Glendale week 35 *April 14, 2014

Hey family and friends,

Well last week I was telling you that Jeanne Elliott's baptism was
going to be this Saturday and it happened!  The events leading up to the baptism were a
bit rocky and I am sure you want to hear a little about it so I will
tell you. That morning we went to a park to assist the ward in an
activity to pass out the flyers for our ward Easter activity April
19th. We got there and there was not a single soul there... Great. But
one by one the families rolled up and we handed out the routes and
cards and sent them on their way. One brother didn't want to go all
alone so E. Thompson stepped up and went with him so I was waiting for
another single brother to show up so I could go with him. Well we made
some calls and finally one showed. So we took one of the biggest
routes with about 200 homes on it and started knocking. Everything was
going great and we were having a blast. I didn't even realize what
time it was until we got back to the park and there was no one there!
I looked at my watch and it said 12:40. Jeanne's baptism was planned
for 1:00. Crud! I had the brother drive me up to the church and when I
got there E. Thompson was nowhere to be found haha. When I got to the
baptismal font it was overflowing!! It turns out that our ward mission
leader and E. Thompson came up to fill the font then left to pick up
our ward mission leaders family. In that time the font filled all the
way up and over haha. I was volunteered to strip to my underwear and
jump into the font and plug it back up. Since I was not the one that
was performing the baptism I didn't have an extra set of underwear so
for the baptismal service I was going commando haha. Hey everything
worked out though and her baptism was wonderful. The spirit was so
strong and Jeanne even bore her testimony after and said she knows she
is home. It brought so much peace to me and to my soul. I know she is
going to be a wonderful addition to the ward family and to Heavenly
Fathers choice sons and daughters. It took her a little to find the
church but she is here now and isn't going to move.

The next Sunday just happened to be fast Sunday. Jeanne asked me to
confirm her a member and give her the Holy Ghost which I was delighted
to do. I was a little nervous about what I was going to say and what I
thought the spirit wanted me to say. I realized that if I was going to
listen to the spirit then I didn't have to worry about what I was
going to say. I went up there with a blank mind and an open heart. Let
me tell you. The Lord does fill our mouth with what he wants us to
say! I promise he really does love us all individually and listen to
out pleas. It is miraculous. The testimonies that the ward members
bore were great. Many of them included Jeanne which was great. But the
best part about that sacrament meeting is that Jeanne got up to bear
her testimony! First fast Sunday and she is already up there! Oh my
heart just swelled and I could not help but having this huge smile on
my face! It was a truly special moment. One that I will never soon
forget. Now we have to get back down to business and find more of
those souls to bring closer to Christ. We pray we will find those who
are praying for help. Here we go.

I got food poisoning at the beginning of this week... Enough said.

People I just want you all to know how much my family means to me. I
have been receiving letters from my mother and grandma almost weekly
and then letters from my sisters and brother and friends a couple of
times a month. Those letters are full of their personalities and I can
just imagine their voices read them to me as I read them. It is so
great to be able to know they are doing well or what they are working
on. The fact that we are all sealed together makes these relationships
that much more valuable because we are going to be together forever.
We can either be stuck together or we can have the privilege to be
together. It really is our choice. I am happy to be with the family
that God gave me. Cherish your own families. They are apart of you.
Make them the most important thing in your life. Success is not
measured by the trophies in the case or the plaques on the wall but by
the relationships you form with people. Never forget that.

I love you all and I love this gospel. Trust in your Father in Heaven
and confide everything in him. He can see what we do. The good and the
bad. Why not just apologize for those things he already knows about.
You cannot hide. He loves you and looks out for you.

