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Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Mission Letter Week 75 - 22 December 2014

Second to last letter of the year!! This is crazy....seriously.

I have not gotten any packages yet :( ….. buuut I know I will be Skyping at 2pm here so 4pm your time… get ready!!

The Meadows Ward is great.  I am just sad to not be spending Christmas in Tierra Bonita Ward with the L's and the D's. >:( But hearing that from J is a good boost. :) I'm going to go back after my mission, hopefully, to see them get sealed. :) They invited me to that!

Elder Angus is a pretty cool kid!


I'm in a car area again, senior companion. I’m at the point where there aren't many people that can be my senior comp. Talk about strange.

The area is pretty good, with some decent potential but the guys before us didn’t work… at all ...so there's only one investigator right now we are working with, J. His parents are converts. They are very supportive and things are going well but he suddenly dropped his baptism date cause he "didn't feel like it”.  So we'll need to give “a little kick in the pants” to wake him up again as it were haha. Other than that we are just going to try to pick up investigators that were dropped because the guys before us just didn't want to teach them... yep ... that happened. So hopefully nothing is damaged there, as far as the relationship with the missionaries goes...We shall see, we shall see!

Love you too, Emi! Talk to you on Christmas!

Braky! Good to hear about the C's! They are super awesome. :) Cute pic of Emi and Orli too! She's gonna be huge when I get back! Both of them will be so very grown up. It's crazy what you miss in two years.


HILARIOUS picture at K's as well! Well, at least JK is looking rather humorous, LOL. Good family photo though. :)

And thank you for the message from Elder Ballard, too (below). It is so very true. Even if it's not an addiction.

Gotta bounce!

Love you guys! Talk to you at 4pm your time on Christmas!

~ Elder 9






He receive #1 of 3 Christmas Care Packages we sent!
Many thanks to Sister S. who received this and made sure he got it!
We are SO THANKFUL for local residents who help us out so much!




WOOHOO!!

Just heard Elder Nine got the other two packages too!

HE'S ALL SET FOR CHRISTMAS NOW! YIPPEE!!!

I LOVE MY BOY!!!

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Mission Letter Week 74 - 15 December 2014

Hey guys!!

I’m sorry emails have been rushed lately and it’s going to be today even more so due to transfer calls being on Sunday night and us having to uproot in a short period of time. You asked how I feel about it.......NOT HAPPY.  I'm actually quite frustrated at the whole thing.  Just as I settle in for Christmas they yank me out.  Bad mood, bad day. >:(  I'm still trying to just trust in the call, but it's hard when it actually feels like it's the wrong thing to have happen. So just trust, trust, trust.

(Elder Nine is learning a hard but valuable lesson which all of us disciples of Christ learn: sometimes it's hard to follow the Savior when what He is asking of us goes against our personal wishes. But Elder Nine is also showing great spiritual maturity in doing his best to align his will with God's. We pray and trust he will be blessed in this effort. While the world tells us to do whatever we want, we know that we are best served by following our Savior.) :)

On that...

EMILY!!


How the heck was the DMCO concert?!?! I saw some pics and it looks like it went REEEALLY well!! :D I'm excited to hear all about it!

Mama,

THE V FAMILY!! Tell them I love them and I can't wait to one day have more guac! :D (Brother V makes some of the BEST guacamole I've ever had! :3 )

I'll do as you asked with the mailing info. :)

This last week has been a lot of fun and has been really good for the area. E is getting closer to baptism, though still hasn’t made it to church. M (whom I don’t remember if I told you about, a new investigator,) is ready for baptism already and O we finally had a lesson with and set a baptismal date with him as well.... and then transfers. >:(  Another reason to be unhappy… but I'll try to stay focused on the good. :)  Elder Petersen and I have had a swell time together in this great ward. Reminds me of P5. Great work and great memories, great Petersons(sens) :)

I wrote you a snail mail and sent it a few days ago so you should get it soon. 


