Hey Everyone,
Sounds like a party for Grandpa. haha. Hopefully it will sink in soon that he no longer has to do anything. Just what he wants. We just lost a senior couple in our mission. They had to go home early due to family complications. Tell Grandpa there is a vacancy up in Thomasville Georgia that needs to be filled. ;)
I got the package. Thank you. The medicine came right on time and the picture couldn't be any better. I was
sad that I couldn't go to the San Diego Temple. The Pictures were beautiful. Kristen, I thought you said you were cutting your hair? Any ways, it sucks that there is no Temple in our mission. Waiting two years is hard. It will be such a relief to go back and relearn everything again. Did you know that there are pineapple flavored popsicles in the package you sent me? They are very tasty.
Its transfer week again. I'm staying in Tallahassee for another transfer. My companion is leaving though. He is going to Tallahassee 3rd ward. My new companion is Elder Thurston. We were in the same MTC district. He is coming from Troy, AL. That means I get to train yet another one about the area. It does however make the transfer go by so much faster. These last six weeks was a blurr. Its going by so fast. I can't believe that school is starting soon. Everyone is moving back in to Tallahassee and I'm here yet again for the population growth. This transfer is going to be exciting though. BYU will be here this transfer, but that same weekend a member from the Seventy will be here. I'm not sure which one, but I'm pretty sure that its going to be awesome.
This week has been crazy. We have done so much driving I'm sick of the 'Man Van' and of course, Sis Simmons has blessed us with another story.
It seems like this week was the week for everyone to get sick. We spent all of Thursday and Friday morning driving the campus missionaries to their Doctors appointments, then we sat and waited for each of them to finish. Repercussions for when ya'll had to sit and wait on me? Maybe. Any ways, it was a long time to wait for each Missionary. I got through the Gospel of John during those days.
Sis Simmons has had some drama these last couple of days. Well, a lot of drama. Last Saturday was her birthday. We went and had a great time as you remember. Well we got a call the next day saying that her and Glen had broken up, she was no longer getting married and she through her ring across the field. Great, there goes our investigator! Sunday she didn't come to church, but we got a call that night saying that Terry will be studying with us on Tuesday. Terry? Yeah, he was the previous boyfriend who got sent to jail about 8 weeks ago. So Tuesday came and we went to Sis Simmons house and met with Terry and her. It wasn't too bad, we talked about what jail was like and what he thought about the Book of Mormon. We had tried to visit Terry while he was in Jail, but it takes six weeks to go through the process. Instead we left a Book of Mormon hoping that he would read. He did and he attended a bible study at the Jail while he was there. It was a good lesson and we committed him to come to church. Sis Simmons committed him to a little more. She committed him to baptism and into getting married on November 15th. Wow.
We were expecting Terry to come to church on Sunday, but things changed around on Friday. I got a call from Sis Simmons. She told me about how Terry did something wrong, he got kicked out of Sis Simmons home, and that Glen was back in her life. It was a lot of information to handle for me. In less than a week Sis Simmons has had two marriage dates with two different men. She flipped faster than Brother Beyer flipped the hamburgers last night. BTW, we went to a 1-year-olds birthday party yesterday, Brother Beyer was the chef. Sunday came and Terry wasn't there, but Sis Simmons was. She had a big Baptist hat on with feathers and ruffles and stuff. It was a grand event to see her there. Tomorrow we will be expecting Glen at Sis Simmons. Its going to be a rough road with Elder Faalogo leaving. Glen doesn't accept our message as easily without him.
I have some pictures to send to you, and something else. Elder Faalogo and I went to a play at the Moon. John Madden is a member in our ward who has a handicap
. We love him to death and he invited us to come. His band and him were opening for the show and He wanted us there really bad. So we went to support him. John was wearing a Tux and did great. At the play's intermission we went to go be with him. He showed us around and showed us some earrings that he made. They were huge! He used wire and beads to make some red earrings that are about 8 inches long. There was a lady there that had a son in the play. She came and bought Johns earrings. (I would have, but she beat me to it) As she was in line she made a funny comment. "I'm going to frame these, so they don't get ruined." haha. She knows how to be nice without putting any pressure on herself to wear them. John kept showing us around and we saw some shirts for his band. Of course I had to buy one. I'm wearing it right now. We are going to meet with John later today, so I have to represent. :)
Its been a fun week and I'm learning so much. I have so much more to learn and do. I feel really immature when I realize how far I need to go. Its great.
