December News- The Best 2 Years

Elder Brock Smith

Hawaii, Honolulu Mission

January 2007 - January 2009

Aloha,Ka Kou

Well anyway things here are good.I got a call from the assistants asking if I wanted to go home a day early or go to the pcc,I was one day early fro shua I mean we dont get to go the the temple anyway I will come back and see the pcc another time, thats what I thought at least but I don't know what the other 12 people chose so we'll see what happens. It is crazy they will be bookin my flight very soon but if we do go home one day early then 60 days left oh my its crazy after this holiday season then bam it'll be practictally over. All the Elders are talkin about what movie to watch on christmas and I am just hey I don't care I'll be home like a month after that so whatevahs, and there just like shut up so then they proceed to remind me all the time that im going home soon, which is kinda irratating cuz Iam gonna miss it here and miss being a missionary it really is awesome stuff. This was the best choice I ever made the time has gone by so fast, Wow I just want to finish strong,and it is hard, I am training again and I am greatful I have had the oppertunity to get to do that so much. It is not easy for me but I know I have grown alot.Cuz mean time you have out here in da field bein one of Jesuses Guys live one life that stay to da max foevah bra so sweet da sky wen rip open and start fo shower you with da blessin from da Boss up in the Sky ho cuz its awesome sorry I stay speakin so much pidgin ovah heah dat i no can spell notin else sorry. Hey I say work hard you guys are all the bomb. Happy thanks giving, and a super Merry Christmas.I will see some of you soon. Daniel How are things going, My Bro. God speed. I cant wait to hear from all of you in the news letter. Time is really going fast. I am very greatful 102 passed in the states. Things are amazing in the plan, I could see were the Lord in these things happening.Well if we are prepared we shall not fear.My testimony has really grown and I am thankful to Be one of the lords Missionaries.it is getting scary to think now I have to return to a whole new life I donot know if I am ready for. Merry Christmas and the best to all of you dudes in 2009.Dont get trunky. But yeah about my comp thats true only 1 and a half more transfers with him I think Ill survive. Anyway thats about it. B Sexy B smooth B Smith

Elder Garrett Jones

Hi everybody,We are still working hard. We seem to find a lot of cool, nice people who want us to return and then are never there when we do. That's one thing about the Hispanic culture is that they are very nice to the point that they will lie to you instead of just straight up telling you they don't want you to come back like white people do. This may sound a little strange, but it's refreshing occasionally to be just straight up rejected. Don't let me fool you though, we are teaching some great people who have a lot of potential.The temperature here has really dropped with that amazing New York wind that ony seems to be there during the winter to make everybody much colder and miserabler (a new word). The winter clothing is officially out of the suitcases now. I know that I'm exactly where the Lord wants me to be and that this is his work I'm doing. It's amazing how many cool experiences I'm able to see and have each day and how different I feel when I come home after them. I love and miss you all and hope everything is going well. Love, Garrett

Elder Grant Huish

Hey Everybody, How are you doing? Things here in Oregon are wonderful! We had a baptism last week, it was a girl named Ashley Haynes. She is engaged to a member and basically already believed the church was true before we met her. Other than that, I am still in Oregon City with the same companion. For the last few days we have spent alot of time planning for our zone training and making plans for the zone this transfer. Which brings me to my next point, I only have 18 more minutes and I still have to type a bunch of stuff and send a letter to my mission president. Sorry. Love, Grant

Elder Daniel Anderson

HOWDY YALL! So this month was just as Crazy as all the other ones have been. At the begining of the month, Bishop/ President Nelson pulled some strings for me and got me in to the Mayo Clinic. Pretty much they are my last shot to make it back to the mission field so i was pretty excited to go. It turns out they said i have had almost everything possible done and that they don't think there is much they can do to help but they are going to try. So i have these two tests they are going to do and they are putting me on all kinds of different medicines so hopefully they will start helping. Oh here's another fun story, i went to see a shrink (psychologist) and she had the CRAZIEST EYES!! They were constantly moving and they could look in two different directions at once. I know some of you might disagree with this but this doctor told me that i'm a pretty normal person and that my mental state is not effecting my stomach.... YOU HEAR THAT? I'M NORMAL! Anyway on to bigger and better things. Later that month I took a trip to Utah to visit some of my buddies from my mission. I was there for like two weeks and I got to see yalls favorite cousin of mine, Sarah..... haha Jeff she says hi. After i was done hanging out in the cold Utah air, I drove over to Cali to visit my mission again because I was asked to escort a guy i helped through the temple. It was really cool to go and support him. He is the only active member in his family and there are only 4 out of 15 members in his family. We went through the Oakland temple and it was really pretty. I was nervous to take him through because i had never been and i didn't get the chance to go to the temple on my mission so it had been awhile. George just got his mission call to Minnesotta speaking Hmong and he reports December 10th so i'm way excited to see him off. After my big long trip to Utah and Cali i came home and my family went to the Sand Dunes for Thanksgiving. It was really fun being out there with everybody. Because its Thanksgiving and all, i just want you all to know how much i look up to each of you and that i'm thankful to have you as my friends. Love yall, Daniel PS - Brock i'll see you in 50 "ish" days (work hard!)

Elder Max Crandall

Hola, or should I say, hello. I got released from the Spanish program. President said it had something to do with the changin’ times. It’s weird but I feel great. I also got transferred. I’m now in a town called Snohomish and my new companion is Elder ****. We live in a member’s home. They keep their house about 5 degrees warmer than the temperature outside. Bought some thermals. Changed my life. I think this’ll be good for me. If I’m going to learn discipline any time in my life, I imagine it will be here. We went out with a ward missionary from the ward we are serving in. Our ward mission leader’s plan was to visit all of the members in our ward, share a message about missionary work, commit them to do something, and pump them up. The ward missionary told us that he had called 20 families but only got an appointment with one. Well, that’s fine. Mormons are busy people. The work here in Snohomish is finally picking up a little. Basically, God is great and rewards countless hours of pointless tracting. We are working with a nine-year-old girl. The other day, her older brother’s friend came over. He looks just like one of those 13-year-old-already-smoking-pot-skater-punk-trouble-makers. We asked him to stay for the lesson. He seemed embarrassed or mad at himself for getting trapped by the Mormons. “Why hello there son, would you like to learn about God and come to church?” “Gee, misters, that’d be swell!” “That’s Elders to you, boy.” Huzzah! By the end of the lesson he accepted to come to church, read the BofM, and be baptized. Woot! Thank you, Holy Ghost! Only problem is, his family is Jewish. I’ve never put a Jew on date before. Sure, he probably isn’t a practicing Jew, but it’s still cool. I hope Turkey Day was great for everyone. I’m singing in a mission octet with Elder Josh Ostler. Life is good. We’re all going to the temple on December 11th. Can’t wait. Happy, Happy, Merry, Merry – Elder Crandall

Elder Mike Kleinman

Hey Everyone! Well, I am out of the office and here in Alto Alberdi! I am loving being back into full time proselyting. We'll be baptizing two families in December which should be great. The Bishop here is super enthusiastic to help the ward progress in the work. Well, I can't believe christmas is coming up soon! The other companionship that lives with us went out and bought a christmas tree, heh.My companion is Elder Carter from UT. I am also living with Elder Oliphant, an Elder who was in my MTC group, so we already know each other really well. It should be a fun transfer, as long as I don't get shipped out, because transfers are on the 24th!! What bad luck! We had our own Thanksgiving by buying a big chicken, no turkeys here. It was a great feast. We are in summer now,and it's hot. I will have a month or so of cooler weather then I get to come home to summer again, Lucky me ! Time is flying by... Well camaradas, let's make the best of the little time we all have left. Till next time. All for one (the Lord), and one for all.

chau chau Elder Kleinman

Elder Jeff Stoker

Dear Elders,All is well. What can i say more. I cant believe that December is here, and there is no snow here yet. I guess that i am pretty lucky. It will come, so dont worry about that. You can hear my freezing to death stories. It has been an exciting month. I am still in my same area, which makes 10 months in the same city. Thanksgiving came, and me and my companion celebrated by eating some buckwheat, and potatoes. Quite tasty, i guess we had no choice, because it was the only thing that we had to eat. It is funny the things that you are willing to eat on your mission. One of our investigators made us squid, and my companion refused to eat it. I figured that i might as well try it, and it was definately an experience to remember. I wish i could tell you what other "wierd" foods that i have eaten, but to tell you the truth, i have no idea what i am eating most of the time. I find comfort in not asking, if i dont not know. The work is going really good here. We are working out butts off trying to accomplish President Hinckley's challenge. It is really hard when these visa trips mess up things though. We going on exchanges like 3 times a week. As i am writing this, we are in a threesome trying to cover two areas. I am having a blast though. I guess i will tell you a story that happened last night. So, we were sleeping at some other elder's place, and they called us and told us that they just got chased by a guy with a knife by their apartment. We we just happened to be exactly in that area. So as soon as my comp told me, we started to run, without a reason. We ran across the street, and i turned around and saw the guy that had the knife, and he was following us. Of course we booked it out of there, and he decided that he shouldnt chase us. Moral of the story, I am blessed, and so very lucky. Ok, and thats that. Everythings great. I love serving the Lord here in the Russia Samara Mission, which also happens to be the BEST mission in the world. (sorry about bursting all your bubbles.) I love you all, and i hope you are working your butt off. Time is too short. Have a great month. Elder Jeff Stoker

Elder Jimmy Miller

Ridiculous!!I have seriously like 5 minutes to write this and I don't remember what my last letter said. Well in short the last couple weeks have been pretty amazing. The three weeks ago our mission president promised everyohne a phone call of someone wanting to be baptized if we would continue to work diligently. So a week and a half after that we still hadn't received a call or really seen much of anything. Monday of the second week we planned to have 2 new investigators and both fell through. Tuesday was gonna be a great day, but it too failed. So Wednesday, P-Day, came not any too soon. Then that day, around 4 we were headed down to the church to email when we came out of the subway my phone buzzed that i got a voicemail. I called it and it was one of the Sisters saying to call her back quickly. So i did. She was screaming "Miracle!" when i answered. She said a friend of the area 70 had emailed him and said he wanted to be baptized and that he lived in our area! She told us to meet her and her companion at the Trump Tower that night for an appointment with this guy and the area seventy! It was amazing and he's set for baptism in December. I know that God is over this work and that He will assisst us as we show our faith. Keep it up guys. I admire those of you in colder climate than I. (Jeff in particular!) I'm dying with the cold winds we get here. We also recently had Elder Holland come and speak to our stake. It was amazing. He said he came to tell us that even thought things looked tough "Everything is ok!" It was powerful. We and our investigator got to shake his hand. It was sweet. Anywho. Carry on boys! Have a Merry Christmas!! LOVE ELDER MILLER

