The first week in the field

What have I done...where are the tractors? And the cows! I'm literally in a city and all I see are buildings everywhere.

But I love it. And every day as I begin to learn how to better myself and how to work twice as hard the day before I come closer and closer to God. 

My trainer is Elder Maughan and he is from Michigan.

We are in a wealthy area so people are willing to chat but not to listen. Our mission focuses on street contracting and not tracting! Which I am grateful for even though every so often we will knock on a former investigators door. So I finally just built up the courage to talk to somebody the first time, and he was a super nice guy but was a Lutheran and he said that he was very strong in his church but we got talking and found out he loves wood work. And was currently working on a project for his wife building kitchen cupboards. He told us we could come back in about a week to see the finished project so we will swing by sometime tomorrow. 

The members here are amazing and feed us everyday! And they are mostly young families with lots of kids so it's really fun to play around with them and get to know all of them. 

So we had our mission conference on Monday with Elder Pearson of the Seventy... it was amazing even though it seemed like at times he was getting after the mission for disobedience. Which I didn't have to worry about. Since I have only been here for a week. But his main message was super insightful and inspiring he spoke about how we have to venture into the frontier of faith by having a positive attitude and being diligent in our work. Trusting that if we do so God will perform miracles in our mission and in our lives. I was very surprised when I noticed that a good number of missionaries were not 

paying attention to some of the promises and blessing he was invoking on the mission and on us an individuals. But I was listening and I really took them to heart, and I promised myself that of every minute of everyday I would devote my heart to building up His kingdom. Promising that I may become disappointed by rejection or by a so called "hard area" but I will be never be discouraged. 

After the conference Elder Pearson asked to interview about 10 missionaries that he felt prompted to the interview from the mission. And I was one of the missionaries! Maybe I'll tell you what happened in that interview when I get home but just trust me that it was one of the most spiritual moments of my life. 

One thing he did say was "it is easy to please our Father in heaven, he is hard to satisfy, that is a life long quest" 

And one of the last things he said to me was don't forget to laugh.

Congratulations Aaron on your mission call! It is going to be so fun. 

I love hearing about home and harvest so keep letting me know I especially love pictures!

I'm serving in the Del Sur and PQ3 wards which is in the northern part of the mission. 

One thing I admire about the latterday saints here is how they so willingly share the restored gospel of Jesus Christ with the people around them. Through their words of course but through their actions. They invite so many people over and let people into their homes. To give them refuge from the modern day storms that plague society today. I want to invite you to reach out to those who are struggling and not necessarily talk to them about the Gospel  but show them it through our sincere love for them. And in time they will want to know the Gospel. We are a chosen generation that will help turn this trickle into a flood.

I love you all and am looking forward to what else the Lord has in store for you.

Sorry I didn't take very many pictures this week I will take more this week I promise.

Love Elder Palmer 

Oh and fun fact our mission has about 8 different languages 

I'm home

Elder Palmer called home today from the airport. It was so wonderful to hear his happy, excited, loving voice. He is doing so great. So excited to arrive in San Diego but he truly loved the MTC. We didn't talk very long just about 5 mins then he was off. This evening we received an email from him. It reads

"I'm home! The air is dense wow! PDays are Tuesday."

Short and sweet.

Elder Palmer with President and Sister Stubbs

“Remember to put Jesus Christ at the center of your life today.”

So Elder Taylor, Sister Kenyon and I are the only ones left here in the MTC from our district everyone else has left. It has been really sad to say goodbye to some of my close friends that I have made here at the MTC. We got along extremely well and shared some of the most spiritual empowering moments in my life. They will do amazing in Alabama, Washington, and Nevada. The MTC will forever be one of my most fond memories of my mission it truly was so fun and I am sad to leave this place. You get what you put into it and i think i gave it almost everything i had. I'm just saving the rest for the mission field. 

I also had the opportunity to give my first priesthood blessing here to a sister in our district. It was an amazing experience, as the words just come to you while you are in the very moment. The spirit really leads and directs our lives even when we may have trouble recognizing it. The fact is, it is a constant companion so stop worrying about trying to feel this big AHA moment. The spirit leads us while we are moving. Like Nephi when he went back to retrieve the plates. he "pressed forward with a steadfastness in Christ not knowing what he should do before hand" we wasn't sitting around waiting for God to tell him what to do. He pressed forward knowing that the spirit would guide him even though he could not recognize it. Doctrine and Covenants 80:3   It doesn't matter where you go you cannot go amiss it you make Christ the centre of your life. 

Also there is a talk in Oct 17 Conference "Lord wilt thou cause that my eyes may be opened" Elder Zwick talks about Remember to put Jesus Christ at the centre of your life today because of a young man named Beau. His Best friend is in my district and he shares his story with us. It is a very tender story and I hope it will touch you as much as it touches me.

