December 30 - Email Home

This week was definitely a rollercoaster week! It has been more on the upside though!

Tuesday-
Had our first district meeting since transfers. We had four people leave from our district, so that means four more came in. (Which is half our district). Our district meeting wasn't the same, which is okay, because change is good!

After District Meetings, we got picked up by Brother M ( a great member from Elder G old area). He took us to Five Guys, which we usually can't go to because we don't have a car. It was Delicious!

We ate at the J Family's home. We actually had a great spiritual thought and a great Christmas Eve with them. They made great food and their kids were really awesome! After, we did a white elephant gift exchange. I ended up getting a hotwheels sized tractor! Elder G got a skeleton that grows bigger in water.

I also opened my "Christmas Eve" package from Grandma lyn! Which of course included my Christmas PJs, and a Christmas book! I was really excited! I also got a ton of Christmas letters, which I was really thankful for!

Wednesday-

Brother M picked us up at 7:20 AM and took us to his apartment. We chilled with 12 other missionaries Christmas Morning! He's a really cool member. He got gifts for every missionary, and that included me, even though he had just met me the day previous. He got me a pack of Vanilla Coke! haha we had talked a little bit about it the day previous at Five Guys!

We opened all of our presents at Brother M house! it was definitely a party! I'm grateful for the scarf and the gloves they are definitely going to help when it is cool!

He took us back to our place by 11:50. We went to the B Family's house and they let us go in their basement to Skype! President gave us an hour to Skype, which was great! I loved seeing you guys! I loved the questions you all had! I also loved seeing Pixie do a few tricks, even though she didn't seem like she enjoyed seeing me ;).

after, we played Mario Kart with the B Family! haha it was great! I schooled everyone ;).

 

We ate dinner that night at the R family's house. it was like Thanksgiving dinner all over again, and it was really delicious! Their family reminds me of our family!

 

Christmas out here was different though! We were able to talk to a few people (members and nonmembers) and the Spirit was more present than I had noticed before. No one really stood out as a potential investigator, but I know that they were touched by the Spirit. People were definitely more willing to talk to us!

Thursday-

Went by slowly. S couldn't meet that night, which was sad, so we went about visiting members and trying to visit potentials. we are always looking for ways to serve, but Its hard out here! We keep it up though!

 

Friday-

We had set up an appointment with S, but then Sister A felt sick. So we had to cancel that appointment. I'm kinda bummed that S only likes to meet in Sister A's house, but everyone has their needs, and we are willing to work with her!

Saturday-

I got sick. not sure what it was, but it hit me pretty hard, so we stayed inside so we didn't get anyone sick. I fell asleep a couple of times, but then felt better after!

Sunday-

S didn't show :(. but we had several Less-actives come, which was really great to see them there! We've been trying to work with them more, and it seems to have helped!

We tried visiting a potential investigator and we actually got a return appointment! It made me really happy!

That's pretty much the summary of our week!

I love you all! Thank you for all the support and the love! You have no idea how much it helps, even if it was just a letter!

I know that this church is true. I know that Heavenly Father loves us. I know that our Savior suffered for us, so that we can return and live with our Heavenly Father. I am ever so grateful for the Atonement and its power!

 

I love you!
-Elder Dexton Armstrong

A Few Pictures Dexton Sent

Elder Armstrong's Christmas tree--given to the Elders right before Christmas day

First experience with an ice storm.  Cool and crazy all at the same time!

December 23 - Email Home

I can't believe its been three months either! It really blows my mind. Also, I can't believe that Kellie is in the MTC! That amazes me!

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This week has been hard. With Elder F leaving, getting a new companion, and not being with the family this Christmas season, it's been tough. But, I'm planning on just toughing it out.

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We had Elder Karbach with us the first three days of the week M,T,W.

Monday-

We drove Elder R around. Because of the unusual transfer to get the returning missionaries home before Christmas, they went home on Tuesday. So we had to drive Elder R all over (departing interviews, mailing, and the mission home). We were probably in the car for 6 hours!

