Elder Elder: Serving the Lord in Iowa: July

July 22, 2013

Hey! So first things first, did you tell Erin and Cameron to write me? And to answer your questions, yes, I do hear from Brad McKee. He e-mails me about every week! That is so sweet that you saw him! Man, I miss him. haha. He said that it was good to see you too. He misses you guys he said. So has he changed a lot? Just curious.
That is great that you were able to send her a Book of Mormon! You should refer them to the missionaries! Have them stop by. What could it hurt? They wouldn't even know it was you. All you have to do is go to mormon.org and refer them. All you need is their address and name I believe. But sending your testimony with the Book of Mormon will help a lot! That and the Book of Mormon itself are the best tools for doing missionary work. Another thing you could send would be a restoration Preach my Gospel pamphlet. They are great!
So just a quick story and we have to get going to our dinner appointment. So the other day, we went to an appointment with some investigators and we went in and started to teach them. This couple has been asking all the right questions so we taught about the restoration of the gospel and the Book of Mormon. They both committed to read and pray about it and during the lesson, their roommate came in and started listening and at the end , she started asking us some questions. Before we could even answer them, our investigators answered them for her! They taught her about the lesson we had just had! haha. It was so powerful! It meant that our investigators understood our message and agreed with it. So we then left and went to their neighbors' home, who are members, and had a lesson with them. After that lesson, we stopped back that the investigators' house because they had some food they wanted to give us. And to our surprise, all three of them were sitting on the couch reading the Book of Mormon together!!! We were so shocked! This never happens it seems like. The Lord has prepared the people in this home to receive the gospel! Such a blessing and a miracle.
Well, I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Elder Elder

July 29, 2013

Hey!!!
My week was wonderful as usual! We had a lot of fun and got a lot of work done. Before I forget though, I didn't get my address like I said I was going to... Oh wait!!! Victory! Wow, how convenient. My address is on my library card. Haha. Here it is:
Elder Jason Elder
409 9th Ave. #8
Fulton, IL 61252
So I wanted to share a couple of stories with you. The first one was a little strange. So on Tuesday, or Wednesday, I can't remember which one, a guy from California called us. He asked us if he could ask a few questions about the Book of Mormon. So, of course, I got excited and was like sure! But to my surprise, all he wanted to do was save me and my companion from our false church... He was hardcore anti-mormon. It was very interesting because when people bash on the church, they never attack the doctrine, they attack the people. But the funny thing is, when has God every used perfect people to build up his kingdom? This guy was hounding Joseph Smith and his imperfections, but never once said anything about our doctrine. And when you think about it, the bible is full of imperfect people that God used. Like Moses, he couldn't public speak so he had Aaron do it for him. Jonah ran away and was swallowed by a whale and King David... we he had his problems. So it just goes to show that God uses imperfect people to bring about the salvation of His people.
The second one was just a fun experience. So here in the Davenport stake, the youth do a mini-mission thing and Elder Anderson and I both got a youth for a companion for a couple of days. It was such a great experience for these youth! Erin, Cameron and Andrew would greatly benefit from this! It was so much fun and we both learned so much. And at the testimony meeting afterwards, all of the youth bore their testimonies about how they were all so excited to serve a mission now! I will send you a picture with me and my mini missionary. His name was Brother Ryan Achtley.
Well, the Mecks are going to the temple on September 21st and I have been approved to go! So that is exciting! I will finally be able to visit the Nauvoo temple! The Mecks are so excited to make it there! It is just amazing how the gospel can bless the lives of so many people, and the promise of eternal families is one of Heavenly Father's greatest gifts for us!!
Well, I love you all!! And I look forward to hearing from you next week! We are off to teach a wonderful family that the Near family referred to us. In fact, we are going to the Near's house to teach them the second lesson and set a date with them to be baptized! They are the Richards family. I bet I will be talking about them in future letters. They are a great family and will get baptized soon!!
Love you all!!!
Elder Elder

Sean Varner, our RC, and I at a sweet park on p-day.

We went to Eagle point park. Such a pretty park. There is a sweet castle there.

