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Monday, February 23, 2015

Mission Letter Week 84 - 23 February 2015

HOLY SHORT EMAIL. I thought someone died or something!

Hi guys :)

Well this will make it significantly easier (that you sent such SHORT emails to give me more time to write) hahaha. I didn't get this week’s letter yet though, so I will most likely get that today...

GUESS WHAT!?!?! We have two new potential individual/family peeps we are going to be teaching this week! There is T and her family, whom we just found a note of in our records, and then there is S! S we do have higher hopes for, as we have only briefly talked with T…But S is way cool. He's completely blind and has Parkinson's disease, and is probably the most humble man I have ever met! He got kicked out by his Ex-fiancĂ©, who is a less active member, with no testimony, no knowledge of the Gospel (funny how those two correlate) and is totally anti-Mormon…and had all of his stuff thrown out of the house (which wasn't much, as far as what HE owned). Pretty much all he had was a computer, and little desk and a blanket, so he was totally prepared to sleep on the ground outside; but then our High Priest Group Leader, Brother P, (a super hero, btw) helped him to find an apartment, settle in AND found him a decent office chair and a mattress, and a nice lady that sold him the mattress for dirt cheap donated a bunch of dishes and silverware too! So he's much more comfortable now and he was asking questions the entire time (we were there during all of this,) and we basically taught him half of everything we teach just by answering his questions. And he is CRAZY smart too! So needless to say, we are VERY excited to continue teaching him and seeing him progress! He said right away that he wanted to get baptized WHEN he finds that what we teach is true. And he will, because 90% of what he would share with us was perfectly correct, and the other 10% is very minor things. :)

I don't remember if I told you about D yet, but he went back to smoking and isn't going to church anymore. We have gone over a couple of times, the few times he made himself available, and we answered his questions he had concerning a lot of anti crap he ran into (sorry, shouldn't say crap, Sister M doesn't like that XD .....and she also didn't know what "XD" was over text. heehee. You can tell, we love the M's because we're trying hard!) But D hasn't dropped us entirely so we are hoping to see him recover and make his way back. :)

Those are pretty much all the highlights of the past few days/week.




It is so incredible to see people choose, of their freewill, to entirely embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It sometimes can be difficult for people to wrap their minds around the idea that there really is only one and true living Church of Jesus Christ on the earth. It can seem overbearing at times, or forceful, or like a bunch of …. that word Sister M doesn't like... But, when a person, a son or daughter of God, the greatest Being in existence, asks that Great and Eternal Being, their Heavenly FATHER, if that really is the case, if there really is only one true Church and Priesthood authority, and if the Book of Mormon is true, then it really CAN make sense. The Gospel is VERY reasonable. Very LOGICAL. Most importantly, very real and true. I testify of that and bear my witness of it, with my life. Literally. I do it every day, and some people accept that message. Many do not. They have their choice.  Mine is made. I love my Lord and Savior and I will do as He asks of me.  Anything and everything, as I gain a testimony of it.... or TO gain a testimony of it.

I love you guys very, very much...and now...it is picture time! I will email pictures and use Drop Box for a video. :)

~ Elder 9

P.S.
Here is a picture I got on exchanges with Elder Ripa (new DL, MTC BUDDY! :D ) Yes...an elephant bush!!






P.P.S.
Never mind, pics are too big...everything is on Drop Box. The turtle was trying to steal our mail and we caught it red...clawed??















Monday, February 16, 2015

Mission Letter Week 83 - 16 February 2015

Greetings, from the land westward!

Hiya :)

Emily,

The “Fun Run” sounds like a lot of...well....fun :D And I LOVED what you shared about Noah's talk, that was HILARIOUS! XD Thanks for those stories! I love hearin' 'em. Good to hear you're staying busy too. That's one thing I wish I had done on a more regular basis, was stay busy and productive. So make sure you do that, because you'll be grateful for it. :) Gotta keep it short for time…again.  ._. LOVE YOU!





Mama,

That is cool you got to meet the Taylor’s! :)

I cannot wait to see Orli in person! :D Last time I saw her she was TINY. Hahaha.

Still 18.5 neck shirts, but I don’t think I'll need anymore. I'm wrapping up here soon (not too soon, I know) but soon enough to not need more shirts.

I am keeping all my special ties. :D

I will try to get a pic taken with me and my comp like that…. I'll try to make it original too. XD



Braky,

Good report to hear and great advice. You are more than right about that. Gotta keep it short, sorry.

I wanna just say to you guys that HOLY COW I have learned so much thus far on my mission. I still am learning, and I am so grateful to be able to. I have learned that the most important things to have are a testimony of the gospel, the truthfulness of it, the Atonement and our Savior, which will bring a unity between myself and the Spirit. When that happens, the next most important thing is for me to have unity with my companion. Which ties in nicely with Growly Bear’s (Daddy’s) advice! I know I am here to give of myself, my talents and my love, and I am doing all that. I love you guys; thank you for your support. I couldn’t do it without you...for really reals. BYE!

~ Elder 9


P.S.
Here are those pics I talked about last week (burning the shirts and pants for the 18 month anniversary of being in the mission field)… and one of me 'cuddling' with Elder Boy before he got transferred out……..don't ask…..






There was gasoline on the stuff so it went up FAST and it scared the crap outta me ‘cause it's been too long since I've played with fire… another thing I'll have to take care of when I get home. :)





We did this at Bro B's home, a ward missionary, and that's how we got the gas. haha.





 
Mom sent this image above asking how Elder 9’s “Six Months To Sexy” is going (as she sees Taco Bell charges on his debit card). Elder 9’s reply:


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA It’s going okay. XD

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Elder 9 Singing "Samuel The Lamanite"

Video just in! of Elder Nine - he and the other Elder had just finished dinner at a SWEET member's home. Elder Flint offered a spiritual thought and Elder Nine offered a song. Nice, cozy, relaxing, and nice again. Miss this boy of ours!


