Brown Boyz

Well President finally did it! He put two brown boyz together!!! My new companion is awesome! His name is Elder Afalava!  He is from LA and the crazy thing is we kinda knew each other before the mission!  He messaged me a couple weeks before I left telling me he was a volleyball fan and that he was coming to my mission!! Well turns out that I am his trainer!  Its been so great having him, and his energy and similar enthusiasm!  Marion is about to take off!!!!!

Well this weeks has been full of so much good!  I have been sick all week but i didnt want my sickness to affect the work that we could be doing!  So a lot of prayer and faith and we got it done!  We had a great week meeting so many new wonderful people!  Every time we meet someone great I always wonder if we will meet anyone great again!? And we always do!  There are so many people ready to hear the gospel! Its AMAZING!!!  

This weekend Rose and her son Phillip are being baptized.  I am so excited!!!!!  I love Rose so much!  She is like my mom!  She says she has adopted me and wont ever let me go!! She is the most amazing loving woman!  She only cares for others!  She knew the church was true before she even learned about it!  She said she is getting really excited for her baptism!  I cant wait.  This past Sunday I spoke in church on the Plan of Salvation.  It went well.  I got a lot of compliments on my talk!  I was nervous I was going to start crying (which I did).  I talked about "Agency"  and  when used in righteous acts we are one step closer to our eternal destiny.

First week of district leader has been great!  I wanted to make this district the best!  I have been praying and praying on what I need to do to make this happen!  ANSWER: Obedience!  So I am excited to talk to my district about the concept of exact obedience!   "Obedience brings blessings, but EXACT obedience brings miracles!" I so pumped to see where our district will go!!  We have the BEST missionaries in my district.  And that is not bias!  It comes from higher up!  I can't wait! Well I love you all, and appreciate all the prayers in my behalf!  A mission is the best thing! I'm cherishing mine. This Church is true. 

Love,

Elder Spatch

pics-  New Companion

Baby, It's Cold Outside

     Hot dang!!! Well actually not hot AT ALLLLLLL!!!!! Its really intimidating when you car thermometer reads -18!!!!!! Plus wind chill!!!!!!! So im Marion, OH the forecast says -40!!!! It has been so unbelievably cold!!! I cant even tell you what it feels like here.  You walk out and your bones just turn to ice!!!! But its awesome cause then lots of sympathetic people invite in their homes!!!!! #tendermercies 

  

 Bon Voyage! My companion is off to BRAZIL!!!! He should be there by now in 100000 degree weather.  I cant even imagine how he feels!  Weeks leading up to him leaving were hard for me.  I really grew to love the guy.  We had a system and it worked.  We grew to love so many of the people we taught and in return they loved us together.  The goodbyes on Sunday night were really hard.  A LOT OF CRYING.  The people we taught treat us like their family so it was like he was leaving for his mission all over again!  So hard to watch.  We fasted and prayed a couple days before he left that he would be able to remember the language and that he would have peace about going to Brazil.  That prayer was answered.  He left knowing it would be challenging but that it wouldnt matter, because one thing would remain the same... His testimony.  The gospel is true wherever you are.  

 So what does that all mean for me?!  Well right now I am in a area called "Marysville"  It is small and even more rural than Marion.  I am with two other Elders so we are in a Trio!  I just found out that I will be staying in Marion and will be training a new missionary coming TOMORROW!!! And i will also be district leader.  Im so excited to be district leader.  I plan on helping and working towards making my district the best in the whole mission.  With hard work and sincerity one can accomplish anything!   

  

 This past week i have had the opportunity to chat with my Mission President for a good amount of time.  I really respect who he is and what he is WORKING to accomplish ads a mission.  I relate to him in many ways but also strive to accuring some traits that he has.  We talked a lot about leaving who I was before the mission behind.  I have been pondering this ever since.  Although I believe that as missionaries we are to be "ourselves", but that doesn't mean at the cost of improving who we can be.  Being Ben Patch the volleyball player isn't going to make me a better missionary, but applying the things I learned from volleyball will.  He said some really profound things to me that really made me want to improve.  I never want to stop progressing and enhancing myself, and sometimes we hold on to who we are and forget to look at who we can be.

  

 I am so grateful for the chance and opportunity to serve a mission.  A mission is just as much for people to learn of the gospel, as it is for us as missionaries to learn about ourselves.  I truly have come to know that these may not be "The Best Two Years", but they sure are the most important. I love this gospel and I love our Heavenly Father who never stops letting us learn for ourselves. The church is true.  If you don't know it yet then PRAY AND ASK!!!

Love you all,

Elder Patch

Elder Patch

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas!! I know I did!! 

