Hey Hey! I'm sorry about the monday abscence but I assumed you realized it was a holiday! haha. Anyways....
I'm glad everything worked out safely. I always get tripped out on the time zone changes with flights...I couldn't imagine the time change deal with dad...I'd probably just have to pass out for a day. haha. I'm real glad Jordan and Ryan did so well with taking care of you. Tell them they have my approval. haha. I'm kinda surprised Jordan did so good but I'm glad he did. (Don't tell him I said that :P) Ok. Thank you for sending the me the stuff, it is definitely greatly appreciated!
ANYWAYS THE BIG NEWSSSS.
DUM DUM DA DUM DUM DA DUMMMMMM
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I'm staying in Wakefield another 6 weeks! YEAAAAAAA!!!
The sad news: Elder Parker is leaving :( But I knew it had to happen eventually. I'm going to be doing what's called step-training with a very new Elder. Basically he's been with one Elder for the past six weeks (the first six weeks of his mission) now he's coming to me. His name is Elder Richards. I've met him before, he's a pretty cool cat. But just so you know, I'm glad I get to stay another six weeks. I'm really attached to this branch, and I'm not afraid to tell you I'm going to cry like a little baby when I have to leave :)
Uh-Oh. The dreaded stake president call. You are mean for making me wait till next p-day to find out what's going on. But I'm sure Dad will be called to be a Bishop and you'll be in the Stake YW presidency :) let me know!
Oh my gosh Jordan is turning 17? UGH. I remember before my mission realizing that he'd be that age when I come home. It all feels like it isn't real. what the. ryan driving? no it won't ever happen. I'm still 19 and my mission will last forever. (If I have anything to say about it :) )
Anyways yeah so quick update on our week:
We are basically starting from scratch again in the area. All of our investigators got baptized....I guess it's a good problem? I don't know. But I'm kinda figuring out some goals I have for this next month and 1/2 and what I wanna do. So I just need to sit down and figure it all out.
We've been trying to do some more community service out here in good ol' Wakefield and so we went to the Mayor (who owns a service station here in town; yes it's like you'd see in some movie) and asked him what kind of service opportunities he had. He told us he wanted us to rake some leaves at this ball park in town so we did that today. I don't have a problem raking leaves (except oregon leaves, like in grandpa's back yard since they are always wet :( ) but when it comes to raking PINE NEEDLES, that's when I have a problem. It was good though, we got to help out our little community.
I'm real sad that Elder Parker is leaving. Me and him are best buds. But I'm definitely better at my seperation anxiety than I used to be. So I'll be fine...I'm excited for this next month and 1/2!
Anyways Mom & Dad, love you so much and hope your week is good. I'll talk to you next week
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Yeah ok so heres the deal. Apparently the server went down or something cause everyone else had the same thing happen. so idk?
haha I heard that the Packers won eh? cool stuff. At this point I really don't care all that much but you know how that goes. haha.
Holy cow a Lady had a seizure? That sounds mega-intense. If I was giving a talk during that day I definitely wouldn't be angry haha...I'd be happy cause I knew no one would even notice if I messed up. haha we had a sunday kinda like that yesterday...it was fast and testimony meeting and we have this member who is kinda less active and in the middle of meeting (everyone is quiet waiting for someone to go up to the stand) he stands up and kinda quietly says "Lord, Lord, Lord..." and then he starts getting louder and louder and singing things like "I JUST WANNA PRAISE YOU" "LORD, LORD, LORD" and I was like, oh my goodness...what is going on here. Then he got up there and finished his song and told us about how he is so sick and he may not live and all this stuff. It's what you get when the african american religious culture out here is predominately baptist. haha. Sacrament meetings in our branch are a trip. Anything under the sun can happen...
By the way, I attached pictures from our baptism we had this last saturday (the 5th) It was great but oh gosh you have no idea how much stress we were under...you remember the hassle we were getting from the branch about that investigator getting baptized? Well this is him. and the DAY OF his interview with the Zone Leaders those same members called us and while Elder Parker was in the shower rebuked me to no end because we were actually going to go through with his baptism. They told me up and down that he wasn't ready and he shouldn't be baptized and all this other jazz. They just don't understand what baptism is. It's not a thing we need to be perfect for. It's not a last step, it's a FIRST step. Yeah we may still have some problems. But when you find the recent convert who is perfect before they're baptized let me know.
Yeah I'm just gonna say I've been real frustrated with some of the members of this branch lately. They were making our lives miserable. But the baptism basically was ridiculous as well. First off the hot water heater in the building wasn't on and we couldn't turn it on, so the font just filled with ice water. On top of that, when we turned off the font the plug started leaking so by the time they got in the water it was probably knee height. so with that, our investigator has high blood pressure so the water basically made him freak out and after the ordinance was said, it took probably like 2-3 minutes before he could syke himself up enough to go in the cold water.
Yeah but thankfully we are gonna have another baptism this friday :) So we will let you know how that goes as well.
I don't know haha...I'll try and send a few pictures.
Kind of another update on the suicide-investigator. We really haven't had any contact with him since that day, although we have tried. His phone is off and he's never at his house. BUT. We did see his ex-fiance driving around up in surry, and we were ALMOST positive it was him in the passenger seat. So we really have no idea.
I know, I'm doing better on money. me and elder parker have figured out how we are going to grocery shop from now on. We go to this place called "Dollar general (not a dollar store, just sounds like it haha) and we buy most of the non-perishable stuff, like cereal, canned foods, all that stuff. And then we buy the stuff we can't buy there at the regular grocery store. we save a ton of money that way. last p-day we only spent 25 dollars each for groceries. Pretty good considering we had enough for two people for a week!
Thank you for the advice on the money saviing. I'm working on it and will hopefully do better. Basically all the cash I get goes into my lock-box. I save that.
Oh gosh seriously? No way...that blows my mind...Tell David I say welcome home and back to this life. I feel for him. haha. Oh gosh I don't even wanna think about that day...
Thank you for all you do mom and dad....I love you all a ton. I hope your week is good and I'll talk to you next week!
haha I heard that the Packers won eh? cool stuff. At this point I really don't care all that much but you know how that goes. haha.
