IT'S COLD AND I RAN A 4 SECOND 40! Weston Poulson 12/28/2015

This week was super awesome!
First and foremost I got to call my family over skype! That was easily the best part and I got to see and talk to my brother Dallin who's in Honduras! That was sooooo AWESOME! Nice recharge for the new year to come!Here's the bro! hah My family is so awesome they faced our screens together!

A few nights earlier we got out of an appointment late and we were hustling to the bus stop so we could get home. this was the night of the full moon so we could see really well. So well that we could see yet another pit bull walk out from the drive way 4 houses in front of us down the street! We weren't sure if it was chained or not at this point so we both just turned to go down a block and I was just telling me companion don't run, don't run, don't run. when all of the sudden he says "ITS  COMING" and started running. I tucked my bag naturally like a football and I was OUT of there! and never ran so fast in my life! All I could here after about 10 seconds was a faint "..Elder Poulson.." "wait up.." "..I was kidding.." haha didn't realize I could run that fast till just this week! Sorry coach Jimmy! 

How I tucked my bag. Give me the Heisman!

 It wasn't cold until after Christmas and them the wind picked up a ton! Today its a full blown blizzard and we've seen over the span of two highway exits 3 cars that have slid off the road! Super Epic! everyone is fine though! And my driver is good, no worries dad!;)
Just barely walking into pizza hut! The snow hurts cause the wind is so strong! It never falls straight down! The pavement you can see now, is covered in 2 min cause the wind will just blow it around! Super Awesome!

 Here's a Starwars pic of me because everyone here keeps talking about it so I got creative on the bus!

 Elder Weston Poulson

CHRISTMAS IS OVER, BACK TO WORK! Dallin 12/28/2015

First off, I am so happy Christmas is over!

I wont lie, it was super hard to work last week. Everything feels normal again! I got a pretty rough fever on Wednesday with aching bones then I  got a full body rash a little after Christmas!! Turns out I was bit by a little mosquito illness called sika. My companion had it earlier and I seem to have passed it like twice as fast!

We spent time caroling on Christmas Eve and passed out awesome cookies that the sisters made! Christmas eve was pretty fun. The FIREWORKS ARE INSANE. All fireworks are homemade here and they can be LOUD. I woke up to Gettysburg at midnight on Christmas. Bombs were going off and our walls were shaking! Supposedly New Years is going to be a ton crazier! 

I got to Skype my family on Christmas and that was awesome!! Shout-out to every member of my family for being so supportive and loving! I love you guys! I got to talk to my brother Weston out serving his mission in Milwaukee! That was super awesome!!! He´s such an awesome guy!

We got back to work after all of the Christmas shenanigans.

On Sunday I had to give a talk in church! I talked on conversion and had to fill up time. I talked for about 20 minutes in SPANISH. I couldn't do that in English! Great confidence builder! 

Today for P-Day we went to COPAN RUINAS which are ancient ruins from the Mayas. It was pretty neat. It's a touristy place a couple hours away from us so it was super weird to see so many American people. I am used to my companion and i being the only white guys in the whole city so it was odd! That's another thing, it is really weird being on the other side of the camera for tourists. We have tourism buses drive through my area with gringos taking pictures out the window and it is just ODD. I don't know how to explain it! 

For my spiritual thought of the week I challenge all of you to go read your Patriarchal Blessing right now! Or as soon as possible. I wont lie, there have been times on the mission where I get super baggy ( homesick) but it never lasts more than a couple hours because I usually read my patriarchal blessing. They are amazing!

Hope you all have a fantastic week! Do something AWESOME! 

Here's some photos!!! Elder Dallin Poulson    

https://goo.gl/photos/mFb2WVxpJVxh8SJr9

 

 

PITBULLS & CHRISTMAS LIGHTS Weston 12/21/2015

Christmas Lights in Wisconsin

                                               The closest thing I could find to temple square!!
This week was a pretty good week! Got two more prime time investigators that we think will progress really well! It's pretty exciting! Nobody wants to come to church on Sundays so that is one of our main focuses!

We were walking down the street that I wanted to tract! I think it was a trend that this street went through everyone buying a pitbull and just letting them chill on their porches. Not sure but those dogs are the only dogs that scare the living daisies right of me! 

But the scariest moment I had was when we were walking down a really scary street and all of a sudden right next to me something moved (on the other side of the chain link fence) and made a really loud high pitched bark and growl and started running. Natural instinct was to defend my foot so it made its way to the fence as I made a very similar sound to what the dog made! It was at this time that I realized it was a Chihuahua. 