I was wondering if you could send me one of the Christmas CDs again? I accidentally broke the one with Pentatonix and Piano Guys on it. :( And I was wondering if you could include the whole new Pentatonix Christmas album ‘cause I heard they have an entire album now. :) (If it's appropriate)

I AM SO EXCITED FOR SKYPING!! This time I'll be by myself, instead of like how I did it with Elder Peterson in P5. :P Speaking of that, at the Creche, I saw a bunch of people from RV Ward and P5! Like Sister H, the M's (the folks we skyped at when I was with Peterson), the G's and a bunch of others! :D It was great to see them.

I love seeing pictures of my parents together like this. :') It just makes me so happy to see how blessed I am and my family, to have grown in the gospel, and be so strong together!

And the concert pics look incredible! I soooo want to see a solid choir performance again one day!

Emily is turning into QUITE the young lady!! If I come back and there is talk of boys, I’m buying the Brooklyn Smasher by Cold Steel........which is basically an indestructible baseball bat. >:)

(What's with boys and violence??) ;-P

Braky,


Good questions. It is sad to see missionaries go home sad. Many times it shows they didn’t really grasp the message of the good news. 'Good news' being another translation of the word 'Gospel'. :)

"Don't look back, leave it all on the track!"

I am happy to be here. To be a messenger of peace and joy. Of Christ.

I love you guys dearly. Can't wait to see you on Skype! :D

~ Elder 9


P.S.
Pics are in the Dropbox - the older couple we are with are the D's. He is the Ward Mission Leader here. AMAZING man. And she is incredible too. I love them both a ton. They will most likely call you sometime just to talk with you. :)






"Don't look at the weeping angels!" haha!






The brother in this picture below shared the following message with me on Facebook:
"Mrs. Wagner-Nine, Your son is a very unique and destined individual. He has strong leadership potential, is relatable to just about any situation and is one of the most genuine men I have had the privilege of knowing. He has made a lifelong friend here and can call upon me for support anytime, anywhere and for anything. Thank you for raising such an amazing person."




These silly Elders! :)




Photos from Transfer Meeting where Elder Nine said goodbye to Elder Petersen, his 8th companion, and hello to his new and 9th companion, Elder Angus.











This is Brother W. on the right in the picture below. Elder Nine served in this Brother's ward at the beginning of last summer and they got to know each other.
He is a dear new friend, who was patiently waiting for Elder Nine to finish the conversation before he approached him to give him a extra tight hug which I (Elder Nine's mom) had asked him to please give my son. He was kind enough to do it. The following picture brought me to tears.




Thank you, Brother W.!! 

Merry Christmas to me! :)





Heehee! Sometimes we moms feel like we're playing "Where's Waldo?" when we see so many wonderful missionaries all in one room, as we search front-back-side-side for our missionary!
So thankful for the people who send us photos!
And all their Christmas packages are waiting for them on the stage from their families! :)


Packing up to go to their new areas


 




This photo below was taken last summer, but was not shared until recently.
It is Elder Nine and his whole Zone at the time.


GOLLY GEEZ, I MISS MY BOY!

But I would not want him anywhere in the world right now, but where he is!
We are so proud of him for giving his mission his all, serving with all his heart, might, mind, and strength. 
He is such a blessing to our family.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Mission Letter Week 73 - 8 December 2014

Hallo!

Sooooooo IT'S FREAKING DECEMBER. It doesn't really feel like it here though, haha. It’s still in the 60’s-ish...though it does get down to the 50's and 40's at night, which can be nice. :)

We started reading the Christmas Advent book right on time, Elder Petersen and I.  IT'S SOOOOO FUNNY!! We are so tired at night and so when I'm reading in my "dramatic voice" (learned, of course, from my dear father) I'll mess up or something sounds funny and we just DIE laughing! XD We've been having a blast with that, as a way to wind down at night. :)


Speaking of Christmas, I thought of a present you could send to me… maybe even before Christmas...my Capo. :D There are plenty of people with guitars, but they usually don't have capos, haha. So if you threw that in the package or something like that, that would be so awesome, my face would just fall off!

