5 months to go... but who's counting

January 3, 2016

2016 is here!  So our transfer day was on december 30th, a day before new years.  I thought that it would kinda stink to be transferred right before new years, but so far it has been good.  My new area is Paddad in alicia zone.  I have heard good things about this area to so I was glad that it is my new area.  There are now 4 missionaries in my apartment.  Since last February it has just been me and my companion and that can get super boring.  In my last area I probably had 6 or 7 dinner appointments in 6 months.  I have only been here like 5 days and I have already had more than that.  The missionaries get fed a lot here.  They said they have a dinner appointment everyday either lunch or dinner and sometimes they have both.  I was really excited about that but I hope that I don't get fat in this area!  This is probably my favorite thing about my area though.  We have an a/c box in our room!!  It is so awesome.  I knew this apartment had one so when I found out I was going here I was so excited.  I am following up again.  So my companion just finished his training.  His name is Elder Sorronda.  He is from down by medinao.  It is the bottom island of the philippines.  I am not sure exactly where he is from though.  He is my 7th filipino comapanion and my 11th overall including the mtc!  So actually one of my house mates is one of my old companions, elder rotamula.  I followed him up in tuao.  So new years was pretty cool.  It would have been better if we can use fireworks.  One of the councilors in the mission presidency is in our ward boundaries so we went to his house for a little bit on new years eve.  We ate there and they actually had some turkey!  It was so good, since it has been like 2 and a half years since I had any.  I really savored that moment haha.  He had some pretty cool fireworks, but we were only able to stay there until 10:30 so we ended up at our apartment for the new years.  My ward here is pretty big.  We actually have benches in the chapel.  So this is my first area with benches.  The members here have been really nice.  We have had the elders quorum president work with us a couple times already, and he can talk.  He gets so off topic.  Like what he is saying is true, but it is off topic.  So far I am really enjoying this area.  I just hope I don't get fat here.  Happy new year!!  I love you guys.  Have a great week

Love Elder Lott

January 10, 2016

So this week something happened that I will never forget.  I will get to that in a little bit.  So far though this area has been so cool.   The members are so cool here.  Me and my companion have a lot of investigators that are progressing.  We have like 5 or 6 that could be baptized in the next month, but we just need to finish teaching with them and they need to continue to come to church.  We taught one of them yesterday after church about the plan of salvation.  He is such a good investigator.  He read the pamphlet so when we would ask him if he had a question about anything he said no but he would add on to what we taught.  He is so cool.  So this past week 3 of the 4 of us pitched into buying some ground beef and some ingredients to make burgers at the apartment.  They ended up being really good and it made me think I can't wait to get some good stuff like that in a couple months. Also a lady in our ward has an oven so she cooks baked food and stuff like cookies and brownies.  They are really good, but they have nothing on the brownies and cookies back home haha.  Okay so you guys all know that I am a picky eater.  Well this week I did some that will redeem myself, and that I will never do again haha.  Anyways all 4 of us had a lunch appointment at one of our investigators.  A little bit before we started her husband asked us if we wanted some dog.  We said that we were full.  So we start teaching and about 20-30 minutes later he comes back with a bowl full of dog!  It did not look appetizing at all.  first off it was mostly bone and there was still a lot of hair left on it.  There wasn't a whole lot of meat, but I manned up and tried some dog ughh.  It tastes as good as you would think, gross!!  The dogs here are just scavengers pretty much.  they go around and eat garbage and stuff.  So I guess I ate some pampers or something.  Now I can say that I have had dog and I won't be trying it again.  Yesterday we sang with the ym and yw in the ward.  It felt really weird standing up there at the front with them.  I would have just stayed in my seat but my companion was the one playing the piano and then the other 2 elders decided to go up with them.  We also went to the philippines area broadcast last night.  I am really enjoying my new area so far and the time is just going by so fast.  I love you guys and have a great week!

Love Elder Lott

Aso (dog) 

(This was my response to Alex eating dog.)

Come on Alex,  you will try dog but you won't try cheese!!!!
And Doritos.   They are delicious.   I'm going to hold you down and make you eat a bag of Doritos when you get home  Jk    Love u.   We r sooo proud of u.  And you are brave.  I don't know if I would try dog.

Love
Mom

(Alex's response)

Well, I have already had cheese before...Haha ok good luck with that mom haha.  Ya it wasn't good haha.  I am glad you replied. it was funny to see your response!:)  Love you to mom have a great week!

