Monday, November 28, 2016

Carolina Reaper

Hey folks!

This week was pretty crazy. We picked up a third companion and ate tons of food and did a lot of tracting and all in all had a pretty good time.

On Tuesday we got together as a district and did a hot pepper challenge. We all ate jalapeƱos and white habaneros, and then the member who brought the peppers brought out a couple of Carolina Reapers. Elder Cazier and I were the only ones brave enough (or stupid enough) to do it haha. Aaand it sucked. Haha but we both did it without dying or throwing up, so that's good! And now I can say I've eaten the hottest pepper in the world. :)

Wednesday was transfers, which meant lots and lots of driving. And we got a third companion! His name is Elder Urry, he's from Bountiful, UT, and he's brand new. Elder Cazier and I are trio training him. So far it's been pretty fun.

Thursday we ate TONS of food. Like, tons. I wish I'd weighed myself before and after because it was pretty impressive. First we ate with a less active family (and we invited the daughter to come to church, and she came!), then we went home and digested for awhile, then went and finished up at the Hokanson's, a legit member family here in the ward. I'm actually related to them, funny enough. Brother Hokanson is my mom's cousin and Sister Hokanson was one of her best friends in high school. And of course they loaded us up with lots of pie to top it off. We waddled home that night.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday we did a ton of tracting, trying to share this year's Christmas initiative with as many people as we could. Personally I have been trying to get more out of my comfort zone by talking to more of the people we pass on the streets and by being more bold on doorsteps. And we actually had some success, especially Sunday! We spent the evening working up in Carthage, TN, one of the more far-out towns in our area, and several people talked to us and said we could come back. Which is awesome. It can get really discouraging when no one seems to want to listen. So this weekend was definitely a bit of a pick-me-up. And we also got to end our Sunday night at the Nagy's house, a part-member family that are one of my favorites here. We really want to set a baptismal date with Allan, the father. He really likes the Church and its teachings and we think he would probably accept the invitation to be baptized.

This week I'd like to invite you all to take a minute to watch this year's Christmas initiative, Light The World. You can find it at Mormon.org. One thing I really like about the initiative this year is that it is not just a passive, watch-and-forget sort of thing. It invites us to act and take initiative in sharing the light of Christ with others. As you watch, I would invite you to consider what you will do to share the light. There are even handy suggestions on the website for each of the 25 days of December leading up to Christmas Day, starting with a worldwide "day of service" on Thursday, Dec 1. I would also ask you to share the initiative on social media, and to prayerfully seek for an opportunity to share it with someone specific, someone who might be brought closer to Christ by your sharing this with them. Do it personally and with your family. Make it fun! This is a great opportunity for us to share the light. (Mosiah 16:9, 3 Ne 18:24)

Let's all light the world! I love you guys!!

Elder Alex Swindler
#LIGHTtheWORLD

The Pictures

1) Elder Cazier and I passed out in the living room Friday night and Elder Urry took a stealthy pic

2) District Thanksgiving selfie with Melia

(I don't have the videos of us eating the Carolina Reapers yet but I will get them!)

UPDATE: Here are the videos of us eating the Carolina Reapers.



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