Elder Snell, Meet Elder Snell and Elder Snell and Elder Snell

December 4, 2017

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!  

AHHHH!!! I love this time of year so much!!!!! It is such a great time to be a missionary!!!! So neat :) 

The past few weeks have been super super crazy! We have been just swamped with things to do. I love it! However, there is no way I am going to be able to put it all into an email haha

 Elder Pratt and I have been putting a lot more focus and effort into helping the zone this week. Since I got here, I have felt a super weird vibe in the zone. It feels kind of cold between all the missionaries here. There’s a sort of disconnect between everyone. It’s really weird! No body really trusts each other. There is a lot of judgment and lack of trust. So, Elder Pratt and I have been trying to think of ways to help the missionaries be filled with Charity for each other in hopes to unify the zone and stop the weird judgement stuff haha. We brain-stormed for a little bit and came up with an idea that is already making a HUGE difference! As you should all know, #LightTheWorld is up a running :) Elder Pratt and I have made a little spin off of it for our zone called #LightTheZone! Each day of December we have a little activity for the missionaries in our zone to do in order to low-key help them develop charity. Today was “take crazy selfies with each companionship in your district. Best picture wins!” A couple days ago was, “play rock, paper, scissors with each missionary you run into today”. We have also had, “fist-bump everyone today” and “today, write a letter for your district leader or someone who needs their day brightened a little”. We’ve only been doing it for 4 days now, but it has completely changed the feeling of this Zone 100%!!! God is so good! :) I can feel a difference in the way the missionaries here feel about missionary work now :) I love Christmas!!!

Fun stories for the week: So, we were dropping off a Bible to a very kind woman in a very crusty apartment building. We were in the middle of teacher her the Restoration of the gospel when, all of a sudden, a fire truck comes speeding up to the building, lights flashing and siren wailing! An entire team of firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics come rushing into the building! One of them asked me if I had called them and I said nope. So they all ran upstairs as fast as they could! After a few minutes, they casually came walking down the stairs and waved goodbye to me hahaha. False alarm, I guess!

Next story! So, we were doing another Bible drop off to a man named Edward. Edward is a very interesting individual hahaha. He says he is a retired Catholic Priest who served in the Vietnam war. He is very short, smokes, and has 3 really nasty looking dogs. Anyway, we went to his house to give him a Bible which he requested, and he invited us in! Apartments here are super super tiny. He had stuff stacked floor to ceiling in his super small apartment (which was THICK with smoke) with 3 dogs. All three of us stood in his 4-4 foot kitchen while Edward took the reins on the conversation. He proceeds to talk about how we are polygamists and how we follow an earthly law. It was actually kind of funny haha. While he spoke, he lit cigarette after cigarette. At one point, while he was telling us a story, Edward grabbed Elder Pratt’s arm and proceeded to rub his face all over Elder Pratt’s shoulder!! I was dying! Elder Pratt looked like he was going to punch Edward in the face. I am glad he didn’t! Hahahaha we didn’t get to share all that much with Edward, but as we were leaving he said that our conversation with him was one of the best conversations he has had in a long time. He told us that we made his day and really lifted his spirits :) It makes me happy to be able to help brighten people’s days :)

Well, we have to get going to a lesson right now, so I am going to have to cut this off here. 

I love you all!!!!! See how many smiles you can make this week :)

Elder Snell

Elder Pratt and I found this super Jewish neighborhood! They had a giant sculpture of a Dreidel! Fun stuff!

Christmas TREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes!!!!!!!!!

District Selfie!

Willkommen to Das Shtick Department

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!!  

Wow, this week has been super super crazy! We had transfers on Tuesday, and I was transferred over to Midwood, Brooklyn. It was really hard to say goodbye to Queens and all the people there I have grown to love. I have never been really good with goodbye’s... but hey, I guess I am getting some more practice? Still hard though :)

Well, Brooklyn has proved to be a very interesting place so far! Haha The people here are very different than what I am used to. We are constantly surrounded by people from the Caribbean islands, Haiti, Africa, the West Indies, Russia, and a whole lot of Hasidic Jewish people. Lots of fun getting to know people from all over the world! Oh! I almost forgot! My new companion is Elder Pratt! He is from Springville, Utah and has been on his mission for 20 months. He and I have been getting along super well! I am really excited for this transfer!