The Iowa landscape is growing on me! So green here and pretty.

Mom, I bet this bridge would scare you. It is very sketchy.

Brother Achtley and me

The Mississippi's longest point. It is one mile across right here!

Brother Jally went with Elder Anderson

We went to a ward party on the 24th of July and we had a tractor ride. This farm is so beautiful!

See... beautiful!

August 5, 2013

Hey!!!!
So I am in Clinton, but we live across the river in Fulton, Illinois. I know that is weird, but that's what I thought too. So the Fulton address is where I live. So you can send it there. :)
I hope you told Grandpa and Sharon hi for me! That is so great that they came out and that the twins were ordained! Congrats guys! Keep being wonderful! Haha. Now they get to prep the sacrament. I can't believe that they are so old. Crazy! And Erin is turning 18 in September right?! WOW! That is nuts! That's way sweet that the tryouts are almost done. I bet she is getting back into shape quickly. Hey Erin, Elder Wright is in my zone. he is actually my district leader right now! Haha! He is such a stud. He wants you to write him btw, haha.
So my comp and I got to go the temple with Sean Varner, our recent convert. It was so much fun! We even got to stay all day and go tot he Nauvoo Pageant afterward. That pageant was fantastic! You all need to go next year. It only goes during July and a little bit of August, but it is the best play I have ever seen. It is basically all about how Nauvoo came to be is so inspirational! I loved it. You guys would love it too and plus, it is free! Haha. And Sean loved it too and you wouldn't think that he would. He also loved the temple. It was cool. I was able to be the one that did the baptism. It was a great experience. Aubri is going to have a great time!
So the guy that called us last week, his name is Andrew. A really funny thing happened. We were at dinner with Sean's famiy and Joe Calote,who is Sean's church buddy, was there. And we were sharing the story about how Andrew called us and was bashing us, and Joe was like, "Who was it? Was it Andrew?" Haha, he totally knew the guy! It turns out that when Joe was on his mission, Andrew called him too! Haha, and that was two years ago. Joe said that he is facebook friends with him just for fun. We got a kick out of that!
Our biggest struggle here in Clinton is getting investigators to church. They all commit to come, but then they never show up. Elder Anderson and I even made some of them muffins in the morning and they still didn't come! We were sad when that happened! What they don't understand is that coming to church is an action that we take to show God that we are willing to follow Him and receive revelation for ourselves. And to add on that, church is were we get to renew our baptismal covenants! I swear people think that the only reason we want them to come to church is for us, but it isn't! We gain nothing other than their company when they come. No one gets paid if we have more membership. It will only help further there own testimonies of this Gospel. And for those who don't have a testimony, where is a better place to gain one than in Jesus Christ's church? This next week, we are going to do everything it takes to get these two investigators there. They need it so much! If they come, they will have such a great experience. Since being on my mission, I have really understood the importance of church and keeping the sabbath day holy!
Well, I love all of you and hope you have a wonderful week! I can't wait to see those pictures that Aubri sent! Yeah!
Love you all,
Elder Elder

