15 February 2011

Hey family

First of all, let us have a moment of silence for the resignation of Jerry and Phil.

Thank you.

This week has been another good one. Biggest news first, I had a very yummy orange off an orange tree, and it was very tasty.

Next biggest, Billy got off parole on Tuesday afternoon!!! He is super excited. He had his baptismal interview on Saturday night, and it went well. His baptism will be this Saturday at 5pm. The ward, us and Billy are all very excited. Pictures to come soon

We found out the reason John was in the hospital was because he drank over the past weekend. He drank, and drank, and drank some more. Then he drank some more. He hadn't had alcohol in decades. He got some pretty nasty alcohol poisoning. We kindly let him know how stupid that was of him, and he has learned his lesson. We 3 fasted this last Sat/Sun for him to quit smoking. He joined in and did very well. We didn't think he'd make it through the night without smoking/eating something. He made it until noon on Sunday. He actually missed church because his medicine without food made him very, very weak and sick. He tried really hard. We were very proud of him. Let's see how that goes!

On Wednesday, all missionaries in our mission got the privilege of texting. Oh my has it been nice. The past few months President has experiemented with it with the zone leaders and district leaders. It is so nice, because people won't ever answer their phones, but they're happy to reply to a text right away.

On Thursday, Elder Bailey woke up with super severe itching. He had weeded right in the middle of stinging nettle the previous day. Mom and Camille will remember how crazy that kind of itching drove me that one Sunday. He was going berzerk, it was funny. The whole time I was in the shower, he was punching his pillow to get his frustration out. He emptied a whole tube of Gold Bond anti-itch that morning. Didn't do a lot though. Funny stuff.

I got a letter this past week from my friends in the U of U band! They sent one during marching band, and now this one. That was a good booster! They sent a couple Valentines Day cards and a lot of the people I know signed it.

Also on Thursday, we had three evening appointments, and they all fell through. That makes for a bad day as a missionary. Jamie and Christine both got sick. We ended up helping Bro. Christensen see some of the inactive people he'd been assigned to find. After that was done, we still had two hours left. Just then, a couple in the ward that we're friends with called and she asked for a blessing (she's almost due with a baby). We went to help her out, and they were very very grateful. After that, we called Donna on a whim (she never answers her phone), and she answered and said it was a great time to come by. We had an awesome lesson on the beginning of the Plan of Salvation. She loved it all, especially the fact that we lived in heaven before here. Most people don't react to that, but she loved it. She also ended up coming to church this week. She's starting to progress very well. It's neat to see that God works in many ways to bless His children! A bad night turned into a great one.

That's all I have time for this week. Thank you all for your support and love. Have a phantastik week!

Elder Jon

Go Utes!

8 February 2011

Hey family!

I'm short on time so unfortunuately this will have to be quick.

It's been a lot better week.

Our investigators are doing pretty well. Nothing big to report, except that Billy hears about his parole TOMORROW (everything rests on that). Please pray for him.

John has also been pretty sick lately, and checked into the hospital early yesterday. He was there most of the day, and we went to visit him in the afternoon. (Palomar Pomerado Hospital for Daniell). He is doing okay and is annoyed with having to be there. He's funny. He is fine though.

We stopped by Patrick yesterday for a lesson, and he said he went to a Catholic church on Sunday and loved it. He said "hey guys, thanks for all, but I realized that's where I belong. I was born Catholic and I'll die Catholic." He may have been on one of his "down" days. We dropped him because he wasn't interested, but we'll stop by again. I'll let you know how that goes..

Last Wed we saw a guy on a really busy intersection that had stalled his car (Felicita and Center City). We parked the car really quick at a nearby CVS and ran out to help him. There was a HUGE truck that turned the corner and squealed tires but we got out of teh way in time. He had a stick and a dead battery, so we just needed to push him for a combustion start. It worked. He was grateful, but had to drive off. That was fun!

We had dinner with the Wanless family on Saturday. It was just a normal dinner until we found out that they are Kaytlyn and Mara Monsivais's aunt and uncle! That was weird! But very cool.

If you sent letters, I won't get them until tomorrow. Transfers are today (I'm staying here), so they've been holding mail at the office since Thurs. I'll reply next week!

There is a really really big hill by the Boroughs that we ride down when we're on bikes to get down to the main city. Yesterday we decided to not brake the whole time because it was boring, so we road down really fast. I leaned down to my handlebar for wind resistence. When we got to the bottom, there was a car that pulled up next to us and the driver rolled down his window and said "45!" It felt fast! That was so fun!

Well I am out of time. I am doing well and am happy and busy. I love you all. Have a great week

Elder Jon La Follette

1 February 2011

Hello everyone! Tomorrow's Groundhog Day! Hopefully winter stays around some more so it stays cool here!

