Sallisaw

My new address is 1116 Jess Drive Sallisaw Oklahoma 74955. So a lot happened this week so I will try to be as quick as possible. First of all I miss serving with Powers the entire time we served together was like a big party it was really fun. Things have drastically changed.  Elder Lopez is a really nice kid from San Francisco and it is weird being with a brand new kid there was a lot of rules I forgot about so it has kind of been an adjustment for me, but he is nice and I like him so that is good I was worried I was going to get a really weird kid.

So Transfer day I was riding down from Joplin into Fort Smith to get Elder Lopez and get started well on the way from Mt. Vernon, MO to Bentonville, AR the transfer loop, the van I was on broke down and we coasted under a bridge and sat there for the next 3 hours waiting for help. They called a tow truck, rented another van, and enlisted the help of a member with a truck to pull the trailer so that was really fun. My comp was at the Wal-Mart in Fort Smith since 8 in the morning and I didn't arrive until pretty close to 5. Then because of the delay the member that was going to give us a ride had to find another member and they picked us up around 5:30 and took us to Chilis which was good but we didn't get to our house in Sallisaw until after 9. That's right I said I have a freaking house it is pretty sweet it is a 3 bedroom house with a nice kitchen and a bunch of other stuff I was kind of thrilled by that. The members out here are really nice and I am going to like serving here it is a lot like Fort Scott but more spread out and the people are a tad bit more normal and their are a lot more Native Americans. So since we both got put in it has been hard to figure out what the other elders have left behind especially because they had a car and now we are on bikes for some reason the car got taken away which kind of blows the area is pretty dang big. So far we have been getting a lot of help from the members though.

Well the work here is going well so far. They have two people who seem really close to baptism one girl is B,she lives with a family who are returning to activity and the dad just got baptized. She is 19 and was abandoned by her boyfriend who was the Dad's nephew and so they took her in she is 19 and we are getting ready for her to be baptized on the 2nd. The other guy we have met but haven't officially taught he is also scheduled for the 2nd but I don't think he has gave up smoking yet. That is kind of where the work is at and it will continue like everywhere else in the mission there is interesting people. One old couple we visited that the other elders taught are pretty strange they see spririts and the husband yells and screams and fights with them. The wife just sees them go into the bathroom and she is scared to go in because they don't come out. So that was fun and that was like Elder Lopez's 3rd day. He is shocked by everything but he seems to be doing good.

Well Heywood crafts day sounds good I guess I will just watch. Jokes no that sounds pretty good but I will be the BLT maker I can't do all that other stuff. Well it sounds like everybody is having a lot of fun I am too just different kind of fun.  Have a good one moms.

Fort Scott

Jumping mission boundaries and got to go to Kansas City Temple.

Fort Scott

Well howdy I am doing just fine well not exactly so every time I get a companion I really like I only get them for a transfer what is up with that I don't understand that it's like come on...he just got here. Well  the big news is that I am getting transferred to Sallisaw Oklahoma. I guess that will officially make me a :"four-stater" which is something to be proud of. I have to train a brand new missionary I hope he is not a tool.  This second year I have had companions that I really like so I hope my streak does not end. But I will be with Powers no longer which is sad but I am happy about leaving Kansas.

I didn't feel any earthquakes last night.  

I guess hold off on the package and I wear a 9 and I can get fit into a 91/2 but 9 suits me best. At this point I don't care what color anything is all of my clothes are old and ragged I will talk about that a little later. Well It sounds like everybody has after vacation syndrome which is really cool I think.

Did you guys go to Tucker's farewell

Well as for my week it was really good mixed with some bad. The poison Ivy that Powers had last week really spread and destroyed him this week as we ran around in the humidity on our bikes and he sweated it just spread throughout his entire body and it was pretty gross looking it looked like leprosy and so when he could he would tape paper towels to his arms to keep all the juice from spreading which was also nasty he looked like a mummy sometimes. Well Wednesday afternoon he had enough and we went to Urgent Care and they gave him a shot and medication and told him to take it easy for a few days. So we only went out when we had appointments and tried to get rides as much as possible.

Thursday we got permission to go to Kansas City temple with recent converts and that was the highlight of the week. The Mullenaux's drove our entire crew up there which was a Less Active guy who is returning to activity and two recent Converts. Elder and Sister Mullenaux are to kind for us they said that they would help with the baptisms and that they scheduled us in at the 5 o clock session which was awesome man I forgot how great it was to be in the temple and we saw one of the new movies which was exciting. The only problem is that dressing in all white I used one of my shirts and it was embarrassing because while I was in all white my shirt looked yellow. Elder Mullenaux jokingly said, "I was surprised they didn't kick you out"  but the temple was awesome.

As for our investigators they are doing good the two baptisms are now moved to August so it is a bummer that I won't see them. I guess in Sallisaw one of Power's friends is there right now and me and the new guy will take over I guess they have two baptisms that are happening in August as well so that will be exciting for the new guy I wish I would have seen a baptism in my first area. So that is all with me I think probably had a few other things that I meant to write but I didn't but yeah I will give you my new address in no time. I will also give you some Kansas City pics.

Fort Scott

Hey Mom so remember you said a long time ago that there was an Elder from my Mission that moved into the ward? You told me it was Elder Matherson or something like that? Well it was only slightly wrong. I am now with Elder Powers the same Powers family that moved into the ward. He showed me the exact picture that you had on the newsletter.

