Week 70

This has been a great past couple days. Thanksgiving was a lot of fun but I'm still feeling the affects of the Turkey Bowl. I am very sore but it was worth it. After we played football we went to Visalia and went to this members house that was huge and we watched the movie 17 Miracles in their theater and they provided a bunch of food so we had it good. We then came back to Exeter and had Thanksgiving dinner with our ward mission leader and his family and it was all really good. On Friday my companions brother who is less active came to visit and he got permission for us to go out to eat with them. We went to this fancy restaurant and they paid for it so that was nice of them but it was super awkward as his brother is like twenty years older than him and  they were struggling to make conversation so a lot of weird silences. The work is good here in Exeter, we have been really busy the past couple days and going from appointment to appointment, if only it was like this all the time! So we started teaching the best person I've met on my mission so far. Her name is Christina and she is 18 years old, and she is from the LA area but we are teaching her because she is staying with her Aunt and Uncle who are members here in Exeter and the reason she came up here was so that she could have the missionary lessons because the environment was not good back home. Her parents came up for Thanksgiving and she was thinking of going back with them but she said that she prayed what to do and she received a strong answer that she needed to stay to have the lessons. Shes been coming the past three weeks to church but we taught her for the first time this past Sunday and she is a true searcher, she knows the scriptures really well and already is a very spiritual person. She wants to meet every other day so that she can get all the lessons before she has to go back to LA in a couple weeks. We have a few other really cool investigators but she is the most promising of the bunch. Can't believe how fast time is going and each week flies by so fast, the days are long, but the weeks are short! Tonight, I'm going to play basketball at the church so that we can get a better relationship with the members and find some new investigators. In Kingsburg we did volleyball every Thursday and we got quite a bit of investigators from it so hopefully can do the same thing here. I know when I was back home I would bring non members to basketball each week and sometimes 15 or so at once and would of been a good for the missionaries but I wasn't too missionary minded back then, I was just thinking of playing basketball! The rest of the week, we just are going to try and find some new people and really work with the members and start teaching their friends and family.

Sorry about the emails being on different days, we sometimes email on Mondays and then sometimes on Tuesday but next week it will be first thing Monday so about 10 my time or else I won't get your email. Thanks for all the emails this week, I was able to read all of them but sorry I don't have time to reply this week.  I wish I could respond to everything but I don't have time and I'm going to try and attach a picture real quick. Love ya guys and miss you.

Week 69

So that's crazy that your getting married Laura!! It was inevitable but still I'm excited. I was excited when I heard cuz I thought the wedding would be in the summer...but it's next month and your stealing my thunder by doing it on my birthday! Although I won't be there I'm super excited for you guys and you will have to send me pictures and all that good stuff. So I'm guessing that you'll be getting married in the Washington D.C. temple?
So I'll give you a quick update on my week, we had four investigators at church and two new ones that have never come before so that was awesome but it wasn't the best Sunday...the first was a youth speaker and I didn't understand a single word because he mumbled the whole time and then the high councilmen speaker talked about scouting for the next thirty minutes and then to make it worse, our lesson in gospel principles was the law of chastity and that was interesting and then the other class was about tithing so not ideal for investigators. I don't know if Christ was mentioned once in all three hours besides in the sacrament prayers which needs to change because that happens all too often. We are having a lesson with them later this week so we will see if she wants to come back, hopefully the spirit touched her in some way. On Monday we had president interviews and that took up our whole day practically but it was good to have a 10 or so minute sit down with President and then Sister Gelwix after that. They are so awesome, I feel really lucky to have them. Yesterday we had Zone Conference and it was amazing, it was all about finding and new methods to find people and they aren't your usual tactics. I found it interesting that the Bishop and the ward are the ones responsible for doing the missionary work in the ward and that the missionaries are only there to assist in finding and teaching but its up to them to accomplish their ward mission plan and goal and not many people know that, they think its the opposite that we are the ones who are supposed to be doing it all and that they help us but that's not true. This is something that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are going to have all the seventies teach in the next coming months to the Stake Presidents and bishops, because the Bishop is the one who holds the keys for finding in the ward area. I've noticed on my mission that members have the wrong perspective of missionary work and they think it is all us doing the work but this is something that we are going to teach the members in our ward. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving so we are going to the Turkey Bowl tomorrow morning and then going to watch a movie at a members who has a super nice house and movie room and then we have a couple meals to go to so it's going to be a great day. This time of year is so much fun and were always busy with something to do. Our investigators right now are still coming to church but they don't want to make that next step so we are going to have to really concentrate on finding these next two weeks so we can set up for December and see some baptisms. That's great news about Kirk, that makes me so happy that he is getting baptized, you'll have to send me a picture of when he gets baptized.  Well I got to get going but I love you and miss you all. I'm so happy for you Laura! That's really exciting news.

