Happy Almost New Year!!

I can see all those blessings as well. Never have I seen, or dealt with people that don't have as much as us. I do know that it is from the Gospel, and hard working parents! It isn't easy to always do what y'all do. I am very grateful for it!

We have been working at a slow pace, and it's hard to get out of this slump because of the negative influences out of my control. But I do know that even when life is hard, and frustrating, that there is still good going on. Last night I reread some of my old letters, and it was refreshing to remember where I was, and to remember when there wasn't so many frustrating things going on. I felt real good to read those. I then related the past experiences with mine right now, and I made the conclusion that I have been focused too much on the negative. It's very easy to be consumed with all the bad in our lives, but unless we focus on the good, and try to improve that, instead of the bad where we have no control, then things will get a lot better! Thank you for your emails. They added to the testimony that I received last night. I also thank y'all for your prayers, I have felt them tremendously!

It seems things have slowed down a bit, but we have made progress with some investigators. One we will baptize this next month is back and we are going to finnish the lessons. But I know that reading the Book of Mormon brings peace in our lives, and in the lives of others if we read it together. One investigator was having a horrible day. One that seemed that everything went wrong. We went and visited her with her family, and talked. We could've taught her anything thing, but the spirit prompted me to read the Book of Mormon with her. We did just that and her countenance changed and she even told us that she felt a lot better. We helped her recognize those feelings, and testify to her of the power of the Holy Ghost. Now what would I do in my life if I didn't know that that feeling comes from God? I don't know.

But thanks again, it was awesome talking with y'all and seeing everyone! I am kinda sad that I didn't see Coree, but that was my fault for forgetting to tell y'all to wake her up! I expected to see everyone looking different, but the only changes I noticed, first Dwight, which was obvious! Then Casey getting a foot taller, and having normal sized teeth! :)

Love all of you, Thank you for the encouragement!

12 Your Time

Sorry, I made a mistake. I will be on 12 your time. Hopefully that'll work fine. No Pre call this time, pres canceled it....dumb missionaries. Hopefully y'all will see this! Thanks for all the presents, I did eat all the candy already, but no presents have been opened.

December 17, 2012

 Y'all look similar... but not the same, Dad's nose is too big.... :) haha. Y'all look great, and It's good to hear everything is going wonderful! I did get the box, and I loved the Christmas card you made, it looks professional! Casey is getting tall! I got the package, and I haven't opened the presents, I'm waiting for Christmas. I sent y'all a package and I know that some siblings will want to borrow some of those things and that is fine, but y'all can have everything, but the pants and t-shirts, and maybe a couple of ties. I specifically gave the silver and white dotted one to Casey, because it is small and cool. The SIM card is in there also, I know y'all will enjoy those pictures... :). I am currently working on my Christmas card, we are trying to have it professionally done for free, so we'll see what happens.

 We heard about the shooting, and the horribleness of it. You probably heard also about the teacher that hid her class and saved their lives, while she was killed. You know at these times people really question if there is a God, and why he would let that happen. I do know that God has a plan for all those people, and that even though tragedy strikes, he is in control. But in the last days, the bad will get worse, and the good will become greater. As you can see from everyone going out on missions, He is gathering Israel in great abundance. We have 300 baptisms so far this year, which doesn't seem that great, but it would put us 56 people shy of a baptism a day. When all these missionaries start coming out, our force will double and most likely that number will double, if not triple. There is a prophecy that in the south, there will be thousands of people joining the church. It will come true this next year. So much is happening it's crazy.

 We had our half mission Christmas devotional, and it was great. Pres Jensen let us watch Brave, which is a hilarious movie. I think they shortened it because it seemed a little choppy... There were many talents, good and bad, but we enjoyed them all. One of the best parts about it, was that Elder Danner, who went home in the MTC, came out, and we talked a while. I was super excited to see him. It was weird when he tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned and saw him. It took me about five seconds to recognize him, I'm pretty sure he saw my mental process show on my face.... But all of our MTC district was there, so we got a picture together, it was great. 

 Christmas day, at 11 AM, we will skype, or I will be on, hopefully y'all will.

 Love you LOTS and I'm praying for Dad's team to win, even though I don't know who they are. And I still feel bad that I lost Dad's basketball secrets book.... Talk to y'all next week!

December 10, 2012

That is pretty sweet that Dad has a basketball team that is winning! It seems that he always had bad players and I always gave him a hard time because he is my Dad. He is doing right by studying the Jazz's Strategy, it's one of the best, especially if it is Coach Stalone's. It's great to see that his dream is coming true, maybe he'll be a high school coach someday!

 The weather here is pretty nice, some days are freezing and some are dreary, but it's mostly good. We were planning on taking pictures today, but it's going to rain... :( Everyone is excited for Christmas. We still need to prepare our Christmas lesson that we are going to share with people. I'll have to take pictures of our decorations and stuff we've collected. We did service for a member, cleaning out his shed, and he gave us some pretty cool stuff, I think it's valuable.

 This week seemed to go extra fast, and we've exceeded most of our goals! We were actually surprised. It seemed as if God prepared our way everywhere we went so that everything happened perfectly. Almost every place they let us in and we were able to teach a lesson and leave with a prayer, it was great! We have an investigator that is really strange, but is a real good guy. He had to show us something cool he picked up after we had a lesson. He took us outside and around to his truck to look in the back. There he had a dead bobcat, and it was as stiff as a board because of rigamortis. It was nighttime so I couldn't see the bottom most part of it but it looked in perfect shape. I asked him how it died, because it didn't look as if anything happened to it, except for the fact it wasn't moving. He moved a bucket that covered the lowered legs, which were ripped bare because of a car hitting it. It was disgusting. I have no idea why he would want to pick it up. What's even funnier is that he isn't a hick. He goes to college and looks like a normal student. He just has this thing where he loves picking up things he thinks are cool. Sadly, we went back and found the cat still in there, and it smelled horrible.... He said he really needed to get rid of it....

 

 For Christmas we are going to skype, don't know where yet, but we will find out. We do know where we are eating dinner at, and I'm super excited. I'll let you know more when it gets closer and when we schedule it.

 

 Love you and talk to you next week!

November 26, 2012

Good job Casey!! Way to represent the Smith family name! (Casey's team won the Thanksgiving weekend tournament in St. George for his age group!) I wish I was there to watch it, I miss sports super bad. The turkey bowl was pretty sweet. The Troy sisters and elders were there also. It wasn't well organized so it wasn't as fun as it could have been, but I still enjoyed it. I was sore for five days afterwards, goes to show how weak my body is now.... On the way back also we were able to help a kid going to Dothan from Troy who's car died. We pushed his car to the side of the road and gave him a ride to Ozark, where he got another one to Dothan. It was funny because our car was already filled to the brim, yet we were able to make just a little more room for him. Bro Phipps, who was driving, said to him, "You're in a car surrounded by Mormon, and the Mormon missionaries!" Hopefully that experience will lead him to accepting the Gospel. Thanksgiving was real fun, ate at the Darley's home, with all their kids, grand kids, and great grand kids! They had some terrific food.