Sooooooo... Transfers went as usual we got dumped on with rain and I hung out with the other Elders going out to HuHot and pouring on the Hot Sauce so my system can get destroyed which it did... what a great moment. Well than I waited and the Van came in and out popped Green and Elder Brian my homies and they said, "Dude you are getting Elder Powers." Probably said a few more things I can't remember then Green said "Isn't it crazy that he moved into your Ward back home." Then everything clicked and I was what the FLUFF? So that was cool and I really like Elder Powers he is a really cool guy and I hope I get to stay with him for a while.

To answer your other question about the lady. Pittsburg is like the nicest Kansas area in the mission and it belongs to the Sisters I would love to go watch football but I have no car to get there. It is maybe a little over 30 minutes away from good ol' Fort Scott. I don't exactly need anything except like a whole new wardrobe but other then that I think I am good.

Well I am glad you saw the Anvil launch that was one of the greatest things ever Oh Man it blew my mind I couldn't believe get ready for Anvil Launches back home.

Well it sounds like everything is going good back home. Wisdom Teeth, Grumpy summer school kid, the lake, shooting stars, pulling dana logic... man the list goes on and on.

That 7 on 7 things sounded pretty good. Wait Gilbert's quarterback is from Texas and he has a body guard I don't know but that sounds kind of stupid he is not Moses or Brad Pitt why does he need a bodyguard, but yeah that sounds cool man I would love to watch sports right now.

Well anyways things are going good We are probably going to have to push a our baptism dates back. Big J doesn't feel like he is quite ready so he wants it pushed back a little bit. C is going to take a little time she is having disagreements with the commandments I think I wrote a little about that last week or two weeks ago I can't remember but that is where they are at. There is this older lady named D who I think is getting closer.

 

We met this crazy kid the other day who is the son of our old branch president. He stopped us on the street one day and said come down to the end of the street. I think this was Elder Powers first day in Fort Scott well we both got a bad feeling and so we went the other way. So a day later we went down to try by another person and I saw the car and I was like, "OH I think that was the old branch president's son" so we knocked on his door and yeah he is creepy. After we said that one day we would go on a picnic we left and kind of vowed never to go back. We meet a lot of weird people but this guy was like bad feeling weird so we are avoiding him. We then later heard that he is okay but he is very dangerous when not on his meds and we clearly saw that so yeah crazy right. I will try not to get murdered.

 

your son

Fort Scott

Hey what's up.

Well this week went around and visited some of the people we have been working with and it went okay. J the guy that has the next baptism date has been having personal troubles with his roommate, which is lady that parked a camper trailer in his yard. She is kind of worthless and doesn't do anything and that is stressing him out so yeah that was kind of a bummer.

 

C, the other investigator with a date, yesterday didn't commit to anything of the law of chastity and I had an allergy attack in the middle of the lesson. My eyes about bursted out of my head, but yeah she had a problem with everything brought up which is just ridiculous and it was late and we just didn't want to deal with it so that is for this upcoming week again. She has a sister that is lesbian and she said that she said if it ever came to it she couldn't be sure with us about having a partner which was weird because every person I met so far was either one way or the other. No inbetweeners, she is not lesbian b

 

ut she is just weird. I guess that is upbringing which is very strange how different people turnout. Well sounds like graduation went well and summer is kicking off, So have a good summer,,,

That is all I have this week. I know kind of lame. Oh we have transfer calls this Saturday and both Elder Green and Freeman return home next week. Which is crazy.

Fort Scott

Well we had R's baptism this week and that is a good story which will be the majority of the letter so buckle up.

So R is a very jolly man he is kind of childish and humble and that is why he was so teachable and everything we taught him really stuck. Well we weren't sure what to do for the baptism because he is not to tall but he has an exceedingly large stomach. So from the Pittsburgh Sisters we borrowed the biggest baptism suit in Kansas and probably one of the biggest ones in the Joplin Stake. It was a 5 XL and this thing was monstrous I could have spread it out on my bed and used it for covers. So me and Elder M go over there Thursday for our usual split, and we take care of some final baptism preparations, one being if the suit fits. So when the time came and we tried to get the suit on R  asked, "How do I get in it?" Elder M responded, "One foot at a time." So very slowly R l sticks one leg in and the other. He pulls up the suit and things so far were looking good. We got up as the missionary support and helped him put his shoulders on which was a little tight but they fit. Next was the hardest task, which was getting the zipper over that belly of his. R  grabbed the suit and pushed it together and Elder M grabbed another part of the suit and pushed it together to aide me with the task of getting the zipper up and I yanked and pulled with all my might and it only went to about his belly button. He didn't have his shirt off so I couldn't for sure tell but trying my hardest to yank the zipper up I felt a small concave which must have been his belly button. Well he was to big the zipper didn't go much farther and I gave it all my might. It wasn't going to work. R was to big for the biggest suit I have ever seen. Twas a hard thing to comprehend. We left R's place that day with an assurance that we would figure something out. We tried quite a bit called around the zone looking for a 6 XL and it was no good. Elder M even made a call to the Kansas Temple and the biggest they had was a 5 XL and the largest size of pants they carried was 64 inch waste, R being a solid 68 to 72 he wasn't quite sure. I couldn't believe it, was this going to be Fort Scott's destruction. Then a great idea came up we have a 74 inch pair of pants that we fit three people in that could work so we tried to bleach it white but for whatever reason it didn't work. And the whole time this ordeal was going on Elder Cheney had in the back of his mind, "I have to baptize him." Well Flash forward to day of the baptism the final solution. We put him in the jump suit up to about his waste and tucked the rest in. The M's bought R a gigantic White shirt that did fit and so we draped that over him, and to top it all off we went to Wal-Mart and bought white rope to tie everything together so it would not come off during the baptism. Problem 1 solved now for the next. We felt a little bit more comfortable with two Elders Baptizing him so it was both Me and Elder Cheney. So how it went down is that Elder Cheney said the prayer and R afterwards got down on his knees and we held on to his hands and then he just went for it and dunked his head under the water and we made sure that he was all under. Now fortunately it only took two tries the first time he actually held on to the bars not realizing that his hands had to be under water so it was a second time and that is when it was successful. Never did I see R glow like that day. Everything that we worked for and was accomplished and like Ammon I will boast in my God and thank him for not having R drown.