Elder Gary Chambers
I switched on you guys again! Haha Oh man that never gets old... and speaking of old, La Vega is now history, and I'm now registered in Buenas Aires... The Northern section of Santiago. I don't know so much about Good Air, but it sure is a neat lil area... Our entire area is made up of about 16 shortish streets, so pretty much everyone has had lessons, is an inactive, or an active member... not too much new other then that... OH WAIT!!....... no.... nope nevermind. I did get a new comp though who happens to be my FDC (First Domincan Comp) (like I even had to explain that one...) His name is Elder Mota and he sure looks like he's not a Dominican (it's his white skin). It's cool though, he's helping me alot with the whole language speaking thing because he doesn't know english. Oh yeah! I was walking up one of the 16 streets of ours, and I noticed this little girl of about 5 years staring at me (it's my white skin)... I thought, "aahhh... how cute, this lil girl is staring at me. I'm going to say hi when we pass her." So all geared up, we began to pass and I turned, smiled and in a friendly voice said, "Hola"... Almost immediately she responded... "Shut up!" It completely caught me off guard and I just started laughing right there... hahaha that lil girl is funny. Thanks for listening gents! Time is low so I must go. Loves! Love, Elder Chambers

Elder Logan Wells

yo wat is up my brothers and sisters? well guess its that time again its been doing great well i am still here chilling in the british virgin islands on the island of tortola well i keep hoping that daniel is gonna write me and tell me that he is coming to tortola on a cruise we get them in everyday and he just keeps going on all of these cruises, so that is an invitation, haha well yeah things are going great here we are see so much success right now, the lord has blessed me so much, we are getting people to church like every week and helping lots come back to the church. Its amazing what the lord will do if we just ask for a little help. i really see miracles everyday of my life, well saturday the 29 i am going to be entering the ocean, yeah its great whe n you have baptism there are no fonts and so we go to the ocean, so that is pretty sick. Well i love it so much, i look forward to your letters every month, i love hearing about all the progression on your missions, the holidays have me going for a spin becasue they were just here yesterday, so crazy. Well i hope all is well in all the places that you are, gary expect something around christmas there is a member that is going home for christmas and they live in santiago, you are actually in his area right now, if your still in la vega he served there for like almost a year his name is miguel bueno i dont know if you know him or not , well i love you all. merry thanksgiving and happy christmas

love you all logan

Anziano Scott Ball

Hey my missionary friends!Everything is going great here in Italy. I haven't written the past few newsletter letters, but I hope that they were good. I am now in Modena where they make balsamic vinegar and cheese! The food is amazing. I don't know if anyone heard that Rome is getting a temple! I don't think it will be coming soon, but we are all glad that it is coming. I'm now on bike for the first time in my mission and it is painful. I didn't know I could be sore in some spots of my body and I don't think I will ever get used to riding a bike. On top of riding a bike, it is very cold here and it was snowing the other day. Anyway, We have transfers the week before Christmas and I hope that I don't get transfered out of here. I hope that everyone has a good christmas and that y'all keep on keeping on!vi voglio un mare di bene e tanti auguri per natale, Anziano Ball

Elder Chase Judd

Hey friends,Well i have 8 months in the mission now i am getting pretty old. Well this past weekend was the rededication of the mexico city temple and we got to watch on sunday it was way cool to see all of the new things in there but yeah while i was watching it my backpack was in another room and some little beaner/frijolero stole my camera so all of my pictures are gone all of my memories especially all of my BAPTISMAL pictures ahhh! I love mexicans its just some are a little sneaky and it can happen anywhere in the world. I am still in Catemaco the witch and wizard place but yeah still havent seen any so its my goal before i leave here i bet i will leave this change. I love you keep working hard have fun don't get to serious like me i have changed alot. good bye. LOVE CHASEY FACEY O ELDER JUDD

Elder Blake Smith

Hello!
I am finally here in Argentina. Yesterday the weather was amazing it didn’t rain but it made walking around alot better. We finally had a break from the heat and Islept with a blanket last night. We have some pretty good investigators right now. I am still getting used to the food here, it just isn’t very flavorful, but I guess when you are here for a while you get used to it. ya so last week we played soccer as a zone. I scored three goals and it was so fun. We had one native play with us the totally blew us away. He was so good. And we have to play during the siesta or during the middle of the day so everyone was so burnt. Except me I got darker. I am going to be black when I get home. The funniest thing on the mission happened last Thursday. Ha ha we opened the mouth why we were on the way to an appointment. And the guy we were talking to was talking bad about the church and missionaries. He just wasn’t being nice. Ha ha and then some dog ran up to him lifted his leg and peed all over that guys leg. I had to try so hard not to just crack up laughing. He deserved it though. He was being mean. Man I love that dog. Oh something else that was funny so on one cuadra or block. Which these blocks aren’t very long we saw 21 dogs. It was so funny that is our record right now with 21 dogs on one block. This week we are really working on getting people to church I think we have 16 investigators right now and so we are trying to get them all to church this next week. In all reality only like 3 will show up but we have to invite them all. Have a awesome month. Love, Elder Blake Smith

November News

Elder Blake Smith

Argentina, Mendoza Mission

September 2008 - 2010

Hi to all,

I am just counting down till I leave the MTC, I leave for Argentina on the 10th of November. I have endured, and am ready to move onto the real deal. We met with the consulate from Argentina, he was real cool. He talked about the people, money,streets, food, but I don't think I will understand how it all works till I get there. I have heard lots of speakers, one of my favorites was Sheri Dew. She talked about learning the language of the spirit. She was very inspirational and it was full of motivation. I have enjoyed going to the Provo Temple every week, but must say I miss and love the Mesa Temple. The weather here has been cool, it was weird to walk thru frozen grass when we went to the temple! Oh, here is a funny story. I heard my alarm go off, and I went and turned it off, I said my prayers and went into the bathroom. When I was in the bathroom I wondered why no one else was awake yet, it was 6:30...So I went back to my room and it was actually only 1:15, so I only dreamed that the alarm went off. That was so weird. So a few nights ago we had TRC, so we went to a fake store and had to buy some new clothes, as we were checking out we had to tie in the gospel somehow and get a appointment to come teach them. As were teaching we found out they were ******, all of our outlines we ever had were thrown out the window. IT was the hardest lesson I have ever taught. Not only the spanish, but how to teach them to. It was a good learning experience but it was hard. I am learning how to teach the plan of salvation in Spanish. Everyone be safe, my next letter will be from Argentina, wish me well. Love, Elder Smith

Elder Daniel Anderson

Hello everybody! Wow this month has been super crazy. Sorry about my last letter but i went to the Bahamas with my parents. We stayed in this tight resort called Atlantis. It was really cool to just chill there and get away from home..... it kinda reminded me of the cruise some of us went on before the mission. After the Bahamas i flew to Florida and stayed with my sister Sarah and Blane. I hung out with them all week and just helped around the house. We went to Disney World one day and we hit up this "ghetto seaworld" place. My nephews liked it tho, so it was fun. Then after i was done in Florida i flew straight to California to go visit my mission because i girl i taught was getting baptized. It was a REALLY LONG flight because i had to go through Chicago but on the 2nd leg of my flight i sat by these two girls who go to the Nazarene Church's version of BYU. They were kinda cute haha jk but i got to talk to them about our church and why its true and they both committed to reading the BOM!!! I was so Stoked that i got to experience that before going back. Going back and seeing all the people i taught and worked with on my mission was really different but it was good to be there. I went with my old companions to teach Kalia (the girl getting baptized) and after the lesson she asked me if i would confirm her. I was HECKA excited to. That Sunday the branch really put me to work, I gave a prayer in Sacrament meeting, taught a Sunday school class, played the piano for primary, helped set up for linger longer right after church and then confirmed Kalia and sung in the special musical number at her baptism! IT WAS FREAKING CRAZY!!! i thought that i would be normal when i came back but boy was i wrong :) So another friend from my mission that i helped out a lot just got his mission call and leaves in December. He is going to Minnesotta Hmong speaking and he asked me to be his escort for the temple so i'm heading up there again sometime this next month. Oh and Jeff you will like this..... Becca and Sarah say hello. After my trip around the country my cousin came to visit with her two friends..... don't even ask........it was as bad as i remembered. Its amazing to me how the Lord really helps us to stay focused and do misisonary work even when we get away from the routine of missionary work. It is really hard but the Lord does help us. I just got a new calling as the Choir Pianist and i'm not that excited about it but at least i have a calling now. Other than that not too much is going on. I am going to the Mayo Clinic soon and hopefully they will be able to help me out, and i'm starting to look at schools to go to. I miss you all and SORRY i'm terrible at writing but i am trying ;)
Love ya,
Daniel

Elder Grant Huish

Hey everyone! How it going. things here in Oregon are great. By some miracle the wheather is still nice. Usually by this time of the year it should just be pouring everyday.There is not really not much going on here. We have picked up 4 new investigators so far this week. hopefully the appts. we set up will go through. they all seem pretty open and interested,I just hope they don't get anti'd or something.AI never realised how much is sucks to have to be the person not to do something. Being a ZL bites sometimes. we have several missionaries in the zone that aren't too obedient. not terribly disobedient by any means just sluffing off the small stuff. well i guess someone has to tell them to stop it might as well be me. they dont listen anyway though. other than that stuff it is life as usual up here. well i guess thats it for now.

love you all grant

Elder Gary Chambers

Pues pues pues...... where did all the time go? Nothing too cool has happened since I got here in La Vega... it's kinda just a really REALLY rich area of the island that seems to stay pretty tranquilo. Probably the most interesting thing that happened this week has to do with not having any money... Because of transfers and needing to buy a fan.... my money has completely disappeared. This past week I was making up things to eat and what not, trying to get by on the little I had... Well, this all seemed to work ok until we ran out of drinking water (dang it, there goes my instant mashed potatoes...) and soon followed by the gas that powers our stove. Seeing as absolutely NONE of the 4 missionaries had enough money to get more, we all found ourselves in a pretty interesting situation. Now I know that there is such thing as home accounts, but that just spoils the fun! In our desperate state, my comp and I rigged a tin can and made a small lil fire in it so that we could fry the rest of our eggs to have some edible food. It has been a pretty intense week and although it was supposed to end today... there was a problem in the office, and we won't get any money until tomorrow..... yay..... Now I get to try and figure out which plants growing in our front yard are edible. As for liquid? I might just make an emergency trip to the chapel right across the street and borrow some H2O... who knows, anything could happen! Sorry my entry is a lil bit short... deal with it! I love you guys, hope your month rocks mine! Cuidense Love always, Elder Chambers

