Week 26

Mon, Dec 17, 2012 at 9:48 AM

Alright, down to the nitty gritty, yes, I'm being transferred.  I found out Saturday morning.  No, I don't know where I'm going.  No, I'm not going into any leadership positions (ie District leader etc).  I may be a senior companion doing follow up training with someone who came out with Elder Moses.  We'll see.  I still don't know for sure on the calls for Christmas, but I may just be calling yall from our cell phone.  We'll see... again...

There's not enough time today to get everything done I need to get done.  I got letters from mom 26, grams, dad w/ bishopric, and Rachel.  

I definitely am excited for a change.  I really think it will help re-energize me and help me escape some ruts I've inevitably fallen into.  I am however, going to miss terribly many people in this ward.  I love them...lots...but I'll see them again ;)  So, I really don't have much to say.  This letter is probably going to be super boring and short.  Part of the story of missionary life is people NEVER calling us back and appointments consistently falling through.  It makes for fun times though.  Mother, I gave the stocking to Elder Moses because he's a stud, and I'm going to miss him.  He's definitely grown a lot and is becoming a fantastic missionary.  I feel totally confident with him running the area.  Alright, in order to spice up this letter, I will. . . I don't know.  What could I do to spice up this letter.  I'm not a very spicy guy/Elder, I guess.  hmmmmm...well yesterday we had 1 investigator at church which came about because of a very dedicated member aka a miracle.  Said investigator was going to need a ride to church because his gas funds were on the lower end of the spectrum, so he was going to call his number 1 fellowshipper in the ward.  Well, I don't think connection was ever made and we tried to play middle man as we always do, but just left a bunch of messages.  Well said member came to church at 7:00 in the morning for ward council which ends at 8.  After ward council, we asked if said investigator had ever gotten ahold of him.  He hadn't so, said member called said investigator on our phone, got a hold of him, drove about 30 minutes to go pick up and the drive him back to church.  So he added an extra hour to his travel that day in order to pick up a fellow brother and child of God.  That's definitely emulating Christ.  It was great.  Regardless of whether this investigator joins the church or not, he will be a forever friend of mine.  I just hope that he'll join the church and begin the straight and narrow pathway back to our Heavenly Father.  He's such a good man.

I hope you enjoyed the story and I hope it made this letter worth the time you took out of your precious day to read it ;)  Anyways, thanks for being the best family ever.  Next week's email should be a stud since I'll have juicy details on the new locale :)  Please have a wonderful time together as a family this Christmas.  Remember, the Gospel blesses families.  

Love,

Elder Patty

Week 25

hobo bob and hobo bill

Monday, December 10, 2012 10:26 AM

Hey family. Well today is Monday.  I am here writing you.  The computer freaked out on me so I had to switch.  Let's see.  What to tell you.  The weather here often doesn't feel much like winter.  I received an un-numbered letter from mom, one from grams, one from Holly and a package from Uncle Dan and Aunt Zuleica  I'm getting better from my sickness; however, I still have a runny nose and a cough every so often and high notes are a no go right now, singing wise.  :) 

Question: ask Ricky + Chuck if they know an Elder and Sister Stroud.  I don't know them but they are serving from my stake here in NC. 

Ok.  Last week we had a Christmas party at the church.  Let's just say they aren't as big as ours back home.  It was  good though.  We had 3 investigators there and 2 potential investigators, a man and his daughter who we did service for a while back.  We called and invited them and they came.  Good stuff.  Food was good though.  It was dinner, a push for 100% home teaching by the bishop, and then Santa came. 

One area of myself that I see has improved a lot since the beginning of my mission is being able to talk with complete strangers.  I'm not saying it's easy, but I'm definitely more comfortable at doing it, which has been a huge blessing from the Lord.  I think it'll be interesting when y'all see me in a couple of years for you to see how I've changed.  I know I'm changing but it's gradual, whereas you will be looking at it as a start to finish type perspective more so, minus the part about the letters and such.  Anyways, I know it's change for the better. 

Recently, I have been studying and thinking about the Plan of Salvation and it, by far, IS THE BEST PLAN EVER!!!!!!!  Holy smokes.  The more I learn about it, the more it makes sense.  I love this gospel so much, and I know that it is the one and only true doctrine of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.  The great thing is that things that are fabricated by men, the more you delve into and look into them, the more holes and flaws you find.  Hence, farm boy Joseph Smith couldn't even have dreamt up what he restored.  The Plan of Salvation is so beautiful and so simple, yet so deep all at the same time.  And it all is there for our benefit -- for our eternal happiness and salvation.  Alma 34:32, "the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors."  What labors would he be referring to?  Our house chores and 40 hour work week.  Probably not.  These may be temporarily important, and maybe even have a spiritual effect on us, but the true labors we are to perform is found in the Doctrine of Christ and in the ultimate goal of becoming as our Savior is.  I've been reading through the conference issue of the Ensign and I'm almost done because it is so dang good.  And there are SOOO many talks about true discipleship, true conversion, being a true Christian.  Too many people, both in and out of the church, are becoming simply apathetic and insouciant when it comes to spiritual matters.  "This is eternal life!!!!" (to quote Elder Holland)  Anyways, I love this gospel and my Father in Heaven and my Savior.  What a great time of year to remember 2 of the most amazing gifts ever. A Father who gave his Son, and a Brother who gave his life so that ours could be spared. 

Thank you all for your support (any and all who read this and who support me :) and thank you family for being the best family in the whole wide world (I"m not biased or anything, of course). :)

This week will probably go by fast, and next time you hear from me, you'll know where I'm going. 

Love,

Elder Patty

ps. I don't have details on Christmas chit chat yet. :)

Week 24

“Can we go search for the holy grail again??” Tom requested :) hahahaha

Monday, December 3, 2012 10:37 AM

Hey family,

How-dee-do?  Well...what to say. Let's see.  Soon it will be 12/12/12 :) how exciting.  Tell Nana she'd better get better immediately...no excuses :)  Sounds like y'all are having some grossly warm weather.  Not good at all.  Today, we are having some grossly warm weather too...70 degrees.  Poor earth must have lost her calendar ;)  

Well, I got packages from Grandma and you, family, as well as letters from Grams and mom 24 I think as well.  Not positive on that, but pretty sure.  So, here's a tale to tell you; currently, as a mission, we are reading the Book of Mormon and highlighting/ underlining certain things.  I'm really loving this experience, and it's making me think more than I ever did about some things. Right now, I'm in 2 Nephi, and I'll tell you what...trying to differentiate between when a reference is to Jesus Christ and a reference is to Heavenly Father is less than easy.  You don't realize it when you just read through, but when you're specifically looking for references to Jesus Christ, you realize just how difficult it is at times.  Probably never thought about it now, did you?? :)

Interviews went well.  I'm always glad to receive counsel and guidance, especially from President.  This past week has been kind of difficult for us.  We had A LOT of appointments fall through and saw some investigators slide in their progression.  I know there is something we are to learn...but no one ever said missionary work was supposed to be easy.  Oh, and on top of that, I'm kind of getting sick :)  which is always fun.  Oh, and DJ was right too...true, I am getting more sleep than I ever consistently got at home, but I need a lot more energy aka...always tired. plus being sick equals more tired.  Fun stuff.  

Yesterday, we had one investigator at church but two fantastic things occurred :)  Our two most recent converts both received callings yesterday to be ward missionaries and they both received the Aaronic priesthood!!!!  It was a super great experience. :)  They are both great men.  Friends forever :) Plus, one of them went and bore his testimony in sacrament meeting yesterday which was a really powerful experience :)  So sincere.  My eyes were just glued on him while he was talking.  great stuff.  