That was a short story made long but it was worth it. I'll send pics. Had a good week this week. Peace

 

 

 

Fort Scott

It was fun to see all you guys yesterday man I miss those family dinners and stuff but enough mourning and lamenting for family I am just thankful that I got see everyone now it is back to reality. I don't really know what else to say but R is being baptized this week and Cheney is doing it. R  is like 400 lbs. and Cheney is not. I can't wait.

Fort Scott

Really? I mean there is 260 missionaries and I am stuck in Kansas so I don't know a whole lot of the peeps in the mish, but that is cool I'll have to track him down or something we have a Zone Conference this Wednesday and it is out of three zones so I have a good chance of seeing him. Dang no Brick who are we going to rely to have all the super cool adrenaline junky stories. Colton told me a bit ago that there were so many people moving in and out that the Ward is unrecognizable now. That is sad our ward is so great I entertain Elder Cheney about the good stories from our ward.

Well sounds like a lot of fun this week with dance and volleyball and all the goods. That would be crazy if you drove through Fort Scott it would be like thirty seconds and you would be disappointed because that was all of the town but you would have a pretty good chance seeing me on my bike we are always out. I kind of want to go to Tennessee. Maybe Elder Cheney and I can take the day off and go with you guys. Jokes, Jokes.

Well this week is very good we are having a blast with all the fun people that Kansas offers I will tell you a quick awesome story about R real quick.

So we were over and we were doing a mock baptismal interview lesson and I got to the question have you committed a serious crime? Well he says, "Well one time I was bounty hunting..." All the good stories start with that. Well he goes on to tell us that he used to do bounty hunting for his uncles bail bond business and he was tracking down some guy and he said he kicked down this one door and found the guy he was looking for and a girl breaking the law of chastity and the guy reached down and R thought he was grabbing a gun when he was really trying to grab his pants and "Bam" He kind of left us on a cliffhanger for a couple seconds, so I got super worried and was like, "Oh man we will have to get President to interview him, and we'll have to push it back, and a load of other stuff went through my mind." Well then R said he just knee-capped the guy and the guy later on forgave him and they are friends, but he still felt bad about what he did so we talked about forgiving ourselves and stuff like that. It was kind of crazy because we actually had one of our members with us. He was cool with it though (the member). Other than that just seeing crazy people and having fun. We have two more dates to be baptized Jon 24th we are pretty confident that he can make that one, and C on the 21st of June. So things are going good.

OH have you guys heard of the show Mountain Monsters we have a couple people here members and investigators who are obsessed and think it is real. They tell us that this group of hillbillies go around the south and Midwest and go searching for monsters and bigfoot and stuff and it reminds me of that one dude in Montana at the vortex, but these people go out and try to catch them. So they are telling us about this show and we are laughing like, "there is no way that is real..." Then they are like, "Elders its real" dead serious. So I think that is kind of funny maybe you guys could pull up an episode for family night. Well that is all I have for you guys. Peace.

 

Fort Scott

Well Hello family aww what is this Naders? Where? Jokes! SO yesterday we were riding our bikes visiting all the lovely people that we see and we got to this one family's house and it started to hail a little bit and so I ran out in it because it was fun good size chunks too. Well that ended very quickly and the sun started to shine and we were on our way when the sirens went off meaning that one touched down somewhere. I got very excited and I was like," today is the day I get to see my first nader!" Well we had a tornado touch down and it touched down about 10 miles north of town and nocked over some grain bins, a couple railroad cars, and a dairy barn. So far nobody was hurt people or cows. I was distraught I didn't get to see it ohh sad day. I don't really know about anywhere else I hear there were a few throughout the mission but nothing extravagant. That is all I have to say bout dem Naders.

Two empty grain bins blew over on the train.  This was about the only damage.

 

Well as for me I am doing fantastic Kansas is a place filled with awe and wonder kind of like Fangorn Forest on Lord of the Rings sometimes it never gets old. There is benefits to having two companions but for now one is good Cheney is a great guy and we are having Hay Bales of fun.

So I am bummed I can't wait to have a Filipino dinner I guess I'll have to make you guys a Kansas dinner with Opossum, Coon, and Squirrel that will be a fun dinner. But sounds good they will have to make that a tradition. Man I can't believe everybody is getting old Dad said that Tyler and Rex gave talks. What the? Since when did he they turn twelve since when were they even baptized I don't remember that. Actually I do I was a witness at Rex's haha.

