Christmas #2

Hey Ya'll,
I had the wonderful opportunity to talk to a great family this week. A family who is very supportive of each other and they are willing to forgive each other of their weaknesses. ;) I love this family and their drive to do good continually. To be the best that they can be always, so that they can feel His spirit always. I love my family. Thank you for answering the phone when I called (I forgot to tell them).
Christmas was a great time. The day after Christmas was better. We had a great morning filled with eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls, Christmas movies, capture the chalk (we had no flags) and laughter felt by everyone. We had our investigators Junior, Legina, Lenora, Jessica and all of their family (about 22 people) over at Sis Carter's home for an after Christmas party. Elder Brian and I provided ALL of the food, games and presents. It was great to see their faces when we knocked on their door that morning to invite them to walk with us. When they saw the food that we had for them and the gifts we had for their children.
After a hearty breakfast made by Elder Brian and Sis Carter, we took the kids outside to play. The Lord was on our side and it was a beautiful day to be outside. Sunshine and 70 degrees. The kids began to play steal the flag. No one knew how to play, so I had to teach them. After a disastrous first try, they played again. The parents, Junior and Legina, decided to play this time. The game went much longer and much more organized as the adults attempted to out scheme(SP?) each other. It was great to watch them play and enjoy some time outside.
After all was said and done it was time to go home. We walked them home and said our goodbyes. We had to walk back with Sis Carter to help her clean her home. We finished and sat on the couch exhausted from our work. We were talking to Sis Carter when the phone rang. It was her son. He was going to come by and pick up a few items he had left and to say hi to her. Background on her son, they don't have a good relationship, if they even have a relationship. Either way Elder Brian and I congratulated her on receiving a tender mercy from the Lord and a blessing for helping another family. She didn't see it as such. "He isn't coming for me, it’s just for his stuff." A little confused at how someone could turn away from a tender mercy, the phone rang again. It was her son, he didn't like the idea of only staying for a small moment, so he said he wasn't coming, but that he would come tomorrow and see her for an hour or so. Again Elder Brian and I tried to show her that her tender mercy just got bigger. She didn't think so, "He's not coming for me, he has to work and is just going to say Hi." I couldn't believe it. There was a blessing looking at her in the face, jumping up and down, yelling "look at me!" and she didn't even notice it. I don't know what she was expecting. If Jesus Christ came down and said "I'm here to heal your sins and forgive you," she might say "No, you're just here because you have to be." I hope and pray that I'm not like that, I hope and pray that none of you are like that.
It's so sad that she couldn't see the blessings in her life. She could only see the bad. She says she believes in Christ, she reads her scriptures, goes to church, fulfills her calling, but she won't let the Enabling Power of the Atonement come into her life. She won't let herself be healed and its sad to see it.
But other than that my week has been great!! It’s the New Year, which means next Christmas I'll only have 6 months. Weird. Time flies when you're having fun, right? I love you all and hope you have a happy safe New Year. Try to come up with a new goal for the year, mine is to finish the Bible. Couple chapters a day and I'll have it in the bag. haha
Love Elder Call

Christmas

Hey everyone,
What to write about, what to write about? I'm not really sure. This week just seemed like a normal week. We worked hard, found new people to teach, kept working with the investigators we have, and I did a baptismal interview for the Zone Leaders investigator. All in all there was nothing out of the ordinary to really get excited about.
OH! So it’s not really that exciting, but it is news. I just finished the Pearl of Great Price. Not to brag or anything, but I've finished both the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. They are such good books. I'm glad that I read them, and really glad that I didn't read them before now. There is no way I would have been able to understand all of it. There is so much in just the books of Moses and Abraham alone it astounds me. The reason I don't brag about finishing it is because I'm about to start the Old Testament. Yeah, the beast is about to be slain. The only problem is that this is a really big beast. I don't want to take up all of my time, so I created a plan to slowly wear(SP?) him down. I am going to read a little bit each day, so I can still have an effective study on the gospel with the time left over. With this plan I have devised, it will take me till next Christmas to finish. Yeah, a full year until I can say, 'I have slain the Beast!'
We have been working with Legina, Junior and Lenora a lot lately. We're trying to help them get ready for Christmas, we're trying to help them get ready for baptism, and they're the only ones left in Ozark or Ft. Rucker for Christmas. The rest say they don't have time, or they are no longer here, but have gone home for Christmas. So all of our attention as been focused on them. The ward members are great and have been helping us out a lot to help them. One member family is getting rid of their couches and giving it to them. Others have purchased gifts and have helped us out when they come to church. There are some really good members here in Ozark and Ft Rucker.
I'm really excited for Christmas, but I'm more excited for all the service opportunities that have come up. We have taken a break on teaching (not really, it’s just not our focus) and have been looking for ways to help our investigators, members, less actives and anyone else we know. We spent all day making sugar cookies with a less active family. It was so much fun. They youngest boy was six and this was his first time making cookies. Sad, but he really loved it and wanted to help anyway possible. I have some good pictures of them.
Our Zone Conference was last week. It is crazy how fast it came up. This transfer and last transfer have been cruising by. We talked a lot about Eternal Life in zone conference. I won't go into detail, because it is very sacred, but just know this; One of the questions brought up was, 'Why do I want to work for it now, when I can obtain it in the next life?' and 'Does a body have anything to do with it?' Progression is eternal and never ending, but the reason we want to work for Eternal Life now, is so that we can have Eternal Life now. If you have a Preach My Gospel, look up 'Spirit' and you'll know what I'm talking about.
I love ya'll and am so glad I get to speak (indirectly) to ya'll every week.
Have a very Merry Christmas, and try to remember your favorite Christmas present and why it was your favorite.
Elder Call

Wonderful Weekend!

Hey Ya'll,
Before I begin with my wonderful weekend, I want to thank you for the letters I have been receiving. I got the package with the Christmas tree and all the other goodies, I got one from the Swensons (I got to open the first present today, animal crackers yum!), I got the letter from the Smiths, The Renshaws, Megan, Shannon, Mom and Dad, and of course the Grandparents. I love getting letters. It’s so much fun to open a letter.
I'm starting to miss the snow more and more. Not because I want a white Christmas, but because it’s been raining for the last three days and we have had this nasty fog for the last two days. That kind that just sits there, but it’s not cold enough to snow. It's insane. You can almost cut the air its so thick. Breathing it is ridiculous. Stand next to a humidifier(sp?) and just breathe it in for a while. That’s what it feels like here.
So this weekend was crazy, but awesome. Saturday we spent three hours in the morning raking leaves for Lenora, our investigator. We had come over twice before to try and get it all, but were unsuccessful. So this time we stayed until it was all done. Her yard was huge and covered in leaves. Some parts had about two inches of leaves. Raking wouldn't have been so bad if it didn't rain the entire time! For the whole three hours it rained. We were soaked to the bone, but it was fun to watch the kids open the door and say hi to us.
Later that day was the Metcalf's baptism. Skylar, Matthew and Emma all got baptized by Elder Brian. Their father was supposed to do it, but he didn't meet all the requirements with the bishop. There was a great spirit there and I hope that they continue on 'the path'. After the baptism was the ward Christmas party. There was so much food and desert and candy. There was even a Christmas program. We got to go around and say hi to everyone. Our investigator Cassie even brought her friend Heather to the party. It was fun.
Sunday was the crazy day. We drove to PEC in the rain, but that wasn't bad at all. After the meeting it was time to start church. We walked outside and there was a downpour of rain. Remember the video I took of the rain in Florida? This was worse, and we had to help members make it into the building trying to keep them dry. We went and got our umbrellas and went out and met members in their cars so that we could walk with them to the building to try and keep them dry.
It was fun and the members were thankful. By the time we were done, Elder Brian and I were soaked. It didn't matter that we had umbrellas, the rain found us anyway. We ran home and change into some dry clothes before gospel principles started.
Sacrament was my favorite part and the one I want to end on. The Metcalf kids were going to receive the Holy Ghost. I was the one who was asked to confirm them a member and give them the Holy Ghost. It was a sweet feeling, but a different one for each child. It was the same Holy Ghost, but because each child was different their prayers were different. I could feel the love that Heavenly Father had for them. I could feel many more things, but the important part is that the child who was the most ready, the most willing and the most eager to hear, listen and follow the blessing, was the one I felt the most. Because she was ready, she received more. Because she wanted more, she received more. Those who prepare themselves receive more. If you prepare yourself for the sacrament, you receive more. If you prepare yourself for a fathers blessing, you receive more. If you prepare yourself for a talk, you receive more. If you prepare yourself for conference, you receive more. Anything you do in this life to prepare yourself to receive God's word, will bring more promised blessings than any other source. Prepare yourself when you study the scripture, when you study for school or even work. If you prepare yourself to learn by praying in Faith, he will quicken your mind and show you things that will confound the wise and humble the proud. No other way will bring you closer to God than to prepare yourself for what He has to say. Captain Moroni was the best at this. Joseph Smith needed a little extra help. Even Jesus Christ spent a considerable amount of time preparing for his journey, including fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. Preparation brings an increase in blessings. Skylar Metcalf was prepared, and because she was prepared, I could feel a strength in love and blessings that Heavenly Father had for her. It was real and I witnessed it.
I love you all and pray that this Christmas season you will lose yourself in helping someone else. If you don't know where to begin, start with your family. There will be no regrets when someone shares a pure heartfelt testimony in the home.
Love Elder Call

Transfers!!

