Hey everyone,
I know you weren't expecting an e-mail today, neither was I. However here we are at the college e-mailing our families. President is really inconsistent with Holidays. I'm sure that because his schedule is just as crazy as ours he doesn't really notice them as much as he did then. All of the days are rolled up into one big one. The world just keeps revolving and changing and we just keep trucking along not really knowing or caring about what's going on around us. Its a pretty cool feeling to have and I'm sad that it won't last long.
There have been a lot of changes in our area. We just got Elder Mudaliar and we now have two companionships. Elder Bell and Elder Mudaliar. Elder North and me. They have the east half and we have the west. Both areas have their advantages, mine is I don't have to drive a van. haha. ;) Its great! We ride our bikes everywhere, walk and just enjoy not having the responsibility of a car. Elder Bell is now the designated driver and I can do whatever I want to in the back. It is a blast!!
With the new area our teaching pool has been hacked in half. We have been trying to find more people to teach and praying that the ones that Elder Bell and Elder Mudaliar are teaching keep progressing. Like Kenneth. I mentioned him last week, but it seems to be worse. We went to teach him on Monday and he didn't want anything to do with us. After talking to him for a while we once again were on good terms and he was ready for baptism, but he got worse over the week. When Elder Bell went to go pick him up for church he said he wasn't going. This will be the second obvious person who has been touched by the spirit and then chooses not to follow it. I know that they have their agency and that I should and do respect it, but its hard. I just want to tell him everything and allow him to see with his spiritual eyes. If he could just see what is waiting for him he wouldn't question anything, but jump right in. The same thing happens to me all the time. I don't know what's on the other side. A lot of times a trial comes in my life that just looks like a giant mountain. We see the beautiful valleys with flowing streams and the constant waterfalls, but the Lord tells us to go up the mountain. Straight up! It looks impossible and at times we may feel like we have come to the face of cliff. With nowhere to go, but up. Through it all we learn faith, diligence and a whole lot of patience. However, like Kenneth, if we don't start on the path we will never reach the top, we will never find out what it is that we are missing. Nobody could tell us about, nor could they give us a picture, because it would mean nothing to us. To truly feel the joy, we need to be where the Lord wants us, on top of the mountain. (BTW; its really hard to give a mountain analogy when you haven't seen mountains for almost 2 years)
This week is looking promising. I don't have to drive the van. I get to ride my bike in beautiful 70 degree weather. The Chabots are doing very well and close to baptism. Elder North and I are a great companionship. Its Megan's birthday and I have something to send her, sorry its late. What a week it'll be!!!
Love Elder Call
Elder Call
Off to the MTC
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Late Letter
Hi,
Sorry about last weeks letter and this weeks letter. It seems that it had trouble sending last weeks and we've been super busy here this week. We had another big P-Day down in Destin with the Panama City Zone. This time we took Seth with us. He loved it. He doesn't have anyone to hang out with him. He doesn't go to school, play sports, or really have any friends. We talked to his grandfather today and he said that Seth really looks up to us as 'role models'. I don't know if its best to be taking after me, but I guess I turned out ok. We took him with us first to a park, but we got kicked out because it was a private park, so we went to the beach. The same place we went last time. It was a blast!! Seth played football with us and on the way home we shot marshmallows at the others missionaries cars. We got a couple into their windows.
I know I forgot to mention, but I got grandma's package with the med's. Yum. Thank you.
Zack Chabot is officially a member. Elder Bell dunked him and his grandfather gave him the Holy Ghost. It was great for everyone involved! There were a lot of members and his Primary Class was there too! So much support!! Now half of the Chabot family are now members. We are working on getting them ready, before March 5. Yeah that's my b-day, but thats not whats important. We found out that the ward is going to have a Ward Temple Trip that day. If Seth can get baptized he can go to the Temple with Alisha and Kelsey! They will be able to go inside this time too. That is our goal for them.
We met a new guy last week. His name is Kenneth. Every time we go over there he feels the spirit and knows that it is true, however, anytime something good in your life comes, something bad has to match it. We taught him the Plan of Salvation. It was very personal to him because he had just recently lost his wife and son. He is now living alone with what he calls his 'girl friend'. A little Dog about the size of my foot. We taught about temples and preparing him to live with his family forever. He was prepared and ready for it. Two days later we went back and brought Bro Howell with us. Kenneth was in his back yard working on his Garden. We went to say hi to him and the first thing he asked us was, "Are you guys Jehovah Witnesses?" We spent some time explaining that we were not and taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After the lesson we asked if he would be baptized? He said yes. Elder Bell asked if he would be baptized on March 5. (There's that day again) Again he said yet. We asked if he would come to church with us? You get the picture right? He said he would be waiting outside at 8:30. I went with Bro Cooper to go pick him up and sure enough, we pulled up at 8:30 and there Kenneth was ready to go to chruch. It was very nice. We gave him a tour of the chruch building showing him everything and introducing him to everyone. He loved it. All he could say was, 'I feel God's presence.'