Holy cow a Lady had a seizure? That sounds mega-intense. If I was giving a talk during that day I definitely wouldn't be angry haha...I'd be happy cause I knew no one would even notice if I messed up. haha we had a sunday kinda like that yesterday...it was fast and testimony meeting and we have this member who is kinda less active and in the middle of meeting (everyone is quiet waiting for someone to go up to the stand) he stands up and kinda quietly says "Lord, Lord, Lord..." and then he starts getting louder and louder and singing things like "I JUST WANNA PRAISE YOU" "LORD, LORD, LORD" and I was like, oh my goodness...what is going on here. Then he got up there and finished his song and told us about how he is so sick and he may not live and all this stuff. It's what you get when the african american religious culture out here is predominately baptist. haha. Sacrament meetings in our branch are a trip. Anything under the sun can happen...
By the way, I attached pictures from our baptism we had this last saturday (the 5th) It was great but oh gosh you have no idea how much stress we were under...you remember the hassle we were getting from the branch about that investigator getting baptized? Well this is him. and the DAY OF his interview with the Zone Leaders those same members called us and while Elder Parker was in the shower rebuked me to no end because we were actually going to go through with his baptism. They told me up and down that he wasn't ready and he shouldn't be baptized and all this other jazz. They just don't understand what baptism is. It's not a thing we need to be perfect for. It's not a last step, it's a FIRST step. Yeah we may still have some problems. But when you find the recent convert who is perfect before they're baptized let me know.
Yeah I'm just gonna say I've been real frustrated with some of the members of this branch lately. They were making our lives miserable. But the baptism basically was ridiculous as well. First off the hot water heater in the building wasn't on and we couldn't turn it on, so the font just filled with ice water. On top of that, when we turned off the font the plug started leaking so by the time they got in the water it was probably knee height. so with that, our investigator has high blood pressure so the water basically made him freak out and after the ordinance was said, it took probably like 2-3 minutes before he could syke himself up enough to go in the cold water.
Yeah but thankfully we are gonna have another baptism this friday :) So we will let you know how that goes as well.
I don't know haha...I'll try and send a few pictures.
Kind of another update on the suicide-investigator. We really haven't had any contact with him since that day, although we have tried. His phone is off and he's never at his house. BUT. We did see his ex-fiance driving around up in surry, and we were ALMOST positive it was him in the passenger seat. So we really have no idea.
I know, I'm doing better on money. me and elder parker have figured out how we are going to grocery shop from now on. We go to this place called "Dollar general (not a dollar store, just sounds like it haha) and we buy most of the non-perishable stuff, like cereal, canned foods, all that stuff. And then we buy the stuff we can't buy there at the regular grocery store. we save a ton of money that way. last p-day we only spent 25 dollars each for groceries. Pretty good considering we had enough for two people for a week!
Thank you for the advice on the money saviing. I'm working on it and will hopefully do better. Basically all the cash I get goes into my lock-box. I save that.
Oh gosh seriously? No way...that blows my mind...Tell David I say welcome home and back to this life. I feel for him. haha. Oh gosh I don't even wanna think about that day...
Thank you for all you do mom and dad....I love you all a ton. I hope your week is good and I'll talk to you next week!
January 31 2011
Yeah so update on the investigator who seperated from his fiance...so Elder Parker and another Elder were in Wakefield this week while I was up in Richmond for a leadership conference. They went to go see this investigator and when they walked into his trailer it smelled REALLY bad of gas. So they asked him about it and he said that he had been trying to kill himself. He told them "each night I hope that I don't wake up." It was crazy. So they (Elder Parker and the other Elder) and called our branch mission leader, Bro. Gruber. He is retired air force, and his training with things like this is you don't leave these people alone. So he called the Elders and said to go back and he was gonna call the police. So right as the Elders show up the cops show up as well. So already it looks kinda bad. But the cop goes up and talks to the investigator and after opening a few windows and talking with him, he tells our investigator "you can either come with me to the Hospital willingly or or I can take you in handcuffs. So he chose to go willingly. And we haven't had any contact with him since, because his phone is off. So yeah...craziness in Wakefield
So a little update on those investigators....one is getting baptized this saturday and the other is getting baptized next saturday :D So we are really excited! I love the Holy Ghost...I only worry I about the time when I don't get to recieve this kinda revelation for people, you know? I hope I can remember all this.
I really liked your story about the temple...you have no idea how much I long to go to the temple...I miss it so much. And just before I go to far into it just fyi, that picture over Joseph Smith is actually of Peter, James and John (basically the first presidency of Christs mortal ministry) restoring the Melchizidek priesthood.
But I love the temple...I want to go home and spend as much time as I possibly can at the temple...I think that's the only way (along with scripture study prayer and coming to church) that I'll be able to maintain the spirit I feel out here.
Alright well It was really good to hear from you all. I love you all a ton and if you have any questions let me know!
So a little update on those investigators....one is getting baptized this saturday and the other is getting baptized next saturday :D So we are really excited! I love the Holy Ghost...I only worry I about the time when I don't get to recieve this kinda revelation for people, you know? I hope I can remember all this.
I really liked your story about the temple...you have no idea how much I long to go to the temple...I miss it so much. And just before I go to far into it just fyi, that picture over Joseph Smith is actually of Peter, James and John (basically the first presidency of Christs mortal ministry) restoring the Melchizidek priesthood.
But I love the temple...I want to go home and spend as much time as I possibly can at the temple...I think that's the only way (along with scripture study prayer and coming to church) that I'll be able to maintain the spirit I feel out here.
Alright well It was really good to hear from you all. I love you all a ton and if you have any questions let me know!