Elder Mike Kleinman

Hey everyone!
Well, as I'm sure you all heard, a Temple was announced for our mission! Wahoo! The great part is that it will be in my area, right next to the mission home. The members in this ward are totally stoked which means fun time for the work. Elder Nelson visited us 2 weeks ago and we got to chat it up with him, it was great. The man is so intelligent its scary.During one of his talks he got tired of having a translator and just started speaking very fluent spanish. Apparently he knows like eight languages sheesh!He promised some great blessings for this mission if we all work our hardest to prepare everyone here to be able to receive a temple.He also talked about how he can look into a mans eyes and see their very soul, so as many of you can imagine, many missionaries had their eyes closed when they went up to shake his hand. (Nah jk, except that he really can see your soul, no joke.)Well I'm finally leaving the office in two weeks once I'm done training my replacement. I hope they send me up into the Sierra Mountains its amazing up there in the summer (there's also a giant rock festival as well. teehee)Well, I don't have much more time so I hope all is going well and I'll write ya'll next month! Elder Kleinman

Elder Brock Smith

Howzit Mesa Militia? I swear that its only like one week in between these things time goes by so fast I dont believe it, time is really being gay right now it wont slow down at all a member told us that we have less time now then before because of the things we do and something to do with quantum physics I didnt understand it but I kinda want to believe him cuz it would explain why it feels like my mission is just a series of blurs like it never occured one day Ill wake up and itll seem like it was just one long dream its nuts, make sure you take advantage of every minute cuz the downhill is sure a lot faster then the uphill way faster I cant how fast this year has just flown by I can still remember the time when I thought that this my mission would never end and now I dont want it to. So the other day we were walkin in the pourin rain and some guy called us over he then proceeds to tell us in a hawaiian round about way that we are crazy why would you do this well thats very easy sure because I represent the one true church on the face of this Earth Jesus hung on the cross he suffered for me I think I can walk in the rain for a couple hours for him what about you sir what would sacrifice for the Savior that cigar that bottle of heinekin no huh So your tellin me that you cant give up those things when the Savior bleed from every pore for you. He said cuz I dont have too Im already saved Im part of the kingdom. So works dont matter no they dont I just gotta preach the word and save others Uncle let me read you a verse from the book of mormon 2ne 9:34 which says if we dont follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ well be damned I said sir does that sound like works arent required think on it you have a good one and walked away he still thought we were crazy but now he has something to think about when hes sober. I swear hawaii makes no sense they focus so much on there mary jane and ice problem when its the beer and the cigs that are really the problem those to things effect way more people I mean you have drunk driving and second hand smoke come on now focus on what really matters. > Well the other week I got a letter from Mike and about had a heart attack I thought it would never happen I could barely contain myself It was crazy I mean even Elder Stoker writes me more often it was a Early Christmas Miracle I think. Well transfers are comin up and I think its gonna be crazy well see what happens but there seems to be about a fifty fifty cahnce that Ill get transfered again. Aloha my fellow Elders Malama Pono And May the Force be with you Always!B Sexy B Smooth B Smith

Elder Jeff Stoker

Dear Brothers,Another month down....NEXT! haha. I am having a blast here. The work is going so amazing. Crazy, but amazing. I swear that every time that my companion and I plan a day, it NEVER goes according to plan. I have been on exchanges all this last cycle because my companion, Elder Marsing, along with 11 other missionaries from my mission are stuck in Sweden. For some reason they could not get a new Russian Visa. They have been gone for one month now. I just got back from my visa renew trip from Kazakhstan. I cursed myself and thought i was going to go to Sweden, but i got humbled. It was a neat experience though. I was kinda amazed by how close we were to the Middle East. The entire time we were gone, we just spent studying, eating, and sleeping. Needless to say, i am glad to be back in my area. My companion is still gone, but hopefully he will be returning sometime within a week or two. This entire month, i have been serving with Elder Slezak, and we have been covering two areas. I am having a blast though. These visa trips are so annoying, but things always seem to work out. We have some really cool investigators, and i am loving it. I thought we were out to preach the gospel, but it seems like i am learning more everytime i meet someone new. I am kinda bummed that i didnt get to go to the temple, but i guess i deserve it. hah. Ok, i want to tell you a story about a lady i met in Kazakhstan. We went to the capital city, Astana, and we slept in an apartment close to the Humanitarian Missionaries that serve there. The Church isnt registered in that city, so we had to take off our name tags, and we were forbidden to do any contacting. It turns out that there is only one member there in Astana besides the humanitarian missionaries. Her name is Jana. She saves up money, and rides on a bus everyday for 3 hours to come and take sacrament every week that is held in the living room of the humanitarian missionaries here. She doesnt even speak english, and that is all the senior couple knows. In that sacrament meeting, three languages are used between the three people. It definately makes me realize how lucky we are. She is a HUGE example to me and I was so impressed by her. I couldnt believe how much she sacrafices every day. I know that there are people like this every where, and it makes me so happy to be where i am, and do what i am doing. I know that everyone of you are having life changing experiences. You all are getting old now. I cant believe it is Halloween....again. Happy holidays. I love you all. Keep on working hard. Especially you Chase! haha. Have a great month, and i expect everyone to write next month....dont let me down.Elder Jeffery Stoker

ps. Snow is coming....help me... soon i will be walking over the Volga River. Quite an accomplishment huh?

Elder Jimmy Miller

Greetings Everyone!!!The last month has been glorious!! I remain district leader in South Manhattan but I now have Elders in my district. And I'm also a FATHER! I'm training an Elder from Finland, Elder Parkka. He's awesome and loves the work. We rocked it this last month. We had a sweet awesome baptism. Back in August we got a referral from a member for his friend Jacinta, from Australia, he had invited her to church and she had really enjoyed it. But she went out of town for over a month so we didn't meet her until late September. But from the time we first met to her baptism was 3 and half weeks. She was so ready. She actually moved up her baptism date. She's already finished the Book of Mormon and we took her to the temple last week. It was amazing. It's one of those converts that you feel like you honestly didn't do anything they were so prepared. So needless to say we feel very blessed. It's getting mighty cold here and I'm not looking forward to it. Here in Manhattan we never go inside we're always on the street and people don't like to talk when its cold. So we're praying for a mild winter and that i can put on some fat! Anywho. Keep the faith and carry on! Love Elder Miller

Elder Logan Wells

Okay what to say to my brothers in Christ

Well its been great I am still here in The British Virgin Islands on the island of Tortola, transfers are next week and I will probably be staying becaue my comp has been here for 8 months so the odds are pretty high. Which to tell the truth I really dont mind because I love it here and have been seeing so much success. You know the month of October we had the challenge for the whole mission to read the Book of Mormon and so I took it. Well its been such an eye opener for me because I have seen the reality of so many things in the scriptures, its just amazing to know that we have so much guidance in this life. Truly, I think alot of people take andvantage and think they are so alone and well all it takes is for them to pick of there sticks and read a little and realize that they are not alone. Its been awesome here I think alot of you are starting to get a little cold, well I am still here in my 80 degree weather that will not change and at times seems like it never stops raining its been crazy, I love the dry weather of Arizona truly I do,and our air conditioning, mmmmm I think I have slipped off into a dream. No but its been so great here I love Tortola, its just insane to think how many different places we are in, but none the less we are doing the work of our Father in heaven. But I love you guys and until next month. Peace. Logan

Elder Garrett Jones

Hey hey everybody,Wow I can't believe I have to write another one of these again. Last month I took the easy way out and had my mom put together different letters to form the entry but I'm back now. Things are going really well over here for me in New Rochelle NY. I'm still here for the forth cycle which starts today and I finally got a new companion. Elder Miranda stayed with me for a while, but he finally got away from me. My new companion is Elder Doermann who I have already been with down in Olmstead. I didn't really believe it when it happened but we're back together and ready to get out and work. Lately the work has been going really good for us here, we've been teaching a lot of brasilians and I've been picking up a (really) little bit of portugues to be able to better communicate. It's really funny how similar the two are though, as after a little accomodation anyone who speaks the one can at least understand basic ideas of what someone speaking the other is saying. I dont' know if that made sense but ya. The bad news is they just brought in new Elders to teach portugues and so our thunder was taken from us. A couple of weeks ago we were able to baptise the largest Dominican (here's to you Gary) that I've ever met.The man was difficult to pull back up out of the water without falling back in myself, but we managed through it. We've had some sweet experiences lately with answered prayers and whatnot but not too much room here to share them all. One of them we brought a lady to church this past weekend and at the end of it all she told us how good she felt being there in the church, how much love she felt from the members, how many things she learned, and at the end told us that this is where she wanted to be every Sunday from here on out. It was way sweet.Well keep up the amazing work out there, I love and miss you all. Garrett

Elder Chase Judd

Hi Elderes, I am still in Catemaco. I like it but is pretty tough. I just hit my 6 month mark.Well we had a Baptism, WOO HOO!!! It was a difficult beast to kill but it was worth it. There is a story behind it, don't worry I will tell you. We were going to Baptize our investigator in the Laguna but it started raining at 9 in the morning, so we went to the church to fill the font and left it running while we ate some breakfast, and yeah guess what happened? It's not what you think, it didn't run over it stopped at the first step. We were out of water... Scared ya!!! There was NO way I was going to fill it with a bucket, I did that last time and WOW my arms were burning after that experience. So yeah, we turned the faucet on and it started to drip out a little bit, so we left it and then we went to pick up Juana at 11 and guess what, she wasn't at home. We were pretty crushed, and I wondered why Satan always wins at these times? But don't worry I still had faith, so we went to the house and prayed, and went to search for the little run away. We had checked her house at least 6 times that day and at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon we went back and she was their, and boy did she have some doubts about baptism. The best one was why can people like you come down here and we can't go up there? So I told her this is probably the only chance you are going to have in your life to be baptized and be washed free of your sins if you pass this opportunity who knows if it will ever come again. YES, it worked and she went to the church with us, and we baptized her. What a Day!! Well I love you all, I hope you are having sucess. Love, Elder Judd

