Throwing Hatchets...but No Rifles:

Another week in paradise. This past week was full of adventures. Elder Havenar and I have been able to meet and talk with a lot of new people. We've been on the search for new investigators this past week. We went finding at some Delta parks and the Delta junction fair.

This week was full of finding. It's a bit hard tracting here due to all of the houses being spread apart by farms. It's been fun trying to get creative in our finding methods. This week we spent a lot of time visiting recreational parks, state parks, community parks. My favorite was visiting quartz lake. The few people there were nice and the view was amazing. Delta junction is beautiful.

This weekend was the Delta junction parade and fair. It was awesome seeing everyone from lands so spread apart come together for fun activities. We got to see a lot of animals, shops, musical events, and more. We also talked a lot with some mountain men. We were able to throw some hatchets with them. Unfortunately we are not allowed to hold firearms so we had to say no to the black powder rifles. It was fun seeing all the outdoor games and celebrations of a small community in Alaska.

I hope everyone has a good week.

Fake Investigator:

Hello. This past week was really good. Other than finding out one of the investigators we're working with isn't really an investigator. Zone conference and interviews were this past week. It was my first time meeting the new mission president and his wife. The work moves on in Delta.

Zone conference was this past week. It was really awesome being able to finally meet President and Sister Toone. President Toone is the new mission president in the AAM. It was so amazing being able to visit with him for Zone conference. I loved the Training President Toone gave. He used to be in charge of the institutes in Idaho so he really knows how to teach. He is especially good at knowing where everything is in the scriptures. It was an awesome time learning from him.

We also had interviews. Those were fantastic. I absolutely loved the time with President and Sister Toone. It's so incredible spending time with those two. Just getting to know President Toone was awesome.

The other day I called a good friend who served in Delta Junction a year ago. He is currently serving in another area. I was asking about the investigator we have that talks for hours on end yet won't share any personal information. After some explaining my friend told me that the same man had called him while he was serving in Whitehorse. Of course the man used a different name at that time. After talking about the whole situation and calling the investigator with had some serious concerns. We came to understand that the man has been calling all sorts of missionaries in Alaska, Washington, California, etc. The man rants for hours and hours about how the Book of Mormon teaches that God is Jesus the Christ. We have no clue as to what his intentions are by calling so many missionaries and just going off on false doctrine. We sincerely tried helping the man but it just got so frustrating. He won't accept any of our help. We finally had to end the calls because together between me and my friend we probably spent more than 15 hours talking to him with no progress.

The work seems to be going great other than that odd incident. I'm loving every second in Delta Junction.

I hope everyone has a good week.

Slacklining for Exercise

Hello!

This week was really great. I was able to spend some time up in North Pole for exchanges. I've started slacklining for my morning exercise. Elder Havenar and I have been working a lot with the less actives and potential investigators here in Delta Junction. We got to see some more cute pooches.

Exchanges up in North Pole were awesome. I loved every second being able to serve up there and with Elder Fawson. He's a stud. While I was in North Pole/Fairbanks I was able to purchase a slackline. It certainly left a hole in my wallet but I'm hoping I'll get my money's worth out of it for morning exercise and on P-Days.

Elder Havenar and I have been doing a lot of work with contacting people in our area book. It's a bit of a struggle trying to find new investigators here due to the fact that not a lot of people live here and every house is super spread apart. We're hoping we're going to find a lot of success working with the people who already know the missionaries or have talked to the missionaries in the past.

The work is going great in delta.  I'm loving my time out here.

Protecting the Crops:

Hello from Fairbanks Alaska. Today, tomorrow, and the following day I will be spending my time in Fairbanks and the North Pole. This past week was super cool. Elder Havenar and I have been doing a lot of missionary work here in Delta J.

Like I said before, I'm currently in Fairbanks enjoying the Pday with other missionaries. I will be able to spend a couple more days in North Pole for exchanges. I'm excited to be able to see North Pole. My first companion, Elder Agad served there and has told me a lot of awesome stories.