Oh, i almost forgot!!!!!  I WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SUPERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR HAPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY AND EXXXXXCITTTTTTTTEEED WHEN I SAW THE DELICIOUS COOKIES LOCATED WITHIN MY PARCEL!!!!!  AND SO MANY OF THEM!!!!!  THANK YOU SO MUCH FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (particularly, mother :)  I've eaten....let's say....a lot of them already :)  soooooooooooooooooo good :)

Finally, we got the November Ensign magazine which is super exciting :)  Recently, due to some conversations I've had with various individuals and experiences I've had, my love and appreciation for the heavenly called leaders of our church has grown tremendously.  I know those men are chosen and called of God to help us all return to live with our Heavenly Father.  Their responsibility is so great, but they persevere in patience and love.  I promise you that Joseph Smith was and IS a prophet of God.  He was called to restore Christ's church to the earth in its fullness. Why??  Because Heavenly Father loves us soooooooo much.  His plan is perfect.  It's glorious.  And it all revolves around us many times ungrateful children receiving more than we can even imagine from a Father who cares for us so deeply.  

Sounds like dad is busy with everything as usual.  DJ and Chris are still studs, as usual.  And mother is amazing, as usual. Thanks for being the best family in the world. :)

Oh, and I don't know how the calling on Christmas thing is going to work yet.  

Oh times two, I think I never got any pictures of the new floor...

No more ohs, I think :)

Love,

Elder Patty

ps.  I'm gonna miss this ward a ton, but I think I may be ready for change soon...

Week 23

Monday, November 26, 2012 10:10 AM

FAMILY!!!!!!!

Long time, no read...okay...maybe just a week, but whatever. :)  Let's see.  Before I get to the nitty gritty of my week, let me address a few of your questions/concerns/snide remarks...

Yes, transfers normally would end up being on Christmas this year, but since the rule is that they'll never make a missionary miss 3 Christmases (and because it would be nearly impossible to do transfers on Christmas day) this transfer is only going to be a 5 week transfer and then next will be a 7 week transfer.  Both will be super weird.  One will feel super short, the other super long.  

Sounds like y'all had a good thanksgiving.  Good stuff.  We planned most that day, and then had dinner with the family we stay with, which when all their family came over, ended up being like half the ward :)  just kidding...but seriously...

Yes, we do get the Ensign, but it goes to the apartment.  Ergo, perhaps only an extra copy of the General Conference edition would be okay to send.  I want to really study that and probably mark it up a whole bunch.  We STILL haven't received our GC edition Ensign.  Sheesh.  Super backed up I guess :)

So now to me...yesterday in church, we only had 1 investigator there...and he was the one getting confirmed, so he had better have been there or the confirmation wouldn't have gone as well.  The confirmation was really special and powerful as well.  He's such a great guy and I'm so excited to see him begin his journey back to our loving Father in Heaven.  That's one of the best parts about being a missionary--seeing the Gospel of Jesus Christ change people, witnessing the power of God at work.  We have a couple of investigators who are on track for hopefully getting baptized in December (after I most likely leave, most likely, but that's okay :).  One of them, who is super solid, seems to have dropped off the face of the planet this past week.  We haven't been able to get in contact with him at all, so we don't know what Satan did this time to someone who was coming to Christ, but it's getting kind of annoying.  You may ask why I would consider him still on track for December...because he's just that solid ;)  

I hope next Sunday I'll be able to see the First Presidency devotional.  Hopefully.  I hope you start getting snow too.  Otherwise, next spring/summer isn't going to be good...for anyone...mostly the farmers :(  

This Wednesday we have interviews with President again, which should be really good :)  I love my mission president.  He's so solid.  

I'll tell you one of the most difficult things about being a missionary is trying to remember EVERYTHING!!!!!  There are so many things that we have to remember.  To start, if we didn't have our planners, I'd probably curl up and die.  But then we have so much to remember and so much to do, and there just isn't enough time to do it all.  Prioritizing is key, but still it's like "We really need to go visit this (Less active, former investigator, potential investigator etc) again...we haven't seen them for (a week, a month, for a millenium etc) when could we do that this week?  Oh wait, let me see...no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no...well...our next open day that we have anytime to do anything else is next transfer. Oh dang.  That's not going to work.  Let's see if we can sneak them in somewhere.  Oh, I know I know.  Looks like we have a 15 second break right there.  What if we traveled at light speed and saw them then.  No that won't work...we can't travel at light speed and they live 30 minutes away...by car.  Oh, and we don't have the car this week.  Well, shoot."  Story of missionary life (with a few alterations and embellishments here and there :)

Anyways, hopefully this week goes great.  Holidays just butcher missionary work, I feel.  Who wants to set up an appointment on Thanksgiving?!?!  Nobody, that's who.  :)

So, time continues to fly.  I love you all so much.  ps. I got letters from mom #23, grams, and Sis. Sherman. 

Love,

Your favorite son currently on an earthly mission,

Elder Patty

ps.  Happy birthday this Friday mom.  Big 35 :)

Week 22

Monday, November 19, 2012 10:00 AM

Hey family, :)

Life's good.

Love,

Elder Thornton...

Hope you enjoyed the letter ;) hahahaha...here's the real one!

Hey family,

It's good to hear from all of you!  Thanks.  Also, yes I got my tire fixed.  You should be seeing the charge soon.  About 18 dollars which wasn't bad especially since they put a NAIL PROOF tire in it :) ahhhhhh yeah :)  The guy sold it pretty well, especially since it was only like 5 bucks more and he said the difference was night and day.  HIZZZZAH!!!

I got the package with delicious goodies (the candy has been consumed :) and the "athletic warm up gear" ;)  I also got letters from Kayla, Robert Paxton, grams, dad, and mom #22.  Thanks for all the love everyone.  I love it!!!!

Yesterday, the baptism went really well.  Super exciting time.  I'll include a picture.  We are super busy all the time.  It's crazy.  Usually our week is almost packed full of stuff to do before it even starts.  Tomorrow is going to be super crazy.  On Saturday last week, we left the house at 12:15ish or so and didn't get back till 8:30.  We were gone all day visiting people way out in yonder land.  We are seeing many miracles at the Lord's hand as we put in our effort.  We are working with some solid people and have started teaching some newer individuals.  We'll see how everything goes.  

Weather here has gotten nippier especially when the sun goes down at...STINKING 5:00!!!!! Whose idea was that for missionary work.  I wonder how Hayden deals with it when they get like 3 hours of sunlight a day.  Crazy stuff.  

I really don't have much to say.  Oh, yesterday, I visited the promised land!!! OH YEAH!! It’s official.  Jealous anyone.  It's okay...I forgive you :)  I’ll include a picture ;)

I love this ward so much that it will be tough leaving all of them.  There are so many people here that I want to stay in contact with and that I would consider good friends.  No ward on my mission will ever compare to this ward...I grew up here for Pete's sake!!!!  

Holidays probably aren't really going to feel much like holidays I don't think.  We're having thanksgiving with the family we stay with.  I love them.  There is going to be like 30 people there! Good stuff.  She asked us if we had any special requests of food that our moms make at home; that if we had a special recipe for something, if we got it to her, she'd make it for us.  I just told her the usual :)  That I love stuffing and the works, but I didn't ask for any specific recipes cuz it's all going to be delicious.  I'm going to miss being home for the holidays, but I'll live ;)  

Well, like I said, not much to say.  I just kind of ramble.  Whatever.  You like it ;)

Love always and forever,

Elder Patty

Week 21

Well, I hope Jabari makes the right choice ;)  That would be Jimmer #2 ;)  

Anyways, Hello family and friends and all who are blessed with the opportunity of laying eyes upon the words that were etched into cyber space by none other than the amazing Elder Thornton!!!!!!

