Going Fishing

 

Hi Jared,

Today was the Brigham City Temple Dedication. It was broadcast to our chapel and we had to show a recommend to get in. It was a really nice meeting and pretty sweet to get to go early in the morning and have the entire day to relax and enjoy. Elder Packer is getting up there in age. Holy cow, he looks old.

Mikayla and Hallie are both practicing their violins together right now, it's pretty cute. I like it when they work together. They've been getting along so much better lately. It's nice. I like it when there is peace in the home. It's a wonderful thing.

This past week was our annual quilt retreat. That's where all of us quilters hang out in our garage all week and work on projects together. We've had a lot of fun and I was able to work on a couple of quilts for Christmas. It's really nice this year, because we actually have a nice place to do it now. I love my quilting room a lot!

I can definitely feel fall in the air. The nights are getting so much cooler and the days are much more pleasant.  Next week I think some storms are coming in. How's the weather in Indiana?

I talked to Nichole this morning. She said to tell you hi, and she's thinking of you. She told me that every time Oakley says the prayer, she blesses "Jared on his mission", every time, without fail. So this is just a reminder that you have a lot of prayers being said in your behalf. Not to mention all the random, "bless all the missionaries", prayers that are said by millions of members all over the world. Know that you are loved very much by many people, and we are all praying for your success.

Have a wonderful week. I can't wait to hear how you're doing.

Love, Mom

Hey,

Elder Joos and I are doing well. We've picked up a few new people to teach this week. We've had a lot of less active members wanting to come back that have been popping out of the woodwork lately. We had a guy named Rob come to the church a few weeks ago and talked to the people at the family history center about getting his membership records from the ward in Germany that he was baptized in. Turns out he has someone who works for him that's a member, and he talked to him about meeting with us so he could get back to church. So, we met with both of them a few days ago. Rob's wife was also there and she's not a member. We were able to teach all three of them. It went really well. We gave Rob's wife a copy of the Book of Mormon and challenged her to read it and pray about it. 

Brother Parker, our Ward Mission Leader got called to the Bishopric so we got a new one. A few minutes after he was called he rushed out of the Sacrament Meeting. He was having heart trouble, so his family rushed him to the hospital. I hope he's doing alright. 

Well, we don't have much more time at the library. We're going fishing today. 

Love you!    Jared

Looking for Brighter Days

Hello Jared,

This week I got an unexpected message from Vicky Maag in Kaysville.  She sent me a few pictures of you with a really sweet note telling us what a great missionary you are and how well you are liked by everyone. What a pleasant surprise!

We had a fantastic gut busting, laugh out loud, experience Wednesday night.  The kids were headed out the door to mutual when Taylor came screaming back in the house, sounding just like Seinfeld. He thought it was starting to rain, but the sky was clear and blue. He put his hand up on his head to see if it was wet, it sure was, but not from rain...hahaha...poor unfortunate boy was pooped on by a bird! I don't know how he imitated Seinfeld, because he couldn't do it later when I asked him, but it sure sounded like Jerry that night. Maybe he watches too much t.v.

The new family that moved into Todd and Brenda's house has a part member family. The girls have been coming to mutual, and they came to Girls Camp. They are fitting into the ward really well. Saturday they were baptized. It was fun to see four missionaries there and all the support from the ward and their family. I had forgotten how neat convert baptisms can be.

Well, it's off to the races for me. Enjoy your week. The Gospel is true. God loves you.

Love,  Mom

Hey,

This week has had it's ups and downs. We've had almost every appointment fall through but we're just building up for next week. We've found a lot of great people that we'll get to start teaching soon. We're teaching a family tonight that have a lot of potential. Their names are Larry and Jane. Their son moved to California about a year ago and ended up joining the church. He's been talking to his mom and got her to listen to us. I'm excited for this appointment. 

Cody's doing really well. He's been reading his scriptures and praying every day. Now we're just waiting for his dad to say he can be baptized. 

Love you,

Jared

A Sweet Ride in a Shelby Cobra Mustang

What a week...

It all started on Monday. grandma and Nichole came to spend the day quilting so we could get our Christmas gifts all wrapped up. We had a fun day together and got a lot done.

Tuesday, Grandma had an appointment up at the U to see a Doctor. She called me about a half hour after she left to tell me she had been in an accident. Taylor, Mikayla and I hurried up there, and sure enough, she had totaled her car. She collided with a lady who had four small children in her car. Everyone walked away with no real injuries. All the airbags in both cars deployed, and there was substantial damage to both cars. I'm pretty sure Grandma's guardian Angel works overtime just to keep her alive. 

Wednesday night, Mikayla turned on the shower and the knob broke off, leaving the shower running. There was no way to turn it off. We ended up turning off the water main for the night. The next morning, Dad turned the water back on so everyone could shower. Then the water main got shut off again when everyone was done. I had a hair appointment and needed the water, so I turned it back on. When I was done, I tried to turn it off again, but the valve to the water main broke off! Talk about going from bad to worse! Haha Luckily your dad is a handyman and he was able to weld the piece back together and get it taken care of. We went into town and bought a new cartridge for the shower and he got that fixed too.

I had an appointment with a cornea transplant specialist on Thursday morning. I had been referred to him by an ophthalmologist who told me my eyes were so bad that I needed a cornea transplant. Turned out, he didn't know what he was talking about and I get to keep my own eyes. I no longer have to depend on some guy on a motorcycle dying so I can continue to enjoy life. What a relief!

