This is one of the letters she has written back to me! It is really fun to see her handwriting :)
PLEASE email me any letters she has written to you!
I found this HUGE leaf out tracting :)
Monday, November 29, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Jordan: Pictures!!!
These pictures were from her mission president's wife armiesofhelaman2.blogspot.com, this is a blog of her whole entire mission, and only has a few pictures of Jordan in it. Whenever I find a picture of her on there, I will be sure to post it on here for you to see!
Sister missionaries in her mission... can you find her?? (near the middle :) )
That is her companion on the right in the hot pink shirt she has been talking about in her letters, Sister Bennett
Everyone's carved pumpkins!! The lady standing on the right of jordan is sister Dalrymple, she has also talked about her in a few of her letters!!
Jake: 11/22/10 & PICTURES!!
Dear Fam,
First Comments on Dads letters, (1mail+email today)
"Ben has a really funny sense of humor" -i miss that so much it is seriously killing me! i love that kid
Thank you for getting kids to write, it was awesome to hear from them
Go Tara!! Good job goin with dad to the game!!
Ben!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes! I've been so worried and then when i heard you made it i haven't been shutting up about you. I think my companions are getting sick of me braggin about you. That is so amazing! What position have you been playing?...WHy did jake Lloyd go to a diff. school? I think you are so awesome Ben! Wow you must be as good as like.. Kobe Bryant or something...:)
I'm sitting next to Elder Fairbanks right now by the way...Exchanges kinda thing today..
I will be done being in the 3pack after transfers. They already told me i'll be going back to Bothell.
Yes. Sometimes i get to play basketball on P-days, but the fact is that this mission is pretty much the strictest mission in the world. We really can't do anything but breathe.
I am so jealous that im not watching this NFL season. Its killing me! Send me an article about Vick or something ah!! I also need something about how the NBA is going, like the Heat? Lakers? etc..
For thanksgiving i'm having it with investigators, (Lola and Oscar) and will not be eating turkey! haha. funny, but i dont really care... anyway it'll be fun and sad, i miss vosotros big time! speaking of weird languages i talked to a Chilean the other day..kinda weird!
First Comments on Moms letters, (1mail+email today)
What did the Halloween package have in it? i am in a blurr right now...
I am filling my prescriptions from a Fred-Meyer and it is all good, i dont even know exactly whos insurance its going through though.
Stew AP!! wow! i feel so inadequate.. i wish the spanish missionaries over hear could do that kinda stuff.
Very sad about coop. i'm sure he'll go back out.
The threesome is going fine, but too quick, im going back to my bothell dungeon too soon. I'm sure i'll be fine though.
Spanish ward- yes they only speak spanish there. its cool there are so many different countries there i love it.
Hahaha! Jake Craft thats funny i maybe could need that some day, (Rogaine) but for now i think im fine
I wrote joshy, i hope he got it...
after my suit was dirty from slipping, i washed it off with a rag and then took it to the dry cleaners, it looks good as new.
for christmas, i'll be fine, don't waste more money on me, i'm too spoiled but i wont be angry if you get me anything i just feel dumb around all these poor people. sorry that was mean, im sure you'll be happier if you send me stuff cause honestly it will make me happier i just feel bad, i'll think of some stuff and send it in an email...soon
Sooo the pictures are amazing!! Ben youre huge!!!!!!!...and hot with those braces off. Tara and Danny- i loved your costumes! Cute for tara and awesome for Danny. Josh...you beat them all, you are too good looking!!
So anyway..Everything is going well we had a really fun last week, but not very productive at all for some reason. No one was home or able to teach. No one came to church. We were with members mostly. I laughed so hard so many times, o gosh. I'm super sad this is coming to an end, but i'll be good. P.S. that was a funny card with mikes picture, haha i kinda do wish he did write me something, but i know he is overwhelmed. One of our investigators could be getting deported which is strange and very sad. I wish that she was just a citizen. This stuff is not that uncommon either! It happens all the time to our people that we teach. Sooo I am almost 1/4 of the way done with me mission... is that weird or waht!!?? anyway i'm not thinking about it too much, so no big deal. It is snowing over here right now and everyone is freaking out! It is so not a big deal there is no reason to stock up of food and lock the cellar. Elder Daniels Elder Fairbanks and i are going to find a Christmas tree and chop one down hahah. Anyway not alot to say right now, things are fine, i'll maybe try to write on Thursday..
I need my patriarchal blessing, i'm trying to be patient, but this is kinda taking forever
I love you so much and love when you write me! Thankyou
-Elder Eel Bocaj
First Comments on Dads letters, (1mail+email today)
"Ben has a really funny sense of humor" -i miss that so much it is seriously killing me! i love that kid
Thank you for getting kids to write, it was awesome to hear from them
Go Tara!! Good job goin with dad to the game!!
Ben!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes! I've been so worried and then when i heard you made it i haven't been shutting up about you. I think my companions are getting sick of me braggin about you. That is so amazing! What position have you been playing?...WHy did jake Lloyd go to a diff. school? I think you are so awesome Ben! Wow you must be as good as like.. Kobe Bryant or something...:)
I'm sitting next to Elder Fairbanks right now by the way...Exchanges kinda thing today..
I will be done being in the 3pack after transfers. They already told me i'll be going back to Bothell.
Yes. Sometimes i get to play basketball on P-days, but the fact is that this mission is pretty much the strictest mission in the world. We really can't do anything but breathe.
I am so jealous that im not watching this NFL season. Its killing me! Send me an article about Vick or something ah!! I also need something about how the NBA is going, like the Heat? Lakers? etc..
For thanksgiving i'm having it with investigators, (Lola and Oscar) and will not be eating turkey! haha. funny, but i dont really care... anyway it'll be fun and sad, i miss vosotros big time! speaking of weird languages i talked to a Chilean the other day..kinda weird!
First Comments on Moms letters, (1mail+email today)
What did the Halloween package have in it? i am in a blurr right now...
I am filling my prescriptions from a Fred-Meyer and it is all good, i dont even know exactly whos insurance its going through though.
Stew AP!! wow! i feel so inadequate.. i wish the spanish missionaries over hear could do that kinda stuff.
Very sad about coop. i'm sure he'll go back out.
The threesome is going fine, but too quick, im going back to my bothell dungeon too soon. I'm sure i'll be fine though.
Spanish ward- yes they only speak spanish there. its cool there are so many different countries there i love it.