August 12, 2013

Hey!!
My week was awesome! It seemed like we had more meetings and did more driving than actual missionary work, but it is all a part of the same work I guess. We went to Iowa City for Mission Leadership Council! I love being a zone leader because of this meeting. It is such a wonderful meeting full of inspiring trainings and then Elder Anderson was sick all Wednesday and I went on exchanges in De-Witt with a new elder on Thursday and Friday. So we only had like two days of work in our area this last week! But we made the most of it and still taught a lot of people.
So we have had just a few changes in the missionary rules. So you should go onto LDS.org and go to resources at the top of the page and hit missionary. Then check out our new dress code! We can now wear classy tan, silver light gray, and white suits and slacks! I am pumped... Well except that I don't have any money to buy a new suit or some new slack, but I am still pumped! haha. I bet I would look great in a light gray suit! [Hint, Hint] Haha! You will have to check out the new stuff. The one thing that I am going to need to buy is a side bag. Backpacks are no longer approved to wear, so I have to buy a bag! I bet I could find a decently priced one at Kohls here? What do you think mom? And the other change is that we can now listen to piano music if it is the hymns. And they can be different arrangements, but still have to be hymns.
Before I forget, Elder Wright wants me to tell Erin to write him! He is now in my district! I love that kid so much! So funny and such a great missionary.
Well, sadly we are out of time. I just want to tell you all that I love and miss you! And thank you so much for the birthday wishes1 I can't believe I am 20, I feel old. I think I have a glimpse of how dad feels... :) So one thing I wanted to share with you are just some thoughts I had while I was the different meetings this week and at church. It seemed like the theme of all of the meetings was changing oursevles through the atonement of Christ. And the way we do that is by studying the doctrine! We must get the doctrine of Christ from our minds to our hearts! Faith, repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost and enduring to the end have to be a part of who we are! We can't just do them once! The only way to become like the Savior is to master these principles! Man oh man, I love this gospel! There is nothing better in the world than serving a mission for the Lord!
I love you all once again! Talk to you next week!
Elder Elder

August 19, 2013

Hello family, and of course Ella! Let me be the last to say, welcome to the greatest country, state, and town on earth!! Haha, you will love Tridell! There are so many great things to do there. Let's see how many things I can mention....... Haha, just kidding!
Well, I had another great week! I love it here! Today for p-day, as you can tell by the pictures, we hung out with our recent convert, Sean, and a sweet member who leaves for his mission, Chris, all day at the park! It was a blast, but I am really tired!
Wow, I just looked at the clock and we are just about out of time.. We are going to a member's home at 5:30 for dinner and they are having the Richards family over and we get to teach them!
Oh yeah, I have a story to tell. But first, I just need to ask Erin if she is alright?? Ok good, because President Jensen made a mistake the other day. So we were driving to service and President Jensen call. He sounds a little grim and he asked to talk to me. So I said that I was there. He then said, "Elder Elder, do you have a little sister?" and he didn't sound like his normal happy self and when he said this, my heart, stomach and everything else just dropped and stopped working, I'm surprised I didn't crash the car!! Ha. I was a little scared for what was going to follow. So I said, "Yeah, I have a little sister," and he said, "There was an accident at your home. Is your sister's name Isabella?" Wow, I felt so much relief when he said that! For some reason, he thought that the person that called said my name, but he clearly was talking about a different Elder. Apparently, it wasn't too severe of an accident, but someone got hurt. I am so grateful that it wasn't you little sister!! Make sure you stay safe! I don't want President to call me and be right!
Well, I wish I could write you more, but I am out of time! I love you all!! Keep on keeping on! Ha. Oh, and we get transfer council on Friday... I am praying that I get to stay here for another six weeks or more! Talk to you next week!!
Elder Elder

It was a little small...

There is this sweet castle at a park here! Not as cool as the Europe castles though...

We were in the middle of a grueling game of Frisbee golf and had to take a photo. Do you see Sean Varner way in the back??

Yup, that's me...

Don't worry, I caught him

August 26, 2013

Um... so funny story. We went over to Bud and Carrie's home, two of our investigators, and there was a squirrel laying on the sidewalk. We were a little confused, but we walked by it and went and knocked on their door to wake them up for church. When we came back, we wanted to see if it was dead. But it wasn't. It did have a broken back or leg or something. We chased it around for a little bit and then it found its resting place here... haha. I guess it had just given up hope...

This is Chris Keller! He is a stud! We have all become pretty good friends. He leaves for his mission in New Zealand tomorrow! I'm sure gonna miss him.

I have become an addict of disc golf...