Well to tell you about the week and all of that jazz. So Thursday Elder Carson left and that was just the usual as always people leave nothing new. Then we went back to our area and started visiting all of our fun loving people. Well we of course have R who is doing very well and is still tobacco free. I am telling ya nothing can stop this guy all he wants to do is live the gospel and read church books and manuals. It was funny in Gospel Principles Elder Mullenaux led the discussion on Honesty; Sister Mullenaux was sick and Elder Cheney was in Primary helping them and so it was us two and the investigators and recent converts. The lesson was on Honesty and somehow we got on the question if your wife asks you "Does this dress make me look fat?" No matter how we answered and where we tried to point the lesson someone would always refer back to that question I told them that Jesus would have told the truth with love and I thought that was pretty airtight. I guess they didn't like my answer. Well that was pretty random but to continue. So we work with quite a few people but I will tell you the ones that I think are important of course there is R. R's Mom who actually isn't investigating but she comes to church every week with him. We asked if she wanted to take the lessons and she just said, "No" strange right. Then B who is R's mom's friend and she is taking the lessons and enjoying it but she is pretty faithful to her church still so not sure. Then we have C who is a nice single Hispanic lady who is really sarcastic and likes to talk about her love life, but she is awesome and came to church for the first time yesterday and enjoyed and has a baptism set up in June but she says she will never give up Coffee which is not a big deal she will be dunked. Then this dude named Big J, we are not sure on his last name yet. He is a dude that is a Licensed Bounty Hunter who learned how to fly a Helicopter from a book and still hasn't flown one, and never wears a shirt. He is doing very well and he to will have a baptism date soon. So things are going well. Well I hope that suffices as a letter, I'll talk to you guys in a couple of weeks.

Fort Scott

Well Dana told me a little about Prom but not to much just that it was fun and last one and all that jazz. She didn't send me a picture :( I work so extremely hard to send you guys pictures and you guys can't even afford to give me one back. Jokes Jokes Jokes.

Well Easter was a swell time it was a pretty nice Sunday for our small branch. For after church dinner/lunch we ate with the M's and G and her two great-grandkids. G is an old, old black lady and is taking care of two black kids by one of her granddaughters and its kind of funny because she really has no concept of time so we planned this dinner for exactly 1:00 and they didn't show up until an hour later. Sister M wasn't two happy because her rolls were overcooked and a bunch of stuff like that but it was pretty good. Then the rest of Easter Sunday was going around and visiting the people who didn't really have anything going.

So Transfer call were this last Saturday and the Fort Scott Tripanionship is disbanded. Elder Carson is leaving to go to Springfield Missouri and Elder Cheney and I are staying here in Fort Scott which is actually kind of funny because Cheney thought he was for sure leaving he has been here for 6 months and he was like "Well I'm gone...leaving this place forever." Then he stayed, So I thought that was pretty funny. But it will be pretty awesome there is a lot of work to do. So I was talking to Elder Green the other day and I can't believe it that old dog only has 48-50 days left man then he'll be back in Mesa only 2.1 miles away from our house or something like that we looked it up when we were together. He is still in Osage and he'll finish out his days there.

Well but yeah sounds like the home life is dandy it will be fun to talk to you guys in a bit. Well this week was pretty busy with everything but good. Over the last 2 weeks we have found a truckload of new investigators and so that is where we are at right now just trying to meet these people with their different schedules and all that crazy stuff and trying to get them progressed and in the right direction. It will be barrels of fun. Our baptism with R is still on for May 17th so far he had his last cigarette last Tuesday and he is doing really good. For being just kind of a Hick guy out in the middle of Bronson which is a town in the middle of nowhere he loves studying and reading and learning. It makes you feel good when keeps asking for more things to read alongside his Book of Mormon reading, it is quite awesome. Man I love that guy you will probably receive a picture of him in no time. He is done with the lessons just working on no smoking and when we go back we are going to have him teach us the lessons to his Mom and his Mom's friend so it is pretty exciting.

Well that is all I got for ya for this week

Fort Scott

Yeah the M's are pretty cool they help us out quite a bit and it is nice to talk to people about Arizona. Well I'll let them know that you said thank you. So Spring is hitting the Midwest in a very Midwestern kind of way. This entire week was awesome with 60 to 70 degree weather and today as I right you it is snowing. The weather changes so much you can't get use to anything out here. Well I like the Kevin Bacon footloose Baconator is so cool he is almost as cool as the dance that made him famous. Volleyball, Prom yeah sounds like a blast.  Today I was in Wal-Mart and when I was waiting for Elder Cheney to print pictures off and I saw all the Go Pro promotional videos and I got really depressed because there is nothing to do in Kansas besides hunt and fish I can't do the former and it is snowing today so I can't do the latter. I am looking around Pawn shops and trying to find a parachute so I can try to parasail or something similar in nature but it is proving difficult to obtain one.

