Hi Again,
Well...I'm staying in Foresthill another transfer. Unfortunately, Elder Neeley is being transferred to another area and I am getting a new companion. Boy do I hate change! Today is going to be one heck of a stressful day trying to get him ready to go. My new companion's name is Elder Kellen (sp?) and he will be up here at about 1:30 tomorrow. Elder Neeley and I are both pretty disappointed that he's leaving but oh well.
Hey Mom,
That's awesome that it's been another wet week at home. I'm pretty jealous. It's been quite warm out here, but that's okay, I'm learning to deal with it. I'm definitely looking forward to lots and lots of good pictures of our yard.
Sweet! I'm glad the piano got tuned. I miss having such a well-tuned piano at my disposal. On P-days we go to the Stake Center in Auburn for our activities with all of the other missionaries so I just play on one of the pianos in the church. The McCollams do not have a piano so unfortunately I can't play during my down time at home, but that's okay. I don't really get any comments about it from anybody except the branch members who hear me play in Priesthood meeting (most are hearing it while in Relief Society hahaha). I miss playing as often as I did at home, but I'm glad I still get to play fairly often out here.
The hike to Foresthill Bridge was good, very tiring, but good. We pretty much blazed our own trail on the way down since there wasn't one. It was pretty scary but so much fun :D Then we hiked on a trail up the river a ways, then across a bridge, then up the other side on a trail. By the time we got to the top (on the other side of the Foresthill Bridge) I was SOOOOO exhausted! It was fun though, I just don't plan on doing it again ;)
Thanks for your prayers as always.
Love you,
Elder Jay Davis
P.S. - My favorite missionary, Elder Pu, got transferred :( He's a Spanish Missionary. He is from Guatemala and SO SO SO funny and aweosme. Ahh well.
Hey Dad,
It's okay that you've been talking a lot about the weather I really don't mind hearing about it. That's awesome that you still cooked the hamburgers even though it was pouring :D I can totally picture Kody and Josh cracking up watching you run out in the rain and run back in. Wow, for Utah 1.5 inches is big! I'm not a fan of summer as you know so I'm glad that I'm staying in Foresthill at least another transfer because that guarantees I'll make most of the summer here in the higher, cooler, place.
I have definitely learned that we just have to get out there and ask them to make and keep commitments. I've found that you have nothing to lose and everything to gain so why not. Thank you for the advice. I'm working hard at not being nervous to do things that seem hard.
Things are still going well with Melissa though we haven't taught her for a while because of scheduling conflicts but all will be well. We have stopped by multiple times and she is still excited and progressing.
This week will be good, but hard getting to know and learn to work with a new companion. I'm pretty scared because I have to teach him about the area and about the rules we have at the member's home, etc. I'm fairly stressed but I know it will go well.
I love you too and you are more than welcome for the card.
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
P.S. - I got a tiny bit sunburned playing Ultimate Frisbee and football today, but don't worry, it's not all that bad, mostly it just turned to tan and will continue to do so. You should see the wicked awesome tan line I have though! Kody would be SOOOOO jealous ;) I'll see if I can get some pictures on the card and I'm trying to get some final videos to fill it up and send it home.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
June 15, 2009
Dear Mom,
Don't worry about me not hearing from my friends. I'm sure I'll hear from them intermittently (sp?) throughout my mission and they definitely have their own lives to live :) I know exactly how that can be. I actually heard from Sam on Saturday and that was AWESOME! She made my day. I'm really looking forward to hearing from Seth, Bekah, and Clay again.
Melissa and her husband are doing great! As far as we are aware she still hasn't smoked and she is still aiming for July 11th so I'm assuming all is well :D We are praying hard for her that's for sure! The good news is that her husband may be able to baptize her. They met with the Branch President and he said that if he goes 30 days living the word of wisdom then he can baptize her! HOW COOL! Though it'll be a huge struggle and that meant he had to start the very next day to make it in time! So we are hoping that he will be able to baptize her! If not that's ok, she'll be happy with her father-in-law baptizing her but it'd be cool if her husband could.
The cupcakes were AWESOME! I was so bummed when I ran out ;) hahaha Of course I shared with Elder Neeley :) I'm not THAT mean ;) He liked them, though he's not a huge sweet fan so I got to eat most of them :D Definitely a good choice of music book. I had fun playing through nearly the entire book last P-day. I actually have many times when I'm like, "I wish I had this music." But if I had you send all of the music I wanted I could very well have an entire suitcase full of music ;) (Just FYI if you send just books in the mail you can get a discounted price. So if you ever send a couple piano books just send them (and a letter or whatever that's insignificant) and you get a cheaper shipping price) So I will let you know when I get bored of this book or when I think of something that I would really like to have. Thanks for your willingness to send stuff :D (I also feel bad taking music from you lol)
That's awesome that you went to lunch with Angela :D I was thinking about them the other day. Man, sounds like you had some really really good food and dessert :D I know the feeling of how the food can be good but hanging out is better. We always tell the members who are worried about what they are feeding us that the reason we like having dinner with members is for the company, and different people to talk to, not because of the food.
YAY! NO TUMORS!!!!!!! That is SOOOO exciting! BLAH! I'm near tears :P How lame, anyway. That's great that you went to Chili's with Dad to celebrate :) I miss you guys.
