Howdy Jared,
Another week has come and gone, this one was much less eventful than other weeks. We just hung out around the house. I spent a lot of time quilting in my new studio. Taylor spent most of his time working on the car. Mikayla is doing summer school, so she is gone 7 hours a day. Dad was on a business trip in Las Vegas, so it was super quiet here.
Dad said he came away from Vegas unscathed, mostly. He enjoyed a little change of pace. I guess what they say is true, "A change is as good as a rest."
Dad enjoyed a nice breakfast in bed to celebrate Fathers Day. Hallie made a really cute candy bar poster for him and Mikayla wrote a really heartfelt letter. For dinner we all ate TV dinners to commemorate fathers everywhere. What a great day. I sure do love your dad. He is such a great man and an awesome example for all of you. I hope you realize that. He understands the importance of being honest, honorable and faithful. I sure did do a good job choosing him. I have a pretty amazing dad to look up to as well. He has always been a great role model for me and a fine example of what an honorable priesthood leader should be. I love my dad. I have life pretty good.
Today I taught the Relief Society lesson on Revelation and Inspiration. I shared with the sisters how as a young mother I learned the very valuable lesson of listening to the still small voice. I told the story of how I ignored the promptings of the spirit that I should tell you to stop knocking icicles off the house. Of course I didn't listen, and as a consequence, you got your lip cut completely open by a very sharp icicle. That's a lesson that I will never forget. I'm glad to hear that you have already learned in your young life to follow the promptings that you are given. I love hearing about all your experiences.
The gospel is true! God loves you. I love you. Have an amazing week.
Love,
Mom
Hello,
Well, this was our first week in a trio. Our companionship now consists of Elder Matthews, Elder Tobler, and me. On Monday we were biking to a dinner appointment, and man, heads really turn when they see three guys in white shirts and ties riding bikes. It was a fun ride. We even found a turtle on the way. We were biking down the sidewalk and saw a turtle about the size of a dinner plate. I decided to stop and pick it up and take it away from the road it was about to walk on and to take it over to the pond nearby. As a thank you for saving it's life, the turtle peed all over my leg. It was a warm thank you. Luckily, it's so hot right now that my pants were completely dry by the time we got to dinner.
On Tuesday we were biking to an appointment when the person we were supposed to meet with called and cancelled. We decided that we would knock on some of the apartments nearby. A man from Egypt named Michelle answered and after sharing a short message he invited us in to tell him more. The lesson went great...until the end. When we explained that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are seperate beings he couldn't take it. He started arguing and ended up telling us never to come back. Oh well though.
Saturday was really good. We biked a long ways in the hot sun to try by a potential investigator we've been trying to meet with for a long time now. We stopped by at just the right time. She told us that it was the three year anniversary of her husband's death. We answered a lot of her questions and taught a lot about the Plan of Salvation. She told us that the past two years, on the day of his death there has been a rainbow in the sky, even when it's not raining. She said that this year, we must have been the rainbow he sent. It was pretty cool.
Well, that's about all for this week.
Tell Dad happy Father's Day.
Love,
Jared
Friday, June 22, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
PBS Kids
Good morning Jared,
As you could have guessed, you're going to get a report about trek, since that is all we did last week.
Our theme was "Remember Miracles Happen", which turned out to be really sweet since it provided a great reminder along the way for everyone to watch for them. We experienced plenty of them along the way. One happened on the way home when our bus caught on fire. We didn't realize it because all the smoke was behind us, but cars started honking and someone called the fire department. By the time the bus stopped, the entire back of the bus was completely engulfed in smoke. We got everyone off safely and got on another bus. Somehow the fire went out by itself before the fire department arrived just minutes later. After the fact, it was more scary thinking about all the "what if's". I'm really grateful for that miracle.
The whole experience was really neat for me. I had many moments where the spirit was very powerful which immediately brought me to tears. Perhaps the most touching moment of the trip was during the women's pull. They had a slightly uphill, very sandy path which was very difficult for many handcarts, since some of them only had three girls. The young men were standing on both sides of the road at the very end, with their hats held over their hearts, watching as the girls struggled past them. The biggest tear jerker came as the last cart pulled through. Three girls, the oldest was your sister Mikayla (15), a twelve year old sister and Marissa (14) who was born with only one leg. Marissa was determined to trek the entire 20 miles with her prosthetic leg. When they came through the lineup of boys, there was scarcely a dry eye. Some of the grown men were sobbing. It was a very tender moment to say the least.
Mikayla knew she had to be the strength in her family, and she was. I was so proud of her. Marissa, although she struggled, made the entire trek without a single complaint. She was never even tempted to get a ride on the handcart even with a lot of people offering. What an inspiration to us all.
There was so much more, but I will spare you all the details. Suffice it to say that at the end I reigned victorious in a massive whip creme fight with Zach Hosman. Unfortunately there IS video evidence to prove it. You should be so proud.
I am so grateful you are working for the Lord. I know you are in good hands and I can see your progress through each letter.
I want to share with you a quote from Winnie the Pooh, which someone used at your graduation:
"You are braver than you know, stronger than you believe and smarter than you think".
Have an awesome week.
