Monday 11/11/13 - Sunday 11/17/13

Monday – Had an awesome start to our day.  We got to go to the Burbidge’s to email and they fed us as well. Got to email Elder Winter and rub that in a bit because Elder Winter and I were trying to get into their house for a while. It was fun, I found out that I am related to Sister Burbidge through the Jedediah Grant line and we are from the same line of Jedediah. After we got done there we headed to the Anderson’s, a family that was moving in. So we helped them move in. Killed our P-day, but hopefully something will be able to come out of it. They are a part member family and we heard that the husband is pretty interested. We then ate with the Thomas’ and got to teach Brother Thomas about dispensations, apostasy and Christ’s ministry. Johnny was sick so that fell through, but we got to teach Ben about the priesthood. He is intimated by the idea and doesn’t feel ready. He said he would prepare though. Then we had to buy a couple things because we never go to shop.

Tuesday – Today we went to the Fort Walton 1 District Meeting. Went well then had exchanges with the 1^st Ward Elders. I stayed in Fort Walton with Elder Anderson and Elder Evans stayed in our area with Elder Schuartz. Elder Anderson and I had a pretty good day. We had 2 member presents. One with Chyanne (yes that is how she spells it). We taught her the plan of salvation. She is very bubbly and has a very short attention span. She is cool though. Our other member present was with the Wall’s and they are an awesome family. Sister Wall=non-member knows the Bible so well and loves to learn. Both of the members that came out were awesome. Brother Kline had worked with Dr. J and a ton of other athletes. He talked a lot but Chyanne seemed to enjoy his stories. Then Brother Gilchrist came to the Wall’s and he knows a ton about history and can really connect it with the Bible. Had dinner with the Bodine’s and they are pretty cool people. Good food and their little boy is really cute. Before dinner we went by a less-active and Elder Anderson said we aren’t knocking as we got on the porch. So I looked in the window to see a chunky lady…naked…we left.

Wednesday – Today we traded back and then headed to the Spanish Elders place for an exchange. I went to their area with Elder Bravo and Elder MaClay. Elder Lopez went up to Crestview with my companion. Started the day off with some studies. Spanish Elders also have to do language study. Well anyone speaking a foreign language has that. Then we went out to teach and taught Hermana Smith, less active. She has some misunderstandings and was also using a Jehovah Witness Bible. Then we taught Hermana Gomez, another less active.  She said some really funny things. She said she was a really good preacher and then the wind blew and she said, “See God’s here. I made the wind blow.” Went and taught Joel who is a member, a bit less-active. Good guy though. Then we went to a fish place called Stewby’s and the owner is married to a member and paid for our food. Taught Raul Salazar about tithing and fast offerings. Then we had English classes and the Elders taught a bunch of Hispanics English. It was an interesting day because I don’t speak Spanish, but I bore my testimony a few times and Elder Bravo translated. One of the times with Joel he was able to understand my testimony.

Thursday – Today we traded back and headed back to eat at Applebee’s before service. We did service at Miss April’s. Got to whack down some trees with a hatchet and with a machete. Saw the inside of her house and wow, she really likes purple. Mostly everything is purple in there. Out of curiosity I looked to see if her silverware was purple and it wasn’t. Had a good time there, then we came home and showered. I got a cool looking scratch on my arm. Taught a less-active, Mallery King. Got into the nitty-gritty a bit trying to motivate him to quit smoking. He just wants to do it alone, which he can’t because Christ needs to help him. After all that is what he died for. Also taught another less-active or two actually. We taught Brother and Sister Parson about the foundation and testimony and they kind of went off about why they won’t come to church. Also had a really good dinner appointment with the Cochran’s. They made homemade pizza which was really good! They are a really awesome family. That sums up the day.

Friday – Had the day that we didn’t expect. Started off weekly planning and Donna ended up asking us to come by today. We had to go to Jamie’s at noon which fell through so we went to Donna’s to help her out and try to get the trench done. We have it most of the way done and now we need to just get the walkway done. Got to have a little lesson with her about God and him being our father. She really liked it. Came home to eat a bit and then go out to see the Roger’s. That fell through so we got to tract around the area. Did the family search approach and had some good conversations with people, but no appointments from it this time. Then we went to the church for volleyball and got to see the Nimmo’s, our investigators, which was awesome. It was really fun tonight. Saw the Iosefa’s there as well which was sweet! They are so awesome. Then we went home to get ready to call all our billion companionships in the zone.

Saturday – Today we had the usual breakfast with President Miller. That was good! Then we had studies in the Walmart parking lot which went pretty well. We taught Ben and Jamie Barbecho. Mostly taught Ben but we were able to share a bit with Jamie. She was around the house cleaning a lot. Went home and had lunch and weekly planned the rest of the week. Went and saw Angie and taught her while reading Helaman. Had a good time there and then headed to see a couple potentials. Didn’t work out so we had our member present with Johnny. Brother Ratcliff came with us. It was a good lesson. Johnny seems committed for baptism on the 7^th of December. He has a long way to go to be ready but really feels that he can and will get there. Unfortunately that is really all. Actually during lunch we made some recordings that ended up being really funny. I will have to figure out a way to get them home.