We went back today. Again Kenneth was out back working in his garden when we came. When we came up to talk to him something was different about his countance. He asked this time if we were mormons. We said yes. He said 'I don't think I can be with you anymore.' Not again, was all I was thinking. Karren Barrett said the same thing to us. After feeling the spirit, she deceided to walk away from it. We talked to Kenneth for a while and answered his questions. He had been talking to his Sister-in-law and she had told him some things about us that put doubts in his mind. After talking to him the doubts went away and he felt good again. (BTW: a squirrel fell out of a tree while we were teaching. really funny) He said that there was a lot of opposition coming and that his family wouldn't like him joining. We talked to him about it and he agreed that it was the right thing to do. To get baptized and on the path to be with his wife again. Kenneth is a perfect example of the quick responses that Satan has on someone who is about to make a big change based on what they felt from the spirit. Kenneth is not a bad person, he just sits around and does nothing, and that is his problem. The Lord's gospel and teachings require work. Lots and lots of work. There is no retiring from it. There is no rest. Just work and more work. I love it.
That has been my week. It seems like everything is moving quickly. Kristen reminded me that 4 months is all I have left. As we played football I realized how old I was to the other missionaries. The end is very near.
My Birthday is coming quick, that must mean that Megan's is quicker!! 16!!! For your birthday Megan, I'm going to buy everyone else bike helmet's!! haha. JK. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN!! LOVE YA'S!!
Love Elder Call
Sorry about last weeks letter and this weeks letter. It seems that it had trouble sending last weeks and we've been super busy here this week. We had another big P-Day down in Destin with the Panama City Zone. This time we took Seth with us. He loved it. He doesn't have anyone to hang out with him. He doesn't go to school, play sports, or really have any friends. We talked to his grandfather today and he said that Seth really looks up to us as 'role models'. I don't know if its best to be taking after me, but I guess I turned out ok. We took him with us first to a park, but we got kicked out because it was a private park, so we went to the beach. The same place we went last time. It was a blast!! Seth played football with us and on the way home we shot marshmallows at the others missionaries cars. We got a couple into their windows.
I know I forgot to mention, but I got grandma's package with the med's. Yum. Thank you.
Zack Chabot is officially a member. Elder Bell dunked him and his grandfather gave him the Holy Ghost. It was great for everyone involved! There were a lot of members and his Primary Class was there too! So much support!! Now half of the Chabot family are now members. We are working on getting them ready, before March 5. Yeah that's my b-day, but thats not whats important. We found out that the ward is going to have a Ward Temple Trip that day. If Seth can get baptized he can go to the Temple with Alisha and Kelsey! They will be able to go inside this time too. That is our goal for them.
We met a new guy last week. His name is Kenneth. Every time we go over there he feels the spirit and knows that it is true, however, anytime something good in your life comes, something bad has to match it. We taught him the Plan of Salvation. It was very personal to him because he had just recently lost his wife and son. He is now living alone with what he calls his 'girl friend'. A little Dog about the size of my foot. We taught about temples and preparing him to live with his family forever. He was prepared and ready for it. Two days later we went back and brought Bro Howell with us. Kenneth was in his back yard working on his Garden. We went to say hi to him and the first thing he asked us was, "Are you guys Jehovah Witnesses?" We spent some time explaining that we were not and taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After the lesson we asked if he would be baptized? He said yes. Elder Bell asked if he would be baptized on March 5. (There's that day again) Again he said yet. We asked if he would come to church with us? You get the picture right? He said he would be waiting outside at 8:30. I went with Bro Cooper to go pick him up and sure enough, we pulled up at 8:30 and there Kenneth was ready to go to chruch. It was very nice. We gave him a tour of the chruch building showing him everything and introducing him to everyone. He loved it. All he could say was, 'I feel God's presence.'