YES! Elder Petersen and I helped out with the Creche and it was SO COOL!! We helped set up the decorations mostly...like the big ones.....liiiike the 12-15 ft tall tree and all the tables and other such things. All the manual labor stuff. :D My specialty! And we went to see some of the performances as well! Like The Sunday Night Singers (or something like that) who were BEAUTIFUL!! They were soooo good it would make you DROOL. From your MOUTH! Yep. And there was a Jazz Ensemble on Saturday night!! OH MY HECK it was all I could do to not grab someone and start A SWINGIN'!! They were crazy good too. :P There were many others too! All in all, the whole weekend has been magically delicious!

I did get to see the 1st Presidency Christmas Devotional and I loved it! :) I always enjoy the Christmas devos and the Spirit they bring. The Spirit of Christ!

Well, this last week has been fun with the creche, and we have been just trying to meet with E and J. We finally caught E one evening and started to read the beginning of the Book of Mormon with her and she LOVED it. She keeps saying she will come to church though and then doesn’t! But her friends from church are going to start helping with that. :) And there's also O, who was an investigator before I got here but was sick and/or out of town. So we finally met him a couple days ago and did some service for him. We should be meeting with him this week again. :)

For P-day…specifically today, we are going with the H's to the "Feline Compound" where we will see lots and lots...of (exotic) cats...WOOHOO! We also sometimes go on hikes in the mountains in the Lake LA area… And I cut hair for missionaries... :D I'm doing just fine these days and am enjoying myself very, VERY much. :)

Well, I am short on time today because I'm at the L’s emailing due to the fact that the Church is occupied with Christmas party stuff, so I gotta run now. Have to let the Sisters email, haha. :P

LOVE YOU GUYS!

~ Elder 9 





At the Creche - with some people he helped baptize and whom he loves dearly, and next with his companion - 



 At a member's house - eating ice cream after they fed them dinner.
Missionaries depend on others feeding them dinner. Otherwise they go without.
So if you ever see an LDS missionary, ask them if they have a dinner appointment. If they don't, perhaps you'll be kind enough to consider inviting them for dinner. :)
Our family does tries to do the same.


Some of the exotic cats at The Feline Compound - 


Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Mission Letter Week 72 - 01 December 2014

Happy December everybody! :D


Emily:

DMCO Concert time!! Emi are you excited or what?!?! I love that feeling right before an awesome concert! :D GOOD LUCK ON IT! I am QUITE sure you will do very well. :P Hopefully L can make it to the concert too! I sure wish I could watch it. :)  And yes, I did eat a TON of food!! I had a fun weekend and probably gained 500 pounds!  We actually ate 5 Thanksgiving dinners, and more than 8 desserts over the last 3-4 days.

Braky:

You cooked a Dana Turkey!! WHOOO!! Those things are AWESOME! :D And it looks SOOOO good too.  Sure wish I could sink my teeth into that!

Nice work with the projector stand too. Looks good, and functional. 


Re: "It's not Christmas until somebody cries" family motto:  And here I thought that by being in California, the holidays would have fewer tears in them. 

Cool to hear about the V's. Hopefully they don't leave like the B's did.

Love you too, Brak Brak, and Godspeed.


Mama:

This weekend was awesome. I have consumed so much food these last few days it is absolutely ridiculous!

Yes, we are spreading the cards for “He Is the Gift” around the ward and around our area now. It’s a nice little gift for people. :)

Our main investigators that we are working with are J and E. E has a baptism date for Jan. 17 and J is a brand-new investigator now. We are working with others, but these are the main two that are progressing for reals. :)

I am SO excited for RJ and S! It sounds like they are doing a lot better these days... maybe one day soon they'll hop over to S's and we can all visit. :) We shall see!

Hahaha - the pea coat is just a ‘want’, mainly because my other one is a little big on me now. It makes for a good over coat for my suit though haha. Yeah, I pooh-poohed the idea of buying one before my mission… back when I didn't have your sense of style. I have been paying attention more and thinking of all that advice I ignored over the years and started realizing... dadgum... she's good... So yeah. :) I can get it here, maybe if I slip down to Palmdale, just next door and go to a store down there, which I should be able to do on any given P-day, granted I let my zone leaders know, haha. Again though, just a want. If it’s too much, no worries. I can survive without it.