Sunday – Today was awesome. First off Johnny didn’t come to church…frustrating! Other than that Church was awesome. Austin gave his “farewell” talk which was good. Brother Taylor gave an amazing talk that blew my socks off! After church we had an awesome lesson. Went on splits and I went with Brother Climer and we taught Alonzo. Read with him and expounded upon them and helped him with understanding them. Brother Climer did a good job helping out and being my companion. Elder Evans helped Brother Taylor with some home teaching. Then ate with the Parker’s and tried to figure out how to excite the ward with their missionary work. Had a fun time there…Sisters were there…didn’t know that was going to happen. We aren’t supposed to eat with them. Went home and studied a bit and then finally got to teach Andy Bissen for the first time in a long time. It was a pretty good lesson. I think we really helped Andy strengthen his faith. Then taught Johnny and grilled him for not keeping commitments. Hopefully that will help.

Monday, 11/4/13 - Sunday, 11/10/13

Monday – Today was a long P-day. Had the usual and moved in a bit more or I should say unpacked. Got a haircut from a guy named Mack Brooks. He has his own little barbershop on Main Street here in Crestview. He is 83 years old. Don’t have an idea how he managed to not mess up because his hands were so shaky. Great guy. Haircut took forever and he told us some good stories and swore quite a bit. Told me if I play an instrument, I should do something no one else does. He said the banjo. Then shopped and played basketball with the 2^nd Ward Elders, Elder Elmer and Elder Burnham. That was fun. Elder Evans played well one armed. He hurt his arm last week going off a jump on his bike and crashing. He actually separated his shoulder, wasn’t his arm. Ate at the Lawrence’s tonight and had Family Home Evening as well. That was fun. We played blind man’s bluff which was sweet! Tried to see a couple people then went back to meet 2^nd Ward at our apartment. They had to use our dryer.

Tuesday – Today we went to the Niceville District Meeting and had an exchange with Elder Hawker coming to Crestview with me. Elder Evans went to Niceville with Elder Brewington. Elder Hawker and I had quite an eventful day. Went to see Jamie which didn’t work out so we saw Billy Ray. Got to teach him quite a bit. He opened up about his mom so we talked about eternal families, authority and baptisms for the dead. He is softening! Then went to see Ryan who fell through, but we went to see Austin and him and Elder Hawker had a handstand contest. If Austin won, Elder Hawker had to read a chapter of the Book of Mormon to him. If Elder Hawker won, Austin had to read a chapter before we see him next. Surprisingly, Austin went down quick and will have to read alone. We also went on a walk with and met a guy named Tom Crow who is friends with some members named the Tew’s. He also knows Angie Davis, the recent convert. Then we saw Josh and set up to do some electrical work in his Jeep tomorrow. Then taught Johnny with Brother Wadas. Brother Wadas taught a ton and really helped Johnny understand the scriptures and also tithing. After the lesson, Brother Lawrence came to Johnny’s and wanted to teach but we were finished. So we tried to see David with him which didn’t work out so he followed us to our “Joseph Smith: The Prophet” practice. We are doing that again which should be awesome. Gave Brother Lawrence a blessing and practiced a bit. That was all at the Bailey’s. Great exchange!

Wednesday – Today we traded back and headed home for some lunch. Went over to read with Angie because Jamie fell through. So we read with Angie a bit. She really loves reading the book of Mormon. After that, we went to Johnny’s and took him on a tour of the church. We all hopped in Johnny’s car and headed to the church. So hopefully Johnny will feel comfortable enough to go to church now. After that we had Manny, but for some reason I drove to Josh’s house and when we were almost there I realized it and turned back. It worked out because Manny wasn’t home but pulled up shortly after we got there. Taught him kind of an odd lesson. It felt really weird but he committed to read and pray. Funny story too, the Sisters tracted in to Manny and he really confused them which cracked me up a bit. After Manny, we had some of the coolest service I have ever done. We went over to Josh’s and started taking his Jeep apart with him. We just took off some of the body and the seats. He has a 1973 Jeep in red and he is looking to restore it. He also gave us food and we got to teach him a bit about the importance of reading. He said he would!

Thursday  – Today we went to see Jamie but she wasn’t home so we went to see a couple people that live near her. Tried to see a couple less actives. One said she didn’t speak English, the other wasn’t home. We did catch brother Prazzo, another less active. He had a brain infection around 7 years ago so he has a hard time remembering, but he is a really great guy and sees it as a blessing, the brain infection that is. Finally go to teach Jamie and it was good. We feel like we are building a strong relationship with her. After that we headed home to weekly plan. Then we headed to see the Rogers. Fell through so we went to see the Doman’s. That was weird. They think the Sabbath is on Saturday. We didn’t even bring up the Sabbath, they did. Then they got in a fight about the gift of tongues. Again, we didn’t bring that up. Miss Doman then asked if we had the gift of tongues and just to be kind of a smarty pants, I said “no, but our Spanish missionaries do”. Left there cause it was a bad vibe and we had coordination. Then went to the Joseph Smith: The Prophet practice. I am Joseph Smith this time which should be good.

Friday – We started the day going service for Donna. We got a lot of the trench done. We will finish most of it next time. She is an awesome lady with some strange beliefs but that’s okay. We had to finish our weekly planning after that. Finished that up just in time to go to the church right after. Also had a quick lunch before heading to the church for some volleyball. It was really run too. We got Austin there and he brought his friend. The Nimmo’s also came which was great and we all had a really good time. Highlight of the whole day way that the Iosefa’s from the Fox Run Ward were there because they were visiting the Lawrence’s. They are really good friends. It was good to see them and Brother Iosefa also told me that they found a medication that keeps his “suicide man’s disease” at bay. He still can’t play sports or work out because he can’t sweat. Awesome day!