Hey Ya'll,
Another transfer has gone by. Can you believe it? It seems like yesterday I was finding out I was coming to Ozark, AL. This transfer has flown by. Faster than any other transfer. This week especially.
On Tuesday after District Meeting in Enterprise, I went on a trade-off with Elder Tolley to Andalusia. It was a long hour drive from Enterprise to Andalusia, but it was fun to talk to Elder Tolley. He's from Sandy and went to Alta two years before I did. Well, graduated two years before I did. We talked about different things, but the coolest was that he liked soccer. It made conversations easy because we would talk about what we did in high school and how soccer was before we left. He left right after the Euro Cup ended. It seems like that was so far away.
We had a semi productive day. It was hard to tract in the rain. We were soaking wet when it was time to come in for the day, but we had fun working hard. Elder Tolley is a great missionary. I learned a lot from him, like slowing down when I'm talking to someone or sharing a message with someone. I usually try to 'force feed' someone the gospel on the doorstep. Not only is this the wrong way, it is hard for them to come to know for themselves. God gave us agency, they should be able to use it to accept or deny the message. Also, its just a waste of time if they were planning on rejecting us from the beginning.
We traded back late Wednesday evening in Enterprise. It was good to be with Elder Tolley, but I was ready to go back with Elder Brian in Ozark. The next day was our planning day and the day after that we had another trade-off with the Zone Leaders. I went to the North side of Ozark with Elder Thompson. He's from Nampa Idaho. It was great as we talked about many different things. Including a less active lady who tried to persuade us that gambling was ok, as long as there was no alcohol. It was funny. She had talked to some other Elders who told her that she could go play bingo, because it was a good social event and if there was nothing bad there, like alcohol. Well she took it to a whole new level thinking that all gambling was ok, if there was no alcohol. We laughed for a while after that. Elder Thompson was great. I learned that love is the only way to compel someone to trust you. If they feel that they are loved, they will share with you their feelings, they will share with you their concerns and they will want to read and pray because they know you won't lead them astray. Elder Thompson declared his love for a couple who were going through some hard times and we had just asked them to pay tithing. It was really cool to see their eyes light up and their countenance soften and comforted as he bore witness of his love. It was great.
This next transfer is going to be tough though. My first Christmas away from home. Tim's last, lucky. I am however, really excited about the Christmas season. People are happier, more cheerful, they want to love their families more and are looking for something to hold on to as the New Years comes around. I'm really excited about some of our investigators and I feel they will progress more during this Christmas season.
I love ya'll and pray for you too. Keep the spirit of Christmas close to you
during the joyful season.
Elder Call

Thanksgiving report

Hello Ya'll,
Well I hit 6 months on Thursday. Tim hits a year two weeks-ish after that. Crazy!!
Thanksgiving was ok. We had some good turkey, we went to members homes and enjoyed it with them, and I was sick. Yet again. Monday is when I started feeling it and Tuesday is when it hit. I wasn't feeling good during our morning workout and he told me to go lay down. I slept through personal study, companionship study and lunch. It was bad. The next four days were like that. We would go out and I would get too tired to do anything. We would do our studies in the morning and I would then go to sleep to try and get some energy for that night.
It was bad. Thanksgiving wasn't much better. We went to Enterprise AL for District Meeting and being District Leader I had to prepare the meeting. It was a good lesson, thanks to the comments of the other Elders. We then played a game for the last little bit of the meeting. It was good, but I was exhausted and in and out of consciousness. Good thing I didn't have to drive. We got home and I slept for a couple hours before it was time to go.
We drove to Newton for our thanksgiving Lunch. We got there and the members were just getting done with dessert. We weren't late, they just started early. They had combined the families who were there last minute, so we got the leftover scraps for our dinner, which were still really good.
Then Brother Meservy, the family who was going to feed us, showed us his recumbent bicycles. They were cool. I got some pictures of them. We were cruising around, only about two laps because I was tired, and my pant legs got caught on the frame and ripped the seam (SP?). It is a big rip, but I have three different members telling me that they can fix it for me. haha. After we put the bikes away the Meservy's took us to their home, a small shack they're renting, and showed us the meal they made for us. A full turkey, that hadn't been touched. They gave us half of it and some sweet potato pie to go with it. Because I've been sick I haven't been able to eat any of it yet. Elder Thompson, or Zone Lord Thompson, keeps eating my share of the turkey. I'll I've been able to eat for most of this week is macaroni. But I'm feeling a lot better now and I'm excited to get some of that turkey.
This transfer is going by so fast! We have a week and a half left! Elder Brian and I are getting along. We are working well together, when we are working and I'm not sick, and the work is moving nicely. We have a couple of baptism's coming up on the 12th and we are excited for them. It’s the Metcalf kids; Skylar (12) and Matthew (10). Their father is going to baptize them, but he needs to keep coming to church and meet with the Bishop if he's going to be able to. We'll see how that goes.
The only other thing left to say is that my mission is flying by and I love it. Not because its going fast, but because of everything I'm learning. Captain Moroni is the Man!! So is Joseph Smith. So many examples to look up too. I love reading about them.
I love you all and pray for you too. If there is one thing each of us could do more is read the Book of Mormon. For, "they teach all men that they should do good"(2 Ne 33:10)
Love Elder Call

PS I hope there is medicine in my package. I'm a little low. :)

Thanksgiving

Hey Ya'll,
I think I'm getting sick. My head hurts, I have a sore throat and my stomach is churning (SP?). But I got some emergency and I'm going to make me a FAT smoothie when we get home.
This week was great. Planning was so much better than last week. I still don't know everyone, but I'm getting the feel of things. It only took half the time to plan this week. OH! I drove for the first time in about 6 months. That was fun. My companion likes driving so I chill in the passenger side. One day this week he handed me the keys and said, "You're driving." I got all excited and jumped in the car. It took a while to get used to driving the car, but by the time we were done I had the hang of it again, no sweat. My companion had to sit in the passenger side and he didn't like it. I think at first he thought it would be fun, but then he changed his mind. I won't be driving for a long time again. Haha.
We had 14 non-members at church this week. Legina and Lenora brought their kids and their kids brought their cousins. It was Lenora, Tay, Nene, and Lenora's Baby. Legina, Junior, Zi, Mann and their cousins (I forgot their names, but there were 3 of them). It was crazy. James brought his family too. Lisa, Matthew and Nicholas. Matt and Nick would not leave our sides. They HAD to sit next to us during church. We were trying to help Legina and Lenora out but we needed help. We asked the Morrison's, a young couple in flight school, to help us out with all the kids. It ended up being great. I was once again exhausted after church. I thought Sunday was a day to receive strength. Haha. Oh well, loose my life and I may find it again.
This week is Thanksgiving and I'm getting excited. I'm at 192 lbs right now. Woot woot! I know. Elder Brian and I are going to weigh ourselves each morning over the next couple months and see how much we...change.
I'm glad you enjoyed the calls. It was really weird having someone we've never met before ask us for our home numbers. But what was weirder (SP? word?) was having it happen like two days later, again.
I love you all and I'm enjoying the Sweater Weather.
Elder Call

James is baptized

Hey Everyone,
I'm really really tired today. Its been a long weekend, but a very fulfilling weekend. We have so many people were teaching here is Ozark it's great, but sometimes it can be overwhelming. We are trying to help everyone, but they have a lot of needs. We helped get James prepared for baptism and we set up everything for his baptism this weekend. Bro Carroll baptized James and Elder Brian confirmed him and gave him the Holy Ghost on Sunday. Legina, Lenora and Christina are all moving along, but they understand at a really low level so we have to explain everything they are reading to them. Also, Lenora lost electricity in her house for the week, so they were all over at Legina's home. Cassie got glass in her eye, long story, and her daughter broke her arm. Two trips to the hospital in one week for Cassie. The Metcalf kids a chuggin' along, but the parents are leading. They need a testimony of their own. Savannah stopped talking to us so we had to go search for her. we finally found her and set up a time to meet with her. We got a new referral from the Fritz family. Chris Frank. He is a good guy who is looking for a new church and the Fritz invited him over for an FHE dinner. Pulled-pork. MMMMMMM. I finally met Kim Vance and now I know who she is.
As you can see we have a lot of investigators who all have different needs.Elder Brian and I are trying to help them all out individually. However its really hard. I don't know all of them well and Elder Brian doesn't know what to do. He's a great missionary. He knows what he needs to do and has goals of what he wants to accomplish, but he has no idea how he's going to accomplish them. I find him 'wishing' a lot. Our weekly planning sessions take forever. We have so many investigators to go over, less actives to visit, members to work with and new investigators to find. We know what needs to happen we just don't know how we're going to do it. I'm no help because I only know half the members and only a handful of investigators. I've met Savannah and Kim once, Cassie twice. I don't know them and its really hard to find their needs when I don't know them. So its left to Elder Brian. He's still young and he'll figure it out, but it does take us a while. I'm hoping we can meet Cassie, Savannah and Kim this week.
Sunday I felt like a parent. Or at least part of parenthood. We had 10 non-members come to church on Sunday. 7 investigators and James' family, wife and boys. We tried to meet with and speak with all of them. We tried to help them with anything we could and answer their questions. It was a long three hours. I felt like a parent with 10 kids. Some of them were running around, others wouldn't leave your side and all of them asking questions at the same time. It was fun, but exhausting.
This week should be a good week. We have some new plans to help our investigators move forward and also our members.
OH! I got to do my first baptismal interview's this week. The Enterprise Elders had a couple who were getting baptized that weekend, so I spent the day in Enterprise with Elder Christensen. He's a good Elder. He took me to a Tattoo Parlor. ;) CTR for life! or something like that.
I love y'all and pray for y'all.
Elder Call