Yeah, planting in the rain would have been pretty hard and not much fun :P I LOVE rain! That's something I'll miss for the next four or five months. Dad keeps commenting on how good the yard looks too so it must be AWESOME! I am looking forward to pictures! We had a HUGE thunder and lightning storm. Did I not tell you about it?! The thunder was continuous, it never stopped, and there was nearly non-stop lightning too and a downpour of rain. It was the weirdest thing ever but SO cool!
Holy cow Mom! That's a lot of plants lol I'm glad you had a good time planting them. I bet you were sore the next day! Man, you are crazy ;) I'm glad you weren't exhausted. You are definitely recovering well from your surgeries and I'm sure it's even more exciting for you than it is for me :D
That's awesome that you stopped at the Moyano's! I got pretty choked up reading that paragraph! I am happy that you thought to give Sister Moyano a hug from me! I really do miss giving people hugs. Anyway, thanks for watching out for them for me :D
That's good that you were able to enjoy a relaxing morning, those are always nice though I don't get them much anymore (1 day a week). lol, that's pretty funny that you accompanied Ye Elders of Israel. You'll have to make Dad learn it so a priesthood holder can be playing ;)
I have noticed in his emails and stuff that he definitely seems to be breaking out of his shell more and being social! It's awesome! I really am proud of him :D He and I are working at it together. You're going to be shocked when I get home ;)
For our P-day activity today the zone is going to hike down to the bottom of the Foresthill Bridge (you should do some research on it, it's pretty sweet). I don't know if you've seen the movie XXX (Triple X) (it's not a bad movie like the name sounds like, it's an action/drama I'd say). Anyway, it has Vin Diesel in it. He is a stunt junkie and he is sort of a fugitive but anyway, he drives a Corvette off of the Foresthill Bridge in the movie (they really did it!). It's the 2nd tallest in the U.S. I believe and the tallest in California. Or something like that, anyway it's over 700 ft. tall I believe. You'll have to look up details. But anyway, hopefully I'll get some good pictures :D (I said "anyway" a ton in that paragraph)
Transfers are next week already! Holy smokes! Yep, the 23rd. We'll know the 22nd. I think both of us will stay because at interviews Elder Neeley talked about it to President Pendleton. I'm sure whatever happens it'll be for the best like you said. I'm learning to accept change though I don't enjoy it most of the time still lol.
hahaha I am buying lots of ties at Thrift Stores though :D I've doubled my tie entourage and have two ties from my grandpa (the trainer of my trainer (my dad)). Thanks for being impressed with how I'm doing. I'm just trying to go with the flow and do my best.
lol, I love you too Mom :D I love reading your emails. Thanks for being such a fabulous mom!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hi Dad,
Holy smokes, it's rained every day? That's pretty crazy! It rained a tiny bit here Saturday night and that's it. I'm glad the lawn is doing well :D
Thank you for your prayers for Melissa. They are definitely being answered. Yesterday we taught one of the scariest lessons to teach as a missionary preparing an investigator for baptism and that is tithing and fast offerings People can get pretty weird and uptight about money. Luckily we taught it and said, "After you are baptized will you live the law of tithing?" Melissa said, "Yes." It was pretty simple and relieving for sure! We definitely know that the harder she tries the more opposition she will find but we have faith that she will be able to make it and we are doing what we can to help her get there. Thank you very much for the advice :D
Holy smokes! That is crazy to think that Spencer is going to be headed off to AFRICA!!! Man! The Lord definitely knows his children well and where they will serve well. I didn't realize he'd never flown before! Boy would that be an adventure! I am sure he'll have a blast though.
Yummy, Red Lobster sounds really good :) Tell Grandpa happy birthday for me even though it's way late. I'm glad you guys had fun. That's good that Kody made it back safe and sound and the scouts didn't eat him up or something I'm sure he'll tell me about it too :D
Transfers are the 23rd of June so we'll find out on the 22nd (or 21st if one of us is training) whether or not we are staying. Elder Neeley told President at interviews about the baptism and said that if President was willing he'd like to stay in Foresthill at least one more transfer for that. I also wrote in my letter to the President the same thing basically. President made a deal with Elder Neeley and said that if by the end of next transfer he would prepare another person for baptism he would let him stay (obviously no real way to inforce that, but ya know). So my guess is that both of us will still be here at least one more transfer but who knows. If not President usually lets us go to the baptisms if we aren't too far (so fingers crossed right?).
I think I remember hearing about how you got transferred but still got to perform the baptism. How exciting! We have definitely asked and will definitely continue to ask depending on the circumstances. Thanks for making sure I know these things :)
You weren't babbling but okay, you crack me up. Thanks for your constant prayers. I'm thinking about home a lot but only when I'm not busy which isn't all that often. So I think about home a lot of my little down time ;)
I'm trying to think of any funny experiences we've had recently but I'm drawing a blank so far. I have certainly learned to love the people that I am serving. California is absolutely where I was meant to serve.
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Don't worry about me not hearing from my friends. I'm sure I'll hear from them intermittently (sp?) throughout my mission and they definitely have their own lives to live :) I know exactly how that can be. I actually heard from Sam on Saturday and that was AWESOME! She made my day. I'm really looking forward to hearing from Seth, Bekah, and Clay again.