Saturday – Started off going to breakfast with President Miller. Then we went to help some people move. One of them was Alonzo Wilkes. We were able to teach him and set up an appointment for tomorrow. After the move we had some lunch and studies. Then we went to see Angie Davis. Taught about Christ’s doctrine. She is learning and reading through the Book of Mormon fast! Then we went to try to see the Barbecho’s who weren’t home so we got to go over and see the Thomas’. Taught Brother Thomas a lesson about God’s nature and that the gospel blesses families. Then headed to see a lady named Michelle that Sister Thomas wanted us to go see. Very nice lady. They were getting ready to watch the LSU vs. Alabama game. She and the rest of her family are big ‘Bama fans. After that we headed over to the church to practice the Joseph Smith musical fireside/devotional. It was pretty fun. Got to laugh a lot with the other missionaries. We have awesome missionaries in this zone! It’s great!

Sunday – Today we had Ward Council Meeting which was fun and it went well. Then at church I met Brother Blum for the first time. He is my 2^nd cousin or something like that. His mom, Sylvia, was there too so I got to meet her. She is my mom’s cousin and that was awesome. They are great people. It was fun to get to know them a bit. After church we went to teach Alonzo, our new gator, with Brother Wadas. It was awesome. We set a BCD (baptism date) with him as well. After that we ate with President Morgan’s family. He is the Olive Branch President. That was fun. Got to talk and chat while he drove us to his house and back. When we got back, we tried to see the Barbecho’s and a couple others. After that we went to the church for the musical fireside. It was so awesome! I was so honored and it was cool to kinda be in Joseph Smith’s shoes. I really enjoyed this performance. It was fun to see all the other missionaries too.

Monday, 10/28/13 - Sunday, 11/3/13

Monday – Today was the day that we found out what was happening at transfer. Read the transfer email and found out Elder Winter will be going to Ozark to replace Elder Olsen, my trainer. He is going home after his 2 years. Gonna miss that tall guy, but I should see him again someday. After seeing that, I saw that Elder Evans will be coming to Crestview. I don’t know much about him though. Got done checking that and shopped and played some beach volleyball at the park with the 2nd Ward Elders. During volleyball, a girl fight broke out at the park. Tall black chick beat the crap out of chunky white chick. It was crazy and there was a terrible feeling after. Elder Chappel is going to be a zone leader in Tallahassee now and Elder Elmer will become the district leader here, which means it was our last time playing volleyball, well us 4 together. Ate with the Burton’s tonight and their wild kids. It was awesome! I love their kids! Then stopped by Johnny’s briefly for Elder Winter to say bye and then taught the Barbecho’s a bit. Then had to swing by Brother and Sister Lawrence to say bye to them and Emma. They are really awesome and we love going over there. Brother Lawrence does a lot for us too. Great P-day.

Tuesday – Had our District breakfast for our district activity. Then had a really good district meeting. Everyone bore their testimonies and it was powerful. Then we went to Donna’s to do service for her. It was good. Donna is such a nice lady. Always feeds us good healthy snacks. Also got to see a ton of people before Elder Winter leaves tomorrow. Saw the Thomas’, took a picture and then headed off. Ate with the Taylor’s which is always a good time! Saw the Woodring’s for a brief lesson. They gave Elder Winter a cool little mirror plaque. Taught Andy and had some great dessert there. Got food from the Cockrell’s, enchiladas! Briefly saw the Barbecho’s. Then headed to the Haines who gave Elder Winter a sweet rugby referee jersey and a mini replica Fijian war club. Sister Haines is from Fiji so they give them to missionaries when they leave.

Wednesday – Went to transfer spots first thing to pick up Elder Evans, my new companion. Stopped by Walmart to get some packing tape and some carpet cleaner for our apartment so that we can get ready to move Elder Winter. Took Elder Malmberg to see Angie Davis and say bye. Elder Evans and I went and dropped off a shovel at the Hansen’s and they want to feed us tomorrow and that works out really well. Dropped stuff off at home. Got autumn package from my mom. That was sweet! Got Elder Winter’s stuff in the car to go to transfers the second time then drive all the way one direction and then turn around and head back so there are two different transfer times in Crestview. Elder Evans and I then went to see a guy named Andy and ran into Ray and also another JC that was with him. He had a different JC with him last time we met him. Talked to Levi and some other people in the ghetto. That was interesting. Had some dinner that Sister Nelson brought over for us and that was pretty good. Also had coordination today. Also helped a southern lady put a bench in a school bus and another lady needed us to pull out some bushes. She gave us persimmon. It is really good.

Thursday – Today I woke up exhausted. I have been feeling pretty sick lately, but really felt it today. First thing we did today was get some family history stuff together for the Olive Sisters event up in Baker this weekend. Talked to Billy Ray on the phone for a while. Then we got to weekly planning which took a while being the first time as a companionship. We’ll have to finish tomorrow because we had to pack up due to our move tomorrow. We did get to see Levi today and ended up running into the 1st JC - drunk. Went to see the Roger’s and have to go back a different time because Mr. Rogers wasn’t there. So we dropped off a triple combo to Angie and then went to see Marisol. Taught her a bit and then ran into Brian and Alisha and are going to teach them tomorrow. Then we had to go in early because it is Halloween.  Good day!

Friday - Today started off rough. We’re supposed to move and had lots of help available, but the office didn’t tell us we couldn’t move until tomorrow.  The carpet guy wasn’t able to come yesterday so he came today. We did get to go over to Jamie’s and talk to her. Tried to teach but didn’t really get to. She expressed some concerns about how she didn’t like being pushed, so hopefully she won’t feel pushed with Elder Evans and I. Went to try to catch Brian and Alisha because Brian told us he’d wait for us for an hour. He wasn’t there. We had a slightly uncomfortable conversation with Sister Emily. She just stared at us. Went over and taught Chuck who talks a ton. He was pretty closed off reading the wrong books. Then we saw Manny briefly and set up a time to teach them. Next was the Nimmo’s and we had dinner which was good. She made homemade spaghetti sauce. It was great! Also set a BCD with them which was exciting! Great finish to the day.