January 24 2011
so. first off, last monday after p-day we went out to our little town called waverly, and tried to follow up with an investigator who, last time we came by, was having some marital problems (didn't know if his newborn son was actually his son, because fiance said it might be another guy :S) so we could see if he was ok. This story tells you how ridiculous society is. Basically investigators fiance came home and said, I don't know if the baby is yours, I've been messing around with another guy, I'm going with him to take a DNA test. So investigators upset, but says go and find out. Fiance and other guy leave and are gone for a long time. Then they come home at like 2 am that night and investigator is sleeping on the bed. Fiance comes in and says "you gotta go. he's the daddy." and she kicks him out before he can get any of his stuff. new guy moves in with her, and apparently starts being real abusive and a trouble maker. that's where we come in. Later that night we go over to our investigators house (or so we thought) and when we knock on the door a lady answers the door and I ask if our investigator is there. she looks confused and asks a lady behind her. then they ask the fiance and she says he isn't here. So we leave. it isn't until we get to the car that we realize that the two women in there were former investigators. and the fiance is a former investigator. we walked in on a former party. what's funny is they had a book of Mormon on the table and you know that they were having a ridiculous discussion about us coming by.
anyways, back to the life of our investigator. thankfully he had an aunt who had an empty trailer that he can go into, but basically he's homeless cause theres no power and no running water. it's real bad. if he comes to church he probably could get some help because he is not a guy trying to take advantage of the system.
so after that we went to some members house who live out in the country countryside. haha. had brussel sprouts for the first time...really not that bad. tasted alot like broccoli. so I wasn't that dissapointed. ha.
then later on in the week we went to go see a less active member out in this tiny town called Ivor. We pull up to his house and one look tells us he is a horder to end all horders. His yard is a JUNGLE of every sort of thing you can imagine. I mean seriously, there is no end of the types of things you'd find in his yard. mirrors, deer skulls, car hoods, blankets, you name it. It is a nightmare. So we make our way through the maze of craziness and knock on the door. And all of a sudden the member comes trudging through the grass and leaves from one side of the house. he starts talking with us and turns out he's a real nice guy, but just very poor and very much a hoarder. He told us in his house his water heater blew up and ruined his floor so he walks around on boards to prevent him from falling through the floor. We offered to help him but he wouldn't let us in the house. It's situations like that that make me always want to keep my house immaculate. haha.
hmm also, up at the top of our area, there is this big plot of land (like huge) that one of our ysa members works at. It's basically a private estate, but here's the thing; the family who owns it is only there 6 weeks out of the year, but they keep it running the rest of the year. it's full of animals and everything. These people are disgustingly rich. they've got a big black chain link fence all the way around (it's like 400 acres) and electronically monitored gates. We thought about going up to it but really figured it wouldn't do much good. haha.
Also, got to go on an exchange with one of my Zone Leaders the other day which was fun. Found some new investigators and ran into some ridiculous stuff. That's the day we found our investigator with marital problems sitting on another trailers front step. and we also talked to just some ridiculously crazy people. Waverly is just a mini-petersburg, which is just a bigger oak grove, which is basically the most ghetto you get in this mission. But that's pretty stinkin ghetto. You know youre in the ghetto when all you see is dumpy little houses and you walk into one and find a giant 64" flat screen tv hooked up to Dish network but not enough food in the fridge. or no furniture. that's really how ridiculous it is. and it's like that all over here. people who have 300 dollar cell phones but go to the store to buy food with food stamps. people who spend more money on alchohol or cigarrettes than they do for food. it's real bad. It's real sad too...you want to help, but again it's about how they can help themselves first.
But anyways...friday was good too. We went to petersburg to have a district meeting (a meeting with all the other elders in our district, along with the zone leaders) and it went pretty well. Since I'm the district leader I have to prepare all the trainings and whatnot. I was thinking a while ago what I wanted to train on and I felt impressed to train on obedience. I really didn't know why, but just felt like I should do it. So I got that all together and trained on that. Later on we went on exchanges with the petersburg elders and found out why. There was a few things (not like ridiculous things) that I noticed we needed to improve on. I'm gonna talk to them later on hopefully...that's the thing I love about the Holy Ghost...sometimes I don't know why I'm doing what I'm doing, but I can see it after the fact and I'm glad I did it.
We also had interviews with President Perry and mine was really good. It had to be short but I had a really good talk with him. Mostly it was about how I'm always feeling like I haven't done enough. Like I'm not fulfilling my utmost effort. that's my biggest pain. He talked alot about it though and helped me alot. He is definitely an inspired man. He has helped me so much you have no idea.
and then the next day we went to a baptism and it was the best. it's hard to explain unless you were there, but when it came time for the baptism the man getting baptized went down into the water and when we came back up he shouted, "thank you, Jesus!" oh my gosh it was so funny and yet awesome. you get used to that kinda stuff out here. There's so many baptists it's common place. It makes for a fun mission. I wish I could tell you it all but that would take days. haha. you'll hear it all when I come home I'm sure.
Then the other day we finally had another lesson with an investigator that we had lost track of and almost dropped cause nothing was really going on with him. But we went over there expecting to teach about the Gospel. But as we started asking him questions we felt impressed to start talking about the sacrament. It was so good...again, why I love the Holy Ghost! He brought out some concerns and we cleared them up and he is solid. He is set for baptism on the 12th of Febuary. He is the man. he used to play baseball for the minor league oriels.
That's a basic summary for the week...I'm going to another leadership training that will start tomorrow morning and go until friday afternoon. fun stuff!
anyways, back to the life of our investigator. thankfully he had an aunt who had an empty trailer that he can go into, but basically he's homeless cause theres no power and no running water. it's real bad. if he comes to church he probably could get some help because he is not a guy trying to take advantage of the system.
so after that we went to some members house who live out in the country countryside. haha. had brussel sprouts for the first time...really not that bad. tasted alot like broccoli. so I wasn't that dissapointed. ha.
then later on in the week we went to go see a less active member out in this tiny town called Ivor. We pull up to his house and one look tells us he is a horder to end all horders. His yard is a JUNGLE of every sort of thing you can imagine. I mean seriously, there is no end of the types of things you'd find in his yard. mirrors, deer skulls, car hoods, blankets, you name it. It is a nightmare. So we make our way through the maze of craziness and knock on the door. And all of a sudden the member comes trudging through the grass and leaves from one side of the house. he starts talking with us and turns out he's a real nice guy, but just very poor and very much a hoarder. He told us in his house his water heater blew up and ruined his floor so he walks around on boards to prevent him from falling through the floor. We offered to help him but he wouldn't let us in the house. It's situations like that that make me always want to keep my house immaculate. haha.
hmm also, up at the top of our area, there is this big plot of land (like huge) that one of our ysa members works at. It's basically a private estate, but here's the thing; the family who owns it is only there 6 weeks out of the year, but they keep it running the rest of the year. it's full of animals and everything. These people are disgustingly rich. they've got a big black chain link fence all the way around (it's like 400 acres) and electronically monitored gates. We thought about going up to it but really figured it wouldn't do much good. haha.
