Week 49: EPIC

Beautiful Vineyard

Hey everyone!

There is only one word to describe this week: EPIC.

I got to go on a lot of exchanges this week. I left the epic Vineyard stake to go with Elder Johnson to the Sharon Park stake in Orem. It was just in the evening, but it was fun because Elder Johnson is so dope and he goes home on like Thursday so he has lots of wisdom to share. As district leader, I get to go on exchanges with them because they're the zone leaders, but I go on exchanges with all the Elders in my district. I brought Elder Dickemore to the epic Vineyard stake on Friday and it was so much fun. Elder Dickemore came to the UOM on the same day as me so we've been out the same time and he is just so funny so we had a good time. The Elders we live with also took us to Texas Roadhouse that day too. 

We also had CDC this week where we got to meet with our whole zone, but the ZLs that we live with are actually the ZLs for a different zone, so they were able to pick us up afterward and take us to Leatherby's again! I decided to split an ice cream sundae with Elder Antillon so we both weren't completely wrecked like last time. 

Pioneer Day was fun too. We just did what we did on the 4th of July and walked to the overpass by our apartment and watched fireworks and drank Major Melon Mtn Dew. Epic.

As for the people we're teaching and like actual missionary work, this week was insane!!

Elder Toro and I were knocking through a building in one of our apartment complexes, and this lady ACTUALLY opened the door and said, "Oh I've been waiting for you guys to come!" Her name was Theresa and she's a member and wants to start going to the family ward around here, and she wanted a blessing for her, her husband, their 2-year-old daughter, as well as for their home. She also said her husband is not a member and that she wants him to take missionary lessons! We came back the next day (with Elder Dickemore on exchanges and someone from the bishopric) and met Adrian and taught him the first lesson! He was super open to it and he said he really wants to do what God wants him to do, and for his young family to have a good foundation in the gospel! Blows my mind just thinking about how that even happened. Adrian and 

There was another night where one of our ward mission leaders, Brother Galamb, invited over one of the long-time investigators in his ward and her husband over for dinner, and had us come too. We hadn't met Tatiana before because she's from Ukraine and was visiting her family there for the last few months, like since before I even came to Vineyard. Her husband is a member actually but pretty inactive. It was so awesome because we just all kinda talked for a while but Tatiana kept asking Elder Toro and I about serving a mission, which gave us each plenty of opportunities to bear our testimonies. Brother Galamb also shared his conversion story because he converted to the church when he was about 17. It was an awesome night, and then Tatiana and her husband came to church that Sunday and sat with Brother Galamb's family! 

Then while texting for M3s this guy called us instead of texting us back, and he said he'd love for us to come by and share a quick message with him and his fiancee who's not a member!! He said she grew up sorta religious but not really. We went by a couple days later and it was so great! Her name is Julie and she was super chill and friendly. We just talked about what faith is and why it's important, and after we left he texted us back and he said she loved it! Hopefully we'll be able to teach her more soon!

Then while at WalMart today we got a text from one of our Relief Society Presidents saying that she invited Diana to join their evening Come Follow Me group with the other sisters in the ward, and invited her to church, and she said yes to both!! By this time I was just like "Bruh what is happening?!?" 

Also transfers are happening but I'll keep it brief. Elder Toro and I are both staying and I'm no longer the district leader! The only new person we're getting is Elder Engstrom and he's the new district leader and he's dope. I know he has a spikeball set too haha. Our roommates are staying the same too. We also get to work with the Spanish missionaries that cover our area a good amount, and one of our new Spanish Elders is Elder Thomas! 

Anyways, I love yall. I'm sure you can all see now why this was truly, EPIC. 

Elder Snyder 

Of all the words to put on your windshield...

Me with a bike pump in my backpack

More Utah sunsets as always

Elder Toro and I found a like a bajillion stars in the grass so that was cool

The latest trending meme in the UOM

Week 48: The Last Two Weeks

Hey all you people!!

So this will basically be about the last 2 weeks because I really only had like 30 seconds to write an email last pday. 

