Dutson and Leonard

At the request of Elder Dutson and Elder Leonard, two of Nathan's favorite mission friends, I am posting this silly little video.  Enjoy!

December 2, 2008

Sorry this letter is so scattered.  I keep writing when I have a little bit of time.  You'd be surprised at how little extra time you have when a lazy person isn't in charge.  LOL... not that Elder Finger was lazy, we just weren't always busy.  

So some pretty sweet news... we got a truck!  Dude, Baby James, I'm so in love with it.  It's a brand new '09 Chevy Colorado.  It's a small truck, but still way fun.  

The hammocks.  Elder Finger and I got them at Walmart for $10.  Pretty sweet, eh?  We got them during our last 2 weeks together.  We had been looking for one since we met and became comps.  I don't know what brought on the desire to have hammocks, probably just wanting to relax and chill.  We found some huge screw in hooks at Grandma Sligers house and screwed them into some beams in our new hammock room.  It's so relaxing.  I love it.  

I don't think you can do much to help me with Rodge.  Just pray he'll be more social.  He is doing better since he talked to President.  Things are getting tons easier.  I am learning from him patience, obedience, etc.  Pretty much every Christ-like attribute is being worked on, but in a good way.  I'm doing it to be better, not cause he's a tough comp.  Things are looking up.  He's learning social skills from me, like to look at a person when they talk to you.  He is for sure growing and gaining spiritual knowledge.  I for sure know that I am a good senior comp and trainer.  It was weird to take complete control of the companionship though.  (Not that I'm a dictator, it's a companionship.  You know what I mean.)  I think Elder Finger and I are better friends than companions.  We call each other all the time to talk.  It's sweet.  He's an awesome guy.  Seeing Shirts and Moore off made me love them more.  I hope they are happy.  I miss them. 

My favorite colors are red, black and white.  The best thing I've eaten lately is top sirloin wrapped up with onions, peppers, and jalapenos.  It was smoked too.  I love Texas BBQ.  I'm growing a lot these days and studying more from PMG.  

November 21, 2008

Missionary journal question: "what's your favorite discussion?" 

My favorite discussion is #2!  The plan of salvation.  The plan brings so much hope.  It lets us know how much our Father in Heaven loves us.  It answers the questions: Who are we?  Where did we come from?  Why are we here on Earth?  Where are we going after this life?  It just feels good to know that Heavenly Father had a plan for us before this life and that He is wiling to shar it with us now.  It's also a doctrine that other churches don't have.  It always goes over pretty smoothly.  It just makes me happy.  I mean, how could it not?  

I don't think I told you about Chris's baptism in all the excitement of transfers.  It was pretty awesome.  He kept teasing us that he was going to wait until his birthday on the 24th of December.  He followed through and was baptized on November 9th.  It was pretty much the coolest ever.  The spirit was way strong there.  He had brought his whole family.  You could tell that was a day that both him and the ward had waited for for a long time.  I know you and I waited a long time for it!  Everyone gave really good talks.  It was pretty much the perfect baptism.  We are now even talking with his parents. We did some service at their house today and then taught David- his dad- the message of the restoration.  It was pretty sweet!  We tore out some of his trees by hand... well, pick ax.  Man James, we need some help with getting some new people to teach, so pray for the hearts of the people of Seguin.

My boy is starting to come out of his shell, but he still has some work to do.  He seems happier.  He's learning social skills and teaching skills.  They for sure gave him the right comp.

How does Texas feel about Obama?  Most of them hate it.  lol.  It's so hard to know what is true from them.  Nobody ever talks about his campaign so I don't really know what he wants to do.  I hear he is raising gun taxes.  Texans love their guns.  How do you feel about guns?  Texas is not for abortion, gays, and they love guns.  They think Obama will take that.  What do you mean Michigan legalized marijuana?  To what extent?  That's crazy talk! 

I'm doing well.  I'm happy.  I'm standing so tall.  I could do better on the journal thing  Keep up the good work.  Look for missionary opportunities.  Pray for them too!  

Nathan's New Greenie! (email)

Well, a couple of things to know about my boy... He is from Mesa Arizona. He's 19. Favorite color is navy blue. He likes cars and computers. He has pretty bad self-esteem issues, but it didn't take me to long to get him to stop being quite. He was a little unsure about his teaching, but he's doing better now. I'm slowly pushing him to be better. It's kinda fun. The weird thing is that I never thought about is how he wouldn't do anything with out me telling him to. He won't even eat breakfast with out me telling him to. he's getting better at that tho. All in all, I know he likes me and I've been showing him tons of love. He is way excited for baptism and we are going to get one this transfer for sure! It's amazing the blessings the boy has received. He hasn't had one mean person yell at him on a doorstep. Everyone he talks to is nice. . .I got a lot on my hands and it is way stressful. I'm doing great training and he's starting to learn social skills that he should have learned forever ago.

Email News!

Transfer calls came on Monday.  Elder Morris is staying at the same address in Seguin.  BUT he has some exciting news!!  He is becoming a senior companion, and he gets to train a brand new missionary straight from the MTC!  This is a pretty exciting leadership opportunity, especially since he's only been out for 7 and a half months!  He is nervous, but also excited to be the best senior companion and trainer he can be.  He knows he is prepared.  

And as you can see from the pictures, Nathan baptized Chris on November 9.  :)

Also, I added a new element to the blog.  If you would like to get notifications on when there are new posts, click the link that says "follow this blog".  The link is at the top of the left column right above Nathan's addresses.  You can follow publicly or privately.  

November 3, 2008

Day light savings time is throwing me off.  I feel ready for bed way too soon now.  What's a typical P-Day for me?  I wake up and do my laundry.  After that's all done we drive 15 miles to the New Braunfels library.  You know, we all email and such.  After that, we go shop and play.  This P-Day we went fishing.  I caught 3 fish.  Pretty sweet!  I threw them back, of course.  I still don't know how I feel about fish.  I'm a lot less of a picky eater now that I have to eat everything.  After 6:00, we do normal missionary stuff, and at night I write letters.  

November 7, 2008

Journal sticker: "Discribe your airplane ride to the mission field and back home."  I was so excited to get on the plane and meet the President, my companion, and my first investigator.  Elder Leonard and Dutson were way excited too!  They both got seats together in the back of the plane (little did I know that this would be a foreshadowing of the mission field.)  I walked to my seat thinking the plane was tiny.  I had to scrunch down because the ceiling was so low.  I was seated by myself.  It was slightly depressing to be seated away from all the other missionaries, but I practiced my spanish the whole way.  There was tons of turbulence landing.  I'm for sure that wasn't normal.  As for the ride home... I expect a bigger plane.  I expect to sit with my friends. 

