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Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Mission Letter Week 15 - 28 October 2013

Dear Family:

B. IS NOW A MEMBER!! WOOP! He also got the Priesthood yesterday AND a home teaching route!! :D He lives in the LLA Ward though so we won't see him very often. :( Transfers ARE tomorrow, but we were called Saturday so now we know what is happening.........duhn duhn DUUUHHHNNN!!! So Elder N is going ZONE LEADER!!!!! WOOO!!! He was District Leader this last transfer so he got “promoted”. Hahaha! I am STAYING!! :D AND.......I am training a brand new missionary!!! Wut iz dis. It must be an inspired decision and someone else better know what's going on 'cuz I have NO clue! :O  I'm pretty excited though! :)

We will be dropping J. by Wednesday or Thursday if we cannot make any progress with him. He's too much of a mooch and boozer to work with. He needs a counselor. BADLY.  But it is sad to see that he doesn't have any desire to change. We will try to stay in touch with him and if he turns around then great... but till then, we need to focus on the people that are ready NOW. Speaking of now, R. is getting (being ordained to) the Priesthood soon, has already begun his family history work and is DYING to get their temple work done! He is waaayyy too cool. We need a hundred R's and B's. They are just awesome. And we are allowed and ENCOURAGED to stay in touch, so I'll still hear from B. occasionally! And of course, I see R. 2-3 times a week.


G.! G. is cool. I don't remember if I have talked about her yet or not but we met her a couple weeks ago and set a baptismal date right away! She is a black lady from Belize and speaks English, Spanish, and Korean, in that order….Daaannngggg! And the dog speaks Spanish....yep. So we have been teaching her and she is still on track to get baptized by November 23!! Which is totally awesomesauce! And Her granddaughter has been reading the Book of Mormon to her a bunch...we may start teaching her too if she would stop running away every time we show up.  .__.   It's like they think I'm gonna bite or something, sheesh.

There is also C., and her elderly mother, A..  C.'s sister’s kids...so her nieces and nephews, are members we found out! And her father, whom we gave a Priesthood blessing to, has recently passed away, so we have been helping them whenever and however we can as well as teaching them when the moments allow. They'll be baptized. I know it. It's just going to take time. They are willing, they just have to take the right steps. And they are, slowly.

As for A., we had to drop her because she kept avoiding us...? I don't even know. So we had to stop going by. Sad face.

That's pretty much all the people that are progressing so far. We are still contacting people like crazy.

I'm glad you guys liked the gifts!! :D I was talking to Elder A about good places to shop and he had found a cute antique store with AWESOME stuff in it!! I might go back there for myself sometime! :D But I am glad that you like them. :)

Sorry for the plumbing problems!

And yes! I love getting updates about other missionaries! It's good and APPROVED reading material! Keep ‘em coming!!

Why do my baptismal pants not fit? BURGERS. DABURGERS. Hahahaha! But really now...I'm just too fat. ;D Would you prefer that I send them back or just donate them?? Put that answer in the letter you send snail mail. :) I like those letters by the way, they make me super happy!


My shoes are EPIC. I could not ask for better ones, the other missionary was just trying to get rid of some shoes so he just gave them to me! FREE SHOES!

Emily, I am so excited for you to be going into Young Women's and having that experience in your life! :)  It's gonna be awesome, and you are gonna be awesome!! I love hearing from you every week, so don't miss a week! ;)

Braaky, I have actually thought a little about where I'd live after the mission (don't worry, I am focused on the work and I'm not "trunky"!) And I may very well stay in the same ward. It's really one of the best places, now that I have seen other wards and places. I may check out others as well but it's looking likely that I'll stay local. ;) Okay, back to work.

GO CARDINALS!!!!!! back to work again...

J IS DATING K!??!?!?! WUUUTTTTT!!!! back to work....

Ds ARE GRANDPARENTS!!!!!????!!?!?!?!?!?

D GOT HIS CALL?!?!?!?!?