What a weekend! - Ozark, Alabama

Hello Everyone,
I really wish I could re-write my message for 'the boys'. I have learned so much from this last week I want to share it all with them. I won't share all of it with you guys, but I will share some of it.
Elder Brian and I are in a great area. We have a really big teaching pool right now and the members feed us almost every night. So we don't get a lot of opportunities to go tracting. Darn. haha. Because of all the work that is going on here, because Elder Brian is newer, if that’s a word, than me and feels overwhelmed and because I don't know the area front and back yet, we had a lot of empty hours. Nothing bad or lazy, just unfulfilling hours. Ones where we'd visit a member and talk to them about nothing important, or we would visit an investigator and not leave a message or a commitment. Above all else we needed some organization. So going into the weekend, that is what we planned to do. We were going to come up with ways to help the members and stay organized. Thursday was our weekly planning. We worked hard to find out the needs of our investigators and set up a path to achieve it.
The Metcalf family was our biggest concern. The parents and Dalton (16) are all baptized, but Skylar (14), Mathew (10) and Emma (8) are not baptized. Elder Brian and Elder Lewis have been teaching them and I jumped into the mix with Transfers. They are a great family, but they have some really awkward needs. They need to feel loved by the ward, they need to feel a desire to go to church and a desire to read as a family. However, the most important need they have is recognizing the spirit. They have no idea what the spirit is, how it talks to them and when it is talking to them. They think that everything we are teaching is so they can 'pass the interview' or 'meet the requirements'. Their dad especially is missing the mark. He doesn't understand that there is a spirit that comes with all of this. You don't become happy by being baptized, you become happy by aligning yourself with Jesus Christ and his teachings. Baptism is part of aligning yourself with the savior. Yes its required to receive the Holy Ghost, yes its required for membership into the church and yes its required to enter into the kingdom of god. However, if you don't keep the covenant, if you don't feel the spirit, what’s the point. You might as well bring some shampoo and conditioner because you won't get anything out of a baptism except wet clothes and hair without feeling the spirit. The spirit that truly cleanses you.
Anyways, we had a couple more investigators with concerns. We finished with them and moved on to the members. We have a dinner appointment every night and after that dinner appointment we usually go visit members until its time to come inside. So we are going to try and maximize these opportunities. How? I had no idea.
Friday came and it was Zone Conference. As always the highlight of the week, yea even the highlight of the month. Haha, scripture talk. We talked about a lot of different topics. President Summerhays told us to come prepared to Zone Conference with questions we want answered. During Zone Conference we shared a couple of our questions, but the rest were left undiscussed. Yet, 9 out of 10 times the questions were answered by either ourselves, president, another missionary or the spirit during Zone Conference. While he was asking us if anyone had any questions I raised my hand to ask. Elder Brian and I wanted to know 'How genuine testimonies are developed?' President looked from me to Elder Brian and asked him if I had a genuine testimony. Elder Brian answered yes, then President looked at me. With his deep, loving eyes he looked at me and said, "Elder Call. You have a genuine testimony of the savior and of the gospel of Jesus Christ that will never grow dim. A pure testimony of Him that will never be broken in this life. How did you gain your testimony?" Wow! That was really powerful statement and I felt really small. I didn't have an answer right off the bat. So I thought, for what seemed like forever, but I thought until I began to rehearse words I've never said before. "My testimony came from everything my Mother and Father taught me. Everything they taught me in my life from teaching me of truth, teaching me about the gospel, church, prayer, teaching me about good habits, working hard, reading the scriptures. Everything they taught me from the time I was born, till the time I left home. THEN, my ability to go out into the world and to try it. To experiment with the word they had given me. To find out for myself, that those things are true. That’s where my testimony came from." The perfect answer didn't come from the perfect son, but the perfect spirit. The spirit I had was perfect. Perfect for my needs, perfect for our investigators needs and perfect for the members needs.
We are working with our investigators and the members in our ward to 'testify of truth'. Things they know to be true. Just like Elder Bednar said. In General Conference we warned us that we need to get comfortable with our testimony. We need to overcome feelings on awkwardness and share what we know with our families, with our loved ones. That is what we want members to do. To share it with their friends, their family, their children and their spouse. We what them to get comfortable in a dinner setting where gospel principles can be discussed and taught. You do not need to sit a child down and have him be quiet to let him know that his personal savior feels his pain, to know that Heavenly Father loves them and wants to answer his/her prayer, or even to know that their parents love them. We want our members to testify to their loved ones. That’s what I got from Zone Conference.
Well I hope my letter wasn't too long. Ozark is amazing. I got the sweatshirts which are fantastic and the long sleeve shirt is perfect for this weather. Apparently it’s supposed to rain for the next couple of days. Some tiny hurricane is in the gulf. Will it count as experiencing a hurricane? haha.
The last thing I want to comment on is something that everyone needs to gain an understanding about. In Zone Conference our mission President brought up a question that was brought up during his Mission President seminar with Elder Bednar. WHAT IS SUCCESS? If any of you would like to reply I would love to hear your responses, but I won't tell you the answer just yet. You can ask Megan in a couple of days. She'll be able to tell you. ;)
I love you all,
Elder Call.

Ozark, Alabama

79 B Woodview Dr.
Ozark AL 36360

Yes I got my flu shot. It took like 2 hours to wait in that stupid line.

I'm glad you got my package. Sorry it wasn't anything exciting, I just didn't
want to lugg it around with me to each area.


Hey ya'll,
Sorry my letter to the boys was long. You guys are more than welcome to read and share it. It’s a good one. ;)
This week has been crazy. I said all my goodbyes to everyone on campus. I was really surprised at how many people I touched there. They were giving me hugs and goodies and even a new tie! I said my goodbyes and I left early Wednesday morning for the transfer spot. The Zone Leaders came and picked me up. OH! side note. After Monday when we got transfer info, there were about 4 more unexpected changes for transfers. Nothing affecting me, but campus got changed a lot. One of the new elders from the MTC didn't show up! So Elder Perkins is now in a threesome training. haha.
Anyways, I got to the transfer spots and we were on our way. I got to ride with Elder Durfey. He's an AP and told us about his time in Bainbridge GA. The stake was changing and we were getting a new area in our mission. So Elder Durfey went out there for a week to meet the other Elders and to see how the work was going there. It was terrible. The Elders in the other mission had to follow quotas and get so many investigators and baptisms set by their zone leaders or the mission president. They have had 15 baptisms in the last year! Sounds pretty good, but only 3 now come to church. Their retention is horrible. They even try to set a baptismal date on the doorstep with people. Sad. It really makes me grateful for President Summerhays. He doesn't push us. He trusts us with our areas and when we are with him, he uses the spirit so perfectly it’s like the spirit is standing in front of you talking to you. I love mission president, and Zone Conference is this week. Back to my travel, I met my new companion Elder Brian at the transfer spots.
He's only been out 3 months and is really nervous. I went with him and it was about a hour and a half drive to Ozark. I was exhausted by the time we got there. I slept for about an hour.
Ozark is amazing. It was a little weird adjusting to a family ward. They have about a dozen youth and a million primary and nursery kids! And about half the moms are pregnant!! It’s a big change in atmosphere, but I really like it so far. We get fed every night!! I haven't been here a week yet and I've had more food than I can handle. Its so cool. haha
They have 4 baptisimal dates here in Ozark already and 3 more really progressing investigators. The members all invite their friends to activities and missionary work in poppin' here. It'll be a really fun transfer.
I feel like I'm leaving something out, but I can't think of it right now. I'd love to get a package, but don't worry about sending me food. I have more than I can deal with right now. haha
Love ya'll and I can't wait to share about Zone Conference next week. :)
Love Elder Call

Heath gets baptized!! Transfer Week!!

Hey Ya'll,
This week was awesome! Heath Hartley is now a member of the Church! It was an amazing weekend. Just as good as when Alan got baptized. I was privileged to be the one to baptize Heath. We got dressed into our white clothes and he was getting nervous, but Alan came in and gave him a big hug. We did the usual routine with hymns and talks, then we went into the font. The water was luke warm, but Heath was shaking while he was standing next to me. At first it looked like he was unsure, but he nodded when I asked him if he was ready. Said the prayer and led him under the water. When he came up it seemed like he was unsure what happened. When we were in the dressing room changing he was shaking. He kept telling me it wasn't because he was cold, but that he couldn't describe his feelings. It was awesome, he was so happy and the conformation on Sunday made it even better. Heath didn't have a voice the next day, I'm not sure why, but he was the happiest I've ever seen him. Hopefully I will get to see him today or tomorrow.
So transfer information is out. I'm headed to Ozark, Alabama. I'm going to serve with Elder Brian in the Ozark South area. I'm also the district leader for Enterprise. Elder Perkins says that I'll be living with 3 other Elders. Ozark North lives with us and they are the Zone Leaders. Calling in will be easy. ;)
Second cool thing, Elder Michael T. Ringwood of the seventy is coming to our mission. We are going to meet him on Thursday, the day after transfers. We have a lot to prepare for, but I'm really excited to be there. I feel like I'm completely out of my shell and a full-pledged missionary.
I am a little sad to leave campus. Hillary is soooooo close, but just not there yet. However, she is really my only ray of sunshine. Lauren, a recent convert, just got engaged. It’s kind of hard to listen to the whole story when I'm a missionary and can't be there myself. I know my time will come, but still. ugh.
Anyways, Rich is taking us to this really good bbq place today. I'm so excited to go with him. As for the sweatshirts and long sleeves, just send me my Hawaii shirt. You will have to wait until I can get the address next week, but I will get myself a sweatshirt in the mean time. Thank grandma for me. I will put it to good use. ;)
I love you all and can't wait to tell you about my new area next week.
Elder Call

It's Cold!!!!!!