This is our district! But Elder Wright is leaving though...:(

September 3, 2013

Hey!!!
You bet I had a great week!!! It was filled with lots of lessons and blessings! I am beyond happy that I am staying in Clinton! I never want to leave this area! NEVER!! Haha. Depending on who gets transfered, Elder Anderson or me, one of us could be here until Christmas, possibly! So I am hoping that I get to stay that long! Haha. But I guess I will go where ever I'm supposed to... :)
The work is great here! We just recently got sisters in Clinton too and if you have looked at a map of this place, it isn't too big, so we had to cut the city in half. So we lost some investigators to them as well as a lot of members. So right now, things are a little bit slower, but we are going out today to find some new investigators to teach!
We had a great lesson with the Richards family last week though! So we were pretty much just having a question and answer session with them because they had so many great questions to ask. And afterwards, we asked them how each of them were feeling about all of it. We first asked the oldest, Will. He said that he was starting to feel better about everything and that he still wanted some more time to study, which is perfectly fine! His little sister, Laura, said pretty much the same things. But Sara, the middle child, said that she had decided that she wants to get baptized!!! Yeah!! She said that she even wrote an essay about if for her dad so he would let her! Talk about dedication! She is so sweet. In fact, they all are so sweet! I have no doubt that they will all be baptized soon! Their date is for the 21st of this month! The same day that I am going up to Nauvoo for the Mecks' sealing! That is going to be a great day!
So mom, how are you doing? I hope you are doing well! I just love you so much! You are the best! I miss your cooking! :) And everything else you do for me! Your strong testimony has helped me become a much better person! I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you! I love you and the family!
Love,
Elder Elder

We went caving!!! So great! We got really muddy too!

District p-day

This hole goes back like a mile! We had to crawl through most of it on our hands and feet!

Don't worry... I didn't fall

September 9, 2013

Hey!

So I always save your letter for last so that I have as much time as possible to write you back, but then it dawned on me today that I should write you back first... and then I wouldn't run out of time while I was writing you. haha. So what I am trying to say is that I don't have too much time today.... But I will write as much as I can!

So first off, thank you so much for letting me buy that bag! I got a cheap one off of amazon.com. Some members got it for me. I will send you a picture of it in a second. I also had a quick couple questions for you. Have you heard anything about C. lately?? I was wondering if you could get me his address so I could write him? And also, there is a member here named Chris, the one who just left on his mission to New Zealand, and he is such a stud! He is definitely a friend for life. Anyway, his family is awesome too and his mom has tried to friend you on facebook but apparently you haven't accepted it yet! So she wanted me to ask you to friend her on Facebook! She is so wonderful! She wants to see what my favorte food is so she can make it for me! She honestly reminds me of you just a little bit! Which is hard to do because you are so great! Not many mothers compare to mine!!!! :)

So this last week we went on exchanges in Dubuque, Iowa, and I went with Elder Ackley. He is a Marchaleze speaking Elder, so in all of the lessons he would teach in Marchaleze and since I do not know Marchaleze he would briefly tell me what he had gone over, and I would then teach in English. The Marchaleze people understand English a little, but aren't very good at speaking it. It was so great! The spirit really stepped in though, and helped the people understand! It gave me a little taste of what it would be like in a foreign country! I totaly could have handled a different language!!!! But I was just not meant to be anywhere other than Iowa! But the great thing is, I love it here! I definitely was supposed to come here! Especially to Clinton! I hope I never leave here!

So I'm sure Brad just messed up on his converting metric to standard. Because 6 foot 4!!! That's huge! I would be so surprised! haha.

My suit and shoes are holding up great! I am surprised! They will for sure hold up for another year! However, I really want to get some light gray or brown pants now since they are approved! We just got a Kohls gift card in the mail so I am going to go and check out their pricess soon. Sadly the gift card is only for 10 bucks, so I would have to spend a little from my card??? I guess I don't absolutly need new pants, but I would look great!!!! haha. You make the call, it doesn't make a difference to me!

Well, I love you! I hit my year mark on Thursday! Crazy, right? About this time last year I was skydiving!!! haha! :)

Love,

Elder Elder

September 16, 2013

So first off, Hi!!!! And second, every mission has its own rules, so I'm guessing that his mission president said that just for their mission. You are still good to put stuff on my blog! I will let you know though if our president says anything though! I don't think I send anything that is too personal anyway...

I will have to tell Shelly to request you again. She is so sweet! I love the Kellers so much. They are feeding us tomorrow!