Tuesday-

We had district meetings (as was usual) but we got a conference call (broadcasted through to the whole mission). President Riggs just talked about our highs and lows for the mission. As a mission we are number 1 in baptisms, we have a really high activity rate, and we are great with the members. The only thing we really struggle with is finding people. Elder F found out Tuesday night that he was leaving.

Wednesday-

Cleaning, baking cookies (Elder F wanted to say goodbye to a few people and give them cookies), and packing. We only had time to say goodbye to a few people.

Thursday-

Transfer meeting! Elder F got moved to Alexandria! I'm really missing him.

My new companion is Elder G. He is a musically talented kid. He's probably the next music prodigy! He's also great at taking things apart, and learning how they work, and then putting them back together! He loves cameras and movies and pictures! He's been out for about 6 months

Elder K's new comp is Elder S. Elder S is from Kawaii! He's been out for almost a year now! He's pretty cool.

We all get along pretty well, except for the fact that he and Elder S want to change everything in our area. We are working it out though!

Friday-

Crazy planning day. We visited a few members and dropped off cookies to members Elder F and I weren't able to visit. We ate at Carolina Brothers (Missionaries eat free, and its a bbq place). Elder G is in love! Elder K also killed his back tire when he went off a small jump!

Saturday-

Another busy day. We visited members, and a few investigators. Nothing really huge happened.

Sunday-

Had our Christmas day program. We also had a Christmas Concert that night for all of the four wards in the area and for anyone who wanted to come. "S" came to the Concert but left early because she wasn't feeling well. We talked to several nonmembers who attended, and it was great because the Spirit was there! We even talked to a Catholic who was really impressed! He's not in our area though.

I'm glad that everything is working out back home! Poor Zoey! I hope she isn't in pain! That sounds about right for Shash though! He is probably having a great time with Mark! Haha thinking about those two makes me laugh! I love them both! Haha crazy Pixie! She always was a rebel when it came to haircuts ;).

Sounds like the family is being crazy again! Busy schedules, especially with the Holiday season! I'm glad Tay is doing well. Poor Daws! Yeah, missing school for awhile could definitely cause problems. Cass will be able to do well in school! I know she can do it! Aleia has always been the "star" of our family!!! Haha!

I love you all! Thank you so much for all you do! 

I know this Church is true, and that Our Savior lives and loves each of us! He is there for anything we need. I know that for a fact. I know that as we pray, we come to know Him better than ever. I am ever grateful for His sacrifice. This time of year is really special. I love the Christmas Season and the joy it brings to all of us.

I know that Joseph Smith is a true Prophet of our Heavenly Father. He restored the true church through Joseph. We have the authority of God. I have a testimony of the power of the Priesthood. I am so glad that I am worthy to hold that Priesthood

Have a very Merry Christmas! Love you!

-Elder Armstrong

December 16 - Christmas Pictures

It's Christmas at the Elders apartment!  

Elder Armstrong thinks he needs a home!  I can't believe he fits in there!

December 16, 2013 - Email Home

This week has been terribly slow. All of our teaching appointments fell through. Most were at the beginning of the week when it was snowing, and S canceled again, but she surprised us by showing up yesterday to church! We were extremely glad to see her and to see that she wants to be there!

We had our Mission Christmas Conference/ "party" on Friday, and then had our ward Christmas Party on Saturday. One of the members offered us a good sized artificial tree, so we took it! So now we have a few christmas trees throughout our apartment. :)

 

We bought Christmas lights and put them up everywhere in the apartment. It looks pretty festive in there!

Elder R is going home this week. He leaves tomorrow. At the beginning of the transfer, he was really trunkie (meaning that he couldn't stop thinking of the things he wanted to do when he got home). Now, he doesn't want to leave. It's been really cool to see the change that happened over the transfer.

 

It sounds like you guys have had a crazy week! It seems like it has been a lot of fun though! Way to go Tayla! I'm glad they finally got the ranking in the drill competition they deserve! ;).

 

Please don't send anything this next week because I might get transferred! I'll tell you on Friday if I got transferred or not!

 

I'll be looking for your packages! I love you all so much! Thank you for your support!

 

I know this Gospel is true! The Savior loves each of us dearly and perfectly. Our Heavenly Father knows us, and He knows what is best for us!