Love,
Mom
P.S. Pray for your dad. He is in Las Vegas all week. :)
Hey,
We've had some fun stuff happen lately. On Saturday we got to help out at a PBS Kids event in the park in downtown Indianapolis. It was pretty cool. We were the crowd control for all the PBS characters that were there. Elder Tobler and I were at the meet and greet tent with two characters called "Super Why" and "Wonder Red" where families could get their pictures taken with them. They came out alternating every thirty minutes and we were in charge of cutting off the line after the thirty minutes were up so the characters could have a break. There were some angry parents. Haha. It was a lot of fun though. There were about 40,000 people there.
We just dropped Elder Rawlins off at the mission home so he can go home and prepare for his mission in Washington in a few weeks. So, Elder Matthews, Elder Tobler and I will be in a trio for the rest of the transfer unless anyone else comes out soon. We all get along well so it's going to be fun. We'll be covering both areas so we'll be busy all the time.
Other than that stuff, it's been a pretty slow week.
Love you,
Jared
As you could have guessed, you're going to get a report about trek, since that is all we did last week.
Our theme was "Remember Miracles Happen", which turned out to be really sweet since it provided a great reminder along the way for everyone to watch for them. We experienced plenty of them along the way. One happened on the way home when our bus caught on fire. We didn't realize it because all the smoke was behind us, but cars started honking and someone called the fire department. By the time the bus stopped, the entire back of the bus was completely engulfed in smoke. We got everyone off safely and got on another bus. Somehow the fire went out by itself before the fire department arrived just minutes later. After the fact, it was more scary thinking about all the "what if's". I'm really grateful for that miracle.
The whole experience was really neat for me. I had many moments where the spirit was very powerful which immediately brought me to tears. Perhaps the most touching moment of the trip was during the women's pull. They had a slightly uphill, very sandy path which was very difficult for many handcarts, since some of them only had three girls. The young men were standing on both sides of the road at the very end, with their hats held over their hearts, watching as the girls struggled past them. The biggest tear jerker came as the last cart pulled through. Three girls, the oldest was your sister Mikayla (15), a twelve year old sister and Marissa (14) who was born with only one leg. Marissa was determined to trek the entire 20 miles with her prosthetic leg. When they came through the lineup of boys, there was scarcely a dry eye. Some of the grown men were sobbing. It was a very tender moment to say the least.
Mikayla knew she had to be the strength in her family, and she was. I was so proud of her. Marissa, although she struggled, made the entire trek without a single complaint. She was never even tempted to get a ride on the handcart even with a lot of people offering. What an inspiration to us all.
There was so much more, but I will spare you all the details. Suffice it to say that at the end I reigned victorious in a massive whip creme fight with Zach Hosman. Unfortunately there IS video evidence to prove it. You should be so proud.
I am so grateful you are working for the Lord. I know you are in good hands and I can see your progress through each letter.
I want to share with you a quote from Winnie the Pooh, which someone used at your graduation:
"You are braver than you know, stronger than you believe and smarter than you think".
Have an awesome week.
Love,
Mom
P.S. Pray for your dad. He is in Las Vegas all week. :)
Hey,
We've had some fun stuff happen lately. On Saturday we got to help out at a PBS Kids event in the park in downtown Indianapolis. It was pretty cool. We were the crowd control for all the PBS characters that were there. Elder Tobler and I were at the meet and greet tent with two characters called "Super Why" and "Wonder Red" where families could get their pictures taken with them. They came out alternating every thirty minutes and we were in charge of cutting off the line after the thirty minutes were up so the characters could have a break. There were some angry parents. Haha. It was a lot of fun though. There were about 40,000 people there.
We just dropped Elder Rawlins off at the mission home so he can go home and prepare for his mission in Washington in a few weeks. So, Elder Matthews, Elder Tobler and I will be in a trio for the rest of the transfer unless anyone else comes out soon. We all get along well so it's going to be fun. We'll be covering both areas so we'll be busy all the time.
Other than that stuff, it's been a pretty slow week.
Love you,
Jared
Monday, June 4, 2012
Guided by the Spirit
Hi Jared,
Did you get your new bike? I sent off the payment, so everything should be good. Please remember to lock it up with the lock they provided.
As you can imagine, this was a busy week, since it was the end of the school year. We were privileged to attend Honors Night at the school for Mikayla. She is a great student and was recognized for her amazing grades. We are really proud of her. Hallie is going to be the same way. She likes getting straight A's. They are much easier than boys who are accustomed to getting one-legged A's.
My bike ride was a lot of fun. I hope you got the pics of your dad and sisters dressed as hippies. Holy cow! That was funny. Taylor, as usual, avoided the camera, and there is no actual photo evidence that I really participated, so you're just going to have to take my word for it. No big crashes this year, and we were blessed that it was overcast for the first 50 miles, so it all turned out great! Love, Peace, Ride!
We are making final preparations for trek. I might be in a full fledged panic by tonight because there is still so much to do, but come Wednesday morning it won't matter anymore. We'll be off on a bus and ready for another adventure.
Mikayla is doing summer school his year. I just dropped her off at Woods Cross. She's taking Biology. I've heard that is a really fun class.
Well, I'd better get busy, time's a ticking. I love you and we never quit praying for your success and safety. Have another awesome week.
Love,
Mom
Hello,
Yes, I got the new bike and I'm locking it up all the time.
