Three week old Van

He's three weeks old and already smiling and reacting to people!  Here's a little video that Lauren posted on Facebook: Van smiling

I love this little guy!

Elder Edholm -- week 58

So just for the update Sonia and Albert passed there interview and are going to get baptized this Saturday! They're awesome! Our Zone Leader was pretty impressed about her. About how much she knew, her testimony, and everything. It's always great when you teach how the spirit tells you to and you baptize converts. I guess I can't give myself any credit because without the Holy Ghost I would just be wasting my time out here. Another thing I've noticed is that the rules on the mission aren't just a list of things you can and can't do, but there ways to invite us to live our lives so that the spirit can always be with us.

But I'm really hoping and praying that the move goes well for you guys, and that you find a place to live. It reminds me a lot of the story of the brother of Jared. How they had no clue where they were going. All they knew is that they were supposed to build ships and then cross the ocean having faith that God would guide them to the promised land. So I just hope everything goes great.

But to answer mom's questions, yes my companion goes home next wednesday, and I get transfer calls this Saturday. I will be staying without a doubt, I couldn't imagine them leaving this area, that was previously two branches, to two people.

Besides that, everything is going normal. We have been having fun finding new people, which I have come to like a lot more. Although it's always a little bit uncomfortable it's cool to meet so many people and share the message we have with them. Like this one couple we just recently met. She shared how she was afraid about dying because she didn't think she would ever see her husband or her kid again. It was cool sharing temple marriage with her talking about how they could be sealed to be together forever, until she asked if her husband could get sealed again if she died, and then that just brought up a huge frustrating conversation, but I think she got the just of it.

Love you guys!

Van Overload

I love how Van is looking at his Daddy!

Great Grandma Edholm

He's 10 pounds at 2 weeks! 

How can you not love this face?

Elder Edholm -- week 57

So, I'm sorry about yesterday that I was not able to write. I went with Elder Empey to visit two of his old areas before he goes home and we got back to Barahona at like 7:20. But I am able to write a little bit today.

So we have this white night coming up on July 30th that we have had planned for a long time. The purpose was we were supposed to go out finding like crazy to bring as many people as possible to get baptized. We had about six people with a baptismal date for the 30th. Now most of them have fallen and we've ended up with just Sonia and Albert. I think I've talked about them before. But they are really great and progressing really well. Albert as has told us many times how much he wants to be a real christian. He is 9 years old and his mom Sonia has been receiving the missionaries for a long time and has finally chosen to get baptized.

I've learned that you have to be bold and invite people early on to come unto Christ by being baptized, and that's how you can tell if they're someone that is prepared for you or if they need a little bit more time. Obviously with Sonia we were supposed to be patient and keep trying with her, but I know that there are lots of people prepared for us out there and I know that's how we can find them.

Anyway besides that everything is good. Hope little Van is doing well, I'm sure he's missing his favorite uncle, but that's normal.

Love you guys!

More pics from our last few weeks

 While the others were in San Francisco Lucy and Peter were trying to find ways to keep cool in Utah.  I found this pool that I used when I was their age, yes it's over 40 years old!  It was a little rusty, but we washed it out and Lucy and Peter had fun!

Brian drove Audrey to L.A. on July 2nd to help her get moved in as she starts her Masters of English teaching at Bard College.  They stopped in Chinatown and Brian took this picture to email to Palmer.  Jackie Chan has always been Palmer's hero since he was very little.  He was impressed and a little jealous that he wasn't there as well.

Chinatown in L.A.

More pictures from the San Francisco trip.

Fisherman's Wharf

The city and a shot of the crookedest street in America, Lombard Street.

Golden Gate Bridge

Pizza eatin'  My Uncle Herb, who is the world's best tour guide, is on the end with the hat.

San Francisco

The view from the ferry

When they got back Andy got to hold Van.  He had a slight cold when he was born and didn't want to infect him.  Andy's hands are as big as Van's head!

Half of the Edholm's in San Francisco

Eric Williams, Eric Edholm, Andy, Emma

Brian had some appointments in San Francisco and took along Emma, Andy, and Eric.  They stayed at my Uncle Herb's and Aunt Kathleen's house in Lafayette.  My cousin Teresa happened to be there with two of her children and  my kids got to hang with their second cousins and had a great time!   My Uncle Herb is the world's best tour guide and spent two days taking them around. 