Hahaha! Jake Craft thats funny i maybe could need that some day, (Rogaine) but for now i think im fine
I wrote joshy, i hope he got it...
after my suit was dirty from slipping, i washed it off with a rag and then took it to the dry cleaners, it looks good as new.
for christmas, i'll be fine, don't waste more money on me, i'm too spoiled but i wont be angry if you get me anything i just feel dumb around all these poor people. sorry that was mean, im sure you'll be happier if you send me stuff cause honestly it will make me happier i just feel bad, i'll think of some stuff and send it in an email...soon
Sooo the pictures are amazing!! Ben youre huge!!!!!!!...and hot with those braces off. Tara and Danny- i loved your costumes! Cute for tara and awesome for Danny. Josh...you beat them all, you are too good looking!!
So anyway..Everything is going well we had a really fun last week, but not very productive at all for some reason. No one was home or able to teach. No one came to church. We were with members mostly. I laughed so hard so many times, o gosh. I'm super sad this is coming to an end, but i'll be good. P.S. that was a funny card with mikes picture, haha i kinda do wish he did write me something, but i know he is overwhelmed. One of our investigators could be getting deported which is strange and very sad. I wish that she was just a citizen. This stuff is not that uncommon either! It happens all the time to our people that we teach. Sooo I am almost 1/4 of the way done with me mission... is that weird or waht!!?? anyway i'm not thinking about it too much, so no big deal. It is snowing over here right now and everyone is freaking out! It is so not a big deal there is no reason to stock up of food and lock the cellar. Elder Daniels Elder Fairbanks and i are going to find a Christmas tree and chop one down hahah. Anyway not alot to say right now, things are fine, i'll maybe try to write on Thursday..
I need my patriarchal blessing, i'm trying to be patient, but this is kinda taking forever
I love you so much and love when you write me! Thankyou
-Elder Eel Bocaj
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Jordan: 11/17/10
Mom, Dad, Jake, Ben, Joshy, Tara, and Danny:
How are you? I'm so excited Jake got email! Yay! This will be so much easier! (I'm still going to write you a written letter every week though Jakey Poo, so I expect you to do the same!) Well, this week has been CRAZY. I told you last week that Sis. Dalrymple came up here to be in a threesome with us, which has been interesting. Sister Bennett and I have just been together for so long that it's difficult to make sure Sister Dalrymple feels included. And Sis. Dalrymple loved her old area and doesn't really have any desire to try to love this new area, which is really hard for us because we LOVE this area! Anyway, three's just a rough number. But, here's the crazy part, Sister Bennett just got a call saying she's going down to be companions with a Spanish sister for this next week (starting tomorrow) which means it will just be me and Sis. Dalrymple here with me as the senior companion. I'm a little nervous! I still feel brand new. We'll see how it goes! Transfers are a week from tomorrow (on Thanksgiving Day), so we'll see what happens then.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, we got invited to go over to some of my favorite members' houses for dinner: The Wolfleys and Sis. Rasmussen. Sis. Rasmussen's husband is in the military (serving in Iraq) and her children are all at in-laws this holiday, so we're going to go over to her house, and Br. and Sis. Wolfley are going to come over too. I'm going to try to make Peter Schot Pie and bring it! We'll see if it turns out O.K. I'm so grateful we get to spend the holiday with members! I'm really looking forward to it! They're going to split our P-day next week in half, so we have half on Wed. and the other half on Thanksgiving, so we can mostly just hang out with members all day. It will be wonderful!
Here are some random thoughts and happenings in the life of Sister Lee this past week:
1. Our investigator (Nathan Soli) has a crush on me, and the whole Singles Ward knows about it. It's super funny and super awkward for me. He makes inappropriate comments, and asks me how long I'm going to be in the ward, etc.
2. On Saturday, all of our lessons fell through, so we tracted the entire day. It was LONG. By the end, we decided to start singing Disney songs in between houses just to keep ourselves moving. It was funny. We've found it's kind of overwhelming for people when we go tracting in a threesome.
3. I reached my 3 month mark and got frozen yogurt! (Today is Sis. Bennett's 17 month mark!)
4. My roommate (Hermana Funch), who has become a really good friend, is a convert to the church. She's from California, and the missionaries taught her when she was in high school. She was the first member of her family, and shortly after her mom joined the church. She then went to school at B.Y.U. and decided to serve a mission. Then, this past spring, she found out her dad was getting baptized! She was so excited! This past Sunday, he received the Melchezidek (spelling?) priesthood, and this spring they will be sealed together as a family. How wonderful!
5. Since Sis. Bennett is "going Spanish" for a week we decided we needed to do something Spanish--while out tracting we translated (to the best of our abilities, which isn't saying much) "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow" (from Annie) into Spanish and sang it to the Hermanas that night: El sol va a venir, manana...entonces tengo que esperar hasta manana...Good times!
6. On Sunday it was Sis. Bennett's departing fireside, so we went with some ward members, including Popo (80 yr. old Chinese lady), who I sat next to. She was getting a little emotional (because she LOVES Sis. Bennett) so I patted her hand. She then proceeded to caress my hand for a while and then look very carefully at my fingers. Then she looked carefully at her fingers and back at mine again. Then she worked off one of her Jade rings and put it on my finger! She is so sweet. It turns my finger totally green, so I don't where it all the time but always put it on when I go to see her. :) I love Popo. Another funny story about her: Yesterday we were visiting her, and she was telling us that she uses Bengay cream for her sore joints. I mentioned that my neck had been kinked for a long time and wondered if Bengay would help. "Oh yes!" she said. "Come here. I be doctor!" I went over and she proceeded to unbutton my shirt and rub Bengay (smells like Icy Hot) on my neck with her little old hands. Sis. Bennett was laughing so hard. It was pretty funny. Actually, it did help a little! :)
7. On Sunday afternoon, we went and taught our investigator Nikki. She is doing really well. We taught her about prophets, and it was a really wonderful lesson, with lots of discussion. Towards the end of the lesson, I bore testimony to her the President Monson is truly a prophet of God. "How do you know that?" she immediately asked. It was a good experience for me to have to answer that question. I thought about it for a moment and then told her that I knew for several reasons. First, I knew because I had prayed about it and received confirmation through the Holy Ghost that President Monson is truly a prophet of God. Second, I know he is a prophet because I know that the Book of Mormon is true and from God. I told her that, that is why we emphasize the Book of Mormon so much--because it really is the keystone to our religion. If we know the Book of Mormon is from God, then we know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. And if Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, then we have a living prophet on the Earth today. It is such a blessing to have the opportunity to share my testimony and really think about how I have come to believe the things I do.