Hey Everybody,
What in the World Happened!?! Overnight it got really cold in Florida. I didn't know that could happen. Of course its not as cold as Utah, but me without a long sleeve shirt or a sweatshirt its really cold. We played Ultimate Frisbee on Saturday and I could see my breath for most of the morning. Then later that night the sun went down and it got even colder. Our apartment was freezing and I had to turn on the heater it was so cold. So this letter is sort of a plea. Can you send me a long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt? I would buy a FSU sweatshirt, but they cost $30. I guess if it’s cheaper that way I can do it. Just let me know ASAP. :)
This week overall was better. It still had its ups and downs, but I was able to see a lot of improvement. This week my main focus was on retaining. There are two recent converts who are really struggling. Dallas and Rachel. Dallas was baptized last December, but right now he is working 3 jobs, trying to build a relationship with his daughter and the daughter’s mother, and trying to pay off all of his debt. It’s been really hard on him and he hasn't been to church for a while. We met with him this week and told him to make goals. Goals that would help him find financial, spiritual and social stability. Elder Perkins and I are making goals too. Mine is to Finish the Doctrine and Covenants by Thanksgiving and write in my journal every night until Thanksgiving (I'm not very diligent in writing every night). We are going to meet him tomorrow or on Wednesday to help him make his goals.
Rachel has probably been the craziest. She moved out of her parents house to an apartment that is really close to the church and to TCC. We were able to go over here on Monday and visit with her. We picked her up on Friday with her home teacher and took her to Friday Forum. She was looking great and really happy to be there, but on Saturday everything went south. She got robbed. We think it was one of her roommates. They got into her safe and got her card. They withdrew about $200. She moved out that night and is back with her parents. This is good and bad. Good because she is no longer in that environment with those roommates, bad because she is now living with her parents. It’s not that her parents are bad or don't support her, but it’s the fact that they live waaaaaayy out in the middle of know-where. Technically they live outside of Tallahassee City Limits on the other side of town. If you don't know how big Tallahassee is, it’s about the size of half of Salt Lake County. It’s HUGE!! It took us 45 min to get to her house the first time, by car. By bike, we should have started yesterday.
She didn't come to church this week and hasn't been for a while. We tried to
contact her, but she wouldn't answer. We were going to go visit her at her
parent’s house, but she wouldn't answer our calls so we weren't sure if she would be there. Elder Merkley, who was the one who baptized her, called us last night. Apparently she called him and left a very upsetting message. She was crying and trying to contact him. The sisters told us that Rachel told them that she would travel to Dothan to get a blessing from Elder Merkley. I know this story doesn't really make sense, but I'm trying to fit all the pieces in myself. I hope she's ok.
Hilary is doing great! She is going to get baptized! We haven't set a date, but she has expressed the desire to be baptized. She says she would like to talk to her dad and get his support first. We are hoping that she will talk with him this weekend so we can set a real baptismal date.
Heath is getting baptized this weekend! What a great way to end a transfer. With a baptism. :) He is very ready to get baptized and has been asking a lot of questions about dating, marriage and the Temple. He is definitely looking beyond just baptism. He is preparing to endure to the end. :) Oh, by the way, I get to perform the baptism. My first one. Hopefully I don't screw it up. Its only necessary for salvation. haha
Well I love you all. Thanks mom for the Newsletter. I love hearing from the boys!
Love ya'll
Elder Call

Congrats to Megan!!

Hey Ya'll,
Sounds like your week was amazing. Besides the little bump at the end. It’s so cool to hear Megan go so far in Tennis. Now she has all year to be better!! Maryanne McFarland isn't someone I know, but I know her older sister. Lauren McFarland plays tennis for FSU. She used to be in the singles ward until she got married. Now it’s Lauren McCreeless. Her and her husband, Ashby, gave Elder Perkins and me a ride home the other day. We got talking on the subject of tennis and she told me her little sister is playing for Weber. I told her my little sister is playing for Lone Peak. She got so excited and texted me the results on Sunday. ;) I knew about Megan making it all the way to the Finals.
So this week was rough. We didn't accomplish our goals at all. We tried to meet with Hilary and Heath twice this week, but we could only meet with them once each. We have been trying to increase our teaching pool, but it hasn't been very successful. We finally got a media referral, where we take them a DVD that they ordered. We have tried to meet this lady 3 times but every time she is not there. It’s really out of the way and with bikes it makes it hard. TCC is good, but it feels like we're just roaming around rather than being there to teach. That may be because we didn't teach a lot this week.
Instead we did some service at a members home. We went back out to the ranch to help Lexa's dad move Rollerbales from the field into his barn. It was an easy start, because the bales were fresh and easy to roll. We moved the first one in no sweat. We went back out to the field to begin moving the second one. After about the third push is when everything started going downhill. Apparently we ran over a mound of fire ants without realizing it. We continued pushing and my hand went right to where they all were. They slowly crawled on my hand without me noticing. Then, all at once they attacked!! Oh! It hurt so bad. I counted 32 bites on my right hand!!! That’s the only place I got bit, but from about 2 inches below my wrist to the tips of each finger there were 32 bites. My hand was swollen for 3 days. The swelling has gone down and you can see my hand once again. However, there are these nasty little bumps everywhere that itch like crazy. I'm not supposed to itch them, so I stick them in hot water and swish it around really fast. It feels so much better. Sis Higby, the mission nurse, says to add a tablespoon of salt to the water when I do it. This week should be better. We are going to visit some less actives and Rachel. She moved and no longer lives way out in the middle of nowhere. I love you all and I'm praying for you too. Love Elder Call

Conference - October 2009

Sounds like your week was a lot more interesting than mine, but we'll see. That’s awesome that Megan is still kickin' it in Tennis. Sounds like she is having fun. I will definitely want to see her play when she is a Junior. As for Shannon, I will be back right in time for her to end Jr. High and maybe even dance for the High School.
Conference was amazing. I too enjoyed Elder Holland's talk along with Elder Oaks' and Elder Bednar's. 'He's breathing my air!' Haha, my favorite. Sunday was really special for Elder Perkins and me. On Friday morning we got a call from President. He had been talking with the sisters in our ward about dresses for Hilary. She has been coming to church with pants and a BIG sweatshirt. The other day she asked us about what to wear during church and that she would like to participate. The sisters jumped all over it and called sister Summerhays. Apparently she had some left over dresses and skirts from sisters who had left them in the mission. Not all of them were nice, but some of them were. President wanted to create a setting where Sister Summerhays could offer the dresses to Hilary so she wouldn't feel awkward. His suggestion was to have the sisters, a few members in the ward and us over to her house for a Sunday brunch and to watch conference.
We were picked up by president Sunday morning at 10 to go get ready. (conference didn't start until noon. The priesthood session went until ten!!) We set up the TV and the sisters prepared the lunch. Hilary, Carly and Krissey came over around 11 and we had a nice little meal. After President talked to us about conference and read the last couple of verses from Doctrine and Covenants section 1. We watched the Sunday morning session on couches in the mission home. It felt just like home, except I wasn't allowed to fall asleep. After we talked about what we all felt and the inspirations we had during the session. We ate lunch and got ready for the second session. After we talked a little bit more and then President excused us all and it was time to go home.
It was so cool to be in a Home setting for conference. Not only did a get a lot out of it, being in Presidents presence made it even better. When I'm around him it’s like the Heavens open and personal revelation flows in. I can feel the spirit on my own, but its different with President. It’s like Horse tail falls is the amount of revelation flowing in by myself and the Mississippi river is the amount of water flowing into me when I'm around President. Its sometimes overwhelming. I do get drained sometimes. Kind of like how Joseph Smith was drained every time he saw a Heavenly messenger. President is a Heavenly messenger and I can feel the spirit that comes from being around him.
This week should be a good one. We are still working with Heath and helping him prepare for Oct 24. Hilary is getting oh so close. She has a desire to be baptized and is going to talk with her father soon. We haven't set any date yet, but she is doing great. I don't remember who my lego guys are back home. But I choose Tracy McGrady. He was good back when the legos came out. ;)I love you all and pray for you. I hope your conference was as amazing as mine. Love Elder Call

Photos - Alan gets baptized! Elder Call Confirmed

Our district with Heath

Elder Call and Elder Faalogo

Hanging out on P-day

Baptism!!!!!

Hello ya'll
This week was Alan's Baptism. It was the most crazy week, but at the same time the most spiritual week on my mission. We have been working with Heath and Hilary too trying to get them to see and recognize the light.
Transfers were on Wednesday and most companionships changed. Elder Davis got another boy, Elder Barney. Elder O'Niones got a new companion Elder Newsome. Perkins and I are still together. The Sisters got a whole new cast. Only one of the three stayed and only one came in. There are now only two of them. So with all the changes going around we get to learn about more people. I like change, it makes life interesting.
There have been a couple rain storms that have just come out of nowhere this week. We were teaching Heath when we heard this loud rumbling sound. We looked outside and it was pouring. There was so much water coming down it was intense. We went outside for a little bit to watch it. Just walking through it you would get soaked. You could jump in a pool and be more dry than you would walking through the rain.
Well we have continued to teach Heath and Hilary has finally found a break in her schedule to start meeting with us again. On Friday we had a lesson with her. The FSU Elders were there along with their investigator Katie. She is getting baptized on Nov. 14th. We asked Hilary what her concerns are about the church and about baptism. She had two big concerns. First was her family. She wasn't sure if she could leave her family. She loves coming to church, but she was raised Methodist. She thinks she would be leaving her family and all those who are in her church. Katie shared with her that those people will always be there for her. She will always have her family and her church. Hilary's other concern was the good feeling. Was it the people or the spirit. She's not sure if she's doing it for the right reason. Is it the people, the friends she's made, that are the real reason she's coming. Or is it the spirit and the good feeling that comes from the church, book of Mormon, etc. We discussed with her the spirit and the feelings that come from the spirit. Then Katie shared with Hilary her experience about prayer. How at first she did it just because she knew the Elders would ask her. Then one night she prayed and truly asked. She got down on her knees and asked with her whole heart. Then she received her answer. It was a good lesson. Hilary came to Alan's Baptism and to Church. We're meeting with her on Tuesday. That lesson was awesome, but that day was the Black Hole of my week. For some reason I could not feel the spirit at all. It was missing. I tried to teach Hilary but nothing was coming to mind. A complete stupor of thought. I've been having a hard time this weekend trying to figure out if it was because of something I did, or because it wasn't my turn to talk. That it was my turn to listen. I'm not sure which one it is yet.
The next day was great though. Alan's baptism. It seemed like the whole ward was there. Well almost. A couple flew out to Provo to watch BYU lose. ;) It was such a great experience. Alan came out of the water with the biggest smile I've ever seen. Then while he was getting dressed we had a testimony meeting. At the end we had Alan give his testimony. I can't tell you all the things he said, but the spirit that was there was amazing. Alan is the coolest kid ever!!
Ok, Friday and Saturday are over. Saturday was good, but it wasn't as good as Sunday. We have all our regular meetings, then sitting in Elders quorum Heath comes up to me and says, 'I have a story.' I got really excited and he told me. He had been invited to a party that he had been blowing off for some time. Finally he gave in and went to the party. It was at a ranch or farm and he was trying to scare a girl, when he tripped on a wire, fell, and bruised his knee and hand. He took that as advice to leave. He comes to find out that the kids who were there were drinking, smoking and all underage. He saw this as the Holy Ghost. Witnessing to him that he needed to leave before something happened. I thought this was the coolest story ever. I asked about how he felt and he said, 'We'll see if I get my answer today.' Well now I'm really excited. I taught Sunday school, I had thirty seconds to prepare because Mike Long did not show up or get a sub. Then we had sacrament meeting. Said hi to all the people I needed too and we went into a room to have a lesson with Heath. I asked him again. He went on about how he got his answer. It’s an amazing story. He came to Alan's baptism and while I was giving the talk on the Holy Ghost he felt like he wanted to yell out. The spirit was so strong he just wanted to yell. The next day in sacrament meeting he wasn't paying attention, neither was I, but he got a prompting to listen to the speaker. Well, at that exact time he listened the speaker was speaking on repentance. He felt that strengthened his answer as well. I know I'm missing a lot of details, but Heath is getting Baptized on Oct 24th. It’s been on crazy weekend. All the football teams lose, and all the spiritual highs come in. I love it, sorry to all the BYU fans. It was a good season.
;)ha-ha
I love you all and I'm praying for you too.
Elder Call