But yeah, 2 weeks ago was a super long week, but this last week was so fast! It blew my mind! We had our first Zone Conference with President Evanson, and it was pretty awesome. He's still clearly settling in to things, but it was good. The lunch for Zone Conferences is always provided by some local stake, and this time if was the epic Vineyard stake!

We had a really awesome lesson with Diana last Sunday about the plan of salvation. She has a very Christian background, so some of it was basically what she already believed, but some of it was really foreign to her. She's very open to our message though and is always willing to learn more. 

A great thing about serving in Utah is that you meet a lot of really dope members. We met a guy who assigns mission calls for the Church! He also wrote part of Preach My Gospel, and he taught Russell M. Nelson Spanish! We also have met so many former mission presidents, and so when we go to houses like that to share member-missionary-messages it's really more to motivate and inspire us than them haha. We also happened to meet a lady who works for Coca-Cola and told us we can come by and get BodyArmors anytime haha. I guess those are made by Coca-Cola. I'd never had them before this week and now I have one almost every day because people always wanna give us stuff cuz it's so hot. 

We also ate so good this week, but we almost never went out to eat. It was the Vineyard 7th ward's week to feed us and they pulled up to say the least. We had smoked pork chops, homemade street tacos, some fire lasagna, and for Sunday dinner we had t-bone steaks!

Anyway, I'm sure many of you saw on Facebook that my Grandpa Snyder passed away a couple weeks ago. It was pretty sad hearing about his declining health over the last 6 weeks or so, but I know he's much better off now and that he is so happy to be with his family that has already passed on. I got to watch his funeral on Zoom last Saturday, and it wasn't even a sad funeral. Everyone was laughing and remembering how awesome Grandpa Snyder was. All of my cousins got up and sang "I Am a Child of God," and I sang along with them from my apartment ;)

One of our ward mission leaders told us that anytime we just have a thought finally click in our minds, or have some kind of new knowledge come to us, it is revelation. After all, the Lord knows everything and wants us to learn a lot in our lives, so those experiences we have where that happens is actually just the Lord helping us to learn through the Holy Ghost. I thought, "Why not?"

With that in mind, I have had a lot more experiences with receiving revelation in my life than I thought haha. So the other week, I guess I had a revelation about my mission here in Utah. Before I left on a mission, I really wanted to learn a new language and experience a new place, because I thought, "When else am I going to do that?" So now, almost a year into my service in the Utah Orem mission, I'm obviously not learning a new language and I'm living in a place I already knew a TON about. Yet, I'm still here! I remember Brother Cobabe in the online MTC told us, "The reasons you leave on a mission don't matter; the reasons you stay on a mission do." 

I've found that I don't have to go to some faraway place to have an awesome mission. The Lord knew that the place I served wouldn't matter a long time ago, and I'm finally learning that from him too. My mom showed me that D&C 80:3 says "Wherefore, go ye and preach my gospel, whether to the north or to the south, to the east or to the west, it mattereth not, for ye cannot go amiss."

Love you all! I'm gonna add 2 weeks worth of pictures now!

Elder Snyder

Still went to Texas Roadhouse

More Utah Summer Sunsets

For GQ's Missionary Edition

I flipped a bottle onto its corner!!!

Week 47: No time & its lame & I'm sorry

What is popping everyone

This was a very long, hot week. Almost 103 degrees everyday so we look like absolute ballers when we're biking.

I had my first interview with President Evanson this week and he's dope. I'm really looking forward to working with him more and seeing how he does things. He asked me if I'm ever going to get a transfer call out of the country one day and I told him, "We'll have to see haha." We have our first zone conference with him this week so that will be interesting. 

When we went on exchanges this week, I brought Elder Walker from my district to the epic Vineyard stake, and the family we had dinner with made us tacos, and all of the ingredients as well as the dessert were purchased at Trader Joe's!! It was so awesome! A little taste of home. 