Melissa and her husband are doing great! As far as we are aware she still hasn't smoked and she is still aiming for July 11th so I'm assuming all is well :D We are praying hard for her that's for sure! The good news is that her husband may be able to baptize her. They met with the Branch President and he said that if he goes 30 days living the word of wisdom then he can baptize her! HOW COOL! Though it'll be a huge struggle and that meant he had to start the very next day to make it in time! So we are hoping that he will be able to baptize her! If not that's ok, she'll be happy with her father-in-law baptizing her but it'd be cool if her husband could.
The cupcakes were AWESOME! I was so bummed when I ran out ;) hahaha Of course I shared with Elder Neeley :) I'm not THAT mean ;) He liked them, though he's not a huge sweet fan so I got to eat most of them :D Definitely a good choice of music book. I had fun playing through nearly the entire book last P-day. I actually have many times when I'm like, "I wish I had this music." But if I had you send all of the music I wanted I could very well have an entire suitcase full of music ;) (Just FYI if you send just books in the mail you can get a discounted price. So if you ever send a couple piano books just send them (and a letter or whatever that's insignificant) and you get a cheaper shipping price) So I will let you know when I get bored of this book or when I think of something that I would really like to have. Thanks for your willingness to send stuff :D (I also feel bad taking music from you lol)
That's awesome that you went to lunch with Angela :D I was thinking about them the other day. Man, sounds like you had some really really good food and dessert :D I know the feeling of how the food can be good but hanging out is better. We always tell the members who are worried about what they are feeding us that the reason we like having dinner with members is for the company, and different people to talk to, not because of the food.
YAY! NO TUMORS!!!!!!! That is SOOOO exciting! BLAH! I'm near tears :P How lame, anyway. That's great that you went to Chili's with Dad to celebrate :) I miss you guys.
Yeah, planting in the rain would have been pretty hard and not much fun :P I LOVE rain! That's something I'll miss for the next four or five months. Dad keeps commenting on how good the yard looks too so it must be AWESOME! I am looking forward to pictures! We had a HUGE thunder and lightning storm. Did I not tell you about it?! The thunder was continuous, it never stopped, and there was nearly non-stop lightning too and a downpour of rain. It was the weirdest thing ever but SO cool!
Holy cow Mom! That's a lot of plants lol I'm glad you had a good time planting them. I bet you were sore the next day! Man, you are crazy ;) I'm glad you weren't exhausted. You are definitely recovering well from your surgeries and I'm sure it's even more exciting for you than it is for me :D
That's awesome that you stopped at the Moyano's! I got pretty choked up reading that paragraph! I am happy that you thought to give Sister Moyano a hug from me! I really do miss giving people hugs. Anyway, thanks for watching out for them for me :D
That's good that you were able to enjoy a relaxing morning, those are always nice though I don't get them much anymore (1 day a week). lol, that's pretty funny that you accompanied Ye Elders of Israel. You'll have to make Dad learn it so a priesthood holder can be playing ;)
I have noticed in his emails and stuff that he definitely seems to be breaking out of his shell more and being social! It's awesome! I really am proud of him :D He and I are working at it together. You're going to be shocked when I get home ;)
For our P-day activity today the zone is going to hike down to the bottom of the Foresthill Bridge (you should do some research on it, it's pretty sweet). I don't know if you've seen the movie XXX (Triple X) (it's not a bad movie like the name sounds like, it's an action/drama I'd say). Anyway, it has Vin Diesel in it. He is a stunt junkie and he is sort of a fugitive but anyway, he drives a Corvette off of the Foresthill Bridge in the movie (they really did it!). It's the 2nd tallest in the U.S. I believe and the tallest in California. Or something like that, anyway it's over 700 ft. tall I believe. You'll have to look up details. But anyway, hopefully I'll get some good pictures :D (I said "anyway" a ton in that paragraph)
Transfers are next week already! Holy smokes! Yep, the 23rd. We'll know the 22nd. I think both of us will stay because at interviews Elder Neeley talked about it to President Pendleton. I'm sure whatever happens it'll be for the best like you said. I'm learning to accept change though I don't enjoy it most of the time still lol.
hahaha I am buying lots of ties at Thrift Stores though :D I've doubled my tie entourage and have two ties from my grandpa (the trainer of my trainer (my dad)). Thanks for being impressed with how I'm doing. I'm just trying to go with the flow and do my best.
lol, I love you too Mom :D I love reading your emails. Thanks for being such a fabulous mom!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hi Dad,
Holy smokes, it's rained every day? That's pretty crazy! It rained a tiny bit here Saturday night and that's it. I'm glad the lawn is doing well :D
Thank you for your prayers for Melissa. They are definitely being answered. Yesterday we taught one of the scariest lessons to teach as a missionary preparing an investigator for baptism and that is tithing and fast offerings People can get pretty weird and uptight about money. Luckily we taught it and said, "After you are baptized will you live the law of tithing?" Melissa said, "Yes." It was pretty simple and relieving for sure! We definitely know that the harder she tries the more opposition she will find but we have faith that she will be able to make it and we are doing what we can to help her get there. Thank you very much for the advice :D
Holy smokes! That is crazy to think that Spencer is going to be headed off to AFRICA!!! Man! The Lord definitely knows his children well and where they will serve well. I didn't realize he'd never flown before! Boy would that be an adventure! I am sure he'll have a blast though.
