Aug 3, 09

Mom and Dad-

It has been so long since we have been to Lake Powel, I’m way jealous. You will have to take some good pictures for me. I am sorry that I haven’t been too good lately at sending pictures, I will do better. Yeah, I didn’t see the videos on the camera, but I will go back through them and double check. That is really cool that Ray was able to see Brett and Erik. That would be so much fun if Brett got Ray to stay down in Utah. I would love to have both of them there went I go. What day does Ray get home again? I know that it is sometime this month.

Our investigators are doing really well. Westley Smith and Torrin Caldwell are both set to be baptized on August 15. Then we are teaching a 9 year old kid whos parents are active but they never baptized him when he was 8, so he will be baptized very soon. Then we are still working with Alisha Striblan. She is so awesome. She has such a solid testimony of the Book of Mormon and she knows the Church is true. She is down to just 2 cigarettes a day. She has come so far. We gave her a blessing the other day, and there was just so much peace that she would overcome the addiction very quickly. There is another family that we just met recently that seems pretty solid as well. We were tracting a few weeks ago, and we ran into a kid about my age named Ramsee. He is a spitting image of me about 4 years ago, only not as dumb. He seemed really interested in having us come back. So we went back a few days later and he wasn’t there but his girlfriend was, and she also said she was really interested and that she was looking for a church like ours to join. So she said we could come back in a week. So when we came back to talk to Ramsee and his girlfriend Jordan, they were not there, but Ramsees mom was, and she was so golden! She was talking to us all about how Satan was trying to do all he could to tear her family apart because Ramsee was getting in trouble with this girl, and she was just so stressed because she loves her family so much and wants more for Ramsee. So we told her all about Gods plan for our Families and about the Plan of Salvaton and modern day prophets, and she loved every bit of it. She was just so smart and understood everything. So we are excited to start teaching them. As far as the rest of the week went, we just did a lot of tracting, and a lot of less-active visits. I cant think of any specific fun stories right now sorry.

We just got transfer information today. Im going to be staying in Fort Walton for another one! I will have been in this area for 9 months at the end of this transfer. I am very excited to stay, because there are so many good things happening here right now. This is the most success that I have seen on my whole mission, so it would be pretty sad to leave. At the same time though, I would like to see some other parts of the mission. All four of my areas so far have generally been pretty close to each other, so I kind of want some new scenery. Elder Adam is staying here as well. I get pretty frustrated with him sometimes, but that is my own pride. He is a hard worker, but we are just opposites in almost everything besides the work. Its been a good growing experience for me though, and this transfer will be another one, but I will survive haha.

Anyways, sorry I am boring this week, I will try to have some good stories for next week. Mom- I love you! Dad- I love you! I love you Family! Tell people to write me, checking the mail box is the most depressing part of every day haha.
Love, Josh