Transfer Week

Hey Ya'll,
This week is transfers. Elder Perkins and I are staying here on TCC campus. All of the other companionships in the District are changing though. Two sister missionaries are leaving and one is coming from another area. I don't know the new sister, but apparently her and Sister Goodsell don't get along. I'm just glad I'm not District Leader. :)
I got Shannon’s letter and Hilary already read it and is planning on writing back. I got Whiting's letter and wrote back. I figured Doctor counted. :) I also got the package. It was so heavy! When I went to dump everything out the Tuna smashed my finger.
Well this week was fun. We met with a few of our investigators like Heath, but we couldn't meet with anyone else. Alan got sick and couldn't even go to school last week. We weren't able to meet with him. Hilary is still really busy with school and dance. Heath went to Panama City this weekend for Student Government. We saw each of them a little bit, but we weren't able to meet anyone solid. Alan is still getting baptized on Saturday. We set up everything and are ready to go. He is getting baptized right before the FSU vs BYU game. It will be a jam packed spiritual day. :D Elder Perkins is performing the baptism and I am performing the conformation on Sunday. I'm really excited for Alan. He is this big Teddy bear who completely embraced the gospel. It’s not the big changes that makes it amazing, it’s the little changes that he is making and the ability he is getting to be able to recognize the Lord in his life. He is the happiest person I know right now and I love it.
Heath told us that he is very interested in the church, to the point where baptism is almost always on his mind. However, he realizes he needs to make changes in his life and is doing it. He has made so many changes already in the last two weeks and the only answer he has for us is peace. He feels like he has found peace by searching through the Gospel. It’s a great blessing for him, because he is so tied up in politics. He loves watching and is all over student government. He is very liberal and talks a lot about government failures, but through the Gospel he was able to find peace in his life. It’s amazing.
Hilary is still doing well. She loved Shannon’s letter and has found time to meet with us now. She is comfortable with her schedule and came to church on Sunday again. She loves the gospel, but is afraid to dive in. It’s like a little kid at the edge of the pool not knowing if she wants to jump in. But like every parent of that kid they know that once in they will love it and never want to leave. Once Hilary jumps in she will love it and the blessings that come from it.
Football games on campus are really hard. We have no one to teach or to talk to. We can't go around interrupting tailgate parties or parties elsewhere. So we try to have our p-day on Saturdays and get as much done as possible. We then went over to Rich's house. He is a member here in Tallahassee. We were there for only an hour when it started to rain, hard. We got stuck there for a couple of hours. Too bad for us, the BYU game was on. ;)
I love you all and I'm always happy to get letters. I got grandma's too. Sounds like Megan is still loving Tennis. Shannon is still working hard in Dance. Kristen is still in school. ;)
I pray this week will be as good as last week.
Love Elder Call

Football season is here!!!!

Hey,
Sorry this is a day late. Yesterday was crazy. Labor day, so all the Libraries were closed, and the FSU vs. Miami game in Tallahassee. Every parking lot, every parking garage, every field, every apartment complex and even the curbs were full of people. I think every person attending the game was at some kind of tailgate party. I've never seen so many tailgators'. It does not, however, make for good missionary work. Its really hard to find someone to talk to when their so into their beer, or their tv, or the up coming game. So...we just did what ever we wanted to yesterday.
This weekend was just as crazy. The singles ward put on a party. They called it the T-town Get Down. There were people from Panama City, Orlando, Tampa and other parts around Florida. It seems like a lot, but not everyone showed up. Most waited until the dance that night. We were invited to the festivities. All except the dance. We weren't allowed to do anything though. Except watch and eat. Its really tough to just sit there and watch your peers run down the hill and jump on a thirty foot long slip in slide covered in water and two bottles of dish soap. Instead we sat there and watched until we couldn't take it anymore. We went and did service instead.
That night was just as bad. There was a huge dance in the 'Tute' and we weren't invited. So what were we going to do all night? Its a Saturday night and the entire town is getting ready for the big game on Monday. This may seem surprising, but we went to Subway, got a drink, and what do you know!! The BYU vs. Oklahoma game is on. :) Its really hard to resist when your companion, the district leader, loves BYU football, no one wants to talk to you, and a big game is within your sight. Anyways, the game was awesome and Sam Bradford got owned!
So now onto more spiritual stuff. Allen is getting ready to be baptized. This kid is Amazing. His date is on Sept 19 and he has already purchased a 'Quad' and a Preach My Gospel. He wants to be able to convince his dad, a catholic Deacon, that this is the true church. Not only that, he wants to convince his friends too. He invited 5 people to the T-town Get Down and 3 of them came to church with us the next day. We met with one of them, Brandon, who is Allen’s best friend. He was sitting next to us during sacrament and just started to cry. After sacrament we went into a spare room and started to talk to him. I didn't have anything planned to say, but I knew that if I listened I didn't need to worry about it. He told us about his niece who died two months ago. How he felt it was his fault that he wasn't there for his brother. He told us how the Bishops testimony really touched him and he felt he needed a good cry. Well after hearing this I ran with it. We jumped right into the plan of salvation and how that Christ is the center of it. We told him about the spirit world and that through Christ all children can be saved. We showed him the Book of Mormon and that by reading it we can feel closer to our Father. The one Eternal Father up in Heaven. How the Book lets us become closer to Christ and helps us follow his teachings. To end our conversation we read 3 scriptures. 2 Nephi 25:23-26, Mosiah 3:17 and 3 Nephi 5:13. All relating to Jesus Christ. The purpose of the Prophets, the purpose of Christ and my own purpose. He felt good and ready to continue to learn more. He gave us a big hug and we gave him the contact information of the church in Gainesville.
Heath is our other investigator. He is amazing. He has started making changes in his life without us. He has recognized certain characteristics of members and missionaries and has started to mimic them. We have only had one lesson with him and he asked us if he could fast for Fast Sunday. He is progressing so fast and I hope it continues.
Hillary is alright. It seems like we're losing her. She didn't come to church this Sunday and we haven't been able to meet with her at all last week. The closest we come is a telephone call. It’s sad because she was so happy when she was in the ward.
Congrats to all of you girls on your accomplishments. I don't have time to single you out, but I'm proud of what you are doing. And I brag about you all the time.
Mom - Its so weird when a random ward member starts talking about Devon Renshaw. :) Kaylee made us the cookies and they were delicious. I think its funny you tried to send me salsa. haha. That’s a lot of money. Oh cool story. We just got so much meat!! A family was moving to Ohio and had to get rid of a few things. They got rid of all the food in their freezer. It turns out that there was about $300 worth of meat in there. We split up the food between 6 sets of missionaries!! So I'm loving life right now. :D
Love, Elder Call