Well I am doing good just waiting for the cold to finally be over but it snowed last year in Arkansas in early May so I think I will have to be a little more patient. The work is going really good. So basically here in Fort Scott all normal people are part of a church and don't see the need to change so that leaves us with all the weird people. Most of them are nice, so we have a baptism coming up early May for a guy named R he is probably 6' 3'' and looks like he used to be a bouncer at a club. Except that he really innocent and kind of childlike it is pretty funny, but he is an awesome guy and he has little black teeth that kind of look like the top of a pencil. We are also teaching his Mom and his Mom's friend they are enjoying but I don't think they fully understand. A lot of other people we are teaching have been going through or are going through drug problems and well... it is fun. One investigator who is kind of crazy she was talking to people on the street and they started bad mouthing Mormons and Us and she punched one lady in the nose and broke it then pulled out her knife and threatened to kill them. Well she had the cops at her house the next morning. There are a few normal people that we are trying to teach but they are always busy and we just are not able to sit down and get anything started.

So yeah Kansas what more can you ask for. So that is basically what's been up here in Fort Scott recently. I can't believe Summer is going to be starting soon. Oh man, Time sure does fly. Peace

Camdenton

Well I'll comment on your week before I ramble on. That sounds awesome Both me and Green are totally bummed about the temple opening and all that. He will be able to see it at the end of May though so he is excited. The rain is pretty awesome I like when it rains except for on days when I want to go to the lake. It snowed again this weekend not really bad but I am sick of cold Missouri weather it sucks. I am glad to hear that everything is doing good and what the heck why is Thomas in Hawaii I want to go to Hawaii. JK but that is pretty sweet.

Okay well now for what happened this week, it started off just like any other week P-day, service at thrift shop, see some people, blah blah. Then we got a text from Eldon which is the third area in the lake region and they said Elder Trantham hurt his leg just wanted to let you know. Well we called a bit later and he broke his leg which was quite the shock. So we went to go see him and ask what was up and all those break your leg type of questions and it was a bummer the poor guy. So in the next couple of days President called him and said that he was going to send him home to get surgery and that he could heal there and come out when he was able to get around a little better. I felt really bad Trantham is a good guy he actually came out with me and he is a convert and you could tell that him being out here was a challenge but going home and then trying to come out again that would be tough. Well so what happens next is that his companion Elder Brian who is a funny guy is now with me and Green and we are covering the Camdenton, Osage area and Eldon so it is pretty fun with the three of us it can get kind of crazy. Well so that is the big news that happened. Other than that we are all having a blast running around trying to find peeps to come unto Christ and witness miracles in their own lives, no biggie.

The reason we weren't able to e-mail yesterday is because when snow falls people become pansies and it all shuts down. So the Library was not opened yesterday. Also another fun thing we went to Bishop S's house for dinner the other day and he lives down by the lake on a hill. Well since I don't have a truck anymore we attempted several times to get up his hill and we couldn't make it. Then he was hook up a chain from his car and give us a boost, but it was cold and kind of sketchy and we couldn't find a good place to hook up to. So we spent the night and waited for day and the Sun to help soften the ice a bit. So we got up and they made us breakfast and then we attempted again but we didn't make it and then we got shovels and started working and well the next time we made it. Hooray! that was pretty fun. Let the good times roll. I glad I live in a place with no snow and ice it is a pain and stupid. Well that is all I got I'll send some pics. Actually I was able to recover most of it because I downloaded some program on the church's library computer and 4 hours later I got most of them back. Hooray.

Camdenten

So whatever I am trying to stop by Joe (Tige guy) as much as possible at the shop but its been closed this week I think there is a boat show in Kansas City right now but I'll keep trying.

Well I'll comment on your week before I ramble on. That sounds awesome Both me and Green are totally bummed about the temple opening and all that. He will be able to see it at the end of May though so he is excited. The rain is pretty awesome I like when it rains except for on days when I want to go to the lake. It snowed again this weekend not really bad but I am sick of cold Missouri weather. I am glad to hear that everything is doing good and what the heck why is Thomas in Hawaii I want to go to Hawaii. JK but that is pretty sweet.

Okay well now for what happened this week, it started off just like any other week P-day, service at thrift shop, see some people, blah blah. Then we got a text from Eldon which is the third area in the lake region and they said Elder Trantham hurt his leg just wanted to let you know. Well we called a bit later and he broke his leg which was quite the shock. So we went to go see him and ask what was up and all those break your leg type of questions and it was a bummer the poor guy. So in the next couple of days President called him and said that he was going to send him home to get surgery and that he could heal there and come out when he was able to get around a little better. I felt really bad Trantham is a good guy he actually came out with me and he is a convert and you could tell that him being out here was a challenge but going home and then trying to come out again that would be tough. Well so what happens next is that his companion Elder Brian who is a funny guy is now with me and Green and we are covering the Camdenton, Osage area and Eldon so it is pretty fun with the three of us it can get kind of crazy. Well so that is the big news that happened. Other than that we are all having a blast running around trying to find peeps to come unto Christ and witness miracles in their own lives, no biggie.

The reason we weren't able to e-mail yesterday is because when snow falls people become pansies and it all shuts down. So the Library was not opened yesterday. Also another fun thing we went to Bishop Skelton's house for dinner the other day and he lives down by the lake on a hill. Well since I don't have a truck anymore we attempted several times to get up his hill and we couldn't make it. Then he was hook up a chain from his car and give us a boost, but it was cold and kind of sketchy and we couldn't find a good place to hook up to. So we spent the night and waited for day and the Sun to help soften the ice a bit. So we got up and they made us breakfast and then we attempted again but we didn't make it and then we got shovels and started working and well the next time we made it. Hooray! that was pretty fun. Let the good times roll. I glad I live in a place with no snow and ice.