 

Til next week!

-Elder Dexton Jonathan Armstrong

December 10, 2013 - Letter Home

12-10-13

Family!

How is everything going?  The last few days have been kinda crazy!  Snow is everywhere!

So I'll describe a little bit of how we tract!  First, we pull out a map of our area and Elder F & I will both pick 3 streets mentally and then we tell them to each other.  Surprisingly, we always pick on street similar to each other!  So that is where we go tracting for that day!

So far, we've only encountered one family that is a potential investigator from tracting!  We haven't been able to contact them since the first visit, but it's been good!

We go the the door and knock.  Elder F & I switch off talking @ each door.  We tell them that we are representatives of Jesus Christ and that we can help them and their family have happiness.  If they decline, we generally offer to do service for them!  I've only had one door slammed so it's been kinda nice.

It's sometimes intimidating to be the parent of me?  Man, I didn't realize I was that bad of a child! :-) Hahah just kidding!  Yeah, Kellie sent me an audio recording of her talk!  It was really awesome!  She did a great job!  I'm excited for her to be a missionary!

Did Cassia's letter ever arrive?  What about her bday card?  You didn't mention it, so I was kinda worried.

So this last week I've hit 190 miles on my odometer!  It kinda blows my mind that I've ridden that many miles in almost 3 months!  Thats about 15 miles a week!

I want you all to know that I'm trying my very best to do all I can out here.  I'm sorry if I fail or if I am not able to be successful in all I do.  I just want you to know that I'm going to give all I can before I ever give up with anything!!

I know this Church is true.  I know that the Savior lives and that He died so that we can return to our Father in Heaven. Our Heavenly Father loves us.  He knows us personally and can call us by name.  Joseph Smith really did restore the truth of the Gospel.

I love you all!!
Elder Dexton Armstrong

This is How We Have Fun

Part 1

Part 2

December 9, 2013 - Email Home

If you were thinking of sending a letter via snail mail or a package to Elder Armstrong send it this week.  Transfers are next week on the 19th.  He doesn't know if he will get transferred but if he does, we won't know his new address until Friday or Saturday which is cutting it close to Christmas time.
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December 9, 2013

I loved the pictures in dropbox! haha I miss you guys! You guys seem to have had a lot of crazy fun this last week!

 

So yes, the weather was crazy yesterday! The snow started to fall at about 8:00AM, so we walked through it to Church! Lets just say Elder F was in heaven! He was in a daze trying to touch as much of the snow as he possibly could! I just laughed at him, and he ignored me! At each hour of Church, they would say, "We've checked on the weather, and it seems like we will continue. If it gets worse, we will dismiss you so you can get home safely". It really blew my mind that they would cancel church because of an inch or two of snow.... Haha!

 

We actually got a text yesterday from the Assistants to the President that told us to stay home as much as possible, and if we needed to go anywhere that we should get a ride from members! So yesterday we just chilled in our apartment with Elder R and Elder K.

 

Oh man! I bet Kellie did a great job with her missionary farewell talk! She is really amazing! I am proud of her and Mexico is going to be very blessed to receive her! Way to go Kel!

 

So we actually haven't seen S in a while. Sadly, the last two weeks have been crazy. This week we will try and visit her, but we would need a male adult if we actually wanted to teach her a lesson.

 

On Monday we met with the S Family. They are a Catholic Family that really loves LDS Members! They have a great opinion of our church. We taught them the Restoration as a practice lesson. What better way to practice than to practice with nonmembers? We extended a baptism invite at the end, and Mr. S said, "right now, I'm Catholic, and I don't feel I need to change, but if I ever feel otherwise, I'd love to be baptized!" That made us really happy!

 

Tuesday we had Zone Conference. President Riggs, Sister Riggs, and our Zone Leaders taught us about Repentance, Faith, and Commitments. I love President Riggs. He really is inspired of God. He is one of the smartest men that I have ever known! ( I Guess that's what happens when you become an attorney....)

 

Wednesday, I got a fever, but I still tried my best to do missionary work. After dinner, I came back and fell asleep. After about 3 hours I woke up, having broke the fever! So I wasn't sick for long!

