May 3, 2011 - Been REAL busy this week

Its been a pretty good week. we had sharries baptism on saturday. it went really well. something funny that happened is after Elder Pickett baptized her she came out of the water and looked at him and said "what no kiss?" bishop harris and I started laughing our heads off. on sunday when we had her confirmation our Ward mission leader confirmed her afterwards i leaned over towards bishop who was in the circle behinde me "pucker up Elder Pickett." Bishop and I started to laugh a little bit. i really like bishop harris, he's the guy we work for on his cattle ranch alot. i know i promised billions of pictures of my companion and I branding but we got there about 6:30 in the morning and Bro Wright (Gil) said well elders we got about 80 babies to brand, castrate, and vacinate, and i think were going to rebrand, tag, and vacinate all the mama's. he then asked when do you boy's need to leave i told him that we have a baptism at 2 o'clock. he said well we better get started then so Gil and his son jake jumped on the japanese horses (4 wheelers) and went and pushed them all into the corral. then came the hard part seperating mama's from babies...... Gil handed a thick stick painted bright orange and said "didn't you grow up with cows?" i said my grandpa had some but ive never really "worked with them." he looked at me and with a smile said well you gotta put on your big boy pants sometimes. so we started seprating we pushed everything into a big pen and Gil said to push them to the gate while he had the hard job of letting mamas out and keeping babies in. but we got it done and then his son in-law backed up the trailor and we "gentlely" pursuaded them to get in. and then he pulled it around into the barn and he handed me a laso and asked do you know how to rope? i said nope he looked at me and laughed and said boy what are you good for? i grabbed the rope from him and said show me and ill teach myself. he said i have $20 in my pocket that says that my daughter jaenae can rope better than you. i looked and said so all i have to do is get the rope around there neck and pull them out right? he said yep thats it he said nothing about me actually roping them. so i ran in the trailor and just put it around there neck and pulled them out and then gil showed me how to throw them on the ground by myslef you take the slack of the rope thats around there neck and wrap it around there rear hooves and pull. then Elder Pickett got to hold them down while they got branded. it was alot of fun but we had no time to take pictures. after the calves were done we had to do the mama's so jake and I pushed them into a shoot and i had a tazer thing i got to shock them in the butt. and then this shoot would squeeze there head and sides so that they couldnt move. it was kinda cool. but missionary work is starting to pick up. alot of people are starting to invite there friends to meet with us. Elder Pickett and I submitted an article to the paper about us and they printed it. it was sweet ill have to find the article. i had a member send it to you mom. but i love you guys
-- Elder Tyler Herring4380 So. Orchard AveSouth Ogden, UT 84403

April 26 - Counting my Blessings

pretty good weeks this week, were still waiting on a letter from the first presidency that K-lou can be baptized should be here sometime this week. one investigator were teaching Alex has to get all of his community service in before he can be baptized to bishop harris's on Saturday and him and elder Pickett pitched off hay while bishop, mark (bishops brother) and I were separating cows that had had babies and ones that hadn't. not to terribly hard except for when a couple of them want to get out and Im standing in between them and freedom, bishop had given me this cattle broad that had a plastic flag on the end of it and told me if they get to close to snap it. hahahah i think it scared me more than it scared them, it made an awful cracking noise that made my ears ring for awhile. but it took us about two hours to separate all 900 of them. yesterday we were working for this less-active guy in Thatcher taking a bunch of metal to the scrap yard to get money for it. it was really fun, we got to knock a wall out of his "barn" to get this giant milk cooler out. but we had a chain hooked to the bottom of it on the legs and he was pulling in out with his tractor, i was behind it telling him which way to pull and it got hung up on a chain that was dangling from the ceiling. by the time i noticed and was about to turn and run away it snapped and smacked me across the face right under my eyes. IM OK!!!!!! but i have theses things that look like blood blisters under my eyes and across my nose and my face kinda still hurts. i don't know how it didn't kill me..... each link was about and inch long. but afterwards i was like
"holy crap...... that hurt..... am i bleeding? no...... is my face broke..... feels like it wants to be but i think im ok." so i went inside washed my face and the less-active guy asked what happened i said that chain on the ceiling snapped and smacked me across the face. on the ride home i was reflecting what happened and how the lord had protected me. im grateful that he is mindful of all us, expecially his missionaries. but i dont know if i said this in the last letter but i started reading the book of mormon in chronological order and i got through ether and read about if the people that posses this land dont serve heavenly father they will be swept off the face of it. this past week i got through the introduction and the book of Mormon institute manual that puts what Im reading in plane English, so i take a long time for me to get through some of the chapters because one chapter usually has 3-4 pages of other reading in the institute manual. put in the introduction of the book of Mormon the prophet Joseph Smith said theses words that i love it because it's so bold:
“I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”
but this week we have two branding jobs one friday and the other saturday. I'll be sure to take tons of pictures, thanks love you all

