Monday, 5/26/14 - Sunday, 6/8/14

Monday – Today we found out Elder Rasmussen would go to Destin and I will be going to Theodore in Alabama. It’s basically lower Mobile. Had lunch with Sister Linares and her new husband and also Andrew and Jeffery Linares. Played basketball at our church because Twin Hills was closed. The Spanish Elders came down and that made it pretty fun. We also emailed at the Burbidge’s and got to take pictures with them. Landon also ended up punching Taylor right in the face but they got it together for the pictures. Ate at the Hartwell’s also and that was good. They are awesome people. Tried to see Wes but he was sleeping so we said bye to Erika Campbell, Erica, Alyssa and Cameron. Then worked on transfers.

Tuesday – Today was pretty great! Started off by going to our district meeting and it was really good. Elder Urquiaga is a good district leader. He always prepares well. Had our district leader activity and played some kickball. That was fun! I decided to do a little flip when I scored and it went all wrong and I landed on my hip. It didn’t hurt too bad in the moment but later on my wrist and hip were real sore. Then we hurried over to see Theresa and Ariel. Ariel wasn’t home at first so we chatted for a while and the Sisters also showed up because they had an appointment with her. So we took some pictures and said goodbye when Ariel got there. We saw the Barbecho’s briefly and they wanted us to come by tomorrow. Then we ate dinner with the Cochran’s. It was a good time as always. Dropped a dish off to the Burton’s and he showed us his wife’s cool gun. Then we went to the Bissen’s for one last time. Andy told us we were the coolest missionaries he has known and that meant a lot.

Wednesday – First thing today Brother Dunn picked us up in his sweet Nissan Altima. Such a cool car! We taught Jerry Barnett and unfortunately he wasn’t interested in meeting any more. He told us he didn’t feel our church was right for him. He is a great guy and I got his email. Tried to see Daniel Curry but that fell through so we stopped by Pat’s but he wasn’t there. Brother Dunn also took us to Lenny’s to get a sub sandwich. It is a good place. Got dropped off at our place. Went and saw Chris Nichols for one last time. He is a great guy and the Gospel has really changed him. We also got to teach one last lesson at the Barbecho’s. I really hope Jamie keeps taking the lessons! They asked for the missionaries to go by tomorrow. Also stopped by Miss April’s briefly to say goodbye. Ate with the Taylors’ and it was so good! I will miss eating there. Took great pictures with them. Went to the church to see Wes and he wasn’t there. Said bye to some others. Then had our last coordination. Love the Boyd’s! I will really miss this ward!

Thursday – Today we swung by to see Andrew on the way to transfers as it was raining. Poured on and off all day. Got to Wendy’s and did the transfer thang. Sister Taylor and Jane came by to see me leave. Sister Taylor told me that Preston told her that he either “wanted chocolate or wanted Elder Foster back”. That was awesome to hear! Such a great little man! Then it took forever to get to our area in Theodore. They banished me and I am excited to be out here. We are going to get this area poppin! Met Elder Shoemaker. He is such a nice guy. He is a bit slow and awkward. So it’s awesome he is out here. He came out the same time as me and I saw him and never expected him to be that way but we will have fun. I unpacked and cleaned a ton when we got back to our apartment. It was so dirty here. It’s much better now.

Friday – Today we went out with our assistant ward mission leader Brother Madison. He is a great guy! We saw 3 less actives with him. Sister  Bell, Sister Strickland and Sister Batton. Very nice ladies and hopefully that little bit will help. Sister Strickland lived in a neighborhood called Crestview and when I saw the sign I thought to myself, I never left! Had lunch with the Lyon’s. Great young couple in our ward and hopefully we can put them to work. Started to create a map for our area so I know where to go. Ate dinner at the Tartini’s. They are really cool too. Sister Tartini is the Relief Society President and Brother Tartini is Ward Clerk. They are converts with a great story. Then we headed to the church for our fellowship volleyball which turned into basketball.

Saturday – Today we actually had to weekly plan because we never got to do it. That took just about the whole day and we have also been making a map so I know how to get around. I did get to meet one of our investigators named Cherie. She is a way nice lady. Then we had basketball. The hood came to play and we had some good competition but I have played against a lot better players. They all want to be fancy with no fundamentals or work ethic. At one point though a guy that looked like Lil’ Wayne blocked the heck out of a guy way bigger than him. It was a fun night. Hope we can get some baptisms out of it.