BAAACKKK TOOO WWWOOORRRKKK! :)

But for really reals, I have to go soon. I will send some pics in an email after this :)

~ Elder Nine



My costume! :D I thought it was clever, if last minute. We didn't have time for anything else. Haha!


R and I as we go into the Family History Center at the Stake Center! So there he is!!


The haircut I gave to Elder N with the cutters we borrowed from Elder A. :D NICE!!!


Us goofing around mid-haircut! :D


Emily inspired us, so we carved some pumpkins!! :D  Mine is on the right, and N's is on the left.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Mission Letter Week 14 - 21 October 2013

Hey guys! :)

Everything is going super awesome!! SO first of all, B has been officially referred over to the Ward that he lives in. He was going to move over into our boundaries but plans changed, sooo that was super sad. But he is getting baptized and confirmed THIS WEEKEND!!! :D And he is so totally gonna make it, not even an issue. He's already been interviewed and everything so it is SET! We called him and his wife last night to see how the new Ward was and just make sure they made the switch okay and he was SO COOL ABOUT IT! He's not even a member yet and he's talking about how he wants to do his part to roll up his sleeves, get to work and help strengthen the Ward!! WUT!! He is SO COOL! :D So even though he can't be going to our Ward on a regular basis, and however sad that may be, we are so insanely happy for the choices he made and the life he is now living. :) Elder N and I cried last night, just about when we were talking to him (B) and he was saying how happy he was that we had been the ones to teach him and most importantly, how happy he was that he has made this choice. He has already felt how very right it is for him and he loves it. And we love him. SO MUCH. I had no idea you could love another person SO MUCH when they're not even related to you. We were just so happy last night and all day today. :)

So that's the news on B. :) I believe I sent you pics of him and his wife with us and the S's right? HOLY COW the S's are so cool. I think I already talked about them but they are worth repeating about. :) Sister S is Brazilian and makes my favorite food out of all the people in the whole Ward. :D SO GOOD!! And Brother S is just a way chill guy and they are both such a huge help in teaching people, befriending them and making them feel like part of a family. AWESOMESAUCE.

R is doing very well still too and should be getting the Priesthood either this or next Sunday! And he is also starting Family History work and temple work! WHAT A STUD!! He's so completely cool. :) I'll get a pic with him this week and send it next P-day! OH and fun fact about R: he spent a few years in the Navy around '94 or something like that...so I thought that was worth mentioning - haha.

To answer some of the questions, being with a companion 24/7 for everything, within sight and sound besides for the bathroom and special interviews...really isn't all that weird, haha. I don't know if I just got used to it really fast or just hung out with the guys back home too much but it just seemed normal right off the bat. I think starting off being comps with Elder C really helped too. We had an instant connection that cannot be broken. Ever. Yep, lots of love right there. Maybe a bit bromantic. haha!

I got the letter on the 19th so about three days...not too shabby! (Mom asked how long it took to receive letters)

I haven't been able to talk to the Zone Leaders about Skyping yet but I will try to find out in the next week or two.

By the way, I don't think the white baptismal pants are gonna work out after all...what should we do about that?

I DID GET A COAT! I LOVE BURLINGTON COAT FACTORY!!!! :)  I got like, a Perry Ellis or something that is apparently worth a lot and a Polo sweater for under $100!! Wadduuupp. Oh, and the jacket, the Perry Ellis one, came with a super soft scarf. :) Lots of happy.

Transfer meeting is a week from tomorrow but I will most likely be staying and training a new missionary.… “no big deeeaalll”. YIKES! And Elder N will most likely be going ZONE LORD....Sorry I meant Zone Leader. :P He'll do great too I'm sure. President has been calling less and less experienced missionaries to have leadership positions because we quite simply don't have the time these days to be taking it easy. They make you grow up fast here if you haven't already. It will be a good thing for everyone though I think.

