'Tis The Season...

...To get Transferred...Again!

Elder Rushforth is on the move again! The Lord needs him in Pendleton, Oregon. He's really getting to see a lot of his mission! Of course, Elder Rushforth has a great attitude and is willing to serve where ever the Lord needs him. But I'm sure he's sad to be leaving another area so quickly again. Especially since, as indicated by the following pictures, he and Elder Gibson have had a lot of fun doing the Lord's Work in Walla Walla, WA!

Elder Rushforth would like me to tell you that he scored a 179 here. If you ever saw him bowl before, you know he was doing good to break 100...with bumpers! He's really proud of his 179!

Anyway, he will be spending Christmas with his new companion in Pendleton. We're thinking he'll be there for more than one transfer because this is his new companion's last transfer. Regardless of his location, we know Tyler is working hard to bring many sheep into the fold!

E-I-E-I-O

Old MacDonald had a farm, and I think Elder Rushforth might be living there. Last week's email had the following information:

"So I was a farmer for a few days while the members that we live with were out of town so we took care of chickens and ducks and a dog and a horse! All lived excepted one chicken so I guess I am not a very good farmer after all but I guess something has been getting at the chickens recently. I thought of cooking one but instead I am going to grow my own like Hortin the Elephant did I am sitting on a chicken egg! I hope it will hatch I am doing the best I can:) I love my new area and hope that I stay here longer than my last area!"

Sounds like an interesting experience for Elder Rushforth. I'll see if I can get some more details out of him and update accordingly. I'll encourage him to take pictures of his adventures on the farm, as well.

On the Move Again

Elder Rushforth is once again on the move! He's being transferred to Walla Walla, WA. His new companion, Elder Gibson is from Centerville, UT and was in Big River with me(Wendi). I'm sure the two of them will take Walla Walla by storm and have the whole area converted, and serenaded, in no time!

All Is Well

Well, up in Washington all is going great. WE actually just went to the Temple for the first time in four and a half months it was awesome! I got to go to the Columbia River Temple and It is way pretty inside. Since it is a small Temple their is only one level so the Baptistry is right at the entrance it is beautiful!! SO yesterday we had interviews up in Yakima and when we got to the spanish Elders to get our car we found that it had been broken into and a GPS was taken! Welcome to Toppenish! the person kicked the passenger side window with his foot then opened the door form the inside and ran. We know who it was though becasue of a witness along with the cop took some good fingerprints off of the window! Other than that life is great! We have been blessed this pass week to have found people to teach and will look forward to seeing them progress! When we went to contact a former investigator we found a new investigator becasue the girl started talking to us telling us that she grew up in Vancouver and went to youth activities. She told us that her parents were members but she never was baptized. Our thought was we can change that!!

So that was our week! A letter is in the mail I kept forgetting to mail it til Monday and that was a holiday!

Love you all

Elder Rushforth

Getting to Know You 2009

Tyler sent me this email. It was pretty funny to read. It's one of those "Getting to Know You" forwards. You know, you get it from a friend with all their answers in it and then you're supposed to fill it out as it pertains to you and send it off to all your friends. Well, this is Tyler's. I don't know if it's more entertaining or less entertaining because he's a missionary and isn't allowed to do half the things the questions are about. You decide.

1. What is your occupation right now? Stormin Mormon Missionary!
2. What color are your socks right now? White
3. What are you listening to right now? Silence

4. What was the last thing that you ate? Cookies
5. Can you drive a stick shift? no
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? A missionary
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? yes
8. How old are you today? 19
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? I don't watch tv
10. What is your favorite drink? water
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? none
12. Favorite food? mashed potatoes and gravy
13. What is the last movie you watched? I don't remember that long ago
14. Favorite day of the year? Christmas and Mother's day
15. How do you vent anger? Knock on a door
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? Lego
17. What is your favorite season? Spring
18.Cherries or Blueberries? Blueberries
19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Yes
20. Who is the most likely to respond? Not too sure.
21. Who is least likely to respond? Again, not too sure.
22. Living arrangements? With members
23. When was the last time you cried? I don't know
24. What is on the floor of your closet? Dirty clothes bags
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? Don't know, Don't have any friends
26. What did you do last night? Planned the next day and went to sleep
27. What are you most afraid of? Dogs
28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers Spicy
29. Favorite dog breed? None at this time they seem to like chasing missionaries
30. Favorite day of the week? Tuesday! P-day
31. How many states have you lived in? 3
32. Diamonds or pearls? I don't know
33. What is your favorite flower? any