I already have a pretty good idea who’s home we will be skyping from for Christmas, so no worries there. :)

I love the Thanksgiving picture! :) Looks like a good time with really good people. I’m excited to meet the C family when I get home! They seem really cool. Especially since he was "Superman's body guard"!  That is way cool!

Wow though……. BYU-I just got a lot more attractive….. dadgum… dadgumdadgum.......

I LOVE the picture of Sister Melton!  That is hilarious!! And I very much enjoy the home-y pics of the Christmas decor!  Now to the letter in the mail...

Yep. I am definitely trunky. No doubt about it. But not homesick. There's a difference, at least in my mind. Trunky to me doesn’t really mean I’m sitting on luggage ready to go home because I’m ready to quit. It just means I think about home more and I can’t wait to go back, but I remain focused on the work and it doesn’t get me down at all. :P... Yay!

Wow... that was really cool to hear from Elder Snyder :') That really does mean a lot. We definitely had our downfalls and our triumphs, and I am grateful for what I have learned from him and from serving with him. It was a great time in my mission, and I am glad I showed up for it!

I gotta run now. LOVE YOU GUYS! BYE!!


~ Elder 9 




This photo is of Elder Nine's entire Zone in Bakersfield a couple of weeks ago. It was shared by another missionary's mother.



Monday, November 24, 2014

Mission Letter Week 71 - 24 November 2014

Hello!! Good to 'see' you all again!

I LOVE ELDER PETERSEN! XP We have been having so much fun and things have been working out very well here! We set another baptismal date last sat night with E and she is really excited for it!! It'll be in January because she will be out of town for the holidays, but we are very excited for her!

I am loving this ward and everyone in it. Brother D is our Ward Mission Leader and he and his wife are AWESOME!! They have gone on a couple senior missions and some vacations to the COOLEST places and have pictures all over their house of those places...I wanna do that - :P haha - and Brother D is totally on board and even ahead of the game.

Emily,

Wow, that does not seem like a very nice girl. :( Just keep being nice though and maybe something will come of it! And even if not...her loss, and you are still happy!

Mama,

That is really cool that you got to see N again. I feel like that part is just around the corner for me now! With only 8 months it feels like everything is coming to the finish line at a screaming pace!!! So needless to say, it’s crunch time.

We have some members that I don't really know yet that are feeding us lunch, another for dinner, and another for desert on Thanksgiving Day...lots of food! >:)

For question number 5, I will have to abstain from all the details of complete and utter insanity that occurred on the given days in question and simply leave it at “missionary work” ... :) Basically, all we did was contact "potential investigators" and set up appointments for this week and we also taught a couple of lessons to some investigators. Like E and A. I'm still introducing my self to some people and getting to know the area.

East Lancaster is a lot like the rest of Lancaster. Dirt, dust, cleaner air quality than Bakersfield, happy atmosphere. Middle class-ish, good work, a lot of fun things to do! So yeah...

Sooooooo for Christmas I think I would like one thing..............a pea coat! Or maybe just money to buy one...idk.............but that's all I want. :)  It doesn't have to be an expensive one either. Just from like Burlington or something... :)

I gotta bounce now. I love you guys!


~ Elder 9

Latest photo taken Sunday and shared with us by Sister F, in the Ward Elder 9 is currently serving in, after she read my comment that I was really missing my boy.



How can "just a photo" make a mother's heart so full and happy and fill it with such calming joy?

Monday, November 17, 2014

Mission Letter Week 70 - 17 November 2014

WOW There is a lot to reply to! Hahaha!