 

Thursday we were excited to meet with Sarah, but things got canceled. So sadly went about finishing our day by talking to members.

 

Friday is always one of the busiest days of the week! We have weekly planning on Fridays, so we are pretty much busy until 5:00 PM planning for the next week, and going and doing our facebook and Mormon.org time. It was really cold and rainy! But my clothes kept me warm!

 

Saturday, we played soccer with some members and nonmembers again! It was muddy, and extremely fun! No progress with the nonmembers, but one of them offered us a ride from the field back to our apartments! So the seeds are starting to grow!

 

So, when Christmas comes around, I should be able to Skype with you! There are a lot of people with Skype who are willing to let us use them. But last resort would be calling you on a Phone!

 

Oh by the way, JS will be driving to Utah from here. He told me that if there was anything I wanted to be delivered to our house that he could drop it off near New Years! So hopefully I can get something together!

 

I love you all so much! This church is true. Our Father in Heaven knows us. He loves us more than we can ever comprehend. Jesus Christ is the Savior and our Lord. He died so that we could return to live with our Heavenly Father. I love Him, and I am so grateful for all that He has done for us.

 

 

Love,

Elder Dexton Armstrong

Address to write a Christmas card, letter or send a package to Elder Armstrong

Here is Elder Armstrong's address

Elder Dexton Armstrong
20851 Isherwood Terrace
Apt 103
Ashburn, VA 20147

I have found that sending a package by USPS (post office) is the cheapest (If that's what you 'd like to call it).

I use Priority Mail boxes that you can pick up for free in the post office.  They come in 4 sizes.  It takes appx 3 business days to get to him.

Small = $5.80 (no weight limit)

Medium = $12.35 2 sizes of medium boxes (no weight limit on one, 20 lb on the other)

Large = $16.85 (70 lb weight limit)

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If you would like to send an email use this address:

dexton.armstrong@myldsmail.net

December 2nd - Email Home

The 4 Belmont Ridge Ward Elders!

Photo bomb by Elder R!

First I want to thank you for those awesome Thanksgiving videos of the Armstrong family! They made me extremely happy! Poor Grandma who started to cry! I love her! Haha.

I have two gray slacks left. One of the black slacks is wearable... but I try to stick with the gray slacks.

A blue mission belt from Mr. Mac ;). I've always wanted one of those ;).

But other than that, I have no idea.

Haha yes, I'm feeling pretty healthy! I got over that cold extremely fast.

This week has been kinda hectic, and I don't remember all of it. (I wrote it all down in my journal, but I forgot to bring it here to the library).

Tuesday Elder F saw snow falling for the first time (he is from California). He had his back to the window when we were in the apartment, and I said, "Hey, its snowing!" He didn't believe me! Finally I got him to turn around and he flipped out, and ran outside! It was hilarious!

Wednesday we were going to meet with S (Thursday was Thanksgiving) but she ended up canceling. We were pretty sad, but we enjoyed dinner with a member family, and they made pretty great food! Their mind was blown when they asked how old our parents were. When they got to me, they realized that they were as old as you guys... and yet their oldest was like 6.... Haha their reaction was awesome!

Thursday was delicious! Another member had all four of us over! The food was a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I'm really glad we have such awesome members! We weren't allowed to do much because it's such a big holiday, so we had to hang out at the apartment and members houses.

Friday was kinda stupid! We went to Carolina Brothers (A BBQ Place where missionaries eat for free) and found it closed, so we went and ate elsewhere. On our way back we noticed that Carolina Brothers was then open... haha the Lord has a sense of Humor! We've found that out a lot lately!

Saturday we had Launching Leaders. I love it! We talked about "Going and Doing" what the Lord wants us to, and about how Ether who was, slow of speech, and everyone hated him. He converted an entire city because he did what the Lord had asked him.

Then after we were told by our Zone Leaders that we might not get iPads until January... which I was kinda bummed about, but I'll be fine!

Sunday was good! I love fast and testimony meeting! It really does bring the Spirit! Sundays are just awesome in general. They really are a peaceful restful day!

I love you all!

Know that I have a testimony of Our Savior and of the Gospel. This is the True Church!

Elder Armstrong