Feb 23, 2010 through March 31, 2010

February 23, 2010

Yeah, regionals was lame. Way too much singing. I don't have the patience for all that stuff.

I had a real missionary experience this last week. It was raining and I was out tracting and found out my shoes are worn out. Water was coming up through the bottom where the soles are cracked and run to the ground. Now I'm onto my second pair of shoes, when its raining because I think I can get 1 more month out of these.

So the family I was teaching in Farr West finally got baptized. One of the sons wanted me to baptize him so I got to go back to my old area to do it. That was my first complete family that got baptized.

Last Thursday at district leader training meeting, the zone leaders told us Pres. O[...] is getting evaluated by the MTC, and the head guys there are going to go out with missionaries and see how we do. I had a bad feeling about it. My feelings were confirmed yesterday when I got a call saying that one of the guys is going to spend Wednesday night with me and my companion. It will be fun stuff. I'm not worried because I'm just going to do what I always do and he'll see how we really do it. I always think it's lame when missionaries I go out with put on an act for me because then I don't always get a good idea of what they're doing right and what they're doing wrong.

I got some carmel corn from Grandma the other day. I guess they found out where I live. That's most of the news.

Love, E[...] M[...]

March 2, 2010

Well, this week pday is Monday because there is interviews with the mission president for my zone on Tuesday so you get the letter a day early. I'm planning on sending a thumb drive home with all of my pictures and such I've taken on my mission. I thought a 4gb would be large enough but I decided to get an 8gb one because it looks like 4 won't be enough. You don't need to worry about sending it back because I got another one to back my pictures up on. Anyone in the family who wants to use it for 10 months can.

Something about the quote you sent me. Last time I read through those visions there were two types of people on the rod: some held fast; some were clinging to it. I wondered what the difference between the two were because the clingers didn't stay strong--they got ashamed and left. I decided clingers use the gospel as a crutch pulling them down the right path. It could be the people who depend on the church for friends or welfare or whatever. The people who held fast to me are actively pressing forward and supporting the church. It's just like when you do service you get stuff out of it for yourself. They make it and hold to it. I think there are too many people up here especially in the poorer areas that are dependent on the church. Ogden gives out the most welfare of any place in the church. I just hope the people we teach get their lives on track and then go from being supported to being supportive.

The exchange with MTC man was good. He was over all the foreign MTCs finances. The night went normal, but I think that's best so he can see how it's really done.

Tonight i got invited to take one of our investigators to FHE at our stake presidents house. He is having 3 of the 70's over, so it will be intense. I hope this really helps our investigators testimony. S[...] is supposed to be baptized this Saturday, but her mom yelled at her about the whole church thing she's doing and it really shook her testimony. Family problems are the worst.

Well thats all

Love, E[...] M[...]

March 9, 2010

Yeah, temple names would be great. we'd do them.

That's funny to hear about D[...]. You have more snow than we do up here, but I bet if I went to the mountains we'd have more.

We are struggling with hard problems in this area. 3 investigators are getting evicted, 2 couples need to get married or move out, and other funny things are going on that we are going to have to change. It seems like areas go through spurts where we have easy people to teach, then we get the ones with every concern possible.

Family home evening went good with the three 70's. I think two of them are area seventies. I'll send a picture of them, but I don't know their names. We brought an investigator with us and it went really well. S[...], the brown haired one, is our only solid investigator, but her mom says she can't get baptized until she graduates high school so she has a few more months.

Today I'm going bowling for pday with two investigators. It should be fun. It's a young couple that needs to get married before they can be baptized. Well that's all that's going on.

Love, E[...] M[...]

March 16, 2010

Dear Family,

Well transfers are tomorrow. Surprising to me and [my companion] he is staying and me leaving. I'm replacing my trainer as zone leader up in Preston, Idaho. The biggest problem is because I'm in Idaho I might not be able to go to the temple to do the names you sent me. I'll ask my new companion and if i can't do them I'll send them home.

My new companion is from Sweden and is named elder S[...]. I don't know him.

S[...] told us she is going to get baptized right when her mom let's her. I think one of the reasons why I got put in Rockcliff was to teach her. She had some other missionaries meeting with her in a different are that she really didn't connect with because she is way shy. I'm going far enough away to not be able to go to her baptism when it happens which is lame.

Last Sunday we sang Brightly Beams in sacrament meeting. We did a quartet [...]. It went really good considering S[...] is tone deaf. One of the youth decided to record us doing it so when you get my next memory card you can watch it. I'll send a picture of us right now.

Well, that's all that's new.

Love, E[...] M[...]

March 24, 2010

Dear Family,

This has been a pretty good week. I got up to Idaho to the way small town of Preston. My area is all of Franklin county so I drive a ton up here.

One of the ward mission leaders is named E[...] A[...]. He says he was in a elders quorum presidency with dad. He said he really liked dad's sense of humor. I guess its a small world.

Preston is by far the smallest town I've been in. it only has 5009 people in it. There are some wards that have less than 10 non-members in them so it will be a little different interacting with those wards.

Sunday was insane. We gave 5 talks. At the beginning of my mission I really prepared for the talks and planned out kind of what I wanted to say. But now I just stand up there and preach. So I didn't prepare for any of those talks. With the 31 ward we have I get to do a lot of speaking assignments.

Love, E[...] M[...]

March 31, 2010

Dear family,

Idaho is nice. It's way different from Ogden, but in a good way. Up here we work mainly through leadership. That's the only way we can deal with all 32 wards. It means we just go where the work is. The turnover rate up here is low so most of the people have already been contacted. It's ok because peoples hearts change and become open to the gospel.

For the last 2 weeks we've been able to go to the Logan temple. it's nice, but is also the smallest temple I've been in. Because of this, we've been able to do the work for four of the names dad gave us.

Up here we are speaking in every ward. I guess the last missionaries up here didn't do to much or like to speak so we offer and we always get taken up on it. I gave 5 talks last week and 3 on Sunday a couple days ago. It's strange that I'm not nervous anymore about speaking. I never had trouble doing it, but now I don't even think about what I'm going to say before I go up there. weird stuff.

Love, E[...] M[...]