Yummy, Red Lobster sounds really good :) Tell Grandpa happy birthday for me even though it's way late. I'm glad you guys had fun. That's good that Kody made it back safe and sound and the scouts didn't eat him up or something I'm sure he'll tell me about it too :D
Transfers are the 23rd of June so we'll find out on the 22nd (or 21st if one of us is training) whether or not we are staying. Elder Neeley told President at interviews about the baptism and said that if President was willing he'd like to stay in Foresthill at least one more transfer for that. I also wrote in my letter to the President the same thing basically. President made a deal with Elder Neeley and said that if by the end of next transfer he would prepare another person for baptism he would let him stay (obviously no real way to inforce that, but ya know). So my guess is that both of us will still be here at least one more transfer but who knows. If not President usually lets us go to the baptisms if we aren't too far (so fingers crossed right?).
I think I remember hearing about how you got transferred but still got to perform the baptism. How exciting! We have definitely asked and will definitely continue to ask depending on the circumstances. Thanks for making sure I know these things :)
You weren't babbling but okay, you crack me up. Thanks for your constant prayers. I'm thinking about home a lot but only when I'm not busy which isn't all that often. So I think about home a lot of my little down time ;)
I'm trying to think of any funny experiences we've had recently but I'm drawing a blank so far. I have certainly learned to love the people that I am serving. California is absolutely where I was meant to serve.
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
June 8, 2009
Hello,
Things with Melissa are going SOOOO well. I don't remember what date I told you she was going to be baptized on but she is going to be baptized on the 11th of July if that's not what I told you (it got postponed slightly due to scheduling conflicts). She has quit smoking and she is looking more and more happy (not that she wasn't before) and her family is just doing amazing! AHHHH! It's sooooo cool and I can't even describe how much joy it brings Elder Neeley and me! Her husband and she have an appointment with the Branch President on Wednesday so we'll find out then if her husband can work towards being worthy to do it (he has Word of Wisdom issues).
Sister Faught is actually REALLY good! They were able to get all of the colon cancer in the first surgery I told you about but they are going to do some minor Kimo (Sp?) Therapy just in case. The lung cancer no longer exists. That is definitely a miracle of a priesthood blessing because it was there, then magically it wasn't. She is very blessed and is doing very well and is now back in her own home :D
Ya, the cookies were disappointing to me but everybody else liked them lol. Meh, we actually sold the ones that didn't turn out well. That was an accident though. The plate was sitting next to the plate of good ones and before we could move it the YW had put it on the auction table :P But I told LeBree(granddaughter of the members we live with) about them and she got excited cuz she likes crispy cookies. So she bought them for $10 :D YAY! I was very excited for her cuz she really wanted them.
Yes, I got the package you sent :D I loved it! The cupcakes were amazing! The music is perfect (oh and I found out that I'm actually allowed to have whatever piano music I want, I just can't have CD's of normal music ya know? So I can have pop, classical, whatever. I'm excited. I may have you send me the sheet music I have called "Out of My League" cuz it's a fabulous piano part, but anyway). I love playing out of that book so you chose well. Thank you so much.
lol, thanks for thinking about me a lot. Everything is going just fine :D I am healthy and happy for sure :D Hope all is well at home.
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Dad,
I loved the "There's no place like home," at the beginning of your email :D It's very true.
Short emails are just fine :) I'm glad to hear from you. It sounds like today is going to be an insane day for you!
I bet the travel was terrible but hopefully seeing a new place was fun :D That is great that you were able to renew some of those worldwide friendships. Not many people can say they have those.
Ya, I bet it is really interesting to see how things are going with companies and finances. Well I'm sure the Church could single-handedly keep Sprint in business with all of the cellphones they purchase from them ;) j/k
I'm glad you enjoyed hearing about Melissa! She has quit smoking and it appears she has a super strong testimony because she has everything set up and she is super excited for July 11th (her set date). We have fasted for them a couple times and are very excited to see how things go. She is doing really well and I have a lot of faith that she'll make it :D It's so very exciting!
Zone Conferences are really fun, lots of work, and sitting, but really fun and spiritual for sure.
I'm so jealous of Aaron's farewell. I knew he'd have them laughing, that's what he always tries to do in his talks so I'm glad he was successful. It doesn't surprise me he was nervous, who wouldn't be? I'm sure he'll make a marvelous missionary too.
I'm glad you got to get a hug from Bekah. It's a bummer that you haven't seen her as much but that's okay I guess. Man, June 28th is coming up quick and boy am I excited. Time is really flying by that's for sure!
We are striving to do our best. Thanks Dad.
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Kody, wow, that sounds like a lot of fun actually! I am really jealous. I have decided that when I get home I am probably going to convince my friends to go camping on occasion when we have time. I've grown to really enjoy being outdoors (minus the bugs of course). In fact yesterday we got to go on an hour and a half ride to a place called French Meadows that is in our proselyting area! Some members took us up and we had dinner with a couple who is working on a campsite up there (and they live in a trailor while they are there). She is a member and he is investigating the church so we got to eat dinner, be by a lake and share a message and it was awesome! We are probably going to get to go up there more often if we can find rides because they want to be taught. We are very excited. I'm sure you'll have tons of fun at the camp.