We recently moved into our new apartment in Ozark. They asked us to find a new one a while back, but just recently one opened up that was perfect for us. It does smell like smoke, and the tile floors need a good scrubbing, but we'll take care of it. I am so thankful for the awesome people in our ward that helped us. Only one family showed, but it's alright. It was supposed to be a young men activity, but none showed. It took several trips until finally all was placed inside our place for us to organize later. That night we got a "welcome to the neighborhood" from some boys who doorbell ditched us at one o'clock in the morning! It was pretty lame.

We didn't do much for my birthday. Just got some little Caesars and went back to work. This week was pretty hectic with the moving and all. I can't wait to start working again this week, because we won't have anything to slow us down, we can just focus on the people!

There is only a couple of weeks till I hit my Year mark! Almost half way done. I'm going to send y'all a package, which will include the XL G's if you would replace them with larges that would be great. There are things I'm sending back also that I might want when I get home. It might be a couple weeks until you get it.

My new address is,

Apartment 138 Patterson drive,

If y'all sent a package or letter or anything it's alright, the old place is only down the street and we'll check it every morning.

Continue to stay active! Don't let judgements of other people affect your spirituality, and don't judge unrighteously. That is the Number 1 reason for Less Actives down here.

I love all you guys very much!! I'm constantly praying for y'all.

Elder Smith

P.S. I'm getting permission from Pres before I start on the scholarships

November 19, 2012

Thank you so much for the package! Also the song, even though I haven't listened to it yet, we are in the library and I didn't bring my headphones. But I did enjoy all the gifts y'all sent, and that card is hilarious! That's the second cake I've cooked in two weeks, another Elder had a birthday also. I haven't used the silly string yet, but I think I'll use it on my companion when he falls asleep! He needs a rude awakening sometimes....:) I was wondering why you put like ten packing peanuts in there, was it because they are peanuts?? It's going to be weird saying I'm twenty now, it seems the year went by so slow! But it was a fast, slow year! It will be good to get out of those teenage years! Now I can refer to those teenagers as...."TEENAGERS".... It will be so much fun!... for a little while :)

Our area is still slow, it's hard to work in this companionship, but we'll get through it. I feel as if work is going like we're stuck behind a Sunday driver. It's frustrating sometimes. We are working with one superb investigator. She didn't used to be this solid, so I feel really lucky that I got here when she became real serious about the lessons. In fact, we are teaching her today. We had an investigator drop us because of the pressure of her church and family. It shocked us, but I know she'll be baptized. The mission roller coaster is crazy. You have your high points and your low, and sometimes you go up and down several times a day. The comforting feeling of the Spirit, and the convenience of prayer is super helpful. I'm glad we have a way to talk to God and receive comfort from him. It felt like losing a close friend, but not as serious. Just that feeling like I did something wrong by failing to act in the right way. But it will all be ok, she just isn't ready yet.

So I got to talk to another fellow Viking for a while. Elder Musgrave rode with us to Zone training meeting. He is a funny guy, he lives in Bountiful. I know his sister, but for the life of me can't remember her face. I was thinking since you know tons of people that you know some Musgraves.

For Thanksgiving we are eating at a HUGE family's house, and the family is big, not the house. It should be really good! I also found that the stake is playing in a turkey bowl, touch football, in the Troy university's stadium! That is going to be awesome! I am unsure what we are going to do afterwards, our mission president wants us to be out proselyting, so we will figure something to do. I got an awesome letter from Grandma Fry, and I can't believe she got an iPad! But it is real good to hear they are well, and feeling good. I can see how much y'all are alike through that letter. It's funny!

Ashton and Jameson, and Coree, have until a couple months to enjoy singleness before they have to schedule the weddings! I do want to be there!

Well thanks again, Love y'all and hope all goes well with Thanksgiving!

............ I found a pair of headphones and listened to the Talking Tom....it is hilarious!! Hahaha, who sang the first part? That is so funny! I'm thinking it was Ashton, but I could very well be wrong. That really made my day!

 

November 12, 2012

Heyo, all is well, we are finally getting some rain after about a month. That is pretty awesome that y'all are getting lots of snow. That power line is a dangerous thing, I think they should replace the whole thing, isn't that the third time it blew? Weather has been hot and cold, hot and cold. It's real weird, and freezing cold, not cool. The big thing everyone was going to down here was the Peanut Festival. It is HUGE. Every living soul in the South knows about it, except maybe the tourists... We were unable to go because it was out of our area. Our ward had an elephant ear booth, it's what the food is called. I heard they are pretty good!

We have super nice ward members, in fact we are in a member's home right now emailing! I am also sitting next to a HAM radio and a shotgun, most likely loaded, with about 15 extra shells on the strap! I love the South. We went to a member's home and rode a gyroscope, I got sweet picts of that, and fed some of his giant amor carp. It's pretty fun out here, but we have been having some success. Our two investigators are really progressing. They both have BCD's set and both are doing well. One is going to be baptized after Christmas and another on the first, but might be changed. This girl who might be baptised is going through a rough time with her family. She lives by herself, and goes to the Pentecostal church. Her family told her that if she joins that she will be disowned... What she told us really impressed me. She wasn't worried about what we believed, but why her family was so against it. I know that she has felt the Holy Ghost, she has even told us her super spiritual experiences. The only solution that I see where everything will work out is if we meet her parents with some members they know and talk with them. She is going to be a strong member and that's why she is going through this many trials. She told us of a dream she had once, where she was taken to a high mountain and was shown all the evil works that Satan was showing forth, and she was told she needs to warn the people of the evil. I know she is going to be one heck of a missionary!

We are almost done fixing up the ghetto home we live in, and it's looking pretty nice. There isn't much else that is new. We did hear a little about the Obama situation. We just barely heard that 20 states are signing petitions to detach from the union, I guess the South is rising again! haha... The members have a good attitude, we had a lesson recently about a scripture. "Be still and know that I am God." It's too true, all these things happen for a reason, God is in control, so there is nothing to worry about. We are both a little excited for the coming of Jesus Christ. My companion said talking about the election, hey, it's four more years closer to the second coming! He's funny.

I will probably be going to UVU, but I'm still a little uncertain. But if I decide to change, I will just have to work harder to get more money right? :)

Thanks for the Email, and I'm sorry to hear about Jameson's car, it seems that he is the only one who is getting things stolen from! It's because he's such a great person that he needs more trials! Speaking of backpacks, I am really grateful for the one he gave me, it works perfectly!

LOVE you all and I will talk to y'all next time!

November 5, 2012

Yes, I did get the stamps, the small sheet, I don't know if that's the "book" you are talking about. And when I asked for a harmonica, don't send it, we just got an email from president that we can only play instruments on pdays at the end of the day. I won't have enough time to play it. I already sent the pictures, hopefully they will get there soon.

