Snow?? I love you because.......

Hey Y’all,
Well this week was a crazy one. It snowed 3 inches on Friday. It hasn’t snowed like that since 1973, according to the locals. We had our Zone Conference that day and had a big snowball fight beforehand. It was a lot of fun to be in snow again. I have never seen so many snowmen in my life. Almost every home had a snowman outside, but they all melted the next day. It’s been so cold down here this winter and without any snow I’ve hated it. Cold without snow is no good. Hopefully it will warm up in the next couple of months.
Zone Conference was great, short due to the snow, but great nonetheless. The Andalusia Elders got snowed out of their area, so they stayed the night with the Enterprise Elders. We got home and went right out to work. We had a couple of snowball fights in between. My socks were soaking wet and cold when we got in that night.
My birthday. I think I’ve figured out a way so that I can feel the spirit and get a birthday present. It’s an activity that everyone can do, no matter what their age is, and it can be a great family home evening for anyone who would like to. It’s called “I love you because…” I would like everyone to write an “I love you because” statement for everyone who is in their family. I will show you what I mean;
I love Dad because, he is patient and diligent in everything he does. Work, family, Callings, etc. I love you Dad.
I love Mom because, even though I am miles and miles away, and even in a different land, she still tries to take care of all my needs. I love you Mom.
I love Kristen because, she will now be the one to lead the way. I will get to follow her footsteps and I am amazed at her steps of faith. I love Kristen.
I love Megan because, she has learned to be happy in any situation. She can trust God will lead her to where she needs to be. I love Megan.
I love Shannon because, she is the youngest. She looks up to her siblings and watches their examples, THEN tries to do it on her own, with cousins, friends,neighbors, etc. being their example. I love Shannon.
If everyone would do that for their own family, it would make me very happy. It would bring a spirit of love and charity. It would help me and encourage me to love those I’m here to serve. Nothing worldly can bring me the spirit, but your examples can. That’s what I want for my birthday; “I love you because”.
I love y’all and I’m praying for you too.
Love Elder Call.

Two weird things....

Well my time is running out and this computer is the slowest thing I've ever seen. Today is going to be a short one.

Elder Kanis and I are doing great. This week has been a rough one and feels like it’s been 3 weeks. We went on a trade-off with the Enterprise Elders. Elder Adam came with me for the day. We went tracting and had some good lessons. Brother Foote caught a raccoon and showed us it. The coon hissed and scratched at us trying to get out of the cage. It was a good trade-off. .

Two very weird things happened this week. Well, one weird and one gross. Last night we were at a members house for dinner, not the super bowl. They had steak and we were excited. They asked us how we wanted it cooked and Elder Kanis and I said we didn't care to much about how it was cooked. A little pink can't hurt anyone. Well they brought out the meat, it was so red not only was it bleeding (mine actually bled), I swore I could have heard it moo-ing. It was nasty. All the families around us (two other families) loved the meat and kept eating and eating. Elder Kanis and I were done after one.

The weird thing that happened to us this week was when we went tracting. We were going around this apartment complex and hardly anyone was there. We knocked on this one door and no one came. So we knocked again, two for salvation. A young kid came to the window and flipped us off. We laughed about it and moved on. Well before we got to the other door, a girl came out of the one we were just at and started to yell at us. She told us that she was an Anti-Christ, she didn't believe in our Sh*t, she worshiped Satan and sacrificed goats. It happened all very fast that Elder Kanis and I didn't get a chance to say anything. She just went back into her apartment and we were left outside in the cold staring at each other. We laughed for a while about that one. She was weird.

Well that’s our week for now. I'm out of time but I hope y'all are doing well.

Elder Call

Hiya!!

Hey Everyone,

I'll talk to the boys in a sec. This week has been weird. Nothing big happened. Nothing changed. I went to Andalusia this week to do another baptismal interview. We did a trade-off with the Andalusia Elders and I was with Elder Jones. Elder Barlow and Elder Fox went to Ozark with Elder Kanis. Elder Kanis wasn't even a week out and I was throwing him under the bus making him in charge of the area. He did great and had a good time.

For me Andalusia was great. Elder Jones is much older than Elder Kanis, but he's one of those Elders who doesn't really care. So while I was there we only had two lessons planned, one being the interview, and no dinner appointment, first in a long time. I spent most my time in Andalusia tracting. We tracted for about 5 hours in our short 24 hour trade-off. It was good and we found some really cool people who are looking for the truth. I followed up with the Andalusia Elders a couple nights ago and they went back to teach one of the girls we found. They came to find out that her and her boyfriend and looking for a church because their baby is due soon. AND her boyfriend is a less active member of the church!! Perfect! It was great to hear their progression.

Junior and Lugenia are doing great. They still have to get married before they can get baptized, but they are working towards it and want to get married. We had a Pine Wood Derby this week. (our car got owned) The Elders quorum was invited to help make the event bigger and give the boys a bigger crowd. We invited Junior and he was super excited to go. Half an hour before it’s supposed to start Lugenia calls and asks if she can go too. We said yes and 7 of them ended up coming. It was great. Sis Morrison invited Lugenia to go with her to Relief society the next day and she was just as excited and Junior was to go to the Derby. They came to church this week, but missed sacrament meeting again. They were trying to wake up Lenora to get her to go. It was the 5th Sunday for us as well and they all enjoyed the message our bishop gave. They like church and the members.

Elder Kanis and I gave talks in sacrament this week. Elder Kanis gave his on Faith and I gave mine on the Atonement. It was a great experience to be there to teach everyone who came. We thought because we gave talks that our dinner calendar would sky rocket, but it didn't. Oh well, we're still getting fed every night this week. :)
Elder Kanis is great. He's still got that young missionary mind. Zone Conference is coming up and President loves to have the new Elders do a lot. He's a little nervous about that, but he'll be well prepared.
Ozark is great and I'm really sick of the cold. Cold + no snow = pointless.