Wow, 1 a.m. and you have to get up at 7:30! You crazy kid. I'm not THAT important to email ;) I'm so excited for UAM practices! AHHH! I'm so totally jealous! Keep me posted.
Ya, sorry, I can just never really come up with any good stories to tell you. I'll try to come up with interesting things to tell you. OH! We had a mouse in our room the other night YUCK! I woke up in the middle of the night and saw it crawling on some of my stuff on the dressor! AHHH! Well the next morning we set up traps and by the time I woke up the morning after that we had caught the mouse! Gross eh?! But at least I was able to sleep after we caught it cuz I didn't have to worry about it. So we left the other trap set up and guess what...today...we caught another one! The trap came down right on it's head and like embedded in it's head, it was gross. We flushed it down the toilet cuz that's what Brother McCollam told us to do. lol, funny stuff. We have the traps set up still as well as some mouse poison so hopefully we'll get rid of any more that there are. Hmm...You know how I was always like the favorite person among little children...well I guess I still have that talent because all of the little kids in our branch totally like me more than Elder Neeley and it makes me laugh.
I'll keep thinking of more interesting things to tell you. OH! When we went up to that campground in French Meadows an hour and a half away the road is actually only 36 miles long but it's super windy and so you can't drive very fast. (Elder Neeley got very carsick hahahaha) Well there is actually sort of a short cut road so on the way back we took it but it was part way snowed in still and we were in a Honda car. Well the guy we were with is AWESOME so he decided he was going to take this little trail thing that is to go around it. It was barely wide enough to fit the car on and had hills and stuff. It was basically an ATV trail! It was hilarious and we were like off-roading in a car. We only touched the bottom of the car on the ground like twice and never got high centered. Man, what a blast that was!
Anyway, thanks for the email.
Elder Jay Davis
Things with Melissa are going SOOOO well. I don't remember what date I told you she was going to be baptized on but she is going to be baptized on the 11th of July if that's not what I told you (it got postponed slightly due to scheduling conflicts). She has quit smoking and she is looking more and more happy (not that she wasn't before) and her family is just doing amazing! AHHHH! It's sooooo cool and I can't even describe how much joy it brings Elder Neeley and me! Her husband and she have an appointment with the Branch President on Wednesday so we'll find out then if her husband can work towards being worthy to do it (he has Word of Wisdom issues).
Sister Faught is actually REALLY good! They were able to get all of the colon cancer in the first surgery I told you about but they are going to do some minor Kimo (Sp?) Therapy just in case. The lung cancer no longer exists. That is definitely a miracle of a priesthood blessing because it was there, then magically it wasn't. She is very blessed and is doing very well and is now back in her own home :D
Ya, the cookies were disappointing to me but everybody else liked them lol. Meh, we actually sold the ones that didn't turn out well. That was an accident though. The plate was sitting next to the plate of good ones and before we could move it the YW had put it on the auction table :P But I told LeBree(granddaughter of the members we live with) about them and she got excited cuz she likes crispy cookies. So she bought them for $10 :D YAY! I was very excited for her cuz she really wanted them.
Yes, I got the package you sent :D I loved it! The cupcakes were amazing! The music is perfect (oh and I found out that I'm actually allowed to have whatever piano music I want, I just can't have CD's of normal music ya know? So I can have pop, classical, whatever. I'm excited. I may have you send me the sheet music I have called "Out of My League" cuz it's a fabulous piano part, but anyway). I love playing out of that book so you chose well. Thank you so much.
lol, thanks for thinking about me a lot. Everything is going just fine :D I am healthy and happy for sure :D Hope all is well at home.
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Dad,
I loved the "There's no place like home," at the beginning of your email :D It's very true.
Short emails are just fine :) I'm glad to hear from you. It sounds like today is going to be an insane day for you!
I bet the travel was terrible but hopefully seeing a new place was fun :D That is great that you were able to renew some of those worldwide friendships. Not many people can say they have those.
Ya, I bet it is really interesting to see how things are going with companies and finances. Well I'm sure the Church could single-handedly keep Sprint in business with all of the cellphones they purchase from them ;) j/k
I'm glad you enjoyed hearing about Melissa! She has quit smoking and it appears she has a super strong testimony because she has everything set up and she is super excited for July 11th (her set date). We have fasted for them a couple times and are very excited to see how things go. She is doing really well and I have a lot of faith that she'll make it :D It's so very exciting!
Zone Conferences are really fun, lots of work, and sitting, but really fun and spiritual for sure.
I'm so jealous of Aaron's farewell. I knew he'd have them laughing, that's what he always tries to do in his talks so I'm glad he was successful. It doesn't surprise me he was nervous, who wouldn't be? I'm sure he'll make a marvelous missionary too.
I'm glad you got to get a hug from Bekah. It's a bummer that you haven't seen her as much but that's okay I guess. Man, June 28th is coming up quick and boy am I excited. Time is really flying by that's for sure!
We are striving to do our best. Thanks Dad.