Show and Tell...but mostly Show

Tyler sent pictures today via email. There's only three of them and I can only guess at what they're pictures of because he didn't include ANY details.

I think this is his companion that made Chain-Mail. (I know, my skills at deduction are ASTOUNDING!)

This is Tyler and the Companion that makes Chain Mail and some guy I don't know.

And I haven't the foggiest idea what this last picture is.

I did email him back and tell him that he needs to include descriptions along with pictures.

Transferred

Elder Rushforth was recently transferred from Vancouver, WA. He is now serving is Kelso, WA. And it is a car area.

Here's what he had to say about his new area and companion in his most recent email to me:

"Well, my new area is amazing and very large. The Castle Rock ward boundries goes all the way up to Mt. St. Helens and all around it although, there is no one who lives up there. My companion is a stud and is the same size as me so our combined weight is 260 and are in a Ghetto area:) Don't worry if I get Mugged I at least get another lesson:) Okay so it isn't that bad people actually avoid us even though they could squash us like a bug."

Elder Rushforth appreciates your continued prayers on his behalf, as well as on the behalf of missionaries and their work world-wide.

One Busy Monday

This last week was an exciting one for Elder Rushforth. Here's the story as I got it in my letter:

"Hey Wendi and Gale,

Well, last week was great, but yesterday(Monday) was the best journal entry! It all started with a district meeting then lunch at Boppin Bo's a old style cafe! Mmmm Bottomless fries...know wonder I'm so fat. 130 lbs. After that we washed and waxed the district car that isn't even ours. What a wonderful entry! NOT! But wait, it gets much better! So we decided we better get something accomplished so we went out and started walking to do a drop by. While we were steadily strolling down 99th street a cop flips on his lights and pulls over toward us. My first instinct was crap they found me! run! but I did otherwise! The cop rolled down his window and said, "My wife said to flag you down becaues you love getting in normal clothes to do service. " Just as he is about to give us his info a old truck came puffing by with exhaust out the wasoo! He gives us his business card and goes about his duty! We put his card in our wallet and head on. On our way back to our house to have dinner we were stopped by a young man who wanted to talk to us! Sweet right? Wrong! his eyes were as glazed over as a freshly glazed donut! but he said he was suicidal so we sat down to talk. Just then, in a blink of an eye two police cares and an ambulance pull up! The cops come out with their hands on their guns and call the young man over and we leave. Further down the street we were stopped by two yuong men who asked if we knew the young man back there and we said no and found out they knew him from jail. We talked to them a little bit then went to dinner! Overall it was a exciting afternoon!

The evening was wonderful! We went to an appointment with a new investigator and they were actually there! Krista was someone we met at a yardsale(hers) and we came back and watched Finding Faith in Christ! We have another appointment Thursday!"

See, a very exciting day for Elder Rushforth! But it sounds like everything is going well and he's still working really hard!

May 12, 2009

I wanted to share some of this letter because I thought it was kind of entertaining...

"Hey Family:

It was really great to talk to everyone Sunday. I found out that everyone else spoke for three hours! But I wouldn't have been able to talk that long. It's great to know that everyone is doing great.