 Thanks for the encouraging emails. It helps a lot to receive them. We have been improving, and everything is going well. We have a baptism set, and it's on my B-day, but I think we are going to change it because her friend's family won't be there to see it. This girl has a really cool story, we taught her two lessons and the Spirit was there strongly. She knows it's true and received her answer really fast. The problem she faces now is her parents. She is 19, but the emotional stress will be difficult. She is strong, and God has much planned for her. We know she will come out on top.

 Now that you told me about the museum (Fort Rucker museum that we visited when he was 4 years old), I want to see it. It is always weird to go to places I went before when I was younger. Now I can see their actual size! That is weird that I ended up here. Well, everything happens for a reason!

 I have made the decision on the schools, and scholarships and such. I would like to go to BYU or UVU. I have really been considering becoming a pilot and joining the military. I'm unsure about if I want to be moving around so much though. I have thought about doing repair work, fixing machines, and odds and ends. I do like finding out problems in things and making them work again, but I don't know about mechanical work. I do want to try to get into BYU first, then UVU second. I'll do anything I need to, to be able to get a scholarship so don't be afraid to send me anything.

 Well, nothing much else going on. We had a fun trunk or treat party and made pumpkins. Elder Helmandollar took about ten minutes on his, compared to my 40 minutes on mine, and guess who got more compliments? Him, haha. No worries though, I like mine, it looks like the Cheshire cat, (if that's how you spell it.) Today, we are going bowling on the base. Last time I scored 120, that's my highest. So I still got a good spin! My arm was sore for days after though, shows how weak I am! I lost a couple pounds, surprised? Me too! I've been watching my weight! :)

 I think my comp has German descent, or something. I'll have to find out further. This week will be crazy! I'm sure we'll have lots to talk about next Monday. Let's pray hard and prepare for either outcome. I'm kind of excited!

 

 Thanks again for the support and love that you all give me, and I'm going to try much harder this week, I'll see what I can stir up in this field! Continue to be safe and do well! Also Dad.... have you been able to hit that note in the song, The Curse? I recently found a cd and remembered you trying to get it while preparing for the morning!

 LoVE y'all lots!                Elder Smith

Ozark, Alabama

The big metal pig is still in the circle. ( A friend of mine who grew up down the street and graduated with me, served her mission in the area Parker is in right now and wanted me to ask him about the "pig in the circle.") I don't know the significance of it, but you can tell her it still is. Our address is

   750 East Broad Street

   Ozark, AL 36360

 My new area is quite unique. We are fixing our small house, and putting in carpet, and doing all other sorts of stuff. It is a little distracting from the work, but it needs to be done. We are going to be finished with it by next week hopefully. My new companion is Elder Helmandollar, he is real cool, very fun to be around. The challenge with him is keeping him on task and making sure we do what's most important. He is getting much better in the few days we spent together. I am really enjoying it. The Branch here is great, there are 120 average, but there aren't enough priesthood holders to make it a ward just yet. We are hoping to have a part of Fort Rucker coming to our church, that'll make it a ward. Fort Rucker is an Army base, There are helicopters everywhere. We passed Apache's taking off and landing just barely, I wished I had my camera on me to take pictures. I'll get some good ones of them though.

 It is starting to get freezing cold! We wore our long sleeves, sweaters, and suit coats yesterday. We talked with a recent convert outside at the end of her driveway, because here parents are anti, and I was still cold, I couldn't imagine what she felt like. She is a strong individual though.

I have a favor to ask of Ashton, if he will send a cd with Tiao Cruz for piano burned on it, and other super good piano music. That would be awesome! Also have him download Nearer My God To Thee by Vocal Point, y'all will love it!

 About college, I don't know what I'm going to do, but I do know I'll have to choose, the fence can't hold me forever. I can try for scholarships, and if I get them and I don't want them it won't matter right? So can I try to gain scholarships for multiple schools, then choose? So I'm thinking BYU, UVU, or Utah State. Not UOU..... But if I have to I will. I'm still discerning though. I'll have my answer next week for sure. Gives me time, and a chance to fast.

 If y'all can send a harmonica as well that'd be sweet! But just think on it. :) Sorry, Christmas is coming up and it's a natural habit to ask, if there is anything y'all want, let me know, and I'll see what I can do!

 

Love all of you, and hope Halloween goes grrrrreat! Take pictures!

Well, good and bad news, I'm transferring to another area. I'm leaving Eufaula and going to Ozark! My new companion is Elder Helmundollar. I do know who he is, and it's going to be quite a trip... I hope all will be well up here. At least I will have the opportunity to say bye to the members, unlike when I left Chipley. I welcome change though, gives me another change to improve, and to see how much I learned to help the new area.

The trip sounded fun! I'm sure looking out the bottom was pretty scary. (He is referring to the Educator's Airlift and looking out the bottom of the tanker:)  How did y'all get invited to that? How many other people were there taking the tour? And y'all got to eat the mash that the soldiers get, that sounds good! And if it was a real good meal, they did that so you wouldn't think they were torturing the soldiers! :) I don't know about Air traffic controlling, I don't know if I could handle the stress, and being gone a lot. But who knows? I could end up doing it.

That's a bummer not being accepted, I don't know how it's like, but it must be rough. (Jameson didn't get accepted to BYU and Coree didn't get accepted to WSU's nursing school:( I know that I'm going to make it into Harvard anyhow so I don't have to worry about those low class schools! :) just kidding.

This past week was good, we confirmed our baptisee, and it was a close one too, she didn't show until right after the sacrament song started, I thought she wasn't going to make it. We think that she was trying to get her family to come to church and wasn't able, that's why she was late. But it's alright. It was the Primary program as well, so it was funny to see. I wish I could take pictures to show you all the funny stuff happening. Saturday I was finally able to use my knowledge of building. We took down a porch of one of our members, and rebuilt a section of it. I was in charge of bulling out the nails on the good boards to reuse them.... it was lame. I did at one point have to hammer in nails, but the hammer I used had a small head, and I missed the small nails many times. They now have circular imprints on their porch! Afterwards, we drove past the chicken festival, didn't have time to go in sadly, and went to another home to help them put up drywall in their home. I got to do some mudding! That was pretty fun, and they were very appreciative.

Elton Owens is the man with the dog in the video. He helps us out a ton, and is super friendly. We see him practically every day. He is always willing to drive us places.

I haven't heard about Romney's stand up comedy, you'd think it'd be something I'd hear about out here. Well, I did send in my ballot, and I voted for lots of people that I didn't know, I hope that there are many more people in their right mind to overpower all my bad votes. Many people come up to us and ask us if we are voting for Romney, even the people who reject us at the door when tracting say, I'm voting for Romney! It's pretty funny. "No, I'm not interested and I don't believe in what you're talking about, but I'm voting for Romney...." I should record some of them.

Haven't sent the card, I'm waiting to get into my new area to send it. This will be an interesting week! We'll see what happens.