Elder Max Crandall

Dudes and Dudettes -- So things here is the NorthWest are Northwestery. The missionary work in our area has been booming. It’s most excellent, seeing as it has been dead for well over a year. We’ve been trying to work really hard to build up the Spanish group up here. Basically, there are about three or four families that are active to semi-active. Of course, everyone knows you need families like this to start a branch or even a group, so we’ve been trying to help them build their faith along with inviting their friends to be taught. We’ve had a few success stories, but it’s been really neat to see the strength of these few families. We’ve all planned a temple trip for them in mid-November and they are all trying so hard to stay temple worthy so they can go. What probably helps the most in all of this is we have one of the most amazing bishops. He is so helpful and missionary-minded. He is constantly trying to work with part-member families in our ward, almost behind our backs. It’s neat. There is one part-member family that we’ve been working with. They are a Hispanic family and the dad is not a member. The mom and kids were baptized a couple of months ago but Tony (the dad) wasn’t really interested. He hurt his back so until it gets better he’s making piñatas for a living. When we first started going over there, Tony would make fun of us, swear at us, and other such negative activities. Now he is on date for baptism on November 8th and he’s changed so much. We also have two other people on date for baptism. It is really exciting. I eat really well up here in Bellingham. A member owns a discount grocery store and gives us each $20 every month. I mostly eat oatmeal and chimichangas. I need to come up with a fabulous drink though. Our mission president recently made a lot of changes, especially with P-day. So basically we aren’t allowed to use our cars on P-day anymore. We are also not allowed to meet missionaries anywhere but our church building. This has greatly reduced the time left over for letter writing and laundry and other such P-day activities. We’ve been having to walk everywhere on P-day. So P-days are like Sundays; naps, soft music, friends, family gospel, rest, sleeping…but throw in no transportation. On the upside, I feel so lucky that I got to see conference. I hope you guys were able to either see or hear it. Although I really missed watching it on my mom’s couches. And I missed going to the priesthood session with my Dad. The priesthood session was so great. I think my favorite talk might have been Richard G. Scott but I’ll have to do a more in depth study of all my notes and get back to you. It feels like I went to a totally great rock concert with a ton of stellar bands and I can’t process which was the best. The church is true and I honestly can’t see how anyone could doubt that. Keep on tractin’. –Elder Crandall

Anziano Scott Ball

Buon Giorno,
Right now in Modena, we are searching for new investigators. The couple I was talking about in the past letters didn't accept our baptismal invite. This is the story. They are a couple that isn't married (like most italians). They live together and have lived together for the past 8 years. The woman loves the church and found the church and introduced it to her companion. They have been taught for about a year and she has been ready for baptism for a while. The sisters were teaching them during that time and the sisters gave both of them a invite to be baptized and they said that they weren't ready and also the fact that they have to get married first. Anyways, blah blah.. shortened up.. the male companion became afraid of marriage and baptism and stopped doing anything. Then we started teaching them and they love the elders. So after 6 months of him doing progress again and ready to be baptized... we give him the invite to be .. first married... then baptized. He made up a ton of excuses and said that he wasn't ready for it still ... after a year of this. I'm almost sick of him. Anyways, the woman started crying because he is holding her back from being baptized. It is a mess. I'm glad I don't have a family as messed up as some here. Ciao, Scott

October News

OCTOBER NEWS

Elder Dallas Rowley

Ohio Columbus Mission
May 2008 - 2010










Hello everybody!


Things are going great here in Gahanna, Ohio. I just got back from transfers, and I went from a threesome to a twosome. So I am really excited for my first "normal" transfer. We've really been having alot of new investigators lately. It's been awesome. Some cool things about Gahanna, well we have a way sweet new apartment. We have a vine behind our apartment, a 30' vine like the vines you would see on Tarzan. Ohio has some pretty great storms. A couple weeks ago we had the wind caused by the hurricane, and it was pretty brutal. There were power lines and trees down EVERYWHERE, and trees were crashed into houses here & there. Leaves and sticks lined the streets. We didn't have power for a little over 3 days. There was a huge tree in the local cemetery that was uprooted by the storm, and it's roots flung a bunch of coffins and dead bodies all over the graveyard. It was pretty gruesome, but it wasn't all that bad since it didn't actually happen. But a big tree in the cemetery did fall down by the storm. Anyways, a guy in our ward, Brother Hartzell, works for the city's electricity, and he had to work a week's worth of 15 hour days until all the power in the city was back. He was way exhausted, but he got the power back! Our district sang today at transfers. A samoan in our district played his ukelalie as we sang "how can I be?" it's a song about the book of mormon characters. it went really well. There's a lesson you can all learn from the samoan(elder Afatasi)'s companion, Elder Brown. Their bikes got stolen, and they tried to get them back, so when they found the thieves, they got out of the member's car and tried to get them back. Elder Afatasi got his because of his size, and Elder Brown got out to "support" his companion, and he got his jaw broken in 2 places. He's fine now, he has 2 disks in his jaw. So if your bikes get stolen, or if you are being robbed, let it happen. Well, I am out of time. I love my mission. Time is flying faster and faster each day. I'm more and more excited for the rest of my mission each day. I hope you all recognize the "greatness of your calling" on your mission. Keep it up! Elder Dallas Rowley



Elder Garrett Jones



Hey everybody,It has been another good week here in New Rochelle. Elder Miranda and I have been working hard and praying for our investigators and zone and things are looking pretty good for us right now. We keep finding good people to teach, people who are interested and have questions for us, so its been really fun lately going out and teaching. One of the elders in our apartment went home and guess who his replacement is! Elder (Cameron) Hardy! It was weird seeing him coming through the door with all his luggage. Probably the craziest thing that has happened recently is Elder Billings' incident. He is a crazy Aussie that I live with. Apparently, Elder Billings thought he would be tough and eat a mushroom off the side of the road that looked tasty. He did it in Australlia occasionally and so he thought it would be fine to do here. Elder Mook told him not to, but Elder Billings assured him that he knew what he was doing. Yup, it turned out that he didn't know what he was doing, and had to spend the night and almost the next night in the hospital after puking out blood and some crazy diarrhea! We have an investigator who owns a bodega (a hispanic mini-mart/liquor store), and we go teach him right there in the bodega, which is a different =0 Ateaching environment. He is an awesome investigator. I hope everything is going well and that you're having some cool experiences as well. Don't go eating any shrooms! Love you all tons, Garrett



Elder Chase Judd



Time is flying by so fast, I already have 6 months!! Holy cow I'm scared, I hope I don't have an accent.. We have transfers tomorrow, and my comp is leaving for Mina 3 hours south, and I am getting a white companion woof! He is only a month older then me, and he will be senior companion. I am kind of nervous but we will see, his name is Elder Wray. It should be exciting!!!Conference was really good, I got to watch it in English and the room had air conditioning it was awesome!! We had one baptism last night, our other one fell through on Friday, her husband wouldn't let her. I love being a missionary!!! I love you all, I love my area, I love this church, I know its very true from all I have seen down here. I hope you all have a testimony of this Church if you don't read Ether 12:6 and then pray love ya all!!

Elder Judd





Elder Gary Chambers



Hey there Gentlemen and Ladies! I just got transferred.... today :) kinda sucks to be honest... I didn't really want to go, but that's the name of the game, right? Yeah my comp Elder Yack got a kid this transfer, so I got shipped out to a cute lil place called La Vega (nothing like Las Vegas). It's actually a pretty big city, the only problem is that it is FULL of ricos... meaning big Iron/steel gates to knock on... and still nobody hears you. Yeah that doesn't work... Luckily my new companion Elder ****** (did anyone ever watch Gargoyles as a kid?... just wondering) is saying that they do pretty ok with references from members... so I'm going to assume he isn't lying and hope for the best! As I said, today is day one, and a P-Day at that, so all I know is the house is roomy, the toilet works fine (very important), and the fridge has a cool little ice box in it where I put my nifty "UPHILL" water bottle (a missionary must). I couldn't really tell you all about my new comp... because we haven't had a lot of time to talk, we came over to use the internet right after I finished unpacking... during which time he talked to all the other missionaries in the house (4 man house). In the small lil conversation we had on the way over here, however, I did learn that him and another missionary in the house have a steady membership at a nearby gym which he says is a good gym... So I just might join them, who knows..... Either way, this room is way too cold, I think Dominicans should take classes on how to use an AC unit, because I don't think they know. Well, sorry I don't have any cute stories... maybe next time. K love you bye!
Love, always, Elder Chambers

Elder Logan Wells

Hello...Well another month came and gone its not long before the time will be up and we will be going from one homecoming to the next and well its cool. well i am still here in tortola it is really awesome i love it so much. Well i have found a secret lover her name is reggae its a pretty cool type of music you cant really go anywhere without hearing it. its pretty cool, well let me see funny story of the month well lets see we had a couple of Elders come over for a night so that we could take a boat over to St. Thomas for a zone conference well we decided to do a little companion exchange well they decided that we could take the truck becasue we had a couple of appts so well me and Elder Jones took the truck of the which is my first time driving without my companion so that was a first he has to watch me so I don't make any mistakes well as you would know we passed our place that we were suppose to be going by about 5 miles and Istarted to look around and wonder why it did not ever seem to be that far away well I turned around and the instincts of american driving kicked on so i started driving and i am looking ahead and i see these light coming at me well they just kept coming and me and Elder Jones are just like what the heck is going on and well I just remembered that its not him making the mistake its me I was driving on the wrong side of the road, its pretty crazy. Its been a little hard getting used to but the driving on the other side of the road can be a little much sometimes but its all good. I really love it here though a bit of a cultural shock but what really isn't when you are serving a mission? Well I love you guys go forward and baptize the whole world!
Peace, LOGANDREWELLS

Elder Grant Huish
hello fellow missionaries all is well in oregon. i would like you all to know that i am not lazy(stupid chase). i actually work if you can believe it. i know its kind of crazy seeing as how i was darn near one of the laziest people on the face of the earth back home, but its true. i guess i just never really had anything to work towards back hom. well the story i would like to tell you now has nothing to do with missionary work it is about how evil tongans are. so last pday we were playing ultimate frisbee. and when the girls highschool soccer team showed up to use the fields we decided to leave. sadly i forgot to pick up my wallet. i realised this a couple hours later. i told elder ***** what had happened and he told me he would go back and get it for $500, i said now of course and went back myself to get it. i asked the soccer coaches and the parents and no one had seen anything. i though all hope was lost. i went back home and went out to work for the evening. i called the mission office to have them cancel my jp morgan card and to have them contact my parents to have them cancel my card as well. at about 10:15 that night i get a call from elder ******. he asks me if i found my wallet to which i replied no. he then asked me what i was doing the next day. i told him our plans to which he replied. you should come pick up your wallet. so the moral of the story is that tongans are evil, and girls soccer teams are absolutely no help. the end. love grant