Until next week,
Elder Cole Safford

Glendale Week 34 *April 8, 2014

Hello everyone,

As I am on my mission longer I'm coming to realize that not every
single week is going to be filled with miraculous events and great
stories to tell. But that doesn't mean that those weeks are any less
great than the other weeks in which those things do happen. I know
that every day and every week is going to be wonderful because I am
serving my Heavenly Father and I'm serving people of Arizona. This
past week was one of these weeks. I don't have any funny stories to
tell and I don't have any miraculous events that took place but I did
work very hard and I did make my Heavenly Father proud I hope. I know
that people have their agency and that as a missionary all we have to
do is put forth our best effort and Heavenly Father will make up the
difference. I suppose that is all He can expect out of anyone. He just
wants us to show him that we care and eventually want to follow Him
and be his disciple. I'm just now coming to realize that there's a lot
more that I can do to be a better representative of Jesus Christ.
Wearing a name tag and a white shirt and a tie will not do it alone.
It has been tough to change into the individual that I know that
Heavenly Father wants me to be but I think that the progress I've made
is substantial and will last for the rest of my life. I'm so excited
to see where Heavenly Father takes me in this journey and I'm excited
to see who I can affect and who I can bring closer Heavenly Father.

We have been trying to find new investigators anyway we can. But for
some reason as we continually search for ways to find these
investigators we don't have to much success on our own. It is very
interesting that Heavenly Father notices our efforts and then  gives us 
what we are seeking. For instance we have been
working with all the members whether they be fully active members, less
active members, or newly baptized members and trying to help them to
come closer to Christ by taking the next step and make the next
covenant. Whether that be coming back to church and partaking of the
sacrament full-time or going to the temple. I have seen a lot of
wonderful changes in peoples lives and I'm happy that I'm able to do
such a great work with these members. However we have not had much
success using members when it comes to finding new investigators. But
on the other hand we have received four investigators this past week by other
various means. Whether that be the bishop talking to people or whether
that be someone at the college talking to one of the members and just
asking more about our church. It is exciting to be able to teach these
people and it is exciting to work with them. Elder Thompson and I  are moving
along great and we are really working as hard as we can to be the best missionaries
and we can.

This week was filled with service which is something that we don't
normally do but I really like to do it. At home I never really liked
to serve and I never really liked to put my shoulder to the wheel and
put forth that kind of effort. I just thought that other people would
do it and that the job would get done with or without me so why did I
need to go. But since coming on a mission I really found it I'm the
happiest when I'm serving people, when I am doing what Jesus Christ
did and loving people unselfishly. We have been working with a
gentleman named Larry for the past couple of weeks and it is really
exciting time to see him grow fonder of missionaries and to really
appreciate the work that we do. He has not accepted to take the
lessons but I truly hope that the seeds we are planting will one day
blossom into him coming closer to Jesus Christ.

Jean Elliott had her baptismal interview a few days ago and she passed
with flying colors. She is a wonderful wonderful lady and I'm so
excited to see her enter the baptismal font waters and make that
sacred covenant with her Heavenly Father to take upon her Jesus Christ
name and always remember him. Even though neither elder Thompson nor
myself will be performing the actual baptism I am just excited to see
her be baptized. I know that the work that we have done with her
through the Spirit has been able to change her life. I know that she
is ready to make that covenant and she is ready to one day share the
gospel with her family in the next life. I hope that she sees the love
that we have for her and feels of the love that God has for her. She's
going to be baptized this Saturday at 1 o'clock so in my next email I
will be sure to let you know how it went and the feelings and
impressions that I received while at the baptism.

Finishing off the week was with conference. It is so so great to hear
the apostles of the Lord, to be able to feel their sweet spirit and
the love that they have for us. I know the revelation which they
receive is for our day and our age. I know that we are to heed their
council and we will exceed in this life. For the majority of my life I
always listen to conference and I was listening to the words of the
apostles but being a missionary we have learned that if you listen to
the spirit and listen to your thoughts and impressions that come to
your mind, you'll be up to get a lot more out of conference and you'll
be able to receive that personal revelation for yourself and for the
area in which you cover. I tried to do this at conference and I feel
that I was more spiritually uplifted than I have ever been before. I'm
excited to implement the things which I have learned. I know that we
all can receive the same personal revelation and it doesn't just have
to be when conference is on. We can go back to reread the talks and
listen to them and receive that revelation Heavenly father needs us to
have. I hope that you all do that and that you all will read over the
talks again and just get the most out of them that you can.

I hope that you'll have a wonderful week and you remember that you are
sons and daughters of God and that He truly does care about you. Thank
you for all the prayers.