Sorry for not sending out a mass email for the past little bit. Hopefully I can get better at doing that. So I guess I will update you on the last two weeks of being here in Brooklyn!

We have been running all over the place with lessons!!! I don’t know what it is, but we get at least 3 Bible requests every day here! Our schedule is packed with going from place to place, dropping of Bibles, and teaching those Bible referrals. It has been really helpful in building our teaching pool! Almost all of our investigators who we are consistently teaching have come from ordering a free Bible on Mormon.org! It is fantastic! 

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving on Thursday! Ours was pretty great! We were allowed to have a zone activity in the morning and had a couple dinner appointments later on. For our activity, we just all gathered at the church and played some games. It was a blast getting to know my new zone and becoming friends with the missionaries over here :) For dinner, we went to the Miller’s house. Wow, Sister Miller make some great food!!!!! They are both a little older and had their son’s family over for dinner as well. It was lots of fun and super tasty! 

Well, there wasn’t really anything else out of the ordinary that happened this week. Actually, I will tell you a little bit about Jose! He is one of our investigators who we meet with 2-3 times a week. Jose has one of the most pure hearts I have ever come across! He is so sweet and always thinking of others. Jose is just all around a pretty fantastic and Christlike guy. He is a little bit of a slow learner and doesn’t always remember everything we teach him, so we have been teaching him only one principle of the lessons each time we visit. It is super fun teaching him because he gets really excited and happy over each new thing we teach him. Because he doesn’t have the best memory, we sometimes get to teach him the same thing two visits in a row and he gets just as excited about the new things he is learning the second time as he did the first :) it makes me happy seeing him get really excited about the gospel over and over again! This week, we taught him about our pre-mortal life and how we used to live with our Father in Heaven as spirits before coming to Earth. He never knew that we used to life with God and that we are His literal spirit children. When we taught it to him, the spirit filled the little hallway we were sitting in as Jose started tearing up and just saying, “Wow...I never knew that before. I feel so special”. The next lesson, we reviewed what we taught him about our pre-mortal life and he didn’t remember. So, we taught him again where he came from and who his Heavenly Father is, and again the spirit was tangible as Jose stood in amazement and marveled at the fact that he is a child of God saying, “Wow, I never knew that before. I feel so special”. Jose has helped me better appreciate the knowledge that we have of our divine nature and of the basic principles of the gospel. Just like Jose, I feel so special to be able to say that I am a child of God :) 

It’s little moments like those with Jose where I am reminded why I am out here. I am so grateful for the thousands of tender mercies and miracles I have experienced on my mission. Each and every day brings me close to the Savior. I can’t express how much I love this work and how grateful I am for our Heavenly Father and our Savior. 

I love you all and am thankful for each and every one of you! 

Elder Snell

P.S. Elder Pratt and I were riding the bus the other day and saw an huge poster on a building that said “Shtick Dept.”. We decided that it was a German man who was trying to sell his stick collection, so we have been speaking in a German accent all week trying to get each other to purchase our vast collection of sticks of various shapes and sizes  I think it is hilarious!

Pictures!!! (+ video)

1) My new area boundaries

2) Domino’s employees are very protected here in Brooklyn!

3-5) It’s not Halloween nor is there a comic-con anywhere nearby; they just wanted to dress up today I guess :)

6) Video

7) This is a map of all the different ethnicities here in my mission! It is insane! I love it!

Welcome to New York!

11.20.17

Hi, Family!!!! :) :) :) Welcome to my home!

