A 30 second Parade is still a Parade!

The past few weeks have been really neat. Elder Hawkins and I were fortunate enough to fly to Juneau for zone conference. The lessons with Judith are moving forward with a bright future. The tracking went semi-well. Elder Hawkins and I enjoyed the annual Petersburg St. Patrick's day parade. 

Earlier this week Elder Hawkins and I were very fortunate to spend a couple nights in Juneau. We were able to have interviews, zone conference, as well as do a McDonald's run for a couple members. We had zone conference on Tuesday. It was awesome being able to fly in on Monday and enjoy a campfire on the beach with the district. Tuesday was filled with zone conference and a visit to the dedicatory prayer. It was so cool seeing the dedicatory prayer on Mormon hill nearly 90 years ago. On the journey over to the site we got to see majority of downtown Juneau. It was so neat. The buildings are all so cool with their native designs and ever steep mountainside roads. On Wednesday Elder Hawkins and I made one last stop at McDonald's before we caught our flight back to Petersburg. Every time I went I only ordered mcgriddles. I forgot how amazing those things tasted. Elder Hawkins and I also bought $90 worth of food which was brought back for some members to enjoy throughout the week.

Judith has been doing great with her learning. She's pretty much through with all the big stuff. Now we teach her basic and simple principles such as service, learning and teaching, etc. She's planning on being baptized the first week of May. We'll probably go over the main lessons with her once more before her Baptism, just to make sure she remembers the important stuff.

Unfortunately Elder Hawkins and I were not able to tract out Petersburg. To be honest we only finished one street. We did see some success. It was all a weird experience. They were all trailers so we met some interesting people. The reason we didn't complete our goal is #1 it seemed to rain everyday we set to go tracting. #2 we're now planning on just doing a couple streets a day that way we have stuff to look forward to in the future.

Last week we noticed the entire downtown street closed off. We asked some people why and they informed us there was going to be a St. Patrick's Day Parade in the afternoon. Well we decided to pull over to watch the show. I was very surprised when we realized the parade was 30 seconds long. It was really fun though. It was absolutely crazy. Surprisingly the Petersburg 2A basketball teams celebration of winning state was larger than the parade. The whole town all got in their cars, drove around honking their horns following the team.

Elder Ogden

The dedicatory prayer in downtown Juneau

   

Mother & Son Exchange:

Bennett:
Hey. That's so awesome you found a home and you saw Britton. Haha. Unfortunately I won't be able to write this week. Elder Hawkins and I just landed in Juneau and have a packed schedule the next few days. Anyways love and miss ya

Mom:
You're killing me and your Blog! What should I write on your Blog?

Bennett:
I'm having fun and loving every moment!


We were able to take Elder Holyoak (one of Bennett's friends) and his companion to dinner while we were in England for Spring Break on our house hunting trip!

Tract every house...3 days tops:

This past week was great. Elder Hawkins and I have mapped about all of Petersburg and plan on tracting every house. It will probably take three days max.

Judith is growing in the gospel very well. It's awesome seeing where she came from to where she is now. We're hoping to have her baptism at the beginning of next month.

The past few P- days have been filled with sauna time. It's probably the most exciting thing I look forward to each Monday. We go with a member so it's all cool.

 It's been snowing a bunch the past few days. It seems to be that we can't get rid of winter here.

 Have a great week,

 Elder Ogden

Searching for Porcupines

This week has been fun. Elder Hawkins and I have been searching for Porcupine. We've been visiting a Native regularly as he is in Petersburg for medical complications. Judith is progressing slowly, very slowly but she still has the desire to learn so that's good.

Last P-day Elder Hawkins and I went driving out on some dirt roads looking for Porcupine. We've been talking to members about things to do and a few of them suggested we go Porcupine finding. They all say it's really easy to spot them. In the summertime apparently there's a bunch on the side of the roads. The other members tell us to stay far away from them or use a bunch of protective gear. 

Elder Hawkins and I have yet to see one but we're always on the look out. Hopefully the snow will melt soon so we find one.

There's a Native member from Juneau who is currently staying in Petersburg for medical services. I have no clue why they sent him here but it is what it is. He's super cool. We see him every other day since he doesn't know anyone here. He tells us his stories growing up. I've been learning a lot about the Natives in Alaska from him.

Judith has been learning a lot. We meet with her a every week. It's been very difficult recently. She's been forgetting past lessons because of her bad memory. It's hard for her to retain things but the good thing is that she remembers feeling the spirit when we stop by and she wants to continue to learn more and be baptised.

Have a good week

Elder Ogden