Love

Elder Cole Safford

Glendale Week 33 *April 1, 2014

A big hello to everyone,

The days of which I am serving The Lord seem to be speeding up. One
moment I am waking up dead tired and hating the sun for rising and the
next the sun has gone down and I am lying in a fetal position wrapped
in the warmth of my blanket. Spread between those two events are a
mixture of emotions and experiences that remind me of just why I am on
a mission in the first place. There has honestly never been a time
when I have felt closer to my Heavenly Father in my life. Yet I can
still have the feelings of loneliness and abandonment that we all feel
sometime in our lives and I am still trying to figure out how that is
possible. I know that I have a Heavenly Father and I can testify that
he is always there even when we may feel that he has forgotten us.
There have been too many experiences in these past months for me to
say that there is not someone looking out for me or leading me in a
direction. I most often do not know where I am going or what the
outcome will be but that is where faith comes into the picture. Faith
is the hope for things which are not seen which are true. As a
missionary I have faith that there are investigators out there who
want to come closer to Christ. I may not always see them but I know
they are there. I love talking with random people everyday and helping
them realize that without the gospel of Jesus Christ they will never
fill that whole in their heart. No amount of worldly goods can ever
feed a hungry soul.

Right now we are working with Jeanna,  still and helping her get ready
for her baptism. This past week we were able to go over the baptismal
interview questions with her and there was not a sliver of doubt as
she shared her testimony on the different points covered in that
interview. I am so excited to see her step into the waters of that
font and make an everlasting covenant with God to follow His Son and
always remember Him. Every time we meet with her she expresses how
ecstatic she is and how wonderful she feels all the time. There is no
way that this daughter of God could feel that way unless this gospel
is true.

We have been really lucky the past couple of weeks when it comes to
receiving referrals from members for people that we can teach. Almost
all of them come from other parts of Arizona but I don't mind that at
all. As long as I get to share the gospel I don't really care where
they came from because I am more interested in where that's are going
and where they will end up. We met with a girl named Ann who is from
Thailand. She is the sweetest thing. She is a student at Thunderbird
school of global management which is in our area and where a majority
of our congregation goes. Anywho she is very interested in the gospel
and wants to find out what God can do for her. I had the opportunity
to go on an exchange with one of the assistance to the president and
teach her a lesson on faith. She understands what faith is but putting
action behind the faith is a tough concept. She has been coming to
church which is a great step and she said she would try to read and
pray which I know is another great step. I know her soul is seeking
out the comfort of our Heavenly Father and we are being led to her.

The house in which I live is becoming more and more fun as the days go
on. We are figuring out each others personalities and we are learning
just how far we can prank each other. For example the other night my 
companion and I thought it would be funny to Jello the other elders cell 
phone. So we cooked up some jello while the other elders had gone out for
 a dinner appointment and when they came back we swiped their phone and stuck it 
in the jello bowl (it was in a plastic bag) then shoved that in the fridge. Later that night they were desperately
searching for their phone so we said we would call it. Well we did.
And it rang. They opened up the fridge and busted up laughing. It was
a great time. Just silly missionary moments

Thank you for everything that you have all done for me. I really do appreciate
it. Keep your heads up and continue to seek after truth in this life.
I know you will find it through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Love Elder Cole Safford

Glendale Week 32 *March 24, 2014

Hey hey family, friends and the person stalking my blog,

This week was full of great appointments in which individuals came
closer to God through making the commitment to be baptized by emersion
for a remission of their sins. At the beginning of my mission I was so
scared to invite people to be baptized but I quickly came to the
realization that by inviting people to do something that seems like a
huge step brings out their concerns much quicker than trying to guess what they are. 

So last week I told you about Jeanna Elliot. Well things with her are
going really great. We met with her and finalized the date of April
12th and she wants her grandson in law to baptize her which is a
wonderful thing. We taught her the gospel of Jesus Christ which
includes faith, repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost and enduring to the
end. There was nothing that we said that she did not agree with. She
was even able to tell us about some of the things before we even
taught her because of her grand daughter who has been telling her
things for a while now. We had some time left in the lesson before our
next appointment so we taught her the word of wisdom, law of chastity
and the law of tithing. She already knew about all these things so there
 were no surprises and everything went great! 