First off, I checked out your itinerary, and I am super jealous that you are getting to do all the stuff I have been dying to do since I got here!! You are going to have tons of fun! Man, I miss band trips hahaha

Anyway, where are you at? Did you land at the LaGuardia or JFK airport? Both of which are in my mission, btw ;) hahaha but I am sure you already knew that. Last week, both airports were actually in my area! Mom asked me about the possibility of coming over to the mission office? You are more than welcome to do that! Hahaha that would be sweet! Not sure if President Reynolds will be there today, but the office missionaries and the senior couples will definitely be there. Just don’t take a cab there from Manhattan!!!! That would be mad expensive! If you are going to try to get there, the best route would definitely be by subway (it’s the cheapest and probably the fastest due to traffic). Or you could take the Long Island Railroad from Penn Station over to Woodside ($20 round trip...), then take the subway over to the mission office. If you need to know what trains to take, let me know hahaha :) Regular subway is the cheapest! You can just get on the R train (Queens bound) at Times Square and go straight to Woodhaven Blvd. in Elmhurst, Queens. No transfers or anything :) 

If they give you any time for lunch or dinner on your own, you definitely need to go get some real pizza! ;) hahahaha just go to any hole-in-wall looking place. They will have the best pizza :) any of the suggested pizza places they gave to you should be great! As long as it is the kind where they have all the pizza laid out for you to look at, you pick one, and they put it in the oven for you right then! Those kind are the best! Also, go to a NY deli! They are super super good! Most NY Hero sandwiches are phenomenal :) 

So, what are your plans for today? Guess what?!? So, Elder Pratt was supposed to have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow in Manhattan around where you are going to be!! But, the doctor asked if we could schedule it for next week instead.... oh well! Hahaha probably for the best ;) it would’ve super crazy to run into a bunch of Davis Band kids, though hahaha. Let me know what you are up to for the day!!

It is still super crazy to think you are literally just a 30-45 minute train ride away from me! Just on the other side of the river! When you go on your Statue of Liberty cruise you will be able to see Brooklyn :) so, you can wave and say, “Hello, Elder Snell!!!” I won’t be able to hear you, but that is okay hahaha I am in the very center of Brooklyn and cover down to the bottom edge of it. 

OH!!!!! Go to the temple!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE that temple! :) :) :) so cool how when you walk inside, it becomes silent! The temple is on one of the busiest streets over there, but when you walk inside, you can’t hear a thing going on outside! So sweet! Just take the 1 train (uptown bound) from Times Square up to Lincoln Center plaza :) It’s just like 3 stops or so :) the temple is right next to the subway station, so you can’t miss it :)

Wow! This is so cool that you are here! Still super jealous that I can’t come with you, but that is okay! We will have to do it all again after my mission ;) hahaha 

I love you all! Have so much fun here in NYC! Email me if you need anything :) love you tons and tons! Take lots of pictures for me!

Elder Snell

P.S. Be sure to always have some cash on you. Most pizza places/deli’s are cash only... some accept card though with a minimum of $10 or something like that :)

P.P.S. Please be careful in Times Square! There have been quite a few terrorist attacks over the past couple months in Times Square. If you see any sketchy looking vehicles, get out of the way :) some terrorists have mowed over and killed a number of people very recently on two different occasions... Also, there are a lot of nude protestors and nude “street performers” in Times Square... please be careful :)

P.P.P.S. If you really want to, I could give you Sister Reynold’s number and you could text her to see what they are up to today. Just if you wanted to meet them :) 

Love you!  Have a great time! Hope to hear back from you :)

Got Glasses!!!! Mommy letter

11.13.17

Hello from Queens, New York!!!

Hi Mommy! My glasses are very nice! Definitely helping with the headaches! I originally had the progressive bifocals, but they were not helping at all hahaha so I went in and was reevaluated by a more experienced doctor. He said that the other doctor messed up on my prescription. So, he increased the strength of my glasses and did away with the bifocals, thank goodness! Hahaha the Doctor told me that my case is very common in college students who have to read a lot. As they read things close up for an extended period of time, they become near-sided due to the muscle on their lens losing strength from being strained so much. So, basically, I have ruined my eyesight by studying the scriptures! Hahahaha I think that is awesome! I also have a small stigmatism in my left eye. So my left eye has -1.00 and my right has -0.75. They are a little strong for now, but the doctor said that he was shooting for me being able to keep these glasses for years and years without having to get them updated. So, my eyes will adjust to them :) I am really enjoying being able to see far away again hahaha :) I will put some pictures at the bottom :)

I am so happy that you are doing well with your lip. Those pictures look very painful and sad.... I can’t wait until you get to smile again! 

