02/08/2010

A letter to Mom from a ward member.

Hi,I had to write and let you know about our Testimony meeting yesterday. Almost everyone who bore their testimonies were less actives that the Elders have been working with. One after another kept coming up to the pulpit. One family had not been to church together in forever! The father in another family was ordained to the office of elder after church. I kept elbowing my husband and saying, "There's another family." Now we, as a ward, have to work hard to fellowship and hold on to these families, so their hard work doesn't go to waste. I told the Elders that I would write their Moms and let you know you should be proud!
Yesterday I went with them as they taught an investigator family who lives up the street from me. They were walking by a house one day and saw a woman shoveling her sidewalk with a little child's plastic shovel (that was the only shovel she had). The Elders took over and finished it for her and she said they could come back when her husband was home. They taught the second discussion yesterday and did a great job. The husband was interested. The wife wasn't saying much, but she was friendly, so they're going back again next week. The spirit was there and I know the family felt it, they just didn't know what they were feeling.
Here are a few more pictures Elder Makechnie wanted me to send to you. My kids just got some nerf guns. Now when the Elders come, there's always a pre-dinner war. My kids try to ambush them when they come through the door. Last time Elder Makechnie snuck around to the back door and surprised them as Elder Green knocked on the front door. In one of the pictures the Elders are trying out a new way of giving out Book of Mormons. There also another "smoking" picture that Elder Makechnie wanted me to send.
Have a good day,Dawn

01/25/2010

Ian's letter to Mom.

HI MOM...we have a new e-mail account apparently...I don't know if it shows up any different but...the church connected with the people from Gmail and made our new missionary accounts.Hows the rain going? This week we set another kid (age 12) for baptism his dad isn't really active...but he came to church for the first time in a long time yesterday. We've still teaching a lot.Elder Green and I figured out that if we're together one more transfer that we will have been together for 2 valintines days in a row...and we will be together in the mission home getting ready to go home next valintines day in 2011 HAHAHAHAHAHA. missionsite.net/elderloganpgreen that site has some pictures from Christmas on it.

1/15/2010

Ian's letter to Mom.

Good Day MOTHER!!!!I got your package...THOSE PINE NEEDLES SMELL AWESOME!!! I SLEEP WITH THE BAG! Thanks for the cookies aswell.We went to the temple this week on thursday... I was able to pick up some new spiritual info...My companion Elder Green and I are getting along really well...we're teaching A LOT! He's the new District Leader too.
I'm going to use the wallmart money to buy a digital recorder. then maybe I'l be able to send recordings home. Buck's on an all grain diet HAHAHAHAHAa thats classicI love you and I hope all is well!

01/04/2010

Ian's letter to Mom.

As Nephi says, life passes as a dream! Yeah I liked talking to everyone on the
phone but its kinda difficult for me to talk to everyone and show emotion at the
same time...I guess I'm weird...B and I were talking after you guys hung about
how its hard to express what I've been doing in a short phone call...he was
telling me how he understands that as a missionary you're in a completely
different mind set...and you really can't describe to someone what how you're
mission is going because it is beyond words (by the way Lori e-mailed me and
told me that her experience at the temple was beyond words...I digress) we were
just talking about it in church yesterday...you don't know what its like to be a
professional football player untill you are one...you really don't know what
it's like being a full time missionary untill you do it...you really don't know
if doctrine is true untill you act upon it....and once you do its hard to
describe it to somone...its like trying to describe what salt tastes like to
someone who has never tasted salt...."it tastes......salty?" I have awesome
brothers...did you know that haha? anyways...things are going well...since I've been here we've found 4 new investigators...and we've been teaching a lot...Elder Green and I get along
really well....we're about to go to the temple on thursdayby the way your mother and father mailed me for christmas...really nice hearing from her! There is an Elder in the zone right next to ours who is from Nashua (Elder Logan Yarmo)..Mission President was thinking about putting us together...but didn't...maybe next time.

It was great hearing your voice mom...and tell dad to grow his beard
back!!!....when I come back I'm going to.
I LOVE YOU!

12/14/2009

Tings here are are going really well as of this past week. We found 3 new investigators...one is the mother of a less active named Glen (one n...and he is from New Hampshire...who knew)...we taught her the first lesson on thursday night. She didn't want to accept the baptismal invitation...but she said we could come back and continue teaching her.Are tracting efforts on wednesday yeilded 2 new investigators...The guy is an oral surgon and he knows our bishop who is a dentist. We taught them a lesson on the atonement and following the commandments...left them with 2N31 to read.One of our investigators Lori Krauss is getting baptized this saturday. YESSSSS!!!!!!2 of the people in our teaching pool are very promissing...they're both investigators from a part member family. One of them is Dan Nelson...because he came to church this Sunday his wife came to church for the first time in years. YESSSS!!!So tings are going well here in FO.CO....by the way I'm in Fort Collins...at one point it was ranked like 10th in the nation for best city/town....
Transfers are coming up here pretty soon...No Idea whats gonna happen.
TATE IS HUGE...by the time I get home he'll probably be hitting baseballs and throwing lacrosse balls around.
I'm glad you've secured a job! I'm glad you guys had such an awesome thanksgiving.

Story. Small World.

I got a call last night from a woman in Fort Collins, Colorado. "Hello, I am a divorced member of the Church living here in Fort Collins. I approached my Bishop about the possibility of housing missionaries. He said that there was a list. Two days ago he called and said that the new missionaries' housing had fallen through, and could I take them in? So last night I welcomed two young men, one of whom is an Elder Makechnie. As I tried to orient the young men to their new living arrangement, I found Elder Makechnie to be distracted. He was playing with a toy that had belonged to my father, and couldn't seem to focus on what I was saying. So to get his attention, I asked him where he is from, and he enthusiastically said, "New Hampshire!" and hauled out a map. I protested that I didn't need to see a map to know about New Hampshire, but he proceeded to point out Andover anyway. I said, 'Elder, follow me.' I took him upstairs to the study and pointed to an oil painting. 'Where do you suppose that farmhouse is?' I asked him. 'Well, it sure looks like New England,' he answered. 'And what lake do you think that is in the background?' 'Well, it sure looks like Lake Winnipesaukee,' he answered sheepishly. "And do you know, I attended the Laconia Branch of the Church?' 'Wow! Really? Did you know an old lady there that was..... like.... the first Mormon in New Hampshire?' he asked. "Do you refer to Rhea Guild, Elder?' I asked. "Yeah! I was at her funeral!' he exalted. I went over to the computer and pushed a few keys and up popped a slide show of her funeral. 'Hey, there's Brother Tom Morrison!' he shouted. 'And Brother Stephenson, and there's my Mom... and there's ME!'Pretty sure I had his attention now, I pointed to myself on the screen and said, 'I spoke a the funeral. Rhea Guild was my mother, I am Marsha Guild Gibbs."
It's a small world, after all.Sister Gibbs also told me that Elder Makechnie's new companion is from American Samoa, and that they spent the better part of the day yesterday trying to get news off the internet, after the awful tsunami. So far, it seems that the news is good.

Transfer

We're on timed computers today... That conference was awesome!!! I always love it when Uchtdorf talks but this time is was Geoffrey R Holland's talk that hit the hardest. He is so powerful!!! Uchtdorf;s talk on work and learning was very good as well...and I also really appreciated the new apostle's talk....repentence and remembering sin really stuck out to me.The new area is beautiful but I've got to watch out for the pre tty women here...it near a college campus..... Did Sis Gibbs tell you who her mom is?Thank you for your post card.I love you