As for Elder Dutson and Elder Leonard being a foreshadowing... You see, they have always been together in the mission field.  As a matter of fact, they are both serving in Riverside right now.  It is in Austin and it's a completely spanish speaking ward.  There are 6 elders that belong to this ward.  These 6 elders go to church together and eat dinner together.  I am only a little jealous!  :)  They get to see each other every day.

Doesn't praying for help on things like cello seem so cool?  It really does help.  I love how the Lord will help you out when you ask.  LOL!  For some things...  Funny story.  You remember my way swollen eye?  Well, the night before I prayed for help getting wicked sweet abs.  I think the eye was the Lord telling me to be a little less vain and worry more about the work.  

October 26, 2008

Share your thoughts and feelings of your first baptism. My first on paper baptism was Koby. He was baptized on my 2nd day in the mission field. I was glad that he was getting baptized but I didn't feel connected to him at all. He is 9. I mean, it was a walk in baptism. I felt silly and awkward. I knew no one. I felt unready. My mind was exploding from just getting in the field. All in all, it didn't feel satisfying at all. I felt like I had robbed someone's baptism. It's ok though, because I became friends with him later. I think I have pretty much explained many other baptisms. I don't talk about this one much, just because it doesn't feel like it was mine.

In your first wonderful letter you asked about the seasons here. Man, it's getting cold for my liking here in Texas. It gets to 50 degrees in the mornings. You know how I hate the cold. It's still pretty warm in the day though. It did rain here in seguin... I wish it would do that more. We don't have seasons in Texas. It never turns into Autumn. Leaves do fall, but they don't change color on the trees. It's kinda like the tree sheds it's leaves. It rains when ever it feels like it. We don't get snow, but if it rains during the day, it gets cold enough at night to turn the ground into ice in winter time. I hear spring time here is way awesome! Tons of Texas wild flowers. I LOVE RAIN TOO!

Guess what prayer of ours finally got answered?!? CHRIS IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!! That's right. Es verdad! Can you believe it? I always knew he would, I just didn't know if I would see it. He is getting baptized on the 9th of November. Here is how it went down. Chris had been canceling on us for family stuff he needed to do. It was a big bummer. He kept coming up with really stupid doubts. Anyways, because he had been canceling, we hadn't seen him in a while. His wife called and said that Chris had too many questions that she couldn't answer and that we needed to come over and make an appointment. She's really cute, she always makes phone calls to us behind his back to keep us updated on him. She really wanted him baptized. So we called Chris and made an appointment with him that day. Side note: A general authority came from the 70 earlier this week to talk to our mission. He he talked about using the BOM more in our teaching will lead to more baptisms. I felt like we needed to read Alma 32 with Chris focusing on acting on the spirit. So we did. The spirit was there so strong! After we finished teaching, we asked him what he thought. He said "this teaches me I need to make the next step which is baptism, but I don't know." I said "where did you get baptism?" Man, all I can say is that the Lord blinded my eyes. Read Alma 32:16. I then pointed to him and said "Chris, that is the spirit telling you what you need to do. Think how much more that scripture means to you now because it was taught to you by the spirit." How could no one point out verse 16? That was a bombin' scripture! It's cause the Lord knows what he's doin'! It was awesome. He said he wasn't sure about his family, but we told him that he needs to be the example. Man, Finger and I taught with such unity. We asked when felt good for baptism and he said the 9th and we planned it all out. Just another general authority promise come true. I love it how the Lord's servant's promises always come true.

P.S. I'm gonna be dippin' chris!

October 14, 2008

I'll update you a little more on what's happened.  Um.... Kristen is still getting baptized!  Guess who she picked to baptize her?  ME!  :)  She said she wanted someone to do the baptism who was as excited about the baptism as her!  Man am I excited.  I LOVE missionary work!  LOL.  She hugged Elder Finger and me.  Her boyfriend, Jeremy, explained later how she probably shouldn't do it.  She was a little embarrassed, but she understood.  We had a good laugh about it.  She hugged us cause she was excited.  Nothing romantic like.  No need to be worried. 

We had a lesson with Chris today too.  He seems like he is becoming more open.  He's coming along.  He doesn't believe that the doctrine of the Catholics is right.  He actually emailed his dad and questioned him.  This is a big step.  Maybe he won't feel he need to hold back if his parents won't stop him.  He told us that he now understands why he has to be baptized by immersion.  He will make it.  Pray for him.  

Describe my stay at the MTC...  It was such a spiritual high, at the same time it was a blast!  Our zone had so much fun together.  There was a new drama happening every week.  People were going home left and right.  Side note:  Hermana Kliesler is back in the MTC and will be coming to the TSAM next transfer.  Back to the question at hand.  I was so ready to leave the MTC by the end of it.  I couldn't stand being there another second  I just wanted to teach someone real.  Everyone looked up to me because I was older too.  They expected me to change Dutson.  That was a laugh and a half because I wouldn't change him for the world.  Miracles happened to me in the MTC.  Just know that the MTC is very dear to my heart.  

What was it like meeting my mission president.  It was only slightly nerve racking!  lol.  It was tough.  It felt like meeting the prophet.  You know this man had the power to see through your soul, and would also be the one to decide your fate for the next 2 years.  He is sooooo amazing though.  He is always smiling.  He knows how to say things to rebuke you, but still make you feel good.  He has so much love for everyone.  Fun experience... Seguin hasn't had a baptism in like 3 years, the ward had lost all faith and trust.  Now we've had 3 baptisms, one a month!  When Pres. saw us, he gave us a big punch in the chest and said "You're doin' it in Seguin!!!"  Man, that felt good.  He used to be a star football player and coach... hence the punching.  

My first holiday in the MTC was Mothers Day.  Holidays and the outside world don't mean much in the MTC.  LOL!  I could barely remember what day of the week it was.  I would always have to look at my planner to know.  So it didn't mean much.  The first holiday that sucked was the 4th of July.   I told you all about that though.  It was a big "I miss Jami" day.  