I love you all very much. School is starting soon. Have fun. ;)
Elder Call
Elder Call
Off to the MTC
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Wild Week
Hey Everyone,
This week has been crazy. Most of the stories comes from Sis Simmons. So much to tell, so little time. JK ;)
I went on a trade-off with Elder Wardle this week. He has only been in the field for 3 weeks. Naturally he had a lot of questions. We went to their District meeting on campus, then we took off for Sis Simmons. Glen was there and we had a great discussion with them. Afterwards we watch the Restoration. We thought that it would give Glen a perspective on the beginnings of the church. Well, it did the opposite. Glen didn't like the movie because of all the white people. "Why can't there be any black people?" He would ask. Since Elder Faalogo was gone, nothing we could say would help the issue, because we are white. He also told us that he doesn't like to watch any videos about Jesus Christ because they are all Jews. "Why can't they throw in a Chinese person or someone?" It was really sad, because Glen is such a smart guy, but he couldn't get over the fact that there were no blacks in the movie. It was really sad.
We took off to go see the Hoods, who are doing great, then went back an hour later to eat dinner at Sis Simmons. I can now say that I have had true southern food. No more of this spaghetti and pizza and other Mormon foods. We had mac'n'cheese, collard greens, baked beans, chicken and corn bread. My plate was full of stuff as Sis Simmons handed it to me. Wow. The mac'n'cheese was alright. The collard greens were more sour than a pickle in lemon juice. The baked beans had something in it that I couldn't recognize. I think the chicken was undercooked. Last of all, the corn bread. It was actually the best corn bread I've ever tasted! I'm serious! It was delicious and I would not mind eating that again. However it was a night that I wouldn't mind not re-living again.
The next day Elder Wardle and I went to the Ronald McDonald house for service, then we drove out to President Campbell's house for more service. We gave Sis Campbell some cookies to thank her for driving Sis Simmons to church each week. After shoveling some bark for President Campbell we went to see Rachel Crowley. Do you guys remember Rachel? She was the first baptism I was able to participate in. She lives just around the block from President Campbell, so we went by to say hi. She is doing great. She has had a rough year, but is doing and looking much better. Elder Wardle and I then went to find and teach a few people. We were planning on trading back that night at the church to play ultimate Frisbee with the singles ward. We got there and only Marcus Jones was there. (BTW: Marcus' brother is the guy on the New Spice commercial that BYU put out. The one about going to the Library. Haha, very funny)
Thursday and Friday went by fast. On Friday we helped a family move. We got a call from Crestview saying that a family needed help. They weren't members, but they had family who was. So we accepted the call to help them. We showed up at their apartment to find that it was two college girls and their mother. Oh goodie (said/written very sarcastically). We had to move all of their stuff into a truck, then come back 4 hours later to move it from the truck into their new apartment. We invited them to come to the BYU Fireside on the 17th of Sept. They said they might come with their cousin, who is a big BYU fan. As we were leaving one of the girls mentioned that Sorority Week was coming soon. I remember last years, and I can't believe that I'll be here for another one.
Saturday, the best day of the week. First we helped Bro Bingham move out of his house in Tallahassee to his new home in Quincy. Well before we knew it we were past Quincy and in Greensboro at his In-Laws house 45 min away from Tallahassee. Yeah, long morning. Afternoon came fast though, mostly in anticipation for Sis Simmons birthday party. She turned 50 years old on Saturday! Hooray! We had a nice little testimony meeting. Everyone was given a chance to share. Then we ate. Yes, that meant that Tuesday was repeating itself. I was eating at Sis Simmons yet again. I did get a chance to talk with Sis Williams, Sis Simmons mother. She said that she would like to meet with us and that she hasn't been able to put the Book of Mormon down. Reading until 2 and 3 in the morning. I love the Book of Mormon, but I don't think I've ever loved it that much. We are going to keep in close contact with Sis Simmons and her mother, Sis Williams.