So, transfers are actually tomorrow. I am being transferred to Brooklyn! Next transfer will be a 5 week transfer and the one after that will be 7 weeks. Usually they are every 6 weeks :) 

I am super excited for you to come to NY next week!!!!!! You are going to have tons of fun! I was thinking of getting a giant flag and standing at the edge of the East River and waving it to you hahahaha I doubt I will be able to do that though haha. It will probably be weird for you looking at my mission from the other side of the river though! :) take lots of pictures :) Go exploring! Use Google Maps! Go to Serendipity Ice Cream Parlor! Central Park is a blast! Usually there are a lot of street performers there :) 

Things are going really well with Elder Fausett and I! I have learned a ton from him! It was a good 2 transfers with him :) It was really nice to stay with someone for more than one transfer Hahahaha.

I love you Mom!

Got Goats? Picture Edition

SEPT 7, 2017

Elder Snell's email this week was a few days late due to Labor Day Holiday and it came in the form of a voice recording and I can't attach that to the blog. So I will just attach all of the pictures he sent.


1) I had a super bad bloody nose the other day. I filled a few tissues
like this hahaha 😅
2-3) This is Jacob! He is my new little brother! I love him so much!
He is starting to understand the gospel better than me hahaha
4) Jacob drew his on my iPad.
5-6) Found this little guy on the wall in the church. He's about the
size of my hand! I named him Pete.
7-8) Super cool looking cemetery.
9-13) Socrates Sculpture Park. This month's theme is GOATS. It is
super weird yet super awesome! Hahaha 😂
14-17) Temple today with Orfatt! Love that man!
18) More GOATS 🐐

Slam Dunkin’

NOVEMBER 6, 2017

Hey, Everyone! :)

We have had some miracles this week! I have been praying and praying that we will be led to find someone who will actually be interested in what we have to share. Well, we set out each day with the hope we will be able to find just one person to teach. Day after day we had little to no success. However, we did get one referral from Mormon.org for a free copy of a Large Print Bible. Usually the people who order large print bibles are really old crazy people, so weren’t too hopeful for this one. We decided to give her (Leticia) a call regardless. We set up an appointment to meet her at Dunkin’ Donuts in Astoria. We got there a little early and waited for her. Leticia, an older Filipino woman, walked through the door, immediately came right over to us, introduced herself, and told us to get up and go order some food! She got mad at us when we only ordered a donut and proceeded to convince us to get drinks as well! We ordered our hot chocolates and she told us to go sit down while she paid. She brought our stuff over to us, sat down, and proceeded to lay out her entire life story for us! She used to be Catholic, came over to NY, met some Born Again Christian pastors last week on Friday and was baptized in their church the very next day on Saturday! The reason she wanted to meet with us is because she feels she doesn’t know how to apply the teachings of the Bible to her life. She asked us if it would be against her new religion if she met with us weekly to learn more about Christ. We told her that the Lord would be very happy that she is seeking greater light by studying with us! Leticia is such an adorable Filipino woman! She has a lot of faith in Christ and is willing to do anything to come closer to Him. We are fairly confident that she will progress in the gospel :) I am super grateful for the miracles the Lord is sending our way! Hard work truly does pay off even if it is in a completely different way than expected haha! 

Well, there was a lot more that happened this week, but I guess I will have to save it for later ;) I love you all and hope you have a phenomenal week!!!! 

Elder Snell

• Super cool view of the city
• We got matching shirts for our district activity today
• Super fancy dessert at a SUPER good Thai restaurant our investigator, Jonathan, took us to!!!!!

Elder Sitati Mission Tour

Happy Halloween, Everyone! :)

I apologize for not letting you know that my Preparation Day has been switched to today! Yesterday we had our annual General Authority mission tour! This year Elder Sitati of the Seventy came. It was a day FULL of great things! 