Did I have a period of culture shock?  There wasn't much of a culture shock in UC.  Just tons of Texas pride.  I did have to get over the fact that not everyone is as elect as the people in the TC.  I didn't think there would be so much knocking.  I also didn't know there would be so many non-denominational churches.  The upset me!  It's the build-a-bear church.  I wanna keep this sin, but not that.  I don't have to go to church, he's in my heart. A lot of people are confused and refuse to pray.  The bigger culture shock was in Seguin.  Country Texas is for sure different than city Texas.  There is so much history in this small ghetto gang-filled town.  Cholos everywhere!  It's so poor, but you got your way rich too.  There is the biggest ranch here with exotic animals.  Tons of farm work and service to do.  Everyone is either a pure Texas hick or a gangster.  They have the most beautiful homes here too.  Wrap around porches and everything.  It's like South Haven here.  I love it so much!  

October 12, 2008

Today was Sunday.  Sunday is a big day in the life of a missionary.  Not just because of the Sabbath, but because it is when investigators show progression for the week.  We had 4 investigators show up for church.  Let's go through and talk about them.  We will start with the miracle story of Kristen.  She is the girlfriend of an RM in the ward.  They came to our gospel principles class (the one for investigators).  The topic for that day was temple marriage.  Well, she decided with Jeremy that if they were to get married, it would be in the temple.  It was really good, but she said she'd call us when she was ready to be taught.  Guess what?  It's been about 3 weeks, and she called us back.  She read all of "Our Search for Happiness."  We met with her last Tuesday and taught her all of the restoration.  She had a bunch of questions written down that she had about the book.  She wanted to wait until the end of the lesson to ask them, but funny enough the Lord guided us in answering all of her questions.  She wanted to be taught again, and soon.  So we set up an appointment for that Thursday. We taught her about the plan of salvation and stressed baptism. At the end of the lesson, we asked her how she felt about baptism.  She said "I'm EXCITED!"  with the biggest smile on her face.  So we asked her how she felt about the 19th .  She immediately accepted.  She had it almost all planned out today.  She has such a strong testimony of the gospel.  So next sunday we have a baptism!  

Investigator #2.  Chris.  Chris came to the baptism of Andy and liked it.  He was really happy and you could tell that he could feel the spirit.  We got him interviewed by the DL and the ZL.  They said that he isn't ready but he isn't far behind.  They both received an answer from the spirit saying that he is pushing the spirit away because he is afraid to receive his answer. There is some big concern that he is holding on to that he won't let go of.  I feel the same way I did in the beginning with him.  That his parents are holding him back.  He feels very strongly in honoring his mother and father, even though they abused him as a child.  Well, we went with him and his parents to the Seguin Rodeo.  Just to tell you how funny Texas is... they shut down everything for 3 days for this Seguin Fair/ Rodeo.  They let kids have school off and everything.  Rodeos are big in Texas.  So we try talking to his dad to soften his heart.  I can see why he is holding Chris back.  He said to us "I know you are just doing this for your riches."  I explained how we don't get paid. His reply was "No, your riches in heaven."  I tried my hardest to let him know that we were only there for Chris, but he wouldn't believe us.  He is a mean stubborn old man.  It's too bad.  At church this Sunday, Chris pretty much led the discussion.  He gave very spiritual insights that were definitely given to him by the spirit.  He knows the doctrine so well.  I know he has a testimony and that he's just afraid to act upon it.  He's coming along though so pray for the best.  

We next have Marshall.  He is the one that gained a huge testimony from conference.  He decided that after he was done watching conference, that he would stay on his computer and look up Mormons on YouTube.  Just in case you were wondering, YouTube isn't the place to find good things about Mormons.  We luckily went and talked to him during the week.  He was antied like crazy.  He still came to church on Sunday!  We also have an appointment with him on Wednesday.  (email update: They had to drop Marshall cause he was too "antied."  He thinks that if Mormons would have church on Saturday and celebrate passover, it would be the true church.  He refused to pray about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.  So they dropped him and Nathan and Elder Finger were both sad.)

Investigator #4 is Olitha.  She is the sweetest black lady.  Looks just like a southern black lady should.  She just showed up at church!  She felt like she wanted to know more and this is where she needed to be.  The biggest problem we have is that she lives in San Marcos.  That's not even in our zone.  She tried the church there and didn't like it.  She said she wants to come to our church, so hopefully it works out.  She is coming down to Seguin later this week to be taught... just to be taught!  That is a sign of true electness.  

We didn't have this investigator show up and it's slightly upsetting.  Her name is Monique.  She is Grandma Sligr's granddaughter.  Grandma Sliger is an old lady we do a lot of service for.  She wasn't active till we stared bringing her back to church.  Well, Monique is living with her now.  She has ben for the past 2 weeks.  We've been teaching Monique.  She knows everything is true, but she doesn't want to be baptized.  The only way she will have a desire to come and be baptized is if she goes to church.  Well, she missed all of conference because Grandma Sliger found it more important to bake a pie or do something with the truck.  Grandma Sliger wouldn't sit down for just 2 hours to watch conference, and she's the one that wants her to be taught.  She didn't make it this week as well because she went to San Antonio for some reason.  Really upsetting.  We are probably gonna have to drop them.  

Letter From Elder Morris to the Wonderful Beck Family

Hey guys,
  Thank ya'll for the package. I'm sorry I'm such a crummy writter. I'm trying to do better. I loved the pictures of ya'll. Nick, man you look big. Who are you cheering for football this year? Did I ever tell you how big Texas is into football. Have you ever seen the show Friday Night Lights? That's filmed in Texas. It's so funny, you can't talk to people on friday nights because they are all at the high school football game. They have halftimes that are like the super bowl. It's crazy! I love it tho. I have a baptism coming up this sunday! I'm so excited. Her boyfriend, who is a member, toatlly did all the work. She was ready to be baptised in 2 days of us talking to her. She has such a strong testimony. Way too go for the member missionary. Did I tell ya'll that I'm 6'4' now. So Nick, you still got more catching up to do. IT's so blasted fun out here in the country. LOL! they shut down school for a day because the Rodeo was comin' into town. We have tons of investigators right now. too many to mention. they all came from member refferals. So, make sure you are gettin' your friends to church. Just pray for missionary experinces or for your friend to come to church, and the Lord will give it to you. I know it's true. They'll be able to feel the differnce if they go just once. I love ya'll tons and miss you too. Here is a great big YEAAHAWWW from your Texas Elder. Ya'll be strong now, ya hear!