Love ya'll and be safe! Elder Smith

I did get Bro Peterson's letter, a while back actually.... I had intentions of writing him, but I got caught up in the work, plus the selfish side of me took over so it was easy to put it off. Writing takes time, and there are other things I could do, and he didn't really say much on his, but I know I need to write him. Funny 'ol Peterson. I have written Jackie back, and haven't heard from the Howells. That's pretty much who I'm writing to. I write to Javi over email, but that doesn't count does it... And that lady didn't write me, the name does sound familiar though. (Anitra Martin, a lady that used to write to all the missionaries but has passed away)

That dream of yours worries me. (I dreamt that Parker was beside me as I was trying to open the door to our home and I was so excited to see him but felt bad that no one told us to pick him up at the airport. THEN I realized that he was home 14 months EARLY!! So when I finally got him away from the family, we sat down and he was about to tell me why he was home and the dream ended!!) It would worry me a lot more if I was missing a limb! I had an interesting dream too, but it was about me killing an evil murderous witch with an ax, she came back to life and I woke up. It makes you wonder at times like these, did Joseph have weird unmeaningful dreams as well as the important ones? Well, I hope that both dreams don't symbolize anything.
The baptism went well, and I got some good pictures! Got a good one of Bryden, I'm going to send it home soon so y'all can see it. She still had her nose ring in, but we are going to talk about it Tue. We now have no progressing investigators, so we have to work on some of the new investigators so that we can help our area. We have a couple that look promising! We ran into mice trouble. I heard from Elder Lane that they used to have mice, but I thought they were gone, until one day I was catching up in my journal. So I was sitting there and out of my peripherals I saw the papers moving. I thought it was because of the air conditioner. I then heard a rustle and looked and saw a flash of brown. I just stared, partially out of unbelief that there were mice in our apartment. I saw him jump out of our trash onto my companion's study table, thank goodness, and then onto the floor and into a hole that I suspected was a mouse hole, but wasn't certain. We got out the mouse trap in the drawer, but a pecan and some peanut butter on it, and fifteen minutes later heard the padded snap of the trap. I took pictures of the mouse, because it was still in the process of eating the nut even though it was dead. I erased the picture because I knew it would've ruined my missionary slide show in the future! Future prospects are going to be watching, if you know what I mean! The funny part about this story happens later as we were sitting at the table in the other room and heard another thump and then scurrying. We went back and looked, and another mouse was trapped in the garbage can that we barely emptied with the dead mouse. This was later in the day, when we were doing our night planning. We were wondering about where we were going to get more mouse traps, I guess mice aren't that smart, just leave open trash cans and they will trap themselves! Don't worry, our apartment is clean and nice, that's why the mouse had to jump in the trash to get something!

A week and a half is transfers again, we'll see if I stay or go. No matter what though, I know it's where I'm supposed to be!

Good to know everything's alright, and that trip you and Dad are going on sounds awesome. Hope y'all don't crash, everyone knows famous stars always crash! :) (The Educators Airlift)

lOvE you guys, and I pray every night for y'all, so be safe!

Elder Smith

October 8, 2012 Letter To Dad

That stinks that you didn't make it, we were wondering how often Motab has tryouts, and what happens to the veterens when somebody else gets in? They sound very lengthy and hard, the process I mean. They really don't mess around with choosing people. We had a recent convert tell us that he was looking for an older me in the choir, I had to tell him that you weren't actually in it yet. I can't imagine how much work, along with all the other things you do, you would have to go through to get it all done. Think of it this way, God wanted you to try out but not make it so that when you actually have time, you know what you need to do to get in! Remember, mysterious ways....haha. I've definitely seen some of what he's done out here!

General Conference was the bomb, I really enjoyed it! I even stayed up for all but two talks in Sunday's last session. I can't wait to get next month's Ensign, it's going to be sweet! There were lots of inspiring talks. It seemed many were directed toward building people up to take care of themselves and to wake up and do work!

Spiritual gifts.....well if I start naming them off I would lose humility! The chain effect of that will probably make me lose many gifts... just kidding. I never really thought about spiritual gifts. I have learned to love people, and that doesn't come easy when you live in the ghetto where Obama is completely covering some buildings... but I need to look over some of the specified spiritual gifts in the scriptures and I'll get back to you. I've gained more since being out here I can tell you that much.

Thanks for all you've done for me Dad!

ELDER SMITH

October 8, 2012

We have been mindful of the elections as well. Whenever we pass people we think would vote for Obama, Elder Blain says, vote for Romney, good thing the window is up! I heard about the amazing debate, and got to see a little of it at Pizza Hut when we ate with members. I hope that he will continue to do well, who knows what will happen, or when it will happen the next time! By the way I already sent in an absentee ballot, just sent it in today, can't be procrastinating when our future is in jeopardy!

I spent some time on that letter, (referring to a letter/birthday card to his friend, Lexi) first figuring out what I was going to do, then actually doing it. Thankfully we have a key to the church's library. I do realize that I didn't get her a card though.... did she make her quota of 92? It's weird to think that she isnt' a teenager anymore, it's even more weird to think that I only have a month and a half left! Well, I still can't grow a full beard yet, that is when I'll decide that I'm an adult....

Conference was amazing! I really enjoyed Sunday morning's session, but all of Saturdays was good also. Elder Holland is the man, he really rallies people! The announcement was cool too, Dad was right when he said that I'm going to be the last of the older generation of missionaries....in a year or less. It will be weird seeing younger missionaries. They will really have to be prepared also because their MTC time is shortened as well, hopefully they will take it more seriously than I did, or they will have to have a rude awakening in the field!

This past week went alright, nobody was home and so our numbers weren't great. But now we have this week to look forward too! Our baptism is this Sunday and she asked me to baptize her, so I'm having my baptism pants that you sent me hemmed, so I can walk... Thanks again for the pants! We will have to focus more on some of the other investigators now that she is going to get baptized. I know God will help us stay busy, and make the best use of our time.

Funny story for this week. Yesterday we were leaving our dinner appointment, and planning where to go next, because every appointment canceled for that night. We got a voicemail, because in the house there is no reception, that asked us if we could give a blessing to two little girls. We couldn't deny them blessings so we hurried across the street and down some to their house. We knocked, then walked in where the two girls were sitting on the couch with shorter hair which was wet. They didn't look sick, or hurt, maybe a little down but that was it. They told us they needed blessings for lice.... haha, I first thought, can you give a blessing for lice? Apparently this was their second time getting lice removed from their head, and she was afraid of sending them back to school and getting it again! We pulled out the oil, and had them sit, and proceeded with the blessings. I really didn't know what to say, but something came and I said it, I wanted to say something more, but the spirit didn't, so I ended it. It was funny, but I'm grateful to give service when I can, for those who need it. I was thinking that this must be what a parent feels sometimes with the blessings he gives.

Thanks for the encouragement, and hope that things continue to go well at home! You don't even know how jealous I am about the Avengers....

