its a small world

Well once again I am gonna need to rush this and plus this computer is be dumb  so i promise next weeks email will be better 

but i got transferred and yeah elder  Anthony was awesome so it was rough to leave

elder anthony and I

 he is hilarious 

I also met John Yorgason..Dolly Piatts son, lol why didnt she say he lived here haha such a small world 

I will give more deets and such

the Updikes, Branch President in Superior they are so nice and they know the Harsh family 

met some russian ppl and taught them 

yeah sorry for the crappy email but thanks for the birthday wishes 

love you all 

have a good week

love Elder David Witt

Russians in Montana

hello family

it was a nice week here in Montana. We went on splits this week I was with Elder Jones, an Elder that came from my mission, and we were planning on visiting a Russian family, but it didnt work out and we weren't able to meet with them so hopefully I can go with him again and talk to that family. And then yesterday we were eating at a members house and they said there were some Russians in frenchtown so we went to their house and were like hey were heard there are russians that live around here and the little girl who answered the door was like we are the russians haha their parents werent home so we will have to go back to their house as well. But I am excited to teach them, and also nervous since my russian is awful haha then when we were coming back from the split then we were trying to get a hold of April of of our investigators and she hadnt answered our calls or texts or anything so we called a member and asked her to call then April finally texted back and said she was busy and such but we were still able to set up a lesson with her and it was great because we were able to figure out why she doesnt really want to get baptized and that is because she was previously baptized in another church so we will talk with her about authority and the restoration and such, so it should be really good. and plus we need to talk to her less active husband and get him goin and I think that will help too. We were able to talk to some other less actives and a recent convert and we are getting them more interested in coming to church and being better people and such. We are also working with someone who has been less active for about 60 years and he has decided to give up drinking and coffee and stuff and is coming to church and gonna get the Priesthood soon it is wonderful and his wife who has been against the church and hasnt sat in when the missionaries were over has been sitting in and it seems like she really likes us, so hopefully we can start teaching her as well. But yeah we are really getting to know everyone in Frenchtown haha this week went by quick but it was good. 

this is a less active dude who has tons of old cars it is awesome. this particular one is over 100 years old, it still runs and all of the parts are original. it was awesome to see haha 

I have been talking to nadia and Olea in Lugansk and things are getting awful, it is so sad to hear what is going on over there but for some reason it is happening and there is a plan. I wish I could be over there but then again I am glad I am safe in America. 

love you all 

and Happy Fathers Day to dad and all the other dads love you thanks for all you do

have a good week (and have fun in cali mom dad and marc.......haha love you)

love Elder David Witt   

the Lord is Bound when we do what He says

I love Montana haha 

just a llama by our house

Well the story with the horse, we wanted to talk to someone who was on a list of part member families (even though the list hasnt been updated and they are both members now but anyway) We drive and drive way far up this mountain and we finally get there and someone answers the door and we find out that he is house sitting and isnt interested in hearing us, so we asked if he needed help and he said yes the horses have gotten out so will you help me catch them haha so we drove back down the road and we saw the horses so he told us to get out and wait by them while he went and asked the forest service for help (since the horses were behind the fence on their land) so we waited by the horses and fed them grass and stuff then they ran off haha so when the guy came back the horses were gone, well thankfully the daughter in law of these people found out and came and called for the horses and they came back and she took them back to the house, so not the service or the day we planned but hey it was eventful haha 

but anyway this week was good Elder Carlos A Godoy from the 70 came and spoke to us at mission tour. this is the second time i have heard him speak and he is so funny. We talked about how in the Book of Mormon they were called to serve in different areas and sometimes the people hated them and sometimes they had great success but no matter what they trusted in the Lord and he helped them with their missionary work then he related that to us.Our mission President talked about how we are emissaries  of Jesus Christ, so we are not only representative but as well as agents, so we work for him and whatever we promise is like a promise from him, so it is really cool that we have been trusted to do that, that we can make promises to people that if they keep commitments and follow the commandments then we can give them specific blessings (as directed by the Spirit)  that absolutely will happen. because when the Lord is bound he has to do what he says. He HAS to. 

This week we were able to do some service for 2 people, we pulled weeds (not the funnest but hey) and helped cut down some trees for the guy who was out of town that we thought was a PM family, he was so nice and funny. We visited Ida an investigator who got pneumonia so is now at a care center, she is doing a lot better and looks pretty healthy, we were able to meet with Less actives and part member families too so it was a good week. We put April on date for the end of the month, she has been taught by missionaries for a long time and said she would pick a date but is still moving at her own pace, so it is a good step forward. It was great to see most of the people we had met with come to church and see their happy faces. 

but yeah i cant believe it is summer and a year ago I was graduating and opening my call! time flies  

love you and hope you have a good week

-Love

Elder David Witt 

Charity

Another good week. i got a new companion Elder Anthony from Ohio. I guess they needed Elder Beck somewhere else since we were both only there for about 2 weeks. Elder Anthony is like 26 and graduated the same year as Sharlene. ha but he is cool he has been out a year, reminds me of Elder Claypool quite a bit. 