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Kody, wow, that sounds like a lot of fun actually! I am really jealous. I have decided that when I get home I am probably going to convince my friends to go camping on occasion when we have time. I've grown to really enjoy being outdoors (minus the bugs of course). In fact yesterday we got to go on an hour and a half ride to a place called French Meadows that is in our proselyting area! Some members took us up and we had dinner with a couple who is working on a campsite up there (and they live in a trailor while they are there). She is a member and he is investigating the church so we got to eat dinner, be by a lake and share a message and it was awesome! We are probably going to get to go up there more often if we can find rides because they want to be taught. We are very excited. I'm sure you'll have tons of fun at the camp.
Wow, 1 a.m. and you have to get up at 7:30! You crazy kid. I'm not THAT important to email ;) I'm so excited for UAM practices! AHHH! I'm so totally jealous! Keep me posted.
Ya, sorry, I can just never really come up with any good stories to tell you. I'll try to come up with interesting things to tell you. OH! We had a mouse in our room the other night YUCK! I woke up in the middle of the night and saw it crawling on some of my stuff on the dressor! AHHH! Well the next morning we set up traps and by the time I woke up the morning after that we had caught the mouse! Gross eh?! But at least I was able to sleep after we caught it cuz I didn't have to worry about it. So we left the other trap set up and guess what...today...we caught another one! The trap came down right on it's head and like embedded in it's head, it was gross. We flushed it down the toilet cuz that's what Brother McCollam told us to do. lol, funny stuff. We have the traps set up still as well as some mouse poison so hopefully we'll get rid of any more that there are. Hmm...You know how I was always like the favorite person among little children...well I guess I still have that talent because all of the little kids in our branch totally like me more than Elder Neeley and it makes me laugh.
I'll keep thinking of more interesting things to tell you. OH! When we went up to that campground in French Meadows an hour and a half away the road is actually only 36 miles long but it's super windy and so you can't drive very fast. (Elder Neeley got very carsick hahahaha) Well there is actually sort of a short cut road so on the way back we took it but it was part way snowed in still and we were in a Honda car. Well the guy we were with is AWESOME so he decided he was going to take this little trail thing that is to go around it. It was barely wide enough to fit the car on and had hills and stuff. It was basically an ATV trail! It was hilarious and we were like off-roading in a car. We only touched the bottom of the car on the ground like twice and never got high centered. Man, what a blast that was!
Anyway, thanks for the email.
Elder Jay Davis
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
June 1, 2009
Hey Mom,
Sounds like you had a great time at Aunt Colleen's house. I always had fun when we'd go over.
Oh man, I really miss Aaron. I know he's going to do such an amazing job though! I bet he did awesome on his farewell talk. I wish I had had a special musical number at mine. Actually, that reminds me. I was hoping that if you have time sometime that you could get some of my female friends together (and guys if they want) and have them record some songs for me to listen to :) I know that'd be a lot of work though and people are busy so don't worry if it's not possible but how cool would that be?! Anyway, I'm glad that you gave Aaron a hug for me and told him that I missed being there. I should most definitely be there when he gives his mission report! Thank you for being proud of what I'm doing. I am working hard.
Oh guess what?! We are teaching a lady named Melissa. She is the wife of a less-active member who is the son of two stalwart members in the branch. Anyway, she is progressing really well. We tried to commit her to a baptismal date but she didn't really commit to it. That was Thursday. Then, Sunday she came to church for the third week in a row. She was talking to us and told us she wanted to work toward the June 27th date that we had talked about AND that she wanted to try and get her husband worthy to baptize her by then! How cool would that be?! Anyway, so we have an investigator with a baptismal date! We are very excited. I didn't know just having the possibility of somebody getting baptized would be so amazing! I was doing dances and all sorts of weird hyper stuff last night I was so excited! Anyway, no guarantee it'll work out yet but I'm very confident and have lots of faith. (If her husband can't get ready in time to baptize her then she'll have her father-in-law do it)
That's exciting that you are going to try and reserve the Timp Lodge again :D I'm unfortunately going to miss that reunion (the time that you are in charge of it :P Gosh! lol anyway). Sounds like a pain to try and reserve though. Good luck :D
I didn't remember who was in charge of it but assumed you were one of them lol. You guys will both do a great job. You can just use the thought of letting the family down motivate you right? ;) j/k Anyway, I have no doubt it'll be great. Remember the Davis Family reunion that you were pretty much in charge of? That turned out SOOOO well! I'm sure you'll do a marvelous job with the Johnson Family reunion. The cabin definitely makes it a lot easier.
