December 10, 2012

Hey Mom and Dad,

I am doing great here and staying semi warm! Just kidding it’s been great but I think we are getting snow tonight so I guess you will find out next week if I’m still staying warm. So that is great that you all made it to Salt Lake to see the lights on Temple Square and then up to Idaho. Sounds like it was a pretty fun trip! How is the family up north doing? Well there really isn’t much to report on here though ha-ha sorry.

There will be a lot of changes for the new missionaries coming out probably around the time Jesse gets out.  They are giving I Pads to missionaries in about a year or two to help speed up the work. Also, pretty much everything will be different to what I am used to by the time Jesse gets out. The church may be putting out a second edition of Preach My Gospel with some new things added in or maybe just adding some new things to the one they have now; I don’t really know. There are a few things that have worked well in other missions so they want it in Preach My Gospel. We had a guy from Salt Lake come and teach us how to really teach. He told us about all this new stuff happening with the changes in missionary ages. It is crazy, nothing is the same as when I came out but it’s still great!  Oh, also, we were told how many new missionaries are coming out. We usually get about 2-3 elders and 1 sister every transfer in the winter...but in the next 2 or 3 transfers we are getting 30 new missionaries!!! That is so many new areas!!! They said that by the end of summer we will have 60 or so more missionaries than we have now!  SO crazy! Well that is all the news here. Love you all!

Love,

Elder Ryan Furtney

December 3, 2012

Hey Mom and Dad,

I am doing great and just enjoying the season a lot. So the nativity display at Kirtland was way cool. I took a bunch of pictures but I forgot to bring my camera so I’ll send some next week, sorry. They don’t really have many lights at the temple but at the historic sites they do.  We were able to have our first half of our meeting in the temple.  I am grateful for that opportunity. The Kirtland temple is so amazing. It really has helped my testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith and of Jesus Christ. I have grown a lot out here.

 So in response to Dad's letter last week, I will jump down to your questions. So my love for the gospel has grown so much in the past year or however many months it’s been ha. I can honestly say I know that this gospel is true and love it. It has brought so much peace into my life and really brought me closer to my Heavenly Father. One thing that I have noticed on my outlook of life or people is that I don’t get frustrated as easily as I used to. I have really grown to love the people here in Ohio. I didn’t think that it would ever be possible but it is true. Also, I have a more positive outlook on life in general. I have been a lot more positive and happy about life. Also, I am always working on chapter 6 in PMG (Preach my Gospel) which is all about Christ like attributes. It really helped me to change a lot. Both of my mission presidents have helped a lot as well. President Sorensen taught a lot about the difference between testimony and conversion. It helped me a lot because I knew I had a testimony but I didn’t feel converted.   My biggest fear was returning home and falling back into my old ways and habits, but he really helped me to understand and apply and take action with my testimony and to help me become truly converted. I am so thankful for both you and Mom for being such great examples for me I love you both. I hope that answered a little bit of what you were asking. Well I hope to hear from you both next week and hope you have a great week. Love you both!

Love,

Elder Ryan Furtney

November 26, 2012

Hey Mom and Dad,

 So I don’t have a ton of time today but I will write as much as possible. So Thanksgiving was great we had a ton of food and then went to the chapel and played basketball for about 3 hours with other missionaries. It was a pretty fun day and I really enjoyed it. We are not teaching too many people at the moment but we have a lot of potentials. Also so it was a pretty interesting week to begin with though. We had a case of bed bugs in our apartment and these things are crazy! They don’t die by sprays they have to be heated out and basically burnt to death. So we are still keeping it under control until the exterminator can make it, but I think we got most of them after we cleaned for two days straight ha-ha. Jordan has something to look forward to. His mission is the one that gave us all the info on what to do with them because they have them so bad ha-ha.

So I basically just jump rope inside the apartment since I don’t want to freeze when I’m running and then in the morning I have an abs workout I do.

 It sounds like Thanksgiving was great over there; I can’t wait to see the pictures of all my nieces and nephews. I probably won’t know many of them. It’s great to hear that Austin and Jordan did a great job on their farewell talks.  I hope they both do great on their missions; even though I know they will.

To answer your question about what I need for Christmas, basically I need is some slacks for the rest of my mission. Both of mine are completely ruined and I have been using my suit pants the past few weeks ha-ha.  Also, if you can find some of the gloves that you sent last year that would be awesome too... they ripped up and then I lost them. I really don’t need anything else. Well, thanks for everything you do. Dad I will answer some of your questions next week.  I just don’t have tons of time this week. Love you both so much and I am so thankful and grateful for all you do for me. You are both great examples of true disciples of Christ and I am so grateful for your testimonies that helped me get through school and to help me receive my own! Love you all and tell everyone Happy Thanksgiving and I love them all as well.

Love,

Elder Ryan Furtney

November 19, 2012

Hey Mom and Dad,

I am doing so great and I really enjoy this area. The weather has been pretty good this week; it’s warm during the day but drops a lot at night. The lake makes it a little more cold but not too much. The good part is that we are not in the snow belt so we won’t get hit so hard once it starts snowing. So Lorain and Amherst are pretty big cities and so it’s cool to have a lot of people to talk to. We teach a little and we are still trying to find new people to teach, but it has been fun. My new companion is great he is a pretty funny guy. He is not a Spanish missionary though but most Hispanics around here speak English very well. I think we have some next transfer though. The change in missionary age is definitely changing things in our mission. We are having more areas start to appear now.  So my new address is 1310 A Shaffer Dr. Lorain, OH 44053.

So we are pretty excited for Thanksgiving; it should be a good one. We will be going to a member’s house. Members have already been feeding us Thanksgiving dinners and, wow, I think I am gaining a ton of weight. Just kidding I have been working out every morning and night... I know it’s surprising, but, yes, it is happening haha. Oh if you can ask Jordan what his email is that would be great.  He should have it already.
 Yes, we have been just focusing on the holidays here in our mission as we tract. There is this cool event in Kirtland where they bring nativities from all over the world and display them in the visitors center. So I will get you some pictures because I am sure you will want some! We are going up to it next Tuesday so it might not be for a few weeks tell I get you those pictures. 

Well thank you for all your support and love! I love you all and hope you have a great Thanksgiving. Well love you all! 

Love,

Elder Ryan Furtney

TRANSFER TO LORAIN, OHIO - November 13, 2012

 

Hey Mom and Dad,

Everything is going great I love my new area! So the new area is Amherst, Ohio but really it’s Lorain Ohio.  It is where section 75 was received in D & C, so that’s a little fun fact. My new companion is Elder Mundy from Riverton Utah area. Really loving it here other than the temp is dropping rapidly. We have two investigators that are both Hispanic. We tract, but not as much is the last area. I don’t have any pictures at the moment but I will soon. So also it is a ward here and it’s actually pretty big; haven’t had a ward this big ever.

 So California must be pretty nice ha. Hope that you are able to sell Grandma’s house pretty quick. Also it’s great to hear about everyone; thanks for the update. Well if you have any other questions about the new area just ask away. I have to hurry today sorry about that. Have a great week everyone love you!

P.S. Oh hey so if you can tell Dillon that I’m in a district with one of his friends. Her last name is Hillman. I’m sure Grover will probably even know her but we just found out today so I decided to write so you could tell them! Thanks Love yeah!

Love,

Elder Ryan Furtney