This week has been pretty crazy. We've had a lot of things happen. Transfers happened on Wednesday. Elder Tobler and I stayed, but one of the Elders in our apartment left. So, Elder Matthews, one of the Elders covering Westfield got a new companion who has been out for three months and has been struggling with some things. He ended up going home on Saturday morning. Poor guy. This is where things get really confusing... So, to replace this elder another elder that was in a tri-panionship in Avon got emergency transferred here. That elder is Elder Rawlins, he's on a mini-mission right now. He has a mild form of autism so they let him serve a three month mission here to see if he could handle it. He can, so he got a call to a mission in Washington. So, because he got emergency transferred here, he's now serving in his home ward until the 11th when he leaves for the MTC. After the 11th, Elder Tobler, Matthews and I will be serving together covering both areas for the next few weeks until another elder who broke his ankle comes back from recovering at home to be Elder Matthews' new companion. So because of this strange situation We had to do a little exchange on Sunday for church because Elder Rawlins can't be in the building his home ward is in. He and I went to a ward in Fishers while Elder Matthews and Elder Tobler went to church in Carmel and Westfield.
So, that's the situation right now, and it's a little crazy here. We've had a very productive week.
We've had a lot of situations where we've really been guided on what we need to be doing. Most days this week we've had something unexpected come up and because of it, we haven't had time to do all that we planned for. On Friday we were stressing all day trying to find a member to go with us to an appointment that was ten miles away. We couldn't get there without a member because we don't have the car, and nobody was answering our calls. Our appointment ended up canceling on us, so we had to find something else to do instead. I had the thought to stop by a family we found tracting. We rode over there and they let us right in. We taught them the Restoration and it was great. They were really accepting! Tony and Sarah are an amazing couple.
Another time, it happened the next day. We had something come up that took away a lot of our afternoon, so we had to pick what plans we would use. We decided on visiting a less-active family we can barely ever get in contact with. We shared a short message about the ressurrection and what do you know? It was exactly what she needed to hear to comfort a friend.
And...it happened for a third time yesterday! We had originally planned to take a dinner break late in the evening but the Bishop of the Westfield ward invited us all over for dinner. After dinner we had about an hour and fifteen minutes to go somewhere. We decided to stop by Keith, and investigator we haven't been able to meet with because he's always flying out of town for work. We stopped by at just the right time and caught him home. We had a great lesson with him and the spirit was strong. We invited him to be baptized once he knew what we were sharing was true and he accepted!
This week has been full of amazing spiritual experiences. We're seeing a lot of progress in the area right now. I know that it's all building up right now, and soon, we're going to have a lot of people progressing. I know this work is true.
Love you,
Jared
Did you get your new bike? I sent off the payment, so everything should be good. Please remember to lock it up with the lock they provided.
As you can imagine, this was a busy week, since it was the end of the school year. We were privileged to attend Honors Night at the school for Mikayla. She is a great student and was recognized for her amazing grades. We are really proud of her. Hallie is going to be the same way. She likes getting straight A's. They are much easier than boys who are accustomed to getting one-legged A's.
My bike ride was a lot of fun. I hope you got the pics of your dad and sisters dressed as hippies. Holy cow! That was funny. Taylor, as usual, avoided the camera, and there is no actual photo evidence that I really participated, so you're just going to have to take my word for it. No big crashes this year, and we were blessed that it was overcast for the first 50 miles, so it all turned out great! Love, Peace, Ride!
We are making final preparations for trek. I might be in a full fledged panic by tonight because there is still so much to do, but come Wednesday morning it won't matter anymore. We'll be off on a bus and ready for another adventure.
Mikayla is doing summer school his year. I just dropped her off at Woods Cross. She's taking Biology. I've heard that is a really fun class.
Well, I'd better get busy, time's a ticking. I love you and we never quit praying for your success and safety. Have another awesome week.
Love,
Mom
Hello,
Yes, I got the new bike and I'm locking it up all the time.
This week has been pretty crazy. We've had a lot of things happen. Transfers happened on Wednesday. Elder Tobler and I stayed, but one of the Elders in our apartment left. So, Elder Matthews, one of the Elders covering Westfield got a new companion who has been out for three months and has been struggling with some things. He ended up going home on Saturday morning. Poor guy. This is where things get really confusing... So, to replace this elder another elder that was in a tri-panionship in Avon got emergency transferred here. That elder is Elder Rawlins, he's on a mini-mission right now. He has a mild form of autism so they let him serve a three month mission here to see if he could handle it. He can, so he got a call to a mission in Washington. So, because he got emergency transferred here, he's now serving in his home ward until the 11th when he leaves for the MTC. After the 11th, Elder Tobler, Matthews and I will be serving together covering both areas for the next few weeks until another elder who broke his ankle comes back from recovering at home to be Elder Matthews' new companion. So because of this strange situation We had to do a little exchange on Sunday for church because Elder Rawlins can't be in the building his home ward is in. He and I went to a ward in Fishers while Elder Matthews and Elder Tobler went to church in Carmel and Westfield.
So, that's the situation right now, and it's a little crazy here. We've had a very productive week.
We've had a lot of situations where we've really been guided on what we need to be doing. Most days this week we've had something unexpected come up and because of it, we haven't had time to do all that we planned for. On Friday we were stressing all day trying to find a member to go with us to an appointment that was ten miles away. We couldn't get there without a member because we don't have the car, and nobody was answering our calls. Our appointment ended up canceling on us, so we had to find something else to do instead. I had the thought to stop by a family we found tracting. We rode over there and they let us right in. We taught them the Restoration and it was great. They were really accepting! Tony and Sarah are an amazing couple.
Another time, it happened the next day. We had something come up that took away a lot of our afternoon, so we had to pick what plans we would use. We decided on visiting a less-active family we can barely ever get in contact with. We shared a short message about the ressurrection and what do you know? It was exactly what she needed to hear to comfort a friend.