Monday, February 9, 2015

Mission Letter Week 82 - 9 February 2015

Hello again :) Good to see you...sort of..... :P

Emily,

Woo! Freedom Bowl! That was fun stuff, and it's good to hear y'all did so well too! Of course it's all for fun but it shows you get it when you can do that well :) - which is probably why they do things like the Freedom Bowl and other fun things eh? Whodda thunk?

I did get a picture or so but not on my camera because I forgot it... we had a shirt/slack burning ceremony for both my year and 18 month mark missionary tradition... (note to my dear mother, the shirt I burned actually wasn’t mine, and the slacks had been destroyed already, so no worries, nothing was wasted. :) )
 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This is Elder Angus I am taking over Elder Nine’s computer again. Your son is a great missionary and is a lot of fun to be with.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Now that I have the computer back... :D

It's okay about the whole “Beehive President Assignment" mistake thingy…. it blows over and you learn from it and everybody moves on. :D

Love you!




Daddy-o,

Good to hear the work, in all three areas (work, house and missionary) is going well. :)

Gotta keep it short....lots of people emailing today. Braaaakkkkk!



Marmy,

IDK who you are talking about but we did not meet 7 new people this last week...but that would be nice. :) (Mom’s note: It must have been the other set of missionaries that met them.)

I wanted to take the opportunity to play the gee-tar (and I didn't have my capo) so the G's helped me out with that by letting me use theirs. :)

Sorry I don’t have much time so here is the short and sweet. D still has a baptismal date for march 7 and J is still improving his attitude...we are hoping to set a date with him this week...pray for that.

The pics did come through!! :)

Love you guys! BYYEEE!



~ Elder 9



Brother W. and Elder Nine




 Elder Boy and Elder Nine are gonna miss each other now that Elder Boy is being transferred.





Sister G. found out Elder Nine REALLY REALLY likes chocolate milk, as well as Costco pizza. So guess how she thanked them for being of service to her? Too sweet!







After eating dinner the G's home, Elders Angus, Nine, Horan, and Flint take great and goofy pics.





Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Mission Letter Week 81 - 2 FEB 2015

Hello again!

Funny, seeing me pop up in your inbox on Mondays… almost like a pattern...hmmm.


Emi,

I LOVE the Tennis Shoes Among The Nephites book series!! You will continue to enjoy them for all of ever. :)

Questions?… Answers!
1- I roll my sleeves up usually for things like dinners and working and stuff, and usually have them down for when I am proselyting. But I found out at the beginning of my mission that it is actually NOT a rule, not in the handbook, or president's rules or anything...so it's okay to do, but I do try to keep it only to times that I need to, because long sleeves look classier. :)

2- The tie was made of…………………………………candy!

Woohoo for Beehive President status!!! Hahaha, that's kind of a funny awkward story with 'X'.  XD I love awkward moments!!

I don't think you'd drown if you were baptized (for proxy in the Temple) that many times though... you'd just be happier. :)

I love the Spirit that I get to feel when I go to the Temple. No where else in the whole world can you feel so peaceful and just CALM as when you are in the Temple...It's a really nice change of pace.

I love “The Time Changer” movie. It does teach some very important things. Most important is that we need to include God in EVERY part of our lives...even if society is going downhill, we can still be making right choices. :)

Mama's turn now. LOVE YOU!



Mama,

I am staying with Elder Angus!! :D If I had been transferred I would have been less than pleased... luckily that is not the case.

I will absolutely remember Grandma tomorrow during transfer meeting...well, all day really. :P And I already marked your guys' anniversary on my calendar! :D So I'll do a little party dance move when that day rolls around, haha!

We are SO ready for transfer meeting! And yes Sister Moon is still playing piano, and she added some AWESOME stuff to it so I'm REALLY excited! :D

It really IS fun to see those little lights go on in people’s minds and hearts. I get to see that all the time, except it’s more their spirit that will light up a whole room when they finally catch on, or when I walk in a door, and can tell this person prayed about everything and started to gain his or her testimony. You are right, it is a great experience!

I haven't gotten around to reading the article you sent me yet but I am hoping for tomorrow's personal study to do that, if I can get my other stuff done in time.

D has a baptismal date for March 7th!! WOOP WOOP!!! And J is really picking up the pace and gaining a much better attitude now so we are hoping to see him take that same step!

The G's fell through again but this time it was mostly our fault. Sadly, they can only meet on Sundays so we have to wait another week. :/ But they still want us over, so that's good!

Yes! The north zone had 4 baptisms and I got to speak at one of them (Missionary Moment) and it was great.

Sister Hokanson went home?!?!?! NOT COOL! :((((((((((((((  She was a fantastic person and a great missionary! She will be missed by me for sure, and by a few others I know too. If you get the chance to tell her or her mom for me, tell her that. And that she has friends here that love her!

Crawley is goin' home! Good for him, finishing strong! I'll shoot President Crawley an email then. :)

Good to see my Braky out there working! I'll be there again soon enough, tag teaming like always. :D And funny that you're sore after it too! Good work does that to a man!

Kay, I’m gonna wrap up quick.

And that is awesome about the city council story. :D

Gotta run! Love you guys! BYE!


~ Elder 9 



Elder Nine along with the other three Elders had a delicious BBQ dinner at a kind and generous member's home on Sunday, after which they signed the son's tie (something missionaries do) and ate more homemade Chocolate Chip cookies!
I'm always so thankful for these kind members who take the time to think of the moms back home and send us these treasures. Especially as the missionary starts to 'forget' more and more how to take pictures! Haha.