I'M BACK IN THE AV!!!!! WHOOOOO!!! I am SO happy! :D AND I SAW B AND J AND S!!!!!!!! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Okay, so when I first got into the area I found out that S. M., S.V.'s sister-in-law, is baptized and in my ward!!! I flipped. And then we had Stake Conference and it totally did not register that B and B lived in Lake LA still and that they would be there at Stake Conference. So I was talking with Elder McKnight and Elder Laubaugh, who are serving in Lake LA, and they said “Hey, hold up, be right back”…. Next thing I know I look up and Elder McKnight says, “Hey, check it out!” And THERE they were!! I literally jumped into B's arms! From that point on I was on the verge of tears for about the next 2 hours. J said she’s having a girl and her name is going to be E.! ( I think that's how you spell it...) And then B. gave a talk and gave me a shout out and I almost cried there too... no... I actually DID cry, never mind, haha. SO I AM IN A GREAT PLACE RIGHT NOW!! :D

After experiencing what I have only heard in stories, that of seeing an investigator, and friend, go from a small testimony to a powerhouse, to see that change and know that I was a part of it...needless to say I was in tears multiple times this last weekend. :') My testimony of missionary work and of my purpose here has been bolstered so much in the last 48 hours. I'm feeling bullet proof!….spiritually. Don’t worry I won’t do anything stupid…..maybe. :P

That is so cool to see Noah home now...weird...but cool. I’m only 8 months away from that. And THAT is REALLY strange. So I'll have to make the best of it while I can. :)

Sounds like Emily had fun at her Focus on the Founders event!! Those are always a lot of awesomeness! :) And the turkey frying sounded like a blast too! I want to have snow SO BAD!! but...no... :(

Onto the questions!

First off, FYI, where I ate in Lancaster, at Tom's, was actually on the West Side of the division and I live on the East Side, in the East Zone. :D

Sister H. and Brother H. are pretty cool btw! :D

Did L. ever send you that picture of us eating at Marie Callender's? Because I asked her to do that for the picture of Elder Parsons and me ...I hope she got it to you. :P

Elder Haubner is one of the new Assistants to the President, so yes, I know him! He is really cool and very nice. Great missionary. He is with Elder Matheny who is also really cool and awesome!

ACCEPT B.'S FRIENDING!!! He is S.'s son... so that makes him S. V.'s nephew...

WOW! That is very sad to hear about L.'s dad! :( IDK what to say about that...but I know that our dinner together was absolutely awesome!! We had a great time and talked about you and her and laughed about the stories you’ve already shared with me...she even talked about the "swimming" late at night you guys would go do - hahaha! It was pretty funny. XD So, all in all it was a very successful and very enjoyable evening! :) And the food was SO GOOD.

SNOW!!! I NEED SNOW!

IDK everybody's name yet so I’ll tell you all the names in the next week or two...but I know my District Leader is Elder Thompson and my Zone Leaders are Elders Carter and Howell. Really good guys.

I love the W.'s and I miss them already! :( Good to hear things are going well though. :)

I miss Elder Norton too. :( It was sad to say good bye to him...but he gave me a tie, so it’s okay - hahaha. :P

I love you guys so much! I gotta run now. Things are very well now and I am loving life back in the AV once again!! I’m going to know this place like the back of my hand by the time I leave! :D


~ Elder 9 





Elder Nine and his new companion, Elder Petersen (We call him Elder Petersen the Second - as he's the second Elder Peters(e/o)n Elder Nine has had as companion. :)
 

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Mission Letter Week 69 - 10 November 2014

Hey guys!!

I didn’t know that Elder Norton went with B and J (to the LA Temple to be sealed for time and eternity)!! That is awesome!! It was most likely his departing temple trip due to the fact that he is going home in a day or so…. AHHHHHH I WISH I COULD HAVE BEEN THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Emily,

That is very sad to hear that Sister B is leaving. :( I'm sure you guys have had a lot of good times together and she will be missed! I hope you get to meet up with her today!! But, it sounds like you are still having fun creating new things and trying new stuff (for Personal Progress)! Keep up the originality! It's a quality few people posses these days.

Those jeans (you drew on) look SWEET!! Kinda creepy with all the eyes...but in a good, artsy kinda way. ;P haha. LOVE ‘EM!!