LOVE Elder Smith

Did you know that trees stay green here? When the time comes they just fall off, and new green ones come in. If it wasn't for the cold mornings, I wouldn't know what season it is! Thanks for the compliments, I should've got more pictures of it, but I'm finding out that my picture creativity is dumbing up a bit. (Referring to the ghillie suit adventure!) I need to get back at it!

 The area continues to improve, and our BCD is getting ever closer. Our bishop wants us to move it to another day, we are going to talk to our investigator and see what she wants. Maybe we won't, who knows? It is on the 13th, our lucky number! It feels weird being in charge of the area. I am finding that the old routine is starting to fade, and we will have to find another one real soon! I mean that by people we are visiting. Things are starting to slow down a little bit, but we are still doing ok. I have a cool story about our investigator. She is going through big changes in her life. She doesn't have any problems with the big commandments, except looking modest, as in her piercings. She's regretting the day she'll have to take them off, especially her nose jewel, or whatever you call it. But this past week, after we taught a lesson, we were talking to her about it. We were pressuring her to take out her tongue bar, and she did for the lesson. When she picked it up after the lesson, I jokingly asked her if I could see it, to pretend to throw it, and she handed it to me. When I made the motion, I asked her if I could. She said she didn't care.....I was caught off guard. She gave up the ring, she didn't have any more either. So, we left, showed only a few people the bar, not too many, because it was a little weird that I kept it, and went to Elton's to get rid of it. We taped it to a rock, and slingshot it into the woods! It felt great, my companion thought it was dumb that I was doing it, but I know how big it was for her!

 A few more months and I'll be able to skype y'all! I will most likely be in another area, but we'll see.

 

 Thanks again Fam! Love y'all and talk to ya next week! I will remember to send a card to Lexi....

 

Elder Smith

That is one big spider! It's hard to tell how big, but it's a good sized one. (Referring to the black widow at our house). I might have told you about the brown recluse I saw at bishop's pond when we were helping him weed whack. It was stationary, and I didn't want to bother it. This past week went great. Nothing too big happened. We made some good contact with LA's, and our investigators are continuing to progress. We are actually going to teach one today! It's going to be an awesome lesson. Our mission did great these past couple of weeks. Hopefully we can continue to do great, and meet our goal for 400 baptisms this year.

I have a good story for y'all! So this past Friday we went to eat at the bishop's with the young men also. We had shrimp, fish, crawfish, oysters in all forms, raw, fried and grilled, and I was also able to try alligator for the first time! It was a hearty meal, and Bishop didn't make us take home any leftovers too! That was a big surprise. We talked, and just relaxed, and we got to talking about a time ago when bishop hid in the woods in his ghillie suit and nobody could find him. The boys were about to play night games, so I asked him, is your suit close at hand?

He unlocked the door to his hunting equipment and got out the suit for me and I put it on and went out into his fields. My plan was to sneak around behind the scouts to scare them, but I couldn't get past the lighted area to where they were at. I stood about fifty feet from where they were at, kneeling next to a tree trying to decide what to do next, until I saw Elder Blain and Elton walk to them telling them that I was hiding and to look for me. I was about to run back into his cotton fields, but it was too late, they were getting closer. I just stood leaning into the mid-sized tree watching them. My heart was pounding as they were walking straight towards me. I thought "It's going to be embarrassing when they find me after 3 minutes. I'm going to be ridiculed by the hunters for not choosing a better hiding spot", but I was stuck. They came within five yards and one of the kids said he saw me further into the field. They walked past thinking I was in the cotton field. I watched them as they looked around the spot I was in before, and continued into the edge of the cotton. There was some high lumpy grass that led a short distance to a tree and past that about fifteen yards to the cotton. When they were looking over in the cotton, I half crawled, half crouch-walked near the tree and I noticed they were coming back. This was my time to scare them. I crawled on the grass right in the middle of the path left of the tree and laid there watching them. But they all walked to the right of the tree, except Elder Blain, who chose my side. He was searching and looked right at me, and continued past. I thought he found me and didn't want to give me away, he was only five feet from me, how could he not see me? The scouts walked past a building and out of sight. I stood up and walked quickly to Blain. He was surprised and said, "There you are!" He quickly motioned me back down, but I wanted to pick a good spot this time to scare them. I shuffled to a spot on the other side of the building and laid in the short grass. Sure enough two kids started walking towards me. I heard him say that he was going to find me. He was waving his phone trying to use it's light. He walked closer and closer until his foot was only two feet from my head. He stopped and the other kid walked around close to me on my right. He said what the? And then he got excited and yelled, "I found him!" The other kid still didn't and said, "Where?" I hopped up and made him jump! They all ran over and asked me where I was hiding and some of them said, "I looked there!" The funny one was when I said I laid to the left of the tree and Elder B was surprised and said, "I walked by you?" That was a lot of fun, you wouldn't think that those suits would hide you that well. I had my experience with a ghillie suit, and I got a picture of it too! I think I'm going to buy one when I get home!

I'm definitely loving the members out here and I am very grateful for this change to help them in return. There are some people I could trust with my life down here, and in case of a civil war, they got the most guns! :)

Thanks for the information on Lexi! I will write her, and I do have some good stories, but I need to drag them out from the depths of my brain.... haha, it's hard to remember things that I used to do, especially music. Thanks again, Love you guys!

The LATE E-mail

Yeah, sorry I couldn't email Monday. We had to use a member's computer and it was slow, and I received many emails. It was funny getting a call from Sister Jensen this morning. All is well! I got here emailing late again because Eufaula's big two lane road narrows to a one lane, and they are doing construction on both sides of the road, so there is a huge blockage.

To answer your questions: the western band is a small group of people that play in Georgetown. The people call it the Music. Mainly old people go and listen to it, and we got invited! It wasn't that big, that's why we got front row. All of the people were nice, and most all were Baptist. An older man really wanted to buy something for us, so we had him buy water for us. It was a good 'ol time. The man in the Hawaiian shirt that's playing the mandolin was there to watch, until he saw one of the performers butchering the chords, so he walked up and started playing! It was pretty neat. They had another performance at a Baptist church last Friday that we went to. One of the people there told me if I wanted to sing that he can arrange for me to get in the program. I told him, I'm good! I was not ready for that, haha.

The gun is our recent convert's. We were talking about guns, and Elder Lane is a hunter, he shoots coyotes on his land, and Chris told him about this gun he got at Walmart. He pulled that out and I just thought, I need a picture with that! It had a 500 dollar laser on it, he said when we get off our mission that we could come back and use it!  Elder Lane and I made plans to come back and go hunting with him. Nugget is the dog. She is big, and nudges you when she wants to be pet. If you ignore her, she throws your arm on her back with her nose. I pushed her over and made her stay! :)

The picture, of the picture..... We made a picture frame for the Proclamation to the Family, and cut out the old advertisement picture that used to be in it. Elder Lane has one where I took the lady's teeth and made it look like my own. It was weird, you couldn't even notice the difference. We had a lot of fun with that one, we were going to put it on the picture of Jesus, but we decided not to....