On Monday we had a lessong with a less-active member where my companion taught us how to do a little chain mail. We tied the lesson into the armor of God. Tnoight we had a lesson with Sister Jennings who has been attending church for hears with her family but isn't baptized because of concerns about teaching of the prophet Joseph Smith. We felt that she needed to come to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. Brother Selee, our new Ward Mission leader had the same prompting. Tonight we read 3 Nephi 11 and then watched the last chapter of the Testaments. The Spirit was so Strong! We committed her to read and pray about the book of mormon and she said she would. I'm really excited for tomorrow because we have Brittany and Brianna, the grandchildren of Sister Hansen. They have both grown so much while we have been teaching them. Last week they didn't know if they were ready to be baptized we reassured them that they were by going over the baptismal interview questions. We also have three lessons with new investigators, hopefully they will be home. :)

How great is my Calling!"

Sounds like Elder Rushforth is hard at work. (And maybe playing a little...seriously? We're using chain mail now as a teaching tool? So funny!) He's always such a good example to us and in our individual notes from him, he encourages us to better ourselves through prayer and scripture study!

As families of Missionaries, we truly are blessed in so many ways!

Mother's Day

It was nice to talk to Elder Rushforth on Mother's Day! It sounds like he's doing great and loving the work!

Because we're all so good at writing, we didn't have a lot to update each other on, so it was a brief conversation all around!

Transfers are coming up, but he thinks his companion will get transferred, but he'll stay put. As you will tell from the letters, he's doing quite well!

May 5, 2009

And more letter:

Dear Family:

I can't explain how much my mission and the Restoration of the Gospel means to me! I'm so thankful to my Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ, who lets 19 year old boys go and do such a marvelous work. I am learning so much from this ward I am in, they (the ward members) are amazing.

Well, the work is going great! Brittany and Brianna's baptism was bumped back to the 23rd of May due to some scheduling problems for Brianna's family. I love watching the change that has taken place seeing the big smiles and watching them become more confident with answering questions. They are amazing!!

Sunday was an amazing day. In the beginning I was discouraged but part way through the sacrament meeting one of our investigators showed up and my joy was great. George Segundo is amazing he is looking to learn and grow closer to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. There ar emany others I could talk about if I had the time. :)

How Great is my calling!!

April 28, 2009

Yet another exerpt from a letter:

Dear Family:

What a wonderful week it has been. I'm so excited to wake-up every morning and be able to have study time and then to bear testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel.

I love being able to see the change in people as they grow closer to the savior. I realize that just as much as I am excited for investigators to be baptized I love seeing Less-Active members come back to the gospel. Right now we are teaching the Deitricks who are amazing! They have such a love of and a desire to learn more about the gospel. Their goal is to go through the temple and be sealed to their two sons Kaden and Carter. Besides the Deitricks we are working with a lot of investigators 8 of which are progressing. The work in this ward is coming alive quickly. This past Sunday we had one of our investigators show up to church and the best part is that he had a hard time finding the building but he didn't give up.

I know that as I trust in the Lord, Jesus Christ, I will be led to those who are ready to hear the Restoration gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you for being so kind and loving to me. :)

"I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you." -C. Schwindel

April 21, 2009

I'm a little behind on updates, mostly because I live out of state and thus do not always have access to the letters he sends home, which are far more detailed than the brief emails I get. So here we go with some catching up.

Exerpt from a letter from Elder Rushforth Dated April 21, 2009(I promise to try not to edit them, even though the grammar and sentence structure makes me want to pull out my hair!):

Dear Family:

How are you all doing? How is the weather? It is nice and hot up here but it is supposed to cool down and rain for the next few days.

My companion Elder Collins is way smart with the scriptures he knows them really well. Back home we would make armor out of chain mail now he is making a chain mail tie. I am greatful that he is my companion because I can definitely learn a lot from him.

The work is going great! We have quite a few investigators we are working with. One tried coming to church this past week but couldn't find the building so this week we are taking him on a church tour. We also have lots of potential investigators so we will see what happens with them. One of the sets of Elders in our district are doing amazing there are so many out there that want to learn but don't know where to find the truth.

This past week on Thursday we had zone conference. My companion and I had the privlege of doing a training on tracting in front of two zones and the APs and mission President, it was nerve racking but went pretty well.

Love, Elder Rushforth

Still in Vancouver

Tranfers came and went last week and Elder Rushforth is staying put in Vancouver, WA. He's loving the work. He says he never thought he could love a people so much and so quickly. He was really hoping to get to stay in the area. He got his wish!