I gotta go too now. Love you!




Mama,

Good idea, re-reading the letter... I will. :)

I am getting transferred to a car area, as driver, and senior companion! Elder Parsons is also getting transferred. :( We are sad to leave...but he is going car, passenger, Junior comp, so who knows, they may "shotgun" us to the same area!! :D Hope and pray. Haha!

I will mail the (Christmas) stocking…but I need mailing money. :(

I did not get Herdez meals but I'll look into them. :) And, yes, we get Conference edition Ensigns…. I’ve already re-read them all just about now. Hahaha.

We have been in contact with the potentials, the S's, but they are still busy settling in for a few more days (after the move,) so it sounds like someone else will have to take care of that.

I will have a picture with Elder Parsons... at some point… I promise. Haha. We are not in shirt ’n ties right now so when we change today I’ll take a pic!

L and I finally got in touch, with a little help from President, and we are meeting tonight at 4pm at Marie Callender’s!! :D I’m really excited to meet her! :) Normally I would do Mexican food, but we have had Mexican food for every dinner this week, and poor Elder Parsons is still “a little white boy from Cali” (no hate!) and needs some variance. Hahaha! ;)

I cannot WAIT to be able to buy a drink in my new area! :D Hahaha. (Mom's note: this is how I can tell where he is transferred to. Otherwise I wait until next Monday to read it in his email. Tricky, spoiled little Mama!)

Love you too, Mamalama! BTW, did I only post up one video (last week in Dropbox)? Because I took/uploaded two but maybe only one made it up… Lemme know.




Braky!

Hahaha, “creepy funeral pics”!! WHOO! XD Have fun with that! ;) Fun story about the speakers though! And sad to hear Emily won’t be able to go on Trek this time… But that’s okay, she'll get the chance. :)

I can’t wait to be a big boy too, and help out with all that greatness! :D We will get around to it! But time to slam dunk first, haha.

Thank you for all your awesomeness, love, support, and awesomeness… You already know why I said that twice… BRAAAKK!

Take care of business!



So I want to share with everybody the main thing that I have learned this week… That is, no matter what happens, no matter who does or says what, no matter if the world is falling apart… If the Lord wants something done, He is going to make VERY sure that it gets done, and done the right way! Through all of my little and not so little personal experiences, I can testify to you and everyone else, that the Lord is bringing about His great purpose in these last days and we had best be on our A game, because we need to add our part in. The Lord is counting on us to help hasten His work, which as we know is to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”…. Sounds good to me! So perk those ears up and stay sharp. :) Love you all, Godspeed and have a great week! <3

BYEEEE!


~ Elder 9


After quickly replying to him, letting him know that we deposited money for him to mail back the Christmas stocking, and a comment that we love Marie Callender’s, asking him about a Sister there, and letting him know we did see two videos in the Dropbox, he replied:

Sweet beans! I’ll mail as soon as possible… Idk if I will be able to today because we have so much prepping to do for transfers...but I will try. :)

I'm excited to meet L! I’m also really excited to eat at Marie Callender’s for the first time ever! Hahaha. :P

Okay good, I thought I got two videos uploaded there! lol. Sister Hokanson is doing okay these days though. Sister Roberts is really good for her…. Sister Roberts is actually really, really cool!
 

LOVE YOU TOO! I will (keep my A game on)! :)

The photo we shared with Elder Nine so he could at least see this wonderful couple after they were sealed in the temple. THIS is what missionary work is truly for. This is the ultimate end result. 




This Elder got to teach this wonderful brother, and then ultimately attend his Temple Sealing to his beautiful wife. The crowing achievement both for the husband and the missionary!



Photos from the fabulous dinner date with this dear friend and old BYU roommate of mine.
We were roommates for about 3 years.
It is surreal for me to see her sitting next to my son. 
Thirty years ago, who would have ever thought such a thing would have happened!