This past week was super solid with receiving blessings and referrals. Elder Havenar and I made the extra effort to try a little harder with our obedience. Well that same day we received a self referral from a young woman who recently returned from a 14 month trip in Uganda. She met with a senior couple there and absolutely loved their sweet spirit. While she was on her trip she read the entire Book of Mormon and loved it. It's been awesome working with her. It's been a bit of a struggle due to some Word of Wisdom issues but we're working on that.

We also received another self referral. This time it was a man. He doesn't like sharing too much personal information so we've had all our conversations and lessons over the phone. He said he might be interested in meeting up at a library or something once he realizes we have similar beliefs. He too has read the entire Book of Mormon. He also has done a lot of research on lds.org. He is extremely knowledgeable when it comes to religion. He received a PHD and bachelor's degree in religious doctrine. The phone calls are very lengthy. One of which was over two hours long and he seems to do all the talking.

Both investigators are wonderful people. I'm excited to continue working with them.

Something funny happened a couple nights ago. We were at out dinner appointment and half way through the dinner the father received a text from a friend warning about a golf ball sized hail storm coming their way. He and his wife both turned to each other and said "The Crops!" In sheer panic he and his wife ran outside and the children soon followed. Being left at the dinner table me and my companion decided to hurry after to see what was going on. We soon realized they were setting up a tarp over their crops to save the plants. We ran after the family to help. In all of a matter of seconds the weather went from lightly sprinkling to full out buckets of water falling from the sky. As soon as we got the tarp over the crops the hail started to come. Running back inside we realized just how wet we were. All of us were just completely soaked from head to toe. Standing in one spot seemed to make a puddle on the floor. We all watched in our drenched clothes as the hail did not turn into golf ball sized clumps but we were able to have a good laugh at the whole situation. We of course finished dinner shortly after that.

I hope everyone has a good week.

Go Hug some Huskies!

Hello! This past week was the best week on the mission so far. This week was one for the books. It all started last Monday with a visit to Whittier. I then had the day long travel to my new area in Delta Junction. Since arriving here I've loved meeting the wonderful people and seeing all the breathe taking views here.

One of my last days in Anchorage was spent taking a drive out to this place called Whittier. Whittier is a small fishing community built during World War II. The original reason for building Whittier was to hold prisoners in an inescapable valley covered by ginormous mountains. The only way to get in and out of the valley is to either come in via boat on the water or to drive through a mountain.

Yes. That's right. Drive through a mountain. The tunnel is about two miles long and it has about five safe houses inside in case something were to happen and you couldn't get out. As you can imagine the tunnel is very dark and wet but when you get to the other side the view is to die for. We happened to go when it was raining but it was still incredible.

On Wednesday some missionaries and I took a nice flight to Fairbanks for transfers. It's so cool seeing how all my areas have been so geographical spread apart and how they all differ incredibly. After we landed in Fairbanks I was blessed to see some old friends. Then Elder Havenar and I drove the couple hours to Delta Junction. The drive was beautiful.

Delta Junction is so beautiful and has been quite the treat to me. I have loved every second here. The people are amazing. The ward is a bit small but I love how easy it is to love every single one of them. Everyone comes from such different backgrounds and they welcome you even if you don't believe in the gospel. Just an outstanding ward.

The missionary work here is a bit slow due to it being a very small community. It seems like a lot of the days are going to be spent walking around small taking to people.

The landscape is beautiful! Delta Junction itself is fairly flat with some hills but it's surrounded by mountains. There is a lot of farm land here. I'm not a farmer but I just absolutely love seeing all the farm land off the dirt roads while the sun is setting. Oh wait! It never gets dark here. How crazy is that?! The sun sets around 12 but it stays bright outside 24/7. Believe me I know because I was woken up my first night by our neighbor who mowed his lawn around midnight. Haha.

A few days ago we helped some members on their farm land. We helped them move 27 of their 49 huskies from the front yard to the back. Yes! They own 49 huskies! So cool! I was in heaven. The best part is that all the dogs just love you with kisses and hugs. I was in heaven. I attached pictures. I fetching love Delta.

I hope everyone has a solid July Fourth. Go hug some huskies. I recommend it.

Elder Ogden