Well that is all I got I'll send some pics. Actually I was able to recover most of it because I downloaded some program on the church's library computer and 4 hours later I got most of them back. Hooray.

Camdenton

No, The Dogwoods are not in bloom still too cold we had a nice week last week but it started to get cold again which is dumb weather over here is kind of stupid.

So the temple dedication that is awesome the prophet is going to be there, largest temple in the last seventeen years.  I would like to be part of the temple dedication Grandma and Grandpa giving hook-ups. Right On! Dana told me how everybody suffered allergy attacks from breathing in dust that is cook. 

Yeah Elder Green is pretty chill we are having a good time. The baptism went pretty good this last week P is 10 and her younger brother J is 8 and it was good. I am sorry I didn't take any pictures but somebody else probably did I'll try to get a hold of one. Other than that things are going great in the OTM. Were still working with our neighbor she is a pregnant single mom and going to school full time and stuff so she is busy but she likes us coming over and teaching so it is going well. This week especially because of the baptism being over we are going out to do a lot of finding and trying to teach everybody on the lake so if we do come back I will have hopefully converted somebody who owns the Tige dealership. The guys at the Wake Effects (Mastercraft) are cool but not as promising. So we will see. Well that is all I have see ya later.

Camdenton

Well sounds like you guys had a splendid week I did too. The weather here isn't to bad it was pretty cold but it has been slowly warming up today it will be in the hi 40's to 50's and man it feels really good. I can't wait till later in spring when it will be a lot warmer like 60's 70's then we will really be talking.

Well I am jealous of the Gilbert temple the Furnell's (my kin) gave me a church newspaper article talking about the temple and then we went to eat with a family in the ward and well they talked about the ABC news special on the temple. They showed it to us being both from AZ and that was really cool just answered some basic questions didn't talk bad and stuff like that. I also saw the Peter's family on their so that was cool. Elder Green also saw a kid he knew on their so again kind of cool. So I am jealous of ya'll.

This week though was pretty good I did get the valentine's day stuff man I was surprised by Thomas's wedding announcement it was good though. Ashley L. her marrying Tanner Peterson was cool though. Tanner was in my Sophomore Seminary class and he was a nice guy and funny. I had a Valentine's day picture for you guys but I forgot my camera so I will send it next week.

We are having a good time working with some of the people here. We actually have a baptism for a 10 year old girl and her brother this Saturday. The other Elders taught her and we just got to set everything up but it is cool. We went back to the crazy guy who doesn't believe in Jesus and basically everything, but this conversation was a bit better and more pleasant I tried to pull a king of the Lamanites kind of thing but it all fell apart when he didn't believe in Adam and Eve. He believes in Evolution and he just believes that God started the whole process. So that again was interesting. With the Spanish investigator he committed to baptism he is just trying to get work off so he can come to church. Our neighbor she is pregnant and has the one kid. She is doing well so far so good and I think she is pretty promising so it should be a good rest of the transfer. Not exactly sure what will happen after though I have been here for a long time and well who knows. I certainly do not.

Well I think that is all I have for this week its been pretty awesome and I can't wait for the weeks to come and this time next year on V-day and all have to hold off all the girls. I am just that awesome. Can't wait to grow a beard!!! "haha not till your twelve son" bye

Camdenton

Holy Cow you wrote a lot. Thanks for the info on Hailey, I feel so bad about that,it is so sad it is rough when stuff like that happens and there is nothing you can do.

So Yes things are going extremely well I am very happy about everything and well that is what it is. We are working with everybody the last missionaries were. There was a lady who was just baptized in Nov. and she went to court for a bit and all that fun stuff and well her kids now officially can be baptized without the Father's permission so in two Saturday's they will be baptized. I am also teaching a Spanish family they know English okay so we can communicate. There are a ton of Less actives that they were working with. One guy had some nerve problems and I don't know exactly what went down but his face got stuck and he looks like Sloth from the goonies, but he is a really nice guy but sometimes when he laughs I have to try with all my might to keep it in. Oh and also I will be attempting to teach the former Senator of Missouri, Senator James Noland. He is super old and he is hunched over and you can place a cup of kool aid on his back, kind of like a walking table well we are going to see him this week.

The day Me and Green moved in there was a pregnant lady with one son who moved in next door she was having some trouble getting things out of her car so we helped her out with one of our youth. Saturday we went over and taught her and she came to church the next day. She had some questions about it so we went over that night and answered them and she had nothing but good to say about her experience. So I think good things are going to happen. Oh also you guys will enjoy this, we are teaching this crazy disabled guy named S. S just started to believe in God and everything else he doesn't believe in. Not Jesus, Prophets, the Bible, anything that a normal person believes in he does not. He also says when the clock says 10:10 that is God saying hi to him. He doesn't believe there is a purpose to life. He thinks God just put us here. But he does believe in After Life but no Pre-existence and well the first time we went over there I just asked him like a thousand questions and he came back with the same answer. "God is my friend but he doesn't care what I do. Heaven or Hell it won't matter what I do here he'll put me where I belong. He is awesome and we are already best friends.

That was basically everything we are working with and it should be fun the rich side of the lake is different for sure but so far so good.

I can't remember what else you asked me or talked about but give my best to the Aiono family and have a good week because I am sure I will.