He's learning a lot about patience and the importance of the Holy Ghost. He sent home a voice recorder a couple weeks ago. I'll post again in a few days with the contents of the recorder.

Tyler sends his love to everyone! And constantly encourages us all to do our best and come to a better understand of Jesus Christ and the gospel.

A Man of Few Words

Tyler does write every week, but he doesn't say a whole lot. So I had to call in reinforcements. By combing the information I've gotten with the information my mom has gotten, we've managed to piece together the following blog post.

Tyler is in the Vancouver North Nehalem Ward. He attended Stake Conference and was impressed by a talk from a sister about being and instrument in the hands of God. It really made Tyler stop and think, What type of instrument/missionary will I be in the hands of the Lord?

Tyler and his companion had an opportunity to teach a person. He said the Spirit was not there and it felt horrible. They went back to the house and studied to get the Spirit back. Tyler said it was a very wonderful humbling experience. He says, "Remember that the Gift of the Holy Ghost is truly a wonderful gift."

In his latest letter he tells us that missionary work is harder than he expected.

Here's one experience he shared:"We did get one try back but his wife said to come back when her husband was home so we did and he taught us Hell, fire, and damnation and why we are going there. We left as soon as we could and decided that we are grateful to be able to pray to know for ourselves and that our knowledge of the Godhead truly does make sense. Anyhow I did receive my first Bible, NASB version. I do have to say he was concerned about the welfare of our souls but what he explained was so confusing."

He sends scripture reading assignments and thought provoking questions to us regularly. To Dad, a discussion on faith. To Mom, what is your favorite scripture story and why. To Kevin, Jacob 1:7-8 & Alma 29:9 What do these scriptures mean to you? To Brian, What is your favorite primary song and why. To Wendi, read Enos and contemplate his approach to Prayer. He's keeping us focused, too!

He doesn't write a whole lot, but he seems to be loving it, not that we ever expected anything else! Hopefully soon we'll have some pictures to post!

Brief Update

Elder Rushforth is all settled in up in Vancouver, Washington. He sent a few brief emails to the family today, but there wasn't a whole lot of information. He did say that it rains a lot in Vancouver. And he's learning a lot about himself and the spirit. It sounds like he's learning to be a great missionary.

He also said he was sending a letter that would contain his apartment address. But he said if you wanted to continue to send letters and packages to the mission home, they would forward them to him.

He's also sending the voice recorder I sent him and an SD card with pictures home. So in the near future we ought to have some pictures to post.

Stay tuned...And write to Elder Rushforth! He loves hearing from everyone!

Change of Scenery

Elder Rushforth left the MTC yesterday (February 24th). He flew with 17 other missionaries to the Kennewick Washington Mission home. Last night we received a call from the Mission President's wife, Sister Belnap, to tell us that Tyler had arrived safe and sound and will be serving in Vancouver, WA for right now.

We don't have his address in Vancouver yet, but Sister Belnap said we should send letters and packages to the mission home address and they would make sure he got them as they have a Zone Conference next week they'll be attending.

As soon as Elder Rushforth emails/writes and tells us what his address is and further information in that area,(probably not until next Tuesday when he emails) we'll post it here. For now, though, write to the Mission Home Address:

Elder Tyler James Rushforth
Washington Kennewick Mission
8656 W Gage Blvd. ste 205
Kennewick, WA 99336

From his letters in the MTC, I'm sure he's going to be a fantastic and hard-working missionary!

First Email from the MTC

Our little Elder has been busy the last week, but not so busy that he didn't have to time to write home. (I know, it's required...but still) On Saturday, the family got it's first letter from Elder Rushforth! That was pretty exciting...and mostly full of house keeping stuff, you know, "My companion is...We had (blank) for dinner..." Stuff like that. Yesterday we got an email, it's pretty short, but I thought I'd share it with you all. As a missionary, he's only allowed to email to families, so, when appropriate, I'll copy and paste the email's contents here on the blog. (As a Side Note, I'm not going through and correcting his grammar and spelling, you get to read it raw like I did.) Happy Reading...