Love

Alex

January 17, 2016

The weeks are just flying by.  I am really enjoying my new area.  Me and my companion are teaching a lot of investigators.  We have a couple that are progressing really well.  We will actually have a baptism on january 30th.  That depends if she comes to church.  Her name is renalyn and she is like 11 or 12.  She is a little slow, but her parents are active so we asked our mission president what we should do and he said that it would be fine if she could get baptized.  We have a lot of baptismal dates in february, so it is going to be an  exciting month.  So my companion plays the piano and ever couple days he has lessons with members or investigators or whoever wants to do it.  So I have been playing out of that simplified hymns book.  I know you would be proud mom haha.  I actually can play them pretty good so I am pretty happy since I haven't played for like 4 years or something.  This area is just great.  The members are awesome and we have like lunch and dinner like everyday!  Since I have been here I have gained 5 pounds so every once in awhile I go jogging with my companion.  We went a couple of days ago and we ran down this road for 15 minutes to a sign then we turned around and walked for a couple minutes then jogged the rest of the way to the apartment.  I would always ask my companion how he was doing and he would say good.  Then I was talking to him at the apartment and he said that he was like pretty tired at the halfway point, but then he kept up pretty good with me on the way back home.  He is still pretty sore today though haha.  I am just working on getting down my area and stuff and getting to know the members.  I am not sure if my companion with be transferred this next transfer, which happens to be my birthday!  I am really enjoying it in my area and the time is going by so fast.  Before I know it, it will be time to go home!  Well I love you guys.  Have a great week!

Love Elder Lott

Dear Mom,

  It sure looks like you guys are having fun.  I guess you guys just waited for me to leave so you could go to a lot of rodeos and go skiing a lot haha.  That burger that dad is eating looks so good.  I bet it was pretty expensive though since it was at a ski lodge, but it still looks good.   Well I can't wait to go skiing this next season.  Wow everyone is looking so grown up and stuff.  Jaime looks like a different person. it is crazy.  She is super lucky that she got her braces super young and now they are off.  I have to admit she does look pretty.  So that car that jaime is standing in front of...that is the car that you guys are going to get me when I get home right haha.  Okay you had to remind me about britney haha.  I was out 5 months before her and she still goes home before me.  This past cycle the sisters that I came with went home.  So I was pretty trunky cause if I was a sister missionary I would already be home!!  Well I am super excited about those Lagoon season passes and stuff.  I am so glad that everyone is okay.  Dad told me that it happened by trappers loop and I know that road is really steep so I am glad that everyone is okay.  Well I love you mom and have a great week.  Enjoy cali!

Love

Elder Lott

(This is a sight I thought I would never see.  I guess two years of lessons did pay off after all.  I am soo proud of him and hope he will keep it up when he gets home.)

January 24, 2016

This week is going to pay off for all of the teaching me and my companion have done this past couple weeks.  Our district leader is going to interview our investigator tomorrow for baptism.  It is going to be really cool to have a baptism.  The last baptism that I had as a companionship was march 7th last year.  So it is going to be an exciting week.  Then we actually have another investigator whose baptismal date is on Feb. 6th.  So we will have a baptism two weeks in a row.  We taught him yesterday and he is such a good investigator.  He just knows that it is something he needs to do.  We had 4 investigators attend church yesterday which is really good.  We also have 9 progressing investigators which means that they are keeping the commitments that we give to them.  So we have a pretty big pool of investigators to teach.  We were teaching 1 lesson this week and during the lesson it started raining a little, it wasn't hard enough that we went inside though.  So we taught a lesson in the rain.  Also we were giving a blessing to one of our investigators and a chicken came in the house and then the kids were scaring it so the chicken was flying all over the room while we were giving a priesthood blessing haha.  I guess I have just gotten used to chickens in some houses and stuff but where else would that happen to you.   We had a service project this week.  I think on friday, but we were moving some rocks for a lady.  Then we had lunch and played a little catch before we went home.  And now I am literately a redneck haha!!  I love my apartment and the a/c it is just awesome!  But we are having some problems.  My companion has started snoring, like every night and every once in a while another elder talks in his sleep!  So for sure when we are shopping later today I am going to look for some ear plugs so I can get a good night sleep haha.  I am still really enjoying my area and the time is going by so fast.  It seems like transfer just happened but transfer week is only in 2 weeks!  Before I know it, it will be my last cycle.  Sometimes I get talking about what I plan to do when I get home and then one of the elders says shhhhhh cause he still has 20 months haha.  Well I love you guys have a great week

Love 

Elder Lott

That is the girl that is getting baptized this Saturday