On Wednesday August called us. He was going in to get a biopsy for a large bump on his neck. He had been really worried about it, had 2 doctors appointments, and had been told that it was probably cancer. We said lots of prayers for him. Not only is cancer not good, obviously, but he doesn't have enough money to pay for any surgery he'd need. When he called us he told us the doctor came in to check his neck before the biopsy. He felt his neck and said there was definitely a bump there. He left the room to get some paperwork, came back and felt his neck again. He couldn't find the bump anywhere. He checked up and down his neck, in and out, and the bump was gone. The doctor said August could go home, and no biopsy or surgery was needed. Tender mercies of the Lord.

On Thursday night, we were towards the end of our day, and went down a street (San Pasqual Valley Rd and Grand if Daniell knows where that is), and we saw what had to be thousands of cones, and about 30 police cars. We were on our way to the church, but when we were done, we took the same road back. It was still there. We got closer and some signs said it was a police DUI checkpoint. Every car was required to stop in one of the lanes set up by cones and you would pull up to a cop and give him your license and talk to him. Good thing I had my license! We pulled in the middle of all of it, and stopped by one of the cops and rolled down our window. He asked for my license, looked at us, and asked "have you had anything to drink tonight?" We said no, and he laughed, and said "Figured. I'm required to ask! Utah eh?" "How many Utah licenses have you had?" "You're the only one! I've had 2 from Arizona though." He asked us about our missions very briefly while we were waiting for the car in front of us. That was a fun experience though! I can now say I've been stopped to be checked for a DUI!

Our investigators are doing well, kinda an average week. We met with Jamie and read through D&C 76 with her. She loved it, especially because it was all new to her. She's a lot of fun to teach, because she has so much faith and a really strong testimony. We received great news after the lesson. Bro Maughan, the ward mission leader, got a hold of Jamie's new probation officer and the officer agreed to write a letter of recommendation for her to get baptized. It is exactly what we need to send to the First Presidency, and has been very difficult to get. We are so excited!

Billy finally got a job this week. He has been trying for over a year to get a job, but has been very difficult because of his prison record. But he got a job shining shoes at the local Toyota dealer. He's very excited.

John was up too late Saturday and missed church again, but hopefully he can come next week. He's still working on quitting smoking. I will bet it's gonna take longer than he expects to quit smoking, but we'll see.

Ruben is doing pretty well. I forgot if I told you about him or not. He's the brother of a church headquarters referral we got like a month ago (still haven't met the referral yet!). He's 15, and loves to learn. The first time we went over, we taught him how to pray, and when he prayed, the Spirit came in really strong. Recently we finished teaching him the Plan of Salvation. He's a really good kid. He's scheduled to be baptized March 5.

We picked up another new investigator yesterday. He was also a church HQ referral. His name is Richard Irizarry. He has been a religious man his whole life (45 yrs old), and has tried every religion you can think of, to try to find the true one. He's been Catholic, Protestant of every kind you can think of, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and he didn't like any of them. He felt they were all wrong in different ways. He knows some Mormons around here, and is very impressed that they "practice what they preach when no one else does." He was impressed with our calmness for 19 yr old kids, and wants to know what it's all about. We read through the Book of Mormon Intro with him, and he is very very excited to read the book. We can't wait to teach him the Restoration. He is very ready for it.

There is a guy sitting next to me that is listening to music, and forgot where he was, and broke out singing really loud. That was really funny. Oh there he goes again!

That's really about it as far as the work goes this week.

Here's a thought for you:

Brother Borough has a lot of really good quotes in his book that he's come up with throughout his life as a scientist. One of them is "there is not one-trillionth part of the Universe where one could stand, using our most powerful telescope, and see the Earth." It's kind of confusing, so you can ask Dad. But basically it's saying the Universe is so huge, that you can pick any one-trillionth part of it, pull out our best telescope, but you are so far from the Earth, you won't see it.

Heavenly Father created everything. He has so many worlds, and children. Try to fathom that.

Now, go to Moses 7:28-31. This is Enoch and God talking, and looking at some people who are messing up in their lives. Enoch notices God is weeping for them. Enoch, knowing about all his endless creations, notices that God's heart is with these people, and is weeping because of their transgression. How sad do we have to be before we start crying? God has so many creations, but knows and loves every single one of them so very very much. Try to comprehend God's love for you, or the person next door. It's pretty neat to think about.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Keep writing me letters, please! I've gotten one letter in the past month in the mail. You don't have to write them all the time, but they're appreciated! Camille, you're off the hook because you sent a package (that I still haven't gotten...)

I love you all!

Elder Jon La Follette