So, the entire mission tour conference was split into two days; zones 1-5 were yesterday and zones 6-9 were today. Aside from having the actual conference, Elder Sitati also wanted to meet with the Mission Leadership Council individually. So, the first half of us met with him at 8:00 yesterday morning. It was phenomenal being able to be taught directly at the feet of a General Authority. I could feel the power of his calling. There were a LOT of things I got out of it and took a ton of notes. Most of the things Elder Sitati talked to us about was how we can be better and more effective leaders on our missions and in our lives after our mission. We talked a lot about what it means to be a good listener and how to apply that to ourselves in our personal ministry. I learned a lot from the example of Jesus Christ about trusting the Lord and how the Lord can trust in me.

Matthew 28:18 - “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”

Why was Jesus Christ given all power in heaven and in earth? Because He did nothing but the will of the Father. Heaven Father knew that Jesus wouldn’t ever do anything contrary to His will, so the Father could trust Him with His power. The same thing applies for us!

John 15:7 - “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

If we are exactly obedient to the commandments of the Father and do nothing but His will, we will also be trusted with the Father’s power.

Part of the reason we are here on earth — part of the reason we go on missions, go to church, study the scriptures, etc. — is to learn how to be perfected. This is done through doing exactly what we should be exactly when we should be doing it. Can the Lord trust that I will alwayschoose right? This is how we gain spiritual power. Power to overcome temptation, power to bless others, power to understand and apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ so we may be sanctified, etc. What a wonderful promise the Lord has given that if we abide in Him, and Him in we, we can be given power to all things in line with the Father’s will!!

Some other things I learned was about listening to others! These are some of my notes from the conference (so they may be a little all over the place): Empathy without judgement is crucial! This applies into all aspects of life and especially missionary work! Talking openly with others will help them talk openly with you. Allow them to vent. People confess because they want to get rid of things weighing heavily on them. Continue to hold them in high esteem, showing an increase of love! Show that you are willing to listen. If you want to end a conversation and leave, it is because you have stopped listening. Talk with people naturally to find out their needs! When you listen to people, they will also listen to you! There is a special bond of friendship and trust that comes/is established when you listen. I am here to care about, serve, and love people! My main goal/motivator is to help them with anything they need. With every person, find the opportunity to build trust. Give the Holy Ghost — not you — time to work. Your agenda is the agenda of the investigator! If your investigator wants to talk, let them talk. If you have the desire to make them stop talking, you have stopped listening. This is about truly seeing into their heart. If that takes two hours, then it takes two hours. It takes time to build a relationship of trust with people where they can open up completely to tell you the interest of their heart. John 21: When teaching His apostles, the Lord first provides them with what they think they need (fish, food, etc.), then teaches them what they actually need in order to succeed and live according to the will of the Father (feed His sheep). Peter loved and trusted the Lord and upon seeing Him, expected that He was going to lift him to higher ground (hence the reason he jumps out of the boat and swims to the Savior). As the Savior fed and taught Peter, there was no condemnation in His voice. We should emulate this as we life those around us.

Elder Sitati made a HUGE point of going to every investigator with the attitude and intent of being a good friend. This includes listening to them and learning of their interests. People will do the things that are of interest to them. As we listen to them and get in their hearts, the Spirit will move us to do something or say something that will touch their hearts and encourage them to act. They will feel the Spirit who entices them to do good! 

If you get a chance, study the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 and compare it to Lehi’s Dream and Nephi’s vision of the Tree of Life. SO GOOD!!! 

Anyway, now that I have rambled on for so long, I will wrap things up :) I am so grateful for the experiences Heavenly Father has given me to build me up and help me become the man He needs me to be. I love this gospel! I love the Lord! I love serving Him! Let me know if there is ever anything I can do for you! :) 

I love you all and hope you have an amazing week! 

Elder Snell’s 

1. President and Sister Reynolds and Elder Snell
2. My friend Amulek! :)
3. The Lariego’s at the ward Halloween Party!!!!!! They made those themselves!! Maleficent and her ravens.
4. Brother Moustakas’ Porsche 
5. Cool bridge in the distance
6. Sweet sunset skyline! From a distance... haha
7. Elder Fausett with an eagle
8. Throw back to my first day in NY!!!!!
9. The rest are from our zone activity today at Gantry Park!!!! Tons of fun!