One last story today Elder Taylor and I woke up at 4:30 to say our goodbyes and then we figured we would just stay up and get ready for the day. So we decided we would go shower...but the only problem was that our towels were packed away. So we had nothing to dry ourselves off. haha so we thought it would be a good idea to us our bed covers... turns our bed covers do not make good towels. They actually absorb ZERO water droplets. They just spread the water everywhere so we had to stand in our showers for like 15 mins air drying laughing our heads off at 5 in the morning waking everyone up. So I am grateful for towels, and I will never take them for granted again.

Love Elder Palmer

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The following added by mom

Here is the link to the talk it a a great one

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2017/11/sunday-morning-session/lord-wilt-thou-cause-that-my-eyes-may-be-opened?lang=eng

or just the story. Get ready for tears.

“On May 28, 2016, 16-year old Beau Richey and his friend Austin were at a family ranch in Colorado.  Beau and Austin climbed into their all-terrain vehicles with great anticipation for a day of adventure. They had not gone far when they encountered precarious conditions, at which point tragedy struck. The vehicle Beau was driving flipped over suddenly pinning Beau under 400 pounds (180kg) of steel.  When Beau’s friend Austin got to him, he saw Beau struggling for his life.  With every bit of strength, he tried to pull the vehicle off his friend.  It wouldn’t budge.  He prayed for Beau and then frantically went for help.  Emergency personnel finally arrived, but a  few hours later Beau died.  He was released from his mortal life. 

His heartbroken parents arrived. As they stood in the small hospital with Beau’s dearest friend and and family members, a police officer entered the room and handed Beau's cell phone to his mother.   As she took the phone, an audible alarm sounded.  She opened the message her fun-loving, highly adventurous teenage son had set to read every day.  It said,  “Remember to put Jesus Christ at the center of your life today.”

Beau’s focus on his Redeemer does not lessen his loved ones’ sorrow in his absence.  However, it gives great hope and meaning to Beau’s life and his life choices.  It allows his family and friends to look beyond only the grief of his early death to the joyful realities of the next life.  What a tender mercy for Beau’s parents and see through their son’s eyes the thing he most prized.” Elder Zwick, October General Conference Sunday Morning 2017

Missions are Forever

Wow days feel like a week and weeks feel like a day. The MTC experience really depends on what you make of it. If everyday you look forward to getting out then when you get to the field you will look forward everyday to getting home. I have seen so many missionaries just dying to get out. but those are the ones I worry the most for. 

I look forward to leaving but I will miss the MTC SOOOOO much it has been so much fun and I have made so many friends and have learned so much.

For the first week I was so tired everyday. I could not stay awake for the life of me. But I have gotten used to always being tired so I actually can stay awake during the 6 hours of classes everyday. 

The food here is ok it isn't anything special but it is really good considering that they make enough for 2000 missionaries 3 times a day. 

They aren't called investigators anymore they are friends or people. and we ended up having a few more good lessons with her last week. in TRC (the fake investigators) we had to walk around the MTC grounds looking for people who had a golden name tag on. we then had to contact them and set up an appointment. pretty cool and it was actually really eyeopening and so fun to meet so many new people. 

Just giving you my everyday schedule. I wake up at 6:30 get dressed and eat breakfast at 7. Then I head to class at 8:30 until 10:30 when we have to teach a lesson in TRC then it is straight back to class since we have to miss some class time to do our lesson. lunch is at 11:30 until 1:30 but we have a workshop usually at 12:30 then we go to class until 4:30. then we eat dinner exercise for an hour until 6:30 then personal study starts at 7 and companion study is at 8 until 9 then I go back to the residency and shower and get to bed. So it is pretty fun!

I have also bumped into Elder Beckstrand so many times he is doing great and we always laugh over some of the things we did back at home. 

Elders Palmer, Payne, Beckstrand and Wocknitz - so fun to see them all together

Elder Taylor and I have been having some fun too... um for a service project we had to vacuum the hallways of a building and while we we went up we vacuumed the elevator as it went up. It was the most exhilarating moment! It was such a neat experience. I highly recommend vacuuming an elevator. 

We also had the opportunity to do some studying in the elevator as it went up and down and people came in and out.( this was only bout 10 mins mom and dad we did get to our personal studies) don't worry we are obedient.

Elder Taylor and I for the last two weeks have been kicking elders out of our room so we can get to bed on time even though the residence stays up till about 11 yelling and screaming. but I fall asleep fast because I am so exhausted at the end of everyday. 

um i have been getting cramps in my calves lately though in the middle of the night. and I was wondering why I was getting all these cramps then I realized that God gave the devil power to bruise our heels

so I have been drinking more water to help with the cramps and it has helped a lot. guess the devil can't stand the living waters. 

So I got my flight plans for next week and I leave on Tuesday! from the Salt Lake airport at 3:01pm and arrive in San Diego and 3:51.

I checkout of the MTC at 10:15.......And I get to call home while I am in the airport! so please pick up the first time. I will call the house phone. 

Our roomies leave today so Elder Taylor and I will have a room all to ourselves for a day or two which will be bittersweet. I have loved getting to know the elders in my room. They all have very unique personalities with one thing in common. A desire to serve their loving Saviour. 

