Pictures

Less Active and Convert Work

We had a good week here. We have still been doing a lot of less active/recent convert work. Once people are on the path we have to help them stay on it in any way we can. We did get some family history training this week...nothing that I didn't know already. I would say go ahead and do the names. I will look for some more. I would rather you guys go do them soon rather than wait for me. I will have plenty of opportunities to do that when I get home. Glad you got them though. I wasn't sure weather or not it would work so I am glad that it did. I will probably spend some more time looking today as well if I have any extra time.

We went on exchanges this week. I went with Elder Neyman. I knew him from a previous zone that we shared. Sometimes its fun to get to know other people a little bit closer. He has been out for a little less than a year and he is from Provo. Its hard to believe that I can remember that time in my mission like it was just last week. In fact one year ago I was leaving Warrenton and heading to Belmont Ridge. Time is a really interesting thing on the mission. It goes by so fast.....but SO SLOW! No idea what's going on, messes with my brain.

We did make it to the temple visitors center on Saturday. We got up there a  little bit before the other car and we were waiting in the Visitors center. Turns out while we were waiting they had shown up and had already been walking around the temple. Needless to say that the lady who drove her basically high jacked everything that we wanted to do so we got to say maybe 2 sentences to her before they went in to see meet the Mormons. We had to leave because we had an appointment we had to get back to. Not quite the trip I was hoping for but its whatever. She just wanted my tie. I don't know why. Maybe for a memory or something. It was my baby blue one that I got at the very beginning. I really liked that tie.

 Anyways...glad Chase  is doing football. I always enjoyed watching him. And hey, what a way to end my mission. Started that night with a football game, and now I am coming home to a football game.

That's our week. Thanks for the emails!

Love you guys!

Can I have your tie?

Good morning.

Sounds like everything is going good with you guys. It really is crazy
that  Spencer is home already. I can remember that day where I opened
my call and me and Spencer sat there looking at my information for
about 20 minutes. It wasn't that long after that I left. Weird to
think that I won't be that much longer till I get home. Less than 10
weeks now. Oh man...I'm tired.

Well this week has been a good one. We didn't teach any lessons this
week to investigators. We don't have any that we are really working
with. This area is really interesting in that regard. Not a whole lot
to do except knock doors. In the 2 and a half weeks that I have been
here I haven't been in more than 25 percent of the area. It's a really
big area and hard to access on foot. My bike is out of commission
currently so maybe that would contribute to it. We are working with
some less active/recent converts though. I think that is the biggest
job to do here in the ward. We have less than 50% activity in the
ward. One of the people we are working with is a lady named Nancy
Wilson. We taught her twice this week. We went over the gospel of
Jesus Christ as well as the 10 commandments. She is super awesome and
we are planning on going to the temple visitors center this weekend.
We were at church and after sacrament meeting she had to go home, so
we stopped to talk to her for a bit. While talking she said she really
liked my tie and asked if she could have it. So I took my tie off and
gave it to her. One of the weirder things that have happened. The
stake president was there so when he saw me without a tie he gave me a
really weird look. Luckily in the clerks office they had some extras
so I grabbed one and put it on.

Another guy we are working with has been a member for about 2 years,
and about 6 months after he was baptized he started driving trucks so
he went less active since he was constantly on the road. He recently
got in a wreck so he is not driving as of right now. He came the last
two weeks to church and said the crash was god giving him a second
chance. So he is super sweet to work with.

Those are two of our main people. We are currently in the finding
stages. I just hate knocking doors. It's tedious and ineffective.
Well that was our week. One more down, and about 9 to go. Getting so
close it's starting to seem real.

My companions name is Elder Merrell. He is from Rexburg Idaho. He has
been out about 21 months. He came just 6 weeks after me. We get along
really well so that's good.

My address is 4712 Commons dr. #302 Annandale, VA 22003

I don't really need anything. My clothes are officially giving out,
but I can last. Iron on patches and sowing kit has worked wonders.

Love you guys!

New Mission President

Good morning!

We have had a good week here, just about like every other week. On
Monday we ended up playing basketball for most of the day. It's always
fun being able to do that, except for the soreness that accompanies
afterwards. We have a good group of guys so it makes it even better.
While not playing you get to talk to a lot of people and get to know
them more. It just weirds me out because I get to talking with them
and they tell me they have only been out for a couple of months or
around a year. I just think to myself, I haven't seen you a day in my
life and you have been out for a year!? It just makes me feel really
old. I do feel worn down most days now. The excitement and energy
level that I have isn't what it used to be.

One interesting thing we had this week was that one of the glass doors
at the other elders place ended up shattering. It didn't break
initially but the entire thing was broken into individual tiny pieces
that were barely hanging onto each other. While we were standing
there trying to think of what to do it was just cracking more and
more. So of course we had e bright idea to throw something through it.
( I will attach the video ). It got replaced a few days later
luckily.

For our Fourth of July we didn't have anywhere to go. We ended up
going to the church building where we met up with some other elders
and played some more basketball. We also threw the football around
later that night at a field not for from there. We did have fun even
though it wasn't watching fireworks. That day we also took a trip to
Walmart to pick up some things and my companion and I decide we were
going to get matching comp gym shorts. And of course we decided upon
camo. I think Dylan would be very proud. One of the only camo pieces
of clothing I own.

On Thursday we were able to meet our new mission president. He seems
like a really awesome guy. He has 8 kids total. Only 3 of them will be
living at the mission home though. I think the mutual consensus among
all of the elders was that the daughters were pretty cute :) of course
I had to go up and personally introduce myself afterwards. It will be
interesting to see how the style will change over the next 2 months
that I am here.

That's our week in a nutshell. We don't have any solid investigators.
We are working with a few less active families though. We have been
focusing on finding and that will stay that way for a while. Glad the
pictures arrived. I just decided to send them home so that's one less
thing I have to worry about down the road. I also did a little happy
dance when dad sent me the flight itinerary. Now we know and can start
making plans.

Love you guys!