Week 68

I forgot to let you know that I was emailing today so sorry about that and next week I will be emailing on Wednesday just so ya know. This has been a different week as I got the flu last Monday and I dealt with it on Tuesday but Wednesday I was plastered to my bed and it was the first day on my mission that I couldn't go out and work so that was disappointing. I still am feeling the effects of it still but I'm pretty much over it now. It was also a little frustrating because we committed six people to baptism but we don't have any right now so we need to find some new people to teach. We were able to get a bunch of people to church again but none want to be baptized yet, they all want to wait a year but were trying to help them realize the blessings that they are withholding from themselves because they want to wait. Yesterday for preparation day we spent it all playing Risk. We started at 11 and didn't end til after 5 so it was awesome, I won so it was all worth the six hours, just don't think we will be playing that for a while. Today we had district meeting and gave some training on being unified through understanding one another and it went well. My companion is great, he is very easy going and a nice person, he just is not sure of himself and can't take charge so that is something I am going to try and help him with. We don't have too much happening this week, just trying to find people to teach and baptize. Next week I will be emailing on Wednesday because next Monday we have President Interviews and then on Tuesday we have Zone Conference so Preparation day will be Wednesday and then on Thursday we have Thanksgiving and we get to watch the movie 17 miracles, I saw it last year but it was good so that will be fun, have you seen that movie? I can't think of too much else that has happened. Well, thats about it, thanks for all the emails and your love and support.

Week 67

It was good to get your emails and hear that Sandy didn't do too much damage in Baltimore and you weren't flooded and still have power. I'm really excited about Kirk getting baptized, Ethan told me that he is planning on getting baptized on November 25 and that the first lesson went well despite kirk being a little nervous and intimidated. There was no news better than to hear that. That's great that he is going to go to BYU I, it makes me want to go there now but I'm still going to submit the application for BYU so that I know if that's an option or not. Thats a good idea to have people over and have them invite their friends, too bad no one except Kirk showed up. So Exeter is awesome, it reminds me exactly of Reedley as we are out in the country by ourselves and its a small town of about 10,000 which I really like. Visalia is just 15 minutes away and thats a big city and has everything that I need like a Costco and Olive Garden and all the good shops. The weather is amazing right now as it's perfect to go out without a jacket and you won't sweat. The ward is a good size, everyone is related and three families make up like 75% of the ward so its a tight ward. We had seven investigators at church which was amazing and were teaching like four couples but all of them need to get married so we need to get them married and then baptized so a few hoops to jump through. The marriage license is only $100 and the high councilmen over missionary work who is in our ward is willing to pay for them and have the weddings at his house so that will help out. There is a lot of potential here and we should have a lot of success. My companion is Elder Leavitt and he is from Alpine, Ut, my first companion from Utah! Took a year and a half but I finally got one. I'm his second companion and he's already a good missionary, he is unsure of himself and is not very confident but we have got along so far and I think were going to work well together. I wanted Taco Bell for lunch today so we went through the Drive thru and it was the first time in his life ordering in a drive thru so that was funny. This ward is really friendly with the missionaries and we have team ups and our dinner calendar for this month is already completely full so thats awesome, I don't know if there's going to be a day on my mission where I don't get fed, crazy! Well were going to Visalia now and about to play some glow in the dark dodgeball. We have a lot of appointments this week so were going to be busy which is the best. Not much else is happening this week that I know of so will be a lot of time to find and teach. Well thanks for everything, I love you all and miss you guys. Couple weeks and will be able to talk to you over the phone!