Interesting week

It's been an interesting week here. So we spent most of the week
apologizing to members that were in our gospel principles class. I
don't think I told you, but we chewed out our gospel principles class.
We taught a lesson for the first 30 minutes of class then went to
class. When we got there the topic was on the millennium and they
weren't talking about anything in the manual. It was all speculation
so Elder Geohagan got up and told them that we shouldn't be doing this
in a class where people that attend are either non members or shakey
in their testimony.

Most of the members felt like we shouldn't have done that, but I think
that it was necessary. So we visited basically all of the members that
were in there and we could tell that there were a few hurt feelings.
On top of that  we got an email from our mission president last Monday
chewing us out because we are all doing horrible. Then on Tuesday we
had a whole mission conference call. All the sisters, elders, and
senior couples were on the call and he only said what the elders are
doing wrong. So it has been a rather depressing week.

On the call he said that we have 1 week to come forward and talk to
him about anything inappropriate we have done on our iPads or he would
come to us. It basically felt like a threat so we have him coming to
our apartment on Wednesday to talk to us. We haven't done anything
wrong, but we decided it's better to lay it all out than for him to
come take our iPads away.

An then on Friday we had a zone conference. Which actually was a lot
more uplifting than I thought it was going to be. So we have had a
tuff week. But I guess they are to be expected.

So we have been teaching Ryan a lot. We are preparing for this
Saturday. This morning we had a meeting with his mom and got all of
the papers signed so everything is good to go except for his interview
which is scheduled for his evening. He is ready. It's awesome to see
how he has progressed in the few months I have been here. I'll make
sure to take some pictures :)


We are playing some touch football today. We figured out its a really
good stress reliever. Tonight we have dinner with a Hispanic
family...so it will be delicious. I know you have probably looked for
this email already but I have been writing over the course of all day.
In between athletic events.

Your going to have to send me some pictures of how the down stairs is
looking. Love you mom!

Mario and Luigi judging Chili

We have had an awesome week. I am so happy that i have a good
companion. We get along really well. We are bros. Last Monday we
taught a lesson to our investigator Ryan. He is the 15 year old who is
on date for November 1st. We went over the laws and ordinances as well
as reviewed the baptismal interview questions again. He did really
well. Its really cool to see him moving forward the way that he is.

Tuesday we had our district meetings and ate at Carolina Bros. Its a
barbecue place which is owned by a less active in the ward and he
loves the missionaries so we eat for free. Delicious. Wednesday was
also another awesome day. We participated in the talent show that our
ward had. We did a synchronized sock puppet dance to the circle of
life. I know it sounds a little weird, but it was actually a lot of
fun and the members loved it. Ill try to send some of it. Tonight we
celebrated Elder Geohagans 21st birthday. Didn't really do anything
special.

Thursday we had a lesson with Crystal. She wasn't quite sure if she
wanted to keep meeting with us. She said that she was thinking about
canceling our meetings all together. So we went in there not sure
exactly how it was going to go. We focused on the apostasy after
Christ and the apostles were killed and they need for a restoration.
We showed the 20 minute movie of the restoration which really brought
the spirit into the lesson. We then talked about baptism with her. She
was again very skeptical about it. We explained it as best we could.
We tried our very best and.....SHE ACCEPTED FOR NOVEMBER 15TH!!!! That
was about the 10th time we met with her and we have pushed hard for
it every time. Usually miracles like this always happen at the
beginning of transfers which proved itself again.

Friday was another fun day. Went and had lunch at Carolina bros again.
Went to the thrift store to see if they have anything good. Bought a
tie for a dollar. We then skyped a recent convert that elder Geohagan
works with. Tonight we saw a couple of members. We are trying to meet
with every member we are trying to collect their favorite scriptures.
We are going to be doing a presentation for the ward.

Saturday was another fun filled day. That morning we went to an older
ladies house and helped her move some stuff from her basement out to
where she was having a yard sale. We helped with that for about 2
hours. Ran over to Mcdonalds and got some breakfast, then went to

another members house and helped out moving them. They are moving to
the Ashburn ward. They moved into places that weren't even built yet
when i was there, amazing to see how much can change in a year.

That night we had the ward party. It was a lot of fun. We got to be
the chili judges and run some games. It was a lot of fun. We loved
being Mario and Luigi. We had people wanting to take pictures with us
so we got to do that a lot. I really do like the ward. They are a lot
of fun.