Elder Max Crandall

Gentlemen – Things are going okay here in Bellingham. It is absolutely gorgeous up here; green as far as the eye can see. We had a dinner with some members a while ago who said Bellingham was supposed to be the Chicago of the Northwest, but they didn’t finish the train rails all the way up here. Since the rails didn’t make it this far north, Seattle became the Chicago of the Northwest – so they say. Bellingham is a neat little city; nothing like Seattle. There are a ton of hippies up here! Hippies and college students. We live next to this hippie guy who is just about fried out of his mind every time we talk to him. Then when we say we have to go, he bows to us and wishes us well. He’s great. The people here are really friendly and it seems like Bellingham is one of the more family-oriented cities here in my mission. I am no longer on a bike here in Bellingham, which is going right to my hips. Just kidding. I’m trying to run a little bit in the mornings, although I am very, very glad to be in a car now that the rain’s a-comin’. I think summer has finally called it quits up here, and although that means murky, cloudy, dreary days, we are still blessed beyond what we deserve. I’m serving as a district leader now and it is a seriously humbling experience. I’ve been a district leader’s companion through most of my mission so I thought I knew all the ins and outs. I knew it would be hard but I figured I had a leg up given my experience. Well, turns out all of my “experience” is worth bupkiss. I have a really good district though. I don‘t really have to do much to make sure they’re working. They are all great missionaries. I am so happy to be out here serving the Lord as a missionary. It is the oddest, greatest, and most rewarding thing I’ve done yet. I’m not really looking forward to coming home in a year. It has been a really weird experience hitting the year mark. I don’t feel any more experienced than the first day Elder Rammell held me in his arms and said, “I hope you’re ready to work.” This recent anniversary has left me in a constant state of ponderment and wonder. It seems to me that the Lord would have had a much more effective two years if he had called someone older, wiser, and more mature but I’m thankful the Lord didn’t do that and He called me. I know this church has the complete, eternal gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I know that He died for each of us so we could return to our Father, with clean hands and pure hearts. I am so grateful I have been blessed to live in a time where I can enjoy the blessings of the gospel and share them with everyone. –Elder Crandall

Anziano Scott Ball

Ciao!I have been transferred to Modena. It is amazing! We have been totally busy everyday since I got here. I haven*t had any time to do finding work here which I have been doing in the past few cities. We have had a appointment after appointment. I*m really glad to be here. Anziano Hatch has been in the mission just 3 more months than I have and he is really amazing. He is from Aztec, New Mexico which is just 30 minutes from Durango, Colorado. He speaks Italian just fine and we get along very nicely. We both had companions this last transfer who were a little bit mad, but now we are both happy to be free of them. Modena has a beautiful meeting house! It*s pretty much just like the one we go to in Mesa. We have a huge ward too! Our ward is about 80 members. The amazing thing here is that they pay their tithing and fully. We (as missionaries) see how the ward was blessed* with an amazing meeting house. I will actually tell a funny story that just happened. Our bishop here at Modena is a really famous blood doctor, but other than that I wanted to tell a story. He was asking the missionaries if the ward could by us (the missionaries) a car. So this is how this ward works.. since they pay their tithing*they have a lot of money and we also have a member who owns part of a insurance company and one who sells cars. So they all got together and set up a plan of getting a *ward* car and the missionaries would use it only when they had to go out of the city (which would be a lot cheaper for us). The ward would use the car for going on trips to the Switzerland Temple. I have to say that would be a great idea. Anyways, we talked to our president and he said that we could have only one provided by the mission(which are limited to two cars in our mission). We were kind of sad, because we were so excited to get a car instead of a bike. This ward is amazing though! They give the missionaries a lot of referrals and there are already a few baptisms planned in the future. We have one coming up next month and should have another 2 that same month. One baptismaldate we will be setting tonight for a couple. They already accepted to be baptized, we just have to set a date. I*m so out of energy everyday when we come home because we head from one appointment to the next. We have a lot of work right now because there is only one companionship here and there used to be two here. Our guess is that president will be splitting our companionship up after this transfer and both Anziano Hatch and I will be training new missionaries which will make two companionships. The sisters are pretty cool here. They are having a hard time with the work here, but they are seeing amazing changes and we saw a miracle during district meeting (our meeting that we do one a week for correlation for us and the sisters). While we were having district meeting, 2 women rang the doorbell of the church and so we let them in. Turns out that one of them just came here from Brazil and is a member. She talked to her friend so much about the church that her friend wants to come to church also. The sisters set a appointment with them and I*m sure that the sisters will have that woman baptized. Yeah, the people of Treviso were hard to talk to or rather even stop on the street. Here in Modena, it is much more relaxed and there are many people who are from Southern Italy who are always friendly. I*d have to say that here and Genoa are equal in how nice the people are. I can say that I can start a conversation with anyone on the street here* it seems like heaven compared to Treviso. Ciao Ciao, Anziano Ball

Elder Jeff Stoker


Dear BFFs,
Things are going good over on this side of the world. Me and Scott have got it taken care of. So I think that my mission call should have read, "you will be serving in the World Mission". We just found out that the Visa renewal trips will now be changed to Sweden. Which means that I will be able to attend the TEMPLE! I am so excited about that. I am not telling you this to brag...(ok maybe a little bit), But Just letting you know how crazy every single day is on a mission. It is amazing how you can get one single phone call and it will change everything. Things have been really good this cycle though. I am still in the same area with the same companion, which is really good, because my area is the "ghetto" of saratov. I love it too, although some times it gets a little scary. If i can be friends with all of you this long, than i can easily make it in the ghetto right? So the work is going amazingly. It is so great that God CHOOSES to work through immature, unprepared 19 year olds. It is so great to see the way that the gospel changes peoples lives. Thanks for all your examples. I love you all. Have a great month. and remember...Keep on keeping on.
Elder Jeff Stoker

Elder Mike Kleinman
Hey everyone! Well another month blown by! It sure does go really fast. I hope everyone is doing well in their various missions. We just got transfers and I will be officially leaving the office. ¡Por fin! It is a little sad though as I have been learning a whole lot of really funny slang from my latin comp. I still don't know where I will be getting sent though seeing that I still have to train my replacement. Elder Nelson will be coming down to visit our mission the friday after general conference. So I gotta put on my spiffy tie! We baptized a woman this past week names Sonia Sosa, shes 26 and is super cool. The mission overall is improving exponentially, seeing real miracles, in trying to complete with the challenge from Pres. Hinckley to double the baptismal rate. Really exciting times! Well, remember that as some of us are now on the downhill, (Brock I'm looking at you!) we really need to make the best out of the time we have remaining. The mission is great with too many awesome experiences to tell in a short letter. But I guess there'll be plenty of time for that when we are all back. Well, until next month! Chau Chau
Elder Kleinman


Elder Brock Smith
Wow another month gone. I am back in Hilo, me and my new comp whitewashed into an area Yep again I whitwashed into a place where no work has been done for about 21/2 months. The mission pres calls me up on Mon and says Elder Smith the Lord wants you to serve once again as a District Leader on this Isand.The Lord is trusting to do your best and this is a tough area, and usually I do not like to have to finish your mission with such pressure, But this is the Lords call not mine. By the way your whitewashing also, oh great thats just great, I'll do it Pres I cant say no but its not exactly the best way to end my mission with way flippin hard trials.Next transfer we get 25 greenies so I hope that I will get to train Jessie Browns nephew. that would be awesome. I know what the best medicine is though, work work, work there is no substitute. Well I hope you all are doing good out there Its a great time to be a missionary since the America is being humbled and may soon be in a depression I mean heck the stock market could crash today, and we dont have to worry cuz the work of the Lord will always continue to go forward nothing can stop it. I really envy you who have more time then me left mission life takes away many cares and sorrows of the world cherish your time it will fly by soon you will only have four months left too, so make it count! Peace out! Elder B Smith

September News

Elder Dallas Rowley

Hey Everybody,
Wow, it has been a while since I've written in here. I've been here in Ohio for about 2 months. I love it here. The city I live in is called Gahanna. It's on the list of "Top 100 best places to live in the world". Which is nice. The people here are very nice and kind, but very dedicated to their religion, which is mostly catholic. But I'm in week 3 of my second transfer right now. I stayed, and one of the elders in our fourpad got transferred to Marblecliff. So now I'm in a threesome. My companion's names are Elder Linderman (trainer) and Elder Joy. We have been having alot of success as a threesome so far. We have 2 baptism dates, and 2 recent converts who are awesome. It's amazing to see the difference of investigators' ability to learn before and after they recieve the Holy Ghost. Their names are Brother and Sister Cox. Brother Cox was telling us a story last night about "back in the day" when he put a guy in the hospital for 2 weeks with one punch to the chest. He also does some really cool leather work. Right now, he is making me my very own customized billfold. He is preparing to recieve the Aaronic Priesthood in a couple weeks. They're good people. I have seen miracle after miracle here. There have been alot of health problems in the companionship, and I have been blessed to have the opportunity to exercize the Priesthood for healing them. I have a new, strong testimony of the priesthood. It's a very real power. Well, I don't write well under pressure, and I only have 3 minutes left of E-mail left, thanks alot, ugghh. I love you guys, Godspeed.