October 6, 2008

There were throngs of investigators at conference.  We were actually faltering in the actual member department, but lots of investies.  I'm sure the members just watched it at home on TV.  Comference was such a blessing in so many ways.  Didn't it just feel awesome?!  

Let me tell you a little about Chris.  He went to a wedding last weekend that was a mormon/catholic wedding.  Bad combo.  A lot of the catholics were talking bad about the mormons.  Chris didn't say anything, but it seemed to make him a bit hard hearted.  Even though that happened, he stayed for the 3rd hour of church.  He has never done that since I've been here, but we got him to stay  We helped him on Wednesday put in a hard wood floor for his kitchen and he was just mad.  I figured it was because putting in hard wood is tough.  We taught him a lesson on Friday and he didn't seem to want to listen.  He just fought with us the whole time.  He didn't keep his commitment of the word of wisdom.  He said we never explained to him why it was wrong.  But we did, and he knew it was wrong.  Therefore we went over the importance of prayer and sacrifice.  We taught how very important it is to pray and to read your scriptures.  We told him that if he prays to have questions answered at conference, the Lord will bless him and answer all his questions.  We taught him the word of wisdom is something he needs to do to show his love and sacrifice to the Lord.  He needs to give up tea so he can get answers.  Well, I left that appointment upset.  It seemed he was back to his old self.  He then came to all 4 sessions of conference.  You could slowly see him getting happier and his hard edge melted away.  All of his questions were answered, as promised.  It was such a conference miracle.  He is taking us to a baptism in New Braunfels (sp?) on Tuesday so he can see what it's like.  It took this guy 3 years to get baptized, so maybe he can talk to Chris.  Pray that he will understand the spirit he feels there.  

On to Marshall.  Marshall is a member referral.  His neighbor, bro Dykes, is who told us to visit him.  Se, Bro Dykes has a Home Improvement thing going on with Marshall.  They talk over the fence.  Marshall was talking to himone day when out of now where Marshall said "you know what churches are missing these days?  REVELATION!"  LOL.  Bro Dykes informed him of our church.  He came 3 sundays but he won't let us teach him.  His wife won't even say hi when we come to visit.  She was never happy to see us.  He somehow got his wife to come with him to conference.  They both gained a testimony of the gospel and really are happy to see us now.  The thing is that Marshall wants to research on his own.  He said he would get back to us in a couple of weeks.  Pray that he lets us teach him sooner.  

Then we have Monique.  Her grandma is Grandma Sliger.  She knows the church is true but doesn't know if it's the only true church.  She didn't come to conference because her grandma found better things to do.  This is way frustrating.  Pray that Monique will keep her commitments and gain a stronger testimony and a desire to gain knowledge.  

September 21, 2008

This last letter from Elder Morris was just a bunch of answers to questions I asked him.  The answers might seem kind of random, but it's cause the questions were kind of random too.  Lots of them are in response to new pictures that he sent.  I'll put up the new pictures tonight too.  Here are some answers that ya'll might like to read.

Elder Finger... what am I learning... I guess I'm learning what I want to do when I'm a senior companion.  He has taught me better ways to teach.  Like leaving right after a lesson so the spirit leaves with.  That way they can notice the difference when you leave them.  I have also learned I don't like it when someone taps their brakes to the beat of the music.  LOL.  You would be so proud of me with my lack or road rage these days.  

The pepto took care of my flu almost instantly.  Thanks babe.  I'm not afraid of snakes... just a little scared of ones that can eat my arm.  As you can see, I got over it.  My thrift store pants are super comfy.  I love them.  I am excited to burn my year mark shirt.  It means progress.  I love progression.  Plus, I will still be a missionary, just with a little more experience under my belt.  I want to hear all about politics.  I have to vote and I don't know who to vote for!  I know nothing.  I am good and healthy and happy as well. 

September 29, 2008

Nathan emailed some pictures yesterday. They are of him and Elder Finger building a deck for an investigator. Also he didn't get transferred this time around. He will be with Elder Finger in Seguin for at least 6 more weeks. He sounds healthy and happy and is seeing many blessings from his sacrifice to serve. Enjoy the pictures! I think he looks great! :)

September 8, 2008

First off, a couple of disclaimers:

1. Nathan is safe and dry from Hurricane Ike.  Luckily the storm that was predicted to go straight through Seguin somehow skirted around it, and they only experienced light rain.  Lucky duck.  

2. The lack of blog updates is in no way a representation of the status of my relationship Elder Morris.  :)  I have been extremely busy with the start of my graduate program, and on top of that I don't have an internet connection at my new apartment.  So be patient with me and I'll update when I can.  I'm happy to say that Nathan and I are still good as ever.  

Here is some of the letter that I received from Nathan on September 8, 2008:

Here are answers to your questions about Elder Finger.  1) What is his full name?  Joshua James Finger.  2) Where is he from?  Garden Grove California.  It's next to Disneyland.  3) Where does he fit in his family? Second to last in a family of 6 kids.  His little sister is 5.  He has 5 nieces.  4) What did he do in high school?  He was QB of his football team.  He played 2nd base and shortstop in baseball.  He likes baseball more but his dad was the coach of his high school football team.  He also surfed, hung out on the beach, and went to the mall.  5) What are his 5 favorite bands/ artists.  MxPx, Jack Johnson, and Blink 182.  6) How long has he served in Texas? 1 year and a little bit.  His year mark was on the 29th.  7) What is his greatest strength? His desire to serve the Lord.  8) What is he afraid of?  snakes!  9) What is his favorite p-day activity?  Playing sports.  Mostly football or baseball.  10) Who is his hero?  His dad.  His superheros are spiderman and the flash.  This is his first time as senior companion.  

I should tell you more about our investigators.  I'll start with Alex.  He is the one I baptized yesterday.  He is awesome.  He has cerebral palsy.  It effects your nervous system.  He is way smart and definitely accountable.  We met him because he ordered a Bible from the TV.  After we gave him his Bible we told him about another book... the Book of Mormon.  Alex told us about how God had let him know that who ever was behind this commercial is where he needed to be.  He listened to the restoration and loved it.  He knew it was true from the beginning.  We found out his wife died 2 years ago, so when he found out about the plan of salvation, he loved it.  He came to church and actually knew some people there.  Even more perfect.  His brother is a member too.  The earliest you can get baptized in this mission is 3 weeks.  You have to show up 3 Sundays.  Alex did just that.  He was prepared and elect. 