What I loved most was the Christmas spirit all around.  People were just 

generally happier, and more willing to listen.  What a blessing. We have had

so much success these past weeks and I hope it never ends.  I get to see time and time again the result of the restored gospel in peoples lives. Its not that people are changing themselves its that people are enhancing who they are.With every increase of knowledge people become more and more aware of the joy that will coming from RECEIVING the gospel.  I never thought of this but with most ordinances in the gospel we RECEIVE or accept something.  We have to act and not be

acted upon.  With all these people we have met each one is receiving then accepting 

the gospel.  

This week has been amazing. We had TWO baptisms.  First was Ruth and the second was Rex.  They both went so well and a ton of members showed up to show their support.  That is so key in convert baptisms.  Getting members to welcome people into the Church.  The spirit was so strong.  At Ruth's baptism her brother spoke and wrote a letter to her.  It was so sweet.  He talked about how he knew she has been through so much grief and pain and now that she is accepting the truth she has found relief.  Yesterday at church she came up to me and said to me crying,"Thank you Ben, I am finally HOME." I gave her the biggest hug till her eyes almost popped out.  I have really grown to love so many people and just felt the love Heavenly Father has for them #missionprobs.  

Christmas was SICK!!! ALL OF YOU ARE SO STINKING AWESOME!!!!!!! SERIOUSLY! THANK YOU!!!! I had the best Christmas i think I have ever had.  Just so calm and spiritual.  Really gave me the chance to focus on the important things. We had an awesome Christmas Eve.  We had a little Marion Missionary Christmas party.  We had dinner and talked.  Just nice to get to know each other more!  I'll send pics of it.  Then on Christmas day we got to SKYPE home.  OHHHH BOY.  I swear a mission makes your hormones go nuts.  I was cryin all over the place! Sorry Parents.  But it was awesome to share my experiences with them.  I know for certain that I am supposed to be here.  I have felt so strongly that me personally had to meet certain people.  Its been crazy and its just the beginning!!!

Love you all!! Thank you for all the letters!!!!!!!!!!! 

Love 

Elder Spatch

p.s. BYU Volleyball season is coming up.  thatll be weeeiiirrrrddddd.. Go Cougs 

Fan the Flames of Faith

Hola!!

What an awesome week it has been!  We have had some tender and memorable experiences.  It is amazing to see the Lords hand in these peoples lives.  The gospel of Jesus Christ brings so much everlasting happiness.  When people start to taste it they cant stop drinking it in!  Its awesome!

Well this coming week being Christmas brings so much happiness to so many! Especially me!!! Our mission President decided to let us skype home!  What a dang good blessing! And with that MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope all of you have an AWESOME Christmas! 

  So this week had a really tender experience.  We are teaching Rose and her son Phillip.  We have gown really close to each other.  I love her personality and love for others.  She does so much good.  She really embraces the Christ-like attribute of Charity.  On Tuesday she called us and invited us to Phillips Christmas program.  Phillip attends a religious school, but is not a member of that church.  We went to this huge church building that was beautiful and ornate.  We walked in and stood at the back until Rose finally saw us.  She came and then we sat together.  It was beautiful program but something was missing inside that church (it will remain nameless).  We then left after hugs and good-byes.

    Two days later we had a lesson with her and Phillip.  She told us a really sweet experience.  She said,"I was sitting there listening to the music then all of the sudden I felt this warm feeling come over me and felt like I needed to look behind me.  So I did.  I looked and saw you two standing in the back and felt so much peace and love that I wasn't feeling before.  So I had to go get you both and just hug you!"  What a miracle!  She then told us that her husband just got promoted and a raise and weekends off!  They had been praying for this to happen before they met us.  Then she remembered the promise I made to her.  I told her that because this gospel is true and the Book Of Mormon is true then blessing will come from pursuing this course.  She said,"You said this would happen, and it did!" Another blessing from Heavenly Father.  We are going to give her a baptism date soon.  

   We have two baptisms this weekend!  One is Susie! She is a members sister.  She is awesome.  She left another church because she said it didn't feel right.  That same week we just happened to run into her at her work at WalGreens.  She was checking us out as the cashier.  She looked at our tags and saw we were Mormon missionaries.  She said her brother belonged to that church.  Weird thing is we were just with her brother 10 minutes prior to meeting her, but he didn't tell us she worked there.  We asked if we could meet with her sometime!  She agreed and the rest is HISTORY! She will be baptized this Saturday. I'm so excited.  She has turned into my mom out here.  She takes care of us and loves us!  She told us," If it had been any other missionaries I would not have listened."  Isn't that amazing.  It just makes me really know that I was called here for a purpose.  Her and her brother, Bro. Thacker are going to move to Utah when I get back.  They are very serious and sure about this.  I am so thankful for these people that are a part of my life!  A mission is DOPE!!!!!