Our ward has been doing really wonderful at inviting people to come to
church and come to various activities and so far it has been paying
off. Last week we taught lessons to two people that we had met before
but never actually taught. It was exciting for sure. I know that as
members continue to share their testimonies with non members more and
more people are going to want to hear about the church and in turn the
gospel it's self. Continue to be a light to your friends and to the
people you come in contact with everyday. In the life after this one
they will thank you for all that you did. Even if that was just being
a good example and keeping the standards which we have.

When I first got my new companion he didn't really talk much and he
was really nervous but something clicked and now he is a social
butterfly. I brought this up to him and he was like "I didn't know how
to take you or how to handle you!" Hahaha I gave him some slack and
told him I was just excited to see his true self. He is a great
missionary and a good friend. I know working and serving with him is
going to be a blast. Here's to a great time!

Love you all. Give a hug to my sister Alex if you see and congratulate
her on her baby girl due here pretty soon!

Mud masks from my mom

service

badminton anyone?

Elder Cole Safford

Glendale Week 30 *March 11, 2014

Hello and good day!

 I have been praying for weeks for service opportunities and this week my prayers were answered!  It started off with our companionship helping out the other
companionship in the house with cleaning the yard of a non member. In
my head I pieced together a nice little picture of a yard that was a
little out of love but not all that bad. When we pulled up that
picture could not have been further from the truth. There was weeds as
tall as my shoulders and dead plants galore. Not to mention the weed
wacker AND the lawn mower were busted. So we got to use tools from the
1900's along with some elbow grease. It was so darn difficult. I was
beat tired after working on it for three hours and we only were able
to finish half of it! Crazy, but it felt so great to have worked so hard and to have been of service to someone. Then a couple of days later we get a
call from one of our potential investigators asking us if we could go
and help him clean up his yard and fix part of his house. We went over
there and he had about one hundred unfinished projects to choose from. We got working
and after a couple of hours we had built  (with his guidance and
supervision) a complete floor for his patio. It was so much fun and so
satisfying to see the end results right before my own eyes!

The rain we had about a week ago has flushed all of the thorns into
the middle of the sidewalk and the roads so wherever we go we are in
danger of getting flat tires. I have some heavy duty tubes in my
mountain bike but elder Nielsen has a road bike with what I believe to
be the thinnest tubes made on this earth haha. This past week we had
to go to the bike shop again! But the bike shop has run out of the
exact tubes he needed so we had to travel another twenty minutes away
to another of the shops locations to get the dang tubes. I pray that
these ones will last him. It is ridiculousness.

We have been working with some less actives in the ward trying to help
them make the changes necessary to bring them back in harmony with
Gods will for them. One of those such individuals is an eighteen year
old named Tristan. He has been raised in the church and his family are
all very active members but over the years he has slipped away and
made other things the priority in his life. We started teaching him
trying to get him to come back to church and it worked for the past
couple of weeks. We meet with him every Monday and this past Monday we
felt prompted to invite him to start thinking about serving a mission.
He said that it has been in the back of his mind for a while and ever
since we have started to come over he has really seen just how it can
bless his life. We were so excited for him and we hope he sticks with
the goal of serving. He said that I have been a great example to him
of what a missionary should be because I am not afraid to tell him
about my own personal struggles. It makes me feel so
good to know that my experiences and trials can help someone else.I am 
so thankful to my Heavenly Father for the call to serve His
people in Arizona. It is a great and marvelous blessing. I know I
could not do any of this without him and his love for me.

This past Friday we had our monthly zone meeting.  I went into
this months meeting with the hopes of it being a great one and I was
not disappointed! We went over things that have been emphasized since
my very first weeks in the mission field so it was nothing we haven't
heard before. But it sure is amazing how much the spirit can teach
you. Most of the time I learn more from the thoughts that pop into my
head then the words that are actually being said. I know that the
things that are said are conductors of the spirit and they bring those
thoughts into my head so I do like the meetings. We always do a
practice teaching at the end of the meeting just to put into practice
the things which we learned. One of the elders gave me some great
advise and I know it could be helpful to everyone. So here it is, when
it comes to sharing the gospel in any fashion, be real and be sincere
in your words. People can tell of you care about them and if you care
about what you are talking about. Don't try to fool them and say
things you don't mean. It will not go over well. I have seen this come
into play side learning that great advice and it is absolutely true.
Try it.