 

You should know a little bit about the ward.  Out ward is a little less than friendly to missionaries.  That's changing hough.  They closed down this area because of some stupid missionaries.  They weren't doing anything and he ward know about it and lost all trust in them.  Not just trust in the stupid missionaries, but all missionaries.  They just reopened it 3 months ago.  We've been able to get through o a lot of people, but people made sure to let me know that they didn't like the old missionaries and I better be better.  Well, I know that I am, so we're good on that.  So We are working on it.  Pres. Cutler is aware and thinks we are doing a great job.  

You remember Alfredo and Astrid, right?  They were supposed to be baptized on my birthday.  Let me tell you the worry of all missionaries.  Wednesday before they got baptized we invite a member to their last lesson.  He starts to go off on deep doctrine.  This is the worst.  After this, Alfredo didn't feel ready so we delayed their baptism for a week.  Next thing we know, Alfredo comes at us with questions like "what do the 12 oxen under the baptismal font in SLC mean" and "what is God's real name".  He was working on proof instead of faith.  He just wanted proof.  We taught him that these questions are great but they are not important to know to get into heaven and you don't need to know them before you get baptized.  Of course we answered all of his questions but then he wanted proof from the Bible.  So we taught him the restoration completely from the Bible.  It still wasn't good enough.  He hasn't been back to church since that Wednesday and so we dropped him.  Sad Story.  The moral of the story is that you need milk before meat.      

 

August 21, 2008

"So... drum roll please... rum pum pum bum... I have been transfered to Seguin.  I'm sure you know that by now.  So I'm still in the East Zone.  That means Elder Moore and I are still in the same zone.  We are on other sides of the zone byt we will stil see each other every once and a while.  Sweet, eh?

     So they put me in the country.  My area is so big.  If you start at one end and drive to the other, it takes 1 1/2 hours going 70 mph.  You guessed it... I'm in a car area.  It's about as red neck as you can get out here too.  Thick Texas accents.  

     More about baptism Bill.  We met Bill the Wednesday before transfers.  Keep in mind this whole time I didn't know I was gonna be transfered.  Elder Moore and I were praying really hard to find someone this week to come to church.  If someone came to church this Sunday  then they could be baptized by the 31st.  We were supposed to go on pair-ups that night- meaning that a high priest was going to drive us to all our appointments.  When we do this with them we are supposed to try and schedule appointments to teach at the time they are supposed to go on pair-ups.  This way the high priests don't get bored and they will tell all the other high priests what a great time they had.  The only problem is... zero investigators.  All the appointments we made had cancelled too.  What were we to do?  Well, I'll tell ya... we had a list of about 50 less active members that the bishop gave us to go see.  This isn't the funnest activity for a high priest but it's all we had.  Elder Moore picked the name Scott.  While we were teaching Scott, someone pulled up and waved to the high priest who was with us.  He said it was his friend Bill and that we should go visit him.  So we all went over for a visit.  Lets put together all the things that made this possible by the Lord:  There was only one thing holding Bill back from being baptized and that was his wife.  Funny enough he had just barely seperated from her. Bill is the very definition of "elect" (D&C 29) .  Before we could tell him about the need for a prophet in this day he said "I don't see how anyone could say that there is no need for a prophet!"  WOW!  We told him he had to give up coffee and he paused for about 3 seconds then said "Okay, if it's what needs to be done I'll do it!".  We committed him to baptism for the 31st and he said "Of course!".  We warned him about transfer calls that night but told him not to worry cause no one gets transferred after only 2 transfers.  Urrrrrrn!!  Wrong!  LOL.  You know the rest.  I got transferred to Seguin and no Bill baptism for me.  But guess what?!  We are baptizing two people on my birthday, Alfredo and his wife.  The next week after that will be three more!  Rudy and his wife-to-be, Isabelle, and Alex.  They'll be baptized on the 7th of September.  That will be 5 in two weeks James!!  Oh the Tender Mercies of the Lord.  We have to teach the law of chastity to Rudy and Isabelle.  That will be my first time.  Fun, eh?  

     Right now the mission has 102 baptisms committed for August.  This might be the month we finally get our goal of 100! I'm so excited!  It sucked saying goodbye to UC ward.  I'll miss them.  Bro. Tiemann took me and Elder Moore on a little tour of Randolf air fore base.  It's such a cool base.  It was sad going to church on Sunday and not having my UC family.  I don't know how to explain.  I'm way excited for my new Seguin family, but it made me slightly trunky for UC.  LOL.  

     The story of Charlie the wet squirrel:  Elder Moore and I were doing our weekly planning.  It was raining like crazy, which caused a lake to form outside our sliding door.  I looked over and saw something fall from the sky.  Well, it was Charlie skydiving into the lake.  Sadly Charlie wasn't feeling so hot after this.  So we took him inside and cared for him.  He was shaking so we dried him off and wrapped him in a warm towel.  In a while he was better, after he took a nap, and then we let him go.  There's Charlie's story!  :)  

August 25, 2008 email

I got transfered with my new companion... Elder Finger!!!!! Lol! sweet name ah: well, to tell you breifly about this place, its way a hick town. Its a country area, meaning its farm ville. LOL! it takes 1.5 hours to get from one side of my area to the other going 70mph. thats right, Im in a car area. I am going to try so hard not to get fat! There is tons of spanish in this area, now I just need to speak it. I hate that I sometimes get shy with new things. I hate feeling like people are judging my spanish. That will stop right now. This is for sure a Different kind of living here. All day saturday we did servous. We tore a whole deck down and built a brand new one. A lot of hard work to do here. 

August 18, 2008 email

Guess what... I am getting transfered. don't send a letter to the UC. funny enough, we just found success too. someone we talked to 5 weeks ago decided to call us and ask if he could come to church. Another person we met when doing pair ups with a high priest that wasn't suppose to be there. he just happened to come with us. We met his friend, bill. Bill came to church. We taught Bill that night. Comitted him to be baptised on my birthday. HE SAYS YES!!! That very night I get told I'm being transfered... no birthday baptism:(

August 8, 2008... 08/08/08!!

I added up the number of return lessons I have taught since I've been here... I can count them on one hand.  It's really sad how hard the hearts are of the people of UC.  I walked up to a man and asked him if he needed help with anything and he treated me like scum.  All I wanted to do was make the man happy and I got treated nothing like what I thought the position of an Elder should be.  This happens all the time.  People who won't shake your hand, people who say "not interested" before you even say hi.  Lets just say I thought christians would be more christ-like.  