We found some less actives and let me tell you some of those people are so funny when they see missionaries haha one guy was like I havent been to church in many moons and wasnt interested in meeting with us or having home teachers or anything like that haha  it was more of a you had to be there but it was funny. We found some more part member families but nothing really came out of that, we did get a part member family that had been taught a while ago and we are going to start teaching again so we have high hopes for them that should be fun. 

A while ago in Kiev I was studying about charity and then we had a district meeting where we talked about it and charity is awesome. I love the verses in Moroni 7 "Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope and again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart. If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him."

I read that and was like oh shoot we can be puffed up be envious think or speak no evil all those things and it was cool to just try to let those things go so we can love all people no matter who they are or where we are. as we have charity that pure love for other people it makes us happier. 

We had a meeting last night with ward missionaries and how to use social media and it is cool to see these members step up, but it would be even better if the whole stake stepped up, if all the members of the church shared there testimony. You dont have to be weird or pushy just like simple stuff I know God loves us. It is hard to share with friends sometimes but the reward that will come from it will be great. So I am excited to work with the members more and be able to teach their friends and such.

In other news Elder Claypool emailed me and after we left Sanya went downhill with a whole bunch of stuff, it was sad to see but he is gonna follow up with him this week so we will see how that goes, thankfully through the atonement we can try over again when we have messed up. 

But yeah love you guys hope you have a good week

Love 
Elder David Witt

Hello America

Well, hello America. and hello Big Sky Country 

good old sunsets in big sky country 

It is definitely bitter sweet. In the short 5 months that I was there (in Ukraine) I learned to really love the culture, places and people. I  hope I get to go back and visit some of those places some day. But it is good to be in America. On the first full day back we went to Cafe Rio for lunch and it was delicious as always. I loved it haha There are so many things we take for granted here and we dont realize how blessed we are in this country.

  such a beautiful temple 

Good to see my MTC buddies one last time

We live with members who have had missionaries live with them before. They are really nice people. They have 4 boys and two still live at home a 17 year old and a 14 year old. They are a fun and really nice family. Even though our area, Frenchtown, is really small and has had missionaries there for 35 years and you could probably tract every house in a transfer, we have still been able to have success so that has been fun.

 We have met with a lot of less active and part member families and have found some new people tracting who seem to have a ton of potential. It is weird here because members give a lot of referrals and we eat at members houses every night. If there was a night that wasn't filled the members are like oh no we have to feed the missionaries! ha so it is cool I guess that the members want us in their homes. Just if you ever feed the missionaries though, make them something besides pasta, even though it is always good that is what everyone feeds us haha 

It was good to meet the members yesterday and be able to understand what was going on and what people were saying to me haha so that has been nice. 

My comp Elder Beck is pretty cool too he is from Cedar City Utah and has been here for about 14 months. 

It was good to talk to you all on mothers day. That was fun. I dont know if you guys watched that video the church put out called "It was Mom" it is a pretty sweet video. So again Happy Mothers day mom Love you! 

another video I really like that the church just put out is the Because of Him video, it is awesome that we can have it on our ipads and take it around and show people, its great. 

It is funny to see some of the missionaries here talk about getting transferred and then I just think well at least you will get to see them again sometime in the near future haha 

It will be good to talk to people from the Donetsk mission though and see how they are all doing in different parts of the U.S. 

For those of you who didnt know or a refresher for my fam I was serving in Donestsk, we got evacuated to the Kiev Mission and we were there for about a month, then we got a call from President Klebingat saying that all of the Donetsk missionaries will be getting reassignments and we would find out in 2-12 days when and where we were going. We got that call on a Tuesday then Wednesday morning we got a text saying we were leaving Friday early early in the morning so we needed to be at the mission office on Thursday no later than 3pm. So we had to buy some souvenirs and get all of  our stuff packed. So we did that then we all got together President Klebingat gave a farewell speech and stuff then read off our names and said where we were going. there were 5 other missionaries that got called to the Montana Billings mission. Then we got on planes the next day at like 3am and went to our missions. 

awesome people from Ecuador

 It isn't every day you have a Mission President who is in the 70 (they are both awesome) 

It has been a crazy  month but I am glad to be here in Montana and I know that the Lord has a plan for every single one of us and it is all up to Him and as we trust in Him then we will find happiness and success. President Mecham and his wife seem really nice so it should be a good 17 months. 

Love you and hope you have a good week.