Saturday – Today we had our meeting with President Miller first thing in the morning as usual. Then we got home to get ready to move. Had a ton a great help. Brother Golsen, Brother Cockran, Brother Climer, Brother Wing and Sister Wirt and her son, Nathan, all came to help. Took only about two hours to get everything moved over to the new place. Then we had to clean and get our food and a couple other odds and ends collected. Took up most of the day to get it all taken care of, but we still do have a ton of organizing to do. Went over to see Angie Davis and read with her. Then headed over to see Johnny with Brother Lawrence. A guy named Adam was there with Johnny so we got to teach them a little lesson. Adam wanted to come back another time to hear more with Johnny so we set up a time to come by. Then Brother Lawrence took Adam somewhere he needed to go. So I am sure that there was some good conversation. We headed home to eat and then plan.

Sunday – Today we were slightly late to church because we were trying to get a gator there. She wasn’t home. Church was good. I taught Gospel Principles. Lesson was decent. After church I accidentally ate lunch on Fast Sunday…oops! Had our studies and then went out to teach. We were about to try to find Alisha when a lady pulled up and wanted us to see a guy who was about to commit suicide, so we followed her there. No answer so we went to see Austin and read some of 3 Nephi 12 with him. Fun kid! Then we went to try to catch David who wasn’t home so we decided to stop by Steve’s. On the way met an awesome lady name Laura who loves genealogy and her daughter, Kandice McKosey, was recently baptized in Niceville. Then we set up an appointment with the Rix, a part member family. Ate at the Wyatt’s which was way fun. Then taught Ben Barbecho about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He told us his conversion story and it was so powerful. Lesson was strong and so was the spirit. Then contacted Ryan Bielec and taught him about Sabbath behavior. He said he liked to fish in the morning so I bore strong testimony of keeping the day sacred. He will come to church he said! :) 

Monday, 10/21/13 - Sunday 10/27/13

Monday – Today was our P-day which was really fun.  We went back to doing our P-day volleyball at the park on the sand court. I played way bad but it was still way fun. I won one game with Elder Elmer on my team. I wrote some letters and some emails and we shopped. Then we had dinner with the Thatcher’s which was really awesome. We had great food and got to teach the kids about baptism and priesthood authority. That was fun. Did an object lesson where you put pepper in water and then put dish liquid on your finger and when you dip in your finger the pepper goes to the edge of the bowl. No idea how it works. Also saw Brother Burbidge at the park when playing volleyball. Saw the Woodring’s and taught about the temple. Brother Woodring really wants to go to the temple now! That was sweet to see. Then went home to figure out the new weekly zone goals.

Tuesday – Today was District Meeting and we went to the Fort Walton 1^st Ward. Elder Schwartz is the District Leader and he invited the spirit in really good. We then went on an exchange with him and Elder Anderson. I stayed in Fort Walton with Elder Schwartz and Elder Anderson went to Crestview with Elder Winter. Elder Schwartz and I had some lunch and then headed out to teach Billy and Reed who are two less active guys. Interesting guys that are into World of Warcraft and seem to play way too much. Then we taught a solid plan of salvation with a guy named Rick. He has so much truth! Set a baptismal date of November 30^th with him. Then we went to the Bodine’s for dinner with them and the Spanish Elders, Elder Bravo and MacClay. Good homemade Mexican food. Then we headed over to the Irwin’s and listened to them complain about “Utah Mormons”. They are a part member family. I don’t really see much of a different between LDS members in Utah or down here. Members come in every variety everywhere. Then we hustled to the church to do a baptismal interview. Elder Schwartz interviewed the Sister’s gator, Mark Harroway. Cool guy!  14 MONTHS!

Wednesday – After trading back we went to see Jamie and taught a little lesson on forgiveness. Unfortunately she was not in a very good mood so that made it less effective. Then had a two-second lunch before heading to do some service for Donna. We got there and ended up having to empty the drain rock and drain pipe out of the ditch because it had to be a bit deeper of a ditch. We did that and then had to re-work everything. Then we had an appointment with a really cool young man named Austin. Read from the Book of Mormon with him and he seems to like it. Then we headed to the Boyd’s for dinner and coordination. Brother Boyd is doing a pretty good job thus far as Ward Mission Leader. We need some ward missionaries now so we can get some members out to lessons. Then while we were heading to see Ryan we saw Angie outside of the Crestview Manor and realized it was our turn to go see her so we stopped and went and read with her. She is so excited to learn and hopefully she keeps on learning. She is going through a tough time and so a set of missionaries visits her almost every day.

Thursday – Today we started our day by going to see Marisol who is Brian’s mom. We stopped by to drop off some tape for boxes that she needed to pack up, then we went to the church to teach James. Reviewed the Restoration with him. He is really awesome and solid. Going to be fasting for him tonight and tomorrow. Jamie fell through so we headed home to do our weekly planning. Brother Fisher came and dropped off some food for us. The Fisher’s are pretty awesome. We talked to him and Brian (guy in our complex…likes to drink) for a minute before continuing weekly planning. Then we headed out to see Austin, a young 15 year old guy that we are teaching now, same one we saw yesterday. Really good kid. We talked about scary movies and stories for a bit then we had to leave right as we started sharing our message. Then we went up to see the Roger’s, but saw Sister Parker, the Bishop’s wife, out cleaning her yard so we helped and then met Matt, their daughter’s boyfriend. He isn’t a member, but Sister Parker was telling us that his parents give him way strict rules, so that makes her pretty happy. Then we ate a quick dinner and then went to the church to meet up with Johnny and show him around. He didn’t show up. So we got some treats from the event at the church, a communication devotional.