Life is going great.  Fast, but great.  Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are amazing and help me through anything and everything with which I deal.  This past week we had Ashton's baptism on Friday and his family came which was amazing.  They aren't LDS, but they are great people.  The spirit was super strong.  I couldn't help but have a smile on my face the entire time.  This church is absolutely amazing.  Don't know what I'd do without the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I should be able to upload a pic for you :)  Well, another transfer has begun.  Time flies.  Elder Moses is still being a stud.  We are so busy, it's intense, but we are seeing miracle after miracle.  Yesterday, at church, we had a couple of investigators and few less actives we have been working with attend.  It was great.  I was honored with the privilege of serving Ashton by being the one to confirm him a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and give the gift of the Holy Ghost.  It was a powerful experience.  Then for the 2nd and 3rd hours, I played piano for the primary children.  They're fun, and say some of the funniest things.  Yesterday, they were talking about Daniel and the teacher asked what happened when they threw Daniel in the Lion's den, and one kid piped up and said that he ate pizza with the lions.  hahahahahaha.  Super funny :)  Then every so often a kid will raise his or her hand and share some completely irrelevant thought about when his birthday is.  

I received letters from Mom #21, Kati Kamas, Rachel Sherman, and Gram gram.  Good stuff.  Thanks, ya'll ;)

For Christmas, I thought of a couple of things you could send if you wanted (or anyone).  Colored and black G-2's.  If possible, could some of the blacks be .38, (ask Chris).  Also, possibly sticky notes, and perhaps some CD's of good music.  Mom, that New Testament one you got me before I left is intense.  I love it.  Perhaps they have other similar compilations

So yesterday, we walked outside to bike to church for our morning meetings, and I looked down and lo and behold, my tire had ABSOLUTELY NO AIR IN IT!!!!!!  Oh yeah :)  That's what I'm talking about.  so, needless to say, we walked, and we have to go get it fixed today.  

Anyways, I never know what to take pictures of so I have some random ones to send.  Enjoy.  

We have a baptism coming up this next Sunday, which is stake conference for us.  It's going to be super amazing.  It's amazing to see how the gospel has changed this man's life.  He has grown so much even in the short period of time that I've known him, and others have seen it as well.  He is just so happy and filled with joy.  He is 100% committed.  I love being a missionary.  Seeing the gospel change people's lives is amazing :)

Well,  this week should be good.  I'm still learning a lot.  It will be interesting for ya'll to see me when I return in a couple of years.  You'll have to tell me if it feels like I've changed a lot.  ;)

Crazy to think that I'm almost a quarter through my mission!!!!

Well, I love you lots lots and lots more.  I'm going to miss the holidays with my family, but it will just make the holidays of 2014 that much sweeter :)

Love,

Elder Thornton

Week 20

Monday, November 5, 2012 9:57 AM

First off, Dad, did you really write this letter at 1:00 in the morning??

Anyways,  Hey ya'll

Glad to hear that everyone's doing well...mostly ;)  Sounds like some pretty intense stuff is going on back home.  So life's going pretty swell.  It's pretty crazy that it's already November.  To think...I've been here since early July!!  Wow.  Well to answer the question that's begging to be answered...yes, I got my ballot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Once I talked with the Mission President to see if I could check my email and then saw what you had written, I was almost positive that it must have picked up accidentally by the family I live with.  Things have been pretty crazy for them for the past couple of months.  So, I was hoping they would have a central location where she keeps all the mail so I could just look through it; I asked the daughter that runs the horse farm thing, and she laughed thinking about her mother having a central location.  :) :)  So, I asked Sis. Reece if perhaps they had accidentally snagged my ballot.  Well, she looked for it and long story long, she called me that night and said she had found it.  This was on Thursday night.  So I mailed it Friday and debated whether to express it or just priority since apparently they don't have 2 day guarantee.  Priority was 5 something.  Express which is 1 day was 19 something.  They said priority should get there Monday, Tuesday at the latest, so I went with that.  Should get there.  But I hope they take ballots that come in post office envelopes because that's how I had to send it.  If not, yours is the Return Address.  Good story right.  Trust in God, and give it all you got.  There's nothing else to it. :)

So, I've had the blessed opportunity of wearing my coat a few times so far.  Needless to say,   I'm in love :)  BEST COAT EVER!!!!  I got letters from mom 19(in the ballot pack) and 20 and also a postcard from dad and a letter from Stephanie Hiltscher.  

Elder Moses and I doing great together.  We are becoming more and more unified.  He's doing phenomenally well.  He really only needs a 6 week training program because he's good to go already.  :)  Really no problems together so that's good :)  He's grown tremendously...as have I...which is always good.  This Friday, we have a baptism and then we will have one on the 18th as well.  It's super exciting to see how much the Lord is blessing this area and our efforts.  We have another couple of investigators who are doing really well, and should be able to make those essential covenants with our Heavenly Father in December.  I'm really going to miss this ward...a lot.  So many wonderful people here.  

I'm glad that Mom gets to go visit Nana soon.  It's crazy kind of being cut off from everything.  I really don't know a lot about the north east right now.  Also, it's crazy that election day is tomorrow.  We'll see what happens.  So, I'm not gonna lie.  Trying to interpret those amendments things on the ballot was a fun time without the ability to look anything up. They write it in cryptic language and then they don't inform you as to where the law currently stands now on some things, so I don't know if for instance, they are going from no regulation to some regulation or from lots of regulation to some regulation...all they put is the some regulation.  Whatever.  I did my best, and the Lord probably blessed me and helped me. :)  Apparently, we're voting for the legalization of Marijuana.  I think I voted no on that.  I hope I read it all right :)  Good stuff.  

It's getting kind of cold out here.  Especially with wind, which is augmented by riding on bikes.  We had 3 investigators in church which was amazing and we had several less actives we are working with come as well.  Truly, we are seeing many many miracles each and every day.  I hope everyone else can see them.  

Hope ya'll have a great week.  Know that I love you more than anything in the whole wide world.  Good thing families are eternal ;)

Love,

Elder Patty

Week 19

Monday, October 29, 2012 9:42 AM

Re: Hurricane Sandy, you're right about us not really getting a direct hit.  We did have rain for about 2 days straight, and I'm pretty dang serious about it being continuous.  We biked in the hurricane on Saturday for 2 1/2 hours.  That was fun.  We were soaked, but hey, that's life.  The work must go on ;) 

SO NO BALLOT YET!!!!!  I'M NOT HAPPY!!!!! (note unhappy face).  Did you send it in a manila envelope or what?  I'm running out of time.  Okay, hopefully this all gets resolved.  I guess we just do our best and trust in the Lord.  That's the story of life in general :) 

So, for the hurricane, we stayed in Morehead, but they cancelled church for the entire stake aka no investigators at church.  When the winds get bad, they close down the bridges...

Elder Moses is doing well.  That's pretty intense about 2 more missionaries heading out from 5th ward.  It's amazing they are super active while their families are not as much. 

Right now we have a baptism scheduled for the 9th of November, which is super exciting.  He's a solid kid and has a very strong testimony of this church already.  I received 2 letters from Grandma and 1 from Kayla Nelson (O'Dwyer).  And no ballot.  See above :(

We also are having another baptism in November; we just don't know the exact date yet, but we'll know soon.  It's super exciting.  Another solid investigator, who has made a lot of changes to follow Christ more fully.  I'm glad Grandma is feeling better.  :) 

So I heard that the Hurricane was heading up to hit New Jersey and Manhattan pretty dead on, bummer for Manhattan.  It's crazy to think it's already November basically, and that we’re almost through with another transfer.  Christmas is right around the corner.  :)

We are seeing a lot of miracles here.  There is a lot of potential that hopefully soon will bear fruit.  The Lord has blessed us greatly; I just hope we can do what the Lord needs us to do without failing too miserably.  Just as an FYI, for Christmas, they said something about all packages need to be sent by December 1 to my actual address.  This will be the only time you send things to my actual address, which I will get for you since I don't know the zip code off hand.  Also, don't send liquids (probably relatively obvious) and I think you send things priority mail.  Well, hope you enjoyed the FYI and the rest of the letter today.  Feel free to copy it and tape it next the word Random in the dictionary for it is a perfect visual for the definition of that word :)

I love you all so much.  Stay safe.