Elder Dallas Rowley

Elder Brock Smith

Whats up My town Bros,Time has sure been flyin by. Still here on Oahu, working hard. We are teaching a few new families, and working with some less actives as well. The islands are beautiful all this water, and rain is sure diff than what I am used too. I would stay here forever if it were not for My Mom and Sister, I would never want to leave this place. I cant believe I have less than 5 months left, I want the time to slow down....Logan I am grateful all is well with you,and wish you the best for the remained of your time.Daniel, I have been fasting and praying for you much bro. I pray Gods speed be with you, that you can have a speedy recovery, I know you did more than most of us the time you were out, you were Sr Comp so soon and DL all be fore you were even out 1 yr. That is amazing speed. You Are a giant in the gospel bro, your the bomb.. Love ya Man... Hang in there,I cant imagine how hard it is for you right now.. Just know you are one of My Heroes. I will keep praying for you,Hang in there bro.Work Hard, stay strong, and May the force be with you always..B. sexy,B. Smooth, B. Smith

Elder Mike Kleinman

¡¿Cómo andan misioneros?!It is really hard to write in english now, all I have had are latin comps except for my trainer. But thats great because now my spanish is tizzite. Sorry for not writing last month! Like any of you noticed :(Hah, jk jk. Anyway, things are really picking up here in Córdoba and the work is steadily moving foward, we have had some freak illnesses (as in the entire mission) lately but we have seen some really great blessings come from our sacrifices. I got a stomach worm and/or virus and lost a bunch of weight neato huh? I'll probably gain it back seeing as today we are going to a giant BBQ for Pday. oh well. It great to hear all of your stories in your various missions its really...enlightening(?) or sumthin. Anywho, I am really bad at ending letters like these so I'll give y'all a choice:A) I love you all!B) "Keep on Keepin' on" --Garrett JonesC) ¡Ciaó!D) Other:_______________
Elder Kleinman

Elder Chase Judd

I love Mexico, i love the people, and i hate the weather ah just kidding i feel bad for Jeffler in the freezing cold Weather haha you are punished for how many hours you played Halo hahaha just kidding i bet Russia is awesome! But transfers are here and i am going to the Jungle with monkeys and Witches yeah people keep telling me that there are a lot of witch craft there so we will see what happens i am excited! I hope everyone is doing well in there areas and not being lazy and doing the lords work! No sea flojo elder huish nah chiste! i love you all keep on doing what needs to be done for the lord so we can all see our baptisms after this life!
LOVE ELDER JUDD

Elder Jeff Stoker

Hey hey,
So i am pretty sure that all of August was a dream. It is crazy how many stressful things can happen during a month, and when you look back you cant even remember one of them. So i got transfered to another area in the same city i was in before, Saratov. I am glad that i am still here too. Saratov is known in our mission as the "ghetto", but i decided i love the ghettos. hah. Anyways, i went to Czech Republic this month, and it was amazing. I actually ate at Subway. It was soooo good. (dont say anything Gary...Remember our working days?) Anyways, it was a way fun trip, but we never had time to sleep, and it was for 48 hours of continuous travel. In my new area, the work is going crazy. I love being apart of it. It seems like for every bad thing that happens, 100 good things happen. sorry my letter is so random, but that is what happens when you have ADD. So i guess there is a war going on or something (i honestly dont know anything about it) with Georgia and Russia and USA took georgia's side. So needless to say, Russians arent very happy when we tell them we are from America. It is funny how many people have asked me about it, and why america is against russia, but i can honestly say i have no idea. I Heart Russia. It is crazy to think that everyone is approaching thier year marks. Wow you guys are old. Brock, you better get off your suitcase making airplane noises! hah jk. Alrighty, i honestly dont know what else to write. I think Max wins every newsletter with his entries. I think that there must be power in that typewriter. A Beer poster?!? Come on! hah. Thanks for everything that you guys have done, are doing, and will do.. Have a great Month.
Elder Jeff Stoker
ps. Everything is good with my stomach now. The doctor has some miracle pills. I think they only worked because they were made by the Soviet Union! Hammer and Sickle. hah i love that sign.

Anziano Scott Ball


Ciao to all the missionaries,
I'm still serving in Treviso, we just had transfers two weeks ago and the Lord is telling me that something else needs to be done here! Well, I'm glad that I stayed, because we received 4 referrals right before transfers and I wanted to contact them. We have contacted only one of them at this point and time because everyone is still on vacation. Everything closes here for the month of August and everyone goes to the beach.. so it is really hard to get anything done. Referrals are hard to find in this part of the work in contrast to the US. We had a great lesson with our referral. She actually went to Temple Square and was taken on a 2 hour tour and loved it. We gave her a Book of Mormon with the invite to read and pray and she said that she would call us when she has completed the book... but then I said "No! you need to read Moroni 10:3-5 and pray .. then you can call us, not after you have read the whole book." I'm impatient about those things. We are really excited that s he understands a ton and wants to read.
Other than that, our nice little italian branch is doing well. We have our 35 members and they are doing great. I've been dipping into the spanish language a little bit because we have a investigator that speaks half spanish/half italian.. so sometimes I try to respond back in spanish. Spanish has to be the easiest language to learn... it doesn't have complicated prepositions like italian.
I want a native companion sooo bad, but it is really improbable that I will get one.
I hope that everyone is doing well!
Anziano Ball

Elder Grant Huish

hey errrrbody.things here in oregon are great. especially now that i have a car. i am so happy that i wont be as nasty sweaty when i show up to an appointment anymore. the work is going well. my little greenie and i are staying together for another transfer. so i have an interesting story for you all. the other day while i was on exchanges i met the most friendly couple. we walked up and the husband was in the garage. he said ive dealt with you enough i dont want to deal with you anymore. to which we replied oh so youve talked to the missionaries before. he said yeah thanks to your church my daughter is living on the streets. they "facilitated her laziness" and now she lives on the street. then the wife walked out and said oh is the the jehovas witnesses. the husband replied no its the lds. she then said get off our property and never come back. we started to walk away and he yelled thanks for killing my daughter. my companion for the day mumbled "your welcome" under his breath. i started laughing. the husband then screamed its not funny and we walked away. aww the joys of tracting. well i hope are is well for you. i am just peachy. i wish you all the best of luck and oodles of success. oh by the way mike crismon lives in the same appartment as a kid serving from the ward im in. cool huh, yeah i found out when they sent him a picture of me and comp and mike was like hey thats grant.
love ya grant

Elder Daniel Anderson

Hello Everyone! So this last month has been Horrible. Its been good being able to see/ talk to all of your families but I hate being home. I miss the field so much, enjoy it while it lasts. I have absolutely nothing to do besides go to work for my Dad. I have no life at all. Mostly I hang out with Stephen and his friends or your siblings. The doctors still haven’t found anything and I’m getting ready to go to the Mayo clinic and we all hope that they will find something so I can get back out there. I HECKA miss ALL of you! I mean when your out in the field you have your moments but most of the time you are to busy to miss anyone but now that I’m home with nothing to do it SUCKS!! Keep up the good work!
Love ya, Daniel

Elder Gary Chambers


Well, I'm happy to announce that my old comp is gone... He packed his bags and his trunkie butt into that plane and flew home. Elder Yack is with me now, and it's a complete 180. We are working really hard and having a really great time while we're at it. The members here did a awesome job of accepting him in and also throwing us quite a few references... so we've been pretty busy to say the least... Navarrete is great :) Other then that it's been pretty regular... I know most of you have heard that a few storms and I guess maybe even a hurricane have passed over me... just so you know, I'm still alive (sorry to dissapoint). The damage, if any, happened in the southern portion of the Island, and I only saw a clouds and rain... not too much though, so we're ok here. It did a good job of cooling off our water source though, so the last few showers have been quite a rush. I'm working again, and couldn't be happier :) I hope you all are ok... Daniel, You're in my prayers home dawg! I hope everything goes well with you... If you ever feel like life is just too much... don't be afraid to pay a visit to "Happy Land" For a quick recharge on self esteem :) That's what I used to do... then I got shipped away from my Taco Bell, so life's been quite the challenge. I love you guys... Work Hard!... No regrets.
Love, Your Elder Chambers

Elder Jimmy Miller

For lack of time I'll just share a quick story. As a mission we have a goal for every companionship to baptize in September, so we've spent the last week pleading to find an investigator. We've been doing lots of street contacting because we have had no investigators. But yesterday that changed. We met with a guy named Terrance at Bryant Park by Times Square. We had the first lesson and he understood it and accepted a baptismal date for September 27th! Even crazier, this guy is one we met like my second day here in Manhattan. He was on our subway car, one of only 2 other people, and I talked to him. Last night he said that first night we really left an impression on him. When we started the lesson he was like, "just to let you know I've started going to another church so I don't think I'll be joining yours or anything." But the spirit changed that in a huge way. Fifteen minutes after we left he called us, but we were on the subway so he left a message. He said right after he spoke with us he talked to his Mom, and she wasn't happy. So he wasn't sure if he should continue. But I called him back and he agreed that he needs to do what God tells him. So he says if he knows it's true he'll still be baptized! I was scared for a second, but he's awesome and so ready. It's all dependent on his answer, which I know will come. Miracles are happening! Keep up the good work!! Daniel we're praying for you!
Love, Elder Miller

Elder Logan Wells
Greeting to All....Well let me see this month has been absolutely wonderful! I have been called to serve on an island called Tortola so that is crazy, its a British Virgin Island so I finally got a stamp on my passprt! I love it here so much I am now an english speaking missionary so that was a little bit weird getting used to, but I love it I finally don't have to struggle to get my point across. Everyone here is black which is cool by me, but there not like every other african there literally all like those people you see on cool runnings the movie. So that is sweet the people are so humble they love telling you stories and everything to them is like a story so its way cool,I absolutely love it here! I am literally serving in paradise I can look around and see that heavenly father loves the earth so much. When they told me I was leaving I was in complete shock because I was never expecting to leave Puerto Rico just because of my knee. I am so excited that I returned to my mission I would not trade it for the world. Daniel I love you man, I know how you feel it sucks, but just put a smile on and everything will be okay! I love you all and have a good month. Peace, Logan

Elder Garrett Jones

I can't believe I'm writing another of these. We're already in September. Crazy. Well August was great as usual here in NY and we have actually seen a lot of crazy stuff going on, especially recently. Just a couple highlights would have to be eating cow heart, calamari, and scallops (crazy Peruvians!); breaking the WoW for the first time ever (When I was on a split a less active member gave me a glass of what looked like juice but turned out to be iced tea, curses!); having to admonish and almost beg a missionary for a full hour to work and contact people (a RUSSIAN missionary, Jeff! This falls on your head as it is your people); we accidently locked our keys in the trunk (that was fun); the cops got called on us for my first time (they just asked us to leave the neighborhood); we even had the fire alarm go off at the church building as we walked by because of some little kink in the system and had the entire fire squad rush into the building to see what was going on. Yup, all kinds of good stuff going on here! On the more spiritual side of things it has been somewhat crazy as well. I have had a lot of those experiences lately when the spirit comes and powerfully tells you that you can do better, that you can teach more effectively, love the people more, be more obedient and therefore QUALIFY for more blessings. I'm sure you all know what I mean. One of the investigators that we've been working with for a long time and who has pulled a full 180 degree turn and got baptised which was awesome to see. When he first started coming to church Rudy would come with a bandana and a crooked hat on his head, baggy pants and a lot of times a scowl on his face. Now when he comes he has a white shirt and tie, hair combed and happy. Sweet. Last Saturday we decided to do some tracting and found an Indian Hindu who believes in Christ by some random turn of events who told us that the night before she had been praying to God for guidance and direction on what to do and she felt that we were her answer. Ya.The only problem is she is english speaking and so we had to refer her to the other Elders. But ya things are going really well for us right now. We're working with two families that have 5 baptismal age people in them that are solid so thats awesome. Mission life goes on and I love each and every day of it. The church is true and we have the privilege of testifying of that. I hope everything is well with you all, now get out and work! Love, Jones