Zone conferences... we had one a little while ago, there were some funny and good performances. Our district stood up and sang a hymn with another elder playing. We didn't plan on doing it, but he couldn't really play it so he wanted us to drown it out! It was pretty funny, the last note was off every time. We also had a missionary show off his lack of flexibility. He told us he used to be able to put his foot behind his head, but because he got fatter, he only got close. He then went on to show us another trick, and he pulled on his legs to form like an egg, and started to roll around and he split a HUGE hole in his pants! We all busted out laughing and he sat there just staring down. Even President and Sister Jensen were laughing. He told us as he was sitting down, "I'm not as embarrassed as you'd think I'd be." He was a goofy kid, and he is very outspoken. He walked out and sewed his pants back up himself. It was a good zone conference.

I am senior companion, I was one when I got here, but it doesn't really mean much. I make final decisions and I am the one who lets the DL's know we are safe. Elder Blain thought he was for a little while, until we looked at an email that Pres sent. Elder Blain just barely got done with training, so he's been out three months in the field. He has the drive, but he is the kind of guy that thinks he is right about everything. He is really loud too. He is quiet when we are at homes or in lessons, but when he gets into a lesson, or gets comfortable at someone's house, he uses his outside voice.... I know that I wouldn't go through my whole mission without getting a couple companions I didn't get along with. I am very thankful for the email Dad sent about getting along with everyone. I have really been changing my mindset recently. He is from West Point, Utah, and what else I've learned from him is he likes football and he went to Syracuse. Also his dad is a air traffic controller, and I learned that it's one of the most stressful jobs in the world! Does Ashton know that?

I'm glad I didn't watch that game, I would've lost all hope in BYU. By the way, who's the quarterback?

Cool story, we met a man with the last name Acosta. He has been all over the world. He isn't a member, but he taught with a missionary and learned all the lessons for our church. Weird right? His daughter is a lawyer that works in SLC and she is making big money! She is pretty big over there, she is in her thirties and already has a partner, or whatever they call it. She is the head honcho for the corporation. He is also a super nice guy and is fun to talk to, has a thick accent, but is understandable.

Anyway, I'm sorry for scaring y'all, I hope I don't do that again, but I can't make any promises. The work is going well! Stressful, but well! I'll be alright though, I know how to deal with stress.

Love you guys and stay good! And make sure Casey keeps playing good! I want an All-American soccer player nephew!

I knew that USU and U of U was playing, but I didn't get to hear about it. That is great news though! About the teams, I am more of an Alabama fan than an Auburn fan. Mainly because of the people, and the colors! Plus there is an Auburn fan that bugs me here, so that turned me away from them. Funny thing happened, we went to visit a family that we have been working with and they are renovating a home they have, and they painted a room perfect BYU colors! I made sure I mentioned that to them! It was fun looking through their house, they have half done, and they really made the other half look good, except the ninja turtle room that their daughter painted. Cool theme, but the room looks hideous. :)

Everything is still good! We are having another baptism Tuesday, and have been working with this member for a while. We also set a baptism date for another investigator for Oct. 13. Funny thing is, Elder Blanchard taught with me on that one and he asked her what she had against baptism, and she didn't have a reason, so we set a date! He was our zone leader and him and his companion came up to interview our baptismee! It felt weird teaching with him again. We had an awesome low country boil and it was delicious. They boil sausage, corn, potatoes, and shrimp in a big pot with Cajun seasoning and pour it onto a table and people dish it up! We were left with a lot of leftovers.

Transfers are Wed, and Elder Lane will be leaving Eufaula. I will be getting a new companion named Elder Blain. Funny right? Lane to Blain. I hope he will be a good companion like Elder Lane was. We did some work here in Eufaula and now I have to pick it up again and start pushing forward! I am always nervous to see who I will have to get along with next. Especially now that the Elder who has seen most of the movies I've seen, and jokes like I do, is going to be leaving. We really had a great time here. It's weird to think that after this next companionship I will be out a year! I hear it only gets faster from there.

Did you talk about me singing in your talk? Because I don't do it anymore :). Elder Tialino egged me on every time we talked to someone so I got used to it, but now, I know my limits, and solos are past those! But I will make this commitment, I will join the choir when I get back. I will not make my choir teacher bribe me to come. :) If you would cancel my solo for my homecoming that will be great! :) We'll work something out though next year.

I wonder who Jameson will date next! Since he's going through my grade I can refer people to him! :) Naw, I won't bug him about it. I do want to know if he's considering the ViSalus. But it sounds like he's doing good! He should wear my tiger shirt to some dates! That is a girl getter! I wouldn't be surprised if they ask him to marry them with that beast on! haha.

From what I heard, the world is going downhill fast. Everything is going whack. There are many rumors I've been hearing, and so many people are concerned about what the turn out will be. Hopefully everything is going good where y'all are. But I do know that if y'all are planning on buying guns anytime soon, that the cost of ammo is going to explode. I know that you aren't the guns type so I think you will be fine. Now everybody down here is worried, because they all have guns! Some people reload their bullets so it's nothing to worry about with them.

Well, I hope everything works out for this week. Everything should be fine, I don't think I will be involved in the cleanup crew further south. Our ward was advised to get their tetnis shots if they were to go down there, how scary is that?

Love you guys, and I hope all continues to go well!

All is well! We didn't get as much rain as we thought. We were preparing for the worst since Pres sent a message to everyone to prepare. We bought the same provisions as the elders on the beach! We were ready to stay at the church for a day, the car was loaded up with crackers, granola bars, a big pack of water, and even a blow up sleeping mat! A member heard we were staying at the church so he lent it to us. If that Hurricane came over us, we were ready to stay there for a week! We were also going to bring putters and golf balls in case we got bored... that would've been fun! But we got the message that we didn't need to worry about anything, and that it was going to miss us. We were very disappointed. I thought I was going to get a picture of the eye of the hurricane, but we were well over 100 miles away.... It is a blessing to miss it though, we got some work done this week. We have another baptism set for next Tuesday. A kid we, and the past elders, have been teaching for a little while. We hope that this will get his whole family coming to church. Elder Lane might be leaving next week and that's why they want to do it. There was much prayer and pondering, and planning, and many other things that end in ing! Who knew that baptism could be this hard of a decision, for us! He is a real good kid, we just hope his family follows through with him. We heard from the lady in the hospital, she is fine right now, actually back to work again! She is TOUGH! She is going to get stints for her heart in Columbus, and she is working.... Crazy right? But someone has to earn the money, and her husband isn't doing a good job now. We confirmed our investigator, and now he is an official member! So now we can't count his lessons as investigator lessons, we are going to have a lot of recent convert lessons though. It is great to see how fast, and how well he is improving. I know that nothing comes easy when it deals with salvation, but it definitely wasn't a cake walk for him! He is still dealing with quitting, still clean, but still dealing with it!