Love,

Elder Patty

Week 18

Life is Good LG

Monday, October 22, 2012 9:43 AM

Hey Family,

First off, You're the best.  I luves you lots. :)  Next order of business, Father, we get a car every other week, which does help getting to farther places.  Elder Moses is doing quite well.  He's growing tremendously and is taking more and more initiative every day which is amazing.  He went to a year of school before his mission.  Right now, if everything continues to go well, we will have 2 baptisms in November, which will be truly amazing for those individuals as they make those covenants to follow Jesus Christ.  

I got letters from Dylan Barney, Hayden White, mom #18, Kati Kamas, and a beautiful package from Kayla Nelson O'Dwyer and Family.  It had much deliciousness in it including but not limited to a scrumptious cookie mix and yummy granola bars.  

Apparently, I hear the polls are pointing toward Romney, eh?? As a missionary, I refuse to make a comment, "*no comment*".  :)  I kind of twisted my foot the other day on a step that just jumped out of no where...actually, Deej, it was a yeti.  I started asking people if they had seen that Yeti that just beat me up, but no one did ;) Just kidding, but seriously ;)  Luckily, good ol' arnie gel saved the day and it feels pretty dang good.  At first, I thought I sprained it, but thankfully no.  

Well, I have a funny story for you :)  We talked to this guy on the street the other day, but he basically talked to us and came up to us.  He started talking about how he had come to a LDS service, but didn't like it because there were too many babies crying.  Mind you, this guy's voice is kind of that Italian sounding sing song voice, so no matter what he's saying he sounds Satirical.  Anyways, so it kind of sounds like he's joking so I'm kind of joking with him about how maybe they were speaking tongues etc, and he's all like then there has to be an interpretation of tongues etc. and how there is something wrong if you can't hear the word of God.  So that was the beginning.  Then he starts going off on the spiel about Noah and his sons.  One of the funniest lines he said that made it into my journal was that God cursed Nimrod because he was killing all of God's dinosaurs.  Then, he started to kind of walk away, but I felt that I should at least give him a card, so I tried and he straight up rejected it when he saw that it had pictures of people of different races on the back.  I mean straight up rejected it and went on this other tangent about how integration is bad for our country and on and on.  Wow.  This guy was crazy.  Finally, we got away.  But, it made for a funny story. Oh, I forgot, he also mentioned how we are the stewards of the earth or something, so we have to make sure that every animal is here when it's all over, including the dragon, yes the dragon, which according to him, is one of God's favorite animals :)  tee hee

I hope you liked the story :)

Back to business, things are going well here.  I absolutely love the members in this ward.  There are just so many fantastic ones; it's amazing :)  We had 2 investigators in church yesterday, which was excellent.  We have also seen the Lord's hand at work here as He directs His work.  Things fall through, but the Lord always has other plans in mind as we exercise faith in him and prayerfully set goals and make plans.  On Saturday, an appointment fell through which allowed us to go out to Atlantic Beach earlier than we would have, which in turn allowed us time to visit a family that is less active that invited us right in.  We had a good get to know you talk, and then we were able to set up a dinner appointment with them next week, and they have a kid they're raising that is unbaptized and is 11 and they want him to progress toward baptism! Miracles, miracles, miracles.  They're out there, the miracles, you just have to look for them :)

Last thing, we did some service, unloading some hard wood flooring and my pants that I brought decided to get a divorce and become a pant and a pant :)  Life's good though.  I just wish I were a better missionary.  I often feel pretty inadequate and that I have an insurmountable amount to learn and change.  I guess I'll just keep trying :)

Love,

Elder Patty

ps.  I hope the ballot comes soon.

pps. the weather here is quite beautiful. I like it :)  

Week 17

Cheesy Chicken Toes…

Monday, October 15, 2012 9:49 AM

Hope you liked the subject line...I picked it out myself. :) All growed up :)

Anyways, family, sounds like life is going beautifully for ya'll.  Things are going great down south.  Shrimp actually tastes good.  And last night I had a new fish which was delicious, blue fish or something like that...freshly caught :)  Well, things are going great for Elder Moses and me.  We are getting along super well, and we are working very hard.  He's just a super guy all around.  Time is going by pretty dang fast still, and I'm perpetually tired, but hey, that's missionary life :)  I understand what DJ was saying before I left about how I may be getting more sleep than I ever have in the past, but I also am constantly working, which was not true of the past :)  Letters wise, I'm not positive.  I forgot to write down which ones I received this week, so I'm going off memory.  I got one from the Lymans, and from Mom # something; I'm pretty sure I got one from Grandma.  And I also received one, that I sent out like 2 weeks ago, back as undeliverable...I think it was a zip code issue, so I resent it to Kayla Nelson.  

This ward is still fantastic.  It's going to be sad to leave all of these people, some of which have become really good friends.  Yesterday, the brother of Shara, the girl we baptized a few months back, came to church with the family out of the blue.  We had worked for like 2 months to help him come to church, and he never did, and they had worked for months before that, so when I saw him walk in I was like "no way" (good use of quotes :) ).  We'll see what it means, but it was exciting nonetheless.  Yesterday, we did have a healthy showing of people we are working with.  3 less actives and 1 investigator.  It was a good Sunday overall, minus some issues :)  

I'll try to remember to send you a picture of the house.  Sorry about that.  Guess I just forgot, or got caught up in the moment of the trees. :)  

It's definitely hard to believe October is half over.  Soon it will be Christmas...who knew.  Honestly, I really don't know what else to say in this email...I'm at a loss.  We're working with a couple of investigators who are progressing nicely and should be able to make the covenants with our Father at baptism in November.  One of them is a 17 year old who turns 18 November 4th.  He would have been baptized 2 years ago if his mom hadn't pulled the permission.  So, he's solid :)  Good kid all the way.  

With our other investigators, we're in limbo right now a little bit with them.  It's like...do they want to progress or no.  Anyways...overall life's going well out here.  I feel like this letter is especially short today, but I can't think of much else to say.  

Sounds like Dad is super busy all the time.  Training is a lot of responsibility, but I'm enjoying it.  Sometimes it's tough since I'm still pretty new myself, but we're moving along alright...the Lord always knows what He's doing :)

Please enjoy this week. Try not to explode.  Trust in God, always...Make Christ your foundation and you will never fall...ever.  I love you all so much.  Eternal families are the best.  

Love always and forever,

Elder Patty

ps.  Can't wait for the conference issue

Week 16

Monday, October 8, 2012 11:14 AM

Well...family...how's everything going.  Good?? WELL, THAT'S JUST FANTASTIC!!!!  :)

Life's going pretty well here for us.  Today is a little chillier than it has been but it's nice.  This past weekend was the seafood festival which is a pretty big thing here in little ol' Morehead City...the roads definitely are not designed for lots of people.  I'm not positive, but I think dad may have a heart attack if he were to try to long term plan for MHC. :)

Conference was absolutely fantastic.  I loved it!!!!!!!!!  Themes, anyone??  Holy Bologna.  How many of them talked about family relations??? or...courage and being valiant??? or being a true disciple of Christ ie. becoming converted ie. becoming something!!!!????  It was intense, to say the least.  And Holy cow on the mission age reduction! Influx, anyone.  Now we know how the Lord was planning on getting enough missionaries to open up missions in more places.  Not only will that add a huge influx of individuals who are already in those new age ranges, but more people will continue to serve.  Guys won't have that limbo year between high school and mission, which might dissuade some people from serving and girls will have a less likely chance of getting married in a year versus 3 years ;)  I really liked the story from I think the presiding Bishop about the one choice to stay valiant in Japan that completely altered the course of not only his life, but the life of his friend as well.  And this story actually had a counterpart individual that foiled the protagonist, so we got a glimpse at where they would have gone if they had not remained valiant.  Talk about gratitude on the friend's part!!  There were a ton of other good talks as well.  A++.  