I also got the watch and really like! tell Grandma thank you Sooo much it has seriously helped me at being on time. I struggled with that before my mission and was still struggling with it haha. but I have gotten way better because of the watch.

I will leave with a nice thought from Elder Holland's Talk  "missions are forever. to often we get caught up thinking why can't my life be easier or why don't people come flocking to the baptismal font? and the answer is that salvation isn't easy so why do expect it to be? how can we expect to be true disciples of Christ if we haven't felt even a portion of the garden of Gethsemane or taken a step or two up Calvary?"

Love Elder Palmer 

Week One - MTC

Wow in the last few days I don't think i have ever felt so unprepared. Seriously everyone here has such strong testimonies. I am so honored to have the opportunity to train next to some of the Lord's most choice spirits.  Everyone here is giving up part of the prime of their life in service of our loving Savior. 

My companion is Elder Taylor. He is from Utah. He has taught me Soooo much. Seriously there are so many things that he does that I one day what to be able to do. Such as... whenever we need a scripture he always has one ready in his mind that he can just whip out at a moments notice. He loves music and can tickle the ivories till they sing. We get along well even though we have completly different personalities but for some reason we just work well together usually. The one time was in a TRC lesson we kinda got off track of our lesson plan and just said whatever came to mind, it lead to a pretty messy lesson where even we were confused, so I cannot imagine what the person was thinking. We talked things over about how we can better teach together so we are the best now.

oh fun fact within one hour of being in the MTC we had to give a lesson. which actually went really well!

I have run into just about every other missionary from Alberta here. including Elders Payne, Bennet, Cook, Wocknitz and even Elder Steed the Patriarch 

 I love it here everyone is extremely nice and is trying to come closer to Christ. I especially love 

being here because it has helped me start to grow and improve so I can be the missionary that God our Father wants me to be. I have been lucky enough to notice my weaknesses so that I can strive to make them my strengths. 

in Nephi 2:6-7 

Lehi departs into the wilderness and after having been in the wilderness for three days he stopped and bulit an alter to his God giving thanks. 

This shows us that when we are experiencing hardships and trials that we need to give thanks to God. Because we need to have the faith that through us he will work a marvellous work and a wonder that will bless us in the long run. Even if at the time the task seems daunting. Because we all know in the end Lehi had the privliage of knowing that God loved him enough to allow him to have such a trial of faith so that he could grow closer to his Lord and Savior. Lehi had faith that God's will was what would help him grow and become truly converted through faith.

While being here at the MTC I have been trying to have more Christ like charity, to love everyone no matter what they do. I can testify that God answers prayers that are sincere and will help us grow closer to Christ. I prayed for this Christ like attribute. I then had the privliage of seeing others the way Christ sees them. Every time I noticed an Elder or sister having a hard time my heart would literally melt for them. I have made so many new friends this way and whenever we pass each other we always check up on each other because we sincerly love each other.

Mom Dad I know that I am where God needs me not wants me. I felt the spirit testify this to me the first day. That God has a Marvoulus work and a wonder to perforn through me and that God has a marvoulus work and a wonder for YOU.

-- 

Oh and guess which bed is mine...and spot my companion in the bedroom photo

Elder Palmer

California San Diego Mission

Only Elder Palmer, his companion Elder Taylor and the sweet sister in the yellow are assigned to San Diego

Elder Palmer found President and Sister Martino, who are his brother's mission president and wife when he served in Philippines Angeles Mission. They are now President and wife of the Provo MTC. We love the Martinos!! 

A call to California San Diego Mission

 Elder Palmer received his call to serve in the California San Diego Mission on April 13, 2018. To say he was excited would be an understatement. He has been preparing his whole life for this time and for it to finally be here has been amazing.

Landon received the Melchizedek Priesthood the same day as his cousin Briggs and two of his best friends James and Avery.  June 10th. Which also was the day that our Stake was blessed to have President Russell M Nelson and Elder Rasband and their wives come and visit. We also had President Nelson and his lovely wife Wendy attend out sacrament meeting.  Such a wonderful memorable day.

 After graduation we had a very busy month visiting with family and friends, doing activities together and eating some of Landon's favourite foods. Landon is our third son to serve so we totally know what to expect and having all the shopping done early was wonderful!

Elder Palmer received his endowment on July 3, all of his older siblings were able to be there. Two missed the picture though as some had to run to babies waiting for them. Next time we will get a photo of us all

We will show lots of pictures of Elder P to these cuties. 

August 1, 2018 the day his full time mission started at the Provo MTC. Such a great day. Yes there were a few tears but they are tears of missing him already but mostly JOY!!

Elder Palmer will be a wonderful missionary. We have no doubt. He will serve the Lord with his whole heart. We are grateful for his example.  

This boy may miss Elder P the most. They have been great brothers and being the last one left at home will feel strange. But we got this.  See you in two Elder Palmer. We love you!!!! More than you know.