(In reference to the Halloween costume on Bob that he won “Scariest Costume Ever” award at our Ward Fall Festival) Daddy, only you could pull off a scary Pooh Bear! ;) And I think BD was very right about what he said! Haha! But I love the costume and Emily did an AWESOME job on the ears!

Emi, it sounds like you had a ton of fun with the party then, and all the dressing up!! We are going to a party this Saturday and I'm going as..... a missionaryyy!! OOO super scary!! Hahaha! Just kidding...but we hope to be able to dress up a little bit at least. That'd be fun!

'SCUSE ME!!! My sister is not old enough to be doing this "growing up" nonsense (and going into the Young Women’s program at Church for 12-18 year olds)!! NO MAM! Nuh-Uh!! That is so crazy cool awesome Emily!! BEEHIVE TIME WOOP! (Beehives is the nick-name for the 12-13 yr. Olds) That is uber exciting for you! :)

And it sounds like you are really enjoying SCONT and MCO Choir and all your other awesome things! I'm glad it's going good for you there!

I love the pictures guys. :) I'll send some too in just a bit. I BROUGHT MY CAMERA THIS TIME!! Brother M is super awesome here at the Family History Center and texted me to remind me this time LOL! I'll put in a pic of him too. :P

Well, the work here has been picking up and we are finding lots of people to teach who really care about what we have to say and who are ready to make commitments with their Heavenly Father, so we will be seeing some good progress soon! I'm gonna end here now and start sending pics! :)

~ Elder 9
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This is my beautiful self :D Selfie!



Here is Elder N during a long day of weekly planning. :D


A letter we pinned on our wall that a little girl, Camille, in our Ward, gave us after we went over and cleaned up their back yard. Her mom is recently divorced and has been really busy so we helped her with some things that she couldn't do, like the yard and such. :) Lots of good service!


Some shoes another missionary gave me. :D


This is Brother M who comes in EVERY Monday with the missionaries to help them out and keep an eye on them for emails at the Stake Center. :) He is COOOLLL! We all love him a ton!


L-R: Elders N, M, A. Elders M and A are in the LV Ward. :)  This is N sitting on my bike and not being able to touch the ground.... He's a little short. :D


This is me wearing the watch Papa gave me. :D  If you can get that to him somehow, that'd be cool. :P


This is my old injury. :D  it's all gone now but this is what it used to look like. :)
That's all for now.

Till next week!

Elder 9

Monday, October 14, 2013

Mission Letter Week 13 - 14 October 2013

B SET HIS BAPTISMAL DATE FOR "xxxx" !!!! WOOHOO!!!!
BUT... Sad news is, he lives in the LLA Ward boundaries so we have to refer him over there and get him in that ward. We would have done it sooner but we, he and J included, thought they were going to move into our ward boundaries until about two or three days ago :P BUT! He's totally on track and is WAY converted and knows that he is doing the right thing :))) We are SOOO Happy!!!!!!!!!!!

WHEW! Got that off my chest. Been wanting to tell you guys that since the day he set the date!!

Sister L , you are awesome. Quite simply the best. :) I love you so much and I thank you for helping me and my family, and showing the love I know you have! I'm sad I never made it to your baptism, I really wish I had. But life is life and we take it as it comes. Keep being your awesome self and going strong! Love you!

We went over to the C's again and had some SUH-WEET Carna Asata ("Carne Asada") ...if I spelled that right...IT WAS SO GOOD! and we have started a new "dinner lesson" with all our members and they were the first ones we shared it with. It's our Title of Liberty Message....It's like, totally legit and all that. >:)

Orli is HUGE!!! :D SO CUTE!!!!!

Okay, I'm sorry but I have to skip over the rest now, and to reply to the letter I got this week:

 I LOVED the pics of Elder R...I might write him a short one after this... :) and the platform 9 3/4 was AWESOME!! And the picture of Brother R. was HILARIOUS!