And...it happened for a third time yesterday! We had originally planned to take a dinner break late in the evening but the Bishop of the Westfield ward invited us all over for dinner. After dinner we had about an hour and fifteen minutes to go somewhere. We decided to stop by Keith, and investigator we haven't been able to meet with because he's always flying out of town for work. We stopped by at just the right time and caught him home. We had a great lesson with him and the spirit was strong. We invited him to be baptized once he knew what we were sharing was true and he accepted!
This week has been full of amazing spiritual experiences. We're seeing a lot of progress in the area right now. I know that it's all building up right now, and soon, we're going to have a lot of people progressing. I know this work is true.
Love you,
Jared
Monday, May 21, 2012
Blessings in Carmel
Hello Jared,
Were you able to see the solar eclipse? It was pretty cool. We put Taylor's welding helmet on and watched it. We had the whole neighborhood out taking turns looking at it.
We had Stake Conference this weekend. It was really good. They did a satellite broadcast from the conference center to our chapel. It was for Davis County. My favorite talk was by Elder Holland. He asked everyone to think about a talk from General Conference and wanted to know how many of us had made a change in our lives because of something that we heard during conference. Then he proceeded to teach us the principle of, "Be doers of the word and not hearers only". It was very thought provoking and of course made me want to do better.
Friday afternoon I was able to go on our training trek. It was a lot of fun and got me really excited for our upcoming trek in just a few weeks. Hopefully it all turns out well.
Have a great week. We're praying for you.
Love,
Mom
Hey,
We've been super busy this week with all kinds of stuff. On Thursday we helped a family move and right after the move we went to help Ryan and his mother with some yardwork. We were doing service almost all day. Afterwards we were rushing to an appointment to give someone a blessing. There are a lot of hospitals in this area so we get the opportunity to give a lot of blessings to other Elders' members and investigators. Giving the blessing was a powerful experience. It was a referral from a member in one of the Indianapolis Wards, and this lady didn't really know anyting about the church when we showed up. We taught her a little before we gave the blessing. We asked her if she had faith that this blessing would help her and she said "absolutely". After the blessing she was in tears and told us that she felt a lot better. It was great.
Saturday was also an amazing day. We had a mission conference with Elder Neal L. Anderson and Elder Parker, an Area 70. Elder Parker spoke first and it was great. He's a convert of 30 years and by the way he spoke, you can tell he was a Southern Baptist. We got preached to. Haha. Elder Anderson was great. He spoke a lot about the Atonement. His talk was amazing and his testimony powerful. What an experience!
We also got some exciting news this week. The temple renderings have been released! Hopefully they'll break ground soon. The Temple site is in our area, so I think it'd be a great finding and teaching opportunity.
Love you,
Jared
Were you able to see the solar eclipse? It was pretty cool. We put Taylor's welding helmet on and watched it. We had the whole neighborhood out taking turns looking at it.
We had Stake Conference this weekend. It was really good. They did a satellite broadcast from the conference center to our chapel. It was for Davis County. My favorite talk was by Elder Holland. He asked everyone to think about a talk from General Conference and wanted to know how many of us had made a change in our lives because of something that we heard during conference. Then he proceeded to teach us the principle of, "Be doers of the word and not hearers only". It was very thought provoking and of course made me want to do better.
Friday afternoon I was able to go on our training trek. It was a lot of fun and got me really excited for our upcoming trek in just a few weeks. Hopefully it all turns out well.
Have a great week. We're praying for you.
Love,
Mom
Hey,
We've been super busy this week with all kinds of stuff. On Thursday we helped a family move and right after the move we went to help Ryan and his mother with some yardwork. We were doing service almost all day. Afterwards we were rushing to an appointment to give someone a blessing. There are a lot of hospitals in this area so we get the opportunity to give a lot of blessings to other Elders' members and investigators. Giving the blessing was a powerful experience. It was a referral from a member in one of the Indianapolis Wards, and this lady didn't really know anyting about the church when we showed up. We taught her a little before we gave the blessing. We asked her if she had faith that this blessing would help her and she said "absolutely". After the blessing she was in tears and told us that she felt a lot better. It was great.
Saturday was also an amazing day. We had a mission conference with Elder Neal L. Anderson and Elder Parker, an Area 70. Elder Parker spoke first and it was great. He's a convert of 30 years and by the way he spoke, you can tell he was a Southern Baptist. We got preached to. Haha. Elder Anderson was great. He spoke a lot about the Atonement. His talk was amazing and his testimony powerful. What an experience!
We also got some exciting news this week. The temple renderings have been released! Hopefully they'll break ground soon. The Temple site is in our area, so I think it'd be a great finding and teaching opportunity.
Love you,
Jared
Friday, May 18, 2012
The Work Goes On!
Jared,
It was super fun to talk to you last night. We really enjoyed our time with you. I am happy that you seem to be doing so well.
I talked to Tammy last night and she said Bridger said to tell you that he just got a letter from you that was postmarked two months ago. Apparently the mail is really slow there. Brings new meaning to the phrase, "snail mail".
What's the lastest with Sibanda's, Ryan and Thompson's? And the lady you met in the parking lot, did anything ever come of that?