Ya, I sure hope that S. is doing well! I miss him! He mentioned that he probably wasn't going on a mission anymore because of some stuff. I hope that everything is ok for him. That is scary about A! But good that she is doing well! Hopefully her babies will be ok! I will be sure to keep her in my prayers.

So today I got a package from Glen and Chele! They are so great! I was so excited to get it.

Ya, I can tell that Aubri is busy. She doesn't have as much time to write me. Along with Erin!!! But I'm just so glad that everyone is doing so well! And yes, everyone did write me last week. It was so sweet! It made my week! I just wish that every week was like that.... haha. but I will take what I can get.

So this last week we had a wonderful experience! Elder Robert C. Gay from the Quorum of the Seventy came and talked to us for an 8-hour meeting! It was so amazing! I learned so much! It is so great to be in the presence of one of Heavenly Father's Special Witnesses! My favorite thing I learned comes from 3 Nephi 11. So I will try to share with you what I learned.

So in 3 Nephi 11, it says this:

9 And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:

10 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.

11 And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father intaking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.

So, the first thing that the Savior did was tell us that he was the Savior of the World and that He had, in a sense, provided the way for us to be saved. So basically the first thing He did was ask us to have faith in Him. To believe that He truly did come.

But then the best part is that after He asks us to have faith He always provides a way for our faith to become knowledge.

13 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying:

14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.

15 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.

After He told them who He was, He invited them to know if He truly was there. And the only way to know if He is there is to feel him! So the people went forward and felt Him. They knew that He was real! The way that He invites us to feel him is to come unto Him, and repent. This is how we can know that He did overcome the world, that He truly did the will of the Father and paid for our sins! Through repentance we can know of a surety that the Savior is there, and we can be like the people in 3 Nephi that saw Him.

16 And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying:

17 Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.

I love this story so much! The Savior loves us all and wants to forgive us. He wants us to know that He truly is there. We just have to reach out to Him and feel his presence. This chapter is an amazing chapter! I invite you and the family to really study hard during a family home evening! I know that you will all receive revelation on how you can feel the Savior's love in your lives more! I testify that Jesus is real! He loves us all so much, no matter what we have done! If we come to Him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit He will forgive us! I love this gospel so much, and wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now! Serving a mission has been the best experience of my life! I have come to know my Savior more and more with every passing day! And I want so badly for you and the family to feel His love even more in your every day lives!

I love you all so much! Thanks for the support you give me out here, I wouldn't be where I was without the love from all of you!

Love,

Elder Elder

September 23, 2013

Hey!

We had a great week! We were blessed and able to set a date with a guy named Leonard for November 9th. He even picked it! He is changing his life and wants to come to church and be baptized! It is so awesome! But the highlight of the week going to the temple and getting see the new video as well as be a witness for the Mecks sealing! My name will always be on their marriage certificate so they can't ever forget me! Haha. But the feeling in the temple that day was so awesome! and I got to see all the members from Manchester, so that was great! So many wonderful people there.

So, I am allergic to eggs!! At least that is what I am sure is causing my stomach to kill all the time. Everytime I eat eggs, I get sick. So lame!!! How do you get allergic to something you love and have had your whole life??? Crazy!!! I bet it's just the store bought processed eggs. I am going to get some real ones from a local farmer and see if they make a difference. I sure hope they do, because I don't know what I would do if I couldn't have eggs! They are like the third key ingredient used in a breakfast burrito!!!!

So funny story for you all! I was out contacting some potential investigators and we were talking to this couple on their doorstep. I asked them if they would take a picture of Jesus, to kind of break the ice. The wife took one, and as I tried to give one to her husband he said, "I can't take that picture of Jesus. I got a bag of weed in my hand. That's messed up!" (add a little language too) So I looked at his hands, and he definitely had a bag of weed he was playing with!! Haha. That was crazy! First time I have seen weed on my mission. It was pretty funny though. My comp and I laughed when we left.

The work is going great here! We have about 13 or so investigators and a few of them are doing so well! In fact, for family home evening tonight we are going to the wonderful Near's home and having family home evening with one of our investigators! It is just what she needs, some friends in the ward!