We went back today. Again Kenneth was out back working in his garden when we came. When we came up to talk to him something was different about his countance. He asked this time if we were mormons. We said yes. He said 'I don't think I can be with you anymore.' Not again, was all I was thinking. Karren Barrett said the same thing to us. After feeling the spirit, she deceided to walk away from it. We talked to Kenneth for a while and answered his questions. He had been talking to his Sister-in-law and she had told him some things about us that put doubts in his mind. After talking to him the doubts went away and he felt good again. (BTW: a squirrel fell out of a tree while we were teaching. really funny) He said that there was a lot of opposition coming and that his family wouldn't like him joining. We talked to him about it and he agreed that it was the right thing to do. To get baptized and on the path to be with his wife again. Kenneth is a perfect example of the quick responses that Satan has on someone who is about to make a big change based on what they felt from the spirit. Kenneth is not a bad person, he just sits around and does nothing, and that is his problem. The Lord's gospel and teachings require work. Lots and lots of work. There is no retiring from it. There is no rest. Just work and more work. I love it.
That has been my week. It seems like everything is moving quickly. Kristen reminded me that 4 months is all I have left. As we played football I realized how old I was to the other missionaries. The end is very near.
My Birthday is coming quick, that must mean that Megan's is quicker!! 16!!! For your birthday Megan, I'm going to buy everyone else bike helmet's!! haha. JK. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN!! LOVE YA'S!!
Love Elder Call
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Baptism!!!!
Hello Everyone,
I am super tired from last week, yet I was very happy with everything that went on. Alisha Cain and Kelsey Mol were both baptized this week. Today Elder Bell and I found out that we are training together. This will be my fourth boy and the second one to cause an awkward loop in our Mission Family History. Only in the south right?
This week started out with Zone Conference. It was fantastic and I loved being with so many outstanding missionaries. We discussed many topics, but the one President Jensen hit hard was Church and Sacrament meeting. Why we get them there and how we can work hard to get them there. We read many scriptures together and discussed how best to go about it. It was a fantastic meeting and a great way to start the week.
After Zone Conference we were going to bring Elder Sawyer to do the Baptisimal interview for us, but we had some issues because Elder Chidester wanted to come down to the South part of our Zone on the same day. After some long talks we were told to go pick up Elder Chidester a couple of times. We drove to Ft Walton five times in four days. That really killed our miles and our chance to go out and work effectively, but we still got it done. Wednesday night we had the baptismal interview. Both Alisha and Kelsey were to meet us at the church to pick out their white dresses and have their interview. Alisha showed up, but Kelsey didn't. She was in the Hospital with a nasty allergy to something. We had Alisha pick out her clothes and have her interview, but we didn't know when we were going to get Kelsey in. After we talked with Sis Chabot, she agreed to take Kelsey down to Ft Walton to meet Elder Sawyer at the church to do the interview for us, because we didn't have the miles to go get him. Both interviews went well, but man was that stressful.
We filled out all the information for the baptismal records. However, Bishop has been gone for a while helping one of his children move, and we need his signature for the record before we can send it to the mission office. I think we are just going to get Bro Miller (1st Councilor) to sign it for us.
Sunday came and we were super excited for the Chabots. Until they texted us right before church saying that they weren't coming because Matt had a nasty fever. Man! If any thing could go wrong this week, it did. We had to talk to Sis Manwaring to go pick them up for us. She went and picked up Kelsey and Alisha, but the boys didn't want to come. While we were at church we got to talk to many people and send our dinner calendar around during 5th sunday. (Lots of people sign up on 5th Sunday) After church there was a pot-luck. We stayed and ate and talked with everyone. Alisha and Kelsey stayed too, but another thing decided to jump in the way. Alisha was on her phone and the table and Kelsey asked her to put it away. Alisha got mad and stormed off. I had to go find her. Oh goodie. An angry teenager!
She went on to explain how she hates it when Kelsey does that. How Kelsey did it at the Temple too. How she does it all the time. Etc, etc, etc. The thing is, every time Alisha gets close to the spirit or close to doing something that she is supposed to. Something that will make her happy. She gets put out by something that doesn't matter. I'm sure Kelsey has said similar things before, but because Alisha is so close to something good, Satan just magifies it to the point where its all Alisha can see. He did this to her when we got close to baptism the first time. He did it when they went on the temple trip with the young women. He did it the afternoon before Alisha got baptized. He is so annoying.
Sunday came and Elder Bell and I were preparing for the baptism. I was so nervous. Two reasons. One, they both asked me to be the one to baptize them. Don't want to mess that one up right? Second, because of what happened earlier that very day I was worried that they would bail out on me and not show up. It was very nerve racking. I was soon calmed when they showed up. It was a fantastic service with everyone willing to help out. Sis Hendricks and Sis Walker gave talks. Sis Manwaring sang a song that she wrote (it only took her a week to write it). Alisha's grandfather was their to confirm both of them members of the church. It was great, and they did get baptized.