I love the MTC it is a blast and the spirit is amazing!! I love the food aswell. I thought that have school and work was a full schedule but the MTC definitely is harder but much much more fun. Every second we are studying thegospel no wonder the spirit is so amazing! This past sunday my companionactually got sick so from 2:30-8:30 I was in my room studying as my companionslept. I was greatful for this time though because it gave me the opportunityto reflect on what I have been doing for the passed few days. I was able thestudy the difference between the Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost which, isactually something that many people get confused I definetly did until I studythem. Do you know the difference of the Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost? MyDistrict is amazing Elder Ord my companion is very out going and loves talkingto everyone! Elder Hord and Elder McConkie are the brightest elders I know,Elder Bair is so funny and kind to everyone, Elder Warner is very wise in thegospel and so loving, and Elder Burgin has such a great testimony and truly knows how to teach with the spirit. I am so greatful for this experience andfor the knowledge I am learning from all the Elders. Hope you all are doingwell!! Have Fun and know that Heavenly Father loves you all!! Think about howhas Heavenly Father shown his love for you this weeek?
Love,
Elder Rushforth

The MTC

Wednesday, February 4, 2009 began like most other mornings. Get up, shower, brush teeth, get dressed. All very usual things for Tyler to be doing.

Of course, February 4th wasn't just any other day. It was the day Tyler would enter the MTC to prepare to serve the people of the Washington Kennewick Mission. Basically, he spent the morning walking around with a grin from ear to ear and either whistling or singing various hymns. To the casual observer, someone who didn't know Tyler well, this would seem to indicate an unnatural level of happiness and excitement. And, while he was, of course, excited, he tended to do all these things anyway. (Take it from a sister who has lived with him for many years, the early morning chipper-ness is more than a little annoying to those of us who are NOT morning people.)

The ride down to the MTC with his family wasn't rowdy, nor was it awkward and quiet. Everyone was just enjoying being with Tyler for a few last moments before he began his two year mission.

At the MTC, they had Tyler put his luggage in a designated area and then, after a few pictures, he and his family entered the building through separate doors.

Once inside, Tyler received his Missionary Name Tag and was told his mother should put it on him. An obviously emotional moment, but both Elder Rushforth and his mother held it together.

Of course, there was more to endure. The family had to endure a heart-wrenching movie(which would have been much easier to endure if the entire chapel weren't filled with sobs and sniffles). And the Missionary had to endure just that much more time before he would officially start his Mission. After this, there were teary good-byes(on everyone's part, including Elder Rushforth), and then the family exited out one door and the Missionary out a different door.

As Elder Rushforth's sister, I can tell you that the tears that were shed were tears of joy. Joy that the Young Man they were leaving in Provo would be spending the next two years serving the Lord and spreading His Gospel to the people of the Washington Kennewick Mission. Joy at the sight of the righteous Son of God that we had watched and helped grow into the confident and kind person that stood before us. We were sad that he would be so far from us for the next two years, but we couldn't be more proud of the choice that he made.

Elder Rushforth will be in the MTC until Feburary 24th, then he will go to the Washington Kennewick Mission. I'll post both his MTC address and his Mission Home address on the blog. Additionally, as we find out new addresses with each of his Transfers, those will be posted so that any who would like to write him, may do so at their leisure.

Pre-Mission Post

This Blog is dedicated to keeping track of the going-ons of Elder Tyler James Rushforth.  He'll be serving for two years in the Washington Kennewick mission.

This Sunday, January 25th, you're all invited to hear him speak before he departs for the MTC on February 4th.  The address is 1250 South Main Street, Bountiful, UT and sacrament meeting starts at 10:50 pm.  Following Sacrament meeting, everyone is invited to Tyler's house for mingling and such. (Yes, I believe food will be involved)

Keep checking back for postings.  I'll update as I get information and pictures and stuff from Tyler in the MTC and mission field!