I was on edge from all the pitbulls and it just happened...
I think this guys has lived in Wisconsin his whole life. He couldn't care less that it was 31 degrees and windy outside!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I'm so excited for my first Christmas away from home! It's going to be awesome and so fun! This time of year, I want all of you to be extra grateful for your family. I can't explain how important my family is to me. Nobody should ever come before family, ever. So send your mom and dad a text and tell them that you love them or your brother or sister because I can't imagine my life without them. 

I'll take some pictures in my area this week so you guys can see it! I promise! hah

Here are some pictures from this week! Love and miss you all! 

~Elder (Weston) Poulson

Our Apartment for Christmas! this is why you always make friends with the members;)

BAPTISM, BLESSING AND NINJA RAT HUNT Dallin 12/21/2015

On a more spiritual note,

,

we have been visiting a new member and her kids. They are super poor and live in pretty rough conditions. The dad is gone all week earning money. They have a 6 week old baby that got really sick a couple weeks ago. She took him to the hospital and found out that he had pneumonia. They were there for 8 days and the medicine and treatments weren't doing anything. We called the Elders in Santa Rosa (where the hospital is) to go over there and give the baby a blessing. They did and the mom told us the next day the baby started improving and got a ton better over the next few days and they are home now. When the mom (Selena) was telling us this story she broke down into tears. She said that two other babies had died while they were there and she was really worried for her son. She said she didn't really have a testimony before but she can't deny Heavenly Father's help with her baby. It was really powerful. She came to church with her kids and I can tell that she really knows our Father's love. 

I always thought that people exaggerated spiritual stories before my mission. I didn't really believe them most of the time, to be honest. I have been blessed to see miracles happen, I have heard stories from other missionaries about the miracles they have seen. I am so grateful for my opportunity to be out here and to do some good in the world. 

Not a lot went on this week....

.....except ANOTHER RAT. 

We get home and I am hungry, so I go to my closed cupboards to get some food. I open them and a flying thing of fur jumps out and hits me right where no man wants to be hit. So what do we do next? Grab cameras, buckets, gloves and get ready for another round of Honduran Pest Control! We literally guided the rat back into the bathroom and did the exact same thing. 

This rat was a ninja though, it climbed ON TOP of the shower like 5 times and kept jumping off. The video shows the rest. Can't believe it happened again. 

Video coming soon.

I didn't take pictures this week but here's some from my companion´s camera!  Dallin

https://goo.gl/photos/afCCcBKDFk1mpexB7

STRAIGHTN OUTTA WISCOMPTON! Weston 12/14/2015

Hello everyone! Yes I'm alive! haha didn't get around to sending a group email last week, I apologize for that! But I just want to let all of you guys know that I'm doing great! Wisconsin is SO different than Utah.. NO mountains yet hunting is such a big sport? hah-one of the best parts of hunting is spotting, but there's no such thing as a vantage point. haha! 

Anyways left MEXICO Dec 1. 

Dec 2nd was my first day teaching! First guy we went to was Jose! Very rare spanish name..:) hah He has two kids, Damian and Kevin.They are a cool little family! Anyways, Jose got shot two days before I came because he was trying to stop someone from towing his truck! Hah DON'T WORRY MOM I AM SAFE HERE! Haha but they shot him in the leg! Great time to teach when they can't run from ya! Just kidding.. haha:) So we taught the lesson "The Gospel of Jesus Christ" and it went really well! His kids chimed in and he was paying good attention. I felt the impression to invite him to be baptized! why not.. He said yes and so that basically spoiled my expectations for my mission! hah "EVERYONE"S GONNA GET BAPTIZED!" no but we're still working with him and his kids! 

(Two on the left are Damian and Kevin, kid next to me? No idea! hah I was a little worried about what he was putting up when the picture took! All's good!:) )

There is a family here that are members named the Rivera's. They feed us a lot because we do service for him and his store! However, I ride in the back of his van or whatever it's called! Anyways my companion sits up front enjoying conversation while I'm doing everything I can to stay in one spot! hah he's a crazy driver! I Love him though! 

My first night riding in the back, I was all relaxed and enjoying the ride back there! (second night of my mission) and all of the sudden, he slams the breaks! one of those, "yellow, GO! no.. YES! no.. STOP!!!!" moments when you're driving, you know? Well, me and the rest of the empty cardboard boxes went for a nice ride around the back of his van! they didn't even notice..:I tore my coat on the screws poking out of the wall but thanks to my awesome mom for teaching me how to sew! and some super glue.. I'M GOOD! :p hah

(The next day, when I had my camera. "tres" hoodie is still okay!;)

​After I took this picture (the following week) after service, he took us to go get some tacos! I love the tacos! but this time I got to choose what I wanted! I was gonna rock the no onion this time so I said, "Dos Asada Tacos sin las unias" And he gave me the weirdest look a mexican has ever given me! hah I thought I said no onions.. I said "Two tacos without fingernails please!" ...The worst part was that I said it with such confidence thinking I was right! hah.. Imma gringo..BUT I LOVE IT!