We had no investigators come...again...but we did have the girl friend of this really nice guy we talk to a lot come to a session.  We invited him, but he's not super religious and so he invited her.  We talked with her at conference a little, and she wants to kind of ease into things a little bit, but she invited us over for dinner tonight!!!!  I really hope it all goes well...which it will as long as we follow the spirit.  The guy is really great :)  super nice.  Reminds me a lot of Bro. Varley.  He really likes us too.  

Oh,  it's also suit season now, but President Bernhisel is a little more lenient than others before which is nice.  If we are on bikes, we don't have to wear suits.  That's nice of him :)

Anyways, my new companion......his name is Elder Aldon Moses.  He's from Madera, California.  He's the youngest of 5 boys.  He's super nice and is going to be a great missionary.  :)  We are getting along really well, and things are looking really good for the next couple of transfers.  ps. I email from the family history library at the church, and a member of the ward drove us to and from Raleigh.  Elder Moses really wants to learn and he's not afraid of trying new things (Missionary work related of course, food may be a different story ;) ).  I can already see growth in him, and it hasn't even been a week.  

So, was there anything else you wanted to know about Elder Moses???

I received letters from Stephanie Hiltscher, Rachel Sherman, Whitney Weda(o)m (MTC teacher), 16 mom, and grandma.  

Anyways, life's going pretty dang good right now, not that I don't feel inadequate like all the time ;), but for the most part, things are going well.  This next week should pretty good.  We have a lot of good plans.  Now, if we can only prevent them all from falling through.  Oh, agency....sometimes...... ;)

Not much else to say,  I'll send a picture or two.

Love,

Elder Patty

Week 15

Monday, October 1, 2012 9:34 AM

Ok family.  So do I got some news for ya'll today :)

First off, let me answer Dad's questions.  Yes, I'll try to send a picture of the outside of the house.  Tourist traffic has definitely slowed; however, this weekend is the seafood festival, which is pretty big here.  We will watch General Conference (which I am very excited for) at the church building.  Bicycling is pretty good most of the time; some roads are far better than others with actual bike lanes and sidewalks, but we get along just fine.  People are generally nice to us; however, sometimes you do get the individual who can't even be polite.  They don't have to agree with our beliefs, but they can be pleasant...whatever.  Do most people know who we are??? hmmmm...kind of maybe.  I don't know.  I hope you liked that answer.  And yes, people bring up Romney, but don't really ask a lot of questions about him.  The most often comment about him is that they are voting for him.  haha ;)

Who is this hill character??  Concerning stamps/envelopes, I have enough right now.  I bought some stamps last week, so I should last for a while.  But you guys don't need to worry too much about supplying me with those things.  You already do enough to support me on my mission; I'll use my monthly allowance to purchase those.  This past week I received letters from Kati Kamas, Mom number 14 or 15??, Dad I think, and one from Robert Paxton, my roommate.  

So, tomorrow I get to wake up dark and early, like at 4:00 to head up to Raleigh since we have to be there by 8:45 for a training meeting............yep........have you guessed??????? I'm training :)  Exciting, eh?  But also a HUGE responsibility.  I will have an impact on this person's life that will affect the rest of his mission as well as his life in general.  I'm grateful that God trusts me enough to train one of his sons to do the work of the Lord.  I just hope that I can train the way the Lord would have me train...needless to say, lots of prayers ;)

Also, that means, that I will be here in Morehead City for another 3 months until a week before Christmas.  Elder Jensen is heading up to Wake Forest to be a District Leader.  Yesterday, we had a pretty good fast and testimony meeting.  We had 4 less actives that we are working with attend as well as one investigator.  It was really good. exciting :)  

It's hard to believe it's already October.  I've been here since July 10.  Crazy ;)  

A couple of days ago, we were destroyed by a torrential downpour.  I don't think I've ever been so wet from a rainstorm.  My pants were instantly saturated.  Luckily I had my fantastic rain jacket with me, so my upper body stayed mostly dry.  It also was a really cold rain.  However, my shoes did not escape the storm's wrath.  I had puddles in the bottoms of them.  There was no escape.  Poor things didn't stand a chance.  

This next week is super crazy busy.  We are losing Tuesday because we have to be in Raleigh, and we are also losing a big chunk of proselyting time, but gaining an amazing time with General Conference.  It just makes it difficult to try and squeeze appointments in.  There are going to be some changes made within the mission, I think, so we'll see how that goes :)  This email is really random...as usual.  Right now, mail is on hold till after transfers so...  We are seeing some great progression with our investigators though, so that is good.  Hopefully, we can help someone make those powerful and important covenants with our Heavenly Father soon through baptism.  It's a possibility.  I don't have any pictures today, but I will next week.  PS.  Did you ever get the pictures that the mission office/president was going to send at the very beginning...via email??

Don't know what else to say.  I'm glad all ya'll are doing well.  I'm glad Velvet is doing well.  How's that lady doing that just was baptized??  Hopefully amazing.  There are so many wonderful members of this ward; I am truly grateful and blessed to be serving here in Morehead City.  Actually, I'm grateful that I am able to serve a mission for our Savior, representing Him and being His instrument in this part of His vineyard.  I know that Jesus Christ suffered and died for us so that we would have the chance to choose liberty and eternal life or captivity and death.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ, as restored through Joseph Smith, makes complete sense and is marvelous in its simplicity.  

I love you all so much.

Love,

Elder Patty

Week 14

Monday, September 24, 2012 9:31 AM

Well family...what to say what to say.  

First off, I kind of have the sniffles.  Elder Jensen got them and so lovingly gave them to me :)  Sharing is caring, right?? ;)  So this past week I got #14 from mom, and I think that was it.  This week is going to be intense.  We're losing an entire day of proselyting here because Elder Jensen has to go up to Raleigh on Friday for a leadership training meeting (aka.  He's going to be district or a zone leader).  To address dad's comment.  The likelihood of us both staying here is about .5%.  It's theoretically a possibility that he could become the district leader here, but chances are slim.  Most of the time they move the trainer after the 12 weeks is up.  Speaking of which, where did these last 6 weeks go??  Also, whitewashing (where they take 2 out and put 2 new missionaries in) occurs from time to time, but not that often.  Again, I would be uuber surprised to see that occur.  

Mom, your story about the wasp cracked me up.  I would have liked to see that happen hahahahhaaha :)  Also, recently, I have actually thought about how we used to run outside to try and catch the jets flying by, (which only ever happened if they happened to be directly above us ;) The reason being the military bases here.  This next comment is for the brothers.  I have seen military Chinooks fly around.  I have also seen Harrier squadrons fly around (remember the jets that let off like a bajillion missiles in about 2 seconds!!)  It's intense to say the least.  And yes, mom, I still look for them here when I hear them nearby.  You've trained me well ;) ;)  

I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for me next transfer though.  We have some promising investigators if Satan will just get out of the way and stop hindering their progress.  Last week, an appointment fell through, but this was for a valid reason.  The reason being his mother was rushed to the hospital.  Why can't things just run smoothly??  (because we would never grow, Elder Thornton).  Oh yeah, that's right.  Good one.  PS. I just had a mini conversation with myself :)  

So yesterday, we had ABSOLUTELY NOBODY WE'RE WORKING WITH COME TO CHURCH!!!!! hooray!!!! not.  However, the stake president was there and gave a lot of good counsel in ward council.  Hopefully, everybody tries to apply it.  "Be ye not hearers of the word only, but doers of the word"  (I don't know why I puts quotes around that since I quoted it wrong. Whatever.)  