pictures1:burning hot lava in town

2:geyser in the middle of town

3: funny sign i took a picture with

- Elder Tyler Herring4380 So. Orchard AveSouth Ogden, UT 84403

April 19, 2011 - Time to Brand

today our district decided to go hiking, we went into "the niter ice cave." we started about 12 and finshed about 2. it was really cool, there was ice everywhere..... i felt like i was in a winter wonderland. we attempted to start a fire, but there wasnt enough dry wood in there to get one started. yesterday it snowed..... again..... one funny thing happed though while we were pitching out hay elder pickett fell off the trailer and slid down this hill side about 12ft. when he made it back up the hill, i laughed at him and called him slip n' slide the rest of the day. one of thoses calfs died earlier this week that we found last monday. we had to herd all theses cows to a different field and instead of using calm and sense and walk across a bridge they decided to go through a river. bishop had to rope a calf and pull it back over before it drowned and we had to take him back and put him the "hot box" to warm him back up. he should be ok. on sunday our mission president came to the soda springs stake conference and was one of the main speakers. him and his wife both gave really really good talks. afterwards we were invited to have lunch with the stake president, president olson, and sister olson. it was really nice to have some one on one time with president where i could ask him some questions and pick his brain. before that he had to interview two of our investigators, k-lou and alex, they both passed. alex will be getting baptised on the 23rd and k-lou has to wait for first presidency approval..... she's on parole and her husband is in jail and awaiting trial for drug trafficing. but he still wants to be baptized!!!!! president olson just wants to see atleast a month of going to church and taking the missionary lessons before he comes up and interviews him. so hopefully everything will work out. wednesday we taught the soda springs high school seminary classes from 9am-4pm for bishop hegeman. we taught d+c 113-119 and then asked the kids who they could invite to meet with the missionaries. tomorrow we have to follow-up on all thoses invites alot of them sounded really really promising. this morning elder pickett and I went to the "hooper springs" which in naturally carbonated water!!!! it tasted like crap but i did bring some drink mix and put in with it and had carbonated lemonade. it wasn't half bad. i actually enjoyed it. but everything is going good i really like it up here. we got to go branding this last week for this less-active guy in thatcher. he said right when we got there just cause your helping me out doesnt mean that im going to come back to church, we kinda just shrugged it off and went to work. his wife pulled us aside and thanked us for coming and he invited us over this week for dinner :) so we'll see how it goes. our high councilmen over missionary work wants us to come out and help brand all his cattle this friday..... all 400 of them......... ive come to the conlusion that we do alot of service up here cause everyone is a farmer. hahaha i love it though ill be sure to take pictures this timelove,
-- Elder Tyler Herring4380 So. Orchard AveSouth Ogden, UT 84403