Yay! Clean carpets ;) Luckily our carpets usually don't get TOO bad, but they definitely have been needing it. I've heard that Bro. Hindes does a really good job. I guess you're right that he couldn't do any worse than the last time. Good luck moving a bunch of furniture. It's weird to think of Kody driving himself to Salt Lake! Wow...I miss that boy...I've been quite emotional yesterday and today...there is a lady in our branch who is not "old" but she is a grandma raising her twin grandsons. Well she's been having health issues so they took her in to the hospital a week or two ago and found out she has colon cancer. Well they got the colon cancer taken out but found out that she also has lung cancer. So she's staying at a branch member's house for now until her next surgery when they'll reconnect her colon. Then we find out Wednesday how bad the lung cancer is and if they'll be able to do anything about it. She has become our mom out here. She loves to feed us dinner and she gives us hugs (she's old enough it's ok lol). She loves her missionaries and we love her and I was having a pretty hard time holding back the tears yesterday as we found out about the lung cancer (we knew about the other stuff). Good thing I'd had practice holding tears back with your situation huh? ;) Anyway, we are constantly praying for her. She has a lot to live for in those two boys. They are the sweetest things ever and they don't have any family that is capable of taking them if Sis. Faught doesn't make it. So luckily they have the Bosworths (the members who are taking care of them for now and having Sis. Faught in their home) who will take them if Sis. Faught doesn't make it. Anyway! We are confident that what the Lord wants will happen and she realizes that too and is being strong. That's part of my emotionalness and then I was reading about Aaron's farewell and that got me going too lol, but I'm doing fine :D
Yep, this was definitely the big week for the school kids lol. Kody told me about it and he seemed to be undecided on whether or not he was excited about it. Anyway, graduation isn't a bad thing to have to go to! Most of his friends were there anyway lol I'm glad it turned out to be a good experience for him. I love spending time with friends that last week of school. Oh man, he has to do chores? Well make one of those chores writing a letter to me ;) lol
Between the months of March and November we only have to wear suit coats on Sundays or in certain meetings. So we are very lucky for sure. Oh man, we do TONS of weeding, weed-whacking, raking, etc. We do a lot of stuff lol. We don't have any new investigators this week but I did tell you about Melissa earlier even though she isn't new.
The cookie dough was fabulous, the cookies were hard to cook because of the altitude difference but I finally got about 3 dozen good ones and had a bunch of crunchy ones. They kind of went flat. I don't think I had quite enough flour in them, I was measuring quickly so I think that even though I put the right number of cups in I didn't have them all the way full and what not. So they turned out ok.
No way! Cade's getting baptized already?! That's pretty cool!
Sweet, another married cousin lol :D That would definitely be a bummer to miss a sibling's wedding but I'm sure he'll deal with it lol.
Thanks for everything.
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hi Dad,
The weeks are just flying by. I can still remember the first day I came out like it was yesterday, the MTC seems like it was ages ago. Things are just cruising on by. That's exciting that you are in Budapest! What an awesome experience that'll be. I'm sure things will go wonderfully. Take it all in for me ;)That's awesome that you still have lots of work to do. Probably quite stressful but definitely good in these tough times.
Haha, I'm surprised that things around home have been pretty quiet. Not many people over huh? Ya, Kody didn't seem all that excited to have to go to school this last week lol.
I can hardly believe I've been in California for a full two months either! It has FLOWN by as I said before! I definitely need to tell you more about investigators and stuff though for most of them nothing really interesting is going on. However there is one we are teaching that is progressing very well. In fact, we have a baptismal date set for June 27th! She has some word of wisdom issues but is ready and excited to give them up and she has been to church the past three weeks in a row. She is SO excited and we are even MORE excited for her! I didn't know that just having the possibility of somebody getting baptized could be so flippin' exciting! Wow! I've been doing all sorts of dances out of excitement! PLUS! She wants to see if her less-active husband can get worthy in time to baptize her (if not her father-in-law would). How cool huh?! Anyway, that's our excitement for now :D
We had my second Zone Conference this past Thursday and it was amazing! In fact it's really what led us to getting a baptismal date with Melissa (the lady I told you about above). I really enjoy Zone Conferences even though they definitely wear me out.
lol, I do remember the story of your first stolen bike :D I would have been so ticked off lol. We don't have "New Missionary Conferences" anymore, they are called trainer/trainee and both companions go. That was a while ago and it was good. Haha, and so began the saga of your stolen bikes, man that was a funny line :D
I'm definitely safe and surely happy. Make sure you tell Mom to let you read her email when you get home because hers has some stuff I didn't put in here. I love you back and miss you tons.
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Sounds like you had a great time at Aunt Colleen's house. I always had fun when we'd go over.
Oh man, I really miss Aaron. I know he's going to do such an amazing job though! I bet he did awesome on his farewell talk. I wish I had had a special musical number at mine. Actually, that reminds me. I was hoping that if you have time sometime that you could get some of my female friends together (and guys if they want) and have them record some songs for me to listen to :) I know that'd be a lot of work though and people are busy so don't worry if it's not possible but how cool would that be?! Anyway, I'm glad that you gave Aaron a hug for me and told him that I missed being there. I should most definitely be there when he gives his mission report! Thank you for being proud of what I'm doing. I am working hard.
Oh guess what?! We are teaching a lady named Melissa. She is the wife of a less-active member who is the son of two stalwart members in the branch. Anyway, she is progressing really well. We tried to commit her to a baptismal date but she didn't really commit to it. That was Thursday. Then, Sunday she came to church for the third week in a row. She was talking to us and told us she wanted to work toward the June 27th date that we had talked about AND that she wanted to try and get her husband worthy to baptize her by then! How cool would that be?! Anyway, so we have an investigator with a baptismal date! We are very excited. I didn't know just having the possibility of somebody getting baptized would be so amazing! I was doing dances and all sorts of weird hyper stuff last night I was so excited! Anyway, no guarantee it'll work out yet but I'm very confident and have lots of faith. (If her husband can't get ready in time to baptize her then she'll have her father-in-law do it)
That's exciting that you are going to try and reserve the Timp Lodge again :D I'm unfortunately going to miss that reunion (the time that you are in charge of it :P Gosh! lol anyway). Sounds like a pain to try and reserve though. Good luck :D
I didn't remember who was in charge of it but assumed you were one of them lol. You guys will both do a great job. You can just use the thought of letting the family down motivate you right? ;) j/k Anyway, I have no doubt it'll be great. Remember the Davis Family reunion that you were pretty much in charge of? That turned out SOOOO well! I'm sure you'll do a marvelous job with the Johnson Family reunion. The cabin definitely makes it a lot easier.