Well, I love you and everyone else! Keep it real! Love, Elder Elder

The Mecks temple day!

September 30, 2013

Hey!!!

It was so great getting two emails from you today!! haha. Wow, the fam sounds like they are doing great!! So great news, I am staying Clinton for probably another 3 months and hopefully longer! I never want to leave this place! haha. It is home! Anyway, Elder Anderson is getting transferred. He got called to be an assistant to the president! Which means that he is transferring early to help with transfers, so I will be in my third 3-companionship!!! I will be serving with Elder Long and Elder Ririe for a week and a half and will get my new comp on the 10th! I get to train a new zone Leader, so that should be fun, seeing as I don't really know what I'm doing most of the time as a Zone Leader! I have learned to just go with it, and the Lord really makes up for all of my faults. It is amazing! But I am so happy that I am staying here in Clinton! When I get home next year we have to come back here and visit!

So we had an amazing week! We taught 20 lessons and found 4 new investigators and had 6 at church!! It was sweet!!!! I love this work so much! The Lord blesses us everyday with lessons and new people to teach. Hopefully we will be having a lot of baptisms soon. We have over 20 investigators in Clinton!!! Its great.

Funny story, so we were at a member's home teaching Liz, Sean Varner's girlfriend, and we were teaching her the Word of Wisdom. We started out by teaching her about the Doctrine and Covenants first. Then we started in D&C 89 reading the whole section. After the first couple verses, I paused everybody and was expounding on a principle when outside we heard a super loud crashing noise!! We were all super confused, and didn't really know what to do. Then we heard the sound of a car squealing its tires and driving off. After this we were able to realize what had happened. So we all ran outside to see if we could catch a glimpse of the car. We missed it!! But we went down to the street to see what had happened, and someone had run into Liz's car. They totaled it! It was crazy!! The police came and everything, right in the middle of the lesson!! Needless to say, we didn't get to finish the lesson. Pretty crazy right?? haha. There are some crazy drivers here I guess! I was a little afraid to drive home after that, but I endured it! haha.

That is so crazy that Erin is doing so well!!! Tell her good job for me!, and I have still not received a picture of Ella!! I think I have the right to know who is living in my house??? haha. Sadly I didn't get a chance to write any letters today, so I will write C. next week. I honestly have no idea what to write him though? I will have to pray and ask Father in Heaven!

So, there is a great story in Mark about fasting. So in Mark 9 about verse 20-29 is where this comes from. "But the Apostles try to cast out an evil spirit, and can't so the they ask the Lord why, and he says, "This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." So basically he is saying that sometimes the only way for a miracle to take place is through much prayer and fasting! This is a wonderful idea!

I too am soo excited for General Conference!! I can't wait to be spiritually fed this weekend! I never thought I would enjoy 10 hours of meetings before, but I love them so much now! I never want to miss a single session again! And how cool is it that the priesthood session will be on BYUTV now!! but they still want the priesthood members to go to the chapel and watch it. the BYUTV is if you can't make it because it is too far. So Cameron and Andrew get your bums to the stake center that night!!!! I mean it! Don't you miss this opportunity for the Lord to speak to you!!!!!

Well, I am going to send you a bunch of pictures now!! I sure love you mom, dad and family! I think about you all everyday!

Love,

Elder Elder

This is my panda bear!! He loves the Book of Mormon! I read it to him every day :)

This was a text from Sister Near! She is the best! She is always making us feel good! They have us over so much and we are teaching like five investigators in their home every week! So sweet.

This is where we do service every week! So much fun! It reminds me of working back home in the yard.

This is Elder Anderson and Will, Sara, Laura and Linn. The three kids are our investigators. They are so great! They all want to get baptized, we are just waiting on the parents to say yes!!!

Harvesting time is just around the corner. This is exactly how things looked last year! Crazy

Comp pictures...

I was flying...

...

Sister Keller!! She is the bomb! She is our mom here in Clinton! Mom, you need to become best friends with her so that we all hang out one day with their awesome family!!