Elder Blake Smith

What's up? Well all I have really been doing is getting ready to go on my mission. I have exactly two weeks!! I am so excited. I finally have all my clothes and almost everything I need for my mission. I have also been writing my talk. I am speaking on missionary work through service and being a good neighbor. I am kind of nervous but I know I can do it. So I enter the MTC on September 10th and I can't wait. I can't wait to get to Mendoza and start to teach the people about the restored church and the Plan of Salvation. I know this church is true and this work is important and must be done. And I am happy to be a part of it. The next news letter will be even better because I will be in the missionary field. Till next time. Blake Smith

Elder Max Crandall

The Fellas, The Fellas,
What’s up? Yeah, so I got transferred. I’m in Bellingham, WA! It’s beautiful up here. I thought Mt. Vernon was gorgeous…this place is magnificent! It’s so green everywhere you go. Consequently there are a ton of little gnats and bugs and things. It’s all good though ‘cause I’m not afraid of them…anymore. The only stink part is that my ex-companion, Elder *****, is now my current companion…AGAIN! It’s way weird that we’d be together for another go around, and it usually never happens. Once you have a comp and leave him, that’s usually it so I felt comfortable in my ******-freedom to make all the little jokes and jabs. Well, alright God, you win! I learned my lesson! I don’t think repenting is going to make my time with him go any faster but at any rate, it’ll all work out, right? Right? *weeping* But Elder Anderson, the missionary who lived here before me left a lot of ice cream. Just another tool to drown my sorrows. Don’t worry. I only cry in the shower. The upside is I’m now in a car area. At first, I was muy excited about this. Ecstatic, even. But I realized something; no bike = no exercise = lardy gordito boy. I think I’ll try running but I’ll probably only get to run up and down the parking lot. I still have to be in sight and hearing of my comp, and I have a feeling Elder ****** won’t want to run. Also, in my brand new adventure, I’ve been called to be a district leader. Luckily my district is way solid and there are a ton of great missionaries here. Although, my area kind of blows. Bad. We only have like one investigator. He’s a Spanish guy named Jose. His main hold up seems to be he doesn’t know who God is. He’s trying to make things more complicated than they are, but he says, “Do I pray to Jesus? Or Mary? Or God? Or the Father?” I wanted to tell him that I trade off every night between Jose Smith and the Virgin Mary, but I didn’t think that’d help. He’s reading the BofM and praying about it. He really likes the idea of having prophets again on the earth. Just makes sense, huh? Wish more people could see that. Anywho, this transfer couldn’t be as hard as last transfer. It was really tough. My last companion, Elder ****** was really struggling with feelings of wanting to go home and I did not have a lot of success helping him stick with his mission. I’m not totally convinced it’s for him anyway. Each day I had to play the motivational speaker and try to get him to work. I kept saying things like, “You’re always the happiest when you’re working the hardest,” and other such truths. He never seemed convinced and was more interested in what was playing at the movie theater. It was a really sad experience. He’s such a great kid and he was a hard li’l worker when he wanted to work, but if he didn’t feel like it, it’s was kind of like dragging a sack of taters. What it really boiled down to was Elder *****’s testimony. I told him if he had a beef with the BofM, Joseph Smith, Thomas Monson, or any other doctrine like that, he should stay out here and try to fix it. But Elder ***** told me that he didn’t really know if Jesus Christ is the Son of God, or that He died for us or if there even is a God. That’s pretty much the name of the game out here, so I don’t really know if this is the right place for him. He told me stories of when he was in Primary and he’d ask his teacher how we truly know if Christ lived or not. Do you wanna know what that teacher said back? “If you’re wondering about that, this probably isn’t the church for you.” Who says that?! Help the kid out, dufus! I was so ticked. Elder Richard Hinckley came and spoke to our mission. He talked to Elder ***** for a little bit about staying on his mission. He even let Elder ***** hold Gordon B. Hinckley’s watch! How pimp is that?! I was totally geekin’ out. Elder ***** flip flopped back and forth everyday between staying and going. We’ll have to see how it pans out. Well, on to the next big adventure. Until next time chaps. --Elder Crandaddy
p.s. Daniel, write me. I am your boon companion. The moon is red and I like ice cream and Balthier.

AUGUST 2008 NEWS

Elder Chase Judd

Mexico Vera Cruz Mission
April 2008 - April 2010











Hola,
Well we helped this couple get married, their name is the family Ballesteros. On Saturday we went and talked to them they want to be baptized, but the husband has to wait 3 months before he can, he needs to have faith and truly truly repent of things and obey all the commandments. So we talked to her and she wanted to wait for her husband, lame!!! So anyways that just made our day terrible to start off because we had been working so hard just to get them married and her to be baptized on Saturday so yep, that day was pretty long and hard. Well yesterday we were at church and they showed up and after sacrament meeting my comp was all, go talk to them I said OK what should I say and he said just talk to them. I still have problems translating words in my head so anyways, I asked how their night was and how they were doing and if she wanted to get baptized yet?! Guess what she said? I want to get baptized today!!!! It was awesome I love miracles it will truly bless her family for her sacrifice and the Holy Ghost will help to guide her family. Well anyways my companions name is Elder Lopez he is awesome. Oh yeah we were walking down to the lagoon and I saw this fat green thing it was a huge Iguana wow!!!! I am really tan and I am getting freckles from being out in the sun all day.. Well anyways none of our investigators want to come to church they are all lazy. Who knows!! I have made so many friends here it is awesome I love it here, it is such a great experience.. Transfers are tomorrow and I am staying here woo hoo with my same companion. Well until next time peace!!!
Elder Judd

Anziano Scott Ball

Everything is going good in Treviso. I'm currently resting due to a injury I sustained while playing soccer. So, I was playing soccer with some kids that are part of a part-member family. About half way through the game, I get blocked by a kid and I make a quick super turn. While I'm making this turn my foot is pushing off the ground and I hear a "CRRRACCCK!" and then I fall over and do a few rolls. (Another note is that I made the goal, but anyways* back to the story) I couldn't walk on it after that and then we went to eat at a member's house. I get home and call the president's wife and she calls the doctors. Then she calls me back and tells me that I probably just tore some ligaments. This whole time I am fearing what I would do if I broke it. So, for the next week, I can't move it that much. I have a brace that I'm wearing for the time being. It sure scared me thinking of the possibilities of going home or working in the mission office, but I just staying here for now =). I have to wear this freaking brace for 4 weeks though. So while I'm resting, we have received 4 referrals and I'm freaking amazed! I just received my first referral from Salt Lake City! It is amazing that we get referrals because usually we don't get anything for 2 transfers. It has been really hot the past few days. It isn't the hot that you think about in Arizona or California, but a humid hot. It is terribly awful. My companion is taking 2 showers a day and we just sit in front of 4 fans. Since I hurt my foot, (which by the way is doing better now) I have been stuck in the house studying the gospel and the language.. while my companion naps. heh. We have some great investigators this transfer and we just extended a baptismal invite to Justina yesterday. She accepted, but doesn't know if she will be in town for that time. So, we might have to move it. We have received 3 referrals during this past week that I've been out of order. It is a great blessing! We contacted those referrals (2 of them being from Utah... Salt Lake City..SLC) and they were ecstatic to meet with us. Next week we will have appointments with them. I might be transferred next week depending on the Lord. It sounds like my time to be transferred, otherwise I'm going to stay here a while. I hope Heavenly Father has a nice comfy city picked out for me. heh. I almost know that he won't send me to one because he knows that I'm hard headed and that I need another tough city to straighten me out. CIAO CIAO, Anziano Ball


Elder Daniel Anderson
Hello everyone. As some of you may have heard, I have been fighting my stomach problems over the past month. Right now I am sitting in my office at home* The last week has been extremely heart breaking and emotional for me. I received a call Monday night from my Mission President telling me that I would be released Wednesday August 6. I only had a couple days to deal with the Horrible realization that I was going home! Going home has been one of the hardest challenges I have had to face in my life. I loved being a missionary out in the service of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the last 10 months. This last week has left me a little shell shocked, I have been confused, angry, upset, excited, nervous, but towards the end I have felt at peace. I have felt the many prayers from you and your families and I am grateful for all the support. The hardest thing for me to learn on my mission was that sometimes our will, no matter how strong it is, sometimes doesn*t match our Father in Heaven*s but I do know that he will ALWAYS be there for us as we trust in him and strive to have a *Perfect brightness of hope.* I love all of you and wish you the best with all of your struggles on your mission. Work hard, Magnify the Spirit within you so that others will recognize it, and call down the miracles from heaven. I have seen them so many times in my mission and my life, and I know that angels truly are watching out for you and preparing people for you. One last piece of advice, be YOURSELF and do YOUR best! Love always, Daniel

Elder Grant Huish
hey everybody. i am sad to inform you that i am such a crappy missionary that i have already been released as a district leader. yeah i know pathetic. interestingly enough at 9 months(the length of a pregnancy) i got myself a boy. his name is elder liljenquist. when i found out i was training i though i was going to train devin smartt but i guess not. other than that it is pretty much the same ol stuff. things are starting to pick up a little bit here. the summer seems to be coming to its close though. we hade our first rain in about a month the other day. i quite enjoyed it to say the least. i hope things are going well for the rest of you. and well, no major news other than that so i will just leave you with this. well actually i couldnt think of anything to say here so yeah thats it. love, grant

Elder Gary Chambers
Hey Girls! This month has been LOADS better... Something got into my comp and now we've been leaving the house regularly! Hip Hip.... It's fun. There's lots of things I wish I could change still, but we're improving, and that's whats important.... And he only has 3 weeks left so.... screw him! Who needs to go home anyways... psht! So overrated. Now that we've been leaving a lil bit more often, I don't have tons of time to play the guitar I bought to pass the time in the house, but thats ok, I sneak in a few minutes here and there. we've been teaching a family or two who have been the key to keeping my comp alive out here... if it wasn't for them, I don't know what I'd do. The funny thing is, we found them on a comp exchange... I wasn't even there for the first appointment. He was walking around with his kid who also happens to double as our District Leader... and his kid managed to convince him that contacting isn't so bad... so they started contacting, and almost immediately, they found this amazing family! THANK YOU LORD! So yeah, we've been out and about lately.
Something silly happened just the other day... We were just invited in to a members house, and as we were sitting down, he offered us juice (it was a hot day). So my comp quickly agrees to the idea and 5 minutes later, ice cold juice was in front of our faces. I sipped it (it had a wierd color) and decided it wasn't so bad, then peered over the brim of my cup to see the uninterested look on my comps face. He asked if I liked it (in english... it's like code talking over here) and I said I did. His obvious response that he didn't gave me an idea. I asked, "Should I quickly drink mine so that we can swap cups before he turns around?" He smiled and said, "Hurry!" I quickly threw down my glass and we hurriedly, but silently, exchanged glasses. Not 5 seconds later the generous old member turned around from the fridge to see my comps glass empty and me sipping mine... Unfortuneately for my comp, there was more juice. "Oh you must be thirsty!" he said turning back to the fridge to retrieve the pitcher of juice. I busted out laughing while my comp tried to reject the approaching pitcher... but to no avail. He ended up just laughing along with me while the old man refilled his cup, it was hilarious.
Well, I hope all you guys are having a blast out there in the world... And Max, I really hope you treasure your Taco Bell joint, because out here... Crunchwrap Supremes are only found in my dreams (Yes, ryhm intended.... wha WHA!). Take care my loves! Gary