Sunday – Today we had Ward Council and church. It all went well and we seem to have good leaders in our ward. I hope we can work well with them. It was kind of a lukewarm welcome though. I met David and his wife who I can’t remember her name for the life of me. But anyway they were really cool! Ended up waiting around after church for a couple lists that we needed which took a while. Finally got them and headed home to study. Then ate at the Evans’ home. They are really nice and seem to have it together. After dinner we walked around a nearby neighborhood and met a bunch of really nice people. Most people seem to be really friendly in Mobile. Went home to start on our area map because I can hardly plan because our roster is 30 pages long. So the map will help.

Monday – Pretty good P-day. It was just normal though. We didn’t do anything active anywhere. I got my hair cut by a member who is a hair stylist and she did it for free. Her name is Delene Madison. Very cool lady and we actually had dinner with her. She fed us pizza and her sons Micah and Jayce were there. Micah is 24 and Jayce is 9. Very cool family that seems to be somewhat similar to mine. Dinner took longer than expected so we went and did some more mapping.

Tuesday – Today we had our first District Meeting since I got here. It went really well and I think it really set a good tone for this upcoming transfer. Had lunch with the Spanish Elders at Subway after and it was fun to talk to Elder Bravo again. After that we had a great lesson with Kelsey Stone and she is very willing to keep commitments and I feel like she will get baptized someday. She is very prepared and I think the Lord knows she is ready. After we got back into town Brother Madison (Dalene’s dad ) came to see Dekita with us. That lesson was like a roller coaster… all over the place! She is a really nice lady though. Cherie’s lesson fell through L. Tonight we met a really nice guy named David and he invited us back. We are excited about that. He is Catholic and is very active in that so maybe I can learn a bit about Catholicism.

Wednesday – Today we decided to just do the map a ton because I was sick of not being able to plan. So we got a huge dent into it and basically finished the main part of the map. Then we headed to the church for family history but ended up helping Sister Mitchel set up a projector for a film she is showing on Friday. Then she decided not to use it so she won’t have to hassle with all the complications that it will possibly have. Also helped Brother Willet with a buzzer system he was testing. It was a really weird day.

Thursday – Today we weekly planned and then worked on our map. Got the main part of the map finished so soon we will be able to start putting people on it. Had to call Elder Newby to figure out where a potential was. He is in Crestview so I got to talk to Ben Barbecho. They are heading out to South Carolina tomorrow for their move. Unfortunately everything else we did today fell through.

Friday – Today we started off our day going to the food bank with the Spanish Elders and working there. Cleaned/inspected food to make sure it was safe and clean. Had lunch and finished up our mapping. Well we are finished putting the maps together but now we need to finish putting all of the members on it. Then headed out to Grand Bay to see a bunch of people out there. We got to meet Sister Sherry Jolley and share a message with her. She is a great lady and we are planning on going back. We also went to see the Bosarge’s, an HQ referral, and were able to teach a bit and set up a time to come back. We tried some others with no avail. Then headed to Pascagoula to interview Krissy for baptism. She is so ready for it and I am excited for her. Very nice girl and baptism will really do a lot for her cause it does a ton for everyone. After that we stopped by the church to play volleyball but no one came except for the Constantine’s so we chatted a bit and then headed home and met the Zimmerman’s at the gas station. Also had a scare. No one could contact the Pascagoula Spanish Elders for a while but they were just in a lesson. So everything was okay.

Saturday – Today we started the day with our coordination meeting. The ward mission leaders Brother Brown and Brother Madison, have some…spunk! They are energized about missionary work. Talked with Sister Tartini about getting together with her and going over the roster. Had lunch and then headed out to see a referral named LaVell. He is a good guy! He does have some great faith! Hope we can help it grow even more. That took a while. We tracted a couple doors in his complex while he took out some trash. Then we went to try to see Raina an investigator. She wasn’t home though. Then tonight we had basketball at the church. I almost dunked it but just didn’t get quite high enough and had to just lay it in. I also blocked a guy who could dunk as he went up for a layup. I met him at the top! He is way athletic. A lot of guys came out so it was awesome.

Sunday – Today I set up chairs while Elder Shoemaker went to ward council. Elder Hummer, one of the Spanish missionaries, set them up with me. Had great meetings at church too! Then after church we had a sweet lesson! I felt we should have Brother Crohnin come with and he did. I had no idea but him (Bobby) and Brother Crohnin related really well. Both of them have had trouble having kids in their marriages so they were able to connect. Had brother Dees’ come out with us to see an investigator. The appointment fell through so he took us to go visit a couple members. We saw Brother Hart, great guy. He sadly broke his leg recently and can’t put any weight on it so that’s been hard for him. We also went to see Brother Holladay and that went well. He is a nice older guy who can’t get to church due to health. He also gave us food before we left.