Last week was my scrapbook retreat. We spent Monday thru Wednesday up at Collards cabin. I got a lot done and we had a good time. Perhaps the best time there was when a tiny little mouse poked its head out from under the recliner. Nichole shrieked and jumped up on a chair. Hahaha! Too bad we didn't get video footage of that. Pretty sure it would have gone viral. Haha! Jenn grabbed a broom and smashed the little critter flat. She was the hero of the day.
Well, it's off to the races for me. Time to wake the kids up.
Love you!
Mom
Hey,
The letter that Bridger got was sent when I was in Plainfield. I sent it about a year ago. We email back and forth so it's alright. I'm just glad I don't have to rely on mail alone.
The Sibandas are still doing well, aside from the job situation. Brother Sibanda works in South Bend, which is about three hours north of here. He's working all the time and can't get Sundays off. We're just waiting for a miracle with them. Ryan just moved into the Westfield Ward, so he's not our investigator anymore. We're going to help him with some yard work and have a barbeque this week though. We had an appointment with Michelle, the lady we met in the parking lot. She didn't show up though. We'll keep trying. We had a great lesson with Brother Thompson a few days ago. We reviewed the Restoration with him and read it right out of Joseph Smith History. He said it was powerful hearing it in his own words. He told us that his wife's friends are telling them all this false information and he keeps defending us. He said "there's something in that book that Satan doesn't want me to read. He's doing all he can to stop me from reading it." He knows it's true, but it's a little hard to get him to act on it. He really doesn't like to be pushed. We're getting close with him though.
Well, that's about it.
Love you!
Jared
It was super fun to talk to you last night. We really enjoyed our time with you. I am happy that you seem to be doing so well.
I talked to Tammy last night and she said Bridger said to tell you that he just got a letter from you that was postmarked two months ago. Apparently the mail is really slow there. Brings new meaning to the phrase, "snail mail".
What's the lastest with Sibanda's, Ryan and Thompson's? And the lady you met in the parking lot, did anything ever come of that?
Last week was my scrapbook retreat. We spent Monday thru Wednesday up at Collards cabin. I got a lot done and we had a good time. Perhaps the best time there was when a tiny little mouse poked its head out from under the recliner. Nichole shrieked and jumped up on a chair. Hahaha! Too bad we didn't get video footage of that. Pretty sure it would have gone viral. Haha! Jenn grabbed a broom and smashed the little critter flat. She was the hero of the day.
Well, it's off to the races for me. Time to wake the kids up.
Love you!
Mom
Hey,
The letter that Bridger got was sent when I was in Plainfield. I sent it about a year ago. We email back and forth so it's alright. I'm just glad I don't have to rely on mail alone.
The Sibandas are still doing well, aside from the job situation. Brother Sibanda works in South Bend, which is about three hours north of here. He's working all the time and can't get Sundays off. We're just waiting for a miracle with them. Ryan just moved into the Westfield Ward, so he's not our investigator anymore. We're going to help him with some yard work and have a barbeque this week though. We had an appointment with Michelle, the lady we met in the parking lot. She didn't show up though. We'll keep trying. We had a great lesson with Brother Thompson a few days ago. We reviewed the Restoration with him and read it right out of Joseph Smith History. He said it was powerful hearing it in his own words. He told us that his wife's friends are telling them all this false information and he keeps defending us. He said "there's something in that book that Satan doesn't want me to read. He's doing all he can to stop me from reading it." He knows it's true, but it's a little hard to get him to act on it. He really doesn't like to be pushed. We're getting close with him though.
Well, that's about it.
Love you!
Jared
Thursday, May 10, 2012
A Lot of Love in Carmel
May 7, 2012
Hello again,
This week flew by in nothing flat. It was super busy with lots of fun things! Mikayla was in a play at her school and the performances were this week, so of course we wanted to be to all of them we could. It was "Honk", the story of the ugly duckling. It was a really cute show which was very well done, right down to the casting. Mikayla, of course, was my very favorite actor. She did a stellar job as a turkey and I was so proud of her. maybe some day she'll be on broadway. She does have quite the knack for acting.
Oakley got baptized on Saturday. It was very nice and I enjoyed visiting with everyone afterwards. Marion has taken a job with the State of Wyoming. He is in the process of selling his shop in Draper and will be moving up there. He started a few weeks ago so he was telling us all about his new job and how different it is from owning his own place. Holly is getting married in July and Mirranda is getting married in August. Paige has two boyfriends, she just can't decide which one she wants to marry. Garrett bought his own house just outside of Vernal and is making a lot of money. Adam's new baby, Bentley, is pretty cute and so is Holly's baby, Lucy. Everyone is growing up and things are changing so quickly.
Did you get your package? I hope you like the book. Have a fantastic week.
I love you!
Mom
Hey,
This week's been great. All the senior missionares live around us so we get really spoiled. The Jarmans are always having us over for dinner and Sister Parker is always baking something for us. We get a lot of love here.
On Wednesday we did a lot of work in the Indianapolis part of our area. We've been finding some great people there. The only problem is it's a little hard to get down there on the weeks we don't have the car.
Wednesday Night we had dinner with Brother Bell, who is a beekeeper. We got to go into his backyard with him and put two queen bees into two of his hives. It was pretty neat. He's got a roommate from Germany, he lives about an hour away from Tim. That was a really fun night.
We had our Zone Conference on Thursday, which was great. I'm always eager to get back out and start working harder than ever whenever we have meetings like that.