Elder Jimmy Miller
Salutations.I can't believe how ridiculously fast time flies in between writing these things. well this last week has been excellent. I had the privilege of seeing zone leader Elder Jones at mission conference. After some training and such we got to play sports and we played some pretty intense dodgeball. i nearly had my head taken off a few times. but mostly i'm a hard target to hit because if i turn sideways i'm invisible. well except for my now protruding gut. yes. i'm fat. Danbury continues to be excellent. Transfers is coming up so we'll see if i get the privilege of being here another cycle. That could be sweet. I do like having a car. But that's probably why I'm so fat. The work here is so awesome. Right now its kind of fun because every single investigator we have smokes. i think that the whole smoking is bad for you thing wasn't taught much in Danbury. Everyone smokes like a chimney. But they're awesome people. We finally got someone at church the last couple of weeks. We had a short dry spell but i think its over. We're so excited. We're teaching the husband of a member. I been going over to their house since I came to Danbury and only now is he opening up and being receptive. Never lose faith. Some people just take some time.Logan! Glad to hear you're headed back out man!! That's awesome. Hit the ground running!Keep spreading the good word!!Love Elder Jimmy Miller

Elder Logan Wells
Okay well here it is I am finally back into the field Idon't mean finally but Iam so glad to be here it has been awesome to come back to say the least. I am back here in Puerto Rico I got put into an area called Guaynabo with another latin companion, who is awesome and I love very much. Believe it or not he is more random than me which is hard to believe because that just doesnt happen very often. I am super excited because I got put into the area of my second cousins who are non members, so you never know what can happen. Hopefully the best. Man things are so crazy I am grateful for this opportunity that I have to serve and be in the work again! I know that this is where the Lord wants me to be and I wouldn't have it anyother way.. I had a had an amazing experience this week. I went on trade offs with the a ZL, Elder Howell from Kansas. We had been working hard all day long, we were at the point to either take a break to eat because we were waiting for a member. We just kept going and talk to people. Elder Howell decieded we would contact a old investigator who was almost baptized, but took another route, and it never happened. We stoped by and she shared with us on how her nephew had just passed away, so we all shared stories. I shared a story about my Grandma, because I did not know her too well, but I know that I will someday, because this is possible thru the plan of salvation, that God created for us. It was way cool, the spirit was so strong. We talked and talked, I asked her how she felt when she read the B.O.M., and she said that it was a very special feeling, one that she could not explain very well. We told her that, that is the spirit testifying of the truthfullness of it all. We extended a baptismal invite, and she accepted, so we gave her a date. She was so happy, and you could really tell. It just shows that the Lord knows what is going on, and that everything is possible, you just never know what the Lord has in store for you and that his hand is in this work, and it is true! I know that all is going to be well and the Lord will bless me for this descion that I have made! Well I love you all! Love, Logan

Elder Max Crandall
Gentlemen – que tal? Things are pretty crazy around here. We had transfers and I’m still in Seattle! On bikes! Depression! Just kidding. But due to this bike thing, I have lost enough weight that my Mr. Mac tracting slacks are sliding off my manly hips. Here’s something to be sad about though – they took my son away from me. I’m sort of upset. He’s not ready to “leave the nest.” My son, Elder Guillen, and the other greenie from last transfer, Elder Cordada, switched places. My old companion, Elder Cole, and I were tearing up the neighborhood but then last transfer, Pres. Showalter split us up and gave each of us one the greenies. I was doing my best to mold and shape young Elder Guillen into missionary extraordinaire and my old friend, Elder Cole, was doing the same for Elder Cordada. But I guess the Pres. felt it was best to flip flop them. I’m not sure why. Maybe they didn’t want me corrupting a greenie for more than one transfer. So on to Elder Cordada. He’s from San Diego, he’s short, he’s Hispanic, he speaks Spanish very well and he’s pretty cool. He’s no gauchito but he’s a great little Mexican and no one could replace my son, so I love him. My Spanish is improving, slowly but surely. It’s hard to keep it up when we’re not teaching a ton of Spanish speaking people. The ward we’re serving in is rather odd. It’s pretty darn poor, and it’s basically split into two groups. The old-timers who have been here for 4352.6 years and all of the young student couples going to college. The young guys tend to move in and out pretty quick too, which is hard on the ward. Because of this, and other obstacles, our ward actually used to be kind of anti-missionary work. Since I’ve been here, I’ve been trying to kiss major butt and get people pumped about missionary work. It’s actually starting to work, almost three months later. It’s way exciting but my lips are sore, figuratively speaking. Last transfer, Elder Guillen and I were able to baptize a gal named Illeyanna LaTorres. She’s a little bit of a wingnut but she is very spiritual and sweet. She had a really hard time quitting smoking. I don’t think I realized how hard it is to stop smoking until my mission. It’s about the most difficult thing in the world, in my semi-ignorant opinion. Since Illeyanna’s been baptized, she’s had a lot of awesome spiritual experiences. It’s been really cool. We’re also working with this one 22 year old guy named Brandon. A couple days ago we called him to set up an appointment and he said, “Sorry bro, I’m headed to Vegas. Ya know, gonna do some gamblin’, some recreational drugs…it’s gonna be sweet.” By the way, we haven’t gotten to the Word of Wisdom with him yet. Sheesh. It was funny how forward he was about it though. People here in Washington are either nice, slightly rude or apathetic. There are about 79% more apathetic people than any other category. I heard Washington has the lowest church attendance rate in the nation and the highest teen pregnancy rate. So basically I guess they don’t like to leave their bedrooms…oh, that was terrible and I’m sorry. Well, in closing, a little side note – both Elder Josh Ostler and Elder Jason Klingler from MVHS are zone leaders in my mission now and I see them every once in a while. I give Elder Ostler a little bigger of a hug, ‘cause I like him more. A lot more. But I’m not queer. Carry on Elders. I am so grateful to know what I know and I will never be ashamed of it. I would yell it from on top of a mountain if I thought anyone would hear.
Word to “the word” – Elder Crandall


Elder Brock Smith
What up M_town Bros.Wow the time is flyin by way to fast, by the time you all get this I will be down to my last 6 months. Crazy..... I am still pumped about the work, and am excited with my new comp. We have sat allot of goals and are working hard. I want to go out strong, and I am sad the time is going by way to fast. I never thought I would say that.I am now on Oahu, and it is said that once you come back on this Island and have 6 months or less you stay on this island, but it will be fine if that is what the lord wants Me to do. I feel like I wish would Have worked so much harder I could have done so much more... Well learn from Me do not let any moment pass you by, it will be over before we all thought it ever would. work hard. and serve well. Daniel and Logan God speed be with you. I will continue to pray for you.You know that song Big yellow taxi, You don't know what you got till its gone..... I am begin to feel that out here, I just want to finish strong. I love hearing how the rest of you are doing. You all seem to be doing great. We have some people we are teaching right now, and things look good, The book of mormon is such a powerful book, it is the book that just keeps on giving.......peace for now.. Remember B.Smooth, B. Sexy, B. Smith

Elder Jeff Stoker
Dear brothersHows it going? So like all other months, it has been pretty crazy. I have been sick for about two weeks. So i thought that i was starting to feel better, but this week i was way sick. My stomach is killing me. I have been talking with the doctor about every other day. Things are starting to look up though. I am pretty sure that things will be back to normal very soon, so dont worry. This week we have been blessed big time. So One time while we were outside contacting, we found two new investigators, and taught them with a member present that day. It was pretty nuts. It is amazing how things can just flip around like that. I have been going to exchanges with my district recently so if i do feel bad, my companion doesnt have to sit in with me all the time. So there are a bunch of rumors going on right now about Russia. So all i know right now is that Americans are not being sent to Russia any more for the time being. Our mission president told us that the Area Presidency has already been working it out though. So things will end up working out. He also said that We will continue to serve here until our assignment is up. Within the next two weeks i will be going to Czech Republic to get my Visa renewed, and i am way excited. So it is already week 6 of the cycle, and time is going by way fast. There is also a rumor that Elder Hinckley will be coming and speaking to missionaries this week. So we are waiting to see what our mission president says about that. Things are going good though. Keep working hard. I love to hear about everyone. It is crazy to read all the experiences. We are all serving a mission, but it is amazing to see how one mission varies from another. Love ya. toodles.Elder Jeff Stoker

Elder Garrett Jones
Salutations!OK, before I begin this month's update I just have to say that this is the first one of these I have actually written. Every other time my mom has just cut and pasted little comments I've made through the month from weekly letters she's gotten. Mom, you know I love you dearly, but you dull everything down from me. This hopefully will be a bit better than my other stuff has been. The work here in New Rochelle has been amazing. It's a lot different than my last area in the Bronx, but it's great in its own right. Let me just say for those of you who caught that in last month's newsletter. Ha Ha Wha! Suckers, I have reached the feared, respected, and ultimately sweet position of zone leader. How? I have absolutely no idea. To be honest I was sad when I got called to be DL and sadder to be ZL. I have absolutely no free time. What little free time you have now during that 10:00-10:30 time, treasure it. I exhort you! This past month included my humpday, which was almost an out of body experience for me. It's scary how fast time has gone past. It feels like yesterday that I was hanging out with you all in Max's shed and eating all his cereal in the morning and then going over to Jeff's to eat all his left over Halloween candy from two years ago. Ah good times. One quick story before I go. Yesterday I went to Connecticut (It's a part of our mission, I swear) to bring some investigators to their wedding. I saw my first wedding! It was so sweet! Because they're illegal they can't get married in NY. Hooray for CT! Well the church is true, life is great as the Lord's servant. Hope all is well with everyone. Daniel, I'm sure we're all praying for you buddy. Keep on keepin' on. Love and kisses, Garrett