Love ya'll
Elder Call

Long Week!!

Hello Ya'll
I believe I told you I was staying another transfer. Elder Brian got sent to FSU campus serving with Elder Perkins, and get this, Elder Butikofer(SP?). He's from Idaho Falls. I think we're related. I don't know any names, but I know mom and her side of the family has mentioned their name a lot. Anyway, he got shipped off to campus and I'm sure he'll love it there.
I am training this transfer. Elder Kanis is my new companion. He has been out 5 days so far. He is from Kaysville Ut, went to Davis High, and plays Rugby. He's Huge!!! I'm small compared to him. Anyway, he's a great companion and a good teacher. We have already had multiple lessons and he has done wonderfully. A little confidence and trust is all he needs and he'll be a great missionary. Alright, so here's my description of a long week. Monday and Tuesday visiting families Elder Brian wanted to say goodbye too. Wednesday, transfers at transfer spot (and hour away), got my new companion. Thursday, drove to Andalusia with Bro Barrington to do baptismal interviews. Friday, drove to Enterprise to do another baptismal interview. Rained all day Saturday and all night Sunday. Its been a really long week. I think I've driven over a thousand miles this week. Then the two days we didn't have to drive, it rained. Oh well, joy in the journey, eh?
This week is going to be great. We have multiple lessons set up with our investigators, less actives and members. We even have a pine-wood derby this Wednesday. James Cook, our recent convert, thinks he's going to win it all. We got a pre-cut car from our Elders Quorum Pres. Its a skateboard...
I love you all a pray the weather isn't too bad.
Love Elder Call

Power of the Book of Mormon

Hello Ya'll
Another week gone by. It seems like everything I do is repetitious. Wake up, work out, study, share, eat, share, teach, eat, journal, bed. The next day the same, just in a slight different order. However, I have come to love each day. Simply because the spirit brings a new life and a new perspective with it. That is why studying from the Book of Mormon is so important. No other Book in the world can bring a spirit like the Book of Mormon can. For some reason a book written thousands of years ago; by people who don't know what a car or even a bicycle is; who used clubs, swords and arrows to fight and protect themselves; who lived in a time of Kings and Judges; can persuade someone like me to believe in it and to know that it was written by God. I can't explain how this book works. I can't tell you how it is going to answer your prayers. I can't help you understand the message. I can't express the feelings or the spirit that is present each time I read. But I know that all of these are true and that the Book of Mormon is the one and only source.
Reading over this letter I have realized that some of my thoughts and sentences don't make sense, but I would tell you to read and pray about them. Read the Book of Mormon and Prove Me Wrong! I dare you!! Prove to me that it didn't answer your prayers in the time of need. Prove to me that your day was the worst day ever when you read that morning. Prove to me that you can't feel the love that God has for you when you read just one verse of the most magnificent book on the face of this earth. I love this book, and because of my love I know that this church is the True church, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, and that My savior Jesus Christ lives and is the great High Priest of our church. I am here in Alabama to share this with anyone and everyone. Its hard. So hard that Elder Brian and I named an area "The Baptist Pit of Despair!!" No one wanted to hear our message. They would come to the door and say, "no thank you", before we even said, "hi". It was terrible, but we must continue on. I love this gospel and I love caring his name. I hope the rest of you do too. You don't need a badge to be a disciple.
I love you all,
Love Elder Call.

New Photos!!! 1-13-10

Another Week

It seems like I just spoke to you guys. :)
Well this week was a crazy one. The weather here has been ridiculous. Not Utah crazy, but still crazy. It’s the worst winter in about 15 years. At least that’s what members have told us. It’s so weird here. It averages about 32-34 degrees in the afternoon, so it’s not that bad, but the humidity sends it right to the bones. We spent a lot of hours tracting and finding this week and it felt like I was walking at the top of 'little cloud'. It was so cold. However, it’s supposed to be gone by the end of the week. (fingers crossed)I've decided that I love snow and hate the cold. I really miss snowboarding with all of the guys. Going up, riding really hard in the mornings, eating a nice long lunch, then spending the rest of the day goofing off. Those were the fun days. Since that is not an option here, or for any other missionary, the cold really sucks.
So back to the finding part. We couldn't get a hold of any of our investigators. The first 4 days of the week were all finding. We had less than 2 lessons a day, and those were with members. Everyone was coming from Christmas break and didn't have time to see us. So we spent a lot of time finding new and old investigators. Not until late in the week did we start seeing any success. We got a hold of Cassie, Kim and Savannah. Three of our investigators who left for Christmas Exodus. Some of our potentials had family coming home so we got turned away from them, but later in the week they were more willing to see us. Lugenia (I learned how to properly spell her name) and Junior have been in Dothan and Columbia almost every day, but again later in the week we saw them. It was really weird how the Lord works. Our numbers were terrible this week, but the blessings we saw came in other simpler ways.
Cassie, Savannah and Kim are all meeting us this week. Cassie is actually cutting my hair in a couple of hours. :) Our potentials have invited us back over and Lugenia set a Baptismal date with us on Feb 20. Her son's birthday. It was a great way to end the week. This week is Zone conference once again and the last week of transfers. Next transfer I'll hit 8 and 9 months. Cool.
I'm sorry this is a short letter. I'll do better next time.
The Book of Mormon is true, I love everything it teaches and how it teaches. The Book of Mormon IS Preach My Gospel.
Love you
Elder Call