Thursday night, Ed called Dad to have him come look at some video footage. He had been  robbed! Dad pulled the tape and found a blazer with a trailer that was parked there for over two hours wile he cleaned out a storage shed, then he covered the load and drove off. This was during broad daylight!  While they were there discussing what they should do, the same guy came back for more! They jumped in their cars and chased him until they got his plate number. They gave the info to the police. This guy has a long history of criminal behavior, including drugs.They haven't found him yet, but they've talked to his parents and they are cooperating with the police. CRAZY!

While Dad was helping the criminal justice system, I took the kids to the Utah State Fair. I entered four quilts and won four ribbons. Three of them

Forged Concert Tickets

September 5, 2012

Hello Jared,

How are you liking your new area and new companion? We hope things are going well. 

Holden put in his mission papers and is waiting for his call. They are going to send him on a mini mission locally for three months to see how he does, just like one of the missionaries you told us about. I think he's excited to find out where he will be serving. 

This past weekend we went out to Grandma and Grandpa's and took Gibson's and Whiteheads with us. We had a lot of fun with all the little kids. Taylor helped Grandpa get the fire truck running and even fixed the lights and siren! That sure was a hit with all the little kids. Taylor was giving rides all day Saturday. That place is more fun than Disneyland.

Today is the first day of school and Hallie is in 8th GRADE! She, Emma and Jackson all just left in their brand new clothes. Mikayla and Taylor headed off to the High School bright and early. They are all growing up! It is going by so quickly. Summer came and went in the blink of an eye and now fall is rapidly approaching.  

Sunday morning I dropped our French Foreign Exchange Student, Christie, off at the airport. She was with us for five weeks. She just emailed me to let me know she made it safely home.

The house is all quiet with the exception of the chirping baby chicks and a few cackling hens. Although they are clear out in the chicken coop, their piercing little chirps can be heard all the way in the house.

Our prayers are always with you. We love you and pray for your continues success. We are so proud of you!

Make sure you send me your address just in case I need to send you something.

Love,  Mom

Hey,

Things are going pretty well here in Kokomo. I'm getting used to things still. It's a big change from Carmel. The ward is great here though. They really love the missionaries. There's some sweet people. One family in the ward were talking to us about how they were going to a Kelly Clarkson concert that night and Elder Joos got really jealous and asked them to get him something from the concert. Well, they called the next day and asked if we could come over for lunch. When we sat down at the table, brother Hines pulled out two tickets and one of them was signed. Elder Joos was speechless...until Brother Hines broke the news that it was fake. He had signed it. Haha, it was funny. 

The work is going pretty well here. We've got a 17 year old named Cody that is pretty close to baptism. We just need to make sure he'll be committed.  We've also got an 11 year old named Ethan, and his grandmother, Melody that we're working with. We couldn't meet with them this week due to sickness, but they're doing really well. Melody is taking great steps to quit smoking. 

Love you!

Jared

Way down in Kokomo

August 27, 2012

Dear Jared,

It's been another busy week here in the desert heat.  Mirranda and Russell got Married on Saturday morning in the Salt Lake Temple. The ceremony was beautiful and they looked so happy. It took me back 22 years when your dad and I were young and we married in the same temple. That was without a doubt one of the happiest days of my life. My face hurt from smiling all day long. That was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.

Saturday evening we were getting ready to head out to Tooele for the reception. We were standing in front of the garage talking. Grandma moved her foot and stepped on Bella. She let out a yelp, so Grandma moved quick, tripped on Bella and fell flat on her back. She blacked out for a few seconds and them came to. Grandpa yelled for me to call 911. Within a couple of minutes we could hear sirens. Here came the firetruck and the ambulance. They took her to the hospital and checked her out. After a few CT scans, they determined she had no bleeding on the brain and no fractures. We were so relieved. Brain trauma can be so horrible. She is really sore and feels like she has been run over by a semi, but we feel really blessed that it was nothing serious.

Sunday was Stake Conference, scheduled at 2:00. I got a call from President Hawley at 8:00 a.m., telling me there had been a mixup and we were really scheduled at 11:00 a.m. We made a few quick calls to let as many people know as possible. Mikayla was one of the youth speakers. She got up and was super calm. She gave a really awesome talk and didn't even appear to be nervous in spite of the fact she was speaking to over 1200 people. You would have been so proud of her. She did a great job and seemed so confidant and sure of herself. She is a gifted speaker.

The topic of Stake conference was temple. It made me wonder where the Indian temple is at in the construction. Do you have any idea what's going on?

We are anxious to hear about transfers. Where did you end up and with who? Give us the details.

Lots of love,  Mom

Hey,

My new companion's name is Elder Joos (pronounced "Johs"). He's been out for 4 1/2 months. I'm in a little town called Kokomo (insert Beach Boys joke here). Elder Santy, my companion from Bloomington took my place in Carmel, and I took his place here. It's a fairly nice little town. It's definitely a change from Carmel, which I heard was just ranked #1 in the nation for being one of the nicest places to live. Kokomo is an automotive town. Chrysler is a big employer here. The ward here used to be thriving a few years ago until Chrysler cut a ton of employees. I've heard that when that happened, about half the ward moved out. There's definitely a lot of work to be done here. 

To answer your question about the temple in Carmel, they haven't even broken ground yet, or announced a date for it. Rumors are going around saying it'll be in September. Elder Smith and I took some photos on the temple lot on Sunday, but I don't have my camera cable, so I can't send them. 

Not really much to talk about this week. We've just been going around getting to know the ward. 

Love you,

Jared