When I get back, I'm going to come back for his dog! Her name is Bella, she is like a tiger in color, slender and fast, has a cool white spot in her eye, and it isn't cataracts! She has the softest fur! And she is a good defense dog, super friendly, unless she doesn't know you! Catahoola, red nosed pit bull mix, awesome dog. I have also learned that some of the best dogs, and also the smartest, are the ones you find off the streets! He found three of his hunting dogs on the streets and they are real smart. Anyway, enough about dogs.

The hardest thing I find now is continuing to improve. I don't mean to sound arrogant and prideful. The easy changes are over, and if I get content with how I am I move backwards, I start regressing. We are working on charity, and humility right now, and it's real hard to not make fun of these people down here. Of course, if it isn't offensive or negative we can joke about it, but I find myself thinking negatively about many people. We watched an old short film about pride, and it's one of those cheesy eightees shows that you watch for seminary. It helped so much. It said plainly that pride can thrust you down to Hell, and is condemning, even being prideful to those who are prideful. Satan is very tricky, you really need to watch yourself these days. Now that the outward sins aren't a big problem on my mission, I need to work inside myself.

That is awesome that Dad is getting even closer to becoming a motab man! I brag about him over here for that, also that he supports the paddle and switch in his school ruling! haha Jk. The Mormon videos that we are allowed to watch remind me a lot of Roger's. There is a lot of the same actors in many of the short clips, and one man is in almost EVERY ONE!! The guy who plays the dad in the Testaments is EVERYWHERE,

Reply to:

Reply to Parker Smith

August 27, 2012...............11:27 a.m. E-mail From Mission President

Hello

Some of you have not been receiving my emails. We are sorry but hope all parents get this one.

Missionaries from the Mobile and Pensacola zones are here in Tallahassee and will stay in the church next to the mission home. Fort Walton Missionaries will go to the Crestview Building. The Dothan, Tally and Tifton missionaries will remain in their apartments.

I’ve been coordinating our response with the support of our area seventy, FM (building) specialist, weather specialist, and stake presidents. We feel like all missionaries are safe with our present plan.

The hurricane is presently aimed at New Orleans but could still change directions and land as far east as Destin, thus, we’ve removed all missionaries from potential danger.

The missionaries are having a GREAT time! Local members here in Tally are lining up to feed these refugees. They might gain weight as a result of such Christian behavior. We are working to coordinate members in Crestview helping to feed those.

We know you have some anxiety at home but rest assured that missionary safety is our highest priority and we won’t take any chances. However, continue to pray for us.

We not only have the best missionaries in the church…….we have the best and most supportive parents. Thank you!!

President Jensen

August 26, 2012...........4:46 p.m. E-mail from Mission President

Hi Parents,                    

The storm is taking a westerly route so at this time the Tifton and Tallahassee zone look to be out of the hurricane zone. The Dothan zone looks to be uneventful as well. However these zones will still get heavy rain.

The target area is now from Destin to Baton Rouge. My main concern is getting our Mobile zone missionaries trapped in Mobile because there is a tunnel and bridge that leads out of the city going east. Thus, I’ve just called them and ask them to evacuate tonight, just to be on the safe side. They will go to Crestview and stay in the church there.

The Panama City, Fort Walton and Pensacola zones will still be affected but there is still plenty of time to have them move as evacuation routes are good.

Our options are much better now because half of our mission is out of the storm path. Previously, it looked like the entire mission was hurricane territory.

Again, we will do all possible to keep your missionary safe.

Hope all is well where you are.

President Jensen

The hurricane just went awry, so it will miss us. No hammer and nails this time. haha, we will continue to do our missionary work in the pouring rain. At least there won't be high winds! The work is in a steady progression. We have had a slow week, but it's alright, there can't always be perfect weeks! I do have three, but I can't trust the post office anymore. I'll have to send it via European swallows. Apparently they are good at taking things long distances....;) I will send it sometime, I'm not for sure when, because it seems that weeks go by like days, and it is easy to put things off. I didn't write in my journal for a week, and I thought it had only been two days! It's weird that school started again, now there aren't kids roaming the streets like there used to be. Now we have to coordinate more with appointments, especially with families! I have seen my first brown recluse spider, it was stationary and I walked away, we were weed eating and it was near the grass. I have an awesome picture of this huge banana spider. It was just smaller than my opened hand. The lady didn't even know it was in her front yard! Thanks for the Ipod as well.

Yesterday we had our baptism! I was lucky enough to baptize him. It was real good. Afterwards he told me, with a big smile on his face. "I feel real good!" It was a neat experience, being my first time to perform the ordinance. I was praying hard to make sure everything went right, and that I wouldn't mess up! The pants were extra long, but that's alright. I didn't have anytime to get them seamed. Thank you so much for the pants again!

There also was another special experience we had. We visited a lady who had to go to the hospital a couple days ago, but couldn't get in, so sunday we went again to give her a blessing. She was real appreciative, and also made sure to ask if we could help with her lawn, which is an actual blessing, because her husband wouldn't let anyone do it, thinking we were doing it to convert him. As we were walking to our car, someone told us to freeze. Drue was there with his step dad and we walked over and talked with them. They were there because his mother was in the ER with chest pains, possibly a heart attack. They said there was no positive signs of it, which was good, but she needed a blessing. We walked in, and went to the curtain enclosed room where she was sitting on the bed, her face red with pain and tears in her eyes. We talked, and joked for a short while, trying to make the situation less tense. My companion then began with the anointing, and during that I was praying hard that I would have the spirit enough to end her pain. I let Heavenly Father know that I was going to bless her with relief to her pain, that she really needed it, and that I will follow the spirit for the rest. As I placed my hands on her head, she stopped me, because another wave of pain came, and she needed pressure on the front of her shoulder. After that passed I continued and said it. When I closed, she looked up at me and I could see the relief in her expression. She said the pain had passed! The redness of her face changed to her natural color, and she was very grateful. We learned that she is still at the hospital, the nurses are having her take heart medicine, but I do know from that experience, that priesthood blessings do work. That even though I was super nervous about giving one at a time of crisis, that I received help, and was able to be led by the spirit!

It's good to hear from you, and I hope that all continues to go well! Love y"all!

Hurricane Update

 Hey, just checkin in with y'all. There is going to be a Hurricane going through the south, but since I'm so far north I don't think we have much to worry about. The folks around here say it's going to turn into a tropical storm by the time it gets to us. Our mission is taking precautions and making sure we are all alright. Just letting y'all know. I might or might not be able to email monday, but we'll see. It's going to be interesting going through a hurricane... And don't worry, I won't do anything stupid! :)

Hey, sorry, I think I'm a size 38... but don't justify my size by dad's, he has been doing Insanity so he is losing weight as I'm gaining! Thanks for the package, I just barely got it, and haven't looked in it yet, but I look forward to it! The memory card wasn't stolen, I just believe some missionaries wanted to see the pictures I had in there! I'll do some investigating....? The NBA is getting weird....I won't know anybody on our team when I get back! But I'm glad CJ is gone. :) Anyway, I found that I need the baptismal pants, our investigator asked me to baptize him this weekend! Well, it was more along the lines of a coin toss... Hopefully these other pair fit perfectly! He has been doing great, he's done with the first set of lessons, and has given up lots of things for good. He is going to have a hard week!