Yay! Clean carpets ;) Luckily our carpets usually don't get TOO bad, but they definitely have been needing it. I've heard that Bro. Hindes does a really good job. I guess you're right that he couldn't do any worse than the last time. Good luck moving a bunch of furniture. It's weird to think of Kody driving himself to Salt Lake! Wow...I miss that boy...I've been quite emotional yesterday and today...there is a lady in our branch who is not "old" but she is a grandma raising her twin grandsons. Well she's been having health issues so they took her in to the hospital a week or two ago and found out she has colon cancer. Well they got the colon cancer taken out but found out that she also has lung cancer. So she's staying at a branch member's house for now until her next surgery when they'll reconnect her colon. Then we find out Wednesday how bad the lung cancer is and if they'll be able to do anything about it. She has become our mom out here. She loves to feed us dinner and she gives us hugs (she's old enough it's ok lol). She loves her missionaries and we love her and I was having a pretty hard time holding back the tears yesterday as we found out about the lung cancer (we knew about the other stuff). Good thing I'd had practice holding tears back with your situation huh? ;) Anyway, we are constantly praying for her. She has a lot to live for in those two boys. They are the sweetest things ever and they don't have any family that is capable of taking them if Sis. Faught doesn't make it. So luckily they have the Bosworths (the members who are taking care of them for now and having Sis. Faught in their home) who will take them if Sis. Faught doesn't make it. Anyway! We are confident that what the Lord wants will happen and she realizes that too and is being strong. That's part of my emotionalness and then I was reading about Aaron's farewell and that got me going too lol, but I'm doing fine :D
Yep, this was definitely the big week for the school kids lol. Kody told me about it and he seemed to be undecided on whether or not he was excited about it. Anyway, graduation isn't a bad thing to have to go to! Most of his friends were there anyway lol I'm glad it turned out to be a good experience for him. I love spending time with friends that last week of school. Oh man, he has to do chores? Well make one of those chores writing a letter to me ;) lol
Between the months of March and November we only have to wear suit coats on Sundays or in certain meetings. So we are very lucky for sure. Oh man, we do TONS of weeding, weed-whacking, raking, etc. We do a lot of stuff lol. We don't have any new investigators this week but I did tell you about Melissa earlier even though she isn't new.
The cookie dough was fabulous, the cookies were hard to cook because of the altitude difference but I finally got about 3 dozen good ones and had a bunch of crunchy ones. They kind of went flat. I don't think I had quite enough flour in them, I was measuring quickly so I think that even though I put the right number of cups in I didn't have them all the way full and what not. So they turned out ok.
No way! Cade's getting baptized already?! That's pretty cool!
Sweet, another married cousin lol :D That would definitely be a bummer to miss a sibling's wedding but I'm sure he'll deal with it lol.
Thanks for everything.
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hi Dad,
The weeks are just flying by. I can still remember the first day I came out like it was yesterday, the MTC seems like it was ages ago. Things are just cruising on by. That's exciting that you are in Budapest! What an awesome experience that'll be. I'm sure things will go wonderfully. Take it all in for me ;)That's awesome that you still have lots of work to do. Probably quite stressful but definitely good in these tough times.
Haha, I'm surprised that things around home have been pretty quiet. Not many people over huh? Ya, Kody didn't seem all that excited to have to go to school this last week lol.
I can hardly believe I've been in California for a full two months either! It has FLOWN by as I said before! I definitely need to tell you more about investigators and stuff though for most of them nothing really interesting is going on. However there is one we are teaching that is progressing very well. In fact, we have a baptismal date set for June 27th! She has some word of wisdom issues but is ready and excited to give them up and she has been to church the past three weeks in a row. She is SO excited and we are even MORE excited for her! I didn't know that just having the possibility of somebody getting baptized could be so flippin' exciting! Wow! I've been doing all sorts of dances out of excitement! PLUS! She wants to see if her less-active husband can get worthy in time to baptize her (if not her father-in-law would). How cool huh?! Anyway, that's our excitement for now :D
We had my second Zone Conference this past Thursday and it was amazing! In fact it's really what led us to getting a baptismal date with Melissa (the lady I told you about above). I really enjoy Zone Conferences even though they definitely wear me out.
lol, I do remember the story of your first stolen bike :D I would have been so ticked off lol. We don't have "New Missionary Conferences" anymore, they are called trainer/trainee and both companions go. That was a while ago and it was good. Haha, and so began the saga of your stolen bikes, man that was a funny line :D
I'm definitely safe and surely happy. Make sure you tell Mom to let you read her email when you get home because hers has some stuff I didn't put in here. I love you back and miss you tons.
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
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