April 12 - Two More Half Dead

yesterday while we were pitching hay to some cows Bishop Harris's dad, Mcgee, motioned for me to come to the front of the tractor. He pointed down to a calf that wasn't moving. i went over to the little guy and picked his head up. I yelled he's still alive but barely. He had me put him on the the trailer. Five minutes later same thing different calf, not as bad though, he was able to hold his head up. So we took them back to the barn and Bishop asked whats wrong with them. Mcgee said "scours" which i guess is th equivilant of diarrhea. so i got to say with bishop the rest of the day while pickett kept pitching hay with mcgee. i got to play nurse while bishop was trying to put an I.v in there jugular, i think they'll be ok now that why have fluids in them and a quart of milk replacement in them. after we finished with those two there was a mother that was getting ready to calf so we had to put her in the barn in one of the stalls. it took bishop, his brother mark, and I 15min to move her from the corral to the barn which is only 20ft away. she wasn't having it. after we got her in a stall we had to figure a way to get her head in the shoot. man was she mad she kept hitting the door to the stall and butting the side of it. Mark took a rope and put it around her neck and through it to me and i threaded it through the shoot and then all three of us pulled trying to get her head through. Mcgee came in and walked by the shoot and she ran at him and got her head stuck in the shoot. he made it look easy, or the cow just really hates him. after that mark went in to do the dirty work, unfortunately the calf's leg was turned the wrong way and wasn't going to come out. called the vet he came over and gave the mom a shot to relax her then they got this contraption called a "puller" and wrapped a chain around the calf's legs and started pulling him out. he ended up being still born. Mark said from all the stress the calf drowned in the birthing fluid. but we did find out that the vet was catholic so we have to figure out a way to get him back out there so we can talk to him. but i did start the book of Mormon over again. this time i decided that I'd read in chronological order so im in ether. in ether 2: 23 i really like what the lord said to the brother of jared: "And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?"the brother of jared was asking the lord what he should do and the lord pretty much said i gave you a brain you figure it out. i put beside that D+c 9:7-8: "Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must astudy it out in your bmind; then you must cask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your dbosom shall eburn within you; therefore, you shall ffeel that it is right." sometimes the lord makes us "study it out" and then ask him. when investigators say i haven't gotten my answer whats wrong, i read that scripture in doctrine and covenants. our baptism this week went flawless. Ashley had alot of people there for her. we had our first new member discussion with her sunday and asked her how the holy ghost has helped her since she received it. she said that it had kept her from saying or doing something she wasn't supposed to. she said like when she wants to yell at her brother she thinks about it and feels like she shouldn't. her brother and her best friend megan aren't members either she's supposed to be inviting them to her lesson next Sunday. thanks love you all-- Elder Tyler Herring4380 So. Orchard AveSouth Ogden, UT 84403

April 5, 2011 - First Week in Soda Springs

i love serving here in soda springs, ID. the first day i was here we went to visit a bishop outside of town. after driving on a dirt road for 20min we came to his house (ranch). it was really muddy that day and bishop Harris looked at me and said "elder don't come back unless you got boots and a work coat, your going to get sh*t all over your church clothes." that night i went to a local farming store and bought some boots and a car-hart coat. since then we've gotten to work on bishops ranch twice. i guess the missionaries work for him twice a week in the mornings. it was a lot of fun though. he had us throwing 1ton hay bales with a pitch fork to his 400 head of cattle. definitely not the easiest thing Ive done. its one bale for every 100. this week he's supposed to be bringing back 1600 more from malta, id. i love it out there. next month he's invite the whole zone out with the local football team to help him brand all the baby calves. yesterday morning we were helping find any calves that the mothers had hid in bushes and sage brush. we found one little guy half frozen to death in the pictures that's who im holding. his whole body was covered in snow and frost and couldn't even stand up so we had to carry him back. he was a heavy little guy. the other picture is from the top of bishop harris's ranch looking over our area. a frozen tundra right? its not to bad if you have a thick coat in. in the picture with the calf it was 18 degrees but with the wind chill bishop said it was hovering around the single digits. my cheeks were pretty cold. but i did get to go to all of saturday conference. we sat four rows from the front on the right hand side. it was the closest ive even been to Thomas S. Monson. i really enjoyed Elder Oaks talk on desire. ill link the video: http://lds.org/general-conference/watch/2011/04?lang=eng&vid=880291640001&cid=11 i really enjoyed what he said at the beginning of his talk. "he said desires dictate our priorities. priorities shape our choices and choices determine our actions." when he said that i thought what do i really desire, i said to myself serving the lord..... then the holy ghost whispered to me go deeper. and a scripture in alma 29: 1-8 popped into my mind: 1. O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the atrump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people! 2. Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and acome unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth. 3. But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me. 4. I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their adesire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their bwills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction. 5. Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is ablameless; but he that bknoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of cconscience. 6. Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to aperform the work to which I have been called? 7. Why should I desire that I were an angel, that I could speak unto all the ends of the earth? 8. For behold, the Lord doth agrant unto ball nations, of their own nation and ctongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he dseeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.theses scriptures go really well with elder oaks talk. like my desires are good..... but i should desire to declare repentance to the ends of the earth. that translated and humbled me that i should be running from home to home declaring unto everyone of the restoration. thats something we should all be doing or at least having a missionary mindset all the time. but im doing good i really like my new companion Elder Pickett. we actually have a baptism today at 6:30pm ill be sure to take pictures for you guyslove, -- Elder Tyler Herring4380 So. Orchard AveSouth Ogden, UT 84403