8. At church on Sunday, I turned around to see Kaylie Dreyer sitting a few rows behind me! We were both so excited and surprised! It turns out she was there with her sister-in-law who was in town and thinking about moving to the area, so they were there checking out the ward. I had an investigator (Nikki) with me, so I couldn't rush over her right after sacrament meeting, but after I took Nikki to Sunday school I went out in the hall and found her. She had her baby with her, and he is getting so big! It felt SO WEIRD to have someone call me by my first name. Oh, it was so good to see her though! She gave me a big hug and we took I picture. We only got to talk for a minute, but it was so fun to see a familiar face!
9. We tracted into a fabulous old couple a few weeks ago, and we went back to teach them this week. They are SO sweet! The lady is from England and has a fabulous accent. They are very receptive, and it is such a joy to teach them. When we got there, the man opened the door and said to his wife, "Honey, our three angels are here!" They are wonderful! When we left they gave us a HUGE Costco tin of cookies to take home for Thanksgiving.
10. One more Popo story: She has two huge fish tanks at her house with lots of fish, and Sis. Bennett and I always like to feed the fish when we go to visit her. So this week she had some new food, and she said that we needed to hold it a little above the water, and the fish would jump up and get it. So I did. I had the OPEN can of fish food in one hand and held my hand over the tank with the other hand. Sure enough, the fish jumped up to eat the food, and it scared me so bad I jumped about a foot in the air and screamed. The fish food went flying like confetti. Popo thought it was SO funny.
Well, everything is going well. I miss you and love you SO much. Please write me! (BEN!) I can't believe we're not going to be together for Thanksgiving. Take lots of pictures and send them to me! I want more pictures of Leila too! Please :) Thank you for being the best family in the world!
Love you forever,
Jordan
How are you? I'm so excited Jake got email! Yay! This will be so much easier! (I'm still going to write you a written letter every week though Jakey Poo, so I expect you to do the same!) Well, this week has been CRAZY. I told you last week that Sis. Dalrymple came up here to be in a threesome with us, which has been interesting. Sister Bennett and I have just been together for so long that it's difficult to make sure Sister Dalrymple feels included. And Sis. Dalrymple loved her old area and doesn't really have any desire to try to love this new area, which is really hard for us because we LOVE this area! Anyway, three's just a rough number. But, here's the crazy part, Sister Bennett just got a call saying she's going down to be companions with a Spanish sister for this next week (starting tomorrow) which means it will just be me and Sis. Dalrymple here with me as the senior companion. I'm a little nervous! I still feel brand new. We'll see how it goes! Transfers are a week from tomorrow (on Thanksgiving Day), so we'll see what happens then.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, we got invited to go over to some of my favorite members' houses for dinner: The Wolfleys and Sis. Rasmussen. Sis. Rasmussen's husband is in the military (serving in Iraq) and her children are all at in-laws this holiday, so we're going to go over to her house, and Br. and Sis. Wolfley are going to come over too. I'm going to try to make Peter Schot Pie and bring it! We'll see if it turns out O.K. I'm so grateful we get to spend the holiday with members! I'm really looking forward to it! They're going to split our P-day next week in half, so we have half on Wed. and the other half on Thanksgiving, so we can mostly just hang out with members all day. It will be wonderful!
Here are some random thoughts and happenings in the life of Sister Lee this past week:
1. Our investigator (Nathan Soli) has a crush on me, and the whole Singles Ward knows about it. It's super funny and super awkward for me. He makes inappropriate comments, and asks me how long I'm going to be in the ward, etc.
2. On Saturday, all of our lessons fell through, so we tracted the entire day. It was LONG. By the end, we decided to start singing Disney songs in between houses just to keep ourselves moving. It was funny. We've found it's kind of overwhelming for people when we go tracting in a threesome.
3. I reached my 3 month mark and got frozen yogurt! (Today is Sis. Bennett's 17 month mark!)
4. My roommate (Hermana Funch), who has become a really good friend, is a convert to the church. She's from California, and the missionaries taught her when she was in high school. She was the first member of her family, and shortly after her mom joined the church. She then went to school at B.Y.U. and decided to serve a mission. Then, this past spring, she found out her dad was getting baptized! She was so excited! This past Sunday, he received the Melchezidek (spelling?) priesthood, and this spring they will be sealed together as a family. How wonderful!
5. Since Sis. Bennett is "going Spanish" for a week we decided we needed to do something Spanish--while out tracting we translated (to the best of our abilities, which isn't saying much) "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow" (from Annie) into Spanish and sang it to the Hermanas that night: El sol va a venir, manana...entonces tengo que esperar hasta manana...Good times!
6. On Sunday it was Sis. Bennett's departing fireside, so we went with some ward members, including Popo (80 yr. old Chinese lady), who I sat next to. She was getting a little emotional (because she LOVES Sis. Bennett) so I patted her hand. She then proceeded to caress my hand for a while and then look very carefully at my fingers. Then she looked carefully at her fingers and back at mine again. Then she worked off one of her Jade rings and put it on my finger! She is so sweet. It turns my finger totally green, so I don't where it all the time but always put it on when I go to see her. :) I love Popo. Another funny story about her: Yesterday we were visiting her, and she was telling us that she uses Bengay cream for her sore joints. I mentioned that my neck had been kinked for a long time and wondered if Bengay would help. "Oh yes!" she said. "Come here. I be doctor!" I went over and she proceeded to unbutton my shirt and rub Bengay (smells like Icy Hot) on my neck with her little old hands. Sis. Bennett was laughing so hard. It was pretty funny. Actually, it did help a little! :)
7. On Sunday afternoon, we went and taught our investigator Nikki. She is doing really well. We taught her about prophets, and it was a really wonderful lesson, with lots of discussion. Towards the end of the lesson, I bore testimony to her the President Monson is truly a prophet of God. "How do you know that?" she immediately asked. It was a good experience for me to have to answer that question. I thought about it for a moment and then told her that I knew for several reasons. First, I knew because I had prayed about it and received confirmation through the Holy Ghost that President Monson is truly a prophet of God. Second, I know he is a prophet because I know that the Book of Mormon is true and from God. I told her that, that is why we emphasize the Book of Mormon so much--because it really is the keystone to our religion. If we know the Book of Mormon is from God, then we know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. And if Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, then we have a living prophet on the Earth today. It is such a blessing to have the opportunity to share my testimony and really think about how I have come to believe the things I do.