We unfortunately had to pass off Sley to the YSA sister missionaries this week, so we won't be teaching her anymore, but it was for the best. The YSA ward will be a lot more fun for her because she wants to make more friends, and I think she'll connect better with the sister missionaries too. We did a combined lesson with the YSA sisters and someone from the YSA ward that lives down the hall from Sley and it was awesome. The girl from the ward kept inviting Sley to all of the upcoming activities and invited her to come to church with her and all of her roommates, and Sley just looked really happy to be able to have some more friends her age. This girl from the ward also has a roommate who speaks Haitian Creole, which is Sley's native language, and when we told Sley that she said, "A white girl speak my language? I want to meet her."

I literally have no time to write right now because we are already late for our dinner appointment haha. Just wanna say that yall are the best. 

Elder Snyder 

Week 46: The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of July

Howdy Ya'll,

This was a fun week. Lotsa good stuff

We got to meet our new mission President! His name is President Evanson and he is from Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. We had a big meeting where some of the zones got together and he and his wife just kinda gave some talks. I have an interview with him tomorrow where I'll actually get to talk to him, but he seems really chill. He's really motivated to just build on what President Treadway has been doing already. 

We also ate good this week. We went to this place called Leatherby's in Orem where missionaries can get free food. Their main thing is ice cream though, which is not free for missionaries, but as we went up to pay for the ice cream a guy offered to pay for us so that was cool. I had an enormous ice cream sundae that literally destroyed me. I couldn't even eat the whole thing. We also went to this Korean BBQ place called Yummy's, and it was actually pretty yummy. Somebody paid for us there too. A member also got us 5-Star BBQ for dinner one night, which is just right here in Vineyard, and that was amazing. So yeah, if any of yall are following my food review of the Utah Orem mission, there's 3 more places to try. We also just heard that there's a new Don Joaquin's in Lindon now, so we're gonna start going there again too. 

It has been so hot the last couple days. Biking in 95 degree heat is not fun, but a lot safer than biking in snow. Blows my mind how it used to be so cold and now it's so hot. Elder Toro is from Florida though so he says it just feels like home but without the humidity. Or the rain. Or the gators. 

As always, the 4th of July here in Utah is super lit and lasts like 4 days. I've spent a lot of July 4ths in Utah, and now I'm still here but on my mission now. I legit was in Lehi last 4th of July at my aunt and uncle's house watching fireworks, not knowing where I would be reassigned to later that summer, and now I'm right back. No place I'd rather be though. People have been shooting off fireworks since July 1st, and I like just standing on our balcony and watching them every night. Last night on the actual 4th of July we walked up to an overpass by our apartment and watched fireworks being launched off all around us. Brought a couple Major Melon Mtn Dews so yeah it was a pretty awesome night. 

We got to teach Sley again now that she's back from her trip, but she told us she wants to make some more friends, so she's gonna start going to the YSA ward and we're gonna pass her off to the YSA sister missionaries. We kinda knew that would happen sooner or later, but it's for the best. We got her a Haitian Creole Book of Mormon and she said she's gonna start reading every day now! 

Andrew also got baptized on the 4th of July!! It was a really great program. Elder Thomas came back for it and gave a talk on baptism in Spanish because most of Andrew's dad's side of the family really only speak Spanish. Some of them actually flew in from Peru to come to this baptism. I gave the talk on the Holy Ghost. There were tons of people there from the ward too so that was great. Even though it was a holiday the ward still pulled up which was great. Elder Toro and I didn't even set up enough chairs there were so many people!

Basically we're just straight chillin'. We're doing our best with the heat, and we're keeping busy which is good. Almost everyone we talk to offers us some kind of drink, which we will always graciously accept. We still play pickleball every morning, so we're still straight ballin' too. There really is so much to enjoy about the mission, and so many people take themselves so seriously. Yes, our job is pretty serious, but some people expect too much of themselves or spend all their time worrying about others. The solution is literally to just stop worrying about things you can't control and then things just get a lot easier. Yes, you'll still have to deal with annoying people and you still have to be a nice person, but it really is pretty much just a decision to not worry about things you can't control. It takes practice, but you got this! Jesus will help too! He always does when you ask!  

I hope you all have an excellent week! 

Elder Snyder

Leatherby's ice cream sundae

Sunset over the golf course

Fireworks from the overpass

Gotta love Utah