College, College, College

Hello,

Sounds like Tennis is the sport to be playing. You get dates and salsa!! Have you made salsa yet? That’s the one thing I'm really going to miss this fall. Stealing salsa from the Tennis team. It was so good!!! Congrats Megan on your continuing winning streak. Sounds like you're bouncing in and out of...well...everything. I remember when Dave would move me from position to position. I didn't like it at all, but maybe you enjoy getting to know all of the girls. :)
Man, I thought Kristen would last longer than a week. Oh, well, I guess dates are good. Did she give her REAL number or someone else’s?
Shannon's getting to dance the solo again? Is that fair? Is she that good? Maybe. ;) I know you're good Shannon. Sounds like all of you are having fun without me. Moving on in life to bigger and better things.
College is crazy. I'm not in college nor a part of college, but Tallahassee comes to life when school is in. It is definitely a college town. FSU football is about to be here. Next e-mail I send you will be game day. They are playing Miami and all the locals are getting ready for it. Some have been getting ready for weeks. Apparently football is big here. :)We've been told that College Game Day will be here at Florida State. That’s going to be fun. I'm not sure what we're going to do during a football game yet. I've been told that it becomes our P-day. We'll find out soon.
So this week has been great and bad. Bad first. Elder Perkins and I have been separated a lot this week. Mostly weekend. He is the District Leader and has had to go on splits with the other missionaries. There have been some problems between the Elders and Sisters in our district. He has been taking some of the Elders out for the day or night to talk with them and hear their story. Its been very weird being on the other end. I can't tell you what goes on, but I get to be the one to let them 'vent'. Its not very fun just listening, but whatever.
Hilary did not see us during the week. She has started school and is taking extra dance classes. about 7-10 each night. That’s about 15 hours a week. She also has school and hasn't made room for us yet. She is still working on her schedule and hopefully we can meet with her on Sunday and figure it all out. She is reading Our Search for Happiness. I love that book and I thought it would help her out too. She's only at the introduction, so I'm not sure how she likes it yet.
Alan is our new investigator. We met him on Sunday at Stake Conference. He is
from Orlando and is very very interested in the Church. He has been to sacrament before, he's met with the missionaries before and he has taken an institute class before. We were both thinking in our heads, 'Why aren't you baptized yet? You've gone to more things than most members.' Well we started teaching him and found out that Families is very important to him. So we taught him the Plan of Salvation, focusing on Families. It was so cool to teach and then here him testify. We gave him a commitment to read Moroni 10 and he said that by reading that chapter it didn't give him an answer, it re-assured his answer he got before he met us. By the end of our meeting we invited him to be baptized. Not only did he accept, his answer was, Absolutely.' It was amazing and I'm so excited for Alan. The Former Elder Renshaw might have met him before. He was meeting with missionaries down there. I think his last name is Rodriguez. Alan 'De Jesus' Rodriguez. He has a cool story about his name. But back to business, Alan is getting baptized on the 19th of Sept. Do you know what day that is? All of you who are reading this e-mail should know. I mean ALL of you. Especially Brother Whiting. Something about a football and two teams. ;) Its going to be a very spiritual day for us missionaries. Haha.
Well other than that we are just chillin' and staying dry. Its good to hear from you all and I think both Grandparents, Call and Clement got my previous trivia right. Methuselah, or however you spell it, was the oldest recorded man in the Bible. Good job.
Florida is awesome and a little wet, but no hurricanes. Thanks for all your
prayers back home. I know they've definitely helped.
I love you all and I love hearing each of your individual stories from your
letters.
I love you
Elder Call

The Students Are Back!!!!!

Hey Y'all
I'm sorry my e-mail was late. I didn't even know it did that. haha. WHERE IS CAMERON GOING?!? That was on my mind all week. I want to know where that boy is going. I got a letter from him and I'll send him an e-mail, but now I have to wait until Monday to find out. :( I'm glad Clark is doing great and 'Who is this Girl?' Someone from his ward? Someone he met?
I got the letter with the camera cards. I'm sorry the pictures didn't turn out so well, I tried to change the setting yesterday and I think I got it. There was no 'fine' or 'best' on my camera, but there was high sensitivity. Maybe that will work. Anyways I'll keep trying to get that right. I wore my tie for Nate today. I hope he's doing well in the MTC. Its always rough the first couple of days, no matter how prepared you are.
Well students are finally back on campus. Last week was the last week of the break. We did a lot of service including cleaning the church. We also had our Zone Conference on Friday. I love zone conference. It’s so refreshing to hear President Summerhays talk to us. It feels as if he gives us new life each time we hear his voice. We went over some surveys that each missionary took in preparation for Zone Conference. There was a 'remember this' and a 'missionary hand book' survey. Each of which we rated ourselves on how we did in each category. I felt pretty good about mine and I talked a little about it during my interview. But during the meeting he went on this crazy tangent, but then it ended up being the coolest thing ever.
We talked about what the Lord expects of us and if he has anything prepared for us. Some thought that our lives were already planned out for us and that it didn't matter what we did certain things would happen. I disagreed to some extent claiming that God had in store for us callings, priesthood responsibilities, blessings, family, temple and other topics. I also included a verse from Doctrine and Covenants that states that a man must be 'anxiously engaged in a good cause'. The Lord cares what we do with our live but at the same time he doesn't. He wants us to live and learn from our mistakes and become like him. 'This time is a probationary state to prepare to meet God.' (Off the top of my head I'm not sure where that is, but my guess is Alma 7.) President thought it was interesting, but proved me wrong. Kindly. :) He said the Lord knows all things. Past, Present and Future. So if he knows all things he knows what we've done, what we're doing and what we're going to do in our lives and certain situations. He knows all. He has a plan for each of us whether(??) it be stake president or just a home teacher he has something in store for us. He knows how our mission will be, he knows who we will marry, he knows how much our families will love each other and he knows when he will take us up to rest. He knows all. However, he in no way what-so-ever takes away our free agency. EVER. We still have the ability to choose, to learn, to grow, and to progress toward him, but he knows which path we will choose. He has to, if he's going to prepare us for a family, calling or some responsibility that may at the time seem unimportant, but in time we will be able to see his hand in every step of our life. It was the coolest tangent ever. When he stops going by the book and just teaches from the heart. Those thoughts and feelings the spirit puts into him, you can feel and hear angels encircled about him. It’s the most incredible thing I've ever seen.
President also spoke at our stake conference, but it wasn't nearly as cool as Zone conference. But he did say this. "A man is given a calling based on the capabilities of his wife." Haha. I thought it was funny and so true. Those men who we look up to have amazing wives. Adam couldn't do it without Eve. She knew the consequences of her actions, but she also knew what it would take to find happiness and joy. Without Eve there is no human race. Anyways. This week was somewhat productive, but like I said the students are back and I'm excited.
I love you all and I'm praying for you.
Love Elder Call

Tallahassee Community College - Week 8

Hello Everyone!!
This week has been suprisingly productive. We haven't really been able to focus on Key Indicators, but we have done a lot of service and activities to help us with the fall semester coming up. All the appartments are still empty, but we've been told that they'll fill up within the next week.
Um. We were told yesterday over the pulpit that there is a tropical storm here and two hurricanes on the way. In other words, service is right around the corner. :) I've never been in an extreme storm like a Hurricane before. It rains like crazy here just on regular storms. Even the small storms dump more water than a big storm in Utah. Its insane how big the rain drops get. Its not raining today, but it feels like we walked into a shower. There are clouds everywhere and it is so humid.
Hilary is doing awesome. She still doesn't have a baptisimal date, but she comes every sunday, goes to other activites like FHE and TNT and is there for all of our appointments. She doesn't know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God yet, but she will. Until then we'll keep teaching her and encouraging her to read. She is starting Dance in a week. She just had a big dance weekend where she danced for about 9 hours a day. Shannon would get along great with her. She said the dance she did was a mix between ballet and african. ??? Not sure what that would look like, but she loved it!!
As for me everything is great. My companion, Elder Perkins is awesome and
patient. Especially since we have no one to teach. I'm eating fine, except for the fact that the members only feed us maybe once a week and we're in a biking area. All of my money goes to food. But don't worry. I eat a lot and i'm eating healthy too. Chicken, Vegatables, Eggs, Fruits, PB&J's hmmmm, mac and cheese, granola and yogurt. Its just that I don't have money to spend on other items,like m&m's, candy, subway, t-shirts and other non-important stuff. :)
Cameron - My guess is . . . Ecuador.
Rooster + Bear = Good Times. hahahaha
So is Megan on JV or Varsity. Or does it even matter?
Kristen better go to the BYU vs FSU game. Its on the 19th. I think I said 29th last time, but its on the 19th of Sept. I'll be watching it. While teaching an investigator of course. :)
Shannon. Hey would you write a letter for Hilary for me? It would be nice if you could intertwine dance and the gospel. :) How has Dance helped you with life, young womens, school, church etc. That would be fantastic. I think Hilary would enjoy that and maybe I can get her to send something to you.
Dad, Thanks for the letters. I was almost reading along with you, but I started the Book of Mormon over because our mission President asked us to. So now I'm behind trying to catch up.
Mom. I'm eating, I'm healthy, I have a little trouble sleeping, but its getting better. I drink gatorade every morning and night. I haven't gotten hurt yet. I think thats everything. :) Oh! we found some bible flash cards at the dollar store. Who was the oldest person in the Bible?
Love you all and I'm praying for you. Have fun in school!! haha
Love Elder Call

Tallahassee Community College - Week 7

Hello Y'all
This week was crazy. Elder Krieser and Elder Gates (FSU Elder) both got transferred. They were very sad and moped around Monday and Tuesday. We woke up early, early Wednesday morning and the Zone Leaders came and picked us up. I stayed with Elders O'Niones and Hill. Elder Hill is from Woodscross and grew up with Tyler Miller. They're both great missionaries and we contacted on FSU until we had to go inside because of a lightening warning. My new companion, Elder Perkins, came later that night and we dropped off his stuff and went straight to work. We helped Rich, a member, move into his new place. Then he took us out to dinner. By the time we got home it was 8:30 and Elder Perkins' stuff was still packed in his bags. He finished unpacking the next day and we were off to work.
Friday we did 'chalk walk' again. It was great. We talked with a lot of people. One man was once part of the RLDS group. But he broke away from that and is no longer religious. He asked me how I knew that the Book of Mormon was true. I got to bear my testimony to him right there on campus. That the Book of Mormon is more than a really cool story book, with wars and amazing men like Captain Moroni. Its a gift from God. As we read it and search for the deeper meanings by applying it to our own lives we come to understand that these men were prophets of God teaching to people how to reach to him through Jesus Christ. Prophets like Nephi, Jarom, Alma, Abinidi, Alma the Younger, Sons of Mosiah, Captain Moroni, Nephi and Lehi, Brother of Jacob, Mormon and Moroni. Every time they wrote it was for OUR profit and learning. We can learn from their words and receive the blessings they promise as we give heed to what they wrote. Its an amazing blessing to have the Book of Mormon.
Well, after that fantastic day we found out some very distressing news. All campuses, FSU TCC and FAMU, are closed for the next two weeks. Its the break between summer and fall semester and all students are going home for the break. Dorms have been cleaned out. Leases and contracts are ending in apartments and everyone seems to be moving somewhere new. We are truggling to find stuff to do. Tracting is useless because no one is there. Contacting is the same. We've planned a couple of activities to do over the next two weeks, but we're still left with a lot of time. We have a couple of ideas like malls, flea markets and scouting out different apartments around our area, but I'll have to let you know how that works out.
I'm glad you all are doing great and that summer has been fun for all. I'm really jealous of Shannon and Kristen, but I think my tan can beat theirs. Sounds like Megan is kicking trash once again and enjoying it. I wasn't going to get any jewelry, but then I saw the Tennis shoes and I knew I had to get them. Then I couldn't leave out Kristen and Shannon so I got them some too. I'm thinking Megan should wear those on match days. :) jk.
I love you all and I hope you're excited for the new school year. Oh! BYU is
playing FSU on the 29th of Sept I think. That's way cool that Kristen will be at that game. A bunch of members from here are going up to watch it. Next year BYU will come to Seminole town. haha
I love you and I'm praying for you.
Love Elder Call