Well that was my week. I got a letter from Grandpa Call saying that they are selling the California Beach House. Sad, but I know that won't stop us from going to California, right?
I love you all and I pray that the summer will end soon. School is starting soon, transfers are next week, and BYU is on their way to Florida.
Love Elder Call
This week has been crazy. Most of the stories comes from Sis Simmons. So much to tell, so little time. JK ;)
I went on a trade-off with Elder Wardle this week. He has only been in the field for 3 weeks. Naturally he had a lot of questions. We went to their District meeting on campus, then we took off for Sis Simmons. Glen was there and we had a great discussion with them. Afterwards we watch the Restoration. We thought that it would give Glen a perspective on the beginnings of the church. Well, it did the opposite. Glen didn't like the movie because of all the white people. "Why can't there be any black people?" He would ask. Since Elder Faalogo was gone, nothing we could say would help the issue, because we are white. He also told us that he doesn't like to watch any videos about Jesus Christ because they are all Jews. "Why can't they throw in a Chinese person or someone?" It was really sad, because Glen is such a smart guy, but he couldn't get over the fact that there were no blacks in the movie. It was really sad.
We took off to go see the Hoods, who are doing great, then went back an hour later to eat dinner at Sis Simmons. I can now say that I have had true southern food. No more of this spaghetti and pizza and other Mormon foods. We had mac'n'cheese, collard greens, baked beans, chicken and corn bread. My plate was full of stuff as Sis Simmons handed it to me. Wow. The mac'n'cheese was alright. The collard greens were more sour than a pickle in lemon juice. The baked beans had something in it that I couldn't recognize. I think the chicken was undercooked. Last of all, the corn bread. It was actually the best corn bread I've ever tasted! I'm serious! It was delicious and I would not mind eating that again. However it was a night that I wouldn't mind not re-living again.
The next day Elder Wardle and I went to the Ronald McDonald house for service, then we drove out to President Campbell's house for more service. We gave Sis Campbell some cookies to thank her for driving Sis Simmons to church each week. After shoveling some bark for President Campbell we went to see Rachel Crowley. Do you guys remember Rachel? She was the first baptism I was able to participate in. She lives just around the block from President Campbell, so we went by to say hi. She is doing great. She has had a rough year, but is doing and looking much better. Elder Wardle and I then went to find and teach a few people. We were planning on trading back that night at the church to play ultimate Frisbee with the singles ward. We got there and only Marcus Jones was there. (BTW: Marcus' brother is the guy on the New Spice commercial that BYU put out. The one about going to the Library. Haha, very funny)
Thursday and Friday went by fast. On Friday we helped a family move. We got a call from Crestview saying that a family needed help. They weren't members, but they had family who was. So we accepted the call to help them. We showed up at their apartment to find that it was two college girls and their mother. Oh goodie (said/written very sarcastically). We had to move all of their stuff into a truck, then come back 4 hours later to move it from the truck into their new apartment. We invited them to come to the BYU Fireside on the 17th of Sept. They said they might come with their cousin, who is a big BYU fan. As we were leaving one of the girls mentioned that Sorority Week was coming soon. I remember last years, and I can't believe that I'll be here for another one.
Saturday, the best day of the week. First we helped Bro Bingham move out of his house in Tallahassee to his new home in Quincy. Well before we knew it we were past Quincy and in Greensboro at his In-Laws house 45 min away from Tallahassee. Yeah, long morning. Afternoon came fast though, mostly in anticipation for Sis Simmons birthday party. She turned 50 years old on Saturday! Hooray! We had a nice little testimony meeting. Everyone was given a chance to share. Then we ate. Yes, that meant that Tuesday was repeating itself. I was eating at Sis Simmons yet again. I did get a chance to talk with Sis Williams, Sis Simmons mother. She said that she would like to meet with us and that she hasn't been able to put the Book of Mormon down. Reading until 2 and 3 in the morning. I love the Book of Mormon, but I don't think I've ever loved it that much. We are going to keep in close contact with Sis Simmons and her mother, Sis Williams.