Fisherman's Wharf

The BEACH (said in Mr. Bean's voice) (if you don't understand that reference, watch Mr. Bean's Holiday, you won't be disappointed!)

Oakland Temple

The City

My lovely family!

Elder Edholm -- week 56

So anyway this week wasn't the best just do to the kidney stones that my companion is passing. It looks pretty painful and I'm just glad I haven't gotten those yet. But there was one cool experience we had a couple weeks ago that I forgot to tell you guys about. So we are teaching this girl named Sonia and her son Albert who are both getting baptized on the 30th. But she was telling us that before she used to go to the pentecostal church or something like that where they dance and scream and say that that's the Holy Ghost. And she was always so confused. She said that she never felt the Holy Ghost, but that she wanted to feel it. Then when she started attending our church she learned that the Holy Ghost isn't like that. That instead it's a still small voice that talks to us through our feelings like love, peace, comfort, relief, things like that. And she finally understood and said that she has felt the spirit now, and she testified of that to her 9 year old son. I'm really excited for her.

Anyway, cool stuff that has happened. The light left two nights ago so we slept without a fan and I almost died from the heat. Today we went down to a really nice hotel and ate at a buffet for breakfast. It was amazing. I've never seen a buffet in this country, it was a beautiful site. I ate so much. My staff infection is pretty much gone, thank goodness!!! I'm so sick of skin problems. We were teaching this girl and she started arguing with us about weird things and at the end she just said all of the same things that we had been saying the whole time. And we just sat there asked her ¨sooooo.... why were you just arguing with us?¨ and we kind of just laughed, it was pretty funny. Ummm we got about 4 people getting ready to get baptized on the 30th, We are gonna do everything we can to get them ready for that date.

But anyway, everything is good down here, hot as normal, killing cockroaches and sweeping up maggots in the house, haha. Oh yeah, the other day I saw a cockroach longer than my middle finger, I just kind of slowly passed by so it didn't eat me. Oh also there is this moth as big as my two hands that won't leave our house, Lauren would probably start crying if she saw it, plus I've seen bigger.

Well, love you guys!

-God's Army

Introducing Van John Tanner

Van John Tanner was born July 5, 2016 at 7:35pm.  He was 8 lbs. 1 oz. and was 22 inches long.  Lauren did an amazing job as did Matt supporting her.  I got to be there and it was an experience of a life time!!

After...With the Respiratory guy, had a hard time breathing for awhile

Before...

Being weighed

Little bit of a cone head from the birth!

Proud dad

Love this dear little face!  He was so alert and looked right in Lauren's eyes.

Look at these wonderful parents!  It was a long hard road, but so worth it.  

I'm so thankful Van is part of our family now.  Lauren and Matt will be great parents!!

Elder Edholm -- week 55

So anyway, the staff infection is finally leaving, thanks to you guys, but another problem is, is that on Thursday my skin just broke out with red dots everywhere, all over my body. I don't know if it's due to the medicine I was taking because it was mostly just Amoxocilin plus the red dots don't itch at all. Plus they're kind of just turning into red blotches that are just covering up my skin. And besides that below where my staff infection is leaving I feel another thing that feels exactly like the staff infection felt when I first got it. So I'm going to try to nip it in the bud now. Hopefully I can get rid of it now.

Anyway I had a cool experience this week. We were walking to a lesson and this go on the street stopped us and told us that we were good people and hard-workers, but that our doctrine and our church will take us right to Hell. He then started arguing with us about how only Christ saves us (he obviously thought that we think that Joseph Smith saves), but no matter what we said about how our church is centered in Jesus Christ and his atonement, he kept telling us how we were going to Hell. So my companion was just kind of sick, so he shook his hand and said ¨We'll see you in Hell then¨ and we walked off. Like always, contending with people does not make me feel very good. For the next day or so I just had a pit in my stomach because I know without a doubt that this church is true, but having people say things like that to you gives you horrible feelings.

Anyway I was reading in Luke a couple days later and I read chapter 6:22-23 that gave me a lot of comfort and relief: ¨Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.
Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.¨

So because those things happen I have reason to ¨leap for joy¨ because my reward is great in heaven, and I am experiencing a tiny little bit of what Jesus experienced.

Well anyway stay safe, love you all!