Friday – Went over to teach Brian and Alisha and to also get our duct tape from Marisol, which neither worked. We did get to teach Anna, Marisol’s sister-in-law, about how the gospel will help to bless her and bring her the things she needs. Then we tried to see a lady named Tiffany that fell through. So we went to see the old stake president, President Hill. He is less active now and we don’t know why. After that we met Sister Ohku at Jamie’s and that is exactly what Jamie needed. Sister Ohku bore some strong testimony. Folded Jamie’s laundry while teaching and also raked leaves with Connor and Lance, two of the Barbecho boys. Then we contacted an HQ referral named David and taught him. He has come a long way! Then we headed over to a part member family, the Smith’s. Then we had dinner and a lesson with the Nimmo’s who are awesome investigators. Their kids are really cool too! They play soccer which is sweet. Gots to love soccer!

 

Saturday – Today we went to breakfast with President Miller at Ryan’s. After breakfast we studied in the car in the Ryan’s parking lot. Then we headed to the Barbecho’s to see Ben and Jamie. Taught them a really good lesson and got to answer some great questions that Ben had. After that we headed home to have lunch and studies and to also finish up some of our weekly planning. Just needed to make a progress record because we didn’t have time yesterday or Thursday. Then we headed out to try to see Brian but he was nowhere to be found so we walked around to find Anna or Marisol or someone. No luck so we went and read with Angie Davis. Talked to her about her conversion and about her surgery coming up. She has two hernias. Then we went to a Halloween thing downtown but decided it wasn’t a great idea so we left. Not a great atmosphere to talk about the gospel. Then had the Ward dinner/trunk-or-treat. Success! Andy was there and so were the Nimmo’s which was awesome. After, we had a lesson with Johnny. Brother Climer came and Brother Lawrence wanted to tag along too. Both of them were involved and it was such a powerful lesson.

Sunday – Great Sabbath day today! Church was really good. In Sacrament, the Kirby’s spoke and so did Elder Winter all about missionary work. Spirit was really strong and even was during the other classes. Had our studies and lunch and then went to see if Ryan or Taressa were home, but they weren’t. So we headed over and were able to catch Brian and Alisha out washing a car. Anna was out there as well so we taught her a bit. Then we were called over by a group of people to come talk to them. Pretty sketchy people and weird experience. Then we went to the Parker’s to eat with Bishop and his family. Had a steak the size of my head and a baked potato the size of both of my fists! Also had a delicious brownie! Then got pictures with Angie before heading to the Bissen’s with Bishop to teach Andy. Lesson went well. Our new thing is to get a ton of members to Andy and hope that will help him. I really love that guy and hope he can figure it out and know this is true.

Monday 10/14/13 - Sunday 10/20/13

Monday – Today was a great P-day!  We started off the day with our Spec-Ops secret trip that other people would call fishing. President allowed us to go because we were going with Elder Bailey who is one of the senior missionaries. Fun trip! I had never really fished before and didn’t realize how easy it is to do. We also went with the 2^nd Ward Elders and Elder Elmer caught the biggest one! They were just garbage fish that we threw back, but it was still a really fun trip. We all caught some too, which made it even more fun. Came back to email quickly and then ate at the Thomas’ which is always good. Brother Thomas watched some of Conference too, which was fantastic. He did say he watched a heck of a lot more football. Stopped by the Nimmo’s and got to teach them a lesson about prayer and one of their kids said the prayer for us and that was awesome! Then we taught Johnny a review of the restoration lesson. Then we came home to plan.

Tuesday – Today we went to the Niceville District Meeting. Elder Hawker did a pretty good job. He is a really awesome missionary. Then we went on an exchange and Elder Brewington came to Crestview with me and Elder Winter stayed in Niceville with Elder Hawker. Elder Brewington and I had a good day. We got a call from Billy Ray and he wanted us to come by and teach him. He told us some interesting stories that I can’t even repeat. Went to the Taylor’s because Brother Taylor wasn’t feeling well, so we went to give him a blessing. Talked about Miss April a bit. She watched President Monson’s talk from Conference. That is sweet! Then we went to see a referral who wasn’t home so we talked to and gave a BoM and a prayer to a really nice lady. She said she would read it and asked us to say a prayer for her. Then saw a referral, the Boening’s, who basically told us not to come back. Ate with the Bissen’s and found out Andy wants his old Branch President from Japan to baptize him, which might push things back. He is doing great. Then finished the night with coordination. Brother Boyd will be a good Ward Mission Leader.

Wednesday – Traded back after our exchange and had some lunch. Then we went out to try to find Brian and Alisha. Ran into his mom, Marisol, and his aunt, Anna. He is apparently in pretty big trouble. Taught Angie Davis, the recent convert, and man I was tired. Read with her a bit. Tried to contact a guy name Andy and met a ton of awesome people that said we could come back. Met Zay and JC that want to come to volleyball. Went and had a great dinner with the Lawrence’s. Went way too long. I hate being disobedient. Hopefully, we can get our appointment time down. Had a great lesson with Andy. He wants to be baptized by his old branch president so that will push the baptism back. Then had a little lesson with Johnny. Brother Lawrence came out with us to both of those, which was awesome.