 





And then, some more wonderful and beloved "new friends" in the Bakersfield mission, who had taken such great care of Elder Nine and really done so much for him the past few months, ambushed the Elders the last night before Transfers with an Oreo Pie!
What sweethearts!! What a tender mercy and blessing in our boy's life and our family's life!  Thank you R&T from the tippy toes at the bottom of our hearts!
Wow! People like this are the ones that really the place of mom and the family and help to bring love and "homeyness" to these missionaries! I'm so grateful and Elder Nine has developed such a sincere love for them. 

SURPRISE!



Sunday, November 9, 2014

Mission Letter Week 68 - 2 November 2014

HI GUYS!!!

So cool story, B AND J ARE GETTING SEALED THIS SATURDAY!!!! B invited me to go, and I'm asking President...though it may not be very likely that I'll actually get permission...but I had to ask! :) BUT THEY ARE GETTING SEALED!!! WHOOO!!! This has been his whole focus since taking the lessons. The entire thing has been about him realizing they have to be sealed, and now it's HAPPENING!!! I'm just sad that I might actually miss it. :’( - I'm SO happy for them! :D Elder Norton is too! haha! He emailed about it when he found out.....WHOOOOO!!!

But moving on from that...

HOLY COW EMILY!! You DO look like you want to kill something (in her Katniss costume)! XD That is LEGIT! Way to flippin' BE! Sounds like your Halloween was waaayyy cooler than mine...I made chili and sat on a couch, after doing a very tiny bit of missionary work, because we had a curfew we had to be in for... LAME!! ;) I'm sorry someone made you feel bad about being slow at the Hunt game. I'll have them know that I happen to be VERY slow at that game too, and upset that they'd get after you over not running as fast as they do. That was very rude. I should be nicer shouldn't I?  Oh well...being hunter is a ton of fun! Although still a lot of running...I think I possibly died a few times while playing the Hunt. But it's all good. :)

Love you Emi! Keep being great!

Mama,

My week has been pretty great. Not much work as far as teaching goes but a ton of service!! We helped at the homeless shelter, we did a lot of stuff for the ward, and helped a couple of potential investigators move across the street among other things!

We did get rain and I totally danced in it!! :D

Haven’t heard from L yet, but still waiting. :)

Thanks for Elder Bevans' email!!

I'm okay on shirts for now, and maybe for the rest of my mission...there is no point in wearing out more shirts since they get dirty and worn out so quickly. I’m still decent looking so I'll just work with what I’ve got. :)

I will get a pic with Elder Parsons for you and send it next week. :)

WHOOO! Wood Badge (in Scouting) sounds like a great next step then! >:) And OA (Order of the Arrow in Scouting) I guess is always an option still...maybe... :)

Glad to hear about more time with Orli! I wish I could see her in person. :3

Braky,

You can't get away from Scouts can you?? ;) That’s good. You do a lot of good there. :D Brother A is a great guy. Love him to death. N IS COMING HOME THOUGH?! Cray. Dat’s cray. Good for them though. :)

I want to share my testimony with you guys that it’s all true. Jesus is the Christ, our Heavenly Father loves us, the Spirit testifies of truth and I know all this BECAUSE of the Holy Spirit. The Lord wants us back...and He's fighting hard. So is the enemy. So let’s stand and fight!

Love you guys! The videos are on Dropbox, and I gotta run now! BYE!


~ Elder 9 



This sweet lady is someone Elder Nine knows well in his ward, but he didn't recognize her dressed up for Halloween as Perry the Platypus, so she was laughing a lot, and after the picture he realized who she was and started laughing a lot too! 


A nice man saw the Elders going about their day and snapped this photo to share with us!
"Hi, Elder Nine!" ;)



Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Professional Photos Just For Mama

There is a kind, generous, and sweet sister that lives in Elder Nine's ward in Bakersfield who agreed to take a picture of Elder Nine for me. I had seen a photo of one of his friends, and like it, and I was kicking myself for not having thought to take a great photo of him prior to his mission (other than the one we took for his mission plaque.)  That was a few weeks ago.