Well that was my week. I got a letter from Grandpa Call saying that they are selling the California Beach House. Sad, but I know that won't stop us from going to California, right?
I love you all and I pray that the summer will end soon. School is starting soon, transfers are next week, and BYU is on their way to Florida.
Love Elder Call
Monday, August 2, 2010
New Photos of Elder Call
Carnival came to town - Investigator John Madden
Sword play with investigator John Madden
Finding a Gator at Wakalla.
Volunteering at the Special Olympics
Kevin Ketcham's Baptism
Hiking in Wakalla looking for Gators....
It's August...
Hey Ya'll,
I can't believe that its August already. This is the last August I will have on the mission. I'm done with June and July too, yipee!! I didn't know that President Jensen called, but I will let him know that his message was greatly appreciated. I'm glad that people think I'm doing a good job, especially if its President.
Tallahassee is hotter than ever. Its reached 104 multiple times this last week. It makes getting out and talking to people dificult. Standing in their doorway, with sweat dripping off my face is not exactly the way we want to present ourselves to the people. However, we keep working and the sweat keeps dripping. Its been abnormally dry lately. That makes the heat rise because there is no rain to cool it off. Its like we're caught between a rock and a hard place though. Without the rain it gets supper hot cause there's nothing to cool it off. With the rain the humidity shoots right up making it hard to breathe and easy to sweat. Either way it sucks. We've been drinking so much fluids. I've never seen so many empty Gatorade bottles since I was home (no one can beat our house in Gatorade bottles). Its been a good week with the heat anyway.
We weren't able to get Angel to church this week. That means her baptismal date is going to be pushed back until later in August. Sis Simmons joined us for church though. During the week she told us that she wasn't going to be able to make it. We met with them on Thursday and Sis Simmons said that she has some important business that she needed to take care of on Sunday. We told her that we would miss her, we told her that Angel needs to come if she wants to get baptized, we told her that Sis Campbell would come pick her up. None of these helped the issue. "I'll miss you too, I want to be there," was all she would say. So we played the trump card. Any idea what that would be? Probably not, since none of you know Sis Simmons, but the trump card is 'Fast and Testimony Meeting'. Sis Simmons LOVES to bear her testimony. We told her that because its the first of the month its Testimony meeting on Sunday and that we would love to hear her testimony. Well that won her heart faster than she could say "Hallelujah, praise Jesus!" Sis Simmons called us the next day saying that she was going to be at church, "God willing," of course. Well Sis Simmons did show up to church. Angel couldn't make it, but Sis Simmons was there in all white ready to bear her testimony. Before Brother Thomas finished announcing that the meeting was open to everyone to share, Sis Simmons was half way up the stand. She got up and bore an awesome testimony. One only Sis Simmons could share. And as always, the phrase, "I've been off of Crack and Cocaine for 11 years," did come up. We love Sis Simmons to death. I don't know if I shared with you, but the other week she shared with us how she stabbed a guy ten times for laying hands on her. Yeesh, I'm not doing that blessing.
Zone Conference was great. As I predicted, President Jensen learned so much from the previous zone conferences and was ready to go. President Campbell, from the Stake Presidency, was there and shared with us the goals for the Stake and how we can help the Ward Leaders and members. It was great and we've been trying to implement them into our ward. So far so good. President Jensen taught us about the authority and who is in charge of missionary work; Stake Presidents and Bishops. President Campbell confirmed that when he got up and spoke to us. Sis Jensen taught us too. She was a first grade teacher before, so we had little handouts, a few game type activities and then an object lesson. It wasn't bad, but I felt like a first grader. Zone Conference overall was great. Afterward we were talking one with another. BYU is coming soon. On the 17th, or 16th, BYU is doing a fireside at the stake center and a tailgate party on Game day. Elder Brinkerhoff's dad is in charge of the Fireside and tailgate party, he said that we as missionaries may get the chance to feed and serve everyone during the tailgate. Either way, its going to be awesome and I'm going to request to stay in Tallahassee, for sure!!