Thursday – Today we taught James Purcell a good lesson. Went over the baptismal interview questions. Also taught about service. He is so prepared so I hope his mom will let him get baptized! Then we went through our weekly planning. That went pretty well. Had to go and get some supplies from the office Elders. Met them at a gas station to do that. Taught Becca Sanchez, Manny was on the phone so we just got to teach Becca, but that was great. Got some boxes from the Climer’s for our move. They are a celestial family. We also taught Brother Thomas a lesson. A quick one before we headed to Danny and Lewis’ for a lesson and Danny fed us pizza! They are so solid! We also drew some pictures with Danny’s daughters. That finished our awesome night. Also, while talking with Sister Thomas, I realized how blessed we really are in the USA. Her grandson is on a mission in Ghana. Has no running water, no beds, not very many cars…that would be a challenging mission.

Friday – Today we started off the day going to see Donna with Austin Boyd for some service. Got a lot done for her French drain. After we left, we did realize that we forgot to put the protective sock over the PVC pipe. Went and saw Johnny to set up with him for tomorrow. Taught Jamie while playing some soccer with her son Lance. Then we went to see Billy Ray and while driving there saw Brian and Alisha, so we hopped out and set up church with them. Saw Billy Ray and he wants to come to church too! So that is exciting! Billy Ray says some crazy things! Ate with sister Okum who is Sister Thomas’ daughter and she told us her and her son Devan’s conversion stories. Devan is the one in Ghana and cool thing is that he was actually converted first. Then we headed to the church for some volleyball for fellowship night. We all played pretty well.

Saturday – It’s always a good day when you start off with a baptism. It was the Olive Sisters that got a baptism, we went to support. It was for a young guy name Josh King. After the baptism, we went over to Elder and Sister Bailey’s place to do a little bit of coordination with the Sisters and the Bailey’s. We felt like it could have been done over a phone call, but gotta just do it. Had some lunch over there as well, which was pretty good. Then we went out to see Brian and Alisha, but we didn’t find them so we went to Chuck’s, but they were gone, so we talked to a couple random people about family history work while we were walking home. Also talked to Anna for a moment. Went and contacted the Scholtz who the Burbidge’s told us to go see. Their wife/mom was sick so we didn’t get to teach them, but they did say to come back. Taught Brother Steele and one of his kids named Alie who is 7 years old. Wish they would come to church, they don’t seem to have issues with it. Ate with the Hansen’s and Sister Stapleton, which was a very quiet dinner. After dinner we headed off to see Johnny and he was drinking coffee. We reminded him he shouldn’t and he dumped it. Taught him about scripture study a lot! Just reviewed some old lessons with him. After Johnny, we headed over to see the Barbecho’s and taught Ben. Jamie didn’t sit in, but she said she would come to church tomorrow. We ended up just reading the Book of Mormon with Ben and that finished the day for us.

Sunday – Today is my dad’s birthday and I forgot to send him a letter or card last week. We had church but none of our gators were able to make it. Billy Ray got sick, Brian and Alisha weren’t there when Elder Bailey and I went to pick them up and Johnny just didn’t come. Church was good but kind of empty. Everyone was gone for some reason. There were only four Elders in Elders Quorum. After our church and studies, we went to contact Ryan Bielel who was referred to us by the 2nd Ward Elders. Ryan wasn’t home but his neighbor came out and told us to knock on a different one. She was crazy but we knocked and met a nice lady named Teresa. We were able to give her a Book of Mormon and put away a lot of false things she had heard. Tried to contact David but ended up talking to some people on the street because he wasn’t home. Ate with the Wirt’s and talked about horses for like 45 minutes. We just wanted a subject change so bad. Then we taught Andy and told him to stop worrying about what his family thinks. I shared Frederick William Hurst’s story and vision with him. Told him that his family will eventually accept his decision even if it is in the next life. I hope that will all help because I love Andy and Sister Bissen!

Monday 10/7/2013 - Sunday 10/13/2013

Monday I sucked it up at volleyball but it was still really fun! Ate at the Taylor's house and had some delicious tacos. Johnny fell through and we even got Brother Wyatt out to the lesson with us. So we went to see a bunch of people and no one let us in, but we had good conversations with Chase Drysdale (less active), Sister Parsons (less active) and her husband Tim (non-member) actually talked with us. Had to run to the store because we forgot to get some toilet paper.

Tuesday we went down to Fort Walton to the Fort Walton 2 District Meeting. Elder DeGroff taught a really good lesson. Then we did our exchange with them. I went with Elder DeGroff in Fort Walton 2 and Elder Malmberg went to Crestview. Had a good day with Elder DeGroff. We biked all day and talked to people and also tracted a bit. Talked to some random and interesting people. One guy was trying to tell us what we believe. I was also jumping off curbs and ended up wrecking. It was pretty funny. I tore up my shirt pretty good. Elder DeGroff got me a Powerade and bought us a pizza. Washed my shirt during dinner and then went out and saw a couple people with the Elder’s Quorum President.

Wednesday I woke up thinking it felt late and looked at the clock which said 6:55 and I was all confused. Elder DeGroff looked at the phone and was like, "we're good, it's 6:06". So I went back to bed and looked at the clock at around 7:21 and was thinking that it must be time to get up. Elder DeGroff then looked at the phone and it said 7:21 as well. So we got up and got ready and Elder DeGroff was telling me that he should have put on his glasses to look at the clock. He said that it probably said 6:56 not 6:06. Had our studies and then traded back. Elder Winter and I had some service with Donna. We didn't get as much done as we could have, but we did get the drain where it needs to be so next time should be a breeze. We also got to talk to her about why we have faith in Christ and why she does. After that we changed and tried to see a new gator who goes by "T". Wasn't home so we swung by the Woodring's and watched President Monson's talk with them. They didn't get to see it because Sister Woodring was having the baby. He was born at over 9 pounds! They didn't even do a C section...big baby!