Well, this weekend she took the photo.  Only it was photoS - plural. And since Elders Parsons, Oryang, and Eisele are there too, she snapped some of them as well. The last one posted here actually took my breath away when I first saw it. Not only because it's a great photo, and because of course my son is super handsome ;), but because I really needed it this past weekend too. The Lord has somehow always managed to send me tender mercies right when I needed them most. Those tender mercies pick me up and give me strength to continue on. How grateful I am for a son that has chose of his own will to serve the Lord. And not only did he choose to serve, but he honestly chose to serve with his whole heart, might, mind, and strength. What more could a parent ask? I love that boy of mine so much!








There is something about shoes being worn out in the service of God that tugs at my heart - 
Not unlike "walking as Jesus walked"


What a blessing this son has been to us.

For the photographer's blog, click HERE.

Mission Letter Week 67 - 27 October 2014

Hey Guys!!

Emily!

YOWZA!! You had a crazy fun party!! I wish I could have been there for it! :) But, the work must go on. I love the part where the guy at The Time Machine SHOVED the food up your nose!! That's the kind of stuff that gets remembered over the years. Hahaha. I'll challenge you to another game of Foosball when I get home. ;) Love you Emi! Have a swelltastic kinda week!

Mama,

My talk with President went very well. I LOVE talking with that man. He understood everything on what seemed to be a personal level and then said the exact same thing you guys have said...funny how that works out. So yeah, I'm staying and I'm happy for it too! :D Thank you for all the love, support and guidance in the matter!

That is way cool about Elder Swalberg! I'll have to email Elder  Peterson about that sometime!!

I can't wait to meet LR! I hope it works out soon! Mid-November is when transfers are and there is a decent chance I'll leave...but I might stay in Bakersfield, who knows?!

That letter you sent over DearElder was fantastic, and so very true. We are all given trials or "cups" and we have to work through them to get the blessings and to learn...Sometimes it really sucks, but at least it doesn't suck as much as what Christ had to go through. And then to think that the Man that went through all that and lived, is on my side, trying to help me get through something much smaller. Dadgum, I can do anything with that kind of pro-level help!

I can testify over and over again of our Savior's love for us and His desire to help us because I have felt that on such a personal level that I couldn't deny it even if I got tortured for a million years!!…..Sorry, don't mean to be morbid- haha.

"The heck with everyone else", I quote you, my dear mother. It doesn't matter what others say or how they try to drag us down. I know who I am and what I am here for...you tell me otherwise and I'll tell you where to go stick your nose!! IN THE SCRIPTURES!! Okay, maybe that was funnier in my head...moving on.

Let us drink of the bitter cup.… ‘cause the cake right after will taste SO much better. (I made that one up right there).

Brakster,

Good boy. Do service. Your example of that Christlike service and love has taken me far and is one of my strong points…which, of course, means I wouldn't get "wounded" there (in that area of my life), but that's beside the point. You have taught me well. Thank you for that. Love you!

I'm going to put up pics now!! LOVE YOU GUYS!


~ Elder 9

P.S.
Also the pictures are going up (in Dropbox)…so for explanation, the ones at the park are from right before transfers, (I wish I had time for the videos too, that'll have to be next week though.) The ones at transfer meeting are with Elder Patterson and his mom as he departed the mission and with with Elder Norton because this is his last transfer and I didn’t know if I'd get another chance to say goodbye. :) And then there's some raccoons that we found at night...and that’s not even all of them...there were over 30 of them there I think! O.o
…… the pics are done loading and I have to leave now. LOVE YOU!!!



P-day Time at the Park
(Preparation Day, used for chores, personal shopping, and wholesome recreation time)








Elder Nine had served in the same District as this Elder (below) a year ago, and the two companionships shared the same rental unit. This Elder has just completed his mission and his parents surprised him by arriving at the last transfer meeting. People were wondering why he was hugging this lady for so strongly and for so long, when they are not allowed to hug members of the opposite sex. Turns out it was his mother!
What a joyful (and surprising!) reunion!
(Cannot wait till it's my turn!)


His first companion and trainer!