Also, got to go on an exchange with one of my Zone Leaders the other day which was fun. Found some new investigators and ran into some ridiculous stuff. That's the day we found our investigator with marital problems sitting on another trailers front step. and we also talked to just some ridiculously crazy people. Waverly is just a mini-petersburg, which is just a bigger oak grove, which is basically the most ghetto you get in this mission. But that's pretty stinkin ghetto. You know youre in the ghetto when all you see is dumpy little houses and you walk into one and find a giant 64" flat screen tv hooked up to Dish network but not enough food in the fridge. or no furniture. that's really how ridiculous it is. and it's like that all over here. people who have 300 dollar cell phones but go to the store to buy food with food stamps. people who spend more money on alchohol or cigarrettes than they do for food. it's real bad. It's real sad too...you want to help, but again it's about how they can help themselves first.
But anyways...friday was good too. We went to petersburg to have a district meeting (a meeting with all the other elders in our district, along with the zone leaders) and it went pretty well. Since I'm the district leader I have to prepare all the trainings and whatnot. I was thinking a while ago what I wanted to train on and I felt impressed to train on obedience. I really didn't know why, but just felt like I should do it. So I got that all together and trained on that. Later on we went on exchanges with the petersburg elders and found out why. There was a few things (not like ridiculous things) that I noticed we needed to improve on. I'm gonna talk to them later on hopefully...that's the thing I love about the Holy Ghost...sometimes I don't know why I'm doing what I'm doing, but I can see it after the fact and I'm glad I did it.
We also had interviews with President Perry and mine was really good. It had to be short but I had a really good talk with him. Mostly it was about how I'm always feeling like I haven't done enough. Like I'm not fulfilling my utmost effort. that's my biggest pain. He talked alot about it though and helped me alot. He is definitely an inspired man. He has helped me so much you have no idea.
and then the next day we went to a baptism and it was the best. it's hard to explain unless you were there, but when it came time for the baptism the man getting baptized went down into the water and when we came back up he shouted, "thank you, Jesus!" oh my gosh it was so funny and yet awesome. you get used to that kinda stuff out here. There's so many baptists it's common place. It makes for a fun mission. I wish I could tell you it all but that would take days. haha. you'll hear it all when I come home I'm sure.
Then the other day we finally had another lesson with an investigator that we had lost track of and almost dropped cause nothing was really going on with him. But we went over there expecting to teach about the Gospel. But as we started asking him questions we felt impressed to start talking about the sacrament. It was so good...again, why I love the Holy Ghost! He brought out some concerns and we cleared them up and he is solid. He is set for baptism on the 12th of Febuary. He is the man. he used to play baseball for the minor league oriels.
That's a basic summary for the week...I'm going to another leadership training that will start tomorrow morning and go until friday afternoon. fun stuff!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
december 13
alright! sooo. I just would like to announce to you at this moment that it is SNOWING in Wakefield, Virginia currently! I'd send you a picture but I left my camera in the car! woo! But yeah it's been snowing since early this morning. So crazy. It doesn't snow like this here. So I'm pumped. It's not sticking to the roads which is even better! I can enjoy the snow and still be able to go out :D
Holy cow it's less than two weeks! It's like...12 days! Holy moly! I'm pumped too! I'm pretty much open to any time for christmas calls. We don't have any like, set plans except to go to a members house SOMETIME during the day. So we can totally call you early. Maybe even while you're opening presents :O. or after if Jordan and Ryan can't wait :P If I called right at 10 am or 1030 It would be 7 or 730 there. So yeah I don't know if you wanna get up that early?
haha heat wave...we had a heat wave yesterday. It was in the 50's! haha It's gonna cool down now though. Who knows if we'll get snow again :P. Yeah it was raining a ton here as well yesterday. But it got cold enough to snow I guess :P. I don't know how much longer it'll last, but we'll see!
so these last couple of p-days me and elder parker have been watching these living scriptures videos and oh my gosh...they are hilariously awful. haha. It just makes the p-day fun!
wow! christmas package already? thank you! I really don't know what to expect...so hurray! haha. aww sad. I wanted those fuzy slippers...if I find em can I buy them? haha.
ok! So story! you remember those old converse I took with me? So I still had them...until a few days ago. they finally died :( They completely fell apart. Not the new joe boxer ones you sent me or anything. Just the old ones. So I was at this members house when they died and they saw them and we went over to their house for dinner the other day and they have this super cute 3 little kids (two girls and a boy) and they got them to bring us these two bags with presents in em. They bought me a brand new pair of converse! I was feeling really bad because they bought em for me....but then I didn't want to offend them by saying I wouldn't take it! so I was super grateful.
yeah! You did tell me about the clcasses. how are they going? or have they started? that's a cool thing though.
holy cow?! the house is gonna be totally different when I come back. new tv and everything? ryan was saying something about a new kids tv? what happened to the flat screen in the kids tv room? you should save that for me so I can take that with me to college! :D. haha. holy cow though...sounds like you already spent all the christmas money! :P
Jordan's probably fine...haha. I totally thought I broke my toe last p-day...like I SLAMMED it into a chair and it was popping and cracking and everything...but it was just jammed apparently cause the pain went away like, a couple hours later. Felt like a total baby calling the medical advisor. ha. oh well.
haha they are changing our time in wakefield too...actually just flipping the block schedule. it used to be priesthood/relief society first, then sunday school, then sacrament meeting. so yeah.
It's snowing harder again!!! HAppppppy!