My zone just won The Shoe.  It goes to the zone that has the most baptized in the mission.  My zone has only won it 2X in the last 8 years.  We got 12 baptisms last month which means TSAM history!  It's awesome and I feel way excited for everyone.  It really sucks to have not contributed to it though.  

We dropped Marie officially.  We told her that she would receive her answer when she was finally willing to act.  We told her she can call us any time and to keep coming to church and reading the BOM, but we've taught her all we can.  We also dropped Jessica, she said she felt guilty reading, and wasn't willing to read.  That officially drops our investigator pool down to zero.  Big. Fat. Zero.  

We recently had interviews with President Cutler.  I told him how it was tough for me.  I have the truth and no one is willing to listen.  No one will even let me mow their lawn.  They won't let me do one thing to make them a little happier.  Pres. Cutler asked me what I could be doing better.  I told him that I could be better at talking to everyone.  I sometimes don't talk to a couple of people.  He said "fine, work on that."  Next, he read me Alma 20:30.  Stop and read it now!!  :)  It answered the question of what was wrong, but brought up the question of why me...

Why had the Lord picked me to go to UC?  Why didn't he choose someone who could actually do good for them?  Did he stick me here cause I was unworthy to teach others?  Why weren't my prayers of teaching somebody working?  It got to the point where I was pretty much going through a checklist just to be obedient, but I had no faith in the UC people.  

We just went to the temple last Thursday and I went with 2 questions:  What can I do better?  and why do I have to go through this dry spell?  I got a confirmation that I was doing my best and I could do better at talking to everyone.  As I was pondering about the second question, I remembered something a lady said to me earlier that day.  She said "I'm glad you talked to me today.  Having people challenge you really strengthens your faith."  Then I felt the spirit say "I am strengthening your testimony for later when I need you!"  I thought about how much my testimony has been strengthened.  I really have grown so much.  I can see how the Lord is strengthening me and blessing me.  I wish I could help people more.  I say this, but it turns out that with my last two companions, this is the area that they both have done the most service in.  

Anyway, it was a big (even though it should have been small) problem that I faced.  I started writing this letter when I had reached a breaking point and finished it with my answer!

July 31, 2008

"BAM!  Ask and ye shall receive!  We found a family and 2 investigators yesterday! I'll tell you if they actually follow through.  

We went to go see Tarnail (sp?) ... one of our return investigators, and he gave us a bum address and phone number.  I guess he's not elect.  :)  

UPDATE:  Those investigators all dropped out.  It's so funny how people are excited to hear when you talk to them but you leave them alone for a day and they get lazy or just poop out.  We didn't drop Marie.  We re- committed her to everything.  She didn't come to church because she thought that people wouldn't want her there because she isn't baptized.  Silly Marie!  The only thing stopping her is her family.  She knows it's true, but she doesn't have a strong enough testimony to give it up.

P.S. I don't think that Jennifer and Kevin are ever coming back.  It's all ok though.  It's way tough working so hard and getting nothing, but I know the Lord will bless us.  Even now he's blessing me by strengthening my testimony and knowledge. " 

July 30, 2008

"You know how I said we were out of our dry spell?  I was wrong.  The only return appointment we have had in the last 2 weeks is Jessica (23 year old beautiful girl we wanted to set up with mission leader's son"  and she won't even read one page of the pamphlet we gave her.  We are dropping Marie today too.  That means we have no investigators.  We have been knocking a lot and working with members.  Pray we find someone soon!"

July 14, 2008

"My new companion is Elder Moore. He is 5'6" tall. He is half peruvian. His mom is the one from Peru.  Luckily he speaks Spanish.  Now I just have to get over my nerves with Spanish and actually talk to him in Spanish.  

It was a tough week!  We have totally spent the last 4 days having all our investivators drop out on us.  No one was making appointments, members weren't willing to help us, and we spent all of our time knocking on doors and having them slammed in our faces.  One time Elder Moore told a lady to have a nice day and she said " I hope you fall and break your head!"  Needless to say, she wasn't willing to be taught the lessons.  We also had one of our favorite families from the ward tell us that Marie, the old lady German investigator with the bamboo, was just taking advantage of us, and they weren't willing to have her in their home.  All we wanted was for the father to tell her how he made the step from being catholic to being mormon.  She comes to church every Sunday, she's only been investigating for 2 months, and she keeps all her commitments.  Her only problem is that she grew up catholic, and this man wants us to drop her.  Lets just say that I wasn't too happy that one of my favorite families basically stated that they don't trust me and aren't willing to help.  

Elder Moore decided to go through the area book and see if there were any old investigators that we could pick up.  By this time, we were having no success knocking over 6 hours a day.  The area book has old information on what other missionaries have done in the area.  We checked some out and found 2 new investigators while doing it.  The Lord really blessed us."

Pictures from July 28, 2008

July 21, 2008

Kevin went to go be with Jennifer in Arizona.  They said they should be back wednesday. It was really funny because we get a call at 8 in the morning and he's asking for a ride to the bus station. We called up my favorite family in the ward and they took him. Lets hope it all works out.
        Joe [favorite family in the ward] is our ward mission leader. He has to be the coolest guy ever. He is retired Air Force, but he works as a Math teachor for 5th grade now. He always knows what to say to our investigators. He always takes us out to eat and drives us to our appointments. He's a convert that is very concerned about the work. He is awesome. His son Karl is just as cool!  His son Karl is an Army man and he is huge!!!! He is actually the one that played the trick on me my first day. Funny thing tho... He is just as concerned about the work and he is always helping anywhere he can. He is a service project man. He helps anyone that is willing. Which means he helps us a lot.

     After a huge week long dry spell, We found this 23 year old girl. She is BEAUTIFUL. Well, we cant teach her alone. So we just happened to bring along are very good looking 23 year old male, Karl. Man the lesson went great! They were able to connect on so many levels and you can see so much electness in her. Every once in a while you get glimpses of the future. Like you can toatlly see the person you're talking becoming the bishop or the Relief Soceity Pres. Well, You could toatly see these two getting married in the temple. It was awesome. He name is Jessica. I'll keep you posted on her.
      We also had a great lesson with Marie at Joe's home. We found out a lot of her concerns. Her family controls her finacil spot right now. They are feeding her money and she feels that they will abbandon her if she gets baptised. They are strong Catholic. We will see how that goes, but she showed emotion, which is a great sign. She will get baptised. Lets hope it's while I'm still here.