I love you guys! Thank you for all the Christmas presents!!! It's so humbling to have so much support and love from so many people!!! Thank you!!!! Share the gospel! 

Love 

Elder Patch

Pics:

1. We went sledding (Anthony)

2. We made dinner! group pic. 

3. The McMahans.

Miracles

HOLA!

Dang Good Week Comin At Ya!!

Well to start out I just want to say thank you to all those that have sent me letters and packages! Its been such a blessing to have the support being of being on a mission!

   So last Saturday night we had a MIRACLE happen.  We were on our way home and were so dang tired so we stopped at a Wendy's by our apt. I should preface this.  I might a promise to myself that I would talk to at least one person every time we go out to eat.  So we walked in and I saw this one family sitting there with two boys.  I decided i would buy the two boys a Frosty.  I gave them the Frosty then sat down, and after about 5 minutes I went and talked to them.  I asked if they had ever heard of the Mormon church.  The dad (Jason) replied,"I am one."  you can imagine my reaction. I started freaking out and the wife started laughing!  I asked if we could come to their house and talk to them!  They agreed.  We went over Last Monday night and taught the mom (Randi) and their two boys Anthony and Andrew.  It was awesome. 

    Randi isn't a member nor her sons.  She said she would read.  Before we left we asked her to pray, but she graciously declined. But her husband spoke up and said he would!  It had been 18 years since he had prayed.  I was no nervous, but he did great.  Two days later we got a text from Randi asking us to please come back over and have dinner with them.  We came and it was so much fun.  You can really see the gospel taking affect in their home.  Turns out the whole family has been reading together!  And Jason who has already been baptized and has the Holy Ghost said after that night he prayed and felt that warm feeling again.  He said he missed that. 18 years!!!!! Can you believe that???  Their two sons have become my little brothers.  I love those two kids like they are my blood!! The do karate, and so i told them they both could TRY and take me down.  I won ahahha.  It was so fun.  Anthony the youngest who is 10 told me,"I wish you were my real brother."  Man that hit home.  I love that kid.  If i ever leave Marion that will kill me to say bye to them.  They are all coming to church and working towards baptism. MIRACLES.  "It all starts with a Frosty." 

   As missionaries we have the opportunity to do LOTS of service.  Service has really brought me a ton of happiness.  When I am serving I look at the people I serve and just think about how much the Savior loves them. If Christ was here he would be doing exactly what I am doing.  I love wearing His name on my chest with pride.  In Marion we have sister missionaries also!  The sister are amazing! We get along with them so well and love them!  We lucked out!  Our area is the doing the best in the whole mission of Columbus,Ohio!  It really shows that when you have faith and put in WORK Heavenly Father blesses you.  A lot of eyes are on us and the sister missionaries.  Everyone wants to know why we are doing so well!  Honestly I don't really know!  We just work hard!  

    There are countless stories I could tell, but I'll keep it short today.  I am so grateful for the chance I have had to serve thus far.  I especially love the people i have been fortunate enough to meet.  Just remember... when you don't believe in yourself, know that your Heavenly Father never EVER stops believing in you. The church is true, the book is blue. Work hard. Serve. "Remember Who You Are." -Billy Cowser 

Love you all!! 

Elder Patch

pics

1. The Marion Elder and Sisters. we rock

2.Elders and sisters.

3.Collier.  He is in our Branch. The coolest kid. Born Missionary!!!

4.Anthony and Andrew from Wendy's! My little bros! 

The Little Things

Greetings!  This week has been amazing! Our mission is going really hard right now, because it is the end of the year.  As a mission we have the goal of 500+ baptisms.  We WERE 60 short.  We had a mission wide fast this past Sunday and now we are projected have have 521 baptisms.  Try and tell me the Church isn't true.  We have been working super hard in our area.  We have had some people back out who were committed.  Sometimes I forget that Satan doesn't stop working.  He is VERY proactive.  I just wish Satan would disappear.  Life would be so much easier. #secondcoming.

