July 13, 2009

July 13


Mom and Dad-

I hope you don’t feel bad about the whole email thing. I knew that you didn’t just forget. Yeah I checked it right before I signed off and I still didn’t get it, but I really didn’t mind. I knew that that meant I would just get double the emails to read this week.

So a lot has happened in the last couple weeks. I am so excited about Blake. I will be home well before his first birthday so I will get to be there for the fun ages. I loved that picture you sent of Parker and Kenna. I love those two. The other pictures were great too. Casey and Brett still look like themselves. I had no idea that Dan Henderson was a patient of Andy’s, that is so crazy! I heard about the fight from a member in our ward who loves MMA so he always fills me in on the latest fights.

Training is going alright. Elder Adam struggles a bit with his confidence and has some social issues, but he has a really good heart and always tries his best. Although we don’t exactly mesh like Elder Gooch and I, we still are working really hard together so I am still happy. Besides, if I ever get really irritated or anything, I have two of the other Elders in the apartment to help me out. Theres not too much more that I have to do as the D.L. I have to give trainings every Tuesday for 60-90 min. and I have to call the sisters every night, and report our Districts numbers for goals and actual every week to the Zone Leaders. So its really not that much more work. Really the hardest part is training, which still isn’t even that bad.

We had a baptism this week by the way. I baptized Reid Stevens. It was a pretty stressful day. Reid is a really big kid, so we had him try on a jump suit about a week ago just to make sure it would fit him. So he put it on half way, and then said that it would work. We asked him if he was sure because he didn’t put it on all the way, and he said he was positive. So anyways, the baptism was at 3pm on Saturday, and Reid shows up at 2:50pm and when he tries on the Jump Suit, it doesn’t fit at all. So me and the Bishopric are making phone calls and stressing out trying to find something that works. By the time 3:30pm rolls around, we decided to have him put on half of the jumpsuit, and then where a white tuxedo shirt that he ran back home and grabbed. So it ended up working out, and everything was very peaceful after he was baptized, so yeah it was still a great day. Reid’s friends all came to the baptism, and one of them went up to the bishop afterward and told him that he had never had such strong feelings in his like than watching that ordinance, So we are going to start teaching him. We are also teaching another one of Reids friends who wants to be baptized as soon as possible, so we are excited about him as well. We are still teaching Alisha Striblan. She was smoking a pack a day and is now down to a quarter of a pack a day. She had a baptismal date for July 18, but we are going to push it back to the beging of August probably. So there are some great things happening here in Fort Walton.

Yes my Birthday is coming up, but no, you don’t have to get me anything. I have already spent too much on the home card. I have had all sorts of bike problems and I had to by that pair of pants. Both of the lights on my bike didn’t work any more because I crashed really hard last week, so I had to spend like $35 to get new lights. The Crash was pretty sweet. I was looking behind me to see if we missed a turn, and my front tire went into a curd and it mad my whole front wheel turn sideways causing me my bike to go from 15 mph to a sudden stop in a split second which then caused me to do a front flip with my bike still connected to my legs. So I laid on the ground for a second, and when I looked up, I realized we were in front of a crouded resteraunt and there were a lot of really cute girls outside who saw the whole thing. I impressed them with my skills I assume. So anyways, that is why I had to buy new lights. I could use some things for my birthday, but I just don’t want to make you get anything. For instance, my shoes are falling apart, so I could probably use some new shoes. And I need to get 3 of my shirts hemmed which will be about $21. We have a mall in our area and I found some shoes that would work well, I just don’t want to keep sucking up your money. Some little things you could send would be some good socks, some snack foods, a new tooth brush and some sensidine tooth paste, I don’t know. That is all really boring stuff. How about this, I will think of things that I really need today, and I will write a list and mail it to you, because I cant think of anything right now. A cool silk tie would be nice, but that isn’t a necessity.

Anyways, I miss you guys, and I love you so much. Tell katey to get pregenant. It will be sort of like the count Down baby and Ill get home right before she has it. That was random. So yeah I love you Mom, I love you Dad! I love you everyone else who is reading this!

Love, Josh