8. At church on Sunday, I turned around to see Kaylie Dreyer sitting a few rows behind me! We were both so excited and surprised! It turns out she was there with her sister-in-law who was in town and thinking about moving to the area, so they were there checking out the ward. I had an investigator (Nikki) with me, so I couldn't rush over her right after sacrament meeting, but after I took Nikki to Sunday school I went out in the hall and found her. She had her baby with her, and he is getting so big! It felt SO WEIRD to have someone call me by my first name. Oh, it was so good to see her though! She gave me a big hug and we took I picture. We only got to talk for a minute, but it was so fun to see a familiar face!
9. We tracted into a fabulous old couple a few weeks ago, and we went back to teach them this week. They are SO sweet! The lady is from England and has a fabulous accent. They are very receptive, and it is such a joy to teach them. When we got there, the man opened the door and said to his wife, "Honey, our three angels are here!" They are wonderful! When we left they gave us a HUGE Costco tin of cookies to take home for Thanksgiving.
10. One more Popo story: She has two huge fish tanks at her house with lots of fish, and Sis. Bennett and I always like to feed the fish when we go to visit her. So this week she had some new food, and she said that we needed to hold it a little above the water, and the fish would jump up and get it. So I did. I had the OPEN can of fish food in one hand and held my hand over the tank with the other hand. Sure enough, the fish jumped up to eat the food, and it scared me so bad I jumped about a foot in the air and screamed. The fish food went flying like confetti. Popo thought it was SO funny.
Well, everything is going well. I miss you and love you SO much. Please write me! (BEN!) I can't believe we're not going to be together for Thanksgiving. Take lots of pictures and send them to me! I want more pictures of Leila too! Please :) Thank you for being the best family in the world!
Love you forever,
Jordan
Monday, November 15, 2010
Jake can email!
Hey family its your son Jacob from the tall pines of Washington.
Thank you so much for the letters, Dad, kids- that was very nice of you!
I'm still in Kirkland with Elder Burnett and Elder Daniels. We had a slowish week, as far as work goes. Hurry and send me my camera card back when you can. This transfer has been weird, and good. I got a call from president that i will be going back to Bothell next transfer and i will get a new companion there. I don't know how i feel about that. It could be back to the dark, scary place from where i came. I know i can make it what i want it to be, but it will just be easier if i get a companion that wants to work. I'm so tired right now. Something about this mission that i realized is that it is a million times stricter than a lot of missions. We have so many rules it is kind of ridiculous. O and by the way, I think i will be only checking this email on Mondays.
I love this work and it makes me so happy, but it really is wearing me out. Sorry i really don't have a lot to say in this mail.
Elder Daniels is so funny. This ward just laughs every time they see his face. It is really fun to be in a trio companionship because Elder Burnett and I just laugh out heads off all day. Also Elder Daniels is a Greeny so it is fun to watch him trial and error all the things he's trying to figure out. Grecia is leaving to Peru for a while so i don't think she is baptized any time soon. We got 5 people to church this week, which was a surprise because all of our other numbers were very low; not for lack of trying. We had 1 member present, 4 other lessons and that's about it. The funny thing about the Latino culture is that when we are baptizing people, we are also having to marry people too. Almost all of our investigators are needing to get married, and the men are all scared of commitment, kind of funny, but also very frustrating.
In a lesson with an investigator we were reading with the 2 Nephi 31 with them and something really jumped out to me this time. I have probably read this scripture like 15 times already on my mission, but this time it really stood out. Verse 19: "And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path(speaking about baptism), I would ask if all is done? Behold I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save." We all need, especially me, to keep progressing in this life, if a tree stops really growing it probably means its dead, and so that happens with our souls also. Keep on fighting to the end, what ever trial you have, Christ will be the one to save you. The more personally you know him, the more you trust he will catch you.
Love you all so much You are the Best!!!
E. Lee
Thank you so much for the letters, Dad, kids- that was very nice of you!
I'm still in Kirkland with Elder Burnett and Elder Daniels. We had a slowish week, as far as work goes. Hurry and send me my camera card back when you can. This transfer has been weird, and good. I got a call from president that i will be going back to Bothell next transfer and i will get a new companion there. I don't know how i feel about that. It could be back to the dark, scary place from where i came. I know i can make it what i want it to be, but it will just be easier if i get a companion that wants to work. I'm so tired right now. Something about this mission that i realized is that it is a million times stricter than a lot of missions. We have so many rules it is kind of ridiculous. O and by the way, I think i will be only checking this email on Mondays.
I love this work and it makes me so happy, but it really is wearing me out. Sorry i really don't have a lot to say in this mail.
Elder Daniels is so funny. This ward just laughs every time they see his face. It is really fun to be in a trio companionship because Elder Burnett and I just laugh out heads off all day. Also Elder Daniels is a Greeny so it is fun to watch him trial and error all the things he's trying to figure out. Grecia is leaving to Peru for a while so i don't think she is baptized any time soon. We got 5 people to church this week, which was a surprise because all of our other numbers were very low; not for lack of trying. We had 1 member present, 4 other lessons and that's about it. The funny thing about the Latino culture is that when we are baptizing people, we are also having to marry people too. Almost all of our investigators are needing to get married, and the men are all scared of commitment, kind of funny, but also very frustrating.
In a lesson with an investigator we were reading with the 2 Nephi 31 with them and something really jumped out to me this time. I have probably read this scripture like 15 times already on my mission, but this time it really stood out. Verse 19: "And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path(speaking about baptism), I would ask if all is done? Behold I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save." We all need, especially me, to keep progressing in this life, if a tree stops really growing it probably means its dead, and so that happens with our souls also. Keep on fighting to the end, what ever trial you have, Christ will be the one to save you. The more personally you know him, the more you trust he will catch you.
Love you all so much You are the Best!!!
E. Lee
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Jordan: 11/10/10
Jordan seems a little sad this week, be sure to write her lots!! The letter:
My dear family,
How are you? Well, this has been a crazy week. On Saturday, we received a call from President Albright informing us that Sister Dalrymple's (my M.T.C. companion) companion was struggling with depression and was going to be moved to work in the mission office so she could be under special care from President and Sister Albright, so Sister Dalrymple was coming to be in a threesome with us. We went and picked her up on Monday from the mission home. While we were there, I was talking to Sister Albright about a question I had with my insurance, and she said she would just call Mom and talk about it. I thought she meant later, after I left, but all of a sudden she was calling Mom with me sitting right there. Then, I could hear Mom's voice on the phone, so I slowly started backing away. It really threw me for a loop. It made me a little upset that she would just call right there with me close by. I don't think she realized how hard it would be for me. Oh well, what can you do? I just miss you, especially because this has been a really hard week.