July 7, 2008

"I am sitting on my blue couch.  I am wearing black socks, green scrub bottoms, and my Iron and Wine t-shirt.  It is POURING rain, so we came back to the apartment to pack Elder Shirts and be productive.  See, we can't ride bikes when it rains this hard, so we are waiting out the rain."

Nathan got a new companion, Elder Moore, on Thursday

.  He got to see his

 old companion Elder Dutson, and a good friend Elder Leonard, at transfer meeting.  Elder Shirts is now Elder Dutson's companion, and Elder Moore used to be Elder Leonard's companio

n, so their just swapping companions all over the place.  

Things aren't looking up for the Babbits.  They didn't keep their commitment to 

read and pray together, then the wife and kids left for Arizona, so they are just visiting Kevin who seems to have completely lost interest. Nathan says "I think the next time we see him I will be bold and tell him how to fix things... yep that feels right.  I know it will be better when Jenni

fer gets home.  Pray for them!  They are so close and Satan doesn't want us to save

 them from his grasp."  

July 4, 2008 Update on Kevin and Jennifer

Here is a quick update on Kevin and Jennifer.  The night before church we had an appointment with them.  We knocked and no one answered.  They live in our same apartment complex, so we just walked back home.  As we were doing that, we saw their lights turn on and off, so... we went back and knocked again but no answer.  We knew they were ignoring us.  

Next day we call them to remind them about church.  Jennifer apologizes and then states that probably only her and her son Kevie will make it.  They weren't there when sacrament started, so I was way bummed.  I look back during sacrament and see Jennifer, but someone is sitting next to her who isn't kevie.  It's Kevin, her husband!  

Side note... I told you that Kevin [had a very non-mormon lifestyle].  I didn't tell you though that we promised Jennifer that if she read her scriptures and prayed every day that she would see a difference in her husband and family and that Kevin would get better too.  The most we ever saw Kevin was when he was drunk or high telling us his wife wasn't home.  The second time we saw him, he shook our hands and ran out the door because he didn't want to be there to listen to our lesson.  

Back to Church.  I'm thinking how in the heck did she get him to come to church.  Kevie wasn't there, but I'll take Kevin for sure!  The stayed the whole 3 hours and everyone was so nice to them.  We tried to set something up to teach them with the family who is fellowshiping them, but they were busy.  By this time, Kevin still didn't seem very interested, but he came to church!  We made an appointment for Tuesday with them.  

Tuesday rolls around and we have an awesome Texas rainstorm.  We go walking into their house soaking wet, drenched in rain.  Kevin and Jennifer were in their room, so we sat in the living room with Kevie and Tina.  They were playing Halo.  Kevie promised to go to church if we would go fishing with him on P day.  After a good 1/2 hour, Jennifer and Kevin came and sat down.  Kevin... came... and sat with us... what?!  This was awesome!!  I was so excited.  The whole family was there and ready to be taught.  It's pretty tough to get a whole family together.  After the lesson, we asked Jennifer how she got Kevin to come.  She said that he decided to come on his own!  He said he just felt like he should go.  The great thing is that we promised Jennifer that if she read and prayed that she would see a difference in her husband.  If she was strong and was the example, that he would follow.  I love that the Lord always comes through on his promises if we obey.  First she noticed that he's been drinking less, and now this!  He came all on his own, Jami!  Isn't that awesome! We asked him what he thought about it, and he loved it.  He says that he can feel the spirit.  He feels really calm and good.  They're going to have dinner with us on saturday.  Keep praying for them.  Pray for Tina and Kevie to come to church.  Thanks for praying.  You can tell it makes a difference!  

June 23, 2008

Nathan is still healthy and happy and HOT in Texas, but he loves it.  He loves his mission president and says that he's a real "man's man".  His companion, Elder Shirts, is making him learn all of the rules on his own, and it sounds like he's frustrated by that.  He says that his comp is a hard worker, but sarcastic.  His favorite food that he's eaten so far is Texas brisket.  It sounds like he does a lot of studying, a lot of service, and a lot of teaching.  He says to still pray for the Kevin and Jennifer.  

Elder Morris's Revival Camp Sermon

This is Elder Morris still in the MTC.  I'm glad to see that he's still the same ol' Nathan!

June 16, 2008

"If you have allergies, Texas is not the place for you.  You need some major drugs if you are going to live here.  I no longer hurt from biking and my legs are getting huge!  I've decided that my headaches are from allergies and the heat.  It was over 100 degrees for the past week, and that was cool.  The humidity is overwhelming.  Funny enough, I love the weather.  I am never cold.  

I've decided that my bike is the antichrist because it does all it can to stop the work from progressing.  At one point in time the seat broke so it would not stay in place.  It spun around in circles!  Bike seats don't do that!  It works just fine now.  It has repented and we plan on baptizing it on Saturday.  JK!!  

We had zone conference and I got to see Hermana Folkner again! I hope you enjoy the picture.  I helped her wax her truck.  She's so cool.  At zone conference, the three people with the cleanest cars either get to trade cars with someone or get more mileage.  It's a fun game.  I was just helping her so that her truck wouldn't get taken away.  There's no way to make that truck the cleanest.  At zone conference, we had some great talks.  We got 95 of the 100 baptisms we want for the month.  Our new goal is to baptize one family.  Everyone in the zone has that goal.  Cool, eh?  Imagine... a family each!  We have this incredible family.  They are all navajo.  Jennifer is the wife.  Her brother is mormon and referred us to her.  They are a family of 4.  Jennifer, Kevin, Tina, and Kevie.  Jennifer and Kevie are so ready to be baptized and Tina is close behind.  We only found them 4 days ago.  Kevin is an alcoholic and is a little skeptical.  Pray for them!!!  They need it!!!  

I also went on exchanges for the first time Friday the 13th.  Every door I was chosen to knock on was cursed.  We had a guy threaten to kill us, a girl who was a wicken (a witch), and someone who had 5 rotwhiler dogs who tried to eat us.  All in all, it was really funny!  I did my first spanish door approach.  I rocked the house and the guy understood me... no return appointment though.  I did find one new investigator for them so it wasn't a total loss.  I learned a lot from them too."