Well this week was transfers and my companion left me. I am sad to lose him as a companion, but that is missionary life. I find out who my
companion is tomorrow so pray for me tonight! Love you all and hope
everything is going great.

Until next time,

Elder Cole Safford

Glendale Week 29 *March 4, 2014

The work is looking up here in the Sunburst ward. We have been working
with less actives and part member families and all of the potential
teaching opportunities that we could have had are now turning into
reality. Last week I told you that we were teaching an 18 year old
named Alejo Lopez. He is from Mexico City to play baseball and is here living with one
of the members of our ward. The member has been a great influence
on him and we have been having some really great lessons. Last week we
had two teaching appointments at the same time so elder Nielsen and I
had to split up in order to teach the lessons. I went to teach Alejo
with the member that he lives with while elder Nielsen went with our
ward mission leader to the other appointment. My plan was to teach the
gospel of Jesus Christ to Alejo and at the end I was going to invite
him to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized. The lesson
went extremely well and the spirit was definately there testifying.
Just as I was building up to the baptismal invite the spirit was
there, everything felt right, it was all going to happen just right... And a
 grandfather clock in the room starts clanging away eight times!
Ugh! satan did not want me to make the invite. He is very good at
ruining peoples concentration and focus. Anyways I made the invite and
Alejo said yes! Woohoo! I was so stoked. He said that things are going
to get pretty crazy here in the next couple of weeks with baseball but
he is very excited to pray and see if God wants him to be baptized.
When I came home that night I was beaming and I could not stop
smiling.
Much like California, Arizona has been in a big drought and they have
been asking us to pray and fast especially for rain. Well last week
God answered our prayers and let the rain fall. We had a chance of
rain since Wednesday and the clouds were really thick. On Friday night
we got a little sprinkle and we were so excited for it to pour down
but it was only a little rain. Then Saturday came and so did the huge
storm we were all hoping for. It rained almost all day long and it
rained a ton. Arizona does not have very good rain runoff so it
puddles up all over the place and makes for very fun times while on
our bikes. On one of the main four lane roads the lane closest to the
curb was flooded entirely so if a car wasn't paying attention the
plowed through this 100 ft long 1 ft deep puddle. Well we were biking
down the sidewalk on that side of the road next to this lake. Then
some huge truck decided to do a drive by baptism on us. I
was soaked from head to toe. My shoes were full of water and I was
freezing. But we still had appointments to go to so I sucked it up and
kept going. By the end of the night I was excited to get home and take
a nice hot shower and get some clean dry clothes on. My shoes are
still not dry! Haha most people would be upset about having to ride
around in the rain all day long but honestly it is a blast. You just
have to remember you are doing the Lords work and His people need you
rain or shine.

This past Sunday was a unique Sunday her in Arizona because we got to
watch the Gilbert Arizona temple dedication. We had to get these
special temple recommends and the stakes centers became an extension
of the temple itself. President Monson was there along with Henry B.
Eyring. It was a unique experience that was definitely a once in a lifetime experience.
We were able to listen to talks given by the prophet, President Eyring,
the temple president and Tad R. Callister of the seventy. Then we were
able to participate in the hosanna shout. This is a tradition where
you hold a clean white handkerchief in the air and say "hosanna,
hosanna, hosanna, to God and the lamb" 3 times and then end with "amen
and amen and amen". I was thankful to be able to be there and to see
such a wonderful blessing of another temple to the children of men and to see prophesies
being fulfilled. 
Today was our preparation day obviously and we wanted to do something
special and something amazing. So we came up with bowling. There is a
Brunswick bowling ally just up the road a little ways so we went there
around 2:00. It was only $10 per person for two whole hours of bowling
and shoe rental! We had such a blast playing. At first I was doing
absolutely awful but then I actually put my fingers in the specified
holes and guess what? It really works! Out of the four games that we
played I broke 100 three times! And no we didn't have the bumpers up!
Elder Nielsen and I made a wager that whoever lost between the two of
us had to do pushups. By the end of the session I beat him three out
of four and he had to do a total of 65 push-ups while I only had to do
10. It was a sweet sweet victory. We also went to Walmart like we do
every week but this time I went into the shirts section and found a
killer cat shirt. I wore it bowling. I am pretty sure it is what
helped me to win! Well I love you all and hope you have a great day!
Thank you to everyone that has sent me letters and packages! Special
thanks goes out to my mother of course, my grandma Judy, Catherine and
Lauren! Thanks for everything.