March 29, 2011 - Going to Soda Springs

hey whatsup family and friends, so we had transfer calls this morning and my dreams and prayers came true im going to Soda Springs Idaho. I'll be serving with Elder Pickett up there with a car. my current companion just came from that area and i asked him what he did to earn member trust and to have work up there and he said that he would work alot with the farmers around there mmoving ad working there cattle all day twice a week. Elder Whitby said that id probably be branding, banding, and giving shots so im really excited cause ive really never done any of that. ill be sure to take alot of pictures. this week was really cool one of my zone leaders elder weiland is going home soon... like 3 days and his parents drove here and got here early so he asked president if he could go to dinner with them. so elder weiland and i got to go to dinner with them to Costa viida. they picked us up at our Passion Pit (house) and his mother hugged and kissed his boy for a good 5minutes.... apparently his mother missed him alot. :) sorry for the short letter this week though..... i have alot of laundrey and packing to do. love you all ill be sure to write a really long letter next week im sure ill have tons to tell you all -- Elder Tyler Herring4380 So. Orchard AveSouth Ogden, UT 84403

March 22, 2011

last Tuesday i tried running........ it went great not up to bar for playing any sports yet, probably wont be able to play sports till i get home :( ankles are bruised cause i havent ran in a long time but everything is starting to heal up. my companions back held up for about three days before he messed it up again we were playing a 3pt shooting game as a zone. so we went to the chiropractor on monday and got him all straightened out. on friday i was on exchanges with one of zoneleaders elder bevans to morgan, ut. morgan is the coolest little town ive been to. its this little tiny town surrounded by a farm community (reminded me alot of gordonsville!) they have theses two restaurants we always eat at stephs and debs. there sooooo good, diet goes out the window everytime we go to morgan. we'll probably have zone breakfast there when transfers happen on the 30th. im really hoping that ill be able to go to idaho this next transfer, were thinking that the assistants will take over our area because they need to be closer to the new mission office. so we'll see what the next couple of weeks will bring. hopefully ill be able to go and stay up there the rest of my mission :). not to much to report areas doing really good nothing to complain. were still looking for a place to live. our apartment flooded to many times so we opt'd to move out and live with our zoneleaders. but were hoping that the stakes we are serving in will be able to find us another place to live. yesterday i was on an excahnge with the other district leaders companion and i guess the day before they wee teaching this young lady and she asked them why and how do you kno there was an apostasy so elder conover and i studied that together for personal and companionship study and i flipped open my preach my gospel and turned to the restoration lesson to the great apostasy and found a scripture in amos that prophesied a great apostasy. in amos 8:11-12: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a afamine of bread, nor a bthirst for water, but of hearing the cwords of the Lord.... And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall arun to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it."amos had prophesied a long time before christ had sat up and restored the church in Jerusalem. and if you look in chapter 40 of jesus the christ the catholic church sent out a decree to the world that the "known" world was in an apostasy..... meaning there was no priesthood on the earth.....did the catholic church just prove that they had no authority from god? read in the chapter notes in chapter 40 in jesus the christ number three and see what you think. by the way the mission address has changed so if you would like to send me any mail please read my signature at the bottom. love you -- Elder Tyler Herring4380 So. Orchard AveSouth Ogden, UT 84403