrectly can damage the spirit, and pull you away
from our Savior.
So I challenge all of you to try and listen to music that invites the
spirit, and that will draw you closer to our savior.
I know that he lives, and I know that He loves you.
#lovemysavior

-Elder Poppleton

TWO MONTHS TODAY!

TRANSFERS!

We got our transfer calls on Friday, and I will continue to stay in the YSA ward with Elder Brock.  So in 6 weeks, I get to send him home, and get a new companion.  It’s crazy to think I already have two months under my belt. It feels

like I just reported to the MTC a few days ago…crikey.  So this last transfer has been really hard, we white washed into an area where the ward lost sight of the missionaries purpose and they didn't really trust us at first.

The teaching pool was gigantic when we came in, but we have dropped every    single one of those investigators because they weren’t progressing and they were converted to the sister missionaries, not converted to the Lord, and that was hard. It was so hard and very sad for me dropping those investigators.

So we have been doing a lot of tracting, and a lot of street contacting. Basically we just OYM all the time.  This week our work has paid off. The Lord has blessed us with a lot of referrals and a contact.

We met a man named Chris Jenkins, who knows more about the Bible than

anyone I've ever met and we are teaching him. He has A LOT of questions.  There are several other people we are teaching who have a lot of questions also. It’s amazing to see how much the Lord helps, but after we do all we can.  

This is our squad. I'm very close with these two elders.  We had to say goodbye to Elder Vue. He got transferred to Valdez, but Elder Lo comes in on Wednesday from the MTC, and Elder Frey is going to train him. It’s going to be rad.

I love you all.  And please send me an email, I want to hear from all of you. Not even kidding. Send me an email, talk to me.

Many are cold but few are frozen.

Love you all,

Elder Poppleton

Wish List

So I guess people want tips on what to send missionaries in Alaska.

Well this missionary could use:


-ukulele
-swag ties (skinny ones)
-hot chocolate
-hot sauce
-seasoning

Taco Bell Miracle

So at Taco Bell a lot of things happened, but long story short.  Elder Brock, the Hmong elders and I went to Taco Bell after district meeting.  I went to go fill up my drink, so I was by myself there was this guy eating by himself.  I started talking

to him and he told me I was glowing, which freaked me out. I thought he was trippin.  He told me about all of his problems and that he wanted Taco Bell before he was going to take his life. He planned on jumping the bridge in a few minutes, which was right next to where we were.  I was able to teach him the plan of salvation and the comforting part of the atonement.

Watching as his face lit up with every principle, I was able to see the light of Christ in him grow.  I was able to refer him to the missionaries who covered the area where he lived and he is taking the lessons.  Before he left, he told me "I am going to remember you Elder Poppleton.”  He mumbled under his breath as he was walking away "I just met my guardian angel"

Haha, that's the super condensed version but it was a miracle I was able to be there to talk to him and bring the spirit so that the spirit was able to teach him.

-Elder Poppleton