I'd rather talk to you all without the extended fam too...not that I don't love em but I'd rather spend more time talking to less people! haha.
december 28
know you already got the call, but YES. I did get the package! Thank you so much. holy cow, you sent me both a watch and gps. I didn't expect to really get either haha. But I love both thank you so much. They are both really good.
and yes. we did get the snow. actually, ALOT more than they were predicting. we got like, 12-15 inches. and it shut us down for a while. infact there is still snow on the roads, actually more like ice. so that's whats going on there.
I've been a little frustrated with things lately...things have really turned down here, just because of the holidays I'm hoping. I mean life is still good but the work has slowed down. I'm not sure what's gonna happen next transfer...I might be outta here, or elder parker might, or we might just stay (haha thought I'd cover all my bases there...) It's just a coin toss really. But I'm just frustrated when nothing is happening in an area. I feel like even though I'm trying to do my best somehow I'm not. I'm sorry it's confusing but we're working to get this all running again.
so I'm not sure what else to say. I hope new years is great for ya. I love you all so much. btw, tell dad even though I'm pretty sure the ties came from his closet, I like em. I'm actually wearing one right now. haha. the oregon gear was sweet. thank you! All the gifts were great.
I'm sorry I've spent so much money lately. Things keep popping up and I'm sorry. I put it back in my lock box and don't want to use it again. I'm working on budgeting it better...I'm sorry. So I had some questions that I don't want you to think I'm getting trunky or anything but I just wanna get this all ironed out first. can you find out if it's even possible for me to defer another semester of school at byui? and if it's possible for me to apply at byu again? and if so, I need to work on finding a job...I guess I can look when I get home, but as it gets closer I would greately appreciate it if you could put the word out that I'm looking for work, but wait until it's very close. I don't want people to think I'm getting distracted or anything. yeah sorry for that paragraph, but I wanna make sure it's all figured out before I come home.
January 3
anyways. I love you all a ton. I hope your week is good. talk to you next monday!
Why is your email all...colorful?
I got all those christmas messages last time! yoU didn't need to send em again!
haha glad to get everyone out of the house eh?
oh and btw, I noticed that you did answer my questions about college...I just asked em because I need to know whether I need to be worrying about signing up and registering or not. so please let me know!
also I had a question for dad to figure out. and I know it doesn't matter rihgt now but I just was curious. Could you ask him to find out how much an iphone 4 would cost if you bought it on a plan? I know they cost more without a plan but with a plan is what I'm wondering.
Young womens councilor eh? You need to ship those youth into shape! haha.
my new years was even more uneventful. I was with Elder White on an exchange (one of the elders who came out with me) and so we had a good time. we had to come in early because of the new years but we played monopoly which was fun. I'm pretty sure it was Elder White's objective to trunk me out of my mind because that's what happened. haha. but I'm fine...it was just the new years and realizing that I'd be home this year freaked me out.
making jewelery? what the? haha. the rest sounded cool though. haha.
haha so my ocmpanion is feeling better but now I'm sick! It's real junky. haha. but I've gotten a little better so that's nice.
so I'm about to get kicked off so I'll do a quick summary.
I did get the money from frank and I'll be writing him today. also will write the girls if I can.
I felt real bad after what i said about dads ties. I like em and I wear em. I just noticed they were from dads closet!
yeah I don't know about the skype thing. i think they are doing it in certain missions and not all of em. Hopefully mothers day!
by the way loved the pictures!
anyways mom love you. there isn't much going on this week!
Holy cow it's less than two weeks! It's like...12 days! Holy moly! I'm pumped too! I'm pretty much open to any time for christmas calls. We don't have any like, set plans except to go to a members house SOMETIME during the day. So we can totally call you early. Maybe even while you're opening presents :O. or after if Jordan and Ryan can't wait :P If I called right at 10 am or 1030 It would be 7 or 730 there. So yeah I don't know if you wanna get up that early?
haha heat wave...we had a heat wave yesterday. It was in the 50's! haha It's gonna cool down now though. Who knows if we'll get snow again :P. Yeah it was raining a ton here as well yesterday. But it got cold enough to snow I guess :P. I don't know how much longer it'll last, but we'll see!
so these last couple of p-days me and elder parker have been watching these living scriptures videos and oh my gosh...they are hilariously awful. haha. It just makes the p-day fun!
wow! christmas package already? thank you! I really don't know what to expect...so hurray! haha. aww sad. I wanted those fuzy slippers...if I find em can I buy them? haha.
ok! So story! you remember those old converse I took with me? So I still had them...until a few days ago. they finally died :( They completely fell apart. Not the new joe boxer ones you sent me or anything. Just the old ones. So I was at this members house when they died and they saw them and we went over to their house for dinner the other day and they have this super cute 3 little kids (two girls and a boy) and they got them to bring us these two bags with presents in em. They bought me a brand new pair of converse! I was feeling really bad because they bought em for me....but then I didn't want to offend them by saying I wouldn't take it! so I was super grateful.
yeah! You did tell me about the clcasses. how are they going? or have they started? that's a cool thing though.
holy cow?! the house is gonna be totally different when I come back. new tv and everything? ryan was saying something about a new kids tv? what happened to the flat screen in the kids tv room? you should save that for me so I can take that with me to college! :D. haha. holy cow though...sounds like you already spent all the christmas money! :P
Jordan's probably fine...haha. I totally thought I broke my toe last p-day...like I SLAMMED it into a chair and it was popping and cracking and everything...but it was just jammed apparently cause the pain went away like, a couple hours later. Felt like a total baby calling the medical advisor. ha. oh well.
haha they are changing our time in wakefield too...actually just flipping the block schedule. it used to be priesthood/relief society first, then sunday school, then sacrament meeting. so yeah.
It's snowing harder again!!! HAppppppy!
I'd rather talk to you all without the extended fam too...not that I don't love em but I'd rather spend more time talking to less people! haha.
december 28
know you already got the call, but YES. I did get the package! Thank you so much. holy cow, you sent me both a watch and gps. I didn't expect to really get either haha. But I love both thank you so much. They are both really good.
and yes. we did get the snow. actually, ALOT more than they were predicting. we got like, 12-15 inches. and it shut us down for a while. infact there is still snow on the roads, actually more like ice. so that's whats going on there.