Camdenton

Well, first things first. I now email on Mondays again, whoopee! That is wonderful news for me, I have been waiting a long time to have a day that I know for sure is going to be the day where I can email. JK not that big of a deal but yeah I am strictly on Mondays now. Me and Elder MArtin's 9 day comapanionship has been planned for a long time but the problem was it only lasted 9 days. I love that guy; we better serve together for real before this mission ends. Well, I can honestly say that I am super happy. Here goes my next transfer, 7 1/2 months being in the same ward. I am not complaining I am rejoicing I love this ward and now I get to see the wealthy side of things it is a whole new aspect to Lake of the Ozarks. yeah I am really going to miss all those crazy people that I was in charge of for the last 6 months but it is good to be here now and so I am digging it. Now the Sisters well I wish them best of luck and they need it but they will do good they just can't visit some people that we were visiting and can't go to certain places up in that area but they will be fine I am sure. Plus I get two phone calls every day with questions so that will be Brilliant. They are nice though just Sisters and I guess they could come down for P-day they just have to waste a bunch of miles because they can't ride with us in the car like we would do it with the other Elders. Funny thing we took them to their apartment and they walked in and were wide-eyed with concern. I was inside laughing so hard because Sisters usually get the best of everything, but not the case here. It was classic. so sick so sick. Man its weird what time does when you spend a year in the Midwest. Well I think that is all I'll send you more info. about the area when I get to know the people we are visiting better and what not. Also their are so many boat dealerships on this side and a few that have wake shops. Score! "Not till your twelve son"

Osage Beach

Hello family well this week has been one of the greatest weeks I have had in a long time but it has also been pretty sad. So me and elder Martin have been serving together for this last week and our time together officially ends this Thursday. It has been crazy because we have been covering for the last week both Laurie and Lebanon and we have been doing a mighty fine job if I say so myself. It has been fun to see some of the people back in Lebanon ward. Seeing that they are still in church and doing good so it has been fun. I also took Martin to a few of the crazy people that we teach and I am sure that he had a good time visiting them. Well the darndest thing has happened as of Saturday night we got transfer calls and I was pretty sure I was being taken out of Laurie. Well I was right I will no longer be serving in Laurie and all those crazy places. Where am I going? Funny you should ask because I am only going 22 miles south to serve in Camdenton the nice, classy part of the Osage Beach Ward. I am a little upset because if I am going to stay in the area I would like to be where I have been the entire time, but things happen and I have no say just got to do what the good Lord tells me too. My companion is Elder Green unfortunately it is not Elder Martin the last 9 days have been splendid. All I know about Elder Green is that he was MTC companion's with Elder Bunch. What? That's right with my trainer and from what I have heard they didn't like each other that much. Well so we'll see how it goes I have heard he is a cool guy. Another crazy thing is that the Laurie area is getting sisters which I went bananas over. It is not exactly the most safe place especially for Sisters but like I said the good Lord knows and plus I was serving there before them so they should have plenty to do and visit semi-normal people. We'll see how that one goes as well. So a little more about the weeks and less about external problems it was pretty sweet. In Lebanon visited some old investigators and stuff and converts and whoever else they had. In fact we tried to contact a referral Jim Morrison from the Doors. Jokes! But his name is really Jim Morrison and he lives next to a whole bunch of Morrison's and they own Morrison plumbing so seems like a 3 generation big ol' happy family. Up in Laurie we visited the few, the proud, the crazy. Jokes! It was a good time we visited the guy that had the tumor on his jaw bone because he is back home now. I feel bad for the guy he just kind of has to wait and wait till it heals and one side of his face is swollen and man you couldn't understand a word he said. Except that I could understand every word he said I may have been in Missouri to long. Other than that the Less Active family that we found the week previous we went over and had a lesson with the entire family and it went very well. I say give it a couple months and they will be back in church. Dj and her daughters are doing good still having some struggles but the Sisters will probably get the job done they are better than us. That is usually how it goes. Well Van Woerkem and Bulpitt (Camdenton Elders) Leave this week it will be sad having them go because they are some good guys but we are having a last P-day hurrah and are going to have some wicked fun. That is basically all I got for ya.

Osage Beach

Well this week was pretty good. That is crazy that the temple is open now man I wish I could see it and do the whole open house thing that would be pretty sweet. Well kind of a lot has happened this week and I won't be able to explain everything this week but I'll do my best today. First of all we met a couple of Less Active peoples this week which has got me pretty excited. The First lady we have been trying to contact for a long long time she had no phone number so we went by her house occasionally if we had extra time. I thought it was a summer home and we were just trying for nothing. Well this last week we pulled up and her car was there so I got kind of excited. She answered the door and hooray she is pretty normal. She works at Wal-Mart and her schedule is super crazy so we always just came at the wrong time. Well her name is P and she is a nice lady. She has just quit smoking well she is doing e-cigarettes which is a step in the right direction. Well anyways she told us that something in her life was missing and that was church but she couldn't find our church well because it is on the other side of the lake. So she is getting her work schedule changed around so she can get Sundays off so she can go to church so that was sweet and I am excited. The other person is a family with four children in a trailer (nothing new). they are really nice just kind of fell away after they got offended but they love the missionaries so it will be pretty swell I think. they might not come because of the distance but if we can kind of restore their faith then maybe a miracle will happen. So on to the other crazy news Archibald has 9 days left but yesterday we found out that I have only today left with Archibald I'll explain why next week but some emergency transfers are happening tonight. So Archibald is leaving and going to be with the Zone Leaders in St. Robert and Elder Babb is going to be with the Zone Leaders in Springfield and Me and Elder Martin for the next 9 days are going to be serving together. Hooray! Me and Martin always talked about serving together but I am afraid it will only be for the 9 days but hey better than nothing. So I am not sure on all little details like if we are going to be in Lebanon or up here or both, but this for sure until transfer calls which will happen this Saturday then my permanent fate will be decided like if I stay or go and who will be the next crazy I serve with. Again sorry for telling you this random sketchy thing but I will explain it all next week. Stay classy San Diego