First letter from Texas

I lost the first letter that Nathan sent me from Texas.  Instead of quoting from his letter, I'll just paraphrase what he said.  He just talked about how he loved his first plane ride and that the plane was smaller than he expected.  He said when he got off the plane in Texas, the airport felt like a steam room and smelled like BBQ.  He got to see our good friend Hermana (Lauren) Folkner at the transfer meeting.  His new companion is named Elder Shirts.  The first place they went tracting was the Alamo.  he said people on vacation don't want to be taught the gospel.  A bird pooped on his head while he was talking to his first contact.  He said it was funny.  His companion made him lead the first house they tracted  to and the guy came to the door with a big old club and told them that if they ever came back he'd beat them with it.  So they left, but his companion wanted to go back and see if anyone else in the house might be interested in hearing their message.  So Nathan reluctantly went back.  His companion led the second time, and the same guy answered the door and immediately knocked his companion to the ground and started beating him with his club.  Nathan said he had no idea what to do!!  Eventually his companion and the other guy started laughing.  Turns out it was the mission president's house, and the guy was his son, and they were joking around the whole time.  Elder Morris got punk'd! 

He is in an English speaking area with an english speaking companion.  He was kind of bummed about that at first, but he said that everyone in his district got sent to an English speaking area.  It sounds like it's what they do for new Spanish missionaries.  If they come in contact with a Spanish investigator, Nathan automatically leads the discussion, since his companion only speaks English.  

May 13, 2008

"I now weigh 190 lbs!!  (That's as far as it goes though.) I know because I had to go to the doctor.  Hermana Mortenson (my teacher) made me.  See, I've been sick since about the third day I came here.  I went to the doctor but he said that it would go away and to gargle salt water.  I even told him I was coughing up blood but he said that was normal.  Well, Hermana Mortenson made me go again last Saturday.  They took me to instacare.  They took tests and x-rays.  They told me I have bronchitis.  They took a look at the x-rays and found that I have a spot on my right lung.  They weren't sure what is was, so I had to get a CT scan.  It was so weird.  I was too tall for the machine and had to sit with my feet off the table.  After I was done they told me I had to wait a day for the results.  I was scared, I'm not gonna lie, but all is well... no cancer."

"Yep, I was sick for that long.  I'm better now though.  As for the spot... my comapnion gave me a blessing before I got the CT scan.  Nothing even showed up on the results.  The spot is gone."  

May 4, 2008

"You'll never guess where I am sitting right now.  My companion is giving the prayer at the Sunday night fireside.  I'm on the stand.  Pretty cool, eh?  We had to show up 45 min. early for the fireside.  We got to hear from one of the people that worked on Preach My Gospel.  He was great.  I hope one day I can come speak to the missionaries or be a mission president.  I wanna do something big and cool."  

April 25, 2008

" I am way happy but I did have a hard week.  I am struggling in Spanish but I guess everyone is.  I feel like everyone is getting it better.  i have a hard time remembering which verbs are which and how to conjugate them.  I did memorize the first discussion en espanol before everyone else though.  Nobody but me knows it yet.  I understand it all too.  See, the thing is I understand everything being said but I can't think of the words to say.  I know it will get better.  

Some of my favorites here... MAIL!  PACKAGES!  My companion, the food, the way I am changing with the spirit, spanish, thinking and dreaming in spanish, my teachers.  Everyone is really nice to me even though I am the oldest.  I love the gospel.  I am really good at the doctrine. "  

April 21, 2008

"I forgot to tell you... Janaca McDougal drove by the Provo temple and waved at me as I walked there! Speaking of the temple, Elder Dutson's mom stopped by to see him at the temple. We were walking back from doing a session on P Day and this lady honks at us. Anyway, his mom went out of her way to go by the temple just in case. It was funny to meet her. She was a lot like Tammy Beauchamp. She decided to pull over to the side of the road as we got back on campus so his sister could say hi. Needless to say, he got caught. He got chastised a little, but everything is okay. I hope she doesn't do it again. I would hate to have to turn him in."

April 14, 2008

"Mi companero is the youngest in the district and I am the oldest by far.  I get along with him very well.  He just has a hard time being a leader.  He has the great thoughts and mind of a leader but has troubles making decisions.  The district will ask him something and he will tell them to figure it out.  When we plan at night he has a hard time making choices that make sense.  He picks random times to do things.  He doesn't think through the planning.  I always have to keep us on track time wise.  I tell him where we need to be and when.  He doesn't care if we are late.  As a matter of fact, he doesn't care about many of the rules.  After saying all these bad things about him, I think it all comes down to that he isn't very organized and he hasn't had to be.  He is learning very quickly.  He's a very smart guy.  He really wants to do great things.  He spirit works between us.  We teach well together.  He asks me for advice a lot.  He's humble.  We have the same sense of humor.  We've pulled pranks on each other a lot.  It's like having a little brother.  He has some cool ideas.  He's altogether fun to be with.  I'm learning stuff from him too. He's getting way good at spanish.  He's better than me, but I'm working on that.  He's a good companion and I'm lucky to have him."  

April 6, 2008

(Talking about general conference...) "My favorite quote was 'Sin often wears the Halloween mast of tolerance'- Thomas S. Monson.  That was during the priesthood session.  I think that I forget that omitting or not doing something productive is a sin.  I also liked how all the apostles bore testimony of President Monson.  I think that was important.  Man, the Lord really slows down time here. It feels like I've been here a month.  I ned to use my time more wisely... I take it back.  I just wish I could learn more.  We have nuevos coming on Wednesday.  That means we'll stop being the nuevos.  LOL.  We shaved our legs as a district toady.  That was weird.  We're thinking about telling the nuevos to do it.  We have some elders going into the field tomorrow.  I'm so excited to do that.  I love my superman sheets and my watch. They make me a coveted man."

March 28, 2008

"My goodness, it has been a crazy couple of days. So much has happened! It still doesn't seem real yet. On the first day they sent us through a bunch of lines to give us stuff.  It was like walking though a Disneyland line.  My companion's name is Elder Braxton Dutson.  He is the oldest of 6 kids and is from Payson UT.  He is a pretty cool guy.  We're getting along great.  After I met him, my first thought was "Man, he's way young!"  He shows it sometimes but I still love him.  The mission president named him district leader.  He says we're going to be a great companionship.  I agree.  I'm so glad my companion doesn't suck! 

  After the first day at the MTC happened, the real first day came.  We had spanish call.  It was a lot to take in but I feel that I am being blessed.  I can understand so much!  A lot of the others have had more spanish than me, but I will catch up soon.  I got to get busy!  There is no time to rest here.  I'll see ya in 2 years!"