10 Month Mark

I can't believe it is already 10 months! These past couple weeks have flown by for me! It feels like we go out to work in the morning and then before I know it we are saying prayers before bed! Sometimes I miss a day in my journal and I go back to catch up and I am like 4 or 5 days behind. It is crazy. Luckily I usually have time to catch up in it. 

I have not heard any news about the Bell's and don't have any updates right now, sorry. I wish I could tell you more...

If you want, you can try to get hold of President Weston. But remember this; he lives by the white handbook, and as obedient as Elder Coburn was, he is even more. So don't get too excited about it.

Well big news this week! On Saturday morning we had a mission-wide conference call. It was weird because they place we called into was based out of Utah I guess...it has been a long time since I dialed an 801 number....Anyways so our mission president informed us that the California Roseville Mission has been selected as 1 of 30 missions around the world to test iPads!!! We will be getting them the week of December 17. We aren't sure of all the details yet, but we know that they will all be iPad mini's, and that we will be able to access Facebook from them and probably even be able to do our weekly emails from them as well! I am not sure if we will each get one, or if it will be one per companionship, but we will find out. One of the ZL's got on an LDS tech forum and apparently heard that each missionary will get one...so we will see! Until then it has been just a little harder to focus;) 

Ha ha that is okay, Saturday night I had a dream that I was back in Chico...haha I guess I really miss that place! [Lindsay gave a sweet testimony in Sacrament about Michael and his example serving the people of Chico.  We all know she meant Roseville.]

Tyler said me? He was MY hero, not the other way around. I am glad I didn't' leave a bad impression! [In Aimee's Sunday School class, Tyler Ashworth mentioned how Michael was an example in Priest quorum last year. ]

The part member family we want to teach was out of town for Thanksgiving this week, so we didn't get to see them. But we did get to see that lady we helped with the fence. Oh, I guess I misspoke; I was on exchanges and NEITHER of us knew how to build a fence, so we just kinda winged it. Anyways, so we hadn't been able to see that lady again, and then we were at the Library up in Shingletown and she just walked in. So we started talking to her, and we went outside and sat down at the picnic tables there and then taught the whole Restoration, and Elder Giesler invited her to be baptized and she said yes! So we are going to see her again this weekend, and then we will set a specific date! It was awesome!!! 

Elder Giesler is great. He wants to work hard and is not afraid to do what needs to be done. A lot of times when our plans fall through, I will ask him what he feels like we should do. A lot of the time he wants to go tracting, so that is awesome! Most missionaries hate tracting. You can tell that when we are at the doors, he is a little apprehensive, but he always wants to try. Yesterday while we were tracting, it was his turn at a door. Let’s just say it didn't go very well. So as we were walking to the next house (because here they are forever-and-a-half apart) we talked about it. He then immediately said "Alright, I want the next one" even though it was my turn. I love seeing him so excited to work and learn. We get along great, and have a good time. The work is really starting to pick up. We have some people we are working with that hopefully we will be able to pick up as new investigators in the next week! 

We had 2 Thanksgiving dinners...#IAmSoFat. It was really good, but hard to stay awake. Then we did some planning and a little bit of Ping-Pong to help stay awake during our breaks. It was a good day, but very different. We did set up our mini-Christmas tree and the one strand of lights we have, and then listened to all 12 Christmas songs I have. It is hard to feel like Christmas time, though, when yesterday was the 1st of December and it was 68 degrees...I feel like we are back in Arizona. I still am wearing my short-sleeve shirts! But that’s also because I like how they fit, and my long sleeve ones (from Costco) make me look like I am a pirate when I wear them. But it is all good. 

Oh, and we talked on the phone with our mission president about the ward not helping get wood. He meets with each stake president in the mission once each month, and told us he would talk to ours about that situation when he saw them (which was yesterday). So hopefully we will be getting some help here soon!

Ha-ha you’re gonna die from dehydration if you keep crying, I still have 14 months! [Laura peeked during the Thanksgiving prayer and saw Michael's empty chair.] That sounds like fun with all your family. I bet Sara and Zack make great parents. That’s cool. I hope all is well. Dave is the same? I hope Jacob is doing good. I haven't heard from them again, and he never replied to the letter I sent him, but his mom said he got it. 

Haha you bought a new GPS, I thought you said you didn't need this one? You didn't have to send it to me! I am sure lots of missionaries have survived without them:) I am glad you had fun! Wow, that is a lot of shopping! Here, everyone thinks Black Friday is crazy, so none of the members go, and cyber-Monday is a completely foreign concept to a lot of them. But they are still happy, so I guess shopping is what brings happiness;) 

I heard about Paul Walker, and It is too bad, but also very ironic, don't you think? YES! Go Broncos! Well I hope you have a fun and safe trip! [Aimee and Laura are heading to the Footlocker regional championship cross country meet in southern California this week.] That is sweet that Lone Peak is doing so well, it is weird to me when people out here know about Lone Peak because of all the athletes from there. The members, who love BYU, when they hear where I am from, always ask "Did you go to Lone Peak?" Ha-ha I get brownie points, and I didn't even play those sports! 

Well thank you all for the love and support! I am sure this will be a good week, and I am just praying that I don't get transferred next week! Anyways, I will talk to you all soon! Have a great week!