Tallahassee Community College - Week 6 - Transfers

First things first.
I got the medicine and the other goodies as well. Thanks!!! I totally forgot to write for the Ties and I sent a letter home but it might get there too late. :( but Rachel’s baptism is good too. maybe you could throw in some other lines like 'hey y'all' or something so it sounds like I really wrote it. :D
I'm going to send you my card and write down all the pictures for you. Then you can have them. If you want to send me a new on, or just send me the old one after you get it. Either way I think I'll just send pictures home every transfer, unless you want them faster than that.
Ok now for my week
Hey Y'all family and friends!!
This week has definitely had its ups and downs. It started off great at the beginning of the week. We had all these lessons planned, we were going to give Hilary a baptismal date and we were going to find more 'gators', but somehow none of that happened. We had a lesson with a guy named Shawn. I'm not sure if I mentioned him before. He was in the Service for six years. He is now going to school at FSU. Ben Pope (member) invited us to dinner with him and Shawn. We taught him about the restoration of the Gospel and he told us about how he feels God will never forgive him. We tried to convince him other wise and tried to explain the Atonement to him, but he wasn't buying any of it. He was nice enough to ask us to come over again though. We went over the next sunday for dinner. Shawn made us dinner this time and he made Corn Beef and Cabbage stew. Oh!! it was so good! and there was so much we couldn't eat all of it. There were eight of us and six were Elders. After the hearty meal we discussed the Plan of Salvation and how we are here to learn and to grow. We are also here to use our body and continue to use it and learn from it. When we slip the atonement is there as our 'safety net'. No unclean thing can stand in God's presence, but through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can all become clean. He listen to us and understood everything, but he wasn't sure if he believed yet. 'I want to try it out and continue to do research on my own,' is what he kept telling us. We just smiled and said, 'perfect, experiment with the 'word' and see if it works in your own life.' He's a great guy and he'll find what he's looking for someday.
The rest of the week just went south. We met with Hilary on Tuesday. There was a member there too who brought her friend who was a nonmember. So we taught her instead of teaching Hilary. We set up a time to teach her on thursday, but she canceled and set up a time for friday. Friday came and she had to cancel again. We didn't see her until Church on sunday. ugh, we are supposed to meet her on tuesday this week. I hope it works out.
Thursday was when we were going to be in the Booth. At TCC we have a booth on
thursdays where we sit in the Student Union and talk to students who pass by. We were only going to be there for two hours, but Alex canceled his lesson with us and Hilary canceled too. So we sat there for six hours. BOREING!! Friday came excited to do the 'chalk walk' on FSU. We got there and started to draw the plan of salvation. After we got done we started to talk to people. Five minutes later it started to rain. Florida rain sucks. It just comes in bucket loads. It washed away our plan of salvation and the side walk was too wet to draw it back on. We contacted for a couple of hours then went home and ate lunch. We left our place and went to find some potentials. After the first three houses it started to rain again. This time it was insane. I've never seen so much rain. It just kept coming. We decided it would be best to ride home and wait it out (we couldn't see the end). In the ten minutes it took to ride home, everything was soaked. EVERYTHING my pants, my shoes and socks, my shirt and tie (even though it was underneath my jacket) and even a couple pamphlets and books of mormon. It was terrible. We just sat there and waited for it to stop. Saturday came and we were going to help a lady move. Well we got to her house and she didn't have a key for her new place, so we couldn't move. We went home and took an early lunch. Five minutes before we were about to leave it starts to rain. So we weekly planned for an hour and got ready to go to a new member lesson with a girl named Carly. Carly canceled and we finished weekly planning. We did everything we could think of and called anyone who might want to meet with us and nothing happened. Well at this time its only 4:00. We're fasting so were not coming home until 8. We have no idea what to do. We started tracting, but no one is home. They are all moving or haven't moved yet. Every 7th house had someone and it took about 5 people until we found someone interested enough just to listen. It was terrible. There is some good news. We had a mission wide fast for the Book of Mormon. To help us see it work in our lives and the lives of our investigators. Everyone did a 24 hour fast, but don't worry, I did a 12 and 12 hour fast. It was a really cool experience. We are all trying to finish the Book of Mormon by October 3. If anyone would like to join me I challenge you to take time to read the Book of Mormon. Mark it in a way that will help you see the way the lord blesses his children. We use a two colored pencil. RED marks the requirements that we have to do and BLUE marks the blessings, characteristics and anything the Lord will do in return. It helps apply the Book of Mormon to each and everyone of us.
Transfers!!! Guess where I'm going?? Pensacola? Mobile? Thomasville Georgia)? Dothon? Panama City? Ft Walton? Destin? If you have guessed any of these your wrong. haha I'm staying in Tallahassee on TCC. Elder Krieser is leaving for Navarre. Thats over by Pensecola. Elder Perkins is coming to TCC with me as the new District Leader. I've heard good things about him.
Well that’s all the news I have. I think that’s really cool that the MLS vs Everton game was awesome!! did any of you get to see it? I got letters from both grandparents, Sara and Ayrn, Megan, Shannon, Kristen, Dad, Erik’s e-mails, Mikes e-mails, and anyone else I forgot to mention.Well these first six weeks have flown by. Have a fun and safe summer and good luck preparing for school. Someday I'll send that package for Shannon and the Girls. I love y'all and I’m praying for you.
Love Elder Call

Tallahassee Community College - Week 5

Hello Y'all
Sorry this letter is late. Our schedule today is a little backwards, but we did get to go play hockey. Roller hockey, they have no ice in Florida.
This week was soooo much better than the last week. We found this kid named Alex on TCC. He was very nice and talked with us for a while. We find out that he has talked with the missionaries before us and knows a lot about the church and the book of mormon. We decided to look up his teaching records, and it turns out he had a Baptismal date last November!! We looked at the history and he was taught everything, right up until his baptismal date, but two days before he feel off the face of the earth. Or so the other Elders put it when they couldn't contact him any more. We found out that he has a problem with Brigham Young and the Mountain Meadow Massacre. He also thinks that Brigham Young is an egotistical freak who was seeking power and taking out anyone who got in his way. His Girlfriend is R-LDS so that might have something to do with it. We're teaching him on wednesday and we'll see how that goes.
Rachel got Baptized on Saturday!! The day finally came. She was interviewed by our Mission President on tuesday and qualified for baptism. (I'll talk about Pres later) She was very excited and we told her everything she needed for baptism and that she could invite everyone. She was really excited. She told us who should be in the program, who she wanted to Baptize her (Elder Merkley) and who she wanted to confirm her (Elder Krieser), and that she wanted it to be at 4 on saturday. Well, saturday morning came and the Sisters gave her a call to check up on her and to ask if she would need any help. Turns out she taught the Baptism was at 6 instead of 4. I'm not sure where the communication went wrong on that one, but we got it straightened out and everything went fine. Hillary, her friend was there for the Baptism as well. We think we might try to get her a baptism date this week. Rachel is now a member and we get to teach her on tuesday.
Ok. Time for Pres. After he interviewed Rachel he came out and gave his usual
greetings, then told Elder Krieser and me to step it up in tracting. He said
that members had seen us and were questioning out companionship. It just so
happens that the other day I sent him an e-mail about our lack of hard work. I also told him I didn't know what to do since Elder Krieser is my trainer and I'm supposed to follow him. President was all over it and made up the story about other members to give us a spark. We went tracting that night and almost every night until saturday. We found so many people this week it was awesome. 10 new investigators to our previous 3. We didn't find them all from tracting, but by getting it into our mind to work hard, we were able to be successful in finding people in many areas. We have a lot of return appointments (most fall through) and some new ways to find more people who are ready. We're starting a 'scripture study' on TCC. We are using the time we usually spent with Rachel on Tuesdays and Thursdays and while keeping it permanent, we are inviting all on TCC who are members to join and bring their friends. There's not a lot, but we have one new investigator who is coming on tuesday already. It seems like missionary work picks up when you start to pick your work up. It feels so good and I love it.
I don't think it would be a good idea to go after my companion mom. He's not
that bad, just not motivated like I am. If we get put together for another
transfer it'll be okay. I'm no longer a youngin' and he's no longer my trainer. It'll be two missionaries working together, and I'm going to try some new tactics to make our work ethic increase. It'll be a lot better than our first six weeks.
Anyways, I'm glad y'all had fun in Sunny California. I'm in Sunny Florida. Its been so hot lately. We walk outside and start sweating. I'm almost used to having my shirt stuck against my back all day. Its when I forget my 'sweat rag' that makes the day miserable.
I didn't know it was Nates Farewell!! ugh, I'm going to have to wear my tie
tomorrow just for him. Has Cam turned in his papers? How is Clark? Is he still in Virgina?
One more thing. How is my i-pod coming. :) haha. We are aloud to listen to a
wide variety of music. If its instrumental, Disney, EFY, Hymns and any thing
else worthy. I really like 'goofy movie' for my morning workouts. We have a CD with a few songs on it. Every morning at 6:30 'Stand Out' starts playing. Its awesome!!
I love y'all and I hope you are doing ok.
Love Elder Call.

