First off I wanted to thank you guys for the emails. They always mean a ton to me and let's me know that I still have a loving family and dear friends who care about me. I appreciate it. I'm grateful for Tyler and Hannah and their support. They send me some emails letting me know what's going on in their life. Tell my other Mom and Dad (The Craig's) that I love them and I'm so glad that they still keep in contact with me. We've been in contact for over a year which is great!!! Tell Aunt Cami and Camille I love them soooo much too!!!!!!!!! They are amazing . I always will appreciate the "Greenie" package that I got from them- that meant sooo much to me. Tell Todd I love him too!!!!!!!! He was always so nice and loving and really did care about me. Tell Uncle Mark I love him too. Tell Will Hall, man I love that kid, I hope he does well in soccer up in North Dakota. I also love my other mom and dad, the Halls. They always meant a ton to me and were really good friends!!!! My heart goes out to Grace Hall. I totally feel for her tearing her ACL!!!!!! That really is too bad that she has to go through that surgery and rehab. I bet she was really
wanting to play soccer this year. I hope she's not in any pain. I love you Grace!!!!!!!!! Keep fighting and never give in or give up. You can come off conqueror!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wanting to play soccer this year. I hope she's not in any pain. I love you Grace!!!!!!!!! Keep fighting and never give in or give up. You can come off conqueror!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow what an amazing week. It was very good and I'm excited to tell you of what all went down!!!!!!! Well first off: I'm loving my companionship with Elder Cuthbert. He's such a funny guy and we've got a ton in common. Even though our personalities are very different, we do great together!!!!!!! It's funny how you can connect with peole even if you are polar opposites I felt like I've met a lot of people that are different from me yet we get along great and have fun together!!! Of course it takes work and you can't just expect it all to work out in the end. You have to put in effort- it's no different than anything else. Well speaking of work we went and mowed a member's lawn. She lives in a trailer park so not too much grass. We mowed it in our church clothes in like 90 degree weather with 84% humidity- it was HOT!!!!!!! This whole week was really hot. I'm glad I've got some short sleeve shirts. Otherwise, let me tell you, I would be cooking. I can't wait to get home and just put on a wife-beater and some sweat pants- I'm going to go total Pennsylvanian hahahahaha!!!!!!!! You'd be surprised with the lack of clothing people wear out here- especially in summer! The gross part is it's usually the unattractive people that have the least amount of clothes on!!!!!!! I've said it before and I'll say it again, I've met more people naked here on the mission than I ever did in my 18 yrs. of life!!!! People need to learn to put on pants!!!!!!!! Hahaha After we mowed that lady's grass, we mowed her neighbor's lawn. We've talked to her neighbor before and we love him. He asked some sincere questions which we helped to answer. Hopefully, that will lead to more interest. I will have to fill you in more with our contacts with him at a different time. Well we finish up at her place then we tried a few people in Lemony. Sadly, one of the kids we were teaching dropped us.aught dropped us. HE came to see who knocked at his door, and when he saw us he ran back inside. It's okay though. He's only 13 and when I was 13 I wouldn't have had the guts to tell them I didn't want to talk with them anymore either. We love that kid but are letting him go. We tried a few other people but no success. We did get to see a former investigator (an older lady). She was soooo nice and talked to us for a while. She mentioned that she needed her grass mowed so we offered our help and walla- we mowed her grass too! More service!!!!!!
So we sent our awesome investigator, S, an email to check in on him. Just to see how he was doing. He emailed back immediately and we went over to talk with him and lift his spirits. I LOVE S!!!!!!!!!!! Remember he is the one that was reading the Mormon Theology book given to him by a BYU Professor? Well, the book was causing him to have more questions and be more confused so he returned the book to its owner. He told us he was just going to read and focus on the Book of Mormon because he didn't get confused or have doubts when reading it and talking with us. We were like GO Stephen!!!!!!!!!! We were very proud of him because that took a HUGE leap of faith to not only send the book back but to also not let another's view affect his. If this would have happed when we first began to teach S, he would have not been able to do that. It is neat to see his progress!!!! We are going at his speed and aren't going to pressure him. We did tell him to not let go of his spiritual anchors that he has gained so far because those anchors will help him get through his storms.
S is probably the most knowledgeable theologian I've ever met. He is such a pro with the scriptures. He says he has read the Bible close to 200 times and the B.O.M. over 100 times I mean this guy is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He already knows the scripture before we even talk about it. We'll say we're going to turn to Alma 45 and he will give us a whole preface of what's going on in that chapter or Book. I'm always baffled that every time we go over (2 men without eloquence and with a little knowledge) can teach him and help him feel better. Yay for the Holy Ghost!
We also saw Sister Z this week. I mentioned her before (she is the lady who will grab your throat and throw you around like a rag doll). Well, she is the biggest Star Trek fan ever! I mean just as much as Leonard and Sheldon on Big Bang Theory. I can't even explain all the things that she has! She doesn't show or tell everyone about her collections but we got to see it. I had heard about it but I didn't believe it until I saw it. Then it made me think that I was like doubting Thomas from the Bible who wouldn't believe Christ was resurrected until he saw him with his own eyes. "Blessed Are They That Have Not Seen, and Yet Have Believed."
We also saw Sister Z this week. I mentioned her before (she is the lady who will grab your throat and throw you around like a rag doll). Well, she is the biggest Star Trek fan ever! I mean just as much as Leonard and Sheldon on Big Bang Theory. I can't even explain all the things that she has! She doesn't show or tell everyone about her collections but we got to see it. I had heard about it but I didn't believe it until I saw it. Then it made me think that I was like doubting Thomas from the Bible who wouldn't believe Christ was resurrected until he saw him with his own eyes. "Blessed Are They That Have Not Seen, and Yet Have Believed."
One day we did a ton of biking and contacting as our appointments cancelled. People are so funny sometimes. We had a great time at our Ward activity too! Good food, fun games, and great conversations with ward members. I got some crazy news last night: I'm going to be interviewed by President Meurs of the Seventy when we have training on Wednesday. That's really cool! Also Daniel La France, a member who used to serve in Durban South Africa, knew Logan Welling. How crazy is that!?!?!?!?!? Also, I know a missionary here who was actually companions with Logan Welling in South Africa- Joseph DePriest. What a small world!!!!!!
So now to answer your questions. Getting up on time is all good and has been for awhile now!!! Now I have to work on getting up even earlier to work out. I'm hoping by the end of my mission I have made that a habit. Transfers are 3 weeks away. My studies have been awesome. Recently I've been reading in Acts 1-9 and man Peter, John, and Stephen are boss. The coolest part is Saul's conversion story in chapter 9. What a great experience to be so converted that you literally transform your life and become one of the greatest teachers, apostles and testifiers of all time! I really love Paul and am looking forward to reading his mission letters in the New Testament! A missionary reading another missionary's letters of love and admonition!
Elder Cahoon the Baboon
Elder Gronkowski
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