Nothing too serious has been happening, the area continues to improve, and we just need to stay busy. This past week has been slower, but we still had good numbers. It is very interesting thinking about my position out here. There is so much hanging on us. We could choose to be very disobedient and do whatever we wanted, or be lazy and just stay inside where it's cool, but instead we choose to be out and stay busy. It's pretty neat to think how much we actually control out here. We had a lesson with a family who hasn't been to church in many months, and they committed to do it every week. I don't know if my patience is wearing thin or if I am not scared of tense situations anymore, but I am finding myself confronting them about it and finding out the real reason why they aren't showing. I found myself telling a man that if he believes that our church is true that nothing should be able to stop him, that even though the other church is more "fun" that he knows to come to our church. I could see the guilt on him, but I needed to make sure he knew what he was doing. I find that sometimes we are too scared to lay down the line. Especially in those make or break situations. I have found myself justifying lazy acts and I get on myself for doing that. But if I learn anything out here, it's how to be stern and direct when it comes to those times when wrong is happening and it is being justified. Our President just sent an email saying that things in these times are being more black and white. The good is becoming more good, and the bad is getting more grossly wicked. What's awesome about our new investigator is he is choosing the good part. He doesn't ask what he can't do, he asks what he needs to do, he is very inspiring. He came a long way to be where he's at now. In fact, he told us many stories about bar fights last night. His wife told us many times how she can't believe how he has changed. Her mother doubted his change, saying she will come to our church if he successfully gives up smoking and drinking. God truly prepares people he needs in his cause. This man is going to be a great influence in the church.

We have been working hard, we are trying to get the members involved so that it continues to progress. Continue to be a good influence on that Catholic lady, when the time comes don't be afraid to invite her to learn from the missionaries, and always bear your testimony! And if she refuses, don't be afraid to knock over some more cactus's! :) Just joking, don't do that!

Tell Jameson marriage first, and if he is still unsure, fast, pray, date, and marriage again! :) Love you guys and I'll talk to you next week!

August 13, 2012

Cade is right, I stole his charger when I didn't need it, I will probably send it back, if I can find a way. I do have an Ipod, but not one full of gospel music. I have Jameson's old ipod, and it has good wholesome music on it, it would be nice to have the other one too though! :) I don't know of anything I need right now, probably a new pair of baptismal pants... mine are real tight...:) And while you are at it, a couple pairs of dri-lux G's would be great too! My size has increased to 40 I believe. And thanks for the info on foods, it IS super hard to avoid fried food, but I can take off the skins and it will be fine. I have cut down on consumption and slowly dropped, but nothing significant. I do not believe I will make it back down to where I was at. No problem though.

Everything is going good, we did have a rough week this week, nobody was home and we didn't get as many lessons as we wished, but these days are to be expected. We will continue in our work! I have noticed blessings, and also things I personally need to work on that I've been ignorant about, but I've woken up and am dealing with it! Another two weeks and we will have another baptism! No problems so far, he only has to give up smoking and they'll be good, and he is one determined man. Also, we were talking with them yesterday and they said that his wife's mom said to them that if he gave up smoking and drinking that they would attend our church also! I think she was just showing her lack of support, but I know when he quits that he will hold her up to it! It will be great!

The extreme summer temperatures are coming to an end, halfway through it! Now the football teams are starting to practice down here, many people are excited! It's weird to think that I left right after football season, now it's starting up again. Question, will I be back in time to enter in the church ball league? That is what I'm missing most out here! Every P-day we play basketball and I'm working on my dribbling, although my shots are way off. Tell the guys they better watch out! Also that I grew 5 inches, just to scare them...:) not really though.

I feel I'm at the climax of this area. I know the ward real well, I can get around without directions from my companion, and now I know the main people we need to focus on. Now just creative ways to get known, and get in doors! That will be the fun part.

I finally got the letter! Thank you for the pictures! When I got it someone already opened it, it has been through three pairs of missionaries though, I know nothing has been taken. They did a horrible job taping it back up again so I know it wasn't the post office! :) No worries though.

Love you guys and I'll email y'all next week!

August 6, 2012

Well, first of all, Brandon is shaving his brother's head, because it's haircut time. His brother ran away because he didn't want it cut. That's why he was bringing him back. (Notice he looks both ways before crossing the street!) It was luck, one out of 100 pictures, that I was able to get that bolt. I had a video, but I erased it on accident... Every time we go to Bishop's house, there is a looming storm coming in. Usually they come at night, it's real cool to see.

This week has been really good. We were able to do well, and have picked up the area quite a bit. There is still much work to do to get it rolling. We have two people real close to baptism. One wants to take the lessons slow, and another is getting baptised in three weeks! One we are working with right now is doing super well. He is the most golden investigator I have ever seen, and probably will ever see! Every time we go and have a lesson, he doesn't have a problem with what is taught, and is willing to do anything he needs to do to get baptised! He used to smoke a pack and a half a day, and also drink but is giving it up. Yesterday was his first day giving it up! We all fasted for it, now we need to see how he's doing! He is super prepared, and God is helping him with everything! The cool thing is that he knows it too! He told us his story, and he went from getting paid 100,000 dollars a year, and having a big home, a nice boat, and a jacked-up four wheeled truck, not to mention his small pack of goats! He lost all of that, he was laid off, and had to move to a less expensive place. He was cheated out of his home, and sold his toys for much less than what they were worth. He even lost his 800 dollar wedding band playing with dogs. He went through everything, but I know that God has a much higher purpose for him. He is respectful, honest, and hard working, VERY hard working! He is doing everything right, and God gives him little signs to show that he is on the right path. Yesterday he showed us something real funny. I took a picture of it. The night before Fast Sunday, preparing their meal before fasting, he cut a potato in half and noticed something funny, and shocking. The grooves on the inside of the potato were in the shape of a cross! God has a sense of humor! We are very much looking forward to getting him baptized, and giving him a calling, then working on his parents next!

We are being very blessed out here. The most frustrating thing right now is working with less-actives, but God will find a way for them. Our mission president is pushing us to be Book of Mormon scholars and so we have been working hard on that. Those stacks of paper are scripture mastery cards. He challenged us to memorize all of them and more that aren't in those stacks. I'm on 21 memorized right now. There is a missionary who memorized 200 scriptures! He is way cool also, not a huge nerd. Another missionary has memorized the first three chapters of the book.... I don't feel pressed to do that, but I'm working hard with what I got.

Our fridge is full of left-overs, so we don't have to buy any food this week. I have found that the biggest challenge is to keep my weight down... Now I understand what you and Dad go through! I have managed to keep my weight at 225, and am trying hard to lose some. Luckily it isn't all fat! So don't tell all of the relief society that I'm getting chubby down here!

I love you guys and I'll talk with y'all next week!