I love you all and I"m so grateful for the support that you give me. For all the things I've learned from you and continue to learn from you. Thank you.
Love Elder Call
Ties that Bind:
Hey Brother's!!
I can't believe that its August already. This is the last August I will have on the mission. I'm done with June and July too, yipee!! I didn't know that President Jensen called, but I will let him know that his message was greatly appreciated. I'm glad that people think I'm doing a good job, especially if its President.
Tallahassee is hotter than ever. Its reached 104 multiple times this last week. It makes getting out and talking to people dificult. Standing in their doorway, with sweat dripping off my face is not exactly the way we want to present ourselves to the people. However, we keep working and the sweat keeps dripping. Its been abnormally dry lately. That makes the heat rise because there is no rain to cool it off. Its like we're caught between a rock and a hard place though. Without the rain it gets supper hot cause there's nothing to cool it off. With the rain the humidity shoots right up making it hard to breathe and easy to sweat. Either way it sucks. We've been drinking so much fluids. I've never seen so many empty Gatorade bottles since I was home (no one can beat our house in Gatorade bottles). Its been a good week with the heat anyway.
We weren't able to get Angel to church this week. That means her baptismal date is going to be pushed back until later in August. Sis Simmons joined us for church though. During the week she told us that she wasn't going to be able to make it. We met with them on Thursday and Sis Simmons said that she has some important business that she needed to take care of on Sunday. We told her that we would miss her, we told her that Angel needs to come if she wants to get baptized, we told her that Sis Campbell would come pick her up. None of these helped the issue. "I'll miss you too, I want to be there," was all she would say. So we played the trump card. Any idea what that would be? Probably not, since none of you know Sis Simmons, but the trump card is 'Fast and Testimony Meeting'. Sis Simmons LOVES to bear her testimony. We told her that because its the first of the month its Testimony meeting on Sunday and that we would love to hear her testimony. Well that won her heart faster than she could say "Hallelujah, praise Jesus!" Sis Simmons called us the next day saying that she was going to be at church, "God willing," of course. Well Sis Simmons did show up to church. Angel couldn't make it, but Sis Simmons was there in all white ready to bear her testimony. Before Brother Thomas finished announcing that the meeting was open to everyone to share, Sis Simmons was half way up the stand. She got up and bore an awesome testimony. One only Sis Simmons could share. And as always, the phrase, "I've been off of Crack and Cocaine for 11 years," did come up. We love Sis Simmons to death. I don't know if I shared with you, but the other week she shared with us how she stabbed a guy ten times for laying hands on her. Yeesh, I'm not doing that blessing.
Zone Conference was great. As I predicted, President Jensen learned so much from the previous zone conferences and was ready to go. President Campbell, from the Stake Presidency, was there and shared with us the goals for the Stake and how we can help the Ward Leaders and members. It was great and we've been trying to implement them into our ward. So far so good. President Jensen taught us about the authority and who is in charge of missionary work; Stake Presidents and Bishops. President Campbell confirmed that when he got up and spoke to us. Sis Jensen taught us too. She was a first grade teacher before, so we had little handouts, a few game type activities and then an object lesson. It wasn't bad, but I felt like a first grader. Zone Conference overall was great. Afterward we were talking one with another. BYU is coming soon. On the 17th, or 16th, BYU is doing a fireside at the stake center and a tailgate party on Game day. Elder Brinkerhoff's dad is in charge of the Fireside and tailgate party, he said that we as missionaries may get the chance to feed and serve everyone during the tailgate. Either way, its going to be awesome and I'm going to request to stay in Tallahassee, for sure!!
I love you all and I"m so grateful for the support that you give me. For all the things I've learned from you and continue to learn from you. Thank you.
Love Elder Call
Ties that Bind:
Hey Brother's!!
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