Tallahassee Community College - Week 4

Hey Y'all,
This week was awesome, but at the same time not awesome. I'm not sure what we should start with, but i'm thinking I'll save the best for last. This week was horrible in respect to our own efforts. We found one investigator the entire week. We spent a lot of time talking with members, hanging out at FSU's and trying to find people to teach on campus. We didn't go tracting once from Monday until Saturday. Not once. I know tracting isn't the most effective way or the most pleasent, but it shows your commitment to the Lord and to the members of the Ward. They see us riding our bikes, knocking on doors and they feel like they can find someone too. There old missionary self is sparked and they feel an urge to share the gospel too. Thats why we go out each day. To show EVERYONE that we're dedicated. I'm still a 'young' missionary, so I'm waiting until next transfer to make my move. Right now I'm just following my companion around trying to be as productive as possible, even when he's not.
Ok, bad news is out. Time for the good stuff!! Rachel is getting baptized this week!! or so we hope. We're not sure if she has quit smoking yet, but she told us she had. Remember those blessings I promised her? Yeah, we'll never know if I have the 'gift' to give promises yet. She didn't even try to keep them last week. It was finals for TCC and she was stressed out of her mind. She didn't read the Book of Mormon, she continued to smoke through her finals and she even had to walk out of a class to take a smoke. Ugh. If only people would recognize that putting the important stuff first makes the less important stuff so much easier. Even if she just read a little bit each day she would have known that. Oh well. Agency, agency, agency. Its everyone's gift.
Hillary is doing great too. She is learning fast and even teaching Rachel basic truths. Not necessarily from the Book of Mormon, but she understands that humans make mistakes. She went with us to a baptism this saturday and we're going to show her how to truely pray. How to get down on your knees and say a true, convincing prayer from the heart. I'm excited.
Zone conference was on Tuesday. That is probably the highlight of my mission so far. President Summerhays is awesome. We had a short one on one meeting where we talked about missionary stuff and he also discussed my companion. He said he gave him some words of advice and told me to continue to work hard. He said some more stuff before I left. We then had a two hour meeting, followed by a great lunch and ended with another two hours of meetings. It seems like a lot, but it was so amazing to hear President speak and to hear all the other missionaries speak as well. I felt right at home. With all the other Elders and Sisters sharing their struggles and success. It was quite a feeling.
Well I'm glad your adventure landed you safely in Cali. I'm glad Grandma Clement is doing better, I'm glad Grandpa Call is doing better, I'm glad Susan is doing alright, I'm glad Nate found an awesome job, I'm glad Jen is chillin in St. George, I'm glad Tanner and Weston miss me so much (I miss you guys too :D), and I'm glad that its not humid today. haha.I love you all and hope you are having fun, being safe and sharing your testimony with everyone who is willing to listen.Love Elder Call

Tallahassee Community College - Week 3

Hello family and friends,
This week was so much better than the last two. Rachel is getting ready to be baptized. We're teaching her friend Hillary the Restoration, we have two more investigators, Vanessa and Mary and we sent Emily over to the FSU Sister Missionaries. First Rachel.
She is having a hard time with the Word of Wisdom. She know that all this is true and she has seen what it can do for her life and she wants it. She is excited to be baptized, but she is going to have a rough week. She is trying to quit smoking and drinking while studying and taking finals. Yeah, that's going to be tough. She told us that she would try to quit after finals, but we decided it would be better if she quit now. She didn't know how to feel about it or if she wanted to. This is where the cool stuff kicks in.
Have you ever a conversation where you start saying something else? Something that you never recognized before or even thought of before? Yeah, that's the Holy Ghost kicking in and at about this time it really came in. I started promising blessings to her. Blessings I've never seen or thougtht about. I read with her D&C 121 about Liberty Jail and promised her that if she could make it these two weeks until her baptism she would do well on her finals. That she wouldn't have to worry about if she needed another cigarette while she studied. That if she followed the commandments she would taste of Eternal Life and the heavens would open themselves and bless her. That's quite a blessing froma 19-year-old-boy. But I have complete faith that she will do it and be blessed. Hillary is Rachel's friend. We just got done teaching her the Restoration about an hour ago and promised her that if she read the chapters we gave her and sincerely prayed about it, she would come to know for herself that these things are true AND she would taste of the blessings to come.
Vanessa is a girl we met on campus. She is a freshman and lives at the Homeless shelter. She wanted to come to church, but she felt like she needed to study a little more before she would feel comfortable. We gave her a Book of Mormon and set up a time to meet again. She read the chapters, but forgot to meet us for our meeting. We're going to meet with her tonight. Hopefully all goes well. Mary is a girl we tracted into last week. She knows about the church and actually went to church with one of her friends in the Tally 2nd Ward. She has never read the Book of Mormon though, so we gave her one and we are meeting with her tonight too. She has a background with the church. One of her best friends is a member and she grew up with Mary. So if we could get her friend to come to the lesson and get her to read? Oh! that would be awesome!
Emily is not progressing. Well at least not with us. We are sending her to the FSU sister missionaries to hopefully help Emily progress more. She is a great person and loves the Book of Mormon and coming to church, but she just won't open up to us and tell us what she's thinking. We feel she'll be more comfortable with the sisters.
Me and my companion are getting along a lot better. I'm not exactly sure what changed, but to be honest, I don't care. We're really moving now and finding a lot of people to teach. We ask everyone for referrals and when we tract we usually can find one or two people who will listen. Not everyone shows up to the appointments, but every person we talk to gives us hope. This week we found 8 g'ators.
I'm sorry your California trip isn't going to be the same without the best looking member of the Family. You'll just have to do without me. ;) I'm glad Grandma is doing good and feeling better. To be honest, I'm not really startled. If my companion can walk away from getting hit by a taxi, Grandma is tough enough to walk away from a car crash. ;D
I haven't figured out how to send pictures home yet. When I go to Wal-Mart this week I'll see what I can do.
When does Erik leave? get there? Can I get his address or e-mail?
When is Nate's farewell? I need to wear my tie.
Megan..... why in the world are you in my ship? You know I'm skilled enough to take you out even when I'm out manned. There's no way I'll loose. I'll send you the results this week.
I love you all and pray for you often.
Elder Call

Tallahassee Community College-2nd Week

Hey y'all,
I've decided that I'm going to start talking as much 'south' as I can. I haven't picked up on 'fixin' yet, that is my next goal. I'm really sorry Grandma, Sara, Aryn, and Quinn got in a car crash. I hope they are all doing alright. I'm glad y'all had a good 4th of July and that sounds like something Brennan would totally do.
My bike is here with me in Tallahassee and it's great. My legs have never burned so much. The Church is 3 miles away, uphill both ways, and we ride there at least once a day, if not 2 or 3. My legs are going to be ripped. ;)
I don't know about pictures yet. Should I send the card home once every two weeks and you can send me a new one out here? I don't know where a walgreens is, but I can ask other missionaries how they get their's home this week.
I got Shannon's e-mail and I was very happy to get it. It sounds like dance is getting harder but more rewarding at the same time. I miss Boondocks too. The slick track is my favorite. How did y'all like Spencer? He's a crazy boy if you ask me.
This week had it's ups and downs. My companion got hit by a car. To be exact, a taxi. I went across the intersection and was half way when I heard a 'thump' and a big, long scrape. I turned and lo and behold my companion was in the middle of the intersection on his side. The taxi
t-boned him and sent him flying across the road. We would've kept riding like it was no big deal, but a lady behind us called 911 and wouldn't let Elder Krieser or me leave. My companion is alright now, he has really high blood pressure, but the mission health person has an eye on him like a hawk.
This week we are still teaching Rachel and Emily. Rachel has a baptisimal date for July 25 and Emily is an investigator who we're trying to get a baptisimal date with. We'll start with Rachel first.
She is doing great! Tuesday was a little step backwards, she wasn't sure if this was right and she didn't want to make it become a mistake. Her faith was shot, right out the window. We tried to comfort her, but it was really hard for her to see the light. On Thursday we met with her again. This time was so much better. We had Tyler, a member, come with us an he helped us out a lot. Rachel also brought a friend, Hillary. So, with two extra's for this lesson I thought it would make it harder, but it was so good. Tyler is AMAZING at teaching and made everything so simple and easy to understand. Rachel now feels the spirit and is doing great. She is getting really excited for her baptism. Hillary, Rachel's friend, is now one of our new g'ators! Talk about a great lesson!
Emily isn't doing as good as Rachel. She still keeps her commitments and continues to read from the Book of Mormon, but she is really shy about sharing it with us. She hides behind her book every time we ask her a question and doesn't answer a lot of them. She doesn't trust us yet. We're going to turn her over to the Sister's an hopefully they'll be able to help her share her feelings. I know Emily knows it's true, she just needs someone she trusts to share it with.
Tuesday was probably the craziest day ever. We were tracting in some apartments because one of our appointments fell through. It looked really dark outside so we decided it would be best if we rode home. Once we got on the main road we look down the road and you could literally see a wall of water coming at you. It would've been really cool, but that was the way home. We rode as hard as we could, with rain drops the size of gum balls hitting us. We turned the corner and you could see the light to where our apartment was, when my tire went flat....sniff. I had to walk my bike home in the pouring rain. The Lord still blessed us though. It didn't start thundering until after we made it home. Watching rain is cool, riding through rain sucks.
I think that's all for this week. Maybe I'll find more g'ators by next time. I love y'all and hope y'all will keep sending me stuff. ;)
P.S. if you could send me an i-pod or an mp3 player that would be great! If you could put 'Kolob', 'I Believe in Christ', 'Spirit of God', 'Praise to the Man' and five or six of each of your favorite songs too. Oh, and guess what? Old Disney songs are allowed so they count too!!
Do I need a message for the Boys? Or is that a monthly thing?
Love, Elder Call