("sin las unias, Gracias!")

My area, Sorry family I'm in the hood of Milwaukee! I dejavu (spelling?;) all the time from when the people run away from the cops on the show, COPS! hah It's super cool though, it's a constant game of dodging the bigger pieces of glass on the sidewalk! Anyways again family, I'M SAFE! They like the white kid here, I promise! I've come to find that people struggle really bad and that they need the gospel more than anybody! So I love the hood!

We play basketball on Fridays so it's not so bad! My companion does it in all the branches he goes too! They play all boys and girls together though so it's just boring haha. I make it fun by being tricky and messin' with people. Ask my friend Riles about that;) haha but you can only shoot threes from the top! or else you'll probably break a light! hah

​Anyways I can't fit all the things that happen in an email so if you guys want to write me (I LOVE LETTERS) you can send me letters at,

• 4926 West Oklahoma Avenue, Apartment #6, Milwaukee Wisconsin, 53219.

LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL!

~Elder Poulson

​

TWO MONTHS OUT Dallin 12/14/2015

Today is my two months-out mark! It's going pretty fast for me! Some weeks I can't believe it's already P-DAY again. 

This week was pretty cool. We went to a meeting in San Pedro Sula to listen to Elder Duncan from the Council of the Seventies talk to us. For 5 hours! He had good points and I am more motivated to make my time count.
On the way back, we got held up in major traffic for about 6 HOURS. Our bus was stopped on the highway for that long because there was a crash with a bus or a van with a semi truck. We survived though!

So we taught our investigator family "how to fast" and helped them start one. They fasted for their troubled daughter to stop making bad decisions. We stopped by their little shop and talked to them the day after and the father said that they were all in a great mood while fasting and that the daughter came home at 9pm that night instead of the usual 1-2am and was nice. That strengthened my testimony for sure.

I baptised a 9 year old girl named Katherine, Saturday! It was a baptism for the branch but she picked me to baptize her! It was an awesome experience. After she was confirmed, she was asked to share how she felt. She started out by saying that she was really happy and so grateful for her parents and then started crying. Little kids can have such a pure spirit it's incredible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_TEOyhy7Bg

Everything is going smoothly over here. Its almost Christmas so we are contacting with christmas cards that link to an awesome video from the church. Here it is in english!

Have a great week everyone!

Here's the waterfall pictures and even bonus roof dogs.

https://goo.gl/photos/WrrRCbTfsUUzyRre8

TEJUTE WATERFALLS Dallin Poulson 12/07/2015

Whats good everyone??

This week was kinda slow to be honest. We contacted a lot but we have some promising new investigators. Still having trouble with the language but am so much better than at the MTC! I am healthy!  We celebrated Elder Granjas birthday and bought him a minion themed cake and piñata.

One of our investigator families got really interested in fasting. They have a daughter that is only 13 but is into drugs and other stuff and don't know what to do. Their family is really religious and pray all the time. 

We happened to actually be fasting on Saturday night when we met with them. They brought up fasting and we will be teaching them about it tonight! Keep ´´La Familia Cotto´´ in your prayers! It was fun! 

 We just got back from TEJUTE waterfalls and it was awesome! So pretty! We might go again on another pday cause it was super cheap. We only had to pay for the bus there and back for a grand total of $2. Way fun with the people I went with. It was nice to relieve some stress!

Spiritual thought of the week! 

No matter what we are going through, our Heavenly Father will not give us a trial that is more than we can handle. He wont. There is always a way to get through anything that comes into our lives. We have to fight for what is right! Pray to God for His help. Obey what he has taught, use the gospel to help you. It is amazing what it does for people! We are in God´s army, he will help us triumph. Whatever you are going through, there is help. Look for it, ask for it, and accept it when it is offered. 

Love you guys and all that you do! 

Keep the missionaries in your prayers please! It definitely helps!

Have a fantastic week!  Elder Dallin Poulson

More Pics

https://goo.gl/photos/79hN1UhjZzm2zumg6

 

ARRIVED AT LAST: Milwalkee, Wisconsin mission Weston December 1st, 2015

Christmas came early to Wisconsin 

On the first day of December, thirteen new missionaries arrived to serve in the Wisconsin  mission....  

1 Hmong speaking elder, 2 Spanish speaking sisters, 2 Spanish speaking elders (Weston included), 4 English speaking sisters, and 4 English speaking elders.

 Elder Poulson with President and Sister Cutler
Wisconsin Milwaukee Mission

Elder Poulson with his new full-time companion, Elder Reina--  
                                                                                                        Don't they look great!

Elder Poulson and Elder Platero, both from Utah County with other Milwalkee Elders

mission blog:  The link is http://wisconsinmilwaukeemission.blogspot.com/