After Zone Conference we had dinner with a member in Indianapolis. While we were there our appointement for the next hour fell through. We moved on to our backup plans and tried by a few former investigators and planned to tract in the area. Once we tried by everyone I felt like we should try one more that was in an apartment complex a few miles away. We got in the car and drove over there. We parked the car and got out to walk to the apartment. There was a car parked next to us with the windows down and this mother and her daughter in the car talking. They sounded like they were in distress. We walked to the apartment and knocked, but nobody was home. As we were walking back out there was a group of teenagers all leaning on our car and talking to the people in the car next to ours. We saw this as a great opportunity to talk to all of them. We introduced ourselves and started explaining who we were. The mom in the car asked us if there were any black people in our chruch. She said she had never heard of a black Mormon before. Elder Tobler jumped right into the Restoration and explained everything. By the time he was done they said they really wanted to get a copy of the Book of Mormon. It was amazing. We'll be going back next week. She's got eight kids, so this should be a fun teaching experience.
Saturday was really neat as well. We helped a family move in the morning. We taught Chris, who is doing great. He's so sincere about learing more about the gospel. He's great. Setting a baptism date with him is out of our control, but I think he'll be able to be baptized soon. For dinner last night we ate with the Moalas, who are members of our ward. He's also a starting defensive end for the Colts. He brought a teammate over for dinner too. He's a starting center that just got signed to the Colts from the Steelers. Dinner was amazing. It was one of the few times I've had ribs in the past year. We brought the Westfield Elders with us too. We had a ton of fun with them. They're awesome.
The only downside to this week was that my bike was stolen last night. Bummer.
Love you,
Jared
Hello again,
This week flew by in nothing flat. It was super busy with lots of fun things! Mikayla was in a play at her school and the performances were this week, so of course we wanted to be to all of them we could. It was "Honk", the story of the ugly duckling. It was a really cute show which was very well done, right down to the casting. Mikayla, of course, was my very favorite actor. She did a stellar job as a turkey and I was so proud of her. maybe some day she'll be on broadway. She does have quite the knack for acting.
Oakley got baptized on Saturday. It was very nice and I enjoyed visiting with everyone afterwards. Marion has taken a job with the State of Wyoming. He is in the process of selling his shop in Draper and will be moving up there. He started a few weeks ago so he was telling us all about his new job and how different it is from owning his own place. Holly is getting married in July and Mirranda is getting married in August. Paige has two boyfriends, she just can't decide which one she wants to marry. Garrett bought his own house just outside of Vernal and is making a lot of money. Adam's new baby, Bentley, is pretty cute and so is Holly's baby, Lucy. Everyone is growing up and things are changing so quickly.
Did you get your package? I hope you like the book. Have a fantastic week.
I love you!
Mom
Hey,
This week's been great. All the senior missionares live around us so we get really spoiled. The Jarmans are always having us over for dinner and Sister Parker is always baking something for us. We get a lot of love here.
On Wednesday we did a lot of work in the Indianapolis part of our area. We've been finding some great people there. The only problem is it's a little hard to get down there on the weeks we don't have the car.
Wednesday Night we had dinner with Brother Bell, who is a beekeeper. We got to go into his backyard with him and put two queen bees into two of his hives. It was pretty neat. He's got a roommate from Germany, he lives about an hour away from Tim. That was a really fun night.
We had our Zone Conference on Thursday, which was great. I'm always eager to get back out and start working harder than ever whenever we have meetings like that.
After Zone Conference we had dinner with a member in Indianapolis. While we were there our appointement for the next hour fell through. We moved on to our backup plans and tried by a few former investigators and planned to tract in the area. Once we tried by everyone I felt like we should try one more that was in an apartment complex a few miles away. We got in the car and drove over there. We parked the car and got out to walk to the apartment. There was a car parked next to us with the windows down and this mother and her daughter in the car talking. They sounded like they were in distress. We walked to the apartment and knocked, but nobody was home. As we were walking back out there was a group of teenagers all leaning on our car and talking to the people in the car next to ours. We saw this as a great opportunity to talk to all of them. We introduced ourselves and started explaining who we were. The mom in the car asked us if there were any black people in our chruch. She said she had never heard of a black Mormon before. Elder Tobler jumped right into the Restoration and explained everything. By the time he was done they said they really wanted to get a copy of the Book of Mormon. It was amazing. We'll be going back next week. She's got eight kids, so this should be a fun teaching experience.
Saturday was really neat as well. We helped a family move in the morning. We taught Chris, who is doing great. He's so sincere about learing more about the gospel. He's great. Setting a baptism date with him is out of our control, but I think he'll be able to be baptized soon. For dinner last night we ate with the Moalas, who are members of our ward. He's also a starting defensive end for the Colts. He brought a teammate over for dinner too. He's a starting center that just got signed to the Colts from the Steelers. Dinner was amazing. It was one of the few times I've had ribs in the past year. We brought the Westfield Elders with us too. We had a ton of fun with them. They're awesome.
The only downside to this week was that my bike was stolen last night. Bummer.
Love you,
Jared
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Crime in Bountiful Soars
April 30, 2012
Good morning Jared,
We have had another crazy week. I guess it started out a week ago Friday when Grandma Mott called the eye doctor. She has been seeing some weird stuff out of one eye. He got her in on Friday, saw that she had a tear in her retina so he immediately got her an appointment with a specialist on Monday morning in Salt Lake. Her plan was to come out and back in one day. It was business as usual for me last Monday, so I was working at Spanky's when I looked up and saw both of my parents. The doctor told her she needed surgery and he would do it Tuesday morning. They came by to spend the night.