My companion (Sis. Bennett) has been getting migraines all the time, which means she sleeps all day, and I sit around trying to find ways to be productive in a tiny apartment. I wrote this in my journal on Saturday: "My companion is sick again. We've been inside pretty much all day. I'm going a little bit crazy. I 'missionary laminated' (with tape) my Preach My Gospel and a Book of Mormon for tracting. I also made a little pouch to put pass-along cards in for my tracting Book of Mormon. Hmmm, what else? I studied some of the 'Questions of the Soul' in Preach My Gospel, answered by the Book of Mormon. It is crazy how many times we've stayed in these two transfers with my comp. sick! I just want to be out there working! It's really hard to stay in all day."
Sis. Bennett has been sick 2-3 times per week pretty much the whole time we've been companions, and it's really hard. She is going home in less than five weeks, and I really wish she was motivated and able to finish strong. It's hard to be the junior companion and be the one who's trying to motivate and help with obedience. It causes a strain in our relationship, but whenever I try to talk to Sis. Bennett about the tension I feel, she says it doesn't matter. "We don't need to be best friends," she said the other night when I asked her if we could talk and figure out what was going on. I try to be patient, but it's really hard. I guess the biggest struggle for me is that Sister Bennett is SO dramatic—she’s a theater major—and I am just about the least dramatic person in the world, so I don’t know how to deal with drama. I’m so done with the drama! She's either super, super sick and complaining or so excited and over the top happy and talking about home or passionately, intensely disscussing the gospel--it's like being on a rollar coaster. I feel worn down. I think the Elders are much better at just going out and working and not being so dramatic—that’s what I want. I guess it's just difficult to be with the same person 24/7 for almost three months. I want a companion who wants to be friends and who isn't talking about going home every ten minutes. OK. I'm done venting now.
Sister Dalrymple is here now, and it's been really fun to be around her again. She is so sweet and loving, and I've missed that a lot. I was a little worried about being around her, not because I don't like her or get along with her, but because I was worried it would bring back the feelings I had in the M.T.C. You know how when you eat something and then get sick; it wasn't necessarily the food that made you sick, but you're nervous to eat the food again because you feel like it will make you sick. That's kind of how I've felt. But it's been fine so far. We're pretty squished in our tiny little apartment. The Elders brought over an extra mattress for Sis. Dalrymple to sleep on, and she sleeps UNDER my bed on her mattress. (Our beds are raised up high.) It's really funny. She says she likes it under there because it's cozy. I think she's just trying to have a good attitude about the situation. J Transfers are in two weeks (on Thanksgiving Day), and I will be anxious to see what happens.
This week, one of our Relief Society Presidents (we have two in the ward because it’s such a big ward) was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. She is about 30 and single and is the picture of health. Last week she had her blood taken because she’d been feeling extremely tired, and her friend thought she might have thyroid problems and suggested she get her blood checked. The next morning, the doctor called her and told her to go to the ER immediately because her blood counts were so abnormal. After a bone marrow biopsy, she was diagnosed on Saturday night. We went and saw her Saturday morning, and she seemed so scared and lonely. We sat with her and comforted her and kept her company for as long as we could. Thankfully, her mom is now here, so she isn’t alone. She will be beginning chemotherapy this week, and, sadly, they don’t have time to harvest any eggs, so she will never be able to have children. It is a sad situation and definitely makes you count your blessings. It also makes me realize how blessed we are to have this great gospel and know that we are never alone. The ward has been so great and really pulled together through this situation.
On a lighter note, we had a wonderful experience a few nights ago that I would like to share. It was Monday night, we had just picked up Sister Dalrymple and come home, and it had just been a really hard day for several reasons. Although we were tired and could have just decided to stay home and help Sis. Dalrymple un-pack instead of going out and working, we decided to go out and at least knock on a few doors. We picked a street, prayed, and approached the first door. It was a loving Bolivian family who didn’t speak much English but were willing to talk to us and agreed to have the hermanas come back and teach them more in Spanish. We were thrilled to have found some potential investigators for the hermanas, and—with only a little time left before we needed to head home for the night—decided to knock just one more door. An older man opened the door, and agreed to let us come in and speak with him and his wife. We talked about the Book of Mormon, prayed with them, and set up a time for us to come back and teach them more. We only knocked on two doors and both doors yielded receptive, loving people who were ready and willing to hear the gospel. This experience really witnessed to me that Heavenly Father is aware of us and cares so much about each one of us. We had, had a hard day and really needed a boost to let us know we were doing what we should be doing. I am so grateful to be a part of this great work.
Tomorrow is my 3 month mark, and I'm excited. It will be fun because Sis. Dalrymple and I get to celebrate it together. We are going to go get some frozen yogurt, as usual. Today we are going to go do some shopping with the hermanas and hopefully get rid of some of the tension in our companionship because it’s wearing me out!
Please write me this week! I didn’t get any emails from you! L That better mean lots of letters are coming. I miss you so much, and I need some letters!
Love you forever,
Jordan
My dear family,
How are you? Well, this has been a crazy week. On Saturday, we received a call from President Albright informing us that Sister Dalrymple's (my M.T.C. companion) companion was struggling with depression and was going to be moved to work in the mission office so she could be under special care from President and Sister Albright, so Sister Dalrymple was coming to be in a threesome with us. We went and picked her up on Monday from the mission home. While we were there, I was talking to Sister Albright about a question I had with my insurance, and she said she would just call Mom and talk about it. I thought she meant later, after I left, but all of a sudden she was calling Mom with me sitting right there. Then, I could hear Mom's voice on the phone, so I slowly started backing away. It really threw me for a loop. It made me a little upset that she would just call right there with me close by. I don't think she realized how hard it would be for me. Oh well, what can you do? I just miss you, especially because this has been a really hard week.
My companion (Sis. Bennett) has been getting migraines all the time, which means she sleeps all day, and I sit around trying to find ways to be productive in a tiny apartment. I wrote this in my journal on Saturday: "My companion is sick again. We've been inside pretty much all day. I'm going a little bit crazy. I 'missionary laminated' (with tape) my Preach My Gospel and a Book of Mormon for tracting. I also made a little pouch to put pass-along cards in for my tracting Book of Mormon. Hmmm, what else? I studied some of the 'Questions of the Soul' in Preach My Gospel, answered by the Book of Mormon. It is crazy how many times we've stayed in these two transfers with my comp. sick! I just want to be out there working! It's really hard to stay in all day."