I am excited for General Conference though.  It's going to be really amazing to hear what the prophets have to say.  It's absolutely amazing when you think about it, that we have living prophets today teaching us exactly what God want us to know and hear at this time.  It's the same as in times of old with Moses and Abraham.  Absolutely incredible.  Hopefully, we can get a lot of the individuals we are teaching to General Conference to hear the prophet's voice.  

We had a linger longer yesterday.  Good food :)  ok.  that's enough about me for the week, but you'll receive some exciting news next week hopefully!!!

Love,

Elder Patty

Week 13

Monday, September 17, 2012 9:29 AM

So family,  

let's see.  Life's good overall.  I turn 3 this week which is intense.  There's a man in my ward who served in Finland.  Alright, that's it.  Bye

Just kidding!!!!! hahahaha

So last week was really good.  Like I mentioned, we had a baptism on Saturday.  It went really well.  Gerald and his family were so excited.  Truly they are a miracle.  Sis. Morris, the mom, invited a lot of her less active family from Harker's Island to the baptism, which was a really spiritual experience for everyone.  Gerald's father was able to baptize him which was also a wonderful experience.  He did really well.  Funny side note, earlier on Saturday, we were helping out on a service project for a lady in the ward.  Our Ward mission leader asked us when we were leaving to stop by the church and check the font.  So we did, and guess what????  It had flooded and overflowed!!!!!!!!  Ahhhhhh yeah.  It got the carpet all nice and soaked.  Luckily most of it probably went back into the bathroom drain, but still, Elder Jensen and I had to try to clean it up, but we were very pushed for time because then we had to book it home on bikes, take really fast showers, and book it back in suits to the baptism to make sure we there early.  Everything else went pretty smoothly though which was good.  We had a lot of people there also.  There are some amazing members in this ward.  

It's hard to believe that I'll be getting a new companion in a couple of weeks.  PS.  Are you sending my absentee ballot??  Thanks ;)  Some weeks we are fed 6-7 days others it's 4-5, but it's good.  We don't mind cooking for ourselves some nights and some nights it works better because we are just so dang busy.  :)  Alright letter wise, I received a letter from mom #13, DJ, Grandma, Holly, Tyler Brennan, Kayla Nelson.  Yesterday I cooked Alfredo.  I was kind of pushed for time though doing it in an hour while cooking on a camping stove basically.  Boiling water for a pound of pasta??!!  Sheesh.  That's fun.  But it tasted really good :)  Today we're going to Cape Lookout, a lighthouse.  It's going to be really fun, and I'll get pictures for you guys.  I'll actually see the ocean instead of just the sound too.  

Time flies overall.  We are seeing a lot of progress in this area.  The Lord is truly blessing us with people to help and teach.  I'm learning and growing everyday.  Sometimes it feels like there's so much to learn, How can I ever do it all??  But, I'll just keep working, one day at a time.  Tonight I'm eating Shrimp burgers :) I'm excited.  The temperatures here have been absolutely gorgeous over the past few days.  I hear it's only going to get better in the next few months.  Speaking of which, where's my hurricane??  Oh, also, the place I'm staying is 10,000 square feet.  Holy cow.  I knew it was big, but not that big.  Dang gina.  

But life's good overall.  I'm trying to send a few pics along, so enjoy those.  We haven't seen rain for a while.  I think it may have rained last night, but i didn't see it ;)  Not much else to say.  I heard about the embassy attacks.  Bold move on killing an ambassador.  

Love,

Elder Patty

Week 12

Monday, September 10, 2012 9:50 AM

Hey kids, 

Sounds like all ya'll are doing just fantastic.  That's good.  I love you all so much.  It's sure a good thing that I'm out here on the Lord's errand because not many other reasons would instill in me the desire to remain away from my family for 2 years.  So, to answer some of your preguntas, the Raleigh temple is one of the smallest, if not the smallest, temple in the world.  Reminds me a lot of Monticello, but we had a really good experience there.  We did an endowment session, and it definitely strengthened and helped me continue on in perseverance.  The drive is about 3 hours long and we got up at the ridiculous hour of 4:30 in the morning.  Gross. I wrote some letters in the car because that was a preparation day, which definitely messed the week up and stunk overall.  When we got home, because we live so far away, (the second farthest from Raleigh), our entire Preparation day was gone and we had to go to an appointment.  Thankfully, we have a preparation day today. 

Every morning we work out for 30 minutes before we shower and everything, so yes, we get other exercise to answer mom's question.  I did receive these letters from family members.  #12 mom with the pictures (looks really nas....as in Nas-Car) ;), Dad's and Grandma's.  Oooh, question.  When you forward my mail, do you include my return address on it so that these people know how to write back to me?  

Okay, back to business.  Yesterday, we had an excellent Sunday.  Elder Jensen and I were running around the entire time being busy, trying to get in contact with people and set things up.  We had 2 investigators at church, which is a miracle and the ward members just took them right under their wings.  Fantastic.  That's the way the ward is supposed to work.  The members of this ward really are generally amazing.  Great stuff.  Also, on Saturday, we had a baptismal interview for one of our investigators whose baptism is this Saturday.  He gets to be baptized by his dad, who is a returning less active.  Great family.  The son's name is Gerald, and he is nine years old.  We are very excited for him.  There are definitely families in this ward with whom I will be friends for life.  

So this week is supposed to be all sunny.  Boo :( and we have been enjoying the rain and thunder and lightning.  Great stuff.  I'm still waiting on my hurricane, but we're starting to run out of season...it better happen soon.

It's hard to believe this transfer is half over, but I'm kind of excited for the change...I kind of hope I train someone, but either way, I know the Lord has plans for me, so I'll just try to align my will with His so that things all work out for the best.  

Other than that, it's good to hear from all of you.  I'm glad that BYU is doing well in football so far.  Apparently, Riley must still be doing well, which is great, especially for him and his morale.  

Thanks for everything you do.  And that's crazy how many general authorities you have had and will have in the near future.  The Lord is definitely emphasizing something to us through his appointed servants.  It's probably best we listen ;)

Have a great week,

Love,

Elder Patty

Week 11

Monday, September 3, 2012 11:00 AM

Alright family,

How ya'll doin'?? Excellent?  Well, THAT'S JUST FANTASTIC!!!! (anybody catch the quote??)  Anyways,  life's going pretty good.  Funny story.  Today actually ISN'T preparation day.  This

Friday we get to go to the temple, so by default, that becomes our preparation day, but because our area is, I think, the 2nd farthest away, aka a 3 hour drive, we are emailing today.  I'm excited for the temple trip though.  A member is taking us up which translates to we can take naps on the ride up and back.  However, I'm probably going to be writing some letters because when we get back, we're going to have a grand total of about 2 hours of preparation day left.  Fun stuff.  So basically, we don't get much of a preparation day this week.  

We have been getting sooooooooo much rain here; it's crazy.  I think someone said since some date in June, we've had about 30 in of rain, but if you include today, probably more.  Crazy stuff.  Good thing I love rain and thunder storms!!!!  

Side note, today I put on jeans to do some service, which fell through because of the rain, and boy, it looked weird being in jeans...and it hasn't even been that long!!  