It was a really busy week. We taught a lot of online stuff as well. We
spent another good chuck of time doing that. We taught a total of 9
lessons and now have 2 people set for baptism. There is a really good
chance that i will leave on November 20th so these 2 are just in time.

Love you!!!

Hump Day :)

The burning of the White Shirt....Missionaries have a tradition of burning a White Shirt on there Hump day. It's hard to believe that we are at our one year mark. In some ways it went by so quickly and in other ways it has dragged on. Before we know it Elder Laing will be home. We are so proud of him and how hard he is working in Virginia. His Testimony of Christ has grown so much. We look forward to see what the next year has in store for him. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  - Renette

She has a Testimony but doesn't realize it!

This week has been another good week. It was a little bit slower than
usual but that's okay. So as you know this last week was transfers. Our
whole district got the call that we were going to be all staying.
Yesterday we were talking to some elders in the Brambleton ward who
were in our district and they said that we switched districts. So we
did have some change after all.

We are still working with a couple of people. Our youth investigators
are an interesting situation. We are rarely meeting with them and it
is looking like they are not going to be baptized. They don't have a
desire yet. I guess we will see how that goes and how we will be able
to help them. Another lady we have been working with has come to
church 3 times. She really likes all of what we talk about and she
agrees with pretty much everything that we say.

We have brought up baptism with her multiple times and she said that
she doesn't feel ready yet and if she feels like she is pushed into
things she backs off. So we have to take it really slow with her. We
have met with her 3 times, every time it has been in a members home.
We think that she is going to be baptized. She has a testimony she
just doesn't realize it.

So Saturday night we went to a members home to visit with some less
actives and non members. They had the BYU Texas game on so we may have
seen the first half. Had some good food, some good drinks. We also
went to Fuddruckers with a member the other night. I had the best
burger i have had in a long time.

We have our year mark in 10 days. Excited for that. This is a short
transfer i found out. So i am only going to be with my current
companion for 4 1/2 more weeks. That will be good.

One of my good buddies from the mtc is now in my zone so that is going
to be a party. This is going to be an interesting transfer. But i
think that it will be fun.

Love you guys!!!

Worn out Shoes!

I wanted to share this picture of Elder Laing's worn out shoes. I know that if these shoes could talk, they would tell a tale of a Missionary who has worked very hard for the past year, they would tell of triumphs and also of disappointment. They have walked more miles than I can even comprehend. I recently read a story that I want to share.....
The marks of a Man
As I jumped on board my flight from Miami to Salt Lake City, I paused for a moment to catch my breath. Seated near the front of the plane was an excited young man, probably 19, sitting with his parents. His hair was short and his clothes new and sharp. His suit was fitted perfectly and his black shoes still retained that store bought shine. His body was in good shape, his face clear, and his hands clean. In his eyes I could see a nervous look, and his movements were that of an actor on opening night.
He was obviously flying to Utah to become a missionary for the Mormon Church. I smiled as I walked by and took pride in belonging to this same Church where these young men and women voluntarily serve the Savior for two years. With this special feeling, I continued to the back where my seat was located.
As I sat in my seat, I looked to the right and to my surprise, saw another missionary sleeping in the window seat. His hair was also short, but that was the only similarity between the two. This one was obviously returning home, and I could tell at a glance what type of missionary he had been.
The fact that he was already asleep told me a lot. His entire body seemed to let out a big sigh. It looked as if this was the first time in two years he had even slept, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was. As I looked at his face, I could see the heavy bags under his eyes, the chapped lips, and the scarred and sunburned face caused by the fierce Florida sun.
His suit was tattered and worn. A few of the seams were coming apart, and I noticed that there were a couple of tears that had been hand-sewn with a very sloppy stitch.
I saw the nametag, crooked, scratched and bearing the name of the Church he represented, the engraving of which was almost all worn away. I saw the knee of his pants, worn and white, the result of many hours of humble prayer.
A tear came to my eye as I saw the things that really told me what kind of missionary he had been. I saw the marks that made this boy, a man. His feet - the two that had carried him from house to house, now lay there swollen and tired. They were covered by a pair of worn-out shoes. Many of the large scrapes and gouges had been filled in by the countless number of polishings.
His books - laying across his lap were his scriptures, the word of God. Once new, these books which testify of Jesus Christ and His mission, were now torn, bent, and ragged from use.
His hands - those big, strong hands, which had been used to bless and teach, were now scarred and cut from knocking at doors.
Those were indeed the marks of that man. And as I looked at him, I saw the marks of another man, the Savior, as he was hanging on the cross for the sins of the world.
His feet - those that had once carried him throughout the land during his ministry, were now nailed to the cross.
His side - now pierced with a spear. Sealing his gospel, his testimony with his life.
His hands - the hands that had been used to ordain his servants and bless the sick were also scarred with the nails that were pounded to hang him on the cross.
Those were the marks of that great man.
As my mind returned to the missionary, my whole body seemed to swell with pride and joy, because I knew, by looking at him, that he had served his Master well.
My joy was so great, I felt like running to the front of the plane, grabbing that new, young missionary, and bringing him back to see what he can become, what he can do.
But would he see the things that I saw, could anyone see the things I saw? Or would he just see the outward appearance of that mighty elder, tired and worn out, almost dead.
As we landed, I reached over and tapped him to wake him up. As he awoke, it seemed like new life was entering his body. His whole frame just seemed to fill as he stood up, tall and proud. As he turned his face towards mine, I saw a light about his face that I had never seen before. I looked into his eyes. Those eyes, I will never forget those eyes. They were the eyes of a prophet, a leader, a follower, and a servant. They were the eyes of the Savior. No words were spoken. No words were needed.
As we unloaded, I stepped aside to let him go first. I watched as he walked, slow but steady, tired but strong. I followed him and found myself walking the way that he did. When I came through the doors, I saw this young man in the arms of his parents, and I couldn't hold it any longer.
With tears streaming down my face, I watched these loving parents greet their son who had been away for a short time. And I wondered if our parents in Heaven would greet us the same way. Will they wrap their arms around us and welcome us home from our journey on earth? I believe they will. I just hope that I can be worthy enough to receive such praise, as I'm sure this missionary will.
I said a silent prayer, thanking the Lord for missionaries like this young man. I don't think I will ever forget the joy and happiness he brought me that day.