Sis. Bennett has been sick 2-3 times per week pretty much the whole time we've been companions, and it's really hard. She is going home in less than five weeks, and I really wish she was motivated and able to finish strong. It's hard to be the junior companion and be the one who's trying to motivate and help with obedience. It causes a strain in our relationship, but whenever I try to talk to Sis. Bennett about the tension I feel, she says it doesn't matter. "We don't need to be best friends," she said the other night when I asked her if we could talk and figure out what was going on. I try to be patient, but it's really hard. I guess the biggest struggle for me is that Sister Bennett is SO dramatic—she’s a theater major—and I am just about the least dramatic person in the world, so I don’t know how to deal with drama. I’m so done with the drama! She's either super, super sick and complaining or so excited and over the top happy and talking about home or passionately, intensely disscussing the gospel--it's like being on a rollar coaster. I feel worn down. I think the Elders are much better at just going out and working and not being so dramatic—that’s what I want. I guess it's just difficult to be with the same person 24/7 for almost three months. I want a companion who wants to be friends and who isn't talking about going home every ten minutes. OK. I'm done venting now.
Sister Dalrymple is here now, and it's been really fun to be around her again. She is so sweet and loving, and I've missed that a lot. I was a little worried about being around her, not because I don't like her or get along with her, but because I was worried it would bring back the feelings I had in the M.T.C. You know how when you eat something and then get sick; it wasn't necessarily the food that made you sick, but you're nervous to eat the food again because you feel like it will make you sick. That's kind of how I've felt. But it's been fine so far. We're pretty squished in our tiny little apartment. The Elders brought over an extra mattress for Sis. Dalrymple to sleep on, and she sleeps UNDER my bed on her mattress. (Our beds are raised up high.) It's really funny. She says she likes it under there because it's cozy. I think she's just trying to have a good attitude about the situation. J Transfers are in two weeks (on Thanksgiving Day), and I will be anxious to see what happens.
This week, one of our Relief Society Presidents (we have two in the ward because it’s such a big ward) was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. She is about 30 and single and is the picture of health. Last week she had her blood taken because she’d been feeling extremely tired, and her friend thought she might have thyroid problems and suggested she get her blood checked. The next morning, the doctor called her and told her to go to the ER immediately because her blood counts were so abnormal. After a bone marrow biopsy, she was diagnosed on Saturday night. We went and saw her Saturday morning, and she seemed so scared and lonely. We sat with her and comforted her and kept her company for as long as we could. Thankfully, her mom is now here, so she isn’t alone. She will be beginning chemotherapy this week, and, sadly, they don’t have time to harvest any eggs, so she will never be able to have children. It is a sad situation and definitely makes you count your blessings. It also makes me realize how blessed we are to have this great gospel and know that we are never alone. The ward has been so great and really pulled together through this situation.
On a lighter note, we had a wonderful experience a few nights ago that I would like to share. It was Monday night, we had just picked up Sister Dalrymple and come home, and it had just been a really hard day for several reasons. Although we were tired and could have just decided to stay home and help Sis. Dalrymple un-pack instead of going out and working, we decided to go out and at least knock on a few doors. We picked a street, prayed, and approached the first door. It was a loving Bolivian family who didn’t speak much English but were willing to talk to us and agreed to have the hermanas come back and teach them more in Spanish. We were thrilled to have found some potential investigators for the hermanas, and—with only a little time left before we needed to head home for the night—decided to knock just one more door. An older man opened the door, and agreed to let us come in and speak with him and his wife. We talked about the Book of Mormon, prayed with them, and set up a time for us to come back and teach them more. We only knocked on two doors and both doors yielded receptive, loving people who were ready and willing to hear the gospel. This experience really witnessed to me that Heavenly Father is aware of us and cares so much about each one of us. We had, had a hard day and really needed a boost to let us know we were doing what we should be doing. I am so grateful to be a part of this great work.
Tomorrow is my 3 month mark, and I'm excited. It will be fun because Sis. Dalrymple and I get to celebrate it together. We are going to go get some frozen yogurt, as usual. Today we are going to go do some shopping with the hermanas and hopefully get rid of some of the tension in our companionship because it’s wearing me out!
Please write me this week! I didn’t get any emails from you! L That better mean lots of letters are coming. I miss you so much, and I need some letters!
Love you forever,
Jordan
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Jordan: 11/3/10
Dear Mom, Dad, Jacob Rex, Benji, Joshy, Tara Sue, and Danny Bear,
How are you? Happy Halloween (a few days ago)! My Halloween was really fun. We worked until 6:00, and then got to go have our little Halloween party. Our zone met together at a Stake Center and watched Invictus. I was surprised they approved that movie for us to watch because it had some bad language in it, but it was a good movie with a good message. We had dinner together (Ward members cooked for us--it was these two bachelors, and it was super funny--they made us such man food. :) We had taquitos, chips and salsa, cookies, bottled root beer, and--to top it off--marichino (spelling?) cherries on a platter (random!) and chocolate covered pretzels. I made some pumpkin bread to bring, and my companion made some popcorn. The elders pulled all the couches and arm chairs into the Relief Society room, and we watched the movie in there. It was so much fun! There are four sisters and about 18 elders in our zone--a good, fun group!
Can you believe it's November!? My companion goes home in six weeks! Weird! I am helping her make invitations today for her departing fireside. This morning, we came to email and the business center was full, so we went and washed our car because tomorrow's zone conference (we have one every three months), and they do car inspections. Then we went grocery shopping at Walmart, had lunch at Chipotle (I got Diet Coke with lots of lemons, so I'm a happy girl right now!), and went shopping at World Market. Haha. Sister Bennett and I are both obsessed with World Market--we go almost every week. We never buy anything, but it's so fun to look around! They have the cutest stuff, especially jewelry, purses, and other accessories.
This afternoon, we're going to make some soup to take to our District Leader (Elder Skousen) because he's been really sick for a couple weeks. He is waiting to get blood tests back and is hoping it's not Mono! I really hope it's not A: because I've been around him a lot, and that makes me nervous and B: because he's awesome, and I don't want him to have to go home! (they send you home for Mono!) He'd been out 6 months when I got here, so we're supposed to go home the same time (a year from Feb.) He's an awesome wakeboarder, and we decided we're going to plan a big mission Lake Powell trip when we get home. Anyway, I hope he gets feeling better and doesn't have to go home! Keep him in your prayers.