Love Elder David Witt 

PS hopefully all of that made sense haha and had all the important deets, my mailing address is 

Elder David Witt

18435 Buckskin Ln

Frenchtown, MT 

59834 

Quite the Transfer

It has been an interesting rainy day for us. We got news that Elder David Witt is getting a transfer and that all the Donetsk missionaries are getting transferred to stateside missions.  Shocking, yes it is, but it is OK.  They will be in their new areas this Friday!  Elder David Witt has been assigned to the . . . . .

Montana Billings Mission!  Here is information about his new mission President and wife. 

President:  Kris J. Mecham Spouse: Stephanie Bessire Mecham

Served: 2012 - 2015

Comments: Kris J Mecham, 58, and Stephanie Bessire Mecham, five children, Montana Billings Mission; Ashley Park Ward, Sandy Utah Granite South Stake. Brother Mecham served as a stake mission preparation leader and temple preparation instructor. He is a former president of the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission, stake executive secretary, high councilor, bishop, Young Men president and missionary in the Scotland Mission. Director of community services, Corporation of the Presiding Bishop. Born in Blackfoot, Idaho, to Alvin John and Nina Mecham. Sister Mecham serves as a stake mission preparation leader and temple preparation instructor. She served with her husband in the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission and is a former stake history compiler for the 25th anniversary, tri-stake family history center director, Young Women president, Primary president and counselor in a Relief Society presidency. Born in Rupert, Idaho, to Duane Merrill and Carole Ann Cahoon Bessire.

We are sad of all the unrest that has occurred in the Donetsk Mission and that all the missionaries in this mission will have new assignments or go home earlier than planned.  We know some transfers aren’t what we are expecting, but we do trust the Lord sees the bigger picture and inspires His leaders in His affairs here on this earth.  

Please pray for Elder David Witt and all the missionaries from this mission that they will have positive attitudes, trust the Lord, go forward with faith, have the ambition to work hard and do missionary work wherever they are assigned and make the necessary adjustments that are ahead of them.  We never know what cards will be dealt to us in the game of life, but we do know that we can make the best of each situation with the help of God and knowing that He is preparing the way for us to be successful.  We are grateful for the opportunities we have had in having Elder David Witt serve in Ukraine.  We are grateful for President Lochhead and his wife who were watching over the missionaries and keeping them safe.  We express gratitude for modern technology that allows us to have instant updates. We are grateful for the Ukraine people who provided love, meals and support to our missionaries, along with the companions and Elders who have served or worked with Elder David Witt in the Donetsk Mission.  We know that Heavenly Father is in control of the situation and is well aware of what is happening.  We will always remember the picture Elder Witt bought in the MTC that had a picture of Christ walking down the middle of the battle field with the words “Peace Is Coming!”   By Jon McNaughton.

How did he know to buy this picture and how did he know he was going to be in the middle of a battle field?  The spirit helps us along our path to face the difficult situation ahead of us.  We think these are only the beginning of the storms we will face in this earthly battle.  These battles can only be fought by righteousness.  The word of God is more powerful than a two edge sword.  Are we prepared to defend the truth and stand for righteousness?  Let’s continue to have daily personal and family prayers, read and study our scriptures daily, and have weekly Family Home Evenings.  These are the strong weapons that will be needed to endure the battles ahead of us.  Isaiah 41:10 states, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee:  be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Vs 13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”

We love all of you and look forward to talking with Elder David Witt this Mother’s Day!   

Love, Mom & Dad

Short and sweet

Well it isnt every week that two general authorities come to your zone conference. haha We had President  Bennett (Area presidency) and President Klebingat.

It was a  great conference getting us all pumped up to be better and it is cool the missions are good for now plus the prepare us for the rest of how we want to live our lives. oh on the way to the conference it was really cool we were walking up and this dude got out of his car and motioned for us to come over and he is like what is that building right there (pointing to the temple) and Elder Brough (Bro) and i were able to talk to him for a bit get his number give him a book of Mormon and stuff so it was really cool, using the little Russian that we knew haha but it was fun. 

This letter will be a little short since I will be talking to you again pretty soon! which will be exciting. and plus i forgot my other planner(for last transfer) at home so yeah but we did some more service helped two people move one of which lived on the 9th floor and the elevator didnt work haha 

We also had a lesson with a Muslim baptist preacher. and I we should have ended the lesson much sooner than we did since it was mostly bible bashing so it was dumb. 

We also met with the guy named Aleksander he is getting baptized on Saturday and he is was cool. he is deaf so we either have to have a member who knows Russian sign or we just write everything down, but he is so prepared and has done so much to be prepared he has read the bible Book of Mormon and d and c. too bad his wife isnt taking the lessons but she will see his example and join.They have three kids i met two of the boys who are about 10 and 8 and they are both so funny and cool even though they are deaf as well. But it is cool that you can feel the spirit even without words. it is cool.

Well i love you all and hope you have a good week cant wait to talk to you love you!

Love elder witt