That's some Burger!

Have the pleasure of taking your son and his comp to Fuddruckers.  He is healthy, looks good, upbeat, and and anxiously engaged in the good cause.  He says he misses your Parmesan Chicken.  Thanks for rearing an honorable young man.  Best regards, Chuck and Ellen Lundberg, Belmont Ridge Ward

I love when I open my e-mail up in the middle of the week, and I get a little surprise picture of our boy! He looks Healthy and very Happy. I am so grateful for wonderful Members of the Church who take good care of our Missionary and make sure that he is well fed!

10 Lessons this week!

So this week has been another crazy one! We found a new investigator
named ryan who is a super solid guy. He is 18 and is headed off to
college soon. He came to church with us yesterday and said that he
really liked the classes and that he was able to ask questions, and
get answers. He really liked how humble our church buildings are
compared to those in Catholicism. We are going to get him in touch
with missionaries in Charlottesville where he is going to college and
keep in contact on Facebook.

We had one of our investigators who has a baptismal date not show up
so we are going to have to push that back. When you move it once then
its easier to move it again, and we don't want that. Hopefully we can
see what happened and resolve any concerns he has.

We taught a total of 10 lessons this last week. That is really good
compared to all of my other areas. So i remember when i was in the
Ashburn ward that i used to talk to the elders serving here and they
didn't have anything going on. Its amazing how an area can turn
around. Hopefully it continues on that trend. Its exciting to actually
see some success.

So today in my 11 month mark!!! I have 13 left, and Spencer hits his
13. So crazy to think that it has been over a year since i have seen
Spencer, and almost a year since i have seen the rest of you. Crazy
how fast the time has gone, and i think that it will only get faster.
As you guys have said, I feel like i was just barely writing
yesterday.

Today we are probably going to go play basketball. Its been a while
since i have so it will be fun. Good stress reliever. Our last p day
we rode our bikes to Herndon. Thats about 10 miles down one of the
bike paths. We went and had lunch with some other elders and just hung
out with them for the day. I need some communication with other
missionaries. In all my areas i have either had roomates, or other
elders living in the same complex. Not here, just us.

Makes me a little crazy. Especially when i am frustrated at my comp i
cant talk to anyone else. But i guess that i am working to overcome
that. I think i just have to not let the little things get to me. Just
keep working, and push through it!

Im glad you guys had fun at the reunion. I bet it was a little
different that a bunch of the older cousins weren't there. Hopefully
they still had fun without us.

I love you guys so much! Ill let you know if i need anything!!

Love your son,

Elder Blake Laing