About 12:30 Tuesday morning, the phone rang. I thought it was perhaps someone calling to be the first to wish me a happy birthday, but instead it was Dennis. He said the cops were on their way and we might want to come out and make a statement. We were burglarized again! Dennis was just getting ready to get in bed when he saw headlights outside. He looked out and noticed the dome light in his car and Grandma and Grandpa's car were both on. There were some kids going through both of them. He turned his porch light on and yelled and they jumped in the get-a-way car and sped off. We think they came in on foot, cleaned out the cars and then the car came in for them. They got in Taylor's car, but found nothing. They somehow got into the Audi, which was locked, and got Dad's new GPS. Then they moved on to Dennis' car, got his stereo front and rummaged through the Buick but found nothing. When they were in the Audi, they went through the glove box where your iPod was...I felt terrible about losing that, of all things, but on closer examination, we found it. I'm not sure how they missed it. We think it had to be a miracle. The car was in the driveway where it was well lit, the dome light and the glove box light were on and the they had a flashlight (which they accidentally left in Dennis' car). How could they have not seen it? Anyway, it was our tender mercy. The police came and did an investigation. We ended up talking to him until about 1:30.
We climbed back in bed and tried to unwind from the early morning activities. After laying there a bit, Dad saw car lights reflecting off the garage. I jumped out of bed and ran to the front room window where I saw a small, dark car stopped. I watched as a tall man stepped out of the car. He was carrying some sort of bag. My heart was racing. I yelled in my loudest whisper for dad to call 911!. Then something inside me hesitated. I told him to hold the call until I did some investigation of my own. I watched as he slowly strolled towards Ensigns, then disappeared between Meske's and Ensigns. I waited a couple of minutes but he never came back out of the shadows. I put on a robe and headed over to find out who was lurking in the darkness. I slowly made my way over, with Dad following twenty feet behind with cell phone in hand in case he had to call for back up. When I got to the side of their garage, there was a light on and some rustling sounds. I was a little perplexed about how a crook could get in the garage, since the window is so far off the ground. I cautiously made my way around to the back of the house, where I saw Masen's tv through his bedroom window. It was then I realized it could have been him coming home. I went back to the side of the garage where I thought he was and called out to him, to make sure that was him in there. When he didn't answer, I realized what it was making the noise! They have a bunch of new baby chicks. Haha The light was the heat lamp and the rustling sound was them! Boy did I feel foolish. Later that day, Christy confirmed that it was Masen coming home at 2:00 am. I nearly called the cops on him!
So in the end, we only lost the GPS, we never caught the lousy crooks but they didn't get your iPod and they did no damage to the cars. We feel pretty blessed. Taylor said he was glad for the bad guys, because they are the ones that keep life exciting.
After Grandmas surgery, she decided to stay here for a week of recovery, since she is supposed to keep her eye looking to the ground for seven days and nights. The doctor injected a gas bubble in her eye to hold it where it needs to be to heal, but the eye had to be down in order for it to work properly. Today I will take her back to the doctor, if he clears her to go home, I will take her half way and meet Grandpa this afternoon.
Life is an adventure. Sometime when it isn't, we have to do things like follow our neighbors who lurk the the darkness at unearthly hours or talk to baby chicks in the middle of the night. In the end, it's all about the story. I thought maybe I could be a vigilante and stop a crime in progress, instead I just got put on somebody's stalker list. And Bella, our ferocious watchdog, slept through the whole thing.
I love you, Jared!
Mom
Hey,
Elder Tobler and I are doing great. We have had a pretty great week. We had dinner with a family in the ward last monday, we were talking to brother Jenkins, and it turns out, he's from Sunset Utah. He said he thinks his parents probably know grandma and grandpa.
We had a great lesson on Tuesday night. We have a family that is investigating the church, the Sibandas. They're from Zimbabwe, and they are amazing. They absolutely know that the church is true. They'd be baptized today if they could. The problem is they both work on Sundays. They've both asked time and time again to get Sundays off, but it's not happening. So that's the trial they're going through right now.
We were able to have dinner with a family in the ward, and have the Sibandas with us too. We had a great dinner and lesson afterwards. They can't come to church now, but they have a huge ammount of faith and I know that the Lord will bless them for it. He will provide a way. Thursday was great. Our evening was packed with appointments. We taught a guy named Ryan. He's been coming to church for the past few week. He's a great guy. We taught him and commited him to be baptized in June. He told us no, but he would think about it. A few days ago we got a call from him, and he had some questions about how the baptism service works. I have a feeling he'll get baptized pretty soon. Later that night we had a lesson with the Thompson family. Normally we just teach the father, but this time the son was there with a bunch of friends. They were all really interested and wanted to learn more. They had so many questions that we didn't get home until about 10:15...and we're supposed to be in at 9:30. Oops...
On Saturday we had some success. We were able to have three lessons back to back, and none of them were set appointments. We stopped by a few investigators we hadn't heard from in a while and happened to catch them home. That was two of the lessons. The third was with a man named Keith. We found his name in the potential investigators section of the area book. He let us right in and we taught him the Restoration. It was great.
Hope you're having a great week.