Okay so this week we have had the most amazing lessons!  Just full of the Spirit. We had 16 member present lessons and I seriously testify that having a member with you makes all the difference.  Their testimonies are a lot more powerful than mine.  I just love to watch the peoples we teach faces as they listen to these member testify and bear their testimonies from the heart.  Most of the members here are converts to the church.  

so one of our investigators (who will remain nameless) might be a little crazy.  He understands all we say and believes it.  But he can exactly grasp that he is supposed to live it.  So he was supposed to be baptized on the 21st and may still be, but he is struggling with a lot... A LOT of things.  We taught him the law of Chasity so he promised us no more prostitutes hahah.  We he broke that promise three days ago, but his words were, "But I Love Her!!" i couldn't help but laugh. Not to make fun but he said said it so innocently.  I asked well did you pay her?  And he responded "Yes".  Love shouldn't cost anything.  But we are still working with him!  He is awesome and so very charitable.  

Okay Rose. Wow.  She really is amazing.  She was taught the first lesson last week and was skeptical... which is normal.  She talked with her husband that night about it and he who knows much about the Mormon church said it wasn't for him.  He couldn't believe The Book of Mormon to be another word of God.  That The Bible was it.  Well she responded," You really think God only wanted to talk to some of His children and not all of them?"  WOW.  Profound i know.  She came to a baptism on Saturday and had the most amazing time.  I'm so excited for her.

Lastly we had our mission Christmas Party/Devotional.  It was amazing.  I started crying when we all (300+ missionaries) stood up and sang our mission song together.  It was amazing and powerful.  We were edified that whole meeting.  At the end we had a testimony meeting.  I thought about going up, then was reluctant because I feel like I am always the center of attention, so i wanted to lay low.  Well that didn't last long.  I went up there and cried my eyes out.  I don't know a mission really messes up your hormones.  But whenever I bear my testimony of my brother and savior Jesus Christ I just can't hold back.  Christmas is coming up and I am so excited to share the true gospel during this season.  People are just happier!  I love you all! And am so grateful for the love and support I receive every week!  

Till We Meet again!

Elder Patch

Hope vs. Knowledge

A Mission is HARRRRDDDDDD!  But its worth it.

Every week i find myself confronted with a new challenge or test. And by the end of the week I get some type of help.  Heavenly father really knows me better than I do, because he knows just how to test me in every situation.  Although the people we teach are learning and growing... so am I.  A mission is worth so much.  Its worth all the doubts and struggles and pain, because i have the ability to change someones eternity's.  So all of you back home that aren't Mormon... I'm coming for ya when i get back! HA!

This week has been so amazing.  But also has really pushed me to rely not on myself.  So much in my life i have demanded my independence and being on a mission demands the total opposite.  You have to rely on everyone else beside yourself.  This has been my biggest struggle.  This week we taught this family: Rose, Mark, and their son Phillip.  She really wanted to find THE TRUTH.  Not anything less.  I could relate to her.  I promised her that she has found it. She asked how do i know that?  I thought for a couple seconds... which felt like forever.  I then responded I don't KNOW for sure that everything is true.  I DONT KNOW forsure that a 14yr old boy saw Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.  But I do know after praying and asking for myself that I received some sort of answer.  I have FAITH that it was from my Heavenly Father.  I hope that it is true.  Hope is everything.  If we have hope for things that are true but not seen then Heavenly Father will fill in those gaps.  So that's exactly whats happened on my mission.  Little by little Heavenly Father fills in these gaps of doubt with knowledge.  I have faith in something long enough He will let you know the rest.  Rose thought for a moment and she really understood.  She said she hopes what we said is true.  She is willing to put in the work to find out, and that's all we can do.  We put in the work and then we are blessed with an answer.

I had the most interesting Thanksgiving.  So my companion the night before went ghost white then went kinda green.  So during the night at 1am i heard him slam a door and i woke up so confused still being half asleep.  So i got up and he was having some fun in the bathroom over the toilet.  He was seriously sick.  Well i woke up really fast after that.  Turns out he kinda missed the toilet. and half of whatever was in his stomach was on the wall and shower curtain and floor.  I felt soooooo bad for him.  he just sat there apologizing to me and i said you're fine, its not your fault.  I helped him to bed then spent the next hour cleaning it up.  HAHAHAHA What an experience.  Then waking up at 6:30 i was dead.  And i didnt wake my companion and let him sleep.  We spent the whole day inside and him in bed.  We had some members bring me food cause they felt bad.  My companion (Elder Marler) got up and said he felt much better.  So we decided to take the food we had been given to Donna's house.  We are currently teaching her and i love her and her son.  They don't really have anybody so we had a thanksgiving dinner with them! It was different but I loved it!  Just to sit around and enjoy the people that surround you.  You could really tell they appreciated us coming over. 

Learn to love to serve!  When you serve people you can really feel how much Heavenly Father loves them! I love you guys! Thanks for all the Letters!

Elder Patch

pics

Rose and family

Thanksgiving with Donna and son Steve

And my companion and i being .... us.