Osage Beach

This week I am swell. The more contact I have with the other missionaries the more normal I remain and we had a zone meeting and so I got some normal contact. The cold is all gone that is Missouri for you. Yesterday Sunday was high 50's and the week before was negative and snowing. You want to know the weather in Missouri walk outside and check the weather every twenty minutes. Investigators are doing okay not bad just a long and drawn out process but hopefully we will have some success within the next couple of months. Wow sounds like you guys had an eventful week. With Conferences and Norwegians and all that jazz. I don't really know what to say to that I didn't have a conference or Norwegians where I am. I guess the most exciting news this week is that the Goat lady is out of the hospital and no longer yellow. She had Hepatitis in her immune system or something like that I couldn't hear her that well dogs were barking, but it was just messing her liver up and that is what caused the yellow and she has gall stone problems but they couldn't operate because of the liver problems so they gave her medicine and sent her home. At least that's how it sounded but I couldn't hear because of the dogs. So I don't even know but she is back home and she does look better than she did I am just bummed that she couldn't just stay at the hospital because her shack is not healthy for her you can't live with 7 dogs inside a 10 x 15 shack and remain healthy especially with no running water. Man that is crazy to here about Jamie man I really hope that he feels better I have a feeling it will be good but then again I am all the way out here so I don't really know. So how is everybody else doing Dana said that she is sick and stressed what's new? How is Chris? Katie? Parker? Jared? Sounds like they are all doing good. Well not much to share this week I guess I am not the greatest at sharing time but what ever it will get better always does. You guys have a good week and I will to.

Osage Beach

Things are going good. I shouldn't count days that makes everything take longer, but yeah it will come unless I die before it comes. Jokes! Weather is weather nothing can change that, but yeah it wasn't terrible but it got pretty cold. We had about 10 inches of snow and it was probably the worst storm we'll have this year we'll have like a couple inches here and there for the rest of the winter but not bad. It got to -9 and I think that was the coldest I went running outside naked just to experience it. Jokes! So Saturday night Sunday morning is when the snow hit and people over here don't handle snow well so we had a fun day Sunday. We woke up saw that it was snowing so I called a couple members on our side of the lake and well they weren't going or couldn't get out because they didn't have 4 wheel drive. So we called the Furnell's who are an old couple that we get a ride from often they are the ones that are kin. Well we met them at a location that easy for the both of us and they take us to church. Well twenty minutes after they left supposedly I got a call from him saying, "elder I am in a ditch" I asked how far he was and he said, "haha elder I didn't even make it out of my driveway." I was like oh snikeys because they live forever away but they needed help out of the ditch. So we drove all the way there and we picked them up for church and drove all the way to church. Church was awesome we were a little late because of the delay, but there was probably only like 15 people there total. So we had sacrament meeting and testimony meeting and that was it. I loved almost every person got up there and bore their testimony and it was funny but spiritual so it was good. Well so we drove back to the Furnell's and pulled him out of the ditch. the funny thing is that I think is perception was off a little because of the snow and he just drove straight into the ditch because he could have made it quite far it wasn't that bad but I was laughing quite a bit because he turned way to wide and just drove straight in. Well they fed us dinner for our troubles and then we went on with the rest of the day. We have a mile limit on the truck of 1100 for the month and Sunday we went 150 miles so that sucks, but I was trying to be a good Samaritan. Our investigators are doing okay running into problems and stuff. Dj couldn't quit smoking and got really frustrated and so she is a little discouraged. Her daughters like everything they are just still not sure. We just are trying to get them on a daily habit of reading so that is our goal for them it will come just takes time. J, that younger guy still lets us come over but after learning about marriage as a necessity well he just is not down for that yet. The Less Actives are Less Actives nice people just not quite willing to change. We are kind of teaching an older couple like 91 and 86 years old. They are strong Baptist and she said that Christ would let us in, so that is why she listens to us. She likes us and we can talk about the bible all day, but as soon as we mention the Book of Mormon or Joe Smith then she kind of turns off. We asked to read and she said if "God leads me to read then I will, but I probably won't." We met a lady while eating Pizza Hut a couple weeks ago and she used to be RLDS and she wanted to come over because she didn't know the difference between the two, but we keep missing her and we can't seem to get a hold of her but hopefully this week. Well that is the whole lot of people that we are teaching or trying to teach when we aren't busy doing that we are going to the local supermarket trying to talk to people because that is the only time we can talk to them and not have them close the door or runaway. So yeah that is what we do for fun. Actually P day this last week we got a with a couple of the young men Bishop's son and we played hunters and hunted we start and few of us have paintball guns and everybody else is a deer and we run through the woods to avoid being hunted. That was fun. Well that is all I have for you folks.