I've been a little frustrated with things lately...things have really turned down here, just because of the holidays I'm hoping. I mean life is still good but the work has slowed down. I'm not sure what's gonna happen next transfer...I might be outta here, or elder parker might, or we might just stay (haha thought I'd cover all my bases there...) It's just a coin toss really. But I'm just frustrated when nothing is happening in an area. I feel like even though I'm trying to do my best somehow I'm not. I'm sorry it's confusing but we're working to get this all running again.
so I'm not sure what else to say. I hope new years is great for ya. I love you all so much. btw, tell dad even though I'm pretty sure the ties came from his closet, I like em. I'm actually wearing one right now. haha. the oregon gear was sweet. thank you! All the gifts were great.
I'm sorry I've spent so much money lately. Things keep popping up and I'm sorry. I put it back in my lock box and don't want to use it again. I'm working on budgeting it better...I'm sorry. So I had some questions that I don't want you to think I'm getting trunky or anything but I just wanna get this all ironed out first. can you find out if it's even possible for me to defer another semester of school at byui? and if it's possible for me to apply at byu again? and if so, I need to work on finding a job...I guess I can look when I get home, but as it gets closer I would greately appreciate it if you could put the word out that I'm looking for work, but wait until it's very close. I don't want people to think I'm getting distracted or anything. yeah sorry for that paragraph, but I wanna make sure it's all figured out before I come home.
January 3
anyways. I love you all a ton. I hope your week is good. talk to you next monday!
Why is your email all...colorful?
I got all those christmas messages last time! yoU didn't need to send em again!
haha glad to get everyone out of the house eh?
oh and btw, I noticed that you did answer my questions about college...I just asked em because I need to know whether I need to be worrying about signing up and registering or not. so please let me know!
also I had a question for dad to figure out. and I know it doesn't matter rihgt now but I just was curious. Could you ask him to find out how much an iphone 4 would cost if you bought it on a plan? I know they cost more without a plan but with a plan is what I'm wondering.
Young womens councilor eh? You need to ship those youth into shape! haha.
my new years was even more uneventful. I was with Elder White on an exchange (one of the elders who came out with me) and so we had a good time. we had to come in early because of the new years but we played monopoly which was fun. I'm pretty sure it was Elder White's objective to trunk me out of my mind because that's what happened. haha. but I'm fine...it was just the new years and realizing that I'd be home this year freaked me out.
making jewelery? what the? haha. the rest sounded cool though. haha.
haha so my ocmpanion is feeling better but now I'm sick! It's real junky. haha. but I've gotten a little better so that's nice.
so I'm about to get kicked off so I'll do a quick summary.
I did get the money from frank and I'll be writing him today. also will write the girls if I can.
I felt real bad after what i said about dads ties. I like em and I wear em. I just noticed they were from dads closet!
yeah I don't know about the skype thing. i think they are doing it in certain missions and not all of em. Hopefully mothers day!
by the way loved the pictures!
anyways mom love you. there isn't much going on this week!
More catching up!
November 27th
haha ok story about the sickness stuff...This week has been RIDICULOUS. OK, so Monday, we went to Chester and had a zone p-day which was fun. just played volleyball and basketball with the zone. Then afterwards we stayed with the Petersburg Elders as well as the Lawrenceville Elders who were up there too. So Monday night we were stuck there and then we had a district meeting the next day which turned out pretty good. But then we didn't leave petersburg until about 2 and it's about an hour drive home. We also had the Lawrenceville elders with us for an exchange so that was fun. so we came home and went on an exchange. Then wednesday Elder parker has had some problems with ingrown toenails (sound familiar) and was having a hard time walking so we didn't ahve alot of time to do much because he couldn't walk. Then thursday was obviously thanksgiving, then friday was our only full day of work but half of that was weekly planning. Then Saturday morning-ish Elder parker started getting REALLY sick (with the flu) and so we came back to the apartment and were there for the rest of the day. Then sunday he was sicker than before and we stayed home from church because it was so bad. And what's funny, is through all of this, I haven't gotten a single symptom of his flu. haha. so let's see how long that lasts!
Yeah I know I need to eat less. I'm working on it...haha. It's hard sometimes though y'know? just get real hungry and don't have alot of time so the stuff I eat is not generally good for me! And just fyi, I probably won't be eating at subway for a while...I still associate my stomach illness with subway...so it never ever looks appetizing :X
Yeah I'll go to the doctor if I ever have that again. I just finished my prilosec today. so yeah.
haha you know what's funny, as soon as I told you I hadn't had anyone write me I got two letters! One from Joseph and one from Micah! haha. But do tell people to write! haha.
Yep, it's looking like it's gonna be a Wakefield Christmas! The weird thing is they closed one of the areas in my district (Lawrenceville) and so it's just us and Petersburg...and they shotgunned that area so I don't really know that area at all. haha.
You got snow?! what the. It's been in the 20's here but during the day it starts to get up above the 50's soemtimes. so I don't know what the snow is gonna be like this year. They aren't expecting much.
I'm pretty sure you would laugh at how redneck virginia is. haha. Especially around hunting season. Hunting season is like, a HUGE deal out here. It starts in stages; first it's bow season (meaning hunting with a bow and arrows) then a month or two later it's black powder season, then another month later it's shotgun & dog season (meaning they can hunt with dogs which is just lazy hunting by the way.) it's pretty hilarious. You see guys driving around with trucks and dog kennels on the back. It's absolutely crazy. haha.
Thanksgiving was good but kinda boring. In the morning we went to help put together some thanksgiving dinners for the poor, and then we came back to our house and studied, then went over to some members and ate lunch and whatnot. then we came home, and basically slept the rest of the day! haha boring but so nice!
haha oh gosh I still have so much time left. I can't believe they are already expecting me to come home. I was actually thinking about some of that the other day though, I don't remember why. I actually wanted to do what you were talking about. I'll have to figure out if I can defer again. I want to work and earn some of the money I need to pay for myself. I really want to be independent (money wise) pretty soon after my mission. Like, at the latest a year from when I come home. so we'll see what happens here. Any suggestions?
yeah...your telling me. The one grocery store in wakefield is already playing christmas music. craziness.
ok well. I know I'm gonna get kicked off here soon! this is what I'm talking about! I only barely had time to write JUST you! stupid wakefield library. anyways. I love you all a ton! I'll talk to you next week!
