Hartford Connecticut Temple Dedication and...

Good morning everyone,

To start, SNOW!!! To me, this is a little messed up and surprising; but apparently, this is normal here. That's not the largest piece of news though from this last week.

I got to participate in the Hartford Connecticut Temple Dedication and one of the recent converts we have been seeing got to be a part of it as well. There is something special about being a part of a Temple Dedication. I was blessed to be a part of the Gilbert Arizona Temple Open House, Cultural Celebration, and Dedication soon after I moved to Arizona. I have a firm testimony of Temples and Family History work. The Temple is the House of God and all the blessings we can have for the eternities are given in these holy homes. The Holy Ghost was a strong presence at this dedication and there was a peaceful feeling there, despite the technological difficulties we had.

What is funny however is that that was the day of my ten month mark (Nov. 20) and the day it started to snow. It goes to show that regardless of the weather, God's work will not be frustrated. I pray that all may be well with you all back home and that you all enjoy your Thanksgiving feasts!

Elder Melanson

When a member of the Seventy comes along...

Hey Everyone!

So this last week has been crazy! I won't bring up the election (although I guess I kinda just did... whoops) but we did get to have Elder Stephen E. Snow here in Albany to talk to us. It was amazing and I was able to shake his hand and gain a lot of wisdom from him. One of his "Pearls of Great Price" was to have the members of our wards help us in teaching and fellow-shipping our investigators so that the investigators have friends outside of just us missionaries. I hope that I can use that knowledge so that I can become a better missionary.

As far as the rest of the week, we blitzed our Zone Leaders, and went out teaching. I really wish that I could write more, but we are still trying to find some really solid investigators that can build up the Lord's kingdom. I miss you all and I hope that your week will be filled with joy and fun!

Elder Melanson

*I borrowed the pic from his companion. Thank you!*

Finally moved in!

Hey Everyone,

To start, here are some pictures of the new place and a view (sorry, took it on a cloudy day). So to describe how this is better than where we were, it is bigger, newer, and is in a better part of town. It is in the perfect spot for missionaries since it is still in Bennington and is easy to find for new missionaries coming in. Most of the week has been focused on getting moved in and although we did see some investigators and new members, no phenomenal stories came out of last week. We do have a mission conference this Thursday where Elder Snow of the Quorum of the Seventy in Albany. I look forward to hearing his remarks on how we as a mission can improve. I hope you are all doing great and I will talk to you next week :-)

Elder Melanson

Late email and a new apartment!

Hey Everyone,

Sorry that this email is getting out so late. We've been busy the last few days preparing to move to our new apartment! It is absolutely amazing and the address if you want to send anything my way is:

100 Main St. #18

Bennington, VT

05201

I will send some pictures next week, but it is so much nicer than where we were. Nothing much to report on missionary work wise, but I love this branch and those recent converts we are teaching are absolutely amazing! Some of my favorites are Katie, Sister Jones, and Shirley (She is like our adopted grandma!). I am so happy to be serving here and I hope I am here for a long while.

Elder Melanson