So, here's a sad story.  Why is it so difficult for people to come to sacrament meeting?!?!?!  Sheesh.  We had 2 investigators yesterday that didn't show up again, and we had to explain to him that night at our lesson that we've done everything we can do to help him progress.  We've given him all the tools he needs, he just has to make the decision.  So, when he's ready, we're ready, but for the mean time, we're going to back off a little.  Sheesh, that was hard...and sad.  I love that family, but his mother believes that to be the correct next step as well.  This is the brother of the girl that was baptized in July.  We're going to probably have to do the same thing with another investigator on Tuesday, but we know that as we exercise faith, the Lord will bless us with people who are ready to receive the gospel into their lives and progress in their journey back to our Heavenly Father.  

I love the Holy Ghost and Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

To answer some of Dad's inquiries, No, we really don't go sight seeing a lot...slash at all.  But we are planning a trip up to Cape Lookout (look it up ;), a light house, with the Harkers Island elders in the next couple of weeks, which will be really intense and amazing.  That's when I'll snag that picture for ya, Dad ;)  We do have 1 investigator who is still on track for being baptized on the 15th of September.  He's a 9 year old in a returning Less-Active family.  Great family.  We're super excited for them all as they work toward the temple.  Last week, we had about 13 lessons, which is pretty good, but since we are teaching less investigators now, our usual lessons won't occur in the coming weeks, so we may dip down a little for a couple of weeks.  We'll see.  The Lord, if we're faithful, will probably bless us with more opportunities to teach different people.  There's always work to do.  

Here's the update from letters etc from family: I got 11 from mom, grandma's, and if I hadn't already said, #2 from dad, and a delicious package with delicious gold fish deposited within its depths ;)  Yum

For Grandma, yes, there is a Subway about a half an hour from where I live that's actually owned by the bishop.  It's in my area too.  So, hopefully that answers any questions you had.  

Sorry about the pictures not going through.  I'm sad on you not getting the district one, but I'll have to send it again.  Not this week though because I don't have my camera stuff with me. I'm eating well, and the members are great.  Yesterday, there was an 8 year old baptism and there were so many people attending that they had to move it to the chapel, and everyone didn't fit in the actual font room for the ordination.  Intense.  

Well, I don't know much else to say.

I could tell you a funny story?  I'm gonna tell you a story.  Huh? Huh?  Back a while, back a while...I was in this potential investigators home in Havelock on exchange and I was giving one of the individuals there a Book of Mormon to read out of.  Guess what got jammed inside the cover.......a chastity pamphlet!!! Wooooo :)  It fell out and this other girl who was kind of just sitting there on the couch picked it up and started reading it.  Tee hee.  Funny stuff.  I kind of felt dumb, but hey, maybe that's what she needed.  Then again, maybe not ;)  Oops.  ps.  I hope you liked the introduction to this story ;)...Deej...especially...

Another story...

So, I don't know if you know how exciting it is to get a media referral via text.  Well, it is.  And the other day, we received one.  SUPER EXCITING!!!!!  However, as it turns out, it was just a less active couple in the ward who logged a request via mormon.org for a reason that still seems to escape us, especially considering they know about half the ward and have regular contact with some of them.  Probably, they just wanted us to visit with.

Anyways,

Hope you like the stories,

Have an excellently fantastic week,

Luvs,

Elder Patty

ps.  I usually have enough time to write.  

Week 10

Monday, August 27, 2012 10:06 AM

Alright family...let's get down to the nitty gritty,

Life in general is going.  Yep, it's always going, but thankfully, it's going pretty good.  To start, the book in the bible that I mentioned last week was supposed to be Romans if I accidentally put Ephesians; I can't remember which one I put :)  Next, I received #2 from Dad, # 10 from mom, one from Grams, one from DJ, and A PACKAGE!!!!! :)  Good stuff.  Thanks a bajillion bunches for the delicious Cashews!!!!!! Yummy :) :) :) and the fruit snacks :) :)  Good stuff, again.  

Okay, now to answer some inquiries...one, the reason why I said I will probably be here till December is because usually missionaries are in an area anywhere between 4 1/2 and 6 months.  It can be shorter and it can be longer, but that's generally speaking.  We'll see though.  Yes, tourist season is a lot less in the winter. We definitely won't have as many visitors in church.  But no, it hasn't really slowed down yet.  I see other missionaries about 1 a week, when we have some sort of meeting on Wednesdays, usually district meetings.  This Wednesday, we have interviews so that should be good :)  I like President Bernhisel.  Oh, and yes, the family we live with is great.  They are super nice. They basically feed us every Sunday afternoon for lunch, which is way kind.  He used to be a bishop, and right now, he's going through a lot of health issues.  He has to go back in to have neck surgery again and I think back surgery too.  

Dad, question.  How many people live in Grand Junction and Grand Junction with surrounding area? Also, what is the percentage of LDS?  Thanks a bunch.

Here's a random thought that I had the other day.  People here with stake callings have to devote a lot more of their time than people back home because they have to travel such a greater distance to get to the other buildings.  I had never thought of that before because I was so used to you all just going to a different part of town or even to just a different time for things like ward conferences, but here, they have to put in hours of driving as well.  Crazy stuff.  

But in terms of how things are going here, they're going pretty well.  It's hard to believe how fast time flies.  Our ward mission leader has recently become a stud and is growing and progressing like no other.  Never doubt the power of being set apart for your calling.  It all started once he was set apart.  Our missionary coordination meeting went really well yesterday, so that's exciting. :)  

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to give a less active sister a blessing as well as her mother before she goes into surgery.  I was given the opportunity of giving the less active sister the blessing, and I felt calm, and I know the spirit worked through me.  This sister is a really nice lady, and really receptive to visits. Her mom was in town to help her in recovery and her mom came to church and is super active.  Backing up a few steps, Elder Jensen and I made a trip down to Emerald Isle which is about a half hour away and visited some people that we don't normally get to visit because we had the car this week.  I happened to pick out her name when we were looking at who we could visit, and we just happened to catch her the day before she went into surgery.  She told us her mom was coming into town and would be at church.  Thus, that was a miracle within itself!  It's amazing how the Lord works through us, His instruments.  I'm definitely learning a lot of things that I had better keep with me when I return home to my own wards throughout life.  But I'm glad we were able to visit her with the Elders Quorum President, so now he knows her and he's the kind of guy who will really work at keeping people from slipping through the cracks

gotta go

bye,

Elder Patty

ps.  Have fun at school Chris.  Make tons of dough. :)

Week 9

Monday, August 20, 2012 9:22 AM

To the most best amazing family ever created...

It is to thee that I now transcribe the thoughts of my mind onto this intricate and amazing device deemed keyboard, where they are thus relayed by tiny messengers into the midst of cyberspace....

Anyways,  Hello everyone,

I hope everyone is doing fantabulistic!!!  Life here is going pretty swell.  The heat on some days is TERRIBLE!!!!! Ughhh...disgusting, but I'll survive.  I can't wait for it to be cold enough for me to wear my coat.  

Concerning Dad's inquiries, we had 1 investigator and 2 less actives in church yesterday, which equates to 1 family.  We are helping to reactivate the parents, and we just picked up their 9 year old son as an investigator.  We waited for that last part because we wanted to see dedication and diligence out of the family before we baptize someone who will never be able to make it to church on their own and will just join the less active stats of the ward.  Recently, we have had 3 new active families move into the ward.  Crazy.  All 3 of them have kids and everything.  We also see a ton of visitors in the summer as people come down here for vacations for a week or so or a weekend.  That's pretty intense about the couple going to NCRM that stopped in Grand Junction.  Did you catch their names? 