December 6
haha ok story about the sickness stuff...This week has been RIDICULOUS. OK, so Monday, we went to Chester and had a zone p-day which was fun. just played volleyball and basketball with the zone. Then afterwards we stayed with the Petersburg Elders as well as the Lawrenceville Elders who were up there too. So Monday night we were stuck there and then we had a district meeting the next day which turned out pretty good. But then we didn't leave petersburg until about 2 and it's about an hour drive home. We also had the Lawrenceville elders with us for an exchange so that was fun. so we came home and went on an exchange. Then wednesday Elder parker has had some problems with ingrown toenails (sound familiar) and was having a hard time walking so we didn't ahve alot of time to do much because he couldn't walk. Then thursday was obviously thanksgiving, then friday was our only full day of work but half of that was weekly planning. Then Saturday morning-ish Elder parker started getting REALLY sick (with the flu) and so we came back to the apartment and were there for the rest of the day. Then sunday he was sicker than before and we stayed home from church because it was so bad. And what's funny, is through all of this, I haven't gotten a single symptom of his flu. haha. so let's see how long that lasts!
Yeah I know I need to eat less. I'm working on it...haha. It's hard sometimes though y'know? just get real hungry and don't have alot of time so the stuff I eat is not generally good for me! And just fyi, I probably won't be eating at subway for a while...I still associate my stomach illness with subway...so it never ever looks appetizing :X
Yeah I'll go to the doctor if I ever have that again. I just finished my prilosec today. so yeah.
haha you know what's funny, as soon as I told you I hadn't had anyone write me I got two letters! One from Joseph and one from Micah! haha. But do tell people to write! haha.
Yep, it's looking like it's gonna be a Wakefield Christmas! The weird thing is they closed one of the areas in my district (Lawrenceville) and so it's just us and Petersburg...and they shotgunned that area so I don't really know that area at all. haha.
You got snow?! what the. It's been in the 20's here but during the day it starts to get up above the 50's soemtimes. so I don't know what the snow is gonna be like this year. They aren't expecting much.
I'm pretty sure you would laugh at how redneck virginia is. haha. Especially around hunting season. Hunting season is like, a HUGE deal out here. It starts in stages; first it's bow season (meaning hunting with a bow and arrows) then a month or two later it's black powder season, then another month later it's shotgun & dog season (meaning they can hunt with dogs which is just lazy hunting by the way.) it's pretty hilarious. You see guys driving around with trucks and dog kennels on the back. It's absolutely crazy. haha.
Thanksgiving was good but kinda boring. In the morning we went to help put together some thanksgiving dinners for the poor, and then we came back to our house and studied, then went over to some members and ate lunch and whatnot. then we came home, and basically slept the rest of the day! haha boring but so nice!
haha oh gosh I still have so much time left. I can't believe they are already expecting me to come home. I was actually thinking about some of that the other day though, I don't remember why. I actually wanted to do what you were talking about. I'll have to figure out if I can defer again. I want to work and earn some of the money I need to pay for myself. I really want to be independent (money wise) pretty soon after my mission. Like, at the latest a year from when I come home. so we'll see what happens here. Any suggestions?
yeah...your telling me. The one grocery store in wakefield is already playing christmas music. craziness.
ok well. I know I'm gonna get kicked off here soon! this is what I'm talking about! I only barely had time to write JUST you! stupid wakefield library. anyways. I love you all a ton! I'll talk to you next week!
December 6
The big 2011 catch up!
Novemeber 11
I'm doing good though, we are planning on having a baptism next week! It's a guy named charles and he is the man.
But yes. I'm sorry this got all scambled cause I got kicked off and now my mind just doesn't know what I was talking about.
I love you all though and next week will hopefully be better! haha.
Talk to you later!
November 15
so before I get into anything else, I need to tell you something! I got super sick this last thursday night. Like...sicker than I've been in a long time...it was a combination of two things; my acid reflux and a stomach virus. I was stupid and ate some of those 3rd degree habenero doritos chips which just ate me up inside. and then I had subway which just made it worse. So mom you remember the bad chest pain I had in the night time a couple of months ago? Yeah try that times a 100. and 10 times as long. I came home and just laid down because of how garbage I was feeling. Note I had already taken like 5 rolaids and 2-3 tums which did nothing. So I was trying to get the pain to go away and it was so bad it was keeping me from sleeping. SO I was up all night long. and I was also throwing up at the same time by the way. The first few were normal but when I ran out of food to throw up it was just bile and water. all. night. long. pain so bad in my chest that I couldn't sleep so I wandered all night long throwing up, dozing off for like 5 minutes, the pain waking me back up again and then taking a bath or shower or something because it made me feel better. Finally, at 5:40 I woke up my companion and said i need to get some pepto or something. So I went to the 7/11 with him and got the medicine which did nothing. So later on around 8 I got some milk of magnesia or whatever it's called and some prilosec because the med secretary told me to start that again. So finally, around 1 or 2 that afternoon I got to sleep and the pain went away. I was still incredibly weak and tired from the whole deal, but I at least didn't have pain anymore. So I just slept for a couple more hours.
gosh dangit. mom I'm sorry. I'm gonna have to finish my email later. This retarded library is kicking me off again before I can finish. Hopefully I can do so later...sorry.
November 22
Well you'll be happy to know I'm in a different library today and I'm writing to you first! haha. I usually write to you first anyways, that lady just kicked me off after only a little bit when I got on. so yeah.
Ok you freaked me out as well! I get this call from the mission office and we missed it, but they left a message, and it was marked "URGENT" so I'm like oh gosh. so I call and I thought something bad is happening. but nope just mom freaking out! hahaha.
I will take your advice. I'm trying to do better, but it's not always possible on a mission you know? People feed us what they feed us! But I've been doin better. Eating less and not so bad stuff. so yeah. I'm sorry about that scare. Blame it on the librarian! haha.