Elder S is in our District!! His comp is Elder F, who is in his last transfer. And I know Elder O, he used to be in our Zone, last transfer, but he got transferred out. He's pretty hilarious. He made a little goofy dance and we all do it and call it the O. hahaha!

That's so insanely cool of you guys as far as the suit goes!! Don't worry about getting a bunch of money in fast, I still have to find a suit and get it sized and then pay, so no biggy! I bought a sweater today though because its SUPER COLD!! Just an affordable gray v-neck from Target. IT IS SO SOFT. And for the shirts, I'm totally fine with what I have so no worries. And the Van Heusen from the distribution center will actually be just fine too. Once I washed and dried it, it fit very nicely! Sooo, if I could get one more, just sometime in the future for when I get my new suit that'd be swell, so I don't have to wear the same shirt with both suits...that'd be nasty...bleh.

Sister S is going to Guatemala!! WOOP! Tell her congrats for me and to pretend I gave her a big hug!! :D That is so awesome!!! She's going to be an amazing missionary and invite EVERYONE to get baptized. :)

Elder R  TOO!!! Too cray cray. Too cray. I met J while doing swing for Jubilee along with all my other Jubilee friends from Allen. I think he moved away though...But still, he's gonna be awesome too, over in Brazil.

And A coming home makes me feel reeeaaalllyyy weird...that means I'm really not all that far off my self. NOOOOOO!!!!

OH OH OH!!! Elder N and I both know K...Sister M, I mean...and the Es, K and B, we know the S's, S  and his family, and a bunch of other homeschooling families!! We wrote a letter to Sister M in the same envelope...that'll be fun for her to open. haha! So, yeah, crazy stuff over here on the west side of the tracks.

This week has been picking up a little bit and we contacted a lot more people. J is still where he's been the whole time. We are going to be giving him an ultimatum pretty soon and either he makes progress, or we'll have to drop him...we really want him to progress though, cause we HATE dropping people. No fun. BUT! On the plus side of things, we found G, an amazing woman!! She is elderly and from the British Colonies in Central America! How cool is THAT? Pretty stinking cool. We set a baptismal date with her right away and taught her the restoration and have met with her one other time to just see how she is doing. She's super solid and loves it when we stop by. Her son, G, takes care of her and her niece is there often as well so we are hoping to involve them as well very soon. WOOP! They are really really nice people, and a lot of fun to talk to.

I didn't know you could pray every 15 min in a day, but we do, quite literally, everyday. Seriously, FIFTEEN MINUTES. And in between we are still praying silently ALL the time!! And then BOOM. Miracle. just like that. I love my job.

Okay that's all I got this time. I'll be sending a package home very soon, in the next day or two...hopefully today. So happy birthday to the girls! >:)

Love you guys!!

Elder Nine

P.S. If you just happened to send Nutella I would NOT complain...Just sayin'.... :) BYE!

Could you find out what Elder R's email is and put it in my contacts for next week?? THANKS!!!!! :)

~ Elder Nine

Hey guys! Here are some pics of Elder N and me with B, his wife J and the S's. :D B and J are the younger couple. Sister S is Brazilian and makes AWESOME Latin food! >:) WOOOOPP!!! We are in the S's home and just finished dinner and teaching B. :)





Monday, October 7, 2013

Mission Letter Week 12 - 07 October 2013

Soooo I realized something. Emily's initials are E9......Now mine are the same, for “Elder 9. >:)  So it’s E9 squared!

As far as the texting language, it's totally fine. I do want to get better about it so no worries at all. I'm just sometimes in a small rush to get everything out and so it gets a bit sloppy. Oh well!

Emi, that is awesome that you taught yourself to play a song! I like doing self-taught although it can help if you have someone helping you along too...but yeah, that's greatness! Keep it up!

As far as my reasons for eating healthier and what Brother M. told me, he basically clarified that the Word of Wisdom includes anything harmful...and had me think about it, putting all my desires and cravings aside. That following P-day I bought lettuce and watermelon for my main food source, haha! It actually feels really good too and I have way more energy now! It's like Meshack, “RadioShack” and “To-bed-we-go”...... Now that's funny right there. So the reason why is because I'm trying to take better care of my temple. And I have some work to do...