Love,
Jared
Good morning Jared,
We have had another crazy week. I guess it started out a week ago Friday when Grandma Mott called the eye doctor. She has been seeing some weird stuff out of one eye. He got her in on Friday, saw that she had a tear in her retina so he immediately got her an appointment with a specialist on Monday morning in Salt Lake. Her plan was to come out and back in one day. It was business as usual for me last Monday, so I was working at Spanky's when I looked up and saw both of my parents. The doctor told her she needed surgery and he would do it Tuesday morning. They came by to spend the night.
About 12:30 Tuesday morning, the phone rang. I thought it was perhaps someone calling to be the first to wish me a happy birthday, but instead it was Dennis. He said the cops were on their way and we might want to come out and make a statement. We were burglarized again! Dennis was just getting ready to get in bed when he saw headlights outside. He looked out and noticed the dome light in his car and Grandma and Grandpa's car were both on. There were some kids going through both of them. He turned his porch light on and yelled and they jumped in the get-a-way car and sped off. We think they came in on foot, cleaned out the cars and then the car came in for them. They got in Taylor's car, but found nothing. They somehow got into the Audi, which was locked, and got Dad's new GPS. Then they moved on to Dennis' car, got his stereo front and rummaged through the Buick but found nothing. When they were in the Audi, they went through the glove box where your iPod was...I felt terrible about losing that, of all things, but on closer examination, we found it. I'm not sure how they missed it. We think it had to be a miracle. The car was in the driveway where it was well lit, the dome light and the glove box light were on and the they had a flashlight (which they accidentally left in Dennis' car). How could they have not seen it? Anyway, it was our tender mercy. The police came and did an investigation. We ended up talking to him until about 1:30.
We climbed back in bed and tried to unwind from the early morning activities. After laying there a bit, Dad saw car lights reflecting off the garage. I jumped out of bed and ran to the front room window where I saw a small, dark car stopped. I watched as a tall man stepped out of the car. He was carrying some sort of bag. My heart was racing. I yelled in my loudest whisper for dad to call 911!. Then something inside me hesitated. I told him to hold the call until I did some investigation of my own. I watched as he slowly strolled towards Ensigns, then disappeared between Meske's and Ensigns. I waited a couple of minutes but he never came back out of the shadows. I put on a robe and headed over to find out who was lurking in the darkness. I slowly made my way over, with Dad following twenty feet behind with cell phone in hand in case he had to call for back up. When I got to the side of their garage, there was a light on and some rustling sounds. I was a little perplexed about how a crook could get in the garage, since the window is so far off the ground. I cautiously made my way around to the back of the house, where I saw Masen's tv through his bedroom window. It was then I realized it could have been him coming home. I went back to the side of the garage where I thought he was and called out to him, to make sure that was him in there. When he didn't answer, I realized what it was making the noise! They have a bunch of new baby chicks. Haha The light was the heat lamp and the rustling sound was them! Boy did I feel foolish. Later that day, Christy confirmed that it was Masen coming home at 2:00 am. I nearly called the cops on him!
So in the end, we only lost the GPS, we never caught the lousy crooks but they didn't get your iPod and they did no damage to the cars. We feel pretty blessed. Taylor said he was glad for the bad guys, because they are the ones that keep life exciting.
After Grandmas surgery, she decided to stay here for a week of recovery, since she is supposed to keep her eye looking to the ground for seven days and nights. The doctor injected a gas bubble in her eye to hold it where it needs to be to heal, but the eye had to be down in order for it to work properly. Today I will take her back to the doctor, if he clears her to go home, I will take her half way and meet Grandpa this afternoon.
Life is an adventure. Sometime when it isn't, we have to do things like follow our neighbors who lurk the the darkness at unearthly hours or talk to baby chicks in the middle of the night. In the end, it's all about the story. I thought maybe I could be a vigilante and stop a crime in progress, instead I just got put on somebody's stalker list. And Bella, our ferocious watchdog, slept through the whole thing.
I love you, Jared!
Mom
Hey,
Elder Tobler and I are doing great. We have had a pretty great week. We had dinner with a family in the ward last monday, we were talking to brother Jenkins, and it turns out, he's from Sunset Utah. He said he thinks his parents probably know grandma and grandpa.
We had a great lesson on Tuesday night. We have a family that is investigating the church, the Sibandas. They're from Zimbabwe, and they are amazing. They absolutely know that the church is true. They'd be baptized today if they could. The problem is they both work on Sundays. They've both asked time and time again to get Sundays off, but it's not happening. So that's the trial they're going through right now.
We were able to have dinner with a family in the ward, and have the Sibandas with us too. We had a great dinner and lesson afterwards. They can't come to church now, but they have a huge ammount of faith and I know that the Lord will bless them for it. He will provide a way. Thursday was great. Our evening was packed with appointments. We taught a guy named Ryan. He's been coming to church for the past few week. He's a great guy. We taught him and commited him to be baptized in June. He told us no, but he would think about it. A few days ago we got a call from him, and he had some questions about how the baptism service works. I have a feeling he'll get baptized pretty soon. Later that night we had a lesson with the Thompson family. Normally we just teach the father, but this time the son was there with a bunch of friends. They were all really interested and wanted to learn more. They had so many questions that we didn't get home until about 10:15...and we're supposed to be in at 9:30. Oops...
On Saturday we had some success. We were able to have three lessons back to back, and none of them were set appointments. We stopped by a few investigators we hadn't heard from in a while and happened to catch them home. That was two of the lessons. The third was with a man named Keith. We found his name in the potential investigators section of the area book. He let us right in and we taught him the Restoration. It was great.
Hope you're having a great week.
Love,
Jared
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)