I call the medical advisor every time I get these pains and she's just like it's ALL YOUR FAULT ARUGHDJSFHKLJHDFK. And the last time I went the doctor told me to basically suck it up. haha. so anyways. If it happens again I'll go. But I've been on the prilosec so I hope I'll be fine.
oh and just so you can get it out there...I HAVEN'T GOT MAIL IN LIKE OVER A MONTH :( Like the last thing I got was a halloween card from the Wiest's which I promptly wrote them back and thanked them for! haha I don't normally complain about mail but a MONTH is ridiculous! haha :P
It's weird to think that next year I'll be at grandmas house for thanksgiving. real weird. I'm about to hit 16 months mom! how is this going so stinking fast?! so just fyi, transfer calls are this week, so you'll find out if I'm going or staying next p-day.
snow?! haha we've not even gotten close to it snowing yet. because where we are at it just doesn't snow that offten. it's kinda like oregon...just to hard for it to get snow.
MOM! That's awesome that you finished the book! I love the feeling of finishing it, even though it's kind of a sad end. Even though it's sorta sad it's also very happy! haha it's hard to explain. Personally, I would say start with the new testamant. The old testamant is really long and alot of it is the same story told twice (1,2 samuel, & 1,2 kings and chronicles are the same story) and some stuff is just long and arduous to read. Like Leviticus is simply the law of Moses telling the children of israel what to do and what not to do. so I would say start in the new testament or reread the book of mormon! haha.
yeah dad was telling me about the big screen tv death. pretty crazy. It'll be weird to come home to that not being there!
haha I sent a letter to jordan, did he ever get it?
I think it's so weird to realize I'm gonna be talking to you again in about a month! Crazy stuff!
alright I'm gonna try to reply to dad's email! So I'll talk to you later mom! Love you!
November 27th
I'm doing good though, we are planning on having a baptism next week! It's a guy named charles and he is the man.
But yes. I'm sorry this got all scambled cause I got kicked off and now my mind just doesn't know what I was talking about.
I love you all though and next week will hopefully be better! haha.
Talk to you later!
November 15
so before I get into anything else, I need to tell you something! I got super sick this last thursday night. Like...sicker than I've been in a long time...it was a combination of two things; my acid reflux and a stomach virus. I was stupid and ate some of those 3rd degree habenero doritos chips which just ate me up inside. and then I had subway which just made it worse. So mom you remember the bad chest pain I had in the night time a couple of months ago? Yeah try that times a 100. and 10 times as long. I came home and just laid down because of how garbage I was feeling. Note I had already taken like 5 rolaids and 2-3 tums which did nothing. So I was trying to get the pain to go away and it was so bad it was keeping me from sleeping. SO I was up all night long. and I was also throwing up at the same time by the way. The first few were normal but when I ran out of food to throw up it was just bile and water. all. night. long. pain so bad in my chest that I couldn't sleep so I wandered all night long throwing up, dozing off for like 5 minutes, the pain waking me back up again and then taking a bath or shower or something because it made me feel better. Finally, at 5:40 I woke up my companion and said i need to get some pepto or something. So I went to the 7/11 with him and got the medicine which did nothing. So later on around 8 I got some milk of magnesia or whatever it's called and some prilosec because the med secretary told me to start that again. So finally, around 1 or 2 that afternoon I got to sleep and the pain went away. I was still incredibly weak and tired from the whole deal, but I at least didn't have pain anymore. So I just slept for a couple more hours.
gosh dangit. mom I'm sorry. I'm gonna have to finish my email later. This retarded library is kicking me off again before I can finish. Hopefully I can do so later...sorry.
November 22
Well you'll be happy to know I'm in a different library today and I'm writing to you first! haha. I usually write to you first anyways, that lady just kicked me off after only a little bit when I got on. so yeah.
Ok you freaked me out as well! I get this call from the mission office and we missed it, but they left a message, and it was marked "URGENT" so I'm like oh gosh. so I call and I thought something bad is happening. but nope just mom freaking out! hahaha.
I will take your advice. I'm trying to do better, but it's not always possible on a mission you know? People feed us what they feed us! But I've been doin better. Eating less and not so bad stuff. so yeah. I'm sorry about that scare. Blame it on the librarian! haha.
I call the medical advisor every time I get these pains and she's just like it's ALL YOUR FAULT ARUGHDJSFHKLJHDFK. And the last time I went the doctor told me to basically suck it up. haha. so anyways. If it happens again I'll go. But I've been on the prilosec so I hope I'll be fine.
oh and just so you can get it out there...I HAVEN'T GOT MAIL IN LIKE OVER A MONTH :( Like the last thing I got was a halloween card from the Wiest's which I promptly wrote them back and thanked them for! haha I don't normally complain about mail but a MONTH is ridiculous! haha :P
It's weird to think that next year I'll be at grandmas house for thanksgiving. real weird. I'm about to hit 16 months mom! how is this going so stinking fast?! so just fyi, transfer calls are this week, so you'll find out if I'm going or staying next p-day.
snow?! haha we've not even gotten close to it snowing yet. because where we are at it just doesn't snow that offten. it's kinda like oregon...just to hard for it to get snow.
MOM! That's awesome that you finished the book! I love the feeling of finishing it, even though it's kind of a sad end. Even though it's sorta sad it's also very happy! haha it's hard to explain. Personally, I would say start with the new testamant. The old testamant is really long and alot of it is the same story told twice (1,2 samuel, & 1,2 kings and chronicles are the same story) and some stuff is just long and arduous to read. Like Leviticus is simply the law of Moses telling the children of israel what to do and what not to do. so I would say start in the new testament or reread the book of mormon! haha.
yeah dad was telling me about the big screen tv death. pretty crazy. It'll be weird to come home to that not being there!
haha I sent a letter to jordan, did he ever get it?
I think it's so weird to realize I'm gonna be talking to you again in about a month! Crazy stuff!
alright I'm gonna try to reply to dad's email! So I'll talk to you later mom! Love you!
November 27th
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