I like the swapping SD cards idea. *Jack Black voice from Nacho Libre*: Is goood. Is really goood.

FAMILY PICTURE!!!! People bein’ jelly of my family. YUH. You guys look so good!! And yes, daddy looks goofy...but that's normal. :P

B LOVED General Conference (I'm saying GC now cause that took way too many tries to spell) and we are meeting on Wednesday night to talk to him and possibly set a DATE!!!! WOOO!!!!!! SO EXCITED!!!!

We are also teaching J....who is always super drunk .__. but last time we taught him we committed him to live the Word of Wisdom and took all his alcohol from him...with his permission of course. I felt like a total sinner with it all in my bag until we dumped it. Yeesh. The bottles themselves are possessed of evil spirits, no lie. You feel SO BAD. Even though you are dumping it and by doing so, helping someone... so hopefully he will not go and buy more.... ‘cuz if he does we'll have to take that too. oi.

R...We need a lot more R's...like a whole ward of them. Whoa. That would be REALLY weird...never mind about that. But he's doing super well, and his family has been really nice about it all and we talk to them all the time...potential? YUS. So we may be able to work with them through R and his pure awesomeness! No pics again cause I didn't bring my camera... MUH B. But you'll get some soon enough when we swap cards! Although I'll still send pics over email, if I can remember to bring the silly thing.

Transfers are 3 weeks from tomorrow. A transfer is every 6 weeks, soooo yeah. And I'll keep you posted if and when I am transferred.
When Elder N realized that we both knew M, now Sister M and the family, we about lost it...no, we lost it. The S.  Elders that live at the C's with us were looking at us and Elder P was like "that's cute." haha! So that was an awesome moment!!!

And YES he was homeschooled!! So we are fellow homeschooled Texans!! HOW. COOL. ARE. WE. Pretty cool, I'm tellin’ you.

As far as GC goes.....MEMBER MISSIONARY WORK! Every other talk was about it, for reals! Also I noticed a lot of focus on the sacred role of womanhood and the important role of a Priesthood holder. WOW. They were not shy this time. We need to really make sure we show respect for those things. And members just need to freaking talk to people!!!! DO IT!!!! And that's what I mostly got out of it...

Daddy, my favorite quote? I don't remember which Gen Authority said it, but I took a note of it in my notebook, and he quoted what is now another favorite scripture of mine. Fear not, Only Believe. (Luke 8:50 - “But Jesus hearing it, answered him, Fear not: only believe, and she will be made whole.”)

SOOO. This week has been super slow too. LAME. We had to drop a lot of our investigators because they were just not progressing AT ALL and had no desire to. And so we are pretty much teaching B and J twice a week...........and knocking doors. BUM. However we are trying to get the members involved by inviting them to invite their friends to do family history work. >:)  We are working with the Ward Council on it and are hoping to see results in the coming weeks. Other than that, not much has really happened. I know. LAME.

As for the shirts, I will look around for some good deals, but honestly, what I'm going to need more, is a cold weather coat, and very possibly another suit. I totally understand about the money, don't stress over it at all. The reason I would need another suit is, since we are state-side, we can go to a lot more training meetings and such, so I am wearing a suit 2-4 times a week, all day long and it's kinda hard to do that with one suit....sorry if that's a tough one :/ I wish I wasn't pulling more funds from you guys. Let me know what you think I should and can do.

I also wish I had more to talk about, this week has just been really slow. I love you guys! Take care. Godspeed.

- Elder Nine

(Note: Just in case anyone is thinking Elder 9 only has one suit to wear, you’re right! ;)  However, he has plenty of slacks and shirts too. But they aren’t actual “suits”, which is what he needs for training and other “meetings”.  Looks like he’ll soon have at least 1 more suit!) ;)