My crazy week ended with Mason Hendricks' spilling Root Beer all over my suit. We were at the Hendricks for the after Baptism party. Just picture in your mind what happened. . . enough said.
That has been my week. I am still very tired. Elder Bell and I will be getting our boy on Wednesday and Zack Chabot wants to get baptized next Thursday. About ten days from now. Yay!!
Love Elder Call
I am super tired from last week, yet I was very happy with everything that went on. Alisha Cain and Kelsey Mol were both baptized this week. Today Elder Bell and I found out that we are training together. This will be my fourth boy and the second one to cause an awkward loop in our Mission Family History. Only in the south right?
This week started out with Zone Conference. It was fantastic and I loved being with so many outstanding missionaries. We discussed many topics, but the one President Jensen hit hard was Church and Sacrament meeting. Why we get them there and how we can work hard to get them there. We read many scriptures together and discussed how best to go about it. It was a fantastic meeting and a great way to start the week.
After Zone Conference we were going to bring Elder Sawyer to do the Baptisimal interview for us, but we had some issues because Elder Chidester wanted to come down to the South part of our Zone on the same day. After some long talks we were told to go pick up Elder Chidester a couple of times. We drove to Ft Walton five times in four days. That really killed our miles and our chance to go out and work effectively, but we still got it done. Wednesday night we had the baptismal interview. Both Alisha and Kelsey were to meet us at the church to pick out their white dresses and have their interview. Alisha showed up, but Kelsey didn't. She was in the Hospital with a nasty allergy to something. We had Alisha pick out her clothes and have her interview, but we didn't know when we were going to get Kelsey in. After we talked with Sis Chabot, she agreed to take Kelsey down to Ft Walton to meet Elder Sawyer at the church to do the interview for us, because we didn't have the miles to go get him. Both interviews went well, but man was that stressful.
We filled out all the information for the baptismal records. However, Bishop has been gone for a while helping one of his children move, and we need his signature for the record before we can send it to the mission office. I think we are just going to get Bro Miller (1st Councilor) to sign it for us.
Sunday came and we were super excited for the Chabots. Until they texted us right before church saying that they weren't coming because Matt had a nasty fever. Man! If any thing could go wrong this week, it did. We had to talk to Sis Manwaring to go pick them up for us. She went and picked up Kelsey and Alisha, but the boys didn't want to come. While we were at church we got to talk to many people and send our dinner calendar around during 5th sunday. (Lots of people sign up on 5th Sunday) After church there was a pot-luck. We stayed and ate and talked with everyone. Alisha and Kelsey stayed too, but another thing decided to jump in the way. Alisha was on her phone and the table and Kelsey asked her to put it away. Alisha got mad and stormed off. I had to go find her. Oh goodie. An angry teenager!
She went on to explain how she hates it when Kelsey does that. How Kelsey did it at the Temple too. How she does it all the time. Etc, etc, etc. The thing is, every time Alisha gets close to the spirit or close to doing something that she is supposed to. Something that will make her happy. She gets put out by something that doesn't matter. I'm sure Kelsey has said similar things before, but because Alisha is so close to something good, Satan just magifies it to the point where its all Alisha can see. He did this to her when we got close to baptism the first time. He did it when they went on the temple trip with the young women. He did it the afternoon before Alisha got baptized. He is so annoying.
Sunday came and Elder Bell and I were preparing for the baptism. I was so nervous. Two reasons. One, they both asked me to be the one to baptize them. Don't want to mess that one up right? Second, because of what happened earlier that very day I was worried that they would bail out on me and not show up. It was very nerve racking. I was soon calmed when they showed up. It was a fantastic service with everyone willing to help out. Sis Hendricks and Sis Walker gave talks. Sis Manwaring sang a song that she wrote (it only took her a week to write it). Alisha's grandfather was their to confirm both of them members of the church. It was great, and they did get baptized.
My crazy week ended with Mason Hendricks' spilling Root Beer all over my suit. We were at the Hendricks for the after Baptism party. Just picture in your mind what happened. . . enough said.
That has been my week. I am still very tired. Elder Bell and I will be getting our boy on Wednesday and Zack Chabot wants to get baptized next Thursday. About ten days from now. Yay!!
Love Elder Call
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