the final ONE

yeah, so this last week has been amazing. the Lord really allowed me to see some amazing things.

Hannah Hatcher was baptized and it went great....even though times were hard. about a week before the baptism, she got bells paulsy(sp?) it is really rare in children and this is her second time with it. half of her face doesnt work (thats why in the pics she has a funny smile). but she still went through. she didnt want this to stop her. that was an awesome experience,

and then that night we met with Crystal and Jose Barrera. that appt was amazing. jose has such great faith. he said to us "i dont knw all of the details, but it feels good at church and when yall come by". he is going to join his wife into the waters of baptism on Dec 13. his only "concern" is he doesnt KNOW joseph smith was a prophet, but he believes all the rest and understands that this is a "package deal". if some is good (true) the all of it is good(true). a very sweet experience indeed.

but that will close it all out for the mission. tomorrow i am off to tally. i will see yall soon. mom, did you get my email about the pics?

2nd to last email

pretty crazy that this is the 2nd to last time i will email you. wow. ths time is going by wayyyy too fast.

well, let me tell ya about our sunday. it will be easily declared the worst day of my mission. now, before i tell you why, just know that everything is okay now,but it was no fun. it al started on saturday. me and elder cosby were given money by a random member to go and get food. a very nice gesture. well, we went to a mexican restaurant called "old mexico". yada yada yada, food poisoning. i woke up the next morning at 4 30, not feeling horrible but using the restroom like i have never used one before. i didnt feel all that bad. well, come six thirty, im still a usin and my comp gets up.

he is feeling fine. he begins to get ready, when it hits him.....but not in the same was as me. he starts to feel really sick and and his lower back (probabaly kidneys or something) start really hurting. but he used the restroom once, but after that, he couldnt. well, we go to PEC, but didnt even stay for church. we went home and rested. my poor companion could not sleep...too much pain. finally we get ahold of sisster summerhays and a doctor. they both said let it out however it wants to come out.....mine was pretty much gone by then, still a little dizzy and such, but overall not HORRIBLE, but elder cosby was whole lot worse. finally, come around 2 or so.....he FINALLY vomits. and then he started feeling much better. well, we took it easy yesterday, and now we are doing much better.

we both feel completely fine. but i remember when dad got food poisoning from a wendys slada or something......i now can realte.....NO FUN. but all is well now. it was kinda weird. i had not missed church in 2 years, haha. anyways. life is good other than that.

did you get my letter mom and dad? about my bike and such? as for the investigators: hannah is still all set for baptism next week. crystal barrera and Jose barrera are doing great too. he is still prayerfully considering. he says he feels MOST at home when he attends a "mormon" church. all is great down here. life is good. we are busy. and i dont want to go home. love you all.

thanks for everything

first off, dad, how are you doing. im sorry i wasnt able to really email last week. please know that you are in my prayers. thank you britt and kenny for the cookies this past week. they were awesome.

life is going real good down here in callaway. let me tell you about this week. there is a lady in the ward, named Crystal Barrera. well, some elders a couple of months ago ran into her and they started to meet with her and what not. well, she claimed to be a member, but there was no sign of records, so she has to be re-baptized.

well, her husband is not a member, so she wanted to get baptized also to show a testimony to him. he was fairly interested. well, we went by about two months ago and he was in a rough situation. he had got addicted to some pain killers, passed out, and negelected his 3 or 4 yr old son. no one was hurt, but that situation really brought him to his knees. he had to go to a rehad center for 30 days. he was not severly addicted, but he was really humbled.

he has now been back for a week and he came to church this yesterday with his wife. we went to their house last night and she is getting baptized on dec 13....and he is prayerfully considering the same thing. it was a real neat experience.

so, there is that. As for Hannah hatcher, she is also doing great. all is a go for nov 22. kathy kelley is still in the same boat....so we are doing waht we can.

so i am all lined up for speaking on nov 30 eh? any idea on a subject? but thats all the news for now. thanks fo all yall do. love ya

Computers are slow

so, for some dumb reason, the computers are going really slow, so luckily i was able to read most of the emails, but i decided to just write yall so that if it ends up shutting down or something, then i will have at least wrote yall.

dad, i glad to hear you are all right. that was probably a very scary thing. i did not receive to letters from grandma russell....the other one might be coming.

jim was baptized on saturday. it was really neat, and yes mom, i did get pictures :).

we are still [w]orking hard and finding success. life is really going good. ill kep it short, but i love yall and will look forward to next week, when the comps will go at a normal speed.

Happy Freakin' Birthday

hey family, how are you all. thank you so much for the awesome birthday. it really made me happy. thanks everyone for the letters and all that stuff. i really appreciate it.

this past week was really good. kathy kelley called us back and said that even after we stopped meeting, she still felt the spirit and she wantes us back. she is still having a hard time coming to church.....she has to take care of her grandkid on sundays....and she leaves to do that. that will be the big test.

but jim is still all set for this satruday and hannah is also still set for the 22nd. it awesome.

yesterday, we got to go to a conference with elder Mask of the second quorum of the sevent spoke to us. it was really neat. he gave us all hugs and stuff. he is a really neat guy. we also had zone conference last week.....that too was awesome.

this last transfer is FLYING BY. we are already nearly 2 weeks into it......and that means 4 weeks to gO!?!?!?! oh no. lots to do. thanks everyone. love yall.

hey family.

how are all of you doing? life is good down here, as usual.

we have xone conference this week, so we are stoked....then on the 27th, a member of the seventy is coming to tour the mission and have a conferene with us. it is really neat.

kathy kelley called us this past week and let us know that she wants to not meet with us till christmas.....she said that she sometimes does things to please other people, so she wants to make sure if she does this, it is for herself. we respected her choice and have plans to visit her in december.

no real updates need to be made. all is well down here. pretty crazy how we are all coming home around the same time.....tell casey hi for me. i am glad to hear yall had fun with jeff. he is a neat kid fo sure. well. love you all. bye bye

well, it is officially confirmed....

(Thanks to Columbus Day this email is one day later than usual. Enjoy everyone.)

my last area will be callaway FL. today we got transfer info and me and elder cosby are both staying here....thankfully. we are having a great time....we are finding much success and having a great time together too. i cannot complain! life is really going great right now.

here are the updates on the work here: Hannah hatcher is still set for Nov 22, but he and her family did not make it to church this past week,

Jim Geyer is also doing great. he is all lined up for baptism on Nov 1. it will be really good to see that finally happen. he knows that this was something he has needed to do, and now he is able to.

Jack Barton, a young man we have been working with for the past 2 weeks came to chruch and LOVED it. is a real neat guy. we are hoping to set a baptismal date with him this week. we are thinking aroung Nov 15, but ultimately it will be up to him.

miracles are are happening everyday to us. we can see the Hand of the Lord in the lives of those we talk to. Kathy Kelley is still doing good, but she REALLY needs to come to church. if she came, we are pretty confident that she would make friends that would help her progress much quicker, it is just hard given her circumstance. that are a few others we are hoping keep onn working with, too.

life is going great. [As] anxious as i am to come home, i want to stay out here too. thanks mom for todd and jarens address. love you all. and mom, tell my future wife HI back, hehe.