Thursday we had and exchange with the assistants. I went with Elder Rhoades and Elder Winter went with Elder Wright. We blitzed our area which was really fun. Elder Rhoades and I had a good day. First we went to see some people and ran into a guy named Sean Stewart and did some service for him. Brought some boxes and dressers into his house. Got lost and went on an adventure through the woods and found our way. Also taught the Jimmo's about family history and Sister Jimmo has done it but not on family search. Then we headed to Brother Spears to teach him and that was an awesome lesson. He brought up some concerns. I think he really likes us! Also got an HQ referral which was sick! Then the Assistants left and we ate with the Cochran's. Then had a way spiritual lesson with Andy Bissen. We really feel this is it! It will be sick!

Friday we had our weekly planning and ended up going to see Billy Ray because he wanted us to come by and we hadn't seen him for so long! The guy is hard to read and is pretty quirky. Went to see Jamie and she bailed and told us to come back in a bit so we had seen Brian and Alisha on the way there. We went back and found them and pushed our appointment back to 4 which he wasn't at. We then also met two ladies named Debbie and Sarah who are awesome. They seem to be so sincere and ready for the gospel. Then we taught Jamie and Ben about the "why" behind family history. Jamie was in and out but her and Ben agreed to come to church, the whole family! Ate with Brother Moore as well and that was pretty good. He is a good cook for, as he put it, "not paying enough attention to his wife's cooking". Then we had volleyball and that was fun. There were tons of people there! Then we planned and called all the companionships in the zone.

Saturday we had our usual breakfast with President Miller. Did some weekly planning and had interviews with President Smith. He is a really funny guy, played some jokes on us. Tried to find Brian and Alisha but couldn't. Went to see Lewis and Danny but they were busy with something. Went to see Johnny but he was out of town. So we tried to see some potentials and ended up seeing Brother Wroten who we talked about conference with and that was really good.

Sunday we had our ward council which was pretty productive. Had church and Sister Taylor and her daughter both spoke and did a really good job! Had studies and got to meet the Rogers. They are really awesome and nice. Also got to meet Glen Ashby (less active) who seems to be a really cool guy. Ate with Brother Harter who is awesome and his Mom and kids too. He has been through a ton. It is so hard to get out of his house on time though. Went and taught Andy and he is definitely going to get baptized! He should get baptized this weekend coming up unless his family decides they want to be there. Taught the Barbecho's and got to know them a little better than I did.

Monday 9/30/2013 - Sunday 10/6/2013

Monday we had to go out to Fort Walton first thing in the morning to go and get me some new shoes. Brother Moore took us down there to JC Penney and I got a comfortable, lightweight pair for 60 bucks. Got a good deal on them, 25 dollars off. Brother Moore also took us to lunch at a little place called Stewie's. It was a seafood place and the fish tacos I had were real good! Came back to Crestview to email and what not. Then we went and played some sand volleyball. The temperature was perfect so it was way fun! Ate at the Wanner's which was delicious. Brother Wanner does competitive arm wrestling and he taught us the technique of how to do it without breaking your arm. Had a lesson at the Bissen's and they made brownies for Elder Winter because it was his birthday. They were freaking good!

Tuesday we went to our district’s district meeting. That was good! Taught Donna a bit while doing some service with her. Finished the trench and now we are getting the weed cloth laid. Taught Manny a lesson which went well. He is an awesome guy! Talked to Johnny's girlfriend Staci for a bit and then headed over and talked to Jamie outside. Her friend Angel came and talked too. Then Ben came home so we read with him in D&C 84 a bit.

Wednesday we had to plan what we are going to talk about in our zone conference call. Got our apartment situation figured out. We will be moving to a smaller one at the first of next month. Taught Billy Ray and he is pushing us away slowly. Then we tried to see Brian and then Joanna which both fell through. Ate at the Boyd's and did coordination. Really good food there. Then we went and saw Brother Wroten and talked to him for a bit. He is a really awesome guy. Taught him about conference and prophets.

Thursday we had our zone conference call. It was really weird to teach over the phone so hopefully they got something out of it. Taught James and his Mom still doesn't want him to get baptized. He wants to though. Hopefully her heart will be softened so that he can be baptized on the 12th. Went home to eat and do some weekly planning. After weekly planning we went to eat at the Nelson's. That's when we found out that we had called the wrong Nelson's that were in 2nd Ward because the Nelson's in our ward weren't home. Brother Nelson from our ward called and asked if we were coming by still and the other one did the same. So we ended up going to see Brother Thomas and taught him a bit and then headed back over to the Nelson's in our ward to eat. They are an awesome family! The other Brother Nelson ended up feeding the 2nd Ward Elders so they got something out of our mistake. Then we ended up setting up an appointment with Lewis and taught Johnny. We taught him about Jesus and him being the literal Son of God. It was a way powerful lesson. Then we traded off with 2nd Ward.

Friday I was in the 2nd Ward with Elder Elmer. Every single person we tried today fell through. I'm not even kidding! Elder Elmer and I had fun though. He is really cool, reminds me of Shawn from back home. The 2nd Ward had a cardboard cut-out of Mitt Romney that was life-size and it scared the pee out of me 3 times. They stuck it in the bathroom and when I walked in I saw a huge guy out of the corner of my eye. We also ate at the Newell's with Brother and Sister Hart there as well. Brother Hart looked a lot like my Uncle Tom and that was kind of weird. We also met a lady who knew some people that lived in Dugway, Utah! So crazy but they lived there in the 70's so it wasn't at the same time. Also played volleyball in our dress clothes which was actually really fun. I had like 3 spikes. Well it was a spike for a guy like me that can't spike very well.