We had a good lesson last night with an investigator, his mom and sister, who are members, out of 2nd Nephi 31, which is an amazingly fantastic chapter.  Afterwards, Elder Jensen drew a picture of the gate and the strait and narrow path, and that really helped it to set in a little more.  That family is the Fleck family, and I absolutely love them.  They are a family that I guarantee I will stay in contact throughout my mission and after my mission.  They are absolutely wonderful.  It's beautiful.  For mother's inquiry, Teaching is going well.  I'm understanding more and more and learning more and more.  We are definitely blessed as missionaries with special gifts when we are set apart as missionaries for the Church.  Obviously, I have a ton of things to work on and improve at, but that comes in time.  

ps. We got dumped on by rain on our way to the church building this morning.  Good stuff ;)

Oh, and also, currently we are in mail hold while transfers are commencing.  It should be soon that they start sending them out again.  Speaking of which, I forgot to write down what letters I received from you all this week.  And did I forget last week too??  Ummm...let's see from memory...I believe I received one from Grandma and I did receive the one with the stake newsletter in it from mother.  I think that was #8 or something close to it.  I'll have to double check.  Sorry, I'm still getting used to what I need to remember for letters ;) Dylan should be almost done with the MTC by now I would think.  He probably either left this morning or will leave tomorrow.  Could you get me his address, perhaps? 

I'm going to email you some pictures, but they're aren't very exciting.  I'm trying to think back to when DJ sent pictures, and honestly, I really don't know what to take pictures of.  I could do random crazy shots of me...but that's not very exciting :)

But, I'm eating well, doing well, sleeping pretty well (even though I'm pretty tired, pretty often), and enjoying life.  Yesterday, the spirit reminded me just how important it is to never lose hope because that is a slippery slope into the depths of despair.  (If you want to study some good stuff on hope, see Ephesians, especially chapter 8, I think).

Luvs forever and always,

Elder Patty

Week 8

Monday, August 13, 2012 1:06 PM

Okay family, 

Sorry this letter is so late.  We got here this morning and by george, the internet was not working.  :( Sad day, but one of the bishopric members fixed it for us, so that was nice of him.  Okay.  Let's get down to business.  I received Dad's postcard a while ago (sorry, for some reason the postcard didn't make it in the planner for items from family received ;), I also received Mom's card -- hope-- and letter 8.  I also received Dad's letter this week as well, and I'm glad that Nana and DJ received my letters.  PS. Tell the Rock flock that I remembered their birthday on their birthday ;)

There are a lot of great people down here, and as Dad mentioned in his letter, my bishop here (and at home ;) is excellent.  We are seeing a lot of miracles and progress and blessings in this area.  There are a lot of less actives that just need someone or some ones to take them by the hand and lead them back to the fold.  I'm still learning a ton and growing a ton, and it's hard to believe a transfer is already basically over.  Pretty crazy.   My District consists of us, New Bern, Harker's Island, and Havelock.  Our district leader will probably be leaving this transfer too.  He's a great guy and I love him.  I've learned a lot from him.  Our ward is called Morehead City Ward, and we are the only set of missionaries here.  Our stake center is about 1 hour 15 minutes or so away I think, so that should give perspective...a little.

I'm glad that you all had a good time at the temple.  Speaking of which, we get to go to the temple September 7 :).  Boo yah.  To my brothers, good luck in school; don't be too big of bums.  It's definitely pretty hot right now...kind of disgusting.  Hurricane season is kicking it into high gear right about now, too.  Oh, something crazy that I learned just about 30 minutes ago is that Judgement, singular, has an "e" in the middle, while pluralized Judgments, doesn't.  Go figure.  I never knew that.  Shook my world for a loop.  *mixed metaphor for the win* 

Well, I hope everything else is going well.  Sounds like you all are doing great and growing a lot.   Thanks for being the best family I could have ever hoped for.  Eternities just wouldn't be the same without you :)  Keep up the good work with Bishop, Dad.  I can't imagine being Bishop; you have so much responsibility.  You probably weigh 50 lbs more with that load on your shoulders ;)

Well, okay.  I've got to go.  

Until next week,

Luvs always,

Elder Patty

Week 7

Monday, August 6, 2012 9:25 AM

Family!!!!!!!!

So, yeah.  good stuff. :) Alright, expect another random, no order letter because that's what's on the menu.  Speaking of menu, shrimp actually doesn't taste that bad :)  Who would have thought ;)  and the other night, we had fresh caught Flounder.  DELICIOUS!!!!! So I got DJ's letter, Gram's letter, and #7 from mom.  and YES, on getting into the program for Mechanical Engineering.  That's super nice and relieving, not that I didn't think I'd get in ;)  Oh, I get an hour to write family and to write my Letter to the President.  THE...FLOOR...LOOKS...ABSOLUTELY....AMAZING!!!!!!!!!  Our house just got 30 years younger.  Beautiful.  Tell Velvet I miss and love her ;)  Okay, so yesterday our ward was basically half visitors.  Not kidding.  We get a ton of visitors because we are on the coast and people come here to vacation. We had a little over 200 people in church yesterday and we were packed including the small overflow.  Crazy.  ps.  They are about 450 members in the ward...aka if we could help those less actives return to activity they would have to split the ward...that's without a single baptism!!!!  Crazy again.  

So, what else is interesting that has happened to me.  We are seeing some amazing progress with the individuals we are working with and with the ward.  It's amazing to see the Lord's hand in everything we do.  We experience miracles every day.  Yesterday, was phenomenal.  The spirit was so strong and our Bishop is amazing.  The calling and position of Bishop is seriously a divine position and as Dad knows and has said, is directed by the Lord.  Our Bishop was seriously one inspired man yesterday.  We're probably going to stop by his house tonight and thank him for everything he did and is doing.  

Yesterday, during testimony meeting, I was debating whether I would bear my testimony or not, and then the spirit just told me, "You need to bear your testimony."  So, I decided I wasn't going to let that powerful of a prompting slide by so I got up and bore my testimony.  We had 1 less active there sitting with us, and she is amazing.  It may have been for her, or for anyone else.  Either way, I know that the Lord wanted me to bear my testimony yesterday.  

Last night at a lesson, the spirit was so strong.  During the lesson, while my companion was speaking, I realized through revelation that one of the greatest gifts and blessings that God has given me here on my mission is charity.  I seriously love everyone.  And it's like the love that Christ had and that Moroni speaks of.  I'm not trying to say that I have 100% charity and that I can't possibly have any more charity, but in times past, I may have judged people prematurely at times, but as I continue to serve my mission, I am doing less and less of that, especially once I talk with someone.  As soon as I get over that initial fear and apprehension of talking to a stranger, a love grows inside of me for that person, where I desire them to have what I have and what the gospel gives me in my life.  I want to help them in any way I can.  I want to help them come to Christ.  For example, the other day we were early for an appointment, so Elder Jensen suggested that we bike around the neighborhood to see if there was anyone we could talk to.  The Lord placed in our path this man, who has an incredible amount of faith in Christ and an incredible life story.  As he described himself and his life, I sincerely desired him to know more about the God he so dearly loves, to have even more truths than he currently has.  So, I asked him if there was a time we could return and share our message.  The conversation changed, and we never received an answer, but right before we parted paths, I asked again if there was time because I sincerely and earnestly desired for him to at least have the chance to hear about the restoration of the gospel . Obviously, everyone has agency and he may choose not to accept it in his life right now, but that's not the point because maybe he will or maybe this plants the seed for later conversion.  Who knows, but God. :)  So, this week we have an appointment with him, which will provide the spirit with an opportunity to more fully touch his heart and bring him closer to Christ.  Cross my fingers ;)

I hope that didn't get to drawn out or anything :)  I can't believe it's already the 5th week of the transfer.  A couple more weeks and I'll be in my second transfer.  Crazy stuff.  It's getting super hot here.  August is brutal.  We'll be in the sun for 20-30 minutes and I already am baking.  And the sun seriously exhausts me...makes me sooo tired sometimes.  

Anyways, gotta go.  Have a good week.  I hope I answered any questions.  Life's going well for me.  

Stay safe

Love, 

Elder Patty