Here is the whole Keller family. Sadly, I was taking the picture...

Add caption

October 7, 2013

Hey!!!!

Wow, I can't believe that Conference is already over!! I know what you are talking about though, it was amazing!!! You need to read some of the talks that were giving in the priesthood session! The one by Elder Uchtdorf was so powerful!

I sure loved this quote from conference about fasting, "Fasting is a time for our spiritual selves to gain dominance over our physical selves." It is also a great time to show God our willingness to do whatever he asks us! He will bless us so much as we fast!

So this past week has been a little crazy, we worked both DeWitt and Clinton! So we drove back and forth teaching their investigators and ours. And ya, we have now 16 investigators her. We let the sisters here teach 4 of them that were single women! But 16 still!!! It's awesome! And a lot of them are doing so well!! Elizabeth R. is the only one right now though with a date. She wants to be baptized on the 26th of this month! We are so excited for her! We just need to continue teaching her all of the stuff she needs to know! And all the rest of our investigators need to come consistently to church and have a spiritual confirmation! Some are really close!!! It is so great! Teaching the gospel is a lot more fun when people actually listen haha!!! But it's fun any way!

Well, I have to get going, I love you!!! Oh, I get to train a new zone Leader starting Thursday!!! It is going to be a blast!!!! I can't wait!! I sure hope you all are doing well though!! I love you mom and the family!
Elder Elder..... your son..... :)

The Mecks sealing

October 14, 2013

Hello!!!

Hey I completely know what you mean by being happy to be off work!! I can say the same about missionary work sometimes!! I love it more than anything I have ever done, but it is nice when P-day rolls around and we get to take a little break and rest our minds haha.

That's great that C. came to church to see S. come home. I wrote him a letter last week, so hopefully he writes back!

No, we haven't had any rain in quite some time, but it is getting colder. I have to wake up and put a hoodie on in the morning!! Speaking of cold though, we don't have to wear our suit coats in the winter anymore!! We can just wear sweaters now!! I am so excited! So maybe for Christmas I could get a sweet dark blue sweater??? haha. That would be great! A couple light colored slacks and a couple sweaters. I am going to look great this winter!

Erin's team is going to state??? That is so amazing!!!! Why do they have to be good when I am not there? Bummer! I guess you will have to keep me informed on who wins! Root them on for me will you? I am a little excited that the seasons over, maybe Erin will write me more, and, Aubree... cause let's be honest here, I haven't heard from either one of them in quite some time.

Well, It has been crazy here in Clinton! Our area has exploded. We have around 21 investigators, with all different problems/concerns/needs! But the members have done an amazing job helping us. They are all so willing to let us teach in their homes, and are inviting their friends to learn as well. It has been a little overwhelming at times because I just got a new companion and he doesn't know anyone yet. So It has been fun remembering all of them and what to teach and coordination where and when we are teaching them. I can't wait until he gets acquainted with the area better! haha.

So we will be having a baptism on the 26th of this month! Elizabeth R. is a member's wife who is super interested. They both had been smoking for quite some time, but we taught them the Word of Wisdom, and did the stop smoking workshop with them. They both have quit and are keeping the word of wisdom now! Elizabeth is just great though! When we asked her the other day if she had any questions during a meeting, She said, " No, it all just makes sense." I loved that so much! Because it all just makes sense! There isn't anything confusing! God didn't make some complicated plan for us! He wants more than anything to have us all make it back home one day! So He has made it simple, the hardest part sometimes is having the desire to change our bad habits and perfect ourselves!

I think that is awesome that you are going to study Preach My Gospel!! I love chapter 6 so much!! I have learned a lot about becoming a better person while studing that chapter. One thing of advice I would give would be to go to the end of that chapter and look at the evaluation of yourself. It is very helpful and really shows what you need to improve on the most. Oh, and of course you have to keep a study journal!! That, I found, helps so much.

Well mom, I sure love you!!! Thanks for being so great all of the time and for your great example to me and the family! I love you and miss you! Two months and I will get to skype home again!! Can't wait! Well bye!! :)

Love,

Elder Elder