Until next week,

Elder Cole Safford

Glendale Week 28 *February 24, 2014

Hello People,

Unfortunately this week was not the best week as far as teaching goes.We have the ability to teach a ton of people but for some reason we got nothing but cancelations. It is tough to deal with when you are trying your very best and people are still not willing to hear what you have to say. I know that this is a trial of my faith and if I hold out things will either work out or I will be able to change what I am doing so that I can make them work out. We have, however, been teaching a 17 year old named Alejo. He is progressing rapidly and we hope to have him on date to be baptized shortly. The woman, Karen that we had on date for March 15 is going to be taking a break which is a bummer. We hope she continues to be taught after her time away. We will see. The majority of the work that we have been doing has been with part member families of the ward. There are about a dozen of them in this ward so there is a lot of work to be done. Most of the time we find that the individual who is a member of the church really doesn't want anything to do with the church because of lifestyles and of time restrictions. We testify to them that this is where they need to be and this is what they need to be doing but in the end it is up to them and they need to be willing to put forth the effort and come back to church. Agency has to be one of the most frustrating things as a missionary. I know it is the whole purpose we are here. To decide for ourselves. But it is so sad to see so many people missing out on the blessings the Gospel brings to our lives.


About two weeks ago one of the brethren in the bishopric of the Sunburst ward came up to me and Elder Nielsen and  assigned us to give talks during sacrament. I don't really like giving talks and so I was a bit nervous. This was going to be the first assigned talk that I've given as a missionary. It took him about a week and a half to get us our topic so we only had a couple of days to prepare for our talks. I was given the topic to talk about preparing to serve a mission based upon Thomas S. Monson's talk from 1995 . I got some insight from our ward mission leader on how to give a talk and what to say. I took the main bullet points that President Monson had and expounded upon and I made them my own. I think that it went really well and everyone at church said that it did. I was really nervous about giving it and I wanted to just read off the paper so that I could use the words that I wanted to use and be able to put them in the right order. When the time came I knew that the Spirit was with me and that the Spirit would help me to say with the congregation needed to hear. For the last half of the talk I didn't use anything which I written I just went off of the words that came to my mouth. It was a really incredible experience and I know that my Heavenly Father helped me to deliver the talk that he needed me to give.

On Wednesday I was woken up by the sound of Elder Crane throwing up in the bathroom which is adjacent to our bedrooms. I felt really bad for him so I stayed up with him for about an hour trying to make him feel a little better. He had to stay inside with his companion for the past two days. His companion Elder Christiansen went a little bit cabin crazy and started running around the house and he got insane because of the lack of going outside. It was really funny to see him that way cause he's normally not a very talkative or loud person in any way. On Wednesday we had a little time before going to a dinner appointment and so we decided to go into the church parking lot and make some funny biking videos of us doing some stupid tricks. It was really funny and me and Elder Nielsen were laughing so hard our abs hurt. We know that it probably wasn't the best use of our time but it was only for 20 minutes and it allowed us to let off a little bit of steam have some fun.

For some reason I keep having these crazy dreams about me being home when I'm not supposed to be. Everyone around me when I'm not home is super excited to see me and it's like I have completed my two-year mission but in my head I know that I've only been out for a short amount of time. It's a weird feeling and I don't really like it but for some reason I keep having them. I hope that it's not a prediction of the future!  I guess I will have to see Ha ha ha. I hope that you all doing very well and I hope that you continue to build your faith and continue to do the missionary work we have been commanded to do. I love you also much and I will talk to you next week. Until next time,

Elder Cole Safford