Saturday we had breakfast with President Miller as usual. Then we went to the church to study before Conference. We did get in a study but also ended up helping the members clean the building. We also had to get the satellite broadcast of conference working. Conference was powerful and way awesome! The hurricane that was supposed to hit ended up dispersing and we got a lot of rain. Not really any wind or anything.

Sunday we hurried and headed to see the Barbecho's and also Johnny in the morning to remind them about conference. The Barbecho's watched yesterday and seemed to have liked it. Johnny didn't come to any sessions!! It was way disappointing. Conference was great and the Prophet was powerful. Everyone was but him in particular. Had a great lunch in between provided by the Bailey's. After Conference we ate with the Peterson's and the Lawrence's. Then we taught Andy and the Spirit was so strong. Then we went and saw Johnny and the Barbecho's. Johnny has been having a struggle with getting his daughter to bed. She should be put on some sort of sleep medication soon after they run some tests on her. She has a bit of autism. Johnny is awesome though and he still wants to be baptized.

Monday 9/23/2013 - Sunday 9/29/2013

Monday PDAY! Had lunch with the Burbidge's. They are sweet! Brother Burbidge is from Murray, Utah. Right next to Midvale! They took us to Lenny's sub shop which had a good Philly cheese steak. Played some 2 step and goalie. Ate dinner at the Lawrence's and did FHE with them. That was really fun! We had to act out different animals which was ridiculous and funny. Went and shared a message with Brother Higgins about family history and temple work. He really liked it.

Tuesday we did service for Donna. Dug a ditch for a french drain. Taught Billy Ray and read 3 Nephi 11. He gave me a poem and is into writing poetry. He followed us halfway home and talked to us about his life. We thought he was going to just keep coming. Saw Jamie and set a baptismal date of October 26th. Ate at the Green's, they are nice and it was a fun time. Taught Jamie and Ben about family history work and they got really excited. Rained like crazy! Also taught Kim and Scottie Smith who are a part member family. Then we came home to greet the Assistants.

Wednesday we headed over to the church to set up for the half mission conference with Elder Pino. It was pretty good and powerful, but we keep getting told the same things. We also had MLC which the same type of thing happened, so I guess that means we should start working harder and smarter to reach our goals and President’s vision. Then we had a lesson with Brian and he really wants to get baptized! He is going through a lot! He is juggling so many things trying to get his life back in order. Had dinner with the Haines family and we had some delicious chicken and rice stuff. It was an Indian dish, by Indian I mean from India. Brother Haines speaks English, Spanish, Arabic and Fijian. It is pretty cool. He said once you learn one it is easy to learn others. After that, we had Austin come out with us and we taught Johnny a lesson about prepping for baptism and the importance of it. Seemed like a really good lesson, so hopefully Johnny will get more motivated. I also got an awesome package from my Mom! Had some things that said "here's a little sunshine". Had tons of yellow stuff in it. Juicy fruit, banana laffy taffy, peanut M&M's, yellow sticky notes, lemonade, lemon heads and all sorts of stuff.

Thursday we taught James and he was basically already living the Word of Wisdom and chastity so it was easy! He is awesome! Did some weekly planning as well, then went to the Woodring's and shared a message. Robert is way solid, he is one of the recent converts in the ward. Ate at the Peterson's and they are so much fun to be with. We were laughing so hard. Went to the Wyatt's to chat with Brother Wyatt's Mom and Step Dad who are not members. That was pretty fun and hopefully it will spark their interest.

Friday we did some Zone business and finished up on some weekly planning. Taught Brother Spears a lesson on obedience. He is a less active, really cool guy. Taught Jamie about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She had an ear infection and had a hard time paying attention. We ran to Walmart for her. We felt like it was okay. Can't always go looking through the rules and getting permission or nothing gets done. Then we went and saw Manny and Becca Sanchez. They are really cool, set up a time to go see them. Ate dinner at home. Brian and Alisha fell through. We did teach Andy a good lesson on the Word of Wisdom and obedience. Not sure if he will live it.

Saturday we went to Ryan's with President Miller as usual. Did studies and then went and helped some people move stuff into a storage unit. Had to put together a shelf and I ended up cutting myself on one of the metal things that holds up the shelf. It fell and I caught it and it cut my hand. I also cut my thumb during lunch while cutting an apple. Then my bike tire was really, really low. So that part of the day was pretty crappy. Then we had a lesson with Marisol which went pretty well. She was very confused about why she needed to know if the BoM was true. She didn't pay attention to much of what we said. We also saw Brian and Alisha and they said they would come to church. Had dinner with the Kirby's and they told us so many stories. We just couldn't get out in time. Taught Johnny and he brought up an interesting concern. He just isn't sure if Christ is the son of God. Easy concern to fix. Taught Ben about the priesthood a bit. Read D&C 84 with him, but didn't get to finish it.

Sunday was church and Brian and Alisha did come!! I unfortunately didn't get to take the sacrament because we went on splits to get them to church. I went with Elder Bailey and we got back late. Had to try to get Johnny to church but he didn't come, so we got some papers printed off from the ward. Headed home and got in studies. Ate dinner with the Fisher's which was pretty good.  Had a powerful lesson with Andy about prophets, dispensations, great apostasy and restoration. Tore through the Bible and bore strong testimony. The spirit was strong! Taught Johnny a short lesson. Trying to get him to church!