This past week I got to go on exchanges (for 24 hours) with my M.T.C. comp. (Sis. Dalrymple) who's serving down in Fredricksberg. It was so much fun! I've missed her, and Fredricksberg is beautiful! The area I serve in a very much a big city, and Fredricksberg is the complete opposite. It is very country feeling and relaxed. We even got to go wash a ward member's horse and take her out to the pasture to graze! It was so relaxing and fun! While I was there, I got to see Hermana Gwynn (who used to live in Crystal City with me). She's roommates with Sis. Dalrymple, and it was so good to get to see her and talk to her again. I really hope I get to serve in Fredricksberg someday--it's beautiful! While I was there, we did go visit some pretty crazy people though. First, we saw an old lady who is bed ridden and has too many cats to count. Because she is bed ridden, she can't clean up after her cats, so her house smells TERRIBLE. It was so hard to sit in that house and talk with her! But she was such a sweet lady. It's so sad! Then, we saw another lady who talked to us about her terrible diaherrea for an hour solid. Wow. Oh the people you meet!
Well, I'm officially halfway through my second transfer! Wow! Most of the time now a days, the time just flies by. We are teaching wonderful people in two wonderful wards, so we're always pretty busy, which is such a blessing.
We were able to take our investigator Li and her husband to the temple visitors center this past Saturday, and it was a wonderful experience. Her husband really struggles with social anxiety, so this was the first time we had met him, and it went great. We brought one of my favorite couples from our ward (Bren and Sterling Larsen) with us, and they were so great. Sterling served his mission in Taiwan, so he was able to speak with Li's husband and make him feel comfortable. We all watched the Joseph Smith movie, and afterwards Li's husband agreed to let us start teaching him! Li is so excited! She is getting baptized on December 4th and really wants her husband to share in the joyous occasion.
I am sure there is more to write, but I'm having a hard time remembering what we did this week. Overall, I'm doing great! I miss you, as always, but other than that life is good. I will close with a quote that was shared at our sisters conference a few weeks ago. I just loved it.
"Today many sisters are being called to serve. Not because they are not married or don't have anything else to do, but because they have a desire to serve. The reason: the Lord wants more sisters to serve because in the next generation he will be sending his priesthood armies to the Earth. He wants to send His choice spirit children to mothers who are prepared, who have been properly trained and taught in the gospel. What better schooling can a mother have than the experience and growth she has gained through serving a mission." -President Ezra Taft Benson (Quoted by President Hinckley)
Thank you for being my wonderful family. I love you SOOOO much. Write me and I will write you back!
Love you forever,
Jordan
How are you? Happy Halloween (a few days ago)! My Halloween was really fun. We worked until 6:00, and then got to go have our little Halloween party. Our zone met together at a Stake Center and watched Invictus. I was surprised they approved that movie for us to watch because it had some bad language in it, but it was a good movie with a good message. We had dinner together (Ward members cooked for us--it was these two bachelors, and it was super funny--they made us such man food. :) We had taquitos, chips and salsa, cookies, bottled root beer, and--to top it off--marichino (spelling?) cherries on a platter (random!) and chocolate covered pretzels. I made some pumpkin bread to bring, and my companion made some popcorn. The elders pulled all the couches and arm chairs into the Relief Society room, and we watched the movie in there. It was so much fun! There are four sisters and about 18 elders in our zone--a good, fun group!
Can you believe it's November!? My companion goes home in six weeks! Weird! I am helping her make invitations today for her departing fireside. This morning, we came to email and the business center was full, so we went and washed our car because tomorrow's zone conference (we have one every three months), and they do car inspections. Then we went grocery shopping at Walmart, had lunch at Chipotle (I got Diet Coke with lots of lemons, so I'm a happy girl right now!), and went shopping at World Market. Haha. Sister Bennett and I are both obsessed with World Market--we go almost every week. We never buy anything, but it's so fun to look around! They have the cutest stuff, especially jewelry, purses, and other accessories.
This afternoon, we're going to make some soup to take to our District Leader (Elder Skousen) because he's been really sick for a couple weeks. He is waiting to get blood tests back and is hoping it's not Mono! I really hope it's not A: because I've been around him a lot, and that makes me nervous and B: because he's awesome, and I don't want him to have to go home! (they send you home for Mono!) He'd been out 6 months when I got here, so we're supposed to go home the same time (a year from Feb.) He's an awesome wakeboarder, and we decided we're going to plan a big mission Lake Powell trip when we get home. Anyway, I hope he gets feeling better and doesn't have to go home! Keep him in your prayers.
This past week I got to go on exchanges (for 24 hours) with my M.T.C. comp. (Sis. Dalrymple) who's serving down in Fredricksberg. It was so much fun! I've missed her, and Fredricksberg is beautiful! The area I serve in a very much a big city, and Fredricksberg is the complete opposite. It is very country feeling and relaxed. We even got to go wash a ward member's horse and take her out to the pasture to graze! It was so relaxing and fun! While I was there, I got to see Hermana Gwynn (who used to live in Crystal City with me). She's roommates with Sis. Dalrymple, and it was so good to get to see her and talk to her again. I really hope I get to serve in Fredricksberg someday--it's beautiful! While I was there, we did go visit some pretty crazy people though. First, we saw an old lady who is bed ridden and has too many cats to count. Because she is bed ridden, she can't clean up after her cats, so her house smells TERRIBLE. It was so hard to sit in that house and talk with her! But she was such a sweet lady. It's so sad! Then, we saw another lady who talked to us about her terrible diaherrea for an hour solid. Wow. Oh the people you meet!
Well, I'm officially halfway through my second transfer! Wow! Most of the time now a days, the time just flies by. We are teaching wonderful people in two wonderful wards, so we're always pretty busy, which is such a blessing.
We were able to take our investigator Li and her husband to the temple visitors center this past Saturday, and it was a wonderful experience. Her husband really struggles with social anxiety, so this was the first time we had met him, and it went great. We brought one of my favorite couples from our ward (Bren and Sterling Larsen) with us, and they were so great. Sterling served his mission in Taiwan, so he was able to speak with Li's husband and make him feel comfortable. We all watched the Joseph Smith movie, and afterwards Li's husband agreed to let us start teaching him! Li is so excited! She is getting baptized on December 4th and really wants her husband to share in the joyous occasion.
I am sure there is more to write, but I'm having a hard time remembering what we did this week. Overall, I'm doing great! I miss you, as always, but other than that life is good. I will close with a quote that was shared at our sisters conference a few weeks ago. I just loved it.
"Today many sisters are being called to serve. Not because they are not married or don't have anything else to do, but because they have a desire to serve. The reason: the Lord wants more sisters to serve because in the next generation he will be sending his priesthood armies to the Earth. He wants to send His choice spirit children to mothers who are prepared, who have been properly trained and taught in the gospel. What better schooling can a mother have than the experience and growth she has gained through serving a mission." -President Ezra Taft Benson (Quoted by President Hinckley)
Thank you for being my wonderful family. I love you SOOOO much. Write me and I will write you back!
Love you forever,
Jordan
Monday, November 1, 2010
Jake: month of October
So now it can be Jordan AND Jake's blog! Kim just sent me a summary of October. This is what she said:
Since Jake’s mission still is not allowed to email I have collected the last 4 or 5 letters to share with you. I have taken the liberty to leave some things out but tried to keep in the most important parts of the letters in his exact words. I feel like he is having a true missionary experience, hard, challenging, rewarding and spiritual.
October 4th 2010, “This week was filled with a lot of ups and downs. Did you all love conference? I did! It was great! I am learning so much out here. My testimony is growing everyday. I got to go back to Marysville to baptize the rest of the Placencia family. It was my second time in the water. I got to bap. Betty, the oldest sister. Funny thing, the water was somehow draining and she kept kicking her foot out of the water so on the 4th try we knelt down and it worked, ha ha then I did my first confirmation. It was cool, all in Spanish, I am getting better.”
“Last night we went to a member’s house with two other missionaries for an enchilada eating contest! I ended up winning with 21 enchiladas. Yes, I know, I am chubby! I have been changing out here with this companion. I feel like nothing is fun and I hardly ever laugh. I hope you will like the boring Jake when I get home Blaaaaaaaaaa I am running out of energy.”
“Now I am going to give you a couple of senarios: We are driving in our toyota, and Elder Kamstra pushes in the CD which is classical music, which is fine with me, we can listen to classical, Christian, and any church music. Everytime he asks me a question he gives me this seriously intense stare. He stares at me everytime he gets done saying something. It was freaking me out. By the end of the very long car ride, everytime he would stare at me it was like I was Harry Potter and he was Voldamort, and when he starred my forehead burned like the scar. It was very uncomfortable.”
“We are eating at a member’s house and I see spagettii! Yes finally I am starving, First I eat all my sides around the spagettii, anticipating the delicious main course. Then it was time to take the first couple bites. It tastes strange. All of a sudden it hits me that this spagettii is horrid. So terrible. So I smell it again thinking it is just in my mind and oh no it is ugh sosoo bad.”
October 11th 2010, “I am feeling better than I was last week. I have learned that you can’t just persevere though a trial (hard companions) but you have to overcome them and better yourself. I am learning to get along with people that I could not have even looked at at home. I am pretty happy. I understand my purpose personally out here now. No one is going to be working as hard as I would want. So I just need to leave them better missionaries then they were before. It is really hard for me to get up at 6:30 when my comp. never does. I am trying to gently be a warning voice to him, just like missionaries are the warning voice of repentance. We have transfers on the 18th. I don’t know what will happen. I love you with all my heart. The church is true. Never let someone offend you and end up not going to church or something because of it. Salvation is worth a lot more than what we can comprehend!!”
October 18th , “Dear family, I had another hard week, I really want to have joy but feel like I am kinda scrapping the bottom of the barrell. I am holding my breath for transfers, tomorrow. I picked up some juicy stories about the elders casting out devils during this week but it is not something I want to write about. I really like some of the members here. We get to eat good food with a particular few. Some of them really help us out with investigators and missionary work.”
“I am making some good friends out here. Elder Muir had a collapsed lung and couldn’t go to the Phillipines and is so cool. Also Elder Warhurst from St. George has my same hair color (weird) and loves baseball and is very cool.”
We are getting to do service for a man whose wife died 3 days after delivering a baby. His backyard is like a jungle. We have been weeding with Elder Griffin (Kiwi)and Warhurst, Yeah Weeding!! We have literally transformed his backyard. His daughter Maya, age five, is like my best friend. I have her and all of her friends who love me. P.S. who knew that I could attract so many little girls? I promise I am not a pedifile. They are just so awesome!” “Our main investigator has been out of town this week so it’s been really slow. “
“We had Elder Packard from the 70s come to our mission for a conference. After Elder Muir and I hung back to talk with him and the President and we got to talk with him for 5 min. just by ourselves! Elder Packard obviously know Grandpa Lee and it was cool to brag to him my full name. His wife then jumped in on our conversation and said, “You have big shoes to fill!” and then I laid her out in a tackle. Just kidding…. About the tackle part.” “I have been taking a lot of pictures. A lot of them are not of me so you might be disappointed but the landscape here is so beautiful! I have turned into a landscape photographer. Washington is beautiful, sometimes too beautiful, the green starts hurting my eyes!”
“I went and opened the door the other day and it was the zone leaders at 10:30 am. I got up from my desk, this was during language study, after studying Negation and How to Form Questions, in my red spanish text book. It got out why my comp. wasn’t studying and I told them he was still sleeping like always. Anyway, he got to talk to them. It was weird.”
“this transfer the homesickness has started to go away. I think without Christ in my life right now I probably would have killed by companion by now. And if this transfer went homicide free anything is possible. I love my Savior and what He did for us. I love the countless blessings God sends my way everyday, and I love when he stops sending them , and sends me a trial, probably not during it, but after I feel pretty good. This church is true and there isn’t a trial that could come my way to shake me from my testimony. The Church of Jesus Christ in its perfection is here again! Proclaim it to everyone in the world!”
October 12th, “Im staying Elder Kamstra is leaving…I am feeling optimistic of who I can get tomorrow.”
October 19th “ Wow… one of the hardest days of my life. I have been with a companion for this last week in Bothell, he got sent home. It was for something he did in the last area. Now I am with the Kirkland Elders. It will be three Elders together for one whole transfer. They are Elder Daniels from P.G. Student Council and Elder Burnett. I don’t think they are very happy about me coming in. I feel sick to my stomach. But I know this will all work out.
October 13th “Now it is Wed. morning. I feel a little better. This transfer is going to be all right. Three